Disclaimer: Harry Potter is from the creative genius that is J.K. Rowling.
We are not her. This is merely a fan fiction to tide us over until Book 6.
A/N: Chapter 4 should be up relatively soon. Poor frustrated Ron. . . anyway enjoy!
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Alaire and Neville were already eating by the time that Harry, Ron and Hermione entered the Great Hall. Harry took a seat next to Alaire, so that she was once again sitting between him and Neville.
Harry reached over and began placing a few strawberry scones on his plate, "So what class do you have first, Alaire?"
"Care of Magical Creatures," she answered before taking a drink of her milk. "I am really looking forward to seeing what kind of creatures you have here. I've only seen pictures of animals native to Europe. I really hope that the professor has something interesting."
Ron snorted as he piled scrambled eggs upon his plate while Hermione, Harry and Neville bit back smiles.
"Did I say something wrong?" Alaire asked perplexed by their response.
"Let's just say that interesting is a bit of an understatement for Hagrid's creatures," said Harry.
"Really? What sort of things does he have?"
"Hagrid has a, um, predilection towards obscure animals," Hermione said delicately.
"Just don't get too close to them, OK?" Neville said in a concerned tone of voice.
"Why? What does he have? Raging hippogriffs? Wild, oversized man-eating lobsters?"
Ron snorted again which earned him a glare from Hermione and a kick from both Harry and Neville.
"Ow! You'll see," Ron said as he stuffed a forkful of eggs into his mouth.
"Don't talk with your mouth full Ron," Hermione scolded. "Honestly!" She turned to Alaire and said in her best head girl voice, "Hagrid is a gentle soul who has been one of our best friends here at Hogwarts. This is just his fourth year teaching, however, and he sometimes has problems with his lesson plans."
"Oh," Alaire said with a smile. "Well, that's a relief. From the way y'all were acting, it was as if Hagrid liked to turn dangerous animals loose on the students."
At this, Ron choked on his milk which gave Hermione an excuse to pound him soundly on his back, perhaps a bit longer than necessary.
Alaire moved her eggs around her plate with her fork and sighed, "You know, I really didn't get to learn much about all of you yesterday, except for the fact that Ron and Hermione are a couple, but not dating."
"We're not a couple!" exclaimed Hermione and Ron as Hermione's cheeks turned red as the tip of Ron's ears did the same.
"Uh, huh," Alaire said sarcastically before turning to Harry and Neville. "What about you two?"
"We're not a couple," said Harry jokingly.
"That's not what I meant," Alaire laughed. "I meant, do either of you have girlfriends?"
"Blunt, isn't she?" Ron said under his breath. Unfortunately, it was loud enough for Harry, Alaire, and Neville to hear. The comment was met with three swift kicks from under the table. "Bloody hell," Ron said rubbing his leg. "I do have to walk to class today, you know."
"Sorry, my foot slipped," Alaire said feigning innocence, before turning to look at Harry and Neville. "So?"
"No girlfriend," Harry said smiling.
"Me, neither," Neville replied.
Alaire grinned so bright it nearly lit up the room, "That's good."
Soon, the Great Hall began to empty as students began to make their way to class. Hermione stood up and swung her bookbag over her shoulder.
"We have to be getting to transfiguration," she said addressing Ron and Harry. "I do hope you finished your summer assignments, Ron."
"You bloody well saw me doing them last night," he snapped before getting up.
Harry rose to leave to, but a thought struck him as he turned to leave.
"Do you need someone to show you the way to Hagrid's class, Alaire?" he asked.
"Harry!" Hermione snapped. "You don't want to be late for transfiguration, especially on the first day."
"I can take you to Hagrid's," Neville said as he wiped his mouth with a napkin. "I don't have a class for the first period."
"That would be wonderful," Alaire said linking arms with Neville. "Tomorrow, can you show me the way to potions, Harry?"
Harry nodded numbly as he watched Neville escort Alaire out of the Great Hall and towards Hagrid's. He just hoped that Hagrid had something semi- tame this year.
Alaire kept up a running narrative of the types of animals, both muggle and magical, in Louisiana while she and Neville walked down to Hagrid's hut. As they approached the class, Neville saw some familiar boxes in the clearing near the front door. Excited, Alaire ran forward to examine their contents.
"Wow!" Alaire exclaimed loudly as she bent down to look at the blast-end skewerts. "Look at the size of those crawdads!"
"Those aren't whatever you said," Neville said, pulling on her cloak and trying to get Alaire to get away from the animal. "Those are sort of dangerous. You don't want to get on the wrong end of them. Flames sort of spurt out."
"Wow. I've never seen anything like this," she said, allowing Neville to take her back where the rest of the class was gathering. "What are you doing this class period?"
"Actually I have a special project I'm working on for herbology I'm going to check on," Neville said softly.
"A special project? What is it, another passionflower?" Alaire said interested.
"Not exactly."
"Can I see it later?"
Neville was awestruck. No one usually wanted to see anything he was doing herbology wise, except for Madam Sprout and a handful of herbologists.
"Maybe. I don't exactly know what's happening with this project. I want to have everything well documented before I bring in anyone to see it."
"Oh," she said looking down. "but that's still a maybe?"
Neville couldn't help but smile. "Yes," he said before looking around at the other students. "Are you going to be all right here until class starts?"
Alaire smiled at him, "I'm be fine. Thank you my noble knight."
Neville grinned and his mouth moved before it consulted his head. "You're welcome, my lady."
It wasn't until he was halfway to his study that he realized he wasn't scared to flirt with her.
A hot blast of air escaped into the hallway when Neville opened the door to his study. A few spells and a magical mister had turned the small study into a virtual hot house for his plants.
Neville took off his cloak and set it on a chair by his small desk. Picking up his watering can, he began watering all the various plants in the study. He saved the hybrid rose for last. Entering the special section where he kept the plant, Neville saw sun flowing through the windows and the little plant on the sill.
Smiling, he asked the plant how it was doing. Sure, a lot of people thought it was insane to talk to plants, but Neville found that it helped them grow and also helped him relax. Making his way over to it, he noticed something unusual.
"What in the world?" he exclaimed before setting the watering can down and running into the other room to his desk. Picking up his notes and the growth charts he had constructed, he rushed back into the room. Using a ruler, he measured the plant's stem and counted the leaves. Flipping through his notes, he looked at the numbers.
"This can't be right," he said to himself as he rechecked the numbers. According to the figures, the plant had literally grown an inch over night and two new leaves were sprouting. That was unusual. Quickly he checked the soil temperature, the room temperature and even the music he had turned on before he left yesterday. Everything was the same as it was when the plant was at his home with Gran. What was so different that the plant was growing at such a rate? Could it just be the Hogwart's grounds? Did it relate to something in the environment?
Double checking everything, Neville couldn't come up with an answer. By the time he looked at the clock, the period was almost over. He had fifteen minutes to get to charms, and he should probably go get Alaire so she knew where that classroom was as well.
Sighing, Neville closed his notes and looked over at the plant.
"Well, if you keep growing at this rate I'll have to give you away soon," he said sadly. "I was hoping to bond with you a little more. I know that probably sounds weird. I'll be back to check on you after dinner and I'll look into your growth more on Saturday. Maybe I've just missed something."
Neville sprinkled a little water on the plant before picking up his robes and heading outside toward Hagrid's hut. Outside he was surprised to see Hagrid's class was already dismissed. A few people rushed by him including Ginny Weasley.
"Neville," she said happily to him. "I think you better go help Alaire. She keeps casting warming charms on herself and shivering. She says it's freezing here. I offered to get her winter robe, but she said she hasn't got one yet."
"Thanks Gin," Neville replied as the younger Gryffindor smiled and continued up to the castle.
Neville walked a few more feet until he saw Alaire. She was shivering and had her arms wrapped around herself for warmth. She was standing near a tree a few feet away.
"Alaire!" he yelled to get her attention.
Her eyes darted around until they came to rest on Neville. She smiled before she ran up to him and wrapped her arms around him. Neville was shocked at first, but that was nothing compared to when she snuggled up and put her head on his chest. She then pulled both her robes and his around her, forming a cocoon.
"It's so cold," she said in a little voice that made his heart beat a bit faster.
"It's only September," he said, trying to relax. "It's not cold yet."
Alaire looked up at him in bewilderment then snuggled closer to Neville. "I'm going to freeze to death here by myself. You're so warm."
A light blush colored Neville's cheeks. "Do you always, uh, do this to people when you're cold?'"
"No," she said smiling as she looked up at him. "I only do this when there are extremely good looking and friendly men to keep me warm."
Neville cleared his throat uncomfortably. He wasn't used to women flirting with him like this. He wasn't quite sure how to take it.
"Come on let's go inside," he said as he maneuvered them toward the entranceway to the castle.
The rest of the day went quickly and soon it was suppertime. However, with the amount of Charms and Defense homework given in preparation for the NEWTS, most seventh years were in the library or common room instead of eating in the Great Hall.
Neville was working on his Defense homework in the large chair by the fireplace, as Ron, Hermione and Harry occupied the table. They all looked up when the common room door swung open.
"There y'all are!" Alaire said holding a stack of books. "I was wondering where you were. I had to eat dinner with some guy named Seamus." She dropped the books on the floor beside Neville. "I thought I wouldn't have a problem with the Irish since New Orleans has a few but between his accent and his wandering hands . . ." she shook her head as Neville and Harry looked up sharply.
"NEWTS homework," grumbled Ron as he turned back to the book in front of him.
"Don't you have any homework Alaire?" Hermione asked nodding toward the stack of books.
"A little," she said before looking around for a place to sit before finally taking a seat by the fireplace. "Warmth," she sighed as she sat down. "Is this all you have here? Gumbo weather and colder?"
Ron raised an eyebrow in confusion before concluding, "It must be an American thing."
"I'm surprised you don't know what gumbo is, Ron," Hermione huffed. "It is a food, afterall."
"I don't believe it. A food Ron doesn't know about," Harry teased.
"What's in it?" asked Neville. "It might be interesting to do a muggle studies project on it."
"Gumbo?" Alaire asked amazed. "You're telling me that none of you know what gumbo is?"
"Tell you what. You fix it and I'll eat it," Ron grumbled.
"I need some cayenne pepper, chicken stock or shrimp, some flour, oil, leeks and a whole bunch of stuff. Unless someone has a portable kitchen around here, I'd say I'm not having or making any gumbo until I'm back home," Alaire said opening a book.
"Actually," Harry said sitting back. "I can help you with the kitchen stuff. Why don't you make it tomorrow night, if you still feel up to making something after potions."
"That would be great," Alaire said as she began writing on a parchment. "I could use a touch of home. When are you planning on helping me with potions? Neville's working with me on Sunday for herbology. I don't want to get behind."
"How about Saturday night?"
"Saturday night? Don't you guys take a break?"
"Not with NEWTS coming up," Hermione said in an exasperated voice.
"Come on, you can't study all week all year long. You know what they say, 'All work and no play makes Harry a dull boy!' Or, haven't you seen 'The Shining'?"
"The what?" asked Ron. "This is another American thing," he said in a knowing voice.
"Oh, I thought you guys would have seen it. It's a classic movie where this guy locks his family into a huge resort," she stood up and wandered to the window. "Sorta of like Hogwarts. Then it snows and snows and snows so they can't get out."
"Sorta like Hogwarts," said Ron.
"And then their little boy starts to be haunted by visions of someone trying to kill him."
"Sorta like Hogwarts," whispered Harry to Ron.
"And then the father goes mad and grabs an ax and tries to murder his family after these ghosts egg him on."
"That's enough!" Hermione said. "No one at Hogwarts is going to turn into an axe-murderer because they have to do homework on a Saturday night. I do it all the time, and I'm perfectly fine!"
Four pairs of eyes looked at her in wonderment.
"You do get a bit tense," Ron ventured.
"Ron Weasley, don't tempt me."
In an attempt to avoid yet another Ron/Hermione argument, Harry offered, "How about this then? I'll study with Alaire on potions but," he looked at Alaire with a smile. "We'll do it down by the lake. That way, it won't be so bad."
Alaire smiled and answered, "That will work as long as I find some warmer clothes. I almost turned into an ice cube this morning. And I think Neville is still cold from where I hugged him."
Now four pair of eyes turned to Neville who stammered, "She was cold."
Unfortunately, the first potion class of the year did not go so well for Alaire. She started off by asking Snape for some dirt from a fresh zombie grave, which is illegal in the United Kingdom, but according to her you can find just about anywhere in New Orleans or around the state of Louisiana. Then, she accidentally created the draught of the living death rather than the draught of sleep. Unfortunately, Snape overheard her when she muttered to Harry that it looked like Snape had been drinking his own special potion.
By the end of the lesson, the Gryffindors were happy with just 50 points taken away. Harry was a bit worried about how the rest of the year in potions was going to be like and wondered if he could pull off the tutoring sessions. Snape seemed to hate Alaire nearly as much as Harry, if that was at all possible. It wasn't until later that night an hour after Harry dropped Alaire off in the kitchens, did he truly find out how much Snape disliked Alaire.
The door to the common room swung open and much to the amazement of the Gryffindor House, Professor Snape stormed in holding Alaire up by the collar of her robes. Alaire was arguing with him, while he never said a word. However, the vein on the side of his neck throbbed uncontrollably. He threw Alaire into a chair and a small cauldron of odd smelling bubbling brew on the tabletop.
"Really Severus!" exclaimed Professor McGonagall as she entered behind him.
"Professor, I swear I wasn't making any dangerous potions in the kitchen!" Alaire exclaimed. "I was making roux for my gumbo!"
"Don't try to confuse us with your silly American slang, you silly girl," snapped Snape harshly. "I know you dabble in the dark arts in the states!"
"I'm telling the truth! I'll even eat it, just let me finish fixing my gumbo. The roux is all done. All I have to do is add some chicken stock. It's really good. You can have some if you wish."
"I am not in the mood to be turned into a zombie today, thank you," Snape said snidely.
"Severus," Professor McGonagall said calmly. "It is possible that the girl is telling the truth, though I'm not sure about this mixture being edible." McGonagall looked down at the pot on the table and shook her head. "It is up to Miss Goodnight if she wishes to continue. As far as I am aware, chicken stock is not a poison."
"That," Snape said pointing to the cauldron on the table. "is not edible. I'll prove it. Weasley!"
Ron gulped and made his way over to the table, "Yes, sir."
"I want you to tell me if you'd eat this vile concoction that Miss Goodnight has brewed."
Ron looked at the cauldron and gulped. "I'm not certain sir. She says it's not done. Maybe it will smell better then."
"Oh, for heavens sake!" Alaire yelled as she got up from the chair. Placing a cooling charm on the cauldron, she lifted it to her lips and took a huge sip. "It would be better with a damned spoon and some chicken stock. I can assure you, it wouldn't poison anyone or turn them into a zombie."
"That will be 20 points for your cheek," sneered Snape.
"Cheek? I'll have you know, I'm not the one who dragged my ass –" she was quieted as Harry placed his hand over her mouth to stop her venting.
"Language, Miss Goodnight. I'm afraid I have to deduct another five points," sighed McGonagall. "Severus, I don't believe the child would intentionally poison herself. Miss Goodnight next time you decide to try some American cooking, I suggest you see myself or Professor Dumbledore first to avoid any problems."
With that McGonagall and Snape left the common room, leaving a very angry American in their wake.
It wasn't until he was sure that Alaire wasn't going to explode that he let go of her. Her face was red with anger as she just looked around and everyone and let out a shriek of rage before heading up the stairway.
"Who needs piles of snow to go crazy? I think I might go polish up my axe! This place is as hospitable as the weather," Alaire huffed as she climbed the stairs to her room. "I miss home."
A/N: Chapter 4 should be up relatively soon. Poor frustrated Ron. . . anyway enjoy!
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Alaire and Neville were already eating by the time that Harry, Ron and Hermione entered the Great Hall. Harry took a seat next to Alaire, so that she was once again sitting between him and Neville.
Harry reached over and began placing a few strawberry scones on his plate, "So what class do you have first, Alaire?"
"Care of Magical Creatures," she answered before taking a drink of her milk. "I am really looking forward to seeing what kind of creatures you have here. I've only seen pictures of animals native to Europe. I really hope that the professor has something interesting."
Ron snorted as he piled scrambled eggs upon his plate while Hermione, Harry and Neville bit back smiles.
"Did I say something wrong?" Alaire asked perplexed by their response.
"Let's just say that interesting is a bit of an understatement for Hagrid's creatures," said Harry.
"Really? What sort of things does he have?"
"Hagrid has a, um, predilection towards obscure animals," Hermione said delicately.
"Just don't get too close to them, OK?" Neville said in a concerned tone of voice.
"Why? What does he have? Raging hippogriffs? Wild, oversized man-eating lobsters?"
Ron snorted again which earned him a glare from Hermione and a kick from both Harry and Neville.
"Ow! You'll see," Ron said as he stuffed a forkful of eggs into his mouth.
"Don't talk with your mouth full Ron," Hermione scolded. "Honestly!" She turned to Alaire and said in her best head girl voice, "Hagrid is a gentle soul who has been one of our best friends here at Hogwarts. This is just his fourth year teaching, however, and he sometimes has problems with his lesson plans."
"Oh," Alaire said with a smile. "Well, that's a relief. From the way y'all were acting, it was as if Hagrid liked to turn dangerous animals loose on the students."
At this, Ron choked on his milk which gave Hermione an excuse to pound him soundly on his back, perhaps a bit longer than necessary.
Alaire moved her eggs around her plate with her fork and sighed, "You know, I really didn't get to learn much about all of you yesterday, except for the fact that Ron and Hermione are a couple, but not dating."
"We're not a couple!" exclaimed Hermione and Ron as Hermione's cheeks turned red as the tip of Ron's ears did the same.
"Uh, huh," Alaire said sarcastically before turning to Harry and Neville. "What about you two?"
"We're not a couple," said Harry jokingly.
"That's not what I meant," Alaire laughed. "I meant, do either of you have girlfriends?"
"Blunt, isn't she?" Ron said under his breath. Unfortunately, it was loud enough for Harry, Alaire, and Neville to hear. The comment was met with three swift kicks from under the table. "Bloody hell," Ron said rubbing his leg. "I do have to walk to class today, you know."
"Sorry, my foot slipped," Alaire said feigning innocence, before turning to look at Harry and Neville. "So?"
"No girlfriend," Harry said smiling.
"Me, neither," Neville replied.
Alaire grinned so bright it nearly lit up the room, "That's good."
Soon, the Great Hall began to empty as students began to make their way to class. Hermione stood up and swung her bookbag over her shoulder.
"We have to be getting to transfiguration," she said addressing Ron and Harry. "I do hope you finished your summer assignments, Ron."
"You bloody well saw me doing them last night," he snapped before getting up.
Harry rose to leave to, but a thought struck him as he turned to leave.
"Do you need someone to show you the way to Hagrid's class, Alaire?" he asked.
"Harry!" Hermione snapped. "You don't want to be late for transfiguration, especially on the first day."
"I can take you to Hagrid's," Neville said as he wiped his mouth with a napkin. "I don't have a class for the first period."
"That would be wonderful," Alaire said linking arms with Neville. "Tomorrow, can you show me the way to potions, Harry?"
Harry nodded numbly as he watched Neville escort Alaire out of the Great Hall and towards Hagrid's. He just hoped that Hagrid had something semi- tame this year.
Alaire kept up a running narrative of the types of animals, both muggle and magical, in Louisiana while she and Neville walked down to Hagrid's hut. As they approached the class, Neville saw some familiar boxes in the clearing near the front door. Excited, Alaire ran forward to examine their contents.
"Wow!" Alaire exclaimed loudly as she bent down to look at the blast-end skewerts. "Look at the size of those crawdads!"
"Those aren't whatever you said," Neville said, pulling on her cloak and trying to get Alaire to get away from the animal. "Those are sort of dangerous. You don't want to get on the wrong end of them. Flames sort of spurt out."
"Wow. I've never seen anything like this," she said, allowing Neville to take her back where the rest of the class was gathering. "What are you doing this class period?"
"Actually I have a special project I'm working on for herbology I'm going to check on," Neville said softly.
"A special project? What is it, another passionflower?" Alaire said interested.
"Not exactly."
"Can I see it later?"
Neville was awestruck. No one usually wanted to see anything he was doing herbology wise, except for Madam Sprout and a handful of herbologists.
"Maybe. I don't exactly know what's happening with this project. I want to have everything well documented before I bring in anyone to see it."
"Oh," she said looking down. "but that's still a maybe?"
Neville couldn't help but smile. "Yes," he said before looking around at the other students. "Are you going to be all right here until class starts?"
Alaire smiled at him, "I'm be fine. Thank you my noble knight."
Neville grinned and his mouth moved before it consulted his head. "You're welcome, my lady."
It wasn't until he was halfway to his study that he realized he wasn't scared to flirt with her.
A hot blast of air escaped into the hallway when Neville opened the door to his study. A few spells and a magical mister had turned the small study into a virtual hot house for his plants.
Neville took off his cloak and set it on a chair by his small desk. Picking up his watering can, he began watering all the various plants in the study. He saved the hybrid rose for last. Entering the special section where he kept the plant, Neville saw sun flowing through the windows and the little plant on the sill.
Smiling, he asked the plant how it was doing. Sure, a lot of people thought it was insane to talk to plants, but Neville found that it helped them grow and also helped him relax. Making his way over to it, he noticed something unusual.
"What in the world?" he exclaimed before setting the watering can down and running into the other room to his desk. Picking up his notes and the growth charts he had constructed, he rushed back into the room. Using a ruler, he measured the plant's stem and counted the leaves. Flipping through his notes, he looked at the numbers.
"This can't be right," he said to himself as he rechecked the numbers. According to the figures, the plant had literally grown an inch over night and two new leaves were sprouting. That was unusual. Quickly he checked the soil temperature, the room temperature and even the music he had turned on before he left yesterday. Everything was the same as it was when the plant was at his home with Gran. What was so different that the plant was growing at such a rate? Could it just be the Hogwart's grounds? Did it relate to something in the environment?
Double checking everything, Neville couldn't come up with an answer. By the time he looked at the clock, the period was almost over. He had fifteen minutes to get to charms, and he should probably go get Alaire so she knew where that classroom was as well.
Sighing, Neville closed his notes and looked over at the plant.
"Well, if you keep growing at this rate I'll have to give you away soon," he said sadly. "I was hoping to bond with you a little more. I know that probably sounds weird. I'll be back to check on you after dinner and I'll look into your growth more on Saturday. Maybe I've just missed something."
Neville sprinkled a little water on the plant before picking up his robes and heading outside toward Hagrid's hut. Outside he was surprised to see Hagrid's class was already dismissed. A few people rushed by him including Ginny Weasley.
"Neville," she said happily to him. "I think you better go help Alaire. She keeps casting warming charms on herself and shivering. She says it's freezing here. I offered to get her winter robe, but she said she hasn't got one yet."
"Thanks Gin," Neville replied as the younger Gryffindor smiled and continued up to the castle.
Neville walked a few more feet until he saw Alaire. She was shivering and had her arms wrapped around herself for warmth. She was standing near a tree a few feet away.
"Alaire!" he yelled to get her attention.
Her eyes darted around until they came to rest on Neville. She smiled before she ran up to him and wrapped her arms around him. Neville was shocked at first, but that was nothing compared to when she snuggled up and put her head on his chest. She then pulled both her robes and his around her, forming a cocoon.
"It's so cold," she said in a little voice that made his heart beat a bit faster.
"It's only September," he said, trying to relax. "It's not cold yet."
Alaire looked up at him in bewilderment then snuggled closer to Neville. "I'm going to freeze to death here by myself. You're so warm."
A light blush colored Neville's cheeks. "Do you always, uh, do this to people when you're cold?'"
"No," she said smiling as she looked up at him. "I only do this when there are extremely good looking and friendly men to keep me warm."
Neville cleared his throat uncomfortably. He wasn't used to women flirting with him like this. He wasn't quite sure how to take it.
"Come on let's go inside," he said as he maneuvered them toward the entranceway to the castle.
The rest of the day went quickly and soon it was suppertime. However, with the amount of Charms and Defense homework given in preparation for the NEWTS, most seventh years were in the library or common room instead of eating in the Great Hall.
Neville was working on his Defense homework in the large chair by the fireplace, as Ron, Hermione and Harry occupied the table. They all looked up when the common room door swung open.
"There y'all are!" Alaire said holding a stack of books. "I was wondering where you were. I had to eat dinner with some guy named Seamus." She dropped the books on the floor beside Neville. "I thought I wouldn't have a problem with the Irish since New Orleans has a few but between his accent and his wandering hands . . ." she shook her head as Neville and Harry looked up sharply.
"NEWTS homework," grumbled Ron as he turned back to the book in front of him.
"Don't you have any homework Alaire?" Hermione asked nodding toward the stack of books.
"A little," she said before looking around for a place to sit before finally taking a seat by the fireplace. "Warmth," she sighed as she sat down. "Is this all you have here? Gumbo weather and colder?"
Ron raised an eyebrow in confusion before concluding, "It must be an American thing."
"I'm surprised you don't know what gumbo is, Ron," Hermione huffed. "It is a food, afterall."
"I don't believe it. A food Ron doesn't know about," Harry teased.
"What's in it?" asked Neville. "It might be interesting to do a muggle studies project on it."
"Gumbo?" Alaire asked amazed. "You're telling me that none of you know what gumbo is?"
"Tell you what. You fix it and I'll eat it," Ron grumbled.
"I need some cayenne pepper, chicken stock or shrimp, some flour, oil, leeks and a whole bunch of stuff. Unless someone has a portable kitchen around here, I'd say I'm not having or making any gumbo until I'm back home," Alaire said opening a book.
"Actually," Harry said sitting back. "I can help you with the kitchen stuff. Why don't you make it tomorrow night, if you still feel up to making something after potions."
"That would be great," Alaire said as she began writing on a parchment. "I could use a touch of home. When are you planning on helping me with potions? Neville's working with me on Sunday for herbology. I don't want to get behind."
"How about Saturday night?"
"Saturday night? Don't you guys take a break?"
"Not with NEWTS coming up," Hermione said in an exasperated voice.
"Come on, you can't study all week all year long. You know what they say, 'All work and no play makes Harry a dull boy!' Or, haven't you seen 'The Shining'?"
"The what?" asked Ron. "This is another American thing," he said in a knowing voice.
"Oh, I thought you guys would have seen it. It's a classic movie where this guy locks his family into a huge resort," she stood up and wandered to the window. "Sorta of like Hogwarts. Then it snows and snows and snows so they can't get out."
"Sorta like Hogwarts," said Ron.
"And then their little boy starts to be haunted by visions of someone trying to kill him."
"Sorta like Hogwarts," whispered Harry to Ron.
"And then the father goes mad and grabs an ax and tries to murder his family after these ghosts egg him on."
"That's enough!" Hermione said. "No one at Hogwarts is going to turn into an axe-murderer because they have to do homework on a Saturday night. I do it all the time, and I'm perfectly fine!"
Four pairs of eyes looked at her in wonderment.
"You do get a bit tense," Ron ventured.
"Ron Weasley, don't tempt me."
In an attempt to avoid yet another Ron/Hermione argument, Harry offered, "How about this then? I'll study with Alaire on potions but," he looked at Alaire with a smile. "We'll do it down by the lake. That way, it won't be so bad."
Alaire smiled and answered, "That will work as long as I find some warmer clothes. I almost turned into an ice cube this morning. And I think Neville is still cold from where I hugged him."
Now four pair of eyes turned to Neville who stammered, "She was cold."
Unfortunately, the first potion class of the year did not go so well for Alaire. She started off by asking Snape for some dirt from a fresh zombie grave, which is illegal in the United Kingdom, but according to her you can find just about anywhere in New Orleans or around the state of Louisiana. Then, she accidentally created the draught of the living death rather than the draught of sleep. Unfortunately, Snape overheard her when she muttered to Harry that it looked like Snape had been drinking his own special potion.
By the end of the lesson, the Gryffindors were happy with just 50 points taken away. Harry was a bit worried about how the rest of the year in potions was going to be like and wondered if he could pull off the tutoring sessions. Snape seemed to hate Alaire nearly as much as Harry, if that was at all possible. It wasn't until later that night an hour after Harry dropped Alaire off in the kitchens, did he truly find out how much Snape disliked Alaire.
The door to the common room swung open and much to the amazement of the Gryffindor House, Professor Snape stormed in holding Alaire up by the collar of her robes. Alaire was arguing with him, while he never said a word. However, the vein on the side of his neck throbbed uncontrollably. He threw Alaire into a chair and a small cauldron of odd smelling bubbling brew on the tabletop.
"Really Severus!" exclaimed Professor McGonagall as she entered behind him.
"Professor, I swear I wasn't making any dangerous potions in the kitchen!" Alaire exclaimed. "I was making roux for my gumbo!"
"Don't try to confuse us with your silly American slang, you silly girl," snapped Snape harshly. "I know you dabble in the dark arts in the states!"
"I'm telling the truth! I'll even eat it, just let me finish fixing my gumbo. The roux is all done. All I have to do is add some chicken stock. It's really good. You can have some if you wish."
"I am not in the mood to be turned into a zombie today, thank you," Snape said snidely.
"Severus," Professor McGonagall said calmly. "It is possible that the girl is telling the truth, though I'm not sure about this mixture being edible." McGonagall looked down at the pot on the table and shook her head. "It is up to Miss Goodnight if she wishes to continue. As far as I am aware, chicken stock is not a poison."
"That," Snape said pointing to the cauldron on the table. "is not edible. I'll prove it. Weasley!"
Ron gulped and made his way over to the table, "Yes, sir."
"I want you to tell me if you'd eat this vile concoction that Miss Goodnight has brewed."
Ron looked at the cauldron and gulped. "I'm not certain sir. She says it's not done. Maybe it will smell better then."
"Oh, for heavens sake!" Alaire yelled as she got up from the chair. Placing a cooling charm on the cauldron, she lifted it to her lips and took a huge sip. "It would be better with a damned spoon and some chicken stock. I can assure you, it wouldn't poison anyone or turn them into a zombie."
"That will be 20 points for your cheek," sneered Snape.
"Cheek? I'll have you know, I'm not the one who dragged my ass –" she was quieted as Harry placed his hand over her mouth to stop her venting.
"Language, Miss Goodnight. I'm afraid I have to deduct another five points," sighed McGonagall. "Severus, I don't believe the child would intentionally poison herself. Miss Goodnight next time you decide to try some American cooking, I suggest you see myself or Professor Dumbledore first to avoid any problems."
With that McGonagall and Snape left the common room, leaving a very angry American in their wake.
It wasn't until he was sure that Alaire wasn't going to explode that he let go of her. Her face was red with anger as she just looked around and everyone and let out a shriek of rage before heading up the stairway.
"Who needs piles of snow to go crazy? I think I might go polish up my axe! This place is as hospitable as the weather," Alaire huffed as she climbed the stairs to her room. "I miss home."