Most of the other students were already there. Hermione was at the front of the room, sitting next to Rhia. Both girls refused to look at them as they sat at the desk behind them. Harry had to admit that it was very strange not to be talking to Hermione in Potions. Of course with Snape being well Snape-ish, they never had really talked anyway. Still it was strange. But the strangest thing of all was Malfoy. Not once did he remark on the incompetence of Neville or any other Gryffindor. His fellow house-mates did, but none of them had the bite or finesse that Draco had developed to perfection. For which Harry was thankful. There was no telling what Hermione would have done if Draco had made a snide remark. Of course there were the Shards as well.
The class ended without incident. Hermione swept past them both, speaking to no one. Rhia flashed a warning look at Ron and followed. Ron sighed and they went on to DADA.
It was the same in DADA. She never said a word. Didn't even answer a question. Harry searched his memory and couldn't find a single class session where Hermione hadn't raised her hand at least once. It had never happened before. Professor Jameson greeted her sister with a smile and nod. The class went on. They all completed the lesson that had been interrupted by the snake in the last class. This time, she just released the Cridders into the classroom, without particular objects for them to replace. The class, with the help of their Dannikits was able to find every one of the Cridders, with little trouble. After Hermione caught and changed her Cridder, she sat at her desk and read for the rest of the class. To Harry's disappointment, Rhia did the same. She also followed Hermione to Arithmancy.
It wasn't until they were on their way to Divination that Harry realized Rose wasn't with them. "Hey Ron, have you seen Rose?"
Ron shook his head as they climbed a flight of stairs. The divination classroom had been moved to the Astronomy tower until the former classroom was repaired. "I think she's following Ginny's class today."
"Oh." They finally made it into the tower. Fortunately, this room had better ventilation than the other, and the smell of the incense was almost pleasant. After having professor Trelawney once again predict his death Harry zoned out. Until Parvati screamed.
Everyone stared at the girl. Her face was absolutely white and she was pointing a shaking hand out on of the windows. "A Grim…" she moaned, "I saw a Grim at the edge of the Forbidden Forest."
Harry shared a look with Ron instead of rushing to the window with the others. While Trelawney was trying t calm a hysterical Parvati, and a near-hysterical Lavender, Harry whispered, "Snuffles." Ron nodded.
~
Parvati and Lavender both had to be escorted to the hospital wing for sedatives. Their fervent belief in the death omen of the Grim combined with Professor Trelawney's barely restrained dire predictions made it so the girls had to be almost carried from the room. Seamus and Dean had that dubious task. Trelawney dismissed the class early because she wanted to consult other mediums to discover if they too pointed to Parvati's fate.
Harry and Ron went immediately to the find Hedwig and send her to Sirius with a note, to set up a meeting. He would most definitely want to know of their new status as Guardians. Harry was careful to word the note so that should it be intercepted, the reader wouldn't know a thing. Granted, the possibility that it would be intercepted was slim, considering Hedwig only had to go into the Forest right outside the school, but they were taking no chances. Tying the note to her leg, Harry whispered, "All right Hedwig, now don't go directly to Sirius. Get there in a roundabout way and maybe loop through Hogsmeade. We don't want to lead anyone to him." She nipped at his fingers affectionately and swooped out the window.
Harry looked at Ron. "Now, let's head down to the greenhouse for Herbology. With luck, we'll get there before Hermione and maybe come up with a plan for you to apologize."
"Apologize," Ron started as they headed around the building to the greenhouses. "But I…"
"Did you or did you not kiss her and then run away?" Harry asked.
"Well yes." Ron said.
"Then you should apologize." Harry stated.
"But Harry," Ron started.
"Look Ron, we need her with us before we talk to Sirius, and the next Guardian meeting could be decidedly unpleasant if she talks to the other girls. Something she has already begun. Didn't you see that look Rhia gave us after Potions?" Harry asked.
"I did. But why would she talk to the other girls about it?" Ron asked.
Harry sighed. "Because that's what girls do Ron." Ron sighed and looked around. There were a few yellow dandelions growing in the grass. The path they were on wasn't used much. Ron stopped and stared at them. "What is it Ron?"
"We should pick those." Ron said.
"Why? They're just dandelions." Harry remarked.
"We should pick them… so that Hagrid doesn't get into trouble. He is the groundskeeper after all." Ron explained, already holding a few of the flowers.
"They're weeds Ron. I saw a million of them this summer, and pulled up twice that. Hagrid's not going to get into trouble for just a few." Harry said.
"Then you know that if they go to seed, there will be a million, and then Hagrid will get into trouble." Ron said. He had a fistful by now.
Harry sighed again. "That's true." Even as he was picking them he remarked, "He probably has some weed killer that would just zap them where they are."
When they both had large handfuls of the yellow flowers Harry asked, "Now what?"
"Now… we go to Herbology." Ron said.
"With handfuls of weeds?!?! Professor Sprout would hex us!" Harry exclaimed.
"We aren't taking them into the greenhouse Harry." Ron said as they rounded the corner of the building, just in time to see Rhia and Hermione come around a different corner. "Okay hand them to me and you get Rhia inside with the rest of the class."
The light slowly dawned on Harry. "Oh that's brilliant Ron. Good luck." He thrust the rest of the dandelions at Ron and tried to saunter casually towards the girls. Hermione still looked furious and Rhia looked… sympathetic. "Hello girls. Rhia, if you want I could give you a run down of what we've covered in this class so far. Ever heard of the Phileo plant?" He took her arm and she jolted a bit, and it was that which made it possible for him to steer her into the greenhouse before she could protest.
As the door slid shut behind them, Rhia turned on him. "What was that about. I know all about the Phileo plant."
"Yeah I know. I also know that you were supposed to run interference for Hermione. Believe me, you don't want to interfere with this." Harry explained.
"What do you mean?" Rhia asked.
"You'll see…" Harry said. He glanced at the frosted glass of the Greenhouse walls. "Or she'll tell you."
Rhia looked at the glass as well. They couldn't see a thing through it. "What's he doing?" Rhia asked.
Harry grinned. "He's apologizing."
"Really? Well that's good." She turned back to the class. Professor Sprout had not yet arrived. "How long do you think it will take?"
Harry raised an eyebrow at her. "How long would you make a guy apologize if he brought you handpicked flowers?"
Rhia blinked. "He picked her flowers? Probably not very long." Harry filed away that little tidbit for future reference. Sure enough a moment later, a flushed and smiling Hermione walked in with a very happy Ron. Nildur was in his box, with the bundle of flowers. Neither Hermione nor Ron said anything. They just went to their usual spots in the room and left Rhia stuck with Harry. Not that either of them minded that. After a moment Harry pulled Kali'na off his head to put her in her box. Professor Sprout was one of the teachers who insisted that the Dannikits stay in their boxes. Dean's kit had tried to eat one of the Phileo plants the first day they tried to be without the boxes. And Lavender's had tried to dig a hole under the Night blooming Redlines. So all Dannikits were required to remain boxed for the class period.
The class went quickly. Hermione and Ron smiled at each other often. So often in fact that Hermione didn't even raise her hand to answer a question two times during the lesson. She did manage to answer most of the others however. Neville really shone in this class. His hand went up every time. By the end of the class he was grinning from ear to ear and Andra whirred happily in response.
There was two hours before dinner. The five fifth-year Gryffindors decided to go sit out by the lake. To their surprise, they met Daniel and Ana there as well. Reggie and Lynne, who were followed soon after by Rose and Ginny soon joined them all, and finally the Weasley twins.
"So… What are we all doing out here?" George asked as he sprawled on the ground next to Rose.
"We're enjoying the sun," Ana answered him. She was rolling a couple of rocks between her fingers like a pair of those Asian stress reliever doodads. Daniel sat next to her, playing 'Catch the String' with Phantom and Segan.
The others were relaxing too. Reggie was laying on the grass staring up at the clouds and Lynne watching the giant squid blow bubble patterns in the surface of the lake. Ron and Hermione were sitting next to one another, leaning against a large boulder and talking quietly. Neville had wandered over to one of the bushes on the shore and was examining it. Ginny was playing 'Keep Away From My Tail' with Erian, Kali'na and Vestan. Harry and Rhia would join the game every once in a while to see the reactions of the kits. Lunia and Solida soon joined them as well. Then Daniel threw the string into the mix and there was quite a melee for it. Everyone was attacking everyone else's tail mistaking it for the string, or vice-versa. Nildur and Fianna left their companions to join in the fun and were soon followed by Andra, Ikarus and Anondir.
There was about ten minutes where all everyone did was roll on the ground helpless with laughter before Rose managed to get enough breath back to call Vestan to her. When his head popped out of the roiling mass of fur to look at her, they all collapsed into laughter again. Vestan disappeared into the game again. The jumping, rolling, wriggling kits were gradually moving away from the laughing companions and towards the castle. Right to the feet of Draco and Monica as they arrived. Monica was already giggling at the dannikits. Draco looked slightly confused. He looked at the laughing students, then at the growling and whirring dannikits.
"What are you laughing at?" He exclaimed. "They're killing each other!" Then he started grabbing for the wriggling little bodies. Everyone stared at him, shocked, as he kept unsuccessfully trying to separate the kits from each other. He finally ended up with a squirming Fianna in one hand, and a whirring Kali'na in the other. He was breathing hard, and looked slightly panicked.
"They were just playing Draco. Playing a game. Not fighting," Monica said. She was looking at him, her violet eyes puzzled.
"But, they were growling." he said, still holding Fianna and Kali'na. Ron was watching his kit tensely, but she didn't seem to be under any undue stress. Harry merely waited.
"They're animals Draco. That's how they play." Rhia told him. The other kits had stopped their game and were now pretending nothing happened. Every one of the ten that were still on the ground had somehow managed to get their fur straightened out, unfluffed, and clean. Kali'na trilled at Harry. Slowly, Draco put her on the ground and she bounded over to him, immediately taking her customary spot on his head. It was only then that Draco realized which kit he happened to be holding. His crystal blue eyes, which had lost their panicked sheen became worried. He carefully cradled Fianna in the palms of both hands. She looked at him with her own bright blue eyes for a moment, trilled at him, then looked at Ron. Ron was standing not more than two feet away now. Draco took a step and handed her to him. Everyone else was quiet. Most of them still stunned at Draco's reaction to the kits' play.
Draco looked at all their puzzled faces, glanced at Monica's confused smile. He frowned and then growled, "I'll see you all tomorrow." He then turned on his heel and would have gone back into the castle.
But Monica put a hand on his arm. "Wait a minute. What's wrong?"
"Nothing. I have some studying to do that's all." And he was gone. She watched after him for a long moment, while everyone else was getting his or her bearings back.
"Well that was odd." Reggie said.
"You'd think he'd never had a pet before," Lynne said, cuddling Anondir.
"At least not a nice one." Reggie added.
Monica shook her head finally and turned back to the others. "So what was all that about anyway?"
"What?" Rose asked.
"Is there a reason all of us are together again, out here? Or did we just happen to come to the same spot at the same time?"
"No reason that I know of," Rose answered.
"So none of you got a compulsion to come to this particular spot?" Monica asked.
"Not really," Daniel said. "At least I didn't. Not this spot anyway. I just wanted to come outside. Why? Did you?"
"I don't know," Monica answered. Her brow furrowed for a moment in thought. She shook her head again. "Never mind. Hey, any of you know a girl named Cho?"
"A bit yes," Harry answered. "Why?"
"What's her problem? She was in my Transfiguration class this afternoon. All I did was mention that I had a class with you three," she motioned to Harry Ron and Hermione, "and she leapt down my throat. Telling me to stop lying and to stay away from you all. Strangest one-sided conversation I've ever been a party to. And I've been party to some dooseys. When I asked if she was finished, she huffed and wouldn't speak to me for the rest of the class, which made it quite complicated, considering she was my desk partner. All she did was glare at me for the rest of the period. After that class, I ran into Draco in the hall," she flushed a bit. "Literally ran smack into him, and she was right behind me. She made some remark that I didn't catch and then stalked off." She looked directly at Harry. "So… I repeat… What's her problem?"
"Well I…uh…" He blinked at her. Ron and Hermione looked uncomfortable.
"Didn't you ask her to the Yule Ball last year?" Fred asked.
"I thought she went with…" Daniel trailed off.
"She did," Harry said softly.
"Who?" Lynne asked.
Harry swallowed and said, "Cedric Diggory." He rubbed his forehead with the back of his hand and looked away, out over the lake.
They were all quiet. Rhia exchanged a significant look with Rose, who looked at Monica. She looked confused at the sadness that had suddenly struck everyone. Her eyes asked the question for her. Rose stood up and went to her. "He… was killed last year," Rose whispered to her, "by Voldemort."
"Oh dear. That's awful," Monica replied. She looked stricken for a moment, then she frowned. "But if Cho was in love with him… then what was she going on about?"
"There's no telling," Ana said. "She's been strange all week. Isn't she our Seeker Daniel?" He nodded.
"Didn't she sit next to Harry at dinner the other day?" Reggie asked. "That first day, when Rose sat with us."
"Yes she did," George said. He looked as though he would have said something else, but a look from Rose stopped him.
"Oh. I see," Monica said. "I think I'll be going to the library now. I… have some studying to do. Things are a bit different here than in California." She turned to stroll casually away, but Rose and Rhia smiled knowingly at her back.
Ginny looked at her brothers. "When's the first Quidditch team meeting?"
"We're not sure," Fred said. "McGonagall was going to post something in the Common Room."
"That's right, you all need a new captain this year don't you?" Daniel asked.
"That's right, we do. And I'm trying for Keeper as well," Ron said.
"Ought to be interesting then," Daniel commented.
"It certainly will," George said. There was a glimmer of a challenge in his blue eyes. Daniel grinned wolfishly and a good-natured debate ensued.
Harry hadn't moved or commented. He didn't even join in the Quidditch debate. He just stared out at the lake, his eyes looking far into the distance. Together, Ana, Rose after Rhia whispered something to her, and Hermione got the four arguing boys to head into the castle for dinner. Ginny pulled Neville away from his bush and the Emmortal twins went inside with them. This left Rhia with a morose Harry. Kali'na was pouncing on a fluttering leaf by his side, trying in vain to cheer him up.