Two weeks to exams help me! Anywho I hope life is treating you all well. Read and Review.

-Doublesims

Chapter Twelve: Back to Class.

Draco Malfoy was allowed to leave the Hospital Wing in the morning. He came down to breakfast late.

He walked through the Hall like he had just come back from a battle. When sat down at his table he was flocked by his house mates who asked him questions about how he was and how Jack was holding up.

"I was lucky; if it wasn't for Frost I would be dead." He said.

"God he is really laying it on thick isn't he." said Ron to Harry and Hermione.

"I'm just glad that Jack is alright and Hargid hasn't been fired." said Hermione.

Seamus Finnigan came running in waving his copy of Daily Prophet. "His been sighted. His been sighted!" He slammed it down on the table were most third years were eating and doing homework, right in front of Neville.

"Who?" asked Hermione.

"Sirius Black"

Nearly every Third year Gryffindor crowded around was Neville was sitting. Hermione moved the paper to get a better look.

"Duff Town!" She exclaimed "That's not far from here."

"You don't think he'll come here," Neville looked up at the others. "Do you?"

"With Dermentors at every entrance," said Seamus.

"Dermentors he's already got past them once" Ritchie Coote said.

"That's right. Catching Black is like catching smoke" Said Dean Thomas. "Like catching smoke with your bare hands."

Jack didn't reappear in classes until on Thursday morning, when the Slytherins and Gryffindors were halfway through double Potions. He walked into the dungeon fidgeting with the sling holding his right arm. The sling was partly frozen.

"Sorry I'm late," said Jack ignoring all the questionings from Slytherins and Gryffindors alike. "I'll also have to apologies that I won't be able to touch anything, my Elemental Magic is playing up. I'm freezing everything I touch."

"Oh, I would like prof of this" said Professor Snape. Jack walked up to his desk were his potion was brewing.

"You sure?" asked Jack unsure himself if this was a good idea. Professor Snape nodded firmly. "Fine, don't say I didn't warn you"

The class watched as Jack reached out his left hand and touched the warm cauldron. Jack stepped back after his finger brushed the top of the cauldron so the rest of the class could watch. The result was frost forming on the side of the cauldron and the flame underneath had gone out. Snape walked forward and picked up the cauldron and flicked it upside down. A gasp when though the dungeon as nothing came out. The liquid was frozen sold.

Snape turned to Jack. "How long will this last?"

"Your frozen potion or my magic playing up?" asked Jack smartly.

"Your magic" Snape said firmly.

"I just need my wand or my Staff to act as a focus point for my magic, that's way I made my staff at the age of eight, my magic got really bad then"

"Why don't you have either now?"

"Whoever picked them up after I was taken to the Hospital Wing was a female and my things are in the Girls dormitories, I can't get them myself," Jack gave a smile "the stairs won't let me."

The girls and a few boys from Gryffindor laughed knowing what he was talking about.

"Settle down, Settle down" He called to the class "Find a seat Frost and when you have your magic under control I want the recipe written down, in detail, from memory on my desk as soon as you can"

"Yes sir."

"Sir" Said Malfoy, who had his cauldron set up next to Harry and Ron. "Jack can seat next to me sir."

"Sorry Draco, but there is already three on that table and I don't what to end up freezing anyone" Jack said before Sanpe could replied. Jack walked to an empty table behind Neville and watched what everyone was doing. They were making a new potion today, a Shrinking Solution.

Time went on and Neville was in trouble. Neville regularly went to pieces in Potions lessons; it was his worst subject and his great fear of Professor Snape made things ten times worse. His potion, which was supposed to be a bright, acid green, had turned –

"Orange, Longbottom" said Snape, ladling some up and allowing it to splash back into the cauldron, so that everyone could see. "Orange. Tell me boy, dose anything penetrate that thick skull of yours? Didn't you hear me say, quite clearly, that only one rat spleen was needed? Didn't I state plainly that a dash of leech juice would suffice? What do I have to do to make you understand, Longbottom?"

Neville was pink and trembling. He looked as though he was on the verge of tears.

"Please, sir," said Hermione, "please, I could help Neville put it right –"

"I don't remember asking you to show off, Miss Granger," said Snape coldly, and Hermione went as pink as Neville "Longbottom, at the end of this lesson we will feed a few drops of this potion to your toad and see what happens. Perhaps that will encourage you to do it properly."

Snape moved way, leaving Neville breathless with fear.

"Help me!" He moaned to Hermione.

"Don't," said Jack making them both jump forgetting he was there. "He doesn't want you to help him, but don't worry I'll help, but not in the way you hope."

He lent forward "Now what would you do if…"

The end of the lesson in sight, Snape strode over to Neville, who was cowering by his cauldron.

"Everyone gather round," Said Snape, his black eyes glittering, "and watch what happens to Longbottom's toad. If he has managed to produce a Shrinking Solution, it will shrink to a tadpole. If, as I don't doubt, he has done it wrong, his toad is likely to be poisoned."

The Gryffindors watched fearfully. The Slytherins looked excited. Snape picked up Trevor the toad in his left hand, and dipped a small spoon into Neville's potion, which was now green. He trickled a few drops down Trevor's throat.

There was a moment of hushed silence, in which Trevor gulped; then was a small pop, and Trevor the tadpole was wriggling in Snape's palm.

The Gryffindors burst into applause, Jack smiled. Snape, looking sour, pulling a small bottle from the pocket of his robe, poured a few drops on top of Trevor and he reappeared suddenly, fully grown.

"Five points from Gryffindor," said Snape, which wiped the smiles from every face. "I told you not to help him, Miss Gran–"

"She didn't" Jack spoke up "I did! I was trying to remember the recipe and I thought if I help him I could remember it better."

"And how did you help him?" asked Snape tuning to the white haired boy.

"Asked him questions and riddles." Jack said he looked up to look at his teacher. "The answers were what he had to do, helps us both out don't you think?"

"You get those five points back and three extra for clever thinking. Class dismissed."

Harry and Ron caught up to Jack and Hermione on the steps to the Entrance Hall.

"How were you able to do that?" asked Ron to Jack "You're the only Gryffindor Snape has given points to."

"Well I did save one of his Snakes" Jack said with a smile. Snap! Jack made a quick grab for the now fully frozen sling. "Shoot. I really need my Staff. Oh hey Hermione could you…"Jack looked back she wasn't there "Where did she go?"

Harry and Ron turned, too. They were at the top of the steps now, watching the rest of the class pass them, and heading for the Great Hall for lunch.

"She was right behind us." said Ron, frowning.

Malfoy passed them, walking between Crabbe and Goyle. He gave a smirk to Harry and a thankful smile to Jack and disappeared.

"Why were you wearing that sling anyway?" asked Ron.

"Oh. Tooth was worried about her Sweet Tooth, that and Madam Pomfrey found some of my old wounds." He sighed "She's gone crazy wanting to fix or heal as much as she can. She had to re-brake my arm, and one of my legs, but that healed faster."

"Ow, I lost all my bones in my arm last year, and that was painful to grow back," Said Harry still looking around "There she is."

Hermione was painting slightly, hurrying up the stairs; one hand was clutching her bag, the other seemed to be tucking something down the front of her robes.

"How did you do that?" asked Ron.

"What?" said Hermione, joining them.

"One minute you were right behind us, and next moment, you were back at the bottom of the stairs again."

"What?" Hermione looked slightly confused. "Oh –I had to go back for something. Oh, no…"

A seam had split on Hermione's bag. Jack wasn't surprised; he could see that it was crammed with a least a dozen large and heavy books.

"Why are you carrying so many books?" Jack asked as he was going through his robes looking another sling. He found one and tuned to Harry. "Can you help me tie this around my neck, Harry?"

"You know how many subjects I'm taking," said Hermione breathlessly. She turned to Ron "Couldn't hold these for me, could you?"

"But –" Ron was turning over the books she had handed him, looking at the covers. "You haven't got any of these subjects today. It's only Defense Against the Dark Arts this afternoon."

"Oh, yes," Said Hermione vaguely, but she packed all the books back into her bag just the same. "Here Jack you might need this."

She bought out Jack's wand from one of the robe pockets.

"You had it the whole time?" Jack said who held the wand in his left hand giving life back into it. "MiM that feels better. But really you had it the whole time?"

"Maybe. I hope there's something good for lunch, I'm starving" She said and she marched off towards the Great Hall.

"Hey, wait up." Jack called after her, running to catch up.

"D'you get the feeling Hermione's not telling us something?" Ron asked Harry.