Harry was extremely happy, peaceful, and warm for the first time in a long time as he flew high above the quidditch stands and feasted on the excitement rolling off the student body during the Gryffindor vs. Slytherin quidditch game. His positive feelings were laced with an underlying feeling of guilt at feeding from his fellow students, but he was careful to not do anything to actually affect the students in any way, so he justified it to himself. The Gryffindor and Slytherin teams zoomed around below him while Harry kept one eye on the snitch. The advantage of being obsessed with shiny things apparently translated to him not being able to miss the golden ball wherever it was; however, it wouldn't do to end the game too early and miss his wonderful feast. It was obvious to him now why the dementors in his third year couldn't avoid crashing the quidditch game. It was just so delicious.
"Potter, whatever you're doing, stop it!" Malfoy growled as he came up level to where Harry was hovering. "My broom is starting to develop ice crystals!"
"Then fly lower," Harry grinned at the other seeker but did reign in his aura significantly. "If you didn't follow me so closely, you wouldn't even notice."
"No using creature powers in quidditch," the blond almost huffed in annoyance. "How'd you like it if I started messing with you? You're supposed to be inconspicuous, you idiot."
"First of all, I'm too far up for anyone that isn't sitting right on my arse to notice. And secondly, considering I have no idea what you are, maybe I'd like that...I don't know," the Gryffindor smirked teasingly. It felt more like Remedial Potions as they flew above everyone else and were alone. It was easy to forget this was Malfoy and not Draco who was still a prat but at least a reasonable one behind closed doors. "Neville seems to think you aren't terrible, anyway."
Malfoy growled in frustration before Harry was hit with the most delicious wave of pure dessert...like chocolate chip biscuits and treacle tart. "Wow," the dementor grinned dazedly. "That was awesome! Do it again!"
Draco gave a shout of indignation. "Idiotic Gryffindor, you can't even respond right! What are you?!"
"Ah, that'd be telling Draco..." Harry laughed, really wondering again what the Slytherin was and how he could convince him to do whatever he'd just done more often. "I'm full now though, so I think it might be time to end the game. Toodles!" He teased as he chased off after the snitch he'd never lost sight of with Draco fast on his tail.
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It was the last week of the term, and in the middle of all the exams were also the last meetings of the HSMC and the DA before the holidays. Since he learned the truth, Dumbledore had been keeping an exceptionally close eye on Harry, so much so that the dementor clearly noticed and smiled broadly at the headmaster whenever he randomly appeared, trying to nonverbally assure him that he wasn't going to go off and suck the soul from anyone in the castle. He wasn't sure if he was annoyed at the man or understood him; he was a pretty dangerous creature in all honesty. The headmaster always just smiled back and twinkled his blue eyes reassuringly, but Harry knew he was worried; the dementor wasn't sure if he was worried about Harry or about the other students though.
Really, it wasn't Harry the man should be worried about, it was the army of house elves. The house elves had presented a list to the teen at the end of November with the names of all the students who were either slobs, disrespectful, annoying, or generally pains in their arses. They requested he give them a bad day occasionally. Who knew the happy creatures were actually pretty vindictive? He assured them that he'd start in on their list in the new year. As much as it sounded fairly unethical, he was certain Hermione would approve as a victory for SPEW at the very least. So, all in all, it sounded like he would eat well in the new year at the very least.
It was in high spirits, looking forward to going back to Grimmauld and getting out from under the worried gaze of the headmaster, that Harry stepped into Remedial Potions. "Happy Christmas!" Neville called out from where he had an arm around a disgruntled looking Draco who still glared at Harry every chance he got about the last quidditch game.
"Happy almost Christmas, Neville," Harry smiled back and took in the room. Most people were milling about and chatting like normal, but there was a large, dragon-like creature in the corner that was completely black and had scaly wings wrapped around him with a large, yellow eye just peeking out from under a scaly wing. "What's going on there?" Harry asked, wondering which student it was.
"Graham is still sulking about the match," Ginny answered him and gave her friend a tight hug.
"He's being a child," Hestia, the Ravenclaw sixth year accused the seventh year with a glare.
Montague the gargoyle just huffed and laid a wing over sharp, pointed ears on either side of his head.
"It really was a great catch, Harry," Eir smiled at him with a laugh towards the sulky gargoyle.
"Hannah and Ernie broke up!" Colin exclaimed as he and Dennis ran into the room. Everyone groaned, even Harry who had gotten used to Colin's regular updates on his, hopefully, mate.
Matthew very dramatically sighed and banged his head on the table he was sitting at with Brook and David. Brook patted him on the head. "Don't worry, you'll be fine," she reassured him.
"What's the countdown now?" Aurelius, the half-werewolf, asked as he laid down a card nonchalantly in his game of Exploding Snap with Aceline, Aurora, and Kara.
"One week and six days," Draco answered for Matthew. "Right before he gets back to Hogwarts, though I doubt he'll find his mate before returning."
"She's not going to like me," Matthew groaned into the table, everyone was completely ignoring Colin at this point who was still vibrating with excitement from the door.
Snape billowed into the room at that moment in a dark cloud of an imposing aura and physically moved the Creevey brothers out of his way. "Colin, sit down and plan how to ask her out after the holidays. Matthew, your mate will like you, you're a veela; it's almost guaranteed. Graham, stop sulking and turn back. And everyone, eat the snacks so I can leave and start my teenager-free holiday," he sneered at the room before claiming his normal armchair.
A huge spread appeared on the long table in the front of the classroom, courtesy of the house elves. Deciding to hang back and observe what people took to help him guess what species they might be, Harry stood in a corner. Draco rushed over to a beautiful platter of sushi that the house elves must have spared no expense in making. "Ah! No!" Brook immediately swatted his hand away, causing the blond to glare at her. "Naiads get first run at the seafood," she smirked as Draco rolled his eyes and made a dramatic bowing gesture to the platter. "I'll try to leave you a few pieces."
Harry nodded. So, Brook was a Naiad, and she was dating David, a Drus or Dryad. If he remembered correctly, the species were actually fairly similar, one was just connected to the land and one the water. He wondered at Snape's comment from the first meeting that their species were not supposed to like each other. That sounded like a soap opera if he'd ever heard of one, and he made a mental note to sit with them and talk later.
Most of the other food was fairly normal with biscuits, cakes, finger sandwiches, and crisps. There was a large bowl of what looked like crickets and earthworms off to the side though. He watched Hestia scoop some up on her plate beside a piece of cake as well as Ginny who put some on a piece of bread. He wrinkled his nose at that, but assumed it probably wasn't any stranger than him eating people's emotions. The normal pitcher of blood was visited by Snape, of course, as well as the third year Ravenclaw, Bartholomew. Harry marked him as a vampire in his head.
That was all he was able to get from the food before Ginny pulled him over to sit with Neville, Draco, David, and Brook. She pushed a plate of cake and biscuits into his hands. "Treat Jamie a bit," she quietly ordered him as he just shook his head and laughed.
"What are you all doing for the holidays?" Ginny asked the group as she bit into her cricket sandwich with a crunch.
"Normal Christmas with my Gran, and visit my parents at St. Mungo's," Neville said. Harry almost choked on a piece of biscuit as Draco put an arm around Neville comfortingly at his last statement. He had a vague idea about what happened to Neville's parents from comments made by Mad-Eye Moody, but knew better than to ask for more details.
"I'll be staying in my room and trying to avoid any visitors we might have at the manor," Draco drawled with a disgusted wrinkle of his nose.
Harry tilted his head and observed the Slytherin better. "I thought you would be excited to see any visitors that may come to your manor from what you've said in the past?" He asked mildly with a raise of an eyebrow.
"Po-Harry," the blond sighed and Neville gave his hand a bit of a squeeze. "I do what I must. I'm not a creature with any helpful, offensive skills, unlike Graham and a few others in here. Neither of my parents inherited a creature trait, and they both think me weak, which I admit I probably am. If I do what they ask of me, they won't tell our visitor what I am, and that's the most I can ask from life at this time. So, don't judge what you don't understand."
Harry nodded slowly. After talking with Graham earlier in the term, he realized there was more going on in the creatures' lives in this club than he would ever have imagined. Secrecy and survival seemed to be the driving factor behind everything they did outside of this one classroom. It was no way to live in his opinion, but as he'd only been a magical creature for a little over four months, he figured he had no room to speak. "I'll be spending the holidays with my godfather," he said slowly, looking at Draco meaningfully. "I'm sure that he could help me locate a certain pureblood manor if there was a reason someone might need help."
Draco sneered at him. "I don't need your help, Potter, and I never will."
Ginny shook her head. "You should take your own advice, Draco. Don't judge things you don't understand," she warned him. "You mentioned there were some creatures in this room that had more offensive capabilities, maybe don't turn down one that does out of hand."
The group all looked at Harry contemplatively. "Those skills would be...?" Draco crossed his arms, letting go of Neville.
Harry shrugged. "Look, I don't want anyone to know unless it's the only way, but you send for me, and I might have some options for help."
"Irritate him enough, and he may let it slip," Snape commented dryly from the corner where they had no idea he'd been listening. The man never did look up from the potions journal he was reading. After learning what Harry was, the man seemed to completely ignore him. Harry was ok with that response; it had actually made Potions class significantly easier.
Ginny violently smacked Harry's shoulder.
"Oi! What was that for?!" Harry rubbed the spot.
"You didn't tell me Severus figured it out!" She accused him.
"Harry, you can't say things like that in front of people like Severus," Brook hissed lowly at the dementor from beside Draco. "You'll get Draco in trouble. No matter political views, this club is theoretically safe, but it's still better not to chance it, especially with where Draco is going for the holidays."
Draco just shrugged. "He's my godfather. He swore on his magic to protect me, so I think I'm mildly safe anyway."
Harry kept his emotions tightly out of his expression when it seemed that Draco didn't even know what side of the war his godfather was on, though it did really make sense from all their classroom interactions that Snape was Draco's godfather now that he knew. "What are you two doing over break?" He turned the conversation away from politics to the soap opera he was excited to hear about.
"We're introducing our families," David answered with a look of pure terror on his face.
"That's wonderful," Ginny smiled.
"Not really," David grimaced. "My family can't visit Brook's since they live underwater, and Brook's family don't like the idea of walking into the middle of Dryad territory."
"They've been arguing back and forth through owl post," the Naiad sighed. "Unfortunately, the letters have all been coming to the two of us, and we have to keep passing the messages along. It's like being back in primary school."
"Meet somewhere neutral," Draco suggested. "A nice seafood restaurant by the water. That way the Naiads can eat fish, and most restaurants have vegetarian options for the Dryads. If they can't get along, both parties have the option to leave early then as well."
"That would work," David smiled and reached over to squeeze his girlfriend's hand. "Thanks Draco!"
"Why don't your species get along anyway?" Harry finally asked as he tried to force down another tasteless biscuit.
"Too similar," Brook suggested with a shrug. "There've been so many political issues. The biggest was the amphibian debate of 1784, you know, since they live on both land and in the water. A lot more have stemmed from that though. It's all very ridiculous."
"Isn't all politics," Neville chuckled.
"Don't you have a seat on the Wizengamut?" David raised an eyebrow at the high elf.
Neville rolled his eyes. "Inherited, it doesn't mean I have to be happy about it."
"A voice for creature rights is never a thing to take lightly," Graham joined them, finally back in his human form.
"Well, I still have over two years before I can take it up," Neville nodded contemplatively. "My gran is in the seat now. As a high elf herself, I would hope she's already one of those voices."
"Anyone up for a game of Cluedo?" Colin asked as he and Dennis came over with the muggle board game. The group almost sighed in relief to be distracted from their heavy political talk.
"Set it up and tell me what you've come up with to ask your mate out?" Draco motioned to the table and pinned the druid with a stern glare. "I don't trust your plans to be non-stalker-ish." Harry nodded in agreement, knowing Colin and Dennis's stalker-ish habits well himself. He kept his big dementor mouth shut though and just reapplied lip balm now that he'd finished the horrible human food.
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The last DA meeting of the term was spent practicing stunning spells and shielding spells before Dobby and Winky popped in more snacks, and the end of the club dissolved into a low-key party. Harry's dementor senses itched every time they met in the Come and Go Room. During the party, when he was less busy than normal teaching, he could concentrate on the feeling more. He was certain there was something in the room that was like what his locket used to be. Another non-human soul container, a soul that he could, maybe ethically, take and eat.
The DA members finally started leaving in groups of two or three to not be noticed by Umbridge. Harry decided to hang back, it was his last chance of the term to find out what it was that was calling to him. Giving Ginny a meaningful look, he leaned against one of the practice dummies and waited for the room to clear.
Cho Chang seemed to be hanging back too for some strange reason or another, but after an intense glare from Ginny that even Snape didn't seem to be immune to, the older Ravenclaw slunk out of the room with the last group. "What do you think she wanted?" Harry asked the fairy.
Ginny gave him a vague smile and walked over to where he was standing. "You sense something. I've seen you look like there was something important around every time we've met in here. I feel something too...but I don't know what it is."
Harry pulled his locket out from his shirt. "There was a piece of soul in this when I first found it. There's something that feels like it did here in the room somewhere. Is that something common in the magical community? Is it bad that I ate the piece of soul in here? It didn't feel recent, you know..." Harry trailed off, wondering what he was actually asking.
Ginny studied the locket. "I've never heard of that before, but it would have to be very dark magic with ill intent to split a pure thing like a soul, even dementors don't split souls. It would not be a good or virtuous thing for someone to do."
Harry grinned at her, getting the answer he'd been hoping for. "So...it's not bad if I eat it then...right?"
She shrugged with a chuckle. "I'm not your conscience. I wouldn't judge you. How do you propose to find it in here?"
The dementor had put a lot of thought into that throughout the party. "I don't think it's actually in this room. I think I could ask for it and it might appear though. I think that's how the magic works in here anyway."
"Well...give it a go then," Ginny motioned to the middle of the room with an excited look in her eyes.
Harry thought hard about what he wanted and the magic that surrounded it. He opened his eyes when he heard a gasp beside him. A jewel encrusted crown-like-thing sat before them in the middle of the room. The soul was sending delicious vibes out into the room.
"Harry...that looks like a diadem..." Ginny gasped, taking a cautious step forward before her face twisted in disgust. "Ew, the magic surrounding it feels terrible, the darkest I've ever felt...it's just gross."
"Feels delicious to me," the dementor grinned back. "This necklace might be Slytherin's lost locket, so maybe they're connected in some way. The soul kind-of feels the same, but it's not like I have a lot of experience eating souls."
"Can you get rid of it safely?" Ginny asked, looking at the diadem in repulsion.
Harry rolled his eyes in answer, but then he paused and looked to the door. "Erm, Ginny, I'm going to have to leave Jamie to do this. Maybe you want to..." he motioned towards the door.
Ginny put her hands on her hips and sent her patented glare at him. "Harry James Potter, what makes you think I'd think any less of you if I saw you in your true form?!"
"And saw me eat a soul?" He raised an eyebrow questioningly.
"You saw me eat crickets two days ago," she shrugged. "I don't see an issue here. Why do you?"
Harry smiled brilliantly at his friend. I'm going to marry this girl, came unbidden as a thought that flew through his mind. He shook his head, not knowing where that came from, but knowing he'd have to actually analyze it at some point. Based on what Sirius had told him of his dad and mum and how they got together, he thought it might be some sort of genetic thing.
"Ok, look out for Jamie then," he said as he lay on the floor since there weren't any chairs around except for the beanbags that probably wouldn't hold up the body without him in it.
Harry rose out of the body and floated over towards the crown. By the time he turned back to look at Ginny, she had already sat on the floor and had Jamie's head in her lap. He smiled at her, even though she couldn't see under his hood. "You look gorgeous, dear," she grinned up at him playfully.
The dementor turned to the soul. He held out for a moment, savoring the feeling, then he picked up the soul container and happily absorbed the soul. It was the same spicy, chocolatey taste of the one in the locket. It warmed his insides like the best hot chocolate he'd ever had.
"Ah, that's much better!" Ginny exclaimed from where she was combing Jamie's hair with her fingers. "All that nastiness is gone. It was giving me a headache."
He hovered back over to his body and sat the diadem on the floor before picking up the body again. "Hey...it taste good?" Ginny smiled as the eyes in the body lit up again.
"So good," Harry smiled up at her. "You sure you aren't freaked out?"
Ginny glared at him and gave his hair a sharp tug. "Don't you think bad things about my friends, even when those friends are yourself."
Laughing, he stood and picked up the diadem to inspect with his human eyes. "It's beautiful," he breathed out in awe, taking in the sparkling jewels that caught the light from the torches just right.
"It is quite pretty," Ginny agreed, looking at it over his shoulder.
Harry stared at the brilliantly shining diadem, lost in the shine from the stones, and raised it to his head automatically. "Oh, hell no!" Ginny exclaimed before taking the diadem from his hands.
She quickly transfigured the priceless artifact into a bracelet and slipped it onto Harry's wrist, smirking at him the whole time. "It's still not very manly, but at least it isn't a crown. I may be eccentric, but even I don't want to walk around with you wearing that thing on your head."
"Plus, I can see it better now," he grinned at her before his smile fell. "I really can't help it, you know. Shiny things just call to me..."
"Harry, it's fine," Ginny smiled. "We all have something like that. Mine is colors. I absolutely love the brightest colors possible, and Neville has plants. He treats them like people."
"And whatever his obsession with Malfoy is," Harry chuckled, feeling much better that he wasn't alone in this.
"Definitely!" She laughed and pulled him towards the door. "So, you just enjoy your new, shiny bracelet and don't worry about what anyone else says."
"As long as I don't wear it on my head," the dementor joked as his friend rolled her eyes.
"Oh please, if you insisted on wearing it on your head, you know I'd be the first to stick up for you, but I know you wouldn't want that picture in the Daily Prophet, am I right?" Ginny remarked wryly as they exited the Room of Requirement.
Harry winced thinking of how that'd go. "Yeah, Ron would never let me live that down."
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It was a flurry of activity as everyone threw last minute items in their trunks and headed out of the dorms for Christmas. This year, Harry, Hermione, and all the Weasleys were leaving the castle for the first time ever. Snape was probably beside himself in glee, if anyone could tell. Harry had received a note at breakfast when Hedwig flew to the table from Dumbledore explaining that Harry would be leaving the castle through the floo in his office instead of the train. The headmaster explained that no matter how indestructible Harry was currently, it was probably best he didn't draw any unwanted attention to the train, and the older man was certain Voldemort was planning something.
"What's with the new accessory?" Ron asked between bites as they hurried to finish their breakfast and grab their things.
Harry glanced down at his new bracelet with a smile. "Ginny got it for me," he said, sort-of telling the truth.
"Ginny?" Ron asked with a questioning look.
"Well...that was very nice of her," Hermione said, also looking questioningly at the bracelet. "Are those stones real? They look real?"
Harry shrugged. "We found it in the Come and Go Room, so no telling. It's probably really old."
"Er, I hate to tell you, but that looks like a chick bracelet, mate," Ron sniggered over his teacup.
Harry glared at him and took the last bite of his eggs before leaving the table in a huff. He didn't even know why he was mad, but leaving seemed like a better idea than yelling when he wasn't even sure why he was angry. "Harry! Wait up!" Hermione called as she caught up to him on the stairs. "It's really nice Ginny got you the bracelet. Don't listen to Ron."
"Thanks Hermione," Harry smiled at her, his mood lifting. "Have a good Christmas, ok?"
"You too, stay safe and don't let Snuffles do anything dangerous."
Harry shrugged. "You know Snuffles. I'll do my best. I think Remus is staying with us too, so he'll help."
Hermione seemed to breathe a sigh of relief at that. She must really not trust Sirius as an adult figure, Harry concluded with a mental shrug; it wasn't wrong he guessed. She smiled as they got to the tower to grab their things and separate to go to the headmaster's office and the train.
A/N: Thanks for reading and please vote and comment!