Hermione hit her head against the back of the chair a few times and said, "She probably hates us now! How did she find out?"
Ginny shook her head. "We were so careful. Well, we were so careful." The two girls gave angry glares to Ron and Harry.
"What?" they asked in unison. "Come on," Harry said. "I'm sure if we just explain our point of view to her she'd understand. I mean, the whole point was to help her. However she found out, she probably just misunderstood. Ron and I don't feel like getting literally thrown off the stairs again like last year, so can you girls go get her?"
They sighed. "Always sending girls to do their dirty work," Ginny and Hermione giggled as they walked up the stairs to the room.
When they arrived there, they stopped dead in the doorway. Gemna was levitating above her bed! "G-G-G-Gemna?" Ginny stuttered.
Gemna lowered herself onto the bed and walked over to them in a nightgown like the one the night before, except with purple flowers. "Sorry to freak you girls out like that. It's just a little something for relaxation I picked up in Romania. Please don't mention it to any more than the guys. I don't want weird rumors spreading." They simply nodded in response. "I'm sorry if I sounded rude before Hermione," Gemna continued. "I'm actually not upset at all."
"You're…you're not?" Hermione looked shocked.
"No," she laughed. "You were just looking out for me because you thought Draco was up to something. And I heard everything you said. I have exceptional hearing. Ginny's the only one who knows how to spy without giving herself away. The only sound she made was when she grabbed Ron's…shoulders it sounded like."
"Wow, how did you know that? That's amazing!" Ginny and Hermione were much more relaxed now. "And we are REALLY sorry," Ginny added.
"I told you, it's okay." They gave each other friendly glad-to-be-on-your-good-side-again hugs.
"Oh, Ron and Harry are waiting down stairs for us. Boys aren't allowed up here, but they really want to apologize. Come on…" Hermione motioned for the door.
"No guys. I think I should talk to them alone. Besides, it's after eleven. You girls go to bed and I'll see you in the morning or if you're still up when I come back, Hermione." Before they could respond, Gemna was heading down the stairs.
"Hi Ron, Harry." She said as she sat down next to them.
They were rather stunned to see her in her nightgown, but tried desperately to pretend not to notice. "Hi Gemna," Harry said. "We're really sorry. We didn't mean…"
Gemna interrupted, "Harry, stop. I already talked about it with the girls. I have rather exceptional hearing and heard every word you four said. I'm not angry at all. As a matter of fact, I'm actually happy. That was so sweet the way you guys were ready to stand up for me like that." She walked over and hugged each of them.
"So, you're not mad at us for spying on you? Really?" Ron inquired, still blushing from being hugged.
"No, really. I'm okay with it. I'll talk to you in the morning at eight again. I could use some sleep. Goodnight!" Gemna dashed up the stairs, back to the dorm.
Harry and Ron felt much less tense now. Gemna hadn't minded whatsoever. She was pleased with the spying? Although they couldn't make sense of it, they didn't care anymore. After a few moments of meaningless silence, the two boys headed up to their rooms and went to bed happy.
At five o'clock, Gemna silently took a shower, brushed her teeth, dressed, and headed to the lake. She picked some daisies and sunflowers and chiseled at two rocks for about an hour to make vases for them. Around seven, she returned to Gryffindor and had a pleasant fifteen-minute conversation with the portrait before entering.
Gemna walked up the stairs to the boys' dormitories and into the 6th year room. For a few moments she just stood there and watched Ron and Harry sleep like babies. A heavy-set boy with brown hair in the corner actually was sucking his thumb. When she realized how soon they'd be getting up, she quickly set the vases down by their beds and left. Harry sat up and could have sworn he saw a dark shadow sweep out of the room, but by the time he got his glasses on, there was no way he could tell. Harry swung his legs over the edge of the bed and looked at the nightstand. There was a stone vase engraved "Harry Potter" and it was filled with flowers. He noticed Ron had gotten one, too. He walked over and woke him up. "Wake up you rock!" he screamed in his ear. "Unconscious people wake up more easily than you!" The two of them laughed. "Look on your dresser."
Ron picked up the vase and read out loud, "'Ronald Weasley'. Did Gemna do this? Hermione did mention something about flowers."
"I think so," Harry answered as he began to get dressed. Ron did the same. "Wow, that was so nice of her. This looks hand carved. Must've taken her at least an hour."
"She's amazing, isn't she? I can't wait to see her today. Her face just lights up a room!"
Harry smirked at Ron and teased him. "Ron and Gemna sitting in a tree…"
"Shut up, Harry," Ron said, throwing a pillow at him. They laughed, finished dressing, brushed their teeth, and headed to the common room the same time as the girls showed up. Well, Hermione and Ginny, at least. "Hey, where's Gemna?" Ron asked.
"I don't know," Hermione said. "Probably picking more flowers or something."
"She already did that," Harry blurted.
"What? How would you know?" Ginny asked them.
"She put hand carved vases with flowers by our beds. Our names are even engraved on them," Ron explained.
"Wow, cool. I think that means she forgives you." They laughed at Ginny's words. Just then, Gemna emerged from a dark corner and walked over.
"Gemna!" Ron subconsciously ran up to her and gave her a hug. "Oh, sorry! It's just…those flowers…and the vase…they're amazing!"
Gemna giggled. "You're both very welcome. And there was no reason to apologize for a hug. I don't mind hugs from friends." She smiled at them and her and Ron walked over to the others. "You guys ready to go to breakfast?"
From the table, Harry and the others, all except for Gemna who was serving herself some eggs, could easily see Malfoy writing something and constantly looking up at her. They figured it must have something to do with his sobbing the night before. "So you and Mal…Draco aren't dating, right?" Ron asked anxiously.
Gemna laughed. "Of course not! He lies way too much and Myrtle says…oops." She hadn't meant to reveal that her and Myrtle had been discussing rumors.
"What did Myrtle say?"
"Tell us!"
"Come on, please?"
They all begged her to find out what happened between her and the ghost in the lavatory. She finally gave in. "All right…Myrtle says Draco uses enough hair gel to open a factory. According to her, the entire Slytherin bathroom was flooded last year from it clogging the drainpipes."
They laughed their heads off. "S-s-sorry G-G-Gemna," Hermione tried to say. "It's just s-so f-funny to hear any r-r-rumors about him!" Gemna just pretended to smile and continued with her breakfast.
"You know, Harry," she continued, "it seems Myrtle had an interesting story about you, as well."
Harry immediately stopped laughing. "What? What did she say?" It didn't occur to him that anything she said now, the others would hear.
"Well, I don't think I should…." Gemna looked away.
"Tell us, Gemna!" Ron laughed. "Let's hear what Moaning Myrtle's been telling you!"
"Fine, but if Harry's embarrassed, it's your fault." She and the others leaned in so no one would hear. "Myrtle says in your fourth year, she was spying on you when you snuck into the prefects' bathroom to hear the mermaids' song in that egg. She says she lied about not seeing you naked and that quote 'he's only grown more attractive since'. Apparently she fancies you, in more ways then one."
Harry's eyes widened and his face went white. The others were hysterical. Ginny practically fell over, milk came out of Ron's nose, and Hermione snorted like a pig. "Oh god, a dead girl watched me bathe. I feel so…weird. She didn't say anything…you know?"
Gemna caught the hint. "Oh, no, of course not. However, I think if I hadn't had to leave so quickly she would have used a lot more detail." Harry bit his lip and ate his breakfast in silence while the others continuously made jokes about it.
"Guys, it's not that funny," he said after about the ten zillionth "joke". "For all I know, she could be spying on me every time I use the bathroom! It's not funny at all."
"Oh, don't worry, Harry. She says she only looks at you in the shower every so often." The others burst into laughter again when Gemna said this. "Just kidding!" Harry rolled his eyes and gave a false grin. Then Gemna whispered, "Actually, she really did say that last week. I just didn't want them to hear…." They looked over at Ron, Ginny, and Hermione who were still bouncing off the walls. "I'll talk to her about it next time I see her. It's really more of a compliment, though."
"Well, when you do go see her, let me know; I'm going with you."
As they were leaving the Great Hall, Hermione stopped and pulled out five papers. "Hold up guys, I forgot to tell you; this morning I made those schedules!" Her, Ginny, and Gemna grinned at each other while the guys rolled their eyes at her organization obsession. Hermione handed them each a copy.
"Let's see…" Gemna read the list out loud as they all sat on the stairs. "Today I'm with Hermione. Tomorrow Harry, then Ginny, and Wednesday is Ron."
"Okay, I guess that makes sense. This way we each get to spend a day getting to no you. Sounds fair; good idea Hermione." Harry smiled at her.
"Well, you three have fun. Come on Hermione, only four more hours 'till lunch!" They giggled and ran up the stairs together.
"So now what?" Ginny asked the boys.
"I don't know. I have a strange notion to go study for tomorrow," Ron said with a puzzled look.
"That's actually a good idea," Harry complimented. "Too the library!" The three of them laughed all the way there.
"So what would you like to do?" Gemna asked Hermione as they sat down in their room. No one else was there; they were all in the courtyard or by the lake or elsewhere in the school.
"Well, if you don't mind, Gemna, I'd like to learn how to levitate myself like you did. By the way, I didn't tell anyone, don't worry." Hermione giggled.
"Sure, anything for my roommate!" They laughed. "The first thing you got to do is change out of that outfit. We're in the dorm, you can where other stuff. Here…" Gemna tossed Hermione one of her dresses. "Put this on. For the levitation to have the best affect, you need to be in a flowing, comfortable outfit." Hermione changed into the dress. It was a bit oddly cut in some places for her. "I can fix that," Gemna lifted her hands, crossed them in front of her face, pulled them to the side, then the front, slowly back, then strait forward and said "Blekeya tetlarro!" The outfit immediately adjusted to fit Hermione perfectly.
"Wow! That's awesome! Wait, why didn't you use a wand?" Hermione was grateful, but she was very confused.
"It's called Indegica. It means I can create magic without a wand or sometimes even without a potion; but not always. It's a gift you're born with and can only be acquired otherwise by a unique and rare homemade potion that requires the blood of both people," she explained.
"That's okay, I think I'll stick to a wand." They laughed. "So what do I do now?"
"Take off your shoes and lie down on your back with your arms at your sides." Hermione did so and laid back on her bed. "Okay, now empty your mind. Completely empty and relaxed." After she figured she was relaxed enough, Gemna continued. "Now, visualize yourself rising up. Think nothing but that. Then see yourself floating in peaceful places, like meadows or clouds." After about five minutes, Hermione was levitating about a foot off her bed. "When you want to come down, visualize yourself safely lowering back down." Hermione did so. "Great job! Not many people get it, even though it both sounds and is simple. You are very gifted."
"Thanks, but you're the gifted one. You're the one that's Indegic." They laughed again. "Hey, I was wondering…you wouldn't let me keep this dress, would you? Sorry if it sounds rude, but I just love it!"
"Oh, of course Hermione! It looks great on you! Besides, I have plenty of others and can easily sew more."
"You mean you make them yourself?"
"Yup!"
"Whoa, that's cool! My mother taught me how to sew and needlepoint, but I never designed my own dress. Can I work on one with you sometime?"
"Sure. Why don't you get changed back to your normal clothes and save that dress for when you really need it?"
"Yeah, a dress like this ain't just for walkin' 'round school." Hermione changed and put the dress in her closet and the two of them sat down. "Now what?"
"I'd like to start on the rest of the books for our classes, if you don't mind that is."
"Mind?" Hermione exclaimed. "I haven't gotten a chance to study at all! Come on, we only have two and a half hours left 'till we gotta meet up for lunch; let's get to work!" They pulled out all their books and opened to chapter one of Potion Notions: Learning to Create Your Own Potions and Magical Recipes by Teresa Maria Thorn. By lunch they had read everything from Transfiguration, You, and Others by Shannon J. Graves to Herbology Today and Forever by Emily Mitchell. They put the books away and headed down to the Great Hall.
Harry, Ron, and Ginny were already at the table and waved to them as they approached. "Hey guys! What'd you do while we were gone?" Hermione asked.
"Believe it or not," Harry told them, "we were in the library, studying."
"You're right, I don't believe it. Is it true Ginny?" Ginny nodded with a mouth full of grilled cheese.
"What did you girls do? Let me guess: 'girl stuff'?" Harry high-fived Ron as a compliment for the joke.
"Actually, we read every single book for the year and made a dress for Hermione," Gemna said as they both giggled.
"Uh…right. Can we see the dress?" Harry asked her.
"No! I'm saving it," Hermione screamed at him.
"We can't just…." Ron begged.
"No!" she repeated.
"Calm down! It's just a dress. Forget we asked. So did you have fun reading?" Ron rolled his eyes at the prospect of studying when it wasn't necessary.
"Yes. That Teresa Thorn writes better stuff in her book than Snape will ever teach us. Our Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher this year, Jean L. Courtlynn has written her own book called Words Conquer All: Spells, Hexes and Incantations for All Situations. It's very well written." Hermione told them.
"Sounds ever so interesting," he replied sarcastically. "What are you planning on doing later?"
"We don't know. Maybe I should tell Gemna about the time with the slugs…."
"No! I'll shut up, I'll shut up," Harry and Hermione laughed, remembering what had happened when Ron tried to curse Malfoy with a broken wand in their second year.
"Well," Gemna said getting up, "I'm done. You ready to leave Hermione?"
Hermione stood up and said, "Yeah, sure. Let's go."
The other three watched the two girls exit the hall and ascend the stairs. "What's up with Hermione? She's acting like a normal girl. Oops. Sorry sis." Ron had forgotten she was there. Ginny gave him an evil glare and they finished their lunch before going out to the field to play Quidditch.
After continuous stories of each other's life and a gossip-filled dinner, the five students walked through the common room. "I hate Sunday nights. You can't have a Sunday night without a Monday morning," Harry sighed as he headed towards the stairs. "Goodnight girls. I want to get some extra sleep so I don't end up with detention tomorrow. We have no clue how strict our new teacher will be in Defense Against the Dark Arts; we have it first hour, you know."
"Yeah, I'm going with Harry," Ron said. "I could use some extra sleep. Goodnight girls."
"See you in the morning. We're just as tired as you, you know." They laughed at Ginny's comment and split up at the staircases.
"So tomorrow I'm spending the day with Harry, Hermione?" Gemna asked.
"Yup."
The next day, the five of them gulped down their breakfasts and headed to their first classes early. Ginny split up with them to go to Herbology while the rest went to meet their new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. They sat down at four desks in the right front of the room and waited for the class to start. After about fifteen minutes, all the other students were there, including Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle who were constantly looking over at them (mainly Gemna), and it was time to officially begin their 6th year.
A reasonably tall woman with dirty blond hair, freckles, blue eyes, and a light complexion walked in the room wearing a long velvet blue cloak. "Good morning class. I am Professor Jean L. Courtlynn and I will be your Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher for hopefully the next two years you're supposed to be here," she said in a soft, kind tone. "Now, let's get right to it. Please take out the book listed in the letter you received over the summer and open it to Chapter One: Muggles Vs. Magic."
Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Gemna opened their books. "She's certainly very different from the others, isn't she?" Hermione whispered.
"Oh, don't worry. I'm sure there's some kind of deep dark secret about her that will get her canned. There always is," Harry answered.
"Now," Professor Courtlynn continued, "I know this is a little elementary, but I would like someone to volunteer to read the first page for us." The only one to raise her hand was Gemna, but she didn't mind. "Ah, yes, Miss Rodemlovt. Professor Dumbledore mentioned that you'd be in my first hour class. I'm glad I'm not the only one who has to get used to the sixth years here." She giggled. "Please begin."
All eyes turned to Gemna as she began to read. "'When it comes to protecting yourself and others, some practice and a wand is all you really need. Before you step inside the world of hexes, jinxes, and counter-curses, consider what your life would be like as a muggle. When you met your enemy, what would you do? Muggles don't use magic, as you know. They use their physical strength: punching, kicking, and occasionally even biting. Having more muscle means you have the power. However, in the wizarding world, the one with the most knowledge of protective spells will be the only one still alive. With a mere flick of the wrist, a four-foot tall witch can knock out a fifty-foot tall giant; with the proper help of course. That's where this book comes in. Nearly everything you need to know to defend yourself against both foreseen and unforeseen events you will find in here.'"
"Now that you've covered the basic rule, muggle and wizard dueling never mix, please pair up and practice the simple blocking spell on the following page. I know I just said no muggle fighting, but I want you to throw a punch and or kick at your partner while they cast the spell to block. And Miss Rodemlovt, please come here." The professor sat down at her desk. Ron and Hermione paired up while Harry read over the instructions and waited for Gemna. "Miss Rodemlovt, the headmaster tells me you're," Professor Courtlynn looked to make sure no one was listening and continued, "Indegic. I don't mean this in a way that I think he is wrong, but is this true?" Gemna nodded. "Wow, I've never met a real Indegic before. We discussed it briefly in my seventh year of school, but I've never actually seen someone with Indegica. Do you mind doing the normal lessons with everyone else? It's the same thing, except you move your wrists and hands instead of a wand."
"Of course. I've even written some spells of my own," she told her.
"Independent spell writing? We didn't cover that until seventh year, if we were advanced enough. Of course, Professor Snape is starting you off with creating your own potions this year, but I'm certain it's not the same." They giggled. It was almost as if they were becoming friends. Gemna seemed to have a knack for things like that. "Well, I won't keep you anymore. Mr. Potter is waiting for you, I see. My, you two make an adorable couple."
"Oh, Harry and I aren't a couple. He is rather sweet and maybe it could work, but him, Hermione, Ron, Ginny, and I are all friends. Though Hermione claims they both talk about me a lot when I'm not there." They giggled again and Gemna headed back to Harry.
"What was that about?" he asked her considerately.
"Oh, nothing. Ready? Let's go stand over there." They picked up their books and stood by the window so they'd be away from the crowd at the desks. "Let's see. We're supposed to form a forwarding loop with the wand and say…oh, okay, I get it. You can go first Harry. Let me know when you're ready for me to punch you," she joked.
"I'm ready," Harry said. Gemna through her fist at Harry and he quickly looped his wand and moved it forward saying "Beknah!" Gemna's hand came about an inch from Harry's face before it was slowly pushed away. "I think I did it wrong," he laughed. "Your turn. Where's your wand?"
"Don't worry about it. Just go ahead and punch."
"But,"
"Just start."
Harry sighed. He felt bad about even pretending to hit her. "Alright…."
Harry lifted his arm and pushed it forward at her. Gemna did the forward loop with her fist and yelled, "Beknah!" Harry's hand stopped dead before his arm was even out half way, and then went strait back in. It was like he'd hit it on an invisible wall. The entire class went silent. Gemna had just performed a perfect blocking spell without use of a wand.
"Oh dear," the Professor said. "Perhaps I should explain. Please take your seats." The class immediately dashed back to their desks and looked at their teacher for an explanation. "You see class, Miss Rodemlovt has what is known as Indegica. It's a remarkably rare ability. As rare as, if not more so, parselmouths. Everyone turned to Harry and Gemna. Harry sunk into his seat while Gemna sat there perfectly content, listening very carefully, even though she fully knew about the uniqueness of her talent. "Indegic people can cast spells, charms, and nearly any form of magic, including Patronus, without use of a wand. It is a great advantage when combating evil. You could destroy their wand and they'd have no hope. Indegica is something you can only be born with, so don't bother trying it yourself. Though there is a way to gain the gift without being born with it, you are forbidden to try it, even out of school. There is an incredible risk of death and even fewer than the number of people who have it know how to do it, let alone do it properly. Anyway, I expect the bell will be ringing soon, so for homework, I'm assigning simply to practice the blocking spell. If you think you got it already, don't worry about it as we will have a simple review of it at the start of next class." Just then, the bell rang and the students gossiped all the way to their next classes.
"Harry!" Gemna called as he headed to Transfiguration. "Please don't go ahead. I would like to talk to you." Harry slowed down and Ron and Hermione took the hint to go on without them.
"Sorry if that was rude of me to rush out like that," he told her as they strolled down the hall to their next class. "I just really wanted to get out of there. Why didn't you tell us you were In…In…whatever it was she said?"
"Indegic. I told Hermione yesterday. I don't know why I didn't tell you. Now that it's out there, I don't feel so bad about it. However, there's something else I haven't told you. Not even the headmaster knows this…." She looked down at her feet.
"What is it Gemna? It can't be that bad. It's not like you're a parselmouth." Harry laughed. Gemna just kept a strait face and looked up at him. "Oh my god. You are!"