HTML
BChapter 29: Studying, Secrets, and Snogging
/B
"Education is the ability to listen to almost anything
without losing your temper or your self-confidence."
-Robert Frost
B/B
Harry Potter was deeply focused on his reading and feeling quite comfortable in the armchair in which he was seated when Ron
walked into the Heads' Common Room and sighed loudly.
"I'm so sick of studying with her," he grumbled, sprawling out in the chair opposite Harry. "We've been in the library for
SIX HOURS, but she doesn't think it's been long enough to take a break-"
"That's Hermione for you," Harry mumbled, still absorbed in the booklet he was reading.
"What're you reading, mate? Is that the N.E.W.T. preparation thing?" Ron asked. Harry finally looked up and nodded, holding
up the booklet so that Ron could see the cover, which read IN.E.W.T.s and You: How to Prepare for the Nasty, Exhausting
Wizarding Tests/I. "Anything good in there? I really haven't looked at mine yet," Ron commented, rummaging through his
backpack.
"Not particularly," Harry said, flipping the page to a chapter entitled IWhat Your Results Mean/I. "It sounds like the
actual tests are a lot like the O.W.L.s, except the practical portion is worth more than the exam... the scoring is pretty much
the same too."
"Fascinating, huh?" Ron asked, opening a slightly-crushed package of biscuits he had found in his bag and shoving a few in his
mouth. "I'm starving, aren't you? I hope it's nearly time for dinner." Harry glanced at his watch and nodded.
"Almost. I'm going to finish this chapter and then I'll meet you down there, is that all right?" he asked.
"Fine by me," Ron agreed, standing up. With a nod, he strolled out of the room and down the stairs. Harry went back to reading.
IEach N.E.W.T. test is graded by a certified professor in the individual field
of the exam. The student will receive a score for each test they have taken, which
includes both the practical and exam portions, as well as an overall average score.
Please see the chart on page 74 to determine what score you will need to achieve to
enter your desired field of employment./I
Harry quickly flipped to page 74 and ran his finger down the column. "Auror... auror... where the bloody hell is it..." he
muttered to himself. He groaned loudly when he finally found it. The line read IAuror, British Ministry School: no applicants
with less than five N.E.W.T.s at or above 'Exceeds Expectations' will be accepted; these must include Defense Against the Dark
Arts, Transfiguration, Charms, and Potions./I "Wonderful," he said to himself sarcastically. "Charms on Monday, Defense on
Tuesday, Potions on Wednesday, and Transfiguration on Thursday... I have to get every single one, plus another N.E.W.T. in
something else." He sighed, closing the booklet and standing up to go to dinner. "This is going to be the longest week of my life!"
After dinner, almost all of the seventh years had resumed their studying. Hermione had insisted on quizzing Harry over the plants
she suspected would be on the Herbology exam that Monday. Neville joined them about halfway through, and was able to name off
all of the species that Harry couldn't remember. After about an hour of this, he gave up and joined Ron on the couch; Harry had
to stifle a laugh as he glanced at the book Ron was holding and saw a muggle comic book hidden inside.
"Studying hard, Ron?" Harry asked, cocking his eyebrow and grinning.
"Er- of course," Ron muttered, looking up guiltily. "Don't tell Hermione, she'll kill me..."
"I won't," Harry assured him. "Where did you get that, anyway?" he asked, leaning over Ron's shoulder.
"Dean lent it to me," Ron answered. Harry nodded absently, looking as though he was deep in thought. He stood up.
"I suppose I should find my Charms book and study a little for that," he commented, running his hand through his hair. Ron
mumbled something incoherent, and Harry left the room, walking up the spiral staircase to the Heads' rooms. He began to dig
through his trunk for the book; it must be somewhere near the bottom, he reasoned, since he hadn't used it in so long. As
he reached into the depths of the trunk, his fingers brushed something flat and cold and he pulled it out. His eyes widened
as he realized exactly what it was: a chunk of the now-broken mirror that Sirius had given him during his fifth year. He sat
back on his haunches, feeling overcome by his emotions. Idly, he drew a finger over the cool glass as he stared at the reflection
of half of his face in the broken piece. With a soft smile, he set the shard back down into the bottom of his trunk and pulled
out his Charms book, which had been just above it. II know Sirius is watching out for me right now,/I he thought to himself,
attempting to swallow an unexpected lump in his throat. IAnd I'm going to need every bit of help I can get./I
Harry returned to the main Common Room, but after studying for a few more hours he felt himself becoming restless. Other students
had begun to turn in for the night, and the ones that remained appeared to be very sleepy. Neville was reading something in
the corner of the room, his head propped up in his hand and his eyes half-closed; Hermione was still studying Herbology
intently; Ron was snoring gently on the couch; and Seamus was packing up his belongings and looked as though he was ready to
go to sleep as well. Harry glanced at his watch and saw that it was well after midnight. Although he didn't feel tired yet,
he was sick of studying so he headed up to his bedroom, throwing his Charms book on top of the pile on his trunk. He lay face-up
on his bed, staring at the ceiling. Everyone else was asleep... or studying... or doing a little bit of both... IWhat am I
supposed to do?/I he thought silently.
An idea crept into his head; it was one he immediately pushed away, but the longer he thought about it, the better it seemed.
IJust a bit of a walk,/I he told himself, pulling the curtains on his bed closed and blowing out his candle so it would seem to
Ron that he had gone to sleep. Shoving his wand into his robes and glancing around the room one last time, he approached the
painting on the wall and moved his finger over the sleepy-looking fish in the pond. The secret door swung open, and Harry Potter
disappeared into the darkness.
After nearly seven years of being a student there, moving undetected through Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was
like second nature for Harry. Sure, the Marauder's Map was a great help, but through the years he had developed a kind of sixth
sense that alerted him to anyone who was nearby in the hallways. Some nights, like tonight, he didn't even bother with the Map.
As he slipped out the heavy wooden doors into the cool spring air outside, Harry had to grin; he felt a little twinge of triumph
every time he knew he had thwarted Filch and Mrs. Norris.
He slipped off into the shadows and transformed into a wolf, exhaling a breath he hadn't even realized he had been holding. It
had been so long since he had used his animagus powers; somewhere in the back of his mind, he was worried that he might have
forgotten, but luckily this was not the case. He stretched his legs, feeling powerful and energetic. The night was young, and
Harry intended on relieving some stress before he returned to his dormitory. He started out at a light jog, but eventually
broke out into an all-out run as he entered the Forbidden Forest. The night was crisp and clear, and Harry breathed in the
sweet smell of the trees and grass. This was freedom, pure freedom.
Harry paused to sniff an unfamiliar smell, but the scent was so weak that he dismissed it within seconds, preferring to run
once more. He dashed through the forest, the leaves and sticks under his soft paws barely making any noise at all. The air
would have almost been chilly if he hadn't had a thick fur coat; to a wolf, however, it felt perfectly comfortable.
Once again, Harry picked up the odd smell, this time stronger than before. He halted almost immediately and began sniffing
the ground, his ears perking up to catch any sounds. He heard a twig crack about a hundred meters away and he began to approach
cautiously. He was near the edge of the forest, he knew; the castle was almost visible from here. From the scent, he could tell
there were at least two people present, possibly three; he was beginning to hear snatches of their conversation.
"-be careful, you bumbling idiot-" hissed a voice that was all too familiar. The hair stood up on the back of Harry's neck and
he had to resist the urge to growl. IWhat is Malfoy doing here?/I he wondered, creeping closer.
"Sorry Draco, Crabbe pushed me," Goyle was whining.
"What time is it? Is it time yet?" Crabbe asked in a low voice.
"You two are like children," Draco snapped, glancing at his surroundings. Harry noticed, with immense satisfaction, that Draco
appeared to be very nervous; he remembered his enemy's intense fear of the Forbidden Forest.
"Is it time?" Crabbe repeated. Draco pulled a silver pocketwatch out of his robes and looked at it.
"Nearly. Here, you'd better touch it. We don't want to miss this, or we'll be be in deep-"
"Oops!" Goyle had stumbled over a root and had fallen, almost pulling down Draco with him.
"Quiet down and stand still!" Draco hissed, glaring in Goyle's direction. "We only have a few seconds. Hurry up!" Crabbe and
Goyle both held out a finger and touched the silver pocketwatch, which glowed blue for a second before disappearing and bringing
all three young men along with it.
Harry shivered as a cold breeze blew through the forest. He stared at the spot where the three Slytherins had been only seconds
before. IWhere are they going at 2 AM?/I he wondered, but found that he really didn't want to know the answer. Silently,
he turned towards the castle and quickened his pace as he headed towards the door he had left through.
"Harry! Hey mate, are you coming to breakfast or not?" Ron's voice called out, rousing Harry from his restless slumber. He
rolled over in bed and pulled back the curtains a bit, searching his nightstand for his glasses.
"I'm coming, I'm coming," he muttered, kicking the blankets off his legs.
"You all right? You don't look like you got much sleep last night," Ron commented, tying the laces on his trainers.
"I'm fine," Harry stated, rummaging through his clothes for clean robes. He pulled on some fresh ones and ran his hand through
his messy hair.
"Ready?" Ron asked, and Harry nodded. They walked through the quiet hallways until they reached the Great Hall, where they
found Hermione already eating.
"Look at this!" she said excitedly, thrusting a newspaper under Harry's nose. "I told you it would work," she said in an
obnoxiously know-it-all tone of voice. Harry picked up the copy of the IDaily Prophet/I and glanced at the headline, which
read IBLockhart officially out of office/B/I.
"Finally," Ron said. "Why'd it take this long?"
"Well, it's a very complex process, Ron," Hermione began. "First, they have to-"
"Enjoying all your studying?" Rachel asked, coming up behind Harry and giving him an innocent peck on the cheek. "I feel as
though I haven't seen you in months!" Harry's mouth suddenly felt very dry, and he swallowed with difficulty. He found he couldn't
even meet Rachel's eyes - one of the reasons he had been avoiding her. IHer not knowing about Voldemort... and her family
being Death Eaters... and our plan for Friday... It's going to ruin any part of a relationship we ever had./I The thought
flashed through his head and he tried to ignore it for the time being.
"Did you want to study together for Charms or Herbology tonight?" he asked, trying to sound normal.
"Sure," she replied, sitting down next to him. "I can't believe N.E.W.T.s start tomorrow, can you?" Harry shook his head.
"No," he answered simply.
Harry spent the afternoon playing chess with Ron while Hermione glared at the two of them for skiving off from their studies.
She had given up on lecturing and was flipping frantically through her Ancient Runes notes. Ron looked up from their game for
a second and read the name of the class on the back of the notebook.
"Ancient Runes? Hermione, isn't that test on Friday?" he asked cautiously. She gave him a Look.
"Yes. And your point is?" she insisted.
"Well... it's Sunday. It's nearly a week away..." Ron shrugged.
"I can't study here with you talking to me!" she cried, throwing her books haphazardly into her backpack and stomping off
furiously towards her bedroom.
"Someone's in a bad mood," Ron mumbled as he examined the board. "Knight to E7." Harry watched as one of his pieces was destroyed
in a violent battle. He was losing again; he always lost to Ron. It was getting pointless to even play anymore.
"I'm just surprised she's not on your case about studying," Harry commented as he contemplated his next move. Ron shrugged.
"Well, I wouldn't tell her this, but no matter how I do on my N.E.W.T.s I've still got a job," he responded. "I feel bad for
you mate - at least three more years of school after this! Ugh. I'm sick of it now, I want out. Fred and George had the right
idea. N.E.W.T.s are completely worthless." Harry had to smile at Ron's desire for the year to be over. He couldn't help but
feel a tiny bit jealous; after all, how many people were offered a position on a professional Quidditch team? IThat could have been
me,/I Harry thought, moving a rook without giving much consideration to where the piece was going. IBut in the last few years,
Quidditch has become so unimportant. All I really want is everyone to be safe and Voldemort to be gone./I He looked up at Ron, who was
grinning like a maniac; Harry had just given him the shot that he needed. He moved one final piece into position.
"Checkmate," he declared triumphantly.
As Harry walked to meet Rachel that evening, the memory from the night before played through his head again and again like a
movie. Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle... what had they been doing in the Forbidden Forest? Where had the portkey taken them to? As
he was pondering this, he felt his shoulder collide with someone else's. He muttered a quick "sorry" as he glanced up to see
who it was - and was surprised to see Draco Malfoy glaring down at him.
"Watch where you're going, Potter," he spat nastily, rubbing his forearm as if he was in great pain. He stalked down the hall
without another word.
Harry rolled his eyes. IThat was odd,/I he thought to himself. Hadn't he bumped into Draco's shoulder? Then why was he acting
as though his forearm hurt?
"Harry, there you are!" Rachel smiled as he appeared near the entrance to the Hufflepuff dormitories. "Where did you want to
study?"
"Hmm... Well, since it's Charms, we'll need somewhere with some space to work in," he said thoughtfully. "What about the Room
of Requirements?" Rachel grinned wryly.
"That's what I thought of at first. But I guess I didn't realize how many people know about that now; I overheard Zacharias
Smith telling some other blokes in the Common Room that he and his girlfriend were going to be hanging around there for a while -
and it didn't sound like they were going to be studying," she told him, arching an eyebrow.
"Scratch that, then," Harry said hurriedly as Rachel laughed. "Why don't we just find an empty classroom to practice in?"
"That should be fine," Rachel said, beginning to walk down the hall. "There must be loads of them around, right?" The pair
managed to find one a floor down from where they had started. Harry opened the door and entered cautiously, but the room was
completely empty and appeared as though it had been so for quite some time. A large cloud of dust formed when Rachel stepped
into the room, and she was soon coughing.
"It's such a mess in here!" she complained, trying to clear her throat. "Shouldn't they still clean this room, even if it's
not being used?" Harry grinned and pulled his wand out of his pocket.
"The first charm of the night," he announced, pointing his wand at the floor, where the dust was nearly three inches thick.
"IScourgify!/I" The filth disappeared, and Harry repeated the process a few more times until the air had become breathable
again.
"Well, now that that's done, let's hit the books," Rachel said, sitting down in one of the rusty old desks. Harry joined her
and they began reviewing their books and notes, searching for concepts and spells that would likely come up on the N.E.W.T.
test the next day.
"What do you think about the Bubble-Head Charm?" Harry asked, pointing to a picture in his textbook. It showed a man with
what looked like an upside-down fishbowl on his head.
"Oh, that's sure to be on there," Rachel said, nodding vigorously. "Want to try it?" She pointed her wand at her own head, looking
a little nervous. "IRespiro!/I" she cried, and a large bubble formed around her head. Harry had to fight back laughter at
the sight; Rachel noticed this and crossed her arms, looking angry. "Are you going to try too, or are you just going to laugh
at me?" she asked, her voice slightly annoyed. Harry got himself under control and pointed his wand at his face.
"IRespiro,/I he muttered, but the spell hadn't worked correctly; the bubble only extended from the top of his head to the
tips of his ears. Rachel burst out laughing.
"It looks like you're wearing a funny hat!" she cried, holding her sides as she let out a muffled giggle from inside her own
bubble.
After a few more attempts, Harry had managed to overcome his difficulties and could now perform a successful Bubble-Head Charm;
they moved on to Flame Freezing Charms, Color Changing Charms, and Shield Charms, all of which Rachel was sure would be on the
exam. After a few hours of intense studying, Rachel closed the cover of her book.
"I think I'm done with studying for tonight," she said, standing up to stretch her legs. Harry followed suit, closing his book
and standing up next to her. He glanced at his watch.
"Are you really going back already? It's still quite early," he commented. She smirked.
"Who said anything about going back?" she asked seductively, wrapping her arms around his neck. Harry grinned and placed his
hands on her hips. As his lips met hers, thoughts of killing Voldemort and lying to Rachel were pushed to the back of his mind
and Harry was amazed at the amount of passion - and yes, even love - in their kiss. IIsn't love unbreakable? Isn't true love
the kind of thing that can survive any test? Maybe we can make it through this,/I he thought.
Harry found himself being pulled from his thoughts and thrust into the present moment as he felt Rachel's fingertips drawing soft
circles on his back. He drew Rachel even closer to him and the passionate intensity of their kissing grew. Rachel stumbled backward,
falling against the wall, but was held up by Harry's body pressing against her. In their reluctance to break apart, the couple fell
to the floor. Harry ended up lying on top of Rachel, staring into her enchantingly light green eyes. He was suddenly very aware of the
position they were in and grimanced, blushing bright red.
"Sorry," he mumbled. "Rach, maybe we should stop-"
"Shhh," she whispered, holding a finger up to his lips. Entwining her fingers in his jet black hair, she drew his face back
down towards her own. "Don't ruin the moment," she whispered, before their lips met once again.
A/N: I am still alive!! I know I was gone for a month (hence the lack of updates!) and then when I finally did come back,
submissions were closed at hpff. Luckily, that just gave me more time to perfect this extremely long chapter. I hope you all
enjoyed it, though I know nothing profound happened; it's all leading up to the end, and we're almost there. I'm thinking
another 3-4 chapters for this story, but if I can't fit everything in there, it will end up being longer than that.
I tried to put Rachel in a more active role, I know she's kind of been pushed to the side through a lot of the story. As some
of you have pointed out, yes she is very naive, but then again she is a Hufflepuff... I think she can get away with it. Harry
is obviously very confused about their relationship right now, and things are soon to take a turn for the worse.
Someone asked me in a review what I thought of the PoA movie, and I have to say I was slightly disappointed. If you just look
at it as a movie, the acting was great and so was the set (I LOVED what they did with Hogwarts), but other parts were just
plain confusing. The meaning of MWPP and the Whomping Willow was never explained, nor was the animagus connection between
James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter... or the reason they decided to become animagi...
Well, I'll stop my complaining now. What did you think of the movie? Tell me in your review!
Thanks to all my amazing reviewers (and there are definitely a lot of you...)
UHpff.com/U
Sydney
mandymallason
dumbeldave
GolfinWizard
PadfootPotter
MarZ
dont wasn
siriussnape
wolfawaken
Arenei
Dragznor
Jules
who me
Aurora Black
JuJu
iwpotter
Am
Melissa
Tonkster
Lindsey
Hermione girl
Ash
Lupinzgurl
prashanth
melissirius
me
Bell
ChRiS
Uff.net/U
Jonathan
Roxoan
soul of a witch
Zentross
potterorligurl
mellowyellow
/HTML