"Harry, are you sure the potion should take on such a purple hue?"
I looked fiercely at Hermione speaking in a whisper and did not answer. I already knew that nothing would help my lilac-purple "soup" Affected by an unsuccessful past lesson.
"Sorry," Hermione looked down, correctly interpreting my look. Her potion was in perfect order.
Malfoy chuckled. I looked at it with the hope that all the side effects would be fully reflected.
This pleasant thought provoked a malevolent grin in me.
"What are you grinning at, Potter?" Malfoy asked angrily.
Pat looked up from his work, glanced sideways at his main "political" opponent, looked at me and, apparently catching the tail of my thoughts, also grinned ominously, flashing his eyes. Purely Snape-like. It's a pity, he could not be proud of his son, as he was busy studying potions at the Ravenclaw table.
"Apparently it's contagious," Malfoy said, looking at the grinning Pat.
"You better be silent, Mr. Broken Muzzle," my friend chuckled again.
Then Hermione picked up our game and, glancing at her Slytherin "colleague", also smiled at me and Pat. Malfoy fidgeted worriedly in his seat, his eyes darting from me to Pat, from Pat to Hermione and back. Here it is, the great power of psychological weapons! But at the end of the lesson, Pat again managed to surprise everyone. After not recommending the work of the next table in the best way, Snape settled down next to ours and did not intend to go home.
"Your Blood-Replenishing Potion, Potter, looks more like a plum compote," he muttered through his teeth as always.
I shrugged - well, I never said I was a great Potions Master. But since he did not add anything else, did not call me an idiot, did not advise me to reread the textbook more carefully, or something more abruptly, I realized that at this desk he was now only interested in one student. Pat just looked up at him once, shrugged his shoulders (a gesture as if saying - but I don't really care - look, don't look), and calmly continued his work. This time he measured out the crushed claws of the griffin almost by grain. And it looks like there was something else mixed in there. But the result exceeded all expectations. Pat was not at all embarrassed by the fact that usually the Blood-Replenishing Potion was prepared in two sessions. He did it in one.
Snape looked into his cauldron for a long time, moved his wand over him and quietly asked:
"How did you made it?"
It was interesting to everyone, even Malfoy. In the silence that followed, Pat issued a significant "hmm" and explained almost cheerfully. Explained in great detail. Even I almost understood. Our chemistry teacher would definitely understand and once again would be glad for her most talented student. As for the rest... I think Hermione caught a few familiar words at best. Malfoy twitched at the word "aldehyde" as if from a rude curse, and at the word "valency" he blushed. What is it about this word, or what associations it evoked in him, I don't know... Even Snape, who has a lifelong expression on his face, looked surprised. Then he also grunted meaningfully and pretended to understand. * * *
After the potions there was a traditional smoke break. The sky promised to burst into rain soon, but we nevertheless decided to take a walk near the castle, away from prying eyes. And most importantly from the ears.
"Malfoy, by the way, threatens to take revenge on you" Pat told me, taking a drag on his cigarette "I heard in the living room yesterday."
"Yeah," I chuckled, "he doesn't dare to say this to my face, but he knows for sure what you'll hear and convey to me."
"Maybe so," my friend shrugged.
"And what..." I began, but did not finish. Because suddenly something grabbed my ankle tightly.
"Saami!" I exclaimed, picking her up in my arms "where have you been?"
"In the foresssssst"
Then I noticed that she looked somehow... Shitty. I don't know how you can tell if a snake is unhealthy, but something definitely happened to my snake.
"what happened to you?" I asked.
"It is not calm in the foresssssst"
Pat looked at us and, naturally, did not understand what we were talking about. But I got the point.
"We need to show her to someone. Who knows about animals."
We looked at each other, and the right decision came to us at the same time.
"Hagrid," we said in unison.
"I hope he's home," Pat grumbled.
Apparently his attitude towards snakes improved a lot after he got into Slytherin.
"So what is there in the forest?" - I asked meanwhile at the snake. The Forbidden Forest interested me very much. From the name alone, I already wanted to drop everything and go for a walk there. Such an intriguing namename. . . "
"The Bad persssson persssson" Saami whispered to me in response.
It's clear. It is clear that nothing is clear.
Hagrid opened it immediately. He was wearing a huge pink floral apron. It looked quite extravagant. I, of course, had no time for laughter, but Pat coughed behind me.
"Hi," I said, "we need your help."
"Come in, come in" the forester rejoiced at us "be careful, do not stumble, I have a crossbow here."
The proverbial crossbow was leaning against the wall next to the door. Only a blind man could have tripped over him.
"Are you in trouble, Harry?"
It took me a while to realize that Lupine was in the hut. In the corner, with their snow-white sides pressed together, two little unicorns were sleeping peacefully. They are cute. Fang whirled around them and sniffed diligently.
I stood, automatically stroking the Saami head, and the thought came to me that I was kind of out of place.
"Why are there unicorns here?"
Pat asked.
"Their mother is dead," Lupine replied sadly. "They'll stay with Hagrid for a while."
"Dead?" I asked
"Someone attacked her" said Hagrid, "what a beast..."
"Or maybe not a beast," I continued in tune.
"Let's not talk about the worst" said Rem, - and what have you got?"
"This..." I held out to Hagrid Saamakh.
The giant carefully examined the unfortunate snake and chuckled.
"Seriously hit someone"
"Was she in your room?"
"Not. She just got out of the forest"
Rem frowned, as if pondering something disturbing.
"I need to sleep... I need to sleep so that my wounds are covered..." My pet viper hissed to me.
"What she said?" Pat asked me.
"She said she needed to sleep in order for her wounds to heal.
"Yeah, exactly" Hagrid rejoiced "they, snakes, themselves...This is the most ... restore."
"How long will you sleep, dear?" I asked the Saami.
"As long as it takes to restore yourself..."
It is logical.
"Okay, sleep. And if we are not devoured by something more, then some evening you will tell me about your adventures" I remembered a suitable phrase.
"Sssss" my viper made a strange sound, "yes... Nothing more will not gobble up, sssss" and she curled up in a ring.
"What was it?" My friend asked me.
"You won't believe it," I replied, "but she laughs so hard."
"Hermione, are you sure that we will go to the greenhouses?"
"Harry, I don't know! Hermione hissed at me, "I said that I only knew about this tunnel from Fred's words!"
"I understand. Why are you so nervous?"
"I'm just not used to wandering around Hogwarts at night."
Well, get used to it, friend, - I wanted to say. But he didn't. Why annoy a girl once again. The fact that we were sneaking along a secret passage, supposedly leading to Professor Sprout's greenhouses, at half past eleven in the night, was part of a plan to extract information from one subject, who calls himself Draco Malfoy. Leaving the hibernating Saami in a jug in Hagrid's hut, Pat and I went to lunch. Throughout the Transformation session, I wondered what kind of "bad person" could be hiding in the Forbidden Forest and what does the death of a unicorn have to do with it. To kill a unicorn, as I knew, was already a crime, and if his blood was used... Although I still stubbornly did not believe in the return of Voldemort, still a rather lousy picture loomed. Towards evening we met in the wonder room on the eighth floor ("Harry, this is one of the Hogwarts legends - Room of Requirement", Hermione exclaimed then) and discussed a plan of action.
First on the agenda was the question: who prepares the potion? I immediately said - Pat. Hermione (probably grudgingly) agreed, because no matter how good she was at Potions, Pat was still better. She knew how to recognize such things. But then she set a condition:
"Only, I beg you, Pat - no experiments! Malfoy is a brat, of course, but I'm not going to spend the rest of my life in Azkaban for complicity in his poisoning!"
Pat grinned and agreed, winking at me behind her. He will experiment for sure, but since he also does not long for Azkaban, there is no need to worry about the life of a blond Slytherin. At least in the near future. The second question was - where to get the ingredients? It was possible to get everything.
Except for the very last - Laminaterus algae, collected during the waning moon between midnight and one in the morning.
"And why are they not in the student's closet?" - Hermione was indignant.
"Because, despite the outward innocence, they are most often used in powerful dark potions," I replied, somewhere deep in my heart feeling joyful that I know something that Hermione doesn't know.
"How do you know?" Hermione was surprised.
"Potter is full of surprises as always," Pat commented.
But, nevertheless, it was necessary to get these damn algae.
And since my friend was already charged with brewing a potion and giving it to Malfoy to drink, then, of course, this business was on our conscience. The moon was waning, and the lake was close at hand - there were cards in hand! And here we are with Hermione, sneaking half past twelve in the night along a secret passage leading from the castle into the autumn cold.
"Look, really greenhouses!" I was surprised.
"Harry, be quiet" Hermione shouted at me, "let's go faster to the lake."
What a breeze! The most pleasant time for walks in the moonlight. It's good that at least it's not a full moon. Although Remus said that he was sitting in his office at this time, it would still be creepy.
"You know, Hermione," I said cheerfully, "if it was a bad movie, we would now meet the main villains around the corner and overhear their conversation, which would explain everything to us!"
Hermione shuddered and suddenly pulled me with all her might into the shadow of a tree.
A minute later, Hagrid strolled past, thoroughly drunk, humming to himself "Odo the Hero", occasionally confusing the lines.
As he disappeared from sight, Hermione whispered:
"Never say that again!"
"As if if I had kept silent, Hagrid would not have appeared!" I was indignant.
Hermione snorted and we hurried on. And here is the lake. Horror! It looks really ominous at night. But if you go a little to the left, there will be a small wooden pier. Yeah. Here he is.
We walked across the old planks and stared out at the dark water in sync. Then - at each other. On the edge of my consciousness, the thought flashed through my mind that this was a damn romantic place for dating - night, the moon was shining, a quiet lake, all this against the background of a castle, dotted with dots of light... And also the end of October, disgusting cold and piercing wind, - added a more cynical part of me. And I shouldn't forget to mention the purpose of coming here...
Hermione sighed and, pulling out her wand, pointed it towards the lake.
"Aсcio Laminaterus!" She said.
Nothing happened. We looked at each other again, perfectly understanding what to do.
"It couldn't be that simple," I stated.
"That's right," Hermione agreed.
"We have to dive," I said.
"Uh-huh," she agreed again.
It seems to me that even in the dark I could read in her eyes a clear thought "you are a hero, you and into the water!".
I really didn't want to climb into the lake at night at the end of October. But I knew that I would do it myself. Conscientious, because ... damn it. No, I have to undress, otherwise I will definitely go to the bottom, like the Titanic. This outcome did not suit me, so the first thing I did was to take off my robe. He took off his shoes and socks.
Pulling off my sweater, and already about to take off my T-shirt (which, however, no longer saved me from the wind), I cheerfully asked Hermione:
"Hermione, can you turn your back?"
It's a shame, it's dark. She must have blushed.
"This is not the best time for jokes, Harry," she said in a McGonogall tone.
I shrugged.
"Okay. Now, if I drown, you will have something to remember - a striptease from the famous Harry Potter!"
I took off my glasses and solemnly handed them to Hermione. And when I pulled off my T-shirt, I realized that not even Voldemort would make me take off my jeans either. It's cold, damn it! - Yo-ho-ho! And a bottle of rum! - I cheered myself up and, conjuring myself a semblance of a breathing mask that covers my mouth and nose, I jumped into the water. No, it was possible, of course, to just conjure a bubble around the head, but I wanted to show off to someone incomprehensible. And so I thought about this, feeling how the ice-cold water fetters my body. I overcame myself and swam. I learned how to swim properly thanks to our trips with Pat to the municipal pool two streets away. Therefore, I was not afraid to drown. At least until I finally freeze. The depth even here, not far from the coast, was decent. I muttered "lumos" and realized that swimming with a wand in one hand was not very comfortable. What a discovery! I cannot please you with colorful descriptions of underwater beauties. It was just dark and cold. The only thing that surprised me was the lack of fear. I flop in the lake, alone, at night - and nothing. I swam deeper and deeper. And here they are, these damn algae. Long what! I tried to yank one out - fuck! As if they grew in cement, and not in silt. It was during this lesson that someone grabbed my leg. I jerked it impulsively, and it seems that someone got hit.
It was only later that the thought came that SOMETHING GOTS ME BY THE FOOT UNDER WATER! I was scared, but immediately remembered that I was a wizard, and that Rem was explaining how to deal with the grindilow... I though a magician, - I thought, - but still an idiot.
"Diffindo," he said, or maybe I just thought, pointing my wand at the seaweed. All right, now you can go to land! I swam without incident, and climbed onto the wooden pier, teeth chattering.
"Harry!" exclaimed worried Hermione "I was so worried!"
"Uh-huh" I could only answer, and thrust a lump of wet nasty grass into her hands. I, clapping my jaws, tried to dry myself with a magic wand, but it didn't work out very well, and I was left somehow obscenely wet. Hermione wanted to help me, but I waved my hand.
"To-to-hell" pulling on clothes and still shaking from the cold, I grumbled "we-bring down from-from-here p-p-b-b-quicker."
We got to the castle also without incident. And along a secret passage, we calmly went to the second floor. In general, after walking to the lake and swimming to the depths, the night castle seemed to me impossibly welcoming.
Well, what could be bad...
"And how to understand this, Mr. Potter?"
I didn't even understand how Snape had appeared in front of me. At night, in the light of torches, he looked really creepy.
"Miss Granger?" the professor's eyebrows soared up, "to admit, I did not expect... And what do you do at night outside of Gryffindor Tower?"
The answer almost flew from my lips, what can you do with a girl at night outside the Gryffindor Tower, but I kept myself in time. Brains worked feverishly. Hermione looked like she had been subjected to the Petrificus Totalus spell.
Are you deaf?" Snape snapped. "What are you both doing here?"
"We… we have a date, professor," I finally found.
Hermione looked from Snape to me, dumbfounded. What am I? I have to find some excuse.
"Date? Wow…"