Hufflepuff Concerto

READ THIS -> Hufflepuff Concerto now has a companion story! It is a story about the Ravenclaws and it's called Raven's Eye View(by Amican). It's just been started, but it looks quite promising after just two chapters. You'll find it on my favorite stories list. Hannah might make an appearence there, and the main characters there, Tom and Richard, will likely make appearences here. Very cool.

DISCLAIMER: That Harry Potter Universe and Characters are not, alas, my own.

A/N: Considering my year-long forray away from this story, no one should have been worried that I wouldn't return after only a month or two of waiting, right? Anyway... I had some trouble figuring out my approach for this chapter but it finally worked out after four or five drafts. Here we go!


Chapter Thirteen: Professor Sprout

White ceiling. White curtain. Daylight from window. Hospital.

Not again. Before she knew it, she was sitting up, heart thumping wildly. It was happening again.

My name is Hannah. Hannah Leslie Korvil. I live at... at... 34 Rosecliff Way, North Holyoke. To her relief, the information came easily.

A medwitch happened to choose that moment to pop in. "Everything alright?" she asked with some concern.

"Yeah," Hannah nodded, trying to instantaneously look more calm than paranoid and confused, "Fine. I just forgot where I was, is all." She rubbed her eyes. I am at St. Mungos. They put me under to test my magical profile or something. The test is over. I am awake now. Everything is okay. She felt silly.

"It's alright," the medwitch smiled sympathetically, "A lot of people are afraid of hospitals. I used to be."

"I'm not afraid of hospitals," I'm just afraid of waking up in one and not knowing who I am. Once was enough for a lifetime, thank you very much. They had said she'd remember everything in time, but she really hadn't. She had a few vague things to go on here and there, but it mattered less after a few years. Most people didn't remember too much from before they were five anyway.

That had been when her older brother, Phil, was still developing his mind abilities, and he didn't know how strong they had grown when WHOOSH! Suddenly his "weak minded" sister didn't know she was his sister or how to tie her shoes anymore.

Come to think of it, her younger brother was getting to be about that age. No wonder mom and dad think Hogwarts is a safer place for me than home, despite recent events.

The medwitch picked up a folder of papers, and called for her parents. Hannah ran her fingers through her unbraided and therefore messy hair. Her dad in his regal black velvet HeadMaster robes grinned in a way that didn't match them at all. He popped his head in first and grinned in a very daddy-like way, "Hey, look who's awake!"

"Daddy! You made it!" Hannah grinned back.

"He just got here," her mom said lowly, ducking into the room around her husband and giving Hannah a conspiratory wink.

"I just have perfect timing," HeadMaster Korvil defended himself, mocking his own on-the-job serious persona, "Besides, I couldn't miss seeing my little girl off to Hogwarts twice in one week!"

To Hogwarts..."So I'm clear?" Hannah had a sudden urge to bounce around the room and hug anyone who got in her way, medwitches included. No more St Mungos! The last week had been nothing but tests and appointments with this medwitch, and then that one, who would give a referral to a third, who eventually sent her back to the first. It seemed like it would never end. All she needed a doctor's note to return to class. She'd already missed a week.

"All clear," Mrs Korvil confirmed, "Arrangements have already been made to meet Professor Sprout in Hogsmeade tonight at 7 o'clock."

"Which only leaves one question," HeadMaster Korvil smiled, "Where do you want to go for dinner?"


No more St Mungos was good. It was so good, she couldn't tell you how good it was. But going back to Hogwarts was quickly seeming more and more iffy the closer to 7 o'clock they got. By the time 7 o'clock actually did roll around, Hannah was trying desperately to remember the names of her roommates and only coming up with Jay-something with two syllables and an L-someone. Or maybe it was El-someone. There were two besides the blonde Jay-something and the three of them had sent her a get-well-soon card. Now, as she sipped butterbeer with her parents in the Three Broomsticks, she wished she had brought it with her so she could check it again. Maybe she could try to ask Professor Sprout before they reached Hogwarts.

A week of classes was going to hard to make up. She didn't even know what most of the teachers looked like, and it couldn't have been a good first impression by missing her first classes with them. Of course, they probably were told what happened-which was even worse. They would all want to be really nice to her at first and not push her too hard, but then get frustrated later on when she wasn't ready for the end of the year. It was like starting at Holyoke all over again... only at Holyoke she'd been there for a good three or four months before the memory accident with Phil, so she'd had more to relearn. This time she didn't have to relearn anything. Just catch up.

Of course, the amount they teach you when you're five and the amount they teach you when you're 11 is somewhat different.

And then there was the wand... No. It was definitely better to think about school work.

Charms.

"Is that Professor Spout?" her father asked suddenly. Hannah looked up from where she was scribbling a frantic to-do list on her napkin, and followed his gaze towards the door. How would I know? I only met her once. The friendly-looking middle aged woman stopped searching the Three Broomsticks when she spotted Hannah. Hogwarts robes were easy enough to identify and there weren't many Hogwarts aged kids floating around Hogsmeade when school was in session.

"Yeah, that's her," Hannah told him, as the woman manuvered her way around tables to get to them. Hannah still only sort of recognized her as someone she might have seen before. Her parents stood up to shake hands and Hannah belatedly followed suite, though Professor Sprout didn't try to shake her hand.

"Master and Mrs Korvil, Hannah," Professor Sprout greeted them enthusiastically. Ah! The voice did the trick. Yes, this was definitely Professor Sprout. "How was your trip?"

"No complaints," Mr Korvil laughed, "we're just happy you could meet us on such short notice."

"Me too. We're very excited to have Hannah rejoining us," Professor Sprout turned her attention downward, "Glad to see you're feeling better."

Hannah nodded. The butterflies in her stomach didn't count as not feeling better.

"Hannah," Mrs Korvil said suddenly, "Why don't you pick out a song on the jukebox." She handed her a couple coins and pointed to the far corner of the room where there was an old magic music box. Hannah reluctantly took the hint to let the grown ups talk about her like she wasn't there by actually not being there.

The jukebox, as her mother had called it-being more familiar with muggle terminology than wizarding in most cases-had a whole lot of songs she didn't know. She recognized some of the more popular bands, such as Hag's Rag, Big Bad Niffler, and Vile Vials, but their names was also where the familiarity ended. There were some muggle bands too, but not too many, and Hannah was just as clueless about their music as the wizarding bands. She chose one song by the Samhain Seven but got her money back when she realized she might have enough coins for a chocolate frog or, if she were brave, a box of every flavor beans. They'd passed a sweet shop on the way in.

She went back to the table and got permission to run next door.

"Alright. Take your time, sweetheart," her father said distractedly, handing her more coins.

It must be my lucky day! she thought, reaching the still open sweetshop. The owner looked at her out of place Hogwarts uniform a bit suspiciously, but didn't say anything. Luckily, reporting wandering students wasn't his job.

Hannah had been thinking of a chocolate frog, but now that she was here and looking at all her choices she couldn't decide. Was it better to go with something she knew she liked, or try some new? Or was it better to save the money and get something better later?

Ten minutes later her parents wandered out of the Three Broomsticks and Hannah hastily decided that Every Flavor Beans she could at least share with her roommates whose names she couldn't remember and bought those. Her parents gave her a questioning look, to which she happily displayed the first box of Every Flavor Beans she'd ever bought. She felt very brave.

"Are you ready?" Professor Sprout asked, looking at her slightly differently than before. Her parents probably told her Professor about her-very much made up by her parents-"history of memory issues" since the original accident. She glared knowingly at them. They played innocent. Now it would be much harder to ask Professor Sprout about her roommates' names. Forgetting names of people you'd just met was normal. Not remembering names of cabbages or historical dates, doubly so.

"They're paranoid," Hannah hastened to assure her professor as soon as they'd left her parents behind, "Whatever they told you-"

"They just wanted to make sure there was a proceedure in place in case the potion looses its effectiveness," Professor Sprout explained.

"Oh," Hannah closed her mouth. Who's paranoid now? "So, is there?"

"Yes," she said and helped Hannah into a horseless carriage that it moved like there was a horse. Maybe there was, but it was invisible or, more likely, maybe it was just enchanted that way. Professor Sprout hopped in behind her and the carriage started off.

"Are you ready to be back?" Professor Sprout was eager to talk. She probably didn't get many oportunities to have her students cornered like this.

"Yes and no," Hannah replied truthfully, "I mean, I feel okay. But..."

"Scared?"

"Yeah." She hugged herself and looked out the window where the castle of Hogwarts peered over a big black lake, "Is that where we crossed?"

"Yes. And there's the train station over there," Sprout pointed, "And that up there is the Whomping Willow." The willow was busy whipping flies so even in the twilight it was easy to see what the Herbology professor was pointing to, "It has an infestation of mites so it's been extra aggressive lately. It's starting to clear up, though-And there! That's the Quidditch stadium. I don't suppose you got a chance to take a look at it?"

Hannah shook her head. Investigating the quidditch field hadn't been on her top priorities last monday.

"It's an impressive site," Sprout assured her.

After a short pause, Hannah leaned back in seat again and got down to business, "What did I miss in Herbology last week?"

The Hufflepuff Head of House smiled as though this was her favorite subject-which it probably was or she wouldn't be teaching it, "You missed an extremely interesting introduction to the class, one of the best I've given-which you'll have to ask your classmates for notes on-and a tour of the greenhouse, which you can make up a quick version of after class one day. I'll be repeating pieces of it in more detail throughout the year for everyone because I don't expect you all to remember everything the first time through."

There was a hint of something in that last sentence that seemed almost to say, "Unlike others I could mention" and Hannah smiled shyly, knowing she was talking about Professor Scarey Man's confusing and overwhelming tour of the potions ingredients cabinate.

The carriage came to a stop.

"Um. Professor Sprout?" Hannah said before her Head of House could reach for the door. She was painfully aware of how her voice just rose about two octaves and it was pretty high to begin with. She swallowed, and tried not to wring her hands, "I'm really bad with names and I feel really bad-"

"Jaci Grassik. Eleanore Branstone. Laura Madley."

Hannah sighed. Yes. Those names were definitely the ones. "Thank you."

"It's alright. You've had a long week."

Professor Sprout gratiously also didn't assume she remembered how to find the common room, what the password was, or the names of the prefects. They stopped to check in with Madame Pomfrey before heading up, and when the Hufflepuff common room door finally swung open-

"Surprise!" All of Hufflpuff House was there to greet her. Hannah blushed furiously, ears red as her hair, and had a sudden urge to hide behind Professor Sprout. But the teacher had moved back so she was standing alone in the middle with everyone looking at her. Everyone was grinning, and she was giggling. And she was way too embarrassed to stop giggling. She barely even knew these people.

"Welcome back, Hannah!" the prefect from the train-Niobe-stepped forward, and the circle collapsed around them. Everyone was trying to ask her if she was alright, or introduce themselves or just say "hello and glad to have you back" all at once. And then, it got even better because there were cupcakes.

Hannah put her hand over her mouth to try to cover her huge grin, "Thanks everyone."

Hufflepuffs were the greatest.