Title: Harry Potter and the Staff of Merlin
Author: Legolas-gurl88
Disclaimer: J.K. owns it all!
Author Note: Sorry for the delay! Reasons at bottom!
Story time!
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25. Secrets Partly Revealed
It seemed to Harry that once Auror Training with McGonagall was over, nothing could be worse. Somehow, when he, Harry, should have been blocking McGonagall with some new spell she was trying to teach him, he turned her into a beet instead and couldn't figure out how to get her back for fifteen minutes of panic. Even when he did find a way, her face was purple for the remainder of the hour.
When he got in the common room, he was thankful he'd finished his homework the previous day. Not even looking around for Ron or Hermione, he proceeded strait to the dormitory. Feeling weakened from the days' three-hour long Quidditch practice and Auror training, he fell asleep as soon as his head hit the comfortable feather pillow.
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Monday, Harry had to admit was much better than Sunday. Everyone in his Defense Against the Dark Arts class turned in their homework and when he was correcting it later that night, he felt proud that everyone found the subject interesting because no one received below an E. However, Tuesday brought him back to the familiar misery.
As he said goodbye to Ron and Hermione after potions, he and the Slytherins (who jeered at him as they walked) went to Defense Against the Dark Arts. They met up with the Hufflepuffs halfway there and Harry took to walking with Ernie Macmillan and Hannah Abbot.
"Right." said Harry, setting his things down as the bell rang. Everyone took up their seats. "First, I want those that did their homework to turn it up to the desk."
Harry expected the Hufflepuffs to get up and turn in their homework, but was even more surprised when each and every Slytherin got out of his or her seat to turn in homework. They had usually taken to ignoring him.
He sighed.
"Okay. Now take out your books and turn to page 247..."
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That night, Harry, Ron and Hermione took up seats in the corner, seeing as the chairs by the fire had been taken. Harry pulled out the homework and began correcting as much as he could. Feeling a bit overwhelmed at the amount he had to correct, he ran a hand through his hair. Hermione sensed his frustration, she set her quill down and stared at him.
"What?" he said softly after a few moments of pretending that Hermione wasn't looking at him. Ron looked up from his work to watch Harry and Hermione.
"I'm waiting for you to ask me for my help." she said simply.
"You hate it when I do that." said Harry. Hermione managed a small smile.
"Just give it here."
Harry handed her the homework and leaned back in his chair, listening to the scribbling of note-taking that Hermione was up to, just like the other week.
"Hm." said Hermione after a while.
"What?" asked Harry, sitting up.
"This looks funny. D'you know what I mean?"
"No." said Harry, confused.
"Some of these sentences don't even need to be in here. Like this one from Pansy Parkinson's:
'The Opaleye is a native of New Zealand, though it has been known to migrate to Australia when territory becomes scarce in its native land.'"
"So?"
"One," said Hermione impatiently, "this passage about the Opaleye was copied strait from Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Two, the Opaleye isn't even what your assignment was about."
"Yeah, the Slytherins would do something like that."
"Oh, Harry, don't you see what they're trying to do?"
"Well, since you're the only one who knows, would you mind telling us?" Ron asked. Hermione glared at him before giving her answer.
"They're making more work for you. Just to hope you'll crack and be fired. Or maybe to give you so much work that you won't have time to practice for the Quidditch game this weekend."
Harry's eyebrow lifted carelessly. It wasn't that he was confused, but he was mulling over what Hermione had just revealed to him. The reason was that Hermione had jumped to large conclusions. Was she right? Were the Slytherins trying to ambush him in a new way?
"I can't be totally sure right now, but keep an eye on their homework for useless sentences." Hermione advised, but Harry barely heard her.
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Harry hadn't assigned any homework that week to keep from having to correct any the last few days coming up to the match. The Slytherins seemed more sulk than ever. As the match grew closer, everyone on the team grew paler. Slytherin had beaten Ravenclaw by one-hundred points, which meant that if Gryffindor won this game, they'd be in first place until the next games.
On Thursday, Harry could barely teach. His mind was on the last Quidditch training lesson and he actually trailed off at one point until Hermione cleared her throat and he jumped, then continued talking as if he hadn't stopped, earning sniggers from the Ravenclaws.
Friday, the three Chasers were so pale, Harry was sure they were going to faint from loss of blood to their heads. Harry tried to keep Dennis Creevy calm that night as he was afraid Dennis would pass due to jumping around too much. Mark sat in his usual corner-- a sign that he didn't want to be talked to-- and he sat watching try to quiet Dennis with a mildly interested and humored look upon his face. Ginny sat next to Ron. Since she'd been in more Quidditch games than the other two Chasers, she was taking it better, but her face was still unusually pale under her red hair.
Finally (or too quickly), Saturday approached along with a gust of winter wind and heavy snow. Everyone, particularly the Quidditch teams, dressed in several sweaters. Harry only put on two, but Dennis, who was bossed into it by Colin, wore so many sweaters that he couldn't move his arms during breakfast. Harry wasn't sure Dennis would be able to catch the Quaffle, let alone fly his broom. He confronted Colin about this, and Colin, out of respect for Harry, agreed that Dennis had way too many and allowed him to take off three of the sweaters. Dennis was then able to rotate his arms a little bit, but they still stuck out. Harry decided not to talk to Colin about it again, even if he would rather not have Dennis look so pale and sweaty.
Before Harry knew it, he was being ushered out of the Great Hall, by Ron, who was shaking either out of wearing several sweaters while the fires in the Great Hall blazed, or nervousness for the lead.
"Harry! Wait!" Harry heard someone calling to him. He looked around to see Cho running towards him. Harry turned to look at Ron, who merely shrugged and left the Great Hall with the rest of the team while Harry lagged behind, allowing Cho to catch up.
"H-hi." she said breathlessly.
"Hi." replied Harry.
"Well… I j-just wanted to-to ask you if-if you wanted to go to Hogsmede with me on February 14th?"
Harry felt as though his stomach was dropping.
"Er-- Cho-- haven't we been… er… through this before…? Quite a few times?" said Harry delicately.
"Well… yes… but I-- well, I-- maybe we could-- I supposed we could-- well-- try again…" Cho trailed off, looking hopefully up at Harry. He sighed, his brain working hard to allow what Cho was saying to sink in.
"Alright." he finally answered and Cho beamed.
"Well," said Cho, this time out of breath due to happiness, "well, I suppose you should be going. Good luck, Harry!" she said, standing on tiptoe to kiss Harry on the cheek.
Harry left the Great Hall feeling warm until he stepped outside. Then the cold sunk in again, but his ears remained unusually hot. He walked to the dressing rooms, the whole way thinking about Cho. For a brief minute, he felt the happiest he'd ever felt in his life. He was playing Quidditch again… Cho still liked him…
But then the cold, hard dread came back that told him Fleur's mind was messed with, Krum was still missing… Frost was acting strangely, if Gryffindor lost, they'd lose the lead…
Harry entered the dressing rooms and changed out of his black robes and into his scarlet ones. Then he grabbed up his Firebolt and it seemed like no time when Ron was saying, "Right, let's go. Good luck, everyone."
Harry and Mark Evans exchanged glances from opposite ends of the room and nodded to each other. Then, they trudged out behind Dennis, who had taken off one more sweater.
Harry's flesh crawled with goose bumps in the cold as snow fell and melted on his head and shoulders. He could barely make out the Hufflepuff team as snow and cold blew around him and he blinked several times to moisturize his eyes.
"GET--BROOMS!" Madam Hooch shouted into the wind and Harry and the others straddled their brooms, ready to take off.
"I--A-- CLEAN--GAME!" Hooch yelled, then pressed a whistle to her lips and blew hard.
Harry kicked off the ground as hard as he could, willing his broom not to be blown back down. Snow stung at his eyes, the howling of the wind drowned out any yells from the crowd, or whistles from Madam Hooch, or any commentary. Several minutes when by and Harry tried desperately to hear something. It felt eerie to know that there were hundreds looking at him and he couldn't see them.
Though Harry loved Quidditch dearly, he wished at that moment that the game would end, for the sake of everyone's well being. Holding an arm up to his eyes, trying vainly to block out the snow, he heard a whistling in his ears. Not sure if it was the wind or Madam Hooch, he searched around for any sign of movement on the ground.
There was the whistle again. It shrieked in Harry's ears and he actually stuffed his fingers in his ears to block it out, causing his broom to plummet without the aid of Harry's hands to guide it. It decreased speed as well as altitude and soon, Harry found himself gliding along the pitch on his knees, sliding in the mud. Someone grabbed his arm and hoisted him up to his feet. He turned to see Mark standing there, holding Harry's arm, looking deathly white in the cold. The two of them ran, brooms in hand, Mark leading Harry.
In a short while, Harry could make out his team members, huddled together under a giant umbrella. When the two boys came to the group, they shook water from their hair and eyes and looked at Ron.
"This is mad!" Ron yelled over the blizzard. "No way is anyone going to be able to see in this!"
"Ron, we were only in the air for ten minutes! How could you be so sure that it's hopeless if you don't give us time to do anything!" Ginny responded.
"Because Hufflepuff's already scored twenty points!"
Harry's heart sank. They were behind already; they needed a miracle.
"How could they see and we couldn't?!" he asked.
"What?"
"HOW COULD THEY SEE AND WE COULDN'T! I CAN'T SEE ANYTHING UP THERE!"
"I--DON'T--KNOW!" Ron screamed to Harry.
"We should forfeit!" Dennis squeaked. "If Harry doesn't catch the snitch, we'll lose anyway!"
"WHAT MAKES YOU THINK HARRY WON'T CATCH THE SNITCH!?"
"WHAT MAKES YOU THINK HE WILL!?"
"SHUT UP!" Harry yelled. "Just stop fighting about whether I can catch the snitch or not! Are we going to keep playing, or are we going to forfeit!"
"You never let us forfeit before!" Ron said, shocked.
"BEFORE, I COULD SEE CLEARLY! EVEN WITH THESE ON!" Harry pointed to his glasses.
"WHAT SHOULD WE DO, THEN, HARRY?" Ron yelled.
"YOU'RE THE CAPITAIN! YOU TELL ME!"
Ron took a while to think about this and Harry could see behind Ron's eyes, his brain was working furiously, trying to come up with a solution.
"WE'LL KEEP PLAYING! IF WE WIN, WE WIN! IF WE DON'T… WELL… THEN AT LEAST WE'RE WARM!"
Harry nodded when Ron looked at him as though asking if this were the right decision.
Madam Hooch appeared from nowhere in the storm, earmuffs now on her ears.
"ARE YOU READY?"
Ron nodded to her, his voice tired from yelling and Harry mounted his broomstick grimly. It was up to him to finish the game quickly.
Madam Hooch's whistle blew and both teams left the ground, though they couldn't see each other doing so.
Snow, once again, filled Harry's eyes despite his glasses and he attempted to blink the flakes out. The cold stung his face and his hands grew numb as a grueling quarter of an hour went by. Soon, Harry was so cold that he was shivering and considered finding Ron to ask him to forfeit for the sake of the team.
Then, somewhere in the din, a whistle blew. Harry looked around wildly and then willed his broom to descend for the second time that game. Once he landed, he could see a little more clearly and ran to where he could see the whole team was standing, looking remorseful.
"What happened?" Harry ask, catching up to them as Sloper and Kirk walked away.
"We lost." Ron croaked sadly as snow beat down on them. The rest of the team was walking in Sloper and Kirke's wake. Harry felt as if lead had been dropped into his lungs, causing his breath to vanish.
"What?"
"We lost. Their Seeker, Rachel Abbot, caught the snitch six minutes ago, but it took a while for her to find someone to tell."
"We-- we lost?" Harry said, unable to believe it.
"Yeah. By ten lousy points. Ruddy luck, the way she caught the snitch. It ran into her and she had enough sense to grab for it."
Harry looked down at the ground, ashamed. He'd lost a Quidditch game. And just like the only other time, he felt as if he'd lost the world.
"C'mon, Harry. Cheer up. It's not that bad." Ron said, his voice trying to brighten up, but Harry could tell that he, too, felt angry about their loss.
"Not that bad?" replied Harry. "The Slytherins are in the lead now."
"But not by much. If we beat Ravenclaw and they lose to Hufflepuff--"
"Which isn't likely." Harry cut in.
"--We'll win."
"Yeah, and if we don't--"
"At least we have our sanity." said Ron wisely.
Unlike Fleur, Harry thought miserably.
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The Gryffindor team members were given the seats closest to the fire that night. Despite the fact they lost, each of them was shaking out of coldness, even Dennis, who had peeled his wet sweaters off and left them in the dressing room to dry. Blankets were provided for them and Harry was soon smothered with blankets, and felt exactly how Dennis had before the game started.
Hermione disappeared for half an hour and surprisingly did not return with books or papers, but with plates of food and Dobby, who carried hot water bottles for the teams' feet.
"Dobby watched the game, Harry Potter, sir!" the House-Elf squeaked, passing one of the bottles to Harry. Several Gryffindors hung back a ways, watching Dobby with interest. "Harry Potter flew very well, sir!"
"Thanks, Dobby." said Harry gratefully, putting the hot water bottle under his feet.
"I is sad that Gryffindor lost, sir, but I is happy that Harry Potter did not freeze to death!" Dobby said happily.
"Erm-- thanks, Dobby." repeated Harry.
"Taking a different turn with spew, are you?" Ron asked, taking a cracker from Hermione's plate of food. "Telling the House-Elves to serve us?"
"Of course not." said Hermione bossily, handing Harry a few crackers. "And it's S--P--E--W, Ron, how many times have I told you."
"I was just asking." Ron said, grinning through his blankets. "It's not like you to ask the House-Elves for extra work."
"I didn't want to do it, but the team missed dinner when drying up and I thought you might be hungry after today."
"Whatever your aims are for spew, thanks a million, Hermione." Harry said, taking another cracker after stuffing the other few he had hungrily into his mouth.
"You're welcome," said Hermione quickly, walking around the circle to give food to the other team members.
"Hey, look!" someone shouted, pointing to the window. Outside was an owl with a package tied to his feet, knocking on the window with his beak. A seventh year rushed to the window and opened it. The owl swooped down and landed in front of Hermione, who immediately became excited. She grabbed the package and untied the owl, who flew off.
"What's that?" said several people, but Hermione nearly set it down on the table and continued to serve food.
"Nothing." she said dismissively. "Just a package from home."
Harry opened his mouth to remind her that her parents didn't have an owl, but she gave him a meaningful look and he closed his mouth back up.
As the hours passed, more and more people started to saunter upstairs. A little after one, the only people that were left in the Common Room, were Harry, Ron and Hermione.
"So, what really came for you?" Harry asked and Ron watched as Hermione picked up the package lying on the table next to the empty tray that used to hold food. She unwrapped the brown paper that was hiding a book. Hermione silently turned the book around so Harry and Ron could read the cover.
Druid to English Translation Book for the Confused Wizard by Dedra Fillinpole.
"It's here!" said Hermione excitedly. "Harry, do you have the coin with you?"
Harry reached into his pocket and pulled it out. He'd left it in there so he could take it out and examine it every once in a while when there was nothing to do. Handing it to Hermione, Harry watched it glint in the firelight. Hermione took it and studied it as Harry had so many times. She flipped through pages, running her finger down several of them, her eyes flicked from the coin back to the book. She made notes on a peace of parchment lying on the table.
Harry and Ron waited, excitement boiling inside them; were they finally going to figure out what the coin meant? What were they going to do once they did find it out?
For several minutes, Hermione kept the boys waiting eagerly for an answer. Finally, after what seemed hours, but only half of one, she looked up.
"Well?" asked Harry.
"I need more time to figure this out." Hermione said. "It doesn't make sense to me."
"Do you have the words yet?" asked Ron. "What does it say?"
"I don't know." said Hermione, biting her lip. "This book isn't Druid to English. It's Druid to English."
"So?"
"There's a difference. This is in Druid, not English."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Harry asked.
"Don't be stupid, Harry. It means that I have to read the entire book and find the translations the other way around. From English to Druid, rather from Druid to English."
"Well, what good's the book if you can't translate stuff both ways? I say we chuck it." said Ron.
"I'll figure it out some day, but it will be slow. They have the Druid alphabet, here, and I've gotten the words… in Druid. But now I have to translate it to English with a dictionary that translates it to Druid."
"Read what it says in Druid." said Ron, interested.
Hermione grabbed her notes.
"Eim frawln tor eie glorze,
Tel frawln eib tol reteblentar
Eim frawln tor eie pyil
Tel frawln eib tol twyl
Eim frawln tor eie hdelm
Tel frawln eib tol vexse
Eim frawln eib gwitrah ceaque
Tel frawln eib tol futre
Eim frawln Excalibur
Tel frawln eib tol pasra…
Blah, blah, blah. It goes on an on." finished Hermione.
Both the boys were quiet.
"I'll try to understand it as quickly as I can."
"That would be great, Hermione." Harry said, sinking back into the couch he was sitting on.
"Just do it soon." said Ron, grinning. "Or I'll die of anticipation."
"Just to ask," said Hermione, "why is this so important to figure out."
Harry thought about it as his friends stared at him. Why was it so important? Why did he want to know it so badly.
"I-- I don't know, exactly." he answered. "I just feel like I need to find the answer… like the answer is close… like it has something to do with me."
Hermione and Ron continued to stare at him.
"I know it sounds weird." said Harry quickly. "That's just what it feels like."
"Whatever it is," said Hermione, yawning, "I'll find it out tomorrow. I'm exhausted. Goodnight."
She made her way to the Girls' Dormitory and slowly and sullenly, Harry and Ron left for the Boys' Dormitory.
For another few hours, Harry sat awake, unable to sleep. The coin, for some strange reason, made him want to find the answer so badly that he considered attempting to go up to the Girls' Dormitory to wake Hermione and make her read the book.
Why was it so important?
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Whew! This took forever! I could NOT write the Quidditch game for the life of me! I didn't know what should've happen and I know they lost, I'm sorry! I just needed something interesting to happen!
Yeah, I've been so busy as well. Monday, I started work again, Tuesday, I was at school 'til 9:30, for Band Council, pit for the musical, and pep band . Wednesday, I had flute lessons and it was my friend's birthday. Thursday, I had pit again. Friday, I had a test in math and it was my Grandmothers' birthday! AAAAAH! Also, on the 14th of January, I had to give up my flute… WAAAAAH! It's being sent to some place to get the gold plating replaced! I miss it so much!
Now, the words Hermione read are my version of Druid. They aren't actually Druid. I looked forever for an English to Druid dictionary online, but I couldn't find a single one! If you come across one, please send me the website so I can redo the poem in actual Druid. I had the same problem as Hermione, but the other way around! I will be forever grateful for anyone who can give me a website!
Review time!
Masked One- ::coughs:: Yeah… a small typo. It happens to everyone, but thanks for pointing it out. And I did mean for Harry to get an O in DADA. I've just never been able to get around to fixing it because I'm extremely busy! And it never said that Harry only finished one problem. I'm quoting from the American version of book five, page 725. "Slowly, tortuously, he began to write an answer…. He had a stab at question five…. continues on to page 726 Slowly he wrote two lines about the trolls, then read through what he had done so far…." He did write more than one question, but there was no real way of knowing how many questions there were, and how many he really did answer. I'm glad that you like my writing and I am so happy that someone told me that Dumbledore's letter was in character, because so many people gave me daggers in their reviews about how OOC it was! I do appreciate the criticism, thank you, very much and keep in mind that I do acknowledge your problems with this story, but might not get around to fixing them for a while. And, as a last word, even if you noticed I begged for reviews, you did review after all (LOL) and many others found it in their hearts to review to me as well. If people do not like that I ask for reviews, that's their problem, not mine. Thanks for the helpful criticism and words.
Ellen- I hope you get better soon! My throat has recently been scratchy and painful! I hate it so much, but I talk too loudly for it to get better! Poor me! Poor you! Poor us! Poor Harry! Go Peeves! Lol!
Facil Glow- Glad you liked the pics. Frost, evil? Maybe… ::smiles wickedly:: won't say nothin' here!
Wtf- Yeah, I made a mistake with Harry's grades… he was meant to get an O. I'll try and fix it A.S.A.P. By the way, Neville got an Exceeds Expectations, not an Outstanding. If you read the letter more closely, Dumbledore says that they either got Outstandings or EE's, so it doesn't mean Neville got an O, like Harry. I disagree with Neville being a stupid klutz. He's gotten so much better since book one and though Snape still freaks him out, he's really good at D.A.D.A. It says so at intervals in J.K.'s book 5. And he helped Harry so much in the climax of the book, at the Department of Mysteries.
Eh- You never know! I think Hermione would make a really good D.A.D.A. teacher! And Harry's E in D.A.D.A. was an accident. He actually got an O.
Nienna- Thanks!
Tobypotter- I'm really glad you like the story! It's people like you that I enjoy writing for! Great… I sound like a president… 'It's people like you that make America better'… AAAAH! Sorry if you're not American! I'm not putting America down! I love America!
Gogglehead Lover- Have you really got it figured out? I added a bit more to the plot in this chapter-- did it add to your theory? Oh, 'Lost' was SO good! Claire's back! YAYAYAY! Charlie's awesome! He got hung by stupid Ethan, but Jack saved him! Yay for Jack!
A.M. bookworn247- I feel very fortunate. How is Harry feeling stupid in an unnatural way?
Yendenikhil- Hmm… interesting name… LOL! Sorry about the mistake in chapter 1, with Harry getting an E. He actually got an O.
Silenttiger43- YAY! Ron's so cool! I hate spiders as well!
Starsmiles- Maybe he will show the pictures to someone, but, like Harry, he will probably forget along the way or something… Silly Harry! Yes, poor Bill! He's one of my favorite Weasleys! Silly Frost!
Josh52629- How would you know Umbridge would never return? The 6th book isn't even out and J.K. Rowling never said that Umbridge wouldn't return? Harry actually got an O, not an E. That was my mistake, I apologize. You never know how the Dursley's are going to treat Harry until they do. Consider yourself lucky for not seeing the original copy of Dumbledore's letter!
Ophidia-black- Yay! I'm glad you feel special inside! Luv ya! D'you have any stories on ? If you do, I'd like to read them! Poor Fleur! I can't wait for the climax, either! I want to get to it so badly that it's not even funny! I am so excited! Keep being awesome!
Trinityelf- Silly Trin, missing a chapter! You're so lucky to know, you lucky duck, you! You're in my crowd and it's nice to know I can share these things with you! Out of everyone, I trust you the most with the plot! You and my mom, but she doesn't read my story ::sobs::. Ha ha! I also made it challenging for you! You've no clue who Antonio is at all! YAY!
Constance Truggle- Thanks a bunch!
Joyce- You're SO close! Your guesses are really good ones, but none of them are right except for the one with Harry in it. I'm glad I made it challenging for you! It makes stories more fun to read when they have guesses! It will be hard to guess most of them since some of them are hidden in the plot so far. Keep guessing! I enjoy hearing your thoughts!
Jenn108- Thanks!
Kiara32- ::dances:: I've got 600 reviews! YAY! ::dances again:: You've almost got 200 reviews! Thanks for the wonderful review!
Mei1105- I'm sorry I'm making you cry! Although I'm glad you like my story! Thanks for the review!
Michele- Well… I try to make the characters true to the books, but some aren't happy with them… that's okay. I haven't read your stories in a while… I should check them out again!
Dana- Harry's a silly billy, honestly. He so conservative all the time that even I don't know why he doesn't report all his dreams! ::clucks tongue:: What am I going to do with him? LOL!
Leggylover03- Here you are, mellon nin!
Jeanne2- You're expecting right! Thanks a bunch!
JeanieBeanie33- ::laughs wickedly:: Yes, I am evil! But it's that that keeps people happy with my stories! I'm glad you're enjoying them, if they are good or bad!
Emerald-silver Serpent- Poor Bill! It was in the picture, not in real life. Hope you had a good b-day!
TankerMDK- I'm glad you think so! LOL! ::giggles::
Larna Mandrea- Thanks a bunch! It makes me really happy to hear that you like my writing! It makes me swell with pride! YAY!
Thanks for your reviews!
May broomsticks be in your dreams!
Luv,
Legolas-gurl88
Next chapter: (One I've been waiting for, for a long time!) Harry and Cho go to Madame Puddifoot's Tea Shop, much to Harry's dislike. Yet Harry sees Snape and Frost among the kissing teenage couples (Snape and Frost aren't kissing). What could Snape possibly be doing in such a frilly shop? Something tragic happens and Harry's mind goes blank!