TSS: Chapter 9: Regretful Reminiscence

> *“'Your face, Potter.' Snape seconded, levelling Harry with his dark, intense eyes. Hesitantly, Harry removed his hand, which immediately allowed the blood to flow more freely.”*
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— The aftermath of the confrontation between Harry and Ron in the Great Hall entrance.

## Summary:

Gilderoy Lockhart finds himself suspicious of Harry and makes comparisons to a dark haired girl he had met at some point in time. Harry finally has his first meeting with Grace to be trained in battle magic by her. Dumbledore and James Potter meet and talk about Harry. James ends up expressing his grievances towards the man.

## Plot:

**September 4th, 1992:** After the Defense Against the Dark Arts Class, Lockhart is disappointed with the performance of the second year Gryffindors — especially Charlus — and is suspicious and mistrustful of Harry due to his similarities to a dark haired girl -— who is most likely Emily Riddle. Lockhart ponders that Charlus would need to be much better in order for his plans to succeed.

Harry meets with Grace in the room he trained in with Amelia Hurst. There, Grace assesses Harry's skill in dueling by fighting him. Harry loses because he can't counter conjured snakes without revealing that he is able to speak Parseltongue — ability that he wants to keep secret for the time being.

Back in the Common Room, Harry is introduced by Charlotte to Laine Slater. He is later informed by Blaise and Daphne about the changes in the structure of the Slytherin Quidditch team as Flint just resigned from the team leaving it without a Captain — that on top of them lacking a Seeker. Meanwhile, in an abandoned classroom Cassius tries to convince Calypso to help in his quest to elevate Harry to the position of Seeker.

In the Headmaster's Office, Albus Dumbledore and James Potter discuss Harry's abuse at the hands of the Dursleys. Dumbledore tells James that he never believed that they would outright abuse Harry and that he sent him back to them believing that Harry was in fact overplaying their mistreatment. He then goes on to explain how his sister was attacked by muggles at a young age, as a result of that attack she ended up fearing her own magic and his father ended up in Azkaban whilst seeking retribution. Then, Dumbledore assures James that Harry will not be sent back to the Dursleys, as he would not condemn him to such a fate, and that the blood wards have fallen so their protection is now a moot point. He informs James that his current plans now revolve around fixing the bond between the two brothers.

**September 5th, 1992:** Harry intervenes in a confrontation instigated by Ron Weasley, in which he prevents his sister Ginny Weasley from entering the Great Hall in order to belittle her about her sorting. Ron loses his already shaky composure and punches Harry in the face. The confrontation ends with the arrival of Snape that takes Ron to Professor McGonagall after Charlotte pulls a frightened-little-girl act to direct the conversation on the wound inflicted upon Harry by Ron. Harry heals his face and resolves not to escalate the confrontation as it is not worth the hassle.

After her confrontation with Ron, Ginny gets dragged into an abandoned classroom by Percy to have a private conversation. She expresses her doubts about her sorting and her fears about not being able to make any friends because of her status as a Weasley in Slytherin. Percy suggests that Ginny tries to make friends with Laine Slater and Charlotte Weitts. He then proceeds to explain all the ways the Weasley children are reacting to Ginny's sorting and why they are reacting in that way. Percy also promises to work on Ron so that he comes around to her sorting in the future. Finally, he reveals that the Hat wanted to put him into Slytherin, but, he refused being scared of that prospect.