Chapter Seven- Sidestepping, Socializing, and a Shoebox
~*~
Hauling Monster by the scruff of her neck, Meghan was the first to exit the Charms classroom.
"For goodness' sake, Meg, chain her to your bed! She turned up for Herbology this morning too!" Chloe put her wand in her robes and shook her finger at Monster. "You're really cute, but you're a royal pain."
Meghan, who had intended to scream at the kitten in the hallway for disrupting Charms changed her mind. "Well.that would be sort of mean of us. I don't think she's trying to cause trouble. We really shouldn't punish her for being loyal."
"Being loyal!" Chloe exclaimed. "Why, you're lucky we didn't have any more house points taken off from Professor Flitwick. Not everyone is going to think it's cute that she's following us around like a.." Chloe screwed up her face and tried not to smile. "Like a little puppy dog."
"I just can't do it," Finn moaned in despair. "I can't do any of the classes."
"Don't worry about it, Finn," Meghan consoled, ignoring Chloe when Finn slumped out of the classroom. "You'll catch on. Everyone does. Plus, look at the partner you've got. You're always stuck with him in classes because no one else wants to sit by that git."
Finn was still considerably stressed. "But I haven't done one spell correctly. I did everything wrong in Herbology this morning, and I'm sure I didn't do so well on the Potions essay. He shook his head sadly. "And it isn't Aidan. He's not bad. At least, I don't think he is. He's just really quiet and takes a lot of notes. He's smarter than me.. Maybe he needs a friend."
"No," Chloe said quickly. "You don't want to make friends with him, Finn. Trust us. And he's not smarter than you, he's trying to show off."
"I do trust you," said Finn, "but that doesn't make any sense. Why do you never talk to him? You talk to everyone else. It's like you hate him or something."
"Why doesn't he talk to anyone else?" Meghan said, raising an eyebrow at Finn.
Finn shrugged.
"Exactly." Meghan tucked Monster into her robe pocket, allowing her head and front paws to hang out. "Let's go to lunch."
"How do you know him?" Finn asked, hurrying to keep pace in his enormous robes. "I thought you said you really didn't know anyone in our house, because you were taught at home except for nursery school."
"We.just do and it's just not a good idea to make friends him. He's not like the other students," Meghan replied.
"How?" Finn asked curiously. "Seems normal to me. Just quiet."
"Because," Chloe said, very frustrated. "That's just the way things are."
"Can't we talk about something else?" Meghan added. "Like lunch?"
~*~
Severus Snape bared his teeth at the parchment he was reading, crumpled it, and threw it into the fire. Professor Granger had made the speculation that he should simply install a comment box directly above the fireplace and leave the bottom off of the box. His Deputy Headmistress didn't know how right she was sometimes..
He glanced into the desk-sized cauldron on his desk and checked the process of his beverage. It had worked for thirty-five years from keeping him from getting sunspots, keeping his hair black and shiny and himself in impeccable health.
A polite knock. Severus glanced at the clock. Yes, it was three o' clock precisely.
"Enter."
Professor Granger strode in, took her usual seat, and waited politely with her parchments.
"Afternoon."
Professor Granger spilled right into her business. "The merpeople are telling us there's a crisis with the seaweed at the bottom of the lake. There's not enough, as Hagrid decided to breed the giant squid and apparently the new addition eats quite more than his share. Well, it might be a her. Hagrid isn't sure yet."
Severus didn't appear slightly interested. "Do we not have a Herbology professor employed at this school? Let her take care of it. If she can't, that's simply too bad. Tell the merpeople they're the ones who decided to take up residence in the lake."
"Mmm," said Professor checking it off her list. "So, inform Professor Higginbotham of the crisis and if she can't resolve it, politely suggest to the merpeople to use another natural resource in the lake."
"How many times do I have to tell you not to repeat everything I say?" Severus said impatiently. He ladled his drink into a goblet. "I know what I say."
"Of course you do," Professor Granger said distractedly, as she tapped her quill on her clipboard. "Oh, yes. The flying teacher we selected for this year is still not satisfied with our salary offer. He insists that-"
"Tell the new flying teacher that he'll take the salary we offer him or he can just go fly into a brick wall for all I care. That ungrateful con artist won't get a Sickle more than what he's worth and that isn't mu-"
"Yes, very good," Professor Granger interrupted. "So, conference with the new flying teacher and offer him an excellent health and dental package to go along with his salary."
"Handsome salary," Snape sneered. "Don't forget to add that."
Professor Granger Mmm-hmm'd at him.
"And stop repeating everything I say. If I have to send you to court reporting school, it will be at your own expense." Severus downed his drink in a gulp and opened his desk drawers, searching for a napkin.
"Mr. Filch demands that the school pays compensation for his cane, as Peeves allegedly stole it, performed a degrading song and dance number with it, and then smashed it to bits. Direct quote, by the way, at his insistence. " Professor Granger didn't bother looking up from her notes, and held out a napkin for him, between her first finger and her thumb.
"After you tell Mr. Filch that he simply deserves to be beaten over the head with his cane for not being able to control that disgusting poltergeist yet, you may compensate for Mr. Filch's seventh cane."
"Offer Mr. Filch a small pay increase and replace his cane. Inform Peeves of retaliation for another incident."
"These are the only reports you have for me?" Severus said impatiently.
Professor Granger thumbed through her papers. "Yes, just this and the usual letters from parents."
"I'm ahead of you," Severus said succinctly. "I took care of most of the letters this morning."
"I surmised as much," Professor Granger replied with a pained glance at the crumpled up balls of parchment that hadn't made it into the fireplace. "Has Pansy Malfoy replied to your last letter?"
"No." Severus actually smiled briefly. A very satisfied smile. "I'm not expecting a reply. I think Mrs. Malfoy and I have come to a little understanding."
"Aidan did very well in my first class," Professor Granger commented. "Looks to be a dedicated student, reserved, but that's understandable. I'm sure he'll branch out sooner or later."
"I disagree completely," Severus answered. "I've had him twice now and he's undoubtedly up to something. He's only dedicated for a reason."
"Up to something!" Professor Granger exclaimed in disbelief. "I refuse to entertain that idea. If he was up to something, he would have done something! You're making very broad assumptions about him, Headmaster."
"I would say the same to you. And.I've yet to hear you comment on Weasley and Potter, are they as dedicated as you claim Aidan Malfoy to be? Have you taken them under your wing also?"
"You know very well-"
~*~
During a lull in History of Magic-Professor Binns was drawing a timeline to accompany his lecture-Finn decided to try once again to strum up conversation with Aidan Malfoy. He hadn't been successful yet, but he reckoned if he kept trying, Aidan would come around.
"I bet that timeline takes him the rest of class to draw," Finn whispered.
Aidan shrugged.
"Which classes do you suppose you're the best at?" Finn asked.
No answer.
"Do you and Chloe Potter know each other?"
Of all the reactions Finn expected, nothing could have prepared him from Aidan snapping his head up and staring him down. "What about Chloe Potter?" Aidan hissed angrily.
"I-I-I thought maybe you two knew each other from somewhere.." Finn clutched his chair and leaned back as far away from Aidan as possible.
"What did she tell you?" Aidan demanded.
"Nothing!" Finn held up his hands and nearly fell backwards out of his chair. "Nothing, I swear."
"Why did you want to know?"
"Chloe is my friend.and well, I thought that-"
"You thought wrong. There is nothing to know, so don't ask."
"I-I won't, sorry I asked," Finn apologized. "You just never talk to anyone and-"
"Why talk when I have nothing to say?" Aidan snapped. "I don't talk to hear myself like your friends."
Finn was surprised Aidan was still willing to carry on the whispered conversation.
"I don't know."
"I have nothing in common with the people in this house."
"Erm," Finn answered.
"Did Potter put you up to this?"
Finn shook his head vigorously. "No way."
Aidan stared at him for a while, eyes narrowed. "Okay."
Finn chanced a smile. Aidan didn't smile back.
"You must be really stupid, Bell, talking to me. If you want Potter and Weasley to remain your friends, I wouldn't tell them about this conversation."
Finn didn't know how to respond again. "Why not?" he asked eventually.
"Because that's just the way things are," Aidan said with a raised eyebrow, as if this were obvious. He went back to his work after shaking his head at Finn.
They were quiet for the rest of class, but Finn felt accomplished. That was the longest Aidan had ever spoken to him. Finn wondered if Chloe and Aidan realized they had echoed each other less than two hours apart.
~*~
Harry was tired. It had been a long day at work, and he was looking forward to dinner and quiet evening. Plus, he wanted to give some thought to why Katie Bell had exiled herself from the wizarding world.
"You look dead on your feet," Ginny commented, walking into their bedroom and kissing him. "I made dinner today, so why don't you take a bit of a nap beforehand."
Harry was pleased. Ginny was a great cook, and having her cook for them was a real treat. She only did it when the fancy struck her, as she had discovered that it upset the house elves when she tried to do it all the time. In turn, the novelty never really wore off.
Harry unfastened the top of his Auror robes and searched his closet for a more comfortable set. "You're amazing, it's like you knew I had a long day."
Ginny shrugged and miraculously pulled the exact robes he had been looking for from the closet. "Stroganoff and that French bread with that garlic butter you like so much."
Wow. His favorite dish even. Harry was looking forward to the meal.but now he couldn't quash the suspicion that something was up. "That was nice of you."
"Charlie and Anastasia are coming for dinner too," Ginny added, raising her voice to be heard from the bathroom, where she was applying fresh lipstick.
"Okay," Harry sighed. "What's going on?"
"I told you, Charlie and Anastasia are-"
"You're buttering me up for something," Harry said with a grin, "and I am on to you, Mrs. Potter."
"You conceited little man," Ginny said in an appalled tone. "I have no need to butter you up for something."
"What is it?" Harry said lying back on the bed. "You might as well give it to me straight. You already made my favorite dinner and invited an audience so I couldn't make a big scene."
"Invited an audience! Harry! Charlie and Anastasia have been abroad for seven months living on the Dragon Colony."
"Convenient."
"Grump. Take your nap."
~*~
Chloe's hand throbbed. She had been writing forever. Her essay went far over the requirements and she was certain Professor Granger would have no choice but to give her an top marks on it, since she had chosen an extremely difficult potion to research.
Meghan and Finn had chosen potions out of their textbooks and finished in an hour. They had gone out to the grounds for fresh air and to explore the lake, leaving Chloe in the library to write.
Chloe glanced at her watch. It had been four hours and Meg and Finn were back now to check on her.
"You're still here!" Finn exclaimed. "How can you read about one potion for so long!"
"She must be really ticked off at Professor Granger still," Meghan explained. "This is her twisted way of getting back at her, aren't I right, Chloe?"
Chloe lifted her eyebrows and closed her book. "She said after class that I was being apathetic about Potions. She also said I should strive to do the best in the subject I dislike the most. I'm just trying to prove to her that I'm not apathetic."
"See?" Meghan grinned. "She's going to make Professor Granger eat her words."
"What's apathetic mean anyway?" Finn asked.
Chloe, who had even taken the care to look that up, opened the dictionary to the marked portion and cleared her throat. "Apathetic. Feeling or showing a lack of interest or concern."
"Look up grudge," Meghan suggested with an evil grin. "Then work it into your essay."
"Don't you hate Potions?" Finn picked up the book Chloe had been reading and gaped at it.
"I don't care. I'm not letting Aidan Malfoy be better at it than I am," Chloe said, rolling up her parchment. "I picked the hardest potion I could find. I didn't understand all awful parts so I just wrote down lots of bolded things and wrote about them. It came out way longer than she asked for. She has to give me top marks No one in our class would do this potion."
"And the truth comes out," Meghan laughed. "Finn, take my advice, don't get on Chloe's bad side or tell her she can't do something."
"Let's go play Exploding Snap in the common room," Chloe answered, shouldering her bag. "Will you take me to look at the lake tomorrow?"
"Sure," Meghan said linking arms with Chloe. "You might be mental, but someone has to stand up for us."
~*~
"Does Perce have any new kids yet?" Charlie asked while refilling Anastasia's wine glass for her.
"I think they're stopping at a nice subdued ten," Harry said sarcastically.
"Nanny Aggie says Weasley babies come down the laundry chute," James piped up.
Ginny shushed him. "How was life on the Dragon Colony?"
"Cramped, loud, and flammable," Anastasia answered good-naturedly.
"And you left the C.I.A. for all that and more." Harry was still slightly disgruntled that Anastasia had quit her job as one of his Confederation officers for a job working with dragons with Charlie. She had been one of his favorite Aurors, quite talented.
She smiled broadly. "Only pursuing what makes me happy."
Charlie stretched in his chair and puffed out his chest. "I make Anastasia really happy, and she barely has to pursue."
"You're merely an on the job perk," Anastsia retorted saucily. "Mostly an on the job prat."
"I love it when you're fiesty," Charlie snickered, putting an arm around her.
"When you get tired of messing with him, you can come back and be an Auror again," Harry grinned.
Ginny waved Harry's comment aside. "So, are you not even thinking about getting married? You've been together for so long. Five years now?"
"Marriage," Charlie wrinkled his nose. "That's for old people who want to sit on porch swings together."
"Charlie," Ginny groaned. "You're older than Harry and I. Even older than Percy."
"We don't have a porch swing," Harry said defensively.
"We have a swing set!" James contributed.
"Anastasia and I prefer to take our dating at a reasonable pace, and not to rush into commitments," Charlie said.
"That's the speech you've been giving Mum." Ginny rolled her eyes.
"How'd you guess?" Charlie exclaimed. "What's wrong with it?"
"The word commitment was a dead give away," Ginny pointed out. "I'd work on that one." She smiled at Anastasia. "Let me know when you've wrestled him into it. You're our only hope for him. Bill's just a lost cause.."
"You sound as though we haven't got anyone to carry on the Weasley genes," Charlie scoffed. "As if Percy's kids weren't enough."
"Are you saying you only want Percy's genes to carry it on?" Ginny said innocently.
Charlie smirked at her. "Very funny."
"Let's go to the living room and visit a bit," Ginny suggested, pushing her dessert plate away. "James, why don't you go play upstairs for awhile?"
Harry found this comment a bit odd, as Ginny rarely discluded barred the children from conversation visits unless it was past bedtime. But, he had guessed earlier that she was up to something.
"Chloe doesn't want to go play upstairs," James protested.
Ginny and Harry had quietly explained earlier to Charlie and Anastasia the situation with the pretend Chloe and Charlie had been delighted. He insisted on directing comments toward the pretend Chloe's plate, such as, "Why yes, Chloe, I think Anastasia chews funnily too," and "How very kind of you to say your Uncle Charlie is so handsome, Chloe."
"Chloe Grace, please go upstairs," Ginny said calmly.
"Chloe said no thank you," Charlie grinned. Anastasia elbowed him sharply.
Harry stored this information away, to use if Charlie ever had children. Ginny shot her brother a stern look.
"Chloe better get upstairs unless she wants to go to bed right now," Harry said sternly.
James grudgingly left the dining room.
When the adults had settled into the living room, Ginny told them all to relax and she would be right back. She returned holding a shoebox.
"What is that?" Harry asked.
"I invited you over to see a little surprise I planned for James," Ginny beamed.
"You got him shoes?" Charlie asked. "Does he not get them very often?"
"No," Ginny said. "This is much better."
It was then that Harry realized that the shoebox had airholes in it.
"Oh no you don't!" Harry protested. "I thought we'd discussed this!"
"We did, and I decided to do it anyway. I think it will be good for you," Ginny said sitting down and putting the box on her lap protectevily.
"Whatever is in that box is going back to wherever it came from!" Harry said angrily. "I knew you were buttering me up!"
Charlie and Anastasia were watching the argument like a tennis match.
"The thing in this box is staying, and you don't really have a say in this. It's good for James. He's been very sad that Chloe left him."
"Sorry," Charlie interuppted. "But.could you tell us what's in the box so we could follow this a bit better."
"A mangey little runt," Harry snorted.
"The Potters' Firebolt," Ginny answered.
"The Potters' what?!" Harry exclaimed.
"Well, he's registered, isn't he? I had to think of a fancy name for him."
"He's not The Potters' Anything. He's going back."
"Firebolt. It's a very appropriate name."
"I can't believe you just went out and purchased one without my consent!"
"I wouldn't have your consent in a million years, so I decided that you would learn to live with it."
"Oh boy," Charlie said. "This makes us want to get married."
"Just look at him," Ginny said huffily. "You aren't being fair to James and I."
"Fine. Let me see the dumb thing."
"Have you finished yelling?" Ginny said crossly.
"Not by a long shot," Harry answered grumpily.
Ginny opened the top of the shoebox, and nestled in strips of newspaper, was a jet black dachshund puppy. He was no bigger than Harry's palm.
"Awwww!" Charlie and Anastasia said together.
Ginny smiled winningly at them. "They like him."
Harry scrutinized the puppy. "Tell me it's going to get bigger.because if that's the full size.you're sending it back and at least getting something larger than a rat."
Ginny nodded. "He's just a baby. You can hold him if you like."
"No thank you," Harry said going back to his chair. "It will only bite me. This is your dog. I have no part in this."
"Shhh," Ginny said closing the shoebox again. "James!" she called. "James! Come down here!"
James ran into the living room moments later, pleased that he had been drawn from his exile. "Yes, Mummy?"
"Mummy and Daddy have a surprise for you," Ginny said patting the couch, so James would sit next to her.
Harry cleared his throat in annoyance. Ginny glared at him.
"You're getting to be a big boy now, so Mummy got you something she thinks you can take really good care of. It can be your new friend."
James was bouncing in the seat. "What is it? What is it?"
Ginny set the shoebox on the floor. "Go open that up and look inside."
When James opened the lid, he shrieked loudly and crashed into Ginny's legs, hugging her. James threw himself in Harry's lap, praising him as the "Bestest Daddy in the whole wide world"
Harry felt extremely guilty and concluded that he could live with keeping the mongrel.
The puppy had woken up with James'shrieks and started yapping. James scooped the wriggling puppy up and cuddled it and kissed it. The puppy loved the attention and when James set him down, he sat on his round bottom and yapped along with the continued shrieking.
The rest of the evening was spent with Ginny, James, Charlie and Anastasia playing with the new puppy. Harry was content to be only a spectator, and couldn't help rolling his eyes when they all cooed like dummies when the mutt fell asleep on Ginny's lap, on his back after a tummy rub. Pathetic.
"Harry," Ginny said, paying him the most attention she had all evening except for their argument, "would you like to hold the puppy? He's just sleeping.and he doesn't bite."
Harry sighed heavily. It did look harmless. Whatever to make her happy. "Sure. Dump him here."
James, who was quite gentle with the puppy, put him in Harry's lap. "Pet him, Daddy."
Harry awkwardly patted the puppy, exactly the wrong way, and caused it to wake up. The puppy yapped at him for a few seconds and then got quiet when Harry tried to pat it again.
"There!" Ginny exclaimed. "You see, he likes you too, Harry!"
Harry was just about to believe her, when he realized the puppy had been concentrating on something else in his silence. The lap of his robes grew very warm.
"Bloody hell!" Harry roared. "Get this horrible thing off of me!"
Charlie was in stitches of laughter. "Aw, Harry. He's just making a little water. It's his way of giving you a little gift. Why, I don't think you've been under a full grown dragon when they decide to-"
"Get-him-off-of-me!" Harry said through gritted teeth.
James, who gave Harry a look that clearly said his Bestest-Daddy-in the whole wide world award had been revoked, took his puppy away with an offended look at Harry. "He has a name, Daddy," James said defensively.
"Yes," Ginny said, remembering that she forgot to tell James the dog's offical registered name, "it's F-"
"Shoebox," James finished.
"Shoebox?" echoed the adults, minus Harry.
James pointed in the box the puppy had came in. "I want to call him Shoebox."
"Darling," Ginny smiled, "Mummy had him registered as Firebolt. Isn't that a wonderful name?"
"No," James said, bursting Ginny's bubble. "His name is Shoebox."
"Chloe wants to get rid of the dog," Harry said, suddenly enlightening on a new course of action.
"Don't be silly, Daddy," James scoffed, cuddling his puppy. "Chloe's at Hogwarts."
Harry groaned. Of course, Ginny's plan had worked perfectly.
"Shoebox," Charlie said testing the new puppy's name out. "It's interesting, I'll give you that."
Ginny kissed Harry's forehead and stroked his cheek. "We like to keep things interesting around here. Right, Harry?"
"I'll go get changed," Harry sighed.
~*~
Author Note: Thanks to Anne for betaing! Thank you to everyone that reviewed the last chapter! You're really making me feel less and less nervous about how people are going to like the sequel!
~*~
Hauling Monster by the scruff of her neck, Meghan was the first to exit the Charms classroom.
"For goodness' sake, Meg, chain her to your bed! She turned up for Herbology this morning too!" Chloe put her wand in her robes and shook her finger at Monster. "You're really cute, but you're a royal pain."
Meghan, who had intended to scream at the kitten in the hallway for disrupting Charms changed her mind. "Well.that would be sort of mean of us. I don't think she's trying to cause trouble. We really shouldn't punish her for being loyal."
"Being loyal!" Chloe exclaimed. "Why, you're lucky we didn't have any more house points taken off from Professor Flitwick. Not everyone is going to think it's cute that she's following us around like a.." Chloe screwed up her face and tried not to smile. "Like a little puppy dog."
"I just can't do it," Finn moaned in despair. "I can't do any of the classes."
"Don't worry about it, Finn," Meghan consoled, ignoring Chloe when Finn slumped out of the classroom. "You'll catch on. Everyone does. Plus, look at the partner you've got. You're always stuck with him in classes because no one else wants to sit by that git."
Finn was still considerably stressed. "But I haven't done one spell correctly. I did everything wrong in Herbology this morning, and I'm sure I didn't do so well on the Potions essay. He shook his head sadly. "And it isn't Aidan. He's not bad. At least, I don't think he is. He's just really quiet and takes a lot of notes. He's smarter than me.. Maybe he needs a friend."
"No," Chloe said quickly. "You don't want to make friends with him, Finn. Trust us. And he's not smarter than you, he's trying to show off."
"I do trust you," said Finn, "but that doesn't make any sense. Why do you never talk to him? You talk to everyone else. It's like you hate him or something."
"Why doesn't he talk to anyone else?" Meghan said, raising an eyebrow at Finn.
Finn shrugged.
"Exactly." Meghan tucked Monster into her robe pocket, allowing her head and front paws to hang out. "Let's go to lunch."
"How do you know him?" Finn asked, hurrying to keep pace in his enormous robes. "I thought you said you really didn't know anyone in our house, because you were taught at home except for nursery school."
"We.just do and it's just not a good idea to make friends him. He's not like the other students," Meghan replied.
"How?" Finn asked curiously. "Seems normal to me. Just quiet."
"Because," Chloe said, very frustrated. "That's just the way things are."
"Can't we talk about something else?" Meghan added. "Like lunch?"
~*~
Severus Snape bared his teeth at the parchment he was reading, crumpled it, and threw it into the fire. Professor Granger had made the speculation that he should simply install a comment box directly above the fireplace and leave the bottom off of the box. His Deputy Headmistress didn't know how right she was sometimes..
He glanced into the desk-sized cauldron on his desk and checked the process of his beverage. It had worked for thirty-five years from keeping him from getting sunspots, keeping his hair black and shiny and himself in impeccable health.
A polite knock. Severus glanced at the clock. Yes, it was three o' clock precisely.
"Enter."
Professor Granger strode in, took her usual seat, and waited politely with her parchments.
"Afternoon."
Professor Granger spilled right into her business. "The merpeople are telling us there's a crisis with the seaweed at the bottom of the lake. There's not enough, as Hagrid decided to breed the giant squid and apparently the new addition eats quite more than his share. Well, it might be a her. Hagrid isn't sure yet."
Severus didn't appear slightly interested. "Do we not have a Herbology professor employed at this school? Let her take care of it. If she can't, that's simply too bad. Tell the merpeople they're the ones who decided to take up residence in the lake."
"Mmm," said Professor checking it off her list. "So, inform Professor Higginbotham of the crisis and if she can't resolve it, politely suggest to the merpeople to use another natural resource in the lake."
"How many times do I have to tell you not to repeat everything I say?" Severus said impatiently. He ladled his drink into a goblet. "I know what I say."
"Of course you do," Professor Granger said distractedly, as she tapped her quill on her clipboard. "Oh, yes. The flying teacher we selected for this year is still not satisfied with our salary offer. He insists that-"
"Tell the new flying teacher that he'll take the salary we offer him or he can just go fly into a brick wall for all I care. That ungrateful con artist won't get a Sickle more than what he's worth and that isn't mu-"
"Yes, very good," Professor Granger interrupted. "So, conference with the new flying teacher and offer him an excellent health and dental package to go along with his salary."
"Handsome salary," Snape sneered. "Don't forget to add that."
Professor Granger Mmm-hmm'd at him.
"And stop repeating everything I say. If I have to send you to court reporting school, it will be at your own expense." Severus downed his drink in a gulp and opened his desk drawers, searching for a napkin.
"Mr. Filch demands that the school pays compensation for his cane, as Peeves allegedly stole it, performed a degrading song and dance number with it, and then smashed it to bits. Direct quote, by the way, at his insistence. " Professor Granger didn't bother looking up from her notes, and held out a napkin for him, between her first finger and her thumb.
"After you tell Mr. Filch that he simply deserves to be beaten over the head with his cane for not being able to control that disgusting poltergeist yet, you may compensate for Mr. Filch's seventh cane."
"Offer Mr. Filch a small pay increase and replace his cane. Inform Peeves of retaliation for another incident."
"These are the only reports you have for me?" Severus said impatiently.
Professor Granger thumbed through her papers. "Yes, just this and the usual letters from parents."
"I'm ahead of you," Severus said succinctly. "I took care of most of the letters this morning."
"I surmised as much," Professor Granger replied with a pained glance at the crumpled up balls of parchment that hadn't made it into the fireplace. "Has Pansy Malfoy replied to your last letter?"
"No." Severus actually smiled briefly. A very satisfied smile. "I'm not expecting a reply. I think Mrs. Malfoy and I have come to a little understanding."
"Aidan did very well in my first class," Professor Granger commented. "Looks to be a dedicated student, reserved, but that's understandable. I'm sure he'll branch out sooner or later."
"I disagree completely," Severus answered. "I've had him twice now and he's undoubtedly up to something. He's only dedicated for a reason."
"Up to something!" Professor Granger exclaimed in disbelief. "I refuse to entertain that idea. If he was up to something, he would have done something! You're making very broad assumptions about him, Headmaster."
"I would say the same to you. And.I've yet to hear you comment on Weasley and Potter, are they as dedicated as you claim Aidan Malfoy to be? Have you taken them under your wing also?"
"You know very well-"
~*~
During a lull in History of Magic-Professor Binns was drawing a timeline to accompany his lecture-Finn decided to try once again to strum up conversation with Aidan Malfoy. He hadn't been successful yet, but he reckoned if he kept trying, Aidan would come around.
"I bet that timeline takes him the rest of class to draw," Finn whispered.
Aidan shrugged.
"Which classes do you suppose you're the best at?" Finn asked.
No answer.
"Do you and Chloe Potter know each other?"
Of all the reactions Finn expected, nothing could have prepared him from Aidan snapping his head up and staring him down. "What about Chloe Potter?" Aidan hissed angrily.
"I-I-I thought maybe you two knew each other from somewhere.." Finn clutched his chair and leaned back as far away from Aidan as possible.
"What did she tell you?" Aidan demanded.
"Nothing!" Finn held up his hands and nearly fell backwards out of his chair. "Nothing, I swear."
"Why did you want to know?"
"Chloe is my friend.and well, I thought that-"
"You thought wrong. There is nothing to know, so don't ask."
"I-I won't, sorry I asked," Finn apologized. "You just never talk to anyone and-"
"Why talk when I have nothing to say?" Aidan snapped. "I don't talk to hear myself like your friends."
Finn was surprised Aidan was still willing to carry on the whispered conversation.
"I don't know."
"I have nothing in common with the people in this house."
"Erm," Finn answered.
"Did Potter put you up to this?"
Finn shook his head vigorously. "No way."
Aidan stared at him for a while, eyes narrowed. "Okay."
Finn chanced a smile. Aidan didn't smile back.
"You must be really stupid, Bell, talking to me. If you want Potter and Weasley to remain your friends, I wouldn't tell them about this conversation."
Finn didn't know how to respond again. "Why not?" he asked eventually.
"Because that's just the way things are," Aidan said with a raised eyebrow, as if this were obvious. He went back to his work after shaking his head at Finn.
They were quiet for the rest of class, but Finn felt accomplished. That was the longest Aidan had ever spoken to him. Finn wondered if Chloe and Aidan realized they had echoed each other less than two hours apart.
~*~
Harry was tired. It had been a long day at work, and he was looking forward to dinner and quiet evening. Plus, he wanted to give some thought to why Katie Bell had exiled herself from the wizarding world.
"You look dead on your feet," Ginny commented, walking into their bedroom and kissing him. "I made dinner today, so why don't you take a bit of a nap beforehand."
Harry was pleased. Ginny was a great cook, and having her cook for them was a real treat. She only did it when the fancy struck her, as she had discovered that it upset the house elves when she tried to do it all the time. In turn, the novelty never really wore off.
Harry unfastened the top of his Auror robes and searched his closet for a more comfortable set. "You're amazing, it's like you knew I had a long day."
Ginny shrugged and miraculously pulled the exact robes he had been looking for from the closet. "Stroganoff and that French bread with that garlic butter you like so much."
Wow. His favorite dish even. Harry was looking forward to the meal.but now he couldn't quash the suspicion that something was up. "That was nice of you."
"Charlie and Anastasia are coming for dinner too," Ginny added, raising her voice to be heard from the bathroom, where she was applying fresh lipstick.
"Okay," Harry sighed. "What's going on?"
"I told you, Charlie and Anastasia are-"
"You're buttering me up for something," Harry said with a grin, "and I am on to you, Mrs. Potter."
"You conceited little man," Ginny said in an appalled tone. "I have no need to butter you up for something."
"What is it?" Harry said lying back on the bed. "You might as well give it to me straight. You already made my favorite dinner and invited an audience so I couldn't make a big scene."
"Invited an audience! Harry! Charlie and Anastasia have been abroad for seven months living on the Dragon Colony."
"Convenient."
"Grump. Take your nap."
~*~
Chloe's hand throbbed. She had been writing forever. Her essay went far over the requirements and she was certain Professor Granger would have no choice but to give her an top marks on it, since she had chosen an extremely difficult potion to research.
Meghan and Finn had chosen potions out of their textbooks and finished in an hour. They had gone out to the grounds for fresh air and to explore the lake, leaving Chloe in the library to write.
Chloe glanced at her watch. It had been four hours and Meg and Finn were back now to check on her.
"You're still here!" Finn exclaimed. "How can you read about one potion for so long!"
"She must be really ticked off at Professor Granger still," Meghan explained. "This is her twisted way of getting back at her, aren't I right, Chloe?"
Chloe lifted her eyebrows and closed her book. "She said after class that I was being apathetic about Potions. She also said I should strive to do the best in the subject I dislike the most. I'm just trying to prove to her that I'm not apathetic."
"See?" Meghan grinned. "She's going to make Professor Granger eat her words."
"What's apathetic mean anyway?" Finn asked.
Chloe, who had even taken the care to look that up, opened the dictionary to the marked portion and cleared her throat. "Apathetic. Feeling or showing a lack of interest or concern."
"Look up grudge," Meghan suggested with an evil grin. "Then work it into your essay."
"Don't you hate Potions?" Finn picked up the book Chloe had been reading and gaped at it.
"I don't care. I'm not letting Aidan Malfoy be better at it than I am," Chloe said, rolling up her parchment. "I picked the hardest potion I could find. I didn't understand all awful parts so I just wrote down lots of bolded things and wrote about them. It came out way longer than she asked for. She has to give me top marks No one in our class would do this potion."
"And the truth comes out," Meghan laughed. "Finn, take my advice, don't get on Chloe's bad side or tell her she can't do something."
"Let's go play Exploding Snap in the common room," Chloe answered, shouldering her bag. "Will you take me to look at the lake tomorrow?"
"Sure," Meghan said linking arms with Chloe. "You might be mental, but someone has to stand up for us."
~*~
"Does Perce have any new kids yet?" Charlie asked while refilling Anastasia's wine glass for her.
"I think they're stopping at a nice subdued ten," Harry said sarcastically.
"Nanny Aggie says Weasley babies come down the laundry chute," James piped up.
Ginny shushed him. "How was life on the Dragon Colony?"
"Cramped, loud, and flammable," Anastasia answered good-naturedly.
"And you left the C.I.A. for all that and more." Harry was still slightly disgruntled that Anastasia had quit her job as one of his Confederation officers for a job working with dragons with Charlie. She had been one of his favorite Aurors, quite talented.
She smiled broadly. "Only pursuing what makes me happy."
Charlie stretched in his chair and puffed out his chest. "I make Anastasia really happy, and she barely has to pursue."
"You're merely an on the job perk," Anastsia retorted saucily. "Mostly an on the job prat."
"I love it when you're fiesty," Charlie snickered, putting an arm around her.
"When you get tired of messing with him, you can come back and be an Auror again," Harry grinned.
Ginny waved Harry's comment aside. "So, are you not even thinking about getting married? You've been together for so long. Five years now?"
"Marriage," Charlie wrinkled his nose. "That's for old people who want to sit on porch swings together."
"Charlie," Ginny groaned. "You're older than Harry and I. Even older than Percy."
"We don't have a porch swing," Harry said defensively.
"We have a swing set!" James contributed.
"Anastasia and I prefer to take our dating at a reasonable pace, and not to rush into commitments," Charlie said.
"That's the speech you've been giving Mum." Ginny rolled her eyes.
"How'd you guess?" Charlie exclaimed. "What's wrong with it?"
"The word commitment was a dead give away," Ginny pointed out. "I'd work on that one." She smiled at Anastasia. "Let me know when you've wrestled him into it. You're our only hope for him. Bill's just a lost cause.."
"You sound as though we haven't got anyone to carry on the Weasley genes," Charlie scoffed. "As if Percy's kids weren't enough."
"Are you saying you only want Percy's genes to carry it on?" Ginny said innocently.
Charlie smirked at her. "Very funny."
"Let's go to the living room and visit a bit," Ginny suggested, pushing her dessert plate away. "James, why don't you go play upstairs for awhile?"
Harry found this comment a bit odd, as Ginny rarely discluded barred the children from conversation visits unless it was past bedtime. But, he had guessed earlier that she was up to something.
"Chloe doesn't want to go play upstairs," James protested.
Ginny and Harry had quietly explained earlier to Charlie and Anastasia the situation with the pretend Chloe and Charlie had been delighted. He insisted on directing comments toward the pretend Chloe's plate, such as, "Why yes, Chloe, I think Anastasia chews funnily too," and "How very kind of you to say your Uncle Charlie is so handsome, Chloe."
"Chloe Grace, please go upstairs," Ginny said calmly.
"Chloe said no thank you," Charlie grinned. Anastasia elbowed him sharply.
Harry stored this information away, to use if Charlie ever had children. Ginny shot her brother a stern look.
"Chloe better get upstairs unless she wants to go to bed right now," Harry said sternly.
James grudgingly left the dining room.
When the adults had settled into the living room, Ginny told them all to relax and she would be right back. She returned holding a shoebox.
"What is that?" Harry asked.
"I invited you over to see a little surprise I planned for James," Ginny beamed.
"You got him shoes?" Charlie asked. "Does he not get them very often?"
"No," Ginny said. "This is much better."
It was then that Harry realized that the shoebox had airholes in it.
"Oh no you don't!" Harry protested. "I thought we'd discussed this!"
"We did, and I decided to do it anyway. I think it will be good for you," Ginny said sitting down and putting the box on her lap protectevily.
"Whatever is in that box is going back to wherever it came from!" Harry said angrily. "I knew you were buttering me up!"
Charlie and Anastasia were watching the argument like a tennis match.
"The thing in this box is staying, and you don't really have a say in this. It's good for James. He's been very sad that Chloe left him."
"Sorry," Charlie interuppted. "But.could you tell us what's in the box so we could follow this a bit better."
"A mangey little runt," Harry snorted.
"The Potters' Firebolt," Ginny answered.
"The Potters' what?!" Harry exclaimed.
"Well, he's registered, isn't he? I had to think of a fancy name for him."
"He's not The Potters' Anything. He's going back."
"Firebolt. It's a very appropriate name."
"I can't believe you just went out and purchased one without my consent!"
"I wouldn't have your consent in a million years, so I decided that you would learn to live with it."
"Oh boy," Charlie said. "This makes us want to get married."
"Just look at him," Ginny said huffily. "You aren't being fair to James and I."
"Fine. Let me see the dumb thing."
"Have you finished yelling?" Ginny said crossly.
"Not by a long shot," Harry answered grumpily.
Ginny opened the top of the shoebox, and nestled in strips of newspaper, was a jet black dachshund puppy. He was no bigger than Harry's palm.
"Awwww!" Charlie and Anastasia said together.
Ginny smiled winningly at them. "They like him."
Harry scrutinized the puppy. "Tell me it's going to get bigger.because if that's the full size.you're sending it back and at least getting something larger than a rat."
Ginny nodded. "He's just a baby. You can hold him if you like."
"No thank you," Harry said going back to his chair. "It will only bite me. This is your dog. I have no part in this."
"Shhh," Ginny said closing the shoebox again. "James!" she called. "James! Come down here!"
James ran into the living room moments later, pleased that he had been drawn from his exile. "Yes, Mummy?"
"Mummy and Daddy have a surprise for you," Ginny said patting the couch, so James would sit next to her.
Harry cleared his throat in annoyance. Ginny glared at him.
"You're getting to be a big boy now, so Mummy got you something she thinks you can take really good care of. It can be your new friend."
James was bouncing in the seat. "What is it? What is it?"
Ginny set the shoebox on the floor. "Go open that up and look inside."
When James opened the lid, he shrieked loudly and crashed into Ginny's legs, hugging her. James threw himself in Harry's lap, praising him as the "Bestest Daddy in the whole wide world"
Harry felt extremely guilty and concluded that he could live with keeping the mongrel.
The puppy had woken up with James'shrieks and started yapping. James scooped the wriggling puppy up and cuddled it and kissed it. The puppy loved the attention and when James set him down, he sat on his round bottom and yapped along with the continued shrieking.
The rest of the evening was spent with Ginny, James, Charlie and Anastasia playing with the new puppy. Harry was content to be only a spectator, and couldn't help rolling his eyes when they all cooed like dummies when the mutt fell asleep on Ginny's lap, on his back after a tummy rub. Pathetic.
"Harry," Ginny said, paying him the most attention she had all evening except for their argument, "would you like to hold the puppy? He's just sleeping.and he doesn't bite."
Harry sighed heavily. It did look harmless. Whatever to make her happy. "Sure. Dump him here."
James, who was quite gentle with the puppy, put him in Harry's lap. "Pet him, Daddy."
Harry awkwardly patted the puppy, exactly the wrong way, and caused it to wake up. The puppy yapped at him for a few seconds and then got quiet when Harry tried to pat it again.
"There!" Ginny exclaimed. "You see, he likes you too, Harry!"
Harry was just about to believe her, when he realized the puppy had been concentrating on something else in his silence. The lap of his robes grew very warm.
"Bloody hell!" Harry roared. "Get this horrible thing off of me!"
Charlie was in stitches of laughter. "Aw, Harry. He's just making a little water. It's his way of giving you a little gift. Why, I don't think you've been under a full grown dragon when they decide to-"
"Get-him-off-of-me!" Harry said through gritted teeth.
James, who gave Harry a look that clearly said his Bestest-Daddy-in the whole wide world award had been revoked, took his puppy away with an offended look at Harry. "He has a name, Daddy," James said defensively.
"Yes," Ginny said, remembering that she forgot to tell James the dog's offical registered name, "it's F-"
"Shoebox," James finished.
"Shoebox?" echoed the adults, minus Harry.
James pointed in the box the puppy had came in. "I want to call him Shoebox."
"Darling," Ginny smiled, "Mummy had him registered as Firebolt. Isn't that a wonderful name?"
"No," James said, bursting Ginny's bubble. "His name is Shoebox."
"Chloe wants to get rid of the dog," Harry said, suddenly enlightening on a new course of action.
"Don't be silly, Daddy," James scoffed, cuddling his puppy. "Chloe's at Hogwarts."
Harry groaned. Of course, Ginny's plan had worked perfectly.
"Shoebox," Charlie said testing the new puppy's name out. "It's interesting, I'll give you that."
Ginny kissed Harry's forehead and stroked his cheek. "We like to keep things interesting around here. Right, Harry?"
"I'll go get changed," Harry sighed.
~*~
Author Note: Thanks to Anne for betaing! Thank you to everyone that reviewed the last chapter! You're really making me feel less and less nervous about how people are going to like the sequel!