The Potter Timeline
Chapter 55 - New Classes, Familiar Faces
"For your first homework assignment, I want each of you to calculate your class partner's personal number based on their full name using the Pythagorean method. You'll then present to the class the meaning of this number and give a brief statement as to how this number confirms what you know about your partner. Understood?"
The black-haired, blue-eyed Professor Vector glanced around the room and was satisfied when every student nodded.
"Very well. Class dismissed," she said with a smile.
The students rose, gathered their belongings, and filed out of the classroom on the main floor. Hermione and Harry stepped out of the doorway with Mandy Brocklehurst and Terry Boot behind them.
"This class is going to be fascinating!" Mandy uttered with some excitement.
Hermione turned and smiled at the girl.
"I know! The idea that names have numerical values and can indicate who you are is definitely interesting. Now I'm curious what my number is," she said while turning and smirking at Harry.
The thirteen-year-old smiled back. As he and Hermione were class partners, they'd find out later when doing the assignment.
"I'm still blown away by the fact that Professor Vector's full name contains three master numbers, each of them eleven, which then adds up to the last master number, thirty-three," Terry Boot threw in.
"And from what I've read in our textbook, those numbers seem to accurately describe her. At least what we know about her so far," Hermione replied.
"As though she was...destined to teach Arithmancy," Harry stated.
All four stopped and stared at one another wide-eyed at this astonishing thought and Harry found himself agreeing with Brocklehurst - Arithmancy was already proving to be a fascinating subject, after just one class. What would his own number turn out to be and would it confirm his supposed destiny to defeat Voldemort? The third-years resumed their trek along the main floor in the direction of their second-period class, transfiguration.
"Well, I'm looking forward to McGonagall's classes this term too," Mandy said, "according to one of the fourth-years in our House, we're supposed to learn all about Animagi and the transfiguration process to become one."
Hermione suddenly grabbed Harry's sleeve and stopped. He turned to find a wide-eyed, concerned look on her face and instantly knew what she was thinking: while walking and conversing with their classmates, they'd forgotten about the Time-Turner and their actual second class, Muggle Studies! Harry nodded in acknowledgment.
"Um...yeah...Mandy, Terry. Harry and I need to...do something before McGonagall's class. So...we'll meet you there," Hermione told the Ravenclaws with some uncertainty.
They gave her a brief look of puzzlement, but then smiled.
"Okay, see you two inside," Terry told them.
He and Mandy moved off. Harry and Hermione watched as they entered McGonagall's class just a ways down the corridor, then Hermione turned, grabbing Harry's sleeve again, briskly leading them both into an ancillary hallway.
"That wasn't good. We nearly forgot about the Time-Turner," Hermione uttered.
"I know," Harry said as they headed for the broom closet they'd planned on using between their first three classes at nine o'clock, "but we might have a problem now. In all our planning, we didn't factor having to interact with our classmates in between classes. Will we have to make up some excuse every single day?"
Hermione frowned.
"I hope not. I doubt Mandy and Terry would buy us having to 'do something' before every transfiguration class. We'll need to figure something out."
They reached the closet. Harry glanced around, waiting for a couple of sixth-year Slytherins to disappear around the corner before he opened the small door and the pair dipped inside.
The closet smelled of dust and mothballs and was cluttered with old school brooms as well as some cleaning buckets and dirty rags that probably hadn't been touched since before Filch's death. As Hagrid could now clean everything with a flick of his wand, he didn't need any of the old squib's muggle cleaning tools and this closet was now used simply for storage. And in theory, this seemed perfect for Harry and Hermione's time travel needs. So, they incorporated it into their class schedule plans.
Harry closed the oak door behind them, and only faint light now entered the closet via thin slits in the door. Barely able to see, Hermione placed the Time-Turner strand around Harry's neck.
"Right. Our first actual trip back for class," she stated while squinting at the pendant.
"For luck, then?" Harry said while staring at her.
Hermione chuckled, then leaned up and kissed him briefly on the lips.
"Yes. For luck," she uttered with a grin. Harry smiled in return.
Hermione inverted the hourglass and Harry felt the odd sensation of being shoved backwards again. But this time it was more violent for some reason, and as soon as the Turner finished propelling them back one hour, he was so wobbly on his feet he tottered backwards toward the standing bunch of brooms. And this yanked the strand around Hermione's neck causing her to go with him.
CRASH!
Both of them fell into the brooms which clanked onto the walls and knocked an old wooden bucket onto the stone floor. Trying hard to stay still and not cough from the dust they stirred up, and with Hermione now leaning against him, Harry did his best to remain quiet, despite a knob on one of the brooms painfully digging into his back.
"Ow!" he uttered as quietly as possible with a brief cough anyway, "sorry!"
"It's okay," she whispered with a cough herself.
They then listened for movement in the hall, concerned someone might have heard them and would soon open the closet door to investigate. But after a few moments, the silence outside convinced them they were clear. Hermione stood upright, put down her satchel and brushed the dust from her robes. Harry did the same.
"The Turner made me a lot dizzier this time for some reason," Harry told her.
"Yeah, it did seem more intense. Maybe it's because we're inside a confined space."
"Maybe so. Perhaps we should just stick to the invisibility cloak from now on."
"Agreed. I don't want to have to clean myself off every time we come in here," the girl said while swatting dust from her hair.
After tidying themselves as best as possible, Harry slowly opened the door and peeked outside. The voices of several students could be heard in the main corridor around the corner, but no one passed by the broom closet.
"All clear," he said while stepping out.
Hermione followed and closed the door behind them.
"Right. Cloak first, then to the second floor," she said.
Harry pulled the cloak from his satchel which was stashed among his dozen schoolbooks. He threw this over them both and the pair made their way to the stairs at the center of the main floor. They paused just as Dean, Seamus, Neville, Parvati, Padma, and Lavender appeared from out of the Great Hall, heading toward their first class of the day. It was the second time now Harry and Hermione saw them.
"Where did you say our divination class is again?" Seamus asked the twins.
"At the top of the North Tower," Parvati answered.
"Great. That's a lot of stair climbing first thing in the morning," the Irish teen replied with a sour face.
"It would probably be faster if we just ate breakfast in the Gryffiindor common room before heading to class," Dean mentioned with his own frown.
Hermione and Harry exchanged amused looks before quietly following them to the second floor, having to dodge numerous students moving back and forth along the busy corridor. Dipping into an empty classroom, Harry removed the cloak. They then headed for Burbage's Muggle Studies class and upon entering, glanced around to see if they knew anyone.
It was a mix of fourth, fifth, and sixth years from the other Houses, most of whom looked familiar, though the two had never actually met any of them. But one face stood out. The pair exchanged curious looks before walking over to Justin Finch-Fletchley who was sitting at a lone desk near the back.
"Morning, Justin," Harry said, wondering if the teen still had any ill feelings toward him for what happened their second year.
But the dark-haired boy looked up at them and gave them both a slight smile.
"Harry! Hermione! How goes it?" he said pleasantly. This seemed to reassure Harry.
"Not bad. Mind if we sit next to you?"
"Not at all. I'm glad to see some familiar faces in here. I heard Muggle Studies wasn't very popular and was concerned I'd be the lone third-year."
Harry sat at the desk next to Justin and Hermione sat down at the one next to his.
"So, Hannah and Ernie didn't want to take this class?" Hermione asked, remembering the three Hufflepuffs were friends.
"Oh no. They're taking divination with Trelawney. They said Muggle Studies would be boring."
"But, you're from the muggle world like we are. Why did you want to take it?" Harry asked.
"Well, I was originally going to take divination. But when I told my parents, mother would have none of it. She's a devout Anglican, you know, and doesn't believe in soothsaying. So, I figured, to please her, and as Muggle Studies would be an easy class anyway, here I am."
Justin now threw them a puzzled expression.
"Why are you two taking this class? As smart as you are, Hermione, I figured you to be a right fit for Arithmancy or Ancient Runes."
Harry and Hermione threw surreptitious glances at one another.
"Um...well...like you, we figured it would be an easy class too," Harry stated.
"And we're interested in seeing how the wizarding world views muggles and muggle society," Hermione added.
Justin nodded, seeming convinced.
"Well then, Burbage's class should be a breeze for the three of us."
"Right," Harry said with a nod.
Just then, the professor entered the room. After reviewing the class curriculum, the blond-headed, and fairly young Burbage gave a brief overview of various muggle organizations and objects. The three third-years held back snickers when the woman referred to the muggle post office as an "owl-less messaging system" and that electricity was the muggle's way of "hurling lightning bolts through metal ropes".
The class finally ended and as the three left, Harry and Hermione excused themselves again and told Justin they'd meet him in McGonagall's class after. He didn't seem bothered by this and cheerily headed off while the two dipped back into that same empty classroom. Harry threw the cloak over them both. Hermione placed the Time-Turner strand around his neck and inverted the hourglass. This time, the sensation wasn't as jarring. Perhaps Hermione was right - the smaller the space, the more the Turner affected them physically.
After returning to the previous point one hour in time, they stayed under the cloak and made their way up to the sixth floor and Professor Babbling's Study of Ancient Runes. As no other students were in the vicinity, Harry removed the cloak, and they went into the classroom. But now, two familiar faces immediately stood out. Harry and Hermione exchanged deep frowns.
"Oh, brother! If it isn't the famous Harry Potter and his know-it-all girlfriend!" Draco Malfoy uttered loudly as he glared back at them. Pansy Parkinson, sitting next to the blond, snickered.
The rest of the class was filled with students from later years, including several seventh-year Ravenclaws and a couple of fifth-year Hufflepuffs. The only other familiar face was Melissa Shane's, a fourth-year girl and Harry and Hermione's Gryffindor Housemate. The curly-haired teen threw them a smile and wave before resuming a conversation with the Ravenclaws. They returned the gesture.
Harry and Hermione tried to ignore Malfoy and Parkinson as they headed for some empty desks on the far side of the room. But it would be in vain.
"Aren't runes above your head, Potter?" the jerk continued, "I'm surprised they let you into this class. Maybe they need to test students for before allowing them to take more complicated subjects."
Harry was already perturbed and tried calming himself. As though reading his thoughts, Hermione wrapped her arm around his.
"Just ignore the prat," she muttered with an angry look.
They sat down and took out their textbooks, laying them on their desk, not looking in the Slytherins' direction. Draco went on, however, seeming determined to provoke Harry.
"Don't you think you'd be better off in that joke of a Muggle Studies class? At least in there you wouldn't have to use that empty head of yours to get good marks."
Harry was having a hard time holding it together, but flatly refused to look at the blond. The other students had gone quiet and seemed focused on this tense exchange between the third-years.
"Well, we now know one thing for sure," Hermione said out loud while pulling out some parchment and laying it next to her books, "ignorance doesn't discriminate based on one's class status."
Several snickers erupted around the class. Draco glared at the thirteen-year-old.
"Shut your trap, you filthy mudblood!" he shot out with a fierce look.
Harry, finally having enough, shot up from his seat, despite Hermione trying to restrain him.
"Call her that again, Malfoy! I dare you!" he uttered just as fiercely, his fists curled and ready for a brawl of any kind with the Slytherin jerk.
The others in the class were wide-eyed and on the edge of their seats, wondering if an actual row was about to go down. But the loud clearing of a throat instantly dispelled this tension, and everyone gazed at the front to find the crimson-haired Professor Babbling staring at the snake and lion with her own fierce expression.
"Are the two of you finished? May I begin class?" she asked sarcastically, though fuming.
Harry's cheeks burned and he felt embarrassed.
"Sorry, professor," he said with a frown and sat back down in his chair.
Malfoy, on the other hand, said nothing and continued glaring at him. Harry's suspicions had been correct - Draco was going to be more of a pain this year than ever before.
Babbling now handed out a parchment to each student and went over the class curriculum for first term. Based on the brief lecture the woman gave after, on the history of runes and their use in the modern world, Harry wasn't entirely thrilled about the class. It would be like trying to learn a second language or memorize a new alphabet, it seemed. But he would give it what he could, nevertheless.
When the class ended, Harry and Hermione hung around, waiting for Malfoy and Parkinson to leave first, not wanting to have to deal with them outside the classroom. The blond and his Slytherin compatriot glared once more at the two as they exited the room, both laughing over something Pansy said. Then finally, Harry and Hermione got up and left.
No cloak necessary this time, the third-years bounded down the steps back toward the main floor. But instead of heading straight for McGonagall's classroom, they veered around the corner down a side hallway, passing Flitwick's class, and arrived at the room from a different direction so as to not run into Mandy, Terry, and Justin at the same time. Entering, the third-years moved to some desks next to the Ravenclaws, ready for their first transfiguration class of term. To their chagrin, Malfoy and Parkinson were already there coupled with Crabbe, Goyle, and Zabini. But Hermione and Harry were puzzled to find their fellow Gryffindor third-years missing.
"I wonder where Dean and the others are," Harry whispered to her.
"No idea," she whispered back.
Professor McGonagall was sitting at her desk engaged in some paperwork. When Harry and Hermione sat down, she looked up at them, giving them a questioning expression suggesting she was curious how things had gone with the Time-Turner and their first classes. Both of them nodded back in affirmation - things went well. The witch smiled at them with a look of relief...and pride at their achievement.
After the pupils had all settled, the professor rose and clasped her hands together.
"Good morning, students," she said with a glance around the room.
"Good morning, professor," nearly all replied.
"Our first order of business today is to go over the term curriculum, which I have placed on each of your desks."
The students looked down at the parchment lying on the desk before them. McGonagall continued.
"After this, we'll..."
The door to the classroom suddenly burst open and in came the third-year Gryffindors along with the third-year Hufflepuffs, Ron, Sean, and Frederick Godfrey - everyone out of breath. McGonagall's expression instantly turned severe at the bunch while she crossed her arms, ready to light into them for their tardiness...and interrupting her.
"Sorry, professor, for the lateness," Dean uttered with a sour look, "Professor Trelawney kept us over and we got here as fast as we could."
"It takes at least ten minutes just to get down here from the top of the North Tower!" Weasley breathlessly added in support of Dean's statement.
The rest of them nodded as they filed out across the classroom to take an empty seat. The professor lowered her arms and her expression now surprisingly changed to sympathy.
"I see. Well, in that case, I'll let you all off this time. Professor Trelawney can be rather...exuberant, shall we say, and lose all sense of time. I'll have a discussion with her about this and see if she can't allow you to leave a little early so you can get here on time."
The late comers all smiled in relief. She went on.
"By the way, which of you is going to die this year?" she asked sarcastically.
Several students chuckled, and the late comers all looked at one another wide-eyed.
"She...didn't say anyone was going to die, exactly," Dean stated.
"But she did say my pet rat, Scabbers, would disappear without a trace," Ron said with a gulp.
"And she predicted Neville would break his teacup and not long after, he did!" Lavender Brown said with a frightful look.
The Patil twins both nodded vigorously at this. McGonagall gazed at them with a frown, then turned that gaze toward Neville. His face turned scarlet as he couldn't look her straight in the eye.
"Well, Mr. Longbottom? Would you say the professor accurately predicted you'd break your teacup or that you broke it simply because she suggested the notion?" she asked pointedly.
Neville shrugged.
"It...did make me nervous," the teen uttered shyly, "perhaps I dropped it...because of that."
The students all gawked at one another and the late comers seemed perplexed. McGonagall, however, had a very smug look on her face.
"You see, class? While I advise you to learn what you can about divination, as we do officially offer the subject at Hogwarts, keep in mind that mere belief in future predictions can influence one's behavior so much that they become...self-fulfilling. And while I don't wish to disparage a fellow staff member, I'll tell you that Professor Trelawney is forever giving out these frightening predictions, which is why her class is so popular. Everyone wants to hear about bad news, though what they can actually do about it is another issue altogether."
The professor moved back behind her desk.
"Now then, onto a very real subject: transfiguration..."
After going over the curriculum and her expectations for class performance, she began her first lecture on the topic Mandy told Harry and Hermione about: Animagi and the transformation process. She added to this with a demonstration of her own transfiguration into a tabby cat and back again.
When the class ended, nearly everyone headed for the dungeons and their first potions class of term.
"So, how was Arithmancy, you two?" Dean asked Harry and Hermione as the Gryffindor friends marched along the hallway.
Harry threw a quick glance back at Justin Finch-Fletchley who was walking just behind the Gryffindors. When Dean innocently asked his question, Justin's brow furrowed, and he threw a puzzled look back at Harry and Hermione. Harry himself looked at Hermione who returned his wide-eyed expression.
"Um..." Harry started to answer but didn't know how to finish.
"What was Trelawney's classroom like, Dean?" Hermione asked the boy quickly, attempting to divert the subject, "I've heard it's bizarre looking."
Dean and Seamus exchanged amused looks and Dean didn't seem fazed that his question had been scuttled.
"Um, yeah, bizarre...to say the least," Thomas answered.
The two then told them about the classroom in the attic which they could only reach with a ladder, the small circular tables and the soft poufs they sat on, not to mention the pungent, perfumed smell coming from a kettle over the fire and how dark Trelawney kept the room, complaining it was easier to "see" the future in the dark than in the light for some strange reason. Justin, listening in on this conversation, seemed to have forgotten about Dean's reference to their Arithmancy class and once more gazed ahead nonchalantly.
Harry and Hermione exchanged looks once more, relieved to have gotten out of another jam. But Harry realized that this time travel between classes was going to be harder to keep secret than they initially thought.
When they entered Snape's classroom, they found it partially darkened as well - lit only by a few candles scattered along the walls. And the chamber still held that familiar dank smell tinged with the faint odor of dozens of potions long since brewed and forgotten by students over the years.
The greasy-haired professor sat at his desk, writing on a sheet of parchment and didn't bother to look up as his pupils entered and took their seats behind the class cauldrons. Harry and Hermione opened their satchels to retrieve their Magical Draughts and Potions textbook. After doing so, they sat in silence with the other students, waiting for Snape to begin class. But the man simply kept writing, and everyone looked at one another, wondering what the delay was about. After a short while, the students began whispering to one another or engaging in some quiet activity until the professor was ready.
Feeling bored, Harry was about to reach into his satchel to pull out the Monster Book of Monsters when he realized something - he never bothered to open the side pocket on the black bag since he bought it at Dinwoody's. Curious, he quietly snapped open the flap and peered inside. To his astonishment, the side pocket had also been charmed to enlarge like the main compartment, adding extra space to the satchel. And within this extra space he found several old parchments, wrinkled and torn, as well as...a book.
Harry carefully pulled the thick volume out and gazed over its surface.
Advanced Potion-Making
Libatius Borage
Puzzled, he opened it and glanced through. The potions and concepts listed were accompanied by a multitude of handwritten notes in the margins and additional information in between the various formulas. A few of the potions' ingredients were struck out and different ingredients were written in their place. Overall, this worn out textbook was very messy and scribbled in. Then, when Harry turned to the last page, he found something written in rather sloppy handwriting at the very bottom.
This book is the property of the Half-Blood Prince
"Harry, what is that?" Hermione whispered while leaning toward him and staring at the book.
Harry closed it and turned the book over so she could see the cover. The girl's brow furrowed.
"That's the textbook for sixth-year, N.E.W.T. level potions class, from what I saw at Flourish & Blotts. Where did you get it?"
"It was in this pocket on my satchel," he whispered back, "along with these."
He pulled out the parchments as quietly as possible and they both looked through them. They were notes of various kinds: a schedule of potions class topics dated October twenty-fourth 1974, a list of personal to-dos such as grocery shopping, and a faculty memorandum issued in 1980 by Headmaster Dumbledore to...Professor Slughorn! The two stared at one another in amazement.
"That's the potions professor Dumbledore mentioned from that memory in Tom Riddle's diary, the one where they discussed the Horcruxes," Harry said quietly.
Hermione nodded. Harry continued.
"I guess this satchel belonged to him at one time. The manager at the thrift shop did tell us it belonged to a former teacher here at Hogwarts," Harry said.
Hermione nodded again.
"He must have sold it to Dinwoody's and forgot these were inside it," she said.
Suddenly, there was the loud clearing of a throat, and everyone looked up to find Snape glaring back at them. After a sweeping gaze about the room with his telltale frown, the Professor rose from his desk.
"Let's begin," he simply said.
Their first potions class of term went off in typical Snape fashion: a rendition of his strict expectations for class performance and behavior - glaring hard at poor Neville when he discussed the former - issuing a rudimentary potions assignment to be completed by class end, as well as issuing several points to Slytherin students and deducting from various others during the assignment. By class end, nearly everyone was eager to depart the dreary dungeon and scramble on to their next period class or lunch.
As Harry and Hermione placed their books back into their satchels, Harry leaned toward her.
"I'm going to give the book and parchments to Snape. Maybe he knows Slughorn and can return the items to him."
Hermione nodded. After waiting for the rest of the students to leave, the two proceeded to the potion master's desk. Snape was engaged in busily writing once again.
"What is it?" he snarled in annoyance without even looking at the pair.
Harry held out the book and parchments.
"I found these, sir. I think they belong to a former professor here, Professor Slughorn."
Snape's head quickly jerked up at this and he gave them a curious gaze. Putting down his quill, he took the objects. When the man saw the cover on the book, his eyes went wide as saucers in astonishment, and he quickly browsed through it until landing on the page with the name "half-blood prince" written on it. Now the wizard's countenance changed to anger.
"Where did you find this?!" he snapped at them as though they had stolen a personal item of his and were just now returning it.
"Um...it was in this school satchel I bought from Dinwoody's Thrift on Diagon Alley."
To neither of their surprise, Snape's gaze turned suspicious, as though he was trying to determine whether Harry was lying or not. The thirteen-year-old continued, nevertheless.
"The man at the store told us it belonged to a former teacher here. I figured you might have known Slughorn and could return the items to him."
Snape glared at Harry momentarily before looking over the textbook once more.
"Thank you...Potter," he finally said.
Harry and Hermione were stunned by this, though they could tell it pained him to say it. Harry shrugged.
"You're welcome."
He looked at Hermione who motioned toward the classroom door. They began walking to it but wouldn't get halfway across the room.
"One thing before you go," Snape said.
The teens stopped and turned around.
"The headmaster informed me that you both agreed to aid him with a rather...sensitive issue concerning a certain professor here at Hogwarts."
Hermione and Harry exchanged curious looks, wondering what he was referring to. Then it hit them: Professor Lupin. Snape went on.
"As such, he has asked me to give you personal instruction on developing the potion you'll find on page 237 in your Magical Draughts book. I want you both to memorize the formula and have a working version of it ready for me to test by the end of the week. Understood?"
"Yes, sir," they both replied.
He stared at them a moment before picking up his quill and writing once more.
"You're dismissed," he said flatly.
The teens turned and exited the classroom. On their way up the stairs to the main floor, Hermione opened her satchel and retrieved their textbook. Harry watched as she turned to the page in question, curiosity brewing in him as well. She arrived at the page and stopped. Harry stopped with her and leaned over the book, gazing down at it.
"What potion is it?" he asked.
Hermione looked up at him.
"Wolfsbane."