Hermione was awake early. She had a lot of thinking to do. The situation with Ron was growing increasingly. interesting. At this early morning hour, no one else in the dormitory was awake. As she dressed for the day, she watched Nildur and Crookshanks where they still slept. The big cat had immediately accepted the dannikit. The two were now snoozing next to each other at the foot of her bed. With a wave of her wand, the bed made itself without disturbing them.
Crookshanks opened one eye and looked at her. Hermione grinned. She'd never been able to cast a spell without his notice. Not even that simple one. Her roommates had wondered all last year how she got her bed so neat on her own. Since she had founded S.P.E.W. she had done her best to make the jobs of the house-elves easier. Nildur opened an eye and for a moment it appeared that she had a huge furball with one brown eye and one yellow eye on her bed. "Good morning," she whispered.
The cat yawned, stood and stretched out long. Then he sat down to wait and see what they were going to this morning. Nildur watched him closely and then did exactly the same thing. Hermione giggled quietly and patted them both on their heads. "Come on boys," she whispered, turning to a wooden wall beside her bed.
As a prefect, she was given a small private room; not big enough for the bed, but nice to have just the same. She called it her parlor. The little room consisted of a wooden partitioned area near to her bed, but somehow not taking up any space previously used by anything. It was magically soundproofed and cozy. This early in the year she had not had the chance to use it much. There was a small table and chair inside, and a few scarlet and gold cushions on the floor in the corner. There was also a larger than average bookshelf, already filled with her past textbooks and a few leisure books as well. She had suspicion that the bookshelf was not standard issue for prefects, but had not had a chance to confirm it as yet.
Hermione went into her parlor, and picked up Nildur's box from the floor inside. The dannikit care handbook was on the table, open to the page about feeding. She picked this up as well and returned to the larger room. Nildur and Crookshanks were waiting on the bed. She smiled and whispered, "Let's go see if anyone else is awake."
She scooped up Nildur, who climbed up to her shoulder, and started to the door. Crookshanks followed. The hinges of the door creaked as she opened it. She froze and looked back into the room. She did not feel up to an early morning giggle-fest with Lavender and the others. Parvati mumbled something into her pillow and rolled over. Her dannikit was curled up on her pillow. He stretched out a paw to touch her cheek and she quieted. Hermione let out a small sigh of relief and continued out the door. She tapped the offending hinge with her wand and the door closed silently behind her.
She was about to descend the staircase when she heard a woman's voice. It sounded angry. Hermione paused to listen.
"I don't bloody care if you are my superior! I can't tell you what is going on until I know what happened before!" She was saying.
"Rose," a calm female voice started.
"Blessed hell Moira! I know my bloody job!" Rose exclaimed. Then she sighed. Hermione felt a twinge of guilt for eavesdropping, but she didn't move. Rose gave a dry laugh. "I'm going positively barmy. Don't you already know what is going on?"
"You know it doesn't work that way," said the calm voice.
"I know. Look, you'd better go Sis. They'll be stirring soon." Rose said after a moment.
"Yes. Same time next week?" the voice asked.
"See you then." Rose said.
"Oh and Rose," the voice paused, "you'd better do something about that cough." There was a soft laugh and then a pop.
"Always left in the dark," Rose grumbled, "Right. about as often as the rising sun!"
Hermione's foot started cramping from being poised to step down for so long. Her mind was reeling. What was going on? And what was she supposed to do now? She glanced down. Crookshanks was gone. Then she heard, "Good morning Crookshanks. Where is your mistress?" Hermione carefully schooled her features to hide her whirling thoughts and stepped down into the common room.
"Good morning Rose," Hermione said cheerfully. "You're up early."
"I could say the same," Rose said with a grin. She was sitting in the armchair in a line from the fireplace. She was facing both the stairs and the fireplace at once. Vestan was balanced on the back of her chair. Crookshanks was in her lap, writhing with ecstasy under her petting hand. Her hair was in its usual long braid. Hermione put a hand to her hair, barely restrained by a pair of barrettes above her ears. Nildur licked her fingertips, and proceeded to tangle himself in her hair. "So. Why so early?" Rose asked.
Hermione sat in one of the other armchairs, tucking her legs beneath her. With a loud 'Mrowl!' Crookshanks leaped from Rose's lap into hers. Petting the cat, she said, " I had a lot to think about this morning. What with every thing that happened yesterday." Rose nodded. Hermione continued, "I'd actually like to ask you a few questions about. all that."
Rose smiled, " I'll do my best to answer you, but I will warn you that there are some things I just can't."
"That's fine," Hermione said. "First off."
Nildur climbed up to the back of her chair, mimicking Vestan. "Why do we have dannikits?" Never in the history of Hogwarts have they even been studied, let alone handed out."
Rose shook her head. "Wouldn't ya know it? The first one and I can't answer. Hagrid will cover it partially tomorrow I'm sure."
Hermione sighed, but tried again, "How is it that you are a student teacher here? That's never been done before either."
Rose smiled, "That I can answer. My sister was hired here, and since it would have been pointless for me to be a student, since my schooling had already surpassed the seventh years here, Dumbledore created the position for me." Vestan stretched down to tap her head with a paw, and then he draped himself all along the top, completely relaxed.
"What about our class then? The one you teach? I don't even know what the subject is." Hermione said sounding frustrated. Her mind was turning over the facts Rose had just given her, but she needed more.
Rose laughed, "I'll tell you all that tomorrow, in the class. Think you can wait that long?"
"I suppose." Hermione thought for a moment before she asked the next one. "How did you know Harry should use a pillow to open the window in the Divination room?"
Rose stopped smiling. "What do you mean?" Her gold eyes had gone flat, no gray yet, but the gold was faded.
Hermione wondered if she should even continue. After a moment of silence, she said, "The boys told me that you told Harry to use a pillow to open the window. and when it hit the sill, the wall and floor fell away. How did you know he should use the pillow?"
Rose frowned and said simply, " I can't answer that. I'm sorry." She really did look sorry. As if keeping anything from Hermione was hard for her to do.
"Is there anything you can tell me?" Hermione asked, her tone subdued. Seeing Rose like that was uncomfortable. Hermione felt like she'd hurt her just by asking.
"I can tell you that I'll be with the boys again for Divination today. That Potions class will be interesting to say the least. And modifying our Dannikit boxes will be enlightening as well." Rose paused and looked past Hermione. Hermione watched as the gold came back to full strength in her eyes, joined by swirls of blue. "Good Morning Ron. Won't you and Harry join us?"
Hermione turned in her chair to see Ron and Harry come sheepishly into the common room. Two thoughts swept through her mind just then. The first: [I] Eavesdropping is becoming a tradition for us all. [/I] gave her another twinge of guilt. The second: [I] Ron looks especially cute when he blushes. [/I] brought a flush to her own cheeks.
The boys came around and sat on the ottomans in front of the occupied armchairs. "Good morning," Harry said after a moment. "Sorry about that. We didn't want to interrupt." Kali'na was on his shoulder, watching everyone avidly.
"You weren't interrupting anything," Rose said. "Besides, I'm sure Hermione would have told you two what I said eventually anyway."
For one fear-filled moment, Hermione thought she meant the conversation she had overheard. But she was distracted from Rose's gaze when Nildur climbed down into her lap, on top of Crookshanks. The cat grumbled and with one annoyed yet tolerant glance, moved up to the top of the chair himself. The dannikit whirred appreciatively, and stared at Ron. Fianna popped her head out of his robes and stared back. Hermione didn't say anything to contradict Rose's remark, since it was at least partially true. She planned to tell them about the questions that had been answered as soon as she had a moment alone with them. As for what she had overheard, the apparent existence of Rose's second sister Moira, and the fact that Rose was here to do a job, and her sister knew about her cough. Then there was the pop at the end of the conversation. It had sounded a bit like someone apparating, but that was impossible on school grounds. She wanted to keep that to herself for now.
"Hermione?" Ron asked, worriedly.
She had the feeling he'd said her name several times. She smiled brightly at him. "Sorry, I was just thinking. Did you say something?"
Ron blinked. She hadn't smiled like that since the summer holiday when. "I asked if you were coming with us down to breakfast. We figured that we should get down there early to get seats with the others."
"Others?" Hermione asked.
Harry grinned. " You must have been thinking awfully hard. We were talking about the other members of our group. We were going to do some quick modifications on the dannikit boxes this morning, remember?"
"Oh right. Sure I'll come. Are we going to have time to come back and get our things for class?" Hermione asked, standing up. Nildur wasn't even surprised. In a single motion, he was on her shoulder, without a single grab for her robes. She looked at him out of the corner of her eye. "Nicely done Nildur." He trilled and tangled himself in her hair.
"I don't know," Harry said, "Better bring them, just to be sure."
Rose smiled. "I'll meet you all in the great hall." With a wave of her hand, she turned and walked out the portrait door.
Hermione turned to the boys. "I've got something to tell you."
"What?" Ron asked, as Harry headed for the stairs.
"It's about Rose. Unless you overheard that whole conversation we had earlier." Hermione answered.
"Oh, yeah. We got to the stairs about the time she said she couldn't answer your first question." Harry called back. "Hurry up you two."
"Sorry about that. We really were going to turn back to our room, but then you asked her that second question and we had to hear the answer." Ron said, sounding a bit guilty. Fianna had climbed to his shoulder and was staring into Hermione's hair at Nildur.
Hermione blushed. If only they knew. But she had some serious thinking to do before she told them that she had done the same thing just minutes before they did. "Don't worry about it. Rose was right. I would have told you what she said anyway. Be down in a minute," Hermione said, going up to her room. The other girls were stirring now. To avoid talking, Hermione flashed her prefect badge and murmured something about prefect business. She planned on keeping the badge in her pocket until after breakfast most days. It was a nuisance when she was trying to prepare for the day. It made everyone nervous and no fun at all early in the morning.
The girls left her alone as she dashed into her parlor and grabbed her bookbag. Nildur was surprisingly not unbalanced by her hurried grab for the bag. She patted him before dashing back through the girls in assorted disarray around the room. Hermione barreled through the door and ran smack into Ron on the stairs.
It was like running into a wall. A hard. warm. softly covered.and nice smelling. wall. His arms caught hers before she could fall down the stairs. "Whoa! What's your hurry 'Mione? Breakfast isn't going anywhere." Ron said. He smiled down at her, blue eyes twinkling. "Unless you know something I don't?"
Hermione swallowed. Why on Earth had her throat just gone as dry as a desert? "I didn't want to be bothered by the girls in there. They are rather chatty, even this early in the morning. They would have followed me if I hadn't hurried. Besides, we wouldn't want to miss out on the freshest food available, now do we?
At her last remark, Ron grinned. "No we wouldn't." He pulled her down the stairs after him. Nildur and Fianna whirred on their shoulders.
"What were you doing?" Harry asked. He was standing in the common room with Neville, Ginny, Fred and George.
"Hurry!" Ron said. "The fifth year girls are about to come down." Harry's eyes widened. Kali'na twitched her tail. Those girls had all been giving Harry strange looks, ever since the incident in Divinations. He did not want to deal with them this morning, nor did any of the others. Even Ginny though that particular group of girls was outrageously giggly.
The Gryffindors all hurried silently out the portrait door. They met Reggie and Lynne in a hallway about halfway to the great hall. "Good Morning. Are you on your way to breakfast too?" asked Reggie.
Harry smiled at them. "Yes we are. Think there will be enough left for us?" Reggie blinked up at him. Ikarus, sitting on her shoulder, put his head to the side and stared at him.
Lynne frowned, "Of course there will be enough. Most of the school isn't even up yet." Anondir's creamy tail was wrapped around a curl of her brown hair.
"Ah," Harry said, " But the best food is always out first. Then he actually winked at them. Ron stared. Harry was actually flirting! Harry never flirted! What was going on? Kali'na looked at him from her spot on Harry's head, and he would later tell the others that he was positive she winked at him. Ron came to the conclusion that the dannikit had had a relaxing effect on Harry. That or it was a confidence builder. He glanced at Fianna. She was whirring up a storm and still staring at Nildur. Or rather, at his eyes. They were all that could be seen of him from within Hermione's, admittedly rather amazing, hair.
They all crowded into the Great Hall to find it nearly devoid of life. Professor Jameson was seated at the high table, alone. Rose was sitting at the front end of the Hufflepuff table with Daniel and Ana. There was a Hufflepuff there as well, but Ron didn't recognize him. They joined them, looking questioningly at the stranger until Reggie said, " Good Morning Chris. Haven't seen you since the train."
"Mornin' Sis. I see you both got one of those dannikits." Chris said. He grinned suddenly. "So did I." He motioned to the bag at his feet. A dark gray tail could be seen sticking out of the top.
"That's great Chris." Lynne said. "Now the whole family has one."
"Won't you introduce us?" Ginny asked.
Dan spoke up. " This is our brother Chris. A third year Hufflepuff. Chris, this is Ginny, Ron, Fred and George Weasley, Hermione Granger, Neville Longbottom, and Harry Potter."
"Nice to meet you all." Chris said, smiling at them brightly.
"Ugh. How are all of you so cheerful in the morning?" Neville asked, as he sat down. "My head hasn't stopped pounding since I woke up."
"You only woke up fifteen minutes ago." Ginny said, laughing. But she very gently handed him a glass of orange juice.
"That may be true, but I feel like I never slept." Neville muttered.
"I hope this makes you feel better," Rose started. "The modifications that we are going to do on the dannikit boxes this morning will be temporary. Just enough to get some of you through your Potions class before the break at lunch. Then we'll go ahead and do the permanent one." Vestan whirred at them all approvingly. The other kits echoed him.
"So Rose, what do we do?" George asked as he sat down beside her.
Rose smiled at him, "Good morning to you too George. First thing is to put your boxes on the table in front of you."
Ron, who already had a mouthful of sausage, looked up at her and then mournfully at his full plate. Hermione elbowed him in the ribs. With a sorrowful grunt, he moved the plate towards the middle of the table. There was much laughter as the others did the same. Neville's expression was pained as he slid his glass of orange juice away. Ginny looked at him questioningly when he put his box on the table very gingerly. He didn't notice. But Fred, George and Rose did. The twins narrowed their eyes at Neville.
Before they could say anything to him, Rose said, " Now take out your wands." She glanced at Chris. He was watching avidly, but not participating. "Aren't you going to change your box?"
He shook his head. "Nah. Misty likes my bag. She's stayed in there most of the time anyway. Why change what already works?"
The others looked at one another, once again realizing that their dannikits were different from the others. Rose continued, " All right then. Now, I want you all to focus on your kits, point your wands at the boxes and say, 'Incantem Cubiculum!'" As she said this, a thin gold stream of light went from her wand to Vestan's box. It changed from a simple wooden box with a wire mesh screen across the front, to one covered in a pearly white satin. The cloth was neatly attached to all sides but one. The one side that was left open was the doorway, still wire mesh. Through the door a cushion could be seen on the bottom of the box.
There was a moment of astonishment before the others followed suit. The stream of gold light became a deep red covering for Lunia's box. Solida got a midnight blue cloth. Nildur's box was swathed in a soft caramel cloth. Fianna's became a royal purple. Phantom's box became a deep emerald green. Segan's box was a dark brown, like rich soil. Ikarus's box was brilliant sky blue velvet. Anondir's box was a shimmering sea blue satin. Kali'na's box was covered in a cloth of deepest black. Andra's box was the brilliant green of new leaves. Erian's box was palest yellow fleece.
"Well," Chris said. "That was certainly something."
Rose smiled at him. With a swiftness that was startling, the dannikits sped to their boxes. Just before they collided with the wire mesh doors, the doors all opened and the kits were inside. They all started whirring loudly and in unison. The students stared at them.
"I guess they like them like this," Fred said. "I know I do."
Ana frowned. "I would have picked a different color for Segan." She was looking down at the dark brown box with some discontent.
"Don't worry," Rose said. "They shall all be improved upon at break."
"Can we eat now?" Ron asked plaintively. Everyone laughed and moved their kit-laden boxes to the bench beside them.
As they enjoyed their breakfast, the hall began to fill with students. There were a few moments of confusion from everyone at the sight of several Gryffindors and Ravenclaws sitting at the Hufflepuff table, but soon they were all seated. There were several other students who switched themselves around as well. The only table that did not spread out, nor was joined by anyone else, was of course Slytherin. The members of the aforementioned house merely sneered at the intermingling students of the other houses. Disdain quite evident on their faces.
Cora Jameson had observed the actions of her sister and her students with approval from her spot at the high table. She had personally made sure that the hall would be almost empty when the modifications took place, by scheduling the event with Rose the evening before. She had also made sure that the other teachers were not present when Rose further scrambled the houses. As the Headmaster took his seat he looked down the table at her and winked. Cora smiled. Nothing got past that man. He obviously approved. Severus looked a bit green in the face at the sight of Gryffindors so close to his house's table. Minerva looked about ready to crow with delight, though she kept a close eye on her students throughout the meal to ensure that the morning was not disturbed by an inter-house scuffle.
The meal ended without a hitch. The novelty of the new seating was enjoyed by most of the students, and was much talked about. It had almost distracted them from the events of the first day of classes, but not quite. As Rose went with the trio and Neville to the dungeons for Potions, there was some speculative whispers as to whether or not Neville was safe to be around. He held his still aching head high as they descended the stairway. Rose had lit her wand with that brilliant white light once again. Hermione grumbled, "I really want to know what that spell is."
"Later," Rose whispered as they stepped into the classroom.
Most of the Slytherins were already in the room and at their seats. Rose went to her corner and put Vestan in his box at her feet. The stool and desk had been re-transfigured into their original states. With a tap of her wand they once again suited her. Sitting down, she waved encouragingly at Neville. Draco snickered. Rose glared at the back of his head. She would have said something, but Snape swept in and immediately started lecturing. He was continuing the lesson on the sleeping potions.
Rose rolled her eyes at a few of his questions, but he did not notice.
"What is the thirty-eighth use I listed for you?" " The amount of time the arrow root is boiled before you add the nettles?" "The optimum cauldron temperature for steeping the potion?" He got answers from various students, when they were Gryffindors he sneered and took points away. If a Slytherin got a wrong answer he merely told them to pay attention and went on with the lecture.
"Mr. Longbottom," Neville jumped, and Rose could see him wince just a bit. He did not cower in his seat however. "Mr. Longbottom, how many milliliters of a perfectly brewed potion are needed to send a student to sleep for a solid six hours?"
"That depends on the weight and disposition of the student Sir," Neville said. His voice was surprisingly unwavering.
Snape looked rather startled. "Very well Longbottom. Let's say we wanted to send Potter to sleep. He's needed it in the hospital wing often enough. How much would Madame Pomfrey give him?" Neville thought for a moment. "Well? We don't have all day." The Slytherin side of the room snickered and the Gryffindors held their breaths.
"Four and three quarter ounces Professor." Neville answered.
"And why would he need that particular amount?"
"Because he weighs about 160 pounds and he has a fast metabolism."
Snape blinked and looked around the classroom. Rose narrowed her eyes at him. He grimaced and muttered something. "Sorry Professor, I didn't catch that," she called out.
"Five points to Gryffindor," Snape said. His voice was like ice. There was a general moment of shock throughout the classroom. The Potions Master continued the lesson. They all had to brew more of the sleeping potion. This time there was no interruption from Rose and Neville's potion turned out perfectly. As they left the dungeons, the other Gryffindors congratulated Neville. He blushed furiously red. The Slytherins were all still in shock that their house leader had voluntarily given points to a Gryffindor. Rose walked up behind Neville. "Still got a headache?" she asked him.
Neville looked back at her. His face grew puzzled. "Actually, no I don't."
Rose smiled. Andra trilled from inside her new green box. Neville opened the door and the dannikit climbed out, up his shirt and onto his shoulder. She wrapped her tail around his neck and whirred loudly. "That was awesome Neville," Harry said. "You had him completely shocked. Not only that, but he gave you points!"
"Neville you rule," Ron said. Fianna was already on his shoulder, whirring madly. She waved a paw at the still blushing Neville.
Hermione grinned brightly. "I didn't know the answer to that last question. I'm so proud of you." Nildur stuck a paw through the mesh of his door to touch her hand. She touched the latch and he pushed the door open. Climbing up her arm he quickly lost himself in her hair.
Neville nodded his head at Rose. "She told me to study that kind of thing. So last night I did."
Rose smiled again. "I'm glad you took my advice, but it was you who knew the answers when it came down to it. Marvelous job. Come on. Time for my sister's class."
"Oh right. The Cridders. I wanted to learn more about those," Hermione said as they climbed the stairs.
"You want to learn more about everything," Harry said, smiling and not unkindly.
"And that's why we love ya 'Mione," Ron said. He continued blithely beside Harry and Neville. Hermione gaped at the back of his head. Rose glanced back and saw her face. She slipped through the boys to the stunned girl.
"What's the matter Hermione?" Rose asked. "Not expecting that?"
Nildur made a snuffling noise in her hair that sounded remarkably like laughter. Hermione blinked. "No. I wasn't." Ron glanced back at Hermione and Rose as they all neared the DADA classroom. The two girls were walking with their heads close together and whispering. Nildur was staring at him from inside Hermione's hair again. "What do you suppose they are talking about?" he asked Harry and Neville.
Neville looked back at the girls then at Ron. "You obviously," he said.
"Me?" Ron squeaked, "Why on earth would they be talking about me?"
Harry elbowed him in the ribs, "Because Pal, you just told Hermione that you loved her," Harry said brightly. He grinned at Ron's confused face. That grin spread into laughter as Ron's face slowly flushed with embarrassment.
Neville looked carefully at Ron, and then at Hermione. "Yep, you did."
Ron said nothing. They entered to DADA classroom to find the rest of the class already there. Neville continued to get congratulatory slaps on the back and huge grins from everyone as they took their seats. Ron was about to take his usual seat beside Harry, but changed his mind. Instead of having Harry between Hermione and himself, he maneuvered himself between them. In the end, Neville and Harry sat together and Ron and Hermione sat together. Neither of them said anything.
Rose strolled up to the front of the class. Professor Jameson had not yet arrived. As class took their seats, Rose looked at the papers on her sister's desk. One particular parchment made her eyes narrow, but their color was undecipherable from where Harry sat. Vestan jumped onto the table and sat directly on the offending paper. Rose shifted her gaze to the covered cage on the desk and then around the room. Suddenly she frowned. Harry followed her gaze to a chair at the back of the room. Starlight was sitting in it.
Professor Jameson rushed into the room carrying a rather large box. "Sorry I'm late everyone. I had to pick these things up from my quarters." She set the box on the floor in front of her desk and smiled brightly at the class. Harry was struck once again by the resemblance between the two sisters when they smiled. Something Rose wasn't doing at the moment.
"What is she doing in here?" Rose asked, disregarding the fact that they were standing in front of a classroom full of curious students.
Cora turned again and looked at her sister. Rose pointed at the black cat. The feline had stood and was now staring at the sisters in a rather direct way. "She's my cat. You had Shadow in your classroom as I recall."
"That was different. That was required. She doesn't have to be [I] here[/I] now." Rose said.
"We'll talk about this later Rose. Right now we have a class to teach, remember?" Cora said simply.
Harry saw Rose's eyes shine green and was only mildly surprised to see an answering glimmer in Cora's. "Isn't that interesting?" Harry murmured.
After holding her sister's gaze for a moment, Cora turned back to the class. "Today, we are going to experiment with the Cridders." She motioned to the box. "In a few minutes, I'd like you each to take something from this box and return to your seats. I will then release the Cridders into the classroom. The room is charmed so that they cannot get out, but your task is to catch them all, before the end of the period, return them to their cages, and the real objects back to the box." She smiled. "Think you can handle it?" The students looked at one another. A nervous memory of Pixies ran through the class, but they nodded. "I have complete faith in your abilities."
"Before we do that Professor Jameson," Rose said, "I'd like to know the reasoning behind the lesson." Her eyes were still flashing green, but not as brightly.
For a mere second, there was tightness around Cora's mouth, but a little, red, seven-toed paw tapped her hand. The blonde teacher flashed a smile at Vestan and said, "I'm interested in seeing how all of you deal with the Cridders. I encourage creative management of the magic. This will help me to analyze where the students are and where I need to start teaching." She raised an eyebrow at her sister.
Rose nodded. "Good idea." She glared down at her dannikit. The little traitor was whirring wildly as Cora stroked him.
"I certainly thought so." Cora said. With a final pat on Vestan's head, she made her way to the covered cages at the side of the room. Lifting the purple cloth revealed a mass of shifting shapes. When her hand touched the cage door, they stilled and became a large pile of quivering gray balls of fur. "Well? Are you going to get the things from the box?"
The students all rushed to the front of the room and started pulling things from the box. An old Gryffindor scarf, a deflated quaffle, a pewter goblet, a much-darned sock, a hairbrush, and many other assorted objects. Cora grinned, "Now, put them all where you would normally put such a thing. In your bags, around your neck, on the floor or the desk, it doesn't matter." They did what she said. Rose moved to the back of the room to observe.
Cora opened the cage door. The Cridders climbed out and scattered. Within moments, they had disappeared. The students looked around in shock. Rose watched the sock under Harry's desk without blinking. Only her full attention helped her see it disappear and reappear in a fraction of a second. She said nothing. A moment later, she felt a tickle in the back of her throat. The longer she stared at that sock, the worse the tickle became. Rose felt a sudden weight on her shoulder. Vestan had rejoined her. He nuzzled her cheek. She put a hand on his warm side and swallowed ineffectually. She tried clearing her throat. If anything, the tickle grew worse.
The students were all talking and laughing as they tried various spells and charms to determine which objects were Cridders. Cora wandered around the classroom watching and occasionally correcting a stance or a hand movement. Harry was laughing at Ron's attempts to de-spell the scarf around his neck. All he had managed to do was turn a scarlet stripe into one of brilliant blue. Around the room, the dannikits were trying to help. There were kits wrapped in scarves, chasing after balls and sitting in goblets. Kali'na, Nildur, Fianna and Andra were all sitting on their companions desks, watching their antics.
Rose swallowed again. Her eyes began to water. She could almost feel them turning gray-green this time. "Remember," Professor Jameson said, gradually making her way towards Rose, "The Cridders may not have become those particular objects. They could be something else entirely. That's part of the riddle. Determining which objects are not Cridders, and which are." She looked at Rose. "Are you going to stand there all day, or are you going to help?"
Rose shook her head, unable to speak. Ron, Harry, Hermione and Neville all turned to stare as she began to cough. She waved a hand at them. They all looked confused. [I] "MOVE!" [/I] Rose wheezed between coughs. Ron grabbed Hermione and Harry and pulled them to the wall. Neville nearly fell over himself to get into the aisle and out of the way.
Their four dannikits jumped to the floor and waited. Vestan joined them. Then, suddenly, fire flew from Rose's hand to surround the sock in flames. The kits formed a circle just out of reach of the fire. Rose coughing eased a bit. There was no sound in the room but for her loud breaths and the crackling of the fire. She approached the fire, wand outstretched and said hoarsely,
"[I] Take this creature by the nape,
Do not let it think of escape.
Return it to its true color and shape!"[/I]
A translucent tongue of flame stretched from the end of her wand to grasp the sock and lift it up. It slowly shifted to the shape of a Cridder. Rose's eyes flashed green and the flames blazed higher. It held a moment longer before it changed again.
That tongue of flame held a thin black snake. It blinked gimlet red eyes at them all and hissed horribly before writhing wildly. Somehow it loosed itself from Rose's phantom grip and threw itself into the fire. There was an awful sizzle before the flames went out. There was no sign of the snake. In the silence that followed, Professor Jameson asked, "Is everyone alright?" There were affirmative answers from around the room.
Then Ron said in a strangled voice, "No." Everyone turned to look at him. He was staring at Harry, whose green eyes were fixed on the now empty spot on the floor where the snake had been. His scar was a painful looking red. Rose started towards him. If the other students moved out of her way rather more quickly than usual, who can blame them?
Ron started to reach a hand out to Harry. "Don't touch him just yet Ron," she said softly. Behind her, Cora started dismissing students to the Gryffindor Tower. Rose stared into the brilliant green eyes that were focused on the floor. She slowly took him by the hand and moved him to a chair. His eyes remained unblinking and his gaze never shifted from that spot on the floor.
Kali'na jumped into his lap, mewling pitifully. She climbed up on to his head and lay down. Her front paws covered the angry red lightning bolt on his forehead. Harry blinked and looked up at Rose. His voice was husky as he said, "He's coming. and when he does, not even the Shards will save you."
Rose's eyes went from worried gray to an astonished gold. "Where on earth did you hear that?"
Harry cleared his throat. "The snake. Where is everyone? Are they alright?" He looked around the room. Rose stepped away from him and started pacing the room. She passed by Starlight on the chair a couple of times before stopping and staring at the cat.
When it became clear to the others that she wasn't going to answer Harry, Ron said, "They are fine. A little shaken up, but Cora sent them to the Tower."
"Then she was going to get the Headmaster," Neville said.
After a moment Hermione asked, "Are You all right Harry?"
"I'm fine. Just a headache. When"
"You're a Parselmouth." Rose burst out suddenly. Her eyes were green again. Harry nodded. "You're a bloody Parselmouth and nobody saw fit to tell me!" She glared down at the cat and started tapping her foot impatiently.
"Sorry, we haven't gotten the chance for that history of the last four years," Harry said.
"Oh I don't blame you Harry," Rose said contritely. "I blame my sister's habit of 'Don't ask, Don't' tell.' This changes things."
"What does it change?" Hermione asked.
"My lesson plan," Rose said. But everyone had the distinct feeling that she started to say something else first.
Cora, Dumbledore and Madame Pomfrey came into the classroom, followed by four very confused Ravenclaws and three very concerned Weasleys. "What's going on?" Daniel asked. "The kits started freaking out in the middle of class. We all met in the halls and saw Professor Jameson."
"I'd like to hear what happened as well," Dumbledore said. Daniel looked a bit sheepish.
Before anyone else could say anything Rose exclaimed, "He's a Parselmouth!"
The Headmaster merely looked at her. "Yes. A side effect of the attack on his parents and himself."
Rose stared at him. "Why didn't anyone tell me?" The brilliant green of her eyes had faded a bit to be replaced by gold.
"Does it matter?" Harry asked, rather nervously.
"Of course it matters," Rose snapped. Ron and Hermione both made unconscious moves to shield Harry. "Oh, I'm not going to hurt him you two. I could care less that he talks to snakes. It's actually very useful in this instance. It's the fact that the existence of such a gift was kept from me. For crying out loud Cora, what else are you keeping from me?"
"Ahem," Madame Pomfrey said, "May I check him over now?"
"Why does she need to check him over? What happened?" Fred asked.
"I'll say this again, I'd much like to hear that myself." Dumbledore said.
"A sock turned into a snake," Neville begun.
"Don't begin in the middle Neville. Why was there a sock in here in the first place? One not on somebody's foot that is." George said.
Hermione started the explanations with interjections from Ron and Neville. Harry was being poked and prodded, albeit kindly, by Madame Pomfrey. ". So then it hissed and threw itself in to the flames," Ron finished.
"But that doesn't explain why Harry needs help," Ana said.
"I'm getting to that," Hermione said. "He stared at the spot where the snake had been for the longest time. Kali'na jumped onto his head and covered his scar with her paws. Like she's doing now. Then he blinked and told us what the snake said."
"And what did it say?" Dumbledore asked softly.
Harry spoke up then, "It said that 'He is coming. and when he does not even the Shards will save you.' It could have meant me in particular or all of us. I'm not sure."
"It couldn't have known that you could understand it, so I'm sure it meant all of us." Ginny said. She was rather paler than usual. She, understandably, wasn't very fond of snakes.
"What do you suppose the Shards are?" Reggie asked.
There was silence around the room. Rose exchanged a green and gold glance with Cora. Both looked at Dumbledore.
The wizard spoke gently, "I think we should discuss that particular subject at a later date," Everyone started to protest. "Right now, I'd like to discover how, why and with whom, that snake got here in the first place."
With a heavy sigh Cora stepped forward. "It was here in the shape of a Cridder sir. The things change their shape so often that I never thought to check out the one that seemed to prefer that of a snake. I'm sorry. This is all my fault." Her blue eyes shimmered with tears.
"It's not your fault Cora," Rose said, putting her arm around her sister. "The one at fault is the one who hid the thing here in the first place." Cora looked at her, mildly surprised at the comfort offered. It was Rose's turn to sigh. "I'm mad at you for not telling me about Harry, not for the snake being here."
"Who would have brought a snake here in the first place?" Lynne asked. She shivered. "They're nasty cold things." Anondir whirred and snuggled into her arms.
"A certain name comes to mind," Ron said dryly. He exchanged a look with Hermione and Harry.
Cora shook her head and said, "Had that lot in here yesterday. He wouldn't even go near the cage. No chance to switch one for the other."
"What do you mean switch?" Daniel asked.
"The number of Cridders in the cage never changed. I know because I had to count them for today's lesson," Cora answered.
"Speaking of today's lesson, we never finished the task. There are still twenty something Cridders running around the room." Harry said. Madame Pomfrey had finished her examination and was merely watching him closely.
"Not exactly," Neville said from across the room. He was standing next to the Cridder cage. It was full of the little gray fur balls and the door was still standing open.
"But they never voluntarily go into the cage." Cora said.
Neville reached inside and pulled one out. It lay in his open palm, trembling, but didn't change shape. "What's wrong with it?" Ana asked.
"Rose's spell!" Hermione said. "It must have caused them to change to their true shape and kept them that way. It scared them so they went into the cage."
"That sounds plausible," Cora said.
"Miss Jameson, would you mind lifting the spell from the poor creatures? They won't survive long like that." Dumbledore said. "It appears your spell was more potent than you thought." His eyes twinkled at her.
"Truth is sir, I didn't think. The charm just popped into my head. I'll try to lift it," Rose said. She pulled out her wand and pointed it at the cage. "You might want to put that one back in and shut the door Neville." He did as she asked and stepped out of the way. Her brow furrowed in concentration. "[I]Incantem Finitem.[/I]" There was an almost inaudible sigh from the cage and the Cridders immediately started to change. Some into wands and socks and others into black pieces of cloth. "What are they doing now?" George asked. "Frenetic little things aren't they?"
"I think they are trying to tell us something.," Ginny said.
"If you figure it out, let me know. I'd like to see all of you in my office an hour before dinner," Dumbledore said. "Poppy, is Harry going to be all right?"
"Yes Headmaster. He's perfectly fine, and that in and of itself is an odd experience for me. I've only seen him when he's hurt." She smiled at Harry, who grinned back.
"Please try not to be late," The headmaster said kindly before strolling from the room, obviously thinking hard about something.
Rose and Cora exchanged another look. "If you two don't stop that," George exclaimed, "I'm going to sic Lunia on the pair of you."
Rose smiled and petted the white kit, who whirred happily. "She wouldn't hurt me," She said smugly. "Now, I believe we all have a small chore to complete now, so let's get to it."
"What chore is that?" Lynne asked absently. She was watching the Cridders intently with Neville and Ginny.
"Well we have to figure out what the Cridders want us to know, as well as get our boxes completed," Rose said. "And we only have until the end of lunch to do it."
"Correction," Cora said. "You have until your fourth class of the day. All of you."
"What do you mean?" Daniel asked. "I could understand the fifth year Gryffindors not having Divination, but what about the rest of us? I've got. erm. nevermind.
Ana laughed. "We've got History of Magic. Won't miss anything but a nap."
"You are all excused from your next class, what ever it is." Cora clarified.
Reggie sighed. "We're going to miss. What are we going to miss Lynne?"
"What? Oh um. Double Charms with Slytherin I think. Now be quiet. We've almost got it."
"You definitely won't miss that." Ron said.
"It is rather a pain to have them in the same class as our head of house. But we have Herbology with the Hufflepuffs afterwards so I suppose it works out." Reggie said. Ikarus mewled in her arms, his tone plaintive. She scratched his chin. He whirred loudly.
"Wait." Rose said. "Did you just say you've almost got it?"
"SHHHHHH!!!" Ginny hissed. She was watching the Cridders very closely, her nose not an inch from the cage bars. Everyone tensed. "Oh billywigs," Lynne said in the silence. "They don't know who put it in there either."
Fred grinned, " Did you just say 'Oh billywigs'?"
"Yes she did. They aren't allowed to curse," Dan said with a brotherly grin at his sisters. They glared back at him.
"Well? What did you find out?" Hermione asked, curiosity making her eyes sparkle. Ron stared at her and Fianna just whirred on.
"It was someone in a black cloak, an adult witch or wizard, they couldn't tell. They took one of their fellow Cridders and replaced it with the snake. They never saw their brother again. Just the snake being. It never talked but to hiss that You Know Who was coming." Ginny stopped talking as she realized what she had just said. She turned to stare at the others.
"We're going to have to talk about how you know all that little sister dear," George said. "But now that we know everything the Cridders know, we should get that other little chore done. I do want to have lunch today."
Cora smiled, "I'll have something sent up to you all. Don't worry." She motioned them towards the door.
The twelve of them started out the door. Rose paused, looked at Starlight then at Cora. "Send her for Shadow and then send both to the classroom. We may need them."
"You just told her sister dear," Cora said as the black feline left the room through her office.
Rose sighed and continued after the others. The only one who had seen the exchange was Harry, and that was because Kali'na wouldn't allow him to go any faster than an old man with a walker. Every time he tried to speed up, she let her claws out to touch his scalp. He made a note to mention that little exchange to Hermione and Ron later.
"Okay everyone, let's head up to the classroom. I already have supplies there," Rose called out.
As they climbed a flight of stairs, Ana asked, " Aren't we just using magic, like before?"
Rose smiled, " Yes. and no Ana. I've got some very special paint that we are going to use, but there is magic involved as well."
"Sounds like fun Rose," Fred called from the front of the group, "Mind unlocking this thing for us first?"
George grinned, " We wouldn't want to actually step out into thin air, now would we?"
"That's strange. I unlocked it earlier to us. Only others aren't allowed." Rose said, approaching the door. She tapped the glass with her wand and muttered something. After a moment she sighed with relief. " It's just the house elves. They've already come with the food and didn't want to be interrupted.
As they climbed through the now open window, Ron was busy trying to keep Hermione form yelling at Rose about the house elves. After a few moments, she calmed enough to follow the others. Soon the third floor west corridor was empty. Except for the silent watcher who smiled wickedly at the window before going back the opposite way than that they had traveled.