Title: Harry Potter and the Wand of Ariel (9/?)
Author: Atlantis Potter
E-mail: atlantispotter@yahoo.com
Category: Romance, Action/Adventure
Keywords: Year 6, Harry, Hermione, IMS, Magus
Rating: R
Spoilers: All Four Books.
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
A/N: Also, if you're interested in faster updates, please visit . Again, thank you so much. –Atlantis
Chapter Nine: Lessons
I have never let my schooling interfere with my education.- Mark Twain
Harry took in a deep breath, inhaling the scents floating in the gentle breeze coming off the lake. It was a warm afternoon, unusual for autumn and Padma had suggested they take the students outside for their lesson. It was their second week of lessons, and their final lesson of the week. They met with the young children Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays for two hours in the afternoon and had been assigned a variety of things to study. They had quickly divided up some of the subjects; Padma had offered to instruct them in a few basic Latin and History lessons and Harry was going to be teaching them charms and potions. Everything else they would be sharing.
Padma smiled at him as she conjured a blanket and spread it out on the lawn under the unusually warm September sun. Seating himself on the blanket, Harry glanced at the group of children slowly making their way towards the spot near the lake where they had spread out. They were moving quickly, anxious to see what their instuctors had in store for them today. Monday, Harry had taken them to the dungeons to show them the objects used in potion brewing and Wednesday, Padma had began instructing them on Latin. Today, they had been promised a special treat.
"Michael and Renee, sit please, I want to begin," Padma said, her voice soft, but authorative. The two students did as they were asked and looked expectantly at Harry and Padma, who were seated next to one another and facing the cluster of children. "How many of you have pets at home?"
Every hand went up as Padma began waving her wand delicately in the air, tracing something in blue light. "How many of you have one of these?" Again, six hands shot in the air as the image of an owl appeared before them, it's wings flapping slightly. Harry looked in slight admiration at the fluttering creature. It's form was a dull blue outline, which some points illustrated more brightly, much like a constellation. He turned towards Padma, who was smiling as she looked through her drawing towards the students.
"Animals have been vital to the wizarding world for centuries and they're no less important today than they were one thousand years ago. Even with the invention of such communication as Floo, we still rely on animals for communication and even travel. But why do we use the owl for communication? Why not, say, a pigeon?"
Six small faces looked at her expectantly as she drew another flying animal in mid-air. Nearly as quickly as the pigeon appeared did she wave her wand and it disappeared, replaced once again by the fluttering owl.
"Many animals that are familiar to us all have specific characteristics that help us to decide whether or not we should depend on them. Most of the animals that you see daily aren't magical. I'm sure many of you have dogs and cats and fish and maybe even birds at hime. These aren't magical creatures, yet many witches and wizards believe that these animals possess a bit of magic that makes them unique."
A little blonde girl named Bailey raised her hand. "My mum told me that when she was little, all the other kids thought black cats were bad luck."
Padma nodded. "Many muggles believe that black cats are bad luck. This is because for as long as witches and wizards have been around many of them have used cats as a familiar."
"What's a familiar?" implored a red-headed boy (whom Harry thought looked strikingly like Ron) named Rodney.
"A familiar is what we use to connect us to the animal world," Harry replied, beginning to understand where Padma was going with her lesson. "They can be very helpful with certain spells and such."
Six faces looked at him blankly as Padma stifled a giggle. "Harry's quite right. You'll learn a lot more about familiars in the next few weeks when we begin to talk about spells, but for now, I'd just like to focus on the animals themselves. Many animals are just companions to wizards, they aren't always used in magic. I want to talk about three different animals with you today. They're special animals though, ones you won't neccessarily have at home."
Harry smiled to himself as the children squirmed about, moving in closer for the lesson. He snuck a look at the parchment that had the notes on the animals they would be discussing. Padma nodded to him.
"How many of you have seen a spider?" he asked, his voice shaking a little. The four little girls in their group squealed and moved closer together while the two boys perked up and raised their hands excitedly into the air.
Grinning, Harry continued, "They're usually pretty small right? And creepy and crawly?"
The other little boy, Michael, grinned. "I like to catch them and put them on my sister. She hates spiders," he grinned again as the girls whimpered and looked at him horrified. Rodney laughed and offered his hand to the other boy, who high-fived him.
Laughing, Harry shook his head. "My friend Ron is terrified of spiders. In second year, we had to follow a whole bunch of them into the For-- well, into the woods and he was going mad the entire time. Don't tell him I told you though. There were hundreds of them, crawling along the ground," he said, making a motion with his hand along the blanket.
A few of the children hid their giggles behind their hands as one girl looked scared. "Don't spiders bite?"
Padma moved closer to the girl. "Spiders are very friendly and they hardly ever bite, but they do...tickle!" she said slowly, tickling her fingers along the girl's arm. The others laughed and the girl, Emma, giggled. Harry laughed with the rest of the group, appreciating how good Padma was with the students. She had quickly developed a commodery with the whole group and they would often surround her on days when they didn't have lessons, begging her to play games with them. They often would chase down Harry too and he was glad that he'd volunteered to help with their lessons.
He looked at the paper again. "Alright, so you're all familiar with spiders, but what if you saw a really big spider? Bigger than a Daddy Long Legs?" Six sets of eyes grew very large. "In the Americas, there are these huge spiders called Tarantulas--"
"My older brother had one of those once, but our puppy tried to eat it, so mummy made him get rid of it," said Renee, looking very important.
Harry quirked his eyebrow at Padma who winced. "Right. So you know how big they are."
She nodded. "It was huge. Like the size of a dog."
Padma giggled. "Alright, well, they aren't quite that big, but they're bigger than anything we have in Britain. They're special animals though. Many witches and wizards use their legs in potion-brewing, but they're also kept as pets."
"My mum has one for the garden, she says in the spring it keeps the bugs away," said Rodney.
Harry nodded and continued. "Aside from being good in the garden," he answered, not sure if that was really true, "they're good companions, loved by witches and wizards for their ability to hide and their ability to defend territory. That's probably why your mum likes having one in the garden. They can be trained easily and are usually friendly."
Padma smiled at him as she took up the lesson. "Cats are pretty common household pets too, right?" The children nodded. "But what about big cats?"
"Like lions?" asked a little girl, Chloe, her eyes wide.
"Sort of. The cat I'm talking about is an over-sized black cat: a panther."
"They have one at the zoo in London!"
"Yes they do Emma. I went to see her last summer. She was very friendly towards me, which surprised the keeper. He was getting upset because she kept coming so close," she smiled at the students, who were grinning and laughing. "Witches especially love panthers, they tend not to get on well with wizards," she nodded towards Harry. "You know how blokes can be," she winked noticeably to the group of still giggling girls, only increasing their giggling. "In ancient times, many wizards killed panthers because they were associated with darkness and women, but in some societies they were loved and cherished. They aren't kept around today, but many witches still have some bond to any panther they come across, even in the zoo."
Harry looked at the watch on his wrist, amazed at how quickly their lesson had gone by. "We have one animal left, guys, and we're done."
They quieted their giggles and looked at Harry solemnly. Padma began tracing an image of the last animal in the air. "The last animal is very much mixed. Some love it, some hate it. Most associate it with darkness and death, but it does have many good qualities. Some Ravens can be tricksters, but others are teachers and very very smart. Ravens are known to be healers and protectors."
"Are all these animals familiers?" said Emma, looking confused as she stumbled over the word.
"Familiars?" replied Harry, nodding, "Of course. They all have their own special powers."
"Like us?" asked Rodney, jumping to his feet as Harry and Padma began to stand up.
"Sort of," answered Padma, ruffling his red hair. He pushed her hand away, laughing and ran off towards the castle, the others quickly following after him. Harry helped Padma fold up the blanket before they started off quickly to catch up with the kids.
After making sure they were with their families for the evening meal, they headed down to the dungeons to gather the materials they would need for their potions next week.
They were going to be teaching them how to brew a drink much like butter beer that only involved a few ingredients and a cold flame. When Snape had shown them how to make it, he'd been surprised by the use of a cold flame, having never used one before. Padma had laughed at him, telling him that the potion was a lot like American powdered drinks. He had nodded, not sure what she was talking about.
"They're great. It could be worse and they could be absolute horrors," she said as they trudged down the stairs.
Harry nodded. "Definitely. It's a nice break from all the Dark Arts stuff."
"Yeah, I know. It's hard to fathom sometimes why anyone would ever want to use those spells. Arabella said the guy that invented Avada Kedavra wanted to be rid of his wife, but couldn't because of wizarding laws."
Harry grimaced and nodded. "It's very hard to believe that people are so dark, but they are. I'm glad we're learning how to actually fight here, though. Fire with fire and that sort of thing."
"I supposed you're used to it though."
He shrugged. "Maybe. I wish I could escape it all though. I ask myself sometimes, why I am the way I am. Why I'm a magus and why I survived. I didn't do anything."
"You don't know that... there was something about you that wasn't the same."
Harry sighed and opened the door to Snape's dungeon. "We'll never know I guess. I've seen him face to face four times and he hasn't told me."
She blinked. "Four times? I imagine I'd die if I looked at him once."
He choked out a dry laugh. "I doubt that."
She shrugged and scooped some of the ingredients off the shelf. "Monday will be fun."
"What is it we're making?"
"Well, it's a lot like Kool Aid."
"Which is?"
"It's this drink they have in America. It's like coloured, flavoured sugar. I loved it."
"When were you in America?"
"Parvati and I have an uncle there, he works at a hospital in New York City. We spend a holiday there every year with him and his family."
"What's it like?"
"New York is wonderful, but we went to Disneyworld one year over Christmas. They didn't even have snow."
"Wow. We never had much snow over Christmas in Surrey, but I've grown rather used to it."
Padma nodded. "I like spending the holidays here now. It's nice."
"I can't imagine not being at Hogwarts over Christmas."
"Last year, my parents wanted us home, which is understandable. What about your family?"
Harry thought of Ami and Sirius before he shook his head. "The Durselys are terrible. They want me away as long as possible," he answered, feeling odd because he hadn't thought of the Durselys in so long.
"Some families can't appreciate what they have I suppose. I have three little brothers and sisters. I was hoping they'd get to go to Hogwarts eventually, but it doesn't look like it."
"How do your parents do with magic?" Harry asked as he helped her carry cauldrons into the small dungeon they would be using for the rest of the term.
"They think it's wonderful actually, but they weren't surprised. My mother said she noticed something different about us since we were babies."
"It might change, maybe this will be over sooner than we think," he said quietly, thinking about upset he'd be if he was a muggleborn. He blinked. Arabella had said that it was two generations. His mum was a muggleborn. "Wait a minute," he said, stopping mid-way through setting a cauldron on a table.
Padma paused, looking at him strangely. "What?"
"I should be considered a muggleborn, shouldn't I?"
"Your parents were both wizards."
"Right, but Arabella said it was two generations."
She shrugged. "You're the Boy Who Lived. He wants people to go along, not hate him. I don't imagine they'll come after you."
"Are you scared?" he said, feeling oddly comfortable asking her this question.
"Being scared isn't an option. I have other things I could be doing."
They were finished setting up for Monday's lesson and she turned to him. "I've got Quidditch practice in forty-five minutes, so I better run."
"So do I. I'm glad to be playing again. See you around."
***
"Harry?" came a voice from the girls' dorm as he closed the door to the lounge.
"Hermione?" he replied, recognising her voice instantly.
She walked into the lounge, a look of concern on her face. "Where were you?"
"At the lesson with Padma," he answered, looking at her oddly.
"It was scheduled to be over nearly an hour ago." She was frowning now.
"I know. We set up in the dungeons for Monday's lesson."
"You were in the dungeons?"
"Yeah... are you alright?" he knit his eyebrows as he said this, concern in his eyes.
She shook her head slightly before forcing the corners of her mouth up. "I'm fine."
"You're sure?"
"Of course."
"Did you eat yet?" he implored, deciding to believe her and change the topic.
"I was waiting for you," she replied, her voice soft.
He looked at her for a few moments before crossing the gap between them and gathering her in his arms. "Tell me what's bothering you Hermione," he whispered as he looked down into her eyes, seeing every emotion in them. He was surprised to see worry and fear. "Hermione," he said, drawing out her name as she remained silent, just looking him.
After a moment, she stepped away from him and walked towards her dorm room, beckoning him to follow. She held the door for him, closing it as soon as he had passed through and placed a locking charm on it.
He sat on her bed and she joined him, linking her fingers with him. "Tell me I'm being stupid," she said softly.
"For what, love?" he held her hand tighter.
"I feel so stupid. I promised myself I'd never be one of those jealous girlfriends," she said, bowing her head to stare at their joined hands.
"Are you jealous of Padma, Hermione?" Harry asked, disbelieving of what he was hearing.
Hermione nodded solemnly. "A bit. I'm sorry. I don't know why."
He faced her fully, cupping her face in his hands. "Hermione, I love you and you have no reason to be jealous. Padma is just a friend of mine."
"I know, Harry. But I feel like since the year has started, we've not had any time together. I miss being able to snuggle into you at night."
He kissed her gently and nodded. "I miss it too. I can't sneak in every night. Ron and Malfoy would notice."
"Why do you continue to call him Malfoy?"
"Why do you call him Draco?" he replied, raising his eyebrow, but keeping his tone light.
She shrugged. "He saved our lives, Harry. It feels weird to call him Malfoy after that."
"Is that why you're so friendly with him?" His tone grew a little darker.
It was Hermione's turn to frown. "I'm not friendly with Draco, Harry. I just see no point in being rude to him," she answered, scrutinising him. "Are you jealous?"
He sighed, shaking his head. "No. I'm sorry. Can we change the topic?"
She shook her head and let out a light laugh. "Not in the mood for a State of the Relationship conversation?"
"It doesn't seem neccessary. Everything is fine between us, except for a slight smattering of jealously on both our parts. As long as we remember that we do love each other, it'll be fine."
She nodded and kissed him again. "You know, given the choice between having you to myself and dinner, I think I'd rather starve."
"You're sure?" he grinned, "I can't have you wasting away to nothing."
"I think I can skip this one meal," she replied, grinning and leaning in for another kiss.
He answered by giving her a deeper, longer kiss than his previous ones. She scooted closer and wrapped her arms around him. He held her close, drinking in the taste of her that he admittedly had not had much of the past week. She seemed as eager as he did, quickly deepening the kiss. After a few moments, he pulled her into his lap and she nestled against him without breaking the kiss. Their kiss deepened and as Harry began tugging at the clasp on Hermione's robes, she moved to kiss his neck, just below his ear. She shrugged the robes off as Harry loosened them and moved her own fingers to begin taking his robes off.
Soon, they were wearing only muggle clothing. Hermione was wearing a skirt and sweater, while Harry was wearing jeans and a long sleeved t-shirt. They immediately moved closer again, Hermione's fingers tracing circles just below the hair line on his neck, which was slowly driving him mad. She moved once more into his lap and he winced slightly, having grown considerably more aroused when they had shed their robes. She seemed to notice and adjusting herself accordingly. After a few more long moments of kissing, she pulled back slightly and looked him, her breathing a little heavier than normal.
He watched her intently for a few moments, his eyes tracing over every feature of her face. He took in her eyes, the fear and worry replaced with a very intense desire that could only be described as lust. His eyes moved over her nose, focusing on her lips, the bottom of which was being nibbled on every so slightly. His breath caught in his throat as he watched her teeth move against her lip and he quickly moved to capture her lips again. He felt her smile slightly before she melted into the kiss, her lips opening under his. He slid his tongue against his lips, which was met with her own. He felt her body pressing against his and he laid back, pulling her on top of him. She stretched out, nearly every inch of her touching him as his heart pounded in his ears.
His hands moved over her back to the hem of her sweater. He paused and hearing no resistance, slid his hand under her sweater.
They both gasped slightly as his cool hand touched the warmth of her back and desire raged though him. His hand travelled up her spine as they continued their kiss, her own hands roaming over him. Suddenly she pulled back and looked at him, smiling. He grinned at her, surprised when she tugged his glasses off gently.
"I rarely get to see you without these while your eyes are open. Your eyes are amazing, you know."
He blinked, not having much trouble seeing her, but still feeling strangely naked without his glasses. "Your eyes are beautiful, Mione."
"Really?" she whispered as she moved to concentrate on his neck again.
He only nodded, his other hand sliding under her sweater as well. They moved upwards until hitting the band of her bra. She said nothing as he slowly began to fumble with the hook, taking a few moments to actually unhook it. Still no protest from her as his hand moved awkwardly and tentatively around to her front. She adjusted herself as his hand brushed tentatively over her breast. He felt a breathy moan against his neck as his hand began to gently massage her breast. His mind exploded with want as she nibbled lightly on his neck and he pressed his hand harder against her. He nearly whimpered as she felt her moving away and when he opened his eyes, he saw her beginning to tug off her sweater before lying back on the bed and he moved with her, settling his weight onto her only partially. She tugged on the collar of his shirt, pulling him close to kiss him. His hands immediately moved to discard her bra before his hands settled once more on her breasts. He felt her hands pulling at his shirt before it was quickly tugged over his head. He shook his head before kissing her once more, their hands roaming simaltaneously. Suddenly, there was a loud knocking on the door.
"Hermione? I need in there, I have to be at the Quidditch pitch in ten minutes."
Harry and Hermione sprung apart and scrambled to get their clothing. "Just a minute Gin," Hermione said, her face glowing red. Harry handed her robes as he pulled his around him, kicking his t-shirt under the bed. She tossed them aside, tugging on her sweater. As soon is it was over her head, she chanted the incantation to unlock the door and tried to fix her messy hair. Ginny opened the door as soon as the unlocking charm clicked and eyed the occupants curiously.
"Are you ok?" she asked, looking slightly concerned at her two friends.
They both nodded, looking equally flustered. She smiled at them before grabbing her broom from behind the door.
"See you on the pitch, Harry," she said, nodding as she closed the door behind her.
Hermione and Harry looked at each other as soon as she had left, eyes wide. Shifting uncomfortably, Harry cleared his throat.
"How far would that have gone Hermione?" he asked softly.
"I--I'm not sure."
He scooted closer to her and took her hand again. "What do you want Hermione?"
"I love you, Harry, you know I do, but I don't think I'm ready for this."
He nodded and kisses her gently. "Then you set the boundaries alright? If it gets too far, stop me."
"But what do you want?"
"I want you and I want to show you how much I love you. But I'll wait for you Hermione."
She smiled then, slightly and kisses him gently on the lips. "Thank you, so much."
He smiled at her and stood up. "I'm off, love; we have to meet with the players first, so I'll see you on the pitch in about twenty minutes."
She nodded. "Good luck, then."
He closed the door after him, sighing in frustration.
***
Harry looked at the people gathered around him. McGonagall had asked him to captain the Gryffindor team and last week she had given him a list of names of students who were going to be trying out. Both Ron and Ginny were trying out for the team and even if they both made it, that left three open spots on the team. He looked at Katie Bell, who also had a copy of the list. She sighed and turned to face the team.
"Alright, here's the deal, I have a list here of all the people trying out. Come up here, put what position you're trying out for on the line, and head out to the pitch. There are two Chaser positions open, two Beaters and a Keeper. Let's go," she said as she set the parchment down on the table in front of her.
The twenty or so students lined up to sign the paper and one by one, they marched out of the locker rooms and towards the pitch. Harry and Katie waited until everyone had entered their position before peeking at the sheet.
"Four for Beaters, two of whom are girls. I don't think Gryffindor has ever had female beaters before."
"Who are they?" Harry asked, peering at the sheet.
"Gertrude and Beatrice Jones. Second years."
"Who else is trying out?"
"Ten for Chasers, three for Keeper and two for reserve Seeker. Or first seeker," she remarked, grinning at him.
He returned her smile. "I'm up for a challenge and at least we have a lot to choose from then."
Katie nodded. "I hope they're good though. I'd like to win the cup this year."
Harry nodded as he followed Katie out to the pitch. The group was flying low laps around the pitch, already separated into the groups for the different positions. Katie called for them to land and they all circled round.
"As I said before, there are five spots open for the team, however, I would like to keep on an additional seven for the reserve squad." She narrowed her eyes at the players. "I want the twin beaters over here. Michelle and Tim, I'd like you as the chasers. Ron, Keeper." She pointed to the players she'd picked and motioned them off to the left. Running her eyes over the rest of the group, she picked out an additional seven. "We're going to do a practice match and half-way through, we're going to rotate. Both sets of beaters will stay in, but switch sides. Then, the extra keeper will come in to play on my team while Ron switches to the other side. The extra five keepers can switch however they choose, as the first group will be rotated in."
They nodded and the first group she selected mounted their broom. Harry saw Hermione in the stands, holding his omnoculars and a whistle. She was going to be referreeing, perse, but she was going to be assisting with the recording of the match.
He hovered about the pitch, watching the reserve seeker out of the corner of his eye. Hermione released the quaffle, bludgers, and snitch into the air as her whistle blew and the various players took off. Harry trained his eye on the Snitch for a few moments before it disappeared. He moved his eyes to watch the game going on below him. The other team had the quaffle and one of the female chasers was speeding quickly towards the goalposts. Wincing, he watched as a bludger went zooming towards the chaser, hit by one of the twins, Beatrice. The chaser dodged her shot, still holding the quaffle. Speeding up, she aimed and tossed it right through the goal, past Ron.
The game continued as Harry kept an eye on who he thought to be promising prospects. Ron was doing terribly at Keeper, but he was surprised to see that at the other end of the field, Ginny was holding her own, also playing as Keeper. Another Chaser prospect that he had noticed early on was playing extraordnarily well, but having a difficult time keeping up with Ginny. He'd had four attempts at a goal, but had only scored once.
After about twenty minutes of playing, Hermione blew the whistle. As the other players began to switch in, Katie called out, "Ginny, I want you to stay in, but move to this side." That was the only change and Harry looked down towards Ron, who was skulking on the side of the field. They continued playing and as Harry watched the game, he noticed the reserve seeker that had come in was now zooming towards the far goal post across the field. He narrowed his eyes, searching for the Snitch. A faint gold glimmer caught his attention and he pushed his broom down, aiming right for the goal post. In a matter of moments, he caught up with the seeker, who had spent most of the match simply tailing Harry. They sped towards the ground at an alarmingly fast pace, Harry amazed that the seeker was able to keep up with him for the most part. Soon however, he lost his momentum and Harry dived closer, quickly grabbing up the Snitch and signaling the end of tryouts.
The group landed on the field and moved to the side, all looking at Katie with anticipation. She looked to Harry, who faced the group.
"We've taken shots of each of you with omnoculars. We're going to review that quickly and discuss a few things before we let you know. It should be about twenty minutes. If you'd like, you can go shower and change and come back. We'll be set by then."
Harry and Katie walked towards Hermione, who was was waiting off to the side. "There are some excellent players out there," she said as she handed the omnoculars to Harry. "I'm going to head in, I've got some reading to do. I'll see you later." She kissed him on the cheek and started back towards the castle.
"Thanks Hermione," he called after her. Katie pulled him towards the benchs and they sat down, putting the omnoculars into focus. She pulled a small notepad out of her robes and looked at him expectantly.
"There were two chasers I thought were excellent. The first was that third year, with the blond hair."
"Laura?"
"Right. The other I saw was that fourth year, Ian. He was playing well against Ginny, even though he couldn't score against her."
Katie nodded. "I saw. I definitely want Ginny."
"She was excellent; I was surprised."
"I'd never seen her play before, had you?" Katie asked, scribbling the names down on her notepad.
Harry shook his head. "Never. Now, I think that those two twin girls would make the best beaters. They seem to work well as a team."
"I agree, although the one guy, Patrick, seemed to have a stronger hit than Getrude."
"I think the one-mind aspect of Beatrice and Gertrude is to our advantage though."
"True. That was what made Fred and George so excellent. Ok, now, reserves."
"Well, we've got the beaters. I don't feel confident enough in Ron as a keeper though. The other one, Charlie, was good though."
"And the Chasers?"
"Those three girls that played for the other team in the second round."
"Gemma, Erin and Jenny?"
"Right. The reserve seeker should be the one who played in the first round."
Katie nodded and scribbled on her pad. "Alright then, that was easier than I thought."
Harry smiled at her and they stood up, as the other players were beginning to come back. They quickly made the announcements for the teams, leaving most people quite happy. However, Ron made a point to glare very sharply at Harry before he stormed off towards the castle. Harry sighed and gather his things, anxious to get back and be with Hermione.
***
He took a long hot shower before heading back to IMS, where he found Hermione alone in the common room. She had pulled a chair up to the window and was holding a large book in her lap as she looked out across the grounds.
"Hermione?" he said, his voice just above a whisper.
She turned to him, her eyes slightly glazed over. "Oh, Harry, I didn't hear you come in. Did the rest of tryouts go well?"
He nodded and crossed the room to her chair, where he kneeled next to her. "It was fine. We have some really excellent players this year. What were you reading?"
"I'm still trying to translate the parchment and the journal. I just... I just can't seem to grasp it. There's something I'm missing, some key part. I've taken language lessons before, but they were taught and broken down into sections. This is just so...so completely foreign." She was frowning, a crease between her brow as she looked down at the large book in front of her. He recognised it as one of the ancient History books that Rachel had given him. The parchment was spread across the page, adjacent to another piece of parchment with Hermione's scribbling over it.
"What have you got so far?"
"Well, I tried looking for patterns, repeat words. When I sounded out the words, I found a rhyme pattern, even though that doesn't mean it will translate into a rhyme. For some reason, the only word I was able to translate was three."
"Three?" he asked.
She nodded and picked up the parchment, pointing at a line. "See that word?" he nodded. "It appears several times," she pointed out the repetition. As I was translating it, it just...made sense. Three. There it was. The word three. But that's all I was able to understand." Frowning again, she closed the parchment and her notes inside the book. "I think I need a break from this for a bit."
He moved behind her chair and gently rubbed her shoulders. "That's not a horrible idea. Don't worry though, you'll figure it out."
"You really think so?"
"I know so," he leaned down and kissed her gently.
"I'm starving," she admitted.
"Mmm, maybe skipping dinner wasn't such a good idea," he replied, grinning.
"Oh, no. I think the time was well used. Doesn't change that I'm hungry now, however."
"Well, how about we go down to the kitchens and see what the house elves will give up."
"Oh, alright," she agreed after slight hesitation.
Grinning, he pulled her out of the chair and wrapped his arms around her.
"You smell good," she said as she buried her head in his chest.
"I thought you liked how I smelled after Quidditch."
She pulled a face. "I'm positive I never said that."
"Oh... well..."
She grinned and tickled him. "Food..."
"Alright, Ms Granger, I shall lead you to the kitchens."
"Alright, Mr Potter."
He pulled her hand up to his lips and kissed her fingers as she led the way out of the room, feeling safe and content for the first time in weeks.
A/N: Thanks to Ian and Neil for beta-reading!
Thank you all for reading and reviewing. Please continue to review the chapters, I thrive on your comments.
Author: Atlantis Potter
E-mail: atlantispotter@yahoo.com
Category: Romance, Action/Adventure
Keywords: Year 6, Harry, Hermione, IMS, Magus
Rating: R
Spoilers: All Four Books.
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
A/N: Also, if you're interested in faster updates, please visit . Again, thank you so much. –Atlantis
I have never let my schooling interfere with my education.- Mark Twain
Harry took in a deep breath, inhaling the scents floating in the gentle breeze coming off the lake. It was a warm afternoon, unusual for autumn and Padma had suggested they take the students outside for their lesson. It was their second week of lessons, and their final lesson of the week. They met with the young children Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays for two hours in the afternoon and had been assigned a variety of things to study. They had quickly divided up some of the subjects; Padma had offered to instruct them in a few basic Latin and History lessons and Harry was going to be teaching them charms and potions. Everything else they would be sharing.
Padma smiled at him as she conjured a blanket and spread it out on the lawn under the unusually warm September sun. Seating himself on the blanket, Harry glanced at the group of children slowly making their way towards the spot near the lake where they had spread out. They were moving quickly, anxious to see what their instuctors had in store for them today. Monday, Harry had taken them to the dungeons to show them the objects used in potion brewing and Wednesday, Padma had began instructing them on Latin. Today, they had been promised a special treat.
"Michael and Renee, sit please, I want to begin," Padma said, her voice soft, but authorative. The two students did as they were asked and looked expectantly at Harry and Padma, who were seated next to one another and facing the cluster of children. "How many of you have pets at home?"
Every hand went up as Padma began waving her wand delicately in the air, tracing something in blue light. "How many of you have one of these?" Again, six hands shot in the air as the image of an owl appeared before them, it's wings flapping slightly. Harry looked in slight admiration at the fluttering creature. It's form was a dull blue outline, which some points illustrated more brightly, much like a constellation. He turned towards Padma, who was smiling as she looked through her drawing towards the students.
"Animals have been vital to the wizarding world for centuries and they're no less important today than they were one thousand years ago. Even with the invention of such communication as Floo, we still rely on animals for communication and even travel. But why do we use the owl for communication? Why not, say, a pigeon?"
Six small faces looked at her expectantly as she drew another flying animal in mid-air. Nearly as quickly as the pigeon appeared did she wave her wand and it disappeared, replaced once again by the fluttering owl.
"Many animals that are familiar to us all have specific characteristics that help us to decide whether or not we should depend on them. Most of the animals that you see daily aren't magical. I'm sure many of you have dogs and cats and fish and maybe even birds at hime. These aren't magical creatures, yet many witches and wizards believe that these animals possess a bit of magic that makes them unique."
A little blonde girl named Bailey raised her hand. "My mum told me that when she was little, all the other kids thought black cats were bad luck."
Padma nodded. "Many muggles believe that black cats are bad luck. This is because for as long as witches and wizards have been around many of them have used cats as a familiar."
"What's a familiar?" implored a red-headed boy (whom Harry thought looked strikingly like Ron) named Rodney.
"A familiar is what we use to connect us to the animal world," Harry replied, beginning to understand where Padma was going with her lesson. "They can be very helpful with certain spells and such."
Six faces looked at him blankly as Padma stifled a giggle. "Harry's quite right. You'll learn a lot more about familiars in the next few weeks when we begin to talk about spells, but for now, I'd just like to focus on the animals themselves. Many animals are just companions to wizards, they aren't always used in magic. I want to talk about three different animals with you today. They're special animals though, ones you won't neccessarily have at home."
Harry smiled to himself as the children squirmed about, moving in closer for the lesson. He snuck a look at the parchment that had the notes on the animals they would be discussing. Padma nodded to him.
"How many of you have seen a spider?" he asked, his voice shaking a little. The four little girls in their group squealed and moved closer together while the two boys perked up and raised their hands excitedly into the air.
Grinning, Harry continued, "They're usually pretty small right? And creepy and crawly?"
The other little boy, Michael, grinned. "I like to catch them and put them on my sister. She hates spiders," he grinned again as the girls whimpered and looked at him horrified. Rodney laughed and offered his hand to the other boy, who high-fived him.
Laughing, Harry shook his head. "My friend Ron is terrified of spiders. In second year, we had to follow a whole bunch of them into the For-- well, into the woods and he was going mad the entire time. Don't tell him I told you though. There were hundreds of them, crawling along the ground," he said, making a motion with his hand along the blanket.
A few of the children hid their giggles behind their hands as one girl looked scared. "Don't spiders bite?"
Padma moved closer to the girl. "Spiders are very friendly and they hardly ever bite, but they do...tickle!" she said slowly, tickling her fingers along the girl's arm. The others laughed and the girl, Emma, giggled. Harry laughed with the rest of the group, appreciating how good Padma was with the students. She had quickly developed a commodery with the whole group and they would often surround her on days when they didn't have lessons, begging her to play games with them. They often would chase down Harry too and he was glad that he'd volunteered to help with their lessons.
He looked at the paper again. "Alright, so you're all familiar with spiders, but what if you saw a really big spider? Bigger than a Daddy Long Legs?" Six sets of eyes grew very large. "In the Americas, there are these huge spiders called Tarantulas--"
"My older brother had one of those once, but our puppy tried to eat it, so mummy made him get rid of it," said Renee, looking very important.
Harry quirked his eyebrow at Padma who winced. "Right. So you know how big they are."
She nodded. "It was huge. Like the size of a dog."
Padma giggled. "Alright, well, they aren't quite that big, but they're bigger than anything we have in Britain. They're special animals though. Many witches and wizards use their legs in potion-brewing, but they're also kept as pets."
"My mum has one for the garden, she says in the spring it keeps the bugs away," said Rodney.
Harry nodded and continued. "Aside from being good in the garden," he answered, not sure if that was really true, "they're good companions, loved by witches and wizards for their ability to hide and their ability to defend territory. That's probably why your mum likes having one in the garden. They can be trained easily and are usually friendly."
Padma smiled at him as she took up the lesson. "Cats are pretty common household pets too, right?" The children nodded. "But what about big cats?"
"Like lions?" asked a little girl, Chloe, her eyes wide.
"Sort of. The cat I'm talking about is an over-sized black cat: a panther."
"They have one at the zoo in London!"
"Yes they do Emma. I went to see her last summer. She was very friendly towards me, which surprised the keeper. He was getting upset because she kept coming so close," she smiled at the students, who were grinning and laughing. "Witches especially love panthers, they tend not to get on well with wizards," she nodded towards Harry. "You know how blokes can be," she winked noticeably to the group of still giggling girls, only increasing their giggling. "In ancient times, many wizards killed panthers because they were associated with darkness and women, but in some societies they were loved and cherished. They aren't kept around today, but many witches still have some bond to any panther they come across, even in the zoo."
Harry looked at the watch on his wrist, amazed at how quickly their lesson had gone by. "We have one animal left, guys, and we're done."
They quieted their giggles and looked at Harry solemnly. Padma began tracing an image of the last animal in the air. "The last animal is very much mixed. Some love it, some hate it. Most associate it with darkness and death, but it does have many good qualities. Some Ravens can be tricksters, but others are teachers and very very smart. Ravens are known to be healers and protectors."
"Are all these animals familiers?" said Emma, looking confused as she stumbled over the word.
"Familiars?" replied Harry, nodding, "Of course. They all have their own special powers."
"Like us?" asked Rodney, jumping to his feet as Harry and Padma began to stand up.
"Sort of," answered Padma, ruffling his red hair. He pushed her hand away, laughing and ran off towards the castle, the others quickly following after him. Harry helped Padma fold up the blanket before they started off quickly to catch up with the kids.
After making sure they were with their families for the evening meal, they headed down to the dungeons to gather the materials they would need for their potions next week.
They were going to be teaching them how to brew a drink much like butter beer that only involved a few ingredients and a cold flame. When Snape had shown them how to make it, he'd been surprised by the use of a cold flame, having never used one before. Padma had laughed at him, telling him that the potion was a lot like American powdered drinks. He had nodded, not sure what she was talking about.
"They're great. It could be worse and they could be absolute horrors," she said as they trudged down the stairs.
Harry nodded. "Definitely. It's a nice break from all the Dark Arts stuff."
"Yeah, I know. It's hard to fathom sometimes why anyone would ever want to use those spells. Arabella said the guy that invented Avada Kedavra wanted to be rid of his wife, but couldn't because of wizarding laws."
Harry grimaced and nodded. "It's very hard to believe that people are so dark, but they are. I'm glad we're learning how to actually fight here, though. Fire with fire and that sort of thing."
"I supposed you're used to it though."
He shrugged. "Maybe. I wish I could escape it all though. I ask myself sometimes, why I am the way I am. Why I'm a magus and why I survived. I didn't do anything."
"You don't know that... there was something about you that wasn't the same."
Harry sighed and opened the door to Snape's dungeon. "We'll never know I guess. I've seen him face to face four times and he hasn't told me."
She blinked. "Four times? I imagine I'd die if I looked at him once."
He choked out a dry laugh. "I doubt that."
She shrugged and scooped some of the ingredients off the shelf. "Monday will be fun."
"What is it we're making?"
"Well, it's a lot like Kool Aid."
"Which is?"
"It's this drink they have in America. It's like coloured, flavoured sugar. I loved it."
"When were you in America?"
"Parvati and I have an uncle there, he works at a hospital in New York City. We spend a holiday there every year with him and his family."
"What's it like?"
"New York is wonderful, but we went to Disneyworld one year over Christmas. They didn't even have snow."
"Wow. We never had much snow over Christmas in Surrey, but I've grown rather used to it."
Padma nodded. "I like spending the holidays here now. It's nice."
"I can't imagine not being at Hogwarts over Christmas."
"Last year, my parents wanted us home, which is understandable. What about your family?"
Harry thought of Ami and Sirius before he shook his head. "The Durselys are terrible. They want me away as long as possible," he answered, feeling odd because he hadn't thought of the Durselys in so long.
"Some families can't appreciate what they have I suppose. I have three little brothers and sisters. I was hoping they'd get to go to Hogwarts eventually, but it doesn't look like it."
"How do your parents do with magic?" Harry asked as he helped her carry cauldrons into the small dungeon they would be using for the rest of the term.
"They think it's wonderful actually, but they weren't surprised. My mother said she noticed something different about us since we were babies."
"It might change, maybe this will be over sooner than we think," he said quietly, thinking about upset he'd be if he was a muggleborn. He blinked. Arabella had said that it was two generations. His mum was a muggleborn. "Wait a minute," he said, stopping mid-way through setting a cauldron on a table.
Padma paused, looking at him strangely. "What?"
"I should be considered a muggleborn, shouldn't I?"
"Your parents were both wizards."
"Right, but Arabella said it was two generations."
She shrugged. "You're the Boy Who Lived. He wants people to go along, not hate him. I don't imagine they'll come after you."
"Are you scared?" he said, feeling oddly comfortable asking her this question.
"Being scared isn't an option. I have other things I could be doing."
They were finished setting up for Monday's lesson and she turned to him. "I've got Quidditch practice in forty-five minutes, so I better run."
"So do I. I'm glad to be playing again. See you around."
"Harry?" came a voice from the girls' dorm as he closed the door to the lounge.
"Hermione?" he replied, recognising her voice instantly.
She walked into the lounge, a look of concern on her face. "Where were you?"
"At the lesson with Padma," he answered, looking at her oddly.
"It was scheduled to be over nearly an hour ago." She was frowning now.
"I know. We set up in the dungeons for Monday's lesson."
"You were in the dungeons?"
"Yeah... are you alright?" he knit his eyebrows as he said this, concern in his eyes.
She shook her head slightly before forcing the corners of her mouth up. "I'm fine."
"You're sure?"
"Of course."
"Did you eat yet?" he implored, deciding to believe her and change the topic.
"I was waiting for you," she replied, her voice soft.
He looked at her for a few moments before crossing the gap between them and gathering her in his arms. "Tell me what's bothering you Hermione," he whispered as he looked down into her eyes, seeing every emotion in them. He was surprised to see worry and fear. "Hermione," he said, drawing out her name as she remained silent, just looking him.
After a moment, she stepped away from him and walked towards her dorm room, beckoning him to follow. She held the door for him, closing it as soon as he had passed through and placed a locking charm on it.
He sat on her bed and she joined him, linking her fingers with him. "Tell me I'm being stupid," she said softly.
"For what, love?" he held her hand tighter.
"I feel so stupid. I promised myself I'd never be one of those jealous girlfriends," she said, bowing her head to stare at their joined hands.
"Are you jealous of Padma, Hermione?" Harry asked, disbelieving of what he was hearing.
Hermione nodded solemnly. "A bit. I'm sorry. I don't know why."
He faced her fully, cupping her face in his hands. "Hermione, I love you and you have no reason to be jealous. Padma is just a friend of mine."
"I know, Harry. But I feel like since the year has started, we've not had any time together. I miss being able to snuggle into you at night."
He kissed her gently and nodded. "I miss it too. I can't sneak in every night. Ron and Malfoy would notice."
"Why do you continue to call him Malfoy?"
"Why do you call him Draco?" he replied, raising his eyebrow, but keeping his tone light.
She shrugged. "He saved our lives, Harry. It feels weird to call him Malfoy after that."
"Is that why you're so friendly with him?" His tone grew a little darker.
It was Hermione's turn to frown. "I'm not friendly with Draco, Harry. I just see no point in being rude to him," she answered, scrutinising him. "Are you jealous?"
He sighed, shaking his head. "No. I'm sorry. Can we change the topic?"
She shook her head and let out a light laugh. "Not in the mood for a State of the Relationship conversation?"
"It doesn't seem neccessary. Everything is fine between us, except for a slight smattering of jealously on both our parts. As long as we remember that we do love each other, it'll be fine."
She nodded and kissed him again. "You know, given the choice between having you to myself and dinner, I think I'd rather starve."
"You're sure?" he grinned, "I can't have you wasting away to nothing."
"I think I can skip this one meal," she replied, grinning and leaning in for another kiss.
He answered by giving her a deeper, longer kiss than his previous ones. She scooted closer and wrapped her arms around him. He held her close, drinking in the taste of her that he admittedly had not had much of the past week. She seemed as eager as he did, quickly deepening the kiss. After a few moments, he pulled her into his lap and she nestled against him without breaking the kiss. Their kiss deepened and as Harry began tugging at the clasp on Hermione's robes, she moved to kiss his neck, just below his ear. She shrugged the robes off as Harry loosened them and moved her own fingers to begin taking his robes off.
Soon, they were wearing only muggle clothing. Hermione was wearing a skirt and sweater, while Harry was wearing jeans and a long sleeved t-shirt. They immediately moved closer again, Hermione's fingers tracing circles just below the hair line on his neck, which was slowly driving him mad. She moved once more into his lap and he winced slightly, having grown considerably more aroused when they had shed their robes. She seemed to notice and adjusting herself accordingly. After a few more long moments of kissing, she pulled back slightly and looked him, her breathing a little heavier than normal.
He watched her intently for a few moments, his eyes tracing over every feature of her face. He took in her eyes, the fear and worry replaced with a very intense desire that could only be described as lust. His eyes moved over her nose, focusing on her lips, the bottom of which was being nibbled on every so slightly. His breath caught in his throat as he watched her teeth move against her lip and he quickly moved to capture her lips again. He felt her smile slightly before she melted into the kiss, her lips opening under his. He slid his tongue against his lips, which was met with her own. He felt her body pressing against his and he laid back, pulling her on top of him. She stretched out, nearly every inch of her touching him as his heart pounded in his ears.
His hands moved over her back to the hem of her sweater. He paused and hearing no resistance, slid his hand under her sweater.
They both gasped slightly as his cool hand touched the warmth of her back and desire raged though him. His hand travelled up her spine as they continued their kiss, her own hands roaming over him. Suddenly she pulled back and looked at him, smiling. He grinned at her, surprised when she tugged his glasses off gently.
"I rarely get to see you without these while your eyes are open. Your eyes are amazing, you know."
He blinked, not having much trouble seeing her, but still feeling strangely naked without his glasses. "Your eyes are beautiful, Mione."
"Really?" she whispered as she moved to concentrate on his neck again.
He only nodded, his other hand sliding under her sweater as well. They moved upwards until hitting the band of her bra. She said nothing as he slowly began to fumble with the hook, taking a few moments to actually unhook it. Still no protest from her as his hand moved awkwardly and tentatively around to her front. She adjusted herself as his hand brushed tentatively over her breast. He felt a breathy moan against his neck as his hand began to gently massage her breast. His mind exploded with want as she nibbled lightly on his neck and he pressed his hand harder against her. He nearly whimpered as she felt her moving away and when he opened his eyes, he saw her beginning to tug off her sweater before lying back on the bed and he moved with her, settling his weight onto her only partially. She tugged on the collar of his shirt, pulling him close to kiss him. His hands immediately moved to discard her bra before his hands settled once more on her breasts. He felt her hands pulling at his shirt before it was quickly tugged over his head. He shook his head before kissing her once more, their hands roaming simaltaneously. Suddenly, there was a loud knocking on the door.
"Hermione? I need in there, I have to be at the Quidditch pitch in ten minutes."
Harry and Hermione sprung apart and scrambled to get their clothing. "Just a minute Gin," Hermione said, her face glowing red. Harry handed her robes as he pulled his around him, kicking his t-shirt under the bed. She tossed them aside, tugging on her sweater. As soon is it was over her head, she chanted the incantation to unlock the door and tried to fix her messy hair. Ginny opened the door as soon as the unlocking charm clicked and eyed the occupants curiously.
"Are you ok?" she asked, looking slightly concerned at her two friends.
They both nodded, looking equally flustered. She smiled at them before grabbing her broom from behind the door.
"See you on the pitch, Harry," she said, nodding as she closed the door behind her.
Hermione and Harry looked at each other as soon as she had left, eyes wide. Shifting uncomfortably, Harry cleared his throat.
"How far would that have gone Hermione?" he asked softly.
"I--I'm not sure."
He scooted closer to her and took her hand again. "What do you want Hermione?"
"I love you, Harry, you know I do, but I don't think I'm ready for this."
He nodded and kisses her gently. "Then you set the boundaries alright? If it gets too far, stop me."
"But what do you want?"
"I want you and I want to show you how much I love you. But I'll wait for you Hermione."
She smiled then, slightly and kisses him gently on the lips. "Thank you, so much."
He smiled at her and stood up. "I'm off, love; we have to meet with the players first, so I'll see you on the pitch in about twenty minutes."
She nodded. "Good luck, then."
He closed the door after him, sighing in frustration.
Harry looked at the people gathered around him. McGonagall had asked him to captain the Gryffindor team and last week she had given him a list of names of students who were going to be trying out. Both Ron and Ginny were trying out for the team and even if they both made it, that left three open spots on the team. He looked at Katie Bell, who also had a copy of the list. She sighed and turned to face the team.
"Alright, here's the deal, I have a list here of all the people trying out. Come up here, put what position you're trying out for on the line, and head out to the pitch. There are two Chaser positions open, two Beaters and a Keeper. Let's go," she said as she set the parchment down on the table in front of her.
The twenty or so students lined up to sign the paper and one by one, they marched out of the locker rooms and towards the pitch. Harry and Katie waited until everyone had entered their position before peeking at the sheet.
"Four for Beaters, two of whom are girls. I don't think Gryffindor has ever had female beaters before."
"Who are they?" Harry asked, peering at the sheet.
"Gertrude and Beatrice Jones. Second years."
"Who else is trying out?"
"Ten for Chasers, three for Keeper and two for reserve Seeker. Or first seeker," she remarked, grinning at him.
He returned her smile. "I'm up for a challenge and at least we have a lot to choose from then."
Katie nodded. "I hope they're good though. I'd like to win the cup this year."
Harry nodded as he followed Katie out to the pitch. The group was flying low laps around the pitch, already separated into the groups for the different positions. Katie called for them to land and they all circled round.
"As I said before, there are five spots open for the team, however, I would like to keep on an additional seven for the reserve squad." She narrowed her eyes at the players. "I want the twin beaters over here. Michelle and Tim, I'd like you as the chasers. Ron, Keeper." She pointed to the players she'd picked and motioned them off to the left. Running her eyes over the rest of the group, she picked out an additional seven. "We're going to do a practice match and half-way through, we're going to rotate. Both sets of beaters will stay in, but switch sides. Then, the extra keeper will come in to play on my team while Ron switches to the other side. The extra five keepers can switch however they choose, as the first group will be rotated in."
They nodded and the first group she selected mounted their broom. Harry saw Hermione in the stands, holding his omnoculars and a whistle. She was going to be referreeing, perse, but she was going to be assisting with the recording of the match.
He hovered about the pitch, watching the reserve seeker out of the corner of his eye. Hermione released the quaffle, bludgers, and snitch into the air as her whistle blew and the various players took off. Harry trained his eye on the Snitch for a few moments before it disappeared. He moved his eyes to watch the game going on below him. The other team had the quaffle and one of the female chasers was speeding quickly towards the goalposts. Wincing, he watched as a bludger went zooming towards the chaser, hit by one of the twins, Beatrice. The chaser dodged her shot, still holding the quaffle. Speeding up, she aimed and tossed it right through the goal, past Ron.
The game continued as Harry kept an eye on who he thought to be promising prospects. Ron was doing terribly at Keeper, but he was surprised to see that at the other end of the field, Ginny was holding her own, also playing as Keeper. Another Chaser prospect that he had noticed early on was playing extraordnarily well, but having a difficult time keeping up with Ginny. He'd had four attempts at a goal, but had only scored once.
After about twenty minutes of playing, Hermione blew the whistle. As the other players began to switch in, Katie called out, "Ginny, I want you to stay in, but move to this side." That was the only change and Harry looked down towards Ron, who was skulking on the side of the field. They continued playing and as Harry watched the game, he noticed the reserve seeker that had come in was now zooming towards the far goal post across the field. He narrowed his eyes, searching for the Snitch. A faint gold glimmer caught his attention and he pushed his broom down, aiming right for the goal post. In a matter of moments, he caught up with the seeker, who had spent most of the match simply tailing Harry. They sped towards the ground at an alarmingly fast pace, Harry amazed that the seeker was able to keep up with him for the most part. Soon however, he lost his momentum and Harry dived closer, quickly grabbing up the Snitch and signaling the end of tryouts.
The group landed on the field and moved to the side, all looking at Katie with anticipation. She looked to Harry, who faced the group.
"We've taken shots of each of you with omnoculars. We're going to review that quickly and discuss a few things before we let you know. It should be about twenty minutes. If you'd like, you can go shower and change and come back. We'll be set by then."
Harry and Katie walked towards Hermione, who was was waiting off to the side. "There are some excellent players out there," she said as she handed the omnoculars to Harry. "I'm going to head in, I've got some reading to do. I'll see you later." She kissed him on the cheek and started back towards the castle.
"Thanks Hermione," he called after her. Katie pulled him towards the benchs and they sat down, putting the omnoculars into focus. She pulled a small notepad out of her robes and looked at him expectantly.
"There were two chasers I thought were excellent. The first was that third year, with the blond hair."
"Laura?"
"Right. The other I saw was that fourth year, Ian. He was playing well against Ginny, even though he couldn't score against her."
Katie nodded. "I saw. I definitely want Ginny."
"She was excellent; I was surprised."
"I'd never seen her play before, had you?" Katie asked, scribbling the names down on her notepad.
Harry shook his head. "Never. Now, I think that those two twin girls would make the best beaters. They seem to work well as a team."
"I agree, although the one guy, Patrick, seemed to have a stronger hit than Getrude."
"I think the one-mind aspect of Beatrice and Gertrude is to our advantage though."
"True. That was what made Fred and George so excellent. Ok, now, reserves."
"Well, we've got the beaters. I don't feel confident enough in Ron as a keeper though. The other one, Charlie, was good though."
"And the Chasers?"
"Those three girls that played for the other team in the second round."
"Gemma, Erin and Jenny?"
"Right. The reserve seeker should be the one who played in the first round."
Katie nodded and scribbled on her pad. "Alright then, that was easier than I thought."
Harry smiled at her and they stood up, as the other players were beginning to come back. They quickly made the announcements for the teams, leaving most people quite happy. However, Ron made a point to glare very sharply at Harry before he stormed off towards the castle. Harry sighed and gather his things, anxious to get back and be with Hermione.
He took a long hot shower before heading back to IMS, where he found Hermione alone in the common room. She had pulled a chair up to the window and was holding a large book in her lap as she looked out across the grounds.
"Hermione?" he said, his voice just above a whisper.
She turned to him, her eyes slightly glazed over. "Oh, Harry, I didn't hear you come in. Did the rest of tryouts go well?"
He nodded and crossed the room to her chair, where he kneeled next to her. "It was fine. We have some really excellent players this year. What were you reading?"
"I'm still trying to translate the parchment and the journal. I just... I just can't seem to grasp it. There's something I'm missing, some key part. I've taken language lessons before, but they were taught and broken down into sections. This is just so...so completely foreign." She was frowning, a crease between her brow as she looked down at the large book in front of her. He recognised it as one of the ancient History books that Rachel had given him. The parchment was spread across the page, adjacent to another piece of parchment with Hermione's scribbling over it.
"What have you got so far?"
"Well, I tried looking for patterns, repeat words. When I sounded out the words, I found a rhyme pattern, even though that doesn't mean it will translate into a rhyme. For some reason, the only word I was able to translate was three."
"Three?" he asked.
She nodded and picked up the parchment, pointing at a line. "See that word?" he nodded. "It appears several times," she pointed out the repetition. As I was translating it, it just...made sense. Three. There it was. The word three. But that's all I was able to understand." Frowning again, she closed the parchment and her notes inside the book. "I think I need a break from this for a bit."
He moved behind her chair and gently rubbed her shoulders. "That's not a horrible idea. Don't worry though, you'll figure it out."
"You really think so?"
"I know so," he leaned down and kissed her gently.
"I'm starving," she admitted.
"Mmm, maybe skipping dinner wasn't such a good idea," he replied, grinning.
"Oh, no. I think the time was well used. Doesn't change that I'm hungry now, however."
"Well, how about we go down to the kitchens and see what the house elves will give up."
"Oh, alright," she agreed after slight hesitation.
Grinning, he pulled her out of the chair and wrapped his arms around her.
"You smell good," she said as she buried her head in his chest.
"I thought you liked how I smelled after Quidditch."
She pulled a face. "I'm positive I never said that."
"Oh... well..."
She grinned and tickled him. "Food..."
"Alright, Ms Granger, I shall lead you to the kitchens."
"Alright, Mr Potter."
He pulled her hand up to his lips and kissed her fingers as she led the way out of the room, feeling safe and content for the first time in weeks.
A/N: Thanks to Ian and Neil for beta-reading!
Thank you all for reading and reviewing. Please continue to review the chapters, I thrive on your comments.