HAPPY PRIDE MONTH!!!

Thank you for all the reads and votes! I appreciate it a lot!!!

Parseltongue- Harry speaking ; snakes speaking

'mind talking/ communicating'

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It was almost Halloween at Hogwarts, and Harry's time had been going pretty well. Harry was getting a bit more comfortable around the castle. His eyes sparkled a bit more, and he seemed much more comfortable. There were less nightmares, and he actually got more hours of sleep, though he still got up at 5 o'clock. Sicily also always made sure to stay close by, and that also improved his flinching to sudden or loud movements. Of course, the Weasley twins still continued to stuff him up at all the meals, but he usually got away with eating half of it. He had become somewhat good at lying, courtesy to the Dursleys. Though you could tell he was lying if you watched closely enough. Which no one seemed to do. Harry continued to meet Professor McGonagall, and the two enjoyed each other's company a bit. Though Harry knew his limits and only visited two or three times a week, making sure to visit when he knew she would not have much work to do. When not spending time studying, he spent time with his friends? Harry hoped they considered him his friend. Susan, Hannah, Hermione, Neville, the devil twins, Draco and his Slytherin mates all spent time with him day to day. They were the ones who threw Hermione a surprise birthday party, making the girl smile all day long. The most comfortable person Harry was around was Draco, his self-confidence and snarky personality seemed soothing. But even then he never let his guard down, afraid they would turn their backs on them. This was the first time he had so many friends, and he would not be able to handle it if they left him.

Ronald Weasley was a different story. He was biased and always seemed to think that the Slytherins will send an army filled with dark wizards at them. It seemed like he didn't believe that the house of snakes can also have hearts. Ron's older brothers tried to get him to stop being so mean to people from other houses, especially Slytherin, but to no avail. This was the case on October 31st.

Harry was feeling more down than usual that day, like every other Halloween. Remember, he actually remembered what happened on that night, so whenever Halloween came, he would always be more mopey. Luckily it was just a little bit because the Dursleys would throw a fit if he acted so sad. But today, he didn't really have to hide his sadness. The first one to notice was Sicily as soon as he woke up.

'What'sss wrong, little one?' Harry sighed.

'Nothing, its just that today is Halloween.'

'Why do you sseem upset though?'

'Today was the day my parents died.'

'Oh hatchling.' Then she proceeded to wrap herself around his neck, trying to give him some comfort. Harry sighed. Living with the Dursleys had given him a good idea of what another person (or in this case, animal) was feeling. He felt Sicily sympathetic and trying her best to bring him out of his mood. And when Harry exited the Great Hall, he was brought into a sudden hug by the Weasley twins. They stayed silent for a few minutes, enjoying each other's company, ignoring the little flinch from the first year. But not the same could be said for the other people in the school. He and the others were having an early study session in the library, and apparently everyone caught on. Most started giving him pity looks, something he hated. The others didn't know what to do. They didn't want to put him into a worse mood, so they tried to stay away from him. Only Neville seemed to know what to do. He just got up and sat next to him, talking to him like he would any other day. Harry gave him a small smile for that, filled with gratitude. He didn't want to be treated differently, he just wanted a moment of silence, which he got early in the morning. Draco caught on and jumped onto their conversation about their herbology homework.

Soon it was time for charms. The Gryffindors, Ravenclaws, and the Slytherins shared this class together. Today they were paired up with different people from different houses to make their feathers float. Harry was paired up with Seamus Finnigan from Gryffindor, while Draco was with someone from Ravenclaw named Terry Boot. Hermione, on the other hand, was paired up with Ronald. Professor Flictwick gave the instructions, and proceeded to observe his students. Harry watched as Hermione tried to show Ron the correct way to do it, to which he brushed off and challenged her. Much to his embarrassment, she got it on his first try. Harry was interrupted from watching them when an explosion went off next to him. He turned to see that Seamus had blown up his feather.

On their way to their dormitories, Harry heard Ron say to Seamus and Dean Thomas, "She's a nightmare, honestly! No wonder she doesn't have any friends!" Harry was about to say something when he felt someone push past him and run. He looked just in time to see Hermione's bushy hair running away, soft whimpers were all that were left behind.

Harry felt a surge of anger fill him.

"Ronald Weasley," he whispered, but everyone heard him. They all stopped at the coldness of the voice and sucked in a breath when they glimpsed at the flashing green eyes. Ron physically flinched when he saw the eyes. They reminded him of a gemstone his aunt was very fond of last year. She carved it to turn it into a jewelry. The raven's eyes were the exact same shade, piercing into his soul.

"May I ask, who on earth gave you the right to make comments like that?" he said, looking into Ron's blue eyes. "Hermione was just trying to help you get the spell right, and instead of appreciating her efforts, you have the audacity to go behind her back and talk rubbish about her! You should be ashamed of yourself! Aren't you supposed to be a Gryffindor?!" Harry was nearly yelling at the end. Everyone was surprised to see him lose his composure. They had never heard the ebony haired boy raise his voice, let alone yell. Hell, he didn't even talk much! The onlookers more or less felt shocked, fear, or respect for defending an year mate. Ron was looking at Harry in shock, then looked down with guilt. Seamus and Dean were not better off. Even though they didn't really say anything, they didn't retort and laughed instead.

'Hatchling.' Sicily warned. Harry's magic was breaking out.

Draco broke out of his stupor and put his hand on Harry's arm. But said boy flinched away and stalked off. But before he left, he said in a much quieter tone, "And for the record, Hermione does have friends. I hope you grow a backbone and apologize, fast."

The audience watched as the emerald eyed raven walked off, with a snake wrapped around his neck and a rat following him. As for Ron, he was left wondering why he ever opened his big mouth and couldn't keep his jealously intact.

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Below is the gemstone: