Chapter 21
When they left the hall, the four friends were silent as they made their way to their first class even though they were about twenty minutes early.
At the top of the marble staircase, Ginny took Harry's hand in her own and pulled him to a halt facing her.
"I'll see you at lunch alright?" she whispered into his ear as she pulled him down for a quick kiss, ignoring Ron and Hermione who were standing only a few feet away and shifting their gazes elsewhere.
"Yeah" he whispered back to her when they broke apart even though he didn't want her to leave his side for an instant. She had Charms first thing and the seventh years had Defense.
"Everything will be fine Harry, just stick with Ron and Hermione" she told him in a reassuring voice as she dropped his hand and gave him a genuine smile before turning and heading toward her own classroom.
"But you may want to watch your back for Snape, I think he'll be out for revenge once your words sink in" she called over her shoulder in a playful voice as she rounded the corner. Harry heard giggling from behind him and turned to see Ron and Hermione trying to suppress their laughter.
He gave them a withering look before breaking into a small smile himself.
"She has a point Harry, I think the only way you didn't get detention just now was because Snape was in shock at having a student tell the truth and not back down to him" said Hermione around giggles
"It's going to be a long potions lesson today" was all Ron managed to get out as he groaned loudly.
Harry just looked at his friends for a moment and was happy that things were slowly returning to as normal as was possible given the current circumstances and he hoped with all his heart that they would stay that way when they realized what he was trying so hard to hide.
'You can't hide it from them forever boy, and when they find the truth, they will only turn on you again, you are better off alone'
The voice startled him out of his thoughts about his friends and he franticly looked up and down the hallway to find it's source, but the three of them were the only ones present and Ron and Hermione were looking at him curiously.
"What is it Harry?" asked Hermione as she looked at him in concern
Shocked, he turned to her for an instant before looking back over his shoulder down the hall where the voices of other students could be heard as they made their way to their classes.
"Nothing, let's get to Defense" he replied hastily and walked past his friends as they looked to one another silently agreeing that what he said was not the truth and vowing to ask him about it and the incident in the great hall before they followed behind him into Professor Lupin's classroom.
The werewolf was sitting at his desk reading from a large leather bound book when the three students entered and upon seeing them, gave them a warm smile.
"Good morning Professor Lupin" said Hermione sweetly as she joined the boys at the front desk.
"Good morning Hermione, Ron. How are you doing Harry?" he asked as his eyes settled on the boys confused face in concern.
"Fine Remus" he answered meeting the older mans eyes for a moment before the other students began to filter in.
Nobody failed to notice the black haired student sitting next to Ron, yet nobody acknowledged him except for the two other students at his table and his professor, much to Remus' dissatisfaction.
Once all of the seventh year Gryffindors had found their seats and Sirius had entered and perched on the edge of Remus' desk to observe, the professor stood to address them kindly.
"Good morning students, now I presume you all have your essays I assigned last week ready to turn in?" his statement was met with much grumbling as the students dug in their bags for the aforementioned assignment and handed them to their professor who continued to smile at them.
"I'm impressed, I think this is the first time that everybody not only remembered to do the assignment but to bring it with them to class as well" he said as he set the many rolls of parchment on his desk and turned back to face them.
"Today, we will be practicing the patronus charm that is used to ward off dementors. Now, does anybody know the incantation for this charm?" he asked expectantly, looking around the room and seeing three hands in the air, and to his surprise, one of them was Harry's. Ignoring the hands of Ron and Hermione, he decided to press his luck and call on the boy.
"Harry" he said gently and watched the dark haired Gryffindor get to his feet
"The incantation is 'Expecto Patronum' sir" he said in a quiet voice as he met the mans eyes and gave a small smile since it was Remus who had taught the spell to the boy during his third year.
"That is correct, thank you Harry" he said and the boy returned to his seat "Now, I will be calling on you one at a time to try and summon a patronus" he then proceeded to explain how one was to move their wand and what the properties of a proper patronus were before he began to call students up to the front of the class to attempt the spell.
Most managed to get a fine silver mist to leave their wands, but nothing more, Hermione and Ron though each managed a distinct silver cloud, and though neither of them had any form they were the closest thing to a proper patronus seen.
"Good job students, next time we will be working on this spell some more and hopefully we can get some shapes from it."
"Excuse me, professor" came a voice from the back of the room
"Yes Parvati? Is something wrong?"
"Well, I thought you said we were all going to have to attempt this spell in front of the class, and Harry hasn't done it yet, I don't think that's very fair to the rest of us" she said with smugness, expecting the boy to make a fool of himself like the rest of them.
Remus looked quickly at Harry before turning back to the other students to try and explain why he hadn't called on Harry when the boy himself stood and spoke to the professor.
"It's ok Remus, I don't mind" he said before he caught himself and added "Sorry, professor Lupin" at the end, trying to get out of the habit of referring to the man so informally.
"Very well, please come on up Harry" he said as he motioned for the student to take his place in front of his housemates who were looking coldly at him for a moment before Parvati spoke up again.
"Harry, you seem to have forgotten your wand" she said as she giggled along with Lavender "you can't do this without it"
"Please settle down students, Harry, go ahead" he said as his gaze met that of Sirius who was watching expectantly.
Harry just nodded as he held his arm out in front of himself without saying a word, and almost instantly a brilliant silver stag erupted from his palm and stood expectantly surveying the students before turning to Harry and fading away since it had not found any dementors to challenge.
Harry lowered his arm and turned to look at Remus and Sirius who both looked amazed but slightly happy at his demonstration before Remus spoke up.
"Thank you Harry, you may take your seat" he said and Harry looked back to the other students as he approached his seat next to Ron.
All of them had their mouths hanging open in shock and just continued to stare at him even long after he had sat down. Even Ron and Hermione looked completely dumbstruck.
"Ok, for next time, I want you all to read the section of your book relating to Dementors and write a foot of parchment about them and how the patronus charm affects them, dismissed" said Remus
Finally, everyone began to gather their belongings and set out towards potions. As they were walking down the hall, Hermione looked expectantly at Harry before speaking.
"Harry, that was amazing!" she exclaimed
"Yeah, did you see the look on Parvati's face when she saw your patronus? It was classic!" added Ron as he laughed heartily
Harry could only smile at his friends' excitement as they entered the dank dungeon potions classes were held in.
They took their seats at a long bench in the back of the classroom and waited patiently for their professor to show up, Harry occasionally receiving strange looks from his housemates and Slytherin students alike.
Within a few minutes, the potions master entered the room and without speaking began to write the ingredients for that days potion on the board, all the students copying them down hastily. When he was finished, he turned to face the class.
"Today we will be brewing the dreamless sleep potion for use in the infirmary. Please remember that if you mess this potion up, you are putting every person in this castle at risk from your incompetence. I doubt many of you will be able to brew this correctly, but please try not to screw up too badly" he said as he began to pace the room and look over every students shoulder, scolding and taking points off of the Gryffindor students and giving points freely to his own house.
When he approached Harry's cauldron though, he didn't comment on the potion but instead gave the boy a stern warning that only Ron and Hermione overheard.
"Potter, your powers may have increased, but watch your back, there are still supporters of the dark lord that have not been found out and they will be after you. Don't underestimate anyone you don't know" he muttered softly, his voice sounding genuinely concerned as he looked intently into the boys eyes before he raised his voice so the rest of the students could hear his words "And if you ever speak to me the way you did this morning, you will be serving detention in the forest for the rest of your time here" he said with his usual bitterness returning to his voice.
Harry was stunned, the potions masters words seemed to turn his insides to ice. If anybody knew about dark activities, it would be Snape and Harry took his warnings to heart.
After the lesson was over, the trio made their way to the great hall for lunch where Ginny was waiting with a large smile on her face. Upon seeing their expressions though, her own face sunk and she asked them what was wrong. Ron explained Snape's words to her and then they all turned to look at Harry expectantly before he shook his head telling them he preferred to talk about something else.
When they left the hall, the four friends were silent as they made their way to their first class even though they were about twenty minutes early.
At the top of the marble staircase, Ginny took Harry's hand in her own and pulled him to a halt facing her.
"I'll see you at lunch alright?" she whispered into his ear as she pulled him down for a quick kiss, ignoring Ron and Hermione who were standing only a few feet away and shifting their gazes elsewhere.
"Yeah" he whispered back to her when they broke apart even though he didn't want her to leave his side for an instant. She had Charms first thing and the seventh years had Defense.
"Everything will be fine Harry, just stick with Ron and Hermione" she told him in a reassuring voice as she dropped his hand and gave him a genuine smile before turning and heading toward her own classroom.
"But you may want to watch your back for Snape, I think he'll be out for revenge once your words sink in" she called over her shoulder in a playful voice as she rounded the corner. Harry heard giggling from behind him and turned to see Ron and Hermione trying to suppress their laughter.
He gave them a withering look before breaking into a small smile himself.
"She has a point Harry, I think the only way you didn't get detention just now was because Snape was in shock at having a student tell the truth and not back down to him" said Hermione around giggles
"It's going to be a long potions lesson today" was all Ron managed to get out as he groaned loudly.
Harry just looked at his friends for a moment and was happy that things were slowly returning to as normal as was possible given the current circumstances and he hoped with all his heart that they would stay that way when they realized what he was trying so hard to hide.
'You can't hide it from them forever boy, and when they find the truth, they will only turn on you again, you are better off alone'
The voice startled him out of his thoughts about his friends and he franticly looked up and down the hallway to find it's source, but the three of them were the only ones present and Ron and Hermione were looking at him curiously.
"What is it Harry?" asked Hermione as she looked at him in concern
Shocked, he turned to her for an instant before looking back over his shoulder down the hall where the voices of other students could be heard as they made their way to their classes.
"Nothing, let's get to Defense" he replied hastily and walked past his friends as they looked to one another silently agreeing that what he said was not the truth and vowing to ask him about it and the incident in the great hall before they followed behind him into Professor Lupin's classroom.
The werewolf was sitting at his desk reading from a large leather bound book when the three students entered and upon seeing them, gave them a warm smile.
"Good morning Professor Lupin" said Hermione sweetly as she joined the boys at the front desk.
"Good morning Hermione, Ron. How are you doing Harry?" he asked as his eyes settled on the boys confused face in concern.
"Fine Remus" he answered meeting the older mans eyes for a moment before the other students began to filter in.
Nobody failed to notice the black haired student sitting next to Ron, yet nobody acknowledged him except for the two other students at his table and his professor, much to Remus' dissatisfaction.
Once all of the seventh year Gryffindors had found their seats and Sirius had entered and perched on the edge of Remus' desk to observe, the professor stood to address them kindly.
"Good morning students, now I presume you all have your essays I assigned last week ready to turn in?" his statement was met with much grumbling as the students dug in their bags for the aforementioned assignment and handed them to their professor who continued to smile at them.
"I'm impressed, I think this is the first time that everybody not only remembered to do the assignment but to bring it with them to class as well" he said as he set the many rolls of parchment on his desk and turned back to face them.
"Today, we will be practicing the patronus charm that is used to ward off dementors. Now, does anybody know the incantation for this charm?" he asked expectantly, looking around the room and seeing three hands in the air, and to his surprise, one of them was Harry's. Ignoring the hands of Ron and Hermione, he decided to press his luck and call on the boy.
"Harry" he said gently and watched the dark haired Gryffindor get to his feet
"The incantation is 'Expecto Patronum' sir" he said in a quiet voice as he met the mans eyes and gave a small smile since it was Remus who had taught the spell to the boy during his third year.
"That is correct, thank you Harry" he said and the boy returned to his seat "Now, I will be calling on you one at a time to try and summon a patronus" he then proceeded to explain how one was to move their wand and what the properties of a proper patronus were before he began to call students up to the front of the class to attempt the spell.
Most managed to get a fine silver mist to leave their wands, but nothing more, Hermione and Ron though each managed a distinct silver cloud, and though neither of them had any form they were the closest thing to a proper patronus seen.
"Good job students, next time we will be working on this spell some more and hopefully we can get some shapes from it."
"Excuse me, professor" came a voice from the back of the room
"Yes Parvati? Is something wrong?"
"Well, I thought you said we were all going to have to attempt this spell in front of the class, and Harry hasn't done it yet, I don't think that's very fair to the rest of us" she said with smugness, expecting the boy to make a fool of himself like the rest of them.
Remus looked quickly at Harry before turning back to the other students to try and explain why he hadn't called on Harry when the boy himself stood and spoke to the professor.
"It's ok Remus, I don't mind" he said before he caught himself and added "Sorry, professor Lupin" at the end, trying to get out of the habit of referring to the man so informally.
"Very well, please come on up Harry" he said as he motioned for the student to take his place in front of his housemates who were looking coldly at him for a moment before Parvati spoke up again.
"Harry, you seem to have forgotten your wand" she said as she giggled along with Lavender "you can't do this without it"
"Please settle down students, Harry, go ahead" he said as his gaze met that of Sirius who was watching expectantly.
Harry just nodded as he held his arm out in front of himself without saying a word, and almost instantly a brilliant silver stag erupted from his palm and stood expectantly surveying the students before turning to Harry and fading away since it had not found any dementors to challenge.
Harry lowered his arm and turned to look at Remus and Sirius who both looked amazed but slightly happy at his demonstration before Remus spoke up.
"Thank you Harry, you may take your seat" he said and Harry looked back to the other students as he approached his seat next to Ron.
All of them had their mouths hanging open in shock and just continued to stare at him even long after he had sat down. Even Ron and Hermione looked completely dumbstruck.
"Ok, for next time, I want you all to read the section of your book relating to Dementors and write a foot of parchment about them and how the patronus charm affects them, dismissed" said Remus
Finally, everyone began to gather their belongings and set out towards potions. As they were walking down the hall, Hermione looked expectantly at Harry before speaking.
"Harry, that was amazing!" she exclaimed
"Yeah, did you see the look on Parvati's face when she saw your patronus? It was classic!" added Ron as he laughed heartily
Harry could only smile at his friends' excitement as they entered the dank dungeon potions classes were held in.
They took their seats at a long bench in the back of the classroom and waited patiently for their professor to show up, Harry occasionally receiving strange looks from his housemates and Slytherin students alike.
Within a few minutes, the potions master entered the room and without speaking began to write the ingredients for that days potion on the board, all the students copying them down hastily. When he was finished, he turned to face the class.
"Today we will be brewing the dreamless sleep potion for use in the infirmary. Please remember that if you mess this potion up, you are putting every person in this castle at risk from your incompetence. I doubt many of you will be able to brew this correctly, but please try not to screw up too badly" he said as he began to pace the room and look over every students shoulder, scolding and taking points off of the Gryffindor students and giving points freely to his own house.
When he approached Harry's cauldron though, he didn't comment on the potion but instead gave the boy a stern warning that only Ron and Hermione overheard.
"Potter, your powers may have increased, but watch your back, there are still supporters of the dark lord that have not been found out and they will be after you. Don't underestimate anyone you don't know" he muttered softly, his voice sounding genuinely concerned as he looked intently into the boys eyes before he raised his voice so the rest of the students could hear his words "And if you ever speak to me the way you did this morning, you will be serving detention in the forest for the rest of your time here" he said with his usual bitterness returning to his voice.
Harry was stunned, the potions masters words seemed to turn his insides to ice. If anybody knew about dark activities, it would be Snape and Harry took his warnings to heart.
After the lesson was over, the trio made their way to the great hall for lunch where Ginny was waiting with a large smile on her face. Upon seeing their expressions though, her own face sunk and she asked them what was wrong. Ron explained Snape's words to her and then they all turned to look at Harry expectantly before he shook his head telling them he preferred to talk about something else.