Chapter 39
September 1st had arrived, and everyone was making their way to the Hogwart's Express. Tracey and Daphne quickly found a compartment for the group. Emily and Astoria went to go find their own compartment. The former's brother advised her to put up some wards to avoid Weasley, Granger, Malfoy, or any members of his gang. When everyone was settled, Daphne employed the wards on the door to keep people out and added a silencing charm. Pretty soon, the horn sounded, announcing that they were departing from the station. The compartment consisted of Harry, Tracey, Blaise, the Vaisey siblings, and Adrian, and they all began talking about their summer vacations and what to expect this coming year. While they were doing that, Harry stared out the window toward the horizon. Not long, storm clouds came rolling in, bringing a lot of rain down.
Harry didn't like how the rain was coming down and had a feeling something bad was about to happen. Completely lost in thought, he didn't hear what the others were saying. "Harry! Earth to Harry" Adrian lightly kicked him in the shin, bringing his attention back to the others.
"Huh," he looked around with a confused expression, "what's going on?"
"You must have been really distracted," Nicole commented. "Daphne was just telling us about what you and she did to Sirius."
Harry then sent a glare at Daphne.
"Don't look at me like that," she casually said, "I didn't talk about the prank he pulled on us."
"Though you have to admit what we did to him was pretty funny," she said while laughing a bit. Harry had to concede that what they did to Sirius was pretty funny. Yesterday, early morning, when Sirius woke up and went to his closet, he opened the door, and the next thing he knew was a boxing glove that came out of nowhere and nailed him in the balls. If that weren't enough, Daphne slipped him a potion that turned him into a poodle, and Harry blew a dog whistle that made him go crazy. The potion lasted for six hours.
Tracey came in "you two never did tell us what he did anyway."
"That type of information will completely confidential," Harry said.
Tracey scoffed at not knowing the prank Sirius pulled on the two of them.
They continued talking until Harry suddenly felt cold, and the train stopped in its tracks and glared malevolently at the door.
"Oh no," Blaise began, "I know that look anywhere," he said, noticing the way his friend was staring at the door, and the temperature suddenly got cold to the rest of them. "That usually means something bad is about to happen."
"What's going on?" Aaron asked nervously. "We can't be there yet," he commented. Everyone saw the lights go out as the temperature in the compartment began to get colder.
"Shizuku," he reached out through their link, "are you and Astoria still in your compartment?"
"Yes," she replied, "I'm scared, Harry, and I don't know what's going on."
"You two stay where you are until I get there. Do not open your door till I get over there."
"Okay," she said.
Harry cut off the link and looked at the rest "get your wands out. I have a feeling I know what's going on outside" he flicked his wand out and watched as the others took out theirs also. Removing the wards, he cautiously stepped out. By now, the cold had turned to freeze, and with them now able to see their breaths. Some were frozen in place and could feel the cold slowly moving into their bones; Harry started to hear a familiar screaming. Harry knew who was screaming as it was one of the worst memories he ever had. The night that Voldemort came and took his mother from him.
"No, please, not Harry. Not Harry! Not Harry! - please, I'll do anything."
"Stand aside. Stand aside, you stupid girl!"
"No, not Harry!" Hearing his mother's final scream, he yelled, "expecto patronum" his dragon Patronus burst through his wand and chased the dementor away. He then reached and grabbed Daphne's hand and took her to where their sisters were.
Quickly arriving at the door, he undid the wards and opened the door. The next moment a little black-haired missile slammed into him. Looking down, he saw that his sister was crying. Daphne walked into the compartment and comforted Astoria, who was also crying.
Harry stroked his sister's back "shh, it's alright, Emily," he said softly "it's going to be alright."
"What was that?" Astoria, she asked, barely above a whisper.
"That was a dementor," the familiar voice of one Remus Lupin was heard. He reached into his pocket and pulled out some chocolate for the both of them "here, give them this. It will make them feel better" Harry took the bars and gave one to Daphne for Astoria, giving the last to Emily. "Now, if you all will excuse me, I need to have a word with the driver."
With that, Lupin left. Harry could hear the muffled sobs from the other students in the other compartments waving his wand again. He recast his Patronus and sent it to the children who were frightened. This will hopefully cheer them up. "More can you come here?" the elf popped in front of him.
"What can Morwi do for young Hadrian?" the elf asked.
"I need you to get my stash of chocolates from home and hand them out to the students who have been affected by the Dementors."
The elf looked happily at her master "Morwi, will happily get master's supply of chocolates" with that, she popped away.
Harry sat next to Emily while Daphne sat with Astoria. He closed the door and added a powerful locking and silencing charm. Then removed his necklace and took the key from his pocket, and activated one of the songs. The remainder of the ride to Hogwarts went by smoothly now that the dementor was gone. They were truly horrible creatures, and Harry had a feeling that he hadn't seen the last of them.
The rain was still coming down when they exited the train and didn't look like it would stop anytime soon. Before Emily and Astoria could head off to the boats, he put an array of runes on them to keep them warm and dry. Both girls hugged him and went with the other first years. While they were doing that, Harry and the others went to the carriages. The ride to the castle would have left them soaking wet if Harry had not performed the same array on the carriage he and the others were in. When they arrived at the main entrance, they exited the carriages and went into the great hall to sit with their individual houses.
When McGonagall came in with the new first years, the stool, and the sorting hat, she lined them up and allowed the hat to sing. Once it was done, she began calling each of the students one by one. Astoria was sorted into Slytherin, and Emily was sorted into Ravenclaw. When the last of the students were sorted. Dumbledore stood up and raised his hands to quiet everyone down.
"Before you all go getting befuddled with our excellent feast, I have a few announcements. First and the most important, as you'll no doubt have noticed after their search of the Hogwarts Express. Hogwarts is currently playing host to the dementors of Azkaban prison. They are here on the Ministry of Magic business. They will be stationed at every entrance to the grounds. I need to make it plain to you that nobody is to leave the school without permission this year. Dementors are not fooled by tricks, disguises, or even invisibility cloaks. It is not like a dementor to understand pleading; therefore, none of you should put yourself in a position where you run afoul of them."
"Now, on a happier note, I am pleased to introduce two new professors this year," Dumbledore said while smiling happily. The whole school looked at him like there were a couple screws loose in his head. "For Defense Against the Dark Arts, please welcome Professor Lupin," the man with the scars stood to scattered applause. However, they were minimum as the students were worried about the dementors.
When he was done, the food appeared in front of the students, and they dug in. Over at the Slytherins, Blaise, Daphne, and Tracey were talking about Dumbledore's speech. "That old goat has officially lost his marbles," Tracey said "how could he allow dementors on the school grounds! Those things would not hesitate to give anyone the kiss if they thought they could get away with it."
"Add to the fact that they're hundreds of students here, and that will probably send them into a frenzy," Blaise came in.
Daphne was only half-listening to their conversation as her attention was on their head of the house and the new DADA professor. Severus was staring daggers at him with narrowed, loathing eyes. Harry had told her that the new professor was one of his dad's best friends and that he made excuses about his 'furry problem.' She immediately connected the dots and summarized that he was a werewolf, as indicated by the scars on his face. Daphne understood that Harry had issues with him and gave a rundown of what happened at Grimmauld, though she neglected to go into depth, and she didn't push the issue.
According, to him Lupin was of no cause to be worried about as he was nothing like Fenrir Greyback or anyone from his pack. Turning her attention to her friend at the Gryffindor table, he saw that he was silently eating, making light conversation with the three quidditch chasers. Those three were among a couple of people in his house that he actually liked.
At the Head table, Minerva McGonagall couldn't help but stare sadly at the son of her two favorite students. Cassiopeia Black paid her a visit during the break and explained that she had been drugged by potions to make her both unquestionably loyal to Albus. Who had taught her everything she knew about Transfiguration and potioned to make her instantly angry at the Harry Potter. She didn't want to believe it at first, but after the test came back positive and concluded that Albus had indeed been feeding her potions, she was shaken to her core. It had taken her a while to get the potions out of her system and return her to normal. When it was all cleared up, she began thinking of ways to make it up to the boy she helped wronged. Cassiopeia spoke about how her great-nephew was not likely to forgive anytime soon and advised her to not be as cold or hard with him.
The only problem was how she was going to deal with the man who had used her. Arcturus and Cassiopeia told her to keep playing the role of Albus's second in command. That way, he would not suspect her of being freed from his control. She grudgingly agreed to what they said.
When dinner was over with all the plates vanished, Dumbledore gave them some pretty words and sent them off to their common rooms.
The next day the gang woke up early and completed an intensive workout that left them utterly exhausted. After a few-minute break, they went back to their common rooms for a shower and change of clothes, then met in the great hall for breakfast, where they sat with the eagles. Twenty minutes into their breakfasts, light chatter could be heard from them, and their head of houses gave them their timetables. When McGonagall came to give Emily, hers explained that her schedule was like her brother when he first started and left. Harry explained the schedule to her, and "you have Arithmancy first with Professor Vector. You will not be disappointed; she really knows her field."
"What about you?" she asked, "what do you have first?"
"Defense," he answered, a bit annoyed."
"Ooh," she groaned, "good luck."
"Thanks, Shizuku" he used the nickname she licked and kissed her on the head. "Ready, Nicole?" he asked, facing her.
"Yep," she replied, got her bag, and left with him to go to class.
As they were leaving, the others got up to go head to their own classes. Tracey, Emily, and Blaise went to Arithmancy. While Daphne went to Transfigurations.
As the three climbed the stairs to the classroom, they opened the door to see that they were the first ones there. Emily took a seat next to the window with Tracey next to her. Blaise took a seat behind them, and they watched as the other students started coming in. Lilith took a seat next to him as Padma, Susan, and Hannah, among a handful of others, came in and took their seats (regrettably, Hermione Granger was in the class too). Luckily, she didn't say a word to any of them and just took the seat at the desk on the right of Emily and Tracey.
The next moment the professor came in, and the bell rang, signaling that class has begun. "Good morning, everyone, and welcome to your first year of Arithmancy. Before we begin, I would like to start off by seeing what you all know. Who here can tell me why Arithmancy is so useful in the outside world?"
Granger's hand immediately shot up, followed by a few other students.
Professor Vector called the first student, "yes, Miss. Granger!"
"The reason why the subject is so useful is that numbers have meaning to them and allow us to predict things in the future. Rather than using divination's approach, we are using numbers," she replied, so sure that it was the right answer.
The professor gave her a soft smile "a good theoretical perspective. Five points to Gryffindor! Does anyone else have an idea why this subject is so beneficial?"
Emily raised her hand slowly. "Miss. Stevenson, the floor is yours" she gestured for her to speak.
"Thank you, professor," she said, then lowered her hand. "The reason why the subject is so beneficial is that it is the basis of creating new spells, provides brief alterations for them, along with potions, and mostly works with charms, transfigurations, ancient runes, potions, and Defense against the Dark arts."
"That's the answer I was looking for," Professor Vector said approvingly "fifteen points to Ravenclaw!"
Hermione sent a death glare to the girl as there was no way that she could have known the answer and suspected that her brother may have told her the answers. Meanwhile, the professor continued testing their knowledge about the subject, and Hermione never failed to raise her hand to answer any of the questions. After answering four of them and earning Gryffindor house another 20. Professor Vector decided to let the others have a shot.
When she was done, she passed out the booklets to everyone and explained that she wanted them to work on the questions from page six all the way to page thirteen. "Miss. Stevenson, as you know, you have an exam. Are you ready to begin?"
"Yes, professor," Emily replied and rounded the table to the teacher conjured for her. Once, seated with her test booklet, quill, and ink bottle out, Vector put up some privacy wards to ensure her privacy and told her to begin.
The remainder of the class passed by quickly, with everyone working on either their assignments or exam. Seven minutes before the bell rang, Emily disabled the wards and placed her exam on the professor's desk. Elaborating that she had already gone over her answers to make sure they were the way she wanted them. Then returned to her seat for the remainder of the period.
When the bell finally rang, the professor called time and told them to hand in their books. After giving them to her, they went to their next class for the day. The day continued until they had their first care of magical creatures class with Professor Hagrid directly after lunch. Making their way to the grounds where he was waiting by his hut, Emily could see a more significant number of students in the class.
"C'mon, now, get a move on!" he called as the class approached. "Got a real treat for yeh today! Great lesson comin' up! Everyone here? Right, follow me!"
Blaise and the others were a bit nervous as Harry warned them about how the man was and just walked carefully into the forest. However, Hagrid strolled off around the edge of the trees, and five minutes later, they found themselves outside a kind of paddock. There was nothing in there.
"Everyone gathers 'round the fence here!" he called. "That's it —make sure yeh can see —now, firs' thing yeh'll want to do is open yer books —"
"How?" said the cold, drawling voice of Draco Malfoy.
"Eh?" said Hagrid.
"How do we open our books?" Malfoy repeated. He took out his copy of The Monster Book of Monsters, which he had bound shut with a length of rope.
"Hasn't —hasn' anyone bin able ter open their books?" said Hagrid, looking crestfallen.
"We have," Blaise said, indicating to him and his two other friends. While the others all shook their heads no.
He followed up with, "it's a rather simple spell, all things considered. All you have to do is stroke the spine."
"Oh, is that all" the drawling voice of Theodore Nott was heard.
"Nott, I know you are not the sharpest fang in our house, but certainly, your father taught you a simple spell like that," Blaise shot at him. The two did not get along for a multitude of reasons.
"Well, at least-"Nott didn't get to finish as Hagrid cut in.
"Here they c'mon," he gestured to the dozen of the most bizarre creatures the students had ever seen. Save for a small few who knew what the creatures were. They had the bodies, hind legs, and tails of horses, but the front legs, wings, and heads of what seemed to be giant eagles, with cruel, steel-colored beaks and large, brilliantly orange eyes. The talons on their front legs were half a foot long and deadly looking. Each of them had a thick leather collar around its neck, which was attached to long chains, and the ends of all of these were held in the vast hands of Hagrid, who came jogging into the paddock behind the creatures.
He proudly introduced them as Hippogriffs maneuvering to follow him and asked if they wanted to come forward. Only Blaise, Tracey, and Emily stepped forward.
"Now, firs' thing yeh gotta know about Hippogriffs is, they're proud," said Hagrid. "Easily offended, Hippogriffs are. Don't insult one, 'cause it might be the last thing yeh do."
Malfoy and his group of friends were not even paying attention.
Ron asked, "Hagrid, what's his name?"
"His name is Buckbeak," Hagrid said proudly.
"Yeh always wait for the Hippogriff ter make the first move," Hagrid continued. "It's polite, see? Yeh walks toward him, and yeh bow, an' yeh wait. If he bows back, yeh're allowed ter touch him. If he doesn't bow, then get away from him sharpish, 'cause those talons hurt."
"Right —who wants to go first?"
Most of the students backed away to save for the other three. They just stood on their grounds.
That was until Blaise stepped forward. "I'll do it," he had more than enough time at Potter castle to know about what types of creatures hippogriffs were and how to care for them.
"Goodman, Mr. Zabini!" roared Hagrid. "Right then —let'ssee how yeh get on with Buckbeak."
Blaise cautiously stepped forward until he was about a foot or so away from the winged creature and gave a low enough bow. The hippogriff looked at him for a few seconds then bowed back.
"Well done!" said Hagrid, ecstatic. "Right —yeh can touch him! Pat, his beak, go on!"
Slowly Blaise raised his left hand and carefully moved forward till he was close enough to actually pet the creature beak. Petting it's a few times, the hippogriff lazily closed its eyes as if it was enjoying it.
"Righ' then," said Hagrid. "I reckon he might let yeh ride him!"
"Wait, what" was all Blaise was able to say before Hagrid picked him up and placed him on Buckbeak's back.
"Mind yeh don' pull any of his feathers out, he won' like that..." that was all he said before slapping the creature on its butt, telling it to go. Blaise didn't even get to say anything as the creature spread its wings and took flight.
Tracey and Emily were glaring disdainfully at their professor as he just put Blaise on the back of an untrained hippogriff and sent it flying with their friend. Half-hour later, Buckbeak landed with Blaise, who had a smile on his face. Dismounting the creature, he went back to his friends while Hagrid and the others clapped.
"Okay, who else wants to try" Hagrid happily asked. Right then, Malfoy approached with a sneer on his face and started insulting the creature "you're not so dangerous at all," he said to the hippogriff, "you great big ugly brute."
Buckbeak, like all the members of his kind, did not take insults well and raised his talons, prepared to cut the insolent meat bag in two. However, Blaise and Emily had their wands in hand. Blaise summoned Draco away while Emily conjured a shield to block the angry hippogriff talons. Draco landed on his back and repeatedly whined that the creature had killed him. Hagrid attempted to calm down the hippogriff.
While Draco was still whining on the ground, he said, "it's killed me."
Tracey looked at the blond idiot with disdain "if you were really dead. Then you wouldn't be complaining at the moment. The creature didn't even scratch you, you pathetic git."
At hearing what she said, Malfoy stopped his whining and got back to his feet with his cheeks pink in embarrassment. He then stalked back to his group and muttered, "wait till my father hears about this," he sneered, attempting to regain some of his shattered dignity. Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, Parkinson, and Nott immediately left while the others watched with disgust.
Hagrid resumed his lecture about how to care for hippogriffs when he finally got Buckbeak under control. At the end of the period, he dismissed everyone, and they went back to the castle.
A few hours later, the entire castle had gotten wind of what happened with Draco and the hippogriff, thanks to the school's infamous rumor mill. Many of them started imitating the Slytherin boy, while others were laughing their socks off. Needless, to say Professor Snape was not happy with what he heard and gave Draco a lecture about failing to follow basic instructions.
When dinner eventually came around, Harry and the others opted to eat at the Ravenclaw table. Emily and Astoria were adamantly talking about the classes they had for the day. Harry was glad to hear that his sister enjoyed her classes for the day but was not pleased with what happened in magical creatures' care. How anyone could be so idiotic was beyond him. If a guy as big as Hagrid tells you not to anger a creature like a hippogriff, you listen. Then again, bringing an untrained hippogriff to a class of third years was not exactly smart.
Hagrid may be huge, but he had the mentality of a child and hardly any common sense.
"What do you think will happen to Professor Hagrid?" Astoria asked.
"I doubt he is fired," Harry replied. "Draco was the one who didn't bother paying attention and deliberately provoked the hippogriff. And without any injuries, there is virtually nothing his father can do."
"Still, though," Susan came in, "you have to wonder. It's no lie that Lord Malfoy has the minister in his pocket. All he has to do is give him a few hundred galleons, and Fudge will do what he says," she said in disgust.
"Cowards," Daphne said, describing both Malfoy and Fudge.
That earned a few snickers from the others at the way she described them. She then turned to Nicole, "I heard you will be taking your N.E.W.T. exam for Potions at the end of the year. Enjoy!"
"Gee, thanks," Nicole drawled. She was already nervous as she was worried about getting the necessary marks for her other classes, not to mention doing all the homework she had just been given today from the professors.
Aaron just chuckled "relax, sis, you will be fine," he said, reassuring her. That earned him a smile from her.
Harry spoke up, "so what about you and Adrian. Got anything planned for the day? He casually asked, taking a sip of his drink.
Adrian was the first to reply, "I have to go complete my homework," he answered, "it's my O.W.L. year," he said nervously. "Somehow, I have a feeling that this is going to be a tough year for me."
Next came the former spoke. "I'm glad that I'm not taking my O.W.L.'s," he said in a happy tone. "But I still have homework to complete," he said dreadfully.
"Better enjoy the time you have left because before long. You will be taking them next year," Hadrian commented with a bit of amusement in his voice.
"I don't know why you're talking," Adrian spoke "you already passed your exams," he said with a bit of mischief.
Harry smirked at him. "True, but the exams the proctors gave me were much harder than the ones I would have gotten here and more draining."
"I can vouch for that," Emily piped up "our education in Japan is much more difficult than the education here."
Tracey spoke next, "a small part of me feels thankful that we have it easier than you two, but the majority of me feels disappointed. Our parents are paying for our educations, and as a student, I want to get the proper education, not the half-arse crap curriculum we currently have."
She had been having mixed feelings about the curriculum easier it might have been, but it wasn't as rewarding.
"She's right," Blaise came in "we are only taught the bare minimum," he said, adding his two knuts in.
Hannah then came in "you will have to take that up with our current headmaster, the board of governors, and the ministry," she said with a sour expression. "The only way to get the curriculum changed is by getting them to agree to it."
"And that is not likely to happen," Susan said with an equally sour tone.
They spent the next few minutes talking, then went to the library to get a start on the assignments they've gotten for the day. Arriving at the library, they walked in and spoke with the librarian Madam Prince to request room keys. The ill-tempered gave them three different keys, and they went up the stairs to go to their individual rooms, where they spent the rest of their time working.
The next two days, the third-year Gryffindor and Slytherin students were due to attend Defense Against the Dark Arts with professor Lupin after potions. According to the older years, their scarred professor was decent and knew the subject to an exceptional degree. The Slytherins were the first to arrive calmly and take out the necessary materials they would need for the day. After they came in, the Gryffindors a bit noisily and took their seats. Then Professor Lupin came in and put his briefcase on his desk. "Hello, everyone; welcome to your first defense lesson of the year. You may put your books away; you won't be needing them for the day, only your wands." The happily did as he said and put their wands away except for Granger, who didn't like the fact of putting her book away.
"Now, if you all will follow me." Professor Lupin led them down the corridor and turned a corner where they saw Peeves hanging upside down, showing chewing gum into a keyhole. When Peeves saw Professor Lupin, he broke off what he was doing and cackled with glee.
"Loony, loopy, Lupin. Loony, loopy, Lupin," Peeves sang, cackling the whole time.
"Peeves, I don't think Mr. Filch will appreciate that; please remove the wad of gum." Professor Lupin said calmly while Peeves ignored him and continued to sing and shove gum into the keyhole. Professor Lupin turned to the class with a sigh, "this is a rather useful spell to remember. Waddiwasi!" and with that, the wad of gum shot like a missile into Peeves' nose. The Poltergeist snorted and took off flying down the hall. The respect for Lupin increased. Lupin continued to lead them down the hallway and into the teachers' lounge, emptied for this particular day except for a large wardrobe. The wardrobe was rocking back and forth rather violently, making booming sounds.
"Now, can anyone tell me what this is?" Professor Lupin asked.
"That's a boggart," Dean Thomas spoke up from the back.
"Correct, five points for Gryffindor. Now I asked the other professors to leave this one be for a lesson. Who can tell me about boggarts? Ah, Miss. Moon?"
"Boggarts are shapeshifters and classed as a dark creature since they feed off a person's fear."
"Five points to Slytherin. Boggarts prefer to live in the dark, confined spaces. Now, who can tell me why they can be difficult to get rid of? Miss. Granger?"
"They take the shapes of the something the person is most afraid of," she answered with a smug voice.
"Correct, five points to Gryffindor," he said. Now today, I'm going to teach you how to defeat one. We already have an advantage over it today. Can anyone tell me what it is?"
Blaise answered, "it's because there is a number of us already in here."
"Good, Mr. Zabini," Professor Lupin commented to the dark-skinned boy. "Now what really finishes a boggart is laughter. The charm you use is Riddikulus." He made them practice saying the spell until they got it right. "It takes great force of mind to repel a boggart. You have to force the boggart to assume a form that you find funny."
He had them form a line with Neville in front and asked him what he was most afraid of and replied Professor Snape. Lupin chuckled in agreement and told him to have his wand ready while he went to open the wardrobe. Making sure that the boy was ready, he opened the door, and then a carbon copy of Severus Snape came out. Neville was briefly scared but performed the spell "riddikulus," which turned Snape's robes from black into what his grandmother usually wore, making others laugh.
One by one, they all took turns allowing the boggart to take different forms. From a giant acromantula to a mummy to a big snake, the image of Professor McGonagall came and told Hermione that she had failed every one of her classes, making the bushy-haired girl stumble before she performed the spell, etc. When everyone had a turn facing their Lupin gave them their homework assignments then dismissed them.
When the first two weeks passed, and it became Saturday in the evening. The students were in the wreck room playing card games like baccarat, blackjack, exploding snaps, and poker. It was surprising that all the houses got together to join in the fun, but many of the students were sons and daughters of pureblood supremacists. While many still held onto their beliefs that they should rule over muggles, they couldn't deny that the muggle card game was fun and that the muggles had some good music. At the moment, they were currently listening to some heavy metal music. The students were free to use the room until 11 at night then they were to head back to their dorms.
While some were on the dancefloor dancing, others were playing different card games. Harry and a few of his friends were playing poker and betting some money. At the moment, five people were competing for the pile of galleons, sickles, and knuts in the center.
Everyone was holding a hand of a different set of cards. Aaron went first, "I raise five galleons and 6 sickles" he pushed the money forward to the ever-expanding pile.
"I'll match it," Blaise said and added a few galleons.
One by one, they added money and eventually revealed their cards showing what they had. So far, Cormack McLaggen was in the lead with a flush and looked as if he had won. That was until he spotted that Potter hadn't revealed his cards yet "what's the matter? Potter scared you about to lose some money," he mocked.
"No, I just wanted to say," he began, "read them and weep" he then placed his set of cards down, revealing that he had a royal flush—much to everyone's disappointment and McLaggen ire.
"That is so not fair," he exclaimed.
Harry smirked at him and collected the money he had just earned. "Calm down, McLaggen, you might when the next round."
The irate boy scowled at him as he handed the cards back to the dealer for the next round. "I'm watching you, Potter," Cormac said.
As Adrian was dealing the cards, Harry instantly felt a pair of arms around him "hey Shizuku, you enjoying yourself?"
She giggled and replied, "yeah! How much did you win?" she said, referring to the pile of money in front of him.
"62 galleons, 49 sickles, and 25 knuts," he replied.
"Nice," she commented. "Come on, let's go dance" she tried to pull him onto the dance floor.
Harry clicked his tongue and put his cards down "later, guys, enjoy" he got up, collected his money, put it in his wallet, and went to the dance floor.
Brother and sister danced to a few techno songs with the others. Harry also danced with Tracey, Susan, and Daphne. The letter he enjoyed dancing with the most and the last was sister again. That was when he looked at his watch and saw what time it was "all alright, little sis! You ready to go?"
She grudgingly responded "yep" to exited the party, where Harry was escorting her back to Ravenclaw Tower. As they were walking toward the nest of Ravenclaw, someone called out to them, "Harry, can you wait a minute?"
Turning around, they saw Neville Longbottom approaching them "what can I do for you, heir Longbottom?" he asked evenly.
Neville eventually recognized the formality, having been well-trained in the customs by his grandmother. He replied in the same manner, "I was just wondering if you can help me with my magic. Whenever I do spells, they either come out wrong, or they're not as powerful as they need to be," he explained.
Harry and Emily looked at each other for a minute sharing a silent conversation. Then turned back to the pudgy boy, "when you say your spells don't come out right, what do you mean by that?"
"What I mean is…" he didn't get to finish as McGonagall appeared on the scene and cut in, "what are you three doing out here?" Her usual stern visage was in place.
Neville faltered a bit under her gaze. "Oh um, professor, I was just asking Heir Potter if he could help me with my magic," he answered.
McGonagall glared at him then spoke, "and what seems to be the problem with your magic, Mr. Longbottom?"
He gulped then replied, "whenever I do my spells, they hardly come outright, or they're not as potent as they should be."
Minerva thinned her lips. It was true that Longbottom's spells were inefficient and many of his spells were below standards. She noticed that he said the incantations and performed the wand movements well, but his actual spells were inadequate "why is it that you believe your spells are not performing at a satisfactory level? I've noticed that you perform the wand movements and pronounce the spells correctly, but your spells are not that good."
"I honestly don't know, professor," he replied.
Harry cleared his throat, bringing their attention to him "if I may offer a few solutions. Then we might be able to find the cause," he suggested.
McGonagall gestured for him to continue.
He then turned to Neville "from what I've seen and heard about you, Neville, you have four major problems that are impeding you. First problem: your lack of confidence leads to hesitation and self-doubt. To put it more bluntly, you're a total coward. Second problem: you lack the ambition to become better. In other words, you're a slacker" Neville looked down in shame. "Third problem: you let anyone and everyone walk over you without any protest. Translation: you're a spineless weakling. Fourth: is that there is something obviously wrong with either your magical core or your wand. If I were to make an accurate guess, I say it's your wand."
McGonagall stared in at him with wide eyes at his bluntness. Neville was slightly offended but couldn't help but feel small. Hadrian's words were harsh, yes, but they were true nonetheless, however, when he mentioned the wand he was using, it cut like a knife straight to his heart, "but I don't understand it was my dad's wand. My gran always told me that it was powerful" he said in a low voice.
Harry narrowed his eyes "wait, I heard that. You've been using your father's wand this whole time." Neville could only nod. "Well, that is one of your main problems. That wand is not suited for you, and that is why your spells are all but inadequate."
"But my gran said that my dad was a great man and a well-respected auror," he defended, "she said gave me his wand in hope's that I will be able to fill his shoes."
Harry just sucked in a breath as he couldn't help but feel sorry for him. "Her heart is in the right place, and I can understand what she expects out of you. However, she is trying to make a false perception by comparing you to him. You are not your father, and you should not try to be. You are you."
He followed up with, "I know this is late, but on behalf of the House of Black, we formally apologize for the actions of Bellatrix Lestrange. Her actions were never accepted by Lord Black or any of us" gave a small bow.
Neville found his voice. "I thank you for your words, heir Potter. So, what should I do?"
Minerva interjected "for starters, you will need a new wand," she said softly. "I will personally write to Augusta and let her know that you need a new wand as your current one is not meant for you" she then whirled around and was about to depart but stopped in her tracks. "I award you twenty-five points for doing your best in class while being handicapped" was all she said before she left.
Neville then looked up at Harry "thank you." Harry gave him a nod and took his sister to Ravenclaw tower.
(0^0)
The first-month pass with little to no issues, the usually stern professor kept her words. Minerva McGonagall wrote to Augusta and explained that if she wanted her grandson to succeed in school, he would have to stop using his father's wand as he is not him. The day after, Hadrian had another talk with the boy and elaborated that he would need to rise and prove his worth as the heir of the Most Noble House of Longbottom. Surprisingly, the pudgy boy took his advice and talked with his head of house about switching Divination for Ancient Runes and adding Arithmancy to his schedule. She initially refused him, but after he pointed out that in the Hogwart's by-laws that he was well within his rights to change his elective course the year, he started them. After checking the rules and confirming that he was right, did she relent and changed his schedule.
What came next was surprising Harry, Emily, and Severus had a meeting with the same people in Potter castle. According to Commander Taymore, he and Jack were able to get into Nuremberg with the help of Suzaku to see where the monster had caused so much destruction and caused the deaths of thousands. It turned out that they could get some fascinating information out of him, which was illuminating. Reluctantly, they allowed Headmaster Yoshi to accompany them as long as he promised not to kill him. Although they barred him from killing Grindelwald, they said nothing about making him suffer. Arata wasted no time in firing very painful and lethal spells at the bastard for what he did to one of his sisters.
After that, they discussed Tom Riddle, aka Voldemort anything they could find turned up negative as the files in both the Ministry and I.C.W. were either gone or wiped clean. When Taymore asked if Harry received any more memories from Voldemort, he shook his head as he didn't get any memories.
Back in Hogwarts, the month of October came with a blanket of snow in the first week of the month. So far, everything was peaceful. Emily had adjusted to the Hogwarts schedule nicely and began getting glimpses of her animagus form. Daphne made some progress when trying to get a glimpse of her form but couldn't get a clear picture of it. Harry explained that it would take time to use an unorthodox method rather than using the common one. Speaking of Daphne, her dueling skills were becoming more refined as she was getting used to the advanced level. Her control over her elemental ability was also growing at an exceptional rate. The others had taken to the new training regime and were slowly evolving into more.
Oliver Wood, the quidditch captain for the Gryffindor, explained that he would be stepping up their workouts since this was his last year as he wanted them to win the cup before he left at the end of the year. Everyone understood as they wanted to have a good year and win the cup again. After the first few weeks of practice, they were exhausted as their captain meant what he said. All of whom were not Harry weren't use to intense training. In his opinion, it felt like a warmup, if anything, not that he said that as it might encourage Wood to make it worse.
At that moment, Harry and his group of friends were leaving the great hall after dinner and heading to the RoR to go relax. However, though he felt something was wrong. Whenever he was near Granger, he could hear ticking around her, not to mention she had been snapping at people recently. As the six entered the room, they saw Byakko eating by the fire and that Suzaku coming in the distance. Evidently, the phoenix went out to go hunting for his meal "good evening, everyone," he greeted as he came in through the window and landed on one of the couches.
Harry went over from petting Byakko to Suzaku. "I take it you had a good hunt!" he patted his friend's feathers.
Kai trilled happily "it was brilliant," he exclaimed. "I haven't felt so alive in years."
Byakko laughed "oh, he definitely enjoyed himself," he commented. "As soon as he gets some frogs or fruit, he's in heaven."
That received him a mock glare "this coming from a tiger who will only eat well-done meat. Try some vegetables," he bit back.
"What do you expect? I'm a tiger," he defended. "I act like a tiger."
Harry stepped in "easy guys," he said, putting a stop to them. "As amusing as it is to hear you two argue, we have other concerns at the moment."
"Those dementors!" Emily said.
He gave the nod "those creatures should have never been placed near the school; much less any of the students."
"Here, here," Blaise said, "whenever I'm around them, my bones get so cold," he shivered.
"Just be glad that we can cast a corporeal Patronus," Tracey chimed. Astoria cleared her throat, bringing the brunette's attention to her "well, most of the can. Sorry, Tori!"
The small girl spoke, "why are they even here?"
Harry responded, "according to Amelia," he began, "the minister had them placed here to catch the escaped convicts. She thinks it's a way for Fudge to get back into the people's good graces. By letting them know that the ministry is doing something."
Daphne clicked her tongue "you believe that?" she asked in disbelief.
"Not for a minute," he answered. "Fudge is a weak-willed, power-hungry idiot who only does what he is told" everyone gave an affirmative nod. "Not only that, those dementors, if anything, will attack the students first. Thus, saving Pettigrew and any of his allies the trouble."
"You got a plan?" Shizuku asked.
Harry grew a bit of a smile "they're three ways to keep a dementor at bay. One: they don't like fire that much. If someone sets them on fire, they will have a few moments to get away before they are pursued. Two: the Aurors have special badges to keep them at bay. Third: the Patronus charm! But hardly anyone in this school can cast it effectively."
"The only way to get over the effects of a dementor is by eating chocolate," he confirmed. "Which gives me an idea," he then called one of the house-elves. "Axel, can you come here?"
With a pop, the head elf appeared before him "what can Axel do for Hadrian, sir?"
He looked down at the elf. "I'm pretty sure that you and the other elves have noticed the dementors around Hogwarts. Can you and the other please give them pieces of chocolate at night?"
The head elf squeaked, "that we can. Axel will have the other elves deliver chocolates to the students to prevent the dementias from affecting them" with that, he popped away.
Emily stepped in, "all alright, with that taken care of, there is another topic that comes to mind," she stated.
"What's that?" Astoria asked.
"Granger is acting a bit odd!"
Astoria groaned "what does Granger have to do with anything?"
Emily just looked at her brother, who gave the nod in understanding "you noticed it too, huh. Figures," he let out a breath from the corner of his mouth.
The others were confused as to what was going on. "What are you two talking about?" Tracey asked.
Harry sucked in a breath "remember when you guys said that Granger has been popping out of nowhere during classes?" they gave him a nod.
Daphne thought she might add some of what she knew. "I overheard her saying that she was taking muggle studies and Divination along with the other electives."
"That's impossible," Tracey interrupted. "Granger cannot be in two places at once."
"True, she can't," Em confirmed, "however when I'm around her, I always hear ticking."
"Oh god," Harry groaned, "please tell me Dumbledore didn't" he pinched the bridges of his nose. "Damn goat gave her a time-turner," he summarized.
Everyone gasped in shock, except for Astoria, who was confused. Byakko roared in anger, and Suzaku squawked with indignant.
"I'm getting the feeling that this time-turner is bad," she spoke, "but I don't know why?"
Daphne responded, "Tori, time-turners are very dangerous and highly restricted by the ministry," she explained. "The only way to get one is by getting prior permission."
Astoria nodded in understanding. "But why are they so dangerous?"
Byakko replied, "those devices allow people to manipulate time which is unstable, and serious breaches in the laws of time result in catastrophic events," he growled in anger.
Suzaku stepped in "the reason why those things are dangerous is that time is only supposed to flow in one direction. Any kind of tampering would cause an unnecessary chain of events that will have severe repercussions. They should have been destroyed instead of locked away."
"Overexposure will eventually cause the person's health to deteriorate until they go insane," he added.
Tracey entered the fray "why would Granger want to take so many classes anyway?" she asked. "It makes no sense."
Harry sneered, "stupid girl has a real problem. She just can't live with the fact of someone out doing her in academics," he commented. Everyone looked at him "if anything, Granger is still pissed that Daphne was allowed to skip a year, and she wasn't. Whatever, Dumbledore thought when he gave her that device cannot be good and will have severe consequences."
He followed up with, "this only adds to the growing list of idiocies of Dumbledore."
Daphne spoke, "in a sense, we're going to have to be careful around her" she bit back. "What concerns me is why she just doesn't self-study for the subjects. For someone who claims to be so smart, she would know that she can study the subjects in her free time and not take classes."
"Granger is an arrogant, narcissistic fool who needs to wake up and smell the potion," Blaise said. "Not everything is a competition."
They spent the next two hours talking until they had to go back to their common rooms. Emily asked if she could stay with her brother for the night and which he agreed. Much to the amusement of the others. The room provided them with a staircase that would take them to the Slytherin common room, and then they left, leaving the two siblings in the room.
"So, what are your thoughts about the remainder of the year?" Emily asked him.
"Honestly, I don't know," he replied, "but for starters, the students are going to need to avoid the dementors at all possible. I have a feeling that they will end up posing more of a problem to the health and well-being of the others."
Emily giggled a bit "that's my big brother. The big softy!"
He gave her a mock glare, "merlin, save me, please," which made his sister laugh.
"Do you think Pettigrew or any of his death eater buddies will be foolish enough to come here?"
"I don't know," he said, "though I suggest we air on the side of caution. No telling what is going to happen the remainder of the year. But I will say that we will need to be prepared any and everything."
She made to grab his hand "whatever danger comes, I will always be with you. I just wish that you didn't have to take on so much!"
Harry let out a breath "you know I'm the older brother," he pointed out, "it's my job to be concerned about you. Don't worry so much about me."
She gave him a cheeky smile "oh, come on. I know you actually like it when I worry about you. "You sit there, white tiger big brother."
He gave her a silent chuckle "yeah, yeah! Time for bed" he got up and began to head to his bedroom. Emily went into the other bedroom the room had provided for her.
(0^0)
Over the next four days, Harry's magic felt as if it was drawing him somewhere. He didn't know what it was, but it felt like his magic was telling him to go somewhere. Add to the dreams he had been having about Godric Gryffindor and his time at Hogwarts with the others. At the moment, he was exiting the special room with Shizuku, where they were talking about the international dueling tournaments that were going to happen in August. They asked their guardians for permission, and they said, 'yes, this coming tournament was to happen in Japan. Daphne, Tracey, and Blaise asked for permission from their parents, who also agreed to compete. When the forms were signed along with the entrance fees paid, they were all set.
The two siblings were currently walking through the corridors when they ran into a second-year Ravenclaw girl. Emily told him her name was Luna Lovegood. Looking closely, her hair was a bit lighter than Daphne's and had pale silvery eyes. She also mentioned that she was eccentric, not that he cared.
"Hello, Miss. Lovegood," he said, "Would you care to join us for breakfast?"
She looked up at him "hello Harry Potter," she responded with a dreamy voice, then turned to Emily "hello, Emily Stevenson. I would love to so long as I don't have to eat with the nargles they always call me looney."
Harry squashed down the anger that was boiling inside him. Emily didn't look anymore happier than he did as she witnessed how some of her housemates treated the girl. The former used his elemental sight to see that her magical core was the same as others but found a spark of silver emanating from her eyes.
"These nargles, you mention they're other-dimensional magical creatures, aren't they?" he asked her.
Luna smiled at him "why yes, they are," she confirmed in her dreamy voice. "Are you perhaps familiar with other-dimensional creatures?"
"I've heard of a few," he replied, "some prefer to cross over to our dimension to cause either trouble or bring messages."
"Wow," she said in awe. "I never thought I meet another person with special sight."
He responded, "I possess elemental sight. It enables me to read magic."
"Amazing," she said with a big smile on her face, "this is incredible. I possess the dimensional eyes of Emrys."
"That's a rare ability," Emily commented.
"Anyway, shall we go" Harry motioned for them to head to the great hall?
While they were walking to breakfast, Luna and Emily instantly became fast friends. Luna explained that her father was the author of the Quibbler and asked them if they would like a subscription. Emily instantly said yes, with harry following behind her. The subscription would cost them a galleon each, and they had to sign for it. Harry asked if they could read it first, which she agreed to bring it out at lunch today.
As they made it to the great hall, they spotted their friends sitting at the Hufflepuff table and walked over "hey guys," he greeted them, "this is Luna Lovegood. She will be joining us for breakfast. Is that alright?"
They all gave affirmative nods and welcomed the girl. Luna sat next to Emily, Lilith, and Astoria. While the others were either chatting or eating, Harry reached to his dad through their mental link.
"Dad are you, there?"
He didn't have to wait long as Severus responded, "I am busy at the moment, Hadrian!" his voice indicated that he was busy. "What do you need?"
Harry explained about the dreams he'd been having the last four nights and that his magic was telling him to go somewhere. His dad's expression turned serious as it indicated that he had his attention "relax before you say anything. It has nothing to do with Voldemort, but my magic is telling me to go back into the chamber of secrets."
"Come see me before dinner, my office," he said in silk yet fatherly voice. "I want to know what is going on. No one but Emily is to come with you. Understand?"
"Yes, dad," he then cut off the link.
They enjoyed their breakfast for the day then went to their classes for the day. Harry had potions, alchemy, Transfiguration, Charms, and dueling lessons today with Emily and Master Robinson. Arriving at his first-class, he prepared his station and took out his four-parchment essay. The other sixth-years started coming in and got ready themselves. When the bell rang Professor, Snape came out of his office with his robes billowing for effect. He wasted no time in demanding their homework. Once they were on his desk, waving his hand at the chalkboard, the instructions for the potion they were to brew for the day appeared and told them to get started. He then gave Harry a high-level potion and told him that it would take two weeks for him to complete.
Hadrian began working diligently on his potion by ensuring that his measurements were correct and that he added the ingredients precisely. When class was over, he put a stasis charm on it and waited for Severus to give him his homework assignment. Once he obtained it, he vacated and went to go to his other classes for the day.
The rest of his classes went by smoothly for the day. During lunch, Luna brought him and Emily the subscription information for The Quibbler. After inspecting it for any tampering's, they signed their copies and gave her a galleon each. The blond girl was ecstatic and promised to have them delivered to her father after classes were over for the day. When everything was done, and the two were outside with their charms dueling instructor, were they able to cut loose? Master Robinson was extremely impressed with the three spells Harry created the last term and had him demonstrate them on the dummies. When he was done, Emily came in to get her training over with. While she wasn't as powerful as her brother, her skill level easily surpassed those of the other students. It was clear that she earned her rank as a member of Class-A.
When lessons were over, they thanked him for his time and stealthily went to Severus's office. Using the dark version of the disillusionment charm, they made it to the office undetected. Upon arriving, they knocked on the door, and after receiving confirmation to come in, they walked in and closed the door behind them. Harry added a powerful locking charm along with anti-eavesdropping wards. Severus did a quick sweep of his office to make sure that there were no recording devices. After confirming that there was none, he turned to his son and sister.
"You say you've been receiving strange dreams about Godric Gryffindor while he was with the other founders," he began in a silk voice. "And your magical core is telling you to go back into that chamber. That is vexing."
Harry responded, "I don't know why my magic wants me to go back in that chamber," he admitted, "but for the past few days, it feels like something inside there is calling me. As for the dreams, I think that me obtaining the Gryffindor Lordship is maybe giving me some residual traces of Godric himself."
Severus sat at his desk deep in thought, wondering what was going on. Couldn't they have had one quiet year without something unfortunate taking place? It was bad enough that the dementors were stationed at the castle but now this "what happens when you try to ignore?"
"For now, nothing more than a minor headache and my magic trying to convey a message," he replied. "You're not going to like this, but I think I should go back in there."
Severus gave him a critical glare "you're right! I don't like that," he replied with a bit cold in his voice "we don't know what is still lurking in that chamber. For all, we know there could be another basilisk or something as deadly in there."
Harry couldn't help but feel warm inside and a bit annoyed at his dad's overprotectiveness. "I understand your reluctance, dad, but the more I ignore it, the stronger it gets."
Severus let out a breath and got up from his seat with his wand in hand. "I'm going to run an archaic diagnostic spell on your magical core to see if there has been any tampering." Harry gave a curt nod and allowed his dad to scan him. Severus muttered in Sumerian and ran his wand over his son's core.
The results were unexpected and filled him with a mixture of emotions.
"I have good news and questionable news," he said, "Which one do you want first?"
"Give me the good, first," he requested.
He curled his lips then responded, "good news is that core has not been tampered with," he said; Harry let out a breath. "However, the questionable news is that it does appear to be drawn to something. Why the chamber, I don't know."
"Like I said," Harry began, "I think we should go back."
Severus grunted in annoyance "fine, we will go during the next Hogsmeade trip! But we're taking precautions to ask the two gods to do a sweep of the chamber to see if anything can pose a danger. Also, be sure to tell no one elsewhere we are going. The last thing we need is for Dumbledore to get wind of what we are up to."
Harry and Emily nodded in understanding. Severus was about to speak again but was cut off.
"Dad, did you know that Granger has been using a time-turner?"
"What," he exclaimed, "how in merlin's name did Granger get a time-turner?" He was flabbergasted who in their right mind would give a time-turner to a child (much less than insufferable know-it-all?)
Emily stepped in "we and the others suspect that it was given to her by Dumbledore, so she can take all the electives at Hogwarts."
Severus sneered. "That old fool," he snarled, "I will have some words with him and Minerva after dinner. Meanwhile, you two try and avoid Granger as much as possible until we can get that turner away from her," said it like he just ate a sour lemon.
The two gave nods of understanding. Severus continued, "for the time, use my floo to flame back to the Room of Requirement. I don't think I have to explain why."
Without wasting a second, they entered the floo, spoke where they wanted to go, and were soon back in the Room of Requirement where they saw no Byakko or Suzaku. So, they just exited the room and went to the great hall for dinner. While they were walking, they engaged in a mental discussion about what was expected back in the chamber of secrets. The idea of going in there made Emily pale. Harry used their bond to send a wave of comfort to her. He kept it up till they arrived in the great hall and went to the Ravenclaw table with the others. Taking their seats, they saw Aaron dragging his sister into the great hall, who was also carrying a book.
"What's the matter with you?" Blaise asked.
Aaron answered, "I had to pull her away from the library. She was working on essays for both transfiguration and potion," he said with a bit of amusement in his voice.
That earned him a glare from her. "I love to see the look on your face when you do NEWT classes," she bit back.
He just smiled at her and filled his plate.
They began eating their meals and engaged in a light conversation.
"You know," Hadrian began, "I wonder why we always have the same things for dinner. It is better if we can have a variety of different foods from now on."
"I know, right," Tracey said "the food at the mixer is a prime example" she remembered the food they had there. "The food we got was delicious," she remembered fondly.
"What do you mean?" Lilith asked.
Astoria answered, "when we were at the mixer, we ordered butter beers, different shakes, some sandwiches that are not served at school, and some buffalo nuggets."
"Was it good?" she asked while leaning in, wanting to know.
Astoria nodded fervently.
"The food over there is excellent," Blaise came in.
"I've been to the mixer before," Luna said "the place is very nice and a great way to relax" she then looked at Harry and Emily, who was grinning. "You two really know how to create places of entertainment. Just like that Heaven on Earth spa!"
The ones that were unaware that Harry and Emily were the owners stared in disbelief and amazement.
The first to recover was Parvati "you guys are the owners of the Magic Mixer and the Spa in Diagon Alley," she gushed. Emily gave the Indian girl a proud smile, while Harry stared inquisitively at Luna.
"How did you know we were the owners?"
Luna took a bite out of her dessert first, then responded, "the wrackspurts told me," she said in her dreamy voice.
Harry responded, "well, please tell them that some things are better left unsaid."
The blond second-year gave a warm smile. "I will talk with doing what I can," she replied, "though don't hold your breath. They are quite mischievous when they want to be."
Harry smirked "sounds like Shizuku" he gestured to his sister, who was talking with Parvati, before mentioning her nickname. The only thing she did was give a cheeky grin "and Astoria" looking at the smiling first-year.
Parvati looked a bit confused "why do you call her Shizuku?"
"That's our business," Emily replied, not wanting to explain why.
"Oh, come on, please," the girl begged. The Padma just shook her head at her sister.
"I said no," she looked away "what Hadrian and I talk about is our business. And the last thing we want is for Skeeter junior to start talking" she was referring to Lavender, who was sitting next to her.
The bubbly Gryffindor girl just huffed and crossed her arm. She then looked at the girl's brother "aren't you going to say anything to your sister?"
All he did was take a swig of his water. "I'll let her know when she says something I disagree with, and in any case, she is right. The last thing we need is for you to start gossiping like that ugly bitch Skeeter and you are almost as bad as she is."
"What if I only tell people who can keep a secret" she tried batting her eyes.
"No!" he said with a bit of force in his voice.
Lavender just started grumbling to herself.
Harry just returned to his dessert, taking a bite out of it. He suddenly felt the hairs in the back of his neck spike up "oh no," he groaned.
"What's the matter with you?" Blaise asked.
"3… 2…1" he then jabbed his thumb behind him.
The ones sitting beside him turned and saw Granger, Weasley, and his sister making a b-line for them.
"This should be amusing," Tracey commented with a mischievous glint in her eyes.
Ginny was the first to speak "hi Harry, um," she stuttered a bit when he turned to her. His green eyes were breathtaking in her opinion; regaining her wits, she resumed, "I was wondering if we can hang out on the 16th? I'm unable to attend Hogsmeade till next year, but I was hoping that we can have fun in the wreck room."
Everyone looked at him to see what his response would be. The only thing on his face was an expressionless mask "no. I have planned earlier that day."
Ginny was disappointed with his response but suddenly got an idea "what about later that day or Sunday. Everyone needs to have fun on the weekends" she batted her eyes.
Shizuku and Daphne were growing more irritated with the redhead girl's attempts. The former because of what he had to endure last year and the latter because she secretly had feelings for him. Harry replied, "true," he said, which brought a smile to Ginny's face as she thought he would say yes to hanging out with her "however, I already made plans with someone."
"Um, what about" she didn't get to finish.
"Bugger off Weasley," Emily cut in, having grown annoyed with the older girl "my brother does not have the time to spend with you. Now, if you don't mind, can you leave."
Hermione stepped in "well, it's clear that you adopted Harry's cold attitude." The little girl in front of her was quite rude in her opinion "you need to be nicer," she said in a condescending voice.
"And you need to stop being such a bossy, overbearing, narcissistic teacher's pet. Who thinks she entitled to be first in everything" she replied in a cold voice. "Maybe then people might find you tolerable, and you might actually make some more friends."
The others started laughing at the way she just told off Granger.
She followed up with, "you may think your incredibly smart. But you're really just an arrogant, obnoxious girl with a need to be first in everything, just to feel good about yourself."
Ron was red in the face with the way the little girl just spoke with Hermione "you really got a big mouth," he commented, "and Hermione is the smartest witch in the entire school."
Emily rolled her eyes and tilted her a bit "if that were true, then why hasn't she been promoted to a different year?" she coolly asked.
Hermione flushed in embarrassment. "W.E.A. is just biased," she said as a matter of fact, "there is no way they would have accepted Greengrass over me. It was only because of her family station in the government that she was allowed to advance ahead of everyone. Besides, I sent a letter earlier today explaining why I should be allowed to advance in my studies regardless of my blood status."
Emily looked at her as if she grew a second head "wow, you really are an exceedingly arrogant person. That is just sad" she shook her head.
Ginny spoke again, "Harry, I know you are very busy, but…"
Emily cut in again "今行ってもいい？私は私の変容と防衛試験のために勉強に行きたいと思います。," she asked in Japanese. (can we go now? I would like to go study for my transfiguration and defense exams.)
Harry responded in the same language "ああお腹いっぱいだ レッツゴー" he then got up and made to leave with her. (yeah, I'm full. let's go)
Shizuku was happily skipping out of the room. While he casually walked out, "ありがとうお姉ちゃん" he said as they left the great hall. (thanks, sis)
She smiled and replied, "どういたしまして" (your welcome) she said as they walked through the hallway.
When they were gone, Ron kept muttering about how arrogant Potter was. Hermione thought his sister was too arrogant and should have shown her some respect for being an upper-classman. On the other hand, Ginny was enamored with Harry and wondering what she could do to get him alone. From what her mother told her, she needed to become bolder in her advances toward him and steer him away from the members of Slytherin as they were dark. If she could get in good with his sister and her family, maybe she could get him to give her the time of day. She then turned her attention to the blond Slytherin girl and scowled at her.
There was no way she was going to allow someone like Greengrass to have what was hers. "Just so you know, Greengrass, you can't have him. He belongs to me," she said possessively.
Daphne narrowed her cold blue eyes at her "he's a person, not an object, Weasley, and unlike you, I don't see him as the Boy-who-lived. Hadrian is Hadrian."
"And what do you know about, Harry?" she argued. "You only care about the money and fame he has."
Daphne got up and looked down at the shorter girl "you sure you're not talking about yourself, Weasley" she mocked. "Just so you know. He doesn't like fangirls like you," was all she said before she left, leaving an irate Ginny.
A/N: Everyone has returned for their third year at Hogwarts, and they just had their first experience when encountering a dementor. On a personal note, who in their right minds would put those things near a school full of children? That decision already has bad news written all over it. Dumbledore briefly explained their nature, which was completely useless if anything. He should never have allowed them to be stationed there. Also, did it never cross his attention that maybe he should have taken precautions and taught them how to defend against those creatures. That should have been added in both book and movie. It's common sense 101. If anything happens to the students then he and the ministry bastards will be facing a lot of problems. However, I have just the way to shake things up and cause problems MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Hagrid's first lesson with the third years goes without saying. He may know about magical creatures, but he needs to be aware that not everyone is as strong as him. It's not that I hate the guy, it's just that he has the mentality of a child. Draco really should have known better and paid attention to what Hagrid said about Hippogriffs. In all fairness the boy should be maimed.
Neville obtained a new wand and will grow into his own person. Late bloomer he maybe but he is still a good kids. He just needs to get over his shyness. Also, for Luna I actually like her a bit of an odd ball but that's good. She's unique and that is good!
Next Chapter: A few surprises are to come and "they" meet.