29 (The Gloomy Bubble Potion and Sorrowtuckles)

The rays of sunlight lighted the floor, and soon reached Harry's four-poster bed. Still sleepy, Harry woke up from his wonderful and peaceful sleep. Harry constantly kept thinking about how he and Hermione had fallen in love. It was unbelievable, and so mighty. For ages, Harry longed to tell Hermione how much she meant to him, but anyway…he feared things might go wrong. And then, he was surprised himself to see her reaction. He had never expected her to be thrilled and happy. He had thought that she might hate him for the rest of his life. But then, something came to his mind. Why would Hermione hate him? They've been best friends for five years, and this was the sixth year running. They both helped each other in adventures and dangerous issues. Thus, it didn't make sense if she hadn't at least liked him. In fact, she would've always appreciated his help, and she would've definitely liked him for all this time. The only problem was that they didn't have the guts to confess their emotions. Eventually, it was all revealed and pointed out last night.

Slowly, Harry lifted the blanket, and put his numb legs on the floor. He was staggering for some moments, and held on to his bed, for he didn't fell any strength in his feet. In the end, he managed to walk a few steps, and reach the door.

The common room was deserted at this point of time, and everything was neat. Probably, the house-elves have cleaned it while Harry was sleeping. The fire was out, and the sofas were neatly arranged with the several pillows on them.
Quietly, Harry sat on the armchair. It was the same armchair he and Hermione had sat on last night. He felt the scent of Hermione's presence still on her spot. He definitely remembered the fair smell of her from last night. Also, Harry thought he'd seen something like a tearstain outlined on the armchair. A smile came to his face, and was lightened by the sunrays that reached through the curtains. The memory came by, and he was living it again. Hermione's face was covered with salty tears, and her hair was covering it. Then, Harry was informing her about his love to her. She was smiling, and nearing him. There noses almost touched, and then she confessed her love too. The romantic moment was back again, and their lips were hanging on to each other. The fast and heavy breathing came next. After that, Harry felt weight on his body. It was Hermione, tightly hugging him and resting her chin on his right shoulder. Harry now felt a soft fleeting breeze brushing his hair.
Suddenly, a lovely soft sound broke the silence surrounding Harry. It brought him back to reality.
"Harry?" it was the voice of Hermione, who appeared to have just woken up.
Quickly, Harry shifted his head, turned around, to see Hermione, resting her arms on the rail.
"Good morning," said Harry slowly, smiling fervently at her. Her face seemed so bright, and filled with love.
"I thought I'd heard some footsteps going outside the dormitory and heading downstairs," commented Hermione humorously, walking down the stairs.
She joined him on the armchair, and straight away sat on his laps. She shot him a look of love in his eyes, and he returned the look to her.
"Did you sleep last night?" asked Harry, stroking her cheek.
"Not at all," replied Hermione, vaguely, "I kept thinking about the white knight that at last found me lost along the riverbank, and entered through the gates of my heart."
Harry's teeth showed as his smile widened; he pulled her closer to his face.
"Hmmm," mumbled Harry, "and who could that be?"
Hermione gazed dreamily at him.
"Who else could it be? Other than you?" responded Hermione.
As quick as thunder, she lowered her face to be on the level of Harry's chin. Impatiently, she kissed him twice, and so did he.
"Can you just believe this? True love?" asked Harry repeatedly.
"It's amazing to think about," spoke Hermione, "how destiny decided that we were meant to be…together."
Harry kept watching her dreamily.
"I know," he commented, "and how sweet it is, right?"
Without any more response, Hermione hugged him so tightly, that he almost lost his breath.
Harry held on tightly to her; he felt as if they were one. Hermione was like the only heart in him, and that heart was the source of living to Harry.
"Harry?"
"Yes Hermione," replied Harry quickly, shooting her a look of admiration.
"I wondered," she began, "what would you want to do for Valentine's Day?"
This question confused him a bit. He remembered that only last year, he accompanied Cho Chang, his ex-girlfriend, to a small teashop. Of course, everyone knew how it became to be a disaster in the end, when Harry mentioned the subject of Hermione. Cho Chang was jealous, and thought of Harry loving Hermione more than her. Afterall, he had the right to. Why wouldn't he love his best friend?
"Well," hesitated Harry, "I don't know exactly, but we could go Fred and George's place for fun."
Hermione raised her eyebrows, and then smiled at him.
"Imagine them turning a red heart into a cockroach or something," she commented, which made both of them laugh. Indeed, Fred and George, the two joking geniuses, could've turned anything before their eyes into a joking business.

Half an hour later, Harry and Hermione wore their school uniforms, and gathered their books and parchments. Harry had his wand sticking out of his pocket. In addition, now that he has seen, or at least known, what the wolf of the eighth floor is capable of doing; he grabbed the sword of Anystal and hid it in his schoolbag. Of course, he placed it carefully so that it won't tear the bag apart, although he can fix it with simply saying "Reparo!"

"Good mo---mo---ring," yawned Ron, as he swept by Harry and Hermione.
"Good morning," responded Harry, "had a nice sleep?"
"Yeah, right," replied Ron sarcastically, approaching the bathroom, "with Neville's pig-like snoring, no one could rest their heads on a pillow."
As he went into the bathroom, something came to his mind.
"Oh, Harry," spoke Ron urgently.
Harry turned to face him.
"Professor McGonagall told me to let you know that she wants that test of yours for the seventh year Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws canceled, because they've already got a Potions test."

Harry thought for a moment about what Ron has just said, and then remembered how he had planned to give the students a test on Monday, which happened to be today.
"Allright Ron," said Harry, straightening his glasses, "I shall have a word with her and ask about the shift in schedule."
"Suit yourself," muttered Ron, and he locked the door behind him.

"Ready for another day?" asked Hermione, smiling fervently at Harry.
"Absolutely ready, that's if you are," replied Harry, walking down the stairs.
Hermione had followed him, and along came Crookshanks, who happened to be sleeping under the armchair last night.
"He never stops chasing you, does he?" asked Harry, grinning at Crookshanks.
"No, he's got used to me," replied Hermione, "I should not let him wander around wherever I go, or he might as well cause chaos."
"Good idea," commented Harry humorously.
Finally, Harry and Hermione got out of the common room, heading to the Great Hall for breakfast. Hermione felt slight remorse for letting Crookshanks behind. Harry laughed when he heard him meow angrily from behind the door. Truly, Hermione has seldom let Crookshanks alone; nevertheless, she had to leave him inside, where he is protected.

While Harry was walking, he ran into Nearly Headless Nick. The Gryffindor ghost asked Harry if he could come and attend his friend's death day party. Of course, Harry remembered how it was when he attended Nick's death day party. It was a terrible mess. No need to mention how it was with Peeves around…
As Harry walked, something very significant came to his mind.
"Hermione?" began Harry, gazing at her.
"Yes Harry?"
"I was wondering," spoke Harry earnestly, "now that you've claimed that…that you love me, and I love you…I wondered…could…could you be…"
"Cat got your tongue?" asked Hermione, giggling.
"Well, um…"
"Why are you so shy?"
"I…could you be my…girlfriend?" finally, Harry let it out.
Hermione stopped in her spot, and gazed dreamingly at him.
"Gladly," answered Hermione, and she caressed his cheek.
Harry felt himself burning with happiness from inside, and then the two continued their walk to the Great Hall.

As always, the Great Hall was crammed with students, here and there. The Slytherins were just arriving, accompanied of course by slimy Draco Malfoy. Over by the Hufflepuff table, sixth and seventh years were babbling about the horrible Transfiguration test they had last Wednesday. It freaked them out, for they didn't have the time to study a chart that contained forty seven figures. The chart was very intricate indeed. First, it had an animal on the left box. Next to it was its magical abilities. After that, come their weaknesses. Finally, the last box on the right explained how they are properly transfigured. Professor McGonagall was always known to be strict, but not this harsh.
Harry and Hermione found themselves two seats next to Dean, Parvati, and Lavender Brown. Owls were arriving now, and dozens of copies of the Daily Prophet were landing into each and every student's hand. Harry spotted Hedwig entering through a high window, and then she flew downwards, directly heading to him. Down came the Daily Prophet, and it made a smudge on Harry's shirt, for it landed on top of the tomato sauce.
"Here," began Hermione, "let me help."
She took her wand out of her pocket, and muttered "Scourgify"
Instantly, the stain on Harry's shirt vanished, and the shirt was as good as new.
"Thank you, Hermione," complimented Harry, and he held her hand between his. But Hermione had realized that they haven't officially declared their love, and it would be wise to not do anything suspicious in public.
"No Harry," whispered Hermione, as Harry came close to kiss her.
Harry backed away instinctively, following Hermione's desire.
Finally, Ron arrived at the Gryffindor table, all untidy and still sleepy.
"I thought you'd never come," commented Hermione sarcastically.
"Hahaha," muttered Ron, slightly annoyed.
Harry had just remembered something Ron had told him earlier on.
"I'd better head of to McGonagall; I need to talk to her about the test," claimed Harry quickly, and in a flash of seconds, he was out of his seat.
Hastily, Harry walked towards the teachers' table in the front, owing the need to discuss the test issue with the head of his house.
Meanwhile, Ron started eating, fulfilling the desire of his appetite.
Accidentally, he choked on a chunk of bread. He was pleading for some water.
"Here," Hermione presented him with the nearest glass of water on the table. Ron nearly spilled the water on his clothes, for he had his mouth wide open.
"Thanks," muttered Ron heavily, catching the breath of air. There were some cool wet drops of water on his trousers.
"I'm always a big ball of mess," admitted Ron, looking bothered. He instantly got his wand out and cleaned himself up.
"You could've just dried it up with a handkerchief," mouthed Hermione, giggling.
Ron glanced at her for a moment, a grin appearing on his face. Then, something came to mind.
"By the way," began Ron, looking mysterious, "I wanted to ask you something, Hermione."
She didn't completely understand what he meant; nevertheless, she accepted it.
"Ask away," and she spread some jam over her toast.
"Is something…. going between you and…and Harry?" asked Ron slowly, to make the question interesting.
At once, Hermione stopped spreading the jam, and looked at him. She didn't have the slightest clue that Ron knew something strange was going on between her and Harry.
"No," lied Hermione, reluctantly, "why would…you ask such thing?"
"Are you sure?" asked Ron again.
"Yes I am; I'm not dumb, you know," shrieked Hermione, and trembled.
Ron raised his eyebrows, a sort of a wicked grin emerging from his face.
"I know something is going on," declared Ron truthfully, "otherwise, why would Harry mention you unceasingly in conversations? And why did he have to accompany you on a walk in the night on the ice?"
It seemed like a dozen of questions in one. At least, that's what Hermione thought. She spoke no more, and inferred that Ron must've definitely known something about her recent relationship. But how could it be? She was sure Harry hadn't told Ron anything about it.
Hermione felt a bit nervous, now that one person, along with Harry, knows about her relationship. She wasn't positively sure, but her heart told her that Ron knew something.

"I thought she was going to say such thing," muttered Harry, as he sat down beside Hermione and Ron.
"'Oo said wha'?" asked Ron, as a mouthful of jelly entered his mouth.
"McGonagall," explained Harry, "she said that I was supposed to schedule the test on Thursday rather than Monday. I kept telling her that the whole staff agreed on having the students take the test on Monday, but no, she wouldn't consent. She thought of shifting the Potions test, which was originally planned to be handed out on Thursday, to Monday. I bet everyone will fail this test; Snape is getting nastier than ever, and we're half way through the year. Plus, Snape is sick today, and may he rot in his bed. So, now I'm supposed to watch over the students taking the test, which originally was my free time. And I thought of finishing up that essay for Binns. "
Ron looked at Harry, still spitting out some jelly.
"Yo' should've reporte' 'er," sputtered Ron.
Hermione, who had been quiet for the last three minutes, had spoken again.
"Ron, how foolish would you want Harry to be? Report a teacher who had practically raised us all? Snape is an exception, but not Professor McGonagall. She's head of our house, the Transfiguration teacher, and deputy headmistress!"
Ron was startled by Hermione's reaction, and shot her looks of confusion and apology simultaneously.
Harry's eyes averted from Hermione to the Daily Prophet that earlier on landed on tomato sauce and stained his clothes. He cleaned it himself with his wand, and then gazed at an article over by the upper left corner. There was a picture of a man, head hooded, face masked, and covered with a cloak. The figure was moving in the frame, and the man was apparently laughing wickedly. Then, Harry realized the title.
"Hey, look at this!" prattled Harry, pointing to the article. Hermione and Ron scooted a bit on he bench, and glanced at the point where Harry's finger was pointing.
"'Dolohov sighted at Hogsmeade!'" mouthed Hermione.
" He's at Hogsmeade already?" shrieked Ron in disbelief. "When did he arrive? What's he doing there?"
"Read to find out, Ron," advised Harry, who happened to be reading the seventh line in the article, so did Hermione. The trio's eyes were moving rapidly from left to right, and then from right to left. Each sentence heightened their anxiety.
Soon, Harry, Hermione, and Ron heard shrieks emerging from every corner of the Great Hall. It appeared that every pupil was staring at the Daily Prophet. The Slytherins had smirks on their faces, and grins too. The Hufflepuffs were glancing at each other, perplexed. The Ravenclaws and the Gryffindors have almost gone mad. They were totally scared by that bit of news. Now that Dolohov, a faithful Death Eater, was present at Hogsmeade, soon, his gang will arrive as well. Only a while ago, it was reported in the Daily Prophet that they deftly escaped from Azkaban. Of course, it would've been wiser to let the dementors performs their kiss, for those Death Eaters were the foulest and most horrific murderers that existed to serve the Dark Lord. Alas, the Ministry of Magic wasn't ready yet. That may have been the reason they had an opportunity to escape Azkaban.
"I bet you anything Dumbledore will postpone the trip to Hogsmeade to the end of the year, now!" yelled Ron, under the heavy shrieks and screaming in the Great Hall. Harry and Hermione had their fingers in their ears, but still, they were worried as much as the rest of the students.
"Silence!" came the harsh old voice of Professor Dumbledore. He had his hands raised in the air, descending to resemble the subsiding of the loud noise.
For a moment, Professor Dumbledore gazed at every shiny eye in the Great Hall. Then, with his wisdom, memory, and sympathy, he understood their feelings.
"I know what has happened at our merry Hogsmeade," claimed Professor Dumbledore, "a Death Eater, by the surname of Dolohov, has appeared out of nowhere. Now, I also know the intense feelings hanging in the air around you, but I kindly ask you to calm down. Panicking will only heighten your anxiety. As I have said before, the next Hogsmeade trip has been postponed till February the fourteenth. But alas, I'm afraid I'll have to cancel all Hogsmeade trips for the next coming months. It's for your own safety."
"What did I tell you?" whispered Ron quietly to Harry and Hermione.
"It is not in my hands what the wickedness and evil in Lord Voldemort drive him to," began the headmaster, ignoring the students' usual winces at the sound of the name, " but I am definitely sure that someday, perhaps soon, he will fall again, and so will all the darkness, evil, and shadows in the present day. Yet, we mustn't underestimate him, for he has proven himself capable of conducting the most complex and intricate spells and curses wizard kind has ever known. Some of you may have seen it, witnessed it with their own eyes. His black heart knows no mercy, nor forgiveness. Whatever…whoever stands in his way of ultimate control on the wizard world, is killed. Our history has clearly witnessed his cruel actions for the past few years. For one, without any mercy, he murdered the beloved parents of the one and only Potter left alive."
Every eye turned around to Harry, who began to look around nervously.
"Although this brave boy's parents have fought him courageously," Professor Dumbledore went on, "they were eventually killed by his hands. What else could I say? He personally murdered a girl, who studied here at Hogwarts. Unfortunately, her big mouth and little brain drove her to the way of Voldemort. You see, he lured her into a circle. And then, when he completely had no use of her anymore, he eliminated her from existence. Only last year, one of his followers, had managed to kill an innocent soul, and by that I mean Sirius Black."
There were shrieks and yelps coming out from every table. For so long, almost everyone thought Sirius Black was alive, hiding somewhere on Earth, escaping the greedy hands of the Ministry of Magic. His friend, who turned out to be nothing but a dirty traitor, Peter Pettigrew, deceived everyone in the wizard community. That event, where twelve muggles were killed, made everyone think the same way; Sirius Black was insane, and killed Peter Pettigrew.
However, this piece of information that the headmaster just let slip has shocked them all.
"Yes," continued the old man, "I know that many of you have thought that Sirius Black was hiding from the Ministry's hands. I could hold it no longer, so that's why truth was to be told. Sirius Black had escaped luckily from here, that very night three years ago. Along with him was an innocent magical creature, which instinctively attacked a victim when he offended it. I can't say who helped them out of here, because I'm sure that that would changer your way of thinking towards him, or rather them. I have no time now to explain the truth about Sirius Black, but he has, and will always be innocent. He was convicted for a crime he didn't commit. But it does no good to remember him now, for he's dead."
Harry momentarily felt like crying, but Ron and Hermione patted him on either shoulders, soothingly.
"And what about Cedric Diggory?" began Professor Dumbledore purposefully. "Have you forgotten that brave young man? Have you forgotten the way we were in grief, that last night in the year, two years ago? He was murdered by Lord Voldemort, too. Again, the majority of you don't know the truth about it, because you weren't in that maze, accompanying the four champions of the tournament. But here's the truth…Harry Potter and Cedric Diggory, both Hogwarts champions, have been transported by a portkey to the old graveyard, in which Lord Voldemort's father was berried. As some of you might not have known, Lord Voldemort personally murdered his father, another muggle. He killed him because when he found out the true race of his wife, he was shocked. She turned out to be a witch, and for that, he left her. That's why the Dark Lord avenged his mother, and killed his own father. When Harry and Cedric arrived there, several followers, which are known as Death Eaters started arriving. The faithful Death Eater, Peter Pettigrew, prepared a potion that would relive Lord Voldemort, making him take physical form again. But first, without any hesitation, Lord Voldemort instructed one of his followers to kill Cedric, for he had no use. That's what truly happened. After the whole incident, luckily, are young Harry managed to come out of them maze, alive, but with the body of a friend., Cedric Diggory."
Sighs came out of everywhere. Most of the Hufflepuffs had their jaws wide open, and their eyes bulged out. The Slytherins were glancing at each other, as if they didn't get the message. The Ravenclaws, including Cho Chang, had tears in their eyes. Clearly, they were the house that was deeply and emotionally affected. There were many fans of Cedric's in Ravenclaw. One of them happened to be his former girlfriend, Cho Chang. She did believe the story from Harry's point of view when he told her, but mentioning it again enhanced her worries and memories about him. One word of him, one memory…anything about him made her cry hot salty tears, filled with excruciating pain and agony.
Harry was catching on to his breath. This reminded him of that very day, when he didn't know what went wrong that transported him to the graveyard. The memory was so horrific that he was shaking like mad. The same went with Hermione and Ron. They, too, were frightened to know the truth, directly told by Professor Dumbledore. The mood was so intense now in the Great Hall, and students were talking madly to each other.
"I'm sorry that I caused you distress," apologized Professor Dumbledore sympathetically, "but you had to know the truth, the truth that…"
"Headmaster, please," interrupted Professor Snape out of the edge of his mouth.
The old man turned his head to him, purposefully.
"What Severus?" asked Professor Dumbledore. "Should I speak no more?"
Professor Snape's lips curled, and he was slightly embarrassed by the headmaster's determined reaction.
"Should I perhaps keep on the students living in a world of chaos, confusion, and loss? They've got to know the truth, and accept it. It's better for them to know it and be vigilant, rather than wandering around with no clue about what's happening in this wizarding world," his voice seemed far more determined and demanding than ever.
Professor Snape was silenced, and he was bashfully staring into his empty plate.
"This may have scared you," mouthed Professor Dumbledore, "but it's only for your own good to know the truth. Again, I ask you all to calm down, and not worry about the issues of Hogsmeade. Goodness knows what will happen there, and we shall do something about it sooner or later."
After that, without any other word, he sat down. His hands were hooked together, and his eyes were looking straightly at the table. Professor Dumbledore was no doubt thinking about something. Perhaps this time, neither his wisdom nor his determination helped him in figuring out a way that would resolve that problem.

"What should we do know?" asked Hermione nervously.
Harry, who was momentarily speechless, spoke again.
"We do nothing unless instructed by Dumbledore," suggested Harry, "otherwise we're venturing out into Hogsmeade, without any plans. First, we have to know Dolohov's powers and weaknesses, only then can we attack."
"Right," agreed Ron, nodding his head.
"But now there are no more Hogsmeade trips," added Hermione sadly, "and we'll never be able to visit Winky."
Ron was a bit enraged by those words.
"Is that stupid weirdo all you worry about, Hermione?"
She looked him in the eye, burning from the inside.
"That stupid weirdo happened to be abused by her master, another adult wizard, and her feelings were severely hurt!" twittered Hermione, her temper rising.
"Well, I should've never agreed to go with you and Harry then!"
"Ron, Hermione…please, for once, would you consent to stop arguing?" asked Harry desperately.
"I'll stop talking if she does about that walking skeleton!" growled Ron.
"And I'll stop arguing if he doesn't mind offending her rights!" roared Hermione.
Harry shook his head, and then put it between his hands.
"Honestly, you two," spoke Harry, "it would be much better if you stop this childish nonsense, and act more like adults."
"Childish? Childish, Harry? We're talking about an elf's rights here!" snapped Hermione.
Ron was still glaring at her, boiling hot.
"Look, whatever you think Hermione, and you Ron," continued Harry, "if we keep on arguing about every single thing we've planned for, we'll never reach a fair decision. So what? There was a change in plans that caused us to stay home, but not visit Winky. What's the harm in that?"
"I'll tell you Harry," wept Ron angrily, "it'll be bad because little miss know-it-all won't get the chance to hear that Winky's complaints about not treating her well at St. Mungo's!"
Suddenly, without any warning, Hermione's palm flew in the air, and left a red mark on Ron's face. She slapped him! Ron was still there, embarrassed like never before. The sound was so loud that it attracted virtually every Gryffindor's attention. Harry froze in his seat. He's never seen Hermione get this angry before. Ron and Hermione usually argued many times about various subjects, but this?
Poor Hermione got out of her seat, weeping, heading towards the gates.
"Why can't you understand her, Ron?" asked Harry amicably. "Why do you treat her this way, when we both know that it's good to ease the pain of a house-elf? See how foolish you sometimes are? This is where it all leads; your best friend walked away."
Ron was breathing quickly.
"I can't believe she just did that," whispered Ron.

After that incident, Harry lost his appetite, and went to look for Hermione.

Quickly, Harry stepped out the castle, unobtrusively, and closed the gate behind him. Into the daylight he stepped. His head was turning to every angle. His legs carried him forwards, seeking Hermione.
Then, he found her. She was sitting in the shade, under a lard oak tree. She bent her knees, which were surrounded by her hands. Her hair was dancing in the air, whenever a cool breeze crept by. She was looking at the lake, crying.

"Hermione?"
She looked up at him.
Harry calmly sat down on the grass, beside the one he loved.
"Why were you overreacting, Hermione? Ron meant you no harm," talked Harry quietly.
"Did you see him, Harry?" asked Hermione. "Did you see the way he was delighted to make fun of her, 'that walking skeleton'!"
"I saw it," responded Harry, "but, even so, you made a mistake. You slapped him strongly on the face; you should've seen the mark it left on his cheek, clearly outlined."
"Well, it happened automatically," explained the angry Hermione, "and besides, he deserved it. He didn't know what true feelings were. I doubt whether he has a heart."
So those words seemed a bit sarcastic.
"Listen," began Harry, "we both know Ron's habit. He's sometimes arrogant, and only cares about what's best for him. However, he's still a human being; he's one of us."
"I know Harry," wept Hermione, her tears rushing down her soft cheek, "but I couldn't stand him anymore. I was just commenting on the effect of Dolohov's appearance. He just thought of babbling some rubbish."
Soothingly, Harry wrapped his arms around her shoulders, and she rested her head on his shoulder.
"Forgive him, will you?" queried Harry. "For me?"
"Only if he stops his foolishness and cruelty," replied Hermione.
"He will," whispered Harry, hopefully, "he will."

She looked into his eyes, and ironically a smile appeared on her face, which was covered with tears.
"I love you," admitted Hermione, beaming.
"I love you too," responded Harry, and they hugged for the last time that morning.

"Better get back inside, the bell's going to ring any moment now," advised Hermione.
And so, they did. The moment they stepped in, they were very thankful. No student noticed them, because everyone was hurrying to class, for the bell has rung immediately. Cunningly, though, they joined the crowd and moved forwards. Harry was looking over the heads of some third years, hopeful to catch a glimpse Ron, but no sign of him. He probably head them off to Divination, escaping the anger and disappointment of Hermione, and Harry's harsh criticism.
Harry left Hermione, who hurried to her Arithmancy class, whilst he walked towards the Potions classroom. The throng of seventh year Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws forced him to wait until everybody was inside; he was the last one to enter. It so happened that they had their Potions test now. Unluckily, Professor Snape was ill, and couldn't watch over the students. All the other staff was busy, and no one was free except for Harry.
The mood was tense, and the students were discussing some last minute questions before the test. Meanwhile, Harry walked forwards in the murky room, heading towards Professor Snape's desk. There were the pieces of parchment, all neatly placed in a stack. In addition to that, part of their test seemed to be practical. Harry noticed some forty cauldrons lined up at the back of the room. And in the private cupboard that no one but Professor Snape had the right to lay hands on, were about thirty vials, each filled with purple liquid. Also, there were jars full of dead rats, cockroaches, chickens' legs, and frog tongues.
Harry found his way through the aisle and distributed the pieces of parchment. Each hand that received the test was shivering, as if the veins within were about to explode. Harry shot each student a hopeful look, wishing him and her good luck on the test.
Finally, everyone had a test, and they were all ready to begin.
"Allright class, you've got thirty five minutes to complete this written test," started Harry, "then you'll be tested on this…um…bubbly thing potion."
Each student, even those who were remarkably good at Defence Against the Dark Arts with Harry, seemed to despair. Clearly, they didn't have enough time to study. Or perhaps Professor Snape was too harsh on them, as usual.

Harry took a seat on Professor Snape's chair, and began reading the process of the practical test the students had to carry out.
He found a letter, directed to him.

Potter,

After the students finish their written test (and make sure nobody cheats, otherwise a zero will be given, in addition to three detentions), they are asked to prepare the Gloomy Bubble Potion. They have studied this potion for one week, and I don't care whether they've got it in their thick brains or not. Your job is to hand them the materials, including the cauldrons. They should know the procedure, and have studied it thoroughly. Do not explain the method, and let each and every student depend on him or herself. The potion can be prepared within approximately fifteen minutes. Anyone who's late shall have five points taken from their house. This is how the process is carried out:
1. Make sure your cauldron is absolutely clean
2. Obtain one vial that contains a purple solution known as "Nozitoks"
3. Add the "Nozitoks" solution to the cauldron
4. Procure a dead rat from the jars provided, and cut its tail carefully
5. Tear the outermost skin off, and set it in the cauldron
6. You will notice that the tail will be immediately dissolved by the "Nozitoks" solution, changing the color into emerald green
7. When you begin to smell a fume emerging from the cauldron, instantly add three cockroaches that are alive
8. The cockroach wings will be the only remnants of the cockroach after adding it to the potion
9. The potion will start swirling and rising slowly
10. Place five chicken legs into the potion, and observe how an immediate flash of red light occurs
11. Collect two frog tongues, and chop them into cube sized bits
12. Drop the cubes into the solution
13. If all goes well, an opaque, navy blue, dark purple, bloody red bubble will arise
14. Touch it with the tip of your wand, and in turn it will shrink in size to fit in a jar
15. Seal the jar tightly, to avoid the bubble to escape, and label the jar with your name
16. Place your jar at the front shelf, and return all cauldrons to original position
17. In real life, this bubble could be penetrated and used to be transported underwater or above land

Remember Potter, do not offer to help anyone, or else, I will know when I get well.
Collect all parchments and neatly set them in the third drawer to the left of this table.

Severus Snape

It seemed like Professor Snape was actually talking to him through the letter, face to face. As always, Professor Snape was extremely demanding, cruel, and strict.

The clock was ticking, and so far, thirty minutes have passed since the start of the written test. The fact that the students hadn't had time to completely understand a theory composed of fifty-six pages in their textbook was inevitably trivial to Professor Snape.
Some of the students now looked frail, and their hands, as Harry thought, were no doubt numb from writing. Harry had a copy of the test on the table, and he couldn't believe how intricate Professor Snape's questions were. No need to mention how much writing was to be filling the blanks. His questions for sixth years and previous years were difficult indeed, but not at all like these ones. Possibly, Professor Snape thought of toughening up the questions for N.E.W.T level.
Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock
At last, the time was over, and Harry heard students bang their foreheads with their hands. He inferred that they must've not completed the whole test. Indeed, as he strolled around the classroom collecting the parchments, he noticed that some students have left one full page vacant of information. Harry felt sorry for them, but he couldn't have changed the way Professor Snape did things in his classroom, otherwise he could be reported, or worse expelled.
More and more parchments found their way to Harry's hands, and a few of them were soaked with tears. As Harry momentarily turned his head around, he saw the students scarcely breathing normally. They took in one breath after the other, in a consecutive order, but too fast.
"Calm down everyone," advised Harry amicably, "at least you did your best."
After all the parchments were collected, Harry used his wand to transfer them in a staggered way across the class, and eventually placing them in the drawer Professor Snape instructed him to put them in. This lightened up some pale faces in the classroom, and only a few of the distressed seventh years were able to grin.
"Now, pay attention," began Harry, "you shall start your practical testing in a few moments. The cauldrons are back there, and the vials shall be collected by each one of you. I have the jars here on the desk. What else…Oh, you might need to use some knives, and I've got them here. Other than that, the potion shall be carried out in solitude."
A minute later, the crowd was moving forwards, seeking the vials. Each student was vigilant to not spill the "Nozitoks" solution, for it has the ability to burn every flesh it touches. The jars of cockroaches, dead rats, chicken legs, and frog tongues were procured, and nearly none of them were left empty.
Every single student hurried back to their tables, placing their materials, and then scurried briskly to the back of the room to return with their cauldrons.
Everyone yelled "Scourgify". Of course, that reminded Harry of the first step in the procedure, "Make sure your cauldron is absolutely clean".

Ten minutes have passed so far, and the room, which was originally gloomy, turned even more dusky as the bubbles emerged from the cauldrons. None of the bubbles had a different color than the expected result, which made Harry rejoice in. He would imagine laughing at Professor Snape's disappointed greasy face right now.
"Five minutes to go, everybody," mouthed Harry, as he took a tour around the classroom, and shot a gladdened look at everyone.
Hastily, they shrank their bubbles into jar-fit size, and sealed their jars. Quickly, they wrote their names on labels, and stuck them onto the top of the lid. Eventually, all jars were arranged and lined up on the front shelf. The cauldrons were cleaned once again, and returned to the back of the classroom.
Harry was delighted to see a hopeful smile on every face. Presumably, the practical examination was much simpler than the written one.
And there came the sound of the bell, penetrating into the dungeons. The students, although gossiping about what they wrote on the test, were at least satisfied by how well the results have gone in their potions. The Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs left the classroom deserted.
"Colloportus!" muttered Harry, and the door sealed itself with a squelching noise.
Harry joined the moving crowd, heading to his next class, Care of Magical Creatures. On the way, he spotted Draco Malfoy teasing a first year Gryffindor, who wore large glasses, and had his incisors stuck out of his mouth. Harry felt sorry for the first year, as he watched Draco swing his glasses up in the air. The pathetic kid relied entirely on his glasses for vision; he couldn't have seen anything without them.
"Ten points from Slytherin, Malfoy," yelled Harry, as he was nearing him.
Draco tilted his head towards Harry, gritting his teeth.
"Fine," roared Draco. He thought of revenge, and so, he dropped the kid's glasses and stepped on them.
"Perhaps ten more, Malfoy," added Harry, as Draco left with Crabbe and Goyle.
"Reparo!" came a familiar voice, fixing the pair of broken glasses.
Harry, who's been looking at Draco disappear in the far distance, found a tall, red haired boy presenting the kid his glasses.
"I was wondering where you were," commented Harry, as he joined Ron to Care of Magical Creatures.
"Where else could I be?" asked Ron, ironically. "Anyway, we had fun this time."
"Fun in Divination?" asked Harry, grinning at Ron.
"Yeah," replied Ron, "you should've seen us. We were shooting arrows, Harry!"
"So now Firenze is turning you into savages?"
"No, of course not," explained Ron sincerely, "he said that the bow and arrow were two of the oldest weapons known to wizard kind before there was such thing as a wand. Now, what really got us into it is that he actually handed each and every one of us a bow an arrow! We took turns in shooting. He put an old wooden circular log on one of the pine trees, and who ever shot the arrow right in the middle, was the best."
"Could you perhaps explain why?" interrogated Harry, as the two of them stepped out of the gates.
"Well, he said that if you strike exactly at the middle, then you'd have no difficulty in the nearby future aiming with your wand. If you shot at the closest circle to the middle point, then it would mean that you'd be inaccurate. And boy, if you miss, and go way off course, then you would be in big trouble," explained Ron earnestly.
"And how is that related to the use of a wand?" queried Harry again.
"I don't know," answered Ron, straight away, "ask Firenze, he's the Divination teacher, not me."
"Sorry," apologized Harry, as the pair of them were approaching Hagrid's cabin.
"It's ok," laughed Ron, "I just can't believe the way Firenze congratulated me on my first shot."
"What did he say?"
" 'You must be a natural, Mr. Weasley'", Ron imitated the centaur's voice, "it must've been beginners' luck."
Harry grinned at him. He has always believed that Ron had the talent for some things, and lacked the talent for others. Although he was a total mess when he first began Quidditch last year, he's changed into a perfect keeper for this year. Now, he possibly possessed another fine quality of a wizard, arrow shooting.
"Oh, look who's here," mumbled Ron, sounding annoyed.
When Harry turned around, he saw Hermione hurrying to join the class before the bell rang.
"I dropped my books, and perhaps that delayed my arrival," claimed Hermione.
"Wish it delayed it even more," murmured Ron softly behind Harry's back.
"What was that you said?" asked Hermione.
"Guys, stop arguing, right away!" grunted Harry; he didn't stand seeing Ron and Hermione fighting again.
"I considered never coming here, while he's with you Harry," spoke Hermione briskly, pretending that Ron wasn't there, "but as an afterthought, I wanted to attend Hagrid's lesson."
"Now listen Hermione…" began Ron.
"Ron! Hermione!" twittered Harry furiously. "Shake hands and end this argument at once. If you carry on this stupidity, it will only lead you to more trouble and grief, and we've got enough here to deal with."
Reluctantly, Hermione stretched out her hand, looking sideways.
At first, Ron hesitated, but then, he shook her hand.
"Now, I want you two to promise that you'll never come back to picking rows with each other, agree?"
Hermione grinned at Ron, and so did he.
"Allright, but he'll have to promise to never make fun of Winky again," pointed out Hermione.
Harry awaited Ron's response, which turned out to be bearable.
"Ok," muttered Ron, and smiled at his best friend's beaming face.
Harry was happy that Hermione and Ron's friendship didn't get strained.

A few minutes later, the lesson began. Today, Hagrid was taking the students on a trip to deep inside the forest. He wanted them to haul some woodlice back to his cabin, or perhaps just outside of it. Only last year, when Hagrid was away, the substitute witch, Professor Grubbly Plank, taught them about Bowtruckles. And as Hermione described them, they were tree guardians. If one approached them, it was advisable to hand them some woodlice as a gift that would create sort of a diversion. Otherwise, they could easily harm a person with their long, pointy, and sharp fingers, which weren't at all needed around the eyeballs.
Some of the sixth year Slytherins were now complaining about this terrible quest. Journeying into the deep Forbidden Forest was a heavy load on everyone. There were various types of creatures that could attack at any time possible. But as long as the students stuck to Hagrid, he assured them that they would be safe and secure. Sandra Sanderson had her back adjoined to Pansy Parkinson; she feared being left behind.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione were successful in collecting some woodlice. The woodlice wasn't very heavy, nor was it really light. It just kept on slipping from their grips.
"Oh, this won't do any good, will it?" commented Hermione, totally annoyed by the incessant falling of woodlice.
"Locomoter Woodlice!" she squabbled, and the woodlice she carried were hovering in the air, following her to wherever she marched.
"Now that's a fair solution to this problem," said Ron, and set his woodlice down. He took out his wand, and muttered the locomotion spell. Harry did the same thing too.
"Keep on with me folks," came the grunting of Hagrid, "don' wanna get lost, do ya?"
Soon, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were at the front, nearing Hagrid, who had Fang on his right side.
"Hagrid, will we ever get to meet the Bowtruckles? I mean, we already have last year, but what about this year?" inquired Ron.
"Well Ron," croaked Hagrid, "this year, you aint gonna meet Bowtruckles, you're gonna meet Sorrowtuckles!"
Those words confused Ron a bit.
"Then…why did we have to venture into the forest to collect woodlice?" he asked repeatedly.
"Sorrowtuckles, Ron, can give ya a hard time if ya don' feed 'em. It's preferable ta feed them some woodlice, otherwise, they can be really hazardous," and Hagrid let out a giggle.
"Hazardous?" asked Harry. "How dangerous can they be? Don't tell me they could be wilder than those Cockatoodles."
"Far more worse, Harry," responded Hagrid confidently, "ya haven't seen what they're capable o' doing yet. They could toss ya up in the air, and make ya do some cartwheels."
"Brilliant! Imagine Malfoy performing some cartwheels in front of everyone!" laughed out Ron.
"They've got sidekick powers Ron, and we can't underestimate them," chattered Hermione.
"Skip the lecture, will you?" asked Ron, still giggling about the thought of Draco hung up in the air.
"They've go' teeny tiny talons, which happen to be venomous," added Hagrid, delightfully.
"Venomous?" asked Ron, looking a bit scared.
"Yep," grunted Hagrid, "their talons can penetrate abou' three inches or so into the skin. They've go' small openings at the edges; that's were the poison is secreted."
"Incase that happened, how will we ever get rid of them?" asked Harry, awaiting Hagrid's respond.
"Well, it's very simple," babbled Hagrid, "just wave some woodlice in front of 'em, and they'll die to get their talons on it."
"That's all?" inquired Hermione. "That's what we do when we first meet them, and the same when we want to get rid of them?"
"Yep, it gets no simpler," spluttered Hagrid, and pulled Fang's leash to the left.
"And what about the poison? How do we get healed?" Ron posed yet another question, as some woodlice bumped into him.
"Honestly Ron, I dunno, but Madam Pomfrey will surely have the cure," laughed Hagrid.

"Would you look at that?" came a cold voice.
It was Draco, noticing some little bright yellow eyes, whose light reached out of a tree trunk.
"Oh dear," whispered Hagrid.
"What is it?" asked Harry, Ron, and Hermione together.
"A Sorrowtuckle," and immediately he marched off to Draco's direction.
Out of the tree trunk, which was hollow of course, stepped a little funny looking creature. It was about two feet high, having the body of a tree log. Its hands seemed like long wires tied around it several times. It had miniscule eyes on the top, and ragged opening in the middle, which was surely its mouth. There were even some caterpillars crawling out of its mouth.
"Now Malfoy, be careful," advised Hagrid, pulling Malfoy back.
"I haven't done anything wrong, have I?" he asked rudely.
"No, just step back," whispered Hagrid, trying to pull him back.
"I'm just having a bit of fun with the little nutter," claimed Malfoy.
"He'll attack ya, Malfoy," argued Hagrid, and indeed, the Sorrowtuckle was creeping nearer to Draco.
Instead of listening to Hagrid, Draco preferred risking the chance. He took some woodlice from a pile he had previously collected in a bag, and waved it vigorously in front of the Sorrowtuckle.
It was gazing at the woodlice, blinking with every move.
"Come on, come on and get it, you idiot," giggled Draco.
The Sorrowtuckle did something incredible within seconds. Its hands, which seemed like long wires tied around it, quickly were loose, and reached up to the woodlice. The Sorrowtuckle snatched it like thunder, and immediately forced it into the mouth. No action was being held by the mouth itself; however, some tiny caterpillars were chewing the woodlice and chopping it into simpler pieces.
Draco was surprised to see how the Sorrowtuckle behaved hastily. There wasn't any woodlice left in his hand, and he had thought that the Sorrowtuckle would be begging him for some woodlice.
"It was thoughtful of ya to wave some woodlice in front of the poor fellow," uttered Hagrid, "if you hadn't any woodlice, it would've injured ya, Malfoy, with its sharp talons."
Harry, Hermione, and Ron were astonished too. The way the Sorrowtuckle just grabbed the woodlice from Malfoy's firm grip amazed them. It was much like when the Giant Squid stretched out its tentacles to grab something such as a bird from the air, and quickly return them inside the lake.
"See? I know what to do in life threatening situations," spoke Draco confidently, as if he had by any chance read a chapter about Sorrowtuckles.
"Ya sure ya did," muttered Hagrid. "Ok folks, we're goin' back now; I think ya've got enough woodlice. We won' need to replenish the supply until next week, when all o' the Sorrowtuckles have swallowed it."
From the corner of his eyes, Harry saw the Sorrowtuckle jog back to its tree trunk. It was truly a fabulous little magical creature.
"That was fantastic, Malfoy! Pity it didn't stick its talons in your pink face!" yelled Ron loudly.
Draco turned his head and looked at Ron, as if he were looking at dung. He had his teeth gritting, and his eyes were mainly focused on Ron.
Harry and Hermione laughed every now and then, as Ron imitated Draco shivering in his place when the Sorrowtuckle snatched the woodlice from his hand. They could've sworn that Draco would perform a stunning spell at them anytime now; nevertheless, he knew it was no good picking a fight in front of a teacher.

Finally, the students stepped out of the Forbidden Forest, and into the lights of the Hogwarts grounds.
"Allright, lemme see," grunted Hagrid, "ten points to everyone who obtained woodlice, and five more ta Malfoy because he actually demonstrate how ta deal with a Sorrowtuckle. Good job!"
Instantly, every slimy cunning Slytherin applauded.
"The slimy git," whispered Ron, "I bet you thirty sickles that he never had a clue what a Sorrowtuckle was capable of doing."
" 'It must've been beginners' luck'" Hermione imitated Ron's voice when he previously commented on how Firenze paid him a compliment about his perfect arrow shooting.
"Allright, drop the woodlice right 'ere," pointed out Hagrid, as he opened a big wooden box right outside his cabin.
Everyone was congregating around the box now.
"Oy!" shouted Ron, glaring at Goyle "Easy, you're going to push me in."
With Goyle's gorilla-like arms, he could sweep away anything that stood in his path.

"The moron," murmured Ron softly to Harry and Hermione.
There came the trite sound of the bell once again, sending all the students to third period.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione were due in Charms next, which they were very much looking forwards to. Previously, they have learnt a dividing charm, which would divide a liquid into two parts, and separate them from each other. Just yesterday, Professor Flitwick squeaked something about the division of solids that was going to be learned the following day. He made everyone intrigued, because he pointed out that division of solids might be more interesting than that of liquids.
Suddenly, Harry heard a hoot. When he looked up, it was Sweetums, Hermione's cute owl, descending.
"Oh, great, she's finally arrived," smiled Hermione, as she took the parcel tied around the right leg, "I've sent her to Grimmauld Place several weeks ago, just to inform them about current events."
Hermione opened the parcel briskly, and took out the letter. There wasn't much writing in it; perhaps only three lines.
Her eyes got a wild look…
"We've got some bad news," she declared, and her eyes shifted to Harry and Ron.