A Cumming of Age

Intro

Crisp air and busy halls, the year was starting anew. It was year 3 for Harry and the others, so the process of house selection had almost, though not quite become a mundane event. New Gryffindors were chosen, replacing the previous 7th years, and after the final students were placed, the feast begun. Introductions were made and reunions celebrated, though through all of the festivities Harry and Ron were left to each others company.

Hermione had disappeared, and while this might've caused a stir at some point for the two, Harry had seen enough by then to know that she could handle herself. Ron however, well Ron was eating. For them the summer has been just as eventful as their whole lives at Hogwarts, but this new year radiated the feeling of an entirely different tone.

As the feast came to a close and the students flooded the corridors, Harry waited until the Slytherin house had chased past the rest of the crowd. Expecting a flaming stare from Draco, he had been surprised not to find the "Slytherin Superstar" within the house.

"Come on Ron, better get to our rooms before the 1st years finish their tour" said Harry

"Right" replied Ron, though he'd no idea what they'd been waiting for anyways.

Ron knew there'd been something amiss with Harry and Hermione recently, apart from the usual problems. Even before school had started, they had either been MIA or sneaking out, never saying were they were going so often that he'd felt totally abandoned. There'd been so little studying from Hermione and, even weirder, Harry had found himself in his books much more often. The two had almost completely changed roles, in much too little time, and it had all felt much too strange for him, since he had stayed just the same.

Thinking about it too much had made his stomach churn... or perhaps that was something else?

"Oh jeez" exclaimed Ron, with worry in his voice.

"What's wr-" before Harry could finish Ron bolted down the hall yelling only the word "Bathroom!"

He followed behind, though not into the bathroom as he'd have just been standing there awkwardly. In fact Harry was just about to leave him before he had noticed a crowd headed towards the bathrooms. The question of "why" had been answered by their groans and looks of death, though what exactly was wrong was a mystery.

The food of the kitchens were always perfect, so to think of anything being undercooked or anything going wrong was a preposterous thought. The house elves knew their duties, even as freed elves, and it was obvious that they were great at it. Nonetheless students of all houses were headed to the toilet as if it was their lifeline, and thus Harry took his leave.

His way back to the commonroom was uneventful, minus the time he took to admire the school. He had rarely taken his time to appreciate the beauty of the place, for he was either in too much of a rush to see anything or he was just too oblivious all together to take and see what all others saw. The walls were aged and given a personality that could only be compared to the knowledge of a wizard just as old, and the art upon the walls had seemed to have been there forever. In the trance of appreciation Harry wondered much longer than he might've if he had not known some of the detours to the tower. And so he lingered to noticed all of the smallest things he had not the years before, if for no other reason than to take advantage of the peace he had rarely gotten, though mostly by his own foolishness.

Harry also knew of the dangers of roaming through the halls alone, what with a kill about. Black had made his danger known through the papers and rumors that surrounded his name, though for now Harry did not mind this, or at least was suicidal enough at the moment to ignore all he's been told.

When he had finally made it near his staircase to the commonroom, far enough away to hear though not quite to see, his peace had been broken by an argument above.

"You never really cared did you? A bloody buffoon I was to have trusted you, after all you said, you never meant a word of it did you?" A girls voice cried in dismay and anger.

"Of course I cared! How stupid of you to say that, I just... I just couldn't..."

"Screw you! Just leave, we both know what you wanted from me, and I've had enough." And with that the familiar voice had swept into the commonroom without another word. Harry stayed in his place so not to get in between too much drama, and only after a second of waiting Draco had rushed passed Harry, with tears in his eyes too flooded to notice anything.