Chapter three

The night meeting

/

The next morning at breakfast, as usually, the new primus handed out their school timetables to them. With each of the trio having different ideas about their future, during their sixth year at school they were about to have only a few lessons together.

Harry sleepily ran his eyes over his anticipated 'fun' for the year. That day he was supposed to have two hours of Transfiguration class, then also two of Charms, and in the afternoon the History of Dark Magic.

"Those lectures could be interesting only if they were not given by Binns," he mused to himself.

He quickly looked over the rest of days – Defence Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, Charms, Defence again, Potions, Herbology, one more time Defence and even more Potions were winking at him from the small cells...

"Four hours a week?!" Harry yelped horrified. "Merlin, this is going to be the end of me."

"What is it?" Ron turned to him and took Harry´s terrifying schedule from his hand. "Ah, you mean cooking in the basement. Fortunately, I´ve got just one hour of this pleasure," he hummed obviously relieved. "But don't worry, Harry – Snape cannot be any worse than he already is."

"I don't think it's funny," Harry said, taking a huge bite of his toast.

Ron ignored him and, for a change, looked at Hermione's timetable rather incredulously.

"You'll be so busy you won't even have time to eat."

"No worries, Ronald," the shaggy witch brushed him off. "I don't have any two subjects at the same time anymore."

"Thanks to all the dragons, I'm so glad for that," Ron breathed out with exaggerated relief.

"Who´s going to be a Defence teacher, actually?" Harry wondered.

Both his friends looked at him in amazement.

"Is that such a stupid question or what?" he complained.

"You must have slept with your eyes open, mate," Ron informed him.

"Dumbledore introduced a new professor," said Hermione. "Margaret Shiernov."

Harry remained silent, preferring to stuff his mouth with more food. He knew very well that he had been looking somewhere completely else than the professor's desk the night before.

"She´s quite hot," his red-haired friend informed him whispering.

Hermione pretended not to hear it.

"I just hope she´s not from the Ministry," Harry frowned.

"I doubt that," Hermione shook her head. "After Umbridge, Dumbledore will definitely not make the same mistake."

"Yeah, and I really don't understand how you didn't notice her," Ron mocked him again.

Harry shrugged and Hermione stood up suddenly.

"Where are you going?" asked Ron.

"I… I just forgot something at the dorm," the young witch excused herself and left.

"That´s weird," Ron´s eyes were narrowed in disbelief. "Does she ever forget anything?"

/

During the first day of school, Harry found out three important things.

First, that the teachers would not be any more lenient on them in the sixth grade than in the previous one, despite the fact that they were done with the OWLs. Now, for a change, they started reminding them of NEWTs, which they had to pass after two years, and how else than with a ton of assignments and endless essays.

Second, that unknown Slytherin girl, whom he knocked down before, had most of the same lessons as Harry.

And third… Malfoy, unfortunately, had them too.

Harry still could not get used to not hearing any stupid remarks from the Slytherin prince. He could be seen alone most of the time, but according to the behaviour of the other students, he was still considered to be an unofficial ruler of the whole House. And apparently, he was personally acquainted with Harry's unknown object of interest. He saw them talking together at lunch, with Draco's female fans watching them jealously. The sight did not make him very happy either.

Harry attended Transfiguration class with Hermione, but went to the Charms alone, and all three of them came together to History. When the bell rang, none other than Professor Binns appeared in the classroom and everyone started yawning in unison, even before he began to speak. Hermione had to wake them up from their naps at the end of class.

The wind had calmed down a bit, but it was replaced by steady rain again, so Harry and Ron spent the rest of the day until dinner in the warm common room, while Hermione had another hour of Advanced Ancient Runes.

After filling up their bellies, they went to their bedrooms and fell into bed tiredly. Within minutes, Ron was contentedly asleep, just like the others, only Harry kept tossing and turning, unable to close his eyes. Despite the long and busy day, he didn't want to sleep yet...

/

Half an hour later, Harry gave up, pulled on his jeans and, for perhaps the first time ever, without his precious Cloak of Invisibility, set off to wander the abandoned Hogwarts corridors. He firmly hoped that walking around would tire him out enough to be able to sleep. He didn't really care if he ran into Mrs. Norris on patrol or even Filch. Lately, he didn't care about anything that didn't seem important enough to him.

With his hands in his pockets and his gaze fixed on the ground, he absentmindedly wandered back and forth, not even realizing how close he got to the common room of Slytherin. The sudden sound of someone's sigh and fabric rustling against something could not be overheard in the long, empty corridor.

Harry raised his head and noticed a figure sitting on the windowsill about two meters in front of him. The growing wind outside had dispersed the impenetrable rain clouds, so now, thanks to the moonlight filtering through the glass, he recognized his fellow Slytherin girl.

Indecisive, he stood for a moment, debating whether to address her when the opportunity finally presented itself or turn and rather walk away. Her voice decided it for him…

"Can´t sleep?" the girl asked quietly, not even looking in Harry's direction.

Harry was standing in the shadows, so he assumed the girl did not recognize who he was. He took a breath to answer her in a changed voice, but then stopped himself. He found it embarrassing. Before he could even decide to say something, the girl spoke again.

"Have you lost your voice? Or am I not even worth an answer to Harry Potter?"

Harry opened his mouth in surprise. Then he finally unstuck himself from the spot and slowly moved to the wall next to the window, leaning against it.

"How did you know who I am?" he asked slightly suspiciously.

The girl smiled in a strange way, "Honestly, I was just guessing."

Harry didn't know how to react again. The girl was wearing white top and black pants. She had her arms around the bent knee of her leg, which was resting on the windowsill, and with her long hair falling down her shoulders, she looked so absent-minded that he found hard to believe she was really talking to him.

"What's your name?" he asked after a moment of silence. He heard some professors calling her Rosier, but he still had not caught her first name anywhere.

She finally turned to face him, "Why do you want to know?"

"Well, it's pretty silly when everyone knows me by name just by looking, while I should beg them to introduce themselves," Harry replied caustically.

She blinked, apparently ashamed, "Sorry. I can understand that. Some scars can poison life forever."

Harry looked at her dumbfounded. What could she mean by that? He heard no mockery in her voice, more like a serious understanding.

The girl slid down from the windowsill and Harry only now noticed that she was the same height as himself.

"My name is Angela," she said quietly.

That´s nice, thought Harry, not daring to say it aloud.

She was looking at him for a while, before she stepped back a little, though he had no idea why.

"You should rather return to your dorm," she warned him. "Snape has a bad habit of making checking tours over here," she added and quickly turned around, as if she was preventing herself from saying more.

Harry smelled the faint scent of jasmine, which quickly disappeared with the departing figure.

"Good night," he blurted out, just before she could go around the corner.

Angela slowly turned, seemed to hesitate, but in the end she smiled at him. And then she was gone.

Harry, even more thoughtful than before, set off on journey back to Gryffindor common room.