Herbology with the Ravenclaws was an interesting class, in Harry's estimation. The two hours there were mainly used as an introduction to the subject, but later on Professor Sprout had taken them to Greenhouse One and had taught them how to tend to pots of wormwood for their first subject. Harry enjoyed the process, as it was very similar to the gardening that his Aunt Petunia had had him do back at the Dursleys.
The same couldn't be said for either Zabini or Moon, as both of them didn't like the idea of getting their hands dirty.
"Ugh, I'm getting dirt under my nails," Moon complained with annoyance after she inspected her fingers.
"Maybe you should wear your gloves?" Harry suggested.
"No, I need to keep them clean for potions," Moon pointed out.
"But we don't have potions until Friday?" Harry pointed out in turn.
Moon smiled. "Oh, that's right! Thanks, Potter."
She then got her gloves out of her bag, which Harry noticed seem rather too small to carry books.
"It's charmed to be bigger on the inside and lightweight," Moon explained when she noticed his look.
Harry's eyes widened. "I see."
"Ah, that's a lot better," Moon said as she worked to carefully flatten the dirt under the plant.
"I don't see why this isn't an elective," Zabini muttered from Harry's other side as he carefully clipped bits of dead leaves off of his designated plant. "It's not like we need to know how to water plants to know how to use them in Potions."
"The more you know about how plants are cared for, the better you can use them in potions," Antony Goldstein said from the other side of the table they were working at. "Besides, Herbology teaches which parts of plants are used in which kinds of potions.
"For example, when the leaves of wormwood are infused in water, you can add some powered root of asphodel to the infusion to form the base of a powerful potion called the Drought of Living Death. But it only works with the leaves, if you tried it with the root, it'd explode in your face."
"Thank you, Goldstein. Five points to Ravenclaw for an astute example for why learning Herbology is important," Professor Sprout said from the head of the table with a large smile on her face. "You could all stand to learn from Goldstein's example. Even if Herbology does not seem important in the grand scheme of things, you never know when the knowledge of the difference between the root and the leaves could very well save your life… or at least your reputation."
A light chuckle broke out at that, but Zabini looked rather annoyed at being told off, and he glowered at Goldstein for the rest of the lesson.
"That'll be all for today," Professor Sprout said when the lesson was over. "As homework, I want you all to write six inches of an essay on how different parts of Wormwood are used in potion-crafting, due next Monday."
With that, she bowed them out, and it was time for lunch.
The Great Hall was much louder and more rowdy when the three of them returned that afternoon for lunch. They quickly found seats, and Moon took out a bit of parchment and a quill from her bag, upon which she started jabbing some notes.
"It's a bit early to be working on that essay, Moon," Zabini pointed out.
"It's not the essay, Blaise," Moon replied testily. "I've been thinking about what we discussed this morning, and I may have an idea or two about how to help Potter–"
"Oh, are you two love birds kissing up to scar face already?" Malfoy interjected cruelly. "I expected it of you, Zabini, but to rope Moon into it too–"
"We're not 'love birds', Malfoy," Zabini replied coldly. "and I'd appreciate it if you'd avoid sticking your nose where it's not wanted–"
Malfoy smiled nastily, before looking at Harry. "Well, Potter, I knew you were dim, but I didn't think you'd be stupid enough to associate with Zabini of all people. You better watch out, or he might kill you and steal whatever gold you've got left in your pockets-"
Harry glared thunderously at Malfoy. "That may be so, but at least I'm not a spoiled brat of a man who let himself get strung up and have his hair turned pink!"
Malfoy's face turned a deep pink. "Don't you dare insult my father, Potter!"
"Keep your big, fat mouth shut, then," Harry bit back.
Malfoy looked just about ready to jump over the table and punch Harry in the face.
"Is there a problem, gentlemen?" Gemma Farley intervened before Malfoy could do anything.
"Potter insulted my father, Farley," Malfoy said immediately.
"He insulted my friends, first," Harry immediately objected.
Farley looked between the two of them, before her eyes settled on Malfoy. "Detention, Malfoy. I've told you repeatedly not to provoke Potter, and yet you keep ignoring me. I'll be speaking to Professor Snape about this."
Farley then fixed her eyes on Harry. "As for you, Potter. I suggest you give Malfoy a wide berth. It seems that he can't help himself around you."
"I'll keep that in mind," Harry nodded.
Malfoy glared at Harry angrily, before standing up and stalking out of the Great Hall, his two friends Crabbe and Goyle following him. Farley left to her own end of the table after that.
"That was excellent!" Moon said with a smirk. "Malfoy won't be forgetting that anytime soon!"
"No, he won't," Zabini nodded with a frown. "Which probably means more trouble for us down the line."
He then gave Harry an unreadable look. "Did you really have to make an enemy of Malfoy before we even set foot in this school?"
"It's not my fault he's a giant prat who likes to insult everyone he meets," Harry pointed out with frustration. "Honestly, can you really blame me?"
Zabini sighed and rubbed his eyes. "I suppose you're right. It's too bad his father hasn't taught him much about diplomacy."
He then looked at Moon. "Anyway, what were you saying before Malfoy interrupted, Lily?"
Moon, however, was looking around at the crowd of interested listeners. "Maybe we should wait until we're back in the common room before discussing this… or your dorm, if you don't mind letting a guest in."
Zabini blinked thoughtfully. "Alright, that's fine with me."
"Me too," Harry nodded.
It didn't take them long to finish their lunch after that, so a quarter past one saw Harry and Zabini leading Moon into their dorm, where they found an extra armchair waiting there for their guest.
"Couldn't have gotten a lake side dorm, could you?" Moon asked curiously as she looked around.
"I'm afraid not," Zabini replied. "Malfoy got the last one."
"Remind me to invite you to my dorm some time," Moon said as she sat down in the extra armchair. "You should see what one looks like at least once during your time here."
"Right, well… " Zabini trailed off, looking at Moon expectantly.
"Oh right," Moon nodded. "Anyway, I had a few ideas on how we can help Potter with his goals. Namely, I thought we could suggest that Potter get a catalog from Flourish and Blotts."
"Why?" Harry asked curiously. "I already have all of my school books. What more could I need?"
"If you want to be great like Dumbledore, you're going to have to start reading a lot," Moon explained. "and by a lot I mean a lot. You need to learn as much as you can during your time at Hogwarts, and with a catalog from Flourish and Blotts, you'll be able to owl-order any book you want from that store."
"What about the Library?" Zabini asked curiously. "Surely Potter can learn as much from the Library as he could from any book that comes from a store."
"Well, yes, of course," Moon nodded. "But the Library doesn't have everything. Besides, any books that Potter buys will be his to read and use at his leisure. Library books have rules attached, and you cant take them home with you for the holidays."
"I see. Very well." Zabini nodded, before turning to Harry. "However, if you're going to be buying books, I would suggest getting a catalog from the trunk store as well. That trunk of yours doesn't look like it'd be able to hold much more stuff."
Harry frowned. "So I should get a bigger trunk? I don't know… I could barely get my current trunk onto the train as it is…"
"Of course not, Potter," Zabini sighed. "It's possible to enchant a trunk to be larger on the inside than the outside. Additionally, trunks can have multiple compartments with extra space."
"It's possible to enchant a trunk to have extra… spaces in it," Moon explained at Harry's confused expression. "Most of the time you access the different spaces with keys or a password."
"I don't know," Harry frowned. "This is all starting to sound rather expensive…"
"Well, how did you pay for school things?" Zabini asked curiously.
"My mum and dad left me some gold in their vault," Harry replied. "But I'm not certain how much is there. It seemed like a lot, but I don't want to risk emptying my vault before I finish Hogwarts."
"Well, you could always request a statement from Gringotts," Moon suggested.
Harry's eyes widened. "Uh, ok. How do I go about doing that?"
"Just send them a letter," Moon replied. "Make sure you sign it with your full name, and they'll know it's you."
"How do they know it's really me?" Harry asked curiously.
"They have ways," Moon grinned widely. "Trust me, you don't want to see what they do to people who try to trick them. They have ways of verifying the source of a letter."
"Alright," Harry nodded.
"Well, why don't we get started on that now?" Zabini suggested. "It's a free period after all."
"How much does a catalog cost?" Harry asked.
"Most stores hand them out for free," Moon replied. "Besides, given your reputation, I'll bet they'll bend over backwards to get you to shop at their stores."
Harry ended up writing five letters; one to Gringotts, and the other four were to the stores that Zabini and Moon had suggested, requesting a catalog.
Then it occurred to the three of them that they needed to find the Owlery so Harry could send them off. With that in mind, they stepped out of the dorm and headed back to the Common room, with Harry clutching the letters in his hands.
They arrived to find that it was mostly empty, with a single older student sitting near the largest fireplace. Zabini wasted no time in walking up to him.
"You're Travis Jugson, correct?" Zabini asked.
"Yes," Jugson said in a very put upon tone. "What do you firsties want?"
"We were wondering if you could show us the way to the Owlery," Zabini requested politely.
Jugson frowned. "Alright, but I want a Galleon for it."
After giving him a Galleon, Jugson led them on a rather winding path through the dungeons, until eventually they came to a circular staircase.
"These stairs should lead you right where you're going," Jugson said simply, before walking off.
With a shrug, the three of them walked up the staircase, and as Jugson said it lead directly to the Owlery.
The Owlery was a rather cold and drafty room, as to be expected, for here was where the owls lived. Up in the rafters, one could see many gleaming eyes in the darkness that signified the presence of hundreds and hundreds of school owls.
Upon spotting his arrival, Hedwig hooted and flew down to a lower perch.
"Hey girl," Harry said softly, petting Hedwig down to her tail feathers. "I've got some letters for you to deliver, feel up to it?"
Hedwig hooted in a snooty way, and gave him a soft nip with her beak.
"Didn't know you had such a pretty owl, Potter," Moon said appreciatively. "What's her name?"
"Hedwig," Harry replied.
"Hmm, that suits her," Moon nodded.
Without much fanfare, Zabini helped him individually tie each letter to Hedwig's feet, and after giving one more hoot, she was off, flying off in the afternoon light.
Review Replies:
nighthawk-95: No I did mean Lucius. It was because of the pink hair incident Snape talked about. Nice chapter. I wonder what Moon will bring to the story now that they're allied.
Author: Oh, I didn't realize. Anyway, You'll find out as we go along.
