Barry Potter - Chapter 8
Harry groaned as he slid into his seat. Gryffindor had Potions then Defense Against the Dark Arts with Snape first thing. Two hours in the dungeons with Slytherin was never fun.
Hermione sat next to Harry while Ron and Dean grabbed seats across the aisle. They weren't happy about the class either. Students trudged into the basement, grumbling and yawning. With a sigh, Harry closed his eyes and leaned forward over his desk. He was just about to fall asleep when Hermione poked him in the ribs, whispering, "Oh my God! What happened to Malfoy?"
Harry opened his eyes and turned, like everyone else, to the back of the room. Malfoy was walking unsteadily into the room, leaning most of his weight onto Alden's shoulder. There were two healing wounds on his face, one above his eyebrow and the other across his cheek. His lower lip was cracked and swelling, while his arm, wrapped in a stiff white cast, lay limp in a sling. He glared around the room threateningly as Alden half-carried him toward the front. Snape frowned at her suspiciously as she eased hid favorite onto the stool. The rest of the class was silent. This wasn't the first time.
It was the middle of their 5th year when Malfoy started having these 'accidents'. He would come into class with a black eye or a fractured limb, telling the others he had 'fallen off his broom' or 'tripped on the stairs'. No one dared to ask what was really going on. The 'accidents' usually began after Midterms, but this time it was the second month of school.
Harry had never seen Malfoy that roughed up. He supposed Madame Pomfrey usually fixed him up better. But she had left the second week of school to go help the Northern Allience Army, and the new nurse wasn't up to par. There was a dull glimmer of pain in his eyes as Draco gingerly moved his arm onto the desk before him. Harry looked away, in some strange way ashamed.
Alden leaned across Snape's desk. "Draco's wand backfired, and he got knocked down the stairs. I'll be back after the period to take him to the nurse."
"Hadn't you better get him there now?" Snape inquired icily, glancing from the drying blood on Draco's face to the intense sadness in Alden's eyes. She shook her head, simply saying,
"Madame Rochefort is busy." She turned and Snape fell silent. Harry was amazed; no one but the Head Master had ever silenced Snape before. He watched Alden as she walked down the aisle to leave, once again filled with new respect. She gently reached out and touched Draco's arm as she passed him. Her eyes were foggy and troubled as she passed Harry's desk, not looking up again until she left the room. Harry tried to catch Ron's eye to ascertain his reaction, but his friend was watching Dumbledore's neice leave the room. When he turned around, Ron was frowning, his face the picture of confusion. The entire room was tense, waiting for some direction from Snape. The professor cleared his throat and stood.
"I'd like you all to take out the ingrediants for the Elixer of Depression. Make sure the gillyweed is well grounded, and don't leave out the frog spleen. Failure to do these things will result in an explotion large enough to shake this castle right off its foundation. As you are all sitting in that foundation," he added with a sneer, "It is in your best intrest to get it right."
Students began pulling out books and ingrediants. Harry had just taken out some crushed snake fangs when he felt the Potion master's hard sinewy hand on his shoulder. "Mr Potter..."
Harry gulped and looked up. Snape towered over him as he said to the four friends, "All of your seven years here you've worked together. Time for a change of air, hm? Weasly, I want you to move up and work with Malfoy. Granger, head over there and work with Goyle. Thomas, kindly allow Miss Parkinson to sit in that empty seat beside you. Potter, you can do this alone."
They exchanged glances, then Ron and Hermione got up and moved. Harry first watched Hermione walk away and sit on the edge of her stool, as far from Goyle as she could. Then his eyes swung up to Ron and Draco. They appeared to be bickering already. Again he heard the soft dangerous voice in his ear. "Potter, a word."
Harry glanced up at Snape's face again. "Yes, sir?"
The Potions master leaned down quite close to Harry's face. He was paler than usual, his features more contorted. In his quiet, deadly way he hissed, "I have known the Malfoys and the Potters all my life, and never have I known another hatred so deep. Now, I'm not sure who has been attacking Draco, but I intend to find out. And if any, hear me, ANY clues point toward you or your friends, Potter..."
Harry blinked as Snape swept away again. Then he shook his head. Rubbish! Sure, he and Draco weren't on the best terms, but still... he would never do something like this... never... not even to Malfoy... well, maybe...
Sullenly, Harry flipped through his book, looking for the recipe. As he found it, a clear peal of laughter rang through the dungeon. Startled, Harry dropped the frog spleen he had just taken out and looked up. He gasped: Draco and Ron were roaring with laughter together. Just like he and Ron often did. Color sprang to his cheecks as his anger rose. No one else had the right to be better friends with Ron than he was. Especially not Malfoy.
"Well? What was that?"
Ron looked up at Harry. "Huh?"
"You and Malfoy!" Harry exploded from across the lunch table. "You two were talking and laughing for two hours straight!"
"So?" Ron frowned. "What's wrong with that?"
"Hello?! Ron!! This is Malfoy we're talking about!" Hermione threw in. "Draco Malfoy! Son of Lucius Malfoy! Don't you remember anything??"
"I dunno," muttered Dean thoughtfully, "He seems alright to me this year..." Dean quickly bowed his head as Harry and Hermione glared at him.
"Look, forget about it," Ron said, taking a bite out of his sandwhich, "I just felt, I dunno, sorry for him, I guess. So we just fell to talking..."
Harry grumbled, but they all hushed up as Silvia and Kayla came over to sit with them. Dean greeted them, while the three others muttered indistinctly. Kayla raised an eyebrow as she flicked her hair over her shoulder. "Tough crowd."
Silvia looked at Dean questioningly, but he shook his head. They ate on in silence.
Harry sat in the back of the room, his eyes glazeing over. Again he checked his watch; there were only five minutes left now. A folded piece of parchment hit him on the cheeck. He looked down at it, then over to the table across the way. It had been thrown by Hermione, who gestured to him to hand it to Ron. Harry poked his friend in the ribs, waking Ron with a start. He slid it to his yawning companion. Leaning on his elbows, Ron unfolded the note and read it. Harry tried to read over his shoulder, but it was impossible. Ron scribbled something on it and tossed it back. Then, with another yawn, he fell back asleep.
Hermione read the note and gasped. How dare Ron say that! She began to scribble down a furious reply when the note went flying out of her hands. "Passing notes, are we Miss Granger?"
The other girls giggled as Hermione blushed and looked away from Professor Flitwick. He frowned, then tapped the note with his wand. In a flash it disappeared. "Don't ever let me catch that again. Now, class, I have an announcement to make. As you all know- would someone please wake Weasly? Thank you, Potter. Now, as you all know, today is the 18th of December. I would like to remind - Thomas, stop slumping, sit up straight. I would like to remind you all that the Yule Ball - now really, settle down class!"
At this, every girl in the room squealed with delight as every boy in the room slid down under his desk. "I thought they canceled it for good last year!" Dean moaned.
"Oh, don't be silly!" Hermione giggled. Harry and Ron exchanged looks. Hermione giggling? All could not be well. Especially not with a Yule Ball coming up.
"So, how do we go about this?" The boys were all huddled down at one end of the Gryffindor table, heads bent together. Toward the middle of the table, the girls all sat laughing together, glancing at boys all over the Great Hall and flashing brillient smiles. Beyond them, at the other end of the table, sat Alden, Kayla, and Silvia. They were talking like civilized people, ignoring Hermione's constant invitations to join the others. Harry turned back to the boys.
"Here's an idea," Dean said upon reflection, "We just go up to the first girl we met in the halls and ask them to the Ball."
"What if the first girl we meet is someone we'd rather not take?" Harry asked. They all glanced over at the Slytherin girls, some of whom smiled at Dean and waved. Dean shuddered.
"Right, bad plan. How 'bout you, Ron?"
Ron was silent for a moment. Then he said, "Let's j ust ask friends. It'll be easier. Like, Harry, you ask Hermione, Dean can ask Silvia, and I'll ask Alden. Because it'll just be us asking our buddies, you know." he added quickly.
Harry and Dean nodded. It sounded good to them. "So now we just have to actually ask them." Harry said brightly. A moment passed as they let those words sink in.
"Oh God!" they all moaned.
Harry groaned as he slid into his seat. Gryffindor had Potions then Defense Against the Dark Arts with Snape first thing. Two hours in the dungeons with Slytherin was never fun.
Hermione sat next to Harry while Ron and Dean grabbed seats across the aisle. They weren't happy about the class either. Students trudged into the basement, grumbling and yawning. With a sigh, Harry closed his eyes and leaned forward over his desk. He was just about to fall asleep when Hermione poked him in the ribs, whispering, "Oh my God! What happened to Malfoy?"
Harry opened his eyes and turned, like everyone else, to the back of the room. Malfoy was walking unsteadily into the room, leaning most of his weight onto Alden's shoulder. There were two healing wounds on his face, one above his eyebrow and the other across his cheek. His lower lip was cracked and swelling, while his arm, wrapped in a stiff white cast, lay limp in a sling. He glared around the room threateningly as Alden half-carried him toward the front. Snape frowned at her suspiciously as she eased hid favorite onto the stool. The rest of the class was silent. This wasn't the first time.
It was the middle of their 5th year when Malfoy started having these 'accidents'. He would come into class with a black eye or a fractured limb, telling the others he had 'fallen off his broom' or 'tripped on the stairs'. No one dared to ask what was really going on. The 'accidents' usually began after Midterms, but this time it was the second month of school.
Harry had never seen Malfoy that roughed up. He supposed Madame Pomfrey usually fixed him up better. But she had left the second week of school to go help the Northern Allience Army, and the new nurse wasn't up to par. There was a dull glimmer of pain in his eyes as Draco gingerly moved his arm onto the desk before him. Harry looked away, in some strange way ashamed.
Alden leaned across Snape's desk. "Draco's wand backfired, and he got knocked down the stairs. I'll be back after the period to take him to the nurse."
"Hadn't you better get him there now?" Snape inquired icily, glancing from the drying blood on Draco's face to the intense sadness in Alden's eyes. She shook her head, simply saying,
"Madame Rochefort is busy." She turned and Snape fell silent. Harry was amazed; no one but the Head Master had ever silenced Snape before. He watched Alden as she walked down the aisle to leave, once again filled with new respect. She gently reached out and touched Draco's arm as she passed him. Her eyes were foggy and troubled as she passed Harry's desk, not looking up again until she left the room. Harry tried to catch Ron's eye to ascertain his reaction, but his friend was watching Dumbledore's neice leave the room. When he turned around, Ron was frowning, his face the picture of confusion. The entire room was tense, waiting for some direction from Snape. The professor cleared his throat and stood.
"I'd like you all to take out the ingrediants for the Elixer of Depression. Make sure the gillyweed is well grounded, and don't leave out the frog spleen. Failure to do these things will result in an explotion large enough to shake this castle right off its foundation. As you are all sitting in that foundation," he added with a sneer, "It is in your best intrest to get it right."
Students began pulling out books and ingrediants. Harry had just taken out some crushed snake fangs when he felt the Potion master's hard sinewy hand on his shoulder. "Mr Potter..."
Harry gulped and looked up. Snape towered over him as he said to the four friends, "All of your seven years here you've worked together. Time for a change of air, hm? Weasly, I want you to move up and work with Malfoy. Granger, head over there and work with Goyle. Thomas, kindly allow Miss Parkinson to sit in that empty seat beside you. Potter, you can do this alone."
They exchanged glances, then Ron and Hermione got up and moved. Harry first watched Hermione walk away and sit on the edge of her stool, as far from Goyle as she could. Then his eyes swung up to Ron and Draco. They appeared to be bickering already. Again he heard the soft dangerous voice in his ear. "Potter, a word."
Harry glanced up at Snape's face again. "Yes, sir?"
The Potions master leaned down quite close to Harry's face. He was paler than usual, his features more contorted. In his quiet, deadly way he hissed, "I have known the Malfoys and the Potters all my life, and never have I known another hatred so deep. Now, I'm not sure who has been attacking Draco, but I intend to find out. And if any, hear me, ANY clues point toward you or your friends, Potter..."
Harry blinked as Snape swept away again. Then he shook his head. Rubbish! Sure, he and Draco weren't on the best terms, but still... he would never do something like this... never... not even to Malfoy... well, maybe...
Sullenly, Harry flipped through his book, looking for the recipe. As he found it, a clear peal of laughter rang through the dungeon. Startled, Harry dropped the frog spleen he had just taken out and looked up. He gasped: Draco and Ron were roaring with laughter together. Just like he and Ron often did. Color sprang to his cheecks as his anger rose. No one else had the right to be better friends with Ron than he was. Especially not Malfoy.
"Well? What was that?"
Ron looked up at Harry. "Huh?"
"You and Malfoy!" Harry exploded from across the lunch table. "You two were talking and laughing for two hours straight!"
"So?" Ron frowned. "What's wrong with that?"
"Hello?! Ron!! This is Malfoy we're talking about!" Hermione threw in. "Draco Malfoy! Son of Lucius Malfoy! Don't you remember anything??"
"I dunno," muttered Dean thoughtfully, "He seems alright to me this year..." Dean quickly bowed his head as Harry and Hermione glared at him.
"Look, forget about it," Ron said, taking a bite out of his sandwhich, "I just felt, I dunno, sorry for him, I guess. So we just fell to talking..."
Harry grumbled, but they all hushed up as Silvia and Kayla came over to sit with them. Dean greeted them, while the three others muttered indistinctly. Kayla raised an eyebrow as she flicked her hair over her shoulder. "Tough crowd."
Silvia looked at Dean questioningly, but he shook his head. They ate on in silence.
Harry sat in the back of the room, his eyes glazeing over. Again he checked his watch; there were only five minutes left now. A folded piece of parchment hit him on the cheeck. He looked down at it, then over to the table across the way. It had been thrown by Hermione, who gestured to him to hand it to Ron. Harry poked his friend in the ribs, waking Ron with a start. He slid it to his yawning companion. Leaning on his elbows, Ron unfolded the note and read it. Harry tried to read over his shoulder, but it was impossible. Ron scribbled something on it and tossed it back. Then, with another yawn, he fell back asleep.
Hermione read the note and gasped. How dare Ron say that! She began to scribble down a furious reply when the note went flying out of her hands. "Passing notes, are we Miss Granger?"
The other girls giggled as Hermione blushed and looked away from Professor Flitwick. He frowned, then tapped the note with his wand. In a flash it disappeared. "Don't ever let me catch that again. Now, class, I have an announcement to make. As you all know- would someone please wake Weasly? Thank you, Potter. Now, as you all know, today is the 18th of December. I would like to remind - Thomas, stop slumping, sit up straight. I would like to remind you all that the Yule Ball - now really, settle down class!"
At this, every girl in the room squealed with delight as every boy in the room slid down under his desk. "I thought they canceled it for good last year!" Dean moaned.
"Oh, don't be silly!" Hermione giggled. Harry and Ron exchanged looks. Hermione giggling? All could not be well. Especially not with a Yule Ball coming up.
"So, how do we go about this?" The boys were all huddled down at one end of the Gryffindor table, heads bent together. Toward the middle of the table, the girls all sat laughing together, glancing at boys all over the Great Hall and flashing brillient smiles. Beyond them, at the other end of the table, sat Alden, Kayla, and Silvia. They were talking like civilized people, ignoring Hermione's constant invitations to join the others. Harry turned back to the boys.
"Here's an idea," Dean said upon reflection, "We just go up to the first girl we met in the halls and ask them to the Ball."
"What if the first girl we meet is someone we'd rather not take?" Harry asked. They all glanced over at the Slytherin girls, some of whom smiled at Dean and waved. Dean shuddered.
"Right, bad plan. How 'bout you, Ron?"
Ron was silent for a moment. Then he said, "Let's j ust ask friends. It'll be easier. Like, Harry, you ask Hermione, Dean can ask Silvia, and I'll ask Alden. Because it'll just be us asking our buddies, you know." he added quickly.
Harry and Dean nodded. It sounded good to them. "So now we just have to actually ask them." Harry said brightly. A moment passed as they let those words sink in.
"Oh God!" they all moaned.
