Chapter 6: Start of Term
Nobody could really say what had really happened between Snape and Hermione, mostly because nobody really knew. Harry and Ron, however, noticed something particularly odd that Snape had said. He had put particular emphasis on the word 'spewing' which both of them were sure was a reference to Hermione's S.P.E.W., although no one could be sure.
Luckily, there was little time to reflect on this as the following day they would be returning to Hogwarts. There was an awful lot of rushing around the house, making sure no one had forgotten a toothbrush, an animal, or anything else. Before they headed to Platform 9 ¾, however, Lupin took Harry aside. "Listen Harry, I want you to know that we agreed that you should become an Animagus. However, what form of animal will be your choosing, although personally I think you should pick something that can either fight well or fly. Something you can use to get you out of a tight spot. That is up to you." Harry nodded, "Who do I learn from, then?" At this, Lupin could not say, "We're still working on that Harry, but don't worry, we'll Owl you as soon as we do." Harry nodded, then said his goodbyes to everyone from the Order that was present.
Soon they had whisked off to the Platform, and slowly each person leaned through the charmed brick wall and fell through to the Platform, where they all saw the purple snake of the Hogwarts Express. "Five minutes!" shouted the conductor. "Oh now hurry Ron dear," said Mrs. Weasley, "we'll get your stuff on the train." She and Mr. Weasley quickly took hold of Harry's, Ron's, and Ginny's carts, and Harry and Ron turned to say goodbye to Fred and George, who had also come along. "We'll be in contact, right Harry?" whispered Fred with a wink, "Send you some more Skiving Snackboxes if you need 'em. Potions can be tough your sixth year!" Harry grinned, "Thanks Fred." George in turn nodded, "Give the old git a run for his money with a Nosebleed Nougat if necessary. I'm sure he's got more blood in that big hooked nose than he knows what to do with, stupid overgrown bat..."
Harry, for some reason, didn't feel like agreeing with George all that much; he merely nodded and said, "Yeah, sure." Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had returned from stowing their things on the train, and they each said their goodbyes. Mr. Weasley pulled Harry a little closer, though, and said, "Be careful Harry. Don't go adventuring this year. Keep to the castle and you'll be all right." Harry nodded, "Yes sir."
And with that, Harry, Ron, and Ginny boarded the train, waving to the Weasleys out the window. The train slowly pulled away from the station, and Harry was painfully reminded of this same time last year when Sirius had come along in his Animagus form, bounding after the train and barking at Harry. His smile faded, and Harry shut his eyes for one painful minute, thinking of how much he missed Sirius. Trying to turn his thoughts to something else, he began to think about what form of Animagus he should take. He turned to Ron, Hermione, and Ginny to voice his thoughts, but unfortunately Hermione said, "Harry...um...we...we have to go to the...you know, the prefects compartment. But we'll come visit as soon as we've done our duties, we promise!" Harry nodded, having forgotten about the whole thing, "Sure. I'll find a compartment and save you a spot."
He traipsed off down the train, feeling slightly left out, then found a mostly empty compartment; only Neville Longbottom was occupying it. "Hi Neville, can I sit?" he asked. "Oh of course Harry," said Neville, clutching his Mimbulus Mimbletonia; it had now grown at least three feet since Harry had last seen it. "How was your summer, Neville?" he asked half-heartedly. "All right I suppose," said Neville, "but gran's not very happy. You see, I only...well...I only got five O.W.L.s," he said sadly, "and I feel terrible about it." "Five's a lot better than some, Neville," said Harry, "I wouldn't worry about it too much. Just work extra hard for your N.E.W.T.s. Speaking of O.W.L.s, which ones did you get?" Neville pulled out a sheet of parchment, "Here."
Potions: Acceptable
Herbology: Outstanding
Defense Against the Dark Arts: Outstanding
Charms: Outstanding
Astronomy: Exceeds Expectations
Divination: Acceptable
Transfiguration: Outstanding
History of Magic: Acceptable
Care of Magical Creatures: Outstanding
"Ah come off it Neville, that's not bad at all!" said Harry, and meaning it. Neville shrugged, "Well, my gran wanted me to get at least seven. Guess she doesn't know me very well," he said with a slight smile. "Well, I think we all saw the Outstandings coming in the Herbology and Defense areas," said Harry, "especially after last year's D.A. meetings. You really were great Neville. Second only to Hermione." "Really?" said Neville, "Well thanks Harry. We should keep it up this year, I think." Harry laughed, "Yeah, that's a good idea! I think we might want to change the name though. Dumbledore's Army sounds a little...ah...well...we might get Dumbledore in trouble." 'Again,' thought Harry, 'after what happened last year...'
"Oh sure Harry, whatever you like!" said Neville, "I'm really looking forward to casting my Patronus either way!" Harry smiled, "Then we should settle on a time to meet. Well, we'll have a gathering about it first, contact the usual people. Now that Umbridge is finally gone at least we can openly meet!" "Here here!" said Neville. Suddenly there was a knock on the door, and Harry looked up to see the usual plump witch with her cart of sweets, "Anything from the trolley, dears?" He and Neville bought as many Cauldron Cakes, Pumpkin Pasties, Chocolate Frogs, and Flavor Beans as they could carry, and took turns pulling out random beans and eating them without looking.
"Ugh, I got tripe."
"Better than me Harry, I just got vomit."
"Ugh!"
Ron, Hermione, and Ginny did not show up as they had promised, so Harry and Neville were the only ones to grab a carriage once the Express had reached Hogwarts. Harry saw the thestrals once again, only this time he did not feel so out of place; that reminded him, where was Luna Lovegood...? "Hi Harry!" said a dreamy voice, and he turned to see none other than Luna herself. "Oh, hello Luna," he said as he got into his carriage. "May I join you?" she asked, holding a copy of The Quibbler in her hand. "Sure, Luna, come on in," he said, feeling much more open toward her now that they had already combated Death Eaters together after last year.
Neville looked up and saw Luna, then his face flushed, "H-Hello Luna." She gazed at him for a minute, "Hello Neville." Harry dismissed Neville's nervousness and said, "I don't see Hagrid...oh wait, there he is." "Firs' years! Firs' years this way!" shouted Hagrid, looming over the tiny first years, who in turn were almost quivering with fear of him. "Come on now, no need ter be frightened! Jus' come this way now!" Harry grinned and shouted, "Oy Hagrid!" Hagrid looked around until he saw Harry poking out of his carriage window, "Alrigh' there Harry?" "Just fine!" he shouted, "See you later!"
He sat back down, and noticed that Neville was looking pale. "Neville...are you okay?" "Sure Harry," he muttered, "just fine..." The carriages took off, and Harry was looking forward to finally entering the Great Hall once again. "So how was your summer Luna?" asked Harry. "Interesting," she said, "Dad and I went on vacation to look for a crumple- horned snorkack!" "Really?" said Harry, "And...uh...did you find one?" "No," she said, looking only slightly depressed; then she cheered up again, "But we did find a whole nest full of nifflers!" "Oh, that's cool," said Harry, thinking of the niffler Dean Thomas had put in Umbridge's office last year, and smiling.
They arrived at Hogwarts a moment later, and Harry jumped out of the carriage with excitement. He was finally home! The three of them entered the Great Hall quickly, and soon Harry caught up with Ron, Hermione, and Ginny. "Harry!" said Hermione, "We've got something to tell you! But it'll have to wait till we're eating, so no one overhears us!" "Well in that case," said Harry quietly, "maybe we should just wait till we get to the common room." Ron nodded, "It's probably better that way."
They sat down at the Gryffindor table and watched as the first years arrived and gradually arranged themselves in the Hall; the Sorting was about to take place. Just then, Harry noticed Cho Chang at the Ravenclaw table; she was talking animatedly to Roger Davies, whom Harry had learned at the end of last year had asked her out. And suddenly Harry realized that he could care less.
After the call of "Zabini, Jarthal!" who was sorted into Slytherin, Dumbledore stood up and said, "Normally, I'd give a very long speech regarding the start of term, but I'm feeling hungry." And with that, the Headmaster sat down, and the food magically appeared; everybody laughed and began to eat, although a few of the Slytherins merely made snide remarks at Dumbledore before beginning.
Harry was busy buttering some bread when he noticed Ginny and Dean sitting together, and then remembered what she had said to Ron about them dating at the end of last year on the train. He glanced over at Ron, whom he now noticed was almost baring his teeth at Dean. Dean smiled, "How goes it Ron?" he said nervously. "Fine, fine," muttered Ron, glancing at Ginny with anger. She merely ignored him. Harry almost laughed, except Ron was looking awfully defensive at the moment. Instead, he simply sank his teeth into his bread and enjoyed the mayhem, wondering what would happen when they got up to their room.
"I just thought I'd say, Thomas, that if you mess around with my sister, or make her cry, or anything I don't like..." Ron said through gritted teeth, "you'll be dead!" Dean sat back, eyes wide, "Ron, you know I wouldn't do a thing!" "Yeh, sure, but you were thinkin' it!" said Ron, eyeing him suspiciously. Seamus, Harry, and Neville suppressed their laughter, although Seamus and Neville were rather uneasy; at one point in time or another, each of them had had a crush on Ginny. Luckily, Harry didn't suffer from this problem; in fact, that merely reminded him of Neville and Luna in the carriage. "Say Neville," he said, turning to him, "what's with you and Luna Lovegood?" "Oh, nothing," said Neville, looking nervous yet again, "just...ah...nothing."
"Have a crush on Loony Lovegood, do you Neville?" asked Seamus off- handedly. "Don't you call her that!" said Neville, gritting his teeth in a mannerism quite similar to Ron's. Ron and Dean turned, "Neville! Really?" Neville's head hung low, "...Yeah." "Oh Neville, sorry, I didn't realize I'd offended you mate..." said Seamus. "Well you did," he said, "so don't call her that!"
And from then on, Loony Lovegood was always known as Luna.
Nobody could really say what had really happened between Snape and Hermione, mostly because nobody really knew. Harry and Ron, however, noticed something particularly odd that Snape had said. He had put particular emphasis on the word 'spewing' which both of them were sure was a reference to Hermione's S.P.E.W., although no one could be sure.
Luckily, there was little time to reflect on this as the following day they would be returning to Hogwarts. There was an awful lot of rushing around the house, making sure no one had forgotten a toothbrush, an animal, or anything else. Before they headed to Platform 9 ¾, however, Lupin took Harry aside. "Listen Harry, I want you to know that we agreed that you should become an Animagus. However, what form of animal will be your choosing, although personally I think you should pick something that can either fight well or fly. Something you can use to get you out of a tight spot. That is up to you." Harry nodded, "Who do I learn from, then?" At this, Lupin could not say, "We're still working on that Harry, but don't worry, we'll Owl you as soon as we do." Harry nodded, then said his goodbyes to everyone from the Order that was present.
Soon they had whisked off to the Platform, and slowly each person leaned through the charmed brick wall and fell through to the Platform, where they all saw the purple snake of the Hogwarts Express. "Five minutes!" shouted the conductor. "Oh now hurry Ron dear," said Mrs. Weasley, "we'll get your stuff on the train." She and Mr. Weasley quickly took hold of Harry's, Ron's, and Ginny's carts, and Harry and Ron turned to say goodbye to Fred and George, who had also come along. "We'll be in contact, right Harry?" whispered Fred with a wink, "Send you some more Skiving Snackboxes if you need 'em. Potions can be tough your sixth year!" Harry grinned, "Thanks Fred." George in turn nodded, "Give the old git a run for his money with a Nosebleed Nougat if necessary. I'm sure he's got more blood in that big hooked nose than he knows what to do with, stupid overgrown bat..."
Harry, for some reason, didn't feel like agreeing with George all that much; he merely nodded and said, "Yeah, sure." Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had returned from stowing their things on the train, and they each said their goodbyes. Mr. Weasley pulled Harry a little closer, though, and said, "Be careful Harry. Don't go adventuring this year. Keep to the castle and you'll be all right." Harry nodded, "Yes sir."
And with that, Harry, Ron, and Ginny boarded the train, waving to the Weasleys out the window. The train slowly pulled away from the station, and Harry was painfully reminded of this same time last year when Sirius had come along in his Animagus form, bounding after the train and barking at Harry. His smile faded, and Harry shut his eyes for one painful minute, thinking of how much he missed Sirius. Trying to turn his thoughts to something else, he began to think about what form of Animagus he should take. He turned to Ron, Hermione, and Ginny to voice his thoughts, but unfortunately Hermione said, "Harry...um...we...we have to go to the...you know, the prefects compartment. But we'll come visit as soon as we've done our duties, we promise!" Harry nodded, having forgotten about the whole thing, "Sure. I'll find a compartment and save you a spot."
He traipsed off down the train, feeling slightly left out, then found a mostly empty compartment; only Neville Longbottom was occupying it. "Hi Neville, can I sit?" he asked. "Oh of course Harry," said Neville, clutching his Mimbulus Mimbletonia; it had now grown at least three feet since Harry had last seen it. "How was your summer, Neville?" he asked half-heartedly. "All right I suppose," said Neville, "but gran's not very happy. You see, I only...well...I only got five O.W.L.s," he said sadly, "and I feel terrible about it." "Five's a lot better than some, Neville," said Harry, "I wouldn't worry about it too much. Just work extra hard for your N.E.W.T.s. Speaking of O.W.L.s, which ones did you get?" Neville pulled out a sheet of parchment, "Here."
Potions: Acceptable
Herbology: Outstanding
Defense Against the Dark Arts: Outstanding
Charms: Outstanding
Astronomy: Exceeds Expectations
Divination: Acceptable
Transfiguration: Outstanding
History of Magic: Acceptable
Care of Magical Creatures: Outstanding
"Ah come off it Neville, that's not bad at all!" said Harry, and meaning it. Neville shrugged, "Well, my gran wanted me to get at least seven. Guess she doesn't know me very well," he said with a slight smile. "Well, I think we all saw the Outstandings coming in the Herbology and Defense areas," said Harry, "especially after last year's D.A. meetings. You really were great Neville. Second only to Hermione." "Really?" said Neville, "Well thanks Harry. We should keep it up this year, I think." Harry laughed, "Yeah, that's a good idea! I think we might want to change the name though. Dumbledore's Army sounds a little...ah...well...we might get Dumbledore in trouble." 'Again,' thought Harry, 'after what happened last year...'
"Oh sure Harry, whatever you like!" said Neville, "I'm really looking forward to casting my Patronus either way!" Harry smiled, "Then we should settle on a time to meet. Well, we'll have a gathering about it first, contact the usual people. Now that Umbridge is finally gone at least we can openly meet!" "Here here!" said Neville. Suddenly there was a knock on the door, and Harry looked up to see the usual plump witch with her cart of sweets, "Anything from the trolley, dears?" He and Neville bought as many Cauldron Cakes, Pumpkin Pasties, Chocolate Frogs, and Flavor Beans as they could carry, and took turns pulling out random beans and eating them without looking.
"Ugh, I got tripe."
"Better than me Harry, I just got vomit."
"Ugh!"
Ron, Hermione, and Ginny did not show up as they had promised, so Harry and Neville were the only ones to grab a carriage once the Express had reached Hogwarts. Harry saw the thestrals once again, only this time he did not feel so out of place; that reminded him, where was Luna Lovegood...? "Hi Harry!" said a dreamy voice, and he turned to see none other than Luna herself. "Oh, hello Luna," he said as he got into his carriage. "May I join you?" she asked, holding a copy of The Quibbler in her hand. "Sure, Luna, come on in," he said, feeling much more open toward her now that they had already combated Death Eaters together after last year.
Neville looked up and saw Luna, then his face flushed, "H-Hello Luna." She gazed at him for a minute, "Hello Neville." Harry dismissed Neville's nervousness and said, "I don't see Hagrid...oh wait, there he is." "Firs' years! Firs' years this way!" shouted Hagrid, looming over the tiny first years, who in turn were almost quivering with fear of him. "Come on now, no need ter be frightened! Jus' come this way now!" Harry grinned and shouted, "Oy Hagrid!" Hagrid looked around until he saw Harry poking out of his carriage window, "Alrigh' there Harry?" "Just fine!" he shouted, "See you later!"
He sat back down, and noticed that Neville was looking pale. "Neville...are you okay?" "Sure Harry," he muttered, "just fine..." The carriages took off, and Harry was looking forward to finally entering the Great Hall once again. "So how was your summer Luna?" asked Harry. "Interesting," she said, "Dad and I went on vacation to look for a crumple- horned snorkack!" "Really?" said Harry, "And...uh...did you find one?" "No," she said, looking only slightly depressed; then she cheered up again, "But we did find a whole nest full of nifflers!" "Oh, that's cool," said Harry, thinking of the niffler Dean Thomas had put in Umbridge's office last year, and smiling.
They arrived at Hogwarts a moment later, and Harry jumped out of the carriage with excitement. He was finally home! The three of them entered the Great Hall quickly, and soon Harry caught up with Ron, Hermione, and Ginny. "Harry!" said Hermione, "We've got something to tell you! But it'll have to wait till we're eating, so no one overhears us!" "Well in that case," said Harry quietly, "maybe we should just wait till we get to the common room." Ron nodded, "It's probably better that way."
They sat down at the Gryffindor table and watched as the first years arrived and gradually arranged themselves in the Hall; the Sorting was about to take place. Just then, Harry noticed Cho Chang at the Ravenclaw table; she was talking animatedly to Roger Davies, whom Harry had learned at the end of last year had asked her out. And suddenly Harry realized that he could care less.
After the call of "Zabini, Jarthal!" who was sorted into Slytherin, Dumbledore stood up and said, "Normally, I'd give a very long speech regarding the start of term, but I'm feeling hungry." And with that, the Headmaster sat down, and the food magically appeared; everybody laughed and began to eat, although a few of the Slytherins merely made snide remarks at Dumbledore before beginning.
Harry was busy buttering some bread when he noticed Ginny and Dean sitting together, and then remembered what she had said to Ron about them dating at the end of last year on the train. He glanced over at Ron, whom he now noticed was almost baring his teeth at Dean. Dean smiled, "How goes it Ron?" he said nervously. "Fine, fine," muttered Ron, glancing at Ginny with anger. She merely ignored him. Harry almost laughed, except Ron was looking awfully defensive at the moment. Instead, he simply sank his teeth into his bread and enjoyed the mayhem, wondering what would happen when they got up to their room.
"I just thought I'd say, Thomas, that if you mess around with my sister, or make her cry, or anything I don't like..." Ron said through gritted teeth, "you'll be dead!" Dean sat back, eyes wide, "Ron, you know I wouldn't do a thing!" "Yeh, sure, but you were thinkin' it!" said Ron, eyeing him suspiciously. Seamus, Harry, and Neville suppressed their laughter, although Seamus and Neville were rather uneasy; at one point in time or another, each of them had had a crush on Ginny. Luckily, Harry didn't suffer from this problem; in fact, that merely reminded him of Neville and Luna in the carriage. "Say Neville," he said, turning to him, "what's with you and Luna Lovegood?" "Oh, nothing," said Neville, looking nervous yet again, "just...ah...nothing."
"Have a crush on Loony Lovegood, do you Neville?" asked Seamus off- handedly. "Don't you call her that!" said Neville, gritting his teeth in a mannerism quite similar to Ron's. Ron and Dean turned, "Neville! Really?" Neville's head hung low, "...Yeah." "Oh Neville, sorry, I didn't realize I'd offended you mate..." said Seamus. "Well you did," he said, "so don't call her that!"
And from then on, Loony Lovegood was always known as Luna.