Chapter 14
His heartbeat rose steadily as the noise of hundreds of students increased in volume. Sitting in the Great Hall, alone on the Gryffindor table, he couldn't help the smile on his face as he heard the footsteps nearing into the room.
Then there it was; hundreds piled in, laughing and joking around as they headed to their table. There were a lot more students of course as the delegations from the other schools came into the room. They had also gone back to their respective homes for a respite. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw that the other students who had stayed behind for Christmas got up in joy to meet their friends. He scanned the room, seeing a few familiar faces sitting down at the Gryffindor table, but still no sign of his friends.
"Harry!" he heard a voice from the crowd. Looking to where the sound had come from, he spotted a familiar face squeezing through the mass of people.
"Neville!" Harry exclaimed, walking towards his friend to shake his hand. "How are you?"
"I'm doing brilliant," the boy replied. "It feels like ages since I've seen you, even though it's been about two weeks."
Harry chuckled in response. "I feel the same. It gets lonely being in this massive castle all alone, to be honest."
"Well, you're not alone anymore," Neville said and the two chatted amicably for a few minutes. "Oh, I almost forgot!" he said excitedly. "My new wand," he boasted, pulling it out of his robe.
"That looks amazing," Harry said sincerely. "What kind of make is it?"
"Mahogany with a core of dragon heartstring. 10 and a half inches," he replied. "Gran took me to Ollivander's after Christmas. It was my first time there actually. Apparently, my gran said that it took him a lot longer to find me a wand than my dad. I tried about 30 wands before this one finally responded."
"That's great. I'm sure your wand-work will be way better this term now that you have a wand more in tune with you. It might be time for me to get nervous when we partner up in DADA."
"I don't think you have much to be afraid of in regular classes," Neville laughed, taking a seat at the table.
Harry joined him. "Wait where are Fred and George?" he asked, looking around as he saw most students had taken their seats, yet there was still no sign of the twins.
Neville smiled in response. "They're playing a prank on some fifth-year Slytherins. They saw them bullying some second-year Hufflepuff because she was a muggle-born, so they're getting them back."
Just as he was about to respond, he felt a cool breeze on his other side and saw the twins appear from out of the air; a very innocent look plastered on their faces.
"How did you do that!" Neville asked shocked.
"I didn't know you guys knew the disillusionment charm," Harry said surprisedly.
"Well, Mr Potter you are not the only one who can learn magic on their own time," Fred answered pompously, sticking his chest out like his brother Percy would.
"Exactly Fred!" George replied. "We are just as dedicated to our studies as our young prodigy is here," sticking out his chest in the same fashion, making both Harry and Neville laugh.
"Well, what did you do then?" Neville questioned.
"You'll have to wait and see," both replied at the same time, before promptly tackling Harry into a bear hug onto the floor.
"Get off me you idiots," Harry said chuckling as the three of them sprawled onto the floor.
"Not until you say you missed us," Fred said petulantly.
"Yes… yes, I missed you. Now get off me."
"Mr Weasley!" a voice scolded. "How is it that you two have been here for five minutes and been able to cause more disturbance than we've had in the last two weeks."
"We can't help it, Professor McGonagall," George replied innocently. "Harry said he was lonely for the last two weeks and was in desperate need of a hug from the two most handsome individuals in the school."
"Be that as it may, can you stop embarrassing my house in front of our esteemed guests," the deputy headmistress replied exasperatedly.
The three boys smiled sheepishly before getting back into their seats. Harry looked to the rest of his house after catching a few words from someone on the Gryffindor table "-utterly childish behaviour. No respect-"
"Nice to see you too Hermione!" Harry spoke loudly enough to cut her off causing the people around them to chuckle, while Hermione shot him an angry look and promptly stared to the head tables where Dumbledore had gotten up to speak.
"It is my absolute pleasure to welcome everyone back!" Dumbledore's voice thundered towards the Great Hall. "I hope all of you had a very good Christmas and New Year's. Now I know you must all be starving so let the feast begin," he said, waving his hand before dishes appeared on all the tables.
"So how was Christmas back at the burrow?" Harry asked the twins.
"It was a bit tense this year. Percy upset mum quite a bit because he kept working the entire time he was there, and only stayed the day on Christmas. Then of course she heard about the falling out between you and Ron."
"I hope I didn't put your parents in an awkward position," Harry sighed.
"No, it was alright. They provided him with some support, even though Dad did confide in us that he was quite upset that you two were no longer friends. He told us to tell you that he's rooting for you in the competition."
"That means a lot," Harry replied sincerely.
"Talking about the competition," Neville cut in. "Have you figured out the clue inside the egg yet Harry?"
"Ahh about that," Harry started, rubbing his hair sheepishly. "I'm not going to lie to you boys, but I have given it virtually no thought."
"I think we may be rubbing onto you Mr Potter," Fred grinned. "Leaving work to the last minute is our forte."
"I thought pranking was our forte," George replied.
"If pranking is your forte, why has nothing happened to those fifth years yet?" Neville questioned jokingly.
"Neville you must have some patience. The best things in life come to those who wait. But by my calculations, we have a minute or two before the effects start to kick in. So, boys get your dessert ready because we're in for a treat."
Harry looked towards the boys they were talking about, sending a glance to the rest of the table to see where Daphne was seated. She seemed to be talking to a boy, a small smile on her face as she talked. He recognised the boy as Blaise Zabini. Daphne had mentioned him, telling him that he was one of her better housemates who she could tolerate. He so wanted to go over to her now and talk to her, but he knew he would probably have to wait for tomorrow when he saw her in potions.
Dragging his eyes back to the boys in question, he finally saw the effects taking place. They quickly started shouting as their hair started growing at a rapid pace. Soon it was touching the floor and started to wrap the boys' legs in their hair.
Harry couldn't help but laugh raucously with the rest of the hall as the two of them tried to figure out how to make it stop before Snape arrived on the scene and removed the boys from the hall.
"What did you do?" Harry said between fits of laughter.
"It was one of our inventions that went wrong and we still had a few spare left around. So, we disillusioned ourselves and put in their goblets. A simple but effective prank for a bully," George said proudly.
Harry stared back at the Slytherin table where the shocks of those around those two boys were still apparent. He met Daphne's eyes who he had caught looking at her and gave her a small smile. She gave him a saddened smile almost and turned back to her conversation with Blaise.
"What if it's a trick Moony?"
"I really doubt that Sirius," Remus replied exasperatedly, repeating the same sentence he had been saying the entire day.
"No, but let's think about this shall we," he answered. "Dumbledore says that the meeting with Bones goes well and now she wants to meet me. But what if this is just some ploy that she's playing to just get me next to her so she can arrest me."
"Once again, Dumbledore will be there and I'm sure he could handle anything in the infinitesimal chance that actually happens to you," Remus said.
"Unless Dumbledore himself is on it," Sirius replied conspiratorially.
"I know that the man isn't in our good books right now, but do you really believe he'd do that to you?"
"At this point, I don't know what Dumbledore would do Moony," Sirius replied darkly. "But, yes you're right. It's just nerves."
"We should probably get going," Remus said, looking at the time on his watch.
"Where are we apparating to again?" Sirius questioned.
"Some abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of Coventry."
"Well, I guess that makes sense. I doubt even aurors would willingly go to Coventry to arrest me," he joked causing Remus to chuckle.
"Just remember. If it does go awry, I will have your back," Remus said with a smile, before apparating away.
"I know you will friend," Sirius told himself, before joining his companion.
Abandoned really was the word for this warehouse Sirius thought himself as he looked around the location. The roofing of it had partially collapsed onto the floor. Rusted machinery sat in corners of the room, covered with a thick layer of dust on it. Graffiti had been plastered around on the different surfaces, while the smell of mould permeated through the place.
"I think this is where my mother was born," Sirius said to his friend causing Remus to burst out laughing.
"Yes, it does exude that same ray of happiness that I've always thought your mother had."
"I've always thought Walburga was quite nice as a child actually," a voice responded from the darkness.
"It wouldn't be the first time your judgement was wrong then, would it Dumbledore?" Sirius replied at the approaching headmaster.
Dumbledore brushed off the comment with a sad smile towards Sirius. Taking out his pocket watch, he responded, "Amelia should be here soon. I told her to come a few minutes later just so you could ask me any questions if you need to."
"How do we know we can trust her Albus?" Remus sighed, voicing Sirius' doubts for him. "She could be bringing reinforcements here right now to arrest him and us."
"I understand your worries, but I am very sure that will not be the case. Above all, Amelia respects doing the right thing. By now she will have done what I said during our talk and checked to see the case files on Sirius' trial. When she does not find them, it will corroborate the story I told her."
"Why did she need to see me for this then if she believes your story and doesn't find the case files?" Sirius replied.
"Question you I believe," Dumbledore responded. "Amelia is nothing if not thorough. She will need to make sure she is in control of all the possible facts before she could possibly bring this to trial and get round Fudge."
"I guess I can understand that," Sirius answered.
"Now why don't we have a seat until she comes," the headmaster said, waving his wand and conjuring three chairs for them.
They only had to wait for a few minutes before they heard the tell-tale pop of apparition. Sirius gripped the wand in his robe tightly, ready to pull it out on the first sign of danger, but he could only hear the footsteps of one person.
They all stood up as she approached. She looked similar to what Sirius remembered of her. She had been a fourth-year when he had joined Hogwarts so he never really had much contact with her. She had also been a Hufflepuff if he remembered correctly. There was quite a stern look about her, but he did think she was quite pretty in a classical sense.
"Headmaster," she said reaching out to shake Dumbledore's hand. "Good to see you again."
"The pleasure is all mine Ms Bones," Dumbledore bowed in greeting.
Moving on towards Remus, she offered her hand out as well. "Pleased to meet your acquaintance Mr Lupin," she said.
"Very pleased to meet you too Ms Bones," Remus replied.
"My niece spoke very highly of you when you were her professor. I'm very sorry it didn't end up working out with your condition."
"I'm quite used to it now. But yes, I do remember Susan and she was quite good in my class. Definitely one of the better ones," he answered with a small smile to which she reciprocated.
Finally, she walked up to Sirius, pausing for a moment, but still offering him a hand too. "Mr Black," she said.
"Ms Bones," he replied, offering his hand as well.
"I must say, you look quite well kept and fed for a man on the run," she spoke bluntly.
"I have my ways I suppose Ms Bones," Sirius replied smoothly. "However, my appearance, handsome as it may be, is not the reason we are here today."
"No, I suppose it is not. Shall we take a seat and talk a bit," she spoke to the group. Dumbledore nodded; conjuring a fourth chair for her to sit on.
They were all silent for a few moments looking at each other before Dumbledore broke the ice. "You know, you two may have more in common than you know. Only a few weeks ago, Sirius' godson Harry, took your niece Susan to the ball," he said with a small smile.
Amelia nodded in response. "Yes, she said he was the perfect gentleman. However, I doubt he learnt his manners from his godfather when he hasn't been around for the past few years."
"No, Harry is naturally a good person. I am sure he treated your niece right."
"But your godson's behaviour is not the topic of this discussion so let's move on," she spoke. "Now Dumbledore, I looked for those casefiles and you are correct. For the year of 1981, there are no documents pertaining to the trial or sentencing of Sirius Black."
"So, you believe me then. Shouldn't this prove my innocence?" Sirius cut in excitedly.
"It's not as easy as that Sirius," Dumbledore sighed looking towards Amelia who nodded in the same sentiment.
"Dumbledore is correct. This does not prove anything and is too flimsy to be accepted as any proof of innocence. No, what is needed is more concrete evidence, witnesses, alibis and more."
"Well, we're already screwed then, aren't we. Because even though Peter is alive, that rodent of a man is so protected you'll never get him," Sirius replied.
"Perhaps that is the case, but there is still a chance. Because we may not have Mr Pettigrew as you say. But Dumbledore provided me with the story of your meeting in Hogwarts. In that scenario, there were five witnesses. Mr Lupin, Professor Snape, Harry Potter and his two friends."
"Ahh," Dumbledore spoke, a small light in his eyes. "Once again Amelia you prove just how intelligent you are," he said sincerely, a smile on his face.
"But will that be enough?" Remus asked.
"You can never know with the Wizengamot," Amelia replied truthfully. "However, if the stories line up, using vertiaserum and memories provided, we should be able to prove the truth. More importantly, if Dumbledore is right; then when you spoke to Pettigrew, he provided a full confession of being the secret keeper for the Potters and killing the 12 muggles."
"Well, that's all well and good, but what're the next steps. Do you question these witnesses and then we go to trial?"
"Once again, it is not so simple. I do not think Fudge will like this, and if the suspicions about Lucius Malfoy are correct, he will definitely not like it either."
"How should what that slimeball Malfoy care about the matter?" Sirius snarled.
"Sorry, I do forget you have been locked up for the last 13 years," Amelia said, a small joking smile on her face. "Mr Fudge and Mr Malfoy are very close. Mr Malfoy heavily supported Fudge's campaign to become Minister and since then Lucius Malfoy usually gets what he needs."
"So, then what is the process Ms Bones?" Remus asked.
"I believe I will have to call an emergency meeting and lay out the facts. I will speak that I got an anonymous tipoff about Sirius Black from a relative. So, we must have Harry write me a letter acting anonymous and telling me why he thinks Sirius is innocent beforehand."
"Go on," Sirius nodded.
"From there I shall say that I looked into the claims and found that it is true that your trial has not been found and there is no documentation or a living soul alive who can truthfully attest to the claim that they even attended your trial," she continued, receiving nods from everyone. "Using Dumbledore's support, I believe I can then leverage the Wizengamot to provide you with the trial you need and claim that if you come forward, you will be honestly given the trial you never got," she said.
"Now I do not know how many days it will take between the emergency meeting and the trial to occur, but my assumption is that for such a high-profile case like yours, it may even take place in the next few days. That is when I will bring through our witnesses to attest to your innocence."
"It still seems like a longshot, but it's definitely the best chance we got," Sirius said. "I'm in."
"I'm glad you are. My next step now will be meeting with everyone individually and getting their statements and memories. I'm sure you will allow me access to the castle to meet the students and professor Snape?" she said, looking at Dumbledore.
"Of course, Amelia."
She nodded, but then turned to Sirius with a very strong look. "I must warn you. If this doesn't go your way, then is no second chance for you. They will sentence you right then and there to the kiss. I just need you to know this before we proceed."
"I understand, but I will do it. Anything for Harry."
"Well, if that's sorted then, I just have one final question," she said, directing her statement to the group.
"Yes?" Remus asked.
"Mr Black you said Mr Pettigrew is so protected you'll never be able to get him. How could you possibly know that?"
"Oh… well… I mean, I just assumed he is you know," Sirius stuttered.
"Mr Black," she said sternly. "How do you know he is very well protected. As a matter of fact, how do any of you know?" she directed her question to the group; but none of the men responded.
"It is quite complicated, Amelia," Dumbledore finally said, breaking the silence.
"I am fighting to prove the innocence of a man who everyone in the wizarding world believes sold out his best friends and killed twelve Muggles. I doubt my life can get any more complicated than that headmaster," she replied briskly.
"Much more complicated, I'm afraid," Dumbledore answered.
"Nevertheless, I want to know all the details before I properly get into this," she firmly spoke.
"Very well. However, your first thought when I told you about Sirius it was just so unbelievable that you actually saw the truth in it. Bear that in mind, when I tell you this."
"Fine," she replied, although there was a hint of confusion riddled in her voice.
"We have reason to believe that Mr Pettigrew is in the employ of Voldemort. Their whereabouts are completely unknown to us, but we assume that Mr Pettigrew has been trying to help his master gain power once again."
His words permeated through the warehouse, echoing off the walls. He looked towards the department head, her face going pale white, her hands starting to shake.
"How dare you?" she seethed. "That monster is not back…"
"Amelia- "Dumbledore tried to cut in.
"NO! He… is… not… back," she spoke; her voice quivering with rage. "The man who killed my brother. Killed my sister-in-law. Left Susan with no parents…"
"Amelia, please if you could let us explain…" Dumbledore tried again.
"Do you remember how they died Albus!" she shook, standing up in rage and sent the chair clattering behind. "Of course, you do. Decapitated and thrown in front of their burning house. And you dare disrespect their memory by saying that the man who killed them, is still alive."
"Why would I lie about this Amelia," Dumbledore said firmly, standing from his chair as well. "I do not take what I am telling you lightly. Only a handful of people I trust explicitly even know."
"He is not…"
"Amelia!" Sirius shouted, cutting her off and getting her attention. "Believe me, there is not much I trust about Albus Dumbledore in this current moment of time. But he is telling the truth. Just please listen to what we have to say."
"He's right Ms Bones," Remus sighed. "If you can believe this story about Sirius, then you can believe this too."
"Fine," she said, a small tear streaming down her face which she quickly wiped off. Taking her seat again, she spoke; "I want to know everything Dumbledore. Every piece of evidence, assumption or theory you have, and then I will pass my judgement."
Dumbledore sighed and nodded, preparing himself for the long talk to come. Starting with his initial theory that Voldemort had never been dead when they first never found a body, he continued the story through Harry's years at Hogwarts and the dream he had.
She did not make eye contact with him the entire time. Instead, she stared at the walls, but he knew she listened intently to every story he told her and the few assumptions he had. He then made his final point.
"… but I must stress I do not know when he will rise to strength again. It could be many years from now, but he will make a comeback."
"Because of all this, I have recently restarted a resistance group I had first created during Voldemort's first rise to power," he spoke, ignoring the look of shock that adorned Remus' face as he told her.
"It is called the Order of the Phoenix and our aim was and still is to stop the threat of Voldemort. We have a few incredibly brave members, including Sirius and Remus here, but I do believe we would benefit greatly from having someone of your high calibre and position with us. So, I would formally like to request you to join as a member," he finished.
She remained silent as he finished. Her eyes were still unmoving from the wall. No one in the room spoke for a few minutes as they stared worriedly at the auror. Finally, she looked back to Dumbledore. "I'll think about it," was all she said, before promptly standing up and leaving the warehouse. A few seconds later, they hear the pop of apparition and knew she had gone.
"Should we have just let her go so easily?" Remus asked worriedly.
"She has a lot of information to process my boy," Dumbledore sighed sadly. "She took their deaths incredibly hard and knowing what she does now cannot make it any easier."
"How can we know she won't just go telling someone about this now?" Sirius asked.
"No, I do not believe that is something she will do," Dumbledore responded, his voice stating that there was no room for argument.
"I just can't believe you told her about the Order as well," Remus spoke up.
"It is like I told her. Someone with her skill and important position could definitely help us get the head start we need in stopping Voldemort. But more importantly, she is a good person and the world needs more like her, helping us to fight for the people out there who are unable to do so themselves."
The first Monday back after the Christmas break would often be a drag for most students; stumbling out their beds bleary-eyed and half-awake as they trudged down to the Great Hall to get something to eat before the bell rang for their classes. However, Harry had been one of the first to arrive for breakfast, used to his body waking him up early. Although, today he had been shaken out of sleep by another nightmare. He had been fortunate over the Christmas break, his sleep uninterrupted by the usual chaos that plagued his dreams, but the night before had been different and very odd.
He had come back to the same dilapidated mansion that he knew Voldemort resided in, but he wasn't seeing him from the perspective of Voldemort this time. Instead, he seemed to be laying on the floor and moving across. He didn't understand much of the conversation that was going on, but remembered that Pettigrew had been in the room and talking into the fireplace. The conversation after is the one that still horrified him;
"… the next phase is being set in motion," Pettigrew spoke after peeling his head out from the fireplace.
"Good. It would not be wise to rush any of the plans and have anyone suspect what is going on," Voldemort whispered back.
His voice had grown stronger than the voice Harry had first heard at the start of summer. When he had first listened to him talk, Voldemort seemed to struggle with speaking, but now it was getting easier; a thought that did not sit well with Harry at all.
"Of course, my lord," Pettigrew nodded enthusiastically. "Is there anything you need now my lord?" he questioned.
"Nagini needs a snack. I think it is time we brought in our friend from downstairs," he smiled sinisterly.
The body Harry seemed to be in started to curl around excitedly, anticipating what was coming. He waited for a minute, getting closer to the door. He heard a thumping up the stairs and soon a body was thrown into the room.
Harry watched as an old man fell to the ground, shivering and bruised. He tried to stand up but was quickly kicked back to the ground by Pettigrew.
"Hmmm, he will do very well. Nagini… dinner!"
"NO! Please God… no don't do this," he screamed in terror, but it was too late. Harry was inching closer, the body he was in rising with excitement. He pounced, and all Harry heard were the sounds of screams and laughter before waking up, his whole body sweating profusely.
He shook his head of the memory and focused on the breakfast he was eating. He knew he ought to tell Dumbledore about this latest dream, promising the headmaster he would provide him with any update to his dreams. But this was different and he wanted to try to make sense of it himself. He felt like an animal in that dream, and his heart panged in guilt as he thought of the hopeless old man.
He was knocked out of his reverie once again by the sight of Neville walking into the Great Hall and quickly schooled his features into a smile before greeting the boy. They talked until the bell rang and then headed to History of Magic. Pulling out his notes, he prepared himself for his next few lessons before he could finally get to potions. That thought made him laugh internally; never in a million years had he believed he would start looking forward to Potions, but Daphne had somehow managed it. The next thing he knew, Professor Binns floated into the room and the next instalment of the Goblin Wars began.
He walked down to the dungeons with Neville who was excitedly remarking on his performance in their latest transfiguration class.
"… I mean I know this class was just a repetition of what we learnt in the first term, but I can't believe I actually succeeded in the switching spell," he gushed.
Harry smiled at the boy, glad to see how much his confidence had increased just because of his new wand. "I always knew you could do it, Nev. You just needed the right tools and you've started to succeed," he replied.
"I know! I'm so thankful to Moody for owling Gran. I think this might be the first time McGonagall has ever given me points in class," he laughed, as they reached the entrance to the class, lining up next to the other Gryffindors.
"You were great today, Neville!" Hermione said, joining into their conversation; pointedly ignoring Harry.
"Thanks, Hermione," he replied flustered with the attention he had gotten.
"It's great to see you put this renewed effort into your work", she spoke.
"Funny, I never got that attitude when I did the same," Harry muttered, loud enough for Hermione to hear and evoking a small smile from Neville.
"Anyway," she said, pressing on louder and still looking away from Harry, "I hope you continue with the great work and if you need my help, I'm always here."
Harry was about to retort with another sarcastic comment when interrupted.
"Well, what do we have here. The new golden trio!" Malfoy spoke up, purposely trying to gain everyone's attention. "It's funny Potter, I always thought you could never do worse than Weasley, but somehow you choose someone who's not actually a wizard," he mocked.
"Oh, I'm sorry Draco. Next time I'll hire two gorillas to be my friends just like you did," Harry replied, casually flicking his eyes towards Crabbe and Goyle. "Oh wait. Oh, I get it now. After all this time I never really understood, but now I do…" Harry laughed.
"What are you smirking about Potter?" Malfoy said angrily.
"Well, it's quite obvious when you think about it. You're always the one coming to me to start conversations. You're always looking for an excuse to get up close and personal with me. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you have a crush on me," he said, laughing once again, joined in by the others who were lined up. "Now don't get me wrong, I'm flattered, I really am, but I just don't swing that way."
"I don't either," he heatedly replied, his face getting slightly red.
"It's okay, I really don't judge you. Although, I do think it would be wise for you to tell Pansy, otherwise it's just quite unfair for her if you keep continuing this charade."
"Shut up Potter!" he retorted, but his face quickly contorted into an evil smirk, "I know where all this anger is coming from Potter. Is it maybe the fact that we all just went home to see our families, while you were stuck in the castle all alone? Why is that again? Oh right! You have no family, just a little abandoned orphan. Shame you don't even have a dog or some kind of mutt to give you company," he said in glee, carefully insinuating that he knew all about Sirius.
This time it was Harry's face that reddened in anger. He made to reach for his wand, but Draco had already turned on his heel and walked into class as he spotted Snape at the doorway. He pulled his hand out his robe and marched into class sourly knowing that Malfoy had gotten the better of him at the end.
He went down to sit at his table, Daphne joining him a few moments later. He looked towards her and she gave him a saddened smile, obviously hearing their entire conversation outside. He turned away and focused on Snape.
"Firstly, it is time I get the work that I set you over the break," he said, pointing his wand towards the class, leading to a flurry of papers coming towards him and organising themselves neatly on his desk. "While I know I can expect poor work from most of you," he said, eyeing Harry, "I hope at least some of you had an interesting analysis," he snivelled.
"Now, we will be recapping the potion for the Draught of Peace from last term. Most of you showed truly inadequate work as usual, but as this potion often shows up in your OWLs, hopefully, one or two of you can actually produce good work on it."
The class stayed silent, accepting the usual insults thrown towards them, even though everyone knew he was addressing just the Gryffindors in the class.
"Well, what are you waiting for," he snarked. "Get started."
Harry fell into his established role of getting the ingredients, while Daphne started heating the cauldron, getting it to its required temperature before they could start brewing.
"Now, remember you only have to cut the Alihotsy roughly because…"
"… because it is going to get blended in with the fluxweed. Yes, I remember," Harry said with a hidden smile.
"And here was me thinking you haven't learnt anything since we started," Daphne replied jokingly.
"I do sometimes listen. Obviously, I have a great teacher to help me. How could I have ever succeeded without Snape's guidance in the first place?" he sarcastically remarked.
Daphne coughed to cover up her small laugh at his statement. "You prat, stop making me laugh," she whispered, adding in the foxglove to their mixture, turning it into the required light blue hue.
"I apologise, I forgot we are not supposed to enjoy our time in Potions. Maybe we could meet tonight then and discuss more freely?"
"Umm tonight?" she stammered. "I don't know… I may be quite busy," she stammered, avoiding looking at him.
"Oh," he replied, his voice laced with a slight disappointment. "That's not a worry. Maybe tomorrow?"
"Well… I'll have to check, but I'll get back to you," she answered, still looking away from him.
Harry started to get a sinking feeling in his chest that something was wrong, but he pushed it down. "No issue," he said, keeping his voice neutral.
"So have you figured out the clue for your egg yet?" Daphne asked, steering the conversation to a new topic as she stirred their concoction.
"Ahh well, these things take time you know and…"
"You haven't even attempted it have you," she cut him off knowingly.
"Well, now that's completely untrue. I'll have you know I opened it once."
"Oh well then please accept my deepest apologies," she replied. "Here was me thinking with all that spare time you've had that you would try it more than once."
"As you know actually, I have been kept quite busy by an expert circuit dueller. Now I know that may come off as a brag and that's because I intended it to come out as one," he smirked.
"You really are a prat. I can't believe you pulled that off. It must be great being the headmaster's favourite."
"Yeah… he certainly is interested in me. That's for sure," he remarked. She was sure that she heard a bit of tension in his voice but didn't know where that would be coming from.
They continued to talk periodically throughout the class, Harry trying to still gauge why she seemed off. She was chatting perfectly amicably with him, her usual banter in place, but something was wrong. Why did she now want to meet with him? He couldn't think he had done anything wrong and he knew that there was no way she had been assigned enough homework today for her to be busy tonight, especially as most lessons were just a recap.
It almost seemed that she didn't want to be alone with him. But why was that? Could it be because of their kiss? But she had been the one who instigated it. Could it be that she now regretted it? That thought sunk his heart even more. He tried to knock those thoughts away, but they plagued him throughout the lesson.
They finished their potion easily enough, Snape giving Daphne a passable nod and ignoring him as usual. They said a tiny goodbye and then walked away. He trudged back up to the Gryffindor tower, his thoughts still focused on her.
What did I do?
Harry glumly sat in the corner of the Gryffindor common room reading through his runes textbook before dinner. He was supposed to come up with a project soon that would be graded at the end of the year. Apparently, it was quite important as Professor Babbling stressed that it would form part of their final OWLs grade. The runic language he had been assigned was ancient Greek which he was quite glad about since they were learning that this year. He had a pretty good idea where he wanted to take a toy figure and animate it to act like a duellist which would send small colourful spells out the wand. The work would have to be quite intricate as he'd have to etch the required runes into the figure and hope that they respond to his voice commands. But he knew he had to put real effort into this one, but he had the added benefit of not needing to do any of the end of year exams.
He still wasn't too sure if he should do them. He knew it wasn't compulsory to do the exams, but he wanted to get an idea if all his extra attention to work would get him good grades. He knew he would easily ace the practical exams for defence, transfiguration and charms; already being miles ahead in his wand-work. He shook his head, trying to focus on the textbook in front of him, but once again his head was invaded with unwelcome thoughts.
What could he have possibly done to upset Daphne? She kissed him and they had sent letters through the winter break where she been completely amicable with him. She had been completely fine once again when he met her in Potions, but she just seemed unwilling to spend time with him alone. Had the kiss been so bad that she hoped to not revisit it again? He knew well enough that had been his first kiss and was completely inexperienced when it came to it, but he was pretty sure that it had been her first as well. More than that, it hadn't even lasted long enough to be considered a snog. She had just placed his lips on his. He didn't even have time to wrap his hands around her waist before she pulled back. It was times like this that he wished he could just freely communicate with Sirius. If there was any man with experience with women, it was him. Although knowing his godfather, it would be illustrated with many crude puns and dirty hand gestures.
Sighing he threw his book onto the sofa, knowing he wouldn't be able to focus on any work right now.
"Ahh, I know that look," Fred said, slipping next to him. "What's the prognosis, George?"
"Well, it is obvious Fred that Harry here is suffering from a severe condition of girl trouble."
"Yes, I think I have experienced that many a time in my life," Fred replied. Looking to Harry with a very serious look on his face he added, "But remember Harry if she wants to do it without the contraceptive potion, it's just not worth it. Although there are different things you can do-"
"Please stop," Harry exclaimed, unable to stop himself from laughing.
"Well, if it's not about that, what is it about?" George asked.
"To be honest, I'd rather just not talk about it right now," he replied.
"Fair enough. There is a better solution to that. Quidditch!" George said excitedly.
"Ingenious!" Fred added. "Grab the firebolt Potter. We're going to do a few rounds."
"I'd be down for that," Harry replied enthusiastically. With the competition going on, he hadn't been able to play any Quidditch for ages and was eager to get back into it. "Would Lee like to join?"
"Unfortunately, not. Lee is in the process of trying to woo Aimee Puddlefoot and so he is occupied. What about Neville?"
"He's doing homework with Hannah or something like that," Harry replied.
"Well, then a threesome it is!" George shouted, gathering the attention of some in the common room.
"Indeed. But let's make it interesting shall we," Fred said. "Instead of a quaffle, Harry why don't you grab your golden egg. This is street rules after all."
Harry laughed but agreed. Running upstairs to grab his egg and broomstick, he met the twins down by the portrait. They walked down to the Quidditch arena and quickly mounted their brooms.
"Now the rules are simple," Fred said as they got into the air. "Two against one. Two of us will defend against an attacker who has to try and get it into the middle hole specifically, just to make it harder."
"Sounds simple enough. Since I have the egg, I'll go first then?" Harry asked. The twins agreed.
Harry had trouble holding the egg in just one hand due to the shape and the lack of grip points that were there on a quaffle but enjoyed the challenge altogether. He started, heading straight towards the hoop, quickly blocked by George, he was forced to divert up, but Fred was already there, leading him to backtrack. The twins were amazingly good with their nonverbal communication and during many of the rounds, he had been caught out, getting the egg through the hoop only once. The twins weren't able to fair any better when it was their turn to attack, but they had fun nonetheless.
The egg went back again to Harry for another attack and this time he had a different plan in mind. Yes, the twins were greatly able to communicate with their defence abilities, but he had the better broom and knew that was his advantage. This time he flew straight to the hoop, as usual, he was blockaded, but this time he went straight down, using the speed of his broom to get under George to get around him. Had he been holding a quaffle, his move would have been executed flawlessly, but the grip on the egg had been an issue. As he tried to stabilise, the egg slipped his hand, clattering to the floor.
"For fucks sake," he complained, going down to retrieve it.
"Better luck next time Potter," George goaded; flying down to meet him.
Harry got off his broom and walked towards the egg, only to realise it had opened when it had fallen to the ground. Approaching it he sensed something different.
"What's wrong Harry?" Fred asked, dismounting himself.
"It sounds different," Harry said.
"What do you mean?" he replied confusingly.
"When I opened it before, it made this low pulsing noise. This is faster and more rhythmic. It's changed."
"Maybe it got affected because we kept tossing it around," George spoke.
"No, it can't be that. The egg has been magically protected so that it doesn't get broken or anything," Harry answered.
"But then how can it be different from the last time you opened it?"
Harry knew this was some sort of clue. His mind was racing, trying to think of the different possibilities. "The location," he finally said, slapping his head, not knowing how he hadn't realised it.
"The location… what are you on about?" George replied, still confused.
"Don't you see? The times I had opened it, I was in the castle. This is the first time I've taken it outside and the noise has changed. I think we have to find the right location to where this goes," Harry replied determinedly.
"So, it's like some sort of tracking beacon almost?"
"I think so yes. And I'm guessing the sound will get faster or whatever when we get closer to the required location."
"Well then let's do this thing!" George exclaimed.
Picking up the egg in excitement, Harry practically ran out of the stadium. The noise started to slow down as he walked towards the castle. "Okay I think we can cross out the castle as a possibility," Harry announced, seeing that the egg had slowed down to a low murmur the closer they got.
They moved around the castle, towards the lake, but the egg seemed to get even quieter. "We have to get to the other side, it's not at the castle or lake," Fred said. Harry agreed and they walked back on the path towards the stadium, this time diverting towards Hagrid's cabin.
"This is it!" Harry said excitedly, the egg picking up in sound and rhythm as they got closer to the cabin. "We must almost be here," he spoke, as they reached the cabin. "But I can't see where?"
"I can," George replied, pointing towards the path that leads to the Forbidden Forest. "I'm pretty sure we're supposed to go in there."
Harry knew he was right and so they started walking towards the forest. It was obvious they were in the correct place as they reached the edge of the forest as the egg itself started to vibrate. They walked inwards for about ten minutes before they knew they had reached the right place.
A small torch had been kept there to keep the small area alight, another confirmation they were in the right place. Next to it, a circle had been drawn, with four holes in the middle. Each hole was big enough to perfectly fit the egg that Harry was currently holding in his hand.
He hadn't been the first here. Two eggs had already been placed inside the circle, but then again, he hadn't been the last. He wondered who still hadn't figured out the location, but that wasn't his problem currently. Looking to the other two who nodded in confirmation, he walked forward and put the egg inside the divot. The vibration and noise ceased immediately. The egg started to glow, a small bright blue light surrounding, when suddenly it opened once again, ejecting out a piece of parchment, almost like how the Goblet of Fire spat it out.
He grabbed it and read.
"What does it say?" George asked impatiently.
"It's confirmation of the second task," Harry replied, passing them the paper, to which they quickly read.
The next task awaits you in this spot,
But fear not
Because an hour-long you'll have to play
As the light moves away from day
Find what we have took
Before there is no more light to look
Hopefully, that ending is enticing enough for you readers. Like I said, I have tried to do a different task from the normalcy of canon just so it doesn't seem repetitive to other stories. As usual let me know what you guys think!