Harry had a good night's sleep, since he didn't forget to clear his mind before sleeping. This Occlumency thing that Sirius taught him was really paying off, and it was a Sunday so he could relax for a day before having to go back to classes tomorrow. "Should I finish the History of Magic homework first or should I finish Snape's homework first. Decisions, decisions." Harry thought to himself, as he got up to take a shower. While the water was pouring down on his head, Harry once again thought to himself "I guess I'll finish Snape's assignment first. I really don't feel like hearing him take away House Points for me turning in late assignments." The shower was enjoyable and warm, and Harry felt like nothing could go wrong today. He actually even prayed that nothing would go wrong today, just so he could spend it with Daphne and his friends. He got out of the shower after taking it for fifteen minutes, then got dressed and headed to the Common Room to wait for his friends.
They came down from their respective dormitories after he sat down and started his Potions essay that Snape assigned them. "HARRY! Why didn't you tell me that Daphne was in Gryffindor now?" Hermione asked him. When she yelled at him, it scared him so badly that he spilled his ink all over his parchment. He groaned when he looked at what remained of his Potions essay. "Good morning Hermione. How are you? I'm fine, besides the fact that I now have to start my Potions essay over again." Harry told Hermione. Daphne sat in Harry's lap and kissed him, while Hermione asked him again "Why didn't you tell me that Daphne was in Gryffindor now? You could've told me during Prefect Duty last night. Did it just not cross your mind at the time?" Harry looked at his girlfriend, then looked at his best friend and explained to Hermione "I didn't tell you because I wanted it to be a surprise. Any other questions 'Mione?" She shook her head at him, and Ron sat across from Harry with his Potions essay that he needed to do also. "Did you ever figure out the properties of the moonstone and its usage in potion-making?" Ron asked Harry.
Harry looked at his best mate, and sadly shook his head at him. "If a certain someone could help us out, we'd get done faster and could hang out longer today." Harry said with a sigh. Hermione and Daphne both sighed at Harry, but in the end it was Daphne who helped Harry and Hermione who helped Ron. "So those were the properties of the moonstone. I thought it was just what it does." Ron told Hermione when she explained it to him. Harry kissed Daphne on the lips, and told her "Thank you for helping me out Daph. I owe you big time for this. I promise you I'll pay you back during our one year anniversary." Daphne kissed him back, then told him "I'll hold you to that , now that you and Ron are finished, what should we do for the rest of the day?" Hermione then asked everyone "How about we go to Hogsmeade? It's still technically Hogsmeade weekend, and next weekend is the last one of the term." Harry thought about what Hermione suggested, then told her "We can do that. I have to get my Firebolt looked at anyway." Harry ran up to the dormitory to get his Firebolt, and came back to the Common Room with it.
"Alright. Ready to go everyone?" Harry asked them. They all nodded their heads, and headed out of the Gryffindor Common Room towards the Entrance Hall. When they were going down the Grand Staircase, they ran into Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle. Harry was the first to draw his wand and pointed it at Malfoy, and Hermione and Ron quickly followed suit. "What do you want Malfoy?" Harry asked with his voice full of anger and malice. "Easy Potter, for once I'm not messing with you. I'd watch your back though from here on out." Malfoy replied, as he walked past them with his two cronies. "One of these days I'm going to murder that little ferret." Harry growled when they left. "That's what I like to hear Harry. Give in to your inner Dark Wizard and everything will open up to you." Shade told Harry inside of his head. "Go away Shade. I know you're influencing what I say. Just leave me alone. I won't become a Dark Wizard." Harry thought back. "I'll never go away Harry. I'm going to stay until you become what you despise: a Dark Wizard. I'll keep in touch Mr. Potter. Remember, you'll end up as a Dark Wizard as long as my presence is in you." Shade thought to Harry while laughing evilly. "Harry I know we all don't like that blonde ponce, but you don't have to kill him." Hermione told him. Harry nodded at her, and they continued to walk towards the Entrance Hall. They reached the Entrance Hall five minutes after their encounter with Malfoy, and proceeded to walk out of the door.
"May I ask where you four think you are going?" a cold voice asked Harry and the others from behind them. They turned around to see Harry's least favorite teacher, Professor Snape. "Well sir, we are going to Hogsmeade since it is still a Hogsmeade weekend." Daphne explained to Snape. Harry and Ron just glared at the Potions Professor, and Hermione looked at Daphne like she had a death wish. "Carry on then. I just thought it would be suspicious for you all to go to the Quidditch Pitch when Mr. Potter is the only one on the team." replied Snape. He turned and walked away from them, while his cloak billowed behind him. Harry walked out of the huge double doors of the Entrance Hall, while everyone else watched Snape walk away. Ron was the first to notice Harry leaving, and told him "Oy mate, don't leave us behind. We're all going to the same place." Hermione and Daphne then noticed that Harry was continuing to Hogsmeade without them, and they had to run to catch up with him. "What is wrong with you Harry? It's like you're trying to distance yourself off from us." Daphne asked him. "It's nothing Daph. I just really want to get my Firebolt looked at." Harry lied quickly.
He hadn't told anybody about what happened in the Shadow Corridor, as he called it. He could feel pieces of him constantly changing. He could feel that Shade was slowly taking control of his body, but he was fighting back with everything he had. He had a strong resolution to not give in to Shade, and stay the good person that he was. "Well let's get a move on then. If we hurry, we can make it to the Three Broomsticks in time for lunch." Ron told them, since he was thinking with his stomach at the moment. Harry smiled at his best friends and his girlfriend, and they all started running towards Hogsmeade, since the idea of lunch was appealing. The only reason it was appealing, was because of the fact that none of them had breakfast yet. It took them five minutes to run to Hogsmeade, and another five minutes for Harry to take his Firebolt to the new Quality Quidditch Supplies shop to get looked at. "You were telling the truth. It's a genuine Firebolt. Zero to one hundred and fifty miles per hour. An Unbreakable Braking Charm, and superb balance and precision. It's the best broomstick out right now." the clerk told Harry in praise.
"That's all good to know, it really is, but can you please tell me what's wrong with my broom?" Harry asked the clerk. The clerk nodded and took the Firebolt to his back room. Harry spent half an hour browsing items in the store, until the clerk returned to the counter. "I've finished inspecting it, and it seems that this Firebolt is in need of a new Unbreakable Braking Charm and it needs to have it's balance recalibrated. Also, the acceleration is off by a lot. It should take me at least five days to fix the broom. I'll give you half off since you're a Hogwarts student, and are the Gryffindor Seeker Mr. Potter. Come back in five days, and your broom will be as good as new." the clerk told Harry. Harry nodded at the clerk, looked at his Firebolt, and paid the clerk the thirty-five Galleons for fixing his Firebolt. It was a good thing that the last Quidditch Match of the term was a week and a half away, or he would be screwed. He walked out of the Quidditch shop, and headed for that Perfume Salon that Hermione and Daphne went to yesterday. He looked at how the building was decorated, and it was bright pink just like Umbridge's old office at Hogwarts. Harry was fighting his pride for going into the shop, but he knew if he didn't he couldn't get Daphne's anniversary gift. He took a deep breath of air, then headed inside of the Perfume Parlor hoping nobody he knew saw him. He walked towards the counter, and asked the clerk "My girlfriend was in here yesterday, and she told me about some perfume that was thirty-five Galleons and she couldn't get it. What was the name of that perfume?" The clerk looked at Harry up and down, then told him in a heavy French accent "The name of the perfume is L'amour de l'eau. It is exactly thirty-five Galleons, and I happen to have a bottle right here if you want to buy it."
Harry paid the man the thirty-five Galleons, and walked out of the Perfume Salon quick, fast and in a hurry. He walked outside and smelled his clothes, and he groaned when he smelled like perfume. "She better appreciate this anniversary gift." Harry thought to himself, while trying to get rid of the smell of perfume on his clothes. By the time he went to the Three Broomsticks, he managed to get most of the smell out of his clothes. He found his friends at the table in the back, and they were already eating their food and drinking their Butterbeers without him. He sat down at the table, looked at his friends and asked them "Did you guys order for me, or am I going to have to do that myself?" Ron didn't hear Harry since he was still eating his food, but Daphne and Hermione stopped eating and looked at Harry with guilt on their faces. "It's alright you two. I'm not mad at you or anything, I was just wondering if you remembered I came with you guys." Harry joked with them. He got up and walked to the bar stand, and told Madam Rosmerta "One Butterbeer with ginger, and some food please. Preferably, something spicy." He handed her five Galleons, and waited for her to bring back his food.
He had to wait for ten minutes for his order to come, and he grabbed it and headed back to the table where his friends were sitting. He sat down and started eating the food, but quickly stopped eating when he started chugging down his Butterbeer. He started coughing when the Butterbeer came down his throat the wrong way, and he spent two minutes coughing up a storm, while Daphne rubbed his back. "What's wrong Harry? Does the food taste bad?" Daphne asked him. He shook his head at Daphne, and told her in a hoarse voice "The food was fine. It was just too spicy. I know I asked for spicy food, but good lord that was hot." Daphne rubbed his back for a little while, so Harry would stop coughing. "Maybe you should tell her how spicy next time." Daphne joked at Harry. He smiled at her, and proceeded to eat his food cautiously afterward. He got used to the spiciness of the food after five spoonfuls, and finished his meal after a few minutes. "What do you guys want to do today? We still have another…" Harry looked at his watch, and continued "five or six hours before we have to be at the castle for dinner."
"How about we go visit the Shrinking Shack? We haven't been there since our third year." Ron suggested. Hermione and Harry could clearly remember the last time they visited the Shrinking Shack, and it almost didn't end well. Professor Lupin transformed into a werewolf, and tried to attack them, but Sirius stopped him. Pettigrew also tried to escape, but thanks to Harry's quick wandwork, he hit Wormtail with a Full Body-Bind Curse. They were both brought back out of this memory when Ron asked "Hello. Can you two hear me?" Hermione then replied to Ron "Yes we hear you, but did you forget what happened the last time we went to the Shrinking Shack?" Ron looked at Hermione in confusion, then went into a state of deep thought. "Oh, I forgot all about that. Look at it this way though, we won't be as close this time. We'll be where we were when Harry threw snow and mud at Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle." Harry looked at Hermione, Ron and Daphne and shrugged his shoulders at them. "He does have a point. We won't be going near the Shrinking Shack, but we will be able to see it." Harry told them. Daphne laid her head on Harry's shoulder, and told them "I'm okay with going. I've always wanted to see the Shrinking Shack, but my friends never wanted to go." Everyone looked at Hermione since she was the only one who still didn't want to go, and Ron pleaded with her "Come on Mione. Everyone else wants to go. What do you say?"
Hermione looked at her friends in disbelief, then she slowly relented. "Alright fine. Let's go to the Shrinking Shack." Hermione told them with a sigh. They all got up from the table, and headed towards the Shrieking Shack to see it. It took them five minutes to walk to the Shrieking Shack, but much to Ron and Harry's dismay, they had to walk past the Perfume Salon. "I'm going to be smelling like this for a week." Ron complained, as he smelled his clothes. "I feel your pain Ron. I definitely feel your pain." Harry agreed with his friend. Daphne and Hermione laughed at both of the boys, and Hermione reminded Ron "It was your idea to come to the Shrieking Shack. This is one of the consequences of your decisions." Harry and Daphne laughed at Hermione joking with Ron, and even Ron cracked a smile at his girlfriend. They continued to walk towards the Shrieking Shack, but when they got there, they were in for a surprise.