THIRD POV

Harry tried his best to ignore Hermione and Ronald's questions and shared glances all throughout lunch and as they walked towards their herbology lesson in Greenhouse Three. He was honestly wondering just how damaging those potions were to him if he really thought Hermione and Ron were his friends. He felt himself flinch as Hermione finally reached in front of his face to snap, and he turned to frown at her, even with her blazing aura. "What?" Hermione huffed in what might have once been a joking tone, but now Harry could tell was only full of anger and annoyance. "I have been talking to you for forever, were you ignoring me?" Harry shook his head, not wanting to be caught so soon into the game. "Of course I was, you were going on about how the Slytherins were stiff and strict like the Muggle army." The girl huffed and her aura sparked brighter with annoyance. It was amazing that she wasn't blowing up by now. "Fine then. But I'd like to know how you caught Neville's mistake so easily?" He felt himself shrug as he thought of how she couldn't bear the thought of him actually doing well in Potions. "I looked at the text in my book and just happened to look up as he was about to add the ingredient." Ron chuckled in malice while Hermione only hummed in response. "Nice job mate. The Potter luck is one weird curse." Harry forced out a smile at that before turning to the rest of their herbology class. Looking through the mix of Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors, Harry barely caught sight of a nervous brunette and mentally sighed in relief. "One second guys, I want to talk to Neville about earlier." Hermione called out to him as he slipped away, but Harry pretended not to hear her. "Hey Neville!" The skittish boy whirled around with wide eyes before sighing when he saw it was only the submissive. "Honestly Harry, if you keep this up I'm going to have a heart attack." Harry pouted and crosses his arms, making Neville chuckle. Harry gave a sheepish smile while scratching the back of his neck. "Fine, whatever you want Nev, but I wanted to talk to you about earlier. I'm sorry I corrected you in front of the class." Neville's eyes got wide before he waved a hand in dismissal. "No, it's fine. Better to be wrong and corrected than buying a new cauldron, yeah?" Harry smiled, relieved when he saw Neville wasn't mad at all. "Great! But I was also wondering..." Neville gave Harry a knowing look as the submissive toed the ground with one dainty foot. "If I could help you with Herbology?" Harry chuckled nervously, but didn't deny it. "Sure." The submissive gave a quiet cheer as he jumped up, giving Neville a winning smile. The boy only chuckled and shook his head.
"Why do you keep partnering with Neville?" Harry hummed in question before sighing internally. "Well, he is in our house, and you guys are dating. Since we can only be in pairs I just thought I'd give you both some space." Hermione smiled sweetly while her aura grew cold. "That's so sweet of you Harry." The submissive only shrugged, glad to get the interrogation off his back. "But why with Neville?" Never mind, the tomato seemed rather bothered with his choice of partner. "Why not? Everyone else always has a partner while Neville is left out, and he's kind of shy. I want to try to make him more confident in himself, and I need the help with herbology anyway." Rom hummed and looked away, his eyes in slits as he thought. "I'm serious." Ron and his aura flipped like a switch as he whipped around to lean closer to the submissive as they walked. Annoyed concern was easily seen in his face and his aura colored with mostly shock and disdain. "Really? I could've sworn... Anyway, has he not been found yet then?" Harry's eyes widened and he felt himself choke on tears. His godfather was alive, and they didn't tell him. "No Ron, it's me. Sirius died in the Ministry, remember?" The tomato's eyes widened before he grunted. "Yeah, sorry Harry. It must have slipped my mind." Slipped his mind, Harry had to stamp down on the urge to roll his burning eyes. Their talking dropped to silence as Harry tried his best not to let out any outward signs of sorrow.
After a few minutes, the Not-So-Golden Trio arrived at their DADA classroom, only to see it bare of much except the desks and chalkboard. There were no books stacked anywhere, paintings or portraits hung, nor any type of parchment laid out on the teacher's desk. Discarding the thought as merely still getting situated, Harry ignored his shattered heart and surveyed the class for a good seat. The Slytherins were already present, in full formation, on the left with a few Gryffindors just sitting randomly with friends and chatting quietly on the right. Harry sighed to himself, House rivalry at its finest. Catching sight of Neville looking a bit gloomy, he set out to sit next to him, but Traitor One and Two followed him, managing to fit four to the table made for two. "Why hello again Neville, fancy seeing you here." The brunette jerked before groaning. "Harry, what did I tell you about sneaking up on me." Harry sat down with a cheeky smirk. "Something about me giving you a heart attack. Completely preposterous, if you ask me." Neville only groaned and dropped his head into his Defense book. Ronald and Hermione shared odd looks before setting their stuff down as well. There was a bit of an awkward silence before the new Professor glided in, tapping his wand on his desk to catch everyone's attention. Gryffindors quieted in a matter of moments, but the Slytherins were already sitting stiffly in attention. "Hello everyone. Welcome to my Defense Against the Dark Arts class. As I'm sure you all already know, I will be teaching you how to identify certain dark creatures and learn more advanced spells that will protect and defend you against said dark creatures if they attack. My name is Alucard Ripmav, but you all will address me as Professor Ripmav. I am your new instructor." There was a small, pleasant smile on the man's face while he surveyed his new class, that is, until he saw the Boy-Who-Lived.