Harvey was surprised by how quickly his first year at Hogwarts had been. It felt like only the other day he had hopped on the Hogwarts express and had arrived in Hogsmeade. He had been excited to finally learn proper spells and meet new friends, and then there were his hopes about Harry. Initially, Harvey hoped that being at school together would help bring them closer, but at first, it only seemed to push Harry further away. But then Harvey also didn't understand what was going on with his brother, but now he did.
Harvey wished that the events that led to Harry finally opening up to him had been different. He wanted the hurt that Harry and their Mum felt to just go away, but he knew it would take a long time before it would. It thrilled him to know that even his Dad was putting in the effort to try and help Mum and Harry, and Harvey was going to make sure that nothing rocked the boat so that things could continue to get better.
But that meant dealing with Ron.
Ron had been his best friend for years; they had grown up together because Ron's Mum, Molly, and his Dad, Arthur, knew Harvey's parents from a group known as 'The Order of the Phoneix'. Harvey had never been allowed to know the full details, something about him being too young, but from what his Dad had let slip, it was a group organized by Dumbledore to fight Voldemort. Even after Voldemort died or disappeared, Harvey realised it seemed to change depending on who he spoke too; Molly and Lily would hang out regularly.
Ron, along with his brothers and his sister, would come over to the Potter's house, or Lily would take Harvey to the Weasley's, and Harvey would find himself playing for hours with Ron. They bonded of Quidditch, Gobstones, their Chocolate Frog Card collections; Ron had even tried to teach Harvey chess as they grew up, but that one never really stuck.
Harry wasn't always around when Lily and Molly would catch up with the kids, and when Harry wasn't around, Ron always seemed to make it known that he didn't think that Harry was a good brother to Harvey. The older they got, the more Ron seemed to dislike Harry. Harvey hadn't really understood why Ron had always been so insistent about it; he seemed to constantly be telling Harvey that Harry sucked or that he was mean. Even when Harvey asked Ron, he never got an answer.
But since coming to Hogwarts, Ron's dislike for Harry seemed to have only increased. Harvey had mostly ignored him for the most part, not wanting to cause a sense or have everyone learn that Harry was Harvey's brother; at least, that was before everyone did find out. But now, it seemed that Ron was determined to prove Harry wrong.
After Harry basically made Harvey and Hermione realise that their obsession with the Philosopher's Stone was not needed and that they were seeing enemies where there weren't any, they had been than happy to forget about it. Ron, however, was not. He had continued to ask Hagrid questions, tried to get Hermione and Harvey to help him watch Snape; he was relentless.
Harvey hadn't told Harry because he didn't want Harry to worry. He had his own problems. And since Ron was Harvey's best friend, he was going to be the one to stop his nonsense. He just hadn't worked out exactly how to do that.
When Harvey woke up that morning, Ron was already raving to Hermione about the trap door. It seemed that he believed the stone was hidden down there and that to keep it safe, they should go down and get it. The issue with that, of course, was getting past the giant three-headed dog that belonged to Hagrid.
"Why wouldn't Hagrid tell us?" asked Ron.
Hermione sighed. She dropped onto the couch in the Gryffindor Common Room and pulled her legs up beneath her. "Hagrid isn't going to tell you because the whole point of Fluffy being there is to protect the stone."
"Yeah, but that's what I want to do. Protect the stone," said Ron. "Snape's going to steal it and get away with it at this point."
Hermione rolled her eyes.
Ron spotted Harvey as he walked into the room. "Harvey, you have got to help me with the dog."
Harvey frowned. "Ron, we agreed to leave it alone."
"No," snapped Ron, "You both gave up."
"We didn't give up; we saw sense," said Hermione.
"Harry explained everything," said Harvey.
Ron scrunched up his nose. "I don't care what Harry said. Your brother's a tosser, and he doesn't know everything."
Harvey glared at his friend. "Stop calling Harry names."
"Why? Harry is a tosser, always has been."
"Ron, I mean it. Shut it." Harvey walked away from his friends and headed to the door. He didn't want to listen to Ron anymore.
"Harvey, seriously? Harry has done nothing but ignore you forever, and now suddenly, because he is a cry baby, you are all about protecting him," mocked Ron.
Harvey spun around. He didn't think he'd ever wanted to hit someone so much before. He glared at Ron and pointed at him. "Say something mean about my brother again, and I will hex you."
Ron went to bite back, but a throat-clearing stopped him.
Both turned to see Percy, one of Ron's older brothers and their prefect, glaring at them. "Ronald," he said, "what have I said about bullying other students? Do I need to write to mother again?"
Ron's face went as red as his hair, but he shook his head.
"And you, Harvey, I expect better."
Harvey sighed. "Sorry," he mumbled.
"Don't let it happen again, five points from Gryffindor each because of your behaviour." Percy gave them one last glare before walking out of the Common Room.
Harvey adjusted the strap of his bag before looking back at Ron. He just shook his head and said, "Considering that you are supposed to be my friend, you have a funny way of showing it."
Harvey left the Gryffindor Common Room to head downstairs to the Great Hall. Breakfast would be waiting, not that he felt like eating after Ron. But he walked through the halls, avoiding other students until he finally reached the hall. It took him less than a second to spot his brother. Harry was sitting at the Ravenclaw table, a piece of bacon hanging from his mouth while he wrote in a book. With him were a few of his friends, Jenna, who Harvey thought was very nice, and Dylan, who was a bit odd but seemed fine.
Thinking for a moment, Harvey considered going over to join his brother. He knew that it wasn't compulsory for students to sit at their house table during meals. Only during school feasts was it required. And he had often seen Harvey and his friends sitting at any table they wanted. The idea of sitting alone wasn't fun, especially when all he wanted was to forget how much of an ass Ron had been.
Harvey decided to go over before he changed his mind. It was Jenna who spotted him first and smiled.
"Good morning, Harvey."
Harvey returned her smile. "Hi."
Harry glanced up. "Hey, you alright?"
Harvey nodded. "Yeah, I just thought that I could sit with you and have breakfast." He gripped his bag strap; what if Harry didn't want him to join?
Harry nodded. "Of course, you can." He picked up his school bag that was sitting beside him and dropped it onto the floor at his feet. "Where is the rest of your gang?
Harvey quickly sat down. "Hermione and Ron are still upstairs."
"They weren't hungry?" asked Jenna.
Harvey shrugged. "Ron's always hungry. But he was being a dick, so I didn't want to eat with him anyway." He reached to grab a piece of toast, an egg and some bacon.
"Just like his brother," grumbled Dylan.
Harvey buttered his toast. "What's wrong with Ron's brothers?"
"The twins are great, funny as hell. Bill and Charlie are great company too," said Jenna.
"It's Percy that grinds everyone's gears," said Harry.
"Percy is strick, but I just thought that was because he's a Prefect," said Harvey.
Dylan huffed. "That man child has a stick shoved so high up his ass that it is embedded in his brain."
Harry chuckled. "What Dylan is trying to explain is that Percy is a wanker because he is a wanker. Prefect badge only made him even more entitled."
Jenna nodded. "Maybe if someone slept with him, he wouldn't be so stuck up."
Harry frowned. "Alright, keep it clean. Harvey is eleven."
Jenna shrugged. "If he has spent any time around your father, he has probably heard or seen worse."
"She has you there," said Harvey.
Harry shook his head and started writing in his book again.
"You're obsessed with that thing," said Jenna.
Harry smiled but didn't lookup.
"Is it new?" asked Harvey.
Harry nodded. "Mum gave it to me as a late birthday present."
Harvey frowned. "You said no one was allowed to give you anything."
"That's what I said," added Jenna.
"I didn't want anything," said Harry. "Mum wouldn't take no for an answer." He laid down his quill and picked up his drink to take a sip. "But enough about me." He looked at Harvey. "What did Ron do to piss you off?"
Harvey frowned. He didn't want to upset Harry; Ron was just being stupid. Harry didn't need to know about the name-calling, but with Jenna and Dylan here, he wondered if maybe they could help knock sense into Ron's head.
"So?" promoted Harry.
"Ron is still going on about the stone."
Dylan looked up. "Stone?"
"The Philosopher Stone," said Harry.
"Does Ron want everlasting life?" asked Jenna.
"No." Harvey bit into his toast.
"Harvey and his friends were convinced that Snape was after the stone," explained Harry. "I made sure to explain that their imaginations were just being over-reactive."
"Snape, interesting choice."
"Why Snape?"
"He seemed suspicious. He disappeared the night the Troll got let in and came back with a bite on his leg, he made it seem like he jinxed my broom during my first quidditch match, and he is really mean."
Jenna and Dylan turned to look at Harry, both of them confused. Harry chuckled. "I told you, crazy imagination." He picked up his drink and took a sip. "I would kill for coffee today."
"Sleep works just as well," said Jenna.
Harry huffed. "I don't have time for sleep."
"Back to Snape wanting the stone. I need more details," said Dylan.
Jenna asked, "Since when do you get so invested in other people's business."
"Yeah, unless it's academic, you never care," added Harry.
Dylan shrugged. "I'm curious."
"Curiosity killed the cat," said Jenna.
"But satisfaction brought it back," said Harry.
Jenna threw a piece of crust at him. "Shut up."
"No." Harry threw it back.
"Are they always like this?" asked Harvey.
Dylan nodded. "Unfortunately."
"You enjoy our banter." Jenna smiled at him; she leant her head over and pressed it against his shoulder.
Dylan pushed her gently away. "No, what I enjoy is when you both get mad and leave, giving me utter silence."
"That's not very nice," she said.
"You taught me well," smirked Dylan.
"Harvey!"
The four turned to see Hermione rushing towards them. She looked flushed.
"Hermione, you okay?" asked Harvey.
She sighed. "I'm fine; Ron isn't."
"What did he do?" asked Harry.
"He tried to go to the third floor, bumped into Draco who acted like...well, Draco. Ron then punched him, and then he ran off." Hermione huffed. "Can you help me find him?"
Harvey frowned. "No. If he wants to do something stupid, then he can do it on his own."
Hermione looked shocked. "Harvey, he's your friend."
"Yeah, well, friends, don't act like he did this morning," grumbled Harvey.
Harry turned in his seat. He nudged Harvey's shoulder. "Why do I get the feeling you didn't tell me everything Ron said?"
Harvey fiddled with his food.
"Ron was being a jerk about you," said Hermione.
Harvey spun around. "Hermione!"
"What?" she asked. "He asked."
"I didn't want him to know," said Harvey.
Harry grabbed his arm. "Harvey, Ron calling me names doesn't bother me."
"It's not just the name-calling," said Harvey.
"Then what is it?"
"Ron has always had something against you. I don't even know why. But he has always been on your case, calling you a bad brother and a tosser, and I'm just over it. He is supposed to be my friend, but all he does is call you names. I would never sit there and say those things about any of his siblings." Harvey crossed his arms and huffed. He wanted to find Ron and punch him.
Harry sighed and gave his arm a squeeze. "It sounds like Ron has issues of his own."
"Yeah, well, I don't like it. And I've had enough. I don't want to be his friend anymore."
Harry nodded. "Okay, that's fine. But even if you don't want to be friends with Ron, we should probably make sure he didn't find a way to go down that trap door."
Harvey wanted to say no, but he knew Harry was right. If Ron did find a way down, he probably would end up doing something stupid. Ignoring Ron could come later, for now, he followed as Harry got up, and they followed Hermione out of the Great Hall.
*
*
*
Harry would be lying if he said that he didn't want to hex Ronald Weasley. The red-head had been nothing but trouble for as long as Harry could remember. Every single time he had been around, he was always getting in trouble himself by doing things he shouldn't, and then sometimes, he got Harvey involved too. Then Ronald started the year off by picking on Hermione, the poor girl judged for being clever when Ronald was too thick to ask for help.
Now they were trying to find Ronald to stop him from hurting himself or someone else. He was really worried that somehow Harvey and Hermione would get dragged into his mess, and they would be the ones who would end up punished for it. And no matter how much he wanted to see Ronald smacked over the head, they couldn't let the fool do something stupid.
The first thing Harry did was head to the third-floor corridor. Hermione and Harvey were both behind him. On their way, they bumped into Draco, who was holding his tie against his bleeding nose.
"Ouch, is it broken?" Harry asked.
Draco frowned. "I don't know, but it bloody hurts."
"Go see Madam Pomfrey," said Harry.
Draco huffed and glared at Harvey and Hermione. "I'm going to make your friend regret this."
Harry rolled his eyes. "Draco, shut up and go."
Draco did as he was told but grumbled as he went. His two toadstool bodyguards followed.
"How is Carlisle so nice when he is just a prat?" asked Hermione.
Harry chuckled. "Yeah, I've always wondered the same thing."
The three of them continued up the staircase until they reached the third floor. Harry paused but didn't walk down it. If they were caught on the third-floor, there was a good possibility they would all have detention.
"Fluffy is behind the door at the end," said Hermione.
Harry frowned at the door; it seemed closed.
"But the sconces haven't lit; does that mean Ron didn't come here?" asked Harvey.
Harry sighed. "You said he was determined to go and get the stone?"
Harry and Hermione both nodded.
"Harvey, where is your invisibility cloak?" he asked.
Harvey frowned. "In my dorm room, why?"
"Does Ron know where it is?"
"Yeah, in my trunk. I don't exactly hide it."
Of course, he didn't. Ron was his friend. You trusted your friends not to go and steal all of your stuff. Harry ran his fingers through his hair and said, "I think he has every intention of going through the trap door, just not when everyone is awake."
"Harry?" said Hermione.
"Yeah, what is it?" he asked.
"We need to get to Potions."
Harry's jaw clenched. They all did. "Alright, let's go. Harvey, when you have a chance, go and check your trunk for your cloak. If it's still there, I think it might be best if I keep it in my room so that way Ron isn't tempted."
Harvey nodded. "Okay, but do you really think he would just take it?"
Yes! Harry shrugged. "I don't know, but better safe than sorry."
The three of them headed back down to the dungeon. They arrived at the Potions classroom as Snape stood in the door, letting everyone in. He eyed the three of them but didn't say anything. Harry walked past the students, and placed his bag in the very back of the room, removed his cloak before rolling up his sleeves.
Snape took the registers before waving his wand and pointing at the blackboard. "Your upcoming exams for the end of the year will require you to make a potion without instructions. There are five in total that you will be required to memories as I can ask you to make any of them on the day of your exam."
Harry smirked. He remembered his first exam for potions. It hadn't been as stressful when he got to work, but the daunting task of memorizing steps, ingredients and measurements was difficult. He spotted the anxious looks of the first years and held in a small chuckle.
"Today, we shall be going over the Forgetfulness Potion. To start, what are the key ingredients in the Forgetfulness Potion?" asked Snape.
Hermione was the first hand up.
Harry didn't have to see Snape's face to know his sneer had taken over.
"Granger?" said Snape.
"Lethe River water, mistletoe berries and Valerian sprigs."
Snape nodded. "Correct."
"The instructions are on the board; you will have twenty minutes to memorise the steps without writing them down. You will then need to recreate the potion by the end of our period." Snape turned his back and moved towards Harry. "Get to it."
The students scrambled and jumped up.
Snape walked over and said to Harry, "Late again."
Harry said, "Technically, I wasn't late."
Snape frowned. "Don't be a smartass. What were you up too?"
"Helping Harvey."
"To do what exactly?" asked Snape.
"Hermione believed that Ronald Weasley was going to do something stupid."
"Yes, like punching Draco in the face?"
"Of course, he told you."
"I am his Head of House."
"Is his nose still broken?" Harry couldn't stop the smirk. Draco could be a good kid when he wasn't surrounded by other children, but at Hogwarts, Harry knew what a tosser he could be.
"Madam Pomfrey attended to him. He should show up at some point. And for Mr Weasley, I have already sent word to Professor McGonagall about his detention."
"Right."
"Is there something else you wish to tell me?"
Harry knew he should tell Snape. Explain the whole thing. Snape would make certain that Ron kept his nose out of it, but somehow he felt that Harvey would feel the backlash. Snape wasn't one to let things go. So he shook his head and played it off.
For the rest of the lesson, Snape seemed to watch him. It was clear that Snape didn't believe him, but Harry just needed to find Ron and deal with him. He didn't show up to Potions which concerned him; Harry hoped that he hadn't been stupid enough to try and go into the trap door straight away.