Chapter 2

Hermione awoke me at 6:00 am. I admit the time change was making itself felt. Even if witches don't travel by airplane, we still feel the time differences, though maybe not as much as...what's the word these British wizards use? Oh yeah...Muggles. I dragged myself out of bed, very much wanting a shower in hopes it would wake me up and kick my brain into gear. Hermione led the way to the showers and, like the day before, provided a running commentary on anything and everything. Still feeling a bit in a brain fog, I was grateful not to have to carry on much of a conversation - just smile and nod.

Once we had showered and dressed we made our way down to the common room. Ron and Harry were there; they seemed to have been waiting for us. Well, waiting for Hermione - I just happened to be with her. But I was glad she was willing to include me so I didn't have to figure this all out on my own. Ron and Hermione fell into step side-by-side, leading the way, so Harry and I just sort of naturally did the same, trailing along behind them. We walked in silence for a bit, when finally he asked, "So, got your bearings yet?"

Before I could answer, he suddenly grabbed my arm and pulled me back, hard. I almost fell, but caught his arm just in time to stay on my feet. I looked at him, both startled and puzzled, and he flushed pink with embarrassment. "Sorry! There are trick steps on some of these staircases. You were about to step on one. It isn't very pleasant and it's pretty embarrassing having to have people pull you out..." He pointed to the offending stair that I hadn't noticed Ron and Hermione had automatically stepped over, without even thinking about it. He was still holding my arm, steadying me and I suddenly became aware of it and straightened up. "Thanks," I grinned. "Guess Hermione forgot to mention those."

He released my arm and we stepped carefully over the trick step, continuing on to breakfast. Ron and Hermione had put some distance between us, not having noticed my near mishap. Harry moved a little faster and I followed suit, so we caught up to them before they reached the Great Hall.

A boy with white-blond hair was slouched against the doorframe into the Great Hall, flanked by two goonish-looking sidekicks. The boy gave me an appraising look, but then noticing who I was with his eyes got hard and cold and an unpleasant smirk appeared on his face. Looking Harry in the eye, but clearly speaking to me, he announced, "How unfortunate for you, being stuck in Gryffindor with Scarhead, the Weasel and a Mudblood!" His two goons guffawed on cue at his words. At first, I wasn't too sure what the first two things he'd said meant, but even where I come from, I know calling someone a Mudblood isn't a nice thing to do.

The tension from my three companions was palpable. Ron broke the silence by declaring, "Why don't you and your thugs crawl back under your rock and let us eat breakfast in peace, Malfoy!" The boy sneered at him and replied, "No one asked your opinion, Weasel!" He gestured his friends to follow and brushed past us into the Hall, clipping Ron hard with his shoulder. Harry and Hermione both grabbed Ron to keep him from following Malfoy, as he clearly was starting to do. Obviously, this was a very old argument I found myself in the midst of.

We found seats for breakfast, while Ron and Hermione began to fill me in on the background of what had just happened. Harry remained silent throughout, just eating his toast and eggs. One thing was clear - there was longstanding enmity between them and Malfoy's group; more than could be accounted for by them being in different houses.

Just then the really humongous teacher I had noticed the night before walked by our table and greeted the three of them. They all beamed at him with pleasure - it was plain they liked this guy. Me, I found him even more intimidating close up! I'm pretty sure he could have snapped me like a twig with one hand, if he wanted to. His name was Hagrid, but they were just calling him that, not 'Professor' Hagrid. He asked who I was and Harry hastened to introduce me. He, especially, seemed to be friends with Hagrid. When he walked away, headed for the exit, I asked Harry who he was. Harry explained that he was the groundskeeper and keeper of keys for Hogwarts, but that he was also the teacher of the Care of Magical Creatures class. He didn't strike me as very 'professorial' but I decided I'd reserve judgment until I had seen him teach.

A few moments later, as Hermione had predicted, McGonagall came along, handing out class schedules to each of us. Hermione glanced at her own, then leaned over to look at mine. "Oh, great! We have all the same classes! All you have to do is follow me and I can show you where to go!" A look of amusement passed between Ron and Harry - what was that all about? Must be a private joke; something to do with Hermione, though - that much I could tell. I was beginning to get the idea that she liked to run things. She had already pretty much taken charge of me! But, at this point, I didn't mind too much. Sure made things a lot easier.

We finished eating and returned to the common room and then went our separate ways since Hermione and I had Arithmancy first and the guys had Divination. I followed her through corridor after corridor, sure that I was never going to learn my way around. Plus there was that thing about the staircases changing all the time!

All too soon, I found we were in the Arithmancy classroom. Now we'd find out if Dumbledore had been right to bump me up a grade. But as class progressed, I began to relax. Things weren't that different here and I wasn't feeling hopelessly lost, like I'd feared. Turns out, having Hermione Granger as a friend, especially if you're starting a new school in a new country, can be really useful. She's sort of what people call a 'know-it-all'. Every question the teacher asked, her hand was in the air to give the answer. Every one! At first I sat there a little in awe of her, but then it kind of became a challenge to see if I could match her! That's when I found out she's the 'nice' kind of 'know-it-all'; she didn't begrudge me a right answer at all. She liked knowing the answer but she was equally pleased to have me answer as well.

Our next class was Potions and Hermione said we'd be seeing Ron and Harry there. The professor's name was Snape and from her description he was the rather scary-looking guy I'd seen at the teachers' table last night, the one with the greasy hair that obscured his face. Didn't sound like this was going to be fun.

Harry and Ron were already there when we arrived and had saved us seats in front of them. From the moment Snape walked into the room, it was clear he didn't like Harry at all. I mean, the poor guy was just setting up his cauldron and Snape deducted points for some trivial thing! What did Harry ever do to this fellow - kill his firstborn child? Malfoy was also in this class and he, on the other hand, was given special treatment by Snape. And his smirk let us all know he felt superior to the rest of us because of it. Hermione had said that the number of O.W.L.s you had received, and at what level, determined whether or not you even got into this class. I noticed the two brainless sidekicks that previously had accompanied Malfoy hadn't made the cut - big surprise there!

Snape set us to working on a Vanishing Potion and the room became quiet except for the clank of utensils and ingredient containers. When Snape came to hover over me and watch my work, I was kind of nervous, but not too much. I was really pretty good at potion making. Cassandra had become a Healer and used them a lot in her work; she had let me practice her lessons with her when she was studying them in school, so by the time I attended wizarding school I seemed to have a jump on that particular subject. Eventually Snape moved away, without comment, but I chanced a glance at his face and saw what looked like pleased surprise, so I guess that meant he was satisfied with what he saw.

Not so with Ron and Harry, though. He verbally harangued the two of them periodically til it was little wonder they screwed up the mixture and got bad results. I don't think I could have done it right either with that going on. Kind of made me wonder how they had managed to score high enough to get into this class, all things considered. Must be something going on I didn't know about. Or maybe they just performed a lot better on the O.W.L.s when Snape wasn't around to watch and make snide comments.

Along with the others, I was glad when Potions ended. Even being good at it and feeling confident I was doing well, Snape's attitude made for a very tense classroom. The four of us headed to the Great Hall for lunch. Hermione was already planning her study schedule, and since I had the same classes, mine as well. Oh well, one less thing for me to worry about.

Harry and Ron had gotten into a discussion of the upcoming Quidditch season and wondering who would be the new team captain since Angelina Johnson had graduated. I heard something about "Harry's ban being lifted" but didn't catch the full story as to what that was all about. Another redhead, a girl this time, came up to us and announced to the boys that McGonagall wanted the Quidditch team to meet with her at 5:00 in her office.

A thought appeared to come to Harry, and looking a little worried, he asked Ginny (who turned out to be Ron's younger sister) how she felt about him trying to get back on the team. Without hesitation, she threw him a broad grin and replied, "Get real, Harry! I don't stand a chance competing against you! But to tell you the truth, I thought I'd try out for Chaser this year, instead. With Angelina and Katie gone, we'll need help there, and there's no way I want to have anyone as Seeker but you." He looked a little relieved, though I thought I caught a glimmer of suspicion that she might not be telling him the truth. Apparently Ginny saw it too and gave him a wicked grin, "Relax, Potter! I mean it!" She gave her red hair a flip and strode away giggling.

I had seen Quidditch played only once. It wasn't as popular in America as it was in Britain. I was curious to get a closer look and understand more of what I had seen. It certainly had been fast, furious and gave every impression of being highly dangerous. But having met three members of the Gryffindor team, I figured I'd have the finer points explained to me in no time. Hermione, however, didn't seem to share the others' interest. She hadn't looked up from the schedule planning any longer than it took to greet Ginny.

After lunch, we headed out of the castle down toward the forest and Hagrid's hut. Somehow we seemed to fall into the same formation as we had been in that morning – Ron and Hermione side-by-side, with me and Harry similarly placed behind them. Only this time I noticed something I had missed that morning. Ron and Hermione were casually conversing as they walked along, but they seemed to be walking closer together than necessary and frequently bumping hands.

I couldn't see Hermione's face, but every time it happened, Ron's ears flushed red. I watched for a few minutes and then quietly asked Harry, "Uh, is there something going on between those two?" When he looked at me, I gestured toward the couple in front of us. He grinned and nodded, but then whispered, "Only they haven't admitted it to themselves or each other yet!" I smiled in amusement and continued to watch their little 'bump and blush' game the rest of the way to Hagrid's cabin.

Just before we arrived at Hagrid's, Harry came to a stop. Curious, I followed suit and looked at him quizzically. "Uh, I should probably warn you about Hagrid." He paused while he considered what to say next. "He's really nice and gentle and all, but he...uh, kind of has some strange ideas about what constitutes 'interesting' creatures for us to study." When I waited for him to elaborate, he shrugged, "Just warning you – be careful is all. Some things aren't as scary to Hagrid as they are to the rest of the world." He began walking again and I nodded, a little uncertainly. I wasn't sure how to take this 'warning'. Then I figured it couldn't be anything too awful or they wouldn't let him still teach, so I tucked the words of caution away in the back of my mind. As it turned out, Hagrid had chosen something fairly benign for class that day, so I didn't get a better idea of what Harry was trying to tell me.

Our last class of the day was Defense Against the Dark Arts. They had introduced a "new" teacher the previous night, a Professor Carlisle, and my three companions began a discussion about how long this one would last. Noticing my curious expression, Ron explained that all their previous DADA teachers had only lasted a year and it was rumored the job was jinxed. They were surprised Dumbledore had found anyone to teach it. By that time we had reached the classroom, so I wasn't able to find out the circumstances surrounding the departure of so many teachers. I made a mental note to ask Hermione later.

Professor Carlisle was a fairly tall willowy woman, probably in her mid-forties. She wasn't exactly what you tended to picture someone looking like who was good at self-defense. She looked more like the type people tried to protect. This ought to be interesting. I heard Hermione give a small gasp after staring at the Professor for a few minutes while she introduced herself. Then she leaned and whispered to Harry, who was sitting between us, "She's in the Order! I saw her at Snuffles' place!"

Something in the way she said it made me know she didn't intend for me to overhear, so I pretended that I hadn't. I felt, more than saw, Harry tense up next to me when she mentioned "Snuffles' place". It seemed to have an unpleasant meaning for him. Chancing a look out of the corner of my eye, I saw Hermione notice his reaction. Quietly she laid a hand on his arm and said nothing more. Gradually, he seemed to relax as their attention was drawn back to class, but I never got the impression that his mind ever left the subject. After class, he was quieter than usual and kept his eyes averted when I spoke to him, as if there was something in them he didn't want me to see.

Hermione dragged me off to the library to begin working on the first day's homework. Ron and Harry followed reluctantly, though I think it was more to kill time until their 5:00 Quidditch meeting than any earnest desire to start studying on the first day back at school. Naturally, I wasn't too surprised when they spent the next hour talking Quidditch while Hermione and I did our Arithmancy homework. Even so, I found myself distracted from what I was doing. Harry still did not seem to have recovered from his reaction to Hermione's words earlier and, more than once when I glanced his way, I caught him staring into space. Ron never noticed that he lost focus periodically, and he always managed to pull himself back to the conversation before Ron caught on, but something was clearly troubling him, deeply.

It helped my concentration when the two of them left the library shortly before 5:00, but even once they were gone, the sorrow in those green eyes seemed to haunt me. What in the world had hurt him so much by the age of sixteen? I thought of asking Hermione about it. They were such good friends that I suspected she knew, but that seemed too personal a thing to do when I was still virtually a stranger to them all. Maybe some day I would find out, or could ask, but not now, not yet. I sighed quietly. Why was I feeling so anxious to remove that hurt from his eyes? Why did I even think I could, or that anyone could? Determinedly, I turned my attention back to my homework and refused to let myself think about it any longer.

By dinnertime, Harry was closer to normal; well, what I considered normal for him. He was more talkative and he would look at people again when he spoke to them. Ron was higher than a kite because he had been voted in as the new Quidditch captain. He hadn't been on the team as long as Harry had, but apparently Harry had declined the job. He even recommended Ron as being more suitable for the job, which pleased Ron even more. I got the feeling Ron wasn't often able to 'best' Harry at things. They had set tryouts for Saturday to fill in the missing players they needed.

It was still early when we finished eating, but I was already tired. Even so, I knew Hermione would want to study and figured I probably should also, at least for a while. We made our way to the common room and commandeered a table in the corner. Ron and Harry still had a hard time settling down to the work at hand. Ron couldn't stop bringing up Quidditch and Harry didn't seem to mind being distracted from his work to join in the conversation. Periodically Hermione would give them both exasperated looks, but apparently realized chastizing would have little effect and said nothing.

By 9:00 my brain was too fogged to continue working on my essay for Potions and I finally gave up. Bidding them all goodnight, I headed off to bed. I guess they were all sort of waiting for someone to be the first to give in, because I heard Ron and Harry call it a day also as I was climbing the stairs. Hermione must have stuck it out awhile longer since she didn't show up in our dorm room by the time I had climbed into bed.