Once again, many thanks to those who review. Rather generic intro today, been under the weather since Friday last and still not fully back up to speed with myself. enjoy the next chapter! ~F

Chapter Four

Early Complications

"Harry! Harry! Are you all right?" a voice was saying. Someone was slapping his face.

"W-what?" he groaned in reply.

Harry opened his eyes; there were lanterns above him, and the floor was shaking; the Hogwarts Express was moving again and the lights had come back on. He seemed to have fallen to the floor.

Ron and Hermione were kneeling next to him, and above them he could see Neville and Professor Lupin watching. Faykan was lying on the seat vacated by Professor Lupin, wide eyed and still shaking badly. Harry felt very sick; when he put up his hand to push his glasses back on, he felt cold sweat on his face.

Ron and Hermione heaved him back onto his seat.

"Are you okay?" Ron asked nervously.

"Yeah," said Harry, looking quickly toward the door. The hooded creature had vanished. "What happened? Where's that, that thing? Who screamed?"

"No one screamed, other than Faykan," said Ron, more nervously still.

Harry looked around the bright compartment. Ginny and Neville looked back at him, both very pale.

"But I heard screaming…" Harry insisted.

A loud snap made them all jump. Professor Lupin was breaking an enormous slab of chocolate into pieces.

"Here," he said to Harry, handing him and Faykan particularly large pieces. "Eat it. It'll help."

Harry took the chocolate but didn't eat it. "What was that thing?" he asked Lupin.

"A dementor," said Lupin, who was now giving smaller pieces of chocolate to everyone else, "one of the dementors of Azkaban."

Everyone stared at him. Professor Lupin crumpled up the empty chocolate wrapper and put it in his pocket.

"Eat," he repeated. "It'll help. I need to speak to the driver, excuse me..." He strolled past Harry and disappeared into the corridor.

"Are you sure you're okay, Harry?" said Hermione, watching Harry anxiously.

"I don't get it... What happened?" said Harry, wiping more sweat off his face.

"We thought you might have been having a fit, just like Faykan was, but not nearly as severe," Ron said, still looking very scared.

"And Professor Lupin stepped over you, and walked toward the dementor, and pulled out his wand," said Hermione, "and he said, 'None of us is hiding Sirius Black under our cloaks. Go.' But the dementor didn't move, so Lupin muttered something, and a silvery thing shot out of his wand at it, and it turned around and sort of glided away... "

"It was horrible," said Neville, in a higher voice than usual. "Did you feel how cold it got when it came in?"

"I felt weird," said Ron, shifting his shoulders uncomfortably. "Like I'd never be cheerful again..."

Ginny, who was huddled in her corner looking nearly as bad as Harry felt, gave a small sob; Hermione went over and put a comforting arm around her.

Professor Lupin had come back. He paused as he entered, looked around, and said, with a small smile, "I haven't poisoned that chocolate, you know..."

Harry took a bite and to his great surprise felt warmth spread suddenly to the tips of his fingers and toes.

"We'll be at Hogwarts in ten minutes," said Professor Lupin. "Are you all right, Harry?"

Harry didn't ask how Professor Lupin knew his name.

"Fine," he muttered, and the Professor turned and started to coax Faykan into eating his chocolate. Slowly Faykan started to nibble it, and Professor Lupin pushed him to lie flat on the seat, moving Neville and Ginny to stand to the side. "I'm going to lift your shirt so I can see what you were trying desperately to grab, alright?" he said in a calm soothing voice.

Faykan nodded slightly, but his eyes were unfocused and dim. Professor Lupin then lifted his shirt, and Harry gasped; the scar on Faykan's chest has swollen an angry shade of red. It looked like it was infected or inflamed. Lupin ran a finger down the side of it and Faykan moaned in pain again, rolling to the side to get away from the probing fingers.

"Its just inflamed and irritated, it should die down in an hour or two." Lupin said finally, standing again. "If it doesn't, I want you to see Madam Pomfrey immediately, understand?" Faykan nodded again, and Harry could see his eyes coming back into focus although they looked far deeper than usual, and filled with intense grief.

~~Sina tea kirma : This is a line break~~

At long last, the train stopped at Hogsmeade station, and there was a great scramble to get out onto the platform; owls hooted, cats meowed, and Neville's pet toad croaked loudly from under his hat. It was freezing on the tiny platform; rain was driving down in icy sheets. Harry and Ron had to half-carry Faykan, as he was still shaking with pain, and it reminded Harry painfully of their arrival last year.

"Firs' years this way!" called a familiar voice. Harry, Ron, and Hermione turned and saw the gigantic outline of Hagrid at the other end of the platform, beckoning the terrified looking new students forward for their traditional journey across the lake.

"All right, you four?" Hagrid yelled over the heads of the crowd. They had no chance to speak to him because the mass of people around them were shunting them away along the platform. They slowly followed the rest of the school out onto a rough, mud track where at least a hundred stagecoaches awaited the remaining students.

Faykan kept looking toward where a horse would have been placed to pull the carriage, but Harry was too focused on making sure his friend didn't stumble and fall, as he was still seemed very weak. Harry could only assume that they were pulled by an invisible horse of some sort, or magic itself, because once they climbed inside and shut the door, the coach set off all by itself, bumping and swaying in procession.

The coach smelled faintly of mold and straw. Harry felt better since eating his piece of the chocolate, but still slightly feeble. Ron and Hermione kept looking at both Faykan and him sideways, as though frightened one or the other might collapse again.

As the carriage trundled toward a pair of magnificent wrought iron gates flanked with stone columns topped with winged boars, Harry saw two more towering, hooded dementors standing guard on either side. Faykan started to moan loudly in pain again. He almost fell forward in his seat, but Ron caught him while Harry tried to make him more comfortable, running a hand gently across Faykan's back to try and relax the shuddering boy.

A wave of cold sickness threatened to engulf Harry again; he finally leaned back into the lumpy seat and closed his eyes until they had passed through the gates. The carriage picked up speed then as it went along the long, sloping drive up to the castle. Hermione was leaning out of the tiny window, watching the many turrets and towers draw nearer.

At last, the carriage swayed to a halt, and Hermione and Ron got out. Harry helped lower Faykan and then stepped down himself in time to hear a drawling, delighted voice calling from one of the other carriages. "Was that you Undol, screaming your head off on the train like you were being gutted?"

Nott elbowed past Hermione in order to block Ron and Harry, who were still supporting Faykan as they slowly climbed up the stone steps of the castle. The Slytherin's face was gleeful and his pale eyes glinting maliciously.

"Shove off, Nott," snapped Ron, whose jaw was clenched.

"Did you have a fit too Potter?" Nott continued loudly, ignoring Ron as he looked at Harry's paler than normal face, "Was Longbottom telling the truth when he said you both fainted when the scary, old dementor came on board?"

"Is there a problem?" said a mild voice. Professor Lupin had just gotten out of the next carriage.

Nott gave Professor Lupin an insolent stare, which took in the patches on his robes and the dilapidated suitcase. With a tiny hint of sarcasm in his voice, he said, "Oh, no… err, Professor," then he smirked at Crabbe and Goyle and led them up the steps into the castle.

Hermione prodded Ron in the back to make him hurry, and the four of them joined the crowd swarming up the steps, through the giant oak front doors, and into the cavernous entrance hall. It was lit with flaming torches, and housed a magnificent marble staircase that led to the upper floors.

The door into the Great Hall stood open at the right; Harry followed the crowd toward it, but had barely glimpsed the enchanted ceiling, which was black and cloudy tonight, when a voice called, "Potter! Undol! Granger! I want to see you three!"

Harry and Hermione turned around, surprised. Professor McGonagall, Transfiguration teacher and head of Gryffindor House, was calling over the heads of the crowd. Harry fought his way over to her, with Ron holding Faykan by throwing the other boy's arm around his neck. Harry had a feeling of foreboding; Professor McGonagall had a way of making him feel he must have done something wrong.

"There's no need to look so worried, I just want a word in my office," she told them. "Move along there, Weasley."

Ron slowly let Harry take Faykan's weight and waited until they were out of sight, staring as Professor McGonagall ushered the other three away from the chattering crowd. They accompanied her across the entrance hall, up the marble staircase, and along a corridor.

Once they were in her office, a small room with a large, welcoming fire, Professor McGonagall motioned them to sit down. She settled herself behind her desk and said abruptly, "Professor Lupin sent an owl ahead to say that you and Mr. Undol were taken ill on the train, Potter."

Before Harry could reply, there was a soft knock on the door and Madam Pomfrey, the nurse, came bustling in.

Harry felt himself going red in the face. It was bad enough that he'd passed out, or whatever he had done, without everyone making all this fuss.

"I'm fine," he said, "I don't need anything, Faykan is the one who needs to be looked at, not me!"

"Oh, it's you two, is it?" said Madam Pomfrey, ignoring this and bending down to stare closely at Harry. "I suppose you've both been doing something dangerous again?"

"It was a dementor, Poppy," said Professor McGonagall.

They exchanged a dark look, and Madam Pomfrey clucked disapprovingly.

"Setting dementors around a school," she muttered, pushing back Harry's hair and feeling his forehead. "They won't be the last ones who collapse. Yes, he's all clammy. Terrible things, they are, and the effect they have on people who are already delicate…"

"I'm not delicate!" said Harry crossly.

"Of course you're not," said Madam Pomfrey absentmindedly, now checking Faykan, who looked close to collapsing again.

"What does he need?" said Professor McGonagall crisply, glancing toward Faykan. "Bed rest? Should he perhaps spend tonight in the hospital wing?"

"At the least, they should all have some chocolate, but in Mr. Undol's case… I've never seen such a bad reaction… Oh my!" she had lifted his shirt to expose the terrible red wound, if anything it looked like it had gotten worse since the train.

"This boy needs to go to the hospital wing, immediately," Madam Pomfrey said, conjuring a stretcher, and then passing some chocolate to Harry and Hermione, "Here, you need to eat this."

"I've already had some," said Harry. "Professor Lupin gave me some. He gave it to all of us."

"Did he, now?" said Madam Pomfrey approvingly. "So we've finally got a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher who knows his remedies?"

She bustled out, pushing the now floating stretcher ahead of her.

"Are you sure you feel all right, Potter?" Professor McGonagall said sharply.

"Yes," Harry replied firmly.

"Very well. Kindly wait outside while I have a quick word with Miss Granger about her course schedule, then we can go down to the feast together."

Harry went back into the corridor after Madam Pomfrey, who left for the hospital wing, muttering to herself as she guided Faykan's stretcher. He had to wait only a few minutes before Hermione emerged looking very happy about something, followed by Professor McGonagall. The three of them made their way back down the marble staircase to the Great Hall.

It was a sea of pointed black hats; each of the long House tables was lined with students, their faces glimmering by the light of thousands of candles floating over the tables in mid-air. Professor Flitwick, who was a tiny little wizard with a shock of white hair, was carrying an ancient hat and a three legged stool out of the hall.

"Oh," said Hermione softly, "we've missed the Sorting!"

Professor McGonagall strode off toward her empty seat at the staff table, while Harry and Hermione set off in the other direction, as quietly as possible, toward the Gryffindor table. People looked around at them as they passed along the back of the hall, and a few of them pointed at Harry. Had the story of his collapsing in front of the dementor traveled that fast?

He and Hermione sat down on either side of Ron, who had saved them seats.

"What was all that about? And where's Faykan?" he muttered to Harry.

Harry started to explain in a whisper, but at that moment the headmaster stood up to speak, and he broke off.

"Welcome!" said Dumbledore, the candlelight shimmering on his beard. "Welcome to another year at Hogwarts! I have a few things to say to you all, and as one of them is very serious, I think it best to get it out of the way before you become befuddled by our excellent feast..."

Dumbledore cleared his throat and continued, "As you will all be aware after their search of the Hogwarts Express, our school is presently playing host to some of the dementors of Azkaban, who are here on Ministry of Magic business."

He paused, and Harry remembered what Mr. Weasley had said about Dumbledore not being happy with the dementors guarding the school.

"They are stationed at every entrance to the grounds," Dumbledore continued, "and while they are with us, I must make it plain that nobody is to leave school without permission. Dementors are not to be fooled by tricks or disguises… or even Invisibility Cloaks," he added blandly, and Harry and Ron glanced at each other.

"It is not in the nature of a dementor to understand pleading or excuses. I therefore warn each and every one of you to give them no reason to harm you. I look to the prefects, and our new Head Boy and Girl, to make sure that no student runs afoul of the dementors," Dumbledore said, gesturing out to the student tables.

Percy, who was sitting a few seats down from Harry, puffed out his chest again and stared around impressively. Dumbledore paused again; he looked very seriously around the hall, and nobody moved or made a sound.

"On a happier note," he continued, "I am pleased to welcome two new teachers to our ranks this year. First, Professor Lupin, who has kindly consented to fill the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."

There was some scattered, rather unenthusiastic applause. Only those who had been in the compartment on the train with Professor Lupin clapped hard, Harry among them. Professor Lupin looked particularly shabby next to all the other teachers in their best robes.

"Look at Snape!" Ron hissed in Harry's ear.

Professor Snape, the Potions master, was staring along the staff table at Professor Lupin. It was common knowledge that Snape wanted the Defense Against the Dark Arts job, but even Harry was startled at the expression twisting his thin, sallow face.

It was beyond anger; it was loathing. Harry knew that expression only too well; it was the look Snape wore every time he set eyes on Harry and occasionally Faykan when the other boy wore on his nerves. Although, that was not exactly true, Harry mused, thinking about it more. Snape seemed to be more confused and strangely disappointed with Faykan than hateful, but he couldn't fathom why that would be.

"As to our second new appointment," Dumbledore continued, after the lukewarm applause for Professor Lupin had died away. "Well… I am sorry to tell you that Professor Kettleburn, our Care of Magical Creatures teacher, retired at the end of last year in order to enjoy more time with his remaining limbs. However, I am delighted to say that his place will be filled by none other than Rubeus Hagrid, who has agreed to take on this teaching job in addition to his game keeping duties."

Harry, Ron, and Hermione stared at one another, stunned. Then they joined in with Faykan and the other with applause, which was tumultuous at the Gryffindor table in particular. Harry leaned forward to see Hagrid, who was ruby red in the face and staring down at his enormous hands, his wide grin hidden in the tangle of his black beard.

"We should've known!" Ron roared, pounding the table. "Who else would have assigned us a biting book?"

Harry, Ron, Faykan and Hermione were the last to stop clapping, and as Professor Dumbledore started speaking again, they saw that Hagrid was wiping his eyes on the tablecloth.

"Well, I think that's everything of importance," said Dumbledore, looking around at them all. "Let the feast begin!"

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At long last, when the final morsels of pumpkin tart had melted away from the golden platters, Dumbledore gave the word that it was time for all children to go to bed. The students started to file away up to their common rooms, chatting amongst themselves, already getting back into the spirit if Hogwarts.

Severus started to get up, ready to set off to his own quarters when he caught Albus' eye. He waited while the rest of the students and teachers cleared away until finally it was just him, Albus, Minerva, and unfortunately, Lupin.

"Now, Professor Lupin, please inform us as to what actually occurred on the train concerning Mr. Undol and the dementor." Albus requested, leading them all up to the Hospital Wing. Lupin recounted what he knew, which was unsurprisingly little, in the tine it took for them to arrive, and Severus spotted that Poppy had her hands full trying to just get the boy to lie still. Undol was on the bed furthest from the door, bare-chested and crying out every time Poppy tried to inspect the hideous gash on his chest, thrashing around deliriously.

She turned as the group of teachers arrived, and Severus immediately went to her aid in holding the boy down, grabbing his arms while Lupin took Undol's legs to prevent him from kicking. "I haven't seen anything like it Headmaster," Poppy said, worry in her voice, "it appears to just be a simple stab wound, long healed over, but the way it's inflamed… I couldn't get the poor boy to let me look at it properly, he's just in too much pain, even after a pain relief potion."

"Did you try dreamless sleep, Poppy?" Severus asked with a hint of sarcasm.

"He is in enchanted sleep Severus." She replied, looking even more concerned in admitting it, "Whatever caused that injury, it was extremely powerful and very dark. I doubt anyone alive could completely heal that wound Albus."

The old headmaster wasn't listening however; he was studying Undol's face. Slowly the aged wizard approached the boy and opened one of the young Gryffindor's eyes, revealing a blue orb that had lost its usual piercing radiance, darkened over with pain, despair and… Severus raised an eyebrow, did he see remorse in the boy's dilated eyes. Surely not… there wasn't enough in the boy's young life to possible evoke that sort of devastating emotion, even in the worst of memories.

"Marvelous thing memories…" Albus said, ignoring the ragged sounds of the boy's breathing, as he had long since stopped convulsing ever since Poppy stopped trying to touch the wound. He was lying almost peacefully on the bed now, occasionally shivering from the cold of the room, "I think, that whatever caused this much pain to young Mr. Undol, placed a curse upon the wound that returns that torment whenever the memory is stirred."

Minerva gasped; "Surely you don't mean to say that the boy's memory is causing that much residual pain?" she choked.

"That is exactly what I think. Dementors are powerful, dark creatures, living off all the worst memories that people possess, and thereby forcing those memories to the forefront of our minds…" Dumbledore theorized

"So what can we do about this?" Severus finally asked what was on all of their minds.

"Nothing…" Albus said sorrowfully, "we can only try and keep Mr. Undol away from the dementors as long as they are here at Hogwarts. Hopefully the pain will not be as severe if he distances himself from them."

Severus looked down again at the flaming red mark on the boy's torso. It did seem to be finally looking better than when they had come in, and Undol was now sleeping peacefully at last, fully content within the blackness that the dreamless potion caused.

~~Sina tea kirma : This is a line break~~

Draco was starting to really despise some of the other Slytherins.

Nott had been 'entertaining' the other third year of his house with a very bad rendition of what he presumed had occurred on the train the night before. As Harry, Ron, and Hermione entered and passed their table on the way to their side of the Great Hall, Nott immediately did his own pathetic impression of a swooning fit and roared with laughter alongside the others.

The fact that Harry had also collapsed on the train had gone rather unnoticed by the majority of the school because of the wild rumors about Faykan, apparently he had been attacked by the dementor and was now dying in the hospital wing, but Nott made it a point to remember that Harry had reacted as well, if only to mock and degrade the Gryffindors all the more.

"Hey, Potter!" shrieked Pansy Parkinson, "Potter! The dementors are coming, Potter! Woooooooooo!" Draco shuddered inwardly, remembering that his father had actually considered pledging her to Draco when they were small children. Thankfully, Lucius had waited and realized what poor breeding she turned out to be, and therefore had dropped the idea.

The three Gryffindors passed by without reacting, thanks in large part to Hermione, and settled themselves by the Weasley twins, who handed them their schedules. Nott was still reciting about the train ride, so Draco decided to slip away from his housemates and go ask Harry directly what had happened.

As he approached he heard one of the twins recounting one time that their father had had to go to Azkaban and the reaction he had to the dementors. Harry turned, noticing when Draco stopped next to him, and nudged Hermione to make room for Draco to sit with them.

"Where's Faykan?" Draco asked, hoping to get straight to the heart of the matter.

"Hospital wing still…" Harry said darkly, and then explained about the ugly wound that had flared up, causing Faykan to become delirious with pain. Ron jabbed Harry in the side, and both he and Draco turned to see the subject of their conversation entering the Great Hall.

Nott noticed as well, "Not going to start screaming again are you Undol? Need someone to keep the mean old dementors away?" he called out as Faykan passed, but he was ignored.

Faykan settled down between Harry and Ron and accepted his schedule, "Oh, we're starting some new subjects today," he said, slightly disappointed, and as though nothing out of the ordinary had caused his late arrival to breakfast.

Ron leaned in and asked if Faykan remembered what had happened on the train, or afterword, but Faykan shuddered at the mere mention of the dementor, asking for it not to be mentioned. Draco spotted that the boy's hand had moved to press hard over a spot on his chest as he reacted.

Ron glanced down at the schedule in his hand, and widened his eyes in suprise, "Oh, Hermione I have your schedule…" he said, before taking a second glance "wait a second… you have three classes set for this morning at nine o'clock…" he asked dumbly, gaping at the parchment in his hands.

Hermione snatched it away, telling Ron to not be silly, and asking how someone could be at three places at once. Draco caught Faykan's eye as he looked over at Hermione suspiciously, but deflected Ron's protests about her schedule by reminding them that they had to get to North Tower for Divination, and that it would be a long trek if they didn't start early.

They all got up and left, ignoring Nott once more as he tried to mock them on their way out. Seeing Hagrid in the entrance hall, they waved at him, knowing that they would see him after lunch at his first lesson.

Draco parted with the Gryffindors after that, in order to go to his own Arithmancy class.

~~Sina tea kirma : This is a line break~

"Welcome to Divination," said Professor Trelawney, who had seated herself in a winged armchair in front of the fire as she introduced herself. "You may not have seen me before. I find that descending too often into the hustle and bustle of the main school clouds my Inner Eye," she explained.

Harry's impression of the divination teacher was that of a large, glittering insect. He, Faykan, Ron, and Hermione were settled around one of the many round tables, with Faykan and Harry in armchairs while Ron and Hermione were settled on the smaller poufs.

Professor Trelawney delicately rearranged her shawl and continued, "So you have chosen to study Divination, the most difficult of all magical arts. I must warn you at the outset that if you do not have the Sight, there is very little I will be able to teach you... Books can take you only so far in this field..."

At these words both Harry and Ron glanced, grinning, at Hermione, who looked startled at the news that books wouldn't be much help in this subject. Faykan however, was staring past Professor Trelawney into the fireplace with a strange, absent sort of look. Harry thought at first that it was the same faraway glance that the boy took when thinking about something or riddling out a mystery, but upon closer inspection it was quite different, more serene than distant.

"Many witches and wizards, talented though they are in the area of loud bangs and smells and sudden disappearings, are yet unable to penetrate the veiled mysteries of the future," Professor Trelawney went on, her enormous, gleaming eyes moving from face to nervous face. "It is a Gift granted to few. You, boy," she said suddenly to Neville, who almost toppled off his pouf. "Is your grandmother well?"

"I think so," said Neville tremulously.

"I wouldn't be so sure if I were you, dear," said Professor Trelawney, the firelight glinting on her long emerald earrings. Neville gulped. Professor Trelawney continued placidly. "We will be covering the basic methods of Divination this year. The first term will be devoted to reading the tea leaves. Next term we shall progress to palmistry. By the way, my dear," she shot suddenly at Parvati Patil, "beware a red-haired man."

Parvati gave a startled look at Ron, who was right behind her and edged her chair away from him. Ron just rolled his eyes in response.

"In the third term," Professor Trelawney went on, "we shall move on to the crystal ball, if we have finished with studying fire omens, that is. Unfortunately, classes will be disrupted in February by a nasty bout of flu. I myself will lose my voice, and around Easter, one of our number will leave us forever."

A very tense silence followed this pronouncement, but Professor Trelawney seemed unaware of it.

"I wonder, dear," she said to Lavender Brown, who was nearest and shrank back in her chair, "if you could pass me the largest silver teapot?"

Lavender, looking relieved, stood up, took an enormous teapot from the shelf, and put it down on the table in front of Professor Trelawney.

"Thank you, my dear. Incidentally, that thing you are dreading… it will happen on Friday the sixteenth of October."

Lavender trembled.

"Now, I want you all to divide into pairs," Professor Trelawney instructed. "Collect a teacup from the shelf, come to me, and I will fill it. Then sit down and drink, drink until only the dregs remain. Swill these around the cup three times with the left hand, then turn the cup upside down on its saucer. Wait for the last of the tea to drain away, and then give your cup to your partner to read. You will interpret the patterns using pages five and six of 'Unfogging the Future.' I shall move among you, helping and instructing."

When Harry, Faykan, Hermione, and Ron had their teacups filled, they went back to their table and tried to drink the scalding tea quickly. They swilled the dregs around as Professor Trelawney had instructed, then drained the cups and swapped over, Ron with Hermione and Harry with Faykan.

"Right," said Ron as they all opened their books at pages five and six.

"What can you see in mine?" Faykan asked quietly to Harry

"A load of soggy brown stuff," said Harry. The heavily perfumed smoke in the room was making him feel sleepy and stupid.

"Broaden your minds, my dears, and allow your eyes to see past the mundane!" Professor Trelawney cried through the gloom.

Harry tried to pull himself together.

"Right," he started, looking at the cup, "you've got a crooked sort of cross..." He consulted Unfogging the Future. "That means you're going to have 'trials and suffering', sorry about that, but there's a thing that could be the sun... hang on... that means 'great happiness'... so you're going to suffer but be very happy..."

"You need your Inner Eye tested, if you ask me," said Ron from across the table, and they all had to stifle their laughs as Professor Trelawney gazed in their direction.

"My turn..." Faykan said, snatching Harry's cup. He peered into it, and his forehead wrinkled with effort. "A falcon," he said, tilting his head left and right to try and make something out, "no surprises there… deadly enemy, Voldemort, blah… blah… blah…" he turned the cup slowly and continued to look.

"A club… meaning an attack, well, not if I can help it," he said with a smile. Harry noticed that he wasn't even consulting the book.

Professor Trelawney had moved up behind Faykan, looking over his shoulder as he read the cup, but he hadn't noticed yet.

"A skull, danger… but whatever, that's not out of the ordinary for us, isn't it Harry," Faykan continued with a small laugh.

He turned the cup a final time, and Professor Trelawney, who was definitely reading the cup over Faykan's shoulder gasped loudly, startling Faykan into dropping the cup. It smashed on the table.

"What is it, Professor?" said Dean Thomas at once. Everyone had gotten to their feet, and slowly they crowded around Harry and Faykan to listen.

"My dear," Professor Trelawney's huge eyes opened dramatically as she looked at Harry, "You have the Grim."

Faykan scoffed loudly, while Harry asked, "The what?"

He could tell that he wasn't the only one who didn't understand; Dean Thomas shrugged at him and Lavender Brown looked puzzled, but nearly everybody else clapped their hands to their mouths in horror.

"The Grim, my dear, the Grim!" cried Professor Trelawney, who looked shocked that Harry hadn't understood. "The giant, spectral dog that haunts churchyards! My dear boy, it is an omen… the worst omen, of death!"

Harry's stomach lurched. That dog on the cover of Death Omens in Flourish and Blotts; the dog in the shadows of Magnolia Crescent...

Lavender Brown clapped her hands to her mouth too. Faykan rolled his eyes dramatically and spoke up, "Even if it was the Grim, Professor, it doesn't necessarily mean that Harry will die. Besides…" he looked up at Trelawney, "I highly doubt the accuracy of divination in general, there are far too many cases of self fulfilling prophecies and other utter nonsense…"

Professor Trelawney surveyed Faykan with a look of confused disappointment.

"You'll forgive me for saying so, my dear, but I think I have a far better understanding of the workings of the Inner Eye than you do, despite your obvious affinity for it…"

"Well, have you all finished deciding whether I'm going to die or not?" said Harry, taking even himself by surprise. Now nobody seemed to want to look at him.

"I think we will leave the lesson here for today," said Professor Trelawney in her mistiest voice. "Yes... please pack away your things..."

Silently the class took their teacups back to Professor Trelawney, packed away their books, and closed their bags. Even Ron and Faykan were avoiding Harry's eyes.

"Until we meet again," said Professor Trelawney faintly, "fair fortune be yours. Oh, and dear," she pointed at Neville, "you'll be late next time, so mind you work extra hard to catch up."

Harry was more than pleased to get out of the castle, and therefore far away from Professor Trelawney's tower, after lunch. The previous night's rain had cleared away; the sky was now a clear, pale gray, and the grass was springy and damp underfoot as they set off for their first Care of Magical Creatures class.

Ron and Hermione weren't speaking to each other. They had had another row about the Divination class during lunch. Harry walked beside Faykan as they went down the sloping lawns to Hagrid's hut on the edge of the Forbidden Forest, staying thoroughly out of it as he had throughout the meal.

It was only when he spotted three only-too-familiar figures ahead of them that he realized they must be having these lessons with the Slytherins. Nott was talking animatedly to Crabbe and Goyle, who were chortling in response. Harry was quite sure he knew what they were talking about. Draco wandered over to them, earning a glare from the other Slytherins, but he ignored them.

Despite knowing that all his friends were now able to be together at one time, Harry wished that this class at the least wasn't Gryffindor and Slytherin, and wondered whose bright idea it was to put the two houses together so often for the more potentially dangerous classes.

Hagrid was waiting for them all at the door of his hut. He was wearing his moleskin overcoat, with Fang the boarhound at his heels, looking excited and impatient to start the lesson.

"C'mon, now, get a move on!" he called as the class approached. "Got a real treat for yeh today! Great lesson comin' up!"

The group around Harry all paused at that, but Hagrid's beaming face revealed nothing of what his plans might be, "Everyone here?" he asked, before moving away from the hut and toward the treeline. "Right, follow me!" he called back when no one moved to follow him.

For one nasty moment, Harry thought that Hagrid was going to lead them into the forest; Harry had had enough unpleasant experiences in there to last him a lifetime. However, Hagrid strolled off around the edge of the trees, and about five minutes later, they found themselves outside a kind of paddock. There was nothing in there.

"Everyone gather 'round the fence here!" he called. "That's it, make sure yeh can see… now, firs' thing yeh'll want ter do is open yer books…"

"How?" asked Draco genuinely, but from what Harry could see, many others were wondering the same question.

"Eh?" said Hagrid, momentarily losing his train of thought as he turned back to find who had spoken.

"How do we open our books?" Draco repeated. He took out his copy of The Monster Book of Monsters, which he had bound shut with a length of rope. Other people took theirs out too; some, like Harry, had belted their book shut; others had crammed them inside tight bags or clamped them together with binder clips.

"Hasn'… hasn' anyone bin able ter open their books?" said Hagrid, looking crestfallen.

The class all shook their heads.

"Yeh've got ter stroke 'em," said Hagrid, as though this was the most obvious thing in the world. "Look…"

He took Hermione's copy and ripped off the Spellotape that bound it. The book tried to bite, but Hagrid ran a giant forefinger down its spine, and the book shivered, and then fell open and lay quiet in his hand.

"Oh, how silly we've all been!" Nott sneered. "We should have stroked them! Why didn't we guess?"

"I… I thought they were funny," Hagrid said uncertainly to Hermione.

"Oh, tremendously funny!" Nott shot back snidely. "Really witty, giving us books that try and rip our hands off!"

"Shut up, Nott," Harry and Faykan said simultaneously. Hagrid was looking downcast and Harry wanted Hagrid's first lesson to be a success.

"Righ' then," said Hagrid, who seemed to have lost his train of thought, "so, so yeh've got yer books an'… an', now yeh need the Magical Creatures. Yeah. So I'll go an' get 'em. Hang on... "

He strode away from them into the forest and out of sight.

"God, this place is going to the dogs," said Nott loudly. "That oaf teaching classes, my father'll have a fit when I tell him."

"Shut up, Nott," Harry repeated louder.

"Careful, Potter, there's a dementor behind you…" one of the other Slytherins called, but movement from the trees distracted everyone from the taunt.

"Oooooooh!" squealed Lavender Brown, pointing at what Hagrid was leading back toward them.

They were some of the most bizarre creatures Harry had ever seen. They had the bodies, hind legs, and tails of horses, but the front legs, wings, and heads of what seemed to be giant eagles, with cruel, steel colored beaks and large, brilliantly, orange eyes. The talons on their front legs were half a foot long and deadly looking.

Each of the twelve beasts had a thick leather collar around its neck, which was attached to a long chain, and the ends of all of these were held in the vast hands of Hagrid, who came jogging into the paddock slightly ahead the creatures.

"Gee up, there!" he roared, shaking the chains loosely and urging the creatures toward the fence where the class stood. Everyone drew back slightly as Hagrid reached them and tethered each of the creatures to the fence.

"Hippogriffs!" Hagrid roared happily, waving a hand at them. "Beau'iful, aren' they?"

And Harry could sort of see what Hagrid meant. Once you got over the first shock of seeing something that was half horse, half bird, you started to appreciate the hippogriffs' gleaming coats, changing smoothly from feather to hair, each of them a different color: stormy gray, bronze, pinkish roan, gleaming chestnut, and inky black.

"So," said Hagrid, rubbing his hands together and beaming around, "if yeh wan' ter come a bit nearer…"

No one seemed to want to at first. Spurred on a bit by Faykan, who took the first steps, Harry, Ron, Draco and Hermione eventually approached the fence, albeit cautiously.

"Now, firs' thing yeh gotta know abou' hippogriffs is, they're proud," said Hagrid. "Easily offended, hippogriffs are. Don't never insult one, 'cause it might be the last thing yeh do."

Nott, Crabbe, and Goyle weren't listening; they were talking in an undertone behind them all and Harry had a nasty feeling they were plotting how best to disrupt the lesson.

"Yeh always wait fer the hippogriff ter make the firs' move," Hagrid continued. "It's polite, see? Yeh walk toward him, and yeh bow, an' yeh wait. If he bows back, yeh're allowed ter touch him. If he doesn' bow, then get away from him sharpish, 'cause those talons hurt."

All the students paying attention nodded, taking the instructions very seriously, as the sharp beaks and talons looked as dangerous as Hagrid made them out to be.

"Right," Hagrid said after a moment of them all watching the Hippogriffs, "who wants ter go first?"

Potential Spoilers Ahead, You have Been Warned!

So, another displacement of Chapter start and stop, as I needed to spread our the words used to a more reasonable level. I feel that it was a better break, if not another mildly annoying cliffhanger, but when it works, it works, so what do you do? Not too many changes as far as the content of this chapter is concerned, as it serves as a needed bit of exposition regarding Faykan, and transition with the other characters back to life at Hogwarts, or so they think... those who read the original are probably smiling as they know about what is about to happen with the Room of Requirement and Faykan… Due to being sick last weekend I've sadly made very little progress with the edits, alongside other things that've come up, least of which not being college classes and writing papers all the time for them. Not burnt out, never will be, but it still takes its toll of time.

Until next time! ~F