You're Being Hugged, Harry

by David Silver

29 - Learning and Exploring

Of all his teachers, there was one that seemed to have it out for Harry. Severus Snape was a grumpy curmudgeon on the best of days, and seemed to carry an especially large grudge against the exploits and rumors surrounding Harry. That he disliked Harry was no secret, especially to Harry. With that bitter grudge being shone at him, Harry began to watch Snape with equal intensity.

But he had other things to do, so he met with Hermione instead, to shake hooves with a house-elf. "Pleased to meet you."

The elf nodded at the equine student. "Nice to meet you too?" He didn't sound very confident about that. "You sure he's nice?"

"Very," assured Hermione. "But he doesn't know anything about house-elves. Can you beleive the place he grew up in didn't have a single one of them?"

"Not a one?!" The elf was properly shocked at the idea. "Well, um, let me tell you then. I work for Hogwarts, the school." He waved around at the stone walls around them. "A lot of us do, but a lot of us don't. We may work for a specific wizard or witch, or their house, or some other thing like that.

Harry nodded along with that. "Alright. Um, what's your name, sir?"

"Sir?" He colored just faintly at that. "Nice of you. I'm Pokey. Harry Potter, right? I'll remember that."

Hermione half-swatted/half-pet at Harry. "He's half-magical beast, as you can likely see."

"Only half?" The human heritage was not easily seen, minus that Harry was dressed as a student. "Human?"

Harry nodded firmly. "Human. Why are they picking on nice creatures like you?"

"Couldn't rightly say." Pokey gave a shrug to go with it. "Just the way it is, but it's not always. Some of us have nice masters, and I'm pretty alright with working here at Hogwarts. Oh, if you're a magical beast, do you have magic too?"

Harry lit up his horn with its promise of magic. "Yessir. I'm learning human magic, but I have unicorn magic too."

Hermione crossed her arms. "Don't be a show-off. He's good at human magic, and enjoys showing off his other tricks if you give him half a reason."

Harry was far more focused on Pokey. "What sort of magic do you have?"

Pokey made a wave at a book that was fallen over, causing it to snap upright and slide back into place. "Most house-elves know a lot of useful house magic. Cleaning, tidying, mending, and things like that? We can defend ourselves, or our master, if we really have to."

Hermione nodded towards the book. "Part of me wonders what sort of magic they'd learn if they were free to just be themselves."

"I am myself," countered Pokey. "I just want some respect for being that. Do humans treat human servants poorly?" He thought back. "Actually, guess they do sometimes..."

Harry inclined his head at that. "Ponies don't. We're an agreeable bunch, overall."

Hermione casually took hold of Harry's horn. "You're awfully proud of your pony half, aren't you?"

"Why shouldn't I be?" Harry gently worked his horn free of her fingers. "Nothing against the human half. Both are pretty full of history worth being proud about. Only human thing I'm not too keen on right this second is that Snape professor putting the hate right on me."

"He's a teacher." Hermione considered the situation with a tapping foot. "He's probably just being harsh on you, so you grow. I know the sort."

"You think so?" Harry lifted his shoulders. "Not sure... But I'll give him half a break at least. It was really nice meeting you, Pokey. I'll see you around?"

"Certainly." Pokey waved off and vanished in a puff of elven magic.

Harry pointed at the spot that held an elf a moment ago. "Did you see that? Teleporting's no small feat! I'm still trying to get a grip on it. Starlight makes it look so easy. Only a few unicorns can pull it off at all."

Hermione hiked a brow high. "But some can do it then?"

"I know of two, wait, no, three." He counted with taps of his hooves. "Starlight, mentioned her, tutor. Twilight, aunt. But also Starswirl. He's a famous wizard, unicorn wizard. He can do it, but he can do almost anything he wants."

"Sounds important." And like someone Hermione had never heard of, despite any other bit of knowledge she might have. "And the only one not related to you?"

"Starlight isn't related to me," he hotly denied. "She's just a nice mare that's showed me some tricks, like this one." He lifted from the ground with a grin. "I still like this one."

Hermione waved her wand with a few sharp words, sending Harry back to the ground on his hooves. "Stop floating around school. Pretty sure that's against a rule or two."

"Spoilsport." He stuck out his tongue, but didn't try to hover again. "Still, flying's also pretty rare, but not showing off. Just saying, that's a lot of magic! Are the elves wizards too?"

Herm shook her head firmly, moving to leave the room with Harry trailing behind her. "You weren't a wizard and you came already knowing some unicorn magic, didn't you?"

"Yes..." He could remember that, the magic taught to him by his mother, father, and Starlight in a joyful combination. "But unicorn magic isn't human magic. Even if they qualified me as a unicorn wizard, that wouldn't make me a human one."

Hermione took a moment to pause and slowly raised a finger. "There are unicorn wizards?"

Harry gave a snort of disbelief at the suggestion that it wasn't common knowledge that of course there were. "Great wizards of wisdom and magical ability. The sort that can make spells whenever they get it in their head to do so. Twilight, Starlight, and Starswirl all count as that. I can't even pretend to be on their level. I can't just... dream up a new spell. I can follow the directions well enough..."

Rolling her hand in front of her, Hermione made a little frown before crossing her arms. "You do know, Harry, even the best human wizards need years, decades often at best, to make up a new spell that reliably works, right?"

"Well, they..." Harry pranced from hoof to hoof, looking unsure. "They just... I'm not a wizard yet! Of any kind." He shook his head with an equine whicker. "I don't know how it works. Pony magic isn't human magic, that much is certain. That thing Pokey did wasn't like pony or human magic. It was something else, and kinda impressive."

"Won't argue that." Hermione got moving, trailing Harry along behind her as she emerged from the back room towards the main part of the campus. "But we have work to do. Just so you know, house-elves don't make up random magic either."

"Maybe a pony trick," Harry muttered, unsure of how it all worked in the end.

"Hey, I saw something you might like." She produced a book and passed it backwards without turning. "I know they kicked you out, but.."

"Quidditch through the ages," read the title of the book Harry held in his magic. "Is that some kinda joke?"

"I'm not that mean. I just thought you were still kinda interest?"

"Interested in what?" Ronald joined them as they walked out of the main building. "What's that?" He snatched the book from Harry's magic and twisted it about. "Quidditch through the ages? Who's this for? You know he can't play, right?"

Harry rolled his eyes. "I was just saying that."

"I thought it'd be interesting," defended Hermione. "I can return it if you really--"

"What's this?" A new person had been drawn by their tiny squabble. Snape grabbed the book firmly. "This is from the library, is it not?"

"Um, yes, sir?" Ronald shrunk back away from the imposing instructor.

Hermione put a hand at her hip. "I checked it out."

"All well and good." He flipped it swiftly away into the depths of his robes. "I'll be checking it back in for you. Books are not to leave the building proper." Without even leaving them much time to argue the idea, he stormed off, book secured.

Which would be when Harry noticed them moving with a bit of a limp. "Curiouser and curiouser..." He inclined his head at the departing Snape. "You see that? Look, I didn't even want the blasted book, but he ain't got the right to take it. You checked it out, fair and square. I'm going to get it back!"

He broke from their side and slunk after Snape, keeping well back to avoid being spotted. He lifted a precious inch from the ground, so his hooves didn't give him away. Being a pony wasn't all positives.

Snape begins speaking with another member of staff, Argus Filch. "Damn thing attacked me!"

The dour caretaker scowled at Snape. "What thing?"

"The three headed dog, right in my leg." Snape gestured, but Harry could barely see more than some motion towards Snape's leg, explaining the limp at least. "Got me good."

"Then you should practice more caution," advised Argus. "Did you get that looked at?"

Harry kept out of sight, but his look of concern only grew. The three headed dog? He only knew one of those. His mood to confront Snape was deflated, and he made good his retreat before he could be found out.

There was Ron, moving through the hallways. He spotted Harry first, waving and coming closer. "There you are. Just wanted to let you know something."

"What's that?" Harry touched down lightly.

"The rules say you can take books out. I checked, kinda curious." Ron looked proud of his knowledge. "I don't know what Snape's on about."

"Me neither... But I don't want to find out. See you next class?"

"Sure." They met hoof to hand, and split towards their upcoming classes.

---

"Looks what I have." Flurry wagged a letter in her magic, still sealed. With a sharp flip, it became two letters. "Mail, for me!"

Harry chuckled as he sat down. "Wow, you don't get a lot of mail. What's that about?" A thought came to him. "And who got that mail for you?"

"I asked a nice owl." She flashed a smile at Tilly. "And she got it for me."

Tilly looked properly proud of this. "I am an owl. Just like Arnavon."

Arnavon bobbed his head. "We know where to get letters, and the shortcuts."

Harry pointed to the floating correspondence. "Well, what do they say?"

With attention secured, Flurry made a slicing motion with a hoof as her magic broke the seal on the first. "The first is from mom. She says... Mmmm, and..." Her eyes swept left and right rapidly, taking in the words. "Wow..."

"Wow?" Harry reached for the letter, but Flurry drew it further away. "What's it say?!"

Ron looked over the top of the book he was holding. "Well, now I'm curious. What's it about?"

"How to care for a young adult alicorn," read out Flurry, her cheeks warm. "She actually wrote it, like a how-to for alicorn care. I didn't think she'd actually be the one writing it!"

Harry laughed at the very idea of it. "Aw, that's really nice of her. That sounds like mom, come to think."

"One thing," added Ron suddenly. "You got real nice pony parents, no argument, but we know you're half human, and neither of them are that. Ever wonder about your human parents? Just wondering."

Harry reached up to the scar over his eye, which had been there since he was a little foal. If the answer to its origin was known to anything... It'd be them. "I do wonder once in a while... Um, the other letter?"

"Oh!" Flurry put the alicorn care letter aside and flipped open the other. "This one's... for me." That was already known, reading without saying much. "I need to write a response to this one." She grabbed a quill in her magic and got to writing busily.

Author's Note:

Plot! Welcome back to it! But are people more curious about that Snape fellow, or Flurry's pampering?

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Comments

[Booster Spice]

Snapes going the right way if he is wanting to find out just how effective the security is and where the holes are?

[tsaukpaetra]

Interesting. Taking an arbitrary book without cause capriciously? Silly Snape.