**I know this chapter's short, but I had to get something posted! I promise a much longer chapter 11. By the way, enjoy the sporks, T! lol.**
The seven girls slowly awoke as sunlight trickled in through the windows. Michelle and Ginny came in just as the sixth years were putting on footwear. Ginny and Michelle sat down by Gemna once she had gotten the last buckle on her shoes. "You gonna be okay talking to the guys today?" Ginny asked sympathetically as Gemna shoved the boxers in her bag.
She sighed and said, "Yeah, I hope so. I'm praying a house elf found my bra and is using it as a rag. At least the guys will never see it that way." Hermione shook her head and muttered something about the comparison of guys to house elves.
"Look," Courtney said, trying to be the voice of reason. "For now, we better stick to our normal routine. Don't act suspicious and they may not notice. If they bring it up, then we'll settle it. If not, then we act like it never happened…for the rest of our lives." They all stared into space for a moment before descending to the common room in mob form.
The guys were surprisingly slower than the girls in getting ready. They couldn't stop talking about the night before. Ron expected to feel guiltier, but he was actually rather excited. "What do you think she'll say, Harry?"
Harry, however, was somewhat frightened. "I really don't want to think about it. Look, we'll just have to avoid the subject as much as possible. If they bring it up, we'll talk about it. If not, no one says a word. Got it?" Everyone nodded as Harry glared around the room and turned towards the door.
Classes that day were unusually silent, and the teachers certainly noticed. Professor Trelwaney kept going on about how she'd foreseen this ("The signs have been haunting me for days! Terrible news has brought silence to the young. I should have told you. The spirits must be testing us…"). History Of Magic was useful napping time. Professor Binns was in a bad mood and just went on about how much easier the students had it now then in his days. Herbology and Charms in the morning did have some light conversation in between copying notes and recording the difference between Bluebell seeds and Sadbell seeds. It seemed as though the world was determined to keep them focused on their misery, as Michelle had put it. When they entered the common room after dinner, there was a sudden realization: Gemna was supposed to be teaching the boys how to levitate tonight. The other girls looked to her for an answer as the boys pretended not to notice and began discussing favorite candies. Gemna stepped aside with the other girls so they could discuss a plan. "You can't do this by yourself," Maria said. "Let me go with you. I'm the one who took the stupid boxers anyway."
"No, I should go," Hermione said. "It was my dumb dare."
"But Gemna wouldn't have lost her bra if it weren't for me," Courtney whined guiltily. "I should do it."
"Girls, stop." Gemna had to put both her hands over Ginny and Emilia's mouths to stop their bickering. "Look, I got to do this on my own. We can't show weakness. If we let them think a stupid article of clothing makes us go to pieces, they'll start taking advantage of us like that." She snapped her fingers. "I have Harry's boxers in my bag. I'll just slip it into his draw while they're levitating and figure out where they put my bra. I need you six to go back to the dorm and file the forms. I'll be back as soon as I can." They all sighed and agreed that it was for the best. Maria hugged her and whispered "words of strength" in her ear ("If they make the slightest move on you, let me know and I'll have them pinned to the walls with sporks!").
Gemna laughed and walked over to the boys. She saw they had already gotten the others that she had selected. "Ready to go?"
"Wait a second," Dean said. "What are Neville and I supposed to do?"
"Homework," Gemna said wittily and turned towards the stairs as the eight boys followed her.
They all filed in behind Gemna as she placed three tissues on the floor and cast the Makeshift Charm a few times. Ron, Harry and Seamus tried to act as surprised as the fifth years. "Okay," she said as she turned to face the boys. "To levitate, you need to be relaxed and open. The closest you can get to that is to take off your socks and shoes and any accessories such as glasses. You can keep them right by the beds so you don't loose them. It works best in flowing garments like dresses, or, to tell the truth, nude, but I really think we'd be better off doing it this way." The guys stared around at each other, their faces slowly changing to the color of fresh strawberries. To break the unusual stillness, Harry sat down on his bed and began to untie his shoes. Ron did the same, followed by Seamus and then the fifth years. Once everyone was done, Gemna continued, "Now everybody needs to lie down. Yes, on your backs, like Ron. Right, now clear your mind. Open yourself to everything, yet there's nothing."
She walked around and saw some of the guys make weird faces with their eyes closed, trying to figure out what they were really supposed to do. After a while, they all seemed pretty relaxed, so she went on. "Now imagine yourself lifting up. Slowly rising…." She continued the normal steps that she had done with the girls. The guys were doing better than she expected. Ron and Seamus were both several feet above their beds. Colin, John and Nick had some trouble starting, but now they were a good meter or so in the air. Jared and Josh were only a few inches above their beds, but after some calming words from Gemna, they lifted much higher. Harry was the only one who kept sinking back down. "Alright, everyone maintain your thoughts, keep levitating in good places. Harry, you come here. I need to talk to you.
Harry sat up and followed Gemna just outside the door. As he looked back, he couldn't believe what was actually happening. It seamed so surreal. "Harry," Gemna said in a hushed tone. She sighed and pulled a green and blue blob of cloth out from behind her. "Maria and Hermione send their apologies, as well as the rest of us. I know this is what's keeping you from levitating; a guilty consciences. Ron and Seamus are doing well because they don't have the same relationship with me as you do. I know you care about me and I care about you, too. But there's no way I'm going to let you try this tonight. You heard my warning last night and I'm not going to let you risk death to levitate. I'll give you private instruction on what to do next Tuesday. The girls and I have plans until then."
He just stood there, dumbfounded. 'She knows what happened? She knows I love her? What the bloody hell is going on?' "Gemna…I don't know how," he began to say, but she interrupted.
"I just do. Now, if you don't mind, I would like my bra back please," she said with a giggle. He went into the room and came back a few moments later with the lingerie in his hand. He handed it to her and tried to avoid eye contact. "Harry, I can't tell you how I know what's been going on. Just know I'm not mad at you. A lot of guys are curious what goes on in a girl's mind. Any guy with access to such spying equipment would have done the same thing. I also want you to know," she leaned toward his ear and whispered, "I love you too." She turned to head back inside before she said, "Oh, I'd appreciate it if this conversation was never repeated and if the guys ask, pretend as though you did levitate. Say about two and a half feet."
She walked in the room and put her bra in her bag as Harry lied down on the bed and tried to pretend he actually had levitated, as Gemna had said. She then guided the other seven boys safely back down to the beds, warning them of the dangers of not doing it safely. Harry timed it just right and sat up, rubbing his eyes and reaching for his glasses, just as the rest of them were returning to reality.
"That's really refreshing," Nick said. "I feel so relaxed now."
"Me too," added Colin. "This is so cool, Gemna, thanks."
She grinned as the guys all complimented her and put their shoes back on. "So that's basically what we've got to teach everyone next Friday?" asked Jared.
"Yeah. Of course, there are advancements after that such as levitating not on a bed, or even standing up, which I'm not sure all of you will be able to do. As time progresses, the number of participants in this will decrease. This includes you. About six of you will probably be segregated from later lessons. It's not anything against you all; some people just don't have the aura for it. Now, don't reveal anything to anyone. This remains a secret. If not, that paper you all signed, and the forms, were all hexed. Believe me, you don't want that hex upon you. I suggest you all return to your dorms now and get some rest. Although this may feel relaxing, truth is that it really does take a lot out of your auras on your first few tries. You can stay up and talk a bit, do homework and things like that, but don't go doing anything strenuous." The fifth years all said goodnight to her and headed back to their dorm. Gemna then hugged Seamus, Ron and Harry goodnight and headed to hers.
"What about the…" Ron began to say.
"Consider it taken care of," Harry said. A few minutes later, Neville and Dean came in. They all discussed what it was like, Harry just agreeing with the other two, and went to bed early.
"How'd it go?" Courtney asked anxiously as Gemna walked in and set her bag down.
"Pretty good. They all levitated pretty well. Harry and I exchanged the clothing, and the whole thing is in the past. Let's just go to bed. I have plans for the eight of us tomorrow, as well as Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. You'll see. Just be sure to get plenty of rest tonight." They all said goodnight to Ginny and Michelle as they headed back to their room, and got changed for bed. Gemna's nightgown was different tonight: an all white, plain, silk dress. It barely had sleeves and reached the floor.
"Why the change in outfit?" Emilia questioned.
"Change can be good," she said as she got into bed and the lights went out. 'Or bad.'