1 A/N: This story consists of characters that are not mine, of events mentioned that I didn't make up, and I'm only writing this for my own fun, and I'm not getting any pay for it. So there.

2

3 Chapter 8

4 Moaning Myrtle Moans Out a Tale

A week passed, uneventful, other then another Quidditch game, this time it was Ravenclaw against Gryffindor and Harry's team won, just by a few points. Harry hadn't caught the Snitch in this game, which was all right with the team though. Harry couldn't concentrate through the entire game, after all. His eyes kept trailing into the stands, where Rebecca was watching him intently, probably wishing with her whole entire heart to have Harry lose. Harry noticed that Draco was sitting a good foot or so apart from Rebecca, but she kept trying to hold his hand. Harry couldn't understand how Draco could still want to go out with Rebecca, under these circumstances.

After the game had ended, Harry landed his Firebolt to find Hermione racing into the field, her hands spread wide, ready for a hug. " Oh, Harry, that was a great game!" She threw herself at his neck, hugging him tightly. He hugged her back.

" Thanks." He said into her hair, then looked up to find Draco and Rebecca approaching him as well. His fists tightened with a natural anger and he looked into Rebecca's cold eyes with a fear.

Rebecca looked at Hermione and then at Harry, saying: "Hello, Harry, Hermione."

Hermione replied: " Hello." She said it stiffly, too, since Harry filled her in on Rebecca's speech with Draco in the owlery.

" I thought I'd tell you I vas nominated for Head Girl. My grades are second in this school to yours, if looking at marks." Rebecca told Hermione.

" Second?" Hermione was surprised. " Do you wish to be first?"

" Of course. Vho doesn't?" Rebecca laughed lightly, though Harry could see something malevolent in her laugh.

Harry remembered the latest anonymous note to Hermione, one that had said something about not being too smart. He wondered if the jealous Rebecca wrote it?

Harry loosened his hug on Hermione, she stepped aside to ask Rebecca: " Did you come here just to say that?"

" Yes. And also, congratulations, Harry." Rebecca looked at Harry closely, her eyes growing into slits.

The Gryffindor team was going back into the building, their robes muddy and dusty. Fred and George raced up to Harry and grabbed him, saying: "Hey, captain!"

Harry whirled around to face them and said, accusingly: "Would you guys know of any particular green goo that I found under the collar of my shirt?"

" Maybe you sneezed too hard." Fred suggested, and George bashed him upside the head.

" Aw, Harry, it was us. Sorry. Shake?" George stuck out his hand in a peace offering.

Harry took his hand and immediately recoiled, finding his hand smeared with more green goop. " Ew! Where do you guys get this stuff? Do you carry it with yourselves all the time or something?" Harry exclaimed.

" Sure. We find suckers everywhere." Fred shrugged.

" How juvenile." Rebecca remarked. "Right, Draco?" Draco was already walking away, a guilty and upset look on his face. Draco had been avoiding Harry for the whole week.

Draco nodded awkwardly and then stopped, now stuck having to wait for Rebecca. He didn't look too happy with her anymore.

Harry, meanwhile, had just said goodbye to Fred and George (George had come up with an idea to add Tongue-Swelling powder to someone's dinner), and he turned to Hermione: "Shouldn't we go to dinner, too?"

" If you feel that way." Hermione grinned at him.

Rebecca was forgotten by both of them, and she finally turned and walked away, frustrated, quite visibly, with the fact that she didn't seem to bother Harry or Hermione at all.

Draco followed her obediently, though he seemed sick of her, as well.

*¤*.¸¸.·´¨`»*«´¨`·. ¸¸.*¤*

Draco was still on Harry's mind as he sat down with Hermione to eat dinner. The plates, of course, loaded themselves with food right off and Hermione didn't seem to want to eat anything.

" Herm, why aren't you eating?" Nick asked from across the table, his legs swinging above the ground since he was still a first-year, after all.

" I'm not hungry." She replied.

Harry looked at her with a sudden interest. Hermione always ate, even when she was sick, saying that missing meals wasn't good for you. Only rarely would she not eat (these times would be when she was protesting something, or if she was throwing up).

" You should eat. It smells so good." Harry tempted her.

" No thanks." She replied.

Just then, she looked up at Draco. Rebecca was talking to him and they seemed to be fighting. " Look, Harry!" she told him. Harry looked up just as Draco was saying:

" I don't want to see you anymore, alright?"

" Vhy?" Rebecca looked shocked.

" You're messed up! Completely crazy!" Draco yelled, and then turned from her, fuming. " Just go away."

Rebecca's eyebrows raised, her lip twitching in anger, but she said no more. Hermione whispered into Harry's ear, just so he could hear over the surprised clamor in the room: " I knew Draco would smart up. She's really freaky, I can agree on that."

Harry nodded.

" It's for the better."

Draco left the room, and Rebecca went to sit by Cho. Cho, who didn't realize much at all, hugged Rebecca and was saying something about Draco being a horrible jerk, and how Draco kept beating up Harry all the time and that Rebecca should have never gotten involved with him.

Harry wished he could warn Cho somehow to stay away from Rebecca, as well, but he didn't know how. He was still bashful around her, even if he didn't like her anymore.

Hermione was talking to Nearly-Headless Nick now, who was complaining about how Peeves had been teasing Moaning Myrtle again.

" Poor Myrtle!" Hermione was saying, and she turned to Harry: "We have to go talk with her! Nick says she's been crying and howling nonstop and if she keeps it up nobody in Hogwarts will be able to sleep tonight."

Neville suggested to Harry from Harry's left-hand side: " Bring Myrtle something to cheer her up, maybe flowers. She always liked you a bit more then everyone else."

Harry nodded, but said to Neville: " She'll just think I'm trying to pity her and she'll just go into another rant." He took Hermione's elbow, to show that they should both go together, and then explained: " I'll go see her right now. I've always felt sorry for the poor thing."

*¤*.¸¸.·´¨`»*«´¨`·. ¸¸.*¤*

Harry stepped into the girl's bathroom, with the dilapidated stalls and leaking sink, and he looked around. He could hear the low wail from the stall that Moaning Myrtle occupied, and he stopped in front of it, knocking lightly.

" Someone's in here. So go away!" Myrtle moaned out.

" It's Harry. And Hermione's with me. Remember us?"

" How could I not? I bet you were the ones that called me pug-ugly!" She sobbed harder.

" Nobody called you anything, Myrtle. Peeves was only teasing." Harry told her, compassion stringing in his voice.

The door opened and Myrtle's bluish, see-through body and tear- streaked face appeared to the two students. " Really?" She asked, her moans dying out to a low gasp.

" Yes." Hermione said. " You should really stop being so down. It's no fun, listening to your moans all day."

" See? Everyone hates me!" Myrtle began to cry again, this time with the force of a hurricane. Her whole entire ghost body rattled with her sobs.

" Nobody hates you." Harry assured her. " Trust me."

" Trust you? You hate me too!" Myrtle pointed at Harry accusingly. " Everyone hates me! Don't lie, I know you all do! I bet you can't wait to leave Hogwarts so then you can forget about me!"

" I don't hate you. But it's hard for me to like you, with the way you carry on." Harry told her.

" So you don't like me, then!" Myrtle looked up at him.

" No, I do like you! I mean, well, it's hard to, but. . . ah." Harry stopped. He was at loss of words. Myrtle had pushed him into a rut and he didn't know how to talk himself out of it.

" I knew you hated me." Myrtle leaned her head onto the stall's side wall but she felt her forehead go through it. Her eyes filled with more tears and she jerked back, her eyes letting loose even more tears.

" Myrtle, listen." Harry approached her. " We like you, you're just annoying everyone with how you cry! If you stop crying like this, then maybe a lot of people will like you."

" Prove it!" She cried out.

" Then step out of that stall and start walking around the school. Smile and say hi to people. Then they'll like you." Hermione suggested.

" Like you're Miss Popularity!" Myrtle began to cry again, and Hermione suddenly looked down, too.

" Look, Myrtle, I think you should stop crying, too. A little less tears and more smiles makes people like you." Harry told Myrtle, who was now sobbing twice as hard.

" Do you think so? Are you just saying that to be nice? Yeah, I bet you are. Always nice, nice Harry Potter." Myrtle hung her head, tears streaming down the sides of her face.

" You'll keep everyone up if you keep ranting!" Hermione lost her patience.

" See? You do hate me!" Myrtle let out another wail, from deep in her throat, her tearful eyes blinking shut to let a wave of tears out again.

" No, I don't!" Hermione groaned. " Harry, say something."

" I'm trying to!" He replied, and then thought hard. Finally, he said, more of a suggestion: " Tell me why you're crying all the time, Myrtle. I really don't understand. You couldn't possibly cry from the stupid things you make up?"

" Well, no. . ." She sighed. " Harry, it's not like you care."

" I do care. I should, rightfully, care about this. I mean, you cry so much that it's hard to ignore this all." Harry adjusted his glasses, then continued: " So, tell me what's troubling you."

" Everything!" She burst out, then covered her face with her hands, sobbing hysterically again.

" What's everything?" Harry asked, gently.

" Well, Peeves came in today. He told me that he heard a few kids laughing about me." Myrtle's tears were still flowing from her eyes, but she wasn't crying hard enough to prevent her from pouring out her complaint- filled story. " He said that lots of children can't stop speaking about how annoying I am!"

" That's not true. We don't mention you a lot at all in our conversations." Harry said.

" So instead of laughing at me, you choose to ignore me?" Myrtle began to sob again.

" Agh!" Hermione grumbled, throwing her hands up in the air. "I can't stand this sort of groveling. Let's get out of here."

" Wait." Harry knelt down beside Myrtle and then asked, his voice taught with impatience: " Myrtle, what Peeves said was a lie. He likes making these sorts of things up."

" Peeves said it with reassurance, though. And he gave me a few names, too." Myrtle let out a low, slow wail. " Names like Draco and Rebecca."

" They were talking about you?" Harry asked, in disbelief. Draco and Rebecca seemed to have better things to do with their time.

" Yes! They were speaking of me!" She wiped at her ghost tears. " They didn't mention me by NAME, but I knew they meant me."

" Did you, now?" Harry's eyebrows raised ever-so-slightly. He was intrigued. Now he knew for sure that if they didn't mention Myrtle by name they meant someone else, but he didn't want to tell Myrtle just yet since he was curious of what they said.

" Yes." She nodded feverishly. " They spoke loudly, and Peeves heard it all. He told me the conversation. It was somewhat like this."

*¤*.¸¸.·´¨`»*«´¨`·. ¸¸.*¤*

Draco was walking down the hallway, rather ambling along, his hand locked with Rebecca's. Peeves had floated in over them, his clever eyes seeing a good chance at spying.

Rebecca was saying: "Isn't that little brat annoying?"

Draco had shrugged.

" Vhy vould Harry enjoy her company beats me." Rebecca grumbled.

" I don't mind her that much." Draco admitted, his blue eyes giving a sudden glimmer of thought.

" You should mind her. Vhat an annoying kid!" Rebecca had replied.

" Why do you think that?"

" You ask vhy? Because!" Rebecca thrust her hands up. " All she does is think for Harry. Harry runs to her, tells her vhat troubles him, and she makes up logical reasons for things. If something bad happens to Harry - like that owl thing -"

Draco had paled.

Rebecca continued: " Harry vould just go to that girl and tell her all about his vorries. And she vould somehow solve them for him. She's too smart."

Draco said to that: " Well, she's his friend, Rebecca. You don't honestly think Harry wouldn't trust her with his secrets?"

" Vell, sure he vould." Rebecca's eyes narrowed even farther. "Yet, she could probably be able to put two and two together and help him figure out things. If you know vhat I mean."

" Yeah. You're afraid she'll figure things out, find out what you did, and tell Harry." Draco said. Rebecca shouted at him:

" Never mention vhat I did! People could hear!"

*¤*.¸¸.·´¨`»*«´¨`·. ¸¸.*¤*

Myrtle ended her story here, catching her breath.

" It doesn't sound like they were talking about you at all." Harry said, finally. It sounded like they were talking about Hermione, his mind buzzed.

" Who would they talk about?" Myrtle asked, accusingly. "I'm the one everyone hates and wants to talk about."

" No, you're not!" Hermione was flushed with anger. She had realized whom Draco and Rebecca were speaking of, as well.

" Then who?" Myrtle asked, again. "Who did they speak of?"

" Not you, that's for sure." Harry assured her.

" Do you promise on that?" Myrtle asked, softly.

" Yes. I promise you on that." Harry smiled.

" Good." Myrtle looked away from him then. She wasn't crying anymore. " One less thing to cry about."

" Myrtle, you have nothing to cry about. You really ought to try to smile more. Grin and bear it, you know."

" I don't see what being a bear has to do with anything." Myrtle replied.

Harry laughed and then took Hermione's hand. " Well, we should go. It's getting late." Hermione explained.

Myrtle nodded, then waved her hand at them in a dismissive way. Just as they left the bathroom, the sound of the dripping faucets fading from their ears, Myrtle moaned softly: " Visit me. Please."

*¤*.¸¸.·´¨`»*«´¨`·. ¸¸.*¤*

The next day, as Harry sat in Potions class writing notes (beneath his paper he had another one on which he was writing Ron a note explaining what he heard from Myrtle), when Snape asked the class:

" Do you all know what day this is?"

" Tuesday, sir." Neville piped up.

" Well, aren't you a bright one?" Snape hissed. " I mean, what special thing happens today?"

Hermione dug in her bag. She had the Muggle Almanac inside, for she wanted to show Madame Hooch something that happened a few years ago that might interest her (Harry didn't quite know what). Hermione lifted the Almanac onto her desk and searched for the date, and finding it, she announced: " It was. . . the birthday of United States' president Taft."

" No, no, no!" Snape shook his head in exasperation. " What I mean, is, what's happening today! In Hogwarts!"

The class stared blankly at him.

" A new Defense Against the Arts teacher is coming. I'd known of this for a while now." Snape paced the room angrily.

Harry wondered if Snape had turned grumpy again when he found out about the new teacher.

" Well, who is it?" Draco asked, impatiently.

"That I don't know." Snape said. " But those of you who have the class will be introduced, immanently, to this new teacher." Snape slapped a ruler down on his desk with a THWACK! Two dozen pairs of eyes faced him in surprise.

Hermione's hand went up. Snape was too distracted to forget calling on her. "What is it, Miss Granger?" Snape asked.

" Shouldn't we proceed with a lesson?" She said.

" Shouldn't you keep quiet?" Snape hissed.

Hermione looked down in embarrassment at her desk. Harry gave her a grin to cheer her up and she smiled back, though still visibly humiliated.

Harry knew that Hermione disliked Professor Snape, but he wondered why she still persisted in raising her hand in class. Maybe he'll never know.

*¤*.¸¸.·´¨`»*«´¨`·. ¸¸.*¤*

Professor Trelawney ushered her students into the packed classroom and seated herself in front of a white crystal ball, glowing like a tell- all orb, exactly how she wanted her students to think of it as. She had decided on making a special day of telling fortunes, knowing that the class was getting tired of reading their palms (or guessing, since many didn't even know what to look for). Parvati, especially, enjoyed making up her own fortune, since she could barely read her palm without making serious mistakes.

Harry had never tried to read his palm, even, since Professor Trelawney usually read it for him as an example for the class every day. Neville, meanwhile, hated reading his palm because he knew it would predict worries and miseries and accidents. Those things made up his life, after all!

Harry had tried reading Hermione's palm from what he had learned but she only laughed and told him that she'd rather read fairy tales and believe THEM.

Harry's eyes met with his teacher's, and she said: "Harry, would you like your fortune read first?"

" No thanks." He replied, surely.

" It's no fun to be frightened of your own fate." Professor Trelawney said, trying to convince him into getting his fortune read.

" It's no fun to be forced into finding out your own fate." Harry countered. Professor Trelawney shrugged her square shoulders, her eyes moving onto Ron Weasley, who was busily eating a jellybean and commenting on how he didn't know they came in raspberry tart flavor.

" Mr. Weasley! Would you like your fate read?" Professor Trelawney asked in what she hoped would be an ominous voice.

He gulped down the jellybean loudly and then said: " Sure."

" Then approach the crystal ball. Ah, yes, it's ready." Professor Trelawney's fingers hovered over the white dome, her lips saying some sort of ancient chant.

The class was lost. A few kids were chattering aimlessly, others watched with some interest, but most didn't really care for what was going on at all. Ron walked up to the dome and then sat down on the chair opposite of the professor.

Her fingers skidded on the ball just then, her nail making a horrible scraping sound. A few children winced.

" I'm sorry. I was distracted by what I saw." Professor Trelawney leaned closer to the orb. " Ah, yes. Your body's natural aura, a magnetic field, if you may call it, is reacting with the spirits."

She hummed softly to herself, swaying to and from the crystal ball. Finally, she ordered Ron to put his hands on top of the ball and to count to ten inside his head. Ron obliged, and then drew his hands back when he was done.

The class watched anxiously now.

" I see your brother, Charles." Professor Trelawney spoke after an awed silence. " I see he's getting sick - much worse. He's bleeding, but the image is distorted." She closed her eyes, then reopened them to say: " I see the Dark Mark!"

Lavender gasped, and Draco scoffed. " Let me guess. Now you see death." Draco drawled.

Ron swallowed uncomfortably and asked: " What else do you see?"

" Your brother deals with dragons. I see a particular one. A tall and mysterious form is riding it, in black robes. This dragon has white scales." Professor Trelawney suddenly snapped from her trance-like, monotone voice and whispered: " An English Whitescale! I've learned of those when I was your age, Ron. They're quite rare now, since the Dragon Scare in 1697. My, many dragons were killed then."

Ron blinked stupidly, not knowing what the professor was talking about, or at least pretending not to.

" Mysterious affair, this is, with your brother. Is he alright?" Professor Trelawney asked.

" Yes. Couldn't be better." Ron shot up to his feet, and stammering nervously, he continued: " Enough of me. Let's see someone else's fate. How about. . . um. . ." He was stumped. Ron knew that absolutely nobody wished to approached the crystal bowl. " . . . Malfoy!"

A few eyes slithered over towards Malfoy, who's back was arched over his table. He was folding a paper plane, which he most likely would aim at the trashcan in the corner of the room. Three white planes were already littering the ground around the trashcan.

" Alright, Draco. Come up to the orb, dear." Professor Trelawney grinned lightly.

" Do I have to?" Malfoy grimaced.

" Yes." Professor Trelawney replied, sweetly but firmly. A silence crossed the room and Ron sat himself down beside Harry, still nervous about what the professor had read from the orb.

Harry didn't seem too interested in whatever Draco's fate held for him. He pulled aside the red, battered curtain behind his chair and searched the Quidditch field for a sign of Hermione.

He found her, finally, standing before Madame Hooch. Madame Hooch was pointing at Hermione's broom and saying something, and Hermione was nodding fervently.

Then, Hermione climbed onto the broom and kicked off into the air, using the method Harry had taught her earlier. A few minutes later, after soaring in the air, she came down to an applauding and beaming Madame Hooch.

Then, the Quidditch teacher grew stern and pointed out something on Hermione's hand, and she moved her wrist a bit, wrapping her fingers tighter on the broomstick.

Harry smiled to himself, seeing how hard Hermione was trying. She was really a good sport. Though, he did wonder why she wanted to play Quidditch so much. It really wasn't a Hermione thing to do.

Harry's attention returned to what was going on in the classroom. Obviously, after quite a struggle, Draco had moved himself into the seat opposite of Professor Trelawney and he had crossed his arms in silent rebellion.

Something was odd in the way the professor was looking into the orb now. She seemed perplexed. " Draco, there's a lot of oddity in here."

Some kids tittered at that comment.

" What do you mean?" Draco asked, his blue eyes glowing like a cat's in the light of the orb.

" Well, some things about you contradict with others." Professor Trelawney moved her fingers over the orb and continued chanting something, then once she figured that the image in the orb was a bit clearer, she told him: " For instance, here it says that there is a certain person you can't stand, and show it rather openly. Yet it also shows that you care for this person and you don't want something bad to happen to them."

Draco shook his head. " That's nonsense."

" I also see that you're struggling between a few consequences: whether to save your own self from impending events, or to notify someone so they might be kept safe." Professor Trelawney frowned. " This isn't making much sense."

Draco rolled his eyes. " Can I go back to my seat now?"

" You can warm your seat later. Can't you children understand how important this is?" Professor Trelawney slammed her hand down on the table.

Neville, who had been fast asleep at his desk, jerked upwards in surprise.

" Draco, I sense the magical aura around you. You can quite easily be able to be a light-seer like me if you only allowed yourself to." Professor Trelawney whispered softly.

" I don't want to be one." Draco murmured.

Ron whispered into Harry's ear at that moment: " She was right, you know, about Charlie."

" Is there any news on him?" Harry asked.

" He's been sleepwalking more often. Whenever he sleepwalks, he always ends up facing the west when he wakes up." Ron whispered back.

" Please, boys, stop whispering!" Professor Trelawney warned.

" West. . . isn't that the direction of where the English Whitescale had been sighted?" Harry pondered.

It was true. All over the Witch and Wizard magazines (even on the cover of the Broomstick, which was a national magazine), there was news of Muggles and others sighting the dragon. Of course, the Muggles wouldn't believe their eyes, but the witches and wizards that had seen the dragons knew right off that something was not right.

Harry suddenly stood for the bell was ringing and the class piled out the doors, as fast as they could. Ron caught up with him in the hall and they walked together, discussing things.

*¤*.¸¸.·´¨`»*«´¨`·. ¸¸.*¤*

They met their new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher just that day. The room was completely dark when they walked in. Since most students don't really take the time to turn the lights on, since Snape usually turns them on as he walks in, they figured that the teacher wasn't there yet.

The room was so dark Harry had a hard time finding his seat. Hermione sat near him in her seat and smiled. " Harry, I think I've got my broom flying down pat."

" That's great!" Harry beamed at her proudly.

" I know. I can't believe it." Hermione tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. " It came as a total shock to me. I didn't think that I'd be flying so early in the air, and so well."

" Did you practice catching a ball in midair yet? That's important, if you want to be a good Quidditch player." Harry reminded her. Oliver Wood had given him that advice, saying that if someone can fly up and catch a ball then that person can just as easily defend a goal, since it's all related in keeping your eye on the ball and never losing sight of it.

" I haven't gotten there yet. Madame Hooch says that if I want to catch the ball then I need to practice good grips on the broom. She said I'll fly right off it if I don't. . ." Hermione was cut off right then for a voice rang, raptly, through the room:

" Attention, class!"

The lights flicked on and everyone turned to the new teacher. To everyone's surprise, it was a woman teacher, the first one in a while to take this position. She was rather pretty, with blonde hair that fell loosely down to her waist and small beady eyes the color of grass. She smiled at the students and said: " I'm sure you're all wondering who I am by now."

A few students nodded in agreement.

The teacher moved towards the front of the room, her scarlet robes fluttering behind her. She put her hands on her hips and with a wide grin, she announced: " My name is Theodora Whims. Please call me whatever you wish. Thea is a common nickname that I had gotten from other schools I had taught in." She smiled gently.

Draco raised his hand.

" Yes, dear? Please give me your name as you make an announcement, so that I could get familiar with such a handsome face." The teacher smiled. She was good, no doubt about that. Harry could tell right off that a lot of students would like her.

"Draco Malfoy." Draco gave his name, a bit taken aback by the teacher's good-natured attitude. " I just wanted to ask if you're planning on leaving at the end of the year, too."

Crabbe and Goyle laughed, while the rest of the class gave Draco a shut-up-right-now kind of look.

" No, actually, I'm planning to stay for a while." Thea smiled even warmer. " I think we'll all get along just fine, now, won't we?"

Nobody replied.

" Why, sure we will!" Thea's smile receded slightly. " Oh, come on, how come everyone's so gloomy? This is going to be a fun class."

" Not when Snape was teaching it." Hermione murmured.

" What's that?" Thea turned to face Hermione. " Stand up, hon, and give the class your name. I have to start learning your names. And while you're at it, tell me what you said, again?"

Hermione blushed uncomfortably and stood. " I'm Hermione Granger, and I was saying that Snape made this class no fun."

" That's too bad." Thea was now rather downcast. "What were you last working on?"

" How to deflect a Liquefier spell. It was a cast-off from a Potions class we did a while ago." Hermione said, and then sat down.

Thea put her hands in the pockets of her robes. " I've been teaching for only two years now, but I can already tell you that I will make deflecting Liquefier spells fun."

" Oh, no you won't." Draco spoke up.

" Draco, if you'll be a dear, please keep such negative opinions to yourself." Thea's smile returned. " Now, take out your books and open them to the appropriate page. I believe it was page forty that had the Liquefier spell on it?"

A few students gave her a murmur in reply and the sound of pages flipping echoed through the room. Thea sat down on her desk and announced: " Are your books open?"

" Yeah." A couple of voices spoke out.

" Good. Now close them."

The students looked a bit puzzled but obliged.

" Now, open to page forty." Thea ordered.

Now even Draco was interested in what was going on. He opened the book to page forty.

" Now close them!" Thea's face beamed.

The puzzlement in the room was so thick you could cut it with a knife. Students whispered, wondering if Thea was another crazy teacher.

" Now, open them to page forty." Thea said.

Very few books were opening now.

" Aha!" Thea was satisfied. " See how much fun it is to open and close your book, lesson after lesson? I can see that already you are discouraged. I don't want my students discouraged." She hopped off her desk. " I now pledge that not once this year will you open your book the way you just did, with such reluctance." The class was now watching her intently, hanging on this cheery new teacher's every word.

" I need two volunteers. Today will be an open-demonstration day. I'll try to make most of them like this." Thea told the students.

The thump and shuffle of students arching in their seats, hands up, surprised Hermione. She was used to be being the only one willing to do anything in class by now.

Thea looked around the room and her eyes fixed on Harry. "If it isn't the Boy That Lived! Harry Potter, you'll be a volunteer, won't you?"

Harry nodded and walked to the front of the room.

" Now, how about you, Draco? I see you don't think this class will be fun, so I'd like you to come up here." Thea motioned for him to approach the front of the room.

The two boys faced each other.

" Draco, do you remember how to cast the Liquefier spell without having someone drink the potion?" Thea asked.

" No." Draco shook his head in confirmation to his words. "Snape never taught us that. He only taught us how to make the Liquefier work by potion."

" Well, it's easy. Just point your wand at Harry and say: Liquefier, Liquefier, Melt away the heart's desire, body of rock, body of stone, keep the form, lose the bone."

The students watched as Harry aimed his wand at Harry and began to say the spell. Harry cried out as Draco's wand zapped him with the spell and the familiar feeling of turning into liquid crossed his body.

Soon he was just a puddle, his eyes swimming around, trying to take in the room. It felt like looking into a kaleidoscope, with everything in the room a total scrambled mess.

Thea tapped Harry-the-puddle and said the reverse of the spell: "Liquefier, Liquefier, retreat!"

Harry was back to his old self. Draco was laughing, actually pleased with getting the chance to turn Harry into liquid. Harry glared at him, then turned to Thea, asking: " Now what?"

" Harry, I'll teach you how to reflect the spell. If you're successful, here's what will happen." Thea whispered the consequence into Harry's ear. Everyone stared as Harry laughed.

" So, do we have a deal? Just say the words." Thea patted Harry's back.

Draco began to do the spell on Harry again, but just as Draco was a few words away from the end of the spell, Harry shouted out: "Bones of stone, Blood of fire, repel the Liquefier!"

The two spells collided midair and what looked like a fireworks display rocketed between the two wands. Then, Harry and the entire class began to holler with laughter as Draco's body began to melt into liquid instead.

Draco was soon after returned to his normal self, and Harry and he returned to their seats. Thea turned to the gleeful class and said: " See? Didn't that make it more fun?"

The class wholeheartedly agreed.

Just then, the class ended and the students raced from the room, and Harry caught a glimpse of Thea sitting down onto her chair, smiling in satisfaction. She had gotten through to her students, and Harry was glad the new teacher was going to be fun.

A/N: Happy Holidays, my readers. And Fellow Christians: may the upcoming birthday of Jesus warm our hearts.

P.S. Read my silly poem "The Treat", an HP parody, since it's not getting reviews !!! Thanx.