A/N: Hey guys! I'm sorry once again, no excuses :( Thank you for being patient with me and thank you to all the new followers! On with the show!
Love of a Lycan Ch. 7
The next morning Hermione sat in front of the fireplace waiting for Harry to come down. Listening to their own housemates gossiping about Harry cheating just pissed her off. They were suppose to be like family weren't they? Support each other? Yet no one believed him except for her and Neville! The twins and a few others celebrated Harry being chosen while the rest turned hateful towards Harry. It was just like second year all over again. The entire school will have began their rumors and turn against Harry all over stupid speculations with no proof. The sound of footsteps brought the brunette out of her thoughts. Harry stood at the bottom of the steps looking just as miserable as he did last night. They silently made their way down to the Great Hall for breakfast, ignoring all the glares and whispers from the other students of Hogwarts.
When they entered the Great Hall Kari and Fleur immediately greeted them with warm smiles. The two Gryffindors sat with the witches mumbling greetings and started filling their plates despite not being that hungry. Kari and Fleur watched the miserable teens pick at their food for a short time. "Don't let them get to you," Kari suddenly said. Hermione and Harry stared at her in confusion. "They are stupid, jealous assholes," the silver eyed witch said, receiving a half-hearted reprimand from Hermione. "Just watch. The moment Harry finishes the first task they will be clamoring to him trying to pretend that they believed him all along and be 'friends' again. When they do then you can tell them all to piss off," she grinned earning chuckles from them. "You will be just fine Harry," Fleur chimed in as well. "We will help you to our best ability to ensure that you remain safe." The Gryffindors nodded, finally smiling, happy to have someone besides each other helping for a change. "Right so starting today after classes we will begin training," Kari stated, leaving no room for arguments. "We will start with what spells you know, physical abilities, stamina, reflexes and the like. I need to see where y'all are at so that I can decide on what we need to work on first. Tomorrow morning we will also begin morning exercises before breakfast so be sure to set your alarms. I won't be going easy either," the witch said with an evil smirk that caused all three of her companions to gulp.
Hermione cleared her throat, "well don't go too hard on them Kari, we don't want to burn them out or kill them before the first task even starts." Kari blinked and looked at the brunette. "Oh you are joining in too my love. With the way y'all's country is going you will need to be prepared as well." Everyone gained confused expressions on their faces at Kari's statement, unsure on what she meant, but none said anything. Hermione sighed agreeing to join in on the training as well. Kari was right after all to some extent. With Harry constantly facing dangers here at Hogwarts, she would like to be able to do more than just research. After they finished eating and setting plans to meet in an unused classroom after classes they went their separate ways. Harry and Hermione made their way down into the dungeons for double potions with the Slytherins. As they entered the classroom they were greeted with glares and sneers from all of their classmates, except for Neville. They sat with the shy boy and ignored everyone else in favor of getting ready. They knew that Professor Snape would more than likely target Harry once again for being the center of attention, whether it was good or bad, and had already planned ahead on how to keep their heads down for the next 3 hours.
Professor Snape came into the room with his usual dramatic flare, immediately spouting off their instructions for the potion they were working on. Once told to began, the three friends quickly gathered their ingredients and began working together to make a passable potion. Hermione helped the two boys out with the instructions and ingredient preparations. Surprisingly Snape did not make as many snide remarks to Harry as they thought he would. Just one simple quip about him being a glory hound and being inept at potions when he nearly added the ground newt eye too soon to the potion. Thankfully Hermione stopped him in time otherwise they would have ended up with the same result as Seamus, who was currently trying to stop his hair from smoking. At the end of the stifling class, they turned in their potion and began to make their way out. Just as they made it through the door, they heard their names being called. Hermione and Harry turned to see Kari and Fleur coming towards them. Hermione felt her heart race again in their presence as they both leaned down at the same time to place a kiss on each cheek. Harry let out a small chuckle at his friend's red face before saying hello to his two new friends. Hermione had easily become a sister to him over these past 3 years and he was happy to see her finally take joy in something other than school.
Kari took the lead of their small group as Fleur wrapped her arm around Hermione's waist. They all made their way towards the Great Hall for lunch, exchanging light banter and ignoring the stares and whispers of the other students. They sat at the end of the Gryffindor table way from other people and quickly began filling their plates. "So," Kari started, " Fleur and I are done with classes for the day, what about you two?"
"We have DADA left for today," Harry responded. Kari nodded while chewing her bite of stew. After she took a drink of her water she continued. "Ok that will give me and Fleur time to set up the room for our first training session. It will be on the third floor beside the mountain landscape painting. Meet us there once you finish class." The two Gryffindors nodded in agreement. "Now I know you two are not anywhere near our level when it comes to practical and theoretical knowledge yet, but how far are you in terms of what's being taught?" Hermione decided to take up this question and explained what their curriculum has been so far and what spells they have been learning. Kari nodded along though the deepening frown on both her and Fleur's face indicated that they were not happy with what they have learned so far.
"Seriously?" Questioned Kari once Hermione was finished, "how on earth is Hogwarts considered a great school if that is their teaching system and curriculum?" Harry and Hermione shrugged silently, confused by their reactions. Fleur shook her head in disbelief muttering intelligibly in French before locking eyes with the Silver witch. "We have a lot of work to do, don't we Ma Cherie," The young Veela asked. Kari nodded just as the bell rang to signal the end of lunch. "Yes we do but no worries," she said as they all stood up from the table. "We will have them caught up well before the first task arrives." With everyone nodding in agreement they left the hall to set about their next tasks. The two older witches escorted the young lions to their class with the odd professor "Mad Eye" Moody before leaving to get the room set up for training. It wasn't very big but Kari figured it should do well enough for the first training session. Later she will find a better area for them.