Disclaimer: All characters (except Praline) and universe from the Harry
Potter series belong to JK Rowling and assorted corporations. Original
characters and story belong to the author.
Now sit back and enjoy once more dear reader . . .
Chapter Five
Harry sat in front of the Pensieve once more, stunned by all he had seen that night. He was more confused now than ever before. Praline sat next to him, also still, with her hands folded neatly in her lap.
"Pra-" Harry began.
"Har-" Praline said at the same time.
"You first," Harry said.
"No, it's your turn to ask the questions," she said.
"They weren't much different from Draco and me. Except, I think Malfoy probably wants to kill me for having his father thrown into Azkaban," Harry said.
"Perhaps," Praline admitted, to his surprise. "Perhaps not, it's too early to tell. If he really comes after you, it'll be when he's older. He very well knows he can't do it now, not at Hogwarts," she said.
Harry blinked, completely taken aback by her candidness. "Do you really think he'd try to kill me?"
"Maybe not kill you but he probably wants to strike out at you in some way. Severus Snape is one matter, Harry. I know he's on our side. The Malfoys are altogether different," she said. "But like I said, you're more than a capable match for Draco. But that doesn't mean you should underestimate him."
Her words made Harry grin for a moment. His gaze lingered over the fading images in the Pensieve. "You know, I'm glad my dad and Sirius stuck up for themselves. I know they overdid it sometimes, but I'd rather they did that then let Snape walk all over them like he does me. I miss Sirius, I could always go to him and bash Snape and he'd just listen. He knew how it felt. I just want to talk to him so badly. Do you ever feel like that? Like you'd give almost anything just to have him back for five more minutes?" he asked suddenly.
Praline's eyes were wet and she stared at the table as she spoke. "Every day since the day he left. He's all I can think of most of the time. And when he died I felt like I had to be around someone who missed him as much as I did. I've never felt as alone as I do now. Before, I always knew that no matter what I did or where I went, there was always Sirius for me to come back to. Someone who accepted the way I was and didn't try to change me. And now he's gone. I know how much you miss him Harry, I know about the knots in your stomach, feeling like you're caught in some bad dream, and the rage, the absolute rage you feel when you think about who did this to him. I feel the same way. The night after it happened, I wanted to kill Bellatrix with my own hands. I've never wanted to use an unforgivable curse before but I knew that night, if I tried, I could have done it. It was stupid, I know that now. I didn't even really know where she was and I was ill prepared for battle," she admitted.
"What stopped you?" Harry asked.
"Lupin. He had been watching me and suspected I might try something like that. So when he saw me leave my hideout, he told me that if I'm going to start practicing the Dark Arts then I'd have to start with him. I stunned him but then I felt so bad about it I came back and took care of him," she said shamefacedly. "I don't know what we all would have done without him, back then. He's always been good at talking us out of doing truly stupid things."
"Glad it was him instead of me, I probably would have gone with you," Harry said. "I still want to kill her, I can't help it. She took the last family I had." Harry realized what he had said when he saw Praline's face fall. "I'm sorry- I didn't mean . . ."
"It's alright, Harry. I didn't plan to waltz in here and expect you to adopt me. You hardly know me. But if you did, you know, want to think of me as family, I mean maybe not now, maybe later on, you know you can," she rambled.
Harry nodded, a sad smile playing about his lips. "Thanks but are you sure? My family tends to run into-" at this he stopped, not wanting to finish.
"I'll worry about that Harry, I can take care of myself," she said.
"So could Sirius," Harry answered darkly.
"Harry, I promise you, when the time comes Bellatrix will be brought to justice. If not in a courtroom then on the battlefield. That was decided long ago. I'll see that she gets what she deserves but I am patient enough to wait for the right time," Praline said firmly.
"You're not like Dumbledore," Harry said. "You're as angry as I am."
"With age comes wisdom," she winked, "I guess I'm not that old yet." She yawned suddenly and looked at a large purple cuckoo clock on the wall. It was one-thirty in the morning. "Goodness, we've been up all night. You'd better get back to your dormitory. I'll take you as far as the tower so Filtch won't give you any trouble," she said, then glanced at him sideways. "Unless, you've brought your father's cloak?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.
Harry chuckled and shook his head, he hadn't. He was now glad he had forgotten it for it meant a few more moments for him to ask her one last question. As they walked the halls and approached the tower, Harry asked, "Why didn't you two get married? You could have been my godmother."
But Praline shook her head, not tonight her expression said. "Harry, let's save that one for later. I- It's been a long day, what do you say we call it a night? I could use some rest." Harry noticed how drawn and pale she had become and realized seeing all those faces again had been hard on her as well.
"Yea, I'm pretty beat too," he admitted. They had reached the entrance to the tower and they faced each other for a moment; awkward and unsure of how to say good-bye. Harry felt he should hug her but didn't know how she would take it. The decision, however, was removed from his hands when she engulfed him in tight bear hug.
"Good night, Harry. I knew I'd get attached to you. Sirius told me. He was right," she said a planted a kiss on the side of his head.
He stiffened in surprise for a moment; but quickly relaxed and held her tight in return. Harry caught a whiff of her hair and was reminded of exotic blossoms he had only seen in Professor Sprout's biology class. She could have been my godmother. The thought leapt out at him from the back of his mind and it made him hug her even tighter.
"Pigwhistle!" Harry said after climbing the stairs and reaching the portrait of the Fat Lady. She was half-asleep in her chair and waved him through with a wave of her hand. The door to the common room swung open and Harry stepped through. Inside, Ron and Hermione had fallen asleep on the couch in front of the fire. Harry walked over to them and saw a large half-empty bag of pumpkin pasties between them. The two had dozed off sitting up and Ron was snoring quite noisily. His left arm was thrown over the back of the couch and had inadvertently come to rest around Hermione's shoulders. Her head had fallen forward onto Ron's shoulder. Harry observed the two of them and rolled his eyes. He couldn't wait to wake them up for the sheer excuse of seeing their expressions. Harry then saw Ginny and Neville seated at a table towards the back, a game of wizard's chess between them. They waved at Harry.
"We thought we'd wait up for you. Hope you don't mind. These two, however, conked out half an hour ago," Ginny said in a loud whisper.
At that moment, Hermione's eyes flew open. She saw Harry and then slid her gaze over to the person's shoulder which she was resting upon. Hermione sat up with a surprised jerk.
"Enjoy your nap?" Harry asked with a grin.
"We were just talking, we must have dozed off for a moment," she murmured, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Ron was still out, slack-jawed and unaware.
"Wake up, Ron, Harry's back," Hermione said poking Ron in the ribs. Harry noticed she put a respectable distance between her and Ron before she spoke.
Ron came awake with a snort. "Wha-just having something tah eat. Musta lost track a time . . . " Ron realized where he was and grinned sheepishly at Harry, still very groggy.
"So how'd your date go Harry?" he teased. He yawned loudly and stretched before settling back against the couch as if preparing for a bedtime story.
"Ron!" Hermione exclaimed.
"I'm just teasing him, he knows that. Right, Harry?" Ron asked.
Harry nodded and smiled distractedly. "It's alright, Hermione. I'm not mad. I guess I had a good time. I dunno, it was kind of weird." He told the four about the first two scenes in the Pensieve but refrained from telling them about the incident with Snape by the school pond. However, he realized how much his friends still did not know about his dad's Marauders and Snape. They had no clue as to the amount of hostility that had run between them.
He swallowed nervously and instead said, "she told me that Snape and the Marauders were always going after each other. Neither side ever let up so they just kept on antagonizing each other. I don't know how she managed but she was friends with both sides up until her fourth year."
"What happened then?" Ron asked.
"I'm not quite sure but she got angry with Snape for some reason," Harry said. "I think he might have called her a name or something." This was not the entire truth but Harry felt it was as close as he could get without revealing Snape's embarrassing secret.
"What could he have called her?" Neville asked. He and Ginny had left their game of chess and joined the others by the fire. All eyes were on Harry but it was Hermione who spoke.
"He called her a Mudblood, didn't he?" she asked quietly.
"Well kind of. He might as well have," Harry admitted.
"You mean Praline's a half-blood?" Ron burst out disbelievingly. He caught a look from Hermione and hurriedly explained himself.
"I didn't mean it as a bad thing. It's just that, from what you told us, it's really rare for a half-blood witch or wizard to be able to do that kind of complex transfiguration at such a young age. Not to mention, learning how to control a poltergeist as strong as Peeves when you're only thirteen."
"Eleven," Harry corrected him. He saw their looks of surprise and confusion and explained about Praline's early acceptance into Hogwarts.
"That's amazing," Neville whistled. "No wonder Snape likes her; she's probably the one person he thinks is as good as he thinks he is." His sudden sarcastic comment took them all by surprise but they found themselves agreeing with his point. Snape looked down on everyone but Dumbledore and maybe, McGonagall. It made sense the one person he saw as his equal was blood-related to one of those two.
"Neville's right," Hermione said, nodding her bushy head that was still slightly rumpled with sleep. "That explains why Snape was friends with her. He's not one to make friends unless he sees you as an equal. He must have felt that way towards Praline."
"Snape's not one to make friends, period," Ron huffed. At this, Ginny nodded in agreement. "And if he only likes smart people, why is he so mean to you?" Ron asked, turning to Hermione.
She blushed at the hidden compliment but tried to explain. "Because I'm a student, not to mention a Gryffindor. He met Praline when they were both children, before Hogwarts. I imagine she was kind to him when nobody else would be. She might be one of the only people that Snape can call a friend."
"Well maybe it'll do us some good to have her here," Ron said. "Maybe, he'll be so distracted by her that he'll lay off us for a change. Hey, if he wants to stay on her good side, he can't very well go around harassing us, you think?" Ron looked from face to face for confirmation.
"A silent Snape?" Harry finally asked. He shook his head slowly. "My life could never be that easy."
"Well, distraction or not, it's good to have a real DADA professor again. Especially one that sponsors school clubs instead of banning them, right Harry?" Neville said.
"Hmm, yea she is distracting-" Harry looked up suddenly. His mind had wandered at the thought of Snape and in his mind he was watching Praline and his Potions professor embrace all over again. But he suddenly realized how his words must have sounded and looked up in time to see everyone exchanging raised eyebrows.
"Oh, come on. I don't fancy her, for Pete's sake, she's old enough to be my mother," Harry said.
"Maybe, but she sure doesn't look it. You said she was two years younger than Sirius but she looks like she could be our older sister or something. Why is that?" Ron asked.
"She's a Metamorphmagus that's why," Hermione said. "It's known that metas that spend long periods of time in another shape or form sometimes lose their sense of what they really look like. When they change back they often revert back to their younger selves. They still age like we do but they don't necessarily show it on the outside. Tonks told me about it summer before last when we were at Grimmauld Place," she continued, avoiding Sirius's name, Harry noticed. "As a result, they sometimes live longer just because their sense of spirit stays young. But so many of them are involved with undercover Ministry work, most of them die young because of their jo- OH, Harry, I'm so sorry," Hermione broke off turning a deep red as she realized what she was saying. "I'm such an insensitive know-it- all," she said as she buried her face in her hands.
"S'ok," Harry said, but he looked slightly pale.
"So let's get her to stay here permanently," Ron said, his eyes widening. "Why didn't I think of that before? Dumbledore said she was only temporary but what if we convinced her to stay?"
"Ron I don't think it'd be that easy," Ginny started before Harry cut her off.
"No, wait, Ron's right, actually. I mean, she came here to see me, right? Maybe if I ask her to stay, she would. Maybe she wants me to ask her. We're practically family, she could have been my Godmother if things had been different, I bet. We need a DADA professor and I'm sure Dumbledore wouldn't mind his granddaughter being around more often," Harry said in a rush.
Hermione tried to hide a doubtful look on her face and nodded. "Harry, that sounds great but maybe you shouldn't get your hopes up on Praline being able to stay. What if she can't Harry? Her work at the Ministry and all-"
Harry stared at his friend for a moment, unsure of what to say. "Then I'll have to convince her otherwise," he said firmly. "I just hope Snape doesn't do something stupid and drive her away," he added grumpily.
When Monday came, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Neville found themselves, as usual, under their Potions master's stormy gaze. But to their surprise, Ron's hopeful distraction seemed to actually be having an effect on Snape. By no means did he greet them at the door with a smile and a hug, which was a known impossibility; rather, he regarded them dismissively and treated them as he would the average Hufflepuff; neither kindly nor cruelly.
Harry felt he had to test the boundary of just how far this civility would go when the class ran out of monkroot before his table had received any. Several other tables had not gotten theirs as well so Harry felt he had somewhat of a case.
"Uh, Professor, there's no more monkroot left. We're short about three tables," Harry said.
"Fine Potter, fetch some from my supply closet," Snape said not looking up from his desk.
Harry was dumbfounded. Last Friday, Snape was ordering Harry to empty his pockets in front of another professor, now he was being given free access to his supply closet! Harry looked at the others, shrugged and turned to walk back to the cabinet. As he passed Malfoy's table, Draco suddenly stuck his foot out and caught Harry's ankle perfectly. The flawlessly executed trip sent Harry flying several feet forward where he landed inches from the doors of the supply closet.
Snape's reaction was almost nonexistent. "Hexed your feet again, Potter?" he asked with a raised eyebrow before returning his gaze to the Slytherin who had just asked him a question. Harry realized it was Crabbe who had provided the distracting moment for Draco to strike.
Harry ignored Snape's comment and got to his feet. He threw a murderous look at Draco who smirked back. Harry opened the closet and took out the necessary monkroot. In his mind, Malfoy was already hanging upside down with his robes around his head; his knickers on display for the entire world to see . . .
"Need a hand?" Neville was suddenly at Harry's side. He took some of the monkroot from Harry's hands and counted out the desired proportions for each table. "Don't do anything now, Harry. Just let it go. We'll have our chance later on. It's just like Professor Praline said, 'One of your greatest weapons against your enemy is your patience.' It makes sense Harry," Neville waited until Harry nodded ever so slightly. Neville looked relived and took the monkroot for the other tables, leaving Harry with their table's supply. Harry closed the closet doors and walked back down the aisle. As he passed Draco's table, he stopped. Malfoy, who had been watching him approach, laid down his work materials and lowered his hand to his robe pocket where his wand was.
There was a sudden silence in the room as all eyes, except Snape's, watched what was about to transpire. Electricity crackled back and forth between Harry and Draco. Each daring the other to strike. Hermione held her breath and Ron's eyes widened in anticipation. Neville only looked on calmly, waiting for Harry to make his decision.
Harry stared at Draco, his hand hovering gently above his wand. Harry's gaze was calm and even; his expression seemingly carved of stone. Draco's smirk faltered for just a moment. Then, without a word, Harry turned away and walked back to his table. The voices of the other students slowly started back up again as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.
"Are you alright?" Hermione asked softly when he reached their table. "I can't believe you didn't hex him," she said, a note of pride in her voice. "Good for you to let him know he can't get to you-"
"Neville talked me out of it," Harry interrupted her. "At least for now. No way is Malfoy going to get me stuck in detention with Snape. There's no way I'm missing Quidditch practice and DADA meetings for that stinking piece of cr-"
"Harry," Ron murmured and he looked hard over Harry's shoulder. Snape had risen from his desk and was walking up the center aisle towards their table. He passed them and headed into his office which was just off to the right of the classroom. He disappeared inside for about twenty minutes before emerging.
"Your potions should be complete. Pour what you have in your flasks and turn them in on my desk. I am leaving now to attend to an important task. For the remaining ten minutes you will clean up your stations and then you are dismissed. If I notice anything amiss upon my return, I will hold each and every one of you responsible and you will show this responsibility by serving two weeks of detention," Snape said and then exited the classroom.
Most of the class had completed their potions and had just begun cleaning their tables and putting supplies away. As the door slammed shut behind Snape, Harry dropped the cutting board he had been rinsing, dried his hands, and headed straight to Draco's table. Neville watched him go and with a sigh, put down the herbs he had been carrying and took out his wand just in case. Ron and Hermione were right behind him.
Draco saw Harry coming and walked towards him, meeting him in the middle of the aisle. They glared at each other, and as Harry walked up to Draco, he threw his arms out and pushed the blond teenager backwards. It was enough to knock Draco back a few feet but he didn't lose his balance.
"That all you got Potter?" Draco spat in disgust.
Harry's response was to push him again, sending him flying back a few more feet. "No, I've got plenty more but since I've got ten long minutes I figured I'd play around with you for a bit. After all, why hurry the pleasurable things in life?" Another push and this time Draco's back hit the counter and he could go no farther. Malfoy regained his balance quickly and knowing Harry could push him no more, finally drew his wand and pointed it at Harry. But he was too slow. Harry had his out the moment Draco had hit the counter.
EXPELLIARMUS!
Draco's wand flew from his hand and landed several feet away in a beaker full of thick, boogery goo. Harry watched his adversary's face as he saw his wand go flying from his hand.
"That was so. Pathetically. Easy," Harry said. His words made all eyes in the class fly from the boogery wand back to him and Draco. "Tell me, Malfoy. Is it all the constant inbreeding that makes your family such bad wizards or are you just a special case? No, that can't be it. Come to think of it, your dad's aim isn't too keen either. I should know. I guess it's the genes then."
At these words, Draco finally lost his control. With an enraged roar he rushed at Harry, his arms out, ready to tear his head off. With barely a thought, Harry sidestepped the furious boy at the last possible moment and landed a solid right hook straight into Malfoy's stomach. The blonde teenager crumpled to the floor, the wind knocked out of him completely.
"You're pathetic, Malfoy. I finally see that now. You're not even worth my time. I've fought your father; do you really think I'm afraid of you? You're not half the wizard he is and personally, he blows. So, stay out of my way, Malfoy, I'm tired of your crap," Harry said, loud enough for the entire class to hear. He was seething inside and wanted nothing more to hang Draco by his feet but at the same time, a voice inside his head just kept saying it wasn't worth it. It was too easy to outwit Malfoy, and for Harry the challenge was gone. He had a prophecy on his head that stated he would have to kill the strongest of all Dark wizards someday. If that was the case, Harry didn't bloody care about some sixteen-year old git who couldn't even hang onto his wand for more than five seconds.
Without taking his eyes off Draco, Harry aimed his wand over his shoulder towards his table. He gave the command for a Scouring Charm and heard the sounds of glass beakers, trays and herbs flying back to their respective homes. Then, without missing a beat, Harry stepped over Draco Malfoy and headed for the door. Harry pointed his wand over his shoulder once more as he neared the exit.
ACCIO BAG!
His book bag flew through the air and swooped dangerously low as it passed Malfoy's head. The bag zoomed towards Harry and he caught the strap easily with his free hand, never breaking his stride. As he pushed the door open, the bell signaling the end of class rang. He let it swing shut behind him and left Potions feeling well, kind of cool.
Harry waited for his friends at the end of the corridor. A few seconds later, Hermione, Ron and Neville came into view. Upon seeing him, Ron's face broke into a wide grin and he slung his arm around his best friend's neck.
"That was absolutely brilliant! Beautiful exit! My only regret is that Fred and George weren't here to see it. They would have paid a thousand Galleons to see Malfoy with four on the floor like that! It was beautiful, Harry, love your work," Ron said and grinned in admiration.
"Well, even though I'm afraid you're looking down the barrel of two weeks of detention, I still think the little wanker got what he deserved," Hermione said, a note of rebellion in her voice. Her comments took the boys by surprise and she smiled mischievously. "I can't wait to tell Ginny," she said.
"Do you think he'll run to Snape?" Neville asked.
"Let him. You can't Prior Incantato a right hook," Harry said.
"So Harry," Ron said, a sly gleam in his eye, "did it feel good?"
"Like heaven," Harry said and grinned as they clattered down the steps and into the Great Hall for lunch.
Harry sat in front of the Pensieve once more, stunned by all he had seen that night. He was more confused now than ever before. Praline sat next to him, also still, with her hands folded neatly in her lap.
"Pra-" Harry began.
"Har-" Praline said at the same time.
"You first," Harry said.
"No, it's your turn to ask the questions," she said.
"They weren't much different from Draco and me. Except, I think Malfoy probably wants to kill me for having his father thrown into Azkaban," Harry said.
"Perhaps," Praline admitted, to his surprise. "Perhaps not, it's too early to tell. If he really comes after you, it'll be when he's older. He very well knows he can't do it now, not at Hogwarts," she said.
Harry blinked, completely taken aback by her candidness. "Do you really think he'd try to kill me?"
"Maybe not kill you but he probably wants to strike out at you in some way. Severus Snape is one matter, Harry. I know he's on our side. The Malfoys are altogether different," she said. "But like I said, you're more than a capable match for Draco. But that doesn't mean you should underestimate him."
Her words made Harry grin for a moment. His gaze lingered over the fading images in the Pensieve. "You know, I'm glad my dad and Sirius stuck up for themselves. I know they overdid it sometimes, but I'd rather they did that then let Snape walk all over them like he does me. I miss Sirius, I could always go to him and bash Snape and he'd just listen. He knew how it felt. I just want to talk to him so badly. Do you ever feel like that? Like you'd give almost anything just to have him back for five more minutes?" he asked suddenly.
Praline's eyes were wet and she stared at the table as she spoke. "Every day since the day he left. He's all I can think of most of the time. And when he died I felt like I had to be around someone who missed him as much as I did. I've never felt as alone as I do now. Before, I always knew that no matter what I did or where I went, there was always Sirius for me to come back to. Someone who accepted the way I was and didn't try to change me. And now he's gone. I know how much you miss him Harry, I know about the knots in your stomach, feeling like you're caught in some bad dream, and the rage, the absolute rage you feel when you think about who did this to him. I feel the same way. The night after it happened, I wanted to kill Bellatrix with my own hands. I've never wanted to use an unforgivable curse before but I knew that night, if I tried, I could have done it. It was stupid, I know that now. I didn't even really know where she was and I was ill prepared for battle," she admitted.
"What stopped you?" Harry asked.
"Lupin. He had been watching me and suspected I might try something like that. So when he saw me leave my hideout, he told me that if I'm going to start practicing the Dark Arts then I'd have to start with him. I stunned him but then I felt so bad about it I came back and took care of him," she said shamefacedly. "I don't know what we all would have done without him, back then. He's always been good at talking us out of doing truly stupid things."
"Glad it was him instead of me, I probably would have gone with you," Harry said. "I still want to kill her, I can't help it. She took the last family I had." Harry realized what he had said when he saw Praline's face fall. "I'm sorry- I didn't mean . . ."
"It's alright, Harry. I didn't plan to waltz in here and expect you to adopt me. You hardly know me. But if you did, you know, want to think of me as family, I mean maybe not now, maybe later on, you know you can," she rambled.
Harry nodded, a sad smile playing about his lips. "Thanks but are you sure? My family tends to run into-" at this he stopped, not wanting to finish.
"I'll worry about that Harry, I can take care of myself," she said.
"So could Sirius," Harry answered darkly.
"Harry, I promise you, when the time comes Bellatrix will be brought to justice. If not in a courtroom then on the battlefield. That was decided long ago. I'll see that she gets what she deserves but I am patient enough to wait for the right time," Praline said firmly.
"You're not like Dumbledore," Harry said. "You're as angry as I am."
"With age comes wisdom," she winked, "I guess I'm not that old yet." She yawned suddenly and looked at a large purple cuckoo clock on the wall. It was one-thirty in the morning. "Goodness, we've been up all night. You'd better get back to your dormitory. I'll take you as far as the tower so Filtch won't give you any trouble," she said, then glanced at him sideways. "Unless, you've brought your father's cloak?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.
Harry chuckled and shook his head, he hadn't. He was now glad he had forgotten it for it meant a few more moments for him to ask her one last question. As they walked the halls and approached the tower, Harry asked, "Why didn't you two get married? You could have been my godmother."
But Praline shook her head, not tonight her expression said. "Harry, let's save that one for later. I- It's been a long day, what do you say we call it a night? I could use some rest." Harry noticed how drawn and pale she had become and realized seeing all those faces again had been hard on her as well.
"Yea, I'm pretty beat too," he admitted. They had reached the entrance to the tower and they faced each other for a moment; awkward and unsure of how to say good-bye. Harry felt he should hug her but didn't know how she would take it. The decision, however, was removed from his hands when she engulfed him in tight bear hug.
"Good night, Harry. I knew I'd get attached to you. Sirius told me. He was right," she said a planted a kiss on the side of his head.
He stiffened in surprise for a moment; but quickly relaxed and held her tight in return. Harry caught a whiff of her hair and was reminded of exotic blossoms he had only seen in Professor Sprout's biology class. She could have been my godmother. The thought leapt out at him from the back of his mind and it made him hug her even tighter.
"Pigwhistle!" Harry said after climbing the stairs and reaching the portrait of the Fat Lady. She was half-asleep in her chair and waved him through with a wave of her hand. The door to the common room swung open and Harry stepped through. Inside, Ron and Hermione had fallen asleep on the couch in front of the fire. Harry walked over to them and saw a large half-empty bag of pumpkin pasties between them. The two had dozed off sitting up and Ron was snoring quite noisily. His left arm was thrown over the back of the couch and had inadvertently come to rest around Hermione's shoulders. Her head had fallen forward onto Ron's shoulder. Harry observed the two of them and rolled his eyes. He couldn't wait to wake them up for the sheer excuse of seeing their expressions. Harry then saw Ginny and Neville seated at a table towards the back, a game of wizard's chess between them. They waved at Harry.
"We thought we'd wait up for you. Hope you don't mind. These two, however, conked out half an hour ago," Ginny said in a loud whisper.
At that moment, Hermione's eyes flew open. She saw Harry and then slid her gaze over to the person's shoulder which she was resting upon. Hermione sat up with a surprised jerk.
"Enjoy your nap?" Harry asked with a grin.
"We were just talking, we must have dozed off for a moment," she murmured, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Ron was still out, slack-jawed and unaware.
"Wake up, Ron, Harry's back," Hermione said poking Ron in the ribs. Harry noticed she put a respectable distance between her and Ron before she spoke.
Ron came awake with a snort. "Wha-just having something tah eat. Musta lost track a time . . . " Ron realized where he was and grinned sheepishly at Harry, still very groggy.
"So how'd your date go Harry?" he teased. He yawned loudly and stretched before settling back against the couch as if preparing for a bedtime story.
"Ron!" Hermione exclaimed.
"I'm just teasing him, he knows that. Right, Harry?" Ron asked.
Harry nodded and smiled distractedly. "It's alright, Hermione. I'm not mad. I guess I had a good time. I dunno, it was kind of weird." He told the four about the first two scenes in the Pensieve but refrained from telling them about the incident with Snape by the school pond. However, he realized how much his friends still did not know about his dad's Marauders and Snape. They had no clue as to the amount of hostility that had run between them.
He swallowed nervously and instead said, "she told me that Snape and the Marauders were always going after each other. Neither side ever let up so they just kept on antagonizing each other. I don't know how she managed but she was friends with both sides up until her fourth year."
"What happened then?" Ron asked.
"I'm not quite sure but she got angry with Snape for some reason," Harry said. "I think he might have called her a name or something." This was not the entire truth but Harry felt it was as close as he could get without revealing Snape's embarrassing secret.
"What could he have called her?" Neville asked. He and Ginny had left their game of chess and joined the others by the fire. All eyes were on Harry but it was Hermione who spoke.
"He called her a Mudblood, didn't he?" she asked quietly.
"Well kind of. He might as well have," Harry admitted.
"You mean Praline's a half-blood?" Ron burst out disbelievingly. He caught a look from Hermione and hurriedly explained himself.
"I didn't mean it as a bad thing. It's just that, from what you told us, it's really rare for a half-blood witch or wizard to be able to do that kind of complex transfiguration at such a young age. Not to mention, learning how to control a poltergeist as strong as Peeves when you're only thirteen."
"Eleven," Harry corrected him. He saw their looks of surprise and confusion and explained about Praline's early acceptance into Hogwarts.
"That's amazing," Neville whistled. "No wonder Snape likes her; she's probably the one person he thinks is as good as he thinks he is." His sudden sarcastic comment took them all by surprise but they found themselves agreeing with his point. Snape looked down on everyone but Dumbledore and maybe, McGonagall. It made sense the one person he saw as his equal was blood-related to one of those two.
"Neville's right," Hermione said, nodding her bushy head that was still slightly rumpled with sleep. "That explains why Snape was friends with her. He's not one to make friends unless he sees you as an equal. He must have felt that way towards Praline."
"Snape's not one to make friends, period," Ron huffed. At this, Ginny nodded in agreement. "And if he only likes smart people, why is he so mean to you?" Ron asked, turning to Hermione.
She blushed at the hidden compliment but tried to explain. "Because I'm a student, not to mention a Gryffindor. He met Praline when they were both children, before Hogwarts. I imagine she was kind to him when nobody else would be. She might be one of the only people that Snape can call a friend."
"Well maybe it'll do us some good to have her here," Ron said. "Maybe, he'll be so distracted by her that he'll lay off us for a change. Hey, if he wants to stay on her good side, he can't very well go around harassing us, you think?" Ron looked from face to face for confirmation.
"A silent Snape?" Harry finally asked. He shook his head slowly. "My life could never be that easy."
"Well, distraction or not, it's good to have a real DADA professor again. Especially one that sponsors school clubs instead of banning them, right Harry?" Neville said.
"Hmm, yea she is distracting-" Harry looked up suddenly. His mind had wandered at the thought of Snape and in his mind he was watching Praline and his Potions professor embrace all over again. But he suddenly realized how his words must have sounded and looked up in time to see everyone exchanging raised eyebrows.
"Oh, come on. I don't fancy her, for Pete's sake, she's old enough to be my mother," Harry said.
"Maybe, but she sure doesn't look it. You said she was two years younger than Sirius but she looks like she could be our older sister or something. Why is that?" Ron asked.
"She's a Metamorphmagus that's why," Hermione said. "It's known that metas that spend long periods of time in another shape or form sometimes lose their sense of what they really look like. When they change back they often revert back to their younger selves. They still age like we do but they don't necessarily show it on the outside. Tonks told me about it summer before last when we were at Grimmauld Place," she continued, avoiding Sirius's name, Harry noticed. "As a result, they sometimes live longer just because their sense of spirit stays young. But so many of them are involved with undercover Ministry work, most of them die young because of their jo- OH, Harry, I'm so sorry," Hermione broke off turning a deep red as she realized what she was saying. "I'm such an insensitive know-it- all," she said as she buried her face in her hands.
"S'ok," Harry said, but he looked slightly pale.
"So let's get her to stay here permanently," Ron said, his eyes widening. "Why didn't I think of that before? Dumbledore said she was only temporary but what if we convinced her to stay?"
"Ron I don't think it'd be that easy," Ginny started before Harry cut her off.
"No, wait, Ron's right, actually. I mean, she came here to see me, right? Maybe if I ask her to stay, she would. Maybe she wants me to ask her. We're practically family, she could have been my Godmother if things had been different, I bet. We need a DADA professor and I'm sure Dumbledore wouldn't mind his granddaughter being around more often," Harry said in a rush.
Hermione tried to hide a doubtful look on her face and nodded. "Harry, that sounds great but maybe you shouldn't get your hopes up on Praline being able to stay. What if she can't Harry? Her work at the Ministry and all-"
Harry stared at his friend for a moment, unsure of what to say. "Then I'll have to convince her otherwise," he said firmly. "I just hope Snape doesn't do something stupid and drive her away," he added grumpily.
When Monday came, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Neville found themselves, as usual, under their Potions master's stormy gaze. But to their surprise, Ron's hopeful distraction seemed to actually be having an effect on Snape. By no means did he greet them at the door with a smile and a hug, which was a known impossibility; rather, he regarded them dismissively and treated them as he would the average Hufflepuff; neither kindly nor cruelly.
Harry felt he had to test the boundary of just how far this civility would go when the class ran out of monkroot before his table had received any. Several other tables had not gotten theirs as well so Harry felt he had somewhat of a case.
"Uh, Professor, there's no more monkroot left. We're short about three tables," Harry said.
"Fine Potter, fetch some from my supply closet," Snape said not looking up from his desk.
Harry was dumbfounded. Last Friday, Snape was ordering Harry to empty his pockets in front of another professor, now he was being given free access to his supply closet! Harry looked at the others, shrugged and turned to walk back to the cabinet. As he passed Malfoy's table, Draco suddenly stuck his foot out and caught Harry's ankle perfectly. The flawlessly executed trip sent Harry flying several feet forward where he landed inches from the doors of the supply closet.
Snape's reaction was almost nonexistent. "Hexed your feet again, Potter?" he asked with a raised eyebrow before returning his gaze to the Slytherin who had just asked him a question. Harry realized it was Crabbe who had provided the distracting moment for Draco to strike.
Harry ignored Snape's comment and got to his feet. He threw a murderous look at Draco who smirked back. Harry opened the closet and took out the necessary monkroot. In his mind, Malfoy was already hanging upside down with his robes around his head; his knickers on display for the entire world to see . . .
"Need a hand?" Neville was suddenly at Harry's side. He took some of the monkroot from Harry's hands and counted out the desired proportions for each table. "Don't do anything now, Harry. Just let it go. We'll have our chance later on. It's just like Professor Praline said, 'One of your greatest weapons against your enemy is your patience.' It makes sense Harry," Neville waited until Harry nodded ever so slightly. Neville looked relived and took the monkroot for the other tables, leaving Harry with their table's supply. Harry closed the closet doors and walked back down the aisle. As he passed Draco's table, he stopped. Malfoy, who had been watching him approach, laid down his work materials and lowered his hand to his robe pocket where his wand was.
There was a sudden silence in the room as all eyes, except Snape's, watched what was about to transpire. Electricity crackled back and forth between Harry and Draco. Each daring the other to strike. Hermione held her breath and Ron's eyes widened in anticipation. Neville only looked on calmly, waiting for Harry to make his decision.
Harry stared at Draco, his hand hovering gently above his wand. Harry's gaze was calm and even; his expression seemingly carved of stone. Draco's smirk faltered for just a moment. Then, without a word, Harry turned away and walked back to his table. The voices of the other students slowly started back up again as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.
"Are you alright?" Hermione asked softly when he reached their table. "I can't believe you didn't hex him," she said, a note of pride in her voice. "Good for you to let him know he can't get to you-"
"Neville talked me out of it," Harry interrupted her. "At least for now. No way is Malfoy going to get me stuck in detention with Snape. There's no way I'm missing Quidditch practice and DADA meetings for that stinking piece of cr-"
"Harry," Ron murmured and he looked hard over Harry's shoulder. Snape had risen from his desk and was walking up the center aisle towards their table. He passed them and headed into his office which was just off to the right of the classroom. He disappeared inside for about twenty minutes before emerging.
"Your potions should be complete. Pour what you have in your flasks and turn them in on my desk. I am leaving now to attend to an important task. For the remaining ten minutes you will clean up your stations and then you are dismissed. If I notice anything amiss upon my return, I will hold each and every one of you responsible and you will show this responsibility by serving two weeks of detention," Snape said and then exited the classroom.
Most of the class had completed their potions and had just begun cleaning their tables and putting supplies away. As the door slammed shut behind Snape, Harry dropped the cutting board he had been rinsing, dried his hands, and headed straight to Draco's table. Neville watched him go and with a sigh, put down the herbs he had been carrying and took out his wand just in case. Ron and Hermione were right behind him.
Draco saw Harry coming and walked towards him, meeting him in the middle of the aisle. They glared at each other, and as Harry walked up to Draco, he threw his arms out and pushed the blond teenager backwards. It was enough to knock Draco back a few feet but he didn't lose his balance.
"That all you got Potter?" Draco spat in disgust.
Harry's response was to push him again, sending him flying back a few more feet. "No, I've got plenty more but since I've got ten long minutes I figured I'd play around with you for a bit. After all, why hurry the pleasurable things in life?" Another push and this time Draco's back hit the counter and he could go no farther. Malfoy regained his balance quickly and knowing Harry could push him no more, finally drew his wand and pointed it at Harry. But he was too slow. Harry had his out the moment Draco had hit the counter.
EXPELLIARMUS!
Draco's wand flew from his hand and landed several feet away in a beaker full of thick, boogery goo. Harry watched his adversary's face as he saw his wand go flying from his hand.
"That was so. Pathetically. Easy," Harry said. His words made all eyes in the class fly from the boogery wand back to him and Draco. "Tell me, Malfoy. Is it all the constant inbreeding that makes your family such bad wizards or are you just a special case? No, that can't be it. Come to think of it, your dad's aim isn't too keen either. I should know. I guess it's the genes then."
At these words, Draco finally lost his control. With an enraged roar he rushed at Harry, his arms out, ready to tear his head off. With barely a thought, Harry sidestepped the furious boy at the last possible moment and landed a solid right hook straight into Malfoy's stomach. The blonde teenager crumpled to the floor, the wind knocked out of him completely.
"You're pathetic, Malfoy. I finally see that now. You're not even worth my time. I've fought your father; do you really think I'm afraid of you? You're not half the wizard he is and personally, he blows. So, stay out of my way, Malfoy, I'm tired of your crap," Harry said, loud enough for the entire class to hear. He was seething inside and wanted nothing more to hang Draco by his feet but at the same time, a voice inside his head just kept saying it wasn't worth it. It was too easy to outwit Malfoy, and for Harry the challenge was gone. He had a prophecy on his head that stated he would have to kill the strongest of all Dark wizards someday. If that was the case, Harry didn't bloody care about some sixteen-year old git who couldn't even hang onto his wand for more than five seconds.
Without taking his eyes off Draco, Harry aimed his wand over his shoulder towards his table. He gave the command for a Scouring Charm and heard the sounds of glass beakers, trays and herbs flying back to their respective homes. Then, without missing a beat, Harry stepped over Draco Malfoy and headed for the door. Harry pointed his wand over his shoulder once more as he neared the exit.
ACCIO BAG!
His book bag flew through the air and swooped dangerously low as it passed Malfoy's head. The bag zoomed towards Harry and he caught the strap easily with his free hand, never breaking his stride. As he pushed the door open, the bell signaling the end of class rang. He let it swing shut behind him and left Potions feeling well, kind of cool.
Harry waited for his friends at the end of the corridor. A few seconds later, Hermione, Ron and Neville came into view. Upon seeing him, Ron's face broke into a wide grin and he slung his arm around his best friend's neck.
"That was absolutely brilliant! Beautiful exit! My only regret is that Fred and George weren't here to see it. They would have paid a thousand Galleons to see Malfoy with four on the floor like that! It was beautiful, Harry, love your work," Ron said and grinned in admiration.
"Well, even though I'm afraid you're looking down the barrel of two weeks of detention, I still think the little wanker got what he deserved," Hermione said, a note of rebellion in her voice. Her comments took the boys by surprise and she smiled mischievously. "I can't wait to tell Ginny," she said.
"Do you think he'll run to Snape?" Neville asked.
"Let him. You can't Prior Incantato a right hook," Harry said.
"So Harry," Ron said, a sly gleam in his eye, "did it feel good?"
"Like heaven," Harry said and grinned as they clattered down the steps and into the Great Hall for lunch.