// "No, I do not. And don't call me Herm." Turning, she stared for the castle again, a thoughtful expression on her face the entire way back. //
Any question on whether or not Hermione liked the older Slytherin Christopher O'Niell was quickly put to rest as he began to replace Draco Malfoy as the most avid Muggle hater and big headed snob on the school grounds. Unlike Malfoy, he rarely did anything that could get him in trouble, even when the teacher wasn't watching. It was simply general looks, sneers, and an exaggerated avoidance of Mud-Blood tainted objects. At one point between classes, Hermione slipped going up the stairs, courtesy of Cabby's dropped book, and grabbed the railing. Christopher, who had been following behind her and holding the railing, made a point to no touch the segment that Hermione grabbed. Draco, as well as any other nearby Slytherins, snickered. That had been three days ago. Now most students not of a pure blood avoided Christopher as a general rule of thumb.
Harry was now sitting in Summoning, suffering through another episode of the "Draco tries to flirt with Nadia" brand of torture. Despite how intelligent he tried to sound, how cool he tried to act, or how wittingly he insulted Harry, the poor boy just couldn't seem to attract the Arabian beauty's attention. Her heart, along with all Slytherin females', belonged to Christopher O'Niell and his finely chiseled features.
Everyone was copying down the pentagram for summoning and containing a level two creature as Professor Curry prowled between the desks. He had just passed Harry and Draco when the Slytherin made his move. Dipping his quill in the shared pot of ink, Draco flicked the feather and sent a rain fall of black ink onto Harry's pentagram. Nadia, who had witnessed this, chose to roll her eyes rather then be impressed. "Silly boy," she hissed, "He will catch you. Why can't you be more subtle like Christopher?"
Draco was indeed caught for when Professor Curry made the next circuit, he noticed the spots. After scolding Harry for his poor work he turned to Draco and gave him a good telling for not watching his partner's work. "It is better to fix the mistake before it happens so you don't wind up fixing it after the event. And in Summoning, you do /not/ want to be fixing already made mistakes." When he moved on to the next desk both Gryffindor and Slytherin were down three points.
Angry at the unfairness of it all, Harry kicked Draco under the desk and got a sneer in return. When class ended, Draco managed to pick up an elbow to the ribs and a crushed toe as well from his own house mates for the lost points. Harry moved over to Ron and Hermione's desk, across the room. The pair was Professor Curry's favorite for Hermione never messed up and she always managed to correct Ron's mistakes in time. No surprise there.
"Will you look at that," Hermione murmured when Harry reached them.
"What?" Ron asked, his eyes fixed on the quill she brushed back and forth across her throat absentmindedly.
"Draco Malfoy, alone and rejected."
Harry twisted to look catch a glimpse of the boy walking out of the class unaccompanied. "Yes," he said in a cheerful tone. "It does make me feel rather tingly in side. I think it's from the laughter I'm trying to hold back." Harry and Ron shared a grin and Hermione chuckled politely.
"Why yesterday I saw Cabby and Goyal flanking that new boy Christopher," Hermione shook her head and frowned, "he was picking on a first year Ravenclaw I think. Oh how I hate that guy."
Ron managed a shrug as he piled his books and parchments into the crook of his arm. "He's Slytherin, what do you expect?"
****
The weeks began to flow by and the weather began to chill. The new students were blending in nicely and everything seemed to be normal. The kind of normal without even impending doom of some sort or another in fact. Harry, Hermione, and Ron went to visit Hagrid whenever they could for amazingly enough he had managed to produce a fun and interesting creature this year. Looking like a large cross between a rabbit and a snake, with mini-useless wings tacked on its back, the Rakes were rather enjoyable. Other then their tendency to get rather vicious when they dinned on the shrill caterpillars and their bad habit of nipping fingers, they were almost pet-quality material.
Hermione's large tan colored one was actually sitting in her lap as the three friends lounged around Hagrid's table. The man himself was pacing the room, fiddling with one of his giant tea cups as he went. "Well, I don't know…" Hagrid rumbled for the third time.
"You like her, don't you?" Hermione asked in a patient voice.
"Oh yes, I like her a lot! But…" Hagrid scratched his beard and examined the hut ceiling.
"I don't see what the problem is," Ron grumbled, dunking a rock hard cake repeatedly in his tea with no intention of ever eating the thing.
"Yeah," Harry added, "If you like her then you just have to go for it. And it's not like you'd be leaving for no reason. You're going on official Hogwarts business for Professor Dumbledor." Hagrid perked up a bit at the last part, standing straighter and placing his cup on the table.
"If you like her then you just have to go for it," Ron mimicked with a grin. "Is that the tactic you used with Cho, Harry?" Harry scowled and tossed a rock cookie at Ron, nailing him on the head and hopefully doing a lot of damage. Things had not been going well for Harry in the area of Cho lately. Though she was very sweet to him in a little brother kind of way, it was becoming more and more well known that she and the new Gryffindor, Kareem, were somewhat of an item. Harry had even resorted to the old tactic of flower giving only to find that Kareem outclassed him that very day with a beautiful beaded necklace. Now Harry just avoided the two and nursed his broken heart alone in a dark corner.
Hermione scowled at Ron as she reached over to pat Harry on the hand in a comforting kind of way. "Really, Hagrid," she said, "you could do a lot of good by going with Olympe to meet these giants. And what we need now is goodness."
Taking a seat next to her, Hagrid toyed with his empty cup. "Yes, but it is all the way on the other side of the world! How does that help us here? And I would be away for so long…" Hermione could only sigh loudly and move to pat his hand this time.
Harry studied his large friend and tried to understand his reluctance. Both Hagrid and Olympe had be invited to a clan meeting of the giants in the orient. They had already convinced many giants to the north to become peaceful and help the wizards. The fact that Hagrid was also clearly smitten with Olympe should only make the two month long tip even more tempting.
"But.. but.." Hagrid looked around, "Who would take care of Fang?" he asked, petting the boar hound's head after it had moved to rest a chin on his knee. Unfortunately, like all poor excuses, this was solve right away.
Before anyone could offer to tend the creature, there came a brisk knocking on the door. Hagrid and the students exchanged a glance. Moving carefully, Hagrid opened the door a foot or two to check before throwing it wide open. "Ah, Professor Sprout! How can I help you?"
The Professor strode into the room and glanced at Ron, Harry, and Hermione with a slight frown. "I've got a new batch of plants today, Hagrid, and some of them need special space and housing. I was wondering if you could help me set up a green house somewhere in-between the forest and Greenhouse 4? They are very delicate and need to be soundly protected, but unfortunately they are too dangerous to have where the children can get into. " Hagrid opened his mouth to reply, but it was Hermione who got a response in first.
"Why not use Hagrid's hut while he is gone?" she asked hurriedly.
Professor Sprout blinked in surprise but smiled brightly after a moment. "I didn't know you were leaving, Hagrid. Oh but could I? The plants need to be kept in the dark and, well, your hut is rather ideal for it," she said, glancing at the cluttered windowsills.
Opening and closing his mouth several times, Hagrid looked from face to face. Apparently unable to come up with an excuse, he let his shoulders droop in defeat. "Yes, sure, okay," he mumbled but was soon smiling as Hermione and Harry patted him on the back.
****
It was mid October when Hagrid left. Madame Maxime came to the school one night with her magical carriage and Hagrid left with wishes of good luck and orders to write often. Harry, Ron, and Hermione stood standing out on the fields until the carriage disappeared from sight along the horizon. Sighing, Harry reached down to scratch Fang behind the ears. The boar hound whined, already missing his friend. The number of Care for Magical Creature classes would be cut in half and the ones that were still running would be taught by Oliver Wood. Professor McGonagall insisted that she had managed to get along fine years before without an assistant and that Wood would do fine on his own.
The three friends escorted the boar-hound to Oliver's room, where he would be staying, and stayed around for a quick cup of tea. Both Ron and Hermione left when they were done while Harry was kept back to discuss Quidditch strategy. The team had been practicing three nights a week for now and they were only a month away from the first Quidditch game of the year. And in Wood's mind, it was never to early to start planning. It was past lights out when Wood finally relented.
"Well, I guess-" Harry said, pausing for a wide yawn, "I guess I'll have to practice that dive a bit more if you insist it's the best plan."
"It is, it is. But no more Quidditch tonight," Wood grinned and pulled out a small bit of parchment. Scribbling a excuse on it, he handed it over to Harry.
"Whatever you say, /Professor/ Wood," Harry said with a laugh as Oliver made a face. Though all the aids were not official teachers, Dumbledor had decided the all merited titles of Professor- much to Wood distaste.
Leaving the Wood and Fang, Harry headed back to the Gryffindor common room. For once he had permission to be wandering the halls so late at night. With Oliver's pass, no one could yell at him or find fault with him. He was even tempted to start whistling just to irritate Flitch who was undoubtedly stalking the halls. Harry had just wet his lips when he had just turned down another stretch of corridor and found the sneaking form of Hermione creeping along the hall. She jumped in surprise when she saw him, but instantly relaxed when she realized who it was.
"What are you doing here?" Harry hissed, suddenly worried about getting her in trouble.
"I should ask the same of you," she shot back, tip-toeing to his side. "I waited up for you but when you never came back, I got worried."
"You shouldn't be wandering the halls at night," Harry said, gripping her arm and heading towards the common room. "It isn't safe to be roaming the halls at night, you could be caught or.."
Harry trailed off as Hermione yanked her arm away from him. "What?" she snapped, no longer speaking in a whisper. "It's okay for you and Ron to scamper about the grounds at night but not me? Are you suggesting I can't take care of myself?"
Surprised by the venom in her voice, Harry took a step back. "I.. I just don't want you to get in trouble. You're not exactly tops at sneaking around." Harry waved a hand and smiled weakly to suggest how he had caught her. "If you have to sneak out, take Ron or myself with you."
Hermione sniffed. "You sound like Kareem, thinking girls can't do anything. For your information-" But she quickly cut herself off.
There was the pounding sound of running feet. Harry and Hermione both spun around, staring in surprise. The frantic figure of Professor Rhatt rounded the corner, running at top speed. In one hand was clenched her wand, glowing in the darkness, and in the other a piece of parchment. Her robes fanned out behind her and she did not even pause to scold them for being out so late. Hermione stumbled back with a grunt as the Professor knocked into her and continued sprinting down the hall.
"Why that-" Hermione began to mutter, rubbing her shoulder and glaring down the hall where Rhatt had disappeared.
"What do you think happened?" Harry asked in surprise. Try as he might, he could hear nothing other then the retreating footsteps of the Professor. Certainly there would be a lot of noise if the school was under attack. "Where do you think she is going? She didn't even yell at us for being up!"
"I don't know, but it can't be good. She had a piece of paper, didn't you see? Probably some urgent message," Hermione frowned and glanced around. "It can't be good… we should be going before she comes back." She turned to go but Harry reached out to stop her with a hand on the shoulder.
"Think about what I said, okay?" He asked nervously. Hermione stood there for several moments, her bushy hair illuminated by the torchlight. Without reply, she slid away from his hand and left. Sighing loudly, Harry turned and leaned back against the wall. Running a hand over his face, he knocked his glasses askew. Did that mean she would? Or not… Why did girls have to be so confusing? He was just trying to look out for her. That's what friends did, right?
The question of what had worried Professor Rhatt did not remain unanswered for long. The next morning at breakfast was one few would forget. The air was charged and the moment the students walked into the room, they knew something was wrong. Several students were absent and the sight of Seamus with puffy red eyes greeted Harry when he entered. A pair of sixth year girls at the Hufflepuff table cried on each other's shoulders until Professor Sprout hurried over to usher them out of the room.
Harry and Ron exchanged nervous looks before moving to sit down. Hermione looked pale, apparently aware of what happened, but only shook her head as Ron opened his mouth to ask. Harry noticed the Slytherin table lacked no students, but they too looked shaken. He felt his stomach turn- what could be bad enough to wipe the perpetual sneer off their smug faces?
When the last of the students who would apparently be showing up had filtered in, Dumbuldor moved to stand. He did not even have to call for the student's attention as everyone waited to hear what was wrong. Harry scanned the teacher's table and noticed both Sprout and Flitwick missing, the remaining ones looking tired.
"As all of you remember," the Headmaster started in an steady voice, "Lord Voldemort returned last year. It has been many years since he last terrorized the land and too many people refused to believe of his return. But now they do. There was an attack on the Peeked Hat wizarding community," there was a collective gasp from the students, ".. and there were casualties. It was lead by those Death Eaters who have remained free among us while Voldemort was lost. They targeted known Muggle born wizards and especially the few Muggles living in the community."
There was a cry from many students at this and several more broke down in tears. Harry caught sight of Seamus farther down the table, ducking his head, his eyes closed tightly. Dumbledor raised his hands and the Hall quieted again, aside from the occasional uncontrolled sob.
"Several students lost loved ones in this attack, and we ask you treat this with the delicacy it requires. It has also been agreed by the Ministry and many families that you students will be safest here. No one is being sent home and we hope you understand the threat sneaking off grounds poses for you, some in particular," Harry felt Dumbledor's gaze, even as he ducked his head. "The penalty for sneaking off will be even stricter then it was two years ago." Though everyone waited for more, Dumbledor sat down without another comment.
The Hall immediately broke out into whispers. The missing students slowly filtered in during breakfast or came back during classes. Their eyes were red and puffy and they were immediately surrounded by sympathetic friends. As Harry and Ron moved to comfort Seamus, whose Muggle father had been lost, Harry felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. Voldemort was back and people were dying. And although Harry was accredited to ridding him the first time, he felt as though he was responsible for this mess. "Blood of the enemy forcibly taken you will resurrect your foe," Wormtail's voice echoed through his mind. If he hadn't gotten to the cup, if he had only tried harder to escape, if only… The possibilities and "what if"s churned in his stomach making him sick. Lucky his look of pain blended in well with the faces of the morning students.
The teachers went easier on the students during the day, especially those who lost family and were prone to getting up and leave in the middle of the class crying. Even Snape was less strict then normal. He did not turn a blind eye when Seamus's potion turned the wrong shade of blue, but told the boy what he did wrong in the closest thing to kindness then anyone had ever seen. The student's would have been shocked if they were not already reeling from the reported twenty-one deaths already.
It was when everyone was heading back to their common rooms after dinner that the Slytherin attitude reared its ugly head. As Harry, Ron, Dean, and Seamus were walking down one of the more remote corridors, they passed trouble. Christopher lounged against the wall, his two new fans Cabby and Goyal, attempting, and failing, to strike equally casual poses on either side of him. The older boy's dark eyes glittered in the torchlight, his gaze following Seamus. When the boy had just passed him, he pushed off from the wall, grinning.
"Seamus," Christopher called, dropping a hand on Seamus's shoulder. When he turned, the two locked gazes and air around them seemed to chill. The malicious and evil smile Christopher wore caused both Harry and Ron to clench their fists as well as their teeth. Though his gesture was comradely, the look he had pasted on that finely chiseled face of his was pure evil. Seamus flinched and turned away, to sad and tired to start a fight. Though he continued on towards the Gryfindor common room, Ron, Dean, and Harry remained where they were, ready to fight.
Goyal and Cabby moved to flank Christopher, cracking their knuckles and equally ready to brawl. Interestingly enough, it was Christopher who prevented the potential blood bath. Winking mockingly, he spun on his heal and strode the opposite way down the corridor. His two side-kicks, having expected a fight, took several moments to realize what happened and make their own exit. Dean shook his head in disgust and hurried to his friend's side for the rest of the way back. Harry and Ron remained in the where they were, muttering.
"How could he do something like that! Seamus's dad just dies and he mocks him! That guys is just sick!" Ron shook his head and continued to clench and unclench his fists.
"I didn't like that wink," Harry said, "you better be careful Ron. You're dad is well known for being a Muggle fan. Does Dean have Muggle relations?"
"Me?" Ron asked, looking to his friend in surprised, "*You're* the one they all want to kill! You escaped You-Know-Who twice! My family is nothing compared to you on their To Kill list."
Harry hook his head and ran his fingers through his hair, "But those people at that village. What did they do? Herm showed me the article on the attack after Potions, they had no reason to kill those people. There was only one Ministry official among the tweny-one killed, and they we just someone low rank. If those people can be attacked, then anyone is at risk." A thought suddenly occurred to him, his brow creasing. "I hope Herm's parents are safe. They're both Muggles…"
"Hermione's parents?" Ron blinked in surprised, "Wha- I'm sure they're fine. They live with Muggles in a Muggle city. As crazy as the Death Eaters are, I don't think they're ready to take on the entire Muggle population at once."
In the end, all Harry could do was agree and continue to feel horrible inside. They got back to the common room before lights out and found it nearly empty. Herm had waited up for them but only reminded them to study for the O.W.L.S before hurrying off to bed herself.
****
As the days went by, Hogwarts slowly began to lighten up. The fear and sadness was slowly replaced once again by the loads of homework and bustle of everyday life. But Seamus, like many others, never quite lost that haunted look to their yes.
Any question on whether or not Hermione liked the older Slytherin Christopher O'Niell was quickly put to rest as he began to replace Draco Malfoy as the most avid Muggle hater and big headed snob on the school grounds. Unlike Malfoy, he rarely did anything that could get him in trouble, even when the teacher wasn't watching. It was simply general looks, sneers, and an exaggerated avoidance of Mud-Blood tainted objects. At one point between classes, Hermione slipped going up the stairs, courtesy of Cabby's dropped book, and grabbed the railing. Christopher, who had been following behind her and holding the railing, made a point to no touch the segment that Hermione grabbed. Draco, as well as any other nearby Slytherins, snickered. That had been three days ago. Now most students not of a pure blood avoided Christopher as a general rule of thumb.
Harry was now sitting in Summoning, suffering through another episode of the "Draco tries to flirt with Nadia" brand of torture. Despite how intelligent he tried to sound, how cool he tried to act, or how wittingly he insulted Harry, the poor boy just couldn't seem to attract the Arabian beauty's attention. Her heart, along with all Slytherin females', belonged to Christopher O'Niell and his finely chiseled features.
Everyone was copying down the pentagram for summoning and containing a level two creature as Professor Curry prowled between the desks. He had just passed Harry and Draco when the Slytherin made his move. Dipping his quill in the shared pot of ink, Draco flicked the feather and sent a rain fall of black ink onto Harry's pentagram. Nadia, who had witnessed this, chose to roll her eyes rather then be impressed. "Silly boy," she hissed, "He will catch you. Why can't you be more subtle like Christopher?"
Draco was indeed caught for when Professor Curry made the next circuit, he noticed the spots. After scolding Harry for his poor work he turned to Draco and gave him a good telling for not watching his partner's work. "It is better to fix the mistake before it happens so you don't wind up fixing it after the event. And in Summoning, you do /not/ want to be fixing already made mistakes." When he moved on to the next desk both Gryffindor and Slytherin were down three points.
Angry at the unfairness of it all, Harry kicked Draco under the desk and got a sneer in return. When class ended, Draco managed to pick up an elbow to the ribs and a crushed toe as well from his own house mates for the lost points. Harry moved over to Ron and Hermione's desk, across the room. The pair was Professor Curry's favorite for Hermione never messed up and she always managed to correct Ron's mistakes in time. No surprise there.
"Will you look at that," Hermione murmured when Harry reached them.
"What?" Ron asked, his eyes fixed on the quill she brushed back and forth across her throat absentmindedly.
"Draco Malfoy, alone and rejected."
Harry twisted to look catch a glimpse of the boy walking out of the class unaccompanied. "Yes," he said in a cheerful tone. "It does make me feel rather tingly in side. I think it's from the laughter I'm trying to hold back." Harry and Ron shared a grin and Hermione chuckled politely.
"Why yesterday I saw Cabby and Goyal flanking that new boy Christopher," Hermione shook her head and frowned, "he was picking on a first year Ravenclaw I think. Oh how I hate that guy."
Ron managed a shrug as he piled his books and parchments into the crook of his arm. "He's Slytherin, what do you expect?"
****
The weeks began to flow by and the weather began to chill. The new students were blending in nicely and everything seemed to be normal. The kind of normal without even impending doom of some sort or another in fact. Harry, Hermione, and Ron went to visit Hagrid whenever they could for amazingly enough he had managed to produce a fun and interesting creature this year. Looking like a large cross between a rabbit and a snake, with mini-useless wings tacked on its back, the Rakes were rather enjoyable. Other then their tendency to get rather vicious when they dinned on the shrill caterpillars and their bad habit of nipping fingers, they were almost pet-quality material.
Hermione's large tan colored one was actually sitting in her lap as the three friends lounged around Hagrid's table. The man himself was pacing the room, fiddling with one of his giant tea cups as he went. "Well, I don't know…" Hagrid rumbled for the third time.
"You like her, don't you?" Hermione asked in a patient voice.
"Oh yes, I like her a lot! But…" Hagrid scratched his beard and examined the hut ceiling.
"I don't see what the problem is," Ron grumbled, dunking a rock hard cake repeatedly in his tea with no intention of ever eating the thing.
"Yeah," Harry added, "If you like her then you just have to go for it. And it's not like you'd be leaving for no reason. You're going on official Hogwarts business for Professor Dumbledor." Hagrid perked up a bit at the last part, standing straighter and placing his cup on the table.
"If you like her then you just have to go for it," Ron mimicked with a grin. "Is that the tactic you used with Cho, Harry?" Harry scowled and tossed a rock cookie at Ron, nailing him on the head and hopefully doing a lot of damage. Things had not been going well for Harry in the area of Cho lately. Though she was very sweet to him in a little brother kind of way, it was becoming more and more well known that she and the new Gryffindor, Kareem, were somewhat of an item. Harry had even resorted to the old tactic of flower giving only to find that Kareem outclassed him that very day with a beautiful beaded necklace. Now Harry just avoided the two and nursed his broken heart alone in a dark corner.
Hermione scowled at Ron as she reached over to pat Harry on the hand in a comforting kind of way. "Really, Hagrid," she said, "you could do a lot of good by going with Olympe to meet these giants. And what we need now is goodness."
Taking a seat next to her, Hagrid toyed with his empty cup. "Yes, but it is all the way on the other side of the world! How does that help us here? And I would be away for so long…" Hermione could only sigh loudly and move to pat his hand this time.
Harry studied his large friend and tried to understand his reluctance. Both Hagrid and Olympe had be invited to a clan meeting of the giants in the orient. They had already convinced many giants to the north to become peaceful and help the wizards. The fact that Hagrid was also clearly smitten with Olympe should only make the two month long tip even more tempting.
"But.. but.." Hagrid looked around, "Who would take care of Fang?" he asked, petting the boar hound's head after it had moved to rest a chin on his knee. Unfortunately, like all poor excuses, this was solve right away.
Before anyone could offer to tend the creature, there came a brisk knocking on the door. Hagrid and the students exchanged a glance. Moving carefully, Hagrid opened the door a foot or two to check before throwing it wide open. "Ah, Professor Sprout! How can I help you?"
The Professor strode into the room and glanced at Ron, Harry, and Hermione with a slight frown. "I've got a new batch of plants today, Hagrid, and some of them need special space and housing. I was wondering if you could help me set up a green house somewhere in-between the forest and Greenhouse 4? They are very delicate and need to be soundly protected, but unfortunately they are too dangerous to have where the children can get into. " Hagrid opened his mouth to reply, but it was Hermione who got a response in first.
"Why not use Hagrid's hut while he is gone?" she asked hurriedly.
Professor Sprout blinked in surprise but smiled brightly after a moment. "I didn't know you were leaving, Hagrid. Oh but could I? The plants need to be kept in the dark and, well, your hut is rather ideal for it," she said, glancing at the cluttered windowsills.
Opening and closing his mouth several times, Hagrid looked from face to face. Apparently unable to come up with an excuse, he let his shoulders droop in defeat. "Yes, sure, okay," he mumbled but was soon smiling as Hermione and Harry patted him on the back.
****
It was mid October when Hagrid left. Madame Maxime came to the school one night with her magical carriage and Hagrid left with wishes of good luck and orders to write often. Harry, Ron, and Hermione stood standing out on the fields until the carriage disappeared from sight along the horizon. Sighing, Harry reached down to scratch Fang behind the ears. The boar hound whined, already missing his friend. The number of Care for Magical Creature classes would be cut in half and the ones that were still running would be taught by Oliver Wood. Professor McGonagall insisted that she had managed to get along fine years before without an assistant and that Wood would do fine on his own.
The three friends escorted the boar-hound to Oliver's room, where he would be staying, and stayed around for a quick cup of tea. Both Ron and Hermione left when they were done while Harry was kept back to discuss Quidditch strategy. The team had been practicing three nights a week for now and they were only a month away from the first Quidditch game of the year. And in Wood's mind, it was never to early to start planning. It was past lights out when Wood finally relented.
"Well, I guess-" Harry said, pausing for a wide yawn, "I guess I'll have to practice that dive a bit more if you insist it's the best plan."
"It is, it is. But no more Quidditch tonight," Wood grinned and pulled out a small bit of parchment. Scribbling a excuse on it, he handed it over to Harry.
"Whatever you say, /Professor/ Wood," Harry said with a laugh as Oliver made a face. Though all the aids were not official teachers, Dumbledor had decided the all merited titles of Professor- much to Wood distaste.
Leaving the Wood and Fang, Harry headed back to the Gryffindor common room. For once he had permission to be wandering the halls so late at night. With Oliver's pass, no one could yell at him or find fault with him. He was even tempted to start whistling just to irritate Flitch who was undoubtedly stalking the halls. Harry had just wet his lips when he had just turned down another stretch of corridor and found the sneaking form of Hermione creeping along the hall. She jumped in surprise when she saw him, but instantly relaxed when she realized who it was.
"What are you doing here?" Harry hissed, suddenly worried about getting her in trouble.
"I should ask the same of you," she shot back, tip-toeing to his side. "I waited up for you but when you never came back, I got worried."
"You shouldn't be wandering the halls at night," Harry said, gripping her arm and heading towards the common room. "It isn't safe to be roaming the halls at night, you could be caught or.."
Harry trailed off as Hermione yanked her arm away from him. "What?" she snapped, no longer speaking in a whisper. "It's okay for you and Ron to scamper about the grounds at night but not me? Are you suggesting I can't take care of myself?"
Surprised by the venom in her voice, Harry took a step back. "I.. I just don't want you to get in trouble. You're not exactly tops at sneaking around." Harry waved a hand and smiled weakly to suggest how he had caught her. "If you have to sneak out, take Ron or myself with you."
Hermione sniffed. "You sound like Kareem, thinking girls can't do anything. For your information-" But she quickly cut herself off.
There was the pounding sound of running feet. Harry and Hermione both spun around, staring in surprise. The frantic figure of Professor Rhatt rounded the corner, running at top speed. In one hand was clenched her wand, glowing in the darkness, and in the other a piece of parchment. Her robes fanned out behind her and she did not even pause to scold them for being out so late. Hermione stumbled back with a grunt as the Professor knocked into her and continued sprinting down the hall.
"Why that-" Hermione began to mutter, rubbing her shoulder and glaring down the hall where Rhatt had disappeared.
"What do you think happened?" Harry asked in surprise. Try as he might, he could hear nothing other then the retreating footsteps of the Professor. Certainly there would be a lot of noise if the school was under attack. "Where do you think she is going? She didn't even yell at us for being up!"
"I don't know, but it can't be good. She had a piece of paper, didn't you see? Probably some urgent message," Hermione frowned and glanced around. "It can't be good… we should be going before she comes back." She turned to go but Harry reached out to stop her with a hand on the shoulder.
"Think about what I said, okay?" He asked nervously. Hermione stood there for several moments, her bushy hair illuminated by the torchlight. Without reply, she slid away from his hand and left. Sighing loudly, Harry turned and leaned back against the wall. Running a hand over his face, he knocked his glasses askew. Did that mean she would? Or not… Why did girls have to be so confusing? He was just trying to look out for her. That's what friends did, right?
The question of what had worried Professor Rhatt did not remain unanswered for long. The next morning at breakfast was one few would forget. The air was charged and the moment the students walked into the room, they knew something was wrong. Several students were absent and the sight of Seamus with puffy red eyes greeted Harry when he entered. A pair of sixth year girls at the Hufflepuff table cried on each other's shoulders until Professor Sprout hurried over to usher them out of the room.
Harry and Ron exchanged nervous looks before moving to sit down. Hermione looked pale, apparently aware of what happened, but only shook her head as Ron opened his mouth to ask. Harry noticed the Slytherin table lacked no students, but they too looked shaken. He felt his stomach turn- what could be bad enough to wipe the perpetual sneer off their smug faces?
When the last of the students who would apparently be showing up had filtered in, Dumbuldor moved to stand. He did not even have to call for the student's attention as everyone waited to hear what was wrong. Harry scanned the teacher's table and noticed both Sprout and Flitwick missing, the remaining ones looking tired.
"As all of you remember," the Headmaster started in an steady voice, "Lord Voldemort returned last year. It has been many years since he last terrorized the land and too many people refused to believe of his return. But now they do. There was an attack on the Peeked Hat wizarding community," there was a collective gasp from the students, ".. and there were casualties. It was lead by those Death Eaters who have remained free among us while Voldemort was lost. They targeted known Muggle born wizards and especially the few Muggles living in the community."
There was a cry from many students at this and several more broke down in tears. Harry caught sight of Seamus farther down the table, ducking his head, his eyes closed tightly. Dumbledor raised his hands and the Hall quieted again, aside from the occasional uncontrolled sob.
"Several students lost loved ones in this attack, and we ask you treat this with the delicacy it requires. It has also been agreed by the Ministry and many families that you students will be safest here. No one is being sent home and we hope you understand the threat sneaking off grounds poses for you, some in particular," Harry felt Dumbledor's gaze, even as he ducked his head. "The penalty for sneaking off will be even stricter then it was two years ago." Though everyone waited for more, Dumbledor sat down without another comment.
The Hall immediately broke out into whispers. The missing students slowly filtered in during breakfast or came back during classes. Their eyes were red and puffy and they were immediately surrounded by sympathetic friends. As Harry and Ron moved to comfort Seamus, whose Muggle father had been lost, Harry felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. Voldemort was back and people were dying. And although Harry was accredited to ridding him the first time, he felt as though he was responsible for this mess. "Blood of the enemy forcibly taken you will resurrect your foe," Wormtail's voice echoed through his mind. If he hadn't gotten to the cup, if he had only tried harder to escape, if only… The possibilities and "what if"s churned in his stomach making him sick. Lucky his look of pain blended in well with the faces of the morning students.
The teachers went easier on the students during the day, especially those who lost family and were prone to getting up and leave in the middle of the class crying. Even Snape was less strict then normal. He did not turn a blind eye when Seamus's potion turned the wrong shade of blue, but told the boy what he did wrong in the closest thing to kindness then anyone had ever seen. The student's would have been shocked if they were not already reeling from the reported twenty-one deaths already.
It was when everyone was heading back to their common rooms after dinner that the Slytherin attitude reared its ugly head. As Harry, Ron, Dean, and Seamus were walking down one of the more remote corridors, they passed trouble. Christopher lounged against the wall, his two new fans Cabby and Goyal, attempting, and failing, to strike equally casual poses on either side of him. The older boy's dark eyes glittered in the torchlight, his gaze following Seamus. When the boy had just passed him, he pushed off from the wall, grinning.
"Seamus," Christopher called, dropping a hand on Seamus's shoulder. When he turned, the two locked gazes and air around them seemed to chill. The malicious and evil smile Christopher wore caused both Harry and Ron to clench their fists as well as their teeth. Though his gesture was comradely, the look he had pasted on that finely chiseled face of his was pure evil. Seamus flinched and turned away, to sad and tired to start a fight. Though he continued on towards the Gryfindor common room, Ron, Dean, and Harry remained where they were, ready to fight.
Goyal and Cabby moved to flank Christopher, cracking their knuckles and equally ready to brawl. Interestingly enough, it was Christopher who prevented the potential blood bath. Winking mockingly, he spun on his heal and strode the opposite way down the corridor. His two side-kicks, having expected a fight, took several moments to realize what happened and make their own exit. Dean shook his head in disgust and hurried to his friend's side for the rest of the way back. Harry and Ron remained in the where they were, muttering.
"How could he do something like that! Seamus's dad just dies and he mocks him! That guys is just sick!" Ron shook his head and continued to clench and unclench his fists.
"I didn't like that wink," Harry said, "you better be careful Ron. You're dad is well known for being a Muggle fan. Does Dean have Muggle relations?"
"Me?" Ron asked, looking to his friend in surprised, "*You're* the one they all want to kill! You escaped You-Know-Who twice! My family is nothing compared to you on their To Kill list."
Harry hook his head and ran his fingers through his hair, "But those people at that village. What did they do? Herm showed me the article on the attack after Potions, they had no reason to kill those people. There was only one Ministry official among the tweny-one killed, and they we just someone low rank. If those people can be attacked, then anyone is at risk." A thought suddenly occurred to him, his brow creasing. "I hope Herm's parents are safe. They're both Muggles…"
"Hermione's parents?" Ron blinked in surprised, "Wha- I'm sure they're fine. They live with Muggles in a Muggle city. As crazy as the Death Eaters are, I don't think they're ready to take on the entire Muggle population at once."
In the end, all Harry could do was agree and continue to feel horrible inside. They got back to the common room before lights out and found it nearly empty. Herm had waited up for them but only reminded them to study for the O.W.L.S before hurrying off to bed herself.
****
As the days went by, Hogwarts slowly began to lighten up. The fear and sadness was slowly replaced once again by the loads of homework and bustle of everyday life. But Seamus, like many others, never quite lost that haunted look to their yes.
