Hi everyone! Long time no see, huh? I've missed you guys a lot, and I hope you're all prepared, because if there was ever going to be a somewhat unnecessary filler chapter, this is definitely it. Nothing too exciting or new happens in this chapter, and I cringe at the thought of it. I honestly don't know what was going through my head—maybe a type of writer's block—but I guess this can be considered a filler chapter that just needed to be done and get out of the way. It's also a little shorter than my other chapters, so that kind of sucks. But nonetheless, I do hope you guys enjoy it all the same, more interesting stuff is coming up, I promise! Also, sorry for the bland chapter title, I honestly couldn't think of anything else at the time, but if I think of something better it'll more than likely be changed.
Anyway, sit back and (try) to enjoy the chapter! As usual, please leave me a review of your thoughts. Any specific comments or concerns, please feel free to message me! Love you all so much and I'll see you next time! Enjoy!
Disclaimer: All things Harry Potter are not mine!
Chapter Seven: A Typical Day at Hogwarts
MPOV
After the revelation that Sapphire was pregnant, there was excited and joyous chatter between Mia and Hermione for a while as Ron crossed his arms over his chest and glared at Crookshanks. Mia was happy to hear that her precious pet was soon going to be a mother, and she wondered just how many kittens she would end up having. Maybe once they returned to Hogwarts Mia could ask Hagrid to take a look at her, to see if he can tell how far long she is so they had a better guess at when she would give birth. The time passed by rather quickly as the Hogwarts Express moved deeper and deeper into the heart of the countryside and Mia would glance at the compartment door every once in a while, wondering when Harry would be coming back from wherever it was that he had run off to. However, when the time came for the announcement to be made that they would be arriving in Hogsmeade Station in ten minutes, Mia started to become worried. Why wasn't Harry back yet? Surely whatever he had to do, it couldn't have taken this long. The thought nagged at her while she, Hermione and Luna all got changed in the compartment while Ron and Neville left to give them some space while they changed into their own uniforms. After securing Sapphire into her carrier, Mia grabbed her luggage from the racks as well as Harry's, wanting to make sure they were taken out onto the platform. She and the other joined the throng of students that were all crowded together, making their way through the corridors and out into the dark night, all talking with each other on the platform. Once Mia and the others were outside as well, she stared around, looking all over to see a familiar head of messy black hair, but it was nowhere to be found.
"Where is he?" she said worriedly. "Do you guys see him anywhere?"
"No, I can't see him at all," Ron said as he even stood on his tiptoe to peer over the crowd of heads. "Where did he run off to?"
"You don't think he's still on the train do you?" Hermione asked.
"If he is, he should really come out soon, or the train will leave the station," Luna noted.
"I'm going to go back on and try to find him," Mia stated as she set her trunk down on the ground.
"Mia, the train is going to leave soon, you can't possibly search the entire thing before then," Hermione told her.
"Mione, if Harry is still on the train something might have happened," Mia insisted as she turned towards the carriage they just exited from. "I need to check—"
"Wotcher, Mia."
Mia turned around to see that Tonks was making her way through the crowds coming towards them, her black cloak wrapped securely around her. As she came closer, Mia was shocked to see her appearance. Tonks usually was very bright, cheerful and inquisitive, her hair color always so vivid, her favorite being bubblegum pink. However, Tonks' hair was currently a mousy brown color, her face slightly pale and not smiling at all. She looked so gloomy and miserable it took Mia by surprise.
"Tonks," she said as the young Auror came to stop before them. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm being stationed at Hogsmeade for extra security for the school," Tonks explained. "Where's Harry?"
"We don't know," Neville piped up. "We can't find him anywhere, we think he might still be on the train."
"The train?" Tonks repeated, a small frown on her face as she turned towards the compartment. "I'll go find him. You all head on up to take the carriages."
"But Tonks, let me come too," Mia said.
"Don't worry Mia, I promise I'll find Harry and I'll bring him right up to the school," Tonks reassured her, a ghost of a smile on her face as she gently patted Mia's shoulder. "You go on with the others, I'll be up shortly."
It took a couple more minutes at least before Tonks finally convinced Mia to leave everything to her, and so Mia walked along with Ron, Hermione, Neville and Luna up to where the carriages were waiting, with two Thestrals attached to each to take them up to the school. Mia tried her best to calm herself—Tonks was quite a skilled Auror, if anyone can find Harry on the train and bring him to the school, it would be her. Still, she couldn't help but worry that something might have happened to him on the train, and she just hoped that he was all right. She continued to mull it over all the way up to the castle, where they took in its beauty as it stood out against the black cloak of night the surrounded it, with its turrets reaching towards the heavens and almost every single window holding a golden, amber light behind the glass panes. When they reached the steps leading up to the front entrance doors, Mia stepped out of the carriage to see that Malfoy and his friends were making their way up the steps just ahead of them. Catching her eye, Malfoy gave Mia a malicious, smug smirk before turning his attention back to his friends as they kept walking towards the doors. His expression made a flare of anger rise up in Mia's chest and a seed of suspicion to plant in her mind.
"What is it, Mia?" Ron asked.
"Malfoy," she replied in a low voice. "The look he just gave me…it's like he knows something I don't. I didn't like it."
"No one likes looking at his face in general," Ron stated.
"This was different though," Mia said slowly. "Harry's been stuck on whatever's been going on with Malfoy lately, I wouldn't be surprised if Harry wanted to eavesdrop on him on the train. I swear, if Malfoy did something to Harry, he's going to regret it."
Mia made a point to glare at the back of Malfoy's head as they all walked into the Entrance Hall together, her dislike for the arrogant blonde boy rearing its ugly head for what had to be the ten-thousandth time since she met the boy back when they were eleven years old. He better not have done something to Harry. As Mia and her friends walked through the doors leading into the Great Hall, she looked over her shoulder, hoping to see Tonks striding through with Harry right behind her, but sighed when she didn't catch sight of either one of them. The beginning of the night's festivities began as they always do, with everyone waiting for Professor McGonagall to come inside the hall with the new batch of first years, and it didn't escape Mia's notice that Snape was not at the teacher's table at first, nor was Hagrid. Where could they be? It was about five minutes or so before the door behind the table opened and Hagrid came striding through, taking his seat at the end and he waved at Mia merrily. Mia returned the gesture just as the doors to the hall opened and Professor McGonagall came inside, a long line of first years trailing behind her. Each one of the first years were staring around the hall in wonder and awe, very much like how she and her friends did the very first time they stepped inside the massive room.
Within the next hour, the first years were lined up in front of the old stool that held the Sorting Hat, who sang yet another song of the unity of the school and how they must all work together to face the dark and difficult times that still loomed in the future for them all. Once the hat was finished with its song, it was taken away by Professor Flitwick while Professor McGonagall started calling out names and one by one, each first years sat down on the stool, had the hat placed over their head, and waited for it to yell out which house they would be sorted into. By the time the last name was called, everyone was eager to begin the feast and sure enough, all four of the house tables were filled with steaming hot, delicious food that smelled simply incredible. Although, no matter how hungry she might have been, Mia was still concerned about Harry, and she kept looking over towards the doors leading into the hall. The cheerful talk and laughter resounded through the hall as people dug into the scrumptious meal. Ron was no exception, piling chicken, beef, bread, vegetables, and sauce on his plate as though he had been starved for days. Mia slowly picked at her dinner, sharing a nervous glance with Hermione every now and then, who was clutching her book tightly in her hands while looking over towards the doors as well.
"Don't worry you two, he'll be here soon," Ron said a little while later as he stuffed a chicken leg in his mouth. Hermione glared daggers at him before she took the book and started smacking him harshly on the shoulder with it.
"Will—you—stop—eating?!" she hissed, annunciating each word with a smack. "Your best friend is missing!"
"Oi, turn around you lunatic," Ron muttered, making a face as he rubbed the spot where Hermione attacked him and gesturing with his head to the hall doors. Mia looked around and sighed with relief as she saw that Harry was briskly walking towards them, still dressed in his Muggle clothes and wearing an expression of pure anger on his face. He was holding a stained rag up to his nose, and the closer he got, Mia saw that the front of his shirt was covered in a red stain as well.
"He's covered in blood," Ginny murmured softly from across the table. "Why is he always covered in blood?"
"I think it's his own this time," Ron said warily. As Harry reached them, Mia instantly moved down a bit closer to Hermione to give Harry room to sit down next to her, and she could see that the blood was coming from Harry's nose.
"Harry, what happened?" she asked him in shock.
"Where were you? Blimey, what happened to your face?" Ron blurted out.
"Is it that bad?" Harry said, his voice coming out a bit muffled from behind the rag.
"Sweetheart, you're covered in blood," Mia stated as she took out her wand and gently pushed away the hand that was holding the rag. "Tergo."
In an instant, all the dried blood that was on Harry's face was cleaned off and after muttering another spell, she was able to stop the bleeding that was coming from his nose. Harry thanked her quietly before sighing and starting to put food on his plate.
"Harry, what happened? We were looking all over for you," Mia said.
"I'll tell you guys later," Harry replied, his eyes imploring her to drop it for now. Mia stared at him for a few more seconds before she nodded, knowing they would get the answer sooner or later. They continued on eating their dinner until the leftovers vanished from sight to be replaced by delicious-looking desserts. Mia helped herself to some pudding and fruit while filling Harry in on the drama involving Sapphire and Crookshanks. He was surprised at the news while Ron stated outright that Sapphire was banned from the boy's dormitories.
"She's in there whenever you're not around," Ron said when Mia has asked him why. "I'm not giving her the chance to look around for a place to give birth!"
"I'm with Ron on this one, considering she always tried to get in my bed," Harry agreed.
"Fair enough. I wonder how many she's going to have," Mia wondered.
"Crookshanks is half-Kneazle, I bet the kittens will have some magical properties," Hermione said. "Mia told us how Slughorn asked you guys what really happened at the Ministry, people were even interrogating us on the train, weren't they, Ron?"
"Yeah," Ron confirmed. "All wanting to know if you're really the Chosen One—"
"There has been much talk on that very subject even amongst the ghosts," came the voice of Nearly-Headless Nick as he floated towards them.
"Good evening, Sir Nicholas," Mia greeted pleasantly. "How was your summer?"
"Very invigorating, thank you Miss Thatcher," Nick replied with a warm smile in her direction before turning back to Harry. "I am considered something of a Potter authority; it's widely known that we are friendly. I have assured the spirit community that I will not pester you for information, however. 'Harry Potter knows that he can confide in me with complete confidence,' I told them. 'I would rather die than betray his trust.'"
"That's not saying much, seeing as you're already dead," Ron observed.
"As always, you show the sensitivity of a blunt axe," Nick said in an affronted tone as he glided away to join the other Hogwarts ghosts just as Dumbledore stood to his feet at the teacher's table to give out his usual speech for the start of term, and the talking in the Great Hall immediately died down to listen.
"The very best of evenings to you!" Dumbledore greeted them all warmly, his arms opening wide as though he wanted nothing more than to embrace everyone in the room. It was then that Mia took notice of something that completely shocked her—Dumbledore's right hand was blackened and shriveled, as though the life had been utterly drained from it and was rotting away. Many other around her started whispering, staring wide eyed at the headmaster's injury.
"What happened to his hand?" Hermione gasped.
"It wasn't like that when he came over during the summer, was it?" Mia asked.
"It was, his sleeve was covering it," Harry confirmed with a nod. "I noticed it the day he took me to see Slughorn. I thought he would have had it cured by now though, or maybe have Madame Pomfrey look at it."
"It looks like it's dead," Ron said with a nauseated expression.
"There are some cursed injuries that can't be healed," Mia stated. "That one looks like it's very unpleasant though."
"Nothing to worry about," Dumbledore addressed them all with a smile, shaking the sleeve of his robes over his hand to hide it from view. "Now…to our new students, welcome, to our old students, welcome back! Another year full of magical education awaits you, and Mr. Filch, our caretaker, has asked me to say that there is a blanket ban on any joke items bought at the shop called Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. Those of you who are wishing to play for their House Quidditch teams should give their names to their Heads of House, as usual. We are also looking for new Quidditch commenters, who should do likewise."
Mia had to smile at this—she honestly couldn't wait for the Quidditch season to pick up again. She remembered how sad she had felt when she had to miss the game where Ron helped the Gryffindor team win the House Cup, due to following Hagrid into the Forbidden Forest to meet his giant half-brother Gwarp. Even though Fred and George were gone, she was excited for the upcoming season, knowing that Harry had a good eye and would certainly pick those he deemed would be best for the new team. She knew that Harry had to be excited as well, since he had previously been banned from playing by Umbridge, so Mia knew he was eager to get back on the playing field.
"We are pleased to welcome a new staff member, Professor Slughorn," Dumbledore continued, gesturing over towards Slughorn, who stood at his seat and waved at them all, his bald head gleaming in the candlelight. "He is an old colleague of mine who has agreed to resume his old post as Potions Master."
"Wait, what?" Mia said as nearly every else in the hall mulled over this, wondering whether they heard Dumbledore correctly. "Did he just say Potions?"
"Potions?" Hermione and Ron said together as they turned to look at Harry, who was equally stumped. "But you said—"
"Professor Snape, meanwhile—"
"Oh no!" Mia moaned, realizing what was happening.
"—will be taking over the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher," Dumbledore finished.
"No!" Harry said loudly as the others looked thunderstruck. Snape simply raised a hand in acknowledgement as there were cheers from the Slytherin table and Mia felt like dropping her head against the table in frustration.
"Is it too late for me to drop Defense?" Mia said.
"Unfortunately it is," Ginny replied. Mia then proceeded to actually drop her forehead to the table with a groan while Hermione and Ron rounded on Harry, saying he told them Slughorn was going to be teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts.
"I thought he was!" Harry said looking more angry and frustrated than anyone else. "Well, at least there's one good thing coming from this. Snape will be gone by the end of the year."
"What do you mean?" Ron asked.
"The job is jinxed. No one's lasted more than a year. Quirrell actually died doing it…personally I'm keeping my fingers crossed for another death…"
"Harry!" Hermione gasped, shocked and reproachful.
"You don't mean that," Mia said with furrowed eyebrows.
"That's debatable right now," Harry muttered, glaring at their now Defense teacher. "Just looking at him makes me want to punch something."
"He's probably just going to go back to teaching Potions at the end of the year," Ron said logically. "Slughorn might not want to stay more than a year, anyway."
Dumbledore then cleared his throat, for the Hall had erupted into quiet conversations regarding Snape finally achieving his goal after all this time. Mia herself still couldn't understand it…Snape had been after the job for who knows how many years, maybe even before she even started attending Hogwarts. Why was Dumbledore suddenly so willing to give it to him? Sure, Slughorn didn't seem to be the best candidate to be teaching Defense against the Dark Arts, but was there really no one else? Did Dumbledore do this so the Ministry would send another lunatic like Umbridge to the school? It seems no matter what, they were stuck with a teacher who had violent—if not lethal—tendencies, except for Lupin. Mia suddenly wished they had Lupin back more than anything right now, because she knew that if Harry arguing with Umbridge last year was bad, this year wasn't going to be any better.
"Now, as everyone in this Hall knows, Lord Voldemort and his followers are once more at large and gaining in strength," Dumbledore said, his words becoming more serious and causing complete silence in the room. "I cannot emphasize strongly enough how dangerous the present situation is, and how much care each of us at Hogwarts must take to ensure that we remain safe. The castle's magical fortifications have been strengthened over the summer, we are protected in new and more powerful ways, but we must still guard scrupulously against carelessness on the part of any students or staff member. I urge you, therefore, to abide by any security restrictions that your teachers might impose upon you, however irksome you might find them to be—in particular the rule that you are not to be out of bed after hours. I implore you, should you notice anything strange or suspicious within or outside the castle, to report it to a member of staff immediately. I trust you conduct yourself, always, with the outmost regard for yourself, and others, safety."
There was a brief moment of silence as Dumbledore paused in his speech and he smiled again at them all.
"But now, your beds await, as warm and comfy as you could possible wish, and I know that your top priority is to be well rested for your lessons tomorrow. Let us therefore say goodnight. Pip, pip!"
With that being said, everyone in the Hall stood up from the tables and then started making their way out of the room towards the doors to head to their dormitories. Mia and Harry stayed sitting for a little while until most of the crowds of students would disperse, however Hermione grabbed a hold of Ron's arm and pulled him along to show their first years up to the dormitories before he even had a chance to complain about fulfilling his Prefect's duties. Mia couldn't help but laugh a little as Ron whined and Hermione scolded him as they left.
"You know, there's not much more time before I win this bet," Harry said softly to her with a smirk. "Seventh year will be here before you know it."
"Hey, there's still time," Mia argued with a smirk of her own. "And I will expect your payment in full when I win."
"That's not going to happen," Harry said with a chuckle.
"So, are you going to tell me what happened with your nose?" she asked him quietly. Harry sighed but he looked around to make sure they were being overheard before he started speaking. He told her of how he had followed Malfoy into the Slytherin compartment on the train and overheard what he had been telling his friends. Malfoy had been bragging that he may not even be at school next year, so he didn't even see the point in continuing his studies. When his friends had asked why, Malfoy had said that he moved on to "bigger and better things," apparently. He all but officially proclaimed that he had been recruited to be a Death Eater, taking his comrades by surprise. When Malfoy figured out that Harry was there, he waited until everyone else left before he placed the Full Body-Locker curse on him. He had draped the Invisibility cloak over him so that no one would be able to find him until he arrived back in London, but not before stamping his foot down on Harry's nose, effectively breaking it. Tonks had been able to fix it when she finally found Harry in the compartment, but nonetheless, Mia's face twisted into an angry snarl at the news.
"That dirty little ferret," she said. "I was wondering why he was looking at me so smug. I have half a mind to give him a good beating like last year!"
"Trust me love, I understand, but I'm not sure that will do much good now," Harry said with a short snicker. "But what do you think of what he was telling his friends on the train?"
"I'm honestly not sure, Harry," Mia replied, her anger lessening long enough for her to go into deep thought. "What he said is really serious, and quite worrying to tell you the truth, with the idea of Voldemort just recruiting young students. But then again, Malfoy's always been known to brag and tell lies just to make himself look good."
"But this is a big lie to tell, though," Harry put in. "How do we know that Voldemort doesn't need someone inside Hogwarts? It wouldn't be the first time he's placed someone inside—"
"I wish yeh'd stop sayin' tha' name, Harry."
Mia and Harry looked up to see Hagrid was standing behind them, giving Harry a reproachful look.
"Dumbledore uses it," Harry pointed out.
"Well, tha's Dumbledore, innit?" Hagrid said. "How come yeh were late, Harry? I was worried."
"Got held up on the train," Harry replied. "Why were you to the feast?"
"I was with Gwarp," Hagrid said happily, smiling at the thought of his younger half-brother. "Los' track o' the time. He's got a new home up in the mountains now, Dumbledore fixed it—nice big cave. He's much happier than he was in the forest. We were havin' a good chat."
"So his vocabulary's coming along then?" Mia asked.
"Yup, he's getting' smarter by the day," Hagrid said proudly. "Thinkin' o' trainin' him ter be my assistant if thing keep goin' well enough. Anyway, I'll see yeh tomorrow, firs' lesson's straight after lunch. Come early an' yeh can see Buck—I mean, Witherwings."
Mia suddenly felt a sinking feeling in her stomach at Hagrid's words, but she couldn't say anything even if she wanted to, since Hagrid gave them both a cheery wave before he started to leave the Great Hall himself. Once Hagrid was gone, Mia turned to look at Harry.
"You guys owe me big time," she stated.
"For what?" Harry said.
"For having to be the one to tell Hagrid why you guys are not in class tomorrow," Mia answered with a sigh. "It's not going to be easy…he loves teaching us."
"I'm sorry love," Harry said sincerely as he placed an arm around Mia's waist as they left the Hall together. "Look at the bright side, at least you'll get to see Witherwings."
"Yeah, I suppose," Mia agreed with a small smile. "Maybe he will let me ride him around the paddock before class starts."
"What?" Harry said, looking at her with incredulous eyes. "You actually want to ride on him?"
"Hey, just because he has wings doesn't mean I can't ride him on the ground," Mia explained with a short laugh. "There's no way I'm going up in the air again. Being on the Thestrals was bad enough, I'm pretty sure I almost squeezed the life out of you."
"It wasn't so bad," Harry said, a smirk coming to his lips. "I like having your arms wrapped around me like that."
Mia rolled her eyes at him, to which Harry's smirk only grew and he leaned in to give her a sweet kiss on the lips. Mia smiled, never being able to get enough of Harry kissing her. They made their way through the Entrance Hall and all the way up to the top of the grand staircase. Harry made to turn right, taking their usual route up to Gryffindor Tower, but Mia held him in place, her smile still on her face when he looked back at her in puzzlement.
"Let's take the long way up," she suggested. Harry smiled back at her and nodded his head in agreement before they turned left towards the east wing of the castle. They were in no rush to head up to bed, and decided to take advantage of spending some time alone together before the craziness of the new school year could begin the following morning.
…
When Mia woke up the next morning, she felt the usual case of excitement of starting her first day of classes for the new year, and she also felt a little nervous since this year's schedule was going to be a little more complicated due to the N.E.W.T classes she would be taking. Seeing as she was one of the first ones awake in the dormitories, she got a quick shower and dressed up in her school uniform. She pulled her hair back into a high pony tail with a couple loose strands left to frame her face, along with very simple makeup and a new pair of earrings Hermione had bought for her over the summer. Just as she was spraying her perfume on her wrists, Hermione came out of the shower, dressed in her uniform as well and looking disgruntled as she tried to yank a brush through her wild mane of curls. Mia giggled a little at the sight before gesturing for her friend to come over and sit on her bed. Hermione didn't argue, but looked thoroughly grateful as she did what Mia asked and handed over the brush. As Mia took some of Hermione's hair into her hand, there was movement out of the corner of her eye and she looked over to see Parvati Patil coming over, with Lavender Brown beside her. Parvati was giving her best friend a stern glare and crossed her arms over her chest, gesturing over towards Mia and Hermione. Lavender shot her a brief glare before she turned her gaze to Mia, her expression softening and seeming utterly embarrassed. She shifted slightly where she stood before taking a breath.
"I'm really sorry for the way I acted last year, Mia," she said, a bit quickly, as though she were eager to get this conversation over with. "I was wrong to say those things, and I'm sorry I gave you all a hard time. I think you were all brave if what happened at the Ministry is true."
Mia was silent as Lavender spoke, taking in her words. She refused to meet Mia's eyes, but she knew that the girl was being sincere with her apology, even if she seemed like she wanted to be anywhere else at the moment. While a part of Mia was still annoyed beyond belief with how Lavender accused Harry of lying like everyone else last year, she could appreciate her attempt at trying to make things okay between them.
"Thank you, Lavender," Mia said after about a minute. "I accept your apology."
That seemed to be enough for Lavender, for she quickly nodded her head and then went back to her bed so she could finish getting ready herself, awkwardly clearing her throat. Parvati gave a soft sigh in relief and smiled at Mia before she went over to join her friend. Mia turned back to see Hermione giving her what seemed to be a proud smile.
"Don't say it, Mione," Mia said as she started to carefully run the brush through her head. Hermione just giggled but didn't say anything else on the subject as she sat there, letting Mia detangle the many knots that had formed in her hair overnight. By the time Mia was finished, she managed to have Hermione's hair under control to a certain degree, and she even let Hermione borrow one of her hair clips so she could pull some of it out of her face, stating Hermione shouldn't hide her eyes underneath all of those curls. It took the girls only five more minutes to get ready and then they proceeded to walk down into the common room, where they found Harry and Ron waiting for them. As they joined the queue to climb out of the portrait hole, Harry took Mia's hand and leaned in close to Hermione to tell her about his theory involving Malfoy. However, he couldn't say too much because there were quite a few people who were trying to listen in on their conversation. Ron snapped at a small group of first years who were whispering about Harry to each other, and the boys quickly turned red before scurrying away.
"I love being a sixth year," Ron said.
"You could be a bit nicer Ron, they are only first years," Mia said. "We were just as curious when we were that young."
"You make it sound as though we're ancient, Mia," Hermione giggled. "It was only five years ago."
"Yeah, but I'm sure there's already a couple of gray hairs somewhere on my head thanks to his prat," Mia told her, indicating Harry. Harry simply looked at her for a moment before a devilish grin came across his face. Mia's smile instantly fell, knowing that look all too well. Before she could even think about moving away, she felt herself being lifted off of her feet and then he went on to toss her over his shoulder like an old sack of potatoes. Mia's shock at his actions lasted for just a few seconds before she let out an indignant shout, hitting his back as she kicked out her feet.
"Harry!" she exclaimed. "Put me down!"
"Afraid I can't do that, love," Harry replied, and Mia could hear the barely contained amusement in his voice. "A little gray-haired old lady like you shouldn't be on her feet so much."
"Why you little—" Mia growled, turning to glare at her other two friends. "A little help here would be greatly appreciated!"
"Oh no, I'm enjoying this way too much," Ron responded with a loud snicker while Hermione just covered her hand to stifle her own laughter.
"Traitors!" Mia said as Harry continued on to carry her through the portrait hole. She kept on struggling as they all walked along the seventh floor corridor and it wasn't until they reached the staircase that Harry finally set her down. She glared up at him, her cheeks pink and she punched his shoulder as she declared that he was not going to get any more kisses from her for the rest of the day. Ron and Hermione laughed at their antics as they made it all the way down to the Great Hall for breakfast and Mia pointedly tried to ignore the puppy-dog look she knew her boyfriend was sure to be sending her way. They settled down at their house table and tucked into some delicious porridge with eggs and bacon, with Harry telling Hermione about the awkward conversation he and Mia has with Hagrid the previous night. Hermione seemed distressed and Ron looked thunderstruck that Hagrid would think they'd want to continued his classes. Mia threw a piece of toast at him for that comment, but she knew he had a point. Despite Hagrid's idea of interesting creatures to teach about being a bit dangerous, his classes were really not so bad…at least not all of the time. She and the others always put in the most effort because Hagrid was their friend, but it was becoming clearer to Mia that she could possibly be the only one in their year who chose to continue on learning the subject. Mia brooded a bit on the thought as Professor McGonagall started walking along the table, handing out the schedules for the students in fifth year and below easily, but taking her time when it came to the sixth years. She had to go over and confirm all of their results from their O.W.L exams before she could finalize their schedule for the year. When she came closer to where Mia and the others were sitting, she took care of Hermione's schedule first. After going over her exam results, she cleared Hermione to continue on studying Charms, Transfiguration, Defense Against the Dart Arts, Herbology, Arithmancy, Ancient Runes, and Potions. Once Hermione was handed her official schedule, Professor McGonagall turned her attention to Mia.
"Now, Miss Thatcher," Professor McGonagall said, consulting her notes. "Defense Against the Dark Arts, Charms, Herbology, Potions, Transfiguration, Ancient Runes, and Care for Magical Creatures…all perfect results, very well done. I see no reason why you shouldn't take any of them."
"Professor, would it be all right if I were to add in an elective class?" Mia asked. "I would like to take the Magical Art class, if I can fit it in."
"Well, I suppose it would be possible," Professor McGonagall replied as she double checked her notes. "I don't see a problem, although the only available time would be on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays in what would normally be your free period after your first class. So you would need to rush straight there after Ancient Runes in order to get there on time."
"Yes Professor," Mia said happily as she saw McGonagall take a blank piece of parchment and wave her wand over it. In the blink of an eye, neatly scripted words appeared on the parchment and Mia took her new schedule excitedly in her hands when McGonagall held it out to her. Wanting to get started right away, Mia hurriedly finished her breakfast before she stood to her seat along with Hermione.
"We'll see you boys later on for Defense class," she said as she leaned down to give Harry a hug. When he tried to go in for a goodbye kiss, she easily avoided his lips, an evil smirk forming on her face.
"Uh, uh, uh," she said to a dumbstruck Harry. "I told you. As punishment for your little stunt you're not getting any kisses for the rest of the day."
Ron let out a bout of laughter at Harry's dejected face as Mia and Hermione left the Great Hall together to start making their way up to their Ancient Runes lesson.
"You know you're not going to be able to last the whole day, right?" Hermione asked with a grin.
"Yeah, I know," Mia sighed, making the bushy-haired witch laugh as they climbed up the grand staircase.
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