Settling In

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After Liam parted ways with Harry he went back to the dorms and headed towards his trunk pretending to be busy with it while sneaking a peek at Ron's bed, Specifically at a small box sitting on the floor beside the bed innocuously like it didn't contain a piece of human filth in it.

'There you are Petey just sit tight and don't make a move and soon enough you will be wishing you died for real'

And then Liam quickly made his way out of the dorm he didn't want someone as cunning and slippery as Peter Pettigrew to even sniff a hint that someone knew something about him or else he would have a very annoying variable on the board and that was the last thing he wanted right now.

He wanted to get rid of him right away but it wasn't that simple, He needed to make sure that he was exposed in a public enough situation while also not giving him a chance to weasel his way out of being implicated with the Potter's death, Also he couldn't count on Sirius to escape again when the catalyst for that whole sequence of events happening was a single photo that could be different now that he was going to change things, So he needed this to happen perfectly and he had a plan in mind.

Now out of the dorms alone with his thoughts, He found himself wandering the seventh floor and stopped Infront of a tapestry with some trolls learning the ballet and he thought to himself

'Not yet, I'll need this room a lot for what's to come but first, I need to have a good feel for the castle and my schedule before I go disappearing for hours and hours plus I still have some more locations I need to check out '

So Liam made his way to the library and as he entered he got an approving look from Irma Pince the librarian that was happy to see a first-year come to the library on his first day but then the look turned somewhat threatening as if promising punishment if anything were to happen to the books he was reading, And he wondered how she could impart so many feelings with just a look.

He walked around for a bit looking for useful books that can help him achieve his plans while thinking how inefficient the system was in the library the books weren't ordered in any specific order, Not by alphabet or genre or even the writers, At least not any order he could discern, Not to mention the flying books everywhere, And soon his expectation that those books contained such potent magic that it made them fly when he caught the fourth one in a row that was about the mundane and boring life of a wizard that died ages ago and hadn't really done anything notable in his life.

As he was walking he noticed Hermione excitedly explaining something to Harry while holding his potions textbook and he walked on with a bit more pip in his step, Some time after that he finally found something he deemed helpful, I was a book about the subject of fire magic and fire spells in the wizarding world and their different applications from the floo network to personal fire spells and even some anti-fire magic, There was however an omission of a certain powerful fire spell that was labeled as dark magic, Fiendfyre but he didn't need something of such a large scale not yet anyways.

'Hmmm the Bluebell Flames spell is simple enough and might be even useful for me to learn for some personal defense but I am afraid it's on the other side of the spectrum as Fiendfyre the scale for what I need is just too small, Flagrate on the other hand which is normally used to write things in fire midair if applied creatively might lead to the exact effect I need'.

He stopped his thoughts when he noticed Harry and Hermione leaving and he realized how much time he had spent reading so he gathered his notes quickly and put the book back where he found it and made his way to his potions class waiting to see if his effort amounted to anything.

He came in and looked around and then decided to set next to Neville and maybe give him a hand he remembered just how hard of a class it was for him, He chatted a bit with Neville who was nervous out of belief and as they were talking Hermione walked up to them and said.

"Hay this is your potions book right".

"Yes, Hermione why are you asking ?"

"Oh nothing, Harry wanted to give it back to you, And when I saw your notes I wanted to ask if you wanted to study with me ?"

"I am sorry Hermione but I do my best studying alone, I am sure you understand but if you ever come across something you need help with feel free to ask".

Hermione feeling embarrassed by being rejected said.

"As if I would need any help from you, I was merely offering to help but if you think you are so good then go study by yourself all you want "

And she walked away.

"I thi... think you made her angry Liam" Neville said.

"You know what Neville I think I picked up on that, I think I'll just find her a cool book or something later, But what can I do it's how I like to study".

Just then Snape burst through the door like a bat out of hell giving his 'No foolish wand-waving speech while power walking to the raised dais at the end of the room, After droning on about what a subtle science and an exact art potion making was and then his eyes set on potter like in the movie.

"MR Potter, Our new celebrity, Perhaps you can tell me what I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood ?".

Potter looked surprised and then glanced at Liam as Hermione raised her hand.

"A Draught of Living Death professor, I believe " he added, In the end, To sound humble

Snape looked shocked for but a fraction of a second before he narrowed his eyes and stared at potter for a couple of seconds before continuing and said

"And where Mr. Potter would you say you could find a bezoar if I asked you to find one? "

"I believe it could be found in the stomachs of most animals and humans, Professor "

"AND what is it used for then MR POTTER ?"

"It is used as an antidote to poison, Professor"

Snape once again kept going with fervor

"And do say what is the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane"

"If I am not the wrong professor they are the same thing and are used to create a cure for lycanthropy"

"THERE IS no cure for lycanthropy it merely helps mitigate some of the side effects five points from GRYFFINDOR ".

He basically spat that last part out and then he noticed that he had walked from the head of the class and was standing in front of potters bench staring into his green eyes, He had also lost any appearance of prestige as it dawned on him how he had just acted in front of the whole class, He calmed himself down and reapplied his composure and walked back to the dais acting like nothing just happened while secretly cursing himself for letting his emotions get the better of him.

He stood at the dais glancing back at Potter getting ready to resume his class, But then he saw those green eyes again and it reminded him of a similar pair of eyes that belonged to the boy's mother and he was lost in his thoughts for half a minute until he snapped out of it raising his occlumency shields and dulling his emotions and going on with the class not noticing the third pair of eyes that were trained on him the whole time, Studying his every facial expression.

'Well that was something, Not exactly sure if that happened according to plan or not but at the very least it was quite fascinating to watch, Now I better focus up my lab partner is Neville after all and I don't want to get blown up '

Later at lunch, Liam sat next to Harry and Ron so he would be present when they read the news report about Gringotts and while he was waiting the Gryffindor first years were a buzz about what just happened in potions class with them congratulating Harry and at the same time lamenting the loss of five points and telling him it wasn't his fault, Harry looked at Liam and said

"I am sorry Liam, You told me about Snape and even highlighted a lot of the stuff he asked about but I still lost us the points"

"Are you kidding Harry you did great, It's not your fault the guy has a grudge against Gryffindor, You could have just played around instead of studying but you spent your time preparing and you did the best you could Trust me you did very well "

"Thanks, Liam "

"Yes mate you can't help that he is a git, I mean did you see the guy while asking the questions he was basically frothing at the mouth, I am telling you the guy is unhinged"

"By the way Ron I did notice that you arrived at potions class dry and on time, Should I assume that the dare went alright"

"OH THAT's right Harry you wouldn't believe what happened, By the time I reached the bathroom I was really reconsidering the whole dare thing but I knew if I chickened out on a dare on my first day in Hogwarts I wouldn't ever live down the embarrassment so I just jumped in there and my heart was pumping so hard I could hear it in my ear, Then I heard the sound of crying and man that was so creepy I was going to bolt out of there but I gathered my courage and I shouted 'HELLO' maybe just a bit too loudly and that was when this ghost girl floated up right out of the stall and rushed at me "

"Oh no," Harry said.

"That was when started shouting at me and saying that I had gone there to bully her and throw things at her and saying that she was so pathetic that now even the first years came to bully here and then she started crying even harder and the water started bubbling up from the stalls and the faucets"

"Then what ?"

"So I took a deep breath and I shouted out 'I AM VERY SORRY ', Now I am telling you Harry that took her by surprise so she calmed down enough for me to get out that I wasn't trying to bully her and it was awful that other people did, And I kind of went with the moment and promised to beat up anyone who did and that made her quite as a mouse I tell you, Then she looked all shy and started acting all ladylike and hid back in the stall "

"I was thinking then if I should leave or if I should push my luck and try to make friends with her like Liam said, Seeing as I was on a roll I walked up to the stall and asked her if she wanted to be my friend, A couple of seconds later I heard her crying again and I thought I really stepped in it then and there, But then she came out of the stall telling me to promise her that it wasn't a prank or that I was making fun of her, So I did and she said that we were friends and that I should go visit her whenever I was feeling sad or wanted someone to talk to, And then I left, So you know what that means murphy right? now you owe me a dare"

"Sure thing Ron"

Dean Thomas who was listening in this whole time piped up and said

"Everybody Ron went and got himself a ghost for a girlfriend "

Ron was incensed by the acquisition and responded with the very valid response of

"Shut your mouth, No I don't you've got a bloody ghost for a girlfriend"

It was at this point that the owls arrived carrying a variety of packages and letters and Liam looked at an owl headed in Ron's direction how was busy arguing with Dean, It was carrying a letter and the paper Liam was waiting for and then a pit in his stomach started to form as he remembered that he had Promised Clair to write her a letter when he arrived at Hogwarts and settled down, But he forgot in the middle of all the events and excitement and now she would probably be pissed, So he decided to go to the owlery right after lunch and send her a letter and maybe try and pin it on his owl being slow, But he didn't have the heart to frame his innocent owl so he settled on just apologizing for the delay and hoping for the best, And to find some sort of method to make sure he never forgets again or he was bound to get a scolding with how worried she already was.

It was by then that Harry was talking aloud about the Gringotts break-in and he made a show of saying

"You don't say Harry, You don't say, And you went with Hagrid to that same vault, How interesting, well I'd love to hear more but I just remembered I didn't send my mother a letter so I better go write one now or else I'll be in big trouble"

And he ran off leaving the trio looking at him and Hemione saying

"What do you think he meant by interesting"

"I don't know but Harry you don't think it's a coincidence do you ??" Ron added

"I don't know Ron maybe we should go and ask Hagrid ?"

Hermione added finally

"It's too strange to be a coincidence what was in there Harry"

"I don't know Hagrid said it was a Hogwarts secret "

And then he looked embarrassed as he said

"He also said that I shouldn't mention it to anybody, You won't tell anybody well you Ron, And you Hermione"

"Sure thing Harry your secret is safe with me," Ron said

"Me too Harry you don't have to worry though if it was a secret I doubt Hagrid is going to let us know what was in there, Oh and you should probably ask Liam to keep it a secret too he heard you talking about it before he rushed off"

"Right, Liam he would keep it a secret if I asked him right ??"

"I don't know Harry, Maybe if he won't I can use my dare to make him keep it a secret, You know like, I dare you to not tell anyone about this ?"

"I don't think that will be necessary Ron he didn't look like a blabbermouth" Hermione added

"Then I best keep my dare to another time then"

Same time the subject of their conversation was in the owlery busy petting his owl and giving it a letter to send home to his mother and as he walked away he thought to himself

'First day Complete '