Sorry for this chapter being shorter than usual, and also taking longer to come out than usual. I'm still going through some stuff in my personal life. I'm trying to write, as it helps keep my mind off my problems, but the will isn't always there. Thanks to everyone who reviewed, and thanks to my beta, KellhistheKing
MajorChaos13: My take on The Quibbler is that it's definitely a weird magazine, that changed into a more anti-Ministry one due to Luna's influence on her father. It never lost the weirdness though.
Laern: Glad you made an account, and that you're getting some more insight on Daphne's troubles. ;) I'm happy you liked my showing some of Harry's Slytherin side, as that was exactly what I was trying to do. This is how the house qualities can be shown in a positive light. In a way it's a shame Slughorn wasn't the head of Slytherin at the beginning of Harry's Hogwarts sojourn, because he is also someone who shows the best side of the house imo.
Slytherin Potter: Glad you found the Harry/Tracey moment age appropriate. It was very hard to write, seeing as I'm on the wrong side of thirty!
AJ Granger: It's inevitable that some tropes from canon reoccur, but at least I'm glad you thought that it makes sense that Ron would act that way. And even he may grow up in the future. Stay tuned.
"If you hate the taste of wine
Why do you drink it 'til you're blind?
And if you swear that there's no truth and who cares
How come you say it like you're right?
Why are you scared to dream of God
When it's salvation that you want?
You see stars that clear have been dead for years
But the idea just lives on
In our wheels that roll around
As we move over the ground
And all day it seems we've been in between
The past and future town
We are nowhere, and it's now"
Bright Eyes, We Are Nowhere and It's Now
It wasn't long before the train arrived at Hogsmeade station, where all but the first years were to disembark, and be taken on the thestral pulled carriages to Hogwarts. Harry was very curious to witness the sorting from this different perspective. As usual, their baggage was left on the train, presumably for the house elves to collect, while they were made to go straight into the Great Hall, where they sat expectantly, waiting for the firsties to arrive.
Harry waved at Morag and nodded at Goldstein, Bones, and Diggory as they entered the Hall. Feeling particularly charitable, he even nodded at Longbottom and Granger. It was a day for merriment and festivities after all. He took his seat at the Slytherin table between Ted and Daphne, greeting everyone around. He gave Tracey a smile as she sat across from him, before blushing at the remembrance of what had happened between them at his birthday party. He had written to her, but he couldn't help but think he hadn't exactly measured up to what was expected of him.
Tracey didn't look angry, though. She returned his greeting with a smile, and seemed happy when Harry engaged in her conversation, asking how her holidays had gone since he'd last written her.
She made no reference to their shared moment, which Harry thought was both a relief, and yet somewhat disappointing. He didn't have a lot of time to dwell on that, however, because soon Professor McGonnagal came in through the front doors, leading a procession of nervous looking first years, who were looking around with various degrees of excitement.
Harry recognized Luna Lovegood and Ginny Weasley in the throng. Soon they were made to wait expectantly for the Sorting Hat's song, while the firsties gawked at the enchanted ceiling. The hat apparently had a different song every year. While vaguely interesting, Harry didn't really dwell much on it. He noticed the new face at the teachers' table, who he assumed was Gilderoy Lockart.
He was talking to Snape, who looked like he wanted to kill him. For once, Harry couldn't blame him. Even at that distance, Lockart looked intolerably smarmy.
After the usual preliminaries, the sorting finally began. Occasionally those at the table would comment when a particular firstie looked more likely to go to a certain house. These predictions were as often wrong as right, and Harry wondered just how many had been made about him when he was sorted.
A very excited boy by the name of Colin Creevey rushed to be sorted, only sitting under the hat for a few seconds before being sent to the Gryffindor table. Harry heard someone mutter that he was another 'mudblood,' and while he frowned, he reflected that from the boy's behaviour, whoever had said that was probably right in that he was a muggleborn. Creevey rapidly ran to the Gryffindor table, to their general applause.
Harry had mostly been paying attention to the crop of Slytherins. As an angry looking boy called Julius Harper was sent to his table, Harry thought they were a mixed bag. There were a few brighter looking ones, certainly. There also seemed to be more firsties in general than in his own year.
Luna Lovegood was finally called up, and Harry waved at her as she went up. "Talked to her on the train," he explained, after being given a few curious gazes by those at the table who hadn't been present in the compartment. She strode forward with the same vacant expression in her eyes that Harry knew did not denote any dimwittedness. It was more like she was staring at something very far away which only she could see.
She sat under the hat for only a few seconds. The sorting wasn't instant, but there had been longer ones already, and her prediction that she would end up in Ravenclaw was soon confirmed. It was not de rigueur to clap when someone was sorted into a different house than one's own, so Harry gave her a thumbs up instead, before returning to watch the rest of the sorting.
It was very interesting that the number of students assigned to each house more or less evened out through the course of the sorting. With a grin, Harry considered if for the more borderline cases, the Hat just assigned students to houses to even out the numbers. While he was contemplating this, the sorting almost came to an end, with only Ginny Weasley remaining. Her sorting turned out to be one of the day's longest. As the last sortee, she sure wasn't endearing herself to those present, who by now were eager to begin their meal. She looked like she was arguing vigorously with the hat, shaking her head a few times. All Weasleys seemed to be in Gryffindor. Was she somehow not Gryffindor material, and trying to get the hat to place her there to appease her family?
Harry remembered how she had acted around him, though, and a far worse possibility came into his mind. Would she, in fact, be quite at home in Gryffindor, but was trying to get the hat to place her in Slytherin because Harry was there? That would be awkward beyond measure.
Fortunately, if that was what Weasley was trying to do, she did not succeed, as the hat finally put everyone out of their misery when it shouted "GRYFFINDOR." Harry's suspicions were confirmed when the girl walked to the Gryffindor table looking disappointed and angry, despite being accosted by all her brothers when she made it down.
Harry breathed a sigh of relief that the sorting was over, though. At least this year Dumbledore didn't regale them with any randomly chosen words, and was content to let them eat after a few brief sentences of welcome.
Harry had forgotten how lavish the welcoming feast was. Not that they were ever starved at Hogwarts, but the variety of the offerings was unparallelled for the rest of the year. He helped himself to some venison, which he'd never had before, while he listened to the idle chatter of the few students at his table who were not focusing on their food. He gave Tracey a smile, looking into her eyes. He knew they needed to talk soon, but he wasn't sure he was ready yet. Still, he hoped to convey that he had been thinking of her.
Soon the meal was over, and Dumbledore rose from his seat once again. Every time he saw him do that, Harry thought he was about to keel over. Somehow, though, he always managed to get to his feet.
"And now that we are all fed and watered, I must make a few start of term announcements," he began. "First of all, please join me in welcoming Professor Gilderoy Lockhart as our new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher," he said, before beginning to clap. The ensuing applause mostly came from the female half of the student body, although Harry noted, while still clapping the bare minimum allowed by politeness, that none of the faculty, regardless of gender, seemed that enthusiastic.
"I should note that our caretaker, Argus Filch, has added a few dozen more items to his prohibited list. You are, of course, welcome to view this anytime in his office. The prohibition against using magic in the corridors remains in full force." Harry snorted. As if that was ever honoured, even in the breach.
"Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of term. Please contact either Madam Hooch or your team captain if you are interested in playing for your house team." Harry saw Daphne cast a determined glance at Marcus Flint, the troll-like captain of the Slytherin house team. She wasn't the only one, because more than a dozen others looked at him. He didn't envy him the job of disappointing so many people.
"Finally, both new arrivals and returning students would do well to remember that the Forbidden Forest is, as its name indicates, forbidden." Harry didn't really see why anyone would want to go there in the first place. It always looked rather unwelcoming. Some people liked to break rules just because they were rules. He shrugged as they were finally dismissed. While the firsties were being especially herded by the Prefects, everyone else still needed to follow them to learn the password. Still, they had a lot more freedom to move, so Harry lined up besides Tracey as the gaggle of Slytherins made their way to the dungeons.
"Hi," he said, still without a clue about what he should say, or even what he wanted to say, but knowing it would only get worse the more he put it off.
"Hi," she replied. It was very hard for Harry to tell how she was feeling. She tried to avoid his gaze, but then again that was usually the case anyway.
"I'm sorry I didn't see you on the train," Harry said softly. "I got stuck with some first years," he explained, massaging the truth a little.
"That's alright. I sat with Millicent," she replied. Harry didn't know Milicent Bullstrode that well, but she did know she was a half-blood like Tracey and himself.
"Do you want to hang out tomorrow?" he asked. He knew he needed to teach Ted the stunning spell, but he also had to get things sorted with Tracey. He did have his invisibility cloak, after all. That gave him an idea.
"When? You must want to catch up with Nott," she replied, almost like she didn't believe Harry really wanted to hang out with her.
"I can do both… if you're flexible about curfew," he said, blushing a bit. "I promise you we can avoid Filch," he added. He wouldn't get the cloak out unless it was necessary, but he was willing to do so.
Tracey blushed at that. Harry wasn't sure he wasn't blushing either. The suggestion of an illicit, post-curfew meeting had made other illicit thoughts spring up in his mind. Fortunately, after a few seconds, she nodded.
"Okay," she said, sounding pleased. Harry wondered belatedly if that was because he was breaking the rules for her. They agreed to meet still within curfew time outside the common room. They did this right on time, for they were soon at the entrance.
"The password is Salazar," the new Fifth Year prefect, Samatha Hopkirk, announced, before adding, for the benefit of the first years, that "This will change regularly, so keep your eyes out for the notice board in the common room.
Already familiar with all of this, Harry rushed past the firsties, but not without realizing that as ever, he was being subject to variegated levels of scrutiny, most of which he found unsettling. Not all the gazes were friendly either, but at least his membership of Slytherin house should have been a known fact to any incoming first years. Maybe not muggleborns, he supposed, although Harry didn't know that there were any muggleborns in Slytherin to begin with. If there were any, they probably learned very quickly to keep it quiet.
Not all of the firsties had been staring at him, anyway, Harry reflected as he settled with Daphne and Ted in the portion of the common room which last year had been occupied by second years. There was a hierarchy of spaces in the room, with those of higher years claiming the more desirable locations. Anyway, a couple of the firsties looked terrified. Maybe their sorting took them by surprise? Harry made a mental note of their faces. There were two, a blonde boy and a brown haired girl, who looked particularly distraught. Harry decided to talk to them the next day. Perhaps his own unexpected sorting could give them some hope. Of course, while Harry had had some trepidation about being in Voldemort's old house, he wasn't really that upset about being in Slytherin. He actually was happy that he'd be with Ted, who was the first friend he made on the train.
In the safety of the common room, Harry felt free to wear the Peverel crest on his ring facing outwards. He leaned leisurely on a comfortable chair, with Ted and Daphne sat beside him, and watched the firsties being lectured by Hopkirk and her male counterpart, Terrance Bole. They put in a bit more effort than Linton Heathcliff had done in his year. Of course, he was now the sixth year prefect, not that Harry saw any signs of him. That reminded him he should check up on Alex Campbell, the Ravenclaw prefect with whom Harry had teamed up to teach the Weasley twins a lesson. He'd probably be even more overworked as a seventh year now.
They stayed up and talked for a bit, but it had been a long day and they were soon heading to their beds. Their dormitory had also been upgraded, although this was somewhat notional; the only improvement seemed to be bigger beds, and the associated increase in area. They did not yet have timetables, so they didn't know what the next day had in store. Laying in bed, the curtains pulled closed around him, Harry was just happy to be back at Hogwarts. Even though he'd only been there for less than a year, it was more home than the Dursleys had ever been. He was even used to Crabbe's (or Goyle's?) snores. As nice as staying at the Greengrasses had been, this was much better, and he wouldn't mind making Hogwarts his home forever.
The next day started with the hearty breakfast Hogwarts always provided. Leaner options were available, but Harry would much rather load on breakfast and skip lunch instead. He had never quite got out of the habit of early rising that ten years at the Dursleys had laden him with, but he could tell most of his housemates were still readjusting to not being able to lie in everyday.
Soon Snape came round doling out timetables. Harry tried not to think of what he'd learned from Mrs. Greengrass during the holidays about the dour Potions teacher and his mum. He schooled his features into a quasi Poker face, but that wasn't enough to prevent the man from sneering at him.
"Try not to get in any trouble this year, Potter," he said, before making haste to get away from him. Harry rolled his eyes once Snape was safely out of sight.
"Some things never change," he said to Ted, who was having his usual simple fare of coffee and toast. They were soon on their way to Charms class, where Flitwick set them on a quick review of the previous year's most important spells.
"It's likely you'll have forgotten a fair bit after not being able to do magic during the holidays," he began. Harry, of course, knew that observance of that restriction was strictly optional among anyone who lived with an adult wizard, which really wasn't fair on the muggleborn students. Then again, he didn't really see how it could be made safe for muggleborns to practice during the holidays without anyone who knew what they were doing on hand to supervise and fix any potential damage.
Harry understood intellectually the point of teaching them things like making pineapples dance: it taught them skills which transferred to other, different spells. Still, he wondered if there weren't any more useful spells with the same advantages. He couldn't think of any reason why he'd ever want to make a pineapple dance, yet here he was repeating that exact same exercise from last year's practical exam. It wasn't anything he'd wasted time with keeping up on, so he was a bit rusty, but in the end, he managed to get his fruit to dance a happy jig with everyone else's.
"Are you going to ask him about the Duelling Club?" Daphne whispered as class was finishing. Harry nodded, packing his belongings deliberately slowly. When there was no one left in the classroom but his two friends and Flitwick, Harry slowly approached the tiny man. As soon as Harry began his move towards the professor, the latter quickly lifted his head.
"Ah, Mr. Potter, I did wonder if you had something you'd meant to ask me. And Mr. Nott and Miss Greengrass as well. I don't usually have such a crowd on the first day of the school year," he piped happily.
"Well, it's not really a question about the class, sir," he began slowly, trying to think of the best way to approach this. "I had my birthday a month ago, and Daphne here," Harry tilted his head towards her, "gave me Duelling for Dummies as a gift. I found it really interesting. It started me thinking that it would be really nice if there was a duelling tournament at Hogwarts, kind of like the Quidditch cup? I'm told there used to be a Duelling Club, but no one's taken it up recently. We know you used to be a duelling champion, Professor," Harry went on, trying to gauge Flickwick's mood. It wasn't easy, as he seemed to be perpetually cheerful. Harry didn't think he'd even seen him angry. He even managed to be upbeat while chastising a student.
"Ah, and I suppose your friends are here to support your request?" he piped, and Harry thought he could see the Professor's smile broaden through his beard. When Daphne and Ted nodded, Harry went on. "Yes, Professor. I know it's a demand on your time, but maybe there's someone you could share it with? I think loads of students would want to take part. A competition would be fantastic, but even just a club to practice would be great… There's no one else better suited to supervise this," he added, supposing a little bit of flattery wouldn't hurt.
"Ah, Mr. Potter, flattery will get you nowhere," the little man replied with a grin. Harry felt slightly disappointed that he was being that transparent. "Though I daresay it's an all too common vice in members of your house. But to answer your question, the reason the Duelling Club stopped meeting years ago was due to a lack of interest from students," he began to explain. "If you think that there will be more interest this time around, I will be glad to support your endeavour. You are right that it's a shame students don't have the opportunity to take up the sport. I would never have gone on to the professional circuit if it wasn't for trying it out during my own school days. Why, I remember reading that very book Miss Greengrass so kindly gifted you. Have you made any progress with any of the spells it discusses?" he asked. In some ways the Professor was a typical Ravenclaw, eager to discuss books and learning.
"You know we're not allowed to perform any magic over the holidays, Professor," Harry replied virtuously. Of course, he didn't actually say he had not performed any, something which he welcomed the man to read between the lines. Indeed, Flitwick beamed.
"Come now, Mr. Potter, we both know that there are more loopholes around that rule than there are feathers on a Hippogriff." Harry didn't really know what a Hippogriff was, but he hoped it was something with a lot of feathers.
"Well, hypothetically, if I had indeed explored one of those loopholes, and practised some of the spells in that book, I might have been able to successfully cast a Shield Charm," he confessed, judging the admission was likely safe to make.
"A Shield Charm? Mr. Potter, being just out of first year, that's incredibly impressive. That spell is only taught in the Fifth Year," Flitwick replied, sounding impressed but not doubtful. However impressive it might be, this told Harry the feat probably wasn't unprecedented. Still, he would settle for 'incredibly impressive' for now.
"Thank you, sir," he replied. He glanced at Daphne and Ted, not sure they wished to join him in confessing to performing technically illegal underage magic. They stayed quiet, probably out of concern for their families, although for very different reasons if Harry had to guess. Still, he didn't have that problem. Of course, he didn't say anything about the practice having been done at the Greengrasses. "It was harder than most spells I've tried," he finally added.
"Would you mind demonstrating, Mr. Potter?" Flitwick asked. "I'll attempt to hit you with a very simple Jelly-Legs Jinx," he added, raising his wand. Harry nodded, drawing his own wand out.
Although Harry knew that the Professor could have easily cast the spell non-verbally, he was grateful that he didn't do so. Hearing say the incantation gave Harry time to say "Protego," quickly generating a shield from which the Professor's jinx bounced harmlessly.
"Well, Mr. Potter, that is indeed impressive. I did not expect you'd've been able to produce a fully formed shield. I think this warrants twenty points to Slytherin," Flitwick said in his trademark tenor cheer. "And I will bring the duelling club up at this week's staff meeting. Keep your eyes out for an announcement," he beamed.
Harry smiled, glancing at Ted and Daphne, who shared his excitement. "Thank you so much, Professor," Harry replied. Being genuinely grateful, he wasn't shy about letting this gratitude show. "I really can't wait!"
"Mr. Potter, I've known my share of Slytherin students through the years. If, as I hope, the club resumes its meetings soon, I would advise you to consider carefully whether to use any of the spells you've learned in your common room. This goes for all of you," he advised. "That's all I'm going to say on this subject," he added. He seemed like he wanted to say more, but decided against it. Instead, he gave Harry a sad smile. "Your mother was one of my best students ever Mr. Potter. I know she'd be proud of your proficiency with the Shield Charm," he said finally.
This hit Harry like a ton of bricks. First it was McGonnagal with his father, now Flitwick with his mother. He knew the Professor meant well, but that didn't stop Harry from feeling bitter. Still, he didn't want to annoy the man, so he just forced a smile and bid him goodbye, thanking him again for agreeing to take up the Duelling Club.
Ted could instantly tell Harry's mood had shifted due to the mention of his mother.
"Great job, Harry," he said, trying to cheer him up. "We're still on for the Stunning Spell this evening?" he asked, as they made their way to the snooze fest that was History of Magic.
Harry nodded, trying to get over his glum mood. "Definitely," he replied. "I wish we knew any conjuration, though. It'd be easier with a mattress at hand," he added with a grin, his mood slowly lifting.
"I'm sure if any of us could do it it'd be you, Mr. Transfiguration Genius," Daphne added, beginning to clue in to Harry's mood shift.
Harry smiled wryly. "I don't think I'm that good," he replied. "Isn't Conjuration NEWT level stuff?" he asked. Ted nodded.
"I think so. It's meant to be the hardest branch of Transfiguration. But you are the best in that class in our year, if you hadn't noticed," he replied.
Harry was already half way through the Third Year Transfiguration textbook, and he'd seen no mention of Conjuration. It had to be really hard, but it almost felt as if his friends were egging him on to try it. At least it wasn't like it was a restricted subject. He wouldn't have any trouble finding books on it.
"You know, it's no wonder you were almost sorted into Ravenclaw," he replied, grinning at Ted as they walked. "You're just egging me on because you want to see some cool magic," he added, his mood lifted, just as they got to the History of Magic classroom.
Ted grinned but didn't deny it, and Harry took his seat, ready to tune out anything that Binns was saying. Even Blaise, history buff as he was, didn't give him his full attention, finding it easier to just read the textbook. Harry didn't really care much about Goblin Rebellions, so he made a habit of reading the textbook before bed, finding it better than any Sleeping Draught. He could even read it in Bathilda Bagshot's voice now that he'd met her. So he spent the whole History class reading his mother's Defence Against the Dark Arts text. He was surprised by how much he'd picked up already. He was a bit lacking when it came to dark creatures, but he figured he'd take those as they came. He was way more concerned with other humans. He may also have spent some of his time making eyes at Tracey. Now that he was seeing her again, the urge to kiss her had come back. He was even more lost than before, and began to wish he could go back on their meeting. But he'd made a commitment, and he was going to stick by it.
When class was finally over, they made their way to the Great Hall for lunch. On the way there, though, he was accosted by a small first year wearing Gryffindor colours, and bearing a muggle camera.
"Are you Harry Potter?" he asked, blushing bright red. What the? Did this mean he had yet another admirer with a crush, but this time it was a boy? "I'm Colin Creevey. Can I take a picture? Please?" he asked.
"A picture?" Harry repeated. He'd encountered a few fans over the years, but so far no one had asked him to take a picture. Daphne and Ted were trying to hold their laughter as the boy gave him a look of unbridled adoration.
"Yeah, so I can prove I met you. I know how famous you are." Harry was feeling a headache coming on, and this time he didn't think it was due to his scar. "They told me all about how you defeated…"
"Stop right there," Harry cut him off. "I'm famous because my parents were murdered. I'd really rather not be remembered of that fact on a daily basis." He met the boy's eyes. By now, Creevey was thoroughly intimidated, and looked like he was about to run away. Harry didn't want to frighten him that much, so he tried softening his expression. "I'd also rather not pose for any photos. I can't really stop you from taking a snapshot, but I'd really prefer if you didn't," he said, fingering his wand for emphasis.
"No, of course…" the boy replied. Whatever else might be said, he was definitely a Gryffindor. He took Harry's chastisement bravely. "I… I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking." He looked like he wanted to add something else, but this was clearly all he could bear, so he just ran away to the gaggle of first year Gryffindors who'd been waiting for him.
Harry turned to his friends, unsure whether he'd handled the situation in the best way possible.
"That kid's going to have nightmares for weeks," Daphne teased him. "I'm glad you don't treat all your fans like that."
"He just came out of the blue. And wanting to take a picture…" Harry rolled his eyes. Daphne was still smirking.
"I think you broke his heart. Now I'm really glad I warned you about Astoria in advance," she said, to Ted's chuckle.
"I wouldn't… That's different," Harry stammered. "And that Colin Creepy boy doesn't have a crush on me!" he added, now blushing himself.
"Oh, come on, it was obvious," Daphne replied. "What do you think Ted?" Ted hummed noncommittally. Daphne looked like she wanted to prod him, but they fortunately got to the table before this discussion could progress any further.
Most of the girls at the table were very excited at the prospect of their first class with Lockhart.
As ever, most of the boys seemed less keen. Harry tried to zone out as he ate, thinking about the Duelling Club instead. They were to have one of his least favourite classes, Double Herbology with the Ravenclaws, right after lunch. Not that there was anything wrong with Professor Sprout, the stout woman who taught the subject. He just didn't really see much use for it. It was also entirely too much like gardening. Gardening was something he had to do at the Dursleys as a chore, not something he came to magic school to do. The fact that he was gardening magical plants did little to make him feel better about the class.
Presently, they were working on some horrible plants called mandrakes. They looked like human babies, and apparently screamed like them too. In the case of the fully grown mandrake, its scream was lethal. Fortunately, Sprout was smart enough to know that putting twelve year olds in charge of such dangerous plants was a recipe for disaster. They were only working on very young exemples, whose scream could merely knock one out. To protect against this, they had to wear a pair of charmed earmuffs.
They had to partner in groups of four, and Anthony Goldstein from Ravenclaw drifted over to their table to make up the number. Harry noticed out of the corner of his eye that Morag had dragged Blaise over to partner with two other Ravenclaws whose names he couldn't remember. At least they were still getting along.
Harry introduced Ted and Anthony, as of course Daphne and himself knew him from the summer. Ted seemed very interested when he was told Anthony's father was an Unspeakable. Remembering his friend was almost sorted into Ravenclaw, Harry thought it might be the kind of job he'd enjoy. In fact, Ted and Anthony seemed to get along together quite well, even if Harry thought the latter looked quite surprised by this.
Opportunity for conversation was cut short when the earmuffs had to be deployed. They had to move the disgusting things into a plant pot filled with dragon dung compost, and tend to that mockery of a human baby with something approaching care. Harry couldn't wait to drop this class.
After they were freed from the greenhouses, Harry's mood took an upward turn, as they were due to have his favourite class, Transfiguration. Professor McGonnagal didn't waste any time in getting them to work, instructing them to turn a beetle into a button. Compared to the practical exam, this was child's play. Harry did it at once, earning him a pleased smile from the stern Scotswoman.
"Well done, Mr. Potter," she told him as soon as the transfigured button landed on his desk with a clank. "Good to see the holidays have only improved your performance. Ten points to Slytherin." Harry smiled and nodded at the professor. He and McGonnagal had not quite started on the right foot. He thought the Transfiguration mistress had been expecting him to end up in her house, and had been fairly cold to him for the first few weeks of the previous year. However, Harry's determination to overcome this, coupled with his natural ability for the subject, eventually won her over. Transfiguration had been his father's strongest subject as well, and unlike with Snape, his family resemblance worked in his favour here.
After replicating the feat a couple of times, both to confirm it was no fluke and to practice reversing the transfiguration, he turned to Tracey, who he had made a habit of sitting next to during this class, given their tutoring relationship.
"It's like I forgot everything over the Summer," she said despondently. Harry tried to put her at ease.
"It'll come back in no time," he replied. "You've done much harder things. Show me again what you're doing," he asked. Tracey complied, her wand movements producing no change in the beetle. Harry watched carefully. "What's going through your mind when you do that?"
"I'm just thinking I want it to change into a button," she replied, sounding frustrated.
"Remember you have to visualize the change," he told her. "At least that's how I do it," he replied, smiling. He took hold of her hand and guided her movements according to the instructions on the board. In the end, they were rewarded with a button. Tracey beamed at him.
"That was so helpful, Harry," she said, blushing slightly. She was still looking quite tanned from her holiday in the sun. Maybe Harry had been slightly too eager to touch her when he guided her hand. She hadn't seemed to mind, though. Daphne and Ted were giving him indulgent looks, their own work successfully completed too.
Soon that class was over and it was time for tea. They all ate quickly, mostly at Ted's behest, as he was so keen to get started on learning the Stunning Spell. They left the Great Hall with plenty of time to spare, and found the unused classroom they had used to practice the previous year was still unused. They quickly locked the door magically and set up to demonstrate.
"It's annoying that there's nowhere soft to fall into," Harry complained, looking around.
"Why doesn't whoever is getting hit with the spell just lie down on the floor beforehand?" Ted suggested. Harry almost wanted to hit himself then.
"Yeah, that would have been a good idea, wouldn't it?" he asked sheepishly. They laughed.
"Alright, I'll be the victim," Daphne offered, casting a cleaning spell on the dusty ground before laying there. "Good thing our robes are warm," she said, before turning to Harry. "Do your worst," she added with a grin.
Harry nodded and raised his wand, casting the spell as he'd learned got the best results. "Stupefy," he enunciated carefully, and a red light duly emerged from the end of his wand and hit Daphne, knocking her out cold.
"Whoa," Ted murmured, impressed at seeing it in action for the first time. Harry quickly woke Daphne back up.
"Alright, try it on me now," he said, taking Daphne's place. "Did you get all the wand movements?" Harry asked. Ted nodded.
"Yeah, but I'd read up on the spell when you told me you were learning it, and you didn't completely stick to them," he replied with a frown. "I've tried casting the spell, though obviously I couldn't tell whether it was working or not."
Harry nodded, and repeated Mr. Greengrass' explanation of the inexactness of wand movements for any particular wizard. "Try with the exact ones first, then we'll see how that works. Show me the movements without casting the spell first, though."
Ted nodded and went through the motions of casting the spell, without actually uttering the incantation or intending it to work. Harry thought he was pretty much on the money, and wondered if Ted might be one for whom the prescribed movements actually worked without modification.
"Go for it," he instructed, laying his head back against the floor. There was a red flash, and then darkness.
"Well, I guess that worked," he said as he came to. "Try again," he told Ted, who looked very proud of himself, as well as slightly surprised that he'd managed it. A few more tries, on both Harry and Daphne, showed Ted had got the hang of it.
"Wow, I can't believe you got it the first time," Daphne said, before Ted shook his head.
"It wasn't the first time, though. I tried casting it tons of times at home, and made sure I got the wand movements just right. I guess they work for me…" he shrugged, though he seemed really happy he'd succeeded. Checking his watch, Harry saw that he still had a fair amount of time left before he was due to meet Tracey, so they spent some time practising their Shield Charms and random hexes and curses. Harry still had to read the book he'd got from the dodgy bookshop in Knockturn Alley. He was really going to have to start on that soon.
Instead, they kept to their existing repertoire, but with shield charms thrown into the mix. Things got fairly chaotic, as while some spells would just stop when hitting a shield, others would bounce off and fly in random directions, potentially hitting them from the sides. They started with a free for all, but soon took turns holding a shield while the other two tried to break it. It was quite tiring, but good fun, and Harry never quite got tired of the wonder of practising magic. By the end, they were all out of breath and slightly sweaty.
"It's great to be back," Ted said, looking genuinely happy for once. Harry had never met Mr. Nott, but he was beginning to really hate the man. Ted's silence about him was deafening. Harry respected his friend's privacy, though, and let it drop.
"Yeah, it really is," he said as they approached the common room entrance. He found Tracey and gave her a smile, tilting his head towards his dorm to indicate he'd be right back. This was met with a grin on Daphne's part and an indulgent smile on Ted's, as his friends found themselves a seat. Harry wasn't sure what was going to happen, but he wanted to be prepared, so he made sure to brush his teeth and rinse, before going to fetch his invisibility cloak. Tracey was already gone by the time he'd got back to the common room, so not wanting to keep her waiting, he almost ran out. He stopped just at the threshold and he tried to make his exit suave, though. As suave as he could make it when his heart was beating loudly in his ears.
Tracey was waiting outside, and for a second looked as nervous as he was, before she noticed him and tried to look calmer, giving him a smile.
"I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long," Harry said, not sure where to begin. She shook her head.
"I just got here," she replied, giving him a shy smile. Harry looked at a couple older students making their way to the common room, and realized they should probably get moving.
"Let's go for a walk," he began. Tracey nodded and grabbed hold of his arm as they set out. Harry hadn't expected that. It reminded him of the night they kissed. She felt warm and nice by his side. He didn't even pay attention to the upperclassmens' remarks as they rounded the corner of the hallway, looking for somewhere nice to talk.
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