Ok, this is pretty much a filler chapter. Have fun. Hey, two posts in one day. Hope this makes up for not posting for a while.
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Harry slept most of the day and Severus served him a light lunch in bed. They played chess for an hour before Snape finally beat Harry, and the boy fell back against his pillows.
"Do you have work to complete?"
"Not much, I did most of it Friday night. I just have to put the finishing touches on my Divination homework."
"I still don't know why you take that dreadful subject."
"I'm not going to leave Ron in there. Besides, I have to take something, and Arithmancy and Muggle Studies don't look interesting." Snape nodded.
"Have you thought about what you want to do after graduation?"
"Well, I do have several options. If Voldemort isn't defeated, I'll go into the Ministry as an Auror. If he is, I think I'm going to try to be a Seeker professionally." Snape nodded thoughtfully.
"They caught several key members in Voldemort's circle. Malfoy was one of them." Harry beamed at the news, but sensed there was more. "Actually several fathers of Slytherins are in detainment. Goyle, Crabbe, Malfoy, the biggest shock was Mikali Zabini, Blaise's older brother" Harry's face fell, and immediately thought of what Blaise must be going through. At least he was in Gryffindor, where people would actually console him rather than plot revenge or blow him off. "MacNair was among them, as were Avery, Flint, and three new recruits. Unfortunately, Pettigrew wasn't there." Harry nodded.
"Well, at least we did what we wanted to do. Now he won't suspect you as being the spy."
"Yes well, I have a feeling we will be called tonight and punished for their failure." Harry bolted up in bed.
"But you weren't even there! That's so…so—"
"Unfair? You really think the Dark Lord Voldemort cares about being fair?" Harry shook his head, lying back again. "Now don't strain yourself, you've been through an ordeal. I want you to take Dreamless Sleep tonight. You don't need the added stress of having another vision today." Harry nodded and sighed. He grabbed his wand from the bedside table and summoned his book bag. Snape pulled a vial of potion out of his robes and placed it carefully in the bag. Pulling out his Divination, Harry began to scrawl down possible deaths and accidents he could have between now and Christmas. Snape looked down at the parchment and gawked.
"What are you doing?"
"Predicting my death, again and again and again and—"
"Why are you predicting your death?" Harry looked up and smiled.
"She's a fraud, and she loves to predict doom and gloom. The more I die or have accidents, the happier she is and the higher grade I get. You know, all I had to do for my third year exam was just look at a crystal ball and lie? Of course, that's when she made a real prediction."
"Which was?" Snape asked, curious.
"Oh, that I would let Wormtail escape so he could go back to Voldemort and help him rise." Harry's eyes fell momentarily, and he hastily returned to his parchment. Snape watched him finish it up and tuck it into his bag.
"Are you ready for dinner?" Harry nodded and sat up stiffly, gently easing his way out of bed. He stretched his tight muscles and hobbled to the bathroom. Once necessities were out of the way, he changed into thick cotton robes to keep him warm and pulled his invisibility cloak out of his bag.
"Why do you have that?"
"Just in case. Let's go." Snape strode out of his chambers, placing a menacing look on his face. Harry darted up ahead of him and walked in the direction of Gryffindor Tower. He took off the cloak and stuffed it in his bag, then dropped the bag off in his common room. He clapped Blaise on the shoulder.
"You wanna go to dinner?"
"Where have you been?" Harry pointed to his book bag.
"The library. How about that dinner?" Hermione came down the stairs and hugged him tightly, and Ginny pulled Blaise off the couch.
"Come on, Blaise, you need to eat." She hooked her arm through his and escorted him to the Great Hall. Harry took Hermione's hand and squeezed it, letting her know he was alright.
When they entered the Great Hall, Harry looked over at the Slytherin table. Draco Malfoy was glaring around at anyone who would come near him. Goyle and Crabbe didn't look too happy either. Harry sat down and looked over to the Ravenclaw table. Ron was chatting happily with Padma, then she giggled and kissed him on the cheek. Harry elbowed Hermione and pointed, and she smiled.
"That's great. Things are starting to look up." She smiled at him as they sat down and Ginny began piling food on Blaise's plate. He gave a mock-suffering sigh and dug in. Hermione laughed and Harry helped himself to the mashed potatoes. Before he was scolded, he piled green peas next to them.
~Thank you~ Harry laughed involuntarily, receiving strange looks from people. ~People are going to begin to think you're unstable mentally~
He chuckled and ate his peas, absorbing in all the details of the Ravenclaw/Hufflepuff match from Seamus and Dean.
