Griffins Pride - 4 (Patreon)

Casting

Professor Septima Vector – Jamie Alexander
Professor Aurora Sinistra – Thandiwe Newton
Professor Bathsheda Babbling – Lindsey Lakes
Rolanda Hooch – Holly Bryn
Madam Rosmerta – Hannah Waddingham
Professor Andromeda Tonks – Hayley Atwell
Professor Narcissa Malfoy – Eva Green
Katie Bell – Emily Grey
Penelope Clearwater – Heidi Romanova
(Don't Call Me) Nymphadora Tonks – Natalie Dormer
Rita Skeeter - Rachael Harris
Ginny Weasley – Alice Green
Susan Bones – Aria Sky
Amelia Bones – Dani Jensen
Luna Lovegood – Dove Cameron
Cho Chang – Miki Hamano
Millicent Bulstrode - Ava Michelle
Molly Weasley – Maggie Green
Fleur Delacour – Sasha Luss
Lily Evans – Maitland Ward

NOTE:
Some sharp-eyed readers may have noticed that Hermione is not listed among the cast. This is on purpose. Hermione will not be among the pairings of this story.

§ ~ §

Harry tried to hold the skip in his step as he returned to his regularly scheduled classes. Getting to Charms on time was a bit of a struggle due to the distance. The strange path he had to take allowed him to dodge any potential complications. He wasn't against another tryst, but he didn't want to be late. Charms was one of his favorite classes. As of yet he hadn't had the chance to try a romp in a broom closet. He wasn't sure if that was an actual thing, or just a running joke. They didn't sound comfortable. A bit of Transfiguration and charms could change that. Expand the space, change some items to a bed, and it would improve things. Or was the closet part of the appeal?

He wasn't paying attention, which led him bump into a tall, solid object. Thankfully, he didn't make a fool out of himself by falling on his ass. He initially thought he had walked into an open door. When he brought his attention back to the world around him he discovered it was he had bumped into a person. It was easy to identify their house colors as his eyes were level with their collar bone. The Slytherin green made him roll his eyes. Of course it would be a Slytherin.

"Watch it, Potter," It was a witch that spoke the words and not one he recognized.

He realized that while his eyes were even with their collar bone, his cheeks were pressed against her breasts. Harry took a step back once the thought connected. He hadn't intended on motorboating anyone today.

Millicent Bulstrode stood in front of him. She had short up about a foot in height over summer break putting her at around six-feet tall. The change had done her well and showed that her build prior had been muscle rather than the perceived chub. Harry wasn't the tallest in his year, but he wasn't short either. He was about five-eight with the expectation he would keep growing.

"Sorry about that," Harry tried to give a charming smile. "I didn't see you."

Millicent gave him a blank look. She then made a show of checking the empty hallway around them.

"How?" She asked.

Harry's smile faltered, "That is a good question. I will tell you the reason once I come up with one."

"Get out of my way," She let out a big sigh.

He stepped to the side. Something in him wouldn't allow the moment to pass without some smart-assery. He bowed deeply, sweeping his arm out in the process.

"Greatest apologies, my lady," He tried to make his voice as stately as possible. "I shall endeavor to remain clear of your path in your future travels."

Millicent tried to stifle a short laugh. The blush on her cheeks told him that she knew she had failed. He straightened his posture. His charming smile succeeded this time.

"Shut up," Millicent took a step to the side.

He relaxed his smile a touch to ease off the charm, "What are you doing out here?"

"Are Slytherin's not allowed to have a study period?" She replied.

He clicked his tongue, "Obviously. You're supposed to be plotting world domination, not studying."

"You're not as charming as you think you are," She shook her head. "What are you doing out here?"

Harry held up the late note, "Detention."

"Now?" She furrowed her brow.

Harry nodded. Her brow relaxed as she began to study his expression for any clues. He tried not to curse when her eyes widened. She was looking at his neck.

"Detention comes with hickeys now?" She crossed her arms.

He had to force himself not to look at how she inadvertently pushed her breasts almost directly in line with his eyes. She didn't stop even when she noticed his struggle.

"Another time, Potter. I'm busy," Millicent walked away with a victorious smirk on her face.

Harry made sure to use a couple healing charms before he continued his walk. The path went a lot faster once he put his head down and ignored everything around him. He didn't need another detour. Missing Transfiguration was going to get him a few dirty looks, adding Charms to it would mean he'd be grounded for a couple of weeks. His mother had a lot of respect for Flitwick and would not stand for anyone disrespecting the wizard she apprenticed with. She and McGonagall had an unspoken rivalry that his mother would never explain.

He never would have thought to have a flirting encounter with Millicent Bulstrode of all people. Her growth spurt over the summer had done her some good. They hadn't interacted much now that he thought of it. The only time he could properly remember was the Polyjuice mishap and that one hallway tussle. She blended into the background most of the time. He couldn't think of a solid memory of them interacting.

Hermione was waiting for him at the door when he arrived. He quickly looked for signs to identify if this was her first time through, or if she was in a loop. There were little signs he needed to look for. Her hair was in the same condition, her robes weren't wrinkled, and she didn't look like she was tired.

"Where were you?" Hermione asked as they entered the room.

They sat next to Ron.

Harry shrugged, "Detention."

"In the middle of the day?" She pressed.

"That's the only answer I've got," He replied.

She huffed, "Fine."

"When do you activate the Time-Turner?" Harry asked.

She rolled her eyes, "After lunch I turn back to second period. Last year I could do the full day."

"Hermione," Ron spoke up. "You drove yourself crazy last year."

She pouted, "No I didn't."

Both stared flatly at her.

"Fine," She started ignoring them and unloaded her bag.

§ ~ §

Harry loved Charms. He knew that his mother influenced that fact. On top of that it felt like real magic. Transfiguration was another sort. It was more mechanical than the pure magic of charms. He could see the mechanical change before his eyes. It was enough to remove just enough an edge to the enchantment.

He was able to cast the spell without an issue. There weren't many times that he found himself learning from the classes due to his extensive tutoring. Still, a new spell usually takes a couple of attempts. He had to wonder if it was due to 'settling' his magic in the last twenty-four hours. His magic had been acting weird now that he thought about it. Sluggish was the right word. It flowed a lot easier now. He wondered how much it would improve as he continued to settle his magic.

Harry packed his supplies away. He carefully scanned the room for the witches around him. This class was Gryffindor and Ravenclaw. He tried to put names to the faces. Padma was obvious, she had appeared in his dreams a few times already. Next was Sue Li, a witch of Asian heritage that had long, white hair. Lisa Turpin, Morag MacDougal, and Mandy Brocklehurst were back-up chasers for the Ravenclaw Quidditch Team. He had seen them play a few times as a Seeker. That didn't mean he actually knew them beyond that.

It struck him then how small the number of students in his year actually was. Roughly forty students across all four houses in his year. There were a few wizards in Ravenclaw, as well as a couple Harry didn't know, but the entire Fourth Year class was less than twenty people. The same with the other houses as well. Moments like these made him realize why his mother wanted him to be prepared.

He was also hit with the fact that he didn't know many people outside of Gryffindor. Among the Ravenclaw witches the only one that wasn't connected to Gryffindor was Sue Li. She wasn't a quidditch player, study partner, or sister to anyone. The only reason he knew her name was due to the Sorting. He could identify her thanks to her white hair, but that was all the information he had on her.

Harry could name exactly two Hufflepuff witches: Susan Bones and Hannah Abbot. Susan, he knew through Madam Amelia Bones the head of the DMLE. His mother and Amelia had been friends since they were schoolmates. Hannah was almost attached to Susan at the hip, but he knew her thanks to Neville's crush. That also took her off the list of potential witches to seduce. He wasn't going to do that to Neville.

He knew more people in Slytherin than he did in any other House, other than Gryffindor. Daphne Greengrass, Pansy Parkinson, Millicent Bulstrode, Lily Moon, and Tracey Davis. It was strange how things hit harder now that he was paying attention.

That settled it. He was going to need to expand his search to the other years. It would only be fair to start in his very own house. He would be lying if he hadn't had MANY awkward mornings thanks to Katie, Angelina, and Alicia visiting his dreams. Leanne, Katie's friend, was quiet enough to avoid too much attention, but she was cute. He would need to get to know a few witches to see if he at least liked them as a person. Hooking up with a horrible person was not something he wanted to make a habit. Pansy had been a nice surprise. It could have gone badly if she was the person that he had originally thought.

A roguish smile crossed his face. There were a few older witches that he would like to get to know as well. Vector had opened that pandora's box. He should find some way to thank her. Were flowers too cliché? Jewelry felt like too much. She taught Arithmancy, something to show he paid attention to her more than trying to get under her robes.

"Harry," Ron whispered. "What are you doing?"

Harry snapped back to the present, "What?"

"You've been standing there for a few minutes," Ron answered. "Is your scar hurting?"

He shook his head, "Lost in thought."

"Careful, Harry," Hermione teased. "That's uncharted territory for you."

Harry stopped outside the door to charms and started to study something on the wall.

"What are you doing?" Hermione asked.

Harry smiled as she turned to see what he was looking at. She glared at him when she recognized the class ranking list for their year. There was a list available for everyone to see to check their progress. His name was firmly at the top. It wasn't a tactic he used in many arguments, but it was super effective. She stomped off in a huff.

"Sweet Merlin," Ron whispered. "She's going to be in a bad mood for the rest of the day."

Harry chuckled and shrugged. He needed to get through lunch before he delivered the excuse from Professor Vector. Hopefully the elves were serving something good to keep McGonagall happy. As happy as she could be when dealing with a student that missed her class.

He made it to the Great Hall and half-way through lunch before he noticed his mother was glaring at him. A stone formed in his gut. She was madder than he had expected. Her attitude toward missing classes was forgiving. She wasn't so out of touch that she would hold it against him as long as it didn't become a habit. Breaking the rules would happen regardless of if she wanted it to or not. This way she could keep things within certain boundaries.

His gaze swept along the staff table for potential clues. The blush on Professor Vector's face and her obvious avoidance meeting his eyes hinted at the answer. Further along the table he noticed that Narcissa and Andromeda were glaring at him as well. Assembling an impromptu pick-up game of Quidditch suddenly sounded appealing. They usually ran from dinner to curfew. It wouldn't save him now, but there wasn't much his mother could do in the middle of the day.

The students along the table hushed as McGonagall approached. He had been worried about speaking with her before, now she was a beacon of hope.

"Professor," Harry said as she neared. "I have a note from-"

"I know," McGonagall cut him off. "Professor Vector informed me of your mid-day detention."

Harry resisted the urge to gulp.