"Miss Corner? Amari?" Dumbledore had come down at six in the morning to breakfast – he had woken up late.
The Headmaster was going to sit down in his chair when he noticed a bodiless foot there. He had then pulled an Invisibility Cloak off of a little five-year-old girl – Amari was occupying his seat. She rubbed her eyes and slowly sat up. She only opened her eyes after she stretched.
"'Lo" she mumbled hoarsely. Her throat hurt from the crying and screaming from the night before and anyways, she had just awoken. Even though she wasn't introduced to Dumbledore, she couldn't be scared of him. He was too calm, too gentle and, in her opinion, he looked funny. She didn't know why, but he seemed comical.
"Why aren't you sleeping in your bed?" he asked friendlily. He was now sitting in Professor McGonagall's chair beside his, making some coffee.
"Draco was mean and doesn't like Harry and Ron and Hermione. He tricked me, I'm sorry!" she started to cry again.
"What happened?" Dumbledore insisted, still as nice as ever, patting her back.
She shook her head. "I'm hungry." Dumbledore didn't push the matter – she didn't want to talk about it and he had heard her stomach rumble.
"Have some breakfast, I can hear your tummy!" he said, pushing new plates of food toward her. She giggled and tucked into her meal.
Crabbe had slept in the bathroom, locking the door, so he didn't blow his cover. Nobody had noticed, everyone was sleeping and be woke up before they saw him. He drank his potion and was Amari again.
"Amari, get out! I need to go to the bathroom!" Ron whined, hopping outside the door. The occupant came out and he rushed in, ready to wet himself.
Harry woke up at the door slamming. He sat up so fast, his back cracked. "Ow… Hey, Amari, want to go eat now?" A nod answered him. He wasn't surprised she was up – she had fallen asleep in the hospital wing the night before. To his knowledge. Crabbe just hadn't wanted to blow his cover.
They were among the first people in the Great Hall that morning. But when they entered, they gasped. Amari was sitting at the head table, talking to Dumbledore and nibbling on a chocolate chip muffin. But, Amari was also walking alongside them, holding Ron's hand. They walked up to the front of the hall.
"Professor, I think we have a problem here…" Harry started.
"That's not Amari." The girl sitting in the Headmaster's chair said. "I'm Amari. That's a boy that drank potion."
"How do we know, though?" Ron was thoroughly confused, but that happened often.
"This Amari hasn't talked since Malfoy gave her to us. Her throat was glowing." Harry informed the wizard in front of him.
Dumbledore took out his wand and muttered something nobody could catch. The fake Amari's throat glowed red. "This will not work. We will need Mr. Malfoy to remove it. Professor Snape" he called.
"Yes, Headmaster?" Snape walked over to his caller. The real Amari would have flinched, or whimpered, or ran away, but Dumbledore and Harry's presences were both comforting.
"We need to talk to Mr. Malfoy."
"I will be right back."
After a couple minutes, Draco Malfoy entered with Professor Snape. He looked very miserable. He had gone home from the hospital wing, angry he didn't have a firebolt, but that anger vanished as he remembered Amari in his dormitory. He had gotten a lot angrier as he discovered she had escaped. All he found was bits of rope and the scissors – bloodstained and dulled.
"Mr. Malfoy, would you please explain this to me." Dumbledore indicated both Amari's.
Malfoy scoffed and rolled his eyes. "I do not know these girls."
"Professor, ask Madam Pomfrey! We told her the whole story last night! He kidnapped her!" Ron almost shouted.
"He did, sir!" Amari said.
"I would like you to return the power of speech to this little girl, please, Mr. Malfoy."
Even Malfoy couldn't disobey such a direct order from the headmaster. He waved his wand and Crabbe's throat now glowed green. The spell was lifted.
"Aren't you gonna talk?" Ron said menacingly. He wouldn't admit it to anyone, but he was worried for Amari despite her being 'evil'.
Crabbe stared at the group. The jig was up and he knew it. He sat there quietly – his hour was almost done. He jumped at Ron's question and shook his head.
"I told you so." Amari said as her clone started to expand into Crabbe.
Ron and Harry watched in surprise as the transformation occurred. Snape looked emotionless and indifferent and Malfoy was scowling at them all.
After an hour of questioning and detention giving, Malfoy, Crabbe and now Goyle, were completely miserable and Ron and Harry were relieved and happy – Amari was safe, Harry had his firebolt and Malfoy had lost a lot of points and time as detention. It was already a good day and it wasn't even 8 o'clock!
Hermione rushed in just before 8:00. "Harry, Ron, Amari! I heard all about this morning!"
"How? We just stopped talking fifteen minutes ago!" Harry said.
"You didn't see Lavender? She was listening the whole time!" Amari said.
"You saw me?" Lavender came over when she heard her name. "Did you know Dumbledore's giving us a project? Just our year, 'cause fifth and seventh years have OWLs and NEWTs. I don't know anything about it though, they weren't talking about what it was, only that they would give information out at supper."
"Gossip much?" Hermione asked sarcastically.
Lavender giggled. "I didn't listen in on purpose," she said angelically, but they could all tell she was kidding.
"I need to go to the bathroom," Amari whined suddenly.
Both Harry and Ron looked at Hermione expectantly. "I'm eating! You can bring her!"
"We're not girls!" Harry and Ron said at the same time.
"I'll go," Lavender said, rolling her eyes at the boys with Hermione. "You could have just waited outside!" she said, before grabbing Amari's hand and running to the bathroom.
"Is she gone?" Ron asked. He grinned and shoved everything he could into his mouth. He sat back, mouth extremely full, trying to chew it all. He sighed a muffled sigh of content and savored the moment.
"That's gross, Ron," Hermione said, trying not to smile. She thought it was funny how happy he was to be able to choke - which he did in his second overlarge mouthful.
Harry responded so quickly he was like a robot. He performed his well-practiced heimlich. Finally dislodged, the egg shot into Ron's plate. Ron thanked Harry and looked questioningly at Hermione. She was laughing.
"What?"
"Oh, nothing. I just forgot how funny it was to watch you choke…" Hermione said, before laughing again at the look on his face. "I was joking, Ron."
Ron cocked his eyebrow at her and scowled over her shoulder. At a glance, she discovered Amari had come back. She laughed.
"I wonder what the project is?" Harry snapped Ron back into the real world. He shrugged.
"Beats me. Anyways, why should we care? A project can't possibly be exciting."
"Projects are always exciting! Things are only boring when you make them that way!" Hermione said. "You just don't care enough for it to be exciting. I do, and that why I got so many Outstanding OWLs."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. We have potions with the Slytherins first thing. How can that be exciting?"
"It's always exciting… just not in a good way. It just isn't fun!"
"If you say so, Hermione" he said exasperatedly.
They got there with as little time as possible to spare so they didn't have to run into the Slytherins without a teacher nearby. They took potions with Slughorn and, surprisingly, didn't get held up by Malfoy or any of the Slytherins. They went through classes as usual until Care of Magical Creatures. Hagrid said they had to raise their own pets he would give them and that Dumbledore was going to go more into detail. They spent the lesson learning picking their creatures' names out of a basket and learning vaguely how to take care of them.
Except the Golden Trio. They hadn't gotten a pet. They had to take care of Amari. With Lavender.
There were groups of four and five, so Lavender came with them. Parvati was stuck with Seamus Dean and Neville with a Niffler, much to Parvati's displeasure. Amari liked Lavender, so there weren't any problems that way.
They sat together at dinner, all five of them, awaiting Dumbledore's announcement. The word had gotten around, so it was very unnecessary when Dumbledore stood up.
"Would all sixth year students please stay behind while the others leave? I shall take only a few minutes of your time."
Fifteen minutes later, all the fifth and seventh years had left to do their mile-high piles of homework and most of the younger years had left, seeing as the project wasn't their business. All the sixth years were still there, snacking, or talking, or just sitting there.
Ron and Harry were betting different foods on how fast Amari would fall asleep.
"I bet two hotdogs that she'll fall asleep before Dumbledore makes his speech," Ron said, putting two hotdogs on a plate full of bets. They were hardly paying attention to who won. They were just bored.
"Mashed potatoes that she won't," an extra glob of potatoes.
Professor McGonagall tapped her glass with her spoon. The anxiety was so high in the hall that many necks cracked in turning. Dumbledore stood up.
"Hagrid has given you all, with one exception," he looked at Amari's group, "a different creature. The project will be to take care of your chosen pet in your own house, on your own property. We will also be giving you a magically created baby doll. It will act like an infant and need to be taken care of like one. Your responsibility will be tested on how well you take care of the pet and the baby – but there will be assignments. Your Head of Houses will explain when they show you to your quarters."
McGonagall, Flitwick, Sprout and Snape all stood up to bring their students to their 'quarters'.
"Please follow me," Was all McGonagall said to the Griffindor students. They happily obliged, except Parvati, who was in an extremely bad mood and obliged solemnly. They all followed their teacher up to the fifth floor, where there were two doors.
"Who is living in here?" one door asked.
"The door's talking!!" Amari screeched, pointing at the faces that popped out of the doors.
"It's okay Amari! It's magic, remember?" Lavender comforted the little girl that just grabbed on to her cloak.
"Let's start with this room, shall we?" McGonagall said.