"Merlin, mate, you alright?" Ron offered him instead of his usual greeting the next morning. "No one's seen you since Snape held you back! We were all so worried that he murdered you! You weren't even at dinner!"
"I ate in the Hospital Wing," Harry said before his brain had fully woken up, regretting it almost immediately.
"He sent you to the Hospital Wing?!" Neville butted in with a whisper-scream, his mind clearly running straight to the darkest scenario in which he was next.
"He just ordered me to go for a checkup." Harry tried to salvage the situation. "He didn't like how scrawny I looked."
"Can't believe I'm agreeing with the git, but you are kinda scrawny," Seamus said with his back to Harry as he changed his shirt.
"Yeah," Ron nodded, "my mum would freak out and try to feed you something immediately if she saw you."
At any point before coming to Hogwarts, Harry would have immediately taken her up on that offer. But now, the chances of that happening were low: Dumbledore clearly wasn't going to let him leave the Dursleys'.
"So, what're your plans for today?" Dean asked, utilizing the lull in conversation. "I think I'm going to go chill at the Great Lake."
"I was going to try and find the kitchens!" Ron said. "Twins always bragged that they found them in their first year, I wanna beat their record."
"Oh, crap!" Harry face-palmed. "I completely forgot about the tea with Hagrid yesterday! I've gotta go apologize to him!"
Not waiting for any response, he grabbed a change of clothes and ran to the bathroom.
"Have you noticed that he never really changes out in the open?" Seamus pointed out. "Ya think he's ashamed of his scrawniness?"
"I think it might be more than scrawniness." Neville stared at his bed sheet, Charms textbook clutched in his hands.
"What do you mean?" Dean looked up from tying his shoes.
But Neville had already made a decision, and that decision was to stop talking and leave the room.
A moment later, Harry left the bathroom, but he simply threw his clothes onto the bed and ran out of the dormitory, ignoring the boys' calls.
"I just hope he's alright," Ron said, to the murmurs of agreement from the other two.
***
Harry ran the entire way to Hagrid's hut.
It was only when he was knocking on the door that he realized that he had no plan for what to say.
"Down, Fang!" sounded from behind the door, and then it swung open, revealing the overwhelming form of Hagrid. "Hullo, Harry."
"Hi!" Harry breathed out, still trying to catch his breath. "I'm so sorry I didn't come yesterday! Professor Snape kept me after class, and then he took me to Madam Pomfrey, and-"
"It's okay, Harry." Hagrid smiled at him gently. "I'm happy you're here now. Wanna step in for a cuppa?"
"Sure!"
The inside of Hagrid's hut looked just as homey as the outside suggested.
Motioning for the boy to sit at the table, Hagrid bustled around while preparing the tea.
Harry had to sit on his hands just to stop himself from going over and trying to do the preparations for the man.
The rock cakes kind of reminded him of the cakes Mrs. Figg had always served him: opposite in consistency, as the name suggested, but equally inedible.
Harry still pretended to enjoy them.
"How're the classes?" Hagrid asked, sitting down with two cups of tea.
And so Harry told him about the classes he'd had so far, stopping briefly before recounting Potions.
How much was he going to say? How much could he say?
"Ah, Professor Snape givin' you trouble?" Hagrid guessed at the pause. "Well, you do look just like yer father, and I can't say that the two of them ever liked each other."
That remark ensured that Harry was now completely distracted from their previous topic.
"Can you tell me more about my father?" he asked, putting on his best puppy eyes. "And my mother?"
Hagrid scratched at his beard sheepishly. "Can't tell ya much about yer mother, 'm afraid. Never knew her all that well."
"Did you know my father, then?"
"As much as I know the Weasley Twins." The man grinned wildly. "Yer father and the three others were inseparable in school, they were like one entity, I'm telling ya! Marauders, they called themselves."
"Three others?" Harry wished he had some paper on him, but for now he needed to trust his memory.
"Yeah! Remus Lupin - the most sensible of the bunch! - Peter Pettigrew, that poor dear, and-" His face darkened, and he quite literally spat out the last name. "Sirius Black. That traitor..."
Hagrid started mumbling under his breath. Harry couldn't quite understand what was he saying, but it sounded bad.
Time to retreat, he thought.
Thanking him for the tea and cakes, he excused himself with homework and left as quickly as was possible without seeming rude.
Well, that was a disaster. But at least it gave him an idea: if Hagrid had known his parents when they were in school, maybe other teachers would have something more to say about them?
Spotting Professor Sprout near one of the greenhouses, he decided that there was no better time than the present.
"Professor Sprout!" he shouted as soon as he came close enough to be heard. "Do you have a moment?"
Professor Sprout raised her head. "Oh, Harry!" she said, wiping her hands on her work apron. "Sure! Have you got some questions?"
"Yeah," Harry shuffled on his feet, but he didn't have a backup Herbology question, "though not about the plants."
"Oh?" The woman looked at him curiously. "What is it about, then?"
"My parents," he said, dropping his head shyly. "I was wondering if maybe you could tell me something about them?"
Professor Sprout seemed really surprised about the request.
"Oh, sure!" she said eventually. "Come in for a bit, I was just about to take a break!"
The fruits she offered him as a snack were good. What she told him about his parents was even better.
"Your father, James, he was one of the biggest pranksters I've ever seen," Professor Sprout began as they sat at her desk on those uncomfortable tiny stools they always used during the lessons. "The Weasley Twins come the closest to him so far, but they're still nothing compared to the original Marauders..."
She told Harry about some of the pranks she knew about, most of which happened in her greenhouses or the Great Hall.
The simple changing of hair colors, making someone sprout tentacles, charming tiny birds to follow people, singing songs they liked, spiking the food to make everyone barf snails...
"And everyone sat there barfing snails?" Harry asked, on the edge of his stool. "Even the professors?"
"Well... not exactly." Professor Sprout looked slightly uncomfortable. "It was only the Slytherins, to be frank."
"Only Slytherins?" Harry repeated. He didn't particularly like Slytherins because of Malfoy, but that was only one person...
"Gryffindors and Slytherins have never liked each other." She shrugged. "That whole house rivalry of theirs. I think your parents' last years at school were the worst it's ever been, but it's not like the situation's any better now either."
"Oh."
"But enough about that!" Professor Sprout said. "Sadly, I can't really tell you much about your mother. She was good at Herbology, had a natural way with plants; what else could you expect from a 'Lily'? Very quiet girl though, and she always sat with S-" She cleared her throat. "That one Slytherin boy."
Harry knew a dismissal when he heard one. It was time to leave.
"Thank you, Professor Sprout!" he said, jumping off the stool.
Leaving the greenhouse, he wondered who he should visit next.
Professor McGonagall was out of the question. If he went to her now, she would only feel the need to explain why it was necessary for him to go back to the Dursleys at the end of the year because Dumbledore surely had managed to convince her by now.
So no, no Professor McGonagall. No Professor Snape either, for that matter. For the exact same reasons.
That left... Professor Sinistra, Professor Flitwick, Professor Binns, and Professor Quirrell. And all of those other teachers he sometimes saw at the head table but had no idea who they were.
Harry decided to start with Binns, mostly because he knew the ghost would still be in the classroom.
His stomach grumbled as he entered the castle. Fortunately for him, breakfast was still being served.
Not wanting to waste any time, he ran into the Great Hall, sat at the nearest table, devoured some food he wasn't quite able to identify, and left again before anyone could react.
His predictions were true: Professor Binns was still in the classroom. From the looks of it, he might have never left.
He was also lecturing about goblin wars.
Harry assumed that some unfortunate older years had a Saturday history lesson, but when he turned, the classroom was completely empty.
"Umm..." He closed the door behind himself, walking towards the desk. "Professor Binns?"
But Binns didn't react. Sitting down at one of the desks, Harry decided to just wait until he stopped lecturing.
Since he had nothing better to do, the lecture actually even sounded pretty interesting.
A few minutes later, however, Professor Binns stopped - at a point where Harry would argue to have been the best part! - and cleared his throat.
"Any questions?" he asked, not even bothering to open his eyes.
"I have one, sir!" Harry said quickly, not willing to lose the chance.
Professor Binns blinked lazily, focusing his eyes on Harry.
"Oh, Mister Potter," he said. "What is your question?"
"Could you tell me about Lily and James Potter?"
The ghost stared at him for a moment.
And then stared some more.
"Is this one of your pranks, Mister Potter?" he finally asked, tilting his head a bit. "Shall I expect Mister Black to jump out of the shadows and cover me in glitter any moment now?"
Harry didn't quite know what to say.
"Umm, could you tell me something about just Lily Evans, then?"
Professor Binns frowned heavily. "Young man, you know I do not approve of your... obsession with Miss Evans. She is an excellent student, and she should be free to spend time with her academic equals, not be constantly assaulted by a group of pranksters!"
Well, that only raised more questions.
"Yes, sir!" Harry said, getting up, turning on his heel, and walking out of the classroom.
Closing the door, he could see Binns gradually reverting back to his unemotional self and picking up his lecturing right where he'd left it.
Shrugging, Harry decided to go find another teacher. He did, obviously, prefer to avoid Professor Quirrell - he'd gotten a migraine every time he'd looked at him so far - so the only options were now Professor Sinistra or Professor Flitwick.
And since he had no idea where Professor Sinistra's offices were, well, Professor Flitwick it was, then.
His office was clearly marked and easily accessible since not only did he teach Charms, he was also Ravenclaw's Head of House.
Harry didn't even have to knock on the doors, they swung open before he could touch them.
"Ah, Mister Potter!" Professor Flitwick said, raising his head from the papers he'd been working on as soon as Harry hesitantly stepped over the threshold. "Having trouble with the material?"
"No..." Harry said. "Well, yes, but that's not why I'm here, sir."
"Oh?" The teacher put down his quill, turning to face Harry. Motioning at the nearest desk, he said, "Why are you here, then?"
"I was meaning to ask... could you tell me something about my parents?"
Professor Flitwick brightened up, making himself more comfortable on his chair.
"With pleasure! What would you like to know?"
"Everything?"
The man chuckled softly.
"Well," he began, "James was good at charms but only those he could use for his infamous pranks, sadly. Lily though... she was brilliant, a true prodigy! I've never seen such raw, natural talent!"
Harry listened curiously, but it wasn't much more than he had been told before. Everyone always talked about their studies or the Marauders' pranks, but...
"What about their personalities?" he asked. "Do you know anything of their interests? What they liked to do?"
"Oh," Professor Flitwick deflated a little, "I'm afraid-"
The doors swung open, revealing the billowing cloak of Professor Snape.
Harry startled badly enough to fall from the chair.
"Ah, Severus!" Professor Flitwick exclaimed excitedly, motioning at Harry with his hand. "Just the man we need!"
Professor Snape turned to look at Harry.
Harry attempted to make himself look even smaller than he already was, bracing himself for the yelling.
"Mister Potter," Professor Snape said softly, and Harry risked looking at his face to gauge the emotions: surprisingly, he didn't look angry? Amused, even?
"Pro- Professor Snape," he managed.
"Harry was just asking me about his parents!" Professor Flitwick supplied helpfully. "There's only so much I can say, but you surely have something to share! You were all in the same year, after all, and-"
"Thank you, Fillius." Professor Snape interrupted. "I shall talk with him about that at a later time. I have come to you to discuss something else. Coincidentally, it is also related to Mister Potter."
Harry stopped in his tracks. He'd been trying to sneak out as soon as Professor Snape had said he'd come with a specific purpose in mind, but now...
"Sir?" he asked, looking at Professor Snape.
"Sit down, Mister Potter," the man said, his expression suddenly way more somber. "Filius, do you know how one goes about opening last wills that were locked ten years ago?"
Oh. He was... he was actually doing something about Harry's situation?
Professor Flitwick stared at Professor Snape, glancing quickly between him and Harry.
"If there's reason to suspect that the will has been violated, then yes," he said eventually. "Do you-"
"I do."
"But goblins don't tend to just take a wizard on their word, you'll need some hard proof-"
"How about medical scans indicating a decade of abuse?" Professor Snape raised a single eyebrow. "How about a Pensieve memory-showing of Lily swearing that she would never allow her Muggle sister to take care of her children, even if only temporarily?"
Swaying slightly, Professor Flitwick caught onto the desk before he came into danger of falling.
"Oh, sweet Merlin," he murmured. "Muggle? That's not what Albus said!"
"The headmaster said many things that appear to be completely false."
"That's it!" Professor Flitwick jumped off his chair, grabbing a cloak from the hanger near the door. "Do either of you have something to do that absolutely cannot wait?"
"I believe we should include Minerva as well," Professor Snape answered without giving a straight answer, which Harry started to believe was his default setting. "Seeing as she is Harry's Head of House."
"Harry?" Professor Flitwick turned to face him. "Do you have anything important to do?"
Harry shook his head. "Just homework."
Professor Snape got a weird expression on his face. Like he was trying to hold something back.
"Splendid!" Professor Flitwick startled him out of his musings. "In that case, let's go check on Minerva, and we may go!"
"Go where, sir?" Harry had no idea where wills could possibly be stored. In the Ministry, maybe?
"Why, to Gringotts, of course!"