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chapter 40 - mixing a drink

Almost three weeks after Harry and Hermione had stuck the Mandrake leaves to the inside of their mouths, the two of them and Fleur were walking around the castle grounds. One of the ingredients for the animagus potion was a teaspoon of fresh dew, taken from grass that hasn't been walked over or been hit by direct sunlight for an entire week. This was problematic, because if sunlight didn't normally shine somewhere, there wasn't likely to be grass. So the goal for today's walk, apart from spending a day in each other's company, was to find a location where they could put up a shader that would protect a patch of grass from the sun.

This was a little harder than most would think; if they set up the shader right in the middle of a grassy field then some of the students would get curious, and while examining it would walk through the spot where they needed no one to walk. If they were open about it, then people like Malfoy would purposely come and walk through it or move the shader just to mess up what they were doing. So they had to find a grassy area that was out of view of the students and was not commonly walked upon.

As they walked the three of them chatted about what they were going to do this summer. "The two of you just have to come to France for a week or two. I can show you the magical sights in Nice, and Harry could visit his family's holiday home!" Fleur sounded excited.

Harry and Hermione were quick to agree. "We always go to Nice for at least a week to visit Ali and her family, so convincing my parents to add a week might be doable, especially if Harry's place is livable as saving on the hotel fees would make it easier. Mum and dad need to hire agency dentists to fill in when we go away," Hermione explained.

"You and your family will need to come to Britain as well. There is much more to Britain than a drafty Scottish castle and it's really much warmer in the summer," Harry invited. "Places like the Lake District are naturally beautiful, and there are places with amazing history."

"Oh I will definitely come for a visit, I will try to convince my parents to come and to bring my little sister Gabby," Fleur replied, smiling at the idea that she would get to spend most of her summer with Harry and Hermione.

"Won't you need to ask your parents first?" Hermione asked

"Non. I will be of age by then. It will be my choice. Though I will of course tell them where I will be and ask if they wish to come," Fleur explained. Harry and Hermione suddenly realised that they had no clue when Fleur's birthday was. That was something they would have to deal with but they had plenty of options to find out.

They eventually found a hollow of trees on the Far Side of the lake from the Castle just inside the Forbidden Forest. The three teens set up the shaders, being very careful where they stepped.

-ϟϟϟ-

Ali had been Harry and Hermione's first choice to ask about Fleur's birthday, and while she could remember the month it was in she couldn't remember the date. That had been easily solved by a conversation with Madam Maxime. Strictly speaking, as a headmistress the towering woman was not supposed to disclose any of her students personal details; however, given the relationship between Fleur and the two British students and that there was actually official betrothal contracts between them that would have the information they were seeking in them, she was less giving out private information and more saving them the need to spend time going through the paperwork. The 16th of May was a little closer than Harry and Hermione would like, but it gave them three and a half weeks to plan something. After 0all, in the magical world seventeen was a big milestone and not something they could let pass unmarked.

At the end of April was the second new moon of the month, and it was finally the day Harry and Hermione needed to make the animagus potion. They had spent the last week finding all the ingredients they needed, thankfully Hagrid had taken them around the forest to find the required Death's Head Hawk Moth chrysalis - not that Harry or Hermione had much to worry about in the forest after all their training, but Hagrid had a good idea where to find what they needed, rather than them blindly searching for days. Now they were up just before the crack of dawn, slowly making their way down to the castle's entrance hall. Harry was half-supporting Hermione as they walked, as in her excitement Hermione had barely been able to sleep the night before and was now doing a zombie impersonation. They were interrupted when Filch barked out at them, "What are you doing out of bed at this hour. Trying to slink back into your common room after staying out all night?"

Harry yawned. "Nope, an ongoing project with Professor McGonagall, time sensitive, has to be done at dawn today. We are meeting her in the entrance hall," Harry informed the caretaker.

That got the man to calm somewhat but not completely. "Well I'll come with you and see about that. And if Professor McGonagall isn't there, then I will have you both in detention scrubbing toilets." Filch led them down to the entrance hall, taking a few short cuts that even Harry didn't know about that made the trip a lot faster. In fact, even though Filch had met them on the fifth floor, they seemed to only go down three floors to get to the ground floor. When they got there the hall was empty, and Filch was looking smug until a minute later when Professor McGonagall came walking down the grand staircase.

"Professor, I found these two sneaking through the school. They came to have an appointment to meet you here, can you confirm that?"

"I can, they are receiving special instruction from me, and they will need to be outside at dawn and sundown every day for the foreseeable future. Though they will only need a few minutes for each one, I will write them each a pass later today," Professor McGonagall informed Filch as she walked up to the group.

Filch looked a little disappointed but accepted her words. Professor McGonagall led them out of the castle and the more they walked around the lake the more the excitement built in the two teens. The professor took the time to ask how Harry was feeling after the revelations in the trial that was just over a month ago now.

"Well Professor, it mostly was stuff I already knew or suspected. A few people have been treating me differently, but I'm mostly too busy with tournament prep to worry about it. I'm a little disappointed that after everything the headmaster did, all that's really happening to him is that he is losing his job at the school."

"Don't forget the loss of twenty thousand galleons, what's that in muggle money, almost £100'000?"

"£99'600, Professor," Hermione added a little unnecessarily.

"Indeed, that's no small amount of money Mr Potter," the professor said, and Harry conceded the point.

"What about the headmaster's replacement, has that been decided yet?" Harry wanted to change the subject.

"No. The board has time so they see no need to rush. A few of them are asking me to throw my hat into the ring, but I'm unsure if I should, I went along with Albus so much that I failed you almost as much as he did," Professor McGonagall admitted to Harry.

"No Professor!" Harry said sternly. "The truth was hidden from you to keep you from acting. That he felt he needed to hide the truth from you tells me that the headmaster knew that you would do the right thing if you had the opportunity."

"Is that really how you see it, Mr. Potter? All I can see is that I failed you and your parents. I was right there and had the opportunity to say no and take you, but I agreed to let you be placed with those people. That's not the sort of person I would want looking after my children if I had any." Only someone who knew McGonagall well could detect the notes of regret in her voice. The stoic Scotswoman was not accustomed to showing her emotions to the young adults in her care.

"Professor, you knew Lily and James well, correct?" Hermione asked, and Professor McGonagall agreed. "Would you say it was like them to not tell you that they had named you as a potential guardian for Harry in their will? Or would you say that it is more likely that they did somehow tell you, and that you either never got the information or the information was Obliviated from your mind to prevent you getting in Dumbledore's way?"

That caused the professor to pause. "I…I would say Lily and James would definitely have told me, would have told all of us. Do you really think Albus would have done that?"

"I don't know, but look at what happened when Director Bones moved Harry out of his relatives. Suddenly the director was Obliviated, and while I have no evidence it seems to be a worrying pattern of people only knowing what the headmaster wants them to know," Hermione explained her suspicions. Harry felt a sudden chill go down his back as Hermione spoke. Her suspicions seemed to fit together too well. Was the Headmaster really going that far just to keep him at the Dursleys? If so, why? What did the old man get out of that? "But back to the original point, I also think you would make a great Headmistress, and as the deputy you already know how to do work that goes with the job. And I don't think you would let certain, um...sub-optimal situations continue," Hermione pulled them back on topic.

"Sub-optimal situations, Miss Granger?"

"Um…well, Professor Snape marking down Gryffindors and taking points for every little thing while giving points to Slytherin for remembering to wear their shoes on the right feet or for remembering to keep breathing." Professor McGonagall gave Hermione a look and Hermione wilted a little. "OK that's a little bit of hyperbole but he is still harsher on his marking for Gryffindors and he looks for an excuse to take points from us, but seems to give points to Slytherin for any little thing."

"Are there any other things you think need changing? Just to get a student's perspective," Professor McGonagall asked, and it was obvious that she was starting to think about going for the job.

"Well, stopping Professor Trelawney from handing out fake death prophecies would be good for poor Neville's nerves, and a history teacher who covers the whole syllabus and not just goblin rebellions, and who isn't a cure for insomnia, would be nice." Professor McGonagall and Hermione continued to talk as they walked around the lake, but Harry remained quiet, considering what Hermione had said about Dumbledore. Once they reached the hollow trees, all thoughts that weren't about becoming an animagus faded to nothing as they focused on collecting the ingredients they needed.

Collecting the dew wasn't difficult, but it was delicate work that required a steady hand, and it also wasn't particularly quick. A teaspoon of dew meant collecting the little droplets while being very careful not to spill any while lying down in wet grass. It was not the most uncomfortable or fiddly thing they had ever done to make a potion, though, and soon they both had what they needed, with Hermione bearing out Harry by almost 5 minutes.

Professor McGonagall opened a book and began instructing them on making the potion. "First, you add the dew to your crystal vials." The stern but kind tone of the professor's voice was calming, and the two excited teens were able to keep their hands steady and add the dew to the obtained that this potion would brew in. "Now you need to release the spells on your Mandrake leaf, but leave them in your mouth until I say. The general all purpose nullification charm is all you need."

There were two muttered "Finite Incantatem" spells cast, and despite the suddenly overwhelming twist of bitterness from a leaf that had been in his mouth for a month, Harry noticed that Professor McGonagall was hiding a smirk. "You know, when I did this potion, all I used was a sticking charm. I had to put up with the taste for an entire month." Harry definitely felt some sympathy for her. "Now, you need to add the Mandrake in the light of the dawn, the sun must be partly obscured by the geographical horizon. That's important here, because there are a lot of trees on the horizon and they don't count as far as dawn's light is concerned. They do, however, count as an obstruction, so you will need to add the Mandrake leaf when the sun is both peeking over the trees but still partly lower than the mountain the trees are on. This only gives you a window of 106 seconds at this time of year, and you need to be holding the vial in such a way that the sun's rays can hit it. So, if you position yourselves so that the sun is on your left and I'm on your right, and you hold the vial in your right hand, then I will tell you when to add your leaves." The two scrambled to do as instructed, Hermione took hold of Harry's hand for a moment and gave it an excited squeeze before settling in behind Harry rather than beside so that neither of them cast a shadow on the other.

"OK it's about three minutes until the sun is in position, I need each of you to pluck a single hair from your heads while you recite the incantation 'Amato Animo Animato Animagus'" They did as instructed, Professor McGonagall had drilled this into them long before they came out here, but her instructions and presence helped with the timing. "Now," was the only instruction they had, and each of them finally got to fish the soggy lump of bitter vegetable matter out of their mouth. The Mandrake leaves had lost all of their structure in the last month and more resembled a lump of canned spinach. They pushed it into the crystal vials, and as soon as the Mandrake touched the light and green dew, it started to change colour to brown. "Now you just need to add your moth chrysalis, but you have an hour to do that and you're best doing that wherever you intend to keep the potion while it matures. If the potion is jostled too much once the chrysalis is added, then it won't work correctly. I suggest my office."

They agreed and followed Professor McGonagall into the castle. There were now a few early risers, mostly N.E.W.T. students doing time-sensitive projects for Herbology or Potions wandering around the castle, and a few gave them confused looks. It took Hermione connecting the dots for Harry to get this one. "Harry, we look like two students who have just been caught out of bed, but we have massive grins on our faces."

Once in the office, Professor McGonagall transfixed two small cupboards into the shelves of her Welsh dresser. One had the name Granger on the front while the other had Potter. Professor McGonagall didn't need to tell them what to do, they added the final ingredient and each placed their potion in the cupboard, and then closed and locked the door.

"Now we just need to wait for a thunderstorm, but until then the two of you will need to complete a small ritual every dawn and sunset." Shs pulled out a piece of parchment and wrote notes on it before separating them and handing one to each of them. "Here are your passes letting you bend the curfew rules. You get 30 minutes either side of dawn or sunset; that's more than enough time. It is important that you don't miss even a single sunset or sunrise. If you do, we will need to start over from the beginning with the Mandrake leaf. You need to recite the 'Amato Animo Animato Animagus' with your wand pointed at your heart while outside walking barefoot in the grass and nothing between your head and the sky. This includes hats and hoods as well as tree canopies, if it's raining you are going to suck it up a day and get wet. Any questions?" The two teenagers shook their heads, they already read all this in the books the professor had lent them. "Good, now off you go I have a few things to do before breakfast." The professor dismissed them with a smile.

As they walked away from McGonagall's office, Harry turned to Hermione. "So, now that we need to go outside barefooted and unhooded, what are the odds that we are about to get a week of freezing cold rain?"

Hermione looked at him like she was trying to work out a puzzle, but at the same time trying not to smirk. "Well, given this is Britain where rain is a defining characteristic, and we are in the Scottish Highlands so that goes double on the rain. It's always cold here, factor in your luck and that you have apparently decided to tempt fate, I calculate a 372% chance of a week of 'freezing cold rain,' as you put it." Hermione was barely able to finish before she broke down in giggles. "Now come on, let's go get some breakfast. I'm looking forward to a meal that tastes right for the first time in weeks."

The two soon fell into a routine about their rituals. They would get up before dawn and get ready for their school day, not wanting to bother coming all the way back up to the tower before breakfast. They didn't bother putting on shoes or socks (for Harry) or tights (for Hermione). They would then go down and out into the main grounds of the castle. A few students who were also milling around at this time gave them strange looks for walking around barefoot, but the few who asked accepted the answer of "We need to be barefoot for the project we are doing. It sucks but it will be worth it in the end." They would go outside, and depending on the weather they would go to the nearest patch of grass to perform the ritual and run back inside, or they would take a small stroll to one of the castle's lawns. The shorter trips were quickly followed by drying and warming charms out of necessity. Despite Harry's grim predictions about the weather, the days of freezing cold rain were sporadic and dotted around rather than a week of constant misery.

Once they were done with the ritual and they finished getting dry and dressed, Harry and Hermione would go sit in the Great Hall and pull out any homework they had to do. While they were technically supposed to return to their common rooms, it was for such a short time that no-one seemed to mind. They weren't the only students who did this, there were a few Gryffindors and Ravenclaws as well. Hermione's guess was that the two houses who stayed just didn't want to walk back up the changing staircases, and as long as they were in the Great Hall sitting and doing nothing disruptive the professors overlooked it.

Their days went as normal, going to classes and preparing for the tournament. Fleur was a little grumpy for a few days as she missed having breakfast with the two, but after talking it out she would join them at the start of breakfast rather than halfway through like she normally did, and Harry and Hermione would wait for her to join them before eating. The evening ritual was more of the same, only as time went on it got later and later. Once they were done with the evening ritual they went straight back to the tower and collapsed into their beds, the earlier start making them tired long before the majority of their year mates.

-ϟϟϟ-

The preparations for Fleur's birthday were processing quickly. Harry and Hermione had done a lot of running around to get everything the way they wanted it, but the most difficult thing was keeping it from Fleur. This was mostly done by one of them taking Fleur for a walk or a secluded spot for some alone time while the other did something to prepare the celebration. The only downside was that, with everything going on, it cut down the amount of time Harry and Hermione could spend alone together. They still had their monthly encounter in the Room of Requirement, but outside of that, training and preparations for Fleur just ate up their time.

The night before Fleur's party was a Friday. Her actual birthday fell on a Tuesday this year, but there wasn't really an opportunity to hold her party then, so they were holding the party on the Saturday before. That helped keep it a surprise and gave them the whole day to celebrate. With all the preparations done already, Harry and Hermione took the opportunity to reclaim their date night and relax in the Room of Requirement together. The two of them collapsed into the large comfortable sofa in front of the fire and cuddled together.

"As much as I enjoy spending time with Fleur I have missed this," Hermione said, her head resting on Harry's chest.

"I know what you mean, we are so focused on building something with Fleur that it is easy for us to forget we need some time too," Harry had his arm around her and was casually fiddling with one of Hermione's bushy curls that was brushing up against his hand.

"We need to remember to make time for us in the future. A part of me wants to draw up a timetable, but it wouldn't work, not really. People aren't robots, and emotions are a big part about building something like this. Emotions don't care about scheduling."

"True. Though as I recall you did make a time table for our dates last year." Harry grinned.

"No, I didn't. I made time tables to study for our exams and left room for our extra curricular activities. You know, such as flying and snogging," Harry could tell Hermione was smiling as she said that but he had no idea how, as she was facing away from him.

"Speaking of snogging." Harry started to lightly tickle the base of Hermione's ear in a spot he knew was sensitive for her, just like on a cat.

Hermione lifted her head so she could look Harry in the eyes. "Why Mr. Potter, I do believe you are trying to seduce me."

Harry knew Hermione was quoting or maybe paraphrasing a quote, but he didn't recognise the quote at all so he decided that he would quote something else entirely. "Do, or do not. There is no try." Then he lent down to catch Hermione's mouth with his own, but unfortunately Hermione had burst out laughing at his quote, so the smooth move he had planned was abandoned in favour of holding Hermione so she didn't fall off his lap as she laughed. They spent some time together, but unfortunately just as things were starting to heat up there was a buzzing in each of their pockets, as the alarm charms they had placed on the pocket watches they had gotten from Hermione's parents the previous Christmas reminded them they had to go perform their animagus ritual.

A/N

Ok, I didn't like what I had for fleurs birthday so I have done a little bit of retconning. the party in chapter 33 is now for Alison's birthday. and fleur will get one of her own.