Dammit! Where was she?
Minnie had gone in search of the Dueling Chamber, skipping dinner in order to do so, but she had to admit she was lost. It seemed like hours after she'd set out and now felt certain that she knew almost as much of Hogwarts as the legendary Weasley twins. She'd been everywhere; she'd seen dungeons and she'd climbed towers. She'd walked past windowed galleries just as she'd gone through corridors that were cut off from the outside world. She'd seen ghosts she'd never seen before, and one particularly gruesome, covered in blood and grime had laughed when she'd shrieked as she'd stumbled upon it. But she'd also seen students… Orla Quirke and Stewart Ackerly almost concealed in an alcove… poor Owen, two Slytherin sixth years heading towards the Astronomy Tower… She'd even come across Hermione Granger, who'd swept past her without noticing her, striding purposefully towards some unknown destination. She'd seen some other younger Gryffindors prowling around, she must have been near Gryffindor Tower at that time. She'd almost come across a group of Ravenclaws coming back from an Astronomy class; it was really getting quite late.
Breakfast had been a normal affair, a bit tense maybe, what with the Slytherin and Gryffindor Kings staring daggers at each other. Whatever words Dumbledore had had with the two, they seemed to have for once sunk in and the open animosity between the Houses was held tightly under wraps.
Classes had gone off well, more or less. Eleanor and Laura were studiously ignoring her. Tyler was acting distant again, burying herself in books. Kevin had spent most of the day with Marc, and that had left Owen with her. They'd tried to act like a couple; holding hands in the corridors, making a lot of eye contact, even touching when it wasn't entirely necessary. They'd spent the day like that… it had settled into some sort of routine… still not matching up to anything Minnie had ever wanted or even expected from a relationship. She'd found herself daydreaming about Gryffindors more than once during the day… once again imagining his arms around her… she was beyond help. So that was why she'd set off after supper… she needed something to occupy her mind. Working on a new charm would be just the thing. Now she just needed to find the bloody room!
Minnie thought she could see movement at the end of the corridor, a tall shape moving in her direction. She ducked behind a statue, not wanting to be caught out at this time. Draco Malfoy moved past her, wrapped up in a long, dark cloak that concealed half of his face. But, if he thought that it would allow him to pass incognito, he was counting without his signature, platinum blond hair. He moved purposefully past her, without noticing her, disappearing at the corner. Minnie didn't want to be a Gryffindor out late tonight… she thought of the group she'd seen earlier. If Malfoy caught them out… she didn't want to think about that.
Ah! There it was! She was standing at an intersection of Tudor and baroque architecture, but that staircase was definitely Roman.
And once she'd climbed it, she spotted the corridor, the statues still as she remembered them. She saw the sword at the end and headed for it. But something was weighing on her. She was missing something pretty obvious, but what? She turned to one of the knights. They were all in chain mail, with their cloaks draped artfully over their shoulders. They had heroic stances; each looked almost alive, as if they were only momentarily stopped in the act of fighting an unseen enemy. Underneath their feet, on the stones that served as pedestals, words had been etched. Minnie went closer and read; Tristan. Suspicions confirmed. She moved on. Perceval. Gauvain. Lancelot. Kay. Bedivere. Balyn. Balan. And finally, next to the sword… Lancelot. And if they were all here, that could only mean… sure enough, on the hilt of the large sword; Excalibur. Whoever designed this place had a sense of symbolism and dramatics to overshadow even Slytherins.
Minnie grasped the hilt, holding it tight and uttering the password, a word which had its own significance too, "En guarde."
En guarde.
On guard, against your opponent.
On guard, watch your back. And the wall moved in, allowing her to pass and walk into it.
She found herself in the Chamber, once again. She wasn't alone. Two figures were dueling, one standing in the center of the cross, the other moving in slow circles around it. It was as if a silent movie was being played out; the chamber was utterly silent, the spells being cast were being done without voice, it was purely mental magic… not something everyone could easily achieve. A silent movie --- or a ballet. The figures moved fluidly and purposefully, turning, advancing, dodging, shielding… exaggerated movements that seemed to follow a music only those in the circle could hear.
Minnie remembered Holly's words of warning and headed for the Hufflepuff stairs. She went up and soon found herself looking through the selection of books that was now at her disposal. She decided on Rules of Dueling, just to have some ideas as to what was legal and what wasn't, and Encyclopedia of Attack Charms; How to Inflict Damage Without Hurt. The second book looked like it would be a good anthology of what to know if ever she was pressed to go out on that floor. She edged closer to the balcony, peering over.
He was still standing where he'd been before, gazing intently at the figure that was moving around him. Professor McGonagall was as calm and dignified as she always was, though Minnie had never seen her fight. She'd seen her cast spells, yes, and even heard of her power, but now she was seeing it first hand. She couldn't identify half of the spells that were flying towards the center of the cross, and of those she knew, she'd only seen a few in action.
But the ferocity and technique of the attack hadn't fazed Harry Potter one bit. He waited in the center of the floor, moving his feet only when necessary to turn and face his opponent. His face revealed no emotions other than a slight uplifting of a corner of his lips; he was quietly enjoying himself. He casually waved his wand in front of him, at the onslaught of spells heading his way, and they simply faded. He waited for the professor to gather her breath as she moved again, forcing him to turn slightly so as to still be facing her. Utter silence. And then McGonagall began again. And so it went… the level of charms and curses was amazing, this was beyond educational. Or it would have been, had Minnie been able to identify the curses and charms now, this was upper level work… and she couldn't wait until she could try her hand at this.
Finally, it stopped. Potter merely raised his hand and Professor McGonagall's wand flew out of her grasp, into his hand. He grinned at his teacher, who gave him a nod, the only levity allowed it seemed. The professor walked towards Potter, who held out her wand which she took. She bowed to him, shocking Minnie, then turned and left the Chamber. Minnie walked back to the shelf, imagining all the action downstairs to be finished. She selected another book, Shielding Yourself From the Worst, and putting in her bag with the others. She then went down the steps, making it almost to the exit before she realized she wasn't as alone as she'd thought.
He was still standing there, on the white star in the center of the cross. He was staring at her, evaluating her. And --- she felt --- finding her lacking.
She'd had enough of this. Of him. Because of him, she was in trouble with the Court. Because of him, she was having to research spells for others. Because of him, she was going out with Owen. Because of him, she'd wasted her first kiss on a worthless boy…
"What do you want?" she snarled, her voice shattering the silence, startling her.
"What do you seek?" he countered as he grinned. What?
"What are you playing at?" her voice trembled, making her pathetic attempt at bravery sound sooo cliche.
"Am I playing?" He said, mocking her, a smile pulling at the corners of his mouth.
She couldn't bear this. Enough. It was seeing him, speaking to him, combined with the stress she hadn't known had accumulated over the past few days. And now she had an outlet for it. She dropped her bag with a loud thunk as she pulled out her wand, the sudden action contrasting with the silence of moments before.
"Expelliarmus! Stupefy! Rictusempra! Inverso! Tarantallegra! Impedimenta!" they came pouring out, without order or strategy.
Harry didn't even counter them, he merely ducked, falling to one knee. Minnie stopped and looked at him. Again, the immobility that surrounded him, as if he too was one of the statues of bygone heroes that lined the corridor outside. Himself, on one knee, his robes spread around him, his wand arm resting on his knee. And the smile that was threatening to break out on his face. Minnie had stepped closer with every spell she'd cast. She was now at the edge of the dais, a foot away from stepping onto the purple marble, inches away from the white.
"You know," he said, rising, "Proper duelers stand on the dueling surface. Those who cast from outside of it are considered back stabbers." Irony there, on the fact that all of Hufflepuff considered him to be one himself. "Come now, step onto the surface. Face me bravely, let's see how long you last." He smirked, the challenge now open.
Minnie saw red. She took a deep breath and stepped onto the white. Then the purple. The floor seemed to grow, or else she seemed to shrink. It was so smooth, so wide; it gave the impression of flying. She raised her wand again, "Expelliarmus!' she cried.
"Protego! Come on now, you can do better than that!" he tossed back.
"Inverso!"
"Not any better!"
"Sangrify!"
"Keep going!"
"Locomotor Mortis!" she shrieked.
He merely laughed and dodged that one too.
"Os brisés!"
"No good!"
It wasn't any good. How could she, a pathetic Hufflepuff fourth year with no particular talent in casting spells, ever successfully attack anyone, much less the god before her? Conceding defeat, she lowered her wand, still glowering at the highly amused boy who stood with his arms crossed. Seeing that she wasn't going to leave, struggling desperately to conserve the little dignity she had left, the Gryffindor King took mercy on Minnie. He uncrossed his arms and turned on his heels, turning his back to her and leaving the Dueling Surface. At the sight of the lean, strong, unprotected back, the rage that had been festering in Minnie's stomach flared again.
"Tiago!" A bolt of orange light left her wand and grazed Harry's cheek. He paused mid-step, raising his hand to the thin trickle of blood coming from the gash on his face. He looked at the blood on his hand, then back over his shoulder, raising a brow at her. His wand appeared in his hand which all of a sudden was pointed at her, and it was over. Minnie lay on the ground, face down, unable to move and unable to see- but not unable to feel. The power emanating from the center of the circle was palpable. Minnie waited for the curse that would further wound her, more than her pride already had been. But then-
"You wouldn't dare! Kincaid, back me up on this, you would strike a defeated woman?" the voice was deep and slow and came from above. Minnie felt tears threaten, so they hadn't been alone? People had seen her lose her temper in that way? She felt the pressure that had been immobilizing her lessen and found she could sit up. She opened her eyes in time to see the creature that landed between her and Potter.
It was… odd. The head of a lion, the body of a badger, the tail of a serpent and the wings of an eagle… the House mascots, Minnie realized with a jolt, all in one.
"Ah, you're still active. Good, good! Well, stand up then! Never stay bent in the face of an enemy, it's a sign of weakness!" His voice was deep, very deep. It also sounded unnatural, as though it were a hiss, a roar, a grumble and a screech, rolled into one. "So, feeling better, Minnie?" it asked.
"Quite. Who are you?" she answered, quite forgetting that she'd just been thrown down quite hard on her face only moments ago.
She heard a snort from the center of the circle. "You haven't heard, with all the rumors about this place, of our spirit?" asked Harry scornfully.
"I've heard of a ghost. And- and a… a veela? It had something to do with revenge…" she trailed off.
"Conroy is no ghost, nor does he deal in revenge. And he most definitely is not a veela - just look at his ugly mug. He is however, the spirit of this room. He arbitrates the duels and steps in before someone gets seriously hurt. Though he usually stays silent during meets." Harry was grinning at the animal, which seemed to be grinning back.
"Right." Minnie was beginning to feel normal again, after all, after the emotional turmoil she'd been going through all day and after all the changes and discoveries she'd made in the past few days, one more didn't matter. And Harry wasn't mad at her anymore. She did have one question though, "And where's the other person?"
"Who?" both the creature and Harry asked, looking confused.
"The person you were talking too when I was down? You know, Kincaid?" she elaborated.
"Oh," said the animal, "that's him," pointing with a paw to Harry, who looked rather put out.
"You prat! My name is Harry!" he growled, rolling his eyes. Turning to Minnie, he said, "The beast decided that he didn't like my name, so he simply gave me another one. Without asking me whether or not I liked it."
"A name needs not be liked. A name needs to describe the person it belongs to. And that name fits you," the animal stated, nodding its head and leaving no doubt about the matter.
"How so?" Minnie asked curiously, she'd never heard the name before.
"It doesn't. It's just his way of being aggravating. I'm from Surrey and he goes and picks some Celtic name whose meaning has nothing to do with me." Harry spat, "It means 'battle chief.' Something which I most emphatically am not!"
"Aren't you? I recall several battles actually, in which you most definitely led," the creature answered calmly.
"Gahhh!" A most unsophisticated sound from the Boy-Who-Lived who Summoned his bag and stormed out of the Chamber. Leaving Minnie with the animal.
"So," she asked nervously under his mildly polite gaze, "you're completely impartial, right?"
"Mostly, I do favor some students more than others," it admitted cheerfully.
"Ah! I see." She bit her lip, "And this name thing, do you do that to everyone?"
"Oh no no no! Only to those who haven't been quite aptly named!"
"I see." Then, all of a sudden curious, "so what does 'Harry' mean?"
Conroy smiled at her, "Interested? Why is it they all stare at him and not at me? Am I not a charming beast?" Looking thoughtfull, "Well, 'Harry,' in old English, means 'soldier.' And of course Harry Potter is no mere soldier, he's destined to be much more than that. But 'Harry' is also a short form of 'Harold' and a modification of 'Henry.' 'Harold,' is Scandinavian and means 'Army-ruler.' I admit that that was close, but it wasn't spot on; he doesn't rule, he just takes over by his presence. 'Henry' in old german, means 'ruler of an estate.' Now, he is heir to an old estate, but he ought to be known by his other deeds. No, I think I settled on a very appropriate name. Battle chief. He never tried to rise to anything, he just takes over command when it is needed. So, in time of peace, he would be nothing. But, in a storm, then he will rise to the occasion. And even exceed it."
It appeared that Minnie had finally found someone who could talk of random aspects of Harry just like she liked to do. But before that, "And your name, 'Conroy' does it have a special meaning? Something to do with kings maybe?"
"No, nothing like that," but he was looking at her appraisingly. "In Irish Gaelic, it means 'wise man.' It was a bit of a joke from the Founders, to call me a 'man.' But as I was supposed to arbitrate and settle disputes, they must have found it fitting somehow." He looked musingly at her, "And you, your full name can't be Minnie. What is your name?" He asked gallantly.
Oh no! Minnie went pink. "Oh, it's nothing. I'm sure it doesn't mean anything. When did you give Harry his name?"
"Nice try. What is it?"
"Oh, it's awful, really, completely uninteresting…"
Minnie didn't know that lions had eyebrows, but this one seemed to as the fur above its eye was elevated.
Minnie mumbled something.
"I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that."
Minnie raised her head and whispered a bit louder, "Wilhelmina." She shuddered.
"Wilhelmina?" Conroy repeated.
"Yes! Shhhhhh! Don't spread it around, please!" she was frantic.
Conroy paid her no mind, "'Wilhelmina!' Well now, that'd be German, yes? 'Determined guardian,' I believe. Now now! It's not that bad. At least the name fits you somehow. I once had a student called Angus; 'Unique choice, one strength' Hah! He was small and slight. He truly hated his name. I think he tried to have his name changed, to 'Harry' in fact."
Minnie just had to know, "And when was that?"
"What century, you mean?" Minnie nodded. "Oh, sometime in the thirteenth. His father was Scottish though he felt mostly English. Quite an interesting boy, really."
"And what did you mean by my name fitting?"
"Well, you are determined, we saw that earlier. Not many would willingly take on our Kincaid. But you are hiding a secret aren't you? You're going to impossible lengths to hide it. I warn you though, you haven't picked a very easy path."
Minnie just gaped at him. Was she really that transparent?
"Now then," Conroy continued, changing tracks and becoming all business-like,
"I have never yet seen that spell you used on Kincaid. 'Tiago' I think was the incantation you used. Where did you find it?"
"I created it. All it does is cut or slash. My mother usually uses it when cooking at home because it causes nice deep cuts in meat. I only thought of another application when I was fighting."
"Yes, you were quite acceptable, you know. Then again, he wasn't even trying to counter or disarm you." He said this without a trace of mockery, just stating a fact. "With some good coaching, you could become pretty good. Of course, your ability to create spells will definitely give you an advantage."
"Would you teach me?" she asked, hopeful.
"No, I cannot. I'm to be impartial in my knowledge and if I were to teach you, I would be obliged to do the same to everyone. Which is something I do not care to do. You should find someone else to coach you."
"But I'm already in trouble with the Court. I don't think that they'd be very happy with a request for help…"
"In trouble? What for? Never mind, it's probably not all that important. No, none of the Hufflepuffs would do. None of them have the talent or any ability to teach to others."
"I resent that."
"You shouldn't," he responded flatly. "There are one or two Ravenclaws who can teach… Mandy Brocklehurst is quite good actually. The Slytherins are all right, but they rely too much on violent spells, not enough on technique. No, you'd need a Gryffindor. Now that's a gifted bunch. Granger, and the Weasleys all are pretty good. And of course, there's our dear Kincaid… I'll ask them to see to you."
"No!" She burst out, "Please, no! I'm in trouble for associating too closely with them allready!"
"Associating with them?"
"Well, I've been caught staring at them!" that sounded pretty stupid, she realized.
"You'd give up your chance to learn proper dueling just for that?" the fur above his eyes rising again.
"I'd give up dueling in order to remain amongst friendly people, yes!"
Conroy shook his mane sorrowfully, "Talent, gone to waste. I've seen it before, but it's always a sad thing." He spread his wings and lifted off, spiraling upwards until he simply disappeared.
Minnie collected her things and walked out of the chamber. Appearing once again next to the sword. That was just weird, she thought. First, that amazing duel with Professor McGonagall, then the way he spoke to me, then the whole weird animal business, the names and the way Conroy acts. Would it be true that I have a talent? Other than Charming, of course. But I meant what I said. I will not furthur jeopardise my position. I'm on thin ice already. There's no sense in melting what's left keeping me afloat.
Though, maybe I could come and talk more often with Conroy. He seems to know so much about everybody, he's a real treasure trove of information. I wonder how easily he would tell me about Harry? Maybe it's not so difficult… could Holly and the others have gotten their information that way?
She hadn't bee paying close attention, so when the figure stepped out of the shadows and grabbed her arms, she cried out in surprise.
"Hush now!" the voice was harsh and the body pressing her back into the shadows was strong. "Now what have we here?" Cold eyes searched her face, "A Hufflepuff… Cedric's cousin. What a find." Smirk. "Now, what would you be doing out in the halls at this late hour? Recently inducted into the Hufflepuff Dueling Team? Visiting the dueling Chamber, no doubt? Hoping to be able to beat us at the meet? Not going to happen, you know." He leaned in close, brushing his lips over her ears. "But we'll enjoy seeing you try." His tongue darted out as he nibbled her earlobe. That brought her back to her senses. She slammed her fists into his stomach which made him double over, coughing. She reached for her wand and pushed away from the wall, away from Draco Malfoy.
He too had his wand out and was standing again, looking at her intently.
She was shaking in rage, too much was too much. "How - how dare you!" she managed to get out. "Have you no sense of decency? Wait, what a question!" she continued senselessly. "A Malfoy has no decency. They're rude, lecherous, depraved and utterly disgusting. You come near me again and I'll see to it that you never harm another girl again." After all, there were stories of what he'd done, she simply hoped she wasn't on the list.
But he seemed completely unfazed by her words, "Feisty, are we?" And he took a step towards her.
"Emasculito!" she cried.
He cried out and bent over again. But this time, when he rose, there was a look of fear in his eyes. "What have you done?" he whispered loudly.
"I've simply been seeing to my virtue. I come from a good family. I come from a respectable House. You on the other hand…" She left it hang, smirked, turned and flounced off. A little voice in her head kept repeating the lines of a movie she'd seen; I'm a good girl, I am!
****
It was as she rose the following morning that she realized that what she'd done was probably a pretty bad idea. True, she'd simply cried out the first thing that had come to her mind… funny that that was the first thing she'd think about, oh well! It wasn't permanent, she'd used the '–ito' suffix, so the hex would fade after a few days. But Malfoy probably wasn't going to be happy going around with one less appendage than he was used to. He probably wasn't going to be happy at all. Great. She was in trouble with the Hufflepuff Court. She was humiliated in the eyes of the Gryffindor Court. She now was going to be an object of revenge for the Slytherin Court. Now what could she do to offend the Ravenclaw Court? Well, actually, she'd need to offend both of them, as only offending one would elevate her in the other's opinion… Well, she had her work cut out for her, now didn't she…
Actually, she could use this, in a political sense. If anything happened to her on the account of the Slytherins, she'd have to explain what she'd done to Malfoy. And if she wasn't mistaken, that would go well with the Court. And it would also bring her into prominence, make her known outside of her year and maybe even her House. That would be good. Maybe Eleanor really was going to get a surprise.
The common room was still mostly empty when she got to it. She wanted to get to breakfast without being attacked by Malfoy. Susan was standing by the fireplace, now coming to life, reading a note. Hannah was at a table, putting things in her bag while looking over a roll of parchment that had to be an essay. Susan called her over and showed her the note with a worried look on her face. Minnie saw this and wandered over to a couch where she thought she'd wait until one of the seventh years could escort her down to breakfast.
She didn't see the girls come over to her and so jumped when Hannah put a hand on her shoulder and Susan pressed the note into her hand. Minnie looked down. The parchment looked old and expensive. It was tinted green and there was a serpent at the top. Uh-oh.
Minnie Beaufort's presence is required tonight at the Dueling Chamber at seven thirty exactly for a duel with Draco Malfoy. Not to the death, but to disarm would this be, though should she fear Slytherin strength, we are prepared to receive her apologies and have her perform certain services to the offended party.
Would her Chief of House please accompany her and be a witness her duel.
"Care to explain?" asked Hannah.
"Because this sounds reeeeeeeally fascinating," added Susan.
****
A/N: Hehehe, I really hate this chapter. If I were a reader reviewing this chapter, I'd immediately flame. I mean, first of all, the secret guardian thing is just sooo overdone. I suppose that at least I didn't have him take Minnie in hand and start teaching her, turning her into this amazingly annoying and aggravating Mary-Sue type character. Well, I have to bring Conroy back into play for Chapter 7 (only for a couple of lines) and Chapter 8 (just for a brief conversation at the beginning), however, if I get enough people telling me that he's really too much of a cliché, I'll conveniently forget about him for the rest of the story.
Also, I present my excuses for my mistreatment of Draco Malfoy. I adore the guy in fandom, I mean, almost all my favorite fanfics are H/D slash! However, the Draco of this story is quite a bit more canon. Let's face it, there's no way J.K. Rowling is going to turn Draco so completely in the two books she's got left to work with (his father helped in killing Sirius- there's no way Harry is ever going to make friends with him, no matter how hard Dumbledore might beg)! However, my excuses have mainly to do with the fact that no seriously evil guy would ever do that to Minnie, as she's completely worthless in every aspect of the term. There is a reason for his assaulting her however… just bear with me here. (You can probably guess why by really looking at what he says).
Now then, I love you guys. Seriously, every time I'd open my mailbox and see the reviews, I'd have this huge smile on my face that terrified my friends.
Nightwing 509- Hey, I update when I get reviews.
Oasis- You like the glorification og Harry? You picked the right story to read then. I read stories that have Harry as a minor character and everything, but I immediately leave if they say anything bad about him. It's pathetic and I know I'm missing out on a bunch of good fics, but I'm obsessed! As for Draco in the antechamber… we only find that out in about five chapters! Hang in there!
He who cant write- Thank you for the review! I'm sorry but I can't do a chapter from Harry's point of view! The only way I can get away with the ridiculous glorification of all of Harry qualities and even defaults is because I'm writing from a biased, lovestruck, idiotic little girl! If I did a Harry POV, he'd either sound so stuck up and full of himself or then horribly modest or self-devaluating! I couldn't do that to him! However, I will try to insert another House skirmish into Chapter 8 or 9 for you (there are another two in the story anyway!)
Innocent-Elphie- Arghhhh! No! No! No! Harry and Minnie WILL NEVER be together! NEVER! NEVER! Ohmigosh, where did you get that idea? I would never do that to the poor guy! There will be someone paired with Harry (see Chapter 8… when I post it) but it will be a wholly conventional pairing. I wish I could write some slash, but I suck at that (whenever I try it just sounds wrong) and besides, all te yummy guys to pair him with are evil.
Joshval124- Neutral? You think Minnie's neutral? Gosh, I'd have to see what you think a biased viewpoint would be! But I'm really glad you like the viewpoint!
Leper Messiah and Blue Crayon- I love your name! I wish I could have come up with something cool like that (but no, I just had to try to mutilate an old woman's last name…. grumble) I agree, the politics thing is over the top, but the plot bunny came to me like that and none of the story would work without it.
Tapaidh Sidh- Thank goodness, someone reassuring me that Minnie's not a Mary-Sue! You have no idea how much I hate those! But I had to create a character which I could then try to make blend into the background… J.K. Rowling just doesn't seem to have had any extra laying around that I could use! Thank you soooo much for your review!
Fang Three-Claw-You're really going to hate me. Harry will "fulfill his potential" … but probably not in the way you think. You know, if I'm sorta late updating, its kinda your fault! I went and read those fics you suggested (well, the ones I hadn't read yet). You don't seem to be into slash at all. If you don't have anything against it, there are a bunch that are actually pretty cool (Harry Potter and Gaining Momentum, fics by minerva alistor, and fics by Dkstories). Otherwise, have you ever read Paradigm of Uncertainty on schnoogle? It's the fic that got me reading fanfiction! I hadn't paid much attention to any stories at all until I read throught the first three chapters of that… and I've been worshipping Lori Summers ever since then!
Yellowpages- And my steadfast reviewer returns! Gosh I love you! You think you might have been anti-social when OOTP came out? Hey, I had my test for passing a belt level in karate that day! Something went wrong with the post which meant I had to spend the whole day waiting in vain to receive it! So there I was passing my test with my teacher telling me to do these sequences of punches and kicks and all I could think about was Quidditch, Hogwarts, Diagon Alley and the Dursleys. It wasn't pretty. Needless to say, I did not move up the amount of levels I was expected to! However, once I got my hands on that book later on, I didn't put it down until I was done (it took me three and a half hours- I read really fast). And then of course, I spent the next two weeks dissecting every tasty tidbit I could find.