Chapter 3
Four more days had passed. After a week and Hogwarts, Catherine found that she was getting along good with the change of environment. With the exception of Severus.
Potions class had been more of a pain to her than to anyone else. Even though she and Severus were very closely related, they still seemed to hate each other.
The bell signifying lunch, and the end of classes rang, as the Gryffindor's filed out of charms. (It was Friday, and students got Friday afternoons off). Students poured out of their classes, heading into the Great Hall for lunch.
Catherine, Parvati, and Lavender walked together up to the Gryffindor table. Lavender and Parvati sat as Cate picked up an already made sandwich.
"You're not staying?" Lavender asked.
"No." Care replied, "I've got some work to catch up on."
"Oh. Okay. Well, we'll see you later in the common room right?"
"Yeah." Catherine waved to her friends, then left the Hall. The young woman continued through a series of hallways until she reached the Defence Against the Dark Arts room. Knocking on the closed, wooden door, she waited.
"Come on in." Professor Beckinsale's voice called, Cate opened the door, and entered the room, closing the door behind her. "Cate, I'm glad you could come."
"All right." She replied nervously. "Can I ask why you wanted to see me?" Catherine sat on a desk top as Professor Beckinsale placed down his quill.
"Well, throughout the week, it appeared that you were falling a bit behind."
"Excuse me?" Cate stood up suddenly, appalled at the teacher's remarks.
"Cate, please. I just wanted to check in. From what I've heard, the curriculum is a bit different in Canada. I just wanted to see how things were doing." Catherine sighed heavily, sitting back down.
"I'm doing fine. I'm probably slacking off a bit more than usual, but it's the first week back. And I'm at a different school." Not to mention, she had already taken the course, but, she wasn't allowed to say that.
"All right." Professor Beckinsale smiled, "You may go." Catherine stood up, walking toward the door, pausing as she opened it.
"You know what?" She turned back to face him, "I could use some extra help."
"Okay . . . " He paused, "Are Friday afternoons starting next week at four p.m. good?"
"Of course." Cate smiled as she left the class, heading to the common room.
As the portrait hole swung shut behind her, Hermione looked up from a roll of parchment.
"Not hungry?" She asked.
"Already ate, and I've got a lot of work to do." Cate replied, dropping down into a cushy arm chair, taking her potions essay out of her bag and beginning to work.
Within the next twenty minutes, the essay was completed, and Cate had started on a transfiguration assignment. Add on another ten minutes, and Catherine was finished that as well.
"Are you done already?" Hermione asked as the young woman packed up her papers.
"Yeah." Cate replied, "Just because you think I don't pay any attention in class doesn't mean I don't learn the stuff."
"But . . . but you just wrote two essays in half an hour."
"I know. It's easy stuff Hermione, it doesn't take a lot of effort."
"Have you already learnt this? Are the levels different in Canada?"
"No. If I had learnt it already, I would be in seventh year." Catherine replied cooly before hurrying up the stairs to the girls dormitory.