Chapter 27 Rumors Confirmed
After dinner that evening, Harry, Ron and Hermione were in the library working on homework. The dust from the old shelves made Harry sneeze so much that Madame Pince ordered him to find somewhere else to study. "Let's get up to the common room then," said Ron. "We can't have you studying all by yourself."
Harry smiled at his friends as they gathered their books together and the trio made their way to the Gryffindor tower. "I'm sorry you aren't feeling good," said Hermione.
"Which is why I think you should SIIIINNNNGGG!" Ron bellowed, but yelped when Hermione whacked him on the arm with her arithmancy book. "OW!" He cried. "Geeze, Hermione, that hurt!"
Hermione rolled her eyes as she wrapped an arm around Harry's waist. He had grown a bit taller over the past summer, but he had grown much thinner because he had been so sick. Hermione hoped it would wear off-she wanted her old Harry back. Right before they entered the common room, Harry let out an enormous sneeze and at that exact moment, Jessica was heading down the corridor with Colin. "Bless you!" She called cheerfully.
"Thanks, Jess." Harry sniffed. "Hullo, Colin."
"Some sneeze, Harry!" Colin teased.
"Did you hear?" asked Jess with excitement.
"Hear what?" asked Harry miserably after Hermione shouted the password and the group headed inside of the tower.
"That Snape's putting on a musical, of course! Don't tell me you three haven't heard! It's only one of the juiciest piece of gossip going around Hogwarts now!"
Hermione laughed. "He is thinking about it." She told them.
"Really?" asked Colin, just as Harry proceeded to sneeze again.
"Bless you." Said Ron and Hermione in unison.
"Yep." Hermione admitted. "Wait till you hear what happened!"
Jess sat down next in the armchair beside Harry's. "Tell me!" She cried.
Hermione, Ron and Colin sat down as well, and Hermione told the entire story about what had occurred earlier that afternoon in their Potions class with Neville's cauldron exploding, and the potion splashing all over Snape. "So something must have changed the sleeping potion into something else, but we have no idea what. Snape doesn't remember being hit with the potion, which is good at least, but we're not sure how long the effect will last."
"What a brilliant accident!" giggled Jess. "If he really IS serious about putting on a show, I wonder which one it will be. I'd love to see the expression on Dumbledore's face when he asks him."
"Knowing Dumbledore, he'll be pleased," Harry laughed. "He seems like the type that would be into that type of thing."
Jess shrugged. "I suppose so."
Harry motioned for Hermione to sit on his lap, and she did so without protest. When the two of them kissed, Colin leaned forward. "So Harry- what's kissing like?"
Jess stood up and pecked one on Colin's cheek. "That." She teased.
He stared. "What'd you do that for?" He asked.
"You asked what a kiss was like and I gave you one."
Hermione shook her head with a small smile.
"Yes, but I didn't mean from YOU." Colin teased.
"WELL!" Jess huffed. Hermione handed Jess her arithmancy book and Jess smacked Colin on the arm with it. "Thank you." She returned the book back to Hermione with a nod.
"Where's Lavender?" asked Harry.
"She had to see Professor Flitwick about something after dinner." Ron replied. "She said she shouldn't be too late."
"You look like you're on withdrawl." Hermione joked, bending down to kiss Harry again. "You look really sexy tonight." She whispered.
"Really?" Harry snorted. "How do I look when I'm not sick?"
Hermione shrugged. "You're not really sick, though." She kissed him again before turning back to Jess. "So, Jess-how are you enjoying your first year at Hogwarts?"
Jess grinned. "I LOVE it. Well-most of it-I hate Peeves-that stupid ghost."
Hermione nodded. "I haven't met up with him yet this year, but he can get pretty nasty."
"He pulled my nose yesterday and said GOT YOUR CONK! How RUDE is that? I say very!"
Harry sneezed loudly again at that moment, but he didn't see Erin coming downstairs with her black cat Miko. It had very smoothe, sleek fur and bright yellow eyes that gleamed in the firelight. Crookshanks lay by Hermione's feet, watching the newcomer, and swishing his tail back and forth.
"That's a beautiful cat, Erin," Hermione breathed, coming over. "Can I pet him?"
Erin nodded, and Hermione stretched out her hand to let the cat smell her first, before touching it's soft fur.
"It's my stepmother's cat, actually," Erin explained. "when she found out I was going to Hogwarts and needed a pet, she let me borrow him. We have another grey and black cat named Zeeke, but we figured this one looked more witch-like."
Harry chuckled. "Your parents are divorced?" he asked, and she nodded.
"Yes," she replied. "When I was three. They've since remarried, but all of them are muggles. Well, my grandfather on my Dad's side is a wizard...my Dad is a squib. I'm the only one with real magic ability." she smiled shyly, and Harry nodded in understanding, his eyes closing partially as he felt another urge to sneeze. He did so, turning away from Hermione, who was sitting on his lap again.
"Bless you," everyone told him in unison, and Harry coughed to clear the congestion from his throat, accepting a pack of tissues from Hermione.
"Thanks, love," he whispered, and she kissed him on the cheek.
"The HILLS ARE ALIVE-WITH THE SOUND OF MUUUUUSIC!" Ron began singing as he stood up from his chair and walked away from the group. Hermione gave a threatening glare to his back and then turned back to Jess and Erin with sympathetic smiles.
"So, Erin-what else is new?" She asked with a laugh.
Before breakfast the following morning, Harry, Ron and Hermione noticed an enormous crowd by the bulliten board that held special event notices and other things that were occuring in the wizarding world.
"What's going on?" Harry asked. He had woken up with a small sinus infection, so it sounded more like "Whads goig od?"
"You're not going to BELIEVE this, Harry, but Snape wasn't kidding us!" Seamus cried. "Come here-read this flyer!"
Hermione pushed through the crowd and accepted the flyer from Dean. It read:
PROFESSOR SEVERUS SNAPE WILL BE HOLDING AUDITIONS FOR THE BROADWAY MUSICAL PHANTOM OF THE OPERA. ALL STUDENTS ARE EXPECTED TO ARRIVE AT 8:00 SHARP IN THE AUDITORIUM. THIS WILL BE A WONDERFUL EXPERIENCE FOR ALL. BE PREPARED WITH A PIECE OF MUSIC TO SING AT THE AUDITION. SCRIPTS OF THE SHOW WILL BE PROVIDED.
Ron burst into laughter. "Bloody hell-he's cracked his top!"
"Officially," snorted Dean. "So, Ron-are you going to audition?"
"We have to. He threatened to take points from our house if we didn't show up, so I'm guessing he'll be keeping pretty close tabs." Ron's eyes widened. "Whoa-hold on, but read this!"
Harry read what Ron's finger was pointing at, and he felt his heart sink: AS A RESULT, QUIDDITCH MATCHES WILL BE CANCELED TILL THE SPRING. APOLOGIES TO ALL TEAM CAPTAINS-THIS IS A LAST MINUTE EVENT.
"Oh no!" said Alicia Spinnet, who was on the Gryffindor Quidditch team with Harry.
"You'll survive," Hermione sniggered.
"Hermione-I have to go and see Madame Pomfrey. Maybe there's a way I can get a medical excuse out of this show." He took his girlfriend's hand and drug her to the hospital wing.
Unfortunately, the idea of Harry's participating in the musical thrilled the school nurse.
"It would be wonderful for you!" She cried. "You'll have a wonderful time, I promise. And it will not be too taxing for your health either."
"It won't?" Harry asked with surprise, closing his eyes as Madame Pomfrey inserted another needle into his arm. This was his second allergy shot in two days, because they had been working up so badly.
"Of course not."
"As Ron says," Hermione began, "SIIIINGING helps you CHEEER up." She kissed Harry on the cheek.
Harry raised his eyes at Hermione, as though she had gone completely looney. "Perhaps you'll need to give her a check up too, Madame Pomfrey." He said with concern.