Chapter 10
New Friends
Disclaimer: Everything in Harry Potter universe belongs to J.K. Rowling. I got nothing out of this except for enjoyment.
Inasmuch as how constricted the time that Harry and Hermione had for studying, they did not waste the time on the following day. To either of them, study was not optional.
Another fortnight had passed, Harry's knowledge of magical theory had been progressively sharpened, to the point that he didn't even need Hermione to check his work anymore. Hermione, meanwhile, didn't find this frustrating, rather, she was delighted that Harry became more independent in his study.
The classes that they were taking, in short, had become more interesting than before.
The questions that the Professors had asked in each of their lessons, were mostly answered by either Harry or Hermione, not to mention that they could answer them correctly.
After the final class on Friday, Harry and Hermione made their way to the hall for lunch, as they were eating, another girl arrived and sat down beside them. She had long, copper hair, and the colour of her eyes were rather hazel.
"Hello," she greeted. "Joyce Kennedy."
"Hello," Harry said. "Harry Potter."
"My name is Hermione Granger," Hermione said. "What year are you, Joyce?"
"I am in my fourth year," Joyce said. "What about you two?"
"Both me and Harry are in our fifth year," replied Hermione.
Joyce raised an eyebrow, but she decided to ask further after lunch.
After lunch, as Harry and Hermione arrived inside the common room, Joyce cornered him again.
"If you two are fifth year, that means you must have been transferred from another school to here," she said, "since I haven't seen either of you here in the past three years."
"That's right, we were transferred from the Wizarding Britain to here to continue our education, not only because we don't like our former magical school, but also the fact that the Wizarding world in that country was making false accusations and snide remarks about Harry over the Wizarding newspapers," Hermione said, not mentioning about Harry's parents' appearance since she didn't want Joyce to know that another copy of them were in Hogwarts.
"Imagine if I have been in that situation, I would have escaped too," Joyce said.
After dinner, the three of them went back to the common room, and they sat down.
"What snide remarks did the newspapers in the Wizarding Britain make about Harry?" Joyce asked Hermione.
"They were saying that Harry was like an arrogant, attention seeking person," Hermione replied, then she went on, and told Joyce about their fourth year, about the Tri-Wizard Tournament, and how Harry was being selected as a Tri-Wizard champion.
Once she had finished, Joyce didn't know what to say.
A moment later, she recovered.
"I know about the Tri-Wizard Tournament, but I don't really think it would take place in our school, since it is too dangerous," she said quietly.
"The Tournament was indeed dangerous," Harry said. "I was lucky that I survived it."
"So you mean that you two came here to prevent Voldemort from getting you?" she asked.
"You could say that," Hermione said. "Apparently the Minister of Magic in Britain did not believe that Voldemort was back, and they would most likely pretend that nothing had happened."
"Which means that the Wizarding Britain is in danger right now," Joyce said.
"I don't really think that the danger of Wizarding Britain is there yet," Hermione said. "The Headmaster of Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore had established a secret organisation called the Order of the Phoenix, opposing Voldemort and his supporters, known as Death Eaters."
Joyce sighed.
"Don't tell me that he is going to come and attack here," she said.
"We are perfectly safe here by the way," Harry said, and he hoped that it would comfort Joyce. "Hopefully Dumbledore will do something about Voldemort and the Death Eaters. Besides, Voldemort hadn't really attacked yet, since no one except for his followers were supposed to know that he was back, and my escape from him, plus the fact that I had told Dumbledore about this, caused the Order of the Phoenix to reform, and it had somehow delayed Voldemort from attacking on the open too soon. In other words, he's acting undercover."
Joyce glanced at Harry for a moment, and then she nodded.
"Did Dumbledore believe you?" she asked.
Harry nodded.
"So that means the Wizarding newspaper in Britain have also made snide remarks about Dumbledore," Joyce said.
"That's right," Harry said, and then Joyce stood up.
"I'll be back," she said, and then she left the common room.
Harry and Hermione glanced around the common room, and seeing that others were in conversation, they began to chat.
"It is a good thing that you didn't mention anything about my fame," Harry said.
"I know you don't like your fame," Hermione said.
"It is a good thing that you never see me as the Boy Who Lived, Hermione," Harry said quietly.
A moment later, Joyce returned, and she sat down.
"Why don't someone just kill Voldemort?" she asked.
"Voldemort cannot be killed," Harry said. "That's what Dumbledore told me at the end of my first year in Hogwarts."
Then Joyce felt that it would be better to wait, so she changed the subject.
"How are you two doing in your studies?" she asked.
"We are working as hard as we can," Harry said.
"So am I," Joyce said. "What subjects are you two taking, apart from the core subjects?"
"Arithmancy and Ancient Runes," Harry said.
"I am taking Care of Magical Creatures, as well as Divination," said Joyce. "It is no wonder that I didn't..."
She suddenly stopped.
"Are you saying that you didn't see us in your class? Well, you wouldn't see us anyway even if we had taken the subjects that you are taking, because we are in different years," Hermione said.
"I shouldn't have said that, Hermione," Joyce said.
"How do you feel about these subjects, Joyce?" Harry asked.
"Not bad at all," Joyce said.
Harry and Hermione turned to face each other for a moment.
"You know, Joyce, you are actually taking the same subjects I had taken in Hogwarts," Harry said. "Care of Magical Creatures was all right, but Divination was not that great."
"What's wrong with that subject?" Joyce asked.
"Too much guesswork," Hermione said. "I took it with him, but I left the classroom around Easter, since the teacher who was teaching this subject tends to say things that I don't believe. Even Arithmancy is better."
There was a short pause, and Joyce nodded.
"Some of my friends didn't take Divination at all, as they didn't feel like predicting the future," she said. "Some of them eventually dropped it after one year of taking it. Some students, however, felt that they could put up with it, so they stuck with it."
Then Harry and Hermione began to do their homework.
/Scene Break/
Harry and Hermione went down to dinner at five o'clock, and after they had finished, they returned to the common room.
Harry checked his watch, and he discovered that it was only twenty five minutes past five.
A moment later, more students entered the common room.
Harry and Hermione suddenly heard running noises coming from outside the common room, and they were both curious about what was going on.
"Were there any people who are troublesome in Hogwarts?" Joyce asked.
"Yes," Harry said, then he went on, and told her about the Hogwarts houses, and the Slytherins.
"And why would the Headmaster of Hogwarts want to keep a teacher like Severus Snape in school?" Joyce asked.
"I don't know," Harry replied. "All I know is that he trusted Snape."
"So now you've got another reason to not want to be in Hogwarts now," she said.
"The caretaker in Hogwarts, Argus Filch, also hated the students, and I don't know why the Headmaster wanted to keep him," Harry said. "Anyone could take the job of being a caretaker."
"So it seems better to avoid Hogwarts since there are too many problems," Joyce said. "This school would never allow Incompetent staff members."
"And this is a good thing," Harry said.
/Scene Break/
On the following morning, Harry woke up, got out of his bed and dressed himself, and then he walked down to the hall for breakfast.
After breakfast, Harry and Hermione went back to the common room, and they used another one and half hour to finish off their homework.
After that, they placed their quills and parchments back into their bags, and they walked out of the common room.
A moment later, Joyce appeared.
"Where have you two been?" she asked.
"Common room," Harry replied. "We had just finished our homework."
"Oh well," Joyce said. "Come, I want to introduce you two some more friends of mine, hopefully it won't consume too much time."
"All right," Hermione said, and she and Harry followed Joyce to the school grounds.
They walked through the hallway, and they went through the hall to the school grounds, and they saw a small squad of students sat under the tree, glancing at them.
"Joyce, finally you are here," a handsome boy with black hair said. "Who are these people behind you?"
"Harry Potter and Hermione Granger," Joyce said.
Harry and Hermione stepped forward, and sat down with him.
"My name is John Lemus," the handsome boy with black hair said. "I am a sixth year."
Harry and Hermione didn't know what to say.
"You two are only one year behind me," John said. "I suppose you are studying hard, aren't you?"
"Yes, we are," Harry said.
"Have you finished your homework yet, John?" Hermione asked.
"I finished it last night," John said, nodding. "It was a little bit exhausting since it took me a bit longer to finish, and I end up on going to bed late."
"This actually happened to me in my third year at Hogwarts, I was exhausted because I took too many subjects," Hermione said.
"How many subjects did you choose during that time?" John asked.
"All of them," Hermione said.
John gasped, and then he laughed.
"Are you kidding me, Hermione?" he asked. "How on earth would you be able to fit all of them into your timetable?"
In silence, Hermione told John about the time turner that she had used in her third year.
"Even taking three classes at one time?" John said in amazement. "This isn't new to me."
"What do you mean?" asked Hermione.
"Numerous students had chosen to take all of the optional subjects for their third year in this school," John said, "I was one of them."
"Are you still keeping the time turner now?" Harry asked.
"Not anymore," John said.
"You must have been so stressed by now, aren't you?" Hermione asked.
"That's right," John said.
"What grade did you get in your OWLs?" said Hermione.
"Two Exceeds Expectations, one Poor grade, and the rest are Outstanding grades," John answered.
"Hermione was also quite devoted to studying," Harry said, and he didn't want to ask what subject John had failed. "She always came top in Hogwarts."
Hermione blushed.
"And you would come top this year, too, Harry," she said in a whisper.
Harry smiled, then he turned to Joyce, who had not been speaking for the whole entire time.
"I was taking three subjects during my third year," Joyce said. "But I dropped Ancient Runes at the end of my third year, because I really didn't like that subject, it feels like learning another language."
Neither Harry nor Hermione said anything about this, they looked at each other, and then they turned to Joyce again.
"So how do you feel about the teachers in this school, Harry?" Joyce asked.
"All of the teachers are competent," said Harry. "I quite enjoyed the classes."
They sat down under the tree for a while, watching the birds flying past them, and they were enjoying the landscapes of the school grounds and the fine weather.
They sat there for about two hours, and then they walked back to the hall.
Harry checked his watch, and discovered that it was already past twelve o'clock, and then he went and grabbed a plate, filled it with food, arrived back at the table and sat down.
After he had eaten, he slowly stood up, and he walked back to the common room.
A moment later, Hermione arrived, and sat down next to him.
Hermione glanced around, and as soon as she made certain that no one was in the room, she turned to Harry.
"How long do you reckon it would take for the Minister of Magic in the Wizarding Britain to admit that Voldemort is back, Harry?" she asked quietly.
"Dunno, but I think it could be as long as Fudge catch sight of him," Harry replied.
/Scene Break/
Meanwhile, Sirius was chatting with Dan and Emma again, since Dan and Emma both had the day off.
"Apparently Harry and Hermione are both okay in Saint Acute," he said. "There's really no point writing back to them."
He paced up and down the living room, and then he sat down on the sofa, looking outside at the passing cars and people.
"Wish I know if Saint Acute have school holiday in Easter," he said.
"You want them to come back and celebrate Easter with us?" asked Emma.
"Yes," said Sirius.
"If the Easter holiday of Saint Acute is not within the school holiday, we will have to wait until the school holiday arrives," Dan said.
Sirius nodded.
Then Dan checked his watch.
"It's nearly twelve, I'll go and make some lunch," he said.
Then he turned to leave, as Emma said in a clear voice: "Dan, do you need me to help you?"
"Not this time, I can manage it myself, it will be something simple," he said, and then he walked out of the living room.
Sirius and Emma sat in silence, and Emma took the remote control, and turned on the television.
Sirius heard a few news about certain criminal cases, including the cases of robbery, and murder in Britain, he wondered if it had anything to do with Voldemort.
If the cases are caused by the Death Eaters, it would not be easy for the Muggles to find out about it, and they might end up on blaming someone else.
He wished that no one would attack Canada.
After thirty five minutes, Dan entered the room.
"Lunch is ready," he said.
"We are coming," Sirius said, then he and Emma stood up, and went to the dining room, and found a plate of sandwich on the dining table, and there were small plates at the front of each chair.
They sat down, and took a sandwich each, and began to eat.
After eating, Dan took the dishes out, and Sirius took out his wand, and waved it, and the breadcrumbs on the table disappeared.
Then he and Emma went back to the living room, and sat down again.
About fifteen minutes later, Dan entered the living room, and sat down.
"I have to go shopping soon," Dan said, "as I need to buy the groceries for next week."
Sirius and Emma nodded.
A moment later, Dan got up.
"Anything you want me to buy, Emma?" he asked.
Emma shook her head.
"What about you, Sirius?" asked Dan.
Sirius shook his head.
"Very well, I will be back after a few hours time," Dan said, and he walked out of the living room.
Sirius heard the door open, and then closed again a moment later, and then he knew that Dan had left the house.
Then he began to think.
He had heard James and Lily telling him about Death Eater's escape from Azkaban, including Bellatrix Lestrange's, and the fact that the Daily Prophet's blamed on him for the breakout not too long ago. It was such a bad news to him, not because he was being accused by the Daily Prophet, but because of the fact that Bellatrix Lestrange was involved in torturing Frank and Alice Longbottom into insanity, and since she had escaped, she would no doubt start to torture or even kill innocent people again.
The fact that the Dementors were out of Ministry's control was not a pleasant news to hear, and he was but certain that Voldemort would use them to kiss innocent people later on, making them worse than dead.
He didn't know how long it would take the Ministry of Magic in Britain to become convinced that Voldemort was back, and that he was innocent all along.
He considered himself lucky that he escaped without alerting the Wizarding Britain, but he didn't know when the Death Eaters that Harry had listed for Fudge would be identified and arrested.
He paced up and down the living room, and he decided to put these things out of his mind for a bit.
Dan arrived back about two hours later, and took everything he had bought from the grocery store into the house. Sirius and Emma quickly helped him to put the groceries away into the right place.
End of Chapter