CHAPTER 7 - SUSPICIONS
Charms classes were going without accidents, strange considering Neville was still in the class. Sher was spending time with Neville, helping him with his subjects. That, perhaps, explained Neville's improvement in all subjects except Potions. In Potions he was no better off than before. Considering his dread of Snape, it did not come as a surprise.
In Astronomy class, Professor Sinistra put very searching questions to Sher. So poor Sher was forced to recall all that McGonagall had told him and respond suitably. After about 15 minutes of cross-questioning, she left him to finish her work and pursued her own train of thought.
~*~*~*~*~
"Any progress?" asked McGonagall, as Snape entered her room.
"Is it safe to discuss here?" he asked.
"Let's go to my inner office," said McGonagall.
"It must have been one of the Professors," said Snape once inside the office.
McGonagall looked up sharply. "Are you sure?" Snape nodded. "There are Potions that can change the age. There is one that causes the change only after an interval of time. That's what must have been used."
"The Headmaster visited all the Professors that day," said McGonagall quietly.
"Yes, and there is no means of knowing who administered the Potion," said Snape heavily.
"Do you have any suspicions?"
"No. It could have been anybody. We better tread carefully from now on."
"How long does the effect last?" queried McGonagall.
"We have no means of knowing how much he has drunk, so we cannot even hazard a guess."
"Are the effects permanent?"
"I don't believe so, but it is an ancient Potion and not much literature is available on it. I'm however working on an antidote."
"When will it be ready?"
"I've just started on it, so its too early to say. I cannot, moreover give it to the Headmaster without ascertaining its effects."
McGonagall sighed.
"Any communication from the others?" asked Snape.
McGonagall shook her head.
"So how is Sher faring in class?" she asked.
"He seems to be faring well, but I'm not. He is very eager to experiment new Potions, only the effect is far from what I desire."
McGonagall laughed. "I notice that you seem to be taking as many points from him as you would, from any other Gryffindor."
"He forces my hand." He stood up. "I better be going. I've left the cauldron simmering."
~*~*~*~*~
In transfiguration Sher was at his best. He picked up in no time all that Professor McGonagall taught. There were times when Sher thought he already knew the acronyms and limericks with which she taught them spells. McGonagall, noticing the change in Sher's expression as she taught, hoped that he was on his way to recovering his memory.
Now they were expected to turn soft cushions into baby elephants. Hermione and Sher were the only ones who were able to do it.
Neville's turned into a pink, soft, trumpeting cushion. Harry could sit as comfortably on his elephant as on a cushion. Ron's did not have a trunk.
This was why Harry, Ron and Hermione were found by the lake with a heap of cushions by their side. Hermione was engaged in pointing out what Harry and Ron were doing wrong, thereby irritating Ron.
There was an uncommonly big crowd in the Gryffindor Common Room, when Harry, Ron and Hermione returned.
There was a notice posted on the Notice Board-
THERE WILL BE TRY-OUTS FOR THE POSITION OF KEEPER IN THE GRYFFINDOR QUIDDITCH TEAM. THIS WILL BE HELD ON WEDNESDAY, THE 15TH OF OCTOBER IN THE QUIDDITCH PITCH AT 10:30 A.M. THE NEW GRYFFINDOR QUIDDITCH CAPTAIN, KATIE BELL, WILL SELECT THE KEEPER. INTERESTED STUDENTS KINDLY GIVE YOUR NAME TO ANGELINA JOHNSON OR ALICIA SPINNET. FIRST YEARS ARE NOT PERMITTED TO COMPETE.
McGonagall, DEPUTY HEADMISTRESS
A lot of people were crowded around Angelina and Alicia.
"Ginny will be taking part, won't she?" asked Harry turning to Ron.
"Yes, she is very excited about it."
"I wonder who else will be trying," said Hermione.
"Think we should give our names?" asked Dean to Seamus. "It should be fun."
"No harm in trying," replied Seamus.
"What about it, Ron?" asked Dean.
"Me? No way!" said Ron, looking horrified at the whole idea. "Too many Weasleys may not be very good for the team."
"Practice your scoring skills, Harry," said Fred coming over to them. "We should try to score past the contestants."
"Yes," said George in a deep voice, "it is our supreme duty to ensure that we admit a talented Keeper into our fold."
Alicia waved to them across the room. "Got 15 names already!"
"Wow! We've got a big job on our hands," said Fred.
~*~*~*~*~
That weekend, they went over to Hagrid's place.
Hagrid was all praise for Sher.
"He came over yesterday and we had a nice chat. Seems to be a nice sort of a boy."
"Amazing the way he got the better of Draco!" said Ron, with enthusiasm.
"I'm fed up of this topic! Can't we talk of anything else but Sher?" said Hermione impatiently.
Hagrid looked aghast, while Harry and Ron looked at Hermione, surprised at her sudden outburst.
"And everybody considering him just a 15 year old!" she continued, oblivious to their reactions.
"Why? Do you think he is 50?" asked Ron, chuckling.
"He can't be just 15!" retorted Hermione.
"Not 'just' 15, Hermione, but a 15-year-old genius!" said Ron.
Hermione glared and pressed her mouth into a thin line.
An uncomfortable silence descended, and they decided to leave.
Hermione refused to talk to them and stalked into the castle. It was only a matter of time before Hermione unbent towards them, but it was evident that she harboured suspicions towards Sher, though she wouldn't disclose what they were to Harry and Ron.
That evening, they started off with their Astronomy homework, when Harry realised that he had left his charts at the Astronomy tower.
Harry and Ron walked towards the tower, with Ron ragging Harry on his absent-mindedness. They were about to enter the classroom, when Harry felt a sharp pain in his scar.
Before he could realise its significance, they heard voices from the classroom.
"Still a 15-year-old. No, My Lord.No.Dumbledore.I'm quite sure, My Lord.
They strained their ears to hear more, but stiffened when they heard footsteps approaching the door. They stood still for a few seconds, but when nobody came, they took courage and peeped inside. There was nobody there.
"Whoever it was has disappeared," whispered Ron, even though there was no need to.
He looked at Harry, whose face was very white. "Did you hear what she said?" he asked.
"She?" asked Ron.
"She said, 'My Lord'. It means Voldemort is here. And somebody at Hogwarts is a traitor."
Ron's eyes widened. "Professor Sinistra?"
A/N - To Melissa Lupin, good guess about the name. You are partially correct. Its actually from Sherbet Lemon, no Bertie Botts involved. We decided to make it Sher Bertlemon, with an 'r' because we didn't want to make it too obvious! And yeah, thanks to all our reviewers!
Charms classes were going without accidents, strange considering Neville was still in the class. Sher was spending time with Neville, helping him with his subjects. That, perhaps, explained Neville's improvement in all subjects except Potions. In Potions he was no better off than before. Considering his dread of Snape, it did not come as a surprise.
In Astronomy class, Professor Sinistra put very searching questions to Sher. So poor Sher was forced to recall all that McGonagall had told him and respond suitably. After about 15 minutes of cross-questioning, she left him to finish her work and pursued her own train of thought.
~*~*~*~*~
"Any progress?" asked McGonagall, as Snape entered her room.
"Is it safe to discuss here?" he asked.
"Let's go to my inner office," said McGonagall.
"It must have been one of the Professors," said Snape once inside the office.
McGonagall looked up sharply. "Are you sure?" Snape nodded. "There are Potions that can change the age. There is one that causes the change only after an interval of time. That's what must have been used."
"The Headmaster visited all the Professors that day," said McGonagall quietly.
"Yes, and there is no means of knowing who administered the Potion," said Snape heavily.
"Do you have any suspicions?"
"No. It could have been anybody. We better tread carefully from now on."
"How long does the effect last?" queried McGonagall.
"We have no means of knowing how much he has drunk, so we cannot even hazard a guess."
"Are the effects permanent?"
"I don't believe so, but it is an ancient Potion and not much literature is available on it. I'm however working on an antidote."
"When will it be ready?"
"I've just started on it, so its too early to say. I cannot, moreover give it to the Headmaster without ascertaining its effects."
McGonagall sighed.
"Any communication from the others?" asked Snape.
McGonagall shook her head.
"So how is Sher faring in class?" she asked.
"He seems to be faring well, but I'm not. He is very eager to experiment new Potions, only the effect is far from what I desire."
McGonagall laughed. "I notice that you seem to be taking as many points from him as you would, from any other Gryffindor."
"He forces my hand." He stood up. "I better be going. I've left the cauldron simmering."
~*~*~*~*~
In transfiguration Sher was at his best. He picked up in no time all that Professor McGonagall taught. There were times when Sher thought he already knew the acronyms and limericks with which she taught them spells. McGonagall, noticing the change in Sher's expression as she taught, hoped that he was on his way to recovering his memory.
Now they were expected to turn soft cushions into baby elephants. Hermione and Sher were the only ones who were able to do it.
Neville's turned into a pink, soft, trumpeting cushion. Harry could sit as comfortably on his elephant as on a cushion. Ron's did not have a trunk.
This was why Harry, Ron and Hermione were found by the lake with a heap of cushions by their side. Hermione was engaged in pointing out what Harry and Ron were doing wrong, thereby irritating Ron.
There was an uncommonly big crowd in the Gryffindor Common Room, when Harry, Ron and Hermione returned.
There was a notice posted on the Notice Board-
THERE WILL BE TRY-OUTS FOR THE POSITION OF KEEPER IN THE GRYFFINDOR QUIDDITCH TEAM. THIS WILL BE HELD ON WEDNESDAY, THE 15TH OF OCTOBER IN THE QUIDDITCH PITCH AT 10:30 A.M. THE NEW GRYFFINDOR QUIDDITCH CAPTAIN, KATIE BELL, WILL SELECT THE KEEPER. INTERESTED STUDENTS KINDLY GIVE YOUR NAME TO ANGELINA JOHNSON OR ALICIA SPINNET. FIRST YEARS ARE NOT PERMITTED TO COMPETE.
McGonagall, DEPUTY HEADMISTRESS
A lot of people were crowded around Angelina and Alicia.
"Ginny will be taking part, won't she?" asked Harry turning to Ron.
"Yes, she is very excited about it."
"I wonder who else will be trying," said Hermione.
"Think we should give our names?" asked Dean to Seamus. "It should be fun."
"No harm in trying," replied Seamus.
"What about it, Ron?" asked Dean.
"Me? No way!" said Ron, looking horrified at the whole idea. "Too many Weasleys may not be very good for the team."
"Practice your scoring skills, Harry," said Fred coming over to them. "We should try to score past the contestants."
"Yes," said George in a deep voice, "it is our supreme duty to ensure that we admit a talented Keeper into our fold."
Alicia waved to them across the room. "Got 15 names already!"
"Wow! We've got a big job on our hands," said Fred.
~*~*~*~*~
That weekend, they went over to Hagrid's place.
Hagrid was all praise for Sher.
"He came over yesterday and we had a nice chat. Seems to be a nice sort of a boy."
"Amazing the way he got the better of Draco!" said Ron, with enthusiasm.
"I'm fed up of this topic! Can't we talk of anything else but Sher?" said Hermione impatiently.
Hagrid looked aghast, while Harry and Ron looked at Hermione, surprised at her sudden outburst.
"And everybody considering him just a 15 year old!" she continued, oblivious to their reactions.
"Why? Do you think he is 50?" asked Ron, chuckling.
"He can't be just 15!" retorted Hermione.
"Not 'just' 15, Hermione, but a 15-year-old genius!" said Ron.
Hermione glared and pressed her mouth into a thin line.
An uncomfortable silence descended, and they decided to leave.
Hermione refused to talk to them and stalked into the castle. It was only a matter of time before Hermione unbent towards them, but it was evident that she harboured suspicions towards Sher, though she wouldn't disclose what they were to Harry and Ron.
That evening, they started off with their Astronomy homework, when Harry realised that he had left his charts at the Astronomy tower.
Harry and Ron walked towards the tower, with Ron ragging Harry on his absent-mindedness. They were about to enter the classroom, when Harry felt a sharp pain in his scar.
Before he could realise its significance, they heard voices from the classroom.
"Still a 15-year-old. No, My Lord.No.Dumbledore.I'm quite sure, My Lord.
They strained their ears to hear more, but stiffened when they heard footsteps approaching the door. They stood still for a few seconds, but when nobody came, they took courage and peeped inside. There was nobody there.
"Whoever it was has disappeared," whispered Ron, even though there was no need to.
He looked at Harry, whose face was very white. "Did you hear what she said?" he asked.
"She?" asked Ron.
"She said, 'My Lord'. It means Voldemort is here. And somebody at Hogwarts is a traitor."
Ron's eyes widened. "Professor Sinistra?"
A/N - To Melissa Lupin, good guess about the name. You are partially correct. Its actually from Sherbet Lemon, no Bertie Botts involved. We decided to make it Sher Bertlemon, with an 'r' because we didn't want to make it too obvious! And yeah, thanks to all our reviewers!