Chapter 16: An Eventful Evening
"Hermione?"
"Mmm?"
"Walking is a lot easier if you haven't got a book covering your eyes." Ron regretted offering the advice immediately as the book lowered, and he was faced with a pair of annoyed, dark brown eyes.
"I'm looking for that wand-work Harry said he read about, and I don't see it anywhere," she explained, sounding frustrated. Ron sighed.
"He didn't even say it was in there. That's the new book and he said it's somewhere else. Why don't you just give it a break?"
"Ron! I've read all the old books! It's not there either! Aren't you just the least bit worried that Harry suddenly knows some pretty advanced magic and can't explain where he learned it?"
Ron's eyebrows rose slightly. "Aren't you more worried at the idea of Harry doing any reading at all? It's just not like him…." Hermione snorted in agreement, and Ginny, who was trotting along beside them giggled appreciatively. They were on their way to Dumbledore's office; all wondering what this sudden summoning was all about. Ginny was still staring at her own slip of parchment thoughtfully. Soon enough, however, they arrived in front of the familiar gargoyle where Harry was waiting for them, leaning against the wall looking impatient. As he saw them, he straightened up immediately and murmured a few words to the gargoyle. It sprang open at once and he began ushering them towards the twisting staircase. Ginny stopped in front of Harry, opening her mouth to question him, but he shook his head and took her arm as he moved towards the stairs himself.
"You'll find out soon enough. I'm glad you came. I didn't get a chance to ask you about this earlier but...well, you'll see." If anything, now she was more confused, but she followed without argument as he hurried up to the door of Dumbledore's office. He knocked and was invited in without delay, and the four of them trailed into the room eagerly and found Dumbledore smiling gently at them from across the room. He stood in front of his desk and was holding a large book, but as his students entered, he closed it and set it aside carefully.
"Thank you for coming," he began pleasantly. "Please take a seat." As soon as they were comfortable, the headmaster explained the situation. Ron and Hermione were not surprised by the news that they must practice occlumency, and Harry was glad to see that Ginny seemed pleased with idea. When it was clear that they were all open to the idea, Dumbledore smiled again and looked at a small clock over the fireplace.
"Well, I do think it would be best if we started your lessons immediately, and since we have slightly over an hour before you all head towards your evening lesson, I see no reason why we shouldn't begin tonight. We'll just wait one moment…ah! Nevermind!" Harry looked up sharply as the door swung open and in walked Snape. "Professor Snape, thank you for agreeing to help."
Hermione, Ron, and Ginny looked back and forth between the headmaster and Snape, their expressions becoming more apprehensive with each passing second. Harry stood up and faced the headmaster angrily.
"Professor, what—" he stopped as Dumbledore raised his hand to interrupt. Snape was glaring at Harry, his eyes revealing his own surprise at the situation.
"Please listen," Dumbledore said. "Since there are three students to teach, and limited time, I thought it best to acquire a second instructor." Harry's jaw dropped. Did Dumbledore forget what a horrible teacher Snape had been to him last year? He couldn't be serious! But as he continued, it became clear that he was serious. "I'd like at least one of you to work with Professor Snape in my inner office. If need be, we can take turns, but in the long run I think it will be most helpful to have two teachers. Now, for starters Severus, why don't you take Miss Weasley and I'll work with Ron and Hermione." Harry's shook his head vehemently, unable to speak. What had he gotten Ginny into?
"And Mr. Potter?" Snape growled.
"Harry is here for his friends, but I'm sure he would benefit from watching us as well." Snape nodded and walked towards the little door at one side of the room, motioning for Ginny to follow. She stood uncertainly for a moment, but then started towards the professor. Harry caught her hand as she passed.
"Look, Ginny…" he said, not caring if Snape heard, "You don't have to do it…maybe…" Ginny forced a smile.
"It's fine, Harry." She flashed the bright smile again, but he saw the tension in her face. Snape tapped his wand impatiently against his palm.
"Fine," Harry blurted, "But I'm coming with you." He avoided Snape's eye as he joined Ginny and headed towards the inner office. He wasn't about to leave her to deal with the slimey git on her own, and he didn't see the tiny smile on Dumbledore's face as he left the main room. As the door closed behind them, Snape turned to Ginny, completely ignoring Harry's presence. Harry listened as the Potions professor started to explain the "obscure, but highly useful branch of magic known as occlumency" in a lecture that sounded surprisingly similar to the one he'd gotten last year. However, as Snape spoke, he wasn't being specifically cruel or harsh in any way, and so Harry relaxed slightly, now feeling awkward about overreacting.
After several minutes, Snape reminded Ginny to keep her mind cleared of all emotions as he prepared to perform legilimency on her. Harry focused his attention on Ginny's face as her eyes closed lightly and she braced herself mentally. Snape spoke the incantation quietly, and soon Harry could see Ginny's eyes dancing back and forth behind her eyelids. For a moment he wondered if maybe Ginny was succeeding in blocking Snape out, but then she clenched her eyes shut more tightly and her mouth was drawn into a small frown. Harry looked to Snape and saw to his horror that the professor had a small, triumphant smile playing across his lips. There was no way of knowing which of Ginny's memories Snape was browsing through at the moment, but Harry felt a distinct urge to stop him. For a moment he hesitated, but then he saw Snape's eyebrows raise with interest, perhaps even with surprise, while a quiet whimper escaped Ginny's mouth. Within seconds, Harry was by Ginny's side, his arms wrapped around her as her trembling knees threatened to drop her to the floor.
"Stop it!" he shouted, but Snape did not release the spell. Harry felt his anger reach a breaking point as Ginny slumped slightly in his arms. "ENOUGH!"
Suddenly, Snape gasped and then hissed in pain, his wand hanging loosely in a limp hand as he staggered backwards, the other hand pressed against his temple. Ginny took a deep breath and then raised her own hands to her forehead. Harry simply glared at Snape, feeling strangely breathless and somehow weary. Soon enough, Snape straightened up, and lowered his hand slowly as he looked over at Harry and Ginny. An angry sneer appeared on his face, but before he could speak a word, the door was flung open and Dumbledore swept in, worry etched on his face.
"Severus?" His gaze moved over to the two students, and he immediately conjured a chair for Ginny. Harry helped her into it at once, not sure how much longer he could support her himself. Why was he so exhausted? "What happened?" Dumbledore asked at last, as Snape looked at him with narrowed eyes.
"What do you think?" Harry was surprised at Snape's sarcastic tone. Dumbledore made his way towards Ginny and Harry, just as Ron and Hermione peeked into the room.
"Miss Weasley? Are you alright?" he asked.
"I'm really fine. I just need to catch my breath…" She was looking much better, Harry noticed. The color was beginning to return to her face and she no longer held her hands up to her head. "What happened?"
No one answered, so Harry finally spoke up. "You were ready to collapse and Professor Snape wouldn't lift the spell off of you!"
"And what then?" Dumbledore inquired mildly. Harry was astonished. Wasn't that reason enough to chuck Snape out of here?
"What then? Then I yelled at him to stop and tried to keep Ginny on her feet, that's what!" Snape snorted, but said nothing as he gingerly rose his hand to his head again.
"Severus?" Dumbledore pushed. Snape shrugged.
"Her mind was blocked…suddenly." Dumbledore nodded vigorously and Harry saw Hermione and Ron share a meaningful look. Without another word, Dumbledore left the room, only to return a few seconds later.
"Poppy is on her way up." Severus nodded and took a seat himself, closing his eyes and supporting his head in his free hand. Dumbledore took a moment to conjure four more chairs and then sat down, looking rather worn out himself. Harry gratefully dropped into a large chair as Ron and Hermione settled themselves beside him, and soon the room was still and quiet except for the sound of heavy, labored breathing. Ron, Hermione, and Ginny were all watching him closely, and he realized with a jolt that the jagged breaths were his own. He looked up to find Dumbledore watching him as well, and began to feel very confused.
"Professor Dumbledore, what—" The room grew darker, and finally, there was nothing but blackness.
Harry opened his eyes as he felt a slight, warm weight against his forehead. His eyelids felt heavy enough to be made of lead, but he managed to look around himself briefly before giving up and letting them close again. He couldn't determine much from the blurry glance, but as voices around him started to become more clear, his recognized that worried tones of Madam Pomfrey.
"Well, the Anti-fatigue Draught did something at least…maybe he's just caught a bit of something or other…but he doesn't feel feverish." The weight was removed from his head as Madam Pomfrey reached for another vial. "Maybe a Pepper-Up Potion?"
"Perhaps," Harry heard Dumbledore's voice say, "You could try a Replenishing Potion instead?"
"A Replenishing Potion?" She sounded surprised. "I don't know if I even have any in my case…ahh! Yes I do! Drink this, dear…" A small vial was placed against his lips and he drank obediently. "There we are…it doesn't have an immediate affect, so we'll just wait a minute or so."
A cool, prickly feeling dripped down Harry's throat as the mediwitch continued talking. She seemed to be trying to get an explanation out of Dumbledore, who vaguely mentioned occlumency. Harry wasn't surprised to find out that occlumency was not on Madam Pomfrey's list of approved activities.
"The way this child attracts trouble, I would think you'd be more careful with him! Don't think this doesn't count, Albus! Whether he made it to the infirmary or not, I'm still marking it on his—ahhh! There we are!" She turned away from Dumbledore just as Harry was struggling to push himself up, blinking blearily. "No you don't! Don't even think about it!"
She pushed him down rather forcefully, and Harry was too weak to offer any argument. He was a helpless observer as Madam Pomfrey hastily checked his vital signs, but he squirmed uneasily as he realized he had an audience. Ron, Hermione, and Ginny hovered nearby looking worried and about as confused as Harry felt.
"What…..why—"
"Lie down, Potter!" Harry heard a quiet snicker as he was once again pushed down without much effort. Turning his head, he saw a grim smile cross the face of his Potions professor. Harry's eyes narrowed and he suddenly remembered what had been happening. He pulled away from Madam Pomfrey, who was trying to get a good look at his eyes, and pushed himself off of the oversized chair. Ignoring her protests, he got to his feet, his strength coming back to him bit by bit. He faced Snape, incensed by the smug grin on the professor's face, but fighting to keep his temper.
"Harry Potter! Sit down this instant…!" She turned to Dumbledore for support. "Headmaster! Please do something abou…Why in Merlin's name are you smiling?" When Harry looked, he saw that the headmaster was indeed smiling rather goofily. Distracted, he forgot his anger for a moment, and realized at once how worn out he was. What was wrong with him? Goose-bumps spread up his back and his face until he could feel his hair standing on end and he leaned against the chair to support himself as a feeling of nausea came upon him. He looked to Dumbledore, wishing for answers, but only grew more confused as the old wizard continued to smile.
"Professor…?" he breathed. The room was eerily silent for a moment, but then Dumbledore spoke calmly.
"Harry, do you have your wand?" Harry tried to nod, but felt like he was about to be sick, so he reached for his wand with a shivering hand. Ron stepped forward as if to help him, but Dumbledore gently held him back. A half-second later, Harry's hand closed around the smooth, polished handle of his wand, and to his relief, he felt warmth flow through him once again and his vision cleared completely. He shook his head, trying to dispel the prickling sensation once again, and soon felt as good as new. He looked up at Dumbledore inquiringly, but the old man simply smiled. "Feeling better?"
Harry nodded, baffled by the whole thing. Madam Pomfrey, however, was not satisfied. With a disparaging glance at Dumbledore, she resumed her check-up, and at last admitted that she could find nothing amiss.
"Very good!" Dumbledore exclaimed, "And just in time, too! You have about fifteen minutes to get to your classroom and begin tonight's Defense lesson." He held a small pocket watch up to his face happily. Harry's stomach dropped; he'd forgotten about the D.A. Madam Pomfrey scowled.
"Albus!" she hissed, "He needs rest!" The headmaster patted her harm comfortingly.
"No need to worry, Poppy. I'm sure he'll be fine, and he needn't over-exert himself tonight. It's only a theoretical lesson, after all." She didn't look convinced, but Harry assured her that he was up to it. He had no intention of missing his first lesson, thereby giving the school yet another source of gossip. So, after the mediwitch left the office, muttering about reckless old wizards, Harry and his friends made their exit as well, while Snape lingered in the shadows of the office, sneering unpleasantly. Harry made his way out of the room slowly, still trying to figure the whole thing out, but his thoughts were interrupted just as he reached the door.
"Harry?" It was Dumbledore. "I'd like to discuss this sometime soon. If I'm not mistaken, you have no class after dinner Thursday."
Harry nodded. "Yes, sir. Sir…?"
"Yes?"
"What is this all about?" Dumbledore surprised him with a wide grin.
"I have a good idea," Dumbledore assured him, sharing a meaningful look with Snape, "But we'll talk about it on Thursday. In the mean time, here is your class roster. And Harry, do get some rest." Harry nodded, waved goodbye, and started off towards the Room of Requirement.
*****
Ten minutes before the lesson was expected to start, Harry was pacing restlessly back and forth in the Room of Requirement. His friends watched wordlessly from a large couch, which had been provided with the room. Actually, the room had supplied them with a large, comfortable arrangement of armchairs and sofa's, quite to Harry's surprise, but he was too distracted to think much of it, and none of his friends had brought it up either, though they looked about with curiosity.
On the short walk from Dumbledore's office, the four had briefly discussed the events of the past hour, and Harry learned that Ginny had not been the only one to suddenly protect her mind. Hermione explained how Dumbledore, who'd been in the middle of sifting through her own thoughts, had suddenly stepped back and reached for his head.
"Too bad, really," Ron grumbled, "He'd just finished telling me what a spectacular job I'd done, but after Hermione was blocked up, he tried me again and I was blocked too! For once I was good at something and suddenly it doesn't matter! What'd you do, Harry?" Harry looked at him in surprise, but Hermione spoke before he could.
"Oh, Ron! You're good at loads of things! Look at quid—" Harry interrupted her as he finally found his voice.
"What'd I do? What's that supposed to mean?" Ron looked at him suspiciously.
"What do you mean 'What's that supposed to mean'? One second we're all being brain-probed, and next thing you know, we're all shielded, the professors have headaches, and you collapse!" Ron glanced nervously at Hermione, who spoke up quietly.
"You really looked awful, Harry!" Harry narrowed his eyes dangerously at her, but she didn't seem to notice, and continued on, "I wonder what that Replenishing Potion was all about…?" By the time they reached their destination, Harry was having trouble thinking straight at all with all of the strange things that had happened. He paced dutifully past the doorway a few times, and then continued his pacing into the room itself, barely glancing at the contents of the large chamber.
Finally, Harry managed to focus his mind on two concrete, solid thoughts: the upcoming lesson, and Ginny, who had remained quiet the whole way to the room. He stopped his pacing and turned to her.
"Ginny…" She looked up, slightly alarmed. "Ginny, I'm sorry about Snape. You've shouldn't've had to work with him. I—"
"It's not your fault. I said I'd do it. I could've said no…" He raised an eyebrow, making her grin. "Well…I probably could've, but it doesn't matter now anyways! None of us need to learn occlumency now, thanks to you." Harry could think of no reply, but resumed his pacing as once again his brain was flooded with questions and confusion
"Harry, you have a class due to arrive less than ten minutes," Hermione reminded him, "Maybe we should open the doors or something?" Without waiting for an answer, she muttered a few words and the doors were propped open. Harry turned his attention to the class roster and found a note at the top, written in Dumbledore's flowing script.
Professor Potter,
Below you will find the list of your pupils. There should be at least four representatives from each house, however, I trust you won't mind that I've decided to include a few additional students who showed considerable promise. Feel free to give and take points as appropriate. If absolutely necessary, detentions can be arranged, but I trust that this won't be an issue with this group.
Remember our discussion and good luck!
Albus
Harry started scanning the list, not missing the fact that the headmaster had signed just his first name, not to mention referring to Harry as "Professor Potter". The roster certainly looked official. Printed on the Hogwarts stationary in the usual green ink, the names were listed alphabetically and separated by year, with small letters indicating the student's house to the side of each name. He was surprised to find that the first name on the list was Ginny's. He looked up at her thoughtfully.
"You must be the only fifth year in the class." Ginny looked only moderately surprised.
"Really?" she asked casually, "I wondered why none of my classmates had this slot marked on their time-tables." Hermione, on the other hand, was ecstatic.
"Oh, Ginny! That's really good! You must be the best in your year! I mean, this is like, the elite!"
Ron snorted and stifled a laugh. "She's right, Gin. We've got Famous Potter as a professor, after all." He then turned to a not-so-amused Harry. "So what's the lesson plan for tonight, Professor?"
Harry shrugged and dropped himself into a vacant chair. "I don't know." Hermione coughed.
"You don't even have a plan?" She cried, clearly scandalized.
"Don't worry," he said uncertainly, "It's just a theory lesson…how hard can it be?"
"Well, then! So what's your theory on defense?"
"Erm…" He saw her point, and wanted to smack himself in the face. Why hadn't he thought about this? He began wracking his brains at once, trying to come up with a decent lesson plan, but a moment later his thoughts were interrupted by the sound of excited chattering. He gulped as he looked to the doorway, and faced what appeared to be the entire class.
And now the (other) fun part: Replies!!!
OK, so…I have a lot of reviewers I want to reply to! Here goes!
Ootp-rules: Thanks SO much for your thoughtful review! I'm glad you are enjoying the story! Specifically, I wanted to address your mention of metamorphmagus-ness. This had been mentioned to me before (I also post at harrypotterfanfiction.com) and I'll give a similar answer to you: I (attempt) to plan ahead, and most if not all of the details in this story have a purpose. You see a lot of reasons to assume that Harry will be revealed as a metamorphmagus. I'm not going to give anything away (no matter how frustrating it may be!), but I will say that I have plans for these details and I hope you like what happens! I really like getting reviews in which people tell me what they think will happen next, because it makes me realize how the story is coming across. It's always interesting to see what impressions I am giving (correct or incorrect, accidental or purposeful)! Thanks for the review!
Kyntor: Harry's animagus form….what can I say? I haven't read the interview you spoke of. I've read a lot of stories where Harry and other characters go through different processes to have their animagus form revealed to them, sort of like Native American spirit animals or totems. This is interesting, but not having read the interview, I decided against it. I guess the idea is, the form of the animal comes from within the wizard, it's inherent in their personality so they have no control over what it is. Well, this makes sense. After all, the few animagus forms we know of seem to suit the characters. (Although I would expect Rita Skeeter to be some sort of…I don't know, something sneakier than a beetle!) However, perhaps if the animal form is inherent, then it is unavoidable that this is the animal they choose as their form. Maybe James Potter was destined to be a stag, and when the time came to choose an animal, he suddenly felt an urge to be a stag! Oh well! Let me know what you think! Don't mind my babbling. The bottom line is, I'm not going to change that part of my story, I just like it like that. Thanks for your comment and review!
David305: Argh! O.W.L.s! Okay. I've had this comment before also. So, after reading your review, I went through the story and edited it a bit. Basically, I caused confusion. Here's how: I understand the whole O.W.L. grade system. I know O, E, and A are all counted as "O.W.L.s", but I made the mistake of writing O.W.L. instead of "O". Sorry! I changed it, and I changed one "six" to "eight", but basically, Harry will be taking only 6 N.E.W.T. level classes, because the only E's or A's he got were in classes that he won't be taking. I also understand that Snape is the only teacher who is supposed to accept only O level pupils. That's not to say that Sinistra or Trelawney takes A's. Maybe they only take E's and up. I believe McGonagall said she requires an E. Who knows? Anyways, thanks for the review, and check back in Chapters 8 and 10(if you want) to see that I did change those parts!
Stahchild and @--)--- : AHhhh…..Nagini. Well I can answer one question. The little rock-snake is NOT Nagini. As for using the rock-snake to deal with Nagini, it is definitely a possibility. I don't know whether Nagini would show up on the Marauders' Map, but my guess would be no. After all, if every animal showed up on the map, there'd be a lot of clutter with owls and creatures around the castle….bugs! But then again, does Mrs. Norris show up? I don't know. But if certain creatures do show up, then it seems like someone would've had the bright idea to look at the map during second year, doesn't it? Oh well! Thanks for reviewing!
Kitty254781: Rrrrreally? Too nagging? Hmm. I will look into this. I am certainly not trying to make this the case! Thanks very much for reviewing!