Harry slowly dressed himself in the fourth year Gryffindor dorms, a mere half hour after his conversation with Salazar. The words of the portrait had hit Harry pretty hardly; he was no longer even slightly in the mood for another assembly.
It wasn't so much the fact that Salazar had said what he had, but rather how accurate he had been. Ron had always been jealous and spiteful, but now that Harry thought about it, he didn't really have any redeeming qualities. Sure, he was fairly funny, but the jokes he made were typically at the expense of others. Considering that Harry was bullied at least thrice a week (and much more often before Hogwarts), Harry could no longer bring himself to find the redhead to be humorous.
Hermione was better, as she was tactful and really did care, but the moment Harry had finally become her better at something, she had become distant. Though she did still talk to him much more than Ron did, which had to be a bonus. She also hadn't deluded herself into thinking that she would become some great champion in the near future. That could only be a good thing.
Harry resolved that he would not abandon them; they had been by his side from the moment he stepped into the magical world, and he would not just throw that away, not even based on the words of his ancestor. He would, however, be much more cautious around them.
Then there was Tonks and Hestia. Harry had to admit that he was closer to them than he was to anyone else (excluding Salazar, Ron, Hermione, and perhaps Hedwig if she counted), although he wasn't sure that meant much. The few times that he was not in the chamber or Gryffindor Tower, he could almost always be found by their side. Harry had no problem listening to Salazar's advice when it came to them.
The only other people of significance that came to mind were Sirius and the Gryffindor Quidditch team. For obvious reasons, Harry had not been in excellent contact with the former of the two. As for the latter, the only ones he was particularly close to were Angelina, Alicia, and Katie. He was friends with Fred and George, but that was about it. The relationship he held with the other three was that of a younger brother and three older sisters. It was similar to the ones he held with Tonks and Hestia, although the latter two were more motherly, and the bond he held with them was stronger.
Harry roughly shoved his white button up shirt onto his body, tying his tie in a similar fashion. He quickly checked himself in the mirror, making sure that he was presentable. He was now a noticeably attractive young boy, though it was plain to all that he still had some growing left to do. His cheekbones were now very high, his skin slightly tanned, his eyes carried a beautiful shine to them, and his hair neatly combed.
Harry stepped out from in front of the mirror as he put on his robes, joining the other four males in their shared dorms. They had all clearly attempted to get dressed in the 'proper way', as requested by McGonagall. Unfortunately, none had succeeded; Ron's robes were clearly covered in dirt, Dean's shirt was missing a button, and Neville's tie appeared to be strangling him.
Harry couldn't particularly blame them for their lack of etiquette; he too had been equally inept when it came to such things merely a day prior. Salazar had spent most of last night teaching Harry how to clothe himself properly. The portrait had not liked the idea of his heir being incapable of dressing himself up.
"You look good, mate!" said Seamus as he tried to redo his belt buckle.
"Course he does, Mum taught him how to clean himself up over the summer." said Ron dismissively, fumbling as he tried to wipe off dirt.
Deciding against reminding Ron that Mrs. Weasley had likely been teaching him the same for years, he pulled his wand out and approached the boy.
"Scourgify." muttered Harry, his wand pointed at Ron's robes. The mud that had previously covered the edges of the robes had now vanished, as well as Ron's frown.
"Cheers, Harry!"
.....
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