Disclaimer: I do not own SM or HP.
Hogwarts Secret Scandal 23
Detention or Auror Training?
Though Mina may have done fine in Quidditch practice, she was absolutely horrible in the match against Ravenclaw. Three of her old boyfriends were on the opposing team and Luna commented on her relationship whenever Mina flew by them.
"Bradley takes the Quaffle from Lovegood," Luna said, "or did she just give it to him? Like she gave him her heart?"
"Luna could you please stop embarrassing me!" Mina exclaimed.
"My sister lets slip of the Quaffle again,' said Luna, "just like she let the guy of her dreams let slip right through her fingers."
"I hope Mina dumps Malfoy before we play Hufflepuff," Serena said to Harry, "because I have a feeling she's going to be saying how I stole you from Mina."
"Yeah, she might be talking about me too," Harry said nervously. "She seems pretty mad…maybe we should tell her we're only pretending to go out."
"Good idea," Serena said.
Ravenclaw was ahead of Slytherin by fifty points. Mina couldn't hold the ball long enough to score because Luna kept saying how she couldn't keep the Quaffle longer than a boyfriend. When Mina went to score, she tried faking left and threw the Quaffle into the right hoop. However, the Keeper blocked the hoop and threw the Quaffle to one of the chasers.
"Brocklehurst keeps the hoops safe," said Luna, "and she can keep a boyfriend too. How long have you been dating Anthony, Mandy?"
"HEY!" both Luna and Mandy cried.
"That's enough, I've had it!" Mina shouted and she zipped right over to the commentator's box to yell at her sister. "I'm sick of you talking about my relationships during the quidditch matches! That's private information, Luna! Just because YOU have never had a boyfriend doesn't mean you can talk about mine! My relationships have nothing to do with Quidditch! Gosh, even Zacharias Smith was a better commentator than you!"
"You're not just saying that because you went out with him too, are you?" Luna asked.
"Aaah!" Mina cried, reaching for her sister's neck.
"Miss Lovegood, please resume the game," Professor McGonagall scolded.
"But Professor," Mina said desperately, "how can I? Luna's talking about my boyfriends!"
"I meant both of you," Professor McGonagall said.
"Right, sorry," the Lovegood girls said.
"Oh, look!" said Luna, "Mina, I think your boyfriend's seen the snitch!"
"Stop playing!" Mina cried.
"No, I'm serious!" Luna said, pointing. "Malfoy's seen the Snitch!"
Mina whirled around and sure enough, Draco Malfoy was flying after a speeding golden ball with silver wings. Su Li, the Ravenclaw Seeker wasn't too far behind him.
"Get it, Drakikins!" Mina exclaimed, flying back to the pitch. "Get it!"
Draco grunted and caught the snitch by the wings. He had to put his other hand onto it to keep it from fluttering away.
"And Malfoy gets the Snitch!" said Luna. "Just how he got my…"
Mina threw her sister a look of warning. Luna chuckled and rephrased what she was going to say. "I mean, Draco Malfoy ends the game. Slytherin: 180 Ravenclaw: 70. Wow, Slytherin wins. Malfoy saves the day."
Sobbing, Mina flew over to her boyfriend and threw her arms around him, causing him to let go of the Snitch. "We won, Draco! If you hadn't caught the Snitch, we would've lost! We were only able to score twenty points! I couldn't score at all! Oh, Draco!"
"Mina…I'm…choking!" Draco gasped.
"I'm a terrible chaser!" Mina cried. "Just terrible!"
"Mina, we won," said Vaisey, "It doesn't matter. Just let it go."
"At least let Malfoy go," grunted Crabbe, watching his friend's face turn blue.
"You were looking out for me, weren't you?" Mina asked her boyfriend, still squeezing his neck. "Oh thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"
"I think you thanked him enough," Bletchy said.
"Mina…let…me…GO!" Draco hissed, pushing her arms away from his neck and backing up. Mina stared, tears still streaming.
"Oh, Draco…I'm sorry! Don't be mad at me!"
"I'm…not mad…just…trying to breathe!"
"I'm a terrible chaser and a terrible girlfriend!" Mina exclaimed. "What's wrong with me?"
"Nothing—Mina—wait!"
Mina tossed her broomstick aside and ran to the locker rooms. Draco sighed and picked up Mina's broom.
"Mina's been a little on edge lately," Vaisey said, "what's her problem? Did you two have a fight?"
"Maybe you should break up with her," suggested Crabbe.
"And get her off the team," Pritchard added. "We can't loose to Hufflepuff. We'd look stupid!"
"I'm not breaking up with Mina and I'm not going to make her quit the team!" Draco yelled. "She's a better player than all of you put together! She just couldn't play right with her sister up there!"
Draco pointed up at the commentator box where Luna was talking to Harry and Serena.
"How do you expect anyone to play at their best if Luna's saying how pathetic you are in relationships, or in school or anything else?" Draco demanded. "The next time you tell me to break up with Mina or get her off the team…I'm getting myself a new team and it'll be all girls!"
The Slytherin team stared at their captain in shock. Was he serious?
"Girls on the Slytherin team?" Vaisey murmured. "You can't be serious."
"Girls can't be Beaters," Goyle said, looking at his club.
"Oh, I don't know," said Draco, "Millicent Bulstrode certainly has the build for a Beater and bet she can aim better too!"
Mina's broomstick in hand, Draco stormed off to the locker rooms to talk to his girlfriend. The rest of the team looked at each other.
"Malfoy really wouldn't put girls on the team, would he?" Pritchard asked.
"He put one on the team," said Vaisey, "but only because he's going out with her."
"Slytherin can't have an all girls team," Crabbe said, "It's never had girls before."
"Malfoy's kidding…he's got to be."
Luna looked from her cousin to Harry. "Wait, so you're not really going out?"
"We're just trying to make Mina jealous so she'll dump Malfoy," Harry explained.
"Oh good," said Luna, "that saves me from having to say how you stole him from Mina, Serena."
Serena chuckled nervously. "Yup, just focus on the game all right?"
"Just don't mention this to Mina though, okay?" Harry asked.
Luna nodded. "Not a word."
Draco tried to calm Mina down but she was too upset. Nothing he thought of seemed to work.
"I might as well quit the team," she whispered, "I am worthless!"
"You are not," Draco said tiredly. "You're a great player. I won't let you quit the team. We just need a new commentator, that's all."
He put his arm around her and pulled her to him. "Don't be so hard on yourself. Slytherin won, you should be happy."
"I just feel like such a failure sometimes," Mina said, "Failure as a girlfriend, a student, a Quidditch Player…"
"Look, Mina, don't let all those things your crazy sister said get to you," Draco said.
"But it's true," Mina mumbled, "I keep giving my heart away and it gets broken every time. Why can't I keep a boyfriend? What's wrong with me, Draco?"
"Nothing's wrong," said Draco, "Those prats you dated must've done something wrong, not you."
Mina smiled weakly. "Thanks, Draco."
"Now let's go to the common room and celebrate," Draco said.
"Right."
Mina went to celebrate but she really didn't feel like celebrating. Valentines Day was coming soon and she didn't know how she and Draco were going to celebrate it. In fact, she didn't know if they were going to celebrate it at all.
Serena found a rose next to her pillow when she woke up on Valentines Day. She grinned and sniffed it.
"Is that from Harry?" Lavender asked.
"Why would it be from Harry?" Serena asked.
"I don't know," Lavender joked, "maybe because you're dating him?"
"Oh, right!" Serena laughed. "Of course, must be from him." She looked the rose over for a note but found none. "That's funny; Harry must've forgotten to put a note with it."
She got out of bed and got dressed. As he put on her shirt, she saw her putting some things into a basket. "Hey what's that?"
"I'm…going to give this to Firenze," Parvarti replied, adding more flowers to her basket. "I can't take it anymore. I have to tell him how I feel."
"He's a centaur," Hermione said, placing books into her bag. "He can't be with you."
"Hey, ever heard of part-human transfiguration?" Parvarti demanded. "Or did you forget Viktor Krum's shark head?"
Hermione sighed and shook her head. "I'm going to breakfast."
Parvarti sighed. "Do I have enough honeysuckle? Did we use any honeysuckle in divination? Should I replace it with something else?"
"The basket looks pretty, Parvarti," Serena said as she sniffed the flowers.
"Maybe Hermione's right," Parvarti said nervously. "I mean, Firenze always has been a centaur. It's not like he tried transfiguring into a horse and got stuck like that…."
"If you really feel strongly about him," Serena said, "you should tell him how you feel. After all, he was a great teacher and I'm sure you learned a lot right?"
"I couldn't do anything right," Parvarti admitted, "Only in Trelawney's class did I feel like I was passing the class."
"Well, we can't expect to understand the centaur's version of divination," Serena said.
"I just, can't stop thinking about him," Parvarti said, "I know he's a teacher and he's not entirely human but…I'm in love with him. I'm willing to become a centaur myself just to be with him."
"You'd leave Hogwarts?" Serena asked.
Parvarti nodded.
"Wow," Lavender breathed, "I think it's so cool what you're doing! I think it will be so much fun to become a centaur and gallop away together!"
Serena chuckled into her hand. "Gallop…that's funny."
"I know," Parvarti said, "but I don't think Firenze is happy working for Dumbledore. He was kicked out of his herd. He must be lonely. Maybe we can find a way to take him back home."
"Well, good luck," said Serena.
"Thanks, Serena," said Parvarti.
Once Serena finished getting dressed, she went to the common room to meet her pretend boyfriend. "Hi Harry," she said, "Thanks for the rose."
"What rose?" Harry asked.
"Silly," Serena playfully hit his arm. "The rose you gave me this morning. I found it on my pillow. You didn't try sneaking into the girls' dormitory, did you?"
Harry continued to look confused. "Serena, I'm sorry, but I didn't give you any rose."
"You didn't?" Serena asked, "Well, that would probably explain why there wasn't a note."
Harry nodded. "I would've left a note."
"That's strange," Serena said, "but if you didn't give me this rose, who did?"
"No idea."
"Well, that's okay," said Serena, "I'm looking forward to whatever you got me!"
"Oh, right," said Harry, "right…"
Serena looked up at him with a raised eyebrow. "You didn't get me anything, did you?"
"Sorry, but I will don't worry…"
Serena laughed. "Don't worry about it. I forgot to get you something to."
"We're not good at this pretend dating thing, are we?" Harry asked as he took her hand.
"Not at all," giggled Serena.
Mina and Draco came into the Great Hall the same time as Harry and Serena did. Mina certainly looked happier than she did at the Ravenclaw party—possibly due to the pretty heart-shaped pendant she had around her neck.
"See what Draco gave me for Valentines?" she asked, running her hand over the pendent.
"It's gorgeous," said Serena, "you have good taste, Draco."
"Thank you," said Draco
"I'm surprised you got a heart," said Harry.
"Well, I thought between the heart and star pendant and I went with the heart," said Draco, "since Mina's got mine."
"Oh Dwakie!"
The lovey-dovey talk was too much for either Serena or Harry to take. They went to the Gryffindor table though neither of them really felt like eating.
"This plan's not working," said Harry, "shouldn't they have broken up by now?"
"Maybe she's clinging to him more now that we're going out," said Serena. "I wasn't expecting this. We've got to try harder."
"And do what?" Harry said. "Should we start snogging right here in front of everybody?"
"We'll save that as a last resort," said Serena.
An owl flew down and landed next to Serena. Thinking it was a message from one of her friends at Durmstrang or Beaxbatons, Serena happily tore into the envelope. The message looked like a love note and her only clue to who it was from was a picture of a top hat.
"'Your eyes remind me of the depths of space,'" Serena said, "'Your hair sparkles like the moon'…What the heck is this? Some kind of joke?"
"Serena, what's wrong?" Harry asked.
"Did you send me this, Harry?" Serena demanded, handing out the letter and pointing at the top hat.
"Serena, I wouldn't send you a love poem," said Harry, "and even if I did, don't you think I'd sign my name?"
"It's probably from a secret admirer!" Lavender said wistfully. "Looks like you've got competition, Harry!"
Serena looked around the Great Hall. Who could've sent her this? The picture of the top hat was her only clue. Harry had been dressed up as Tuxedo Mask for the Masquerade Ball and if he hadn't sent it, then it must've been someone playing a joke on them. Serena looked at Draco Malfoy. He used to flirt with her a lot. Did he send it? Scowling, Serena got up and marched over to the Slytherin Table.
"Draco Malfoy—what're you trying to pull? Why'd you send me this love poem?" she exclaimed, waving the letter in her hand.
"Love poem?" Mina asked, looking at her boyfriend with hurt in her eyes. "Pumpkin, you didn't send her a poem, did you?"
"Of course I didn't," said Draco, '"I wouldn't write anything like that…and that's not my handwriting."
Mina took the note from Serena and looked it over. "Ooh, wow…this is really good! This guy must really be in love with you, Serena!"
Serena's eyebrow twitched and she sweat dropped. "Ugh…Mina! That's not funny! Someone's playing a joke on me."
"Well it's not me," said Draco, returning to his breakfast.
"Yeah," agreed Mina, "this definitely isn't your handwriting, Drakikins, it looks too nice."
Draco choked on his tea. "What are you talking about? I've got nice handwriting!"
"Wait, so you didn't give me this and Harry didn't give me this," Serena said slowly, looking at her letter, "then who did?"
Mina and Draco shrugged. A few seats away from them, Reenie grinned into her spoonful of porridge. Who indeed.
Serena wasn't the only person that got an anonymous gift. Darien got one too. He found a letter on his desk and at first he thought it was one of the crazy girls that liked him, until he gave the poem a good read.
Your eyes are as deep and blue as the ocean. The sound of your voice gives me strength. I ache to be in your arms once again.
"Who…?" Darien gasped, leaning back into his chair. His eyes traveled down to the bottom of the page. There was an upturned golden crescent moon down in the corner. It was the same thing that was on Serena's forehead at the Masquerade Ball. Could she be the one that sent him this? His heart began to flutter as he remembered the time he held her. Serena had just come from serving detention with Professor Snape in the forest. Serena nearly broke his back when she jumped on him, hearing a wolf howl in the distance. Serena was so upset and Darien just did what came natural: he held her.
"It's okay now, Serena," he had told her.
"Darien," Serena had whispered.
Darien rubbed his head. How did Serena know is first name? Dumbledore announced him by his full name at the beginning of school—didn't he? He didn't expect everyone to remember his first name. It didn't' matter. Darien liked the way she had said it. Darien sighed and looked down at the poem again. Did Sere3na send im this? Did she really want him to hold her again? Or was this all just a trick? What if Serena hadn't sent this? Darien could ask her but there was the possibly that the poem had come from someone else. Darien decided just to hold on to the belief that Serena had given it to him. Maybe it was false hope, but he really didn't care. He didn't want to think that the poem had come from someone else.
He sat there reading the poem over. His seventh year Gryffindor class entered the classroom and he hurriedly shoved the poem inside his desk. His heart jumped when his eyes fell on Serena. Serena wore a white kerchief with pink hearts on it to show some Valentines colors. As she sat down in her seat, she tossed a lock of blond hair behind her shoulder. Darien caught himself staring. He cleared his throat and stood up.
"Oh, welcome, everyone," he said, his cheeks warm. "Today we'll study, um…" he pulled his clipboard of his table and knocked down a stack of papers, along with the paperweight. "Oh damn!"
People laughed. What added to more of Darien's humiliation was that Serena came to help him.
"Here, Professor," she said kindly, "let me give you a hand."
"Oh, thank you, Miss White," Darien murmured.
"I guess you'll need a new paperweight, huh?" Serena asked, picking up the paperweight that looked something like a vampire's skull.
"Yes," Darien said, his face turning redder. "You can sit down now."
He took the papers and set them back on his desk. Serena walked back to her desk and took out her ink quill, parchment and book, ready to start the lessons. Darien was impressed. She was acting just as studious and obedient as Hermione or anyone else.
Darien coughed into his hand. "Yes, we'll go onto study inferi."
He went to the board and picked up a piece of chalk. He wrote INFERI on the board with a shaking hand. He glanced back at Serena. She wasn't blushing or acting giggling. She was acting the same as she always had been in his classes. Did she really send the poem? If she really was Darien's secret admirer, she did a good job at keeping it a secret.
After class as Harry and Serena joined the others in leaving, Darien got an idea. "Potter, hold on a moment."
"Yes?"
"You're doing quite well in class," said Darien.
"Why thank you."
"I understand that you want to be an Auror, correct?"
"Yeah," Harry said, wondering where the professor was going with this.
"I can help you prepare," Darien said with a smile. "Come back here tonight and I'll give you some training that will get you ready for Auror training."
"Thank you but…"
"Oh, I insist, Potter," Darien said, his smile now getting rather devilish. "Trust me, aruor training is vigorous. You'll need a head start."
"Well, all right," Harry said, "thank you, Professor."
Harry turned and walked out of the classroom with his pretend girlfriend. Darien grinned and folded his arms.
"You won't be so grateful after tonight, Potter."
Parvarti hadn't come to any of her classes that day. Serena was worried. Certainly it oudnt take Parvarti all day to tell Firenze how she felt about him. Serena figured maybe she went to the girls' dormitory and when she didn't find her there, she and Lavender decided to split up.
"I guess things didn't go so well with Firenze," Serena said sadly, "she must be crushed."
"Or maybe they decided to run away from Hogwarts together!" Lavender said excitedly.
"Well, if he returned her feelings," Serena said, "then she would've been in Transfiguration today so she could focus on human transformation. You check the restrooms; I'll check the room of requirement."
"Shouldn't we ask Firenze where she is?" Lavender asked.
"I don't think Firenze would want to know she was gone all day," said Serena, "we'll save that option if we can't find her on our own."
"Okay," said Lavender.
Serena and Lavender split up to look for Parvarti. Serena trekked passed the tapestry of Barnabus the barmy and stopped at the wall. She thought a moment before trying to get in. Maybe Parvarti wanted to be alone but she had been alone all day. Serena had to know if she was all right. Serena walked by the wall, thinking hard.
I need to know if Parvarti is all right. I need to know if Parvarti is all right. I need to know if Parvarti is all right.
The door appeared, Serena turned the doorknob and she stepped inside the Room of Requirement. Parvarti certainly was inside, but she didn't look all right.
"Parvarti?" Serena asked. "You didn't come to any lessons today."
"I couldn't see anybody after this morning," Parvarti said, lifting her wet face from her knees. She was crying next to a large statue of a male centaur. The whole room had hangings and furniture having to do with centaurs. Parvarti wished for a place where she could be near Firenze.
"What happened?" Serena asked as she sat next to her friend. "Did you tell Firenze how you felt?"
Parvarti nodded. "Yeah and it didn't go as I had hoped…"
--Flashback--
"Firenze, good morning," Parvarti said nervously. "I have a presnt for you."
She held out the basket of herbs for the centaur.
"Thank you," said the handsome centaur.
"I uh…thought you could use them for your classes," Parvarti said, "I know how you like to burn them."
"Yes, that is most kind of you."
Parvarti nervously bit her lower lip and twisted her toe into the ground. She took in a deep breath. She had to get it out now.
"Firenze, there's something I need to tell you," she said, "I—I love you."
"Parvarti Patil…"
"Please, I know it sounds crazy," Parvarti said breathlessly, "but it's true. Since I first saw you come into the school and started teaching us…I felt something I never felt before. I realize that we're different, but I just want to be with you."
"I appreciate you coming to tell me this," Firenze said, "but we cannot be together. You are a human. I am a centaur. Not only that, but I'm a teacher and you are a student. It would be improper for us to be together. I cannot break Dumbledore's trust."
"There's really no need for you to stay here," Parvarti said, "Professor Trelawney is teaching again. You can go back to your herd. Once I learn how to transfigure myself into a centaur, I can go with you. I'm working really hard in transfiguration!"
"I can never go back to my herd," Firenze said sadly, touching the place where Bane had kicked him. There had been a hoof-shaped bruise there two years ago. It had healed eventually but the memory was still in Firenze's mind.
"Then maybe we can find a way to turn you fully into a human!" Parvarti said. "You can get a job as a fortune teller or a healer."
Firenze looked back at her with a mix of surprise and admiration. "How do you know that centaurs use healing? I never showed you."
"I studied all about centaurs," Parvarti explained.
"Well, I'm impressed that you did so well to learn about my kind," said Firenze. "Nevertheless, I cannot become a human. I was a born a centaur and I'll die a centaur."
"All right," Parvarti said, "I understand. It's who you are. But I'm willing to become a centaur too. I know you can't be happy here. This room isn't a real forest. We can run away together and start our own herd."
"I can't ask you to do that," Firenze said softly.
"You don't have to!" Parvarti exclaimed. "I'll do it of my own free will. I just want to be with you, Firenze. I love you."
To the centaur's surprise, Parvarti through her arms around his waist and pressed her face against his bare chest.
"I'm willing to stop being a human just so I can be with you," she said, tears beginning to sting her eyes. "I'll throw everything away, just to be with you. Please…I know you're lonely here. I don't want you to be lonely. Let's leave Hogwarts."
"I can't do that," said Firenze, patting Parvarti's head and pushing her away gently. "I made a promise to Dumbledore. He asked me to teach for him and I'm going to remain true to him. I cannot betray him."
Parvarti laughed and shook her head. "You won't betray him! I don't think he'll mind, really. We've got out old divination teacher back. You no longer have an obligation to stay here."
"But I do," said Firenze, "Dumbledore told me there was a possibility Professor Trelawney would remain teaching here. He knew that centaurs used a different form of divination than humans. He wanted you to know that difference, to understand and respect nature more. That's the promise I made to Dumbledore."
"So, even though Trelawney's back to teaching, you're going to stay here?" Parvarti said walking backward, staring at Firenze's gorgeous blue eyes in shock and disappointment. "You're just going to stay at Hogwarts for the rest of your life?"
"Yes," Firenze replied.
"But that's unfair!" Parvarti exclaimed. "Your home is back at the forest!"
"Dumbledore asked all the centaurs for a teacher," explained Firenze, "I was the only one willing to do it. I knew it was forbidden, but I had always been different than the other centaurs. I wasn't afraid of the consequences."
Parvarti looked down and let the tears fall. "So…you and I…we can't be together?"
Firenze shook his head.
Parvarti's lip trembled. "Well, do you at least love me back?"
Firenze paused before answering. "The rest of my herd warned me something like this might happen, falling in love with a human. It has never happened in our herd before."
Firenze took a few steps toward her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Until now. I thank you for coming here and telling me this. I noticed how hard you try in my lessons. I can tell you've been practicing hard outside of class."
"I have," Parvarti said, "I still do, even though Professor Trelawney is teaching us now."
Firenze smiled. "I'm grateful for that. However, I don't think I can return your feelings. I'm sorry. I only saw you as a student."
"Oh, I…I understand," Parvarti said, crying fresh tears.
"I'm truly sorry," Firenze said sadly.
"N-no, I-I'm the one who should be sorry," Parvarti sobbed. "I never should've told you this." She put her hands to her face and ran out of the room, leaving the centaur alone again.
--End Flashback--
"I'm sorry," Serena sympathized.
"I'm such a fool," Parvarti muttered, "thinking he could love me back. I'm a human and he's a centaur! Even if I were to transfigure myself into one…we couldn't be together!"
Serena put her hand on Parvarti's shoulder. "At least you told him how you feel. That's more than I can saw for my cousin. We all know how she feels about Harry, but she's too afraid to tell him. It's good for you to share your feelings with others."
"I guess so," said Parvarti.
"Dumbledore wanted us to see the different sides of divination," Serena said, " Firenze took a big risk to teach us that information."
"Which makes me love him even more," Parvarti sniffed. "If he hadn't done that, then Professor Umbridge would've picked another teacher to replace Trelawney. I bet she would've picked a really horrible teacher too."
"Well, from what I heard about Umbridge," said Serena, "it couldn't have been anyone worse than her."
"I'm glad Firenze took the job," Parvarti said, "otherwise we wouldn't have learned about wind scrying and cloud scrying."
"Yeah, and they're really cool forms of divination too," Serena agreed. "You can use what you learned for your career in divination. You said you wanted one, right?"
"I'm not so sure anymore," said Parvarti.
"Oh I'm sure there are many people out there that would want to learn the cool stuff we did," Serena insisted.
"Maybe, but I'm not the only one taking divination here."
Serena sighed. I bet you need time to sort out your feelings. But just because Firenze can't be with you, doesn't mean you forgot all he taught you. I'm sure he feels terrible."
"Yeah, I guess you're right," Parvarti rubbed her head. "I just wished…things had turned out different."
"I know," Serena said, "but no matter how good we're at divination, things just don't work out the way we want them too."
"That's true." Parvarti nodded and stood up. "I'm kinda hungry. I've been here since this morning. Is dinner still going on?"
"Let's find out," said Serena, taking Parvarti by the hand and leading her out.
"Oh, Serena?"
"Yeah?"
"Thanks."
"No problem," said Serena, smiling back at her friend.
"Cleaning the Owlery?" Harry wondered out loud as he followed Professor Shields to the Owlery. "How is that supposed to help me get ready to be an Auror."
"Well, Potter," said Professor Shields, "it happens a lot for an Auror. Someone evil menace makes a mess and you're the one that has to clean it up."
"But owls aren't evil menaces," Harry said.
"Oh, you'll think differently once you're done," Professor Shields insisted. "Right, here we go."
He conjured a couple of brooms, dusters, mops and other cleaning supplies.
"Grab a broom, Potter," said Professor Shields, "hurry and get started. I hope you and Serena didn't have anything special planned tonight."
"Oh, uh," said Harry, "no, we didn't."
"Good," Professor Shields said with more enthusiasm than he meant. "Because Potter, every night for the next two weeks, your evenings will be spent in Auror training. Why don't you start on that side?"
"Sure," Harry muttered, grabbing a broom and going to the far wall. "Auror training, huh?" he whispered to himself as he started sweeping. "Sounds more like detention to me."
Professor Shields grinned and brushed the shelves. If he kept Harry Potter busy, he wouldn't be with Serena so much and maybe she'll get mad enough to dump him.
Every night for Harry was the same. Professor Shields had him clean the bathrooms, the kitchens, the dungeons, old classrooms; rooms Harry didn't even know existed. Even though Professor Shields assisted him all the tasks and gave simple rules about Aurors, Harry was still convinced it was detention. Harry didn't understand why Professor Shields was picking on him. Harry never mouthed back at him in class or done anything stupid. Professor Shields was doing this for a more personal reason, but why? Did Professor Shields feel threatened by one of his students? Threatened may have been a good word for it. Harry was dating the girl Professor Shields was infatuated with and the "Auror training" Darien was giving him was his idea of punishment.
TBC