Everyone took their seats around the house tables, talking about what they had learnt so far while eating.
"I can't believe that Potter was almost a Slytherin," Daphne said to Tracey.
"I know. I wonder how things would have gone if he hadn't met Malfoy before the sorting," Tracey agreed.
"What do you mean?" Blaise asked, inserting himself into the conversation.
"Well, it sounds like he just didn't want to be in the same house as Malfoy because of what Malfoy has said to him and Weasley. If he hadn't met Malfoy, he wouldn't have a reason to not want to be in Slytherin," Tracey said with a shrug.
"He still would have gone to Gryffindor probably though," Blaise said after a few moments.
"Why do you say that?" Daphne asked.
"Well, just from what Hagrid and Weasley had told him, the prejudiced views that they had while explaining the houses could have turned him away anyway."
"That's true," Daphne agreed thoughtfully.
"I can't believe Harry could have been in any house," Susan commented.
"Well, it makes sense. You've seen how loyal he is towards his friends, especially Ron and Hermione, and we know he's a hard worker from what we've seen in the DA," Hannah agreed.
"And we know he's smart. Otherwise, he couldn't have done so well last year, or be such a good teacher," Justin added.
"He probably doesn't even show all he's capable of. From what I know, those who grow up like he did often got punished for good marks, so he could be downplaying his ability as a habit," Ernie said.
"And he would have had to be cunning and sly to survive in the type of household he grew up in," Susan said, a touch of sadness entering her voice.
"And we all know how brave he is. Just from the rumours alone," Justin said.
"Potter has great instincts and power. Imagine if he was trained," Moody said to Kingsley and Amelia.
"He does. He would make a great Auror from what we've heard so far," Kingsley agreed.
"I agree. I just hope he would consider working for the ministry after everything they're doing this year," Amelia said with a sigh.
"Well, I'm pretty sure that's all the peaceful chapters done," Hermione said with a sigh.
"Which is wonderful. And all the adults are already on edge just from my home life," Harry said between bites of food.
"I don't even want to know how mum will react to how I treated Hermione before Halloween, let alone everything else we've done. Just thinking about Norbert makes me want to leave them to read without us," Ron said, looking up from his meal.
"These books really aren't going to be good for their nerves, are they?" Harry asked.
"Not at all. This first book alone," Hermione said.
"And Remus already needed a calming draught. How's he going to go with everything else we've done?" Ron asked.
"I have no clue. Do you know how long calming draughts last Hermione? Or how long you have to wait before taking a second?" Harry asked.
"I don't actually know. We haven't done calming draughts in class; any medical potion that changes your mood or effects your nervous system isn't covered until NEWT level potions. I do know that it is over 45 minutes between calming draughts, but I'm not sure if that's all or if it's longer than that," Hermione said.
"Do you reckon the books will be nice enough to put a few of the stressful things in one chapter so they don't need a calming draught for each chapter?" Ron asked.
"With my luck? No chance," Harry replied.
"Maybe we should work out which chapters will require a calming draught. Otherwise, they could take one and then have something bigger the next chapter that is even more stressful. Like Norbert and then our detention," Hermione suggested, being careful of how she worded things, so that Harry and Ron understood, while those around them didn't, since she knew that Remus and Sirius at least were listening to their conversation with their enhanced hearing.
"That is a good idea," Ron said.
"I'll go grab the book and ask Madame Pomphrey about the calming draughts," Harry said, standing up. Harry walked up the isle between the tables, heading to the Head table.
"Madame Pomphrey?" he asked as he neared her.
"Yes, Mr Potter."
"I was wondering how long a calming draught lasts for. And how long you have to wait between taking them."
"The calming draughts that are being provided last for about half an hour, and you have to wait 45 minutes between draughts, to give time for the excess to leave your system," Madame Pomphrey explained.
"So, with the books, it would be about every two chapters that someone could take one?" Harry asked, wanting to clarify; he knew his luck, meaning the last few chapters, probably three or four, of this book would probably all require a calming draught.
"Yes. Or one before a break and then the next chapter since it would leave your system during the break."
"Thank you, Madame Pomphrey," Harry said with a smile.
"It's no problem Mr Potter. And I would like for you to come up to the infirmary during the next break to have a look do a deep scan, so I can see if there is any lasting damage from how your relatives treated you." Harry sighed, but knew he couldn't avoid it; maybe she would be able to tell him if he would remain a scrawny git, in Fred and George's words.
"If you insist."
"I do."
"Oh, one more thing. Are there going to be more calming draughts provided for each book or do the ones we have, have to last all seven books?" If they only had the number that were provided at the start, then it was going to be tough to keep the adults in their group calm throughout the books, especially if their sixth and seventh years were as bad as their first four, and the one they were halfway through.
"More are going to be provided each day," Madame Pomphrey said.
"That's good. Thank you," Harry said, giving her a smile and nodded slightly, sighing as he did so. She gave him a smile as she waved him away. He moved further down the table, to where Professor Flitwick was sitting; he had the book, since he was the one casting the spell each chapter.
"I was wondering if I could have look through the book Professor."
"Of course, Mr Potter. It is a book about you, after all," Filius replied, passing over the book.
"May I ask why?" Minerva asked from her spot next to Filius.
"Hermione, Ron, and I want to have a look through the chapter titles to get an idea of which chapters our group will need calming draughts for, so they don't take any too early," Harry replied.
"Why do you think they may take them too early?" Pomona asked, not knowing everything they had gotten up to over the years; then again, no one actually knew everything.
"Well, some stuff, like how I got on the Quidditch team, would probably make them want a calming draught, but I'm pretty sure that they would need one for Halloween more, which would be in the next chapter or so," Harry said, shrugging.
"That is a good idea Mr Potter. Would you mind providing us with a similar list when you bring the book back up?" Minerva asked. Harry shrugged again.
"Sure. Thanks again Professor." Harry turned around, heading back down to where his friends were sitting at the Gryffindor table.
"Why do you want the list Minerva?" Filius asked. Minerva sighed.
"I know more than most the things that trio got up to in their first year. And I'm not looking forward to hearing it described from Mr Potter's point of view or finding out about things they managed to hide from us," Minerva replied.
Harry sat back down, sliding into place next to Hermione and Ron, rather than opposite them like he had been before, placing the book on the table in front of him in the space that Hermione had cleared for them to use. Hermione already had a new piece of parchment in front of her, the quill she had taken from Fred earlier in hand.
"What are we working with?" Ron asked.
"Well, according to Pomphrey, someone can have a calming draught every two chapters, or the chapters on either side of a break. The ones we were given last 30 minutes, and you have to have 45 minutes between doses. Oh, and we'll get more each day."
"That's good. Everyone will need them, especially mum and Remus," Ron said.
"Let's have a look at the chapter titles then," Hermione suggested. Harry opened the book to the first few pages, flicking through to the index with the chapter titles. He pushed the book over slightly, so that it was more in front of her. She copied down the chapter titles before closing the book. Ron and Harry leaned over to look at the parchment in front of Hermione, since she was sitting in the middle of them, meaning they could talk quietly so that no one else would hear their discussion.
"They'll need one during Halloween, definitely," Ron said.
"I'd say Quidditch as well, but it's right after," Hermione said.
"I would go Halloween over Quidditch. Halloween was probably more dangerous than Quidditch," Harry said.
"What next? Norbert?" Ron asked, thinking about his mum's reaction to finding out that there had been a dragon, let alone that he was bitten by one.
"I'm thinking that Forest would need one more. Remember who I met? And they'll be bad when it just mentions us going in there," Harry commented.
"Yeah, that's true," Ron said, nodding.
"If we go with the Forest, then we can't do one for the Trap Door," Hermione pointed out.
"Mum will freak when we get to the chess board," Ron groaned.
"Yeah, but I really think that the Forest will need it more. Your mum will freak just knowing we have to go in there, let alone what happens in there. Plus, skipping the Trap Door means they can have one for the last chapter where I get badly hurt," Harry said, emphasising badly hurt, since he was definitely underplaying how badly he was hurt, but didn't want to worry Remus and Sirius, since he knew the two could hear them, despite how quietly they were talking.
"Harry's right. And the calming draught should carry over to at least part of the Trap Door. And depending on when the breaks are, we may be able to have a calming draught for Norbert, if it's before a break," Hermione said.
"I guess you're right. I'm just not looking forward to mum's freak-out when she hears about Norbert or the chess board," Ron said with a sigh.
"You and me both. Or Halloween. Or Quidditch," Harry muttered, running his hand through his hair.
"It will be fine. You can't get in trouble for it and we had reasons for everything we did," Hermione said.
"Easy for you to say. It's not from your perspective, so they won't find out what you did during any of the Quidditch matches," Harry said.
"Which I am incredibly thankful about. You know what I did during your first match," Hermione said.
"Actually, you're right. I am glad that it's from my point of view rather than yours. Snape would actually kill you," Harry agreed.
"He would," Ron agreed, nodding fervently.
"You should probably take the book back up to the teachers. It looks like most people are finished eating," Hermione said, looking up from the parchment and around the hall. Everyone looked to just be talking now.
"Yeah, you're right. Can you copy the parchment for me? McGonagall wants a copy," Harry said.
"Sure, one second," Hermione said, copying the sheet of parchment and handing a copy to Harry.
"Thanks, Mione," Harry said, picking up the book as well before heading back to the Head table.
"Thanks Professor. Here's the list we made," Harry said, handing the book and list over to Professor Flitwick.
"Thank you, Mr Potter," Filius said, looking at the list. Harry nodded, heading back down to where his group was. As Harry was walking away, Filius passed the list over to Minerva who scanned the list as well. She paled as she reached the bottom of the list.
"What's wrong Minerva?" Pomona asked, noticing her friends paling face.
"This title. The chapter's named after a dragon," Minerva said, pointing out the title she meant.
"There was a dragon?" Pomona asked hesitantly.
"I really hope not," Minerva said.
"There's nothing we can do if there was, unfortunately," Filius said with a sigh as Dumbledore stood.
"Now that everyone is done, we can bring back the comfortable seating and continue reading. If everyone could stand." Everyone stood and the tables disappeared once more, letting everyone find the seats they had been using before their lunch break. Once everyone was comfortably seated again, Filius cast the spell at the book again, starting the next chapter of the book.