The first was an attractive young witch with bright magenta hair, easily separating herself from the others. Harry was fairly certain her name was Tonks, or something similar. As for the witch to the side of her (who was equally attractive), she had long brown hair that cascaded over her shoulders. Harry didn't particularly remember her name, but was fairly certain both her and the Tonks girl had been in Hufflepuff.
Just as Harry was about to look away, he caught both of their eyes. After pausing slightly, Harry sent them the charming smile he had recently developed, ignoring the burning sensation that had developed around his lips. He was surprised to see they had both blushed, seemingly not realizing who he was. Just as he went to turn his head back to Dumbledore's direction did they finally see his scar, their eyes widening.
I'm heavily questioning why Salazar developed two rituals heavily linked to attraction.
He didn't have a particular problem with the rituals. After all, they only made use of what he already had, so it was agreeable with his conscience. But much more importantly than the attraction, it had been the first time in years someone had looked at his face or in the eyes, rather than his scar.
Harry found it particularly interesting that both he and Riddle had used the same ritual for reasons other than the intended one, if what Harry suspected was true. Harry was finally able to escape his fame (as people would now be more likely to focus on who he really was as opposed to his legend), and Riddle was able to use it to con others, potentially giving him valuable information.
Unfortunately, it seemed as though Riddle no longer held the effects of the ritual; Harry had not found anything about the face under Quirrell's turban to be even slightly decent.
Twenty minutes later, Harry noticed many people had suddenly turned to the left side of the Great Hall. Harry followed their lines of sight to see Hedwig flying right at him, nothing in her claws.
She landed gently on Harry's shoulders, nibbling at his ears affectionately. Dumbledore smiled slightly, but did not stop his speech. Regardless, quite a few people noticed. Harry noticed the surprise that adorned the faces of those who looked upon him. It was hard not to be surprised, given the very obvious lack of glasses.
A few people were even staring at him with interest, although it wasn't necessarily positive. Harry was starting to get used to the feeling; people had always been interested in him, the type of interest simply changed from time to time.
The next half hour felt nearly as long as the time he spent lying down in the chamber earlier. Scrimgeour was apparently going over safety plans for the school as well the activities and duties of the Auror guards. Madam Bones took over to explain how the Triwizard Tournament would affect the plans. Most people finally started listening at that point.
Harry, however, was not one of them. He had chosen to sit with his head down, trying his hardest to ignore the burning sensation spreading through his body. He had previously underestimated the after pain the ritual might cause; it was not something he would be doing again. He had moved Hedwig over to his lap, where she was rubbing her head against his chest reassuringly, clearly sensing something was wrong.
The only times he had ever raised his head were to either listen when one of the speakers said something that sounded particularly interesting, or to flash an occasional smile at the brown and magenta haired Aurors. Harry reasoned that it definitely wouldn't hurt to have a few friends that were among the Auror guard; it might help him if he got caught on his nightly visits to the chamber.
I probably should have listened to the safety plans. Harry realized, They might have said something about the places that would be patrolled more frequently.
Harry would have to ask Hermione about it later, having no doubt missed his chance. After another ten minutes had passed, the safety announcements had been finished. Madam Bones and Scrimgeour said a farewell to the students, before leaving the hall with Dumbledore. The tense atmosphere quickly reverted back to that of a typical Saturday morning: relaxing, leisurely, and perhaps slightly playful.
The Auror guards left the Great Hall, supposedly going off to their respective posts. The magenta hair girl waved happily at Harry as she left, before shortly crashing into the smiling brunette beside her. Harry smiled at that: if he was to befriend a few Aurors, he had a feeling he would be more than fine with those two.
.....
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