Chapter Five – Curses and Puffskeins

Snape scribbled something with his quill onto the paper in his hand, and he looked at Harry Potter's potion. He then looked at Ron Weasley's and Hermione Granger's. They were eerily perfect, which was unusual for Harry and Ron, both who usually suffered in Potions class, along with Neville Longbottom.

"Strange, Potter...Weasley," he said, staring at their potions again. He dipped a finger in to feel the density, shocked at how perfectly runny it it was. "This is the only potion you can do well. Have you two had... practice, or is Granger here just helping you two cheat?"

Harry said nothing, and kicked Ron under the table as he opened his mouth to tell Snape off.

Snape just curled his lip and walked away to look at Draco Malfoy's, which by Snape's reaction, wasn't coming as well along as Harry and Ron's was.

"If Potter and Weasley can do it," Snape said, "then you can, Mr. Malfoy. Get your act together."

Suddenly, the door of the dungeon opened, and a tiny house-elf walked in. "Excuse me, Professor Snape?" it squeaked, causing Harry to look up from his cauldron. He recognized that voice; it was unmistakably Dobby.

"What?" Snape said nastily, angered that his class was disrupted.

"Headmaster Dumbledore would like to see Mr. Harry Potter, sir," Dobby said, his grammar surprisingly perfect, and his voice calmly steady.

Snape looked at Harry, who was looking utterly confused. Snape nodded, and said, "Potter, pack up your things. You won't have time to come back here and finish. Put your cauldron on that side of the wall...yes, right there...and Weasley will mark your name on it before he leaves. The Polyjuice Potion needs to sit. Alright, get out of my sight..."

Harry grabbed his bag and books, mouthed "Bye" to Ron and Hermione, and followed Dobby out the door.

Snape sneered at Harry's back, and then went back to checking on everyone's potions.

"Excellent, Crabbe, though it's a tad too thick...Much better, Mr. Malfoy. Yes,. I dare say that's much better...Oh, Goyle, this is green. Now, that's not right, is it? Didn't think so."

A sudden sizzle form the Gryffindor side made Snape look up from Goyle's pot, and look around.

"I thought I made it clear," Snape spat as he rounded on Neville Longbottom, "that you should only be adding two octopus spleens, and one frog lung." Snape leaned down so far, his long, crooked nose was almost touching Neville's trembling cheek. "Are you always this stupid? Or am I just lucky enough to have to put up with you?

Hermione gasped at Snape's harsh words.

Snape turned to Hermione, his face bright red. "and what is wrong with you, Mudblood?"

Everyone, even the Slytherins, gasped at Professor Snape.

Ron took out his wand, and fiercely said, "What did you say to her?"

"Weasley," he chuckled, "put that stick back. You threaten me again, and you get expelled." He looked around, and spat; "Back to work! All of you!"

The class jumped back tow work, eyeing each other nervously. Never had a teacher cursed at a student. The word "Mudblood" was a harsh, evil word that people used to describe a wizard (or witch in this case),. Who was born from Muggle parents. People like Draco Malfoy used that kind of language, and the fact that a Professor hand spoken to a student so horribly was frightening to the rest of the students; no matter what house they were in.

"Time's up," Snape said quietly. "Make sure your name is on your cauldron, put it over by Potter's....right. Clean up, now. If I find a mess..."

Ron and Hermione glared harder at Snape while packing their extra ingredients. The still stuttering Neville threw his things into his bag and sprinted out of the room, refusing to be in the same room as the Professor.

As soon as Ron and Hermione were an earshot from the dungeons, Ron exploded.

"Where does he get off?! I can't believe that bloody tosser...got no right...no right..." He looked down at the melancholy Hermione, and sighed. "You okay? I can kill him, if you want. Azkaban would be worth it."

"Ron," Hermione said quietly, "Calm down. I'm used to it, trust me. I mean, he's just like Malfoy." She sighed sadly. "I must say though, he is a teacher..."

Ron's ears were still red with anger. "I'm just glad it was the end of the class. I may have used my wand...and...and—"

"Ron! Please, calm down!" She turned a corner, Ron immediately followed her. "I mean, I know it was rude. Think about how I feel—"

"I am." He opened the door and held it until Hermione had passed through. "I'm going to tell Hagrid. He'll tell Dumbledore. Then maybe Snape will be fired." He grinned. "Then I won't have to buy you a Christmas present."

She couldn't help but smile at him.

^*^*^

Harry walked along side Dobby, while strange thoughts floated in his head on why Dumbledore could possibly want to see him personally. He began to wonder if something had happened to his Godfather, Sirius Black, but he was sure that Dumbledore would have wanted to see Ron and Hermione as well.

"Dobby," Harry said, his curiosity getting the better of him. "Do you know why Dumbledore wants to see me?"

"Dobby doesn't know," Dobby said, as he approached the gargoyle which was the entrance to Dumbledore's office. "Pixie Sticks!" he said, causing the gargoyle to become animated, and move away to allow them to enter.

It was as if they floated the spiral staircase, which moved like a Muggle escalator. The familiar sense of dizziness fell upon Harry, until they got to the top where there was a large door, decorated with a griffin. Dobby opened the door, showing Dumbledore's office.

"SIRIUS!" cried Harry, flinging his arms around his Godfather, and his worries of his safety floating away. "When Dobby told me that Professor wanted to see me, I thought that something horrible had happened to you, and I began to panic..." his voice drifted off. He looked at Sirius' face, which wasn't telling him that this was a nice little visit. Harry's stomach started to ache. "Something horrible has happened, hasn't it?" he asked.

Sirius could only nod.

Harry's widened. "Is it Hagrid? Is something wrong with Hagrid? I noticed how he wasn't here, and I began to wonder..." he turned to see a sullen Headmaster, and his thoughts on Hagrid seemed to be confirmed.

"Harry," Dumbledore said, "Hagrid is fine."

Harry sighed happily. "Good."

Dumbledore nodded, and gulped, looking at Sirius for support. "Harry, something has happened...something quite serious." He pointed to a chair, and said, "Please, sit down."

Harry sat, very cautiously. "Profess—Siri—Wha..." His voice couldn't even form a full word.

"The Dursleys, Harry," Dumbledore forced from his mouth, "are dead."

Harry stared. And suddenly, he began to laugh.

Sirius jumped at the strange reaction. "Harry, did you hear Dumbledore correctly? Your family is dead."

"No, no, see, you said it'd be bad news, Headmaster."

Dumbledore looked at Harry with alarm. "It is, Harry. It's horrible news."

"I'm sorry, Headmaster...but...I mean, don't get me wrong, I do feel horrible. I mean, they did raise me and everything, but," he thought for a minute, searching for the proper words, but ending up with, "but I hate them."

"Harry," Sirius said, completely shocked. "I don't think you realize what this means. You have no place to live. You're totally unprotected. And Volde—" he lost his voice. Sirius coughed, and continued. "Harry, you are not longer safe when you leave Hogwarts."

"Then I won't leave Hogwarts, Sirius."

"But you can't stay here, Harry," Dumbledore stated. "It would be highly irregular, and..." he met Harry's pleading eyes.

"Please, Headmaster," he said, almost at a whisper. "It's what I've wished for since I set foot in here on my first day."

Dumbledore shook his head. "Don't you understand how severe this is, Harry? Don't you realize how important the Dursley's were to you?"

Harry just stared at him.

Dumbledore just sighed. "We will discuss your – er – place of residence during the summer later. I want you to think about the Dursleys, think about what they have done for you." He sighed sadly, and then said, quietly, "Do not go to your next class; I shall notify your Professor. You are to go to your dormitory and think Harry. I want you to think long and hard."

^*^*^

Ron and Hermione walked around the corner, Hagrid's house, which was more like a little hut, with stone sides, and a thatched roof, now in sight. Ron told Hermione again how he would tell Hagrid about how horrible Snape was, when he suddenly stopped walking.

"Herm, look," he said, pointing at where a few other students were gathering. "Where's Hagrid?"

"Hmm?" She looked where he was pointing. "I'm sure Hagrid's just got some strange animal their all goggling at," she told him, and continued walking. When Ron didn't follow, she grabbed his robe and pulled him along.

"Quiet now, quiet," an elderly voice crackled, causing the students to back away from the fence. "Don't touch them, now, you hear?"

An old woman appeared, her gray hair cropped around her wrinkled head, and a noticeable, prominent chin. Her cloak was well below her ankles; it was as if she had shrunken and refused to buy new robes. Blue eyes danced, seeming to tell people that despite her old age, she was still up for a good fight with a Chinese Fireball dragon any day.

"All right now, children, stay behind the fence, that's right," she said, keeping all the students away from whatever was inside the enclosure.

"I recognize her," Ron said. "But where from?" He thought for a moment, then said suddenly, "Excuse me, have you taught here before?"

The old woman looked up at Ron, and nodded. "Yes, young man, I have. You obviously remember my unicorn lesson last year, correct?"

Ron nodded, pleased with himself. Hermione looked at him, stunned.

"What?" he asked, confused by her look.

She smiled. "Oh, I just can't believe you remembered something from a lesson, for a change."

"Funny," he said flatly. "Actually," his voice dropped down to a whisper. "The only reason I remember her, was because she was here only because of that article Rita Skeeter wrote about Hagrid." His face squished up, and he said, angrily, "I swear, if I ever come across her again..."

Hermione just nodded, oblivious to what he was saying, because the elderly woman began to speak.

"For those of you who have forgotten, unlike that young man," she nodded towards Ron, "my name is Professor Grubbly-Plank, and I'll be taking over while your regular teacher, Hagrid, is away on private duties." She looked at the confused faces. "And please, I don't know where he is, so don't bother asking." She moved herself so she was positioned at the gates entrance. "In the box, just behind me," she pointed to a box inside the fence, "are Puffskeins. Can anyone tell me a bit about the Puffskein?"

Hermione's hand shot up in the air, and to her shock (and the rest of the class), so did Ron's.

Professor Grubbly-Plank smiled at Ron. "Yes, Mr...."

"Ron Weasley," he said, causing Professor Grubbly-Plank to smirk.

"Ah, another Weasley. I just had your brothers. Quite a pair, aren't they?"

Ron rolled his eyes. "Try living with them."

Grubbly-Plank laughed lightly, and said, "Well? Continue, Mr. Weasley."

"The Puffskein," Ron began, "is a round, furry creature which is not the least bit dangerous. It will eat whatever it wants, but prefers to eat a sleeping wizards...erm...bogies."

The class cringed, a few exclaiming "EW!" and "GROSS!" but Grubbly-Plank just smiled.

"Well done, Mr. Weasley. Five points to Gryffindor. That was exactly correct. Especially when it comes to eating human 'bogies', as you say. But here we will use the proper terminology, 'mucus'.

"The Puffskeins are found worldwide, and their fur, which you will see in a moment, is soft, and custard colored. You can cuddle these creatures all you want—the more you do, the more they will learn to love you. Their tongue is very long, thin, and pink, and will emerge from their mouths once in a while in search of foods. As Mr. Weasley said, they will eat just about anything...anything from berries and plants, to..." she smirked again, "rotting human remains."

More disgusted noise exploded from the students.

"All right now, let's go inside, and be careful: they could get nervous with all of you around." Grubbly-Plank opened the gates, and the students filed in, calmly.

"Each of you pick out a Puffskein and start to cuddle it...well done, young lady...very nice, Mr. Weasley....excellent, young man...oh, you're all doing wonderfully!" she exclaimed.

Ron turned to Hermione.. "Well, at least this year I won't have to worry about getting my arm bitten off," he said, as the Puffskein buried his head in Ron's chest, and began to fall asleep.