Disclaimer: This story includes characters and situations that are part of the Harry Potter universe, which is copyright J.K.Rowling, Scholastic, Warner Brothers, Bloomsbury, etc. No copyright infringement is intended and no money is being made in the production of this FANFICTION. Not many outside resources were needed this time, but I (as always) made extensive use of the Harry Potter Lexicon when writing this chapter.
Author's Note: The last chapter before Halloween, and therefore the last chapter before bigger things start happening. Hooray for that. I've just moved into college for the year so I've had about -2 hours each day to do stuff like this, but the whole orientation/registration/etcetera stuff should be over soon and once I get into the hang of actual classes you can expect more updates. Or maybe I'll find the elusive thing called a social life and these chapters will become even fewer and farther between. (Now is your cue to be glad that my dorm is famed for its antisocial qualities.) In any case, huge thanks go to all my reviewers, Slytherinbabe, Winternightfall, and Anais Lacquestar (I'm glad you liked my characters and I'm sorry you've fallen out of fandom. I've fallen out of the Peter Pan fandom for similar reasons)
Expectations of Grandeur: Chapter 14: Query, Worry, and Information
When Ginny awoke the next morning, she could see the sun through the curtains, high in the sky. She rubbed her eyes and let out a curse, realising that she'd overslept as usual, and grabbing her school robes from her trunk as she raced to the bathroom for a quick shower. She might have time to grab something to eat on her way to Defence, but she wasn't sure. A glance to the clock on the wall told her that most certainly she couldn't, so she didn't even bother going towards the Great Hall but instead raced straight to Professor Quinn's class. She arrived a few minutes early in her haste, before any of the other students, and froze in the doorway when she saw Tom and Hermione talking calmly with Professor Quinn.
She might have cleared her throat a bit louder than necessary as she made her way across the room to her customary seat, but none of them made any signs of noticing as they talked amongst themselves. "I honestly think that with the right precautions we'll be fine. Certainly we won't make any of the gross mistakes you've been talking about," Hermione said.
Tom nodded in agreement, but Professor Quinn seemed reticent. "What you need to understand," she cautioned, "is that an error like the ones I've mentioned or even something not as severe could cause the ward to implode on itself – possibly disabling nearby wards. And to disable the Apparition wards around Hogwarts could prove disastrous. I don't want to allow You-Know-Who entrance into this school for the sake of a pet project of two of my best students. There are a million other wards you could choose that aren't as difficult as this one. I suggest you choose another, Miss Granger, Mr. Marvolo. Thank you for coming to me rather than trying something that could have disastrous consequences." Professor Quinn nodded to Tom and Hermione and bid them get to their first class, and they turned to leave, not even glancing at Ginny as they approached the door.
As they left, Professor Quinn turned to Ginny and smiled. "Some of my N.E.W.T. students coming in for advice on a project," she explained, her smile widening slightly. "They have to design a ward to keep me out of the classroom for an entire class period. However long they can keep me out of the room, they can do whatever they please, but as soon as I get in, class begins in earnest."
Ginny blinked, surprised. It seemed a bit risky to allow that much class time to be wasted. She said as much, but Professor Quinn just laughed and grinned even broader than before.
"Runes are very complicated magic, Ginny. I doubt any of their runes would have worked, even if I hadn't taken precautions and charmed the classroom beforehand. No, withstanding very complicated and powerful magic, no ward will possibly last more than five minutes, and most won't ever take effect in this classroom."
Ginny frowned a bit. "Doesn't that mean that anyone could Apparate into the classroom, from outside?"
The Professor shook her head. "No, the wards the founders created to protect Hogwarts are more complicated and powerful than I could possibly conceive to take down, and I certainly wouldn't want to. But withstanding certain students," and here she glanced meaningfully towards the hallway where Tom and Hermione had left, "no one would dream of doing something as complicated as the founders."
Ginny laughed. If anyone was ambitious in their magic, it would be Tom and Hermione.
Gwen hurried into the room then, followed shortly by Elisa and Jeannette. "Ginny," Jeannette gasped, "Tom was walking down the hallway in a fury, Hermione trying to calm him down, he was coming from here, are you all right?" she gasped, visibly worried.
Elisa spoke up. "Amelia was trying to find out from them what had gone on, but he kept muttering about Professor Quinn so we suddenly thought that you might have been in here,"
Gwen, however, had seen the Professor in question, and silenced both of her friends by abruptly saying hello to Professor Quinn and taking a seat next to Ginny.
"Miss Arlia, who are you talking about? The only students in my classroom recently were Mr. Marvolo and Miss Granger."
Jeannette blushed incredibly as she slowly walked to her seat on the other side of Ginny. "It's just a nickname Ginny has for Ophicus… she says that his real name is too long. They're great friends, I think."
Professor Quinn raised one eyebrow but said nothing, turning instead to the notes on her desk. Soon Amelia had entered the classroom and hurried towards her friends, and the five girls began to whisper intently, Ginny explaining that no, nothing had happened between Ophicus and herself, and that it was simply on behalf of a project that he was so upset. But something that Professor Quinn had told them bothered her.
A malfunctioning ward could break down Hogwarts' defences for a short while. And Hermione would want to do the most impressive ward she could think of, especially with Tom to egg her on. Something like that could allow Death Eaters into the school, which would be exactly what Tom would want, wouldn't it?
Ginny gulped. She had to tell someone about this, had to get advice from a third party, but Hermione was too enmeshed in it to see straight about the ward, and Harry and Ron would immediately condemn Tom regardless of cause, and that left no one who knew the truth. She looked towards her Gryffindor friends, but she had a feeling that especially of late, Amelia was not one to be receptive to knowing that her favourite sixth year boy was really Lord Voldemort.
She wished Luna or Neville was nearby, but she had fallen apart from those friends who were once so close to her in the D.A. after the train ride. They had gotten too close to knowing, they were too knowledgeable. She had been afraid that they would find out the truth and jump to the same conclusion Harry did.
That had been stupid, she decided. Really, if anyone would take Ginny at her word and believe the craziest story imaginable, it would be Luna, even if that story involved Tom Riddle simultaneously being, and not being, Lord Voldemort. Luna would love it, and Neville would be forced to accept it. Ginny sighed, accepting the fact that for the present, there was no one she could tell about her sudden suspicions of Tom.
Fortunately, the first Hogsmeade weekend was coming up, and Ginny would probably be able to find her two friends then. Students slowly filled the classroom, and Ginny turned her attention to Professor Quinn as she began her lecture.
They were reviewing the traits of Vampires, and how to identify one, how to fight one should you need to, but mostly how to get away from one if they appeared to be angry. Ginny smiled. If she had to be distracted in Defence class, this would be the time to do so – just before their unit on identifying Werewolves.
Ginny looked forward to seeing her friends realize that Lupin, their old Defence Professor, had been a Werewolf, but wondered if without his presence they would make the connection. Of course she knew, she had figured it out when she incessantly asked her mother why he had such a strange tendency to disappear once a month. Her mother had sharply reprimanded her that she shouldn't ask such questions, or she would find out more than she wanted to know. Of course, Ginny had then thoroughly researched every possible explanation, and her conclusion was correct – her former teacher had to be a werewolf. It hadn't changed her estimation of him in the slightest, instead she had admired him more for bearing the scorn, fear, and hate of the Wizarding world without turning bitter and angry. That fear and scorn was exactly what she was afraid of should people find out about her first year's possession, and she couldn't bear the thought of it. Better the last random victim than the cause of all that terror.
She wondered if Tom felt the same way. No, he probably enjoyed the idea of people fearing him. That was what Voldemort was all about – fear. Ginny inwardly sighed.
Defence seemed to drag on, Professor Quinn quizzing the class and answers coming back with startling rapidity from Amelia, Elisa, Colin, Gwen, even Jeannette gave a few answers. Ginny alone had been silent up to this point, so she decided to tune in so as not to be seen as falling behind. Professor Quinn had just asked how to avoid an angry Vampire, to which Amelia had responded "Get into the sunlight as soon as possible, it burns their pale skin. And carry around garlic, the smell scares them away."
"Anything else?" asked Professor Quinn.
Ginny raised her hand. "I suppose you could buy him a few blood pops for reconciliation," she said with a bit of a laugh.
Professor Quinn laughed with her and nodded. "Albeit unconventional, but very true, Miss Weasley. I fear I have been a bit biased in my treatment of Vampires. Like Werewolves, which we will be discussing next, Vampires are very humanlike creatures and most of the time can be simply handled with caution and common sense. While they are not Wizards, they patronize shops and pubs just like the rest of us, especially in Romania and Transylvania, where their presence is most marked. There are now treatments to deal with their bloodlust and allow them to inhabit mostly normal society, although nothing as of yet can allow a vampire into sunlight. When dealing with the highest of Dark Beasts, you must remember that it's not a Grindylow or a Hinkypunk that you're facing. Centaurs, Hags, Vampires, Werewolves, Veela, and many other creatures are really very human in nature and should be handled with respect rather than fear. Nothing will anger a Vampire more than terror. Five points to Gryffindor, Miss Weasley, for your open-mindedness and clear thought."
Ginny smiled, a tad embarrassed, and from that moment on class sped by.
They exited the class and headed down to the Potions dungeon, Jeannette letting out a groan of disappointment. "Ugh. Speaking of Vampires…"
Amelia just sighed. "Jeannette, how many times have I told you that Snape is most certainly not a Vampire? It would be impossible for a Vampire to handle Wizarding magic well enough to even pass the O.W.Ls much less get any N.E.W.Ts or become a Hogwarts Professor. Snape is a slimy git, but not a Vampire. Besides, Vampires are pale and gaunt, not slimy and greasy with big noses."
"Maybe he's a deformed Vampire," Gwen suggested. "He certainly has the personality problems."
Ginny laughed a bit but Amelia shook her head in frustration and continued down to the dungeon. "With modern cosmetics, anyone can look like anything – you don't have to actually be a greasy old Potions Professor to look like one," Jeannette insisted. "It's a clever disguise."
But they were in the Potions room now and discussion about Snape's Vampirism had to stop. "I hope you have all studied the sections on the phases of newt eyes thoroughly, because let me warn you that that will be incredibly important for today's lesson," sneered Snape, smirking. All the Gryffindors knew that their potions would be insufficient for Snape regardless of how hard they had studied, and Ginny gulped, hoping that her studying with Tom didn't fail her here.
"Today you will be making altertness Potions," the Professor began, and Ginny let a sigh of relief. She could do that. "All the ingredients are available on my desk, as well as every variety of newt eye you could use, as well as several frog eyes and a few types of salamander eye. Your Potions will be collected at the end of class. You may begin."
Ginny raced to the front of the classroom and began collecting ingredients, throwing them into her cauldron as quickly as she could. A good alterness potion needed to be brewed for most of the class, she wasn't sure if she had enough time as it was. Dumping the materials on her desk she filled her cauldron with water and set it to boil as she chopped and diced several ingredients, adding them to the pot.
As it simmered down to the right consistency, Ginny enchanted a ladle to stir it and sat back in her chair, smiling. The potion was perfect, and she knew it. Nothing could make Snape take any points off. Jeannette, beside her, was struggling with her own potion, only now adding the crushed tea. Ginny winced; the potion wouldn't brew nearly long enough and would have vastly reduced effect.
She grabbed up the ladle and stirred a few times, noting the consistency was exemplary. She lowered the heat on her cauldron and covered it, to retain all the moisture, and began to clean her desk. It wasn't two minutes until class was over, and Snape hastily pulled open her cauldron to find a picture perfect alertness potion. He bottled it and only glared at Ginny. Down the row to Jeannette, however, he had more to say. "This potion is watery, Arlia. Not a good sign," he sneered.
Ginny felt badly for her friend, Potions was her hardest subject and she was constantly finding fault with Snape for that. It was understandable, Ginny decided. "Too bad about that one, it would have been fine with a few more minutes of boiling," she consoled her friend.
Jeannette shrugged. "Hey, I know I won't do well in that class until the Vampire stops breathing down my back and finding fault. But you, on the other hand, that was amazing."
"What?" Ginny asked. "I didn't do anything shocking, just made a decent potion."
Elisa shook her head. "You should have seen the way he was glaring at you when you raced up there to grab your ingredients; he could tell you knew his trick, that the potion would take such a long time to brew. He was hoping no Gryffindor would figure it out, I bet."
Amelia smiled slightly. "He was almost right – Ginny here's the only one who moved fast enough. I guess the rest of us were just afraid of going so close to his desk," she laughed. Ginny grinned.
"You've never been the star in Potions before, though, Ginny," Gwen commented as they walked towards the Great Hall for lunch. "What brought this on?"
"Studying," Ginny began, slowly. She wasn't sure if she wanted to credit Tom with his help, it might make her friends even more suspicious of the boy.
But Jeannette was quicker than that. "You've told me yourself that the Potions book swims before your eyes when you try to study. Who's tutoring you?"
Amelia smiled conspiratorially. It took a single glance at her face to know that she had figured it out. "So that's what he was doing talking to you in the library."
Ginny glared at Amelia. "Yes," she said, "Ophicus has agreed to tutor me in Potions."
Gwen raised one eyebrow. "How'd that come about? He's not exactly the sociable type."
Ginny shrugged. "He almost begged to be allowed to help me in Potions, so I decided that it couldn't hurt," she said with a small smile.
"He's the best in Potions in his year," Amelia whispered, amazed. "All the prefects our year want him to tutor them, but he always says that he doesn't stoop to assisting desperate fools."
Jeannette laughed at that. "Well I guess the difference is that Ginny wasn't desperate."
"In any case, you should thank him," Amelia decided. "It's a huge favour he's doing you."
Ginny just shook her head. "What, during lunch?"
"Why not?"
"Because he's surrounded by Slytherins during lunch, and Malfoy will never let him get away with it if a Gryffindor like me comes anywhere near him. It's best to stay away from him so he can say that Snape forced him into it or something, complain about me. That's probably why he's doing it," she assured her friends, "He just wants something to complain of to the other Slytherins. Or maybe to get information on Harry and so forth. No, thanking him now would be stupid," she decided.
Besides all that, she knew that talking to Tom now that she was sure he was up to something decidedly not good was, well, idiotic. She wondered if she could cancel their next tutoring session with a sigh. "Besides, it was basically a one-shot deal," she said to her friends. "I don't expect he'll help me in the future."
"What day and time?" Jeannette asked firmly.
With a sigh, Ginny admitted, "Tuesdays after dinner."
"Ginny, you're a wonderful liar, but not when you're distracted," her friend assured her as they stepped into the Great Hall. With that, everyone sat down to lunch and spread the word that Ginny Weasley had impressed Snape with a Potion, telling everyone in Gryffindor.
Ginny resolved to thank Tom at their next meeting, and to tell him that she was on to him. Perhaps this could be remedied. Perhaps it wasn't too late.
Maybe she should talk to Hermione, she thought. But with everything going on, she knew that talking to Hermione was the last thing she wanted to do. Hermione would say she was being paranoid, that she should trust Dumbledore and just forget about her first year. And that was the one thing Ginny Weasley couldn't do, forget about her first year. So she couldn't talk to Hermione.
Talking to Tom, however, was another matter. Tom was her own personal demon and she would deal with him on her own, in person.