1 Chapter 5

To celebrate Ginny coming home, they all went to Hogsmeade. Everyone was talking when Ron and Harry got into an argument.

"…If you can beat me on the Quidditch field, I'll let you go through with it!" Ron roared.

"You idiot, I was always better at Quidditch!" Harry yelled back.

"I've been practicing!" Ron smiled. "First to 50."

So, they went to an abandoned field, and Harry charmed his and Ron's broomstick to them. They mounted, and after a long, long, long battle with a rock replacing a Quaffle, they fell to the ground exhausted.

"Draw…" Ron panted. Harry no longer had the energy to speak, so merely nodded, and sat back at their seats, where they both took a drink. This went unnoticed by the two girls, who continued chatting.

"So, how has school been Ginny?" Hermione asked. "Hagrid still there?"

"Yes, Hagrid is still there. I took Care for Magical Creatures too, it's fun." Ginny started giggling for some reason. When Hermione inquired, Ginny responded with.

"Well, there's this funny guy at Hogwarts, who's always making jokes. And he really doesn't like Professor Snape, so one day, I was walking to their classroom in Potions to deliver a message from Professor Mcgonagall, and when Snape started telling him off, the guy trod on his foot, then he started telling SNAPE off!! It was SO funny! He got detention for about a week, but it would have been worth it!" Ginny giggled some more.

"I don't know, a detention Snape assigns is never pleasant." Hermione shuddered at some of the detentions Ron and Harry told her about. The pair of them continued discussing Hogwarts and whatever came up, until Harry stumbled to his feet, knocking Ron awake too.

"We better go home now!" Harry said. And with that, they made their way home. Harry's room was right next to Ginny's, and the wall was thin. Harry was talking in his sleep, and Ginny couldn't help but overhear him. Nothing he said was of importance, but in the morning, after Ginny had gotten no sleep, she was quite cross. As they sat at the table to eat breakfast, she pointed this out to Harry, who merely mumbled something, and chewed on some toast.

"Next time, I challenge Harry to Chess!!" Ron groaned as he stumbled downstairs. The house that Ron, Hermione and Harry shared was a two-story house, with a decently sized pool out the back, and a reasonable amount of space. Hermione now worked for the Ministry of Magic, as a Fact Keeper, a job that required a quick memory and a fair wand skill, therefore she was good at it. Ron didn't work, but instead kept the house clean, and Harry was Seeker for the Chudley Cannons, which had recently improved their winning streak to the point of actually having one, triggering them to change their club motto back to "We shall conquer". However it wasn't Quidditch season, so he helped out in Fred and George's joke shop. Funded by the thousand Galleon reward money Harry got from winning the Triwizard tournament, it had become very successful, with a lot of repeat business.

"Ron, have you checked for Job Positions yet?" Hermione asked. Ron moaned loudly in response, and ignored her. Just then an owl flew threw the window, and dropped to the table with a letter in its mouth.

"It's a Hogwarts owl, for Ginny." Harry said, and passed the letter to a puzzled Ginny. She read it out loud.

"Dear Ginny.

I hope this letter finds you well, as you decided to go back home and leave me all alone, traitor! (Here it was followed by a series of skull and crossbones) Regardless, I have found a new friend and the last detention Snapey gave us we found a weird book. Now I heard that you're the friend of Harry Potter, the guy with the nifty scar and who's real good at Quidditch, so maybe he can help. It changes every time somebody looks in it. My new friend saw a Ruby in it, I saw scenes of pain, and Hagrid saw a figure tending to animals. Dumbledore said it's the Book of Time followed by a long and boring explanation. Nevertheless, if you could give us a hand with it, it'd be greatly appreciated.

Yours Truly

Nitrotic.

P.S You owe me five Galleons, or a new Chess Set.

Ginny stopped reading the letter and looked at Harry, who wasn't in much of a condition to help anyone, then quickly scrawled a note saying they'd help as much as they could. She sent the owl back with her letter.

"Book of Time hmm? I heard something about that at work, I'll look into it." Hermione said. "Generally those sorts of things are more Dumbledore's business, at least while at Hogwarts."

"Ok. It's funny, Nitrotic doesn't usually ask for help. He's too stubborn. But then again, he does if he really wants some, or really needs some." Ginny thought.

"Sounds odd, with so many contradicting ideas." Hermione said.

"Oh without a doubt, very odd." Ginny immediately replied. "But in essence, decent."

"Wasn't he that kid who tripped himself and Snape over on the first day?" Ron asked Ginny.

"Yep, and sent books flying everywhere. Professor Snape was less than pleased." Ginny told him. "Strangely, Nitrotic came down with a strange illness at dinner that night."

"Really?" Ron inquired. "What happened?"

"He turned into a frog." Ginny stated blandly.

"Oh…" Ron tried to keep a serious face, but ended up bursting into laughter, Harry and Hermione along with him.

"Everyone knows it was Snape… Pity nobody could prove it." Ginny sighed.