Chapter 16: Two of Three Twins
With the days after the Halloween excitement slipping by at an astounding rate, Harry's classes seemed to meld together. Almost to the point that he had yet to try and partner with Greengrass or Davis. Dudley told Harry he should be quicker, Piers said his inner Gryffindor was failing him, and both Lily and Hermione called him out for procrastinating. Unfortunately, Harry hadn't had as many chances to do this very thing, as the only class so far that had had partners involved was DaDA, and when Harry had looked, they had already snagged Seamus Finnegan as a partner. Of all people, Seamus was the last one that Harry pegged as being their third for the stinging hex practicals that was that day's lesson. That is, until the reliable Hogwarts Rumor mill informed him of a good enough reason.
Seamus was known as someone that liked to brag a little bit, and when inside the Gryffindor common room, the bragging usually took a noticable spike in content. The twins' friend, Lee Jordan, was one day telling all about how Alicia Spinnet and Katie Bell, two of the Gryffindor's most recent chasers for the house's quidditch team, somehow gave him the time of day enough to explore a broom closet, when the two named girls decided to send retributive glares towards Lee. Lee, in return, winked at them. When they both started his way, running was the option taken by Lee, which the end result was Lee hanging my his ankle in the corner of the room not less than 30 seconds later. Then came the story swapping of the other older years, followed by someone named Cormac McLaggen, who boasted of 'scoring' with Marietta Edgecombe. Since the subjects seemed to get more bold, and from houses other than Gryffindor, it was then Seamus's turn to boast.
"I don't think anyone got as good a bird as I did though." The twins turned their hushed conversation on the Irish first-year.
"Oh?"
"Do tell."
"Well, none of you seemed to get yourself a Slytherin, and I got the best of my year."
Dudley would have loved to hear this part, but as he was not in Gryffindor, Harry would have to be the one to tell him before he heard it from another source. Seamus continued with "It wasn't the Ice Princess, but her friend. I don't think anyone can get the Ice Princess herself."
"Tracy Davies? That friend of the Ice Princess?"
"I don't believe it"
"You're bluffing."
"No, really," he continued. "She was walking to dinner after the last class and I was coming from the other way. As I was passing her, she practically dragged me into one of the unused classrooms. Few minutes later and I walked out a happier man."
All around him were shocked faces. The thing was, that dinner Tracy DID show up later than Greengrass, and Seamus DID seem happier that dinner, but until now there was nothing to go along with that, and it showed upon the faces of the others that dots were connected and the story was soon to be in the mill. Well, not due to those close to Seamus, but to the positively enlightened faces of the two girls that had just entered through the portrait-hole. The gossip queens themselves, who Seamus couldn't see at all. After hearing this information, so to speak from the horse's mouth, a race to their dorm room was all that was seen by a few others, Harry not included.
After that incident, it took a few hours to get back to Tracy, who, according to Piers, was livid. Actually, all of Slytherin was apparently livid that a Gryffindor claimed to 'snag' a Slytherin. The next day was the fated DaDA class with the Gryffindors, and Tracy had revenge on the menu. For the entirety of the class, Harry didn't believe Seamus got to use his wand once, as a repeated barrage of stinging hexes was all that Seamus was seeing for the whole class. After that, Harry understandably didn't want to partner up with them for a DaDA class, and as luck would have it, there wasn't an option to until even now. However, today was a unique potions class, where there was to be teams of three, according to Hermione, who had that class the period before.
"Here's your chance Harry. Potions today will be groups of three."
"Huh? what do you mean Hermione?"
"You need to get into Tracy and Daphne's team."
"Daphne?" Who was Daphne, and why did it matter to get onto her team? Harry could just partner with Ron and Neville, Harry was thinking.
"As in Tracy Davis and Daphne Greengrass? Duh Harry. We've been trying to get you to get onto their team for the past week at least."
"Oh, them. Still, you didn't have to remind me so sarcastically John."
"Well regardless," Hermione continued "We had a class with them last week and I asked them about you."
"What about me?"
"We asked them in they put Seamus and You in the same category."
Ouch, Harry was thinking. "Way to make it obvious Hermione, I feel all safe and secure now."
Hermione took a second to giggle at his expression, then added "They don't, by the way. I think they wouldn't object to having you join their team. That DaDA class was revenge, they wouldn't risk a potions grade for revenge, if that's what you're thinking."
With the matter technically settled, Harry bid the duo goodbye and entered the classroom not a minute later. The previous class, DaDA, let out early as Professor Quirrel had, what he told them, 'a situation' and needed more time to prepare for the next class. Looking across the potions classroom, Harry could see Tracy eyeing the trio of Ron, Neville, and Harry with something that, to Harry, looked like curiosity. Well, maybe more like trying to figure out a puzzle.
"You will be in groups of three today, as the potion you will be working with is more than I think some of you can handle" Snape spoke with deadly clarity, looking directly at Neville, Harry, and Ron in particular.
As Hermione had warned them prior to actually getting to the dungeons, it was already agreed that everyone would try to find a group of their own, instead of staying as they were. Ron was heading towards Piers and his Slytherin partner, while Neville headed towards the only other duo other than where Harry was heading, which ended up being Lavender and Parvati.
"Do you mind if we partner up for this lesson?" Harry looked first to Tracy, who simply nodded her head, then to the now-known Daphne Greengrass, who took a moment then nodded her consent.
"The instructions are on the board, don't forget any steps."
Looking at the instructions, Harry could see why this was to be a 3-person team instead of two. Some of the steps needed to be prepared then entered into the cauldron quickly, and Harry doubted that even someone of Hermione's level of preparedness and proficiency would be able to get it done in time with just a single other person. Unexpectedly, it was not Harry who spoke first, finally breaking the silence.
"So who wants to do what?" Tracy asked them both, but mainly looking at Harry.
"I'm only okay at potions, so you can tell me what you think I'll be best at doing."
"Harry, you don't have to take one for the team, I already told Granger that we don't think of you as another Finnegan." Tracy was almost laughing now, and for some reason, it didn't bother Harry one bit.
"Potter can do the first phase of preparation, then Tracy can do the Salamander parts and the cutting, then I'll do the last phase's preparation." Hearing her voice for the first time, Harry could hear why she was known as the Ice Princess. There was a no-nonsense tone in her voice that laft Harry temporarily dumbfounded.
"Okay, then...who will do what while the other is preparing?" Harry asked them both at the same time.
"What do you think Potter? What other things need to be done?" Tracy asked him.
After looking at...Daphne...'It's weird to call her that, I think I'll stick to Greengrass' Harry thought to himself, he answered with, "Since it seems like it needs to be constantly stirred, I can do that part."
"Oh no, you don't get out of it that easily Potter." Greengrass answered almost immediately.
Harry took the time to instead look at some of the other groups that were already starting their potions. From what he could see and tell, most of them were already doing it wrong.
"You'll have to help me a little bit. I'm not as knowledgeable as you seem to be, from what I can already tell, Greengrass. I can't tell what else to do other than stirring and preparing the ingredients."
"That much is obvious, Potter" Snape just liked to get his two bits in, it seems.
Ignoring the professor for the moment, Harry turned back to his current teammates to see two different expressions. Shock was on Greengrass's face, while Tracy looked like she just won the lottery.
"See, they can be trained." Tracy was smiling still, and from her remark, Greengrass's face relaxed to the neutrality on Harry's face. Harry, for his part, assumed that because he took no offense, he just got two new acquaintances at the least, and possible new friends maybe later.
"Okay then, Potter. Since you don't seem to understand, I'll make it simple. This potion should only take twenty to twenty-three minutes to make, from the first ingredient to the end. There is 40 minutes left, which means there is roughly 13 to 15 minutes left to do the steps, prepare, and make sure it cools enough to be evaluated." Greengrass paused to make sure that Harry understood so far.
"Don't forget about the shift from first to second phase." Tracy added to Harry's growing comprehension.
"That's when we need to adjust the temperature for the next set of ingredients, right?"
"Correct, Potter. If we were to go from the first phase directly to the second, the next ingredients would make the concoction...unstable."
"To say the least" Tracy added. She seemed to like adding random half-sentences, reminiscent of the Weasley twins.
"There is no temperature change from second to final phase, but there is a period of waiting for the first set of additions to properly dissolve in order to add the rest. That is actually the majority of the final phase."
"Is that kind of like adding more water to an already-boiling pot, thinking it will just keep boiling?" At the confused expression, Harry shrugged it off then asked "Then...is it like adding pumpkin juice to water and expecting it to taste like pumpkin juice still?"
"Almost, -"
"You'll see what we mean when you see it happen." Tracy had cut off Greengrass and gotten away with it; something that Harry hadn't seen happen before.
"Then, what is the other job, if not prepping or stirring?"
"Observation and timing. There are certain things that need to be observed for the timing to be correct." As Greengrass was looking at Harry while saying this, He assumed that this was meant to be one of his jobs, but he didn't know what to look out for. Nor what to say.
"Usually, in a duo, the stirrer is the observer when not stirring. but a third person will need to take that job because more than 10 seconds after a change ruins the potion."
"It's that exact?" At their confused expressions, Harry continued "I mean, I've cooked a lot before, and when there's a change, there is like minutes where it doesn't matter as long as you don't burn it. I didn't know potions was that exact."
"I guess that makes sense. In a way, there is some leeway with beginning potions like this, but as the level of potion goes up, that leeway disappears. By sixth year, if a single second is wasted, there can be..."
"Catastrophic" Tracy added.
"Results. Hospital wing kind of results. By seventh year and as a potioneer, St. Mungo's permanent spell damage ward is more likely."
"Oh, well, Would it matter if I didn't know what to look for, or how to judge if it's going well or not?"
"In some parts."
"Then, I think I can take the stirring job in those parts, but one of you should take the stirring job when you think I can be the observer. I leave it to your expertise."
They shared a glance, then said, almost like the twins, "Okay then. Let's get started."
With Harry starting the preparation for the stuff that could be prepared now, Tracy went about setting up and getting the cauldron situated. Greengrass was doing something with some of the other ingredients. When Harry asked about it, she simply explained that a stasis charm was the same as getting the ingredients right from the ground, so whe was taking off some of the charms. Harry thought this must be some of the stuff that was in Professor Snape's extra lessons.
After about half an hour, with lots of work on all three of their parts', their potion was deemed "outstanding" by professor Snape. As there was still 13 minutes left of their class, Harry was cautious on how to start a conversation with either of them. His Gryffindor Bravery was there, but so was his life's experiences with girls who were previously unknown to him; one wrong thing said and it was all ruined.
Procrastinating to the point of getting direct glares from Piers and Ron that basically said 'ASK THEM!' to Harry, he finally decided to speak up with less than five minutes remaining. Greengrass was reading a chapter for the next lesson, while Tracy was glancing from Harry to Daphne and back with an exasperated look on her face.
"So, I know that you guys know more about potions than me, and I normally would ask Piers for help, but he's already busy enough with his extra classes."
"Your point, Potter?" Greengrass didn't look happy that her reading was interrupted.
"Well, are there any books in the library that you would recommend that would help me with some of the things you already pointed out to me?" At blank eyes, he elaborated "Such as the timing, differences, and that thing you did with knowing how to adjust the temperature? Or how some ingredients that you said were bad for each other, but good for other things?"
At first, there was nothing...then, "If you want, I can show you some text references that would help you out a little." Greengrass seemed to be raising an olive branch, and Harry was relived to take it.
"That would be immensely helpful, thank you."
"2:30, in the library."
"Don't be late." Tracy added, just before the bell rang for the end of the class.
"Leave your cauldrons where they are, there is someone that will be cleaning them for you." Looking around, Harry could see Neville's relieved face, followed by Ron's pissed off expression. It seems like teaming up with Piers didn't work out for some reason, and Harry was going to find out why. Just not right then, as Ron was waving for them to follow him towards the door.
"That bastard gave Piers detention for helping me, and then another for helping Neville, who was at the table next to mine. Piers probably saved the classroom from some kind of chaos, but that didn't matter to Snape. Told Piers that he'd be cleaning everyone's cauldrons since he seemed to want to help everyone that didn't matter." Ron was beyond pissed, and Harry could agree. He wasn't that angry at Snape, he did give him an O for his potion but it was unfair to say the least.
Since this was the last class...well, last important class anyways, and since Hermione and John wouldn't be with them in History of Magic, Harry decided to hold off explaining what happened until lunch, where they could all meet up and he could explain everything at once.
Although Harry enjoyed History class in all of his previous schools, in this school it was something that he couldn't stand. The Goblin wars are interesting, but from his previous line of questioning, via the upper years, Goblin Wars was something that was repeatedly covered in that class. Here it was not even half-way through first year, and Harry had already decided to use the time spent in History of Magic to study for other subjects, do homework, or read ahead. Hermione was still one of the only ones that payed enough attention in that class to take notes, and that was mostly because of her near-OCD level of commitment towards her education.
Finally, after finishing three different assignments, History was done with, and lunch was about to start. Meeting at the Ravenclaw table, as agreed for today's lunch, Harry could see that for the first time in a long time, he was the last of the group to be seated. With a glance at Hermione, he was finally able to tell them all that He was going to meet with Daphne and Tracy in the library at 2:30, since it was a free period for both Gryffindor and Slytherin, and try to feel out their standings from there. Since Harry was going alone, they figured that he was going to ruin it somehow, or make it awkward, so Hermione agreed that she would approach them for clarification in the near future. Most likely in their next Ravenclaw/Slytherin class.
Dudley really wanted to go to the library with Harry to meet the two Slytherin girls, but was denied. Instead, he went to the greenhouses where he accidentally saw what looked like a beardless gnome cleaning a window. At being noticed, the thing disappeared, but not before giving a small squeak and dropping their rag that they were washing the window with. Taking the rag to Hagrid, followed by getting information on a new creature that he didn't know existed, Dudley was even now wishing that he could take the now-renown Care of Magical Creatures class that was only offered from third year onwards. Instead, Dudley spent the next two hours getting story after story of Hagrid's experiences with the different creatures and races.
John was on his own little two-hour crusade in the library when he saw the two Slytherin girls leave, followed closely by Harry himself. John hardly noticed that two hours had passed, but after looking at the stacked books on one side that was mentally filed as 'read' and another smaller stack that was the unread stack, he realized that hunger was getting to him, and he didn't know what time the group would be heading to dinner.
At the entrance to the great hall, the entire group, by sheer coincidence it seemed, met each other all at once, and from every direction. Since they were going to meet at the Slytherin table for dinner, again by design, the conversation regarding the Greengrass situation was once again on hold. At this pace, Hermione didn't know when they would ever get the complete scope of the letter sent to Harry, or what any of their stances were going to end up being. It was frustrating, but still managable, especially since the assigned essays were starting to get longer and more often for their classes. However, since there was one other topic of discussion that they could not talk about near the Gryffindor table, Hermione thought it was time to breech the subject with the group once again.
"Did you get a response yet?" Hermione asked Harry suddenly.
"Hermione, quiet..." then whispered "they're right there, not two seats away."
"Oh, Harry, not that, the Remus response."
Surprise was on Harry's face, but more than that, Hermione could see that there was indeed a response. It also seemed that he had completely forgotten about it until just now.
"Uh, yeah, but I haven't read it yet."
"Oh? And it wouldn't be because you forgot, would it?" Lily hadn't spoken much, and for some reason no one in the group could figure out why.
"Yeah, I did forget. Dudley is the one that's good at remembering stuff, not-
"Like the Book."
"-me." Harry now felt like the thing that was in the back of his mind, which he had been ignoring this whole time, was right in the front, bashing his current thoughts with its' spine. "Yeah, that too...but I want to wait until the holidays to get the book back first."
"Cuz it's hard to explain?" Dudley asked, looking at Harry once again, instead of Greengrass.
"That, and because we've been busy. Too many things to remember at once." Harry no looked down, not in embarassment, but more like a really hard thinking pose.
A few minutes later, he stated "Remus first, then twins, then book."
"Twins?" Piers asked. "How do they fit into the plans?"
"Because when we talk about Remus, we have to make sure they aren't around, but they have to be around for the book. If anyone knows things about magical codes, it would be them."
"Oh, right..."
"Anyways, we can all go out to a picnic tomorrow again and we can go over the letter then. I didn't even look to see how long it was, so how about in the morning?"
"Sounds good to me. What about Piers?"
"Nah, I'm good. Because of the detentions, Professor Snape wasn't happy that I was helping Dudley and Neville, and told me I wasn't getting any more classes from him, other than the regular ones."
Hermione and John looked the most offended, and Hermione could be heard mumbling "I'm sorry" to Piers, who shrugged it off, saying that he got a good enough feel for it that he could now study on his own, and with some of the other upper years for things that he would need help with.
So, it was agreed that the next day, Saturday, they would go out for another picnic-meeting.
AN:
For those of you that picked up on it, I did indeed change the years that the original Marauders went to hogwarts. I know that cannon is 71-78, but i changed it to 69-76.
Also, i'd like to have more reviews so i know im not making a mess of things...other than 'brit-picks' ...as im not british, i know that I'll inevitably mess those up from time to time, and try to correct them as they're pointed out. *I used Euro instead of pound because Gringotts is in all the European countries, not just England.