The voice made Harry look up. He was sitting in a chair near the
corner of the common room - one he had happily proclaimed to be 'his'
earlier in the day. Harry had been reading before he had been
interrupted by his best friend, who was currently standing in front
of him with her hands on her hips.
"Can't help it. It's interesting." Harry said, looking mildly surprised as he checked the time, finding it to be nearly three in the afternoon.
Rolling her eyes, Tonks sat on the arm of the chair and peered down at the book in Harry's right hand. It was rather small and looked to be fairly old, as well. One of the pages that Harry was on had a large chunk taken out of the upper-right side.
"What's it about?" She finally asked.
"Various magical creatures." Harry replied with a shrug. "Stuff I never thought was real. Vampires, werewolves, yetis... that kind of thing. Kind of surprised that yetis can hypnotise people, but it does explain away a lot of the sightings, doesn't it?"
"My Uncle Franklin said he saw a yeti once." Tonks said, looking thoughtful for a moment. "He was vacationing in the mountains and swears one came into his camp and ate all of his frankfurters."
"Why would a yeti risk being seen just for that?" Harry asked, closing the book and setting it on a conveniently-placed table next to 'his' chair. "Couldn't be that starved for food. And why just the franks? Why not the people camping there? The book said that yetis don't care what they eat as long as it's meat. Humans would qualify..."
"Mum asked the same thing. Uncle Franklin said that he guessed the yeti had a craving or something, I dunno. Anyway, Harry, what time d'ya wanna start workin' on your Metamorphmagus training?" Tonks said, swirling a strand of long, brown hair around one of her fingers.
"Dunno. Let's find an empty classroom to practice in, though. I don't want anyone to know about it." Harry said, looking up at Tonks.
Tonks was grinning. "Yeah, let's. Hopefully Malfoy won't be snogging one of his two sea cows."
Harry snorted. "Ah, that was brilliant, wasn't it?" He said fondly, remembering the scene that the two had walked in on upon entering the Great Hall for breakfast...
oOoOoOoOoOoOo
Unable to find Solieyu, as usual, Harry and Tonks walked down to the Great Hall, all the while discussing what Fred and George Weasley might have in store for Malfoy this time. As they drew nearer, they started hearing loud noises coming from inside. Once at the bottom of the main stairway, they realized it was laughter. Looking to each other, the two rushed into the Great Hall.
"I'll love you both until I die,
When you two aren't 'round, I feel I'll cry!
My heart, it aches, when we aren't near.
But once together, I'll never fear!
Your heads are round and so is mine,
and I think you both have great behinds!
Oh, tell me I'll be ever yours,
and I promise to do all your chores!
My heart has found its place with you,
and I know that my love is truuuuue!
'Til dying breaths we all shall take,
a perfect life for you I'll make!
My love is true, my heart is loyal,
please be mine, oh Crabbe and Goooooooyle!"
It was the strangest sight that Harry and Tonks had ever seen. Draco Malfoy was down on one knee in front of his two flunkies, crooning a love ballad so loud that the entire great hall could hear him. His face looked horrified as he sang in a girlishly-sweet voice, as if he would rather be anywhere but where he was. In addition, he was wearing the frilliest pink robes ever seen in Hogwarts. His hair was also a light pink and was more frazzled than Harry's could ever hope to be. He held a boquet of roses in one hand and a cupcake in another. And the whole of the Great Hall was roaring with laughter - even the Slytherins.
Except, of course, for Crabbe and Goyle, who looked confused and terrified that their leader was suddenly confessing his love for them in song.
After his song was finished, Malfoy began repeating it, a look of pure anguish on his face as he forcefully thrust the boquet to Goyle and the cupcake to Crabbe.
"Number..."
"Sixty-one...!"
Harry and Tonks exchanged another look, began snorting, and eventually dissolved into peals of laughter, joining the other students in the Great Hall.
oOoOoOoOoOoOo
"I don't think I've ever laughed that hard in my life. Malfoy looked
murderous once Professor Snape finally fixed him." Harry said,
grinning at the still-fresh memory.
"They even got the pink robes right!" Tonks said, grinning as well. "The hair was a nice touch, though. And the cupcakes and flower boquet."
"I think we should tell the twins to hold off on the next one for a few weeks, though." Harry said, a thoughtful look on his face. "They've gotten Malfoy twice this week... so he's going to be jumpy for awhile, I reckon."
"So we wait until he gets back to acting cocky, then let the twins at him again?" Tonks asked.
"Bingo." Harry said, finally pulling himself out of the chair he was in. "It works better when Malfoy isn't expecting it. If he's looking left and right all the time to see if he's going to be jinxed, it ruins the randomness."
Stretching, Harry let out a groan as his back popped in at least five spots. Tonks hopped off the arm of the chair, wincing at the noise coming from her friend.
"Ready?" Harry asked.
"Of course I'm ready!" Tonks said, a gleam in her eyes. "If you're a Metamorphmagus like I am... well... just think of the pranks we could pull then!"
Harry smiled, heading through the pathway out of the common room. "Ah, the possibilities. I hope Malfoy's spooked enough to jump at any little noise he hears. Nothing like a paranoid ponce to give you a good laugh."
"Couldn't agree more, mate!" Tonks said, slinging an arm around Harry's shoulders. "Now then, off we go! Can't sit around and lounge about all day - we've got work to do."
The portrait of Walter the Wise swung open as they drew closer to it, letting them out and shutting behind them. The old wizard in the portrait smiled as the two headed away from him. It had been a good while, after all, since a pair such as they had been in the house he guarded.
"Wonder where Leon is." Harry said a few minutes later. "I haven't seen him all day."
"Probably in the hospital wing. If he isn't back by the time we get back in, let's go look for him." Tonks replied.
"Yeah... while we're there, we could warn Madam Pomfrey that she ought to be prepared for two near-casualties later, too."
"Still thinking about Terry and...what's his name?" Tonks asked.
"It's Gary... and yeah. I dunno why they want to go exploring it. I mean, if someone told me there was a huge, man-eating crocodile somewhere, I wouldn't go looking for it. I'd leave well enough alone. Dumbledore knows what he's doing, doesn't he?" Harry said.
"Guess so." Tonks said with a shrug. "He warned everyone to keep out, so if anyone gets hurt, it's their own fault. Oh, hey, how about this one?"
Tonks had turned and was peering into a room. Harry came over and pushed the door all the way open, looking in, as well. The room didn't look quite big enough to be a classroom, but it was too big to be a closet. There were numerous chairs and desks pushed up against the walls and stacked in the corners.
"Storage area?" Harry asked, walking in.
"Must be... dunno why they'd need it, though. Couldn't they just conjure whatever needs replacing?" Tonks asked, poking one of the chairs.
"I have a feeling there are a lot of strange things here." Harry said, dryly. "Anyway, this is as good a place as any. Let's get to work."
Tonks and Harry each grabbed a chair from the stacks, taking them out to the center of the room and sitting down on them. Facing each other, Harry looked at his friend expectantly. Tonks blinked, then made a face and said, "Right... um... Oh, bloody hell, I've never taught someone something. How should I start?"
"I dunno. I've never had someone tutor me." Harry said with a shrug. "How did you learn to change your features around?"
Tonks looked up at the ceiling for a moment before slowly replying, "Well... Mum told me a story one time. 'Bout how she woke up to find me with long, green hair one day back when I was still a baby. She didn't really explain until much later...y'know, after I could read. She told me about Metamorphmagi being really rare... and that I probably wasn't going to be able to find someone to teach me how to control my power. So she found me all the best books she could. Wonder if she still has 'em..."
"I wouldn't mind looking through them if she does." Harry said.
"Yeah, I'll owl her later and see. Anyway, my hair kept changing color and length for awhile... I remember waking up bald one morning, if you can believe that." Tonks said, scowling at the memory. Her scowl deepened when she saw Harry trying to bite back a grin. "Oh, sod off. Anyway, I remember waking up bald and heading to the loo t'wash my hands and face before breakfast, right? Well, I look up at myself an' BAM, no hair. Woke me right up, I'll tell ya that.
"Well, I was pretty sick o' not being able to keep my hair in check at that point. Especially since it was really nice the day before. All blonde and wavy... I got all mad and started yelling at my reflection to blow off some steam. I know I was remembering my wavy hair from the previous day when I was doin' it, too. I had squeezed my eyes shut towards the end and when I opened 'em again... well, my hair was back. And blonde an' wavy, to boot. Took me awhile to realize how I did it. Basically, you just hafta imagine yourself how you want to look. I know it sounds easy, but I still don't have it all the way down. I can just change my hair an' eyes right now. Full-fledged Metamorphmagi can change just about anything..."
"Sounds impressive." Harry said, taking in everything his friend had said. "I guess that makes sense, too. Remember, I told you about Aunt Petunia shaving me bald that one time?"
"We woulda made a fine pair!" Tonks said, nodding. "The amazing, bald Ravenclaws!"
Rolling his eyes, Harry continued, "I spent all night crying about losing my hair... I was seven, after all. I can remember seeing how it had been clearly in my mind as I drifted off to sleep. Next morning, it was back, and..." Harry trailed off, seemingly running out of steam.
"And? And what?" Tonks asked, leaning forward in her chair.
"...And I remember what the 'punishment' for it was." Harry said, his eyes going blank for a moment. "Got a couple of deep scars near my right knee from that."
"Oh, Harry..." Tonks said, frowning. "Look, don't think about those awful Muggles. They aren't gonna do anything to ya again as long as me an' Mum are around."
Harry shook his head and blinked a few times to clear his head before smiling apologetically. "Yeah, sorry... guess I got kinda weird for a minute, huh?"
"Just a bit. Hate seeing you remember stuff like that." Tonks said, looking down at her feet. "No one should hafta go through that kinda thing."
"It's okay... I don't have to go back there again, anyway. Dunno why I'm so worried." Harry said, smiling crookedly. "Let's get back to work, eh?"
The afternoon lazily passed the two Ravenclaws by as they sat in the
room, Tonks trying to explain how she made her hair and eyes change.
It
wasn't until around suppertime that Harry began trying on his own.
Saying that eyes were easier than hair, Tonks told Harry to close his
and concentrate on turning them sky blue.
"Okay, you see the color in your mind? Now think o' what your eyes look like now...like when ya look into a mirror or somethin'... got it?" Tonks said, sitting at the edge of her chair as she watched Harry concentrating.
Harry offered her a nod.
"Okay, now I want you to picture seeing yourself in the mirror, only instead of green eyes you'll see blue ones..." Tonks continued.
"...Okay, got it. Looks weird, but I got it..." Harry said, quietly.
"Now, slowly open your eyes. If it worked, the transformation will
happen as you open your eyelids. That's how it's been for me, anyway.
I can't just think about it and make them cycle through a rainbow of
colors without blinking..." Tonks explained.
Licking his lips, Harry took a deep breath before sitting up straight and slowly opening his eyes. "Did it work?" He asked.
Tonks frowned. "Nah... but don't worry, it'll probably take a bit o' work before you get it down. Took me like two months. And I started with my hair first."
Feeling slightly dejected, Harry nodded. It wasn't a very good day for getting magical things right on the first try, apparently. But he closed his eyes and said that he was going to try again. Harry started taking long, deep breaths as he tried to focus properly.
"I might be starting too big..." Harry said after a moment. "Would trying a different shade of green be easier than a new color?"
"Hmm... dunno. Could be. Like I said, it was all kinda experimental for me. Sometimes things would work, sometimes they wouldn't. It's become second nature to me, so I can't really remember how it was when I first started. Sorry, Harry..." Tonks said.
"It's okay... but I think I'm going to try light green or something this time..." Harry said.
It took almost a full minute of Harry sitting perfectly still, but he finally murmured that he thought he had it. Again, he slowly opened his eyes. The room wasn't well lit, and the sinking sun outside wasn't helping matters any. The room only had one window and, though it was blocked by stacked-up tables, it did let a bit of light in. Tonks squinted, then leaned in close to Harry and grumbled, "Can't see a ruddy thing in... oh, hey, I think you did it..."
"Did I?" Harry asked.
"Come on, I can't tell in here. Let's go into the hall. Need some light
if you're just gonna change the shade of green around..." Tonks said,
standing up and grabbing Harry by the arm. Tugging her friend out into
the corridor, Tonks wheeled around and peered at Harry once more.
"Mm... well, it looks a bit lighter... not very much, though." She said, leaning in closer than she had earlier to inspect his eyes. "Now try changing 'em back. That's a bit easier, since you know how your own eyes look already."
Harry nodded and shut his eyes, feeling a bit of heat in his cheeks for some reason. Taking a deep breath, he thought of how his own eyes looked when he saw them in a mirror. Though he had never thought much of himself, Harry had always liked the color of his eyes. Even when the rest of his body had been battered and bruised, nothing the Dursleys did to him could change the color of his eyes. The worse he felt, in fact, the brighter his eyes seemed to get.
"Whatcha smilin' about?" Tonks asked softly.
Opening his eyes, Harry tilted his head. "I was smiling?"
"Yeah, you were...what were ya thinkin' about?"
Harry rubbed the back of his neck. "Uh... it was nothing... hey, are my eyes back to normal?"
Tonks stepped closer and looked Harry in the eyes again. "Mm, looks like it...they're darker than they were a minute ago. Wanna call it a night? We can spirit ourselves off an' train more whenever we get some free time...an' you can practice on your own if you want, now thatcha know the basics..."
Harry felt that heat rise in his cheeks again, so he quickly diverted
his gaze from Tonks' to look off down the corridor. "Uh...s-sure.
hey, are you getting hungry?"
"Actually...now that you mention it, I guess it is about time to eat again, huh?" Tonks said, turning back to their training room to close its door.
"Yeah..." Harry said quietly, trying to work out more than one confusing thing in his mind. "Um... oh, hey... when I get this all figured out...I have an interesting idea..."
"Oh yeah?"
The two began walking for the main stairway, Harry slipping his hands into his pockets. "Well, y'know how Malfoy seems to think I'm the one doing the pranks? Well, I thought we could get the twins to make Malfoy's hair bright blue and his eyes yellow... and then WE could go in looking the same. Y'know, to throw him off the trail."
"You really think something like that would work?" Tonks asked.
"You really think Malfoy's smart enough to figure out the truth?" Harry retorted with a smile.
"Good point." Tonks said.
oOoOoOoOoOoOo
The rest of the day passed without incident. Harry and Tonks eventually found Solieyu lurking about a darker corner of the common room. When asked where he had been, Solieyu had shrugged and murmured something about the hospital wing. Though he didn't look as pale as he normally did, it was obvious that the boy wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone, so Harry and Tonks agreed to leave him be.
Around nine, the other students began heading for their dorms, leaving the common room with fewer and fewer people in it. Harry was stretched out on the couch by the fire, gazing into the flames with glazed eyes. Tonks was leaning over the back of it and peering curiously at him. After a few minutes of silence, it became too great and she asked, "What're you starin' at the fire like that for, eh? Looks like you've got somethin' on your mind..."
Harry blinked, turning to look at his friend. "Hm? Oh...sorry, were you saying something? I was just wondering if those two idiots are out there right now. I've already checked up in our dorm and they weren't there. I haven't seen them pass through, so that means they're out. I guess they decided that hiding somewhere until after hours would be easier than sneaking out..."
Rolling her eyes, Tonks bounced over the back of the couch, landing
with a soft 'woomph!' next to Harry. Leaning her head back, she
groaned, "Harry, don't worry about those two lumps. If they get in
trouble, they get in trouble. You saw how hyper Terry was gettin,
right? Bet he's been waitin' all day for this moment..."
"Yeah, well, I just don't want to lose two people I've only just met
due to rampant stupidity." Harry grumbled, his eyes glazing over again.
"Maybe I should go looking for them... bring them back..."
"Uh-uh. No way. Not a chance, Harry. I'm not gonna let you go wandering up to the off-limits area... you'd hafta get through me first." The girl grinned. "And we all know you couldn't pull that off."
Harry narrowed his eyes and raised an eyebrow, looking at Tonks again. "Are you claiming, NYMMY, that you could stop me from getting out of here?"
Tonks narrowed her eyes as well. "What did you just call me?"
"Nymmy." Harry said, smiling as he crossed his arms over his chest.
"Don't...call...me...N ymmy!" Tonks roared, getting her feet under her and lunging at Harry suddenly.
Harry
squeaked, finding himself suddenly pinned down by an irate girl. An
irate girl, for that matter, who knew that he was insanely ticklish.
"T-Tonks..." He began, staring up at her in horror. "No, you can't...!"
"Oh, can't I?" Tonks said, holding her hands up, fingers wiggling menacingly. "And whyzat?"
"I was only joking! Tonks, get those hands away from me! Tonks! TONKS, DON'T D--" Harry's voice grew higher and higher pitched as he spoke, being cut off as Tonks brought down her hands and started tickling the boy's sides. Harry dissolved into squeaky giggles, all the while trying to get his assailant off of him.
"Give up? Give up!" Tonks asked, grinning down at Harry, who was flailing about, helplessly. "C'mon, Harry! You can't win and you know it! Save yourself the torment!"
"N-Never!" Harry cried, defiantly.
"Never's a loooong time, O Boy Who Lived." Tonks said, doubling her efforts. Harry let out a shriek.
But, strangely enough, his wasn't the only one to fill the common room. Stopping in her assault long enough for Harry to shove her off of him and hop to a safe distance, Tonks looked up to see who else was shrieking.
"Bloody hell!" She said after her gaze went to the room's entrance. "What happened to you two! Oi, Harry, look!"
"I see them!" Harry panted as he recovered. "Kinda hard to miss, aren't they?"
Terry Boot and Gary Haskit had just burst into the common room, looking as if they had made a foul gesture at a troll. Terry's robes were partially shredded and he had several small cuts along every part of his exposed skin. Gary wasn't looking much better. His robes were also fairly tattered, though not as bad as Terry's were. He had a large cut on the right side of his face and he was shaking rather violently.
"H-Harry!" Said Terry once he had spotted the other boy. "W-we saw...!"
"It was huge!" Gary said, his voice high and quaking.
"What was?" Harry asked, walking over to the two. "You two should get to the hospital wing, you look awful..."
Terry grabbed at Harry the moment he was within arm's length, staring at him. "Dog! BIIIIG dog!"
Harry could only blink in confusion. Looking over his shoulder, he said, "Oi, Tonks, you know where Flitwick's office is?"
"NO! Don't get Flitwick!" Gary said, crashing back into the nearest chair and rubbing his left arm. "Look, we're still... well... it was huge..."
"Are you two gonna stop gibbering long enough to tell us what the devil you're on about?" Tonks asked, walking over and standing next to Harry.
Terry sat down in a chair near Gary's, shuddering. "Where do we start?"
"How about with where you've been all bloody evening?" Tonks offered.
Nodding, Terry looked aside at his friend and began, "Well, the two of us hung back in an empty classroom on the fifth floor 'til after curfew... sat around talking about how we would avoid Filch an' that blasted cat of his if they showed up..."
"We snuck out after we were sure no one would see us." Gary continued. "It took awhile, but we found the spot that Professor Dumbledore warned us to keep away from..."
"And you went in anyway, didn't you?" Harry asked, already knowing the answer.
"No, Harry, we sliced each other up!" Terry snapped. "Yes, we went in!"
"And there was this giant dog in there..." Gary said, shivering as a cold chill went down his back.
"Soon as we got all the way into the room, these two enormous eyes opened up and focused on us...it was really dark in there, mind, so we didn't see a whole lot, but... blimey, we turned and bolted back for the door! Almost made it, too..." Terry said.
"Bloody thing took a few swipes at us. Guess we're lucky that we're pretty small... that thing's paws came close to scalping us!" Gary continued, looking down at the ground. "We made it out and ran the whole way down the hall... Terry reckons he saw more eyes..."
"More?" Harry asked, looking to Terry.
"I don't 'reckon' anything, I did see two more pairs of eyes in there!" Terry argued, glaring at Gary. "Musta been two more of those things in there!"
"Then you really were lucky to get out alive." Tonks said, shaking her head slowly. "You two are a bloody wreck, you know that?"
"I tried telling you two." Harry said, sighing.
"Yeah, but why the bloody hell would Dumbledore be keeping three giant dogs in the middle of the castle!" Terry asked, flailing his arms wildly.
"How did you two get in Ravenclaw, anyway?" Tonks asked, scowling. "Honestly, didn't you think there was a reason that Dumbledore wanted us to keep away from there?"
"Yeah, but those things coulda killed us!" Terry protested, getting to his feet. "What would've happened then!"
Tonks rolled her eyes. "They would've waited until the dogs had to
use the loo, then they woulda scooped you up into a giant baggie,
that's what!"
"This isn't funny!" Terry cried. "This is serious!"
"Oh, shut up." Tonks said, turning to head back to the couch. "You're givin' me a bloody headache. Go to Madam Pomfrey or go to bed. I'm tired o' listen to you whine about somethin' that coulda been avoided altogether if you'd'a used your brains..."
Terry glared at Tonks' retreating form and started after her. Harry stepped in between the two of them and stared darkly at Terry. "Leave it be." He said, quietly. "I tried to tell you it would be dangerous. What were you expecting? Unicorns and pixies?"
"Yeah, well, you don't have to worry about me wandering off anymore. I've learned my lesson." Gary said, finally getting back to his feet.
"I'm gonna go wash up and crawl into bed."
"Wait!" Terry said, rounding on Gary. "Why aren't you helping me? They don't understand!"
"Understand what?" Tonks asked from her place back on the couch. "That's you're too big a prat to understand what danger means? How did you get in here, anyway? Sorting Hat get confused or something? Obviously didn't get in here due to your brain."
"Take that back!" Terry growled, turning toward Tonks again.
"Oh, shut up and go to sleep." Tonks said, shaking her head. "And stop your shouting. Gonna wake up the whole of Ravenclaw at this rate."
Terry turned back toward Gary, hoping to find some backup. But Gary
was just disappearing out of sight, heading for the first years'
dorm. Teeth clenched, Terry stomped after him, pausing only to look
over his shoulder and grit out, "You'd understand if you saw it."
"Doubtful, as I'm not stupid enough to go looking for trouble." Harry said simply, sitting back on the couch, next to Tonks. "Tonks is right, Terry - go to bed."
Hissing out something that sounded suspiciously like a curse word to Harry, Terry stormed out of the common room. Once he was gone, Tonks crossed her arms and grumbled, "Bloody idiot. He'd be better off in Gryffindor... or better yet, Slytherin. They're a buncha brainless idiots, too - he'd fit right in!"
"He got what he was after." Harry said, bringing up a hand to rub at his temples. "Still a bit hard to believe, though. I mean... a giant dog? I'd understand if it had been a giant cat. At least then, his having kittens would've made sense..."
Tonks put a hand on Harry's shoulder. "And you've got to bunk with him. You have my deepest sympathy."
"Oh, stifle it." Harry groaned, shaking his head.
"Don't wanna." Tonks replied, smirking.
"Then I'll make you." Harry growled.
"You an' what army?" Tonks asked, puffing up.
"Don't need one. I know where you're ticklish, too, remember?" Harry said, an evil gleam in his eyes.
Tonks stared at him for a moment before letting out a soft 'eep!' and
scrambling off of the couch. Harry was on her tail in an instant,
chasing the girl around the common room too many times to count. It
was only after they had realized that it was nearly midnight that
they called a truce.
"We're gonna be tired in the morning. You more than me if that dumb sod up there wants to 'talk' sommore..." Tonks said, still breathing heavily from the chase.
"He'd better not." Harry scowled, breathing just as hard. "I'll kick him where he wouldn't want Madam Pomfrey to see..."
"Wonder if we could send Fred and George after Terry..." Tonks idly pondered. "I'm sure they'd be all for it."
"I'm sure they would." Harry agreed, chuckling. "Modified Number Sixteen, perhaps?"
"Ooh, that's evil, Harry..."
"Yeah, well, if he's gonna walk around acting like his are bigger than everyone elses, we might as well blow 'em up to ten times their normal size. See how well he sneaks around then." Harry said, a dark smile forming on his face.
"Y'know what, Harry? Life would be a lot more boring if you weren't around." Tonks said, giggling and pulling a face at the same time at the mental image. "I'm off t'get my beauty sleep. G'night!"
Harry began to say the same when she bounced over, gave him a quick peck on the cheek, and ran out of the common room. Alone in the room now, Harry stared after her as she left, raising a hand up to the spot she had kissed. It wasn't the first time it had happened; she had often given him a kiss on the cheek before hopping off to bed back when he had been staying at Number Nine. But no matter how many times it happened, Harry still wasn't sure why it did. He had never been around many girls before, much less girls as random and bouncy as Tonks was, at times.
Silently wondering if he would ever figure girls out, Harry turned and slowly began the trek back to his dorm room. He wasn't looking forward to finding out if Terry was still awake or not. And somewhere in the back of his mind, he couldn't help but wonder whether the two boys had been telling the truth or not. He filed the information away somewhere near where his mental notes on Solieyu were kept. Whether it was real or not, it would have to wait until morning to be properly investigated. It was, after all, nearly midnight.
oOoOoOoOoOoOo
Author's Notes: And here we've planted the seed of curiousity in our ickle first year Ravenclaw's mind. Though Fluffy was originally supposed to be introduced directly, I thought it would be more in-character for Ravenclaw!Harry to go about things in a slightly less headlong manner. He'll see Fluffy for himself, of course, and go into the Forest for a detention... but those events, I'm afraid, are for a later date.
I hope nobody minded all of the little Harry/Tonks moments I stuck in. The urge to write an outright fluff scene is driving me up the ruddy wall, I'll have you lot know. It's maddening! I won't be able to do a more proper scene with them until around POA's rewrite. But you can bet I'll slip a ton of little moments in on the way TO that time!
Also, this is going to conclude Week 1! From here on out, the pace is going to pick up a bit. As it is, I've got a couple interesting ideas for Halloween dancing around in my head. I'm definitely having a costume party in the Great Hall at SOME point. Not sure whether it'll be this year or one on down the line. But it's gonna happen. Also, I hope I'm not gonna alienate the Ron-lovers out there with how he's going to act sometimes. The Troll Event is going to take place, but I'll let you lot figure out how I'm going to cover that.
Until next time, folks!