Author's Note: This is a transitional chapter so we can get to the next segment of the story. Thank you to everyone who is reading. It's just blowing me away how many hits there are. MNF
Chapter 32:
Studies
15 January 1996
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
"It feels odd to be back here," Ginny said. "I forgot how slow classes progress."
"We were spoiled when we were working with the tutors," Hannah agreed. "Golly, it must be worse for you, you're nearly finished with your fifth-year studies and you're only in fourth." The quartet sat down at a table in the library to work on their homework. Ginny sighed.
"I figure I'll just breeze through these assignments, and then get back to studying the fifth-year materials. Remus promised I can call him on the mirror and he or someone at the house will help me work out anything I'm having trouble with. Dad is petitioning for me to take the exams early."
"Good idea," Seamus said. "Worse thing that happens is you have to take them over again next year with the rest of your classmates." The four started working on their assignments when Ginny was hit in the head with a paper ball. She didn't even turn around to see who was throwing it. Finishing her revising for Ancient Runes was more important.
"It was so much quieter to get work done at Sirius's," Ginny said softly.
"I miss my bed at Sirius's, er Auntie's, er our house. You know what I mean. I loved that bed. He'd charmed it just right for me," Susan whinged.
"I miss me mam's cooking," Seamus said. "I also miss the food at Sirius's. Why did we come back again? Without Harry and Neville and with Dean staying in the Muggle world, it's just me and Ron in the dorm. The space is nice, but…" he looked at Ginny ashamedly.
"You can insult him in my presence. Merlin knows I do," Ginny said with a dismissive wave of her hand when Seamus hesitated
"Your brother is a slob and he's forgotten most of what he learned last year. He's asking me to help him with his homework. I'm not Hermione." The group laughed.
"Good thing too," Susan said. "I doubt Harry wants to snog you."
"I don't want to snog him either," Seamus retorted, and the group chuckled. Ron chose that moment to arrive, flopping down in a chair.
"Who don't you want to snog?" Ron asked.
"Harry," Ginny said.
"Don't say that name in my presence," Ron growled.
"Why? He hasn't done anything to you," Ginny asked.
"He abandoned his best mate! I had to spend months with Auntie Muriel. It was horrid. Her house smelled like Horehound."
"Ron, Harry didn't abandon you. You abandoned him all last year. Then in the fall when he gave you the chance to apologise and then join us, you refused. You never lifted a hand to help anyone and that's why you ended up at Auntie Muriel's," Ginny snapped at him.
"What's your problem?"
"I need to be studying, that's what my problem is. I have Ancient Runes work to do, then an essay for Potions before I work on my Defence with Susan."
"We've only been back a few days, how can you have that much work?" Ron enquired.
"I have that much work because I finished fourth year lessons in December and I'm working to take my OWL's the same time as everyone else is. Studies at Sirius's house were very advanced."
"You can't take your OWL's at the same time as me, you're younger!" Madame Pince looked over and frowned at the noise that was being made at their table. Susan smiled apologetically.
"Yes, I can. Dad is making sure I can take them. Get used to it," Ginny said in a cool tone, and everyone went back to their work. They only had five minutes of peace before Ron piped up.
"Susan, can I read your essay for Herbology?" he asked. Susan turned and glared at him.
"I don't have it with me," she said quietly. "I finished it the night it was assigned."
"Why did you do that?"
"Because if I do my assignments as they are assigned, I never get behind. Can you please let me read the chapter from Transfiguration that Professor McGonagall set today?" There was quiet for a minute.
"Seamus, mate, do you have your Herbology essay with you?"
"No, because it's finished and put away in our room, and no you can't read it, or more realistically, let you copy it when we're back in our dorm. I worked hard on it," Seamus snipped.
"Gesh," Ron said under his breath.
"Don't even look at me," Hannah said. "I am not Hermione, and I won't write your assignments for you. We learned about study habits and how to plan out your work so you're never rushing. Also, we covered all the materials already with Maia, and she was far clearer in explaining it."
"Why did any of you come back if Harry's was so awesome?" Ron spit out with disgust.
"We can back for our friends," Susan said, indicating herself and Hannah.
"Me mam made me," Seamus said rather sourly. "Given a choice, I'd be back with Harry and Neville."
"You saw the fit mum pitched when I said I wanted to stay at Sirius's. Honestly, I'd be better off there," Ginny answered.
"Well, if Harry's is so great, just go back."
"It's not Harry's, Ron, it's Sirius's house. He's hired the tutors, except for Moony and him. He's the one who gave us rooms and fed us. Harry lives there, and is Sirius's son, but it's Harry's Pater who set up our education. If you're not going to let me revise, I will go somewhere where I can!" Ginny got up, scooped her books into her bookbag and stormed out of the library.
"She's daft," Ron said, expecting support.
"No, mate, you are. You're going to have to do your own work, I'm not helping you. Oh, and while you're at it, clean up your shite in our room," Seamus said, stalking out as well. Hannah and Susan had quietly cleaned up their things and left with their friend, worried about where Ginny had disappeared to. Ron rolled his eyes, scoffed and pulled out his parchment and Herbology book. He needed to turn something in the next day.
ITWAU ITWAU ITWAU
Harry excitedly watched as his potion turned the pale blue it was supposed to, and he put out the flame beneath. Neville was next to him at the potions bench, and he too had reached this stage, Hermione had completed hers a few minutes ago. Madame Lemarc came and peered at each of their cauldrons. She always walked with her hands behind her back and while she was reviewing, she made no facial expressions. It was somewhat unnerving, but it was better than having Snape glare and make cutting remarks.
"Brilliant!" their professor said after looking into each of the cauldrons. "By the colour and aroma, I believe you have all brewed me the perfect potions!" Madame Lemarc's Belgian accent made everything she said sound somewhat exotic and well-to-do, even if it was just announcing they'd brewed well. "Please present me with two phials each and then you may clean up. Our next lesson will finish up on ingredient preparations."
The trio were now more relaxed and able to smile and talk while they bottled and cleaned. "That was so much easier than with Snape," Neville said.
"Well, of course," Hermione responded. "We were given instructions on how to prepare our ingredients, instructions on how to brew the potion and support while we were doing it. Madame is a proper teacher."
"It's also easier with just you two to be working with," Harry admitted. "No one asking me dumb questions because they hadn't done the reading." Harry never said Ron's name, like it was cursed or something. It didn't matter, Hermione and Neville knew who he was referring to.
"True, although I miss the others," Hermione said as she slipped the cork into her second phial and then neatly wrote the name on the small label affixed to the front. "I wonder how Ginny is coping with being in fourth year classes?"
"She's probably bored to tears," Neville said as he Vanished the excess potion. He then set a Scouring Spell with a wire bristle brush to clean his cauldron. "She was working alongside us in all the core classes."
"She might be able to convince her dad to let her come back, especially if the twins agree with her. Mr Weasley has always been the more reasonable," Hermione suggested, and Harry nodded.
The trio climbed the stairs from the basement Potion's room, stopping off to say hello to everyone in the kitchen and to snatch a freshly baked ginger biscuit before they met up with Remus for their history lesson in the library. Harry handed him an extra biscuit, to which Remus nodded his head.
"You three look happy, I take it Potions went well?"
"It was brilliant!" Neville said. "Best Potions lesson we've ever had."
"Excellent, your Pater will be happy to hear that." Remus took a bite of biscuit and hummed in pleasure. "Come on, around the table," he pronounced after chewing, "we're beginning with the Norman conquest of Britain and what it did to magical/non-magical relations." The trio quickly sat down and Remus began his lecture.
ITWAU ITWAU ITWAU
One week and one day later
"I got an T on a paper. A T!" Ron whinged to Seamus.
"Well, are you really that surprised? You hadn't read any of the material Professor Sprout assigned. You're not going to do well if you don't read and revise," Seamus said as they trudged through the snow to get back to the castle.
"I never had to revise before."
"You had Hermione and Harry to help you out before."
"Harry never revised. He hated schoolwork as much as I did." Seamus stopped which caused Ron to do so also.
"Harry actually does like to do his work, and he's brilliant. He excels at wandless magic –"
"No one can do wandless magic, except for powerful wizards like Dumbledore!"
"That's not true," Seamus refuted. "Ginny can do wandless magic. I can too. Maia taught us all sorts of spells we can do without wands." He began walking again.
"My sister can't do wandless magic. She's…Ginny's not that bright."
"Ron, it has nothing to do with being bright or not, it has to do with feeling your magic and making it flow. If being bright was all that was to it, Hermione would have mastered it right off, turns out she had the hardest time with it."
"Hermione is brilliant, and she secretly loves me."
"You might want to tell her that. She and Harry are happy. Come on, we're freezing out here."
"My mum is going to send me a Howler over this grade. You can't tell Ginny; she'd definitely blab on me."
"Professor Sprout is the one who will tell your parents, Ron, that's her job."
"Bollocks."
Later that night, Seamus was sitting with Ginny on the sofa, and they were reviewing fourth year Defensive spells as she had a test the next day. If she could prove she was competent with the fourth-year spells, the Auror come professor would let her study with the fifth years. Having had the Head of the DMLE and a former professor and a former Hit Wizard tutoring them for the last half year meant everyone who had been studying with Harry was doing exceptionally well.
"Okay, I know it's really advanced, but can you do your Patronus. Mind you, that's like a seventh-year spell and if you can't don't feel bad –" Seamus was saying, but was interrupted by Ginny.
"Expecto Patronum!" she said with conviction which produced a blindingly white shield.
"Ginny, that's amazing!" Seamus said before he hugged her. "Sirius and Remus would be so proud!"
"Hey, get your hands off my sister!" Ron yelled from behind him. The rest of the room was coming over to congratulate Ginny and ask how she'd done it.
"I was giving her a hug for completing an exceptionally difficult spell, that's all," Seamus said defensively.
"Really? What spell?"
"For your information, Ronald, I produced a shield Patronus Charm," Ginny said proudly.
"There is no way you could do that. Dad said he can't do that."
"I can too!" Ginny proceeded to repeat her Patronus.
"How did you do that?" Ron mumbled in disbelief.
"I spent all autumn working my tail off, that's how. Sirius set high standards for us and expected us all to live up to them. Why do you have to take everything happy and make it depressing? I just wish you'd grow up."
"I'm older than you!"
"And less mature."
"How would you know?"
"I at least prepare for my classes. When mum hears about your Troll in Herbology –"
"Who told you?"
"Ron, it's all over the school."
"That's my private business."
"Well, then you shouldn't yell about it when you're walking back from Herbology."
"Did you tell her?" Ron turned on Seamus.
"No. I have better things to talk about than your poor grades. You're not the centre of the world, Ron."
"You're one to talk. Where is your best friend?"
"Dean and I write each other, he just thought that since there were so many bigots in the wizarding world that he'd stay with his mum and go back to the Muggle school he used to go to. He's taking lots of art classes and is really happy there. Speaking of best friends, how are things between you and Harry?"
"DON'T SAY HIS NAME AROUND ME!" Ron screamed and lunged for Seamus. Ginny, however, had her wand out and quickly hexed her brother. He flew backwards before Bat-Bogeys began flying out of his nose.
"That's it," Seamus said. "Hey Colin, do you still have room in your dorm?"
"Yeah, since Alby didn't come back, we've got room."
"Good, I'm moving in!"
"Great," Ron said as he tried to stop the bats. "More room for me."
