A/N: I'm sorry I didn't post earlier, I meant to, really, but my mom came to visit and I couldn't complete editing the chapter before she arrived and then I got sick so I didn't feel like sitting in front of the comp until now. Thank you all for reviewing and welcome to those who are new to the story, I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far. Let's continue, shall we?
Disclaimer: I own nothing, nothing I tell you : ( well, maybe just the plot and some of the secondary characters, everything else belongs to the wonderful JK Rowling.
Chapter 9 Professor Holmes
The rivalry between Gryffindor and Slytherin seemed much stronger than it had ever been and Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff couldn't help but show their support to Gryffindor.
Harry had found himself under attack on several occasions, only his quick wits and the help of passing members of the D.A. allowed him to continue on his way unscathed. His attackers were not as lucky.
Snape had become more callous than Harry had remembered him being and Malfoy seemed to enjoy it.
"Evil, that's what he is." Ron had mumbled as they left the Potions classroom.
"You always say that." Hermione said as they walked toward the Gryffindor Tower to leave their books before going to the Great Hall for dinner.
"Well, it's true. We got three times the homework he gave to the Slytherins, I call that favoritism." Ron complained.
"Not all Gryffindors got that much homework." Hermione said.
"No, only the ones that are in the Gryffindor Team and some others he felt like." Ron exclaimed. "We should go to McGonagall." He said turning to Harry. "Maybe she can do something about this."
"It's a thought." Harry replied. "Melin knows I won't be able to do a third of what he wants us to do."
Hermione tutted behind them.
"What now?" Ron asked annoyed.
"You should at least try to do it first." Hermione responded.
"Why am I going to lose my time doing work that I don't need to do?" Ron said.
"Oh, I give up." Exclaimed Hermione and hurried down the corridor to Gryffindor Tower.
Harry and Ron continued in her wake at a slower rate.
"When are you going to speak with McGonagall?" Asked Ron as they stopped in front of the portrait of the Fat Lady.
"Tonight. After dinner." Harry replied as the Fat Lady asked her usual "password?"
Minutes later they were climbing the stairs to the boys' dormitory. Hermione had not been in the common room when they entered.
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The Great Hall was full of the usual whispers, chatter and laughter as Harry and Ron walked through the large doors.
"There she is." Said Ron pointing to the Gryffindor Table.
Hermione had not waited for them in the common room and was at that moment talking quietly with Ginny at the Gryffindor table.
Ron and Harry hurried to the table, hoping that Hermione wasn't annoyed with them any more.
"Why didn't you wait?" Ron asked as they sat across from Hermione and Ginny.
"Didn't know how long it would take you two to come down." Ginny replied angrily. "We don't have to wait for you all the time."
Ron was about to reply that it wasn't to her he was talking to, but Harry and Hermione kicked his shins under the table. He glared at his two friends but said nothing more.
"I wished I was in sixth year." Sighed Ginny moving her food around her plate.
"Why?" Asked Harry barely paying attention to the conversation as he had noticed that their new Experimental Charms Professor had decided to take dinner with the rest of the faculty.
"No O.W.L.s that's why." Ginny wailed. "I don't know how I'm supposed to get through this year with all that work."
"That's nothing compared to what we have to do." Ron snapped. "Wished I was back in fifth year, work was much easier then."
Ginny looked horrified at the thought of what awaited her next year.
"Don't pay any attention to your brother. He just doesn't pay attention to what he needs to do. That's why he complains about the work." Hermione said.
"Have you seen the amount of work we have to do?" Ron exclaimed. "Hermione, we're never going to finish it all on time."
"You'll have time for everything if you only budget your time accordingly." Hermione replied.
"Budget your time, you can't make a budget of your time, there's simply not enough hours in the day to that." Ron cried.
"With a little planning, there's always time." Hermione said.
Ron groaned in exasperation, Ginny giggled and Harry continued eating not wanting to get in the middle of their new argument.
"What do you think we'll do at Experimental Charms?" Asked Harry after a few minutes of listening to his friends bicker.
"What?" Asked Ron confused.
"I tried to research a little of what we might learn, but without knowing what the curriculum entails it was hard to find much of anything." Hermione said.
"But if some of the things we'll learn have never been used, you'll not find it in any book, will you." Said Ron.
"That's true, but not all of it will be new, I think. Some of it must just be obscure." Hermione replied.
"Well, we won't really know until we start the class." Harry said.
"When is the class again?" Asked Ron looking down at his food.
"Friday afternoon." Hermione said.
Ron nodded. "Harry, have you decided when we're going to have another D.A. meeting?"
"Sunday." Harry replied. "Since Dumbledore made the announcement I've heard from many students interested in taking part."
"How many Slytherins?" Asked Ginny looking back at the silent table at the other end of the Hall.
"Not as many as Dumbledore would like." Harry said. "Most are younger students, second and third years, a few are fifth and seventh years."
"Probably want the practice for their O.W.L. and N.E.W.T exams." Hermione replied.
"None from Malfoy's crew?" Asked Ron.
"No. None have come near me if it isn't to hex me." Harry said.
"Did you report them to a teacher?" Ginny sounded a little worried.
"No need to, the last time they tried McGonagall was passing by." Harry laughed.
Ron chuckled. "Served them right!"
"Did they get detention?" Frowned Hermione, not liking the idea of Slytherins hiding to ambush Harry.
"I think so, and she talked to Snape and Dumbledore about it as well." Harry reported.
"Good!" Ginny exclaimed. "They're cowards to try to hex you when you're alone."
"They won't try it any time soon." Hermione said sounding absolutely sure of that statement.
"I don't know, Hermione, they're desperate." Said Ron.
"What do you mean Ron?" Ginny turned to her brother.
"Well, think about it." Explained Ron. "They'll know that the Firebolts will help us get ahead of the game and we could easily break their defenses and score goals. With the firebolts we can easily score more goals that we need to win and with Harry catching the Snitch it will be an easy win. So, they'll put most of their attention to defense to try to keep us from scoring and their hope is that Malfoy will catch the snitch before Harry does, as long as we can score sixteen goals more than Slythering, we'll be fine, but their hope is in Malfoy and the Snitch."
"So Harry is the one who's in their way." Ginny said.
"Even if we score enough goals not to need the Snitch to win, they'll still want Malfoy to catch it. If we win because of goals scored and they catch the Snitch, we would've won with a small margin, they still would be in the run for the cup. But, if we score enough goals and I catch the Snitch, they'll need to defeat Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw soundly for them to win the Cup from us." Harry said.
"You won't be on your own from now on, will you Harry?" Asked Hermione sounding a little concerned for the well being of her friend.
"I won't." Harry promised.
His friends sighed with relief, things could get a little dangerous when the Quidditch Cup was in contention.
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Their second week of classes continued without further attacks on Harry. McGonagall had been complained to about the Potions Master and Dumbledore had to step in to make things better.
As Friday arrived, students sluggishly left their bed looking forward to the weekend.
Hermione led Harry and Ron to breakfast that morning. Ron walked slowly and kept rubbing his sleepy eyes trying to stay awake.
"I don't know why classes have to begin so early." He complained.
"If you would go to bed earlier than you usually do, you wouldn't have any problem waking up in the morning." Hermione said.
"I had to finish my paper for Lupin." Snapped Ron.
"Should've done it earlier instead of leaving it for the last minute." Hermione snapped back.
Ron grumbled but said nothing more. Harry was too busy thinking about the upcoming class to bother with the bickering pair.
Their first Experimental Charms lessons would take place later that day, and he was looking forward to it. But first, they had to attend two hours of Defense Against the Dark Arts and another two of Charms before breaking for lunch and then going into their four-hour lesson on Experimental Charms.
They got through breakfast without any further arguments.
The halls were crowded as students hurried through the corridors on their way to their respective classes.
The morning classes passed fast for Harry. His Disillusionment Charm needed work. Hermione was the only one not assigned extra work by Professor Flitwick. He had no trouble in Defense Against the Dark Arts, in fact he and the other members of the D.A. were ahead of the rest of the class as the curriculum called for them to learn the Patronus Charm.
Harry didn't eat much at lunch.
"You should eat some of this ham, Harry." Urged Ron as he piled his plate with a little from every platter. "You'll like it."
"I'm not too hungry." Said Harry barely eating the little he had placed on his plate.
"Are you sure you don't want some, Harry?" Asked Hermione. "Some vegetables at least."
Harry glanced exasperated at her. "I don't want vegetables. I'm not hungry." He said once more.
Ron and Hermione shared a quick glance before turning their attention back to their own plates.
Harry pushed the plate away from him. "I think I'll take a little walk." He said.
"If you wait a moment, we'll go with you." Offered Hermione.
Ron glanced quickly at her before turning to Harry. "If you want us to go, of course." He added.
"That's fine. I just want to walk a little before lessons. I'll see you in class." Harry said and hurried out the Great Hall.
The corridors were mostly empty as most students were still in the Great Hall eating their midday meal.
Harry walked slowly through the corridors. He wanted some time to think.
Lessons had been more difficult to endure this year and he knew it was because he was not as eager to learn as he had been before. He knew that what he was to learn the next two years would help him in his final battle against Voldemort and he should be pleased about it. But he couldn't help but feel that it was all a waste of time.
True, he had escaped Voldemort four times now, but it was more due to luck than his skills. Voldemort possessed powers and knowledge more advanced than he could ever hope to posses. Unless he wished to immerse himself into the same sort of studies that had attracted a younger Tom Riddle. But Harry had no wish to immerse himself in that sort of magic. He had seen first hand the damage and pain that kind of magic had brought to others and he had no wish to be like Voldemort. It was enough that many believed he was destined to be the next Dark Lord, he didn't want them to be proven right.
He didn't want to be like Voldemort, he wanted to be Harry Potter, a sixteen-year old boy whose only concern should be which Quidditch player to emulate, or which girl he finds more attractive.
Without noticing, he had walked into an empty hall in the West Tower. By the time he looked around he noticed that he had walked to the corridor where the new class was located.
He looked at the doors. Now that he was here he might as well wait in the classroom for the rest of the class to appear.
He saw an open door at the end of the corridor, light shone through the doorway and beckoned to him to enter.
Harry walked slowly to the room. He stood by the doorway as he looked around the classroom.
It looked like any other classroom. Large windows opened toward the grounds, light streamed through the clear glass and lit the room. The walls where covered by large cabinets where he could see pillows, glass orbs, candle holder and other things stored within their spacious drawers. There was a large chandelier hanging from the center of the ceiling where dozens of candles waited to give light once it got dark. The desks were placed in a horseshoe shape around the sides of the room, leaving the front and the middle of the room with enough space for practice or presentation.
In front of the classroom, right before the blackboard, was a large desk. And behind the desk sat the woman Harry had seen with Professor Lupin. He had seen her at the staff table but it seemed that she had decided to leave early to prepare for class.
She seemed to have sensed his presence as she looked up and turned to watch him.
"Er..." Began Harry not knowing what to say to the woman he knew had been a close friend of his mother.
"Hello, Harry. Come in." She said softly.
Harry walked into the room.
"Professor Lupin has told me much about you." She said with a sad smile.
Harry said nothing as he looked at the woman before him. "Er...I suppose." He mumbled the moment he caught himself staring at her.
He blushed with embarrassment when he noticed her studying him. "Remus was right." She murmured. "Just like James, but with Lily's eyes." She sighed sadly. "I always thought James was first enamored of her eyes before he fell in love with her." She commented as she abruptly looked away from Harry and returned her glance to the parchments on the desk.
Harry looked at her. He hadn't heard anybody talk much of his parents. Sirius and Remus had only mentioned them a few times, and only because he asked them to. His Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon never said a thing about them, not intentionally at least. And his professors at Hogwarts only compared his looks to those of his father and the things he found out from them only happened when he eavesdropped.
"I've been told they didn't get along, at first." Harry said thinking about the scene he witnessed in the pensive some months ago.
Professor Holmes chuckled. "It was James' fault, in a way." She said. "From the moment we all met in the Hogwarts Express we knew that James and Sirius would create havoc anywhere they went." She smiled at the memory. "They set off a chain of exploding sap bombs along the corridor of the train."
"Sap bombs?" Harry listened eagerly.
"At the time, they were very popular. A set of spherical orbs with stinksap that could be triggered to explode by a timer. They were discontinued when it was found that the fermented sap could become acidic and do some serious injury." She explained.
"Did they get in trouble?" Harry asked imagining the scene.
Professor Holmes shook her head. "No." She said. "School had not officially begun and they had not been sorted into a house yet. They did receive detention and warning from McGonagall. But it didn't hold them back from doing more pranks, and after Remus and Peter had joined them, their pranks became more elaborate. I think James and Sirius must hold the record for the most time in detention in Hogwarts History."
"Fred and George would say otherwise." Harry exclaimed.
She glanced at him a silent question in her eyes.
"Fred and George Weasley. They're twins that left this past year. My friend Ron is their youngest brother." He explained. "They have become quite legendary because of their pranks."
"I see." She said. "I'm sure Sirius was entertained by them."
Harry looked sadly away. "He didn't get to know them for long." He whispered.
He heard Professor Holmes sigh softly.
"Professor Lupin said you were a close friend of my mother." He said putting aside the familiar pain that memory of Sirius usually brought.
She smiled reminiscently. "We were. I often thought of her when I was away, wondering if she and James had married, if they had any children. If they were safe." She ended quietly.
"You went away before they married?" Harry asked curiously.
"I did. They had just found each other after three years of separation. But I always thought they would be perfect for each other. Lily's quiet ways were a perfect foil to James' exuberance. Their characters were so opposite from each other and it was that that made them a perfect couple."
"What do you mean by three years of separation?" Harry had never heard that his parents had been separated and was eager to know more about them.
"They first became a couple after Halloween of our seventh year, but they didn't last for long. A series of circumstances kept them away from each other. Lily was injured and had to leave Hogwarts returning only until a week before graduation, and James had to leave for a month after his father was killed. It wasn't until three years later that they met once more." Professor Holmes said.
"Was mum, alright? How was she injured?" Harry asked curiously, he knew that she recuperated, as she looked fine in the pictures he had seen.
"It took some time for her to recuperate completely, but she had to spend months in a wheelchair." Professor Holmes said. "By graduation, she was better, still had to do some therapy but she was strong enough to walk once more."
Harry nodded. But he couldn't help notice that she hadn't said how his mother had been injured, and he wondered.
Professor Holmes took a deep breath. "You better take a seat." She said abruptly. "The rest of your classmates should be here soon."
Harry looked at the ornate clock hanging above the door. Lunch would be over soon and he knew that Ron and Hermione would hurry to see if he was here.
Harry looked around to the desks and took one near the front. He hadn't been sitting for more than ten minutes when Ron and Hermione hurried into the room.
"Oh, here you are!" Exclaimed Hermione as she struggled to take deeper breaths. It was obvious that both had run from the Great Hall, as Ron stood panting against the door.
"Told you he would be." He managed to say.
Professor Holmes looked amused. "Your friends, I assume, Harry." She spoke.
Harry nodded.
Ron and Hermione turned to look at her and Harry was sure they hadn't noticed she was there until she spoke.
"Nice to meet you, please take your seats." Proffessor Holmes said.
Ron and Hermione hurried to take a seat at either side of Harry.
"Well?" Whispered Ron to Harry.
"What?" Harry asked.
"What is she like?" Ron said.
"She's nice." Harry said.
"Did she talk about your parents?" Asked Hermione as she pulled out her parchment, ink, and quill.
"A little." Said Harry.
Others students were starting to file in. Some looked at the seat arrangement with surprise but took their seats in a hurry as they noticed their new teacher standing in front looking at them closely.
Harry looked around to the other students. He was not happy to note that Malfoy was in the class, but he was happy to see many of the D.A. members attend.
As soon as every seat was filled, Professor Holmes stepped down from beside her desk and walked into the middle of the room, where every student sitting in the horseshoe-arranged desks could see her.
"Good Afternoon. I'm Professor Holmes and welcome to Experimental Charms." She said to the silent students.
"In this class you will practice some charms that every Hogwarts student should know by the end of their seventh year. These you will learn more about in the next year or two in your Charms, Transfiguration and Defense Against the Dark Arts classes. I will teach you some charms used to prepare Aurors in training as well as some spells rarely used in the magical world. But most importantly, I will teach you charms and spells never used in Ministry history." At these some students looked at each other full of eager anticipation. "They have been created, researched and tested but never used. The Ministry and the Headmaster thinks it's time to bring them out and put them to use."
Professor Holmes was pacing, looking at each student closely as she walked.
"As you may have noticed, you were not assigned a book for this class. The reason for it is that there isn't one book in existence that will cover every spell we'll be using in this class. A series of books will be required, some of which you may already have and some which can be found at the Hogwarts Library."
Professor Holms walked toward the blackboard, with a sharp flick of her wand letters began to appear in the black surface.
"You will need this books:
"Advance Book of Spells, by Miranda Goshawk
"Advance Guide to Transfiguration, by Emeric Switch
"The Dark Arts: An Advance Guide for Defense, by Quentin Trimble
"This books should be in your possession as they are required texts for both sixth and seventh years." Professor Holmes said as students scribbled the list in their notes. "As I have said before, we'll be doing some spells that you may have already learned or are about to learn in your other classes. The magic we'll be using in this class requires a large amount of concentration and a great deal of talent. Some of you may never master some of the advance spells we'll be learning, but don't discourage, it will come in useful if you find yourself in a situation were you need to defend yourself against the Dark Forces."
Professor Holmes took a pile of parchments from her desk and started distributing them to the students. "These are special permission slips, allowing you the use of certain books found only in the Restricted Section of the school Library." She said. "You'll note that each contains a list of the books you will be using in this class. Madam Pince has in her possession a list of names of every student allowed to receive this class as well as a copy of the books you're allowed to use for the research you'll be doing. That means that you may not use this parchment to ask for book that is not on the list. This slip is also non-transferable, the moment you touched the parchment a spell has been activated. If you give this slip to another person, even if he or she is part of this class, you and the other person will find yourselves under a spell that may only be removed by me." She said. The students looked down at the slip in horror. Some dropped it on their desks with nervousness, while others looked at it curiously.
"You'll be using these books when the time comes to move on to the rarely used spells as well as some ancient enchantments we'll be learning." Professor Holmes continued as if she hadn't noticed the scared expressions from some of her students. "We will progress to the Experimental Charms until after the winter holidays and we'll be using research parchments and notebooks to study those." She said coming to a stop in the middle of the room. "I have in my possession a collection of books that may come in useful," she pointed to the back of the room. Every student turned to look at a large bookcase, full of heavy-looking volumes. "You've only to ask if you want to look through them." She said.
"You'll be assigned papers, that I expect will be well-researched and well- written. I do not condone copying, which means I expect every single one of you to work on your own paper. Each report will be more than five feet long, some will be expected to be over ten feet." Ron looked at Harry with consternation. Both knew that the time to ask Hermione to let them copy from her work had come to an end. They didn't dare do so for this class, a teacher who had the foresight to jinx their permission slips would surely have a way to find out if they had copied or not. "Professor Dumbledore has made me aware of a Defense Club formed by some students to practice Defense Spells. The Headmaster has cleared this group to use the spells we're about to use in this class for practice in their meetings. If you are part of that group, make sure you only practice those spells you learn in this class among those belonging to this class only, nobody else. The rest of you, you may use this sort of magic only in this class. Some of the magic I will teach you is of a very sensitive nature and the Ministry wishes to keep tabs on those learning from this class. You may not use this magic outside of the school, unless you have been cleared by me and the Ministry at the end of your education here at Hogwarts."
Professor Holmes started pacing once more. "Unlike the rest of your lessons, this class will not be tested during N.E.W.T. Exams. You will be required to pass a practical and oral exam taken by an elite group of Auror agents. Some of the magic mastered in this class has been charmed to be easily detected by Ministry officials. If you use any of the magic learned in this class without clearance or used in any situation other than in self defense, the Ministry will be made aware of its use and you will be taken into custody. The punishment for the use of this kind of magic without clearance is ten years at Azkaban."
Gasps of horror escaped some of the students. Harry noted that Malfoy looked curious. And Harry could understand why. What kind of magic will they be learning that requires this kind of security? Ten years at Azkaban? One would think they were about to learn how to use the Unforgivable Curses.
The memory of what happened the past June at the Ministry came quickly to mind. He had used one of the Unforgivable Curses, that it had not been as strong as it could've been didn't matter. But he wasn't sorry that he had used it, and wondered if anybody other than himself and Bellatrix Lestrange knew about it.
Professor Holmes was still talking. "We will begin with the spells you are already acquainted with. For the remaining of the lesson, I want you to write a list of every incantation you know, the effects it has and an example of a defensive situation in which it can be used. You will place it on my desk as you leave."
There was a hurried scramble as all students pulled their parchments and quills and started to write their lists.
Every spell I know, thought Harry. He chewed on the end of his quill and wondered where to begin.
Unexpectedly, the image of a large troll came to mind and the memory of their surprising defeat of the troll on Halloween during their his first year played through his mind.
Harry smiled and wrote on his parchment:
Wimgardium Leviosa – Effect: Ability to make things fly. Defensive Situation: Fighting a troll, use Wingardium Leviosa to unarm it and use its own club to knock him out.
Harry laughed silently. Hermione and Ron looked at him with a question in his eyes. He shook his head and continued writing. He certainly had a vast experience in defensive situations.
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Three hours and a half later, Harry had covered ten feet of parchment with different sorts of spells and hexes.
"Start putting your things away, please." Ordered Professor Holmes. "Make sure to bring your textbooks with you for our next class and don't forget to leave your parchment on my desk as you leave. I will not give remedial lessons or papers, if you lose one lesson and don't turn in your work, you will be penalized for it."
The bell rang, and students hurried out the door as it was the last lesson of the day and they all were eager for dinner and the beginning of their weekend.
"I thought you said she was nice." Grumbled Ron as the three friends made their way to the Gryffindor Tower to leave their notebooks.
"She was before class began." Harry said.
"That class will be brutal. Can you imagine, going to Azkaban for using some of the spells we'll learn about in class?" Ron exclaimed.
"I'm sure they have their reasons. She did say some of the spells were rare and a few never used before. The Ministry must be afraid the Death Eaters would try to use them." Hermione said.
"Then why teach it at all?" Asked Harry. "Malfoy is in that class. I'll bet he'll tell his friends as soon as he can."
"But you heard Professor Holmes. We're not allowed to use it outside of the classroom and even after graduation we can only use it after being cleared by the Ministry. He wouldn't want to break the rules and go to Azkaban." Hermione said.
"I don't think he'll care." Ron said. "His father is a Death Eater, one of those closest to You-Know-Who. He'll want to stay in their good books."
"And don't forget, the spells are being monitored, if he uses them, the Ministry will know." Hermione reminded them. "It was kind of them to allow us to practice them in the D.A. meetings." She continued. "Of course, we must make sure the others not taking the class are not there when we do so."
"Wonder how Dumbledore got the Ministry to allow us to use it." Ron said thoughtfully.
"Especially when Fudge is so afraid that Dumbledore is making us into his own private army." Harry said.
They were near the Gryffindor Tower, other students walked beside them as they made their way to their common room. But Harry was too busy with his own thoughts to notice anybody around him. He barely noticed when they arrived in front of the portrait, snapping out of his thoughts only when Ron pushed him to get in through the portrait hole.
"When are we having the next D.A. meeting?" Asked Ron as they left Hermione at the bottom of the stairs and made their way up to the fifth year boys' dormitories.
"Sunday night." Said Harry. "I asked the other houses to give me a schedule of their training days so I can schedule the meetings around them. Slytherin is the only one who refused to do so."
Ron sniffed with disapproval. "Well, it'll be their own fault if the meetings conflict with their training."
"Don't have many Slytherins coming to tell me they want to join, even though Dumbledore has announced the club at every dinner announcement." Harry said.
"Their loss. Dumbledore has made the announcements and we are allowing them to take part, if they don't want to, it's up to them. Dumbledore can't say we tried." Ron said.
Harry shrugged. If he was honest with himself, he would admit he wasn't bothered that the Slytherins weren't eager to take part in the D.A. meetings, they had all been dreading their inclusion into their group. But at the same time, he knew Dumbledore will be disappointed by the lack of enthusiasm Slytherin was showing in his effort to bring harmony between houses.
It didn't take them long to leave their book bags and return to the common room. Hermione was waiting for them, and together, they made their way to the Great Hall.
Most of the castle's inhabitants were congregated around their respective tables. Harry looked at the staff table and watched as Professor Holmes conferred with Professor Lupin at one end of the table; and by the frown on Lupin's face and the worried expression on Professor Holmes', he could only assume they were talking about him.
"What's wrong?" Asked Ron when he noticed his friend was not eating.
"Nothing." Said Harry, turning his attention to the platters full of lavish food in front of him.
He noticed Hermione's glance on him, but he chose his food without looking at her. He should've known she wasn't going to keep quiet.
"What did you and Professor Holmes talk about before class?" She asked.
Harry sighed, he had hoped his friends had forgotten that he had been in class before they got there. He really didn't wish to share what Professor Holmes had said about his parents. Not yet at least.
He chewed his food slowly, but he knew both were expecting an answer and wouldn't matter how long it took him to swallow.
"Not much." He said finally. "Only that Lupin had talked about me."
"What did he tell her?" Asked Ron turning his attention back to his food.
"Not much, I guess." Harry replied. "She only mentioned my looks. But everybody who knew my parents mention it the first time they meet me."
"Didn't she mention your mother?" Asked Hermione, her glance telling Harry that she knew he wasn't telling everything.
"Only once, just that she and Professor Holmes had been very good friends when they were students." Harry said. "But I already knew that."
Harry was sure Hermione had more to say, but dinner was over and Professor Dumbledore was about to speak.
"If I can have your attention, please." Said Dumbledore over the boisterous chatter. "I have a few announcements. I want to remind students that the Quidditch Season does not begin until a few weeks yet and teams must schedule training sessions with Madam Hooch for use of the Quidditch Pitch. Schedules will not be changed unless the respective Head of House presents a request to Madam Hooch. I also want to remind students about the new Defense Club, those wanting to join, please speak with Professor Lupin or Harry Potter, I understand the next meeting will take place this weekend.
"Now," he continued. "It's time for you to go to bed. Happy dreams."
Students scrambled from their seats and made their way out of the Great Hall.
Minutes later, Harry found himself in his dormitory. Ron and Hermione remained in the common room to start on their Potions paper. Seamus and Dean had made plans to meet Parvati and Lavender before retiring for the evening. Neville was already asleep.
Harry stood by the window, looking out into the grounds. The sky was dark but clear of clouds, as stars sparkled through its velvety surface.
A movement on the grounds caught his attention. Someone was walking through the grounds toward the Forbidden Forest.
Harry frowned. Who would be walking through the Forbidden Forest at this time of night? Not even Hagrid did so unless he had to.
He could see flowing robes fluttering against the breeze, and he suddenly knew who the person was.
"Brenna." He whispered.
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Harry stayed awake for hours after the rest of his roommates had found their beds.
He was curious about the unknown girl who inhabited the castle. Nobody had seen her, despite the fact that the castle seemed crowded. How did she spend her days? What was she doing here? And why didn't she make an appearance during meals and classes? But most importantly, what was she doing out of the castle at this hour.
He had so many questions about her, and he couldn't forget the last time he had seen her just before the last D.A. meeting.
He knew it was late and he should be sleep, but he was afraid to do so. Many were the nights when he awoke in the middle of the night after a disturbing dream. But he was used to them now and was glad that he awoke before his moans woke Ron and the others.
He abruptly got out of the bed. He couldn't sleep. He needed a walk.
He bent over his trunk. He closed the lid after he found his invisibility cloak.
He looked to his roommates. They still slept.
He covered himself with the cloak and silently left the room.
The common room was empty as the flames in the grate warmed the room. He could hear a soft crooning at one corner.
Harry looked toward the sound and saw the small figure of Dobby cleaning the darkened corner.
Harry decided to wait for Dobby to finish his work. He didn't want anybody to know he was out. Not even the elf, even though he knew Dobby wouldn't say anything if he asked him to say nothing. But he didn't want to take any chances. There were enough people in the castle who wouldn't be too happy with him if it were known that he was out of bed.
It didn't take long for Dobby to conclude his work, and Harry saw him disappear from the room with a sharp crack.
Harry scrambled through the portrait hole.
The Fat Lady yawned as the portrait closed. "Don't be out too long." She called.
Harry smiled as he trotted through the empty corridor. He was sure the Fat Lady knew it was he the one who had just left the Gryffindor common room.
He was climbing a staircase when Filch's voice stopped him in his tracks.
"Keep your eyes open, my sweet." Harry knew Filch was talking to his cat, Mrs. Norris. "I'm sure somebody will leave their common room. Weekends, they're the worst my sweet. Free time, bah! Time to plan mischief."
Harry swallowed a groan that threatened to escape his lips. The Marauder's Map was hidden in his trunk, he had forgotten to grab it when he took his cloak.
Harry waited to see if Filch appeared around the corner. But by the sound of the footsteps, Harry knew Filch was walking away from him.
Harry sighed with relief. He should go back to the common room. Without the map, he was in danger of stumbling with a teacher or Filch, and he would be in trouble.
He couldn't afford to be in trouble. He was determined to finish the school year without getting in trouble. He knew that trouble usually seemed to find him, but this time, he didn't want to be the one looking for it.
But he was already out. And he couldn't sleep. Harry was sure that if he was careful, he could continue on his trek and be back in bed before anybody noticed he was out of the Gryffindor Tower.
He was walking through the corridor in the seventh floor when he noticed somebody walking a few meters away from him.
Harry frowned as he saw the dark silhouette pacing back and forth. It was then that he noticed the person was pacing before the Room of Requirement.
Seconds later, Harry saw the person walk through the conjured door.
Harry stood in place for a moment. He didn't know why he had made his way to that specific corridor, but now he was feeling a little disappointed that somebody had beaten him to the room.
He started to turn back. There was no point in staying there any minute longer. The longer he stayed where he was, the closer he got to being caught.
Dumbledore's voice drifted to him. "What do you think of him?"
"He has potential." A young voice said.
"I always thought so." Dumbledore sounded amused.
"But he loses control too easily, and that could be fatal." The young voice replied.
"He'll learn." Dumbledore said.
"But will he do so in time?" Was the response.
The voices where drifting away and it was harder for Harry to hear them clearly.
"We'll see." Was the last thing Harry heard Dumbledore say.
It was getting late and Harry knew it was time for him to return to the common room.
He found nobody on his way. He could hear some of the portraits whisper to each other while others slept in silence.
It wasn't long before he was the in front of the Fat Lady. It took him a while to wake her up long enough to whisper the password.
As he climbed the staircase to the boys' dormitory he realized something. The young voice talking to Dumbledore had sounded familiar, but he couldn't place it.
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A/N: There you go. There were a few questions regarding Brenna, don't worry, you'll find more about her as the story continues, it wouldn't do for me to tell you about her before Harry finds out, it would take the mystery out of the story. But you'll learn more soon enough. Thank you all for reviewing, I enjoy reading what my readers have to say (even those who don't agree with me as long as it is constructive criticism) and look forward to see what you think about this chapter. I'm going to see the movie this weekend, so I probably won't have the next chapter done until maybe next week, but I know you will understand. The movie is just more important at the moment : DEnjoy!!!!!!!!!!
LadyoftheLake