Sirius claimed he had to go back to teach a class and so as Harry
entered alone, he heard voices coming from behind the curtain pulled around
the first bed and paused by the door.
"Hermione, I'm not sure that we should send you back here next year. This isn't the first time you've been in so much danger. Though we hadn't realized how much danger before. You were stolen away from the school. It's not safe here. You should been finishing up secondary school and going on to a University, not messing with magic here." He said "magic" as though it were still a foreign word.
"Your father's right. We've discussed this thoroughly. We miss you. Your sister misses you. You've been growing apart lately."
"Mum, Dad, you told me six years ago that it was my decision: to come or not to come. I chose to come and I stay with that decision. She's just having a harder time accepting me this way than we thought she would. I still choose here."
"Why, Hermione?" asked her father in a pained voice.
"I have friends here. There's Ron and Harry. And Renata. She's great. They all are. I'm learning a lot more than books. I've grown here. I'm more than just books. I'm a person. I've got friends, I've kept my grades up, I've learned all sorts of new things, I'm braver than I was, I'm even a cheerleader. You've got to let me come back."
"It's not safe."
"Don't you want to be normal again? You graduated first in your class from your first school. Wouldn't you like that again?"
"Mum, I am the first in my class here. I don't want to be normal. Not your definition of it anyway. This is who I am now. I can't let you change that. I'm a witch whether you like it or not. This is where I belong, here I am normal and I don't have to hide who I am. I won't hide anymore."
"We will not let you come back here."
"You can't stop me. If you won't let me come back here don't expect to see me at the station at the end of term."
There was a long silence. Hermione sighed. "Write me. Write before school's out or you may not see me at the station. I could arrange to stay here over the summer. Or stay with a teacher. I've been discussing it with them."
"Hermione..."
"Go home and think about this, Mum, Dad. You'll see I'm right."
Harry heard the scraping of chairs inside and footsteps approaching. He began to walk again as though he was just entering. Hermione's parents walked out as if he didn't exist. As if on cue, Madam Pomfrey appeared.
"Where have you been, young man? I told Albus-I'm sorry, I mean the Headmaster-to send you to me as soon as you were awake. I'm waiting for an explanation." She didn't really wait. She took him by the arm and led him to an empty between Hermione and Renata. Ron was on the other side of Renata.
"Get in bed. You need rest. Take off your shoes. Tsk.tsk. Did you have a fall? This ankle looks swollen."
"Earlier this week, I fell."
"Here. Take this thermometer. In your mouth. I'll be back."
Harry stuck the thermometer in his mouth. It beeped at 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit; he wondered why Hogwarts didn't use the metric system.
"Was she this psychotic with the rest of you?"
Hermione had moved aside the curtains. "Pretty much. Harry, we're so glad you're okay!" Hermione and Renata both got out of their beds and gave him tight hugs not releasing him until he couldn't breathe.
"Are you all right, Harry?' Renata had let go but still stood close by. "You saved me," she whispered.
Ron got out of his bed and came to stand next to Hermione. "You got us home, Harry."
"If it weren't for the three of you I'd still be at that other Hogwarts wondering why I was exiled there or probably dead by now." He remembered Voldemort's comment about sending the trolls out to play. He tried not to shiver. "I would be dead now." Dead like his parents, dead like Cedric, dead like Renata's dead. Dead.
"Well, you aren't and I don't know about these two but I'm not letting you die any time soon. At least, not until you help win the Quiditch Cup."
"That's right. There's no way we're letting those rotten, dirty Slytherins get it," Ron said vehemently. He continued to mutter about the "bloody no-good, cheaters" but Harry didn't pay attention.
"You're all okay, right?"
"We're fine."
After dinner Madam Pomfrey released them after a final checkup for each. "Oh, and before I forget, the Headmaster wanted you to have these." She handed a sealed envelope to each of them.
They thanked her and opened the envelopes as soon as they were in the hallway.
Harry tore open the envelope. Mr. Potter, you will not have to attend your lessons tomorrow due to your special circumstances and your need to rest, but you will be back in class on Friday. Rest well. The Headmaster had signed it.
His friends each had an identical note addressed to them. "Yes, no school tomorrow!" Ron shouted. "No class, no class, no class." He started dancing to music the rest of them obviously couldn't hear.
"Are you all right, Ron?" asked Harry. He was doubled over laughing, with his head raised just enough to see Ron's face.
Ron froze. "I'm fine." His face went red.
Renata laughed, "Let's get back to the Tower."
The four of them, in great spirits, returned to the Gryffindor common room.
Harry sighed with relief as he came in the common room; it was unchanged. "It's good to be home." His friends nodded. Together they sat back by the window, going over the events of the week they had just spent. Most of the students were still at dinner but the few who were already back had taken the good armchairs near the fire, they couldn't have been in more than their second year. Harry knew that his friends most likely had heard the conversation he had between Hermione and her parents but she didn't bring it up and neither did they.
"Sirius told me that teleportation has been lost for a long time. Nobody could remember how to make it work."
"Then why were we able to?"
"I think it had something to do with us being in a group. One or two people couldn't teleport, but more together."
"Exactly." Hermione nodded in a satisfied way.
People began to stream back into the common room. Coming in small groups. Sitting far to the back, almost none noticed Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Renata talking quietly amongst themselves. Harry hoped it'd stay that way.
"We've got get-out-of-class-without-getting-detention notes. Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" asked Ron.
Harry grinned. "Yeah, Hogsmeade."
Renata laughed. "Great. I've been dying for more of that Honeyduke's chocolate. Yum. I'm buying five pounds of it tomorrow."
"Don't eat it all in one night or you'll get sick," warned Hermione. "You don't want to get sick, we do have to go to class on Friday. I'm not sure we should skip class tomorrow after all we missed so far."
"Hermione, we missed a week, what difference can one day more make?" asked Ron. "Just a minute, Ginny," he said absently. His eyes widened. "Ginny! What are you doing here?"
"When did all of you get back? What happened?" She demanded. "Mum's been worried sick. Apparently someone told her you were back, I add that they did not bother to tell me, but I guess they told her because I got an owl this morning saying that she was coming tomorrow."
Tomorrow? That could ruin their plans. "What time, Ginny? What time did she say she'd come?"
"I don't know, Harry. Around noon, I guess. She said she'd have lunch with me a soon as she got here and then spend the day with you and Ron." Ginny sniffed. "None of you even bothered to say hello or tell me where you've been."
"What did Dumbledore tell the rest of you?"
"Only that you three had been kidnapped and that if anyone knew where you were they were to inform a teacher immediately. What really happened? You were gone a week. I'm so glad you're all safe." This last comment seemed more directed at her brother and Hermione than at the other two.
"I've got a stomachache. I'll talk to you tomorrow." Harry got up and walked to the stairs to his dormitory. He wasn't in the mood to discuss the past week with her. Some of the memories were too painful. Particularly Hagrid. Harry lay down eagle spread on the bed. He wasn't particularly tired. It was early yet. He wondered absently whether they'd still be able to go to Hogsmeade. Maybe he could sneak out tomorrow night and get Renata some chocolate if they couldn't all go during the day.
It was probably an hour later that Dean and Seamus came in, followed shortly by Ron who slammed the door and muttered angrily about Anthony. He locked the door behind him.
Harry supposed that Anthony had been flirting Hermione, again, and Ron hadn't taken it well.
"So where were you four really?"
"Yeah. Why did you disappear with two girls? You were gone a week."
"We were kidnapped," Harry told them bluntly.
"We heard. We were just checking."
"What happened? Where did you go?"
"You remember all those rumors about the Green Flame Torch? They were true. It pulled us into an alternate world where Hogwarts was abandoned fifty something years ago and Muggles knew wizards and witches existed. It was horrible. Hogwarts was closed and everyday, witches and wizards feared for their lives. Hagrid was there. They'd captured him months ago and he died there. Died saving us. Finally we got back here. That's all you need to know." He told this all in cold words and watched as their mouths hung open in amazement.
There was a pounding on the door and a muffled cry of, "Let me in! What are you doing? I'm tired! Let me in!"
Harry glared, first at the door and then at Seamus. "Open the bloody door and make him shut up!" he barked. He was surprised at himself. Normally he kept a better reign on his temper and didn't use such language. What was even more shocking was the fact that Seamus listened to him.
Seamus scrambled up to open the door. Anthony had been leaning against it as he pounded and fell into the room in a disheveled manner.
"That was not very nice. All I wanted to do was talk to her, Ron. You had no call to go hitting me like that or locking me out. This is my room too."
Only then did Harry notice the bruise beginning to show under the boy's left eye.
He stood and walked over to his bed, sitting on the end of it and removing his shoes. "I don't see why you should mind me talking to her. She didn't mind it. And you didn't mind when I was talking to Renata."
Ron fixed Anthony with such a fierce look and snarl that the other boy seemed to cringe back, though he sounded cool and composed when he said, "Goodnight. I'll see you in class tomorrow, Ron. Though I think I'll be talking to Hermione. You don't mind, do you? Her and I have quite a bit to catch up on."
Ron leaned over and muttered in Harry's ear, "This one's worse than Krum! He speaks perfect English, Krum couldn't even get Hermione's name right."
Harry groaned quietly as he pulled the blankets over himself. He knew that if Hermione went to class tomorrow Ron would go to class tomorrow and if Ron went to class tomorrow he would have to go to make sure Ron didn't kill Anthony. Well, Ron wouldn't kill him, probably not anyway, but he might severely hurt him and the last thing Harry wanted was for his best friend to get expelled from Hogwarts for fighting with another student.
Harry sighed; he'd have to speak to the Quiditch team tomorrow too. Without he and Renata they probably hadn't practiced all week. ***************************************************
Harry was up before Ron the next morning and he hoped up before Hermione and Renata. He waited in the common room for them. He had to know if Hermione was going to class or not.
Finally she came. Renata yawning behind her. "Harry, I thought you'd be sleeping in today. According to Ginny, Mrs. Weasly isn't coming to see you and Ron until noon."
"Are you going to class today?" he asked, foul temperedly.
"No. Why? We have the day off still, don't we?"
"Just checking. Yesterday you weren't sure you were willing to miss class."
"We're going to Hogsmeade, but we'll have to be back before noon otherwise Mrs. Weasly will know that you and Ron snuck away from the school."
"Right. I'm just waiting for Ron." He didn't have to wait long; Ron came down shortly.
"Are we going via Shrieking Shack or Honeydukes?"
"Why do you even ask? Honeydukes is too risky. The four of us better hightail it to the Whomping Willow on the double."
The four of them did just that, walking across the grounds to the Whomping Willow tree with all it's flailing limbs. After freezing the tree in place they snuck in through the secret entrance and walked along the underground tunnel. It was a long walk, but certainly safer than entering Hogsmeade through the basement in Honeydukes. Eventually they came to a set of stairs and a door. They entered and found themselves inside a dust- covered room in the Shrieking Shack.
Remus Lupin was a werewolf, a wizard too, he had gone to study at Hogwarts. During his monthly transformations Dumbledore and the school nurse smuggled him out through the tunnel and into this house. His transformations were not pleasant, they were painful in fact and he howled and caused such a ruckus that the villagers of Hogsmeade did believe it to be haunted. Harry knew the Shrieking Shack was still supposedly the most haunted building in all Britain even though it had been silent for years. Now Lupin had a newly developed potion he took monthly to make him as docile as a lamb when he transformed. While working at Hogwarts he took the potion and curled up calmly in his office.
Harry peered out a little corner of the window that he cleared of dust with his sleeve, a small enough hole for him to see out of. There was no one out there. Sometimes people did come to see the most haunted building in Britain, even though they had no way to get in, but it was mostly students that did that and they were all at school today.
"All clear. Let's go." Harry unlocked the door and they left. Quickly making their way down from the hill and into the village of Hogsmeade.
"Honeydukes first," announced Renata. "I've got a craving for some major chocolate."
"Right. Honeydukes first and then Zonkos," Ron said. "Somebody's got some heavy duty payback coming his way."
Harry had a feeling who exactly it was Ron intending on paying back. "Well we have to be back here by eleven. I'm not taking any chances about how long it will take us to get back to Hogwarts." Just maybe there wouldn't be time for Zonkos. "And I want to stop at the Three Broomsticks."
"Me too."
"Then we'd better get going. We've only got an hour and a half."
The four of them trudged down the hill and into the village. Honeydukes was their first stop. Both of Hermione's parents were dentists and being very conscientious of her teeth she didn't buy much candy and she deliberated a long while about which kinds to get. Ron was looking at some Pepper Imps. Harry could just imagine Ron slipping one or two of those where Anthony might happen to eat them without knowing what they were; if that happened Anthony would be sorry.
Harry looked for his favorite candies. It just so happened that Droobles Best Blowing Bubblegum was right next to the large slabs of Honeydukes special chocolate. Right where Renata was.
She arched an eyebrow at him and asked, "Do you know the real reason that Hermione isn't in class today? I do."
"No, I don't. But I've got a good guess." He picked up a slab of chocolate and some of Droobles Best-Blowing Bubblegum. Maybe Hermione guessed that Ron wanted to pulverize Anthony, there'd been a lot of tension between Ron and Anthony all year and it was impossible for it to have been completely unnoticed.
"Anthony. He was flirting her. He tried to flirt a little with me too until I started calling him Annie, he hated that." She grinned as though causing Anthony misery had been the highlight her evening, and her it may have been. "Sure Hermione was polite to him last night but that's really all it was on her part. When I said I was going to leave to go upstairs, Anthony said he'd stay in the common room to keep Hermione company. You should have seen the way she glared at me! She was so mad at me. She could have killed a Nazgul with that stare. So I pretended I didn't feel well and Hermione helped me up the stairs. I looked back over my shoulder at Anthony just long enough to grin at him and say to him, 'Goodnight, Annie'." She giggled and picked up a few bars of Honeydukes chocolate. Giggling was very unlike her. "Anthony was trying to talk me into trading seats with him in all our classes for today so he could sit by Hermione. He said they had a lot of catching up to do. I told him I would trade with him today but Friday I'd be trading seats with Ron. He didn't like that one bit." She laughed; it was a rich and full sound.
Harry saw her reason for laughing and couldn't help but laugh too. Anthony would have had claims to sit by Hermione today in class, but Hermione wasn't in class. Tomorrow she would be but Renata had already claimed the seat next to Hermione on Ron's behalf.
"Okay. So other than to make that git mad, why did you offer the seat to Ron for tomorrow?" He saw her eyes flicker toward Ron and Hermione.
"I thought I'd help him out a bit. Boys flounder if unaided. He never knows how to tell her anything."
Harry scoffed and glared at her. " 'Boys flounder'? What's that supposed to mean?"
"Harry, if you can't figure it out I am not about to tell you. You're as dense as the red-haired dolt is."
Harry couldn't decide which he was madder about, her calling him a dense dolt or her calling his friend a dense dolt; either way, he was angry. "Now, just wait one minute, I-"
"You are such an idiot." She laughed again, though Harry thought it was more of a giggle this time. Again, very unlike her. "But don't worry, Harry; you being an idiot isn't necessarily a bad thing. It's rather interesting, certainly more fun for me that way." She smiled.
Harry watched her warily, uncertain of just what she meant. Sometimes he was sure Renata was really a viper, waiting to strike him; other times he was sure she was as docile as lamb. The rest of the time he was sure she was fate's way of paying him back for every mean thought he'd ever had toward anyone, even Draco and Dudley, and fate's way of keeping him from getting a swelled head from all the attention he got sometimes. With her around it was a fat chance that his ego would get big enough to need any deflating. "I- I- I'm going to go pay for my candy now." He swallowed involuntarily and shivered. He stalked away, to the counter and paid for his sweets. As he passed Ron and Hermione, Hermione trying to get Ron to help her decide on which type of candy to buy, he told them he would be waiting for them at the Three Broomsticks and quickly walked away clutching his bag of sweets.
"Hermione, I'm not sure that we should send you back here next year. This isn't the first time you've been in so much danger. Though we hadn't realized how much danger before. You were stolen away from the school. It's not safe here. You should been finishing up secondary school and going on to a University, not messing with magic here." He said "magic" as though it were still a foreign word.
"Your father's right. We've discussed this thoroughly. We miss you. Your sister misses you. You've been growing apart lately."
"Mum, Dad, you told me six years ago that it was my decision: to come or not to come. I chose to come and I stay with that decision. She's just having a harder time accepting me this way than we thought she would. I still choose here."
"Why, Hermione?" asked her father in a pained voice.
"I have friends here. There's Ron and Harry. And Renata. She's great. They all are. I'm learning a lot more than books. I've grown here. I'm more than just books. I'm a person. I've got friends, I've kept my grades up, I've learned all sorts of new things, I'm braver than I was, I'm even a cheerleader. You've got to let me come back."
"It's not safe."
"Don't you want to be normal again? You graduated first in your class from your first school. Wouldn't you like that again?"
"Mum, I am the first in my class here. I don't want to be normal. Not your definition of it anyway. This is who I am now. I can't let you change that. I'm a witch whether you like it or not. This is where I belong, here I am normal and I don't have to hide who I am. I won't hide anymore."
"We will not let you come back here."
"You can't stop me. If you won't let me come back here don't expect to see me at the station at the end of term."
There was a long silence. Hermione sighed. "Write me. Write before school's out or you may not see me at the station. I could arrange to stay here over the summer. Or stay with a teacher. I've been discussing it with them."
"Hermione..."
"Go home and think about this, Mum, Dad. You'll see I'm right."
Harry heard the scraping of chairs inside and footsteps approaching. He began to walk again as though he was just entering. Hermione's parents walked out as if he didn't exist. As if on cue, Madam Pomfrey appeared.
"Where have you been, young man? I told Albus-I'm sorry, I mean the Headmaster-to send you to me as soon as you were awake. I'm waiting for an explanation." She didn't really wait. She took him by the arm and led him to an empty between Hermione and Renata. Ron was on the other side of Renata.
"Get in bed. You need rest. Take off your shoes. Tsk.tsk. Did you have a fall? This ankle looks swollen."
"Earlier this week, I fell."
"Here. Take this thermometer. In your mouth. I'll be back."
Harry stuck the thermometer in his mouth. It beeped at 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit; he wondered why Hogwarts didn't use the metric system.
"Was she this psychotic with the rest of you?"
Hermione had moved aside the curtains. "Pretty much. Harry, we're so glad you're okay!" Hermione and Renata both got out of their beds and gave him tight hugs not releasing him until he couldn't breathe.
"Are you all right, Harry?' Renata had let go but still stood close by. "You saved me," she whispered.
Ron got out of his bed and came to stand next to Hermione. "You got us home, Harry."
"If it weren't for the three of you I'd still be at that other Hogwarts wondering why I was exiled there or probably dead by now." He remembered Voldemort's comment about sending the trolls out to play. He tried not to shiver. "I would be dead now." Dead like his parents, dead like Cedric, dead like Renata's dead. Dead.
"Well, you aren't and I don't know about these two but I'm not letting you die any time soon. At least, not until you help win the Quiditch Cup."
"That's right. There's no way we're letting those rotten, dirty Slytherins get it," Ron said vehemently. He continued to mutter about the "bloody no-good, cheaters" but Harry didn't pay attention.
"You're all okay, right?"
"We're fine."
After dinner Madam Pomfrey released them after a final checkup for each. "Oh, and before I forget, the Headmaster wanted you to have these." She handed a sealed envelope to each of them.
They thanked her and opened the envelopes as soon as they were in the hallway.
Harry tore open the envelope. Mr. Potter, you will not have to attend your lessons tomorrow due to your special circumstances and your need to rest, but you will be back in class on Friday. Rest well. The Headmaster had signed it.
His friends each had an identical note addressed to them. "Yes, no school tomorrow!" Ron shouted. "No class, no class, no class." He started dancing to music the rest of them obviously couldn't hear.
"Are you all right, Ron?" asked Harry. He was doubled over laughing, with his head raised just enough to see Ron's face.
Ron froze. "I'm fine." His face went red.
Renata laughed, "Let's get back to the Tower."
The four of them, in great spirits, returned to the Gryffindor common room.
Harry sighed with relief as he came in the common room; it was unchanged. "It's good to be home." His friends nodded. Together they sat back by the window, going over the events of the week they had just spent. Most of the students were still at dinner but the few who were already back had taken the good armchairs near the fire, they couldn't have been in more than their second year. Harry knew that his friends most likely had heard the conversation he had between Hermione and her parents but she didn't bring it up and neither did they.
"Sirius told me that teleportation has been lost for a long time. Nobody could remember how to make it work."
"Then why were we able to?"
"I think it had something to do with us being in a group. One or two people couldn't teleport, but more together."
"Exactly." Hermione nodded in a satisfied way.
People began to stream back into the common room. Coming in small groups. Sitting far to the back, almost none noticed Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Renata talking quietly amongst themselves. Harry hoped it'd stay that way.
"We've got get-out-of-class-without-getting-detention notes. Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" asked Ron.
Harry grinned. "Yeah, Hogsmeade."
Renata laughed. "Great. I've been dying for more of that Honeyduke's chocolate. Yum. I'm buying five pounds of it tomorrow."
"Don't eat it all in one night or you'll get sick," warned Hermione. "You don't want to get sick, we do have to go to class on Friday. I'm not sure we should skip class tomorrow after all we missed so far."
"Hermione, we missed a week, what difference can one day more make?" asked Ron. "Just a minute, Ginny," he said absently. His eyes widened. "Ginny! What are you doing here?"
"When did all of you get back? What happened?" She demanded. "Mum's been worried sick. Apparently someone told her you were back, I add that they did not bother to tell me, but I guess they told her because I got an owl this morning saying that she was coming tomorrow."
Tomorrow? That could ruin their plans. "What time, Ginny? What time did she say she'd come?"
"I don't know, Harry. Around noon, I guess. She said she'd have lunch with me a soon as she got here and then spend the day with you and Ron." Ginny sniffed. "None of you even bothered to say hello or tell me where you've been."
"What did Dumbledore tell the rest of you?"
"Only that you three had been kidnapped and that if anyone knew where you were they were to inform a teacher immediately. What really happened? You were gone a week. I'm so glad you're all safe." This last comment seemed more directed at her brother and Hermione than at the other two.
"I've got a stomachache. I'll talk to you tomorrow." Harry got up and walked to the stairs to his dormitory. He wasn't in the mood to discuss the past week with her. Some of the memories were too painful. Particularly Hagrid. Harry lay down eagle spread on the bed. He wasn't particularly tired. It was early yet. He wondered absently whether they'd still be able to go to Hogsmeade. Maybe he could sneak out tomorrow night and get Renata some chocolate if they couldn't all go during the day.
It was probably an hour later that Dean and Seamus came in, followed shortly by Ron who slammed the door and muttered angrily about Anthony. He locked the door behind him.
Harry supposed that Anthony had been flirting Hermione, again, and Ron hadn't taken it well.
"So where were you four really?"
"Yeah. Why did you disappear with two girls? You were gone a week."
"We were kidnapped," Harry told them bluntly.
"We heard. We were just checking."
"What happened? Where did you go?"
"You remember all those rumors about the Green Flame Torch? They were true. It pulled us into an alternate world where Hogwarts was abandoned fifty something years ago and Muggles knew wizards and witches existed. It was horrible. Hogwarts was closed and everyday, witches and wizards feared for their lives. Hagrid was there. They'd captured him months ago and he died there. Died saving us. Finally we got back here. That's all you need to know." He told this all in cold words and watched as their mouths hung open in amazement.
There was a pounding on the door and a muffled cry of, "Let me in! What are you doing? I'm tired! Let me in!"
Harry glared, first at the door and then at Seamus. "Open the bloody door and make him shut up!" he barked. He was surprised at himself. Normally he kept a better reign on his temper and didn't use such language. What was even more shocking was the fact that Seamus listened to him.
Seamus scrambled up to open the door. Anthony had been leaning against it as he pounded and fell into the room in a disheveled manner.
"That was not very nice. All I wanted to do was talk to her, Ron. You had no call to go hitting me like that or locking me out. This is my room too."
Only then did Harry notice the bruise beginning to show under the boy's left eye.
He stood and walked over to his bed, sitting on the end of it and removing his shoes. "I don't see why you should mind me talking to her. She didn't mind it. And you didn't mind when I was talking to Renata."
Ron fixed Anthony with such a fierce look and snarl that the other boy seemed to cringe back, though he sounded cool and composed when he said, "Goodnight. I'll see you in class tomorrow, Ron. Though I think I'll be talking to Hermione. You don't mind, do you? Her and I have quite a bit to catch up on."
Ron leaned over and muttered in Harry's ear, "This one's worse than Krum! He speaks perfect English, Krum couldn't even get Hermione's name right."
Harry groaned quietly as he pulled the blankets over himself. He knew that if Hermione went to class tomorrow Ron would go to class tomorrow and if Ron went to class tomorrow he would have to go to make sure Ron didn't kill Anthony. Well, Ron wouldn't kill him, probably not anyway, but he might severely hurt him and the last thing Harry wanted was for his best friend to get expelled from Hogwarts for fighting with another student.
Harry sighed; he'd have to speak to the Quiditch team tomorrow too. Without he and Renata they probably hadn't practiced all week. ***************************************************
Harry was up before Ron the next morning and he hoped up before Hermione and Renata. He waited in the common room for them. He had to know if Hermione was going to class or not.
Finally she came. Renata yawning behind her. "Harry, I thought you'd be sleeping in today. According to Ginny, Mrs. Weasly isn't coming to see you and Ron until noon."
"Are you going to class today?" he asked, foul temperedly.
"No. Why? We have the day off still, don't we?"
"Just checking. Yesterday you weren't sure you were willing to miss class."
"We're going to Hogsmeade, but we'll have to be back before noon otherwise Mrs. Weasly will know that you and Ron snuck away from the school."
"Right. I'm just waiting for Ron." He didn't have to wait long; Ron came down shortly.
"Are we going via Shrieking Shack or Honeydukes?"
"Why do you even ask? Honeydukes is too risky. The four of us better hightail it to the Whomping Willow on the double."
The four of them did just that, walking across the grounds to the Whomping Willow tree with all it's flailing limbs. After freezing the tree in place they snuck in through the secret entrance and walked along the underground tunnel. It was a long walk, but certainly safer than entering Hogsmeade through the basement in Honeydukes. Eventually they came to a set of stairs and a door. They entered and found themselves inside a dust- covered room in the Shrieking Shack.
Remus Lupin was a werewolf, a wizard too, he had gone to study at Hogwarts. During his monthly transformations Dumbledore and the school nurse smuggled him out through the tunnel and into this house. His transformations were not pleasant, they were painful in fact and he howled and caused such a ruckus that the villagers of Hogsmeade did believe it to be haunted. Harry knew the Shrieking Shack was still supposedly the most haunted building in all Britain even though it had been silent for years. Now Lupin had a newly developed potion he took monthly to make him as docile as a lamb when he transformed. While working at Hogwarts he took the potion and curled up calmly in his office.
Harry peered out a little corner of the window that he cleared of dust with his sleeve, a small enough hole for him to see out of. There was no one out there. Sometimes people did come to see the most haunted building in Britain, even though they had no way to get in, but it was mostly students that did that and they were all at school today.
"All clear. Let's go." Harry unlocked the door and they left. Quickly making their way down from the hill and into the village of Hogsmeade.
"Honeydukes first," announced Renata. "I've got a craving for some major chocolate."
"Right. Honeydukes first and then Zonkos," Ron said. "Somebody's got some heavy duty payback coming his way."
Harry had a feeling who exactly it was Ron intending on paying back. "Well we have to be back here by eleven. I'm not taking any chances about how long it will take us to get back to Hogwarts." Just maybe there wouldn't be time for Zonkos. "And I want to stop at the Three Broomsticks."
"Me too."
"Then we'd better get going. We've only got an hour and a half."
The four of them trudged down the hill and into the village. Honeydukes was their first stop. Both of Hermione's parents were dentists and being very conscientious of her teeth she didn't buy much candy and she deliberated a long while about which kinds to get. Ron was looking at some Pepper Imps. Harry could just imagine Ron slipping one or two of those where Anthony might happen to eat them without knowing what they were; if that happened Anthony would be sorry.
Harry looked for his favorite candies. It just so happened that Droobles Best Blowing Bubblegum was right next to the large slabs of Honeydukes special chocolate. Right where Renata was.
She arched an eyebrow at him and asked, "Do you know the real reason that Hermione isn't in class today? I do."
"No, I don't. But I've got a good guess." He picked up a slab of chocolate and some of Droobles Best-Blowing Bubblegum. Maybe Hermione guessed that Ron wanted to pulverize Anthony, there'd been a lot of tension between Ron and Anthony all year and it was impossible for it to have been completely unnoticed.
"Anthony. He was flirting her. He tried to flirt a little with me too until I started calling him Annie, he hated that." She grinned as though causing Anthony misery had been the highlight her evening, and her it may have been. "Sure Hermione was polite to him last night but that's really all it was on her part. When I said I was going to leave to go upstairs, Anthony said he'd stay in the common room to keep Hermione company. You should have seen the way she glared at me! She was so mad at me. She could have killed a Nazgul with that stare. So I pretended I didn't feel well and Hermione helped me up the stairs. I looked back over my shoulder at Anthony just long enough to grin at him and say to him, 'Goodnight, Annie'." She giggled and picked up a few bars of Honeydukes chocolate. Giggling was very unlike her. "Anthony was trying to talk me into trading seats with him in all our classes for today so he could sit by Hermione. He said they had a lot of catching up to do. I told him I would trade with him today but Friday I'd be trading seats with Ron. He didn't like that one bit." She laughed; it was a rich and full sound.
Harry saw her reason for laughing and couldn't help but laugh too. Anthony would have had claims to sit by Hermione today in class, but Hermione wasn't in class. Tomorrow she would be but Renata had already claimed the seat next to Hermione on Ron's behalf.
"Okay. So other than to make that git mad, why did you offer the seat to Ron for tomorrow?" He saw her eyes flicker toward Ron and Hermione.
"I thought I'd help him out a bit. Boys flounder if unaided. He never knows how to tell her anything."
Harry scoffed and glared at her. " 'Boys flounder'? What's that supposed to mean?"
"Harry, if you can't figure it out I am not about to tell you. You're as dense as the red-haired dolt is."
Harry couldn't decide which he was madder about, her calling him a dense dolt or her calling his friend a dense dolt; either way, he was angry. "Now, just wait one minute, I-"
"You are such an idiot." She laughed again, though Harry thought it was more of a giggle this time. Again, very unlike her. "But don't worry, Harry; you being an idiot isn't necessarily a bad thing. It's rather interesting, certainly more fun for me that way." She smiled.
Harry watched her warily, uncertain of just what she meant. Sometimes he was sure Renata was really a viper, waiting to strike him; other times he was sure she was as docile as lamb. The rest of the time he was sure she was fate's way of paying him back for every mean thought he'd ever had toward anyone, even Draco and Dudley, and fate's way of keeping him from getting a swelled head from all the attention he got sometimes. With her around it was a fat chance that his ego would get big enough to need any deflating. "I- I- I'm going to go pay for my candy now." He swallowed involuntarily and shivered. He stalked away, to the counter and paid for his sweets. As he passed Ron and Hermione, Hermione trying to get Ron to help her decide on which type of candy to buy, he told them he would be waiting for them at the Three Broomsticks and quickly walked away clutching his bag of sweets.
