Part two: Someone, Somewhere, Some Time
Harry was surprised to find Professor Morrison at the staff table. Was it possible? Were they really having the same Defense Against Dark Arts professor two years in a row? Harry saw Morrison shake a new man's hand. He was a tall, plump man. His hair was the color of salt and pepper and tied back into a ponytail behind his head. The robes he wore were the color of tree trunks, and nearly as dark as his eyes. Even though Harry had never seen this man before, he knew that there was something familiar about him. It was something in the curve of his graying eyebrows, or maybe it was the familiar point of his chin. Taking a finial glance at the man, Harry sat down.
Harry took another glance at the man as the sorting began. "Cornflower, Quembie" became the first new Gryffindor along with her twin brother "Cornflower, Quinn." After the sorting of the first years, the transfer students were sorted. Ixion White became a ravenclaw seventh year and his sister; Rhite (pronounced Rita) became a sixth year student of the same house. Bellona Tyme became a seventh year Slytherin (Ron gave a proud snort at this), Calchas Ward became a seventh year hufflepuff, and Ajax Lunan became a seventh year Gryffindor (Hermione gave Ron a look that seemed to say "I told you so"). Gabrielle, Fluer's sister, became a third year Ravenclaw student, and Helen, her other sister, became a sixth year Gryffindor.
When the sorting was over, Dumbledore stood up. "Welcome! Welcome to a new year! I do say, this is the largest class we've had in a long while. But, as they say, the more the merrier, so let's get on with this, shall we? So that you marry many can enjoy your feast.
"Now, we have some old favorites and new additions to the teaching staff this year. For the first time in a long time we have a Defense Against Dark Arts professor who hasn't left after one year. Professor Morrison is still here, he isn't teaching Defense Against Dark Arts, however, he filling Professor Flintwick's, may his soul rest in peace, place as the Charms teacher. He and professor McGonaggall were married over the summer. Due to her present...err.... condition we've hired a professor's aid for her. Professor Fleur Delacour, some of you may remember her as a champion in the triwizardry tournament a few years ago. Now, we have only one professor yet to introduce. Professor Zadrian Black will be teaching Defense Against Dark Arts.
"Now, as some of your know, we had a brake in last year. In order to prevent that we are currently setting up spells around certain areas of the school. They are clearly marked on your map. Next week your Heads of House will meet with you to talk about school safety and what to do in an emergency.
"Now, I believe there is only one more thing to address, and that would be Quiddich. After an immense amount of thinking, I have decided to bring back the Quiddich teams, and a cup will be awarded. However, practices will be limited to one per week.
"Now!" said Dumbledore at last, "Enjoy!"
Harry couldn't help smiling at the end of Dumbledore's speech. He was finally going to be playing Quiddich again. He didn't even try to hide his excitement. Everyone was cheering. Gretchen even kissed him on the check saying, "Congratulations, caption." Despite everything that had happened, Harry felt young and carefree again. It was as if all the evil in his life had never happened. For a moment, a second, a minuet, and hour, who knows how long, Harry was just a normal boy with living parents who fed him and talked with him, and a girl friend who realized she loved him, and two best friends who never fought at all. Then Harry went with Ron, a Gryffindor prefect, and Hermione, the Head Girl, and walked into the Gryffindor Common room. Harry was about to go to his dorm when Gretchen grabbed him on the arm.
"We need to talk," she said. Harry walked over to the armchairs by the fire with her. "Harry, do you know who the new Defense Against Dark Arts teacher is?"
"Yes, he's Zadrian Black," Harry stated in his happy bliss. "Why?"
"You realize his last name is Black right?" Harry nodded. "What's my father's name?"
"Sirius Black," Harry said. "Why...oh, my." Harry looked into her eyes. "Black is a terribly, terribly common name, Gretchen, I'm sure that he's not...he couldn't be..."
"He is, Harry," Gretchen said. "He has my eyes." There was a brief pause.
"Do you think he knows?" Gretchen shook her head, no. "Not about you or Sirius?"
Gretchen gave the same response. "You didn't know about him, did you?"
"Not at all," Gretchen said. "My mother always told me that, aside from Sirius who "abandoned" us in her opinion, that I was all she had. That everyone else was either dead or in Azkaban. I never bothered to check, to see if she was lying." Gretchen wiped a tear from her eye. "Pretty dumb, huh?"
"No it's not," Harry said. "I've never check to see if I have any family, either. I mean, if I had any I wouldn't have been given to the Dursleys, right?"
"I suppose," Gretchen said. "Still, if I found a spell..."
"I'd do it with you," Harry said. She kissed him on the check again. "Thank you, Harry," she said.
"Do you ever wonder what happened to them, Harry? Your grandparents? Or your aunts or uncles, I mean, if you have any? There are so many people who are part of us that we just don't know about," Gretchen said.
"It's hard," said Harry, "but someday we'll know." Gretchen nodded. She arose from he seat and started to walk away.
"Wait, it's my turn to talk," Harry said. Gretchen sat back down and asked what was wrong. "Nothing's wrong. It's not something that's wrong, it's something that's right." Gretchen looked confused. Harry took a deep breath, this was the hardest thing he had ever done. "Gretchen," he said. His voice was near wavering. It would be so much easier to look at the floor, but h had to look her in the eye, because looking at the floor would mean he was unsure, and he was defiantly sure. He had never been so incredibly sure before. "Gretchen...I...I-I completely and totally forgot what I was going to say."
"Oh," said Gretchen warmly. "That's too bad. Be sure to tell me when you do remember, all right?"
"Sure," Harry said. "See you in the morning Gretchen." Gretchen smiled and then headed for bed. Harry did the same.
Harry walked down the hall, carrying his Hermetic Books, all ten of them. They had been given a notice saying that they were going to have the books stored in Chantal's classroom, so they were to bring them to class. So, Harry struggled threw the halls with all ten books, plus his Defense Against Dark Arts book, because it was his next class.
As Harry walked in he saw many familiar faces. Ron and Hermione were there, so was his ex-girlfriend, Mandy, and Ravenclaw's newest students Ixion and Rhita. "Hello, Harry," Ixion said when Harry walked in and took his seat next to Gretchen. Ixion and Rhita took a seat next to him in the odd classroom. Chantal's room had no desks, only three rows of long table's and chairs that faced the front of the room. It was more of a lecture hall then a classroom.
"Hello Ixion, Hello Rhita," Hermione said as she and Ron sat in the chairs on the other side of Gretchen.
"Hello," Rhita said. "It iz very nize to szee you here."
"You too," said Hermione. The class hushed as Professor Chantal Arawire took her usual place on her desk in the center of the room. She sat upon it (chairs? Not for Professor Arawire....) and began to address the class.
"It's very nice to see you again. I hope that you're summers were all wonderful. Now, many of you may be wondering what all these books are for, so allow me to explain: These books are copies of the first words wizards ever wrote. They are our history, and they tell a very important story. They tell use of our origin, and what we believe in.
"Now, unlike the muggle religions that many of you are familiar with, we have proof that all this exists. Many of the things you will read about have been seen, and photographed, and painted and so on. Like, for instance, the River of Nirvana, was we all originate from. Many people can remember the river after meditating for a while. In fact, this all leads to our very first assignment of the year.
"Now, you're going to be choosing partners," the professor said. Harry took Gretchen's hand, and she gave his a squeeze. "You're going to read Book I-Now I know that sounds like a lot but it's really only a few hundred pages-and painting a picture about what you have read. Now, I know that you could do this on your own, but I find that it works better in groups. Often times, children will guide each other threw meditations in order to figure out what the river looks like. And that, my children, is the assignment. You are to paint the River of Nirvana. Now, you may pick your partners, while I call your named and collect your books. First: Terry Boot."
Harry turned to Gretchen. "So, partners?"
"Sure," she said.
"Her-my-on-ni," Ixion said, "vould you mind being partners with me?"
"Well you see...." Ron began.
"Sure, I'd love to," said Hermione. They two walked off, leaving Ron alone.
"Would you like to vork vith me?" Rhita asked him.
"No thanks," Ron said. He walked off and started talking with Padma, a girl he had taken to the Yule Ball during their fifth year. Rhite walked over to Ajax.
"Gretchen Locus!" Chantal shouted. Gretchen carried nine of the ten books to a shelf where the professor was storing them. "Harry Potter!" The professor shouted. Harry gave the professor his books. "Well, this is interesting."
"Interesting?" Harry questioned.
"Yes, interesting. You see, the two of you have identical book sets," Chantal said.
"Aren't all books printed the same?" Gretchen asked.
"Not these books. These are written by hand. When a person is invited to copy the Hermetic Books, they only make two sets. It's said that if two get the same books, that they're soul mates. But, that's just a rumor. Now, who's next? Ah, yes, Dean Thomas!"
Harry and Gretchen walked away from the professor, blushing awkwardly.
Though Chantal's words embarrassed Gretchen and surprised Harry, they sat next to each other during Defense Against Dark Arts. Gretchen tapped her fingers on her desk nervously before the class started. When Hermione asked what was wrong, Gretchen just said, "I think I just feel a little weird taking this class this year. Dark Arts killed my mum, after all." Harry alone knew that this wasn't true. Professor Black was Sirius's dad, and Gretchen's grandfather, but only she knew this.
After Sirius Black had discovered that he had a daughter, they had written each other quite often, just to keep in touch and to get to know each other. Gretchen admitted to Harry over the summer that she wished disparately that he could be with her, but because he was a convicted murderer who had gone into hiding, he couldn't.
The class began. Zadrian Black walked to the front of the room. "Good morning, class," he said. Harry studied his tone of voice. He seemed almost youthful. "I am you teacher, Professor Black. Now, today....."
"Mr. Black," said Lavender Brown. "You aren't related to Sirius Black, the murderer, are you?" Professor Black frowned.
"Yes, Sirius is one of my three children..."
"Then why did you want to be a Professor?" Dean Thomas asked. "After all, Sirius did turn bad...no offense..."
"None taken, Mr. Thomas. Sirius is actually the reason that I am here with you today. After you have a son who turned bad, you never want anyone else to go through...," he searched for the right word, "the pain that you go through. And the better educated children are, the lesser the chance of anything...bad...happening later in life."
"But Sirius isn't bad," Gretchen whispered softly to herself. Only Harry could hear her. "He's the most noble man I've ever met."
"Now, as I was saying, this year we're going to be studying the darkest wizards of all time. We'll be starting at the oldest, the Sumerian wizard Agga the Angered, and be ending with the most resent wizard to go bad, You-Know-Who." A few gasps were heard in the room. "Now, children, I know it will be hard to discuss him, but we have to. We can learn a lot from the study of history. Now, as we study wizards and witches who have gone bad, we will talk about some of their most famous curses and their counter curses, or potions, and so on. I have an especially interesting project for you to do over the Christmas holidays. Now, lets us begin by opening out books to page 12, were we first talk about Agga the Angered. He started his life as a good wizard. But at the age of..." And so the lesson went on.
Harry was glad when the lesson was over. Professor Black was a good teacher, but Harry was finding it exhausting to listen to him. It wasn't that Professor Black was boring, or mean; it was just that he was Sirius's father. Harry found it dreadfully hard to watch a man who believed his son was a murderer when Harry knew that in reality Sirius was one of the finest men the world had ever seen.
Gretchen, obviously, felt the same way. She looked rather pale by the end of the lesson, and barely touched her food at lunch. Harry, on the other hand, ate all he could. He found that he was starving.
"You should eat," Harry said at lunch. "We have potions next. You'll need all the strength you can get if you want to survive a lesson with Snape."
"I think I'll manage," Gretchen replied. "I think I've survived the worst all ready."
When Harry arrived in the dungeons, Snape was there, as usual. "I was really hoping he'd be sick," Ron whispered. "He's more pale the usual." Luckily, Snape didn't here this comment. He was acting as rotten as ever, and, had he heard Ron, things would have only been worse.
"This, thankfully, is your last year at Hogwarts," Snape said with an odd grin. "I won't have to deal with you for much longer." His face regained its usual, sour composure. "Class, this year we will be studying Bewitching Brews. Bewitching Brews, for those of you who are to thick to figure it out," he looked at Harry, "are spells, just like jelly-legs charms or leg-locking spells, but in the form of a potion. Potter! Why aren't you coping this down! Your N.EW.T.s are this year. You should be better prepared. Five points form Gryffindor."
By the time Harry left potions his right hand was throbbing. Snape seemed to have been talking at the rate of one thousand words per second and he expected every Gryffindor student to copy down every syllable. Malfoy, on the other hand, hadn't written down a word, Ron had mentioned. "Don't' worry," Hermione said to Ron. "It will all pay off when Malfoy fails his N.E.W.T.s and we pass with flying colors."
True as that was, Ron was still furious for the rest of the day. This annoyed Hermione to no end, and she went off to talk with one of the exchange students, which made Ron even more angry, which made Harry's head hurt, because on top of all his homework and Ron's yelling he was still trying to figure our how he was going to tell Gretchen he loved her.
It happened as Harry, Ron, and Gretchen were walking threw the hall. Ron was complaining about Hermione talking with the Drumstrung boy when Harry stopped dead in his tracks. "I just can't take it anymore!" he exclaimed, to the great surprise of some passing first years. He threw his books on tot he floor and grabbed Gretchen by the shoulders, brought her close to him, kissed her, and then let her go.
Suddenly, Harry realized what he had done. "Gretchen, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to..."
"Yes you did," Gretchen said whitely. "And you have nothing to be sorry about, so please stop whining." Harry was shocked. "We spend all of our time together anyway, Harry. Now, I guess we're at the point were we can kiss each other instead of wishing we were kissing each other."
Harry nodded. He and Gretchen picked up his books. Once he had them in his bag he put his arm around Gretchen's shoulders, she put hers around his waist, and they walked down the hall. Together.
Someone, somewhere, some time smiled. Someone, somewhere, some time, cried.
Harry was surprised to find Professor Morrison at the staff table. Was it possible? Were they really having the same Defense Against Dark Arts professor two years in a row? Harry saw Morrison shake a new man's hand. He was a tall, plump man. His hair was the color of salt and pepper and tied back into a ponytail behind his head. The robes he wore were the color of tree trunks, and nearly as dark as his eyes. Even though Harry had never seen this man before, he knew that there was something familiar about him. It was something in the curve of his graying eyebrows, or maybe it was the familiar point of his chin. Taking a finial glance at the man, Harry sat down.
Harry took another glance at the man as the sorting began. "Cornflower, Quembie" became the first new Gryffindor along with her twin brother "Cornflower, Quinn." After the sorting of the first years, the transfer students were sorted. Ixion White became a ravenclaw seventh year and his sister; Rhite (pronounced Rita) became a sixth year student of the same house. Bellona Tyme became a seventh year Slytherin (Ron gave a proud snort at this), Calchas Ward became a seventh year hufflepuff, and Ajax Lunan became a seventh year Gryffindor (Hermione gave Ron a look that seemed to say "I told you so"). Gabrielle, Fluer's sister, became a third year Ravenclaw student, and Helen, her other sister, became a sixth year Gryffindor.
When the sorting was over, Dumbledore stood up. "Welcome! Welcome to a new year! I do say, this is the largest class we've had in a long while. But, as they say, the more the merrier, so let's get on with this, shall we? So that you marry many can enjoy your feast.
"Now, we have some old favorites and new additions to the teaching staff this year. For the first time in a long time we have a Defense Against Dark Arts professor who hasn't left after one year. Professor Morrison is still here, he isn't teaching Defense Against Dark Arts, however, he filling Professor Flintwick's, may his soul rest in peace, place as the Charms teacher. He and professor McGonaggall were married over the summer. Due to her present...err.... condition we've hired a professor's aid for her. Professor Fleur Delacour, some of you may remember her as a champion in the triwizardry tournament a few years ago. Now, we have only one professor yet to introduce. Professor Zadrian Black will be teaching Defense Against Dark Arts.
"Now, as some of your know, we had a brake in last year. In order to prevent that we are currently setting up spells around certain areas of the school. They are clearly marked on your map. Next week your Heads of House will meet with you to talk about school safety and what to do in an emergency.
"Now, I believe there is only one more thing to address, and that would be Quiddich. After an immense amount of thinking, I have decided to bring back the Quiddich teams, and a cup will be awarded. However, practices will be limited to one per week.
"Now!" said Dumbledore at last, "Enjoy!"
Harry couldn't help smiling at the end of Dumbledore's speech. He was finally going to be playing Quiddich again. He didn't even try to hide his excitement. Everyone was cheering. Gretchen even kissed him on the check saying, "Congratulations, caption." Despite everything that had happened, Harry felt young and carefree again. It was as if all the evil in his life had never happened. For a moment, a second, a minuet, and hour, who knows how long, Harry was just a normal boy with living parents who fed him and talked with him, and a girl friend who realized she loved him, and two best friends who never fought at all. Then Harry went with Ron, a Gryffindor prefect, and Hermione, the Head Girl, and walked into the Gryffindor Common room. Harry was about to go to his dorm when Gretchen grabbed him on the arm.
"We need to talk," she said. Harry walked over to the armchairs by the fire with her. "Harry, do you know who the new Defense Against Dark Arts teacher is?"
"Yes, he's Zadrian Black," Harry stated in his happy bliss. "Why?"
"You realize his last name is Black right?" Harry nodded. "What's my father's name?"
"Sirius Black," Harry said. "Why...oh, my." Harry looked into her eyes. "Black is a terribly, terribly common name, Gretchen, I'm sure that he's not...he couldn't be..."
"He is, Harry," Gretchen said. "He has my eyes." There was a brief pause.
"Do you think he knows?" Gretchen shook her head, no. "Not about you or Sirius?"
Gretchen gave the same response. "You didn't know about him, did you?"
"Not at all," Gretchen said. "My mother always told me that, aside from Sirius who "abandoned" us in her opinion, that I was all she had. That everyone else was either dead or in Azkaban. I never bothered to check, to see if she was lying." Gretchen wiped a tear from her eye. "Pretty dumb, huh?"
"No it's not," Harry said. "I've never check to see if I have any family, either. I mean, if I had any I wouldn't have been given to the Dursleys, right?"
"I suppose," Gretchen said. "Still, if I found a spell..."
"I'd do it with you," Harry said. She kissed him on the check again. "Thank you, Harry," she said.
"Do you ever wonder what happened to them, Harry? Your grandparents? Or your aunts or uncles, I mean, if you have any? There are so many people who are part of us that we just don't know about," Gretchen said.
"It's hard," said Harry, "but someday we'll know." Gretchen nodded. She arose from he seat and started to walk away.
"Wait, it's my turn to talk," Harry said. Gretchen sat back down and asked what was wrong. "Nothing's wrong. It's not something that's wrong, it's something that's right." Gretchen looked confused. Harry took a deep breath, this was the hardest thing he had ever done. "Gretchen," he said. His voice was near wavering. It would be so much easier to look at the floor, but h had to look her in the eye, because looking at the floor would mean he was unsure, and he was defiantly sure. He had never been so incredibly sure before. "Gretchen...I...I-I completely and totally forgot what I was going to say."
"Oh," said Gretchen warmly. "That's too bad. Be sure to tell me when you do remember, all right?"
"Sure," Harry said. "See you in the morning Gretchen." Gretchen smiled and then headed for bed. Harry did the same.
Harry walked down the hall, carrying his Hermetic Books, all ten of them. They had been given a notice saying that they were going to have the books stored in Chantal's classroom, so they were to bring them to class. So, Harry struggled threw the halls with all ten books, plus his Defense Against Dark Arts book, because it was his next class.
As Harry walked in he saw many familiar faces. Ron and Hermione were there, so was his ex-girlfriend, Mandy, and Ravenclaw's newest students Ixion and Rhita. "Hello, Harry," Ixion said when Harry walked in and took his seat next to Gretchen. Ixion and Rhita took a seat next to him in the odd classroom. Chantal's room had no desks, only three rows of long table's and chairs that faced the front of the room. It was more of a lecture hall then a classroom.
"Hello Ixion, Hello Rhita," Hermione said as she and Ron sat in the chairs on the other side of Gretchen.
"Hello," Rhita said. "It iz very nize to szee you here."
"You too," said Hermione. The class hushed as Professor Chantal Arawire took her usual place on her desk in the center of the room. She sat upon it (chairs? Not for Professor Arawire....) and began to address the class.
"It's very nice to see you again. I hope that you're summers were all wonderful. Now, many of you may be wondering what all these books are for, so allow me to explain: These books are copies of the first words wizards ever wrote. They are our history, and they tell a very important story. They tell use of our origin, and what we believe in.
"Now, unlike the muggle religions that many of you are familiar with, we have proof that all this exists. Many of the things you will read about have been seen, and photographed, and painted and so on. Like, for instance, the River of Nirvana, was we all originate from. Many people can remember the river after meditating for a while. In fact, this all leads to our very first assignment of the year.
"Now, you're going to be choosing partners," the professor said. Harry took Gretchen's hand, and she gave his a squeeze. "You're going to read Book I-Now I know that sounds like a lot but it's really only a few hundred pages-and painting a picture about what you have read. Now, I know that you could do this on your own, but I find that it works better in groups. Often times, children will guide each other threw meditations in order to figure out what the river looks like. And that, my children, is the assignment. You are to paint the River of Nirvana. Now, you may pick your partners, while I call your named and collect your books. First: Terry Boot."
Harry turned to Gretchen. "So, partners?"
"Sure," she said.
"Her-my-on-ni," Ixion said, "vould you mind being partners with me?"
"Well you see...." Ron began.
"Sure, I'd love to," said Hermione. They two walked off, leaving Ron alone.
"Would you like to vork vith me?" Rhita asked him.
"No thanks," Ron said. He walked off and started talking with Padma, a girl he had taken to the Yule Ball during their fifth year. Rhite walked over to Ajax.
"Gretchen Locus!" Chantal shouted. Gretchen carried nine of the ten books to a shelf where the professor was storing them. "Harry Potter!" The professor shouted. Harry gave the professor his books. "Well, this is interesting."
"Interesting?" Harry questioned.
"Yes, interesting. You see, the two of you have identical book sets," Chantal said.
"Aren't all books printed the same?" Gretchen asked.
"Not these books. These are written by hand. When a person is invited to copy the Hermetic Books, they only make two sets. It's said that if two get the same books, that they're soul mates. But, that's just a rumor. Now, who's next? Ah, yes, Dean Thomas!"
Harry and Gretchen walked away from the professor, blushing awkwardly.
Though Chantal's words embarrassed Gretchen and surprised Harry, they sat next to each other during Defense Against Dark Arts. Gretchen tapped her fingers on her desk nervously before the class started. When Hermione asked what was wrong, Gretchen just said, "I think I just feel a little weird taking this class this year. Dark Arts killed my mum, after all." Harry alone knew that this wasn't true. Professor Black was Sirius's dad, and Gretchen's grandfather, but only she knew this.
After Sirius Black had discovered that he had a daughter, they had written each other quite often, just to keep in touch and to get to know each other. Gretchen admitted to Harry over the summer that she wished disparately that he could be with her, but because he was a convicted murderer who had gone into hiding, he couldn't.
The class began. Zadrian Black walked to the front of the room. "Good morning, class," he said. Harry studied his tone of voice. He seemed almost youthful. "I am you teacher, Professor Black. Now, today....."
"Mr. Black," said Lavender Brown. "You aren't related to Sirius Black, the murderer, are you?" Professor Black frowned.
"Yes, Sirius is one of my three children..."
"Then why did you want to be a Professor?" Dean Thomas asked. "After all, Sirius did turn bad...no offense..."
"None taken, Mr. Thomas. Sirius is actually the reason that I am here with you today. After you have a son who turned bad, you never want anyone else to go through...," he searched for the right word, "the pain that you go through. And the better educated children are, the lesser the chance of anything...bad...happening later in life."
"But Sirius isn't bad," Gretchen whispered softly to herself. Only Harry could hear her. "He's the most noble man I've ever met."
"Now, as I was saying, this year we're going to be studying the darkest wizards of all time. We'll be starting at the oldest, the Sumerian wizard Agga the Angered, and be ending with the most resent wizard to go bad, You-Know-Who." A few gasps were heard in the room. "Now, children, I know it will be hard to discuss him, but we have to. We can learn a lot from the study of history. Now, as we study wizards and witches who have gone bad, we will talk about some of their most famous curses and their counter curses, or potions, and so on. I have an especially interesting project for you to do over the Christmas holidays. Now, lets us begin by opening out books to page 12, were we first talk about Agga the Angered. He started his life as a good wizard. But at the age of..." And so the lesson went on.
Harry was glad when the lesson was over. Professor Black was a good teacher, but Harry was finding it exhausting to listen to him. It wasn't that Professor Black was boring, or mean; it was just that he was Sirius's father. Harry found it dreadfully hard to watch a man who believed his son was a murderer when Harry knew that in reality Sirius was one of the finest men the world had ever seen.
Gretchen, obviously, felt the same way. She looked rather pale by the end of the lesson, and barely touched her food at lunch. Harry, on the other hand, ate all he could. He found that he was starving.
"You should eat," Harry said at lunch. "We have potions next. You'll need all the strength you can get if you want to survive a lesson with Snape."
"I think I'll manage," Gretchen replied. "I think I've survived the worst all ready."
When Harry arrived in the dungeons, Snape was there, as usual. "I was really hoping he'd be sick," Ron whispered. "He's more pale the usual." Luckily, Snape didn't here this comment. He was acting as rotten as ever, and, had he heard Ron, things would have only been worse.
"This, thankfully, is your last year at Hogwarts," Snape said with an odd grin. "I won't have to deal with you for much longer." His face regained its usual, sour composure. "Class, this year we will be studying Bewitching Brews. Bewitching Brews, for those of you who are to thick to figure it out," he looked at Harry, "are spells, just like jelly-legs charms or leg-locking spells, but in the form of a potion. Potter! Why aren't you coping this down! Your N.EW.T.s are this year. You should be better prepared. Five points form Gryffindor."
By the time Harry left potions his right hand was throbbing. Snape seemed to have been talking at the rate of one thousand words per second and he expected every Gryffindor student to copy down every syllable. Malfoy, on the other hand, hadn't written down a word, Ron had mentioned. "Don't' worry," Hermione said to Ron. "It will all pay off when Malfoy fails his N.E.W.T.s and we pass with flying colors."
True as that was, Ron was still furious for the rest of the day. This annoyed Hermione to no end, and she went off to talk with one of the exchange students, which made Ron even more angry, which made Harry's head hurt, because on top of all his homework and Ron's yelling he was still trying to figure our how he was going to tell Gretchen he loved her.
It happened as Harry, Ron, and Gretchen were walking threw the hall. Ron was complaining about Hermione talking with the Drumstrung boy when Harry stopped dead in his tracks. "I just can't take it anymore!" he exclaimed, to the great surprise of some passing first years. He threw his books on tot he floor and grabbed Gretchen by the shoulders, brought her close to him, kissed her, and then let her go.
Suddenly, Harry realized what he had done. "Gretchen, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to..."
"Yes you did," Gretchen said whitely. "And you have nothing to be sorry about, so please stop whining." Harry was shocked. "We spend all of our time together anyway, Harry. Now, I guess we're at the point were we can kiss each other instead of wishing we were kissing each other."
Harry nodded. He and Gretchen picked up his books. Once he had them in his bag he put his arm around Gretchen's shoulders, she put hers around his waist, and they walked down the hall. Together.
Someone, somewhere, some time smiled. Someone, somewhere, some time, cried.