It was the first Hogsmeade weekend of the year for Harry, Ron and Hermione. In fact it was their first Hogsmeade weekend since their awful trip during their sixth year which had ended with Katie Bell being jinxed by a bewitched necklace. For Harry and Ron, it was their first trip ever to Hogsmeade with a girlfriend. The last time Harry had gone to Hogsmeade with a girl, he had been on a date with Cho Chang. It had not gone well. Harry had been sitting in Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop, wondering whether he should hold Cho's hand, wondering whether he should snog her, when all of a sudden the date had ended with a bang. Harry had told Cho in the middle of their date that he was going to meet Hermione. And he hadn't understood why Cho had gotten mad. Not until Hermione had explained it to him. Boy, he felt stupid looking back at it now. He knew he still didn't really understand girls. Maybe he never would. But he thought he at least understood them a little bit better.
But today he was going to Hogsmeade with Ginny for the first time as her boyfriend. And Ron and Hermione were going together. And they were all looking forward to a great day.
Filch grunted at them as they passed him in the Great Hall and left the castle. They arrived in Hogsmeade in the late morning. "What do you all want to do first?" asked Harry.
"I have an idea," said Ron. "Let's go to Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop. We can look at the frilly decorations, sip tea, listen to the bell over the door tinkle when people walk in, and enjoy the lacy napkins and china sugar bowls. NOT!"
"Oh, Ron!" cried Hermione. "Don't you have even one romantic bone in your body? This is probably the last chance you and I will ever have to go to Madam Puddifoot's together. "
Ron shrugged. "Okay," he said. He looked at Harry and Ginny.
"Madam Puddifoot's, here we go," said Ginny.
The tea shop was filled with students, sitting as couples at tables for two. As the four of them walked into Madam Puddifoot's, the bell over the door tinkled, and everyone looked up to see who the latest couple was to walk in. As they entered the store, they heard quiet whispering at all the tables.
"We're celebrities," said Harry.
Although almost all of the tables were tables for two, there was one table for four that no one was sitting in.
Ginny and Hermione sat down first, across the table from each other. Then Ron sat down next to Ginny, and Harry sat down next to Hermione.
"There's a problem here," said Ginny to Harry from across the table with a grin. "From here I can still look into your beautiful green eyes. But you're as far from me as you can be."
"Yeah," said Harry, laughing. "I can still see your beautiful, red flowing hair. But you're like a mile away."
"Wait, guys," said Hermione. "There's even a bigger problem. If we sit this way, then if you guys want to hold hands across the table at the same time Ron and I do, our hands will all bump into each other at the middle of the table. One couple will have to rest their hands on top of the other couple's."
"You're right, Hermione," said Harry. "And there's an even bigger risk. Let's say you want to snog Ron at the same time Ginny wants to snog me. Everyone's heads could crash together in the middle of the table. Sitting this way could be downright dangerous."
"What do you mean at the same time I want to snog YOU, Harry Potter," said Ginny. "You're the one who always wants to snog ME."
Everyone laughed. Harry felt so good. The first time he had come into Madam Puddifoot's, with Cho, he had felt so awkward. Today, he and Ginny felt so comfortable with each other that they could joke around about holding hands and snogging.
They reseated themselves, boy/girl boy/girl, so Harry and Ginny could sit next to each other and so could Ron and Hermione. Madam Puddifoot brought them a steaming pot of tea, dainty china cups, a dainty china sugar bowl and creamer, and a dainty china plate covered with dainty little sugar cookies and tiny, dainty cakes.
"How dainty," said Ron. Hermione elbowed him.
"Well, I might as well try some," said Ron, pouring himself a cup of tea.
"Ahem," said Hermione.
Ron looked at her.
Hermione didn't say anything. She just sat there.
Ron reached for a dainty cookie, and as he reached Hermione said again, "ahem."
"What's going on?" asked Ron. "Is Umbridge back."
Hermione rolled her eyes, and looked at Harry and Ginny for help.
Harry smiled, picked up the steaming teapot, turned to Ginny, and said, "May I pour you a cup of tea, Ms. Weasley."
Ginny smiled back and said, "Why thank you, Mr. Potter. That would be very kind of you."
"Okay, I get it," said Ron. When Harry put down the teapot, Ron picked it up, turned to Hermione, and asked, "May I pour you a cup of tea, Ms. Granger?"
"Why, that would be lovely Mr. Weasley," said Hermione, batting her eyelashes.
"Now, can I eat?" asked Ron after he finished pouring the tea, put down the teapot, and grabbed almost all of the cookies on the plate.
"Hey, leave some for the rest of us," said Ginny.
"But they're so small and dainty, and I'm starved," said Ron. But he put a few cookies back on the plate.
When they had finished their tea, and the plates were empty, they all spoke at the same time.
"Let's go to Zonko's," said Harry and Ron.
At the same time, Hermione said, "Can we go to Scrivenshaft's? I want to look at some new quills."
At the same time, Ginny said, "I want to stop by Spintwitches sporting good shop and look at Quidditch equipment."
They all laughed. "We have all day," said Harry. "We can do everything. And we'll even have time for a stop at Honeydukes. Let's start at Zonko's."
Nobody had a problem with that, and off they went.
Monday morning, having breakfast in the Great Hall, everyone was in a good mood. The day before had been one of the most enjoyable days any of them could remember. It had certainly been the best Hogsmeade trip they had ever taken. Hermione had two new quills. Ginny had a new pair of Quidditch knee pads that Harry had bought for her. Ginny had argued with Harry when he started to pay for them after she had picked them out and taken them up to the counter.
"I have my own money. You don't need to buy them for me," she said.
"I know," said Harry, "but I owe you a present."
"Why do you owe me a present?" she asked.
"I never got you anything for Valentine's Day."
"But you weren't my boyfriend on Valentine's Day," she said. "And, anyway, in February you were hiding in the woods and searching for Horcruxes."
"It doesn't matter," said Harry with a smile. "I still owe you." And he asked the clerk to gift wrap the knee pads.
"Harry, you don't need to gift wrap them for me. I saw them already."
"That's okay," said Harry. "They're a present, and they should be wrapped." He turned to the clerk and said, "Can you make it pink paper with red hearts all over it, please. It's a Valentine's Day present for my girlfriend."
Ginny blushed while the clerk waved his wand, and the knee pads were wrapped in pink paper, with red hearts and a red bow. Harry handed them to Ginny, said "Happy Valentine's Day," and snogged her.
"Enough already," Ron had said. "She is my sister, you know."
But now that the weekend was over and they were eating breakfast in the Great Hall, it was time to go back to work. Hermione was teaching three transfiguration classes that day, and had not spent much time during the weekend preparing. "Today is going to be challenging," said Hermione. "No more French fries. We've moved on to living things. I'm going to teach them to change a desk into a pig."
"McGonagall did that in our class," said Ginny.
"Yeah, she did it in ours also," said Ron. "It's not an easy transfiguration."
Hermione laughed. She remembered that when Ron had tried it, he had ended up with a desk that had a twirly pink tail and a sheep's head.
Hermione was standing in front of a class of first years. When everyone had settled down, she stood next to her desk and, without a word, raised her wand. All the students stared at her, transfixed, wondering what she was going to do. With a swishing motion, she moved her wand rapidly three times and cried "Porcino." The desk was gone and standing in its place was a cute, pink pig with a twirly pink tail. "Oink," it grunted, and started trotting around the class. As it passed them, some of the students tried to pet it.
"Class," called Hermione. "What was that an example of."
A hand shot up in the front row.
"Yes, Miss Eldridge."
"Changing a desk into a pig is an example of inanimate to animate transfiguration," said Myrna. "It is more difficult than inanimate to inanimate transfiguration because turning a non-living object into a living being requires a fundamental change in the nature of the object."
"Correct," said Hermione. "Five points for Gryffindor." For a moment, Hermione paused. She was staring at Myrna. Myrna Eldridge reminded Hermione so much of someone. But Hermione still couldn't figure out who. Then Hermione caught herself staring and started teaching again.
"Okay, class. Each of you will now attempt to change your desk into a pig. Watch carefully as I demonstrate the wand motion again, and then practice it." This time Hermione made the slashing motions with her wand very slowly so everyone could follow them. The students all started waving their wands, and Hermione started walking around the room correcting students as she went. When all of the students had learned the motion correctly, she went back to the front of the room and said, "Now listen carefully to the incantation. It's 'porcino." The accent is on the second syllable. It is not 'porcinO'. Or 'PORcino.' It is 'porCIno.' Will everyone please say it.
Together, the whole class said, "porCIno."
"Okay class. Now remember, in transfiguration what's more important than the wand movement or the incantation is your focus. Focus is especially important when performing inanimate to animate transfigurations. I want you all to look at your desks and imagine a pig. Use whatever image of a pig is the most powerful to you. If you like twirly pig tails, then imagine a twirly pig tail. If you like pork chops or bacon, then imagine the smell. If you like their little grunting sounds, then hear the grunt in your head. But make it feel real to you. Now, when I say three, everyone try it. 1…2…3."
All at once, wands were flying and the entire class cried, "porcino". Hermione looked around the room. It was far from perfect. But Hermione counted four almost perfect pigs. One had a wooden leg, and one had a board instead of a back, but they were very good for a first attempt. Other desks had sprouted twirly tails or pig ears. One looked just like a desk, but it had the aroma of frying bacon. "Not bad," said Hermione. "That was very good for a first attempt." Hermione waved her wand, and all the pigs turned back into desks, including her own.
"Okay, everyone, focus again, think 'pig'. We're going to try this again. When I say three. 1…2…3."
"Grunt..grunt…" Myrna's pig was trotting around the classroom.
"Good job, Miss Eldridge," said Hermione. Hermione scanned the room. The class had done much better. There were three perfect pigs trotting around the room. And almost half the class had turned their desks into something that looked like a pig. The three pigs stopped at desks to stare, not sure exactly what they were looking at. They would grunt at a desk/pig, sniff a lot, and then trot on.
"Class, that was a tremendous improvement," said Hermione. She waved her wand again, and the pigs all turned back into desks.
"Okay, try this," she said. "Imagine you're in a pigpen You're sitting in a gooey pile of mud. There are scraps of potato peels everywhere. You are surrounded by pigs of every size and shape. They are oinking and grunting at you. Imagine you are one of them. Be a pig. I want to hear everyone grunt like a pig. The room was immediately filled with the sound of grunting.
"Come on, pigs," said Hermione. "More grunting. You are a pig. You are rolling around in cool wet mud. You are pink. You have a curly tail. Now, when I say three, turn your desk into a pig. 1…2…3."
"PORCINO." Wands were flying and all of a sudden the room was filled with dozens of adorable pigs grunting like crazy and trotting around the classroom. Every single student had turned a desk into a perfect pig. Hermione, looked around the room in amazement. Then she sat down in her chair and enjoyed the scene of her students chasing their dozens of pigs around her classroom. "I am a pretty good teacher," she thought to herself.