A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter!
Disclaimer: Nothing has changed. I still don't own any of them.
******************************
The smoky air was almost too much for Harry to handle as he sat in the back of the Divination classroom. He lately found himself choosing seats in the back of every classroom instead of just in Potions. It helped him concentrate better or something. He wasn't sure; he just liked it better in the back where he didn't have to deal with all of the sympathetic looks from his teachers and classmates. It seemed as though more whispering than ever before was following him these days, and it was getting highly annoying. Obviously, Ron didn't mind the switch to the back of the rooms; he'd just as well have sat there since first year. And surprisingly enough, Hermione didn't seem to mind, either; of course, she wasn't sitting with him now, as she'd dropped Divination in the middle of their third year. So, Harry sat alone at the back table with Ron gazing over what definitely appeared to be an empty crystal ball.
"Aren't we ever going to be done with crystal gazing?" Ron asked quietly as he held the ball up a bit to the light. "We've been on this since bloody third year!"
Harry rolled his eyes and shrugged, staring into the ball which Ron had replaced on the table. Not seeing anything at all, he glanced up to make sure Professor Trelawney wasn't listening. She was, of course, bent over Parvati and Lavender's table admiring the work they'd laid out for her. "This is the stupidest shit I've ever seen," he agreed in an undertone. "Reckon we might ought to take a page out of Hermione's book and disappear from here?"
Ron laughed quietly. "Was that the best day of her life or what?" he asked, the memory of Hermione throwing her books into her bag and stomping toward the trap door in a great huff entering his mind.
"It was certainly the most entertaining of mine," Harry said, grinning. "First watching her slap Malfoy and then watching her yell at Trelawney and stalk outta here. Yeah, definitely entertaining."
Ron snickered. It really had been a good day for Hermione, though he knew she was just on nerve's end with everything she'd been dealing with at that time. Nonetheless, it served as a great source of pleasure for Ron and Harry.
"My dears, might I inquire what you see in your crystal that amuses you so?" Professor Trelawney was staring down at them through her horn-rimmed glasses.
Both boys fought down lingering giggles as the rest of the class turned to peer at them. "Um…" Ron struggled not to erupt into loud laughter. "I just saw… I just saw Harry's death!"
Gasps came from the front of the room where Lavender and Parvati were both suddenly very interested in what Ron had to say. Seamus, Dean, and Neville all suddenly appeared to be stifling giggles as well.
"And what, may I ask," said Professor Trelawney suspiciously, "is so amusing about young Harry's death?"
Harry was wondering the same thing and raised an eyebrow at Ron in question.
Ron caught Harry's eye briefly, and the look he was reflected was enough to make him burst into laughter all over again. He quickly looked away and back up at the teacher. "Well, nothing really. Just… Just he slipped on a… banana peeling! And… uh… he slid fifty feet down the corridor where he… uh… crashed into a suit of armor that… um… fell on him!" It was quite possibly the stupidest story ever invented, but it was so stupid that it was actually quite hilarious. All four of the other Gryffindor boys, including Harry, burst into loud laughter, and Ron did his best to look earnestly up at the professor.
Parvati and Lavender shot him nasty glares from behind Trelawney's back, rolling their eyes at him. Professor Trelawney was still peering at the redhead rather curiously. "I do not doubt, Ronald, that you did, in fact, see Harry's demise. However, I am quite sure that you misread the happenings of the dismal event." She reached for the crystal ball and brought it up to her eyes. Gasping loudly, she sat it back down quickly.
"What is it, Professor?" Lavender asked quickly. Her new haircut was growing out some by now, and her hair was no longer frightfully short. It looked alright actually; the short pixie cut suited her.
Trelawney shook her head, shutting her eyes for a moment. "It is too horrible to say," she said quietly.
"Tell me," Harry said quickly. "Tell me exactly how I'm supposed to die."
The teacher looked at him sympathetically. "You poor dear… And how brave of you to readily accept what the fates have in store."
Ron didn't dare look at Harry for fear of erupting into laughter all over again, so he glanced around at his classmates. Dean had his fist pressed over his mouth and was obviously trying very hard not to snicker. Seamus wasn't having as much luck, as he seemed to have been taken over by a fit of, thankfully, silent giggles. Neville, though not exactly looking scared, was looking rather uneasily at the teacher. Parvati's brown eyes were huge with fascination at witnessing a live prediction reading as though she didn't witness one nearly every day. And Lavender was looking at Harry as though she was about to burst into tears at the pure and utter braveness he so possessed.
"My dear," said the teacher softly, "I fear that the end is drawing increasingly near for you, and it is only a matter of time before you will disappear from our number all together."
"Will this be the same matter of time that I had to wait last year? Or will it be the matter of time I waited the year before to die?" Harry was doing a very, very tremendous job of being completely serious as he asked his question.
However, his question sent Dean, Seamus, and Ron into hysterics.
Professor Trelawney rounded on them all sharply. "Laugh now, boys, but you will be mourning quite soon," she said bitterly with a look in Harry's direction. "Get back to your crystal gazing!"
It was not very often that Sybil Trelawney lost her temper, and when she did, it was enough of a shock to shut the entire class up. They all went back to their work, but soon Harry and Ron were engaged in another conversation.
"Hey, did you get things sorted out with Hermione?" Harry asked quietly as they pretended to be extremely interested in their crystal ball.
Ron shrugged, the memory of Harry's confrontation replaying in his mind. He'd tried very hard to ignore the fact that Harry had quite blatantly asked him if he liked Hermione in more than a friendly way. Harry, of all people, should have known how embarrassing that question would be! It was one thing to deal with it from Fred, George, and Ginny, but Ron would have at least thought Harry would have understood enough to keep quiet.
"We talked," he said simply.
"About what?" Harry had abandoned the crystal ball and was attempting to make Ron do the same.
Ron, however, stared intently into the glass and said, "Stuff."
"What stuff?" Harry was now looking very pointedly at his best friend.
Sighing, Ron finally looked up and shot Harry a sharp look. "A bunch of stuff." He said this as though it was the end of the conversation, but Harry didn't seem to agree.
"Stuff like Viktor Krum?"
Ron just stared at Harry and thought about how appealing it would be to land a punch right on the bridge of Harry's nose. Through gritted teeth, he said, "Yes, Krum came up."
"And?" Harry, as though anticipating Ron's sudden need to break his glasses, pushed them up a bit on his nose.
"And what?"
"And what did she say?" Harry looked over to make sure Trelawney was still occupied, and she was.
"She said she used to like Barbies." Ron said this with a simple shrug, hoping to shut Harry up or at least throw him off-course.
"Huh?" It worked enough to make Harry thoroughly confused. "You talked about Barbies?"
"Yep."
"Why?" Harry asked curiously.
Ron shrugged again. "Well, she mentioned it, and I just thought it was funny." He grinned a little. "I mean, can you imagine Hermione playing with dolls?" He smartly left out the details of his own childhood.
Harry wrinkled his brow. "What does that have to do with Viktor Krum?"
"Did I say it had anything to do with him? You asked me what she said, and I told you she said she used to like Barbies."
Harry just rolled his eyes. "What did she say about Viktor Krum?!"
Ron thought back to the conversation and suddenly felt the need to tell Harry. He wasn't sure why, but something was nagging at him to spill the details. "They're not really going out. Just sort of dating."
"Sort of dating?" Harry looked back at him wonderingly. "What does that mean?"
Ron shrugged yet again. "They're not really serious, but he's trying to be or something like that. I don't know really."
"Anything else?" Harry asked curiously.
"She kissed him." Ron felt a knot form in his stomach as he admitted this verbally.
"What?!" Harry, realizing he was being a bit louder than he meant to be, glanced around quickly to make sure no one was listening. Quieter, he asked the question again. "What?! She kissed him?! And she told you?!"
Ron nodded. "Yeah. And she didn't know what she was doing, so she said she felt stupid."
"Must have been a new feeling." Harry muttered the same thing Ron had said when Hermione had told him. "I can't believe Hermione's already been kissed!"
"Shh!" Ron hissed. "I'm sure she doesn't want the whole fucking school to know! She probably doesn't even want you to know."
"So, what's this?" Harry asked, mildly offended. "You and Hermione start sharing secrets, and I'm not even supposed to know?"
Frowning just a bit, Ron rolled his eyes. "Well, I'm only saying that if she wanted you to know, she'd tell you."
"Well, remind me not to tell you any secrets because you obviously don't know how to keep them very well," Harry said a little too bitterly.
"You asked!" Ron defended himself quickly.
"Look," Harry interrupted. "Let's not fight, okay? I didn't mean to sound so mad. I'm just a bit shocked; that's all."
Ron nodded. He didn't want to fight with Harry, either. "Yeah. I still can't believe she kissed that ugly git."
"How did she get kissed before we did?" Harry asked, a dazed look of shock still on his face.
Ron sighed and shook his head. "I reckon she's prettier than us."
Harry snorted with laughter. "Shut up. Speak for yourself."
"What?" Ron asked, grinning. "You think you're prettier than Hermione? Sorry mate, but I beg to differ."
They both erupted into a fit of giggles, causing the rest of the class to turn and look at them. Professor Trelawney frowned at them.
"What's wrong?" she asked snidely. "Another banana peeling?"
*************************************
Hermione rushed down the hallway toward the other Gryffindor fifth years who were waiting outside of the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. The Arithmancy room was further away than the Divination room, so it took her a bit longer to meet up with her classmates.
She slid a bit as she neared them and managed to run straight into Dean Thomas who looked up at her and laughed as he prevented her from hitting the floor. "Alright there, Hermione?" he asked, grinning.
Hermione blushed a little and nodded her head quickly. "Yeah, thanks."
Behind her, she heard two familiar snickers. Turning sharply, she shot a sharp glare at her two best friends. "Shut up."
"Ooh," said Ron teasingly. "Touchy, touchy."
Hermione rolled her eyes as she walked over to the two boys, slinging her bag over her shoulder as she moved. "Did the great Professor Trelawney give you much homework?"
"Nothing," Harry said, smiling at the way Hermione's face dropped. It was clear that she, too, had gotten off with no homework and was hoping on rubbing it in their faces.
"Well, we didn't get any, either," she said sullenly.
"Hello, there," came Professor Lupin's voice from behind the group. He was smiling at them all, still dressed in his shabby robes. "Well, let's go then. Inside." He unlocked the door and ushered them all into the classroom.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione were the last three to enter, and Professor Lupin held up a hand to stop them before they went through the door. "Have you heard from your godfather, Harry?" he asked quietly, glancing inside to make sure everyone else was settling down.
Harry shook his head. "Not lately. Why do you ask?"
Lupin's face fell slightly at his answer. Quickly, though, he responded with, "Oh, no reason."
Harry wasn't convinced in the slightest that there was no reason. "What's wrong?"
But the teacher just shook his head. "Nothing's wrong. Now, let's go inside, shall we?"
Harry looked up at him intently, a not-so-nice feeling settling in his stomach. He glanced at Ron and Hermione who were wearing identical expressions to what he was sure his own looked like. Lupin hurried into the class, leaving the three of them to follow slowly.
"What was that about?" Hermione asked in an undertone.
Harry shrugged. "I don't know."
Ron glanced at their professor. "I reckon Lupin knows something he's not telling."
Hermione pinched Ron's arm and shot him a sharp look that clearly said, 'Don't scare him anymore than he already is.' Ron jerked back from her and sent her his own look that clearly said, 'Pinch me again and you'll regret it.'
Harry just rolled his eyes.
***************************************
This is a transition chapter. I know nothing big happened, but trust me. Pretty soon we'll see bigger things including the Quidditch tryouts, more bloody noses, a Halloween Ball and much, much more! Please leave feedback!!!
Disclaimer: Nothing has changed. I still don't own any of them.
******************************
The smoky air was almost too much for Harry to handle as he sat in the back of the Divination classroom. He lately found himself choosing seats in the back of every classroom instead of just in Potions. It helped him concentrate better or something. He wasn't sure; he just liked it better in the back where he didn't have to deal with all of the sympathetic looks from his teachers and classmates. It seemed as though more whispering than ever before was following him these days, and it was getting highly annoying. Obviously, Ron didn't mind the switch to the back of the rooms; he'd just as well have sat there since first year. And surprisingly enough, Hermione didn't seem to mind, either; of course, she wasn't sitting with him now, as she'd dropped Divination in the middle of their third year. So, Harry sat alone at the back table with Ron gazing over what definitely appeared to be an empty crystal ball.
"Aren't we ever going to be done with crystal gazing?" Ron asked quietly as he held the ball up a bit to the light. "We've been on this since bloody third year!"
Harry rolled his eyes and shrugged, staring into the ball which Ron had replaced on the table. Not seeing anything at all, he glanced up to make sure Professor Trelawney wasn't listening. She was, of course, bent over Parvati and Lavender's table admiring the work they'd laid out for her. "This is the stupidest shit I've ever seen," he agreed in an undertone. "Reckon we might ought to take a page out of Hermione's book and disappear from here?"
Ron laughed quietly. "Was that the best day of her life or what?" he asked, the memory of Hermione throwing her books into her bag and stomping toward the trap door in a great huff entering his mind.
"It was certainly the most entertaining of mine," Harry said, grinning. "First watching her slap Malfoy and then watching her yell at Trelawney and stalk outta here. Yeah, definitely entertaining."
Ron snickered. It really had been a good day for Hermione, though he knew she was just on nerve's end with everything she'd been dealing with at that time. Nonetheless, it served as a great source of pleasure for Ron and Harry.
"My dears, might I inquire what you see in your crystal that amuses you so?" Professor Trelawney was staring down at them through her horn-rimmed glasses.
Both boys fought down lingering giggles as the rest of the class turned to peer at them. "Um…" Ron struggled not to erupt into loud laughter. "I just saw… I just saw Harry's death!"
Gasps came from the front of the room where Lavender and Parvati were both suddenly very interested in what Ron had to say. Seamus, Dean, and Neville all suddenly appeared to be stifling giggles as well.
"And what, may I ask," said Professor Trelawney suspiciously, "is so amusing about young Harry's death?"
Harry was wondering the same thing and raised an eyebrow at Ron in question.
Ron caught Harry's eye briefly, and the look he was reflected was enough to make him burst into laughter all over again. He quickly looked away and back up at the teacher. "Well, nothing really. Just… Just he slipped on a… banana peeling! And… uh… he slid fifty feet down the corridor where he… uh… crashed into a suit of armor that… um… fell on him!" It was quite possibly the stupidest story ever invented, but it was so stupid that it was actually quite hilarious. All four of the other Gryffindor boys, including Harry, burst into loud laughter, and Ron did his best to look earnestly up at the professor.
Parvati and Lavender shot him nasty glares from behind Trelawney's back, rolling their eyes at him. Professor Trelawney was still peering at the redhead rather curiously. "I do not doubt, Ronald, that you did, in fact, see Harry's demise. However, I am quite sure that you misread the happenings of the dismal event." She reached for the crystal ball and brought it up to her eyes. Gasping loudly, she sat it back down quickly.
"What is it, Professor?" Lavender asked quickly. Her new haircut was growing out some by now, and her hair was no longer frightfully short. It looked alright actually; the short pixie cut suited her.
Trelawney shook her head, shutting her eyes for a moment. "It is too horrible to say," she said quietly.
"Tell me," Harry said quickly. "Tell me exactly how I'm supposed to die."
The teacher looked at him sympathetically. "You poor dear… And how brave of you to readily accept what the fates have in store."
Ron didn't dare look at Harry for fear of erupting into laughter all over again, so he glanced around at his classmates. Dean had his fist pressed over his mouth and was obviously trying very hard not to snicker. Seamus wasn't having as much luck, as he seemed to have been taken over by a fit of, thankfully, silent giggles. Neville, though not exactly looking scared, was looking rather uneasily at the teacher. Parvati's brown eyes were huge with fascination at witnessing a live prediction reading as though she didn't witness one nearly every day. And Lavender was looking at Harry as though she was about to burst into tears at the pure and utter braveness he so possessed.
"My dear," said the teacher softly, "I fear that the end is drawing increasingly near for you, and it is only a matter of time before you will disappear from our number all together."
"Will this be the same matter of time that I had to wait last year? Or will it be the matter of time I waited the year before to die?" Harry was doing a very, very tremendous job of being completely serious as he asked his question.
However, his question sent Dean, Seamus, and Ron into hysterics.
Professor Trelawney rounded on them all sharply. "Laugh now, boys, but you will be mourning quite soon," she said bitterly with a look in Harry's direction. "Get back to your crystal gazing!"
It was not very often that Sybil Trelawney lost her temper, and when she did, it was enough of a shock to shut the entire class up. They all went back to their work, but soon Harry and Ron were engaged in another conversation.
"Hey, did you get things sorted out with Hermione?" Harry asked quietly as they pretended to be extremely interested in their crystal ball.
Ron shrugged, the memory of Harry's confrontation replaying in his mind. He'd tried very hard to ignore the fact that Harry had quite blatantly asked him if he liked Hermione in more than a friendly way. Harry, of all people, should have known how embarrassing that question would be! It was one thing to deal with it from Fred, George, and Ginny, but Ron would have at least thought Harry would have understood enough to keep quiet.
"We talked," he said simply.
"About what?" Harry had abandoned the crystal ball and was attempting to make Ron do the same.
Ron, however, stared intently into the glass and said, "Stuff."
"What stuff?" Harry was now looking very pointedly at his best friend.
Sighing, Ron finally looked up and shot Harry a sharp look. "A bunch of stuff." He said this as though it was the end of the conversation, but Harry didn't seem to agree.
"Stuff like Viktor Krum?"
Ron just stared at Harry and thought about how appealing it would be to land a punch right on the bridge of Harry's nose. Through gritted teeth, he said, "Yes, Krum came up."
"And?" Harry, as though anticipating Ron's sudden need to break his glasses, pushed them up a bit on his nose.
"And what?"
"And what did she say?" Harry looked over to make sure Trelawney was still occupied, and she was.
"She said she used to like Barbies." Ron said this with a simple shrug, hoping to shut Harry up or at least throw him off-course.
"Huh?" It worked enough to make Harry thoroughly confused. "You talked about Barbies?"
"Yep."
"Why?" Harry asked curiously.
Ron shrugged again. "Well, she mentioned it, and I just thought it was funny." He grinned a little. "I mean, can you imagine Hermione playing with dolls?" He smartly left out the details of his own childhood.
Harry wrinkled his brow. "What does that have to do with Viktor Krum?"
"Did I say it had anything to do with him? You asked me what she said, and I told you she said she used to like Barbies."
Harry just rolled his eyes. "What did she say about Viktor Krum?!"
Ron thought back to the conversation and suddenly felt the need to tell Harry. He wasn't sure why, but something was nagging at him to spill the details. "They're not really going out. Just sort of dating."
"Sort of dating?" Harry looked back at him wonderingly. "What does that mean?"
Ron shrugged yet again. "They're not really serious, but he's trying to be or something like that. I don't know really."
"Anything else?" Harry asked curiously.
"She kissed him." Ron felt a knot form in his stomach as he admitted this verbally.
"What?!" Harry, realizing he was being a bit louder than he meant to be, glanced around quickly to make sure no one was listening. Quieter, he asked the question again. "What?! She kissed him?! And she told you?!"
Ron nodded. "Yeah. And she didn't know what she was doing, so she said she felt stupid."
"Must have been a new feeling." Harry muttered the same thing Ron had said when Hermione had told him. "I can't believe Hermione's already been kissed!"
"Shh!" Ron hissed. "I'm sure she doesn't want the whole fucking school to know! She probably doesn't even want you to know."
"So, what's this?" Harry asked, mildly offended. "You and Hermione start sharing secrets, and I'm not even supposed to know?"
Frowning just a bit, Ron rolled his eyes. "Well, I'm only saying that if she wanted you to know, she'd tell you."
"Well, remind me not to tell you any secrets because you obviously don't know how to keep them very well," Harry said a little too bitterly.
"You asked!" Ron defended himself quickly.
"Look," Harry interrupted. "Let's not fight, okay? I didn't mean to sound so mad. I'm just a bit shocked; that's all."
Ron nodded. He didn't want to fight with Harry, either. "Yeah. I still can't believe she kissed that ugly git."
"How did she get kissed before we did?" Harry asked, a dazed look of shock still on his face.
Ron sighed and shook his head. "I reckon she's prettier than us."
Harry snorted with laughter. "Shut up. Speak for yourself."
"What?" Ron asked, grinning. "You think you're prettier than Hermione? Sorry mate, but I beg to differ."
They both erupted into a fit of giggles, causing the rest of the class to turn and look at them. Professor Trelawney frowned at them.
"What's wrong?" she asked snidely. "Another banana peeling?"
*************************************
Hermione rushed down the hallway toward the other Gryffindor fifth years who were waiting outside of the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. The Arithmancy room was further away than the Divination room, so it took her a bit longer to meet up with her classmates.
She slid a bit as she neared them and managed to run straight into Dean Thomas who looked up at her and laughed as he prevented her from hitting the floor. "Alright there, Hermione?" he asked, grinning.
Hermione blushed a little and nodded her head quickly. "Yeah, thanks."
Behind her, she heard two familiar snickers. Turning sharply, she shot a sharp glare at her two best friends. "Shut up."
"Ooh," said Ron teasingly. "Touchy, touchy."
Hermione rolled her eyes as she walked over to the two boys, slinging her bag over her shoulder as she moved. "Did the great Professor Trelawney give you much homework?"
"Nothing," Harry said, smiling at the way Hermione's face dropped. It was clear that she, too, had gotten off with no homework and was hoping on rubbing it in their faces.
"Well, we didn't get any, either," she said sullenly.
"Hello, there," came Professor Lupin's voice from behind the group. He was smiling at them all, still dressed in his shabby robes. "Well, let's go then. Inside." He unlocked the door and ushered them all into the classroom.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione were the last three to enter, and Professor Lupin held up a hand to stop them before they went through the door. "Have you heard from your godfather, Harry?" he asked quietly, glancing inside to make sure everyone else was settling down.
Harry shook his head. "Not lately. Why do you ask?"
Lupin's face fell slightly at his answer. Quickly, though, he responded with, "Oh, no reason."
Harry wasn't convinced in the slightest that there was no reason. "What's wrong?"
But the teacher just shook his head. "Nothing's wrong. Now, let's go inside, shall we?"
Harry looked up at him intently, a not-so-nice feeling settling in his stomach. He glanced at Ron and Hermione who were wearing identical expressions to what he was sure his own looked like. Lupin hurried into the class, leaving the three of them to follow slowly.
"What was that about?" Hermione asked in an undertone.
Harry shrugged. "I don't know."
Ron glanced at their professor. "I reckon Lupin knows something he's not telling."
Hermione pinched Ron's arm and shot him a sharp look that clearly said, 'Don't scare him anymore than he already is.' Ron jerked back from her and sent her his own look that clearly said, 'Pinch me again and you'll regret it.'
Harry just rolled his eyes.
***************************************
This is a transition chapter. I know nothing big happened, but trust me. Pretty soon we'll see bigger things including the Quidditch tryouts, more bloody noses, a Halloween Ball and much, much more! Please leave feedback!!!
