A/N:
Disclaimer: Harry Potter is the sole property of J.K. Rowlings. I have merely borrowed them.
Harry Potter is the sole property of . I have merely borrowed them.Chapter 6
Sixth year was definitely shaping up to be much better than fifth year, Harry decided. He sat in the Gryffindor common room, with other Quidditch players, those currently on the team and those hopefuls, waiting to hear about tryouts. Alicia had been made Captain. She currently sat on one of the couches as they waited for McGonagall to join them.
Harry was tense waiting to see if he was still banned from playing this year. Ron sat next to him. Hermione had disappeared into the Library once again, working on her homework. There was a low murmur from all those present, including Ginny who sat talking with Alicia, probably about changing position from Seeker to Chaser.
Finally the portrait hole opened and Professor McGonagall stepped through a roll of parchment in her hands. The noise in the common room abruptly cut off. Her sharps eyes took in everyone sitting there as she unrolled the parchment. "All prospective players will report for tryouts on Friday evening at the field. Everyone as of now is eligible to play." Her eyes didn't leave the parchment but almost her eyes flicked to Harry.
Several others, however, did look at Harry, including Alicia who almost smiled. Ginny did smile slightly and Ron was grinning like a loon. McGonagall rolled the parchment again with a snap. "All bans placed on anyone last year have been lifted. It will be up to Team Captains to decide which positions are available and who receives them."
She looked at Alicia and almost smiled. "I've gotten used to seeing the Cup in my office. I'd hate to have to hand it over to anyone." With a brisk nod, she turned and left the common room, her teachers robes swishing slightly.
Ron clapped Harry on the shoulder. "Well, there you are mate! You're back on the team!" He was still grinning, as Alicia called his name and drew him over to a small team meeting.
Harry slumped, relieved. Even if he had to try out once more, it didn't matter. He had Quidditch back. That was the important part. He looked over at what was the current team for their house and sighed. He had his work cut out for him. He reached down and picked up his Dark Arts book with a lighter heart then he'd had in a while.
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Harry gripped his bag convulsively, waiting for the notice to be posted. Only three, including himself, had tried out for the vacant Seeker position, since Alicia had agreed to make Ginny a Chaser. Expectant faces were around the common room, delaying the rush to dinner. Harry suspected everyone would be late to dinner in most of the houses since al tryouts had been over the weekend.
Hermione stood next to him waiting, tense as well. Ron was off in the corner with Alicia and Ginny. Finally, the Captain came over carrying a small piece of parchment and tacked it onto the board, stepping quickly away as all the others rushed the board.
Gryffindor's Quidditch Team:
Chasers: Alicia Spinnet, Ginny Weasley, Andrew Kirke
Beaters: Neville Longbottom, Jack Sloper
Seeker: HarryPotter
Keeper: Ron Weasley
Harry felt a deep glow within his stomach begin and spread outward. He was back! He had Quidditch back! With a light step, all but bouncing in place, he joined the grinning Ron and the smiling Hermione, the three, along with Ginny heading down to dinner.
Harry's eyes drifted automatically to the teacher's tables once they'd sat and began to eat. He frowned looking through the table again. Leaning over close to his three friends he whispered sharply to them. "Where's Professor Stone?"
The other three looked sharply up at the table where her customary place between tiny Professor Flitwick and Professor Dumbledore sat empty. Hermione frowned but shrugged. "She might be out doing something." She stressed the last word to show just where she thought their new favorite Professor had gone.
Ginny shook her head and leaned forward to whisper. "She looked really bad in class. Like she was ill." The older three looked at her confused and she shrugged. "I don't know. But she didn't look well at all. Maybe she went to the hospital wing."
Harry didn't like the sounds of that. She hadn't looked well at their lesson either. Then there was that mysterious potion that Snape had taken to her. Ron hadn't stopped eating yet, but paused long enough to voice Harry's thought out loud. "Could've been that potion Snape took her. She didn't look well but what if he gave her something to help her along?"
Hermione sighed heavily and repressively. "Ron, every time we've thought it was Professor Snape, we've been wrong. He wouldn't hurt her. Besides, they are both in the Order and Dumbledore trusts him. I'm beginning to wonder if it isn't something else."
Harry snorted. "Yeah trusting Dumbledore has done wonders for me hasn't it?" He let just a bit of the bitterness he felt toward the old wizard creep into his voice. The Headmaster had held so much back from him, hidden so many secrets that it was hard for Harry to see Dumbledore in the same light at all. That last conversation in his office came back to Harry. He violently repressed the memory unwilling to remember just what had precipitated that conversation.
Hermione sighed. She didn't know just what had happened to turn Harry so bitter towards Dumbledore, but whatever it was, it couldn't be good. "Look Harry. Dumbledore's done everything he can to protect us, you especially. Trust him to know what he's doing."
Harry put down his fork gently. A slow movement that was as controlled as he could make it. "He didn't protect Sirius, did he? He left him to rot in that house. Excuse me, I'm not hungry any more." He stood slowly and walked out of the Great Hall and then out of the front doors.
Hermione didn't understand, she couldn't. As much as she'd known Sirius, he hadn't been her godfather nor her last link to her parents. He looked up at the stars and sighed, going towards the greenhouses, trying to find someplace to sit and just be for a moment.
A soft sound came from in front of him and he pulled out his wand, unwilling to risk anything, even here on Hogwarts grounds. Walking slowly toward the sound, he was surprised to see Fang sitting on Professor Stone's feet as she leaned against a tree, eyes closed. The weak starlight washed her out horribly, granting her a complexion even paler than Snape's. He turned to go when Fang whuffed slightly at him. Heather's eyes, large in her pale face, opened to look at him. He stopped, unwilling to intrude. She smiled warmly, if weakly and patted the ground next to her. "You're welcome to join us Harry. I'm just enjoying some fresh air."
Harry walked over slowly and folded himself to the ground easily. He leaned back against the tree, set slightly apart from her. Reaching over he scratched the large boarhound's ears. Fang looked up at him and put his head back down, still lying over Heather's feet. Harry looked at Heather and noticed the bruises under her eyes, wondering at just why she looked so worn. He didn't know what she did beyond teaching but she looked worn out. "Are you alright Professor?" He asked, willing to forget his own troubles for a moment, and focus on someone else's.
Heather smiled crookedly and looked out at the forest then closed her eyes leaning back against the trunk of the tree. "Aye, I'm fine." She said softly. Then she muttered something Harry didn't quite hear but sounded a lot like, "As fine as I can be."
He looked at her oddly but didn't pursue it, willing to just relax for a moment here outside, away from the staring eyes and questioning looks, or malicious stares in the case of several of the Slytherins. He closed his eyes and wondered at the peace he found out here. He almost forgot about the Professor's presence when she abruptly stood and raced a short way behind the greenhouse, dislodging the disgruntled Fang.
Harry started and looked after her. The sounds of violent retching floated back to him on the warm breeze blowing. Frowning he stood finally and went after her, in time to see her wiping her mouth with a handkerchief. "Professor, are you alright?" He asked her again, a tinge of worry beginning to color his words. Now she was even paler than she had been, the purpling under her eyes making them appear shrunken into her head.
Heather sighed heavily and leaned weakly against one of the greenhouses, closing her eyes for a moment. "I'll be fine Harry. This will pass." She looked over at him, her eyes too large in her face. "I'm afraid, however, that I need to borrow your shoulder and our legs. Give me a hand back to my office and then get Madame Pomfrey would you?"
Harry nodded and put her arm around her shoulders, noticing that she was still shorter than he was. Slowly, they made their way back into the castle and down into her office just behind the classroom. Now, he looked around, interested in how it had changed every year he had been here. Hers, though, was an eclectic collection of several of his teachers. There was a Foe Glass hanging on one wall. Opposite it was a fish tank, too murky to figure out just what was in it. Then there were the books.
An odd thought occurred to Harry that Hermione would dearly love to get her hands on some of these. He helped the Professor slide into a chair. "Can I get you anything?" He asked, unsure of just what was ailing her, and not knowing exactly how to proceed.
She shook her head waving a hand airily. "Just Madame Pomfrey, thank you. Tell her its worse than normal. She'll know what to bring." Harry paused for a moment more but seeing her close her eyes and rest against the chair, he left quickly, hoping to find the medi-witch in the Hospital Wing.
After sending her to Professor Stone, he raced back to the common room, hoping to find the other three there. Hermione had said she thought she knew what was wrong with the Professor and he wanted to know. All of a sudden, it seemed very important he did. Finding Ron and Hermione in their usual chairs, he looked around for Ginny. The fifth year Prefect was no where to be seen but he dropped into a chair near the other two and waved them closer.
Leaning in, so that his whisper didn't carry at all, he quickly related what had happened outside and that he'd brought her back to her room. "So what do you think?" He asked, looking at Hermione. Ron looked to her as well.
Hermione bit her lip thinking carefully, trying to put the puzzle pieces together that didn't quite fit. "I don't know." Seeing Harry's crestfallen face she quickly tacked on, "Yet. I'm sure we'll find out what it is soon."
Harry slumped back into his chair, absently rubbing his scar. He'd gotten into the habit whenever he was thinking about something. "I hope so. She looked awful."
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Their next DADA lesson, proved him wrong. Heather was back in fighting trim almost. Her face was no longer sallow or pinched and she looked to be just fine. Today they were in class, ready to begin a few simple spells without their wands. The room buzzed with excitement. Behind them the door slammed shut. Several started, but their teacher just smiled.
"That, ladies and gentlemen, is what we'll be doing today. A simple thing by any accounts, but not so simple without a wand." She went on to explain the principle behind it. It wasn't very long before they were all up trying to shut the door, without touching it and without their wands.
Only one person was able to do it that first lesson and surprisingly it was Neville Longbottom who mastered it first. Heather smiled warmly at all of them. "It'll take time. You've all done well. Now for the evil part." She leaned against her desk once more, crossing her arms over her chest.
Harry noticed Hermione leaning forward, her eyes narrowed as she studied the Professor intently. He looked confused for a moment as he too studied her. Her shirt, normally completely loose and unrevealing was pulled tight across her front. He didn't see anything that warranted Hermione's intense study, however. He turned his attention back to what she was saying.
"Homework, due in two weeks, I want a foot and a half of parchment on the possible uses of wandless magic in self defense. Any and all scenarios should be written out and explained, give at least three examples." She finished giving the assignment as the bells rang dismissing class. "Class dismissed." She said.
Hermione silently gathered her books and papers, motioning for Harry and Ron to follow her. Once outside, she pulled them off to one side. She leaned forward talking in a hurried whisper. "Harry, you said she was sick, right?" Harry nodded still looking confused. Hermione bit her lip. "Let me look a few things up, but I think I know what's going on." Maddeningly, she wouldn't say anything else as they turned down the hall for Charms.
It was a few days later at lunch before they got a chance to talk about it again. Professor Stone was once again missing from the teacher's table in the Great Hall. The four Gryffindors sat together eating when Hermione finally put down her fork and leaned forward. The other three, ready to hear what she'd found out, did the same. "I've got it figured out. But it doesn't make sense."
"Hermione, you're being mysterious, now what is going on?" Harry asked shortly. He wasn't in the mood for guessing games and riddles.
Hermione bit her lip and leaned in closer. "I think the Professor is pregnant."
Absolute stunned silence greeted her words. The other three shared looks of shock and disbelief. "She couldn't be." Ron protested. "She'd never have taken the post if she was."
Ginny, however, was already shaking her head. "No, it fits. Remember how Mum was always hovering over her. She kept worrying about her taking 'that post'. If she is pregnant, Mum wouldn't want her anywhere out of her eye. I think Hermione's right."
The boys shared looks and shrugs. Harry knew the girls would probably know more about that than he did. Still, one thought niggled at him. Finally, he voiced it out loud. "If she is, who is the father?"
Hermione sighed and shook her head. "I don't know."
As September wore on, the four of them continued watching Heather covertly, trying to decide if Hermione's guess was right or not. No outward signs either confirmed or denied it. Harry put it out of his mind, until one day he saw Snape and Professor Stone arguing in the hallway.
"Severus, I'm fine!" Heather snapped at the Potions Master. "That last potion worked. Now would you leave it alone?!"
Snape, looking down his hooked nose at her, greasy hair hanging around his pallid face, crossed his arms with a superior look. "You're not fine. You haven't been fine for several months now. The Headmaster asked me to look after you and so I shall."
Heather muttered something too low for Harry to hear, hidden as he was behind a statue. "The Headmaster knows I can take care of myself, Severus. I'm fine. I don't need you hovering over me."
Snape sniffed disdainfully and looked down his nose at the much shorter Heather. "I never hover." He said haughtily before turning away in a swirl of black robes, his heels clicking loudly on the stone floors of the hallway, echoing slightly.
Heather snorted and turned the opposite direction, her stride one of anger as she headed outside into the crisp air.
Harry stayed for a moment more, waiting until he was sure both were gone. Then he continued on his way to the library, where he had been headed, ready to tell Hermione and Ron about what he had seen.