It finally came to be the Wednesday of flying lessons. Harry and Hermione spent their Wednesday morning in History of Magic researching something entirely unrelated to the Goblin Wars of the 1400s, having copied the chapter last night. Hermione was working on the spell to copy a magical device, while trying to not focus on her fear of flying. Harry in the meantime was researching the process to become Animagi, and discovered that the actual method of becoming an Animagi was pretty simple.
He had discovered that he just had to enter a trance-like state until an animal spirit found and bonded with him. The only problem with that was about what spirit would choose him. And after that it was simply a matter of learning everything about the animal from inside out, learning about the human body to similar detail, and finally plotting out the change from the human body to the new form and back.
That was the easy part, of course - after that, they had to brew up a potion which from the looks of it, was insanely complicated. Oddly enough, looking at the recipe carefully, Harry discovered that the book only listed a recipe for a dozen servings. Reading a little further on, deeply curious, he found out why there was the need for so many spare potions. Each person had only a slim chance of getting the process completed on the first try, but each successive potion increased the takers chances.
After twenty-four weekly tries, the takers was supposed to give up, since they were getting up near poisonous levels of the key ingredients. It would take ten years before the ingredient flushed from the consumer's system, and after that they were unable to try again since their body would have developed an immunity response to the poisonous ingredients, rendering them inert. What really caught his attention was that there was a massive chart of items needed for specific animals.
Almost all the mammals needed hair and claw trimmings, the rest were similarly intimate to the animals that they belonged to. At least they were separated by the classes, alphabetic, and had pictures attached. That would help loads.
He figured that if after twenty-four tries he hadn't succeeded in getting an animal form, he'd probably be not wanting to try his luck at the lottery in any form. Also, if he didn't get it by then, he decided that it would be time for him to give it up.
Pulling out a scrap piece of parchment, he started doodling while his mind meditated on what he'd just learned. After a few minutes of the peaceful meditation a strange thought crossed his mind, and he wrote out a question that'd been bugging him for a little while now. 'Do you think that we should get Prof. Flitwick to help us?'
As he slid the paper over, he took a chance at listening to Professor Binns for a brief moment. However, after fighting off the wave of speech induced sleep that the professor sent to his mind, he decided to not attempt that again. At least not without at least a few liters of espresso at the ready. Turning back to his book, he frowned in disgust over some of the ingredients on the list. As such he was more than happy when Hermione slid over the paper containing her answer. 'It would be risky to include him. Why?'
'He'd be a lot of help, and we could start work on the comm-wands...' Harry replied while keeping track of his place on the ingredients list with his other thumb. He really wanted to skip over this list, as it was quickly causing him to lose any possible interest in lunch. And if Madam Pomfrey caught him skipping a meal...
He covered the shiver that crept down his spine by sliding the message back to Hermione while Professor Binns droned on and on. Seriously, there was little to nothing that any of the students were learning in this class, save maybe how to catch up on sleep.
Two students however were reaping the benefits of staying awake in a class that people have been passing for years without even being awake during. Due to not succumbing to the soothing, monotone drone of the living impaired professor, they had worked hard to better themselves magically.
While they weren't the potion masters that the twins were, they were both holding down a solid Exceeds Expectations in potions, a feat made all the more remarkable by them not being in Slytherin. If it hadn't been for one accident with a sneeze while cutting a piece of root, they would actually be holding an Outstanding. Harry had yet to stop apologizing for it, even though Hermione had forgiven him almost three weeks previously for it.
After all, if it had been planned, blowing up a potion in Professor Snape's face would have been more than worth the 100 point deduction. As an accident it had been embarrassing.
But that deduction was nothing compared to what happened to Draco when his father sent Dumbledore a... Harry's mind was distracted by the note being passed back. 'Yes, he could. Ask twins at lunch?'
Deciding to risk a visual response, he nodded with a happy smile on his face. It would seem that Hermione liked the idea as well. The prototype 'comm-wands' as they'd taken to calling the headset communication devices worked wonderfully. The voice was picked up superbly, and they could talk from one end of Hogwarts to the other with them.
So long as there was only one pair.
Adding a third set into the mix completely mucked up the set up, and created a very painful, ear-splitting noise that eventually shattered the third set. Either that or Harry succeeded in dropping his Unabridged History of Magic on it. Twenty-two kilos of heavily slanted ministry biased history would do short work of anything caught under it.
But he digressed; his mind turning back to what had happened during the first weekend, when he found out what a Howler was. A single red letter settled down in front of Professor Dumbledore, who took one look at the return address and sighed.
He called Draco up to the center of the hall, right in front of the staff table, where he pointed out calmly that he did not take kindly to people trying to usurp his authority at the school. Especially if they used their parents as a means to regain points lost due to a broken rule.
He then said that for every minute the Howler went on, he would take twenty-five points from Slytherin. Another twenty-five points for every time his teaching methods, character, or that of any other member of the school was insulted. And finally a full fifty points for going to his father, instead of trying to appeal to his better nature.
Ten minutes, and nearly two thousand points later, Dumbledore cast 'silencio' on the letter which fell down to his plate to seethe angrily. He pointed out that there was an ancient school rule that if a student lost more points than his or her house could, as in this case where Draco had lost nearly four times the amount that Slytherin had, the points could be reduced to where the house had only ten points left, and then the student and his family could make up the difference in coins to the school's upkeep funds. Roughly a galleon per one-hundred points was the listed amount.
Those keeping score gasped at just how much Dumbledore was talking about. And the letter wasn't even nearly finished.
After breakfast, Draco was a distinctly pale shade of white under his blond hair. While he might be a good deal wiser now, his pocket book would never be the same again.
This morning had held a surprise in the form of Hedwig landing on his shoulder, dropping off a letter for Hermione and accepting a sausage in thanks. It was a bit awkward as Hermione gushed about her parents accepting him coming over, especially when he could read that they were practically begging her to bring him and the twins along. Awkward in that he wasn't sure why it seemed like they didn't think she'd have any friends.
Harry had gotten a letter from them as well, tucked neatly into the other envelope. He could even remember what he'd read verbatim as he had gone over it so many times he actually worried about his eyes wearing out the words.
Mr. Potter,
Hermione has written to us about you, and as such we feel that there needs to be a couple ground rules to your visit. Firstly, there will be no chores done by you or any guests we have, save possibly laundry of your own clothes. Also, in regards to the idea of not getting you any presents, you had better have a list ready for us when you arrive or my wife will constantly pester you for it. Trust me; she will never let it rest, and so it will be for the safety of the entire Wizarding (and muggle) world that you just give her the list.
Now, due to the short time prior to Christmas that you will be arriving, we shall take a day to go shopping for gifts for the others, possibly a second if needed (you know what women are like).
Now this is going to sound quite odd, but is Hermione happy? I mean I know that she is excited to be at Hogwarts and learning so many new subjects... but is she happy?
Please send me a letter back as soon as you can.
Sincerely,
Dr. Herman Granger
Not only had he been wanted, but Hermione's father was asking him his opinion about her happiness. He wasn't entirely sure, but wasn't that like the greatest trust a bloke could get from a girl's father was to watch over his daughter? Once again he wished he had more to go on here than what little he gleaned from overhearing the TV programs that were constantly droning on at the Dursely's.
Hermione seemed to be enjoying herself too, and even took to relaxing in front of the fireplace with him, just talking about anything that had come to mind as they relaxed for the day. He couldn't say for sure that she was happy, but content seemed to be the right word to describe how she was.
He was about to read his book again, when he heard Professor Binns addressing the class. "For those that are awake, just turn in a piece of parchment reading 'I was awake in class today.' and ignore the assignment on the board."
The ghost then wrote up the required homework for everyone else: a twenty inch essay on the causes of the Goblin Wars of the 1400's. Harry turned to look at Hermione, to find her staring back at him in shock equal to his own. Apparently they had both heard the same thing. Professor Binns had given them lighter homework just for staying awake in his class. It might be possible that they were the first students to have heard him say that since he became a ghost all those years ago.
Then he was gone, with his parting came time for lunch.
Going about their usual routine of waking their classmates, the pair debated about informing them about the loophole. It was about the time that the fourth one grumbled about their nap being interrupted that they decided to just let them suffer. Hey if they were going to complain about being woken for lunch, then they weren't going to let them know about the way to avoid homework.
Lessons learned and all that – it was like pranking without needing to plan anything!
However the one thing that all were interested in was the event that was going to happen after lunch. What with the flying, the brooms, and then inevitable falls from epic heights…
Well actually only the first two occurred; with no rememberall being flung into the distance, Harry could instead focus on helping Hermione get her air-legs as it were. A couple laps around the pitch had Hermione more comfortable with her broom than she'd have ever thought possible, especially when Harry explained that to slow down all she had to do was sit back. She linked it to riding a horse like she had a few times on her family vacations, and started to smooth out her flight. True she never left two stories above the ground, but she felt better flying, and knew that as she continued training that she'd get more confident.
Now if only she could make the falling part less terrifying, or the accidental landings much less painful. In fact, the two of them were able to spend some time helping out Madam Hooch in coaching the other students that were struggling.
Towards the end of the class, Madam Hooch let the students go through a mild obstacle course, and it was at that moment that Harry really began to shine. Not only was he able to pull off turns that had the pureblood's blue eyes shining jade green with envy, but he also helped Hermione build up enough confidence to pull off a corkscrew through one set of goals.
What he didn't realize was that he was being watched. What foul, evil schemes could those dark eyes have for our young intrepid hero? What vile plots were being concocted being that grinning face?
Well… actually, it was just Professor Flitwick seeing a challenger for the seeker position on the Quidditch team this year. He really must thank the Weasley twins for alerting him to the potential star he had before him. If he could get both Harry and Hermione to try out, they could at least fill that interesting 'manager' position the twins had talked about.
He might just have to talk to the entire first year class about trying out. After all, he couldn't show favoritism to just one or two students, even with the promise they're showing. Turning away from the window he was watching from, he nodded to the portrait of Rowena Ravenclaw in parting. It was about this time that he noticed she was lounging over the fire, reading a rather large book.
Not giving it a second thought, he went about setting up fliers to announce Quidditch tryouts coming up this weekend. It was so much easier now that the four students had cleaned up his store room, he could actually find his self-copying quill, so that he'd only have to write the message once, and then it would write up the rest with ease.
It was about the time that they made their fifth lap around the pitch while waiting for the obstacle course to open up that Harry and Hermione began talking to each other quietly at thirty miles per hour - Which basically meant they were shouting at each other, but no one else could understand them. "I really think those Comm-wands should be our first priority!"
Hermione seemed a bit confused before she brightened and gave the thumbs up. "Right, much easier to hear!"
Harry nodded and signaled for them to go lower, before pushing himself to within landing range of the ground and slowing down. "First priority, the Comm-wands, we might want to go with that throat mounted microphone, you were talking about earlier," Harry continued once they could hear each other without shouting themselves hoarse. "The wind will make it hard to hear with a microphone on the outside like I was originally thinking about..."
"This is good field data to learn before going further into the design phase..." Hermione agreed while committing the change to memory. A sticking charm should ensure that the parts remain in place, but they needed a way to adjust volumes on the fly, without wands, on both transmitters and receivers. "Want to go to Professor Flitwick after supper?"
"We should ask the twins first," Harry answered while they lapped the line up for the course, which was only marginally shorter than last time. "I think our lap times are improving Hermione... you're getting a lot better."
"I am?" Hermione asked blinking before looking back at the line, "I guess you're helping me from being afraid..."
The brilliant smile she gave Harry warmed him to the core. It made him feel that he could fly through the every hall in the school with a blindfold on. Was this what it meant to have a friend that could rely on him, and he knew that she would always be there for him? This was such an amazing magical feeling that he swore he could fly without the broom underneath him.
Not that he was going to try anytime soon…
"I think the twins might be agreeable about Professor Flitwick..." Hermione stated, bringing him back to the flight he was currently on, broom and all. "He seems to be more agreeable to our pranks, especially when they show a high degree of advanced magical knowledge. Take for instance the opening feast; do you know how the twins got everyone to go along with what they had me write out?"
"I've been trying to forget that night..." Harry grumbled under his breath, hoping that she wouldn't hear him. "No, I haven't Hermione, how?"
"They spiked the candy on the train," Hermione answered with a huge grin on her face. "They had a potion that they sprayed over the candy supplies, and it was linked to the scroll. They made the potion over summer, and it's several grade levels above what they're currently learning in class."
Harry nodded his head and swirled a barrel roll around Hermione while he thought about it. Potions were harder to track back to the magic user, unless they were sloppy in cleaning up. It was brilliant if one actually thought about it.
Lining up with her again, he smirked and leaned forward to give her a warning. "Last one around has to tell the twins."
With that, the two shot off as fast as their brooms would let them. Hermione's was faster in the straightaway, but with the turns they had to pull off, Harry actually kept almost dead even. The hardest part of the impromptu race was the fact that they had to weave through the others students that had been taking laps as well.
The fact that they joined in the race after being lapped just made it more interesting to the two in the lead. It seemed that there was a silent challenge in zipping past someone on a broom. The pair held the lead, primarily due to their momentum and the large gap that built up before the others reacted.
By the time they got to the queue for the course again, even Madam Hooch was caught up in racing fever, calling out for them to go faster.
Three such laps later, with Harry and Hermione coming in with a nearly dead heat for first, the bet was long forgotten, and the queue had been cleared. Hooch ordered the entire group to ground, and had them start putting up their assigned brooms back in the slots they had been resting in before class. "That was some impressive flying from all of you; I'm awarding Mister Potter and Miss Granger fifty points each for helping their fellow students."
As the cheers died down, Hooch pointed to the castle. "If there's no further questions, how about an early dismissal for dinner?"
"Is there a way for us to get more training?" Hermione chimed in before even the first student could turn to head inside. "I mean I know that first year students can't have broomsticks of their own, but what would we need to do if we wanted to fly more?"
"You just have to ask, my schedule is usually free and I love helping students earn their wings. Just ask the heads of your house to talk to me, and we'll set up a time," the hawk-like woman offered with a bright smile. "Why do you ask? You were flying brilliantly today for a first timer..."
"But I still have a fear of heights... I think getting more training on brooms can help me best… if..." Hermione admitted with a deep blush burning on her cheeks. "If it wasn't for Harry, I think I would have been too nervous to even leave where I could touch ground..."
"Oh... That makes sense... if you'd like I could set up an hour every week for extra lessons for you Ms. Granger..." Hooch offered while indicating for everyone else to head in. "Unless you want lessons yourselves, go on in to supper... if you want lessons stick around."
By the time the group had split, Madam Hooch had five students around her, including Harry, Hermione, and the quiet Su Li. "Mister Potter?" Hooch inquired, puzzled as to why he had remained.
"Oh... well I was hoping to help you out Madam Hooch... and well... I think I could get better by helping others..." Harry answered while scratching the back of his head, knowing that he was the odd one out of the group.
"That is admirable Mr. Potter, and I believe I could use your help... if your studies permit of course..."
"Of course," Harry agreed before letting her outline what she was thinking for a training program using their free Wednesday afternoons for meeting up to fly.
After the general agreement about the extra lessons, Hermione and Harry began walking to the school a bit behind a pair of boys from their year that were having trouble with flying. "Umm... Harry? Hermione? I... I was wondering..." a quiet voice asked them from behind, causing them both to pause mid-step and look back, to see Su who was holding one of her books close to her chest. "Excuse me... I-I'm Su Li... We talked before at dinner..."
"I remember," Hermione answered with a warm smile, "You were the one that told us about Ron..."
"Yes... well... I have a bit of a problem..." the Asian girl admitted while looking down in shame. "You see, I am struggling with some of the material... and I know as a Ravenclaw we're supposed to be intelligent..."
"Calm down Su... here let's sit over there," Harry tried to soothe her, pointing over to a secluded area of trees. Getting a nod out of the quiet spoken girl they walked over and settled in, with Madam Hooch keeping an eye on them as she tended to the Quidditch lockers a few feet away. "What's wrong?"
"It's... embarrassing... but I'm doing horribly in History of Magic..." Su admitted quietly while fidgeting under their gaze. "I just cannot stay awake during lectures, and... I... I struggle with reading English..."
"I see..." Hermione answered after a pregnant pause, while patting Su on the knee, in an attempt to get her to meet Hermione's warm eyes, and she slowly did, her timid eyes lifting slowly. "We'll help you out with that, meet us in the common rooms tonight after 8, and we'll go over it. Okay?"
"S...sure thing..." Su agreed with a blush and a slight bow of her head. "Thank you Hermione..."
"It's our pleasure... after all, we could be friends..." Harry offered with a smile of his own, causing the smaller girl to gasp in shock and look at Harry in awe. The adoration she was giving him made him rather uneasy. "Err... what?"
"You... you want to be friends?" Su asked in a quiet voice, "You... you are not just saying this to make me feel better?"
"Of course not, why would you think that?" Hermione cut in with a worried tone to her voice, there was something Harry-ish about how she was acting just now.
"W...Well... he is... The-Boy-Who-Lived... and you are the brightest witch in our grade... I... I'm just nobody..." Su answered with a quiet whimper as her eyes drifted down to the ground, and she began poking her forefingers together. "I... do not mean to be a bother..."
Harry and Hermione shared a look, one that said more to each other than voices ever could say. As one they stood up and offered a hand each to the shy girl. "Come on, let's get you to meet the twins before you decide to be friends with us," Hermione started when Su's hand slipped into hers.
Harry picked up as they helped her to her feet and began walking the girl in. "Quite right, after all... They just might choose to be your friends too."
If Su had any inkling about what she was about to get sucked into, she would have gone running and screaming into the afternoon sunlight. As she didn't she just walked with her two new possible friends. After all, if Harry and Hermione were this nice, how bad could these twins possibly be?
How bad at all…?