Chapter 38: School time once again

I spent every moment with Viktor. The house elf already enlarged my room even more, so Viktor could use it if he had business in London. Viktor helped me arrange my things for Hogwarts and helped me choose what subjects to take in my NEWTs year. Nikki owled me and told me she wanted to take up Care for Magical Creatures. I decided to take up Herbology, Potions, Defense against the Dark Arts (for obvious reasons), Arithmancy, Ancient Runes, Astronomy, Charms, Transfiguration and Care for Magical Creatures. I really wanted to visit Diagon Alley and see the twins' shop myself but Viktor told me it was too dangerous to venture out.

"You take care of yourself when you get to Hogwarts. You have to watch your back," Viktor placed a thin scarf on Ianthé's neck.

"I won't forget. Write to me, okay?" Ianthé kissed Viktor deeply.

"I promise," Viktor squeezed her hand tightly.

"Hey, Ianthé! Hurry up!" Nikki waved at Ianthé.

Ianthé was surrounded by Edmond and a few of her father's "people". She ran towards Nikki.

Edmond handed Ianthé her trunk, "By the way, Uncle Alex forgot to give you this," he handed her a money bag full to the brim with Galleons.

"Thanks! Take good care of yourself and Andy! Bye!" Ianthé waved her hand as Nikki grabbed her hand and they ran towards the train.

Edmond waved and quickly left after the train started to move.

"So, what's up?" Ianthé sat down to stretch her legs in an empty compartment she found with Nikki.

"Well, my friendship with Charlie has definitely progressed…. Wait…." Nikki grabbed Ianthé face and scrutinized it.

"What?"

"Something's different."

"So I have been told… by… almost all members of my family…"

Nikki looked Ianthé from head to toe, "You look even prettier than usual."

"Did you hit your head or something?"

"No, I mean, you have this….. glow…"

Ianthé smiled.

"No…. No way…"

Ianthé smiled and whispered, "Oui."

"So? How was it?"

"Let's just say, I would really regret it if I locked myself in a convent and took the vow of chastity and celibacy."

"That good, huh?"

"You'll have to find that out for yourself…"

Nikki smiled, "No wonder you're glowing."

Ianthé shrugged, "So, we're taking the same classes this year?"

"Yep. Are you sure you want to take Care of Magical Creatures with me? You could still drop it…"

"I think it might be a bit useful."

"Have you been reading the Prophet?"

Ianthé shook her head, "That newspaper should be chucked in the garbage bin."

"Would you believe that they called Potter the Chosen One?"

Ianthé raised an eyebrow, "Really now?"

"Yeah, they mentioned the whole thing in the Ministry of Magic last summer."

"First a raving lunatic, now the Chosen One? Those people are crazy…" Ianthé lay back a bit, "I think I need a bit more rest."

"Because you were too preoccupied during the summer!" Nikki laughed.

It was shocking that our new Potions teacher is Horace Slughorn, and Snape has managed to get his dream of being the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. I immediately wrote to Viktor as soon as I got to our dormitory. I also wrote to the twins telling them to deliver the goods straight to the mansion. I was wondering what kind of professor Slughorn was like.

"I think we should stick with these two…" Nikki openly suggested as they waited outside the Potions classroom. She and Ianthe went closer to their fellow Ravenclaws.

The only Gryffindors who took NEWT Potions are Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. Ernie Macmillan was the only Hufflepuff. Draco Malfoy was one of the four Slytherins who were there.

As usual, Hermione Granger could answer every question asked and Slughorn managed to award her with points. Surprisingly, Potter excelled in Potions, I don't know why. Maybe it's because Snape wasn't there breathing down his neck. Draco, dear Draco, was trying so hard to impress Slughorn but the professor obviously has his eye only on Harry. Definitely weird. I wrote to my mother, asking her what she knew about Horace Slughorn.

"Aren't you even wondering why Potter, of all people, aced Potions? He even beat Granger!" Nikki whispered to Ianthé during breakfast.

Ianthé shrugged at she caught letters dropped by Razilia. She read one that was from her mother.

"Hey, Nikki, listen to this."

Nikki got closer to Ianthé.

"Horace Slughorn, from the exact words of your father, is a hungry leech seeking for fame by picking his potentials for the 'Slug Club'. Your father, although a former Slughorn favorite, despised him. I do warn you to keep a low profile. Just tell him that you're just a distant relative. You must not let the spotlight on you for obvious reasons…"

Nikki looked at Ianthé as she put the letter on her robe pocket, "I remember his eyes flicked towards you when he read your name. Thank Merlin you had no idea who he was!"

"So, what's up with the 'Slug Club' mentioned by mother?"

"Oh, that, I heard it on the train. The usual suspects, obviously including Potter, surprisingly Malfoy did not get an invitation… Blaise Zabini did, though… Also Ginny Weasley…"

"Ginny Weasley?"

"Apparently, Slughorn noticed she's very good with her Bat Bogey Hex… Cormac McClaggen, the git himself…."

"That airhead?"

Nikki nodded, "You won't believe this --- Neville Longbottom."

Ianthé shrugged, "His parents were quite famous during the old days… They were the ones I told you about…."

"The ones who were tortured into insanity?" Nikki whispered.

Ianthé nodded, "But why was Draco excluded?"

She looked across the Slytherin table. The platinum blonde boy was sitting there looking glum, trying to be cheered up by a pug-faced girl.

"Because his father is now in Azkaban?" Nikki speculated.

"Maybe you're right."

"Malfoy seem to be off color nowadays…"

"I'll just have to investigate that matter…"

Nikki shrugged, "So what do we have in plan for our little club?"

"Oh yeah… Jeremiah, one of my distant cousins and also a fellow Wheezes member, bought this ton of the twins' products. Apparently, he showed them his F&G society badge and got 30 percent discount on all items. Nice kids, really…"

"He plans to let them lose?"

Ianthé shrugged, "Have no idea with that."

That night, Ianthé got out her Invisibility cloak and went roaming around the castle. She heard a voice muttering near an empty dark corridor, and saw a pale haired boy pacing.

"Hello, Draco," Ianthé removed her cloak.

Draco Malfoy looked relieved, "I thought it was one of the prefects. What are you doing late at night?"

"Getting a bit of fresh air. How are you faring?" Ianthé put her hand on his shoulder.

Draco's knees collapsed and he sat on the floor, "Father angered the Dark Lord. I assume you know that…"

Ianthé nodded, "Tarquinus told me. I'm worried about you."

Draco smiled weakly at her, "There's no need for your worry. I will bring back my family's pride in no time."

"And how exactly are you going to do that?" Ianthé asked softly.

"You might get involved if you knew. You might get in trouble…"

Ianthé saw him caressing his left forearm, "Tell me you didn't…"

Draco pulled up his sleeve. There was a red raw mark of a skull with a snake --- the Dark Mark.

"I have to! He might kill my father or my mother!" Draco's eyes brimmed with tears.

Ianthé hugged him tightly, "You know it means a lifelong servitude… There is no going back."

Draco held her tightly, "Please try to understand. It's my family's lives at stake!"

Ianthé looked him in the eye, "Tell me what he wanted you to do."

"I have to…. I have tttto…. kkkill Du-dumbeldore…" Draco stammered.

Ianthé's tears fell and she hugged him once again, "You stupid git! You're going to get yourself killed!"

After we separated, I ran as fast as I could to get to the Headmaster's office.

"Cockroach cluster!"

The gargoyle didn't move.

Ianthé kicked the gargoyle, "Acid pops."

The gargoyle moved and she stepped on the revolving staircase.

She rapped the door as hard as she could.

"Enter."

She opened the knob and found the headmaster putting away his pensieve.

"Ah, Miss Herze. What brings you this late at night? It's past midnight." Dumbledore sat in his chair.

"Sir, you need to see what happened a while ago," Ianthé looked straight into the wizened professor's twinkling eyes. She put down the barriers of her mind and thought of the conversation she had with Draco Malfoy.

"Hm…. Very dark indeed…" Dumbledore had his dead-looking hand on his chin.

"Sir, what happened to your hand?"

"This?" Dumbledore raised his hand slightly, "Just a work-related injury.. No need to worry, my child."

"Sir, what to do with the threat in your life?"

"Leave that to me, dear. I will have to assign another person to look into the matter more deeply."

"Is that other person named Professor Severus Snape?"

"Why yes. How did you know?"

"My cousin Tarquinus mentioned him to me. He seemed to be in awe of Professor Snape."

"A perfectly good example of what your family is trying to do. I account that Professor Snape is also a distant relative of yours?"

Ianthé nodded, "Also from my father's side, sir. We have also heard of the werewolves' involvement."

"I also happen to have someone in there too."

"Sir, I would have to make a wild guess that the person you're talking about happens to be the most well-liked professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts, despite of his lycanthropy."

The headmaster smiled like a generous grandfather, "Yes, yes…"

"Sir, we also have a bit of a problem there… I have thought of a seemingly-perfect solution with regards to the werewolves under Fernir Greyback. It might sound barbaric and utterly inhumane, but it's the only way I could think of…"

"Go on…"

"Well, since I had a Muggle studies class, we have tackled Muggle weaponry…"

"And…"

"I thought that if we used guns with silver bullets against the werewolves, we would have a fighting chance…"

"You would have to inform me if there would be an attack on the werewolves, so that I could warn Remus Lupin."

Ianthé smiled, "So I was right then, sir?"

The phoenix perched near the headmaster's chair trilled a comforting melody.

Ianthé smiled at the phoenix.

"I would also like to warn you, sir, that many of your students are vying for the position of pranksters-in-chief."

Dumbledore gave a hearty laugh, "I would keep that in mind. Now, go back to your dormitory quickly."

"Thanks, sir!"