A Little Help from a Snake // Tomarry

Part 57

"I hadn't noticed anything out of the ordinary when she's in class," Remus added, looking up from the book.

"Hm." Harry grabbed a book off one of the shelves and opened it to where he had slid in a bookmark. "I was planning on asking the Weasleys if they have any idea."

Severus nodded. The Weasleys were a very close family; it was one of the few things he respected about them.

Silence fell between the group, broken only by the occasional hissing from Remus and Sirius, who were trying to learn a few phrases in Parseltongue. Severus, who had been given some tips from Harry, helped them, leaving Harry to read in peace.

"You're saying a completely different word, Remus," Severus said at one point. "Listen closely." And then, in Parseltongue, he said, 'Open.'

'O...pen,' Remus repeated slowly. "Did I get it?"

"Yes," Harry said, flipping a page over.

Sirius tried it next, getting it right almost immediately. "How was that?"

"Excellent," Severus said, and Sirius beamed. Praise from Severus Snape was as rare as a blue moon.

Harry checked his watch. It was nearly lunchtime. "We should probably get going. Someone's bound to notice our absence."

Severus grumbled but stood up.

"Shouldn't I be the one grumbling, being the teen and all?" Harry said.

"I did it for you. You can thank me later."

"I'll keep that in mind." Harry scooped up Azure, who was telling Athanasia of the time Sirius had visited Remus during class. Sirius had been very helpful to the students, correcting a wrong wand movement here and helping someone relax there. Many students had voiced their desire for Sirius to teach full time, but Harry doubted Dumbledore would allow and try to prevent him if possible.

They all used the fireplace to get back to Severus' quarters.

"Is there a way to connect the Floo to the manor?" Harry wondered.

"We're trying to figure that out," Remus told him. "But for now, Sirius has to come here, then the manor. I guess Salazar didn't want the chance of someone disrupting the Floo system."

"I'll see you later," Sirius said. He kissed Remus good-bye and clapped a hand onto Harry's shoulder before disappearing into the green flames.

"I wonder if only a Parselmouth can change it?" Harry mused, watching the flames.

"It's possible," Severus said, mentally slapping himself for not thinking of that sooner.

"We can look at that later," Harry said. "But first, can't you give me a hint about Tom?"

'No,' Remus hissed, grinning as Harry shot him a look.

'Very funny.' Now Harry was the one grinning since Remus had no idea what he said. He threw on his Invisibility Cloak and left Severus' quarters to go to the dungeons, where he dropped off Azure, and headed for the Great Hall.

His amusement vanished when he saw Ginny. Right now, she looked fine. She didn't freeze when their eyes locked; she just looked away and continued on her conversation with her friends.

The twins were nowhere to be found, but Harry spotted Ron and Hermione and kept one eye on them while he ate.

Ron finished first and waited for Hermione to finish before standing. The pair walked out together, talking in low voices. Harry waited a few moments before following, being careful not to make it look obvious.

"Ron, Hermione, wait up!" he called once they were a safe distance away.

The Gryffindors turned, surprise written all over their faces. Harry couldn't blame them; he had never sought them out before.

"Hi," Ron said, recovering first. "What's up?"

"Not here," Harry said, tilting his head to an empty classroom.

Ron exchanged a look with Hermione but didn't argue as Harry stepped inside.

"Is something wrong?" Hermione asked as Harry tossed up wards.

"No. Yes. I'm not sure," Harry admitted. "Do either of you know what's up with Ginny?"

Ron's expression cleared somewhat. "You noticed, too?" he said, relieved. "I thought it was just me. What's she doing?"

"Your brothers told me she was going to leave me alone," Harry explained, "and she has, for the most part. But sometimes she'll start walking over to me before changing directions at the speed of light. It's like she wants to stay away but can't control herself."

"She's been in a weird mood," Hermione added. She glanced at Ron. "Remember the first week?"

"Oh, yeah. She started rambling about you, Harry, just out of nowhere for nearly ten minutes before shutting up and avoiding anyone's gaze. She didn't even talk with her friends."

"That isn't a normal occurrence, I take it," Harry commented. He was aware of how popular Ginny was; he had seen her with several Gryffindors in her year in the corridors.

"It was. Before she said she'd stay away from you," Ron agreed. "Oh! She asked you to the ball last year, didn't she?"

"Yes. But she seemed normal dancing with Neville."

"Yeah, she was really upset you were going with Davis at first," Ron said. "But when I brought up her promise, she just... stopped being angry and left."

"Do you have any idea why she's acting so differently?" Hermione asked Harry.

"I'm afraid not," Harry said, hiding his disappointment. At least they had noticed, too. "But I'll let you know if I find anything, okay?"

"Yeah, that's sounds good," Ron agreed.

The three left the classroom and headed off in different directions.

"I thought I was going mental," Ron admitted to Hermione. "No one else noticed."

"Except Harry," Hermione said.

"Except Harry." Ron turned to see the back of Harry's robes disappear around the corner. "Blimey, first the abuse, then the Chamber and the tournament, now this. Harry can't catch a break."

And he hadn't been very helpful, either, with his bigotry against Slytherins. But at least now he and Harry seemed to be on steady grounds.

"Well, if anyone can figure it out, it's Harry," Hermione said with conviction. "He does have two of the best professors on his side."

Ron nodded, cheering up a little. Surely, with Snape and Lupin's help, they'd find out what's wrong with Ginny in no time.

That Ron/Harry fic I mentioned in the previous author's note (which is now deleted) is up and a big part of the reason for me not updating this story sooner, so if you're interested, go check it out