I know the song that this chapter is called is a not from the 90s, but for some reason it seemed fitting lol.

Also, this is a pretty short chapter, as the majority of it, Harry is with Dumbledore. I actually had more to this chapter, but I decided to save it for another one. I felt it would have been too soon.

Chapter 174: Cupid's Chokehold

Late in the afternoon, a few days after New Year, Harry, Ginny, and I lined up beside the kitchen fire to return to Hogwarts. The Ministry had arranged this one-off connection to the Floo Network to return students quickly and safely to the school. Only Mum was there to say good-bye, as Dad, Fred, George, Bill, and Fleur were all at work.

Mum dissolved into tears at the moment of parting. Admittedly, it took very little to set her off lately; she had been crying on and off ever since Percy had stormed from the house on Christmas Day with his glasses splattered with mashed parsnip (for which Fred, George, and Ginny all claimed credit).

"Don't cry, Mum," said Ginny, patting her on the back as Mun sobbed into her shoulder. "It's okay..."

"Yeah, don't worry about us," I said, allowing Mum to plant a very wet kiss on my cheek, "or about Percy. He's such a prat, it's not really a loss, is it?"

Mum sobbed harder than ever as she enfolded Harry in her arms.

"Promise me you'll look after yourself... stay out of trouble..."

"I always do, Mrs. Weasley," said Harry. "I like a quiet life, you know me."

She gave a watery chuckle and stood back.

"Be good, then, all of you..."

Harry went through the fireplace and disappeared in a flash of green flames.

"You'll take care of your sister?" said Mum.

"Ron's the one who needs to be taken care of." said Ginny.

"What do you-"

"Bye, Mum!" I rushed as I flooed out of the Burrow and landed in McGonagall's office. When Ginny had arrived, all three of us walked out and off toward Gryffindor Tower.

"Baubles," I said confidently, when we reached the Fat Lady, who was looking rather paler than usual and winced at my loud voice.

"No," she said.

"What d'you mean, 'no' ?"

"There is a new password," she said. "And please don't shout."

"But we've been away, how're we supposed to-?"

"Harry! Ginny!"

Hermione was hurrying toward us, wearing a cloak, hat, and gloves. She didn't look any different, but she was still beautiful, and my stomach did a turn as she ran up on us. I figured that I would at least speak. We had to get through this.

"I got back a couple of hours ago, I've just been down to visit Hagrid and Buck-I mean Witherwings," she said breathlessly. "Did you have a good Christmas?"

"Yeah," I said at once, "pretty eventful, Rufus Scrim -"

"I've got something for you, Harry," said Hermione, completely ignoring me. "Oh, hang on-password. Abstinence."

"Precisely," said the Fat Lady in a feeble voice, and swung forward to reveal the portrait hole.

"What's up with her?" asked Harry.

"Overindulged over Christmas, apparently," said Hermione, rolling her eyes as she led the way into the packed common room. "She and her friend Violet drank their way through all the wine in that picture of drunk monks down by the Charms corridor. Anyway..."

She rummaged in her pocket for a moment, then pulled out a scroll of parchment with Dumbledore's writing on it.

"Great," said Harry, unrolling it at once to discover that his next lesson with Dumbledore was scheduled for the following night. "I've got loads to tell him-and you. Let's sit down -"

But at that moment there was a loud squeal of "Won-Won!" and Lavender came hurtling out of nowhere and flung herself into my arms. Several onlookers sniggered; Hermione gave a tinkling laugh and said, "There's a table over here... coming. Ginny?"

"No, thanks, I said I'd meet Dean," said Ginny.

I reluctantly kissed her back when she latched onto me. It wasn't like I wasn't happy to see her. I just really wanted to try to patch things up with Hermione. But, since she didn't seem willing, I shrugged it off. I wasn't going to try if she wasn't.

"I missed you so much, Won-Won!" squeaked Lavender, her grip around my waist getting tighter.

"Missed you too, Lav." I said. "Can you..."

"Oh! Sorry, lover, I just got excited to see...hey, where's your Christmas present?"

She was eyeing my neck, which had nothing around it. Matter of fact. I didn't know if I had packed it or left it at home.

" I had to Floo over, and I didn't want it to break. I'll wear it tomorrow. Oh and sorry I didn't get you anything."

"You're all I need Won-Won." said Lavender, latching back onto my lips.

The new term started next morning with a pleasant surprise for us sixth-years: a large sign had been pinned to the common room notice boards overnight.

APPARITION LESSONS

If you are seventeen years of age, or will turn seventeen on or before the 31st August next, you are eligible for a twelve-week course of Apparition Lessons from a Ministry of Magic Apparition instructor.

Please sign below if you would like to participate.

Cost: 12 Galleons.

Harry and I joined the crowd that was jostling around the notice and taking it in turns to write our names at the bottom. I was just taking out his quill to sign after Hermione when someone put their hands over my eyes, and said, "Guess who, Won-Won?"

I took her hands down and seen that both Harry and Hermione had walked off. I was in no mood to deal with Lavender. I was determined to get Hermione to speak to me.

"I'll catch up with you later, okay?" I said, giving her a quick kiss and darting out of the portrait hole. I quickly caught up with Harry and Hermione, however, Hermione sped up to walk with Neville, without saying a word.

"So-Apparition," I said in a tone that let Harry know not to speak on what happened. "Should be a laugh, eh?"

"I dunno," said Harry. "Maybe it's better when you do it yourself, I didn't enjoy it much when Dumbledore took me along for the ride."

"I forgot you'd already done it... I'd better pass my test first time," I said, feeling anxious. "Fred and George did,"

"Charlie failed, though, didn't he?"

"Yeah, but Charlie's bigger than me," I said as I held my arms out from my body like a gorilla, "so Fred and George didn't go on about it much... not to his face anyway."

"When can we take the actual test?"

"Soon as we're seventeen. That's only March for me!"

"Yeah, but you wouldn't be able to Apparate in here, not in the castle..."

"Not the point, is it? Everyone would know I could Apparate if I wanted."

i wasn't the only one to be excited at the prospect of Apparition. All that day there was much talk about the forthcoming lessons; a great deal of store was set by being able to vanish and reappear at will.

"How cool will it be when we can just -" Seamus clicked his fingers to indicate disappearance. "Me cousin Fergus does it just to annoy me, you wait till I can do it back... he'll never have another peaceful moment."

Lost in visions of this happy prospect, he flicked his wand a little too enthusiastically, so that instead of producing the fountain of pure water that was the object of today's Charms lesson, he let out a hoselike jet that ricocheted off the ceiling and knocked Professor Flitwick flat on his face.

"Harry's already Apparated," I told Seamus, after Professor Flitwick had dried himself off with a wave of his wand and set Seamus lines ("I am a wizard, not a baboon brandishing a stick.") "Dum-er-someone took him. Side-Along-Apparition, you know."

"Whoa!" whispered Seamus, and he, Dean, and Neville put their heads a little closer to hear what Apparition felt like. For the rest of the day, Harry was besieged with requests from the other sixth years to describe the sensation of Apparition. All of them seemed awed, rather than put off, when he told them how uncomfortable it was, and he was still answering detailed questions at ten to eight that evening, when he was forced to lie and say that he needed to return a book to the library, so as to escape in time for his lesson with Dumbledore.

I made my way back to the tower, where Lavender was waiting for me in our favorite corner that we liked to sit in.

"Done with Harry for the night?" she asked as I sat down in an armchair.

"For now." I said, allowing her to sit in lap as I closed my eyes.

"What's the matter?" asked Lavender.

I couldn't very well tell her that I was missing best female friend, so I lied.

"I'm just tired. So, how was your holiday?" I asked, trying to make conversation.

"Oh I don't want to talk about that!" said Lavender, latching onto my neck. "I much rather do this."

I didn't even have to open my eyes to see that she wanted to snog me. I simply let her put her lips into mine and snog me what she thought was senseless.

As we snogged, I couldn't help but think that maybe that's all she wanted in this relationship. And while snogging was perfectly fine in my book, I really wanted to see if there was more to her than just her body and her lips.

I stopped kissing her, hoping she would stop her ministration. Thankfully she did, detaching her lips from mine and looking at me.

"Something the matter, Won-Won?" she asked as I winced at the name.

"No, not at all..er...I was just wanting to talk to you. We haven't really talked in awhile." I said

'Or ever.' I thought.

"Talking is so boring! I'd much rather make out with you!" said Lavender, again, attaching herself onto my lips.

I was starting to wonder if this was what it was like kissing the giant squid.

The next day Harry confided in both Hermione and I the task that Dumbledore had set him, though separately, for Hermione still refused to be around me.

I thought that Harry was unlikely to have any trouble with Slughorn at all.

"He loves you," I said over breakfast, waving an airy forkful of fried egg. "Won't refuse you anything, will he? Not his little Potions Prince. Just hang back after class this afternoon and ask him."

Potions lessons were uncomfortable enough these days, seeing as Harry, Hermione, and I had to share a desk. Today, Hermione moved her cauldron around the table so that she was close to Ernie, and ignored both Harry and I.

"What've you done?" I muttered to Harry, looking at Hermione giving off nothing but attitude.

But before Harry could answer, Slughorn was calling for silence from the front of the room.

"Settle down, settle down, please! Quickly, now, lots of work to get through this afternoon! Golpalott's Third Law ... who can tell me-? But Miss Granger can, of course!"

Hermione recited at top speed: "Golpalott's-Third-Law-states-that-the-antidote-for-a-blended-poison-will-be-equal-to-more-than-the-sum-of-the-antidotes-for-each-of-the-separate-components."

"Precisely!" beamed Slughorn. "Ten points for Gryffindor! Now, if we accept Golpalott's Third Law as true..."

I tuned him out. I couldn't stop staring at Hermione, and how she was purposely trying not to look my way.

"... which means, of course, that assuming we have achieved correct identification of the potion's ingredients by Scarpin's Revelaspell, our primary aim is not the relatively simple one of selecting antidotes to those ingredients in and of themselves, but to find that added component which will, by an almost alchemical process, transform these disparate elements-"

I was sitting beside Harry with my mouth half-open, doodling absently on his new copy of Advanced Potion-Making. I went from just making stupid comics to doodling intricate vines and flowers around a cursive H.

"... and so," finished Slughorn, "I want each of you to come and take one of these phials from my desk. You are to create an antidote for the poison within it before the end of the lesson. Good luck, and don't forget your protective gloves!"

Hermione had left her stool and was halfway towards Slughorn's desk before the rest of the class had realised it was time to move, and by the time Harry, Ernie, and I returned to the table, she had already tipped the contents of her phial into her cauldron and was kindling a fire underneath it.

"It's a shame that the Prince won't be able to help you much with this, Harry," she said brightly as she straightened up. "You have to understand the principles involved this time. No shortcuts or cheats!"

Harry sneered at her as he uncorked the poison he had taken from Slughorn's desk, which was a garish shade of pink, tipped it into his cauldron and lit a fire underneath it. I watches and copied everything that he did, thinking that he knew what he was doing.

"You sure the Prince hasn't got any tips?" I whispered to Harry.

Harry pulled out his trusty copy of Advanced Potion-Making and turned to the chapter on Antidotes. He read and read, his face scrunching up.

"Nothing," said Harry gloomily.

Hermione was now waving her wand enthusiastically over her cauldron. Unfortunately, we could not copy the spell she was doing because she was now so good at non-verbal incantations that she did not need to say the words aloud. Ernie, however, was muttering, 'Specialis revelio!' over his cauldron, which sounded impressive, so Harry and I hastened to imitate him.

Both our potions looked like shit. Hermione's expression could not have been any smugger.

Harry had walked off to the store and came back with his fist closed.

"Time's ... UP!" called Slughorn genially. "Well, let's see how you've done! Blaise ... what have you got for me?"

Slowly, Slughorn moved around the room, examining the various antidotes. Nobody had finished the task, although Hermione was trying to cram a few more ingredients into her bottle before Slughorn reached her. I had given up completely, and was merely trying to avoid breathing in the putrid fumes issuing from my cauldron. Harry stood there nonchalantly, as if he had something to hide.

Slughorn reached our table last. He sniffed Ernie's potion and passed on to mine with a grimace. He did not linger over my cauldron, but backed away swiftly, retching slightly. I couldn't even be mad.

"And you, Harry," he said. "What have you got to show me?"

Harry held out his hand. In it was something small and rock looking. Something that I felt I had seen before in a book.

Slughorn looked down at it for a full ten seconds. Then, he threw back his head and roared with laughter.

"You've got a nerve, boy!" he boomed, taking the rock looking thing and holding it up so that the class could see it. "Oh, you're like your mother ... well, I can't fault you ... a bezoar would certainly act as an antidote to all these potions!"

Hermione, who was sweaty-faced and had soot on her nose, looked livid. Her half-finished antidote, comprising fifty-two ingredients including a chunk of her own hair, bubbled sluggishly behind Slughorn, who had eyes for nobody but Harry.

"And you thought of a bezoar all by yourself, did you, Harry" she asked through gritted teeth.

"That's the individual spirit a real potion-maker needs!" said Slughorn happily, before Harry could reply. "Just like his mother, she had the same intuitive grasp of potion-making, it's undoubtedly from Lily he gets it ... yes, Harry, yes, if you've got a bezoar to hand, of course that would do the trick ... although as they don't work on everything, and are pretty rare, it's still worth knowing how to mix antidotes ..."

The only person in the room looking angrier than Hermione was Malfoy, who had spilled something that looked like cat vomit over himself. Before either of them could express their fury that Harry had come top of the class by not doing any work, however, the bell rang.

"Time to pack up!" said Slughorn. "And an extra ten points to Gryffindor for sheer cheek!"

Still chuckling, he waddled back to his desk at the front of the dungeon.

Harry dawdled behind, taking an inordinate amount of time to do up his bag. I walked off, not even wishing him good luck. As clever as that was, I was still annoyed that I didn't think of it.

Lucky bastard.

When Harry caught up with me and told me about his disastrous interview, I told him oh well. I was still feeling resentful that Harry hadn't slipped me a bezoar, too.

"It would've just looked stupid if we'd both done it!" said Harry irritably. "Look, I had to try and soften him up so I could ask him about Voldemort, didn't I? Oh, will you get a grip!" he added in exasperation, as I winced at the sound of the name.