Keanu woke first in his dorm the next morning. Although usually there were five boys in the dorm, there were only four. Seamus Finnigan, it seemed, had been killed over break. Dean Thomas was especially upset about this. Apparently he and Seamus had been as Hermione and Ginny are. Keanu tried to push the morbid thoughts out of his head, though, as he walked down the stairs and met up with Hermione and Ginny. They walked down to the Great Hall together.

Keanu had just finished his kippers when Professor McGonagall passed by, handing out schedules. Keanu was pleased to see that his was an exact replica of Hermione's. Ron sat down and snatched his schedule up.

"I can't believe I'm stuck with Binns!" Ron said. McGonagall had demanded that Ron take more classes, and History of Magic was the only option left. Hermione had vouched not to teach Keanu that subject.

"Our schedule isn't that bad," Hermione commented to Keanu. Ron stole Hermione's schedule.

"You get Tonks, Vector, Sprout and McGonagall on two days!" he crooned. "What luck!"

"Then we have Snape, Flitwick, and Heller (A.N the Ancient Runes professor) on two days, and Sinistra and Hagrid, on the last," Keanu informed the rest of the people near them. Ron looked mortified.

"What about Quidditch?" he asked. Hermione sighed.

"Don't worry about it, Ron," Ginny said, smiling at Keanu. "I'm sure he can get his homework done well enough."

After Keanu's first class, though, he was seriously beginning to doubt Ginny. Although Tonks had been fun, she had assigned a huge workload. They were to read the first chapter of Dark Arts Gone Good and summarize every spell in it. According to Hermione, there was a spell per page, and the first chapter was fifteen pages.

Keanu walked into Arithmancy, and Professor started to explain what they would be doing over the course of the year. Keanu hardly listened, until a few words caught his ears.

"...making our own spells, decipher..." Keanu looked excitedly at Hermione, who was taking notes.

"Remember when you said that Avada Kedavara couldn't kill Voldemort," he hissed to her. She looked up, interested. "Let's make our own spell! A spell so powerful-,"

"Something you would like to share, Mr. Montgomery?" Professor Vector asked.

"No Professor, just discussing how dashing you are," Keanu said with perfect elegence. Professor Vector smiled at him

"One of these days, Montgomery." she said. Keanu laughed. He had met Professor Vector during his studies of Arithmancy, because Hermione wasn't explaining everything as well as she thought she was.

Professor Vector went back to talking, and Keanu shot Hermione one of those we'll-talk-after-class looks. Hermione countered it with a shut-it-I'm-trying-to-pay-attention looks. Keanu laughed to himself and turned back to face the teacher's desk

"What were you saying that was so important to interrupt class?" Hermione demanded as soon as they exited Professor Vector's room.

Keanu pulled Hermione into an alcove where no one would overhear them.

"Remember when you said that Avada Kedavara couldn't kill Voldemort?" Hermione flinched at the name but nodded none the less. "Well, when Vector mentioned the making your own spell part of the curriculum? We could make our own spell to defeat him!"

Hermione's excitement flared up for a millisecond, then her face dropped. "Except for one minor problem. Professor Vector only meant like maybe creating a spell to keep a feather suspended in air. And only a feather, it won't work on anything else. How are two inexperienced students supposed to create a spell to defeat the most powerful wizard in existence, next to Dumbledore?"

"Maybe with the help of their teacher?" a voice entered the discussion.

"Professor!" Hermione exclaimed. "Where did you come from?"

"I've been listening. Hermione's right, Montgomery. That kind of spell requires extreme talent and experience. Neither of which either of you have enough of."

"So help us!" Keanu decided. "With you and the top student in the year, and me, we could do it!"

Hermione laughed. "Okay, we'll try, won't we professor?"

Vector smiled. "Yes, we will."

Hermione and Keanu had to race down to Herbology, and just barely made it before they would have been late. Ron was waiting by a cut of Devils Snare, saving two shovels for them.

"What took you so long?" he hissed when they arrived.

"Long story, no time," Keanu hissed back, seeing Professor Sprout looking daggers at them.

"Today we will be learning how to reduce a cut of Devil's Snare to a harmless plant. Can anyone tell me where Devil's Snare originates from?"

Hermione's hand shot into the air.

"Yes Miss Granger?"

Hermione cleared her throat. "Devil's Snare originally grew in the waters off of Crete and Turkey, though once ships and fishermen became to numerous, it spread to most of the waters surrounding Europe and down the eastern coast of Africa."

Professor Sprout smiled proudly. "Excellent, five points to Gryffindor. Now, to tame the Devil's Snare, you must first cut out its brint. The brint is somewhat like the brain of the plant. It controls the movement of the vines, but does not much else. Once the brint is cut out, you must cut off the tips of the vines, to therefore make the nerves useless. Although it seems that the nerves would already be useless, they can still control themselves in a disorganized manner. The brint is located in the innermost part of the plant, I would suggest trying to ward the vines away, perhaps with fire. When you have the brints, please put them in this jar. They are used in some antidotes to the Forgetfulness potion, and as an antidote to the Draught of Living Death."

Ron looked at Hermione pointedly, but she shooed him off.

"I'll do the flames, it'll be easier for me than for either of you - no offense."

"None taken," Keanu said. His flames had continually set cushions and tables on fire in the Room of Requirement.

Hermione uttered the fire-bringing charm, followed immediately by a flame-freezing charm. Keanu and Ron took the knives in their dominant hands.

"Ready?" Hermione asked, her voice staying strong.

Keanu and Ron nodded, somewhat hesitantly, and Hermione started pushing the flames into the vines. Just as Professor Sprout had said, the vines shrunk back in fear, if they were capable of that.

Once the vines were far enough away from center of the plant, Ron and Keanu dove in. The brint was red, and seemed to be pulsing, although there was no blood. They inserted the knives on either side of the brint, and pried.

It flung out. Keanu made to catch it, but some green juice squirted into his face, and he was distracted. Ron threw his arm out and caught it just before it smashed on top of a honking daffodil.

"Nice catch, I can see why you're Keeper," Keanu said, dabbing at his face. "It's not coming off!" he exclaimed.

"Oh, sorry, Mr. Montgomery, I forgot to warn you. The chlorophyl in the plants dyes your skin green for, oh, a day or two. Don't worry, it'll come off. Eventually," Professor Sprout smiled merrily at him.

Keanu scowled, throwing the towel aside.

"Guys, we still need to cut the vine ends," Hermione called.

"Oh, oops," Ron said. "Diffindo!"

The ends fell to the ground, and the Devil's Snare fell to the ground, seemingly lifeless.

Ron proclaimed it as the best Herbology class ever.

After the class had cleaned up - Keanu still had the green on his face - they headed up the stairs to Transfiguration, Hermione's favorite subject.

"One of the most commonly used spells after OWL level is the spell used to conjure items. Please note that the item must be in your possession, unless it is a commonly used spell, like if you were conjuring sauce for a soup. When you buy an item, it is configured into your and your spouse - if you have one - children - if you have them - and anyone else you specify's magical signature, which is unique to everybody, like fingerprints. And yes, all monetary items are encoded not to be conjured, even Muggle money, and even if it is in your possession," Professor McGonagall explained.

"I don't expect many of you to conjure an item today on your first attempt. We are going to start very, very small. I trust all of you own a quill?" Scattered laughter echoed around the room, and some people shouted "no!" as a joke. Professor McGonagall almost smiled. She was a lot less strict with her NEWT level students. "I want you to imagine the quill, one in your bag if you please. Close your eyes and focus in on the quill and what surrounds it." Some students rummaged through their bags to see what their quills were surrounded by. "Remember what the quill felt like, what it smelled like. Pretend you are in the bag, looking directly at your quill. Hold that thought and open your eyes." McGonagall waited as the class reaquainted themselves with the classroom. "There is no incantation for conjuring. That would get much too annoying, to announce what you are conjuring and an incantation to go along with it. There is a special wand movement you need to do. But that is for next lesson. Are there any questions so far?"

Hermione raised her hand. "Please, Professor, but how is this Transfiguration? It seems more like a charm to me, like a quick way of summoning."

McGonagall smiled at her obvious favorite. "Very good question, Miss Granger. Conjuring, like Vanishing, is not like summoning or banishing. Instead, you are transfiguring particles in front of you. As I am sure many of you have noticed while you are not paying attention in classes, there are always particles of dust in front of you. When you conjure, you are actually transfiguring the item in front of you into the item you are conjuring. Likewise, when you vanish items, you are turning them into the small particles of dust. Now, when you conjure, the item only lasts for a little less than three hours. The item you purchased that you are conjuring still exists when it is being replicated. It is simply the design and features that are being copied. Now don't think that since the item lasts for so long, you can conjure something then sell it. Many shops have alarms when conjured items are brought in, and there are spells you can perform to be sure the item is not a copy. When you vanish items, they stay vanished for up to three hours, then return the to the same state they were originally in."

The bell rang. "Wow, time sure flies, doesn't it?" McGonagall asked. "No homework."

Hermione proclaimed it the best Transfiguration class ever.

Keanu had hardly any time to start his load of homework before dinner, and afterwards, Quidditch tryouts. Katie, the captain, wanted to get as much practice in as possible before the first match against Slytherin. So after summarizing three spells and eating a quick ham sandwich in the Great Hall, Keanu grabbed Ginny's Numbus 2000 that she was letting him use until if or when he got his own broomstick. Seeker didn't need to help much with the tryouts anyway.

There were four other people trying for Chaser, not including Keanu. Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown both boasted how Parvati's famous father had gotten them a trainer over the summer. Ginny whispered that this was bull, for Lavender hadn't seen Parvati the entire break. Still, when Parvati went on Ron, she was quite good, and Keanu felt he had some competition. Lavender was not as good as Parvati, and Keanu was sure he could eliminate her. The other two people trying for Chaser were Colin Creevey and Helen Smith. Colin was a fifth year boy with striking blonde hair and adoring blue eyes that were usually glued to his camera that he carried with him everywhere, it seemed, but the Quidditch tryouts. Helen was a small third year, shy and quiet around her older peers, but she was good nonetheless. Colin wasn't all that great, and his sister, Jamie, a third year, rubbed it in continuously. After Keanu had done just as good as he had his first day, Katie dismissed them all, saying she'd post the new teams on the old, battered bulletin board in the common room later that night. Keanu, Ginny, Jamie, and Travis, the other beater who liked being called Trav better, and the other four Chaser candidates walked up to the castle, talking about classes and teachers.

Keanu had just finished his last spell for Tonks, around ten thirty that night, when Katie finally entered the common room, followed by Ron. He was sort of a co-captain. Katie had no sooner gotten the results posted, that all five Chaser candidates had charged the board.

It had taken five seconds to read Katie's loopy handwriting when Parvati Patil shrieked with happiness, upsetting her friend Lavender next to her.

"I got in! I got in! Oops, sorry Lavender..."

"It's fine," Lavender said, looking down. "I'm sure the team will be great with you and Keanu."

Keanu, who hadn't even read the board yet, whirled up.

"What?" he asked. Lavender looked at him.

"See, right here," she said, pointing to his name. No wonder I couldn't read it Keanu thought, looking closely. The K's looked more like H's and he thought it was Helen.

"So, I'm in?" he asked as if the mere sign wasn't enough. Parvati nodded, and, surprising Keanu, threw her arms around him.

"This is going to be so much fun," she whispered.

"Erm, yea it is," Keanu said awkwardly. Parvati pried herself from him, and over her shoulder, Keanu saw Ginny glaring daggers at her.


Next chapter, i think, is one of my favorite ones, and the one after that.