Chapter 13 – To The Weekend

The following day, Friday, got off to a slow start with History of Magic with Professor Binns. The Ravenclaws shared the class with the Slytherins. Lydia was surprised how much attention was paid and how little disruptive behaviour was displayed. The Ravenclaws were a studious bunch, of course. Even so, Lydia was surprised how Shona and Tina both lapped up the information, despite Binns' droning voice. The greater revelation was the attentiveness of the Slytherins. Lydia discovered this once she found her mind, and eyes, wandering. A couple of the Slytherin boys were messing about passing notes to each other. The rest were following Binns' lecture on the Statute of Secrecy and taking notes. She redoubled her efforts to stay awake and continued taking her own notes.

Draco's Defence class followed after the break. They were joined by the Gryffindors. This was a class Lydia delighted in. She felt she had already been involved with defending against the Dark Arts so she was fully invested in learning as much as she could. She had always liked Draco, as well. He taught them the incantation and wand actions necessary for casting both a Shield Charm and a simple Stunning Spell. They were to use these for a proper practice in their Monday morning Defence lesson. This was one they were all looking forward to having.

After lunch there was Muggle Appreciation with Justin Finch-Fletchley. This was another class they shared with the Slytherins. This time they were not as well-behaved as before. There were many awkward questions from the Slytherins along the lines of, "So, why are the muggles doing X? That's not very sensible, is it?". Professor Finch-Fletchley kept his calm. His answers were of the type, "Follow this course and you may find out the reasons for these things". In the end the Slytherins gave up trying to goad him and the class got underway.

After Muggle Appreciation there was a free period. For some it was an opportunity to get their homework out of the way before the weekend. For others it was the start of the weekend.

Lydia enjoyed the weekend. She had opportunities to get to know the other Ravenclaws around her. The weather was nice, if a bit breezy. She had lots of chances to wander around the grounds of the castle with friends. Sometimes this was with Shona and the other Ravenclaw girls. Other walks were with Teddy and Freddie. On the Sunday morning she approached Professor McGonagall after breakfast. She asked the headteacher for permission to swim in the loch. McGonagall had heard the story of how Lydia's swimming ability had saved Harry and the others earlier in the year. She gave Lydia permission, warning her only to stay away from the reed beds at the southern end of the loch. Lydia asked if there had ever been any problems with the Giant Squid. The headteacher assured her that the only things which had been lost to the creature were items from picnics too close to the water.

Lydia met Teddy and Freddie down on the loch side, her robes on over her black swimming costume but her hair already tucked into a white bathing cap. Freddie told her once more that she was insane. Teddy kept shuffling from one foot to the other, his hands balled into fists. He said nothing. Lydia paddled in the shallow water for a while, gauging the temperature. She waded further out, taking her time, until only her head was above the water.

"The top layer is mild, down to over a metre," she called to the boys at the water's edge. "I'm going to go for a swim, now."

With that she sprang upwards and forwards, disappearing under the water for a couple of seconds. She swam parallel to the bank. The boys were amazed how she cut through the water. They heard shouts behind them. Some girls were warning that the Giant Squid had been sighted and was approaching. Freddie relayed the message to Lydia. Teddy stopped where he was and bounced on his toes, his arms by his side.

Lydia trod water for a while. Once more the squid reached out a tentacle towards her but stopped short of touching her. Lydia reached out and stroked the tentacle. Then she bobbed under the water. Her eyes open, she could see the head of the squid through the hazy waters a few metres away. A huge, square-pupiled eye regarded her. Lydia felt a small, happy feeling. Somehow, she felt, she had made this magnificent creature a little less lonely. She waved her hand at the squid. The squid waved a tentacle at her as she surfaced. Lydia looked over at the shore to wave to the boys. Teddy was screaming something. Freddie was shaking him by the shoulder and pointing over towards Lydia. Lydia urgently wanted to get over to him to see what the problem was.

Then a tentacle wrapped gently around her chest, under her arms. Another supported her hip and she was lifted free of the water. With a surge of power, the squid carried her to the waterside, placing her on her feet in a few centimetres of water. Lydia splashed forward and onto the grass. She turned to wave at the squid, who waved back.

"We thought it had got you!" Teddy shouted at her.

"I didn't!" Freddie objected. "That was too stressy. I decided to trust you."

"I just went underwater to say hello to her," Lydia soothed. "I'm sorry, I didn't know how to tell you."

"You were gone ages," Teddy complained, becoming less agitated, his voice pained.

"I'm sorry," she repeated. "I didn't realise how it would look to you. I should have thought. I knew you were concerned. Sorry."

Teddy nodded. Freddie finally let go of his shoulder.

"Is it OK if I go back in?" Lydia asked. "I promise not to disappear. And you've seen the squid is on my side. I think she liked having a bit of company."

A small crowd had gathered around them and were all but silent, listening in.

"Yeah, it's fine," Teddy replied more heartily than necessary. "I just didn't want to have to tell Harry I hadn't been looking after you."

He winked at her. She understood him and played along.

"Thanks, Teddy. You're like a big brother to me. I'll be careful."

She spent a while back in the loch, swimming up and down parallel to the shore. The giant squid could be seen from time-to-time swimming along beside her a few metres away. Freddie went to sit down further up the slope beside the loch. He sat with a few of the Hufflepuff girls and, from their vantage point, they could make out the shape of the squid. Teddy stayed by the water's edge and strode up and down, keeping pace with Lydia's position.

At last Lydia emerged from the water and squatted down to stroke the squid's tentacle again. Standing on the grass again, Teddy handed her the towel she had brought with her. Lydia took a moment to wave to the squid, not sure if it could see her. One of its two flat-ended tentacles lifted two metres or more out of the water to wave back, before slipping back below the surface with barely a ripple.

Monday morning came around all too soon. The Ravenclaws started their lessons with Modern Magical History, which they shared with the Gryffindors. Their teacher was Professor Hughes, a smallish man with a head of orange hair which seemed to prefer hanging upwards, rather than down. It gave an impression that either his head was on fire or else he was permanently surprised. Perhaps he was surprised at his luck of being able to teach the most popular subject on the curriculum. All the students wanted to hear about the war against Voldemort and Hogwarts' important role in his downfall. Professor Hughes was also Head of House for Hufflepuff and was happy, diligent and even-handed.

Having had Defence and Flying classes with Gryffindor already Lydia felt she was starting to get to know them. They were a mixed bunch. Several looked as if they would turn out to be sporty. Some were quite studious and seemed as though they might easily have been sorted into Ravenclaw. Others seemed good-natured but one, a boy called Karl, seemed to be arrogant, for some reason. Every time he spoke up, whether asking or answering a question he would leer around at the rest of the class as if to say, "See, they all agree with me". Lydia tried not to take a dislike to him, but failed.

Their next lesson was Defence Against the Dark Arts, again with the Gryffindors. As they walked towards the dungeons, this Karl was spouting his opinions on the Wizarding War and Battle of Hogwarts. Lydia knew, from her time with Harry and Ron, that some of the things he was saying were incorrect. She decided against speaking up to say so, though it went against her Ravenclaw nature. She needed not to draw unwanted attention.

Defence was a good class. It was a wand class. Everyone in the class was delighted to be allowed to perform some actual magic. This was useful magic – Shield Charms. In order to have something to shield against Draco had also taught them a simple form of the Stunning Spell. Then he paired them up and set pairs against pairs. His intention was to show how a Shield Charm could protect more than the caster of the spell. Each member of the defending pairs took it in turn to shield them both. The attacking pairs took turns to try to stun them. The basic Stunning Spell, if it hit, would only make the target groggy for a few seconds. Some of the Shield Charms, by the end of the lesson, were getting strong enough to knock the attackers backwards.

Lydia's shields were the most powerful in the class, even though she was holding back as much as she could. At one point she had a lapse of concentration and her attacker, Dean Twycross flew backwards towards the wall. Draco instinctively cushioned his landing with a flick of his wand. Lydia's partner, Shona, hugged her with glee. Their other attacker, Oddy Anderson, sagged in anticipation of receiving the same treatment. Lydia vowed not to lose her concentration again.

All in all, it was a useful and entertaining class. Everyone made good progress. Oddy turned out to be as good as anyone else, other than Lydia, and better than Dean, who was twice Oddy's size. Dean seemed delighted that his little friend had done so well. He was also delighted to realise it was now lunchtime.

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