Chapter three
As always, the food was wonderful. I ate till I was stuffed full; it must have looked like I hadn't had a decent meal in days, but I suppose, truth was, I really hadn't. I'd worked at 12G until the night before we had to meet the train, and when I was there I usually just ran out for fast food when I started to get dizzy. It was one throwback to my Muggle upbringing. I did like hamburgers and chips; not that I'd seen a lot of them when I lived with the Dursleys. Maybe that's why I craved them every so often, I'd seen Dudley with them enough times, and me with none. Now, since I was looking after myself, I could have them whenever I wanted. The excitement had worn off though, after three or four days in a row and I was so glad to have proper food again. Maybe when I did leave Hogwarts for good I'd ask Kreacher to come back with me. Maybe he'd be okay with the changes. I guess I could always hire a house elf somewhere? I'd need someone to look after me that way. I'd never learned to cook, and my experience in potions class told me that perhaps mixing things in a pot, with fire involved might not be the safest task for me to engage in.
Students were starting to make their ways out of the hall, first years lining up behind their Prefects, second year and up making their own ways. It seemed like the five of us might as well head over to see the Headmistress, or at least the four of us, since Pansy had already made her way to the head table and was casting not so disguised glances back at our table. Ron shrugged, I responded in kind and we all headed over to join her.
"Thank you very much for staying behind you five." Minerva began, okay, I really don't call her Minerva, but writing Professor McGonagall over and over takes too long, and if I can safely cut corners here and there I will. She continued.
"I was hoping that I might impose upon you five to help out with the tutorials I mentioned before dinner?" She scanned our faces to see if any of us threw up a look a horror right there, apparently no one did so she continued.
"Gentlemen?" She focused herself on Neville, Ron and I. "Since I know you all have a great deal of experience with Defense Against the Dark Arts, and with teaching it, as your success with the DA proves." She was referring to the group we had put together in our fifth year, and which Neville had captained in what was supposed to be our seventh year. We had taught two dozen Hogwarts students to fight against the Dark, covertly, using the Room of Requirement as a classroom. Most of our members stood against Voldemort at the Battle of Hogwarts. General consensus was that our endeavors had been quite successful. It was a proud memory for me.
"I had hoped that you might offer some refresher courses in the DADA classroom on Monday and Friday evenings for a few hours." The three of us nodded rather dumbly at her. Neville was the first to actually answer audibly, though it wasn't much of an answer, more like a question.
"Are you sure you want us to do that Professor?"
"I can think of no one better than you three."
"Wow." I think Ron imagined that he was saying that in his head, but it slipped out. Minerva smiled.
"Wonderful then, do let me know if you have need of any Boggerts or Pixies or practice dummies then Gentlemen." And she turned to Hermione and Pansy.
"Ladies? In much the same manner I was hoping you would lead some practice in the Potions classroom. Perhaps one of you could be there Tuesdays, and Wednesdays and then alternate Thursdays?"
"Hermione can have all the Thursdays Professor, I don't think I'll be going to two Defense tutorials a week, so I could do Fridays?" She tried to make her words sound sweet, but I could just hear the subtext. 'I don't intend to let a Gryffindor, and certainly not Harry Potter teach me a damn thing.' But she kept a smile on her face for Minerva, and frankly I was glad to have one less old school Slytherin to worry about.
"Well that sounds lovely Pansy. If you two girls wouldn't mind doing a quick inventory of what is left in the classroom after Professors' Slughorn and Snape's classes I will see to replenishing the stock for you."
Minerva's smile was just lovely after that; she seemed genuinely pleased with her plan, and our acceptance of it. I was just pleased that she trusted us, and I knew how good an assignment like that was going to look on my Application for the Ministry. I was surprised at how practical a thought that one was. I guess some of Hermione had finally rubbed off on me.
I was feeling pretty good about myself as we walked back to the Gryffindor tower, pretty good that was until we entered the common room and Ginny spotted me. She came right over.
"So?" She asked, with the same note of sarcasm as when she had asked about the house. "What did McGonagall want?" My heart sank. I wanted to feign an illness and run right for my bed.
"She umm." I tried to swallow my lower lip, "She wanted to ask Neville, Ron and I to do some tutorials." I know the volume of my statement fell off pretty fast and I got a good look at her shoes for most of it.
"Tutorials?" Oh she wasn't letting me off the hook, damn it.
I clenched my jaw, looked her square in the eye and said it, wincing for the blow I expected after I finished.
"She wants us to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts until the new professor arrives." I waited.
"Really?" Oh boy, her tone was clipped and her eyebrows were knitting together.
"It wasn't my idea Ginny." I hated that I had to justify this to her.
"Does everyone think I'm useless around here?" This was not going to get any better any time fast, but at least she was keeping her voice down. "You don't think I'm good enough to clean up your house, McGonagall doesn't think I'm talented enough to teach Defense Against he Dark Arts even though I stood up to the same Death Eaters she did."
"It's not that Ginny." I tried to make it better.
"Oh really? Then what is it Harry?"
I didn't have an answer and I was loath to say something stupid and make it worse.
"Well you'll have to come and help us Ginny, we need four for dueling partners?"
"Well maybe you should just ask Hermione?"
I couldn't tell her that Hermione was doing potions. "I'd prefer it was you Ginny." I was sincere, I didn't want her to be upset, and I wanted to make her feel better.
Ron didn't help at all, wanker. He rushed right over to share his 'good news' didn't catch any of my incredibly obvious hand signals to shut up.
"Isn't it great Ginny, I get to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Hermione is doing Potions." I saw the tears start to well in her eyes. I couldn't tell if she was sad or angry she rushed off so fast, up the steps to the girls' dorms where I couldn't go after her.
"Prat." I elbowed Ron and gave him the dirtiest look I could manage past the sick feeling in my gut. As usually he looked completely oblivious to what he had just done, and I wasn't in the mood to explain it to him. I headed up to my bed, yanked the curtains around it so hard I think I ripped out one ring from the rod and threw myself onto the bed. I nearly crushed the scroll waiting for me there, brushing it instead onto the floor.
It wasn't bloody fair. This was such a good opportunity for me, why couldn't she just be happy for me? Why was I feeling sick and guilty when I hadn't done anything wrong? Was this what it felt like to be in love with someone? 'Cause right then I sure as hell could have done without it. All I could think of was angry things about her, and I didn't want it to be that way for us. Maybe it sounds all stupid and girly, but I'd really pictured us getting married one day. I took a deep breath and tried to calm down.
She was just angry, I reasoned, she had never liked being left out. Some of that was really charming about her. And even though she'd done a lot of growing up over the last year, she hadn't had to mature like I had, like Hermione and Neville had. I wasn't giving Ron credit for being completely matured yet, and I was still mad at him for being so damned tactless in front of her. She'd calm down by morning, once she got back into the routine of classes.
I leaned down to pick up the scroll; it was my class schedule, same as every other year. Unrolling it I scanned it quickly. All my NEWT classes were there. Transfiguration, Charms, DADA, and Potions. I'd requested to audit Astronomy this year and I saw that was there as well. And now that Firenze was back I thought that I might request to audit his class as well. That would be enough with Quidditch, assuming I made the team this year, and the extra studying I would have to put in to pass my exams. The year was going to be busy, but at least thinking about that let me stop thinking about Ginny for a while. I shucked off my clothes and tossed then across the trunk at the foot of my bed. It had been a bloody long day, the bed was soft, the blood was rushing to my gut from all the food I'd eaten, and I was exhausted. I figured it was okay to fall asleep.