Chapter Seven: A Hundred Different Reasons
It was around midnight the first couple of weeks into school, and Ginny, Verna, Warren, Richard, Rachel, and Avery were still up in the Gryffindor common room, furiously studying for their first Defense test of the year.
Richard suddenly paused in what he was writing, and looked at Ginny. "Why are you studying for this test Ginny?"
Her quill paused above the parchment. She was being baited, but she refused to rise to it. Her friends had been trying to get her to admit that Harry and she were still a couple since they found out he was going to be teaching. "What do you mean?" she asked as she went back to writing.
Catching on, Warren said, "Well, if Professor Potter is your boyfriend…"
Ginny pointed the feather end of the quill at him, and said, "You can stop right there. I know what you're all trying to do, and it's not going to work. I've told you, I can neither confirm nor deny that we are going out. And if I didn't study, it would be for reasons other than 'Professor Potter is my boyfriend.'" Sighing irritably she flipped a page in her book and started reading.
Everyone else had gone back to studying during her little tirade, but at the last line, everyone except Avery looked up. "What other reasons?" Verna asked.
Ginny glanced at Avery, who was refusing to meet her eyes. "Starting summer before fourth year, I've been getting tutoring in Defense, Potions, Charms, and Transfiguration. Avery since winter break our fourth year."
"Leave me out of this please?" Avery asked, but Ginny continued as though she didn't hear her.
"It was mainly defense, incase we were ever in a battle against Voldemort," everyone flinched, "which we were. But it helps with regular school as well. I'm reviewing, not because it's too hard, but because it's too easy."
"Stop. Rewind. Who is 'we' and who was doing the tutoring?" Rachel asked.
"'We' were Harry, Hermione, Ron, Draco, Fred, George, Avery, and me. And I really don't think I can say who was doing the tutoring."
"I have an idea. How about we sneak down to the kitchens for a study break," Warren said to break the icy silence.
"And do you know how to get into the kitchens?" Avery asked.
"No. But Ginny's brothers are Fred and George. She obviously knows how to get into them," Richard said.
"I'm Head Girl, Richard, I can't do that," Ginny said.
A chorus of 'pleases' broke out, and Ginny finally conceded. The portrait suddenly opened, and Jedidiah walked in, looking very smug.
"Hey Jedidiah, we're going down to the kitchens. Wanna join us?" Rachel asked.
Jedidiah's face turned into a dark scowl, and rather than answer, he turned and headed toward the boy's dorms.
Everyone rolled their eyes, put their cloaks on, and left the common room.
They had almost made it to the kitchens, when the corridor filled with light, but whoever was making the light was hidden. Everyone rushed to hide, but a voice said, "Don't even try it."
Everyone froze like a statue. "Professor Potter?" Verna asked.
The light dimmed, revealing a scowling Harry. "You can move, you know," Harry said. The students glanced around and laughed, easing into more comfortable positions.
Harry folded his hands in front of him. "And what are you all doing in the dungeons at this time of night?"
Avery, Richard, Rachel, Warren, and Verna all turned to Ginny at the same time. Ginny opened and closed her mouth, but no words came out.
Struggling to suppress a smile, Harry asked, "Ginny?"
"We were studying for your test and we decided we wanted a study break and food," Ginny said.
"Ah. So it was food you were after," Harry said. Everyone nodded. "At 12:30 in the morning?"
"We were studying!" Verna said.
"So I hear," Harry said. After thinking for a couple of seconds, and then waiting a couple more, Harry finally said, "Here's what I'm going to do." Everyone held their breath. "One point off for each of you, two for Ginny because she's Head Girl, and one hour detention with me next week, and two hours for Ginny. And we can all say I ran into you when you were coming back from the kitchens."
Breaths were slowly let out, wondering if he was finished. "Is that it?" Warren finally asked.
"Yep. That's all," Harry said.
"We can still go to the kitchens?" Richard asked.
"If you're really studying for my test till past midnight, you deserve to go to the kitchens," Harry said.
Everyone slowly walked past their professor, and then broke into a sprint. "Whoops!" Richard said once they were out of earshot. Everyone laughed as they continued to run.
They reached the kitchens in record time. "Please turn around, guys," Ginny said. After a couple sighs, they complied. Ginny reached up and tickled the pear. When the handle appeared, she opened the portrait. Everyone else turned back around.
Once they were inside, they were confronted by Dobby, who was wearing at least five socks on each foot. None of the socks matched.
"Welcome sirs and ladies. What can Dobby be doing for you tonight?"
"We're on a study break, Dobby. We need sweets!" Ginny said.
"Coming right up!" Dobby said. He snapped his fingers and disappeared, at the same time a round table set for six appeared. Everyone sat down, and not two seconds later, the table was sagging with at least one of almost every wizarding sweet imaginable.
Mouths hung open before everyone came to their senses and started digging in.
"This is just the study break I needed," Rachel said after a couple minutes of stuffing their faces.
"Speaking of study breaks, what was up with Jedidiah tonight?" Verna asked.
"He does seem testier this year, doesn't he?" Rachel asked.
"He does?" Richard asked back.
"You're a boy. You don't notice these things," Avery said jokingly.
"Goo' poin'" Richard said with a full mouth.
"Boys are such pigs," Ginny said. The girls laughed, and Richard and Warren took big bites of what ever they had in their hands and chewed with their mouths open. The girls 'eewwed' and threw food at the boys. A full fledged sweet fight broke out, and only ended when everyone realized there were only hard candies left. They looked around, noticing they'd been relatively accurate, and not much had gotten on the walls and floors.
After wiping their faces with clean napkins, everyone leaned back in their chairs, sucking on hard candies.
"Boys are pigs!" Warren said proudly, and winked at Richard, which earned him a whack on the arm by his girlfriend.
"How did that get started again?" Ginny asked.
"Oh, I asked what was up with Jedidiah," Verna said.
"Maybe he's just getting a big head because it's our last year," Richard said.
"But that wouldn't make him more pissed off at us," Avery said.
"He's probably still mad at the fight we got into second year," Rachel said.
"What was that fight about again?" Ginny asked.
Everyone paused, thinking back. "I don't remember either," Warren said, shaking his head. Everybody except Avery also shook their heads.
"It was so long ago," Verna said.
"Has anyone noticed a change in Nicci as well?" Richard asked.
"Nicci Lestrange!" Warren yelped, glancing around and looking like he expected to be cursed at any given moment.
"Yeah. Since fourth year," Avery said.
"What do you think happened, Avery," Rachel asked.
"I think she changed because Voldemort was resurrected," Avery said.
"What does that have to do with anything?" Ginny asked.
"That was when she and Jedidiah broke up and stopped hanging out with us," Avery said.
"Hang on. 'Us?' You were a part of that Slytherin group?" Verna said in horror.
Avery smiled grimly. "You guys forget that I was raised by parents who were very heavy into the Dark Arts. I grew up thinking they were alright."
"So what happened?" Warren asked.
Avery sighed. "I guess it started with questions. My questions always led me to more questions. I guess after awile my opinions weren't the same as the Dark Side's. It was so rigid and didn't work for me. The thing about Nicci, is that she's a Lestrange. Her name even exudes power. Maybe's she is sick with some of the Death Eaters. Or mad at them for some reason. Not like she's going to come to us or anyone else. It just sounds like she has no one to go to. "
"Do you really think that she feels like that?" Richard asked.
"It's a guess. Who knows? For all I know she just didn't feel as powerful with Voldermort back, or something happened with Jedidiah. I just told you guys my version of the story. Could be a hundred reasons."
Everyone turned silent, trying to think of what the other 99 reasons could be.