All Good Things…

Chapter 3: Lessons

The snow was coming down thick, blanketing the world in silence. It seemed the castle was filled with drafts, currents swirling through the halls, catching students with a sneeze or a cough. Most huddled beneath cloaks, while a few complained to the teachers.

The Headmistress addressed the problem at dinner. "We are looking into the failure of the castle's warming magic. For now, I suggest everyone learn the warming charm and keep the fire roaring in your dormitories. Thank-you."

Harry was walking to charms class the following day, his cloak nice and toasty. Him, and many of the other older students, took turns teaching the younger years how to perform the charm. Those like Seamus, unable to learn, had their housemates refreshing the charm throughout the day. Gabrielle was walking beside him, thankfully absent were her usual companions. Harry could honestly say that he was passed his limits when it came to them.

"Thank-you for teaching me the charm. I am still not used to these frigid winters." Harry looked to her small frame. She must have been freezing. His teaching her the charm was no a big deal, she had been coming to him regularly of late asking to be taught more advance spells. He showed her a few spells that they had not gotten to yet in transfiguration, and a few basic charms from second year. It took her a second to catch-on, but she was an eager learner.

"I cannot wait to go home to the Rhine and enjoy sunny days." She seemed to be talking to fill the cold silence.

Harry frowned. "I thought your dad worked in England?"

"Oh, oui, he does. But he sends my sister and I to France in the winter; we both miss it." She was sad a moment. "He visits when he can, but he stays busy."

They entered charms class where Fitwick was congratulating everyone on casting the warming charm on their own. He turned to Harry and Gabrielle one eyebrow quirked.

Harry answered his unspoken question. "Sorry we're late, I was teaching Gabrielle the warming charm."

Flitwick beamed. "Of course, of course! Forgiven then. Come here young lady and let me take a look."

Flitwick was waving his wand over her, nodding here and there. She giggled as it passed over her nose. "Fine workmanship, a little rough around the edges, though. Work on your concentration a bit; a stiff wind might be able to get through. Your turn, Mr. Potter."

Harry took his place and watched as he felt something fall over his body; he could see why Gabrielle giggled.

"Nothing less than what I expected from my top student. Good job, comparable to a few of the older years even. Now have a seat, we're going to learn a derivative of the warming charm." His eyes lit-up. "The freezing charm!"

The last month of school went by in similar fashion, far from the excitement he had in the beginning with Quidditch, duels, and demons. Though the Quidditch fever was picking up again as the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff game approached. Harry looked into it with some interesting, taking notes on the two seekers. He was very familiar with Cedric Diggory. He seemed to be the same boy as the one that had died in his past. It took Harry a few of days seeing him to finally push back the pallid face that sprang from his memories.

The other seeker was an unknown. A sixth year who had been Cho's predecessor. Rumor had it he was fairly good on a broom.

He had his chance to see the week before school let out, as the teams gathered to fight. Harry did not envy them in the least, being out in this frigid weather. He was happily tucked in his cloak, with Hermione on one side, trying to read of all things, and Gabrielle on his other, gossiping of all things. Lavender was faithfully by her side.

The wind howled and the game proceeded, with the Ravenclaw seeker doing a decent job of staying on his broom, but Cedric was the better flyer. The game stretched with the announcer providing the usual commentary.

"Pulling hair's not a foul, but Hooch is eyeing Medley. She'd better watch out. Ouch! Talk about a thick head, it looks like that beater just maybe out of the game…"

In the end, with Harry cheering alongside everyone else, it had been a very close game until Cedric managed to grab the snitch.

With that the stands emptied, the Hufflepuffs racing to greet their current hero, while the others made their way to the castle. "You could at least try and watch them." Harry spoke to Hermione, thankfully leaving Gabrielle and her friend behind.

Hermione raised her nose. "You said I needed to get out more. I did."

He frowned; this was not what he had mind. "Are the Slytherins still giving you trouble?" This was a topic he had avoided for a time, assuming things had gone better for her as she had been in a better mood. In the past few weeks that had gone down.

She sighed, stowing her book. "No, well…" She narrowed her eyes. "It's been better, mostly. Orion ignores me, but Malfoy's being a git, always sending Crabbe and Goyle after me. We've dueled a few times."

"Go to the Headmistress!"

"No, I have to do this on my own." Hermione's was reply was fierce.

"That's stupid. They'll just keep…"

Her glare silenced him. He sighed as she spoke. "It's not like that. In Slytherin you handle your own problems."

Harry crossed his arms. "That's still stupid, but if that's what you want." His eyes wandered across the low ceiling as they walked. "Did you hold your own against them?"

She scoffed. "Against Crabbe, yes, he's an ox. Goyle, no."

Harry narrowed his eyes, tempted to show the two how to use a wand. Then a better idea replaced it. "Would you like some help?"

"With what?"

"I could show you a few spells next term that would give you an edge." He smiled, but it faltered at seeing the predatory grin spread across her face.

"I'd really like that."

Coming home, even in the middle of blizzard, was a novelty he hoped to never get used to. He huddled inside, joined by his father and mother, hastily closing the door. Lily cast a few spells upon it, ones Harry was unfamiliar with. James explained. "She's just reinforcing a few of the enchantments, this wind's getting pretty cold."

In a huff Lily spoke. "And this house is getting really old. You need to go to the attic and check on those ward crystals. I don't think they're working right. I wouldn't be surprised if half of them have failed!"

James let out a large sigh, but Harry took that moment to speak. "Dad, do you have any of your old stuff from school in the attic?" It was a long shot, but Harry was hoping to find the cloak among them.

"Sure, got all kinds of things stashed up there. You want to take a peak with me?"

Harry nodded eagerly.

Then Lily strode between them, her cloak already hanging on the wall. "That's a great idea." She put an arm around both. "While you two are up there checking the wards," she gave her husband a significant look, "I'll be getting dinner ready. Have fun boys!" She called walking to the kitchen.

"Evil witch," James muttered with a smile.

"You know you love it!" she called back.

"Oh no champ, leave the cloak on, it's going to be cold up there."

"What about the wards?"

James deflated. "Your mum's right, some of them have failed." He shrugged and made for the access on the second floor, pulling it down and letting a stiff breeze blow through the house. Lily's voice called from kitchen. "I knew it!"

James ignored her, and Harry's laugh, as he entered the antic.

There Harry's eyes took in various crystal's seeming to pulsate with life, there were over a dozen arrayed along the outer wall of the room. He had never seen anything like it. "Does Hogwarts have something like this?"

James' eyes went wide. "Hell no! They've got something a lot more complicated, and old. I don't think even the Headmistress knows how those wards work. Well, maybe she does a little. This is pretty basic in comparison and out of fashion."

"Fashion?"

"Do you really think we need crystals to house our magic?" He shook his head. "All you had to do was cast them over the area, but this was considered chic back at the turn of the century."

"This is where your grandparents lived?" Harry looked around doubtful.

"Harry, it was a whole lot bigger when they lived here, the inside at least. I got rid of most of that rubbish when my parents died. I hated living in such an empty house." James walked over to a few boxes and sent them Harry's way. "Most of my stuff's in there, so have a blast while I work on these crystals." He sounded disgusted.

As Harry rifled through his father's things, eyes intent for anything silver, he asked. "Why not replace them?"

James laughed mockingly. "I'm good with a wand, but I don't know that much about warding a home. I suppose I could figure it out with enough time, I know your mother is starting to read up on it." He rolled his eyes. "Just another project for her."

"Project?"

"Oh yeah, since you got better, she's had a ton of things she's started. Some awareness group for your disease. A knitting club of all things. Plus doing a few renovations to the house, oh and planning our vacation this summer."

The first box yielded only rolls of parchment and smaller boxes of photographs. One in particular caught his eye and Harry found himself gazing at it. It was one of his parents, looking like they were in their seventh year. It was snowing in the photo and James and Lily were having a snowball fight that would end with them wrestling on the ground. There they paused, blinked, and slowly kissed, before Lily giggled and bounded off, resetting the photo.

"Whoa, forgot about that one." James said wistfully. "Damn those were good times. You're mother finally caved to my manly advances, though she'll tell you I kept begging her." He winked at Harry. "You can keep it if you want, might want to get a frame for it, it looks like it's in ratty shape." James passed his wand over it, ironing the wrinkles.

James went back to the crystals, soon cursing under his breath. Harry went through the final two boxes, pocketing a familiar set of mirrors, and examining a golden snitch whose enchantment had worn off. To his disappointment, there was no cloak.

Dinner that night was an animated affair, it seemed both parents were more than glad to have their son back for the holidays. With some surprise, he realized this was as new to them as it was to him. He could not have been happier, even though Lily did launch into a lecture about his safety.

He smiled. "I did my best, I just wish there would have been something easier to use to get out of that fight."

His parents showed a long look, before Lily shook her head, James agreeing. "You did your best. You don't you really have that much to worry about. Encountering something like that reaper is a hundred to one chance."

Speaking of… "Did the headmistress ever find out what it was?"

"No, she had never seen anything like it. She thought the closest it could have been was a lethifold that someone might have altered, but she said the crows discounted that theory. Hopefully, she killed it."

The conversation shifted from there to what James had been doing this year, asking if Harry had been following any of his games. Of course, Harry had! "I heard you scored seventy points in the last game against the Cannons."

James waved the compliment off. "It's the cannons. It wasn't even a game really, more like a practice. What about against Puddlemere?"

Harry grinned. "I caught that one over the WWN." He smiled. "Did you really break your arm?"

James laughed. "No, but that beater hurt like hell. I can't believe I didn't see it coming, but that's Croft for you, a damn good beater."

"Rawley with the Arrows I think is the best in the League this year."

"Rawley? No way. Addie with the Harpies, she's small but she's vicious!"

Back and forth they went before Lily cleared her throat, delight dancing in her green eyes. "I'm glad you two have something in common, but you might want to eat some dinner, too."

James and Harry shared a laugh before resuming the meal. Towards the end, as Lily was summoning desert, Harry asked her, "What's your job mum?"

"Oh, you never knew?"

"I don't remember."

"I'm a Solicitor, specifically when it comes to financial deals with politicians in the Ministry."

"Your mum keeps the crooked people in line. Don't you have emergency protocol or something?"

She frowned at her husband. "No. What I can do is ask for help from DMLE to support me if I think a deal is going to happen, or has happened. As long as I present substantial evidence, I can get their backing. The sad thing is Harry, even though this department was created to keep the Ministry clean, there are ways around it. Suspicious deals or purchases. Galleons transferred within Gringotts. There are ways around us."

James cleared his throat. "Don't be too harsh on yourself. You did put away Lestrange for a good number years, and pulled that old hag from her bench finally."

Harry looked to his mother, waiting. "The Lestrange brothers have always been close to the Dark Arts. Every time something strange would happen around them, a muggle murder, a dark artifact in their house, strange animals—you get the idea—they would get investigated, but no evidence was found."

James jumped in. "And when that old bat Winnfry, head of the Hit-Wizard Department of the DMLE, went and bought herself a choice island out in the North Sea, that raised a lot of questions, considering her family's always been dirt poor."

"Well," Lily continued, "She was close to retiring, so I thought maybe she had finally gotten sloppy. Then there was another muggle murder near the Lestrange's home. So I worked closely with Amelia Bones, Head of the DMLE, to watch the investigation. Sure enough, money changed hands via a questionable transaction, two thousand Galleons for a kid broom of all things, and the evidence disappeared."

Lily's lips grew into a smile. "Bones came in, nailed half the Department with fines until a dozen came forward with tales of abuse, threats, and so forth. The list goes on, but it nicely fingered both of the brothers, but we could only managed to convict one."

James interrupted. "Yeah, and Bellatrix was none too pleased with it, either. They were never that close a couple anyway, Lestrange only married her for her money."

At the name a cold, crazy laugh crawled through Harry's mind, bringing with it memories of a man slipping through a forbidding curtain. Harry shook himself, watching his parents eye him with concern. "I'm fine." They traded a look. "Really, I'm fine."

"If you so."

They finished dinner on that somber note, James reminding Harry of their trip to the healer for his check-up.

The rest of the holidays passed much too quickly for Harry, having spent his time adjusting again to his parent's life. He was anxious to return to Hogwarts, but felt a need to remain just one more week. Christmas had been a quiet affair, him receiving gifts from several of his friends. Neville sent him a pack of gum that made him sound like various animals. Hermione a charmed quill to spell correctly, with a note attached.

Your spelling really is atrocious.

Gabrielle had sent him some French chocolate, which he shared with his mother. She called them 'divine.' "You really must have her send you more."

Harry hoped his friends appreciated the gifts he had sent, courtesy a trip to Diaigon Alley. From his parents he received a book from his mum, detailing the goblin struggle with wizards over the centuries. "I noticed your interest in history while going through your bag."

This was met with playful indignation.

From his father, he got replacement bristles for his broom, to prepare him for the coming matches that spring. All in all, Harry was quite pleased with the haul. Though, he wished his mother had not eaten most of his chocolate.

The trip back to Hogwarts, via the Express, was much different than his first one to the school. There he had shunned all attention, rooming with a few older years he knew would ignore him. This time he found Hermione saving him a spot in the company of a black girl with dark eyes and high cheek bones.

"I'm Harry Potter," he said offering his hand.

She took it and inclined her head. "Blaise Zabini."

Harry blinked a few times, just staring. Hermione cleared her throat. Harry took a seat, pointedly not looking the young girl's way. Talk about changes.

"Hermione's been telling me a lot about you, Harry." Blaise began.

He tried not to groan, he did not want a repeat of Gabrielle. He looked to Hermione's a little too innocent smile. "What's she been saying?"

"That despite being outnumbered six to one you stood down Orion."

"Oh, yeah."

"Then managed to survive something called a reaper?"

"Yep, did that one, too"

"That's really impressive."

"I guess so, I'm just glad you didn't mention Quidditch, I get that enough from Oliver."

Hermione giggled and Blaise joined her, though not as enthusiastically. "Told ya so, you owe two sickles," Hermione said proudly.

Blaise fished the change from within her robes. "You were right." Her smile belied her dejected tone.

Harry looked from one to the other, demanding to know what was going on.

Blaise provided the answer. "She bet that if I wound you up, you'd mention Quidditch."

Harry decidedly ignored them the rest of the trip, even wishing for Gabrielle's presence. The two only laughed at his expense, and spent some of the time trying to draw him into their conversation. Harry was glad she had finally made a friend in Slytherin, sort of. Blaise might be a bad influence.

"Oh don't sulk, Harry, we were only teasing."

Harry sniffed, pointedly raising his head and staring out of the window. He was not sulking.

They arrived at Hogwarts that evening, entering the Great Hall to find a feast waiting for them. Harry took his seat and watched Hermione sit down beside Blaise along with some of the first years. Their conversation seemed to slow, giving Blaise questioning looks. Hermione for her part looked mad but determined. She said something, using her hands to point to Malfoy and his group. She then smiled while everyone laughed. From there it seemed things went smoother.

He wondered how she had made Blaise's acquaintance. By post over the holidays he supposed. During the feast, he sat with Gabrielle, relaying his mother's message. She giggled endlessly and said she would send him more the next chance she got. And for once, Harry did not mind having Lavender and Parvarti there, because he made sure to pull Gabrielle from their conversation.

That night saw him settled and ready to begin the next term, he was especially looking forward to facing off against Ravenclaw. They only had a month before the match.

The past weeks had been brutal for Harry, with constant drills every day by Oliver trying to whip his team into shape. Ravenclaw was nowhere near as good as Slytherin, only because most of the Slytherin team were older years. Harry had used the additional drills to work on a few techniques, one of which was the Wronski Feint; he was partial to that one.

In-between classes and practices, he had shown Hermione a few interesting spells. The disarming one would come in handy as well as the stunner. He taught her the cutting curse and the banishing hex. Also gave her a few pointers about conjuring cover, though he explained he had never really been that good at it himself.

For the most part, she learned the spells quickly, even pushing herself to cast them as rapidly as Harry, or trying to at least. To him they came effortlessly, thought and action melded into one motion. When the match got closer she came to him at lunch with a wolfish grin on her face.

"I got Goyle finally," she proclaimed with a haughty air. "Banished him right into the women's bathroom." She giggled. "That's when I heard someone scream. Next thing I know, he's running out of the bathroom with a commode trying to take a bite out of him."

Harry nearly snorted pumpkin juice through his nose. He wished he could have been there.

He hoped this would finally turn Hermione's fortunes around in the house of snakes. It just seemed like she had to prove herself first.

The day of the big match dawned in a brisk morning chill, rivaling the one in which Hufflepuff went against Ravenclaw. Harry stared mournfully at the stadiums, seeing Hermione waving to him. He waved back, ready to catch the snitch and get inside to get warm. The wind howled through the pitch, mocking him.

The balls were released and the players converged on them, Harry flying under, over, and by his fellow students, eyes never leaving the snitch. He was going to catch that thing as fast as he—

He blinked up at the clouds hanging in the sky, wondering who was shouting at him from so far away. He then realized that he felt rather strange. Someone came into view, he thought she looked familiar. Then the silence slowly faded and the jeers coming from the crowd reminded him where he was. He looked to his hands and saw no snitch, he heaved a sigh.

"Are you alright, son?"

Harry sat-up, almost falling back over. He shook it off and stood, searching for his broom. "Gimme back my broom and I'll be just fine." He staggered a bit, but straightened himself at the end. "By the way," he smiled, "which player hit me with a bludger?"

"That would be Trevin."

"Thanks." She handed him his broom and he took to the air, already feeling better now that he did not have to worry about things like standing. A cheer went up, but he did not bother to wave, he only had emerald eyes for the Ravenclaw beater who was getting into position as Hooch blew her whistle, warily eyeing Harry.

From the start he was thinking of only two things. He had to get the snitch. He was going to make Trevin pay. What he wanted to do was combine them somehow. That part was fuzzy, so he went about looking for the snitch. He found himself close to the ground, eyeing it, wondering what it would be like to send it at Trevin. He shook his head, thinking it better to send the young boy into it.

He shook his head again, remembering the snitch. He rose and watched his captain yelling and pointing at him. Harry looked around—

Again he was staring at the sky, this time with two people looking over him. He blinked rapidly, trying to think through the pounding in his skull. He closed his eyes, it felt better to close them. No! He had a snitch to catch!

He rose, though hands tried to stop him, he waved them off. "I can still fly," he slurred, looking for his broom. "Let me guess, Trevin?"

"Yes." Spoke a very hesitant Madam Hooch, though Oliver was beside her.

"See, he's ready!"

Harry tasted his lips; they were very dry. He felt someone put a broom in his hand, which he swung between his knees, laughed, and took off. He wobbled a bit, but he maintained his balance. There was unimportant cheering coming below, but Harry ignored that staring at the sky, thinking of how to combine the snitch and Trevin colliding with the ground. Yes, that would be grand.

It is kind of cold. Harry looked at his arms and realized he was shivering having forgot his cloak on the grass. Oh well, it was heavy.

He turned his broom about looking for the golden shiny among the players flying below. His mind wondered to the clouds and the shapes therein, ignoring the noisy man shouting at him and the booming words the people cheered to. He was not sure how long he stayed up there before the pounding in his skull grew worse and his thoughts seemed to focus. Feeling dizzy, he held his head, coming to his senses.

"Oh bloody hell, I should be in the hospital ward."

He looked to Oliver and saw him frantically trying to block the on-coming ball. Harry listened to the announcer, saying the score was sixty to eighty, in favor of Gryffindor.

Screw the score, I gotta get out of here before If I fall off my... He trailed as he saw the golden snitch flitting across the grass. He licked his lips and shivered, the golden snitch beckoning him. I catch it, then go to the ward.

He leveled his broom and shot forward, his eyes upon the tiny ball. It took seconds before others began to react and the announcer to say the Ravenclaw seeker was heading for it, too. Harry glanced up, wincing in pain at the sudden shift in sight. He was still closer, though he struggled for a second.

"—oh no, not again!"

Instinct took hold and Harry spun his broom at the last moment, the world spinning. He saw something golden flash. His hand shot out and he felt something close within it as he struck the ground and went tumbling. He staggered to his feet, fighting back his headache and feeling the blood pumping in his head as his ire grew.

That no-good louse! That bloody, mother… Every thought he had was consumed with expletives aimed at Trevin. Then he looked up, hand on head and saw the beater waving him to, smiling, mocking, daring Harry to do something.

Harry smiled, pulled out his wand and aimed it at the pitch, then flicked his point upward. The ground heaved up, a massive ball made of dirt, bedrock, and grass flying through the air to strike the shocked Ravenclaw. There was a muffled impact before he saw Trevin's body flailing towards the ground. It was quite a satisfying sight to behold.

His detentions were nearly over after two weeks of polishing the dirtiest suits of armor the castle had to offer, all without his a wand.

"A wand is a tool for great things, Mr. Potter, not for petty revenge."

"He hit me in the head with a bludger. Twice! Almost three times! Personally, I think should have sent something bigger at him, maybe the castle!" His response had gotten him a few days extra punishment.

Which was not really fair, considering he had not been in his right mind when he did that. If he had, he would have been more discreet. What made matters worse was he could never play the innocent card with Madam Hooch again.

"I knew I should've fouled you that first game, but I just didn't think a firstie would do that. I'll be watching you closely in the future."

His friends came and went to keep him company, though most grew bored. A few times Hermione charmed the rag to clean by itself, giving his red hands a break. Through Gabrielle, he learned that the Quidditch Captain, a Roger Davies, had set out from the start with the strategy to knock Harry out of the game, giving them an automatic win. This fueled Harry's imagination in thinking of creative ways to get him back. He would just have to be very discreet about it is all.

Harry stood outside a girl's restroom, idly cleaning a suit of armor; his final day of punishment. A few students gave him curious stares, by now most were familiar with his presence, if not his feat. Through Gabrielle, he had learned that people were looking forward to his next game, hoping for something just as entertaining to happen. Harry was hoping to disappoint them.

A rustling of cloth came from down the hall and Harry turned to see a dozen women rushing towards him. He smiled and turned his head away, knowing already what was to come.

Into the bathroom they rushed, going for the stalls, having suddenly come down with the urge to piss. They would relieve themselves and exit the stalls, before washing their hands and talking for a second, as girls did. Then they would turn to leave and face Roger Davies staring them from above the entrance, saying, "Oh baby, I knew you'd drop your knickers for me."

The first scream was golden, the second priceless, and the others rising in crescendo made for a harmony that Harry could listen to all day. There was a thump as the victim was pulled to the ground. He repeated the phrase, while a dozen incantations were spoken in reprisal. Roger burst from the door with an unrecognizable face as parts of his body, and parts that were not there originally, trailed behind him.

Harry died laughing as the dozen frazzled women emerged, wand tips glowing. Harry cleared his throat and went back to polishing the suit of armor, trying desperately to ignore twelve very dubious females.

Harry limped into the Great Hall where people began to snicker. He gave a pair of Slytherins a dirty look. "Laugh it up arseholes," he muttered.

He found his seat at the Gryffindor table and conjured a cushion, wishing Madam Pomfrey had given him a pain potion. After dinner he was going brew one himself. He started to eat, but heard someone sniff behind him. He recognized it as one of the women who had objected to him laughing at their expense. They could not prove he had been behind Davies' behavior, that still had not stopped them.

"How's your bum, mate?" Neville asked behind a smile.

"Same as your face; cheeky." Harry resumed his meal, hoping everyone got the hint he was in no mood for jokes; his butt hurt too much.

A familiar presence leaned over him, smiling. "Hi, Hermione."

"Looks like you don't have buns of steel, eh?" She guffawed, before placing something in front of him. A small vial with purple contents.

He smiled in relief. "Thank-you." He took the vial, unstoppered it, but her small hand stopped him.

"What?"

"You have to eat it with a full stomach."

"You're my hero." He placed it aside and began devouring food, the faster he ate the faster he could put this behind him.

"I'm just returning the favor, Harry," was her parting statement, leaving him to relish freedom from pain.

That night, finishing up a last minute potions essay in the library, Harry could appreciate better the humor the wronged girls had placed upon him, just not the length they had allowed it to happen. Roger on the other hand had become very paranoid since disappearing suddenly from the loo. Mission accomplished.

Until a graceful hand slammed the book shut in front of him. He followed the slim arm up to reveal a pretty face with silvery blonde hair and two angry blue eyes. The other slim hand held a wand, its tip pointed at his a face. For a moment, he felt the urge to do nothing but drool and bask in her beauty. Recognizing the feeling, he pushed it aside.

"You must be Fleur."

"Oui. You must be 'Arry Potter." Her accent was stronger than her sister's.

He tried to recall when he might have pissed her off, but failed. Had he stood Gabrielle up sometime? "What can I help you with?" His hand currently below the table freed his wand and directed it at her. He was not really in the mood to fight off another irate female, especially one he had not wronged.

"Help me?" She scoffed. "Roger Davies."

"Yes, he had an accident in the loo and wound up in the girl's bathroom."

Her eyes narrowed, and Harry began to see slight differences in this face to the one he knew. Lines not as sharp, lips not as full, body not as developed. Hello! It appeared his hormones had finally caught-up with his mental age. Feeling flustered he tried to concentrate on her eyes only. It worked to some degree.

Oh! "Roger's your boyfriend, right?" Great, a scorned woman. He considered casting a quick disarming spell before she got creative, but it was possible she just wanted to trade words.

"Oui, what you did was very embarrassing, for moi and he."

"And him telling Trevin to beat the shit out of me with a bludger wasn't any better?"

"Trevin did it, Roger did not. You already got Trevin back."

"And Roger already got me back."

"Non, the girls got you back."

Okay, this is going nowhere fast, and looks like the she's going to cast something. He recalled what Roger had looked liked and imagined Fleur had helped to reverse some of the damage. He cringed, hoping that is not what she had in mind for him.

"Listen, I've had a busy day—"

Her lips quirked. "Yes, the suit of armor did keep you busy."

He flushed. "Right, but I'm not in the mood to duel, I don't want another detention, and I want to finish this essay before I go to bed."

She scoffed until Harry motioned with his eyes to underneath the table. She took a cautious step back, until his wand came into few. "I see, I shouldn't underestimate you."

"I'm pretty quick with wand. Just ask Orion and his friends."

"There had been rumors…"

"You should have listened to them. Now, like I said, I don't…"

Fleur lowered her wand, eliciting a sigh of relief from Harry. "He did not deserve that treatment." It looked like she had calmed down some.

"I'm not going to argue. So long as he doesn't do something that stupid again, I'll leave him alone. Tell him Quidditch is about playing to win, not doing something underhanded to get the advantage. Now, are we done here?"

She nodded and walked away briskly, head held high. Harry wanted nothing more than to finish his essay, go to bed, and put this day behind him.

A/N:: On time this week, though I've been a little under the weather. Had to read through this twice to catch most of the bugs. I might have missed quite a few, so I apologize for that slip-up. I think the writing is decent here, a little on the plain side. The second year, what I'm working on now, was coming a bit slowly. I had hit a bad writer's block, but I think I am through that now. Hopefully there won't be any breaks between the two years. A few questions for those who wish to review. Was the humor done well enough, never really has been my strong point? Also, what did people think of Lily's job? I figured she would be pretty self-righteous, kind of like Harry, and would pursue something like that.

Well I hope every enjoyed it!

-byl, out.