~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Well, here's to another grand old day of double History of Magic," Ron sighed glumly the next morning.
"I can't believe this," Hermione groaned. "This week has been terrible! Absolutely terrible, and I hardly ever complain!"
"Well, on the bright side," said Harry. "We don't have potions today. And we also have Defense Against The Dark Arts."
"You know," Hermione said, smiling a bit. "When she first came here, I had my doubts about Professor Harkinian and her teaching abilities. But now that we've had her a while, I think she's great!"
"Yeah, AND she totally killed and humiliated Snape in that duel!" Ron laughed. "He can barely even be in the same room as her!"
At the staff table, Snape and Zelda were currently sitting at completely opposite sides. There was no doubt that Snape loathed both Link and Zelda--possibly as much as he hated Harry (or slightly less so).
It was one of the first days (if not THE first) that Harry, Ron, and Hermione didn't have Potions. The class was getting more and more unbearable for Harry, now that Snape seemed to hate him even more than ever. If there was one thing Snape despised more than anything else, it was being humiliated.
Harry shuddered slightly as he packed up his bag to go to Care of Magical Creatures. He remembered last year when he had gone into Snape's Pensieve. James Potter had embarressed and mortified Snape so much in his fifth year, it was almost unbearable. Harry was just grateful that his mother, Lily, had been there to bring peace.
Since Ron had stopped to go to the bathroom, he, Harry and Hermione had to run a bit to get to Care of Magical Creatures. Everyone else was already there, waiting for them to come so they could start.
"Today class, we're startin' somethin' new," announced Hagrid. "I figure that you were all fine with the Jobberknolls, so now we're gonna be workin' on these!" He pulled a long, skinny creature out of a metal box. "Jarveys!"
The Jarvey strongly resembled a ferret, and Harry was almost sure that that was what it was. Then suddenly, the Jarvey walked up to Harry, and, in perfect English, sneered "Whatcha lookin' at, Scarface?!"
Malfoy and some of the other Slytherins laughed. "That's great!" Malfoy cried. "A talking ferret that insults Potter!"
Sniffing about, the jarvey slithered up to Malfoy. "I insult who I like, blubbermouth! Why don't you just shut that hole in your ugly face? And another question: who dyes your hair? You must tell me."
"Why, you little!" Malfoy shouted, enraged. He lunged at the jarvey, who quickly scampered behind Ron.
"Don't be hurtin' 'em!" Hagrid warned, scooping up the jarvey. "Now here, I gots a whole box of 'em. Eacha you'll be takin' one, drawin' a picture of it, and write down anything that it calls you. Got it?"
"What?!" shrieked Pansy Parkinson. "Do you mean you just want us to sit around here and be insulted?!"
"That's right, butthead!" snapped another jarvey, poking its head out of the box.
"Oh yeah?" asked Pansy. The jarvey blinked, saying nothing. "Oh yeah?!" Pansy repeated. Still the jarvey remained silent. "Oh YEAH?!" Pansy bellowed, throwing her arms in the air for emphasis.
"Ya got me," the jarvey drawled. "YEAH."
The Gryffindors laughed a bit, each taking a jarvey in its hands and walking off to different patches of grass.
"THIS JARVEY IS HURTING MY SELF-ESTEEM!!" wailed Lavender, tears welling up in her eyes.
"Oh, stop being such a cry baby!" barked the jarvey.
"Don' let 'em hurt ya verbally," Hagrid said, walking around. "These creatures are in the curriculum, so don't be gettin' mad at me fer makin' ya study 'em."
"I like your hair," said Hermione's jarvey, "but I really think that you should give the elephant back its face."
"OOH!" Hermione cried, scribbling down on a piece of paper. "What I would do to you if you weren't school property!!"
"What? Start batting me with rouge!?"
"SHUT IT!"
***
The rest of the class went pretty much...bad. The jarveys seemed impervious to any threat or insult. They threw every nasty word that came into their head at their student (Neville had once asked, "Should we write down what they say if it contains horribly terrible language?").
"Well, look at it this way," said Ron, as they walked back to the castle. "Now we have a double period of History of Magic to look forward to! Isn't that exciting?"
"The only thing exciting about it is the way that Binns enters through the room," Harry mumbled with annoyance. "He comes through the chalkboard, and the rest of class is like we're stuck in the doldrums."
"And when are we ever going to need to know stuff like when Boggle the Barfing Mermaid started the first underwater train station? It's just pointless!"
"You never know," came Hermione's response. "Maybe someday it'll all prove useful, and we'll be glad we learned it."
"Right," sighed Ron sarcastically. "Like some crazy hobo is just going to walk up to us and offer us ten million galleons if we know why The odor of Olga drove off all the mosquitos of Paris in 1696."
"Still," Hermione persisted. "You never know."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Neville, have you even been trying at all?" Zelda asked with exasperation.
"I've tried!" Neville said helplessly, as a silver wisp in front of him diminished. "It just refuses to work for me! Look! EXPECTO PATRONUM!!" Another silvery orb shot out of his wand, but refused to take any definate shape.
"All right Neville," Zelda sighed, sitting on top of her desk. "At least you tried."
A Ravenclaw raised his hand. "Professor Harkinian?"
"Yes?"
"Why is it that teachers are so hypocritical? I mean, they always say never to sit on your desk, and now you're sitting on yours!"
Half the class cringed, as if expecting Zelda to explode and give the kid a week of detention. "I never said that," Zelda replied calmly. "If you want to sit on your desks, please go ahead. I have no intention of stopping you. As long as you're paying attention, who cares what you're sitting on?"
There was a loud scraping noise as every student except Hermione pushed in their chairs and sat on top of their desks. She looked around her, trying to decide whether or not to abandon her dignity.
"Don't feel obliged, Miss Granger," Zelda said smiling, as if she had been able to read Hermione's mind.
"All right." Hermione stayed put in her chair.
"Okay then. Mr. Weasley, how'd you like to show us all how you're Patronus is coming along?"
"Sure." Ron nervously walked to the front of the room, lifting his wand. "Right...okay. Expecto Patronum!!!" A silver orb flashed.
"Think happy thoughts, Ron," Zeld sang.
"Right. Got it." Ron paused for a moment, racking his brain for a single happy memory. "EXPECTO PATRONUM!!"
Suddenly, a huge silver substance shot out of the tip of Ron's wand. It seemed to start sprouting legs; limbs that were similar to those of a giant rat. Ron's eyes widened, and then his patronus suddenly vanished.
"That was very good, Mr. Weasley," Zelda congratulated, writing something down. "Your patronus is beginning to take form!"
Smiling proudly, Ron walked back to his desk. "Beat that," he mouthed smugly at a sulking Hermione. She promptly raised her hand.
"Yes, Miss Granger?"
"May I try and summon my patronus?" Hermione asked.
"Certainly. Come on up here."
Hermione walked to the head of the room. She'd been practicing very hard on her patronus, and Harry was certain she could do it.
"Think happy thoughts," Hermione whispered to herself. "Think happy thoughts... EXPECTO PATRONUM!!"
A burst of silver shot out of Hermione's wand, immediately taking the form of a giant tarantula. A few students laughed as Ron screamed and fell off his desk. Ron was infamous for being an arachnaphobe.
The silver tarantula looked around (staring particularly hard at a petrified Ron), then disappated. Hermione headed back to her seat.
"Well done, Miss Granger," Zelda said. "Ten points to Gryffindor!"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
At dinner, Ron was still brooding. He'd been trying so hard to create a patronus, but it just hadn't worked out.
"You're always so perfect at everything!" Ron shouted at Hermione. "I wish that for once, I could be the one impressing the teacher and you were the one sitting in the back, as stupid as Crabbe or Goyle!!"
"Ron!" Hermione cried, highly offended. "You are NOT as stupid as Crabbe or Goyle, or even the two of them put together! I'm sorry that I keep on getting stuff right all the time! It's just what I'm like, okay?!"
"Well am I supposed to be stupid all the time?!" Ron shouted.
"Ron, that didn't make any sense," Harry cut in.
"Oh sure, side with HER!" Ron erupted, standing up. "I am so tired of being overshadowed by you two! I'm going to bed!" Red-cheeked and fuming, he stormed out of the great hall.
"Don't worry," Harry comforted Hermione. "He'll be over this grudge in the morning. He's just a little distressed at not being able to...well, you know, get something right for a chance. I'm not saying that Ron is stupid or anything, but he was right about you always getting attention."
"Are you calling me a teacher's pet?!" Hermione demanded, standing up.
"No, Hermione, I only--"
"Sure! TAKE HIS SIDE!!" Hermione stalked out of the great hall, leaving an utterly confused and annoyed Harry.
"What is WRONG with them?" he asked no one in particular.
"I don't know," came a voice.
Harry looked up, and noticed for the first time that evening that Ginny was sitting right across from him. "Oh, hi Ginny. I d-didn't see you."
"That's okay," said Ginny, shrugging. "But I have a question. Is it really true that Hermione summoned a patronus too?"
"What d'you mean 'too'?"
"Well I mean, you can make a patronus, right? So what I'm asking is if Hermione can make one as well?"
"Oh, yeah. And you'll never guess what it turned into!" Harry laughed.
"What?" asked Ginny, smiling.
"A tarantula!"
Ginny leaned back in her chair, laughing. "I'll bet Ron was scared out of his wits!"
"You'd better believe it."
"Oh, I wish I could've seen his face! That must've been hilarious! Ron's been afraid of all kinds of spiders ever since he was little. Maybe that's why he's so mad at Hermione."
"I doubt it," sighed Harry, shrugging. "But personally, I don't see why Ron is so upset. His patronus is a lot better than some other people's. It started to sprout legs, but before it could finish, it vanished."
"What did the legs look like?"
"Rat legs."
"Ah." Ginny looked down at her feet, and started to blush. "Uh, I don't know if you noticed, but...erm...th-the next Hogsmeade visit is next weekend, and I...er..." If it was even possible, Ginny got redder. "I wanted to know if you'd go with me."
Surprised by this sudden subject change, Harry was lost for words. He tried to speak, but no words came out. "Uh...I-I knew about it, but, uh..."
Looking mortified, Ginny quickly tried to stand up. "I'm so sorry, Harry. I shouldn't have even--"
"N-no," Harry said, grabbing Ginny's arm to stop her. "No, I want t...I'll go with you, Ginny. I'd love to."
"Really? Oh, thanks a million, Harry!" Smiling involuntarily, Ginny (still brick red) ran from the Great Hall.
"What was that all about?" came a voice.
Harry turned around, and looked up to see Cho Chang. His cheeks flushed slightly scarlet. "Oh, hey, Cho."
"Hi. Harry, I don't know if you noticed, but they...um...there's a Hogsmeade visit coming up next weekend, and I was wondering if you'd...go with me."
"What, don't you have Michael?" Harry asked flatly.
"No, as a matter of fact, I don't," Cho replied, trying not to look hurt. "We broke up a while ago. If you don't want to go with me, you could've just told me."
"Cho, it's not that I don't want to go with you, it's just that...I already told Ginny Weasley that I'd go with her. I'm sorry."
"O-oh..." Harry had been half expecting Cho to get angry again, but she sounded calm and relaxed. "Well, that's too bad. I would've liked to have gone with you."
"Hey, wait!" Harry called after Cho, as she started walking away. "Maybe we could all...you know, go together. The three of us. And then maybe Ron and Hermione could come with us too!" He looked at her hopefully.
Appearing to be thinking, Cho put a finger to her chin. Then she smiled. "Well...if... you know, Ginny and the others don't mind, I'd like to come with you!"
"I'm sure they'll be fine with it," said Harry. "Well, b-bye. I've gotta be getting back to the common room. I need to sort out a fight between Ron and Hermione."
"Okay." Cho smiled at Harry one more time, then walked back to the Ravenclaw table, sticking her tongue out at Michael on the way.
Feeling lighter than air, Harry walked out of the great hall happily. In wouldn't take very long for Ron and Hermione to be back on speaking terms again. And, with Cho going with them all to Hogsmeade, Harry was looking forward to the trip more than ever.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
im just curious: do u think that harry should get 2gether w/ ginny or cho? and dont 4get 2 review, people!!
"Well, here's to another grand old day of double History of Magic," Ron sighed glumly the next morning.
"I can't believe this," Hermione groaned. "This week has been terrible! Absolutely terrible, and I hardly ever complain!"
"Well, on the bright side," said Harry. "We don't have potions today. And we also have Defense Against The Dark Arts."
"You know," Hermione said, smiling a bit. "When she first came here, I had my doubts about Professor Harkinian and her teaching abilities. But now that we've had her a while, I think she's great!"
"Yeah, AND she totally killed and humiliated Snape in that duel!" Ron laughed. "He can barely even be in the same room as her!"
At the staff table, Snape and Zelda were currently sitting at completely opposite sides. There was no doubt that Snape loathed both Link and Zelda--possibly as much as he hated Harry (or slightly less so).
It was one of the first days (if not THE first) that Harry, Ron, and Hermione didn't have Potions. The class was getting more and more unbearable for Harry, now that Snape seemed to hate him even more than ever. If there was one thing Snape despised more than anything else, it was being humiliated.
Harry shuddered slightly as he packed up his bag to go to Care of Magical Creatures. He remembered last year when he had gone into Snape's Pensieve. James Potter had embarressed and mortified Snape so much in his fifth year, it was almost unbearable. Harry was just grateful that his mother, Lily, had been there to bring peace.
Since Ron had stopped to go to the bathroom, he, Harry and Hermione had to run a bit to get to Care of Magical Creatures. Everyone else was already there, waiting for them to come so they could start.
"Today class, we're startin' somethin' new," announced Hagrid. "I figure that you were all fine with the Jobberknolls, so now we're gonna be workin' on these!" He pulled a long, skinny creature out of a metal box. "Jarveys!"
The Jarvey strongly resembled a ferret, and Harry was almost sure that that was what it was. Then suddenly, the Jarvey walked up to Harry, and, in perfect English, sneered "Whatcha lookin' at, Scarface?!"
Malfoy and some of the other Slytherins laughed. "That's great!" Malfoy cried. "A talking ferret that insults Potter!"
Sniffing about, the jarvey slithered up to Malfoy. "I insult who I like, blubbermouth! Why don't you just shut that hole in your ugly face? And another question: who dyes your hair? You must tell me."
"Why, you little!" Malfoy shouted, enraged. He lunged at the jarvey, who quickly scampered behind Ron.
"Don't be hurtin' 'em!" Hagrid warned, scooping up the jarvey. "Now here, I gots a whole box of 'em. Eacha you'll be takin' one, drawin' a picture of it, and write down anything that it calls you. Got it?"
"What?!" shrieked Pansy Parkinson. "Do you mean you just want us to sit around here and be insulted?!"
"That's right, butthead!" snapped another jarvey, poking its head out of the box.
"Oh yeah?" asked Pansy. The jarvey blinked, saying nothing. "Oh yeah?!" Pansy repeated. Still the jarvey remained silent. "Oh YEAH?!" Pansy bellowed, throwing her arms in the air for emphasis.
"Ya got me," the jarvey drawled. "YEAH."
The Gryffindors laughed a bit, each taking a jarvey in its hands and walking off to different patches of grass.
"THIS JARVEY IS HURTING MY SELF-ESTEEM!!" wailed Lavender, tears welling up in her eyes.
"Oh, stop being such a cry baby!" barked the jarvey.
"Don' let 'em hurt ya verbally," Hagrid said, walking around. "These creatures are in the curriculum, so don't be gettin' mad at me fer makin' ya study 'em."
"I like your hair," said Hermione's jarvey, "but I really think that you should give the elephant back its face."
"OOH!" Hermione cried, scribbling down on a piece of paper. "What I would do to you if you weren't school property!!"
"What? Start batting me with rouge!?"
"SHUT IT!"
***
The rest of the class went pretty much...bad. The jarveys seemed impervious to any threat or insult. They threw every nasty word that came into their head at their student (Neville had once asked, "Should we write down what they say if it contains horribly terrible language?").
"Well, look at it this way," said Ron, as they walked back to the castle. "Now we have a double period of History of Magic to look forward to! Isn't that exciting?"
"The only thing exciting about it is the way that Binns enters through the room," Harry mumbled with annoyance. "He comes through the chalkboard, and the rest of class is like we're stuck in the doldrums."
"And when are we ever going to need to know stuff like when Boggle the Barfing Mermaid started the first underwater train station? It's just pointless!"
"You never know," came Hermione's response. "Maybe someday it'll all prove useful, and we'll be glad we learned it."
"Right," sighed Ron sarcastically. "Like some crazy hobo is just going to walk up to us and offer us ten million galleons if we know why The odor of Olga drove off all the mosquitos of Paris in 1696."
"Still," Hermione persisted. "You never know."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Neville, have you even been trying at all?" Zelda asked with exasperation.
"I've tried!" Neville said helplessly, as a silver wisp in front of him diminished. "It just refuses to work for me! Look! EXPECTO PATRONUM!!" Another silvery orb shot out of his wand, but refused to take any definate shape.
"All right Neville," Zelda sighed, sitting on top of her desk. "At least you tried."
A Ravenclaw raised his hand. "Professor Harkinian?"
"Yes?"
"Why is it that teachers are so hypocritical? I mean, they always say never to sit on your desk, and now you're sitting on yours!"
Half the class cringed, as if expecting Zelda to explode and give the kid a week of detention. "I never said that," Zelda replied calmly. "If you want to sit on your desks, please go ahead. I have no intention of stopping you. As long as you're paying attention, who cares what you're sitting on?"
There was a loud scraping noise as every student except Hermione pushed in their chairs and sat on top of their desks. She looked around her, trying to decide whether or not to abandon her dignity.
"Don't feel obliged, Miss Granger," Zelda said smiling, as if she had been able to read Hermione's mind.
"All right." Hermione stayed put in her chair.
"Okay then. Mr. Weasley, how'd you like to show us all how you're Patronus is coming along?"
"Sure." Ron nervously walked to the front of the room, lifting his wand. "Right...okay. Expecto Patronum!!!" A silver orb flashed.
"Think happy thoughts, Ron," Zeld sang.
"Right. Got it." Ron paused for a moment, racking his brain for a single happy memory. "EXPECTO PATRONUM!!"
Suddenly, a huge silver substance shot out of the tip of Ron's wand. It seemed to start sprouting legs; limbs that were similar to those of a giant rat. Ron's eyes widened, and then his patronus suddenly vanished.
"That was very good, Mr. Weasley," Zelda congratulated, writing something down. "Your patronus is beginning to take form!"
Smiling proudly, Ron walked back to his desk. "Beat that," he mouthed smugly at a sulking Hermione. She promptly raised her hand.
"Yes, Miss Granger?"
"May I try and summon my patronus?" Hermione asked.
"Certainly. Come on up here."
Hermione walked to the head of the room. She'd been practicing very hard on her patronus, and Harry was certain she could do it.
"Think happy thoughts," Hermione whispered to herself. "Think happy thoughts... EXPECTO PATRONUM!!"
A burst of silver shot out of Hermione's wand, immediately taking the form of a giant tarantula. A few students laughed as Ron screamed and fell off his desk. Ron was infamous for being an arachnaphobe.
The silver tarantula looked around (staring particularly hard at a petrified Ron), then disappated. Hermione headed back to her seat.
"Well done, Miss Granger," Zelda said. "Ten points to Gryffindor!"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
At dinner, Ron was still brooding. He'd been trying so hard to create a patronus, but it just hadn't worked out.
"You're always so perfect at everything!" Ron shouted at Hermione. "I wish that for once, I could be the one impressing the teacher and you were the one sitting in the back, as stupid as Crabbe or Goyle!!"
"Ron!" Hermione cried, highly offended. "You are NOT as stupid as Crabbe or Goyle, or even the two of them put together! I'm sorry that I keep on getting stuff right all the time! It's just what I'm like, okay?!"
"Well am I supposed to be stupid all the time?!" Ron shouted.
"Ron, that didn't make any sense," Harry cut in.
"Oh sure, side with HER!" Ron erupted, standing up. "I am so tired of being overshadowed by you two! I'm going to bed!" Red-cheeked and fuming, he stormed out of the great hall.
"Don't worry," Harry comforted Hermione. "He'll be over this grudge in the morning. He's just a little distressed at not being able to...well, you know, get something right for a chance. I'm not saying that Ron is stupid or anything, but he was right about you always getting attention."
"Are you calling me a teacher's pet?!" Hermione demanded, standing up.
"No, Hermione, I only--"
"Sure! TAKE HIS SIDE!!" Hermione stalked out of the great hall, leaving an utterly confused and annoyed Harry.
"What is WRONG with them?" he asked no one in particular.
"I don't know," came a voice.
Harry looked up, and noticed for the first time that evening that Ginny was sitting right across from him. "Oh, hi Ginny. I d-didn't see you."
"That's okay," said Ginny, shrugging. "But I have a question. Is it really true that Hermione summoned a patronus too?"
"What d'you mean 'too'?"
"Well I mean, you can make a patronus, right? So what I'm asking is if Hermione can make one as well?"
"Oh, yeah. And you'll never guess what it turned into!" Harry laughed.
"What?" asked Ginny, smiling.
"A tarantula!"
Ginny leaned back in her chair, laughing. "I'll bet Ron was scared out of his wits!"
"You'd better believe it."
"Oh, I wish I could've seen his face! That must've been hilarious! Ron's been afraid of all kinds of spiders ever since he was little. Maybe that's why he's so mad at Hermione."
"I doubt it," sighed Harry, shrugging. "But personally, I don't see why Ron is so upset. His patronus is a lot better than some other people's. It started to sprout legs, but before it could finish, it vanished."
"What did the legs look like?"
"Rat legs."
"Ah." Ginny looked down at her feet, and started to blush. "Uh, I don't know if you noticed, but...erm...th-the next Hogsmeade visit is next weekend, and I...er..." If it was even possible, Ginny got redder. "I wanted to know if you'd go with me."
Surprised by this sudden subject change, Harry was lost for words. He tried to speak, but no words came out. "Uh...I-I knew about it, but, uh..."
Looking mortified, Ginny quickly tried to stand up. "I'm so sorry, Harry. I shouldn't have even--"
"N-no," Harry said, grabbing Ginny's arm to stop her. "No, I want t...I'll go with you, Ginny. I'd love to."
"Really? Oh, thanks a million, Harry!" Smiling involuntarily, Ginny (still brick red) ran from the Great Hall.
"What was that all about?" came a voice.
Harry turned around, and looked up to see Cho Chang. His cheeks flushed slightly scarlet. "Oh, hey, Cho."
"Hi. Harry, I don't know if you noticed, but they...um...there's a Hogsmeade visit coming up next weekend, and I was wondering if you'd...go with me."
"What, don't you have Michael?" Harry asked flatly.
"No, as a matter of fact, I don't," Cho replied, trying not to look hurt. "We broke up a while ago. If you don't want to go with me, you could've just told me."
"Cho, it's not that I don't want to go with you, it's just that...I already told Ginny Weasley that I'd go with her. I'm sorry."
"O-oh..." Harry had been half expecting Cho to get angry again, but she sounded calm and relaxed. "Well, that's too bad. I would've liked to have gone with you."
"Hey, wait!" Harry called after Cho, as she started walking away. "Maybe we could all...you know, go together. The three of us. And then maybe Ron and Hermione could come with us too!" He looked at her hopefully.
Appearing to be thinking, Cho put a finger to her chin. Then she smiled. "Well...if... you know, Ginny and the others don't mind, I'd like to come with you!"
"I'm sure they'll be fine with it," said Harry. "Well, b-bye. I've gotta be getting back to the common room. I need to sort out a fight between Ron and Hermione."
"Okay." Cho smiled at Harry one more time, then walked back to the Ravenclaw table, sticking her tongue out at Michael on the way.
Feeling lighter than air, Harry walked out of the great hall happily. In wouldn't take very long for Ron and Hermione to be back on speaking terms again. And, with Cho going with them all to Hogsmeade, Harry was looking forward to the trip more than ever.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
im just curious: do u think that harry should get 2gether w/ ginny or cho? and dont 4get 2 review, people!!