Chapter 5

Double Trouble with Double Potions (Harry)

            My name is Harry Potter.

            I think I've all ready told you that.

            Hogwarts: The most magical boarding school there ever was… and I attend it.  I ran after Hermione into the Entrance Hall and then right into the Great Hall.  Ron marveled at the place.  I did too.  It was wonderful to be back again. 

            We went through everything as usual.  We got five new Gryffindors this year.  Georgia Creevey (Colin Creevey's little sister), Ruby Undine, Griffin Wrench, Harriet Pry, and Forrest Casper were their names.  Of course, the Creeveys were all over me, asking me to sign pictures and whatnot.  I eventually got away, when Dumbledore stood up to do his opening speech.

            "Welcome, welcome, to another great year of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft.  I would like to inform the new students, and remind the old, that the Forbidden Forest is strictly out of bounds.  There is a list of an assortment of items our caretaker Mr. Filch would like you to view, since it is a list of forbidden objects.  Those objects include Dungbombs and such.

            "I have only four more words to say.  Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!  Let the feast begin!"  Dumbledore exclaimed, beaming around at the students.

            Holding his knife and fork expectantly, with a napkin tucked in the color of his shirt, Ron sat ready.  Food blossomed from the empty golden plates and the chatter started spontaneously.  I snorted with laughter as Ron dived into the food, tearing the chicken apart with his teeth.  I, myself, took a few chicken wings and some mashed potatoes with corn to the side.  I was quite hungry.  The food fight with the pumpkin pasties and cauldron cakes seemed in the distant past.

            I looked up to see Ron inhaling the mashed potatoes.  "What a mess," I said through my chicken wing.  I was finishing with the chicken and moved onto the mashed potatoes.  Ron had all ready moved onto seconds.  Hermione was eating politely but it seemed that she was close to loosing self-control.

            When the last of desert finally disappeared from the golden plates, we were all too stuffed and could barely move.  Through some miracle, we managed to get to the Gryffindor Common Room.  When I finally got into bed, I muttered, "'Night, Ron."  What I got for a reply was Ron's snoring.  I smiled against my pillow and drifted off into dreamlands.

            After a few seconds it was day again.  The sun was peering at me through a crack in my bed curtains.  "Harry!  Wake up and smell coffee!" Ron said, grinning and throwing a pillow at me.  I groaned and rolled over, only to fall out of bed.  Seamus grinned, wiping the sleep out of his eyes.  Dean snorted and stretched as he climbed out of bed.  Neville was still snoring.

            I groggily got out of bed and got changed.  Ron and I walked down to the Great Hall together.  Hermione was already there when we got to the Gryffindor table.  She gave us our schedules.  "Double Potions?  Today? This morning? Why us?" Ron asked.  "Why us?" I repeated faintly, "Why us?  Us because my life is miserable.  Us because I'm Harry Potter."  Hermione looked at us over her book at me.  "Don't say that, Harry.  Your life isn't always miserable." She said and continued to read.  I stared at her for a moment, and then returned to my breakfast.

            There wasn't much conversation after that.  Without saying a word, we got up and got ready for Potions class.  We ran down the corridors, not wanting to be late.  We stopped at the door.  The Slytherins were all smirking for some odd reason.  My nose wrinkling in suspicion, I glanced at them.

            There was something on Snape's desk.  It was full of wiggling slug-like things.  "Probably ingredients for today's potion," Ron said wearily, looking disgusted.  "Not as bad as spiders though," he added as an afterthought, shuddering.  I smiled wryly. 

            Snape made his usual dramatic entrance.  "Welcome to your fifth year of Hogwarts," said Snape in his icy voice.  "I don't expect you have become geniuses over this summer vacation, nor do I think you have become any smarter.  Only a select few have probably increased their knowledge…" he broke off there and gave Malfoy a notable glance.  Malfoy looked smug.  He continued to talk and I sighed miserably.  The first class of the year just had to be Double Potions.

            Today we were making Deflating Draught.  I had no idea why.  Snape scrawled the ingredients across the board.  He picked on Neville and all the Gryffindors.  He complimented all the Slytherins, even though some of them were messing up quite badly.

            Ron was doing horrible today.  He couldn't tell a lacewing from a spider!  He was starting to sweat and kept giving Snape nervous glances.  I leaned over and muttered, "Are you okay?"  He looked at me, his face pale.  "Yeah.  I'm fine." He said in a high-pitched voice.

            We worked in silence for a little while until I felt something hit the back of my neck.  I clapped my hand to the place the thing had hit and swerved around.  Malfoy was sniggering and loading a puffer fish eye onto a spoon and flicking them at us.  Ron's neck was starting to go red.

            The bell rang just in time.  I grabbed my backpack and shouldered it, muttering under my breath.  "Longbottom!  Finnigan!  Stay here!" called Snape.  Neville looked ready to faint and Seamus had a look on his face that said quite clearly, "What did I do?"  Wondering what was going to happen, I hung back to see what's what.  I "accidentally" knocked over the armadillo bile, as I had done last year.

            "Have you ever wanted to be someone else…?" Snape asked.  I peered over the top of my desk to see a maniac grin on Snape's face.  "Uh… not really, no." Seamus said.  "I-I dunno, P-Professor Snape, s-sir!" Neville choked, going through several shades of green.  "Well, you don't have a choice now, do you!?" Professor Snape laughed, taking Seamus and Neville's heads and putting them into the bowl of gray slugs.  I gasped and the hair on the back of my neck prickled.  Seamus and Neville floundered and waved their arms, trying to free themselves.  I scuttled nearer for a closer look.  Bubbles rose as Seamus and Neville yelled in horror.  Suddenly, it all stopped.  The bubbles stopped and they stopped waving their arms.  I sat, transfixed at the sight.

            Snape released them.  "Iniss Five-Five-Three.  Iniss Five-Five-Four." He said, nodding.  "Yes, Sub-Visser thirty seven?"  Seamus asked.  What's a Sub-Visser? I wondered.  "You are to try to lure Harry Potter here.  He is very important to our invasion.  He has influenced the minds of many of these people.  Fascinating technology, they have." Snape said.  Neville and Seamus nodded.  They left the room.  I followed them.

            I had to tell Ron and Hermione!

~*~

            I ran into the dormitory, panting.  I saw Hermione sitting in the common room, looking scared and shaken.  I staggered over to her and sat down in a chair opposite her.  "Hermione, what's the matter?" I asked.  "Harry, it's Ron.  He's caught a disease.  He can't use magic!  Seamus and Neville have it too!" Hermione said, her voice high and squeaky.  "Oh god," I said.  "I think I know what it is."