The Perfect Day ~ Chapter 2
The sunlight streamed in through the window in the commons room. Harry stirred in his seat by the fireplace. He had dreamed of South Africa and Eden Ebony. But now, Harry had the all too familiar pain in his head. His scar was burning. He got up and walked to the mirror hanging above the fireplace. His jet-black hair was messy as ever. He was still in his clothes from the night before and his glasses, by the looks of it, had broken again. He must have rolled over on them in his sleep. "Occulus Reparo!" He said, pointing his wand at his glasses. He looked at the big grandfather clock in the corner it read five thirty. Harry ran upstairs and changed his clothes. He got all his books together, and wand in hand he left the commons room.
Potions was Harry's least favorite class, taught by his least favorite teacher, and shared with his least favorite classmates. And the fact that he had it first thing in the morning just made it all the more worse. Professor Snape was the slimiest, most greasy, and infinitely conceited teacher he had ever had. He hated Snape with a passion, as did Ron.
"This, is your Potions quiz! The very first one of the second semester!" Snape said as he slapped the papers on their desks. " I hope that all of you sufficiently prepared for this quiz as some of you", he stopped and looked directly at Harry and Ron, "need a good mark! BEGIN!" Harry flipped the quiz over and stared blankly at the page:
Give the ingredients for the simplest sleeping draft:
Describe the precautions needed to take when dealing with catfish whiskers
_______ cups of newt eyes are needed for the Majandra Potion.
Harry had no clue where to begin all around him people were scribbling answers, even Neville and Ron had some idea of what to do. How could Ron know the answers he kept asking himself? He NEVER studies. Of course, Ron was cheating off of Hermione. Why hadn't Harry thought of that! C'mon Harry, you were studying this last night! You must remember some of it. He kept saying to himself. He looked at the clock. Five minutes left of class. He HAD to finish it. Snape was right he needed a good mark. He scribbled down the first thing that came to mind. And finished just as Snape reached his cold hand out to snatch the paper. "Looks...detailed, Potter." Snape said with a cackle. Harry managed a weak smile. His scar was burning again. What a perfect way to start the day, he thought.
"That was a God awful quiz!" Harry said to Ron after they had
left Potions.
"It wasn't that bad, Harry."
"It wasn't that bad? And how would you know considering you were
cheating off of Hermione to get the answers!"
"Well, this time it wasn't that hard to cheat." Ron said with a
smile on his face. That was Ron alright, Harry thought. Just then,
someone jumped up onto Ron's back, and he fell cursing to the ground.
"Bloody hell, what do you...", Ron said. His eyebrows raised and
his hand shot down to his robe pocket. He felt around a bit and
brought out his wand. His body relaxed and he smiled as he looked at
his intact wand. Memories of a previous accident, from second year,
were still lingering. That time, Ron had broken his wand, and he had
to go through the year with a broken wand, that couldn't properly
perform any spells. His family couldn't afford to buy him a THIRD
wand, and with this thought in mind Ron gave a sigh of relief.
"Hello, there love!" Liz said. "Good morn! How was Potions?" Ron
gave her a look of complete disgust, as he picked himself up off the
ground. "Sorry, about knocking you down like that." She giggled.
"Anything for you Liz." He said as he grabbed her hand.
"Get a room you two!" Harry remarked.
"O, will you shut up Harry? It's not like you haven't got a
girlfriend. Speaking of the little devil here she comes now." Ginny
Weasley was making her way through the crowded corridors. Her fire red
Weasley hair bounced up and down as she walked. She was wearing a hand
made hairband and scarf, clearly made by her mother. Her face was
covered in freckles, and her robes were so big they swept the ground.
She revealed large white teeth as she gave a huge smile when she saw
Harry, and ran to him to give him a good morning hug.
"Hello, Harry darling." She said to him as they embraced. "Liz,
Ron", she said as an afterthought. "I've got so much to do. No time to
stay and chat. But I'll see you at lunch?"
"Of course." Harry said with a smile. Ginny put her hair back
behind her ears, smiled and ran off down the corridor. "O WAIT,
GINNY!" He yelled after her. But she was to far down the hall for her
to hear him. He had wanted to ask her about Eden, but he'd just have
to wait until lunch.
"Ready Ro— ", Harry started to say but he and Liz had already left. He was standing alone in the middle of the hallway, when he heard something crash to the ground. His eyes darted around and caught a glimpse of a small white ghost coming towards him. "PEEVES!" He yelled at the ghost.
" You rang?" It replied.
" What did you do?"
"I haven't the slightest idea what you're talking about!" And the ghost fluttered down the hall, in a fit of laughter. Harry ran around the corner to assess the damage and found a trophy case lying on the ground: shards of glass and trophies everywhere.
A particular thing caught his eye. It was a piece of glass, but different from any piece he had ever seen before. It was still completely intact, with the exception of a small crack that went diagonally across it. Harry held the glass in his hands. It didn't feel at all like glass, rather like leather, smooth yet rough at the same time. It felt as if it had those same cracks that leather has in it, as if the glass was old and worn, stretched even. The glass was peculiarly shaped with rounded edges the jutted out from a central piece, such that would belong to a puzzle. That's awfully strange. Harry thought to himself. He knew there was something valuable about it, so he stuffed it in his bag and went on his way.
By that time of course, he was extremely late to his next class: Defense Against the Dark Arts, his favorite class. And, to make matters worse, his scar was burning again. Harry raced through the castle, he knew for sure he'd get a detention out of this. He wouldn't have minded under any other circumstances, but his mind was overflowing with ideas about that strange piece of glass, and he wanted some time to himself to look it over.
He pushed through the door to the classroom and found himself the target of twenty wands. His face was flushed and his eyes bulged. He knew he was late to class but was this really necessary. A detention was preferable to being the experiment of the class.
"There you are, Harry. We were wondering what had happened to you." A
man pushed his way from the back of the crowd towards Harry. He was
shorter than Harry, with dreadlock hair and an unusual sense of style.
His hair, besides being a mess of dreadlocks and tangles was at least
four different shades of blue. And his robes were a tye-dye of colors
that swirled with life, all of which seemed to compete to be the most
vibrant one. He wore glasses, far different from Harry's, that changed
colors and shapes randomly, and seemed to cling to his face. This was
Professor Murdoch. He was Scottish and spoke with a heavy accent, that
is, when he did speak. He was Harry's favorite teacher. "So Harry, is
there an explanation for your lateness?"
"Er- could you .....er....." Harry pointed to the wands directed at him.
"O, of course, sorry for that. Everyone wands down. Alright then, out
with it!" Professor Murdoch prompted.
"Well you see sir, I was on my way here when I heard a crash in the
hallway. When I went to see what it was, it turned out that Peeves had
knocked over the trophy case." Professor Murdoch raised his eyebrows,
examining Harry's face, and questioning his story.
"Understandable." He nodded, Harry gave a sigh of relief. "You will
serve detention for your tardiness, but understandable situation
nevertheless. Please, join the class." He winked at Harry and smiled.
"Wands at the ready class!" Harry moved out of the way. He got what he
deserved, but he knew serving detention with Murdoch wouldn't be that
bad. He reached to get his wand and saw Malfoy standing next to him.
"Don't think I didn't see that wink, Potter. If there's any sort of
nepotism between you two...O Father will hear about this. I can see it
in the Daily Prophet now: 'Scarhead and Murdoch: Long lost cousins!
Harry Potter, has been reunited with a distant cousin. Considering his
lack of wizard family, this is no doubt a joyous occasion for him!'
Poor little Scarhead, left with no mummy or daddy!" Malfoy said as he
pouted. He rubbed his eyes as if he were crying.
"O, shut up Malfoy! I'm trying to pay attention. Maybe you should try
it sometime?"
"Teachers pet Potter, is it now?"
"Is there something you two would like to share with the class?"
Murdoch pointed to them both.
"No!No! Nooo! Uh uh!" They said together.
"Alright then, please join the class at your seats." The two were the
only ones left standing. Everyone else was at their seats reading.
"Scarhead!" Malfoy hissed.
"Fat ass!" Harry whispered. Malfoy shot him a glance one that said
something like: "You will pay, Potter." But Harry didn't care, he just
wanted to enjoy the one class he loved: Defense Against the Dark Arts.
He planned on being an Auror. His O.W.L.S. had been high enough, why shouldn't he? I mean he – But his thoughts were interrupted by Murdoch's voice: " Homework everybody! Listen up! I want a three page paper on the advantages and disadvantages of the Patronus, for our next class. Today's lesson is over, you may all leave for lunch. Thank you." Everyone's books closed. And people began to file out of the classroom. The Patronus was a shield one could use to protect themselves against evil. Harry had learned it in third year, when the dementors frequently visited Hogwarts. He was quite skilled at it now. This assignment would be easy.
"Harry! You were really late to class! I wish I had heard that crash.
Wouldn't have minded getting out of class." Ron said to him as they
left class.
"Yea, sure." Harry said, still thinking about the Patronus. "I found
this – " But Harry stopped himself he didn't know if he should tell
Ron quite yet about the piece of glass he had found earlier that day.
"I mean to say, I'm famished! We best get to lunch."
"Yea, alright then." Ron said.
It was rainy outside now. The overcast skies made the halls darker than usual. It was just barely noon, but it didn't feel so. Harry's day, hadn't been what you would call scintillating. He woke up with broken glasses and his scar burning, had failed his Potions quiz, he had a run in with Peeves, he was late to Defense the Dark Arts, he got a detention, Malfoy had been bothering him all during class, and to top it all off his scar was still bothering him. It had been an awful day! And if he told Ron about his scar hurting, Ron would just suggest he go to the nurse.
"Hello, Harry Potter. How are you?" A sing-song voice awakened Harry
from his thoughts. Her beautiful blonde hair spilled over her
shoulders and her deep blues eyes brightened her face. She seemed to
glow, with what, Harry didn't know.
"I'm doing just fine." Harry said. "Just fine."
"Yes, it's a perfect day today. Is it not?"
"Couldn't have said it better myself!" Harry said, with a smile.
The sunlight streamed in through the window in the commons room. Harry stirred in his seat by the fireplace. He had dreamed of South Africa and Eden Ebony. But now, Harry had the all too familiar pain in his head. His scar was burning. He got up and walked to the mirror hanging above the fireplace. His jet-black hair was messy as ever. He was still in his clothes from the night before and his glasses, by the looks of it, had broken again. He must have rolled over on them in his sleep. "Occulus Reparo!" He said, pointing his wand at his glasses. He looked at the big grandfather clock in the corner it read five thirty. Harry ran upstairs and changed his clothes. He got all his books together, and wand in hand he left the commons room.
Potions was Harry's least favorite class, taught by his least favorite teacher, and shared with his least favorite classmates. And the fact that he had it first thing in the morning just made it all the more worse. Professor Snape was the slimiest, most greasy, and infinitely conceited teacher he had ever had. He hated Snape with a passion, as did Ron.
"This, is your Potions quiz! The very first one of the second semester!" Snape said as he slapped the papers on their desks. " I hope that all of you sufficiently prepared for this quiz as some of you", he stopped and looked directly at Harry and Ron, "need a good mark! BEGIN!" Harry flipped the quiz over and stared blankly at the page:
Give the ingredients for the simplest sleeping draft:
Describe the precautions needed to take when dealing with catfish whiskers
_______ cups of newt eyes are needed for the Majandra Potion.
Harry had no clue where to begin all around him people were scribbling answers, even Neville and Ron had some idea of what to do. How could Ron know the answers he kept asking himself? He NEVER studies. Of course, Ron was cheating off of Hermione. Why hadn't Harry thought of that! C'mon Harry, you were studying this last night! You must remember some of it. He kept saying to himself. He looked at the clock. Five minutes left of class. He HAD to finish it. Snape was right he needed a good mark. He scribbled down the first thing that came to mind. And finished just as Snape reached his cold hand out to snatch the paper. "Looks...detailed, Potter." Snape said with a cackle. Harry managed a weak smile. His scar was burning again. What a perfect way to start the day, he thought.
"That was a God awful quiz!" Harry said to Ron after they had
left Potions.
"It wasn't that bad, Harry."
"It wasn't that bad? And how would you know considering you were
cheating off of Hermione to get the answers!"
"Well, this time it wasn't that hard to cheat." Ron said with a
smile on his face. That was Ron alright, Harry thought. Just then,
someone jumped up onto Ron's back, and he fell cursing to the ground.
"Bloody hell, what do you...", Ron said. His eyebrows raised and
his hand shot down to his robe pocket. He felt around a bit and
brought out his wand. His body relaxed and he smiled as he looked at
his intact wand. Memories of a previous accident, from second year,
were still lingering. That time, Ron had broken his wand, and he had
to go through the year with a broken wand, that couldn't properly
perform any spells. His family couldn't afford to buy him a THIRD
wand, and with this thought in mind Ron gave a sigh of relief.
"Hello, there love!" Liz said. "Good morn! How was Potions?" Ron
gave her a look of complete disgust, as he picked himself up off the
ground. "Sorry, about knocking you down like that." She giggled.
"Anything for you Liz." He said as he grabbed her hand.
"Get a room you two!" Harry remarked.
"O, will you shut up Harry? It's not like you haven't got a
girlfriend. Speaking of the little devil here she comes now." Ginny
Weasley was making her way through the crowded corridors. Her fire red
Weasley hair bounced up and down as she walked. She was wearing a hand
made hairband and scarf, clearly made by her mother. Her face was
covered in freckles, and her robes were so big they swept the ground.
She revealed large white teeth as she gave a huge smile when she saw
Harry, and ran to him to give him a good morning hug.
"Hello, Harry darling." She said to him as they embraced. "Liz,
Ron", she said as an afterthought. "I've got so much to do. No time to
stay and chat. But I'll see you at lunch?"
"Of course." Harry said with a smile. Ginny put her hair back
behind her ears, smiled and ran off down the corridor. "O WAIT,
GINNY!" He yelled after her. But she was to far down the hall for her
to hear him. He had wanted to ask her about Eden, but he'd just have
to wait until lunch.
"Ready Ro— ", Harry started to say but he and Liz had already left. He was standing alone in the middle of the hallway, when he heard something crash to the ground. His eyes darted around and caught a glimpse of a small white ghost coming towards him. "PEEVES!" He yelled at the ghost.
" You rang?" It replied.
" What did you do?"
"I haven't the slightest idea what you're talking about!" And the ghost fluttered down the hall, in a fit of laughter. Harry ran around the corner to assess the damage and found a trophy case lying on the ground: shards of glass and trophies everywhere.
A particular thing caught his eye. It was a piece of glass, but different from any piece he had ever seen before. It was still completely intact, with the exception of a small crack that went diagonally across it. Harry held the glass in his hands. It didn't feel at all like glass, rather like leather, smooth yet rough at the same time. It felt as if it had those same cracks that leather has in it, as if the glass was old and worn, stretched even. The glass was peculiarly shaped with rounded edges the jutted out from a central piece, such that would belong to a puzzle. That's awfully strange. Harry thought to himself. He knew there was something valuable about it, so he stuffed it in his bag and went on his way.
By that time of course, he was extremely late to his next class: Defense Against the Dark Arts, his favorite class. And, to make matters worse, his scar was burning again. Harry raced through the castle, he knew for sure he'd get a detention out of this. He wouldn't have minded under any other circumstances, but his mind was overflowing with ideas about that strange piece of glass, and he wanted some time to himself to look it over.
He pushed through the door to the classroom and found himself the target of twenty wands. His face was flushed and his eyes bulged. He knew he was late to class but was this really necessary. A detention was preferable to being the experiment of the class.
"There you are, Harry. We were wondering what had happened to you." A
man pushed his way from the back of the crowd towards Harry. He was
shorter than Harry, with dreadlock hair and an unusual sense of style.
His hair, besides being a mess of dreadlocks and tangles was at least
four different shades of blue. And his robes were a tye-dye of colors
that swirled with life, all of which seemed to compete to be the most
vibrant one. He wore glasses, far different from Harry's, that changed
colors and shapes randomly, and seemed to cling to his face. This was
Professor Murdoch. He was Scottish and spoke with a heavy accent, that
is, when he did speak. He was Harry's favorite teacher. "So Harry, is
there an explanation for your lateness?"
"Er- could you .....er....." Harry pointed to the wands directed at him.
"O, of course, sorry for that. Everyone wands down. Alright then, out
with it!" Professor Murdoch prompted.
"Well you see sir, I was on my way here when I heard a crash in the
hallway. When I went to see what it was, it turned out that Peeves had
knocked over the trophy case." Professor Murdoch raised his eyebrows,
examining Harry's face, and questioning his story.
"Understandable." He nodded, Harry gave a sigh of relief. "You will
serve detention for your tardiness, but understandable situation
nevertheless. Please, join the class." He winked at Harry and smiled.
"Wands at the ready class!" Harry moved out of the way. He got what he
deserved, but he knew serving detention with Murdoch wouldn't be that
bad. He reached to get his wand and saw Malfoy standing next to him.
"Don't think I didn't see that wink, Potter. If there's any sort of
nepotism between you two...O Father will hear about this. I can see it
in the Daily Prophet now: 'Scarhead and Murdoch: Long lost cousins!
Harry Potter, has been reunited with a distant cousin. Considering his
lack of wizard family, this is no doubt a joyous occasion for him!'
Poor little Scarhead, left with no mummy or daddy!" Malfoy said as he
pouted. He rubbed his eyes as if he were crying.
"O, shut up Malfoy! I'm trying to pay attention. Maybe you should try
it sometime?"
"Teachers pet Potter, is it now?"
"Is there something you two would like to share with the class?"
Murdoch pointed to them both.
"No!No! Nooo! Uh uh!" They said together.
"Alright then, please join the class at your seats." The two were the
only ones left standing. Everyone else was at their seats reading.
"Scarhead!" Malfoy hissed.
"Fat ass!" Harry whispered. Malfoy shot him a glance one that said
something like: "You will pay, Potter." But Harry didn't care, he just
wanted to enjoy the one class he loved: Defense Against the Dark Arts.
He planned on being an Auror. His O.W.L.S. had been high enough, why shouldn't he? I mean he – But his thoughts were interrupted by Murdoch's voice: " Homework everybody! Listen up! I want a three page paper on the advantages and disadvantages of the Patronus, for our next class. Today's lesson is over, you may all leave for lunch. Thank you." Everyone's books closed. And people began to file out of the classroom. The Patronus was a shield one could use to protect themselves against evil. Harry had learned it in third year, when the dementors frequently visited Hogwarts. He was quite skilled at it now. This assignment would be easy.
"Harry! You were really late to class! I wish I had heard that crash.
Wouldn't have minded getting out of class." Ron said to him as they
left class.
"Yea, sure." Harry said, still thinking about the Patronus. "I found
this – " But Harry stopped himself he didn't know if he should tell
Ron quite yet about the piece of glass he had found earlier that day.
"I mean to say, I'm famished! We best get to lunch."
"Yea, alright then." Ron said.
It was rainy outside now. The overcast skies made the halls darker than usual. It was just barely noon, but it didn't feel so. Harry's day, hadn't been what you would call scintillating. He woke up with broken glasses and his scar burning, had failed his Potions quiz, he had a run in with Peeves, he was late to Defense the Dark Arts, he got a detention, Malfoy had been bothering him all during class, and to top it all off his scar was still bothering him. It had been an awful day! And if he told Ron about his scar hurting, Ron would just suggest he go to the nurse.
"Hello, Harry Potter. How are you?" A sing-song voice awakened Harry
from his thoughts. Her beautiful blonde hair spilled over her
shoulders and her deep blues eyes brightened her face. She seemed to
glow, with what, Harry didn't know.
"I'm doing just fine." Harry said. "Just fine."
"Yes, it's a perfect day today. Is it not?"
"Couldn't have said it better myself!" Harry said, with a smile.