Harry woke up on September second to a great amount of light coming through the window. Harry looked at his watch: 6:30. Quickly got up and gathered his clothes to get ready. At 7:15 he was showered and everything. Seeing Ron asleep, he decided it was a necessary time for a minor prank. He remembered reading about it in James's journal when he did the same thing to Sirius.
First Harry conjured a bucket of water. He smirked to himself as he levitated it two and a half feet over Ron's head. By then, all of the boys, except Ron, were up and watching. Harry gave his wand a slight flick and watched as the bucket flipped over in mid air and poured its contents on Ron. He sat bolt upright and knocked his head on the bucket. Harry didn't intend for that to happen. Ron howled and fell back on his bed, soaking and tired, but that didn't stop him from wanting to strangle Harry.
"I'm gonna kill you Potter!" he shouted and jumped out of bed. Harry quickly beat him to the door and ran into the common room. Everyone that was there, which was about ten people, watched the scene. "Yeah, that's right! Go! Run! Don't ever do that again!" Ron shouted.
Harry grimaced and ran out of the common room, knowing that Ron would be embarrassed enough to be in his pajamas in the common room, and wouldn't step into the corridor. He took a few deep breaths and chuckled to himself. Then he started for the Great Hall, but was stopped short.
"That was excellent Harry!" Ginny said as she walked out of the portrait hole, laughing lightly. "I figured what happened. I tried that once. But he caught me and," she shuddered, "told mum. I got in a bunch of trouble. But the twins congratulated me." She smiled at the memory.
"Well, I have to get to the Great Hall before he kills me. Want to walk with me?" he asked.
"Sure. You should be careful for a while now. He'll want to get you back," Ginny said conversationally.
"Yeah. But I expect I'll live," Harry said confidently.
"I know Ron's a prefect, just remember he's related to Fred and George. Just be very careful," she said, almost sounding serious. They talked until they reached the Great Hall, and even then didn't stop. They sat together and shared a few tips to get revenge on Ron after he got revenge on Harry. Ten minutes after they arrived in the Hall, Hermione and Ron showed up, talking quietly to themselves. "There he is. Hermione's with him too."
"Good morning," Hermione said cheerfully, as she sat down across from Harry.
"Morning Hermione," Ginny said in the same tone.
"Morning Gin," said Ron, ignoring Harry.
"Morning Hermione," said Harry, ignoring Ron. The girls muttered hellos as well and kept looking between the boys.
Halfway through breakfast, McGonagall came down the table, passing out schedules. Harry didn't have it too bad.
Monday: Double Defense Against the Dark Arts, Lunch, Transfiguration
Tuesday: Double Charms, Lunch, Occlumency
Wednesday: Double Transfiguration, Lunch
Thursday: Double Defense Against the Dark Arts, Lunch, Transfiguration, Potions
Not too bad, Harry thought. Harry was still adjusting to the fact that he had potions.
"What do you have first Harry?" Hermione asked.
"Double Defense Against the Dark Arts," Harry said. "You?"
"Same. Here, look," they traded schedules.
Monday: Double Defense Against the Dark Arts, Lunch, Transfiguration
Tuesday: Double Charms, Lunch, Double Herbology
Wednesday: Double Transfiguration, Lunch, Double Arithmacy
Thursday: Double Defense Against the Dark Arts, Lunch, Transfiguration, Potions
Friday: Double Charms, Lunch, Double Potions
They gave back their schedules. "You're taking Occlumency? I wasn't aware they had extra classes," Hermione said. Ron snorted.
"Dumbledore's teaching me. It's a Boy-Who-Lived exclusive class," Harry said sarcastically.
"Oh," Hermione said, slightly put out.
"We should go, we'll be late for Defense," Harry said, looking around the Hall. Hermione nodded. Ron got up as well. Harry was only half surprised, but he didn't say anything. In fact, the whole way there, Ron didn't even say a word. Hermione and Harry just talked about what the class was like and what they would do.
They walked into the classroom to see all of the Gryffindors and a minor amount of Slytherins. Somehow, Malfoy managed to make the cut.
"So they're letting just anyone in here?" Malfoy said loudly when the trio walked in.
"Apparently," said Harry, looking at Malfoy. Malfoy scowled and went to the back of the room. Harry looked for a seat, but found none. There was a thin table that went around the edge of the room, which was enlarged since last year. In the middle was a blank area. Harry was confused, but set his books on the table at the edge of the room and stood there, waiting.
"Good morning, class," came a cold voice from near the door. Harry looked up to see Snape. "As you no doubt have noticed, there are no chairs. There will be few occasions in which you will need to sit down and copy notes. All you need to bring to this class is your wand." There were many murmurs of agreement and approval. "This period, you won't use your wands, so feel free to conjure a chair and listen as I go over the curriculum."
Snape's mood was odd and hard to figure out. He looked pleased that he was finally teaching what he liked. He looked disgusted at the amount of non-Slytherins. He looked like he was going to take points from Gryffindor any minute.
True to his word, there was no need to copy notes, unlike last year. They just conjured chairs, with a quick lesson from Hermione and listened to what they would do during the year: different forms of dueling. That included wizard duels, which were first, and sword fighting, second. If there was anything he saw fit to be learned, he would bend the plan a bit, he had said. He showed what the swords would look like. They were very dull blades and had charms to make the impact significantly less severe. Then he set a few rules. None of them were illogical. No sharp swords unless instructed. No removing the charms on the swords and no touching the blades unless given permission and so on.,"
The second-class period was significantly more exciting.
"Now, this period we will be learning a few hexes and practicing them on a partner of your choice," said Professor Snape. "The first makes you opponent see everything differently. For instance, standing in this position, I would see everything exactly as it is behind me. I would see the wall with the two windows, the table around the room and my desk. You would see the back wall with the table around the room, the door and the three shelves. The target would still be facing at the scene they are directed to, though that is not what they would see. They might turn around though, thinking you used a spell to turn them backwards. Then they would be seeing you, but they will have their back turned towards you. It is often undetectable and it wears off with in five minutes very suddenly, leaving the person momentarily confused. The only way someone would realize what happened is if they realize the possibility that they could have been hit with that particular curse and if they feel the impact of the curse. Sometimes with adrenaline, the target won't feel it or pass it off as another curse. There is a counter curse to it as well. Say, you were in a fight and a companion of yours was hit with it. You would say the counter curse and they would be righted again. Does everyone understand?" he asked. There was a collective nod. "Good, I was a bit worried for a minute, seeing the structure of the class. Now, the curse is 'mutare spectare'. I know you can all say it, so don't bother. Now, the movement is very simple. All you have to do is point your wand at the person and make the tip of your wand go in a circle once clockwise. Now, the counter curse is the same words, only you move your wand counter clockwise. So pair off and practice the hex and the counter curse one at a time. It would be very difficult if both people did the curse first and then tried to do the counter curse under the influence of the hex. You have half the period and then we'll learn one more curse and it's counter. Go ahead."
Everyone paired off. Harry paired off with Neville and Ron paired off with Hermione. About three minutes after Snape stopped talking, there were curses flying around in a jumble of voices. Snape moved around the room, awarding Slytherin's points if they completed the spell and taking points away from Gryffindor's that did something wrong. Neville had successfully completed the hex and its counter curse with ease. Harry did as well and they had gone back and forth five times before Snape called them back to order.
"Satisfactory. I've seen all of you complete the hex at least once. The next one is similar to the previous. It will change the viewpoint of the person. Only this time, when the person looks left, they will see things on the right and the other way around. The incantation is the same as the last, but the wand movement is different. To administer the curse, you point your wand at the person and moved it quickly from left to right. For the counter curse, it is right to left. Now, you have the rest of the period to work on this," the professor said. "Homework is to tell one way each of the curses would be useful. Six inches per curse at least."
They had the same partners and completed the spell easily again. Harry had a particularly easy time because he had gone over it in his book three times at least during the summer. Soon, class was over and it was already time for lunch.
"Hey Ginny," Ron said as he, Harry, Hermione and Neville found her on the way to the Great Hall. "How're classes so far?"
"They're the best! I just had potions with that Carmichael woman. She's really nice. She almost makes potions fun," Ginny said.
"Ah," Ron said. "That good, eh? We had double Defense. Snape is the weird teaching Defense! I can't tell yet if he's better than Umbridge last year." The group shuddered. "What happened to her by the way?"
"Sacked last year from the Ministry. But we all knew that. And she pleaded insanity for all of the things she did and is in the heavily guarded ward at St. Mungo's," Neville said the last sentence a bit timidly. "I spent a lot of time there, so I know a few things that went on there this summer."
The group was silent until they reached the Great Hall. Harry found he wasn't very hungry, but apparently Ron was. He was wolfing down food faster than anything Harry had ever seen. Except for maybe Ron on another occasion. Hermione rolled her eyes as soon as she caught sight of Ron eating.
"Honestly Ron. You could do with a few manners. You have an hour before we have to get to class. And even then! You don't have classes this afternoon!" Hermione said exasperatedly.
"Actually," said Ron, swallowing down a mouthful of food. "I have extra Transfiguration after all the classes are over." He helped himself to another turkey sandwich.
"That's just before dinner, Ron! There's no need to rush. If you're hungry by the time you have to go to remedial Transfiguration, eat afterwards. Or! You could even go to the kitchens later, you know where they are!" Hermione said.
"It's extra Transfiguration, Hermione, not remedial," Ron snapped. "And, I'm hungry now," Ron said, stuffing his face again.
Harry was done eating and didn't want to listen to Hermione and Ron bicker for another forty-five minutes, so he went up to Gryffindor tower.
"Hunter? You there?" Harry asked when he got to the boys' dormitories.
"Yes, Harry," he heard Hunter from his box.
"You know, you can wander around the castle if you like. But you just have to be careful not to scare anyone and don't bite anyone," Harry said.
"I might take you up on that offer later in the day. Perhaps I can find a mouse or two. That would be okay, right?" Hunter asked.
"Yeah, of course. Just don't bite people or their animals. I wouldn't want you or me to get in trouble," Harry said with a smile.
"Of course. How is the day going with classes?" Hunter asked.
"Not too bad, I suppose. Snape is not supposed to teach Defense. It's not right. But the curses we learned today could be really useful. They were really confusing for me to learn by myself over the summer, but I suppose he explained it a bit better," Harry admitted.
"That's a good sign," Hunter said.
"Yeah. I had an idea, Hunter. You know how you told me Moony was loyal to Dumbledore's side? Well, when you go exploring the castle, could you tell me anyone that isn't loyal to the his side?" Harry asked.
"Yes. Do you have any doubts about anyone in particular?" asked Hunter.
"All of Slytherin house," Harry said truthfully.
"I'll look around. If I see anyone that isn't loyal to the light, I'll find out their names and tell them to you," Hunter said.
"Thanks," Harry said, smiling.
"I'll go now. You should probably get your things and head for class," Hunter said, slithering out of the box and onto the floor.
"Okay," Harry said. Harry got his book for Transfiguration and got his bag that held parchment, ink, quills, Marauders' Map and things of the like and headed out the door. Hunter trailed behind him, unable to open the doors himself. "See you," said Harry, as they parted at the portrait.
"Bye," said Hunter. Harry quickly got to Transfiguration to find he was ten minutes early. Harry pulled out the Marauders' Map from his bag. Looking around, he found a dot labeled 'Hunter' on the Map. He was near the Charms classroom. In the Charms classroom he found dots labeled with Slytherin names. So Hunter was going to begin there. Perhaps he should keep an eye out for Hunter to make sure none of the Slytherins hexed him to bits. Actually, he wasn't sure whether or not they would be scared of their House mascot.
Harry stuffed the Map in his bag again after he saw that everyone was in the classroom (Gryffindor and Hufflepuff) and that the Transfiguration professor was stepping in front of the class. She was near her desk. Harry looked up and found no one at first. Then he saw the professor in her cat form. The class quieted down as they saw the tabby staring back at them with a sort of glare. Then the professor transformed to her human form next to her desk. The class applauded.
"That was my animagus form. This year, we will be learning about animagi in depth," said Professor McGonagall. This won't be too bad, Harry thought, considering I've already learned a bit of this.
"But that will only be the first half of the year. The second half we will be starting just before the spring. We will begin conjuring large objects and transfiguring large objects into animals of all sizes," said the head of Gryffindor. She spent a bit more time going over the cirriculum before assigning pages to read (Chapter One: What About Animagic?). They read the rest of the period and then were assigned nine inches on what Animagic was.
"That's not too bad," Hermione said to Harry on the way out of the classroom.
"I suppose not," said Harry.
"I've got to go to the library. I'll see you at dinner, okay?" she asked. Harry nodded and she left him.
"Hello Harry!" Ginny called, running up to him from behind.
"Hi, Gin. What's up?" Harry asked.
"Nothing. I'm already sick of classes and it's only the first day," Ginny said.
"Yeah. I'm sick of Snape already," Harry said.
"That's to be expected. I haven't had him yet, thankfully," Ginny said. "What are you doing for the rest of the day?"
"Practicing," Harry said vaguely.
"Practicing what?" she asked curiously.
"Tell you what. Drop off your things in your dormitory and go up to mine. I'll tell you there," Harry said. She nodded.
"Okay. I'll see you in a few then," Ginny said. They entered the portrait hole and went to their respective dormitories. A few minutes later, Ginny knocked on the sixth year boys' dormitories.
"Come in," said Harry. She did. "Over here." Harry opened the third compartment of his trunk. Harry let Ginny climb down first then he went, closing the lid of the trunk.
"Wow, Harry," Ginny said, looking at the weaponry.
"This was my mother's seven-compartment trunk. This, the third compartment, is the room I use to practice sword fighting," Harry informed her.
Her eyes got wide. "Really?" she asked. "Why would your mum have a compartment dedicated to sword fighting?"
Harry thought for a moment. He'd never considered the question before. "I really have no idea," he said truthfully.
Ginny nodded understandingly. "So you know how to use a sword?" she asked. Harry nodded. "Could you teach me?"
Harry mulled over the thought. "Okay," he said simply.
"Oh, thanks so much. I've always wanted to learn it. It's something hardly anyone bothers with anymore," Ginny said. "But it always seemed cool."
"Yeah. It's fun. Pick out one of the swords over there and I'll show you a few moves," Harry said, smiling at Ginny's happy face. Ginny nodded and picked out one of the smaller swords that she could manage.
They practiced different moves for almost two hours. Then Harry looked at his watch. "We should probably start our homework," Harry said.
"Oh, yeah," Ginny said dispiritedly. "I've got an essay from Carmichael and another from Binns."
"I've got twelve inches from Snape and nine inches from McGonagall," Harry said as he put the swords on the wall where they belonged.
"That's not fun. Listen, can we do this again tomorrow?" Ginny asked.
"Well, I'm not sure. I have Occlumency with Dumbledore and I'm not sure how long it will last. Just get your homework done as soon as you can and we'll see if there's time, okay?" Harry asked.
"Sure," said Ginny. "I really appreciate this, you know? I told my parents I wanted to learn it years ago. They said that it was only a phase and they couldn't afford lessons anyway."
"It's no problem," Harry said, as they exited the trunk.
Ginny smiled. "Okay. I'll see you at dinner," she said as she left the dormitory.
Harry got out parchment, ink and his quill and began his homework, still thinking about the lessons he just gave Ginny. Or maybe just Ginny.
At the end of lunch on Tuesday, Harry had one foot of parchment on different shield charms to do. It wouldn't be too hard, since he'd studied a few over the holidays. Harry found that it was much easier to do in class after studying and he planned to keep on doing that. He wondered why he hadn't before. Also, Ron was talking to him again after the nasty wake up call.
Harry headed up to the Headmaster's office. On his way, he remembered that Dumbledore hadn't told him the password. "Canary Creams," was the first thing that came to Harry's mind as he approached the gargoyle. To Harry's amazement, it jumped aside. And then he ascended the moving staircase up to the office. Harry knocked on the door, and after hearing, "Come in," he entered the room.
A feeling of guilt washed over Harry as he stepped over the threshold. The last time he had been in this room was after the attack on Little Whinging. The time before that was just after the Department of Mysteries fiasco. Before he had a chance to stop them, thoughts of it all flooded his mind. He remembered what Dumbledore had done last year. He had kept a great amount of information from him and that resulted in Sirius's death. But then he saw Dumbledore sitting at his desk, watching him, and went over there.
"Hello, Harry. How've classes been?" he asked pleasantly. Harry wasn't sure to be angry because he acted like they were on the best of terms or to return the kindness.
"Okay, sir," Harry mumbled, deciding on something in between. He remembered that last time he was here, he barely talked to the Headmaster. Last time, he didn't apologize or anything. Harry found that he couldn't bare being in the room much longer if he didn't say something soon. "Look, sir, I'm really sorry about what I did to some of your things last year. It was really inconsiderate and-," Harry was cut off by the Headmaster.
"That's good. Very good, indeed. Let's try again, shall we? Legilimens!" Dumbledore cried. "It's perfectly okay, Harry. You had reason to do what you did. There's no reason to apologize. I daresay my office looks better less cluttered," said the Headmaster with a twinkle in his eyes. Harry nodded. At least he tried to understand.
"Did you have a better summer than the year before?" Dumbledore went on.
"Yes," Harry said.
"Good, good. Perhaps we should start Occlumency now." Harry nodded. "Professor Snape informs me that you did not do very well last year," he said as he put some of his thoughts in the pensieve at his left. "Perhaps, I should find out for myself though." Harry nodded, ready for the spell. "Legilimens!"
Instantly, Harry saw Cedric being his with a speeding jet of green light. Then he saw Sirius falling through the veil. But that was it. He pushed everything out of his mind. Dumbledore was looking at him, now thoroughly impressed.
"That's a lot better than Snape had mentioned," he said softly.
"I practiced over the summer," said Harry.
Dumbledore nodded, though not looking completely convinced. "Let us try again."
This time, Harry only watched as Sirius fell behind the veil before he was back to looking at Dumbledore again. It was that way for almost a half hour. Then Harry sensed that Dumbledore was about to dismiss him, but he didn't immediately.
"Harry," the Headmaster began. "Are you planning on continuing the D.A. this year?"
"I was thinking about it, sir. I was going to base it on the Defense teacher. So right now, I haven't really decided," Harry said truthfully.
"Well, I was wondering if you would consider doing some type of extra Defense for other students. The grades for everyone in the D.A. last year did remarkably better on end of the year exams than what would usually be the case. And the people with O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s all got a passing grade, when normally a good percentage wouldn't have," Dumbledore said.
Harry was surprised. He didn't know he helped that much. "Well, sir, I didn't do it on my own, you know. It was Hermione that picked out all of the spells," Harry said.
"Yes, but Harry, you know as well as I that you are a leader and someone the students, and a good part of the wizarding community will listen to, given that the Daily Prophet isn't in the mood to slander you. Even if it's only because you are the Boy-Who-Lived, they will listen. And apparently, you are a good teacher as well. Ms. Granger could have taught all of the students the spells. But that still wouldn't have done much more than what one of your professors would do. I'm not trying to be harsh, but it is the truth. Ms. Granger prefers the text book and you prefer more practical experience," Dumbledore said honestly.
Harry couldn't object to the differences between Hermione and himself, but there was something he could object to. "But the wizarding community was all against both me and you last year. Why would they listen to a sixteen year old? Especially when they have you to turn to."
"Because, Harry, even if they don't realize it, you are the one to pull them through the war. They just need a push in the right direction. Harry, not everyone is either on the side of good or the side of evil: light or dark. Many don't openly support one side in particular and some won't ever. But soon enough, more and more people will choose sides. They will either follow Voldemort on the side of evil. Or they will follow you on the side of good," Dumbledore said.
"But what about you?" Harry asked, trying to gain a bit of understanding.
"I thought you knew me better than that… I will be on the good side, following you," Dumbledore said with a twinkle in his eyes. "Just think about the D.A. okay? Goodnight, Harry."
Harry nodded and left the office in a deep thought. Should he really continue the D.A.? If he did, more students might do better on their exams. Dumbledore follow him? What was this world coming to? But, deep in the back of Harry's mind, he knew that question was useless to ask, because he already knew the answer: a war between good and evil.
It was Wednesday. Classes were finished. Harry had no homework, as he had already finished his six-inch essay on what animagus form he thought he would be and why. He wrote that he would be a lion.
Harry was on his way outside to the Quidditch pitch. Today was the Gryffindor Quidditch tryouts. They were forced to reform nearly the whole team. Ginny had dropped out, deciding to try out for both positions chaser and seeker. Ron was keeper.
Harry brought his broom so he could take a few laps around the pitch afterwards.
Already there were about eleven people. They were all divided into what positions they wanted. Ginny went to the chasers because they would try out first. There were eight people trying out for chaser, three for beater and three for seeker (some, like Ginny, were trying out for more than one position). Both Ron and Harry were rather pleased with the amount of people wanting to try out.
"Okay," said Ron as Harry sat down next to him. "First will be the chasers. We will do a few combinations of people. First up are Ginny, Alexis and Katherine." They did a really good job together. Their teamwork was just perfect. There were three more groups that went and Ron took notes next to each of the eight names on a piece of parchment he was holding. "Thank you. Very good. You'll find out if you're on the team tomorrow." Then Ron got out a snitch from the equipment box.
"First up is Euan Abercrombie. I'll let this snitch go and you need to catch it as quick as you can, okay. Give it a minute and I'll say go," Ron said, letting go of the snitch. A minute later, after Ron's signal, Euan raced into the air, searching for the tiny gold ball. Eight minutes and fourteen seconds later he was back on the ground, snitch in hand.
"Ginny, you're next. Same deal," Ron said, letting go of the snitch once more. Four minutes and forty-three seconds after she took off, she was back on the ground with the snitch.
"Natalie McDonald, same thing, one minute," said Ron as the snitch flew from his hand. It took her six minutes and twenty-seven seconds to catch the tiny ball.
"Are you sure you don't want to be on the team Harry?" Ron asked in a pleading voice.
Harry thought for a minute. This was his last chance. Unless something bad happened to Ginny, as she was obviously first choice for seeker at this point, he wouldn't get to play seeker on the house team before he left Hogwarts. This was also a good way to keep in shape. But he had sword fighting for that. Deciding there were more pros than cons if he joined, he smirked at Ron. "Let's see how well I do in try outs first."
Ron gave a loud whoop as he released the snitch. Harry waited a minute before boarding his broom and kicking off from the ground.
Once in the air, he searched for the glittering ball. He found it at the opposite side of the pitch. He sped up as fast as he could, finding it refreshing and fun. When he was with in three feet of the small ball, it took a dive straight to the ground. Harry grinned as he followed the ball straight down. Then the snitch took a forty five degree angle upwards. Thirty seconds later, Harry caught the ball and landed next to Ron.
Ron was grinning like Christmas had come early as he jotted down on a piece of parchment. "Three minutes and fifty six seconds."
Next were the beaters. Euan Abercrombie was first. He had to keep one of the bludgers away from Ron for four minutes. Then for another four had to keep both bludgers away from him. He only let Ron get hit twice. Luckily, Ron put a charm on the bludgers to stop the impact of them.
Then the other two beater tryouts took their turns. First was Natalie McDonald with four hits. Last was Neville Longbottom, to Harry's great surprise. He did just as well as Euan with only two hits. Harry didn't know that Neville was fond of riding brooms after the fiasco in first year. However, Harry did know that Neville liked Quidditch because he had seen him at the World cup in fourth year.
Ron had made notes, just as before. "Tomorrow, you'll find out if you made it or not, night!"
"I'm seeker right?" Harry asked knowingly.
"Was Merlin a wizard? Or course!" Ron nearly yelled, though the smile never came off of his face.
"Ginny better be chaser," Harry said. He had no doubts that she would be though. Aside from Ron being captain, she did really well.
"Of course. So, who else do you think for chaser? I think the girls that played first with Gin should be on the team. They did really good," Ron said.
"I agree," Harry said.
"Yeah, yeah. So it's Alexis Phillips, Katherine Pythage and Gin," Ron mumbled as he wrote the names on a blanks sheet of parchment. "Then definitely Neville and Euan for beaters… Well, then, that's done. How 'bout a game of chess?" Ron asked.
"Sure, after I have a few laps around the pitch," Harry said, taking off on his Firebolt. Ron followed him up.
It was then that Harry realized how much he missed the air over the summer. He didn't have time to think about it as much with tryouts. But it was wonderful. Just being up there. There was nothing to worry about. In the air, there was no Voldemort, there weren't any classes, Ron and Hermione weren't bickering; it was a safe haven for Harry.
An hour later, Harry was heading inside with Ron. "You seem like you've rode a broom for twenty years! You realize that? I'm so glad you're on the team! The other team's are going to suffer such a painful death! And I'll laugh when they do!"
Harry had to laugh at Ron's insanity as they walked to Gryffindor tower.
Friday. The end of a long first week of school and Harry still had one more lesson: double potions with Professor Carmichael. Harry was on his way to the potions classroom (not dungeons) when he heard an odd voice that he hadn't heard in a long time. It sounded like humming in a taunting sort of voice. Then Harry recognized it just in time. He ducked behind a knight.
"Loony, loopy Lupin, loony, loopy Lupin," the voice went on, singing the song reminiscently. It was Peeves the Poltergeist. What triggered him to start singing that? Harry thought to himself as he crept back out from behind the knight.
Harry turned the corner and walked the rest of the way to the classroom. Professor Carmichael was behind her desk, waiting for her classroom to fill up. Harry sat next to Hermione at the end front row just as Carmichael stood up.
"Welcome to your second class of potions this year. I hope that this week hasn't been too hard on you, but remember that class doesn't end for a while," the professor said kindly. "As I said yesterday, today you all are starting research projects on a specific potion." The class groaned collectively. Carmichael smiled kindly. "You will have about three weeks for this project. Please copy this down," she tapped the board with her wand. Instantly, a messy scrawl appeared on the black board and the students started writing.
The professor explained the guidelines. "As I said before, you have two weeks to complete this. You need to research the origins and history of the potion, the instructions and procedures, the results and side effects. You do not have to work alone. You are allowed no more than four people to a group. Please note that you and your partner or group will share the same grade, regardless of who did the most work, so choose wisely. At the end of two weeks, you will start presenting. Your presentation should be anywhere from ten to fifteen minutes long. You may use notes during your presentation, but you have to turn them in, along with the one page report that will be due the day of your presentation. The rubric is on the other half of the board, I recommend copying it down so you know what to do." For the rest of the class they copied the board.
The next class period, they got into groups and chose their potions they would research. Harry was partnered with Ron, Hermione and Neville. They all chose to research the Polyjuice Potion.
After class, Harry parted with Ron and Hermione, heading for the kitchens. There, he asked Dobby to bring him and Ginny dinner later so they could practice without bothering to go to dinner.
"Hey Gin," Harry said as he arrived in the Gryffindor common room later.
"Hello, Harry. Had a good day?" she asked.
"Not too bad. I'm having Dobby bring dinner later, unless you want to hang out with your friends and stuff," Harry said.
"That would be great! Let's go then. I've done my homework and all that," Ginny said excitedly, pulling Harry from the chair he had just sat down in.
"It's great that you like sword fighting and all, but really, we have time. No need to hurry," Harry said, following her up to the sixth year boys' dormitories and into the dueling compartment of the trunk.
They practiced for about two hours when Dobby came in with a trail of plates following him.
"Dobby! You didn't have to bring the whole kitchen!" Harry said, eyes wide.
Dobby smiled sheepishly. "Harry Potter sir, you can eat how ever much you and Ms. Weezy likes and then when you are finished, say 'We're done' and the food will go away!" Dobby said excitedly.
"Thanks Dobby," said Ginny, giggling at the house elf's eagerness to help Harry.
"Yeah, thanks. I'll see you later," Harry said.
"Bye Harry Potter! Bye Ms. Weezy!" said the house elf before disappearing.
"Well, I guess we should start eating," Harry said. Ginny laughed.
A half hour later, the two were stuffed. "I can't believe we ate that much!" said Ginny looking at the few plates they emptied.
"Really. I don't know if we're going to be able to practice anymore, ever," Harry added.
Ginny laughed. "I hope it doesn't come to that. But maybe we should call it quits for the day."
"I agree," said Harry, lying on the floor. "I can't move. I don't think I've eaten that much in my life."
"I can't say the same. There was one Christmas where I did eat a bit more than that," Ginny said, lying back on the ground as well.
"Well, let's look at the bright side to this. At least we won't have to eat for a week," Harry said, nearly truthful to the way he felt.
They got up slowly, banished the food and went to the Gryffindor common room to find it empty. Everyone was at dinner. So they sat down and played chess. They were almost done when Hermione and Ron walked through the portrait, talking in hushed voices. Worry etched on their faces.
"What are you two up to?" asked Ginny. She moved her queen to kill Harry's knight. Harry watched as the knight tried to put up a fight, but lost as the queen brought her sword down on the knight's head.
They looked up and relief spread across their faces. "Where've you guys been?" asked Ron.
"Around. Have a good dinner?" asked Harry, moving his queen forward a few spaces.
"Not bad," said Ron shrugging, sitting next to Harry. Hermione sat next to Ginny.
They finished the game, Ginny won. Harry had an idea he found might be useful, but left it for the next day. They all went to their respective dormitories; Harry cleared his mind and slept peacefully.
Harry woke up early in the morning. He got showered and everything, then set off for his mother's study. In one of the drawers in her desk, he found a large amount of extra chess pieces. He took one of the pawns and brought it with him to the dueling room in the trunk. There he set it on the ground, stepped away and enlarged the piece to be life-size. It was already animated due to its function.
Harry grabbed a sword from the wall and approached the giant chess piece. The piece's hand flew to its sword and blocked a blow from Harry. Harry smiled to himself and charged the piece again. Their fight lasted for about a half hour before he shrunk the piece to it's original size, put away his sword and took the piece with him out of the trunk.
He made his way to the common room, piece still in hand. Ginny was there already. "Come on. I had this brilliant idea," Harry said, pulling her up to his dormitory. Quietly, as not to wake the other boys, they slipped into the third compartment of the trunk. "Get your sword," Harry said. She did. Then Harry set the piece, which Ginny wasn't aware of until then, on the floor. He enlarged the chess piece and Ginny jumped in surprise.
"What are you on about?" she asked, as the piece didn't move yet.
"Approach it, but be on your guard," Harry said. She did. In an instant, the piece jumped to life and Ginny blocked the sword with her own sword. She started on defense but got to offense quickly. She used some of the moves that Harry had taught her and after about twenty minutes, Harry shrunk the piece again.
"That was excellent Harry! Where'd you get the idea?" she asked.
"Last night when we played chess. You did great, by the way. I can tell you learned a lot," Harry said.
Ginny blushed pink, "Thanks. We should get to breakfast." Harry agreed and they left. None of the other boys were up yet. They made their way to the Great Hall undisturbed.
RupertRox Thanks for reading and reviewing my story. I'm glad you think it's great.
magicalme32 I reviewed your story. Not bad. Thanks for reviewing mine. Glad you like it.
asdf Thanks for reviewing my story. I really appreciate it. Sorry I didn't get this chapter us fast enough. I wasn't even at home this weekend until this afternoon. Thanks again for reviewing.
hawkeye 207 Thanks for reviewing!
pegoheart144Thanks for reviewing my story. I think I corrected the error. It took me so long to get this chapter up, I can only vaguely remember… Please keep reading!
lilypotterfan I'm glad you enjoy my story! That's part of the reason why I write! Thanks for reviewing!
MelannenTalviel Thanks for reviewing! Lorry isn't a Death Eater, though. I won't kill you for guessing, don't worry.
aniron1 Yep, thanks for reviewing! I always wondered what it would be like for Snape to be the Defense teacher.
joe Thanks for reviewing! Yes, Harry gets to take potions now! Harry's so excited! (My sarcasm is bad.) And no, Harry isn't playing Quidditch, as unlikely as it is. I think it isn't very likely that he won't play Quidditch in the next book, but I wondered what would happen if he didn't. I took his Quidditch ban as a final decision from J.K. (Though it probably isn't.)
Kelzery Thanks! I'm glad you like my story! Wouldn't it be cool if he could do wordless magic? I think it would. I would love to do wordless magic myself. (Heck, I'd love to be able to do magic!) Anyway, that was all of the battle on the train. It wasn't really complex at all, was it? No, it wasn't supposed to be. Those weren't Voldemort's best Death Eaters. He wouldn't trust that bunch with a complex plan. But if you read it over, something did happen that didn't quite correspond with his vision/dram thing. Thanks for reviewing!
Sexy Slytherin Sweety Thanks for reviewing again. A Skiving Snackbox is a Weasley's Wizard Wheezes product containing sweets to help aid a student in ditching class. There are Nosebleed Nougats, Fainting Fancies and things of the like. Keep reading!
Gryphonmistress Yeah, that was pretty corny. (Laughs as I get slapped) But yes, you are correct. I won't say what to. People can do their thirty second research if they want to find a few spoilers. Thanks for reviewing and please keep reading (even though you know a few things some people don't yet…)
Ilovatar Your wish is my command. Ta da! I updated! Thanks for reviewing!
LadyLilyPotter My, my, my, you left quite a long review there! Thanks! I need to split this up into paragraphs…
Yes, they are learning to tolerate each other (if just for a bit for the first time in sixteen years)! What an exciting event! (Arg… What ever I do I can't get away from my horrible sarcasm!)
I always wondered what it would be like for Snape to teach Defense. Anyway, this works out perfectly so Harry doesn't have to take remedial potions with McGonagall. I love the curriculum for the sixth years now. And Harry always has to be one step ahead of everything in my story… though not on purpose.
I now accept anonymous reviews… I think. I'm pretty sure I changed it, but I haven't bothered to check…
Yes, I'm thirteen! Oh joy! I'm turning fourteen on the twenty forth of July. Then my parents feel much older just because it's my birthday. Oh, I love it. I forget how old they are… hmm… I think they are 38… Yeah, that should be it. Either that or 37… Okay, back on track!
You shouldn't be smoking! That's very naughty for all my fellow children through out the world! Just say no! Ha, ha. I just remembered when my parents' friend told me that D.A.R.E. stood for Drugs Are Really Excellent. That was funny…
Yes, I did see the new Potter film! I loved it! I went to the midnight premier! I wore my Slytherin out fit: jeans, green t-shirt with a white collared shirt over it, a gray tie and an awesome cloak, and my trusty wand. Oh, and I brought a few books… Dunno why, now that I look back on it. Hey, maybe I should've brought my broom? Why didn't I? Hmm… Oh well… Did you like the film? I loved it! It was great! Can't wait to see it again! Tom Felton (not Draco necessarily) is so hot!
I think that's it… Whew that was a lot to write for a review response thingy. Talk to you later!
To anyone else that might've read my story Thanks for reading! Please review! Answer a question: Is it okay? Did I completely get something wrong? Did you like it? Should I even continue? Should I turn off my computer, crawl in a hole and re-think my life completely? (Dear, I hope not!)