Chapter 26: It Had To Happen Sometime
One of the worst things about the aftermath of the second task was that people kept hounding Josh about what had happened down in the lake. He always told them the same story: Dumbledore had put all the hostages into a bewitched sleep in Professor McGonagall's office, first assuring them that they would be quite safe, and would awake when they were back above the water. Eventually, he grew tired of retelling the tale of events over and over, and whenever someone asked again, he'd make up some excuse to get away and leave.
As they entered March, the weather became drier, but cruel winds skinned their hands and faces every time they went out onto the grounds. There were delays in the post because the owls kept being blown off course. Josh learned that Harry had received a letter from Sirius to meet him. Not caring so much, Josh decided to spend time with Blaise, Daphne, and Tracey at Hogsmeade, only so Harry could have some face time with Sirius. Honestly, Josh thought the other night in the forest was enough face time he had had with his father. They bonded and joke and talked about Josh's feelings and fears. As for Josh's wand, Daphne had had the whole time in the lake, surprising Josh who if he had known, would have grabbed it and used it at the end of the task. She had gave it back to him the next day, forgotten she had it in her pocket.
"So, why exactly were you late for the task?" Blaise asked Josh as the two, Malfoy, Tracey, and Daphne were all standing outside Snape's classroom, with other students, for their final lesson of the afternoon - double Potions – and Josh was feeling weird for being in the hallway where he had tortured Cyrus to insanity.
"I was in the forest talking to my father," Josh answered quietly, staring at the opposite wall.
"Why?" Blaise asked. Josh sighed. He didn't want Blaise to know why he was in the forest, thinking his best friend would judge him and call him insane.
"His father had sent him a note," Daphne answered for Josh. She was the only one who knew the real reason Josh went to the forest. The two had talked about it after the task, and Josh made her promise never to tell anyone what happened that night, but that still wouldn't help with Snape, who also knew the whole truth.
"He just wanted some father/son time," Josh added with a sigh.
Nott, Crabbe, and Goyle were standing in a huddle outside the classroom door with Pansy Parkinson and Millicent Bulstrode. All of them were looking at something Josh couldn't see and sniggering heartily. Pansy's pug-like face peered excitedly around Goyle's broad back at Harry, Hermione, and Ron who were finally approaching.
"There they are, there they are!" she giggled, and the knot of Slytherins broke apart. Josh saw that Pansy had a magazine in her hands - Witch Weekly. The moving picture on the front showed a curly-haired witch who was smiling toothily and pointing at a large sponge cake with her wand.
"You might find something to interest you in there, Granger!" Pansy said loudly, and she threw the magazine at Hermione, who caught it, looking startled. At that moment, the dungeon door opened, and Snape beckoned them all inside.
Josh entered the classroom, followed by his friends. He was curious, so he sat with Hermione and Neville and was joined by Blaise, not noticing Daphne's eyes watching him with a little sadness.
Once Snape had turned his back on them to write up the ingredients of today's potion on the blackboard, Hermione hastily rifled through the magazine under the desk. At last, in the center pages, Hermione found what they were looking for.
Josh, Blaise, and Neville leaned in closer. A color photograph of Josh headed a short piece entitled:
Joshua Black' Secret Heartache
A boy like no other, perhaps - yet a boy suffering all the usual pangs of adolescence, writes Rita Skeeter. Deprived of love since the tragic and startled insanity of his parents, fourteen-year-old Joshua Black thought he had found solace in his steady girlfriend at Hogwarts, Muggle-born Hermione Granger.
Little did he know that he would shortly be suffering yet another emotional blow in a life already littered with personal loss?
Miss Granger, a plain but ambitious girl, seems to have a taste for famous wizards that Josh alone cannot satisfy. Since the arrival at Hogwarts of Viktor Krum, Bulgarian Seeker and hero of the last World Quidditch Cup, Miss Granger has been toying with both boys' affections, but not just those two, but with Harry Potter as well.
Krum, who is openly smitten with the devious Miss Granger, has already invited her to visit him in Bulgaria over the summer holidays, and insists that he has "never felt this way about any other girl."
However, it might not be Miss Granger's doubtful natural charms that have captured these unfortunate boys' interest.
"She's really ugly," says Pansy Parkinson, a pretty and vivacious fourth-year student, "but she'd be well up to making a Love Potion, she's quite brainy. I think that's how she's doing it."
Love Potions are, of course, banned at Hogwarts, and no doubt Albus Dumbledore will want to investigate these claims. In the meantime, Fourth Champion Joshua Black's well-wishers must hope that, next time, he bestows his heart on a worthier candidate.
"That's her tactic!" Blaise said at Hermione as she stared down at the article. "You annoy and get in Rita Skeeter's way; she'll make you out to be some sort of - of scarlet woman!"
Hermione stopped looking astonished and snorted with laughter. "Scarlet woman?" she repeated, shaking with suppressed giggles as she looked around at Blaise.
"It's what my mum calls them," Blaise said. "A woman who has more than two lovers at the same time."
"If that's the best Rita can do, she's losing her touch," said Hermione, still giggling, as she threw Witch Weekly onto the empty chair beside her. "What a pile of old rubbish."
Hermione looked over at the Slytherins, who were all watching her and Josh closely across the room to see if they had been upset by the article. Hermione gave them a sarcastic smile and a wave, and she, Josh, Blaise, and Neville started unpacking the ingredients they would need for their Wit-Sharpening Potion.
"You know, if you did have a girlfriend, I'd suspect it would be Daphne," Blaise muttered to Josh, and once he said that, a couple of scarabs slipped out of Josh's hand, but that wasn't the only thing that happened. At the same time, Hermione had knocked over a small jar, but luckily Neville had surprising caught it before it hit the ground.
"Thanks," Hermione murmured to Neville.
Josh picked up his tail and threw it in his cauldron. "What makes you say that?" Josh quietly asked Blaise.
Blaise shrugged. "I dunno," he answered. "But whenever I see you two together, you guys look happy; like there's a special connection."
"I'm like that with every other girl," Josh replied. "Look at me and Hermione. I make her laugh and all happy, right Hermione?"
Hermione didn't answer but she did blush.
"Yeah, you make other girls feel good," Blaise said. "But you and Daphne would go great together. You can't tell me you haven't thought about asker her on a date?" Josh shrugged, not wanting to answer and wanted to focus on work. In truth, he always thought about asking Daphne out. But he wasn't sure how she felt about him. It would really hurt Josh if he did ask her and she rejected him. He just wasn't ready for that risk.
"There's something funny, though," said Hermione ten minutes later, holding her pestle suspended over her bowl of beetles. "How could Rita Skeeter have known…?"
"Known what? How you've been slipping love potions to me, Harry, and Krum?" Josh joked.
"Don't be stupid, I wouldn't do that to any of you," Hermione replied, trying not to smile while she starting to pound up her beetles again. "No, it's just… how did she know Viktor asked me to visit him over the summer?" Hermione blushed scarlet as she said this and determinedly avoided Josh's eyes.
"Seriously?" said Josh, stirring his potion.
"He asked me right after he'd pulled me out of the lake," Hermione said. "After he'd got rid of his shark's head. Madam Pomfrey gave us both blankets and then he sort of pulled me away from the judges so they wouldn't hear, and he said, if I wasn't doing anything over the summer, would I like to -"
"And what did you say?" Josh asked, looking at Hermione.
"And he did say he'd never felt the same way about anyone else," Hermione went on, going so red now that Josh could almost feel the heat coming from her, "but how could Rita Skeeter have heard him? She wasn't there… or was she? Maybe she has got an Invisibility Cloak; maybe she sneaked onto the grounds to watch the second task…"
"And what did you say?" Josh curiously repeated.
"Well, I was too busy seeing whether you were okay to-"
"Fascinating though your social life undoubtedly is Miss Granger," said an icy voice right behind them, and both of them jumped, "I must ask you not to discuss it in my class. Ten points from Gryffindor."
Snape had glided over to their desk while they were talking. The whole class was now looking around at them.
"Ah… reading magazines under the table as well?" Snape added, snatching up the copy of Witch Weekly.
"It's mine," Josh surprisingly blurted, surprising himself, Snape, and the whole class.
"Really?" Snape said as his eyes bore into Josh's. Josh nodded, thinking of why he would say that that magazine was his. "Fine," Snape said, handing Josh the magazine. Josh took it from Snape. "Don't bring it back to class ever again."
"Yes, sir," Josh replied, as him and most of the class watched in shock as Snape hadn't taken the opportunity to mock Josh and Hermione.
"But still, I think I had better separate the both of you, so you can keep your minds on your potions rather than on your tangled love lives. Black, you stay here. Miss Granger, over there, beside Miss Parkinson. Move. Now."
Hermione, blushing nervously, gathered her things and moved over next to Parkinson. Josh sighed and continued to work on his potion.
"It's funny," Blaise spoke.
"What is?" Josh asked.
"It's funny because I didn't know you were such a big fan of Witch Weekly," Blaise joked, trying not to laugh. Neville was trying not to laugh either. Josh rolled his eyes and shook his head.
The rest of the class was equally surprising as Snape had all but accused of Harry and Ron of stealing ingredients from his private storage and threatened them with a truth-telling potion. The potions ingredients, Josh noted, were ingredients for a Poly-juice potion, which was very curious to Josh. The second interesting thing was when Karkaroff interrupted the class.
There was a knock on the dungeon door.
"Enter," said Snape in his usual voice.
The class looked around as the door opened. Professor Karkaroff came in. Everyone watched him as he walked up toward Snape's desk. He was twisting his finger around his goatee and looking agitated.
"We need to talk," said Karkaroff abruptly when he had reached Snape. He seemed so determined that nobody should hear what he was saying that he was barely opening his lips; it was as though he were a rather poor ventriloquist.
"I'll talk to you after my lesson, Karkaroff," Snape muttered, but Karkaroff interrupted him.
"I want to talk now, while you can't slip off, Severus. You've been avoiding me."
"After the lesson," Snape snapped.
Under the pretext of holding up a measuring cup to see if he'd poured out enough armadillo bile, Josh watched them from his table. Karkaroff looked extremely worried, and Snape looked angry.
Karkaroff hovered behind Snape's desk for the rest of the double period. He seemed intent on preventing Snape from slipping away at the end of class. Josh left but he noticed Harry had dropped something, and took his time to retrieve what he had dropped.
Around noon on Saturday, Josh, Blaise, Tracey, and Daphne were getting ready to leave Hogwarts to Hogsmeade when they were stopped by Professor McGonagall, who was standing by the Oak doors.
"Ah, Mr. Black, Miss Greengrass, there you are," said McGonagall.
"Yeah, here we are," Josh replied, curiously looking at the transfiguration professor.
"Is there something wrong, Professor?" Daphne asked.
"Yes, I'm afraid there is," McGonagall said. "I need you both to come with me to the headmaster's office, now, if you please." At that moment, Josh and Daphne looked at one another.
"Why?" Blaise asked. "Are they in trouble?"
"I'm sorry, but that is none of your business, Zabini," McGonagall said. "Joshua, Daphne, please, come with me." Josh nodded.
"It's okay, guys," he said to Blaise and Tracey. "We'll catch up later." He said, and the couple left with McGonagall to the Headmaster's office. McGonagall told Daphne to wait outside while Josh and he went in.
They entered the office to find not only Dumbledore, but Snape, Percy, and Karkaroff as well, but Barty Crouch wasn't there either, which was very curious. Josh entered while McGonagall shut the door, also staying. "What's going on?" Josh asked, looking at every one of the adults in turn.
"Joshua, please have a seat," Dumbledore said from his desk, his eyes twinkling. Josh nodded and took the only seat in front of Dumbledore's desk, while all the adults stood.
"Okay," Josh said, settling into his chair. "So, what's going on?"
"You know exactly what's going on!" Karkaroff barked.
"Igor, please," Dumbledore spoke, holding up his hand and silencing the Durmstrang Headmaster. "Joshua," the headmaster said softly. "It has come to all out attentions that you and young Cyrus Emrys dueled the night before the second task –"
"Yeah, you do know that was like a month ago," Josh spoke.
Dumbledore nodded. "Yes, we do," he said. "We brought it up today as Cyrus was released from the Hospital Quarters of the Durmstrang Ship –"
"Wait, he was in the hospital quarters this whole time?" Josh said, and then looked at Karkaroff and back at Dumbledore. "Did you not think this information wasn't important enough for me to hear?"
"Why should you care, you put him there," Igor snapped.
"Because he's my family," Josh snapped back.
"And yet, you still put him in the hospital quarters," Igor replied. "It seems that family doesn't matter to you at all, since you go on about attacking your cousin –"
"He attacked me first!" Josh shouted.
"Wrong!" Igor said, raising his voice, stepping towards Josh. "Cyrus said you were the won who shot him with an illegal lightning curse, twice –"
Josh was about to stand up, but a hand was put on his shoulder and held him in place. Josh's head snapped up and was surprised to see that it wasn't McGonagall's hand that stopped him, it was Snape's. "If I may, headmaster," He said.
Dumbledore nodded. "Wait, if you may what?" Igor said, not understanding.
"Well, Igor," Dumbledore started. "You'll be pleased to know that Severus had witnessed the whole incident that night of the duel." Igor's eyes widened in fear. "You may tell your story, Severus."
Snape nodded. "Yes, well, on the night of the duel," He started. "I was doing my usual rounds when I heard a young woman shouting, and as I got closer, I noticed that it was Mister Emrys and Miss Greengrass in a very physical argument. I was about to intervene and when young Mister Black appeared and cursed young Mister Emrys –"
"Ah ha!" Igor blurted out. "See, Black did attack first –"
"Please let Severus finish, Igor," Dumbledore said firmly. Igor nodded and shut his mouth. "Severus, you may continue."
Snape nodded. "Young Mister Black did attack Mister Emrys, twice," he said, and when Igor was about to speak, Snape spoke louder, "But, Black only attacked Emrys to defend Miss Greengrass. He was going to physically assault a young woman, and it was lucky that Josh was there to help Miss Greengrass before anything happened. And yes, a dueled ensued – "And Josh waited for it. The most horrible news, the one he never wanted to think about. Once Snape said it, it would all be over for Josh.
"A duel ensued, and it was Cyrus who nearly killed Mister Black with a Sonic/Sound Wave Curse, but it was Josh who came out on top ending the duel with a –" Josh closed his eyes and held his breath. "- punch."
"What?!" blurted out many voices. Josh's eyes snapped opened and looked up at Snape who nodded.
"Yes," Snape said. "Cyrus was distracted and it was then that he was knocked out by a punch from young Mister Black."
"What?! NO!" Igor yelled. "There was no way a mere 14 year old boy could have knocked out a young man with one punch –"
"May I remind you that there is also no way for a mere 15 year old boy to be participating in a Tri-wizard Tournament," Snape said. "But that is how the duel ended. I witnessed it as I was there. You may ask Black and he will answer that I was there and that the duel ended in a single punch."
"Well, why don't we just ask the boy then," Igor said, and all eyes turned to Josh.
"Well, Joshua," Dumbledore said, looking into Josh's eyes. "Is what Severus said true?"
Josh stayed quiet for a moment and looked at everyone around the room as all eyes were on him. Most eyes were curious and expectant, except for Igor's which were full of anger and suspicion. Josh didn't like the man one bit, nor did he like Cyrus, so he turned back to Dumbledore and nodded.
"Yes," he said. "Everything Professor Snape said is true."
Every head nodded except Igor who clenched his fists tightly. "That girl," he said through gritted teeth. "I think we should hear her testimony."
"I don't think it's necessary," Snape said.
"Nonetheless, Severus, we should hear her side of the story, just in case," Igor replied. "Right, Headmaster Dumbledore."
"I think Igor is right," Percy spoke, "We should hear Miss Greengrass's story."
Dumbledore gave a nod. "Indeed," he said, thought it looked as he didn't want to agree with Igor or Percy. "Joshua, will you please wait outside and send in Miss Greengrass."
Josh nodded, standing up and leaving the office. He entered the small stone clearing where Daphne was sitting down on the stone floor. "You're up," Josh said, pointing at the office.
"What's going on?" Daphne asked as she stood to her feet, looking worried and nervous.
"It's fine, Daph," Josh said. "Just go in and tell them what happened."
"Tell them what happened?" Daphne asked, getting anxious.
"Just go inside," Josh said. "It's going to be okay. It's about the fight in the dungeons, just tell them what you saw, ok?" Daphne nodded, and slowly entered the office.
Josh moved over to here Daphne was sitting and sat down himself. His mind went over to night of the duel he had with Cyrus and he was amazed at how Cyrus duel, and he wondered if Daphne had not distracted him, what would have really happened to Josh. Would he have been seriously injured? But now that he thought about it. His ears and whatever injuries he sustained at the duel, he didn't remember them hurting during the second task or after. There were some many strange things going on with Josh, and he needed to figure out what's wrong with him. How come that man over the summer couldn't go through his memories, he wasn't a pro at Occlumency, and how did Josh easily deflect the Imperius curse on one try? Did Josh have a powerful mind?
But before he could divulge any longer, the office door opened, and Daphne reappeared looking nervous but relieved. Josh quickly stood to his feet. "Are you alright?" he asked.
Daphne nodded. "Yes, I'm fine," she answered, looking down. "They want you back." Josh nodded and entered the office once more. Everyone watched as he walked over and sat down once more. Josh glanced at Igor who was now over by the window, staring out it, looking angry.
"Now, what?" Josh said, looking at Dumbledore.
"Well, it turns out that it is possible that a person can be gravely injured by just one punch," Dumbledore said, smiling a little as his eyes twinkled. "Now, we brought you back to discuss your punishment as dueling in the hallways and dungeons of Hogwarts is considered rule-breaking." Josh nodded, he understood that.
"I understand," Josh said. "I deserve whatever punishment you give me."
"He deserves to be thrown from the tournament and expelled," Igor growled out, but he was ignored.
"Now, our head of house tell what punishment will be fit for you," Dumbledore said.
McGonagall stepped up next to Dumbledore. "From here to a week before the final task, you will serve night detentions with various teachers, whoever is free," McGonagall spoke. Josh nodded. "And your Hogsmeade visits are suspended until next year, and 100 points will be taken away from Gryffindor House." Josh winced. That was the most points he had lost ever in his Hogwarts career. Josh nodded. "You may go," McGonagall finished.
Josh nodded again, and began to leave the office where Igor began rambling off in anger. The office door shut when he heard Daphne's voice.
"So, what happened?" She said, appearing next to Josh.
"Just gave me my punishment," Josh said as the two began making their way down the steps of the gargoyle statue, and then entered the hallways a minute later.
"So, what was your punishment?" Daphne curiously asked.
"Well, I lost 100 points," Josh started. "My Hogsmeade visits were suspended, and I have detention every night until a week before the Final Task."
"Wow, that's horrible," Daphne said.
"Yeah, well, I deserve it," Josh replied softly. "You know I do."
"Josh," Daphne said. "Do you want to talk about it?" She asked.
"Not really," Josh answered.
"Can we?" Daphne said. "I mean, I know you probably feel ashamed for what you did, but how do you think I felt when I saw what you were doing?" Josh kept his eyes ahead, not able to look at her in the eye. "Josh, please let's talk about this," Daphne pleaded.
Josh sighed. "I don't want to," he said. "Besides, I've already talked it over with Sirius."
"But I still need to talk about it," Daphne said. "What you did was scary," she said, as they continued walking. "Josh, stop," She said, grabbing Josh's arm to get him to stop walking. Josh sighed and looked at the ground. "What you did…you can't have imagined what it was like seeing you like that," she said.
"You have no idea," Josh muttered.
"Josh," Daphne pleaded. "I was horrified when you pulled that unforgiveable, and when you I saw your face, it was like you want to do it. You looked like you were enjoying it, and it was scaring me. I could have sworn your eyes flashed red. Josh, I have to ask…did you enjoy it."
Josh looked at Daphne, his eyes wide in horror. "Do you think I enjoyed it?" he growled. Daphne cowered under his heated gaze. "Do you think I wanted to use the Cruciatus curse? I only did it because I was trying to protect you!"
"Then what took you too long to stop?" Daphne asked. "Why keep going?"
"Because he deserved it!" Josh yelled his eyes full of anger. "Did you forget what he was going to do to you!? If I wasn't there…do you know what could have happened? Cyrus is very capable of dark magic. If I hadn't shown up, he could've…he could've…"
Daphne looked down, her eyes brimming with tears. "I know," she said softly.
Josh stepped closer to Daphne and grabbed her hand. "Daphne," he said. Daphne looked up at him. "I don't know what I would do if you got hurt. What I did….I did for you. I can't let anything or anyone harm you, because I care about you too much. Daphne –"But he couldn't finish as Daphne had took a step closer to Josh and kissed him on his lips, surprising him.
A second later, Daphne stepped back, too surprised by her own actions. Josh looked into her widened eyes. "Daphne," he said, but before he could say anything else, she ran. Josh stood there, not following her, staring at the spot where she had stood. "Shite."
"Mister Black," a voice said moments later, pulling Josh out of his thoughts. Josh turned to see Snape standing next to him. "You've been standing there for a few minutes, are you alright?" the professor asked.
Josh nodded, thinking about the beautiful kiss Daphne had given. "Yeah, I'm fine," he said.
"Good," Snape said. "Come with me, we need to talk." He added and began to walk. A little dazed, Josh followed the potions professor.
Minutes later, Josh was entering Snape's office. "Sit," the Professor said, and Josh obliged, sitting in a chair. Snape moved over to a cabinet and opened it, pulling out a couple of glasses and a bottle of brandy. He moved over to his desk, placing down the glasses and pouring brandy in both. He set down the bottle and grabbed both glasses, walked over to Josh and held one glass out.
"Um, sir?" Josh said, uncertain. "I think I'm a little young." Snape didn't say anything but continued to hold out the glass, so Josh accepted it anyway. Josh pulled the glass closer and gave a sniff. He immediately backed up as the aroma was strong and overpowering.
Snape took a seat at his desk and sipped his brandy. "I know what it's like to perform a Cruciatus Curse," he said, surprising Josh. "The first time I did it was when I was your age, when I was being led by the wrong group of friends. I was always angry in school and my 'friends' told me by performing the curse, it would relieve my anger. It did, but what I didn't realize was how much I was hurting the person I was torturing. I was selfish; all I cared about was myself. Well, there was another person, but that's none of your business."
"Sir, why are you telling me this," Josh asked, setting the glass of brandy on the table.
"Josh," Snape said, sipping his brandy. "I know what it's like to succumb to your dark side. I know the good feeling of relieving your anger, and the temptation of never releasing the curse, because the more I used it, the more better it made me feel. I'm telling you that I know how it feels –"
Josh suddenly laughed and stood up to his feet. "You know how I feel?" he said. Snape didn't answer but watched and listened. "I don't think you know how I feel, professor. How I feel, to tell you the truth, I am ashamed of what I did to Cyrus. I admit that when it happened, it did felt good, but once it was over I was disgusted with myself. I scared myself and Daphne. You may know a little about how I feel, but now all of what I feel. Do you know what my boggart is, Professor Snape?" Snape shook his head.
"My boggart is me turning into Lord Voldemort himself," Josh said firmly. "And since I've seen my boggart, I believe it more and more each, because of my thoughts and actions. I can't help but think that I will become like Voldemort, and it's the only thing I fear. So, you don't know how I feel, Severus! You don't know what it's like to think that one day you'll be so horrible that you want only one thing and that is to torture and murder innocent people." Snape looked down at his glass, thinking how Josh could ever be so wrong, but he wasn't going to tell him that, not now anyways.
Josh stared down at Snape for a moment and then grabbed then glass of brandy and took a drink, nearly coughing it up. He set the glass down and the left the office not wanting to speak to Professor Snape anymore.
Monday Morning, Josh entered the Great Hall very tired and starving. He had been in Slytherin's chamber since his talk with Snape, looking up many different spells and practicing them in the Chamber of Secrets to relieve is anger.
Josh sat down next to Hermione as he heard some confused Gryffindors wondering how the had lost 100 points over night. Josh glanced up at the Slytherin table and saw that Daphne wasn't there. Which was another thing he had thought about over the weekend; the kiss she had given him, he couldn't stop thinking about it as much as the darkness inside him. It was his first kiss and it was surprising yet amazing.
"Where have you been?" Hermione asked, releasing Josh from his thoughts. He turned and looked at Hermione.
"I was in the Chamber," He answered, looking down as Ron and Harry looked up at Josh.
"Doing what?" Hermione asked.
"Wait, wait, wait," Ron said, interrupting the conversation. "What Chamber, not The Chamber of Secrets, right?"
"Well, that's the only Chamber in this Castle that I know of, so yeah," Josh said.
"Why on earth would you go there?" Harry asked. "It's like a sewer down there."
"I just go down there to relieve tension and anger," Josh said with a sigh. "If you want to go back down there anytime, I'll be happy to show you what I've found if you want," he said lazily. Ron and Harry looked at one another shrugging.
When the post owls arrived, Hermione looked up eagerly; she seemed to be expecting something.
"Percy won't've had time to answer yet," said Ron, puzzling Josh. "We only sent Hedwig yesterday."
"No, it's not that," said Hermione. "I've taken out a subscription to the Daily Prophet. I'm getting sick of finding everything out from the Slytherins."
"Hey, Hermione, I think you're in luck -" Harry added.
A grey owl was soaring down toward Hermione. "It hasn't got a newspaper, though," she said, looking disappointed. "It's -"
But to her bewilderment and the others, the grey owl landed in front of her plate, closely followed by four barn owls, a brown owl, and a tawny.
"What on earth -?" Hermione said, taking the letter from the grey owl, opening it, and starting to read. "Oh really!" she sputtered, going rather red.
"What's up?" said Ron, as the three boys looked over at her curiously.
"It's - oh how ridiculous -"
She handed the letter over at Josh, who saw that it was not handwritten, but composed from pasted letters that seemed to have been cut out of the Daily Prophet.
YOU ARE A WICKED GIRL. JOSCHA BLACK DESERVES BETTER. GO BACK WHERE YOU CAME FROM MUGGLE.
"She spelled my name wrong," Josh said, tossing the letter to Harry.
"They're all like it!" said Hermione desperately, opening one letter after another. "'Joshua Black can do much better than the likes of you… ''You deserve to be boiled in frog spawn… 'Ouch!" She shrieked and Josh hissed when something splashed against his hand.
Hermione had opened the last envelope, and yellowish-green liquid smelling strongly of petrol gushed over her hands and splashed against Josh's left hand, which began to erupt in large yellow boils.
"Undiluted bubotuber pus!" said Neville, picking up the envelope gingerly and sniffing it.
"Ow!" said Hermione, tears starting in her eyes as she tried to rub the pus off her hands with a napkin, but her fingers were now so thickly covered in painful sores that it looked as though she were wearing a pair of thick, knobbly gloves. Josh used his right hand to cover his left hand and help out Hermione.
"You guys better get up to the hospital wing," said Harry as the owls around Hermione took flight. "We'll tell Professor Sprout where you've gone…"
"Alright," Josh said, helping Hermione to her feet and the two began making their way to the Hospital Wing and bursted in. "Madam Pomfrey!" Josh shouted as Hermione sniffed and silently cried. "Madam Pomfrey, we need your help!"
A second later, Madam Pomfrey appeared and was running towards the two teens. "What is it?" She asked. "What have you two done to yourselves now?"
"Hermione got a little hate mail and a letter was filled with undiluted bubotuber pus," Josh answered as Madam Pomfrey stopped in front of the two, and examined their hands.
"Oh I see," Madam Pomfrey said, "But why didn't you take care of it, Mr. Black. We covered this in class a couple weeks ago."
"Yeah, I know," Josh said. "But we don't have the potion for the boils and I know that you do have a lot of it."
"Right you are," Madam Pomfrey answered. "But what was the first rule I told you when you started this class Mister Black."
Josh sighed. "Always have every medical supply ready in case the unexpected happens," he said. Madam Pomfrey nodded.
"Now come along," Pomfrey said, and led the two teens towards her medical potions' supply. As they waited, Pomfrey pulled out two bowls and a large clay pitcher and poured light clear blue liquid in each bowls.
The three moved over to one of the beds and Josh and Hermione sat down while Pomfrey placed two small tables in front of them and then the bowls on the tables. "There, place your hands in the bowl and they must soak for 45 minutes, and when you are done," she said, placing a small white jar on Josh's table plus some bandages. "The hands will still burn a little, so place this cream on it and cover your hands with the bandages. Young Mister Black knows what to do. And when you're done, come tell me and I'll see if you're ready to go." Josh and Hermione nodded, and placed their hands in the bowls of light blue liquid, which was very cooling.
"I forgot you had Healing Classes with Madam Pomfrey," Hermione spoke, not crying anymore.
"Where do you think I go when you have Arithmancy on Thursdays?" Josh said, "But yeah, I do, and I enjoy it, and I get hurt a lot in the Chamber. It's nice to know how to fix yourself up when you don't want the professors to know what you've been up to."
"What do you mean you get hurt a lot in the Chamber?" Hermione asked.
"Well, spells don't work for the first time," Josh answered. "And sometimes they like to backfire and cause the caster injury, but don't worry, nothing has been too lethal, just some cuts and bruises, a couple of broken bones –"
"- Broken bones?!"
"Hermione, it's fine," Josh said. "I'm fine; I know how to mend bones. It's easy really, but a little painful at first."
After 45 minutes, Josh and Hermione pulled their hands out of the bowls, which were still burning, and with Josh's uninjured right hand, he smeared cream on Hermione's hands first, which Hermione noticed were surprisingly soft. Josh then smeared cream on his left hand and bandaged then used both hands to bandage both of Hermione's hands.
"There you go, all better," Josh said, tossing the extra bandages on the table.
Hermione smiled. "You're quite the Healer," she said.
"Yeah, I'm okay," Josh replied with a tired smile, and stood up.
"Josh, are you alright?" Hermione asked, standing up to her feet.
"Yeah, I'm just tired is all," Josh answered, but Hermione looked unconvinced. "Really, Hermione, I'm fine." He added, and Hermione nodded, watching him carefully.
Minutes later, the two teens were out walking on the grounds towards Hagrid's hut.
"I on'y buried a hundred coins. Oh there y'are, Hermione, Josh!"
Josh and Hermione were walking towards the class and stopped in front of them, wondering what was going on. Josh looked at the Slytherin crowd and nodded towards Blaise and Tracey, but Daphne was looking down at the ground, ignoring him.
"Well, let's check how yeh've done!" said Hagrid. "Count yer coins! An' there's no point tryin' ter steal any, Goyle," he added, his beetle-black eyes narrowed. "It's leprechaun gold. Vanishes after a few hours."
Goyle emptied his pockets, looking extremely sulky. It turned out that Ron's niffler had been most successful, so Hagrid gave him an enormous slab of Honeydukes chocolate for a prize.
The bell rang across the grounds for lunch; the rest of the class set off back to the castle, but Josh, Harry, Ron, and Hermione stayed behind to help Hagrid put the nifflers back in their boxes.
"What yeh done ter your hands, Hermione?" said Hagrid, looking concerned.
Hermione told him about the hate mail she had received that morning, and the envelope full of bubotuber pus.
"Aaah, don worry," said Hagrid gently, looking down at her. "I got some o' those letters an all, after Rita Skeeter wrote abou me mum. 'Yeh're a monster an yeh should be put down.' 'Yer mother killed innocent people an if you had any decency you'd jump in a lake.'"
"No!" said Hermione, looking shocked.
"Yeah," said Hagrid, heaving the niffler crates over by his cabin wall. "They're jus' nutters, Hermione. Don' open 'em if yeh get any more. Chuck 'em straigh' in the fire."
"You missed a really good lesson," Harry told Josh and Hermione as they headed back toward the castle. "They're good, nifflers, aren't they, Ron?"
Ron, however, was frowning at the chocolate Hagrid had given him. He looked thoroughly put out about something.
"What's the matter?" said Harry. "Wrong flavor?"
"No," said Ron shortly. "Why didn't you tell me about the gold?"
"What gold?" said Harry.
"The gold I gave you at the Quidditch World Cup," said Ron. "The leprechaun gold I gave you for my Omnioculars. In the Top Box, Why didn't you tell me it disappeared?"
"Oh…" Harry said "I dunno… I never noticed it had gone. I was more worried about my wand, wasn't I?"
They climbed the steps into the entrance hall and went into the Great Hall for lunch.
"Must be nice," Ron said abruptly, when they had sat down and started serving themselves roast beef and Yorkshire puddings. "To have so much money you don't notice if a pocketful of Galleons goes missing."
"Listen, I had other stuff on my mind that night!" said Harry impatiently. "We all did, remember?"
"I didn't know leprechaun gold vanishes," Ron muttered. "I thought I was paying you back. You shouldn't've given me that Chudley Cannon hat for Christmas."
"Forget it, all right?" said Harry.
Ron speared a roast potato on the end of his fork, glaring at it. Then he said, "I hate being poor."
Harry, Josh, and Hermione looked at each other. Neither of them really knew what to say.
"It's rubbish," said Ron, still glaring down at his potato. "I don't blame Fred and George for trying to make some extra money. Wish I could. Wish I had a niffler."
"Well, we know what to get you next Christmas," said Hermione brightly. Then, when Ron continued to look gloomy, she said, "Come on, Ron, it could be worse. At least your fingers aren't full of pus." Hermione was having a lot of difficulty managing her knife and fork; her fingers were so stiff and a bit swollen. Josh nodded in agreement as he was trying to eat with one hand, which was better than what Hermione as doing. "I hate that Skeeter woman!" she burst out savagely. "I'll get her back for this if it's the last thing I do!"
Josh smiled a little, and looked up at the Slytherin table to see Daphne wasn't there.
Hate mail continued to arrive for Hermione over the following week, and although she followed Hagrid's advice and stopped opening it, several of her ill-wishers sent Howlers, which exploded at the Gryffindor table and shrieked insults at her for the whole Hall to hear. Even those people who didn't read Witch Weekly knew all about the supposed Josh-Harry-Krum-Hermione triangle or square now. Josh was getting sick of telling people that Hermione wasn't his girlfriend. He did hope Daphne didn't believe these lies, but he couldn't get to her, to talk. He did talk to Tracey who told him that she was embarrassed at what she did and that she didn't mean to kiss him, which bummed out Josh who wondered why she would say that.
One day, in Healing class, Josh was talking to William as they were learning to heal inner organs with a charm on small foxes.
"I just want to know how the heck that Skeeter woman is getting all this crap information," Josh wondered to William. "I mean, I haven't seen her since that my last visit to Hogsmeade."
"Maybe she's using an invisibility cloak," William suggested, petting his sleeping fox that was healed.
"But she would have been busted by Moody with his magical eye," Josh replied. "It has to be something, maybe she has an inside source, it'd make sense."
"Maybe she has the school filled with hidden microphones or cameras or something," William said.
"No, that can't be," Josh said, shaking his head. "All those substitutes for magic Muggles use - electricity, computers, and radar, and all those things - they all go haywire around Hogwarts, there's too much magic in the air. No, Rita's using magic to eavesdrop, she must be…whatever it is, and it's got to be illegal."
"You know, you probably shouldn't be worrying about this," William said. "You have enough things to worry about."
"Yeah, you're right," Josh said, sighing. "I'll just leave Hermione to it." William nodded in agreement as Josh examined his fox.
After class, Josh was walking through the second floor corridor when he ran into Daphne, literally. "Daphne!" Josh said, knocking her to the ground, and then helped her to her feet. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," She said, brushing herself off, and then began to leave.
"Daphne wait," Josh said, grabbing her arm, stopping her.
"I'm sorry, Josh, but I'm in a pretty big hurry," Daphne said, but Josh didn't let go of her.
"No," he said. "I want to talk about what happened the other day."
"Josh, please," Daphne pleaded, "I don't want to talk about it."
"Why not?"
"Because it was an accident," Daphne said heatedly, pulling away from Josh, and then began to walk away.
"But what if I don't want it to be an accident," Josh said, causing Daphne to stop in her tracks. Josh smiled a little and walked up to her. Daphne turned to Josh.
"What do you mean?" she asked, looking curiously up at Josh.
"I mean, that that kiss was the best thing that's happened to me in my entire life," Josh said, making Daphne blush and smile. Josh smiled back and grabbed Daphne's hand. "And you don't know how long I've waited for something like that to happen."
"I could guess," Daphne said, smiling. Josh leaned down towards Daphne, closed his eyes, and kissed her on her lips and she kissed back lovingly, both full of emotion and love, and neither noticing the sad brown eyes that were watching from afar, brimming with tears.
A/N: Well, there it is. Stuff and Thiiiiiiings, haha, if you get that reference, you're awesome. Has anyone seen any references in the stories? I try to put some in. Anyways, look, Daphne and Josh are starting something. And we get a small preview of being in Healing class and Josh knowing some healing spells, and a sort of heart to heart with Snape who protected Josh, but why? What do you think he did that for?