Chapter Eight
The next morning Harry and Sirius ate what they could of a multicourse breakfast Marta had prepared and apparated to an alley near King's Cross now that Harry could apparate with impunity. That was the least important of the changes to Harry's second year send off to Hogwarts, however. Both Harry and Sirius, having spent more quality time as family felt much more secure and only somewhat melancholy as they parted this year. They would still see each other Sundays, of course. In fact, Harry felt anticipation for the school year overcome his regret at leaving Sirius and Potter Manor as he, Hermione and Neville caught up with each other and located an empty compartment on the Hogwarts Express.
Shortly after Hermione and Neville had sorted their trunks, Anthony Goldstein joined them, giving Hermione the chance to grill him about the wizarding culture in Japan where he had spent most of the summer with his family. Harry and Neville listened in, asking occasional questions about Samurai wizards until Hermione seemed to have the information she needed.
At that point Anthony brought up their testing out of DADA which was still a less than popular topic with Hermione. However, she was interested in the DADA practice study group and Harry thought it likely she would overcome her pique at their testing out of the course to join that. Neville was interested as well, but since they would be using different text books, he was going to see how it worked out before deciding whether to join them.
Blaise Zambini and Padma Patel stopped by during the train ride – Padma with her sister Parvati but separately from Blaise – wanting to know when the first study group would meet. They all ultimately agreed everyone should meet before dinner the first day of classes outside the Great Hall, after they knew who had tested out and what their schedules were, since there might be other people as well. Remus was setting the second-year tests for 8:30 a.m. the first day of classes, so that they would be done by the time of the earliest second year class which didn't start until 10:00.
It was good to see his friends again, Harry reflected as they pulled into the Hogsmeade station and he walked with Neville, Hermione and Anthony to the carriages. He hadn't remembered they were pulled by thestrals – the ones who in other Harry's timeline had taken him and his friends to the Ministry. Harry walked up to one while waiting for their turn to board a carriage. He liked the leathery winged horse-like beasts, possibly because they were part of the Peverell House heraldry, and he stood for a moment petting one until Hermione demanded to know what he was doing.
Harry snickered, realizing how he must look, stroking empty air. "There are thestrals pulling the carriage. Only people who have seen death can see them though. Can you see them, Neville?"
Neville nodded. "I can see it, but I didn't know what it was. I was with my uncle when he died when I was nine. I guess that must be why."
Hermione looked skeptical but when Harry took her hand and placed it on the muzzle of a thestral she was convinced. He did the same for Anthony who couldn't see them either, before they got a carriage of their own to ride up to the castle.
The welcome feast was as good as before – better if you counted the lack of potioned pumpkin juice – and the sorting ceremony was fun to watch as the eleven-year-olds learned where they would live for the next seven years. Ginny Weasley went to Gryffindor again, and Ashley Ogden went to Hufflepuff. Harry clapped with his Housemates for the first years selected for Ravenclaw although Harry didn't yet know any of them in this timeline. However, he was struck with familiarity for a blonde first year girl named Luna Lovegood and he realized she had become one of the friends older Harry had flown with to the Ministry in his fifth year.
Up in the second year Ravenclaw boys' dorm Harry found that he had one of the beds closest to a window this year. He 'unpacked' to the extent of putting a picture of Sirius and himself on his bedside table and a picture of James and Lily Potter on the shelf of his study carrel. Harry then remembered to set a charm to get up the next morning.
"Could you wake me when you wake up?" Anthony asked, noticing him setting the charm. "I don't want to miss the DADA test."
"I'll wake you when I get back to take my shower." Harry said ruefully. "I promised Sirius I'd exercise this year. He ramped up our fencing over the summer and he doesn't want me to get out of condition. He doesn't think dueling and fencing with me once a week on Sundays would prevent that, even with quidditch practice."
Anthony grimaced, clearly horrified by the very idea and Harry laughed.
"You're testing out of DADA too?" Terry Boot asked Anthony who nodded. "I decided just to take it with the class. Seems simpler." Terry said.
"Why would you want to test out?" Michael Corner asked, not having heard about the test out potential since he hadn't received an O on his DADA final.
Terry and Anthony looked at Harry who said, "I asked to test out because I looked at the DADA professor's books and thought I could learn more from the ones Professor Lupin had assigned last year." He was more diplomatic with Michael who didn't have a choice than he had been with those who did have a choice. Michael clearly thought that left a lot unsaid but lights out was rung and they scrambled for their nightclothes.
Harry mirror called Sirius briefly from inside his bed curtains before going to sleep. He had stopped calling on a nightly basis once Dumbledore was no longer in the castle but Sirius had wanted Harry to let him know Harry had arrived safely. As he drifted off to sleep under the Ravenclaw blue eiderdown, Harry mused with contentment that unlike last year, this year was going to be perfectly ordinary.
-o0o-
When the charm woke him at 6:00 a.m. Harry felt it was entirely too early to get up but dragged himself out of bed and into his workout clothes. Harry had decided that while the weather held, he would warm up with a run then finish with fencing drills and exercises. He wouldn't exercise on Quidditch game days and in fact had only promised Sirius he'd exercise at least three times a week. Harry was planning to see how it went and how tired he got waking up so early. However, he tentatively planned to exercise six days a week – not including the morning following his Astronomy class when he fully intended to sleep in.
For today he planned to run at the quidditch pitch since that was a set distance, and see how far he ran in twenty minutes.
When he reached the quidditch pitch he realized he wasn't the only one running there that morning as Oliver Wood, the Gryffindor quidditch team captain came out of the dressing room just as Harry started to run.
"Hey, Potter." Wood greeted him as he fell in beside Harry.
"Hey, Wood." Harry grinned at him. He didn't mind the company, and he liked Oliver Wood.
"How far do you plan to run?" Oliver asked, breathing easily.
"I'm just warming up. Twenty minutes. I'm going to see today how far that is."
Oliver nodded. "What are you warming up for?"
"Fencing exercises." At Oliver's surprise Harry added, "My father started getting serious about my fencing training over the summer – of course I'm behind. I was supposed to start when I was six or seven, I guess. But he doesn't want me to get out of shape during the school year when I'm only fencing once a week."
"You'll still be playing quidditch won't you?" Oliver checked.
"Oh, yes. Unless Davies finds a better seeker, anyhow." Harry said.
"Unlikely." Oliver said, glumly, and Harry gave him a sympathetic look. The Gryffindor seeker was truly terrible and Harry could only guess how much that was killing Oliver.
"But it's nothing like fencing, and I need to keep my legs limber and in shape according to my father." Wood nodded but his glum thoughts were clearly on his seeker at that point, and Harry was sorry the topic had come up.
"You're going to have try outs this year, aren't you? Maybe you'll get some new players." Harry suggested, and Oliver nodded sharply and didn't look quite as down as tryouts seemed to lead him to a different train of thought. They jogged companionably until Harry's charm dinged to tell him 20 minutes had passed. At that point he peeled off with a wave and jogged over to the flat grass field where flying lessons were held where he began to run through some of the fencing exercises Sirius had taught him. When his charm dinged again to tell him he'd been exercising for an hour, he was perspiring freely but not terribly winded. After all, this wasn't nearly as hard as wand and blade fencing Sirius for two or three hours. Musing that he'd bring a towel the next day, Harry ran back to the castle avoiding the main hallways given his bedraggled appearance.
Harry reached the Ravenclaw dorm by 7:15 with just enough time to wake Anthony and take a quick shower then rush down to breakfast before the test. Hermione had seen him come into the common room sweaty and told him she'd save him a seat but went down to breakfast on her own, clearly thinking he wouldn't be ready anytime soon. She looked surprised when Anthony and Harry joined her at a quarter to eight and began assembling breakfast sandwiches they could eat quickly.
"I cut it close this time." Harry admitted to her smirk. "Fortunately, our first class is usually 9 or later. It's only today that I have to take a test at 8:30." He grinned when she pursed her lips in disapproval as she remembered why he had to be up early.
When they had eaten, Harry, Anthony and Padma walked together to the classroom that had been designated for their tests. They saw that Daphne Greengrass and Blaise Zambini were already there waiting, and moved across the room to greet them.
They soon discovered from Remus Lupin that the five of them were the only second years who had both received an O on their final and had determined to test out of the class. In fact, Remus told them with a grin, across all the years the only students who had chosen that option were either Ravenclaws or Slytherins, but second year had more students testing out than the rest of the years put together. When he said this, Remus smirked at Harry who only shrugged one shoulder. "I feel certain no one here today will regret their choice, though." He said dryly, leaving the clear implication about the regrets of those who were not testing out unsaid.
Remus smiled and had them take seats after which he passed out the exams and exam books but told them not to open them until he directed them to do so. Remus explained that the test was split into two parts, written and practical. He gave all the students but Harry numbers reflecting their last name alphabetical order and told them that he would be telling them, but not Harry, to put down their quills and hand in their exams half an hour after the test began.
After that, he wanted them to remain in their seats until they entered the adjoining classroom in the order of the numbers he had just given them, as he came to open the door for the next person. He asked that they work or read quietly during this period since Harry would still be taking his test. When each person finished with the practical portion which constituted a pathway with obstacles leading from the near door of the classroom to the door to the hall, they would exit the door to the hall and be free to go. Remus would then reset the obstacles and open the door for the next person. He asked if everyone understood, and they nodded that they did.
Remus said that when the first hour was up, he would collect Harry's written exam. However, Harry would wait until all of those taking the midterm had finished if they hadn't already, and Remus would then set up the obstacles for Harry's practical final exam before bringing him in. When Harry nodded that he understood, Remus told them to open the test before them and begin.
Harry found the scenarios described in the test interesting and entertaining, but not remotely difficult. He was careful to answer slowly enough to make sure he didn't miss any 'tricky' elements that might twist the meaning of what he was reading, but felt quite confident in his answers as he neared the end of the test.
Remus called time for the written midterms and they were handed in. Then Remus began to beckon one student at a time to the door to the adjoining classroom, starting with Daphne. Harry suspected there was a silencing charm in play as no sound at all could be heard from the adjoining room. When Remus returned to get Anthony for his practical, Harry had finished his exam and said so, asking if he might turn it in so that people could talk during the remaining practical exams. Remus looked surprised but collected Harry's exam. When Anthony entered the next classroom for his practical exam, Padma, Blaise and Harry remained to be tested.
"How was it?" Padma asked Harry who shrugged slightly.
"Entertaining but not terribly difficult. Of course, I had Sirius available while I was studying, which might have helped." Padma and Blaise nodded. They knew Remus would change their final exam from the one Harry had just taken, but they seemed to find what he said encouraging.
"How about you?" Harry asked Padma. "Do you have any feel for how you did?"
"I was uncertain about a couple subparts of questions, but overall, I feel I did well. So long as we pass the midterm, it won't actually impact our grade, from what Professor McGonagall said. The final we take in June will be our real grade."
Harry nodded and looked at Blaise who had moved to take the seat between Harry and Padma. "And you?"
Blaise grinned easily. "I am confident I passed. I am not confident it would be worth an O, but since I was working to midterm in a single month I wasn't as concerned about that. As Padma says, our June test results will determine our true grade." Harry nodded.
"What class do you have after this?" Harry asked, pulling out his schedule which he held over to Blaise to look at. Blaise pulled out his as well and they compared. They would have charms and potions together this year they determined, all three students being pleased with the change. Harry wondered what Neville's schedule would be. He was sure he'd have Neville in at least one class since Professor McGonagall had gone back to the traditional mixed pairings of Houses for classes, rather than pairing two Houses together for every class as Dumbledore had done his final – and Harry's first – year.
At that point, Remus opened the door to the adjoining classroom and nodded at Padma. The boys wished her luck and she left to take her practical exam. Blaise followed her with his eyes and Harry smirked at him when Blaise finally looked back at Harry. Blaise laughed, shrugging his one shoulder shrug.
"Do you know who else from Slytherin is testing out?" Harry asked. "I know Peregrine Derrick is but not anyone else from the upper years."
"Theo Nott from third year is." Blaise said. "I explained about the professor when he called to ask what I knew about the test out option. I don't know who else is doing it."
"I've only ever met Nott at one House event." Harry said. "I don't know him well."
"He's not as bad as he might be." Blaise said, then smirked himself at Harry's bemused expression. "His father was reputed to have been a Death Eater, but one never knows how accurate rumors are, of course." Harry nodded thoughtfully. "Theo's all right as a casual acquaintance at least." Blaise added. "He's not a clod or a pig. And I don't know him better than that."
Harry nodded again, realizing that he now considered Blaise to be more than a casual acquaintance, and that Blaise apparently felt the same. He smiled as Remus opened the door to the adjoining room and beckoned to Blaise.
"Good luck!" Harry wished him.
"Thanks. You too." Blaise said with a smile, moving to the doorway to begin his practical exam.
When it was Harry's turn, Remus explained that Harry would essentially be running a gauntlet of obstacles, and the last of these would be a second-year-suitable short 'duel' with Remus which he would announce by telling Harry to 'prepare.' Harry grinned, and Remus laughed. "I know that look." He warned. "Don't get cocky."
"There should be a law against family friends reading all of your expressions because they saw them first on your parents." Harry mused under his breath and Remus laughed again.
"You can start at any time."
Again, Harry had no trouble with the material, which was largely identifying and dispelling minor jinxes, and in one case required extinguishing a fire with an aguamenti charm, which Harry wasn't sure was actually a DADA obstacle. He had no trouble with that either however. When Remus called 'Prepare!" Harry was primed to go, and whirled with an "Expelliarmus!" which disarmed Remus neatly then Harry followed up with a return arm motion to bind him with an "Incarcerus!"
He then stood over Remus who was looking at him bemusedly.
"Do you, perchance, know how to reverse that spell?" Remus asked dryly, testing the ropes binding his arms to his side.
Harry grinned. "Finite!" he said, dispelling the ropes and Remus stood up and brushed himself off.
"Full marks," he said shaking his head. "I must admit I was expecting something less decisive but you certainly completed the exercise! Well done!"
Harry beamed at him.
I'll grade all of your written exams before I leave today. You should have the results by lunch." Remus continued.
"Thank you, Remus. And thank you so much for being willing to do this." Harry said sincerely. "We all appreciate it."
Remus smiled. "Thank you for the opportunity." Remus said. "I'm doing translation piecework this year so I can stay available to take the DADA job next year, but translation doesn't pay terribly well. These extra assignments are a nice supplement."
Harry smiled. "Well, I'm glad it worked out. Do you need help cleaning up?"
Remus shook his head, waving Harry away. "No, you should be getting to class. This won't take me long."
"See you at the first practice session then." Harry said leaving Remus to set the classroom back in order as Harry hurried to get to herbology in time.
When he entered the greenhouse, Harry saw Neville and Hermione together at one table waving at him, and he headed towards them with a smile as Anthony moved into the fourth seat. "Hey Neville. I wondered what classes we might have together. I'm glad this is one of them!" he said referring to Neville's uncanny knack with plants.
Neville grinned. "I am too. I'm looking forward to this class, it's mandrakes." Harry looked over at the tables of potted plants and saw Neville was right. Having just the morning before gotten rid of a mandrake leaf that had been stuck to the roof of his mouth for a month, Harry wasn't feeling quite as fond of them as Neville, but he smiled at his friend's enthusiasm. The class involved repotting the immature mandrakes which wasn't difficult so long as you remembered to wear your earmuffs which prevented you from being knocked out by their cry. When they had finished the lesson, they were all satisfyingly grimy or 'deplorably dirty' depending on who you were listening to, and the students headed back to the castle cheerfully to wash up before lunch.