Thursday, March 21st
"I don't think I can do this, Hermione," Ginny said.
"You're being dramatic," Hermione instantly chided.
"No, I'm not. I can't suffer through another one of these classes. They are the death of me!" she added, not bothering to keep her voice low.
Hermione just rolled her eyes with a grim smile and took out her notebook. "You might be worse than Harry," she commented. "At least he only complained after class."
"Here, Ginny," Luna interrupted from Ginny's other side. "I have a spare copy of the Quibbler."
"Thanks!" She grabbed onto her spare magazine and started to flip through its pages idly.
"Honestly," Hermione tutted. "NEWTs are only a month and a half away and Professor Binns has been doing some great review of everything we'll need to know!"
"That's great and all, Hermione, but he's just so… boring," Ginny said, pursing her lips as she couldn't think of a suitable word to describe his monotonous droning that somehow qualified as teaching.
"Fine! But don't think I'll be helping you study!" Hermione snapped.
Ginny shrugged unconcernedly.
"Personally, I think it's very gallant of you to volunteer to take notes for the three of us," Luna deadpanned.
Ginny snorted and even Hermione's lips twitched at the corners. They all knew that her threats would be in vain. If one of them wanted to study History of Magic, Hermione would more than welcome the extra people, even if it meant sharing her notes.
"Good morning class-" Binns started as he floated through the wall.
"It's mid-afternoon," Ginny commented under her breath, making her two friends snigger.
"Today we will be continuing our preparation for your upcoming OWL exams," he droned on.
"OWLs?" Hermione instantly asked under her breath. "We're NEWT students."
"As you know, OWLs are vital to your futures and will determine if you continue taking this class next year."
"We won't even be here next year," Luna said.
"Thanks for that reality check," Ginny added, collapsing her head into one hand.
"So, to help you prepare for these extremely significant exams, we will be studying some more modern events that took place just last year in the most recent wizarding war. It is unknown if these will be on your OWL exams, but it is a possibility since OWLs typically go up to the present while NEWTs do not."
Hermione rolled her eyes and shot her hand into the air.
"Yes, Miss Grant?" Binns asked, slowly turning towards her.
"Professor, we're seventh year students." He said nothing, so she clarified further. "We're preparing for our NEWT exams, not our OWLs."
He blinked and digested this new information. "Even so, we will be studying the latest war today in class even if it will not be on your exam."
Hermione's bewilderment quickly faded into indignation. "He's not going to prepare us for our exam!?"
"Of course not, Hermione. He planned to teach about this all day, so that's what he's going to do," Ginny smirked.
"Well," Hermione huffed. "I'm going to study and be productive." She flipped her notebook open to an earlier page and began to read over her prior notes.
Luna shrugged and continued reading the Quibbler. Ginny flipped the pages in her own magazine, scanning the titles and reading the captions below the accompanying pictures. When that was done, she sighed and looked around the room for something to entertain her.
Most of the other students were busy talking quietly to themselves. One pair had even brought a deck of muggle playing cards and was playing a game with their friend. A few students at the front of the class actually seemed interested in what Binns had to say and were trying to listen to his soporific voice, occasionally shaking their heads to clear themselves of the sleep that almost claimed them.
With an internal groan, Ginny sunk down so that she could hold her head in one hand and let Binns' slow and bland words wash over her with a few key phrases actually penetrating her skull.
"Some modern historians are arguing that the war began in 1995 when Harry Potter came out of the final Triwizard Task, claiming to have seen He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named reborn. Or course, this led to the rift between Albus Dumbledore and the then Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge. Fudge did not believe in what Potter said, claiming that he was attempting to destabilize the Ministry as a ploy for attention…"
Ginny turned to the clock pasted on one wall and watched the second hand tick by, making its torturously slow circle. Her eyelids began to droop and she contemplated the pros and cons of using the rest of this period to nap.
"Even if some historians argue that the start was later when muggles began disappearing, we will be studying from the point that Potter appeared from the maze to gain a greater understanding…"
Her breathing slowed and her eyelids really were too heavy to lift open again. The last thought before sleep came over her was, I really should warn Harry after class.
An hour later, Luna shook Ginny's shoulder to wake up and her eyes snapped open at the touch.
"Welcome back," Luna said lightly.
Ginny yawned and stretched her arms up over her head, watching other students wake up from their own reveries or, in some cases, naps just as class came to an end.
"You were out cold," Luna said, slipping her magazine into her book bag and reaching out for the spare she had lent to Ginny. Ginny wordlessly passed it to her.
"I don't know how you two could stay awake," Ginny replied.
"Well, I reviewed goblin rebellions and the conflicts between wizards and centaurs which are both fascinating. I think I might try and review the current standings between the magical community and centaurs this afternoon," Hermione rambled excitedly, standing from her seat at the back of the classroom and leading the way to the door. "Does anyone fancy a visit to the library with me?"
"Oh! That reminds me!" Ginny said, perking up. "I have to stop by Harry's classroom."
"What are you two up to today?" Hermione asked with a knowing grin. "Just talking or…"
"Nothing like that," Ginny said, shoving her harshly. "I just want to warn him that his fifth year students might be asking him a lot of questions tomorrow afternoon."
"Oh," Hermione said, her smirk fading away. "That's probably good. Binns did mention him quite a bit."
"You were listening to him?" Ginny asked incredulously.
Hermione shrugged. "Not really. But I noticed every time he said his name."
Ginny shook her head, then turned to Luna. "What are you doing this afternoon?"
"I have a Magizoology Club meeting in a bit," she said. "But I can come with you to the library before then if you'd like company."
"Great!" Hermione squealed. "See you tonight, Ginny!"
Ginny waved at her two friends as they disappeared into the swarm of students, all pushing through the corridors to hurry to their next destinations. She joined the current flowing to one direction and broke off down an empty corridor that Harry had shown her which leads almost straight to his classroom, so long as you remember to take the right staircase. Otherwise, you somehow end up on the wrong floor.
She successfully navigated the tricky corridor and moments later, pushed open the door to Harry's classroom.
"Hey!" she called and walked in to see him levitating desks around the class, rearranging them into neat rows.
Harry looked over his shoulder at her with a lopsided grin. "Hey."
"Had a practical lesson today, did you?" she asked.
"Yup. I'm almost done cleaning up though."
She nodded and watched as the last few desks flew across the room, following his wand, and plopped back onto the stone floor.
"So," he said with a careless hand running through his hair and turning towards her. "What's up?"
"Before I forget, you might be getting some awkward questions tomorrow from your fifth years," she said.
Harry's brow furrowed in confusion. He opened his mouth to ask for an explanation, but Ginny clarified before he could speak.
"Binns is teaching them about the war tomorrow. He thought we were his fifth year class."
Harry nodded, his expression clouding over. "Oh."
"Don't worry though. You can just tell them all to stuff it and focus on their work. And if you have the Slytherins, you can just take off points until they listen.'
Harry smirked slightly at that. "But if it's a relentless Gryffindor, I should have more patience and not take away points, right?"
"Exactly! You get it," she answered, beaming.
Harry sighed and twirled his wand around between two fingers. "Well, thanks for the warning."
"My pleasure," she said cheerily, completely ignoring his somber premonitions. "So, do you have papers to grade or lessons to plan?"
"Yes," came the reply. But, then his lips curled into a grin and he added. "But they can wait until tomorrow."
Ginny replied with an equally devious grin. "Excellent. What did you have in mind?"
"Well…," Harry began slowly and took a step to the side of the classroom, clear of all desks. He flicked his wand casually and held out his hand. "As promised…"
Suddenly, the door to his office popped open and a broomstick came bursting out and zooming over the floor towards his open palm.
"You finally got one!" she squealed and dropped her bookbag, racing towards him.
"Yeah," he confirmed and held it out for her inspection. The handle was a smooth wood, the color of bronze, with birch and hazel twigs neatly trimmed coming out the back. She took it carefully in her hands and turned it over in her hands, running one hand over the glazed wood in awe.
"It's so beautiful!" she said, her voice hushed. "A firebolt, right?"
"Yeah. Brand new. I just got it this past weekend," he said.
"Well, you'll need to break it in then if it's brand new," she said, a challenge hiding behind the glint in her eye.
"I figured you might say that."
"To the Quidditch pitch?"
"To the Quidditch pitch."
And with that, Ginny unceremoniously flung her book bag from the floor and onto the nearest table so it was somewhat out of the way and led the way out, only pausing for Harry to lock the door behind them. They walked down flights of stairs, across the castle, courtyard, and grassy hills with taunts flying between the two of them. Ginny felt the need to continuously remind Harry how out of practice he is while Harry scolded Ginny for being too cocky. By the time Ginny had retrieved her own broomstick, dropped her school robe onto the locker room bench, and Harry dropped his dress robes next to hers, both were brimming with sheer determination to win, but neither with the audacity to believe that the other would go down without a fight.
"Race you around the pitch?" Ginny asked, pulling her hair back into a braid running down her back.
"Around the pitch?" Harry scoffed. "Oh no. To really break in this firebolt, we need a longer race than that!"
Ginny's smile widened at that. "Okay, fine. What were you thinking?"
"Start at the far end of the pitch, then to the Whomping Willow, around the Divination Tower and back."
"You're on," she said, already striding over to the far hoops of the pitch.
Harry swung his leg over his broomstick and kicked off the ground, soaring until he reached the height of the middle hoop with Ginny soon copying him.
"Ready?" Harry asked, his unkempt hair being blown about in the slight breeze.
"Ready to win, more like," Ginny responded instantly.
"It's cute that you think that," Harry taunted back and leaned forward to grip his broomstick between two hands.
"Aww, you called me cute," Ginny said in a teasing voice.
Harry rolled his eyes. "Adorable. On three?"
"Three!" Ginny shouted and darted forward, not waiting to see Harry use his firebolt's acceleration to his advantage.
"Cheater!" came Harry's call, softened slightly in the wind from behind her.
"You said on three!" Ginny shouted back, not bothering to turn over her shoulder and risk losing her concentration.
The grass flew by under them, creating a constant blur of green. Even though Harry's broom was more up-to-date and had some of the best manufacturers, Ginny used her older broomstick like it was an extension of herself. She remained flat over the handle, turning with only the slightest movement.
The thick trunk of the willow soon came into sight, just past the North Tower with the edge of the forest coming near it. Ginny was still slightly ahead of Harry, but he closed the gap with every passing second. She rolled to the left in order to skate widely around the Willow's perimeters to escape its thrashing limbs. Without even having to think about it, Harry followed suit, but chose a path just inside her own arc, giving him less distance to travel but also putting him in harm's way of the merciless boughs.
The two were now neck-and-neck, and Ginny saw him out of the corner of her eye. She glanced at him, worry dawning on her determined face as she saw how close he was to the tree.
The Willow came alive the moment they came into its vicinity. The heavy branches crashed into each other, sending leaves cascading to the ground and joining the already large pile that surrounded its base. They bent towards Harry, chasing after his broom, intent on smacking him to the Earth.
Harry barrel-rolled around one swinging branch and dipped below another. He swerved in and out of their paths, diving one second before pulling up and curving away at the next. A twig whipped at the bottom of his shoe and another scratched his cheek and arms, but he didn't notice. The threatening boughs swung like bats at his every turn and he squinted to maintain his concentration. Before long, he made it around the Whomping Willow and was in the clear. He soared towards the castle walls, keeping the tip of the Divination Tower in his sights and glanced back at Ginny who was just now finishing her curve around the tree.
"You're an idiot, Potter!" she shouted at him.
"An idiot that's beating you!" he shot back with a grin.
He passed straight over the high walls and castle ceiling, leaving the dull gray stone in a streak behind him. Suddenly, the gray gave way to a tan stone floor of the central quad where other students milled about, some with textbooks strewn about them and others lazing about on the grass. As one, they looked up to see the famous Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor zooming overhead, barrelling towards the far corner and just barely slowing down before he began to cut around the tower. They continued to stare as their popular and famous in her own right Head Girl chased after him.
They cut across the West Wing of the school, heading straight towards the same hoops of the Quidditch pitch. The wind caught Ginny's hair and her loose braid was slowly unraveling, leaving more and more strands streaming behind her. Her eyes began to water from the air rushing past and she blinked away the reflex tears, intent on keeping Harry's blurred blue shirt in her sights.
A few minutes after she rounded the Divination Tower, she soared through the middle hoop of the Quidditch pitch where Harry was already sitting and waiting, wearing a cocky and self-satisfied smirk.
"What took you so long?" he asked casually.
"Oh, shut it, Potter," she growled.
"Right. 'Cause if you won, you definitely would not tease me mercilessly for weeks."
"No, I would. But that doesn't mean I have to be happy about it being the other way around," she replied, grinning despite her loss.
"Fair enough," he shrugged. "But I'm glad we finally have it settled on who's the better flier."
"I hope you don't mean yourself," she said, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow.
"Well, if I recall correctly, I did just win the race."
"Your broom is faster."
"I gave you a head start," he retorted.
"You cut through the Willow."
"Still went around it, so it's not like I cheated. I'm just a good-enough flier to be able to pull that off."
"You're careless enough to risk your brand new broomstick, you mean."
"Paid off in the end."
They stared at each other for a moment in silence, Harry smirking and Ginny trying to maintain her steely countenance.
Then she rolled her eyes and caved. "Fine. I'll admit it, you dodged the branches well."
"Not well enough to admit that I'm the better flier?" he asked before he could help himself.
"Why would I say that? I'm not a liar."
Harry had to laugh at that. "Well, even if you're still in denial, I think it's safe to say that my new broomstick is nice and broken in." He patted the handle affectionately and flew slightly closer to her so that their two broomsticks were almost touching.
Ginny rolled her eyes, then settled them back on Harry's face. She noticed a faint red scratch on his cheek and instinctively reached out to run a gentle finger over it.
"Looks like you didn't dodge the Whomping Willow all that successfully after all," she said.
Harry reached up and placed his palm over hers and smirked. "Still worth it."
She flew slightly closer so that their two parallel handles were overlapping, side by side, and leaned in to meet his lips on hers. The familiar shivers ran down her spine and she hooked one foot around his, keeping her stable in the swaying breeze as she shut her eyes and tilted her head. He kept one hand stable on the broomstick in front of him and the other reached out to rest on her thigh.
Minutes later, at Ginny's urging and after gathering their robes from the locker room, they flew to the bridge stretching between two of Hogwarts' buildings, its arched support beams disappearing into the rocky crevice below. They sat on top of the stone covering, their legs dangling over the edge and their hands naturally finding each other's. The sun began to dip lazily past the horizon, painting the sky with streaks of pink and orange over the forest top. The waning light cast their skin in an ethereal glow, both already glowing without needing the sun's help.
They returned to the castle only when the clock tower chimed six times, marking the beginning of the dinner at the Great Hall and when Ginny's hand grew cold to the touch within Harry's. They flew to the steps just outside the Entrance Hall and walked into the castle, turning at the open doors where noise spilled out as most students began their suppers.
Harry walked with Ginny up the Gryffindor table to where Hermione had already claimed a spot with Cass and they both smiled as a greeting.
Instantly, Hermione's smile dropped as she spotted the slight scratch on Harry's cheek. "What did you do?" she asked instantly.
Harry, noting the accusatory tone, was about to defend himself when Ginny answered for him.
"He flew through the Whomping Willow."
"You WHAT?" she said, startling some nearby students with the sudden noise.
"I flew around the Whomping Willow," Harry amended.
"Why on Earth would you do that!?" Hermione said, her eyes as wide as galleons.
"To beat Ginny," Harry replied simply, making Ginny snicker beside him.
Hermione looked between the two of them, stunned and in disbelief. "So... because you had some sort of competition, you voluntarily flew through the Whomping Willow?"
"Around," he amended. Then he shrugged. "But yeah."
"I don't know why you're so surprised," Ginny said, sinking into the seat across from her. "He pulls these kinds of stupid stunts all the time."
"You're just bitter because you lost," Harry said.
"Harry, you-" came Hermione's worried warnings.
"Don't worry. I'll fix it right up when I have a mirror," Harry said carelessly.
"Could've been worse!" Ginny added cheerfully.
Harry rolled his eyes. "You're not helping, Gin."
"You really need to be more careful, Harry," Hermione chided.
"I was careful! It's only a scratch!" Harry said defensively.
"Yes, but as Ginny said, it could have been worse," Hermione persisted.
"But it wasn't. So it's fine!" Harry said, leaning against his firebolt.
Hermione shook her head and faced Ginny, ignoring Harry standing right behind her. "You were right, Ginny. I don't know why I'm so surprised at this point."
"Yeah, yeah," Harry said, rolling his eyes. "See you tomorrow." He leaned over Ginny sitting in front of him and kissed her forehead.
"Bye," she replied with a smile.
"Don't do anything stupid!" Hermione called after him.
He waved his hand in acknowledgement, smiling to himself, and marched down the length of the Great Hall with a few students staring after him.
Friday, March 22
Harry's first class of the day had gone well with the second group of fourth years. But, nagging at the back of his mind, was an uncomfortable presage of his later classes with the fifth years that happened to be immediately after their class with Professor Binns.
Sure enough, when the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff students filed into the room just minutes before class began, they were eerily quiet. Awkward glances were made at Harry and if he happened to be looking in their direction, their cheeks quickly burned and they hastily turned away. Others made an avid effort to look anywhere but in Harry's general direction, which was quite difficult considering he was standing at the front of the class, leaning against his desk and studying them all.
"Hello everyone," he said as normally as he could while they fidgeted in their seats. "Take out your homework from last class please."
They all did so, but without the usual accompanying chatter or groaning from the one student who forgot about the assignment. Scanning the students' faces, he noticed two who could manage to look at the front of the room, yet apparently none were bold enough to actually speak their mind. Wondering if anyone would ever rise to the challenge, Harry worlessly flicked his wand so that the papers flew towards his desk and landed in a haphazard pile. He still hadn't managed to get the charm quite right where they would form a perfect and neat stack, but that wasn't the most pressing issue for him at the moment.
"Brilliant," he commented blandly. "Today we are going to be continuing with our study of the Smokescreen Spell so that we can give it a go next class. So to start off today's lesson, take out your textbooks and read pages 213 to 216, then answer the questions that I'll have on the board. Once everyone finishes that, we'll do something a little more fun."
The students continued to stare at their hands, but then realizing he had finished talking, hurried to look around at the few students who appeared to know what they were doing and mimicked them by grabbing their textbooks. Many leaned over their neighbors to see what pages they were turning to.
"Starting at page 213," Harry repeated with a small smile. The fifth years blushed and slowly refocused on their own texts. Harry walked around to the back of his desk and straightened the hill of papers into a neater stack, then began checking off who had turned it in. Once that was done, he walked to the chalkboard and used the white chalk to begin writing out his reading questions, feeling the students' burning gazes in his back.
Harry turned suddenly and faced the students, catching them off guard so that a few jumped in their seats before hurrying back to duck their heads and face their textbooks. Smirking to himself, he walked back to his desk and picked up the latest Daily Prophet to start the article he was halfway through. Once his students were mostly looking idly around the room, their quills sitting on their desks, he stood up and refolded his newspaper.
"So, it looks like most people are done. Does anyone have any questions about the reading?" Harry looked around at the students, trying to catch someone's eye.
"No questions?" He paused, knowing that questions were brimming within each of them, close to overflowing and spilling out.
"All right, then let's-"
"Professor?" a Hufflepuff nearly shouted from the back.
Harry raised his eyebrows. "Yes?"
"Well… I just wanted to explain why things might seem a little off, sir," he said.
"Thank you, Collins. I was wondering if anyone was going to say anything," Harry said, a sad smile stretched across his face. "But, I actually already know. Binns started his lesson about the latest Wizarding War today, correct?"
The class nodded, some with curiosity and others in relief that it was out in the open. Harry sighed and looked at his feet, running a hand through his hair and leaving it massaging the back of his neck.
"Tell me, Collins. What did he cover?"
"Er… he started with the… the Triwizard Tournament and finished today with when… er… when Professor Dumbledore… died."
Harry nodded and took a deep breath. "I see." Suddenly, every pair of eyes had no trouble finding his and now he was the one eager to avoid their gazes. He pictured Ginny and her words rang in his ears: just tell them all to stuff it and focus on their work.
"Well… er… why don't we move on? So now that we've read about the smokescreen spell, we're going to split into groups and…" Two hands shot up into the air. Then another two followed. Harry looked at each of them slowly and let out a deep breath.
"I can tell that some of you might have trouble focusing for the rest of class," he said. "But… I don't really like talking about these things."
A few hands lowered regretfully while others sagged slightly; all of their faces dropped in disappointment.
"How about this… I'll answer the questions that you four had if they're very general. No specifics, okay?" The students nodded eagerly and scooted forward, as close to their tables and the front of the class as they could. "All right, go ahead," he said nodding to the first student who had raised their hand.
"Well… mine isn't very general but-"
"Then let's move on to the next question. Go ahead," Harry said unapologetically and nodded to the next student.
"What were you doing with Professor Dumbledore at all of those private meetings that the Ministry wanted to know about?" she blurted out instantly.
"I was learning about Voldemort's past," Harry answered calmly, ignoring the collective flinch at the name.
"How though?" she asked.
"We used what's called a pensieve. It allows you to see other people's memories. Professor Dumbledore had collected memories about Tom Riddle throughout his life to put the pieces together." He nodded at the next student, another Ravenclaw.
"What happened in the graveyard after the Triwizard Tournament?"
"You can read about that in an old article from a magazine called the Quibbler," came Harry's short response. "Last one, go ahead."
A Hufflepuff student leaned forward in his desk and asked, "Who destroyed the actual locket if the one you found with Dumbledore was a fake?"
"A brave Slytherin named Regulus Black was the one who took the locket out of the cave and he intended to destroy it, but since it was a horcrux, it takes a lot to be destroyed. In the end, we found the original when we broke into the Ministry of Magic and then months later, Ron Weasley destroyed it with the sword of Gryffindor."
The student's eyes widened and shone in wonder, as if it was a fascinating fairy tale rather than his life.
"Okay. So as I was saying, we're going to split into groups and-" Harry stopped himself mid sentence as another two hands shot into the air. He sighed and looked up at the ceiling for a moment before continuing brusquely. "Why don't you ask Professor Binns all of these questions? Or read the article about it in the Daily Prophet archives."
The students sunk into their seats, shoulders slumped with disappointment and some with shame lingering on their faces from his stern answer.
Harry made a conscious effort to soften his voice before continuing. "I know you're all curious about what happened, but it hasn't been that long and the events are still pretty… fresh in my head and I don't want to relive them. Maybe in a few years I'd be more willing to answer all of your questions, but I'm not right now. So, let's focus back on the Smokescreen Spell, all right?"
He looked around the class and saw a few students nod resolutely while most reverted back to avoiding eye contact.
For the third time that day, he began again. "So, let's split into groups and…"
The rest of the class continued uncomfortably and the students followed his instructions with continuous murmurs and cautious glances when they thought he wasn't looking. Harry cast his own glances at the clock, waiting for the moment when this pain-stakingly awkward class would end. Eventually, the class did end and the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs slowly began to file out of the class, but one group resolutely held their ground. A Hufflepuff boy was shoved and prodded forward by his friends, meanwhile he hissed vehemently at them, trying to slow his forced advance. All the while, Harry watched them cautiously from the front of the room, having a sense at what was coming.
The Hufflepuff turned from his friends to face Harry with a shy smile creeping onto his face.
"Professor Potter? I was wondering… er…" he took a deep breath in then let it out in one burst, with his words tumbling over each other. "CanIhaveanautographplease?"
Harry raised his eyebrows pointedly. "Sorry, didn't catch that."
"Can I have an autograph please?" he repeated quietly and held out a chocolate frog card with Harry's face staring up at them.
Harry sighed and looked into the boy's eager face before meeting the eyes of his friend's equally anticipatory expressions. "Not today, Collins. Come back when you graduate and I'll sign all of your chocolate frog cards."
"Okay," he replied with a small sigh of relief, instantly shoving the card back into his pocket. "See you next week, sir!"
"Bye," Harry said to their backs. Once the door closed, he rolled his head around his shoulders, easing the tension out of his neck and mentally preparing for another round of the same lesson and undoubtedly, the same uncomfortable dance.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter and look out for the next one which is all about the Weasleys. I'd appreciate any reviews, comments, suggestions, or just anything that you have on your mind! They always motivate me to keep writing. Until next week ❤️