A Strange Couple
A few days later in herbology, Hermione, Ginny and Luna were trying to get the berries that rested in the core of a gasurealuff plant; it grew hard bark to protect the fruit. The task was meant to be performed in pairs but no-one would take Luna and Demelza was with a Ravenclaw boy at the other end of the green house.
"Why do you think that Demelza got all nervous when we asked her who she would be taking to the dance?" asked Ginny.
"Maybe she's embarrassed because no-body's asked her," suggested Luna, "I don't think that it would be anything to get embarrassed about but I hear that it is unusual for some girls to not to have been asked to a school dance."
"Maybe it's the other way around." Said Hermione,
"What do you mean?" asked Ginny,
"Maybe she got nervous because she does have a date, and she's scared to tell us." She explained,
"Why wouldn't she tell us?" asked Luna,
"Because we would take the mickey out of her if she did." Said Ginny with a slight snigger.
"No we wouldn't.' said Hermione,
"No, and I'm sure that you wouldn't either, would you Ginny?" said Luna,
"Well," Hermione shot her a look, "Well, what I mean is, it depends who it is, doesn't it?" Ginny tried to explain herself, "Besides, we don't know the real circumstances of the situation do we?"
"Well no, but still…" Hermione began, but Professor Sprout addressed the entire class,
"A note from Professor Slughorn everyone, the full list of potion ingredients that you will need for your N.E. has now been posted on the notice boards in the common rooms." She put a pair of thick, patchy gloves on her hands, "He also reminds you that you have the rest of the remaining time until the exam to find all of the ingredients, now continue with your work!"
By the end of Herbology they had succeeded to penetrate the bark of the gasurealuff and pull out five berries, afterwards they returned to the Gryffindor common room and saw the full list of potion ingredients,
Bezoars
Billywig Stings
Cornish Pixie Antennae
Doxy Fangs
Dragonfly Wings
Dragon Scales
Fairy Eggs
Hippogriff Tail Hair
Lacewing Flies
Mistletoe Berries
Unicorn Horn
This Potion will create a highly powerful levitation potion capable of lifting a human being well off the ground, in the actual exam we shall be testing on rats, we strongly urge you NOT to produce this potion before hand. Bringing all of the correct ingredients to your exam will count for 25% of your final N.E.W.T grade.
"Can we get this stuff easily?" asked Ginny,
"Some of it," said Hermione, "Others will be potentially harder, but a lot of them can be found in the potions store cupboard so all we really need to find ourselves is doxy fangs, fairy eggs, hippogriff tail hair and unicorn horn."
"But they all seem hard to get." Said Demelza,
"We might have to find dragon scales as well; they don't often have many of those in the potion store cupboard." Hermione, Ginny and Demelza all exchanged looks and soon began running out of the portrait hole.
They were heading for the potions classroom to get the ingredients before anybody else did and, judging by all of the seventh years running down the grand staircase, they presumed that others had the same idea as them. When they made it down to the dungeons it was completely crowded with potion N.E.W.T students. They soon saw a few people squeeze of the classroom, including Professor Slughorn who cried,
"We are all out of dragon scales, billywig stings and dragonfly wings!" , and another small amount of students entered the classroom as the people who had just came out pushed past Hermione, Ginny and Demelza at the bottom of the stairs with an armload of ingredients.
"Maybe we should come back later!" yelled Demelza over the noise of the crowd, "and collect what the rest have left over."
That evening they returned to the common room with bezoars, Cornish pixie antennae, lacewing flies and mistletoe berries.
"We only have four of eleven ingredients." Said Hermione, but no need to worry-"
"No need to worry, how are we going to get dragon scales, or anything on this list to be honest." Ginny seemed very stressed and Demelza kept looking at the clock,
"I'm sure that we can get some things from Hagrid, we can visit him for tea tomorrow and ask for some things, don't worry, we have eight months to find everything, calm down." Said Hermione,
"Okay, I'm sorry." Apologized Ginny,
"Yeah, great," said Demelza, "I have to go and, um, got to, eurgh, have some private practice time on my broom, don't tell anyone because we're not meant to be out of the common rooms." She started to climb out of the portrait hole, "don't wait up!" she left the common room,
"What was that about?" asked Ginny,
"I have no idea, maybe the stress of N.E. is getting to her." suggested Hermione,
"Well we could follow her and find out, but I don't know how we're going to not be seen." Said Ginny,
"Well, we could always use the disillusionment charm." Said Hermione.
Hermione and Ginny snuck out of the common room and, with the help of the disillusionment charm, they were completely the same colour as the walls and background behind them, so people didn't generally notice them. They saw Demelza reach the bottom of the grand staircase so Hermione and Ginny ran as fast as they could to the bottom and she entered the great hall, leaving the large, arched doors open. By the time that Hermione and Ginny had entered the hall, Demelza was on the other side of it and opened the door to the trophy room. The two of them raced to the trophy room door, passed the entrance, and walked down the tin staircase to the trophy room where they saw Demelza talking to the Ravenclaw boy that she had been working with in herbology,
"What took you so long?" asked the boy,
"Sorry," replied Demelza, "I was held up by a couple of friends."
"Doesn't matter," continued the boy, "You're here now." At that moment Demelza and the boy began to kiss, Hermione and Ginny were quite shocked and ran back up into the great hall.
"Was she just…you know?" asked Hermione cautiously,
"Well, yeah, but there's nothing wrong with that." Said Ginny,
"No, no, of course not, I'm just shocked as all." It was true, Hermione didn't understand the real reason why Demelza would not want them to know about the boy, there didn't seem to be anything wrong with the boy,
"Well, that answers the question of why she was so nervous when we asked her who she was taking to the Halloween dance, sort of." Ginny seemed confused, probably for the same reason for Hermione was,
"Yes, sort of."
Ginny and Hermione waited in the Gryffindor common room for Demelza's return, and when she did turn up, she seemed very shocked,
"Um, hey guys, what are you doing up?"
"What are you doing up?" Asked Hermione,
"Um, didn't I say, I was having a, um, Quidditch practice, a personal, alone Quidditch practice." Demelza seemed scared of what she might be asked next,
"Windy is it?" asked Ginny,
"What?" Demelza now seemed genuinely confused,
"Well your hair is all messy, was it windy during your personal Quidditch practice?" Ginny gave a twitch of a smile and Demelza just twitched nervously,
"Yes, it was a rough practice, now I really should be getting to-" she tried,
"Yes." Began Hermione, Ginny finished for her,
"We hear that it's hard to fly a broom with someone else's tongue in your mouth." Demelza stopped dead,
"What are you talking about?" a bead of sweat dripped down her brow,
"Only the fact that we caught you snogging some Ravenclaw boy in the trophy room." Said Hermione.
"Okay fine, you've got me; I'm going out with Mitchell Webb." She admitted,
"That's great, who is he?" asked Ginny,
"And why did you feel you had to keep it a secret?" asked Hermione,
"He's the seeker on the Ravenclaw Quidditch team; I didn't want to tell you in case you thought I was a traitor."
"We wouldn't think that." Said Hermione,
"Yeah, as long as you don't soften up to him during a game." Said Ginny,
"Are you kidding?" laughed Demelza, "He's my boyfriend off the pitch, but on the pitch, he's an enemy." They all shared a laugh before they went to bed.
The next day they went to Hagrid's cabin to ask for some potion ingredients,
"Well I got some billywig stings, some dragon scales, some fragments of unicorn horn an' yeh can ge' the hippogriff tail hairs by snippin' a couple off o' Buckbeak." Hagrid was telling them whilst he handed them the ingredients that Hermione slipped in a flask in her beaded bag. He lead Hermione, Ginny, Demelza and Luna to Buckbeak's pen, they noticed that the thestral was still there.
"Hey Hagrid, what's that thestral still doing here?" asked Hermione as Hagrid snipped some hairs from Buckbeak's tail and handed it to Hermione,
"Tha's Clarabelle, I named 'er." Said Hagrid,
"Clarabelle the thestral?" said Ginny trying not to sound as though she was mocking it.
"And why is it still here." Asked Hermione, but it was Luna who spoke,
"She's pregnant isn't she, I can always tell." Hagrid nodded, Hermione then noticed that she was fatter than a regular thestral,
"I s the father another thestral in the forest then?" asked Ginny.
"Well, the father, yer lookin' a' 'im, its Buckbeak, 'e's a daddy." Explained Hagrid, Hermione then knew why the thestral had not yet left the pen, when Buckbeak stroked Clarabelle's neck with his beak, it confirmed it, they were in love.
"How long are thestral pregnancies, or would it be the length of a Hippogriff pregnancy?" asked Hermione.
"We should be expec'in the foul aroun' early March." Said Hagrid, "'ave yeh go' all o' the potion ingredients yeh need now?"
"We still need fairy eggs, dragonfly wings and doxy fangs." Said Hermione, "Have you got any?"
"N'ah, bu' I know were you can find them, dragonflies like to be near shallow pools, so check the fountains and the lake, and fairies and doxies can be found in some of the bushes and trees of Hogsmeade."
"Okay, bye, thanks Hagrid." Said Luna, and the four of them left leaving the strange, expecting couple, and Hagrid, behind them.