The train hissed loudly as it came to a second stop, this time at Hogsmeade station and everyone piled out of their compartments. Hazel shuddered as a bitter wind swept down the platform. It hadn't been this cold last year but at least it had stopped raining because of the idea of standing out in that deluge was not a fun one.
"Firs' years! Firs' years this way!" A voice boomed out across the platform, shouting over the Hogwarts Express as steam billowing out from underneath and across the platform, smelling strongly like the Dursley's fireplace. Hagrid stood at the far end of the station, his raised lamp barely illuminating his shaggy outline. It couldn't be anyone else, because he was twice as tall as everyone on the platform. He was nearly as tall as the gas lamps dotted along the platform! Hazel would have loved to say hello, but the surge of students carried her and the other girls in the opposite direction. They passed through the tiny, cottage like Hogsmeade station and waiting for them on the narrow road were a long line of horseless black carriages.
The door swung open on the nearest one for Hazel, Ginny, Atia and Luna to climb in. It was quite worn inside and it smelt strongly of leather, but the seats weren't too bad. After so long on the train, it was nice to have something different to sit on. As soon as they were all seated, the door snapped shut and the carriage jolted forwards. It definitely wasn't as comfortable as the train now as the carriage rattled and rolled along the rutted road. It was much darker on the platform as thick, tall trees blocked their view on both sides. Were they travelling through the Forbidden Forest? The thought of Aragog just outside the carriage that floated into her mind made her shiver fiercely.
It wasn't just the thought of giant spiders wandering around outside that was making her shake. There was still a horrible chill in her bones that wouldn't go away, no matter how tightly she wrapped her cloak around herself. Her head was pounding, not helped by the constant bouncing of their carriage and her stomach kept doing horrible little lurches, like it was trying to escape. No matter how loud the rattle of the carriage though, she could still hear that awful, rasping breath, she could hear her own voice, desperate and weak.
"There it is!" Ginny pointed at the window. The trees were definitely thinning out now. She could see glimpses of the vast, black lake and standing over it was Hogwarts itself. Every window was ablaze with a buttery light, warming and welcoming, like it was inviting her on. Despite how terrible she was feeling, a thrill ran right down Hazel's spine. She was home at last!
The carriages passed through a gate guarded on either side by two large and solemn looking gargoyles before stopping on a circular drive before the vast doors of the castle. Students were pouring out of the carriages and into the hall with the first excited chatter starting up again. It was like Hogwarts had given everyone a bit of a lift after that horrible encounter on the train. There were no dementors at Hogwarts, just a feast to look forward to, wonderful desserts to demolish and then a soft, warm bed to relax into with a thick, comfy duvet.
Hazel barely caught a glance of the grand, marble staircase that led up into the castle, and the four huge and empty hourglasses, each as large as Uncle Vernon's company car, that sat against the wall when a voice called out across the hall.
"Potter! Potter! There you are!" It was Professor McGonagall making her way through the crowd. Everyone stepped aside to let her through but a lot of them looked back over their shoulders and watched with interest, "Come along. I want to speak with you, privately."
Hazel gulped and looked around at Ginny and Atia who were looking equally as confused. What could she have done? She'd only been in the castle for thirty seconds! Luna hadn't stopped at all but drifted off towards the Great Hall, swallowed up by the crowd. She didn't particularly want to miss the feast or lose her friends in the throng of people but there wasn't much choice in the matter. She followed Professor McGonagall away from the noise and bustle and into a small office down a narrow corridor. She'd never been in here before but judging by the roaring fire and neatly organised desk it belonged to someone.
There were already people here, an elder woman in matron's outside was fussing over a boy with messy, black hair sat down in front of the desk. He was trying to fight her off, his glasses catching in the fire as he turned his head away from her.
"I told you, I'm fine!"
"Harry?"
"Hazel!" Harry tried to jump out of his seat but he was very quickly pushed down again by Madam Pomfrey
"This is the other one, is it?" She cast a serious eye over Hazel. Hazel's stomach wriggled with embarrassment, and she looked quickly down at her shoes.
"Yes, Poppy," Professor McGonagall closed the door behind her and stood at the desk, "Professor Lupin tells me she fainted as well."
Madam Pomfrey shook her head and sucked in through her teeth as she steered Hazel into the other chair beside Harry, "She looks dreadful. Far worse than this one. I trust Professor Lupin gave you chocolate too? How much?"
"I don't know," She hadn't really been keeping track of it. Did she really look that bad?
"You need more," the matron pulled out a huge ball of chocolate and broke it into pieces with her wand, "Eat."
Feeling a little bit lightheaded, Hazel ate the chocolate she was given. It was getting more and more unpleasant with every bite and her mouth was bone dry. She could feel Madam Pomfrey and Professor McGonagall's eyes burning into her as she forced another swallow down. The chocolate didn't even taste particularly nice anymore, it was just sweet.
She looked over at her brother. Harry was a little pale but that might just have been the light from the fire on his face. He drummed his fingers against the chair as he watched her just eating. She wished they all just look somewhere else in the room. Why not at the salmon head mounted over the fireplace that kept opening and closing its mouth? Or the picture of the man who kept trying to fire an arrow but letting go with the wrong hand and hitting himself in the face with his bow? Surely they were more interesting than her biting down on lumps of chocolate?
At last, Madam Pomfrey nodded to Harry, "You can go."
"No way!" Harry said fiercely and stayed planted in his chair, the same chair he'd been so keen to escape from, "I'm not going anywhere! Is she going to be okay?"
A spark of fear ran through Hazel, and she shivered. On top of everything piling on her, she had to start getting Harry's crap feelings as well?
"She will be fine, Potter," Professor McGonagall said softly.
"She's very shaken, Minerva," Madam Pomfrey put her hand to Hazel's head as if she was a piece of fine China, "That thing has done a number on her."
"I will need to speak with the headmaster. It really was completely unnecessary to have the train searched!"
Hazel kept eating chocolate even as her face burned. Had she and Harry been the only two people on the whole train to faint? There were so many other students on the Hogwarts Express and no one had reacted like them? Aunt Marge's sneering words crept into her mind, dripping with the same loathing she put on every word to Hazel.
"No spine to them whatsoever…"
But it wasn't true! She did have a spine! Harry did as well!
Ah, said a horrible little voice in her mind, but then why were you the only two to faint? Ginny and Atia were okay.
At least she was feeling better now. The chill wasn't cutting so deeply into her bones anymore and it felt like she could take a breath without it stinging her lungs. That was good. What wasn't so good was how terrible her stomach was feeling now. How much chocolate had she eaten? It was more than she'd ever had in her entire time, perhaps more than she'd ever had combined. The aching and cramping were getting close to unbearable.
"You're starting to get a little colour back," Oh, so she wasn't going green then? "But perhaps a night in the Hospital Wing for you."
"No!" She had been ready for that. There was no way she was spending her first night in Hogwarts anywhere but her own bed, with her friends around her, "I'll be okay. I feel much better, thank you."
Madam Pomfrey gave an enormous sigh.
"Very well. But if you feel anything at all, any more funny turns," Hazel scowled at that. Facing a dementor wasn't a 'funny turn'! It wasn't like she'd just fainted out of nowhere, "Then I want you to start eating chocolate again and come find me at once."
Professor McGonagall walked them up to the Great Hall in silence. Partly this was because Harry's expression wasn't exactly inviting small talk. Mostly it was because she was sure if she opened her mouth, she'd be sick. They arrived in the Great Hall just as Professor Flitwick was taking the Sorting Hat away on its stool. They came in through the main doors so of course the entire school turned around to watch the three of them walking down centre of the hall, like they were a pop group about to perform. The ringing of their shoes on the stone floor echoed all around the room. A few people sniggered and whispered. She could see people pointing from all four tables and she looked up at the black and cloudy ceiling. It didn't help when Harry broke off to join Ron and Hermione a third of the way down the table. Now it was just her and Professor McGonagall walking along. She fixed her attention on the flaming red hair she could see towards the staff table. Why hadn't Ginny and Atia sat closer to the door!
"Well?" Ginny asked once she'd sat down, "What happened?"
Before Hazel could say, Dumbledore stood up and the entire hall went quiet. Why couldn't he have done that two minutes earlier!
"I have but one word," He said, beaming around at them all, "Enjoy!"
Just like last year, the empty plates in front of them were suddenly filled with every type of dish imaginable. Everyone tucked in happily, piling their plates with succulent beef, steaming slices of roast chicken, thick cut steaks, mountains of potatoes cooked every way a potato could be. They finished off their plates by pouring on litres of thick gravy and huge scoops of apple sauce, raspberry sauce, pepper sauce and dozens of others Hazel didn't care to mention. Her stomach gave a horrible clench.
"You'll like this," Ginny pointed up to the staff table with a spoonful of stuffing, "Your friend's joining us this year."
Hazel scanned the table with a frown. Her friend? Hagrid was sitting there, of course, tucking into what looked like a dinosaur leg. The new Professor was there, chatting with Professor Flitwick but they were hardly 'friends' because he gave her chocolate once. Snape sat close to Dumbledore but had the look of man who wanted to be anywhere else. Maybe Dumbledore was talking to him about something really boring? Wait, there was something sitting at the end of the table. Hazel gasped as it clicked. It was Hawthorne. She was sitting on her own with her plate untouched and with a look that gave Snape a run for his money. Why was she here? It did make Hazel feel a bit stupid, had she known she was coming to Hogwarts when Hazel had said goodbye?
Once everyone had filled themselves with the main course, the plates cleared themselves and were replaced by dessert. Hazel took one look at the treacle tarts, the spotted dick, the lemon drizzles and ice creams and groaned as she buried her face in her hands.
"Would you like a chocolate brownie. Hazel?" Atia asked politely.
Ginny giggled as Hazel gave her a withering look and then quickly buried her head again. All she could smell was chocolate! She never wanted to eat again. Why was everyone taking so long with pudding as well? It's like they were dragging it out just to torment her. She could feel her palms getting sweaty again. Oh, please don't faint in the Great Hall. Not in front of everyone. She didn't need that.
Finally, the last plate was cleared, and the food disappeared but Hazel still didn't look up. Knowing her luck, there was going to be a surprise third course of nothing but chocolate. Her stomach lurched again. Even thinking about chocolate was making her ill!
"Good evening," said Dumbledore's voice, calm and pleasant. She could imagine him standing up at the staff table with his long beard flowing all the way to the floor and his eyes twinkling behind those half-moon spectacles. Everyone said Dumbledore was the greatest wizard who ever lived, did he know a cure for nausea?
"I have a few quick notices before we're all completely befuddled by our excellent feast. Our caretaker, Mister Filch has added a few more lines to the list of restricted items allowed in the corridors. I believe the list now extends to some 615 items and anyone who wishes to see the full list may check in with Mister Filch."
Fred and George snorted together, and she didn't blame them, she'd rather kiss a troll than go anywhere near Filch's office.
"In more serious news, the school is this year playing host to a number of dementors from Azkaban. They are here on ministry business and will be standing guard at every entrance into the grounds. I must press upon you how carefully you must tread during their stay here, dementors cannot be fooled by disguises, or potions or even invisibility cloaks. It is not in their nature to be forgiving. Do not give them any reason to harm you."
A little of the chill ran down her spine. Why where these things near the school at all!
"I will look to our prefects and our new head boy and girl to see this is done," She could practically hear Percy puffing his chest out, "The dementors shall not be the only Ministry presence with this year. A team of aurors have been stationed in Hogsmeade to help keep an eye on things. Miss Hawthorne is in charge of them. I ask that you co-operate with her and her fellows whenever required. Please give her a Hogwarts welcome."
There was a polite round of applause. That was as close to a warm Hogwarts welcome as she was going to get. At this point, everyone just wanted to go to bed.
"Merlin's beard, look at Snape," Ginny said.
Hazel looked up. All the staff were clapping, with Hagrid's applause in particular sounding like someone was banging a particularly large drum, with one very notable exception. Snape had his hands down by his sides and he was staring resolutely ahead, like there was something particularly amazing happening in the middle of the Great Hall that only he could see. Even from so far away his expression looked very nasty.
"He does not seem to be a fan of aurors," Atia said as the last of the applause died down.
"Next up, we have some staffing announcements. I would like everyone to please welcome our new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Lupin!"
The hall rang out with applause from every table. She and Harry probably weren't the only people that Professor Lupin had helped on the train. Only the Slytherin's didn't clap, but then they seemed to not like people by default. The Gryffindor table was particularly loud with Fred and George blowing piercing whistles through their fingers and Ron whooping and calling into the noise. Why did they have to be so loud? He stood up and gave a slight bow with an awkward but rather pleased smile.
"Ugh," Romilda Vane groaned from across the table, "What did he say to his barber to get that haircut?"
"Bloody hell," Ginny called over the applause, "Hey Atia, if Snape's last face meant he didn't like aurors, what does this one mean?"
Snape again wasn't clapping although he wasn't the only one because Hawthorne was just watching him with her arms folded. She didn't look especially happy, not that she ever had in all the time Hazel had known her, but Snape's expression was something else. He wasn't staring into the Great Hall anymore in a world of his own. He was staring at Lupin's back with his yellow teeth all but bared in an expression of pure and absolute hatred.
"It means stay out of his way," said Atia as Lupin sat down.
"And finally, we have said goodbye to our Care of Magical Creatures teacher, Professor Kettleburn, who has taken a well-deserved retirement to spend some time with his remaining limbs. In his place, I am delighted to announce that the new Care of Magical Creatures professor shall be our own Rubeus Hagrid, who shall perform this role alongside his gamekeeper duties."
His last words were drowned out by the Gryffindor table as their roars and wild applause filled the Great Hall. Hazel was clapping so hard that her hands were hurting, the headache and sickness completely forgotten. Nevermind the chocolate, this was the perfect cure to facing a dementor! Ginny was shouting and cheering beside her with the biggest grin and Atia clapped with a little more restraint. She was practically the only Gryffindor not on their feet. Up at the staff table, what little could be seen of Hagrid's face beneath his beard and his shaggy hair was bright red. He stood up, dwarfing everyone else at the table and gave a little wave which brought another loud cheer from the Gryffindors.
As soon as the feast was over, Hazel headed straight up to the staff table along with Ginny, Harry, Ron and Hermione. Atia followed them as well, but she stayed a little further back with her fingers running over one another. Harry was the first one to reach the gamekeeper and held out his hand for Hagrid to shake. This was a bit of a mistake, as Hagrid's hand covered most of Harry's forearm and he was lifted off his feet such was his enthusiasm.
"Congratulations!" Harry managed as Hagrid put him back down. Hazel took advantage of him stepping back to throw her arms around the gamekeeper, though they barely reached around his side, nevermind meeting one another. He smelt very strongly of soil as he always did and his coat was soft against her cheek.
"Well done, Professor," She craned her neck to look up into his face with the widest smile. This really was the best news she could have gotten tonight. After everything he'd gone through last year, after so many years of looking after Hogwarts, he was finally getting a chance to teach!
"Nah, there's no need fer tha'," he grinned and wiped at his eye, "Grea' man, Professor Dumbledore. Came straigh' to me after Kettleburn retired. Hope I'm up te the job."
"You'll be brilliant, Hagrid," Hermione said as she beamed, "There's no one who knows as much about magical creatures as you."
"Too bloody right!" Ron slapped the nearest table, which happened to be the Hufflepuff one. Some of the Hufflepuffs gave him dirty looks as they headed for the exit.
"What are you going to be teaching us, Hagrid?" Harry asked, "Do you have everything planned out?"
"You'll 'ave ye see," Hagrid winked and wiped at his eye, "Go' somethin' special planned fir my firs' lesson!"
"We'll have to come see you at the weekend then," Hazel let go of Hagrid, "And you can tell us all about it."
"Come along now," Percy hurried over with his chest puffed out like a peacock so his head boy badge was on full display, "Time for bed. Let's give the professors a bit of peace."
Hazel made her to catch Hagrid's eye as Percy chided them away and gave him another big grin. He was one of the professors now! They followed the crowd out of the Great Hall and up the marble staircase into the castle. It was amazing how much of it was familiar even after two months away, the stair that needed jumped because it was hollow or the tapestry that had to be tickled before it would let anyone walk in behind it. Walking these corridors lit by their flaming torches and guarded by the silvery suits of armour brought a fuzzy warmth to her heart that Privet Drive never had. Finally, they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady, who waited patiently for the password.
Luckily, they had Percy with them and once he had said the password ('fortuna major'), the portrait swung open, and they were allowed into the Gryffindor Common Room. The temptation to go sit in one of the super comfy armchairs in front of the roaring fire was so strong but Percy herded them towards the dormitories like a particularly pompous sheepdog. She said goodnight to Harry and Ron as they went up one set of stairs to the boys' dormitories and she, Ginny, Atia and Hermione took the other.
"Oh, we're in the same room as last year?" Atia asked.
"You'll be in the same room the whole way through Hogwarts," Hermione said with a smile, "It was the same for us last year though of course, in Hogwarts: A History it does mention students preferring their own dormitories over having to move them every yea-" she stopped herself with a deep breath, "But maybe I'll tell you more tomorrow. Have a good night!"
It was the exactly the same as last year, five four-poster beds arranged around the circular room with a small fireplace in the centre. The other two Gryffindor second years, Romilda Vane and Theodora McLaggen were already sitting on the edge of their beds and whispering quietly. They stopped to nod hello and quickly went back to gossiping. What was it they were talking about now? Or rather, who was it they were talking about? Hazel briefly wondered if it was Professor Lupin, or maybe even Hawthorne but then realised she was too tired to care. She was more interested in getting her pyjamas out of her trunk and getting ready for bed.
"I wish we were taking Care of Magical Creatures this year," Ginny sighed as she climbed into bed, "Kettleburn's classes could be a so boring according to Fred and George. I bet Hagrid has something really cool to show everyone."
Hazel nodded as she settled down. The mattress was even better than she remembered and closed in around her like it was giving her a great, big hug. However, Atia didn't look so happy, in fact she was sitting up in bed and looked rather worried as she fluffed her pillow
"What?" Ginny sighed.
"Well, Hagrid has a bit of a reputation in the school," Atia was speaking very carefully, and she wouldn't look at either Hazel or Ginny, "Do you think he might be showing them anything really…dangerous?"
"Magical creatures are dangerous," Ginny snapped, "You remember what Kettleburn looked like right?"
They had never had classes with Professor Kettleburn but they had seen him at the staff table and out in the grounds patrolling. He always seemed a nice man, but he seemed to be made more of wood than skin. Hazel had always been a bit worried about Care of Magical Creatures, if that was what happened when you spent too much time around them.
"Hagrid knows how to care for them," Hazel added and her tone was a little shorter than she intended. After all, it was Atia's brother who'd tried to get Hagrid into trouble in Harry's first year for having a dragon and she was never going forget the sneering smugness on Lucius Malfoy's face as he told Hagrid he was going to Azkaban. Imagine anyone being that happy that someone was going to have spend time with those…things. The very idea of it broke Hazel's heart a little. Of all the people who deserved it, Hagrid was so far down the list.
"We'll have to visit him first thing, this weekend," Ginny closed the curtains of her bed, "Maybe he'll let us see whatever it is as well!"
That would be pretty cool, especially if it was something she'd never seen before. Hazel settled into her pillows and was instantly comfortable. What did wizards do to their beds to make them so much nicer to sleep in than muggle ones? She tried to imagine what sort of wonderful animals Hagrid would be showing Harry, but it wasn't long before she was sound asleep. It wasn't a peaceful sleep however, as she tossed and turned. The smell of damp clung to her nose and cold, cruel laughter echoed in her ears along with her own voice, pleading for mercy.
So she didn't exactly wake in the brightest of form. Her mood wasn't helped as she pulled back the curtains to see the storm clouds had gathered threateningly over the castle, like a giant dementor had engulfed the castle completely. She couldn't even see the Forbidden Forest from here. Oh, please don't rain, not today, at least not until they had their timetables. If the rain was anything like it had been yesterday then the long walk down to the herbology greenhouses was going to be soggy torture.
None of the others were awake yet. In fact, she'd be surprised it anyone was awake because a quick check of the clock told her it was very, very early in the morning. She fell back against the pillows and toyed with the idea of just closing her eyes for a little while longer, because they felt so heavy. Then Romilda Vane gave a loud, rasping snort like parchment being torn and she decided it was maybe better to go down to breakfast. At least she was first into the second-year bathroom. If she'd got stuck behind Romilda, as happened so often last year, then she'd be lucky to make it down for lunch, let alone breakfast.
She wrote a quick note so Ginny and Atyia would know where she'd gone, packed up her bag with a few basics, quills and parchment and a few books and headed down to the Great Hall. There were a few students in the Common Room, slouched in the armchairs and reading books or newspapers but most would probably want to go down to breakfast. Her stomach rumbled angrily at the piece of toast that a fifth year was eating, and she realised just how long it had been since she had eaten anything decent. She wasn't counting chocolate.
There were a few more people in the Great Hall but not many. A handful of students were scattered at each of the tables, again mostly reading or tucking into their breakfasts. After all the buzz and chatter, the roars and applause of last night, it felt a bit weird for the Hall to be so quiet. There was only one teacher sitting up at the staff table, Professor Lupin was reading that day's edition of the Daily Prophet and he looked very worried. What was it that had bothered him so much?
A round-faced boy had been sitting on his own at the Gryffindor table reading a comic, but he looked up and smiled as Hazel approached. Beside him was a toad in a large bowl of water, croaking every so often.
"Morning," he said quite politely.
"Good morning, Neville," She hadn't planned on sitting beside him but he looked like he could do with the company, judging from his rather worried face, "You're up early."
He nodded glumly, "I needed to send an owl to my gran. I forgot a few things when I was packing for school. I left my cloak behind, which isn't too bad, and Trevor's cleaning kit," that explained the bath, "but I left all my quills as well. Gran's going to kill me."
"For forgetting your quills?" Hazel frowned. She had seen Neville's grandmother when they had passed through the Leaky Cauldron to do their Hogwarts shopping. She had been quite a tall woman who reminded Hazel a little bit of an eagle, mostly thanks to the hooked nose and sharp eyes. Or maybe it was the large vulture sitting on her hat, "It's not that bad, is it?"
"They were spell check quills," Neville said gloomily, "They whip you on the nose if you've spelt your last word wrong. They were really expensive, and I've got nothing to write with until Gran sends them on. I'll have to ask Professor McGonagall, and I think she's getting sick of having to give me stuff all the time."
He looked so sad, so disappointed in himself that Hazel spoke before really thinking, "You can have some of mine, if you like?"
"Really?" His face lit up, "Are you sure?"
"Of course! I've got loads," She checked her bag. She always kept her quills in a side pocket away from anything important, in some ink leaked out and ruined her other books. That was why all Harry's things had loads of black dots. She was very attached to her quills, especially the one that turned any ink pink, and the one had made little flowers sprout out of anything it wrote, "Here, Neville. I think these are just normal quills."
"Wicked, thanks Hazel!"
He put the quills carefully in his bag while Hazel got herself some toast, a cup of tea and opened up the Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2 by Miranda Goshawk.
"You're reading that?" Neville asked in surprise.
"I like reading the textbooks," Hazel didn't meet his eye. Even after a year it was still embarrassing how little about magic and the magical world she knew. No one else apart from Percy and Hermione read the books like she did, which didn't make her feel any better, "What are you reading?"
He showed her the cover of his comic, Marty Miggs, the Mad Muggle in 'Locked Out Lunacy'. It was drawn rather weirdly, Marty seemed to have very large eyes and quite crooked teeth. Hazel instinctively ran her tongue over her own teeth, they weren't that bad, were they? And of course, because it was magical, Marty was moving, going from panel to panel and page to page as Neville turned them.
"It's brilliant," Neville beamed, "Marty's closed the door behind him, and now it's locked him out of the house! Does really happen to muggles? Do their doors really lock themselves like that?"
"Not exactly," Hazel frowned. Privet Drive just had normal doors, but their Primary School doors had been like that. The poor janitor had locked himself out more times than she cared remember, "You just need the key to get back in."
"Marty left his keys in the house," Neville chuckled, "And because he doesn't have a wand, he can't just open the door! So now he's trying to find a way back in!"
"Why is he in the chimney?" Hazel had been watching Marty leapt from one panel, where'd he tried to break down the door with a garden gnome, to the next where he was now on the roof and trying to squeeze very unsuccessfully down the chimney."
"That's the only way he can get in! All the windows are closed," Neville was grinning, "Poor Marty, isn't it mad that muggles need to use the chimney? Have you ever seen a muggle trying it?"
"Um, no," Hazel tried to imagine Uncle Vernon squirming and waving his arms the same way Marty was, "Most muggles would just call a locksmith."
"A what?"
"A locksmith. It's a muggle who can open the door."
"Oh," Neville's smile dropped, and he went a little pink as he stuffed the comic into his bag, "Well, I guess it's just funny. I think I might go down to the greenhouses for a while. Thanks again for the quills."
He hurried off after plucking Trevor from his bowl. Hazel watched him duck out of the Great Hall and couldn't help but feel confused. That had been very sudden. Was he feeling okay? Had she upset him somehow? With a shake of her head, she went back to her toast. Her headache was definitely gone and her appetite was back, though the small bowl of chocolate spread a little further down the table was making her feel a little sick.
More and more students came into the Great Hall the quiet gave way to the normal excited chatter and buzz. Hazel kept reading her book and keeping an eye out for Ginny and Atia, but it was some time before they arrived. She put her book away just as they joined her with Atia looking particularly bad tempered.
"What's happened?" Hazel asked.
"Romilda woke up first," Ginny sat down beside Hazel and poured herself some cereal.
"Ah."
"It is absolutely ridiculous," Atia dropped into the seat on Hazel's other side and poured herself some tea so violently that she spilled more of it around the table than she got into the cup, "How can one person spend so much time preening themselves is beyond me. It would be quicker to walk into Hogsmeade and use a bathroom there!"
"That's not entirely fair," Ginny said mildly as she poured herself a more controlled cup of tea and started on her cereal, "A light jog might be quicker, perhaps, but not a walk."
Atia rolled her eyes and scowled at Ginny, "You're being facetious."
"And you're being a drama queen. I had to wait even longer than you and I'm not annoyed."
"I don't understand how. We nearly missed breakfast because of Vane's vanity!"
"You get used to waiting your turn when you live with seven other people and have one bathroom."
Atia frowned and opened her mouth to reply but thankfully, Professor McGonagall arrived with the timetables, passing one out to each of Hazel, Ginny and Atia with her wand.
Ginny scanned the page and groaned, "Astronomy Practical on Monday nights! Why do you hate us, Professor? I thought you liked Gryffindor!"
Professor McGonagall raised an eyebrow and didn't answer but there was perhaps a slight smile as she moved on down the table.
"Double History of Magic, first thing," Atia sighed as she ran her finger down the timetable, "Then Herbology and Charms this afternoon."
Great, so they did have Herbology today. Hazel didn't answer Atia but looked up at the ceiling where the clouds were still swirling, black and threatening. What better way to say 'welcome back to Hogwarts' than getting soaked on the way to a class where the plants kept trying to eat you?
"Did everyone else forget their canoes as well?" Ginny was looking up at the ceiling as well.
Just then, there came a roar from the Slytherin table. Hazel looked back to see Draco Malfoy standing up on one of the benches and pretending to faint with his hand on his forehead while the other Third Years were bent double with laughter. The hall was entirely filled now and everyone turned around to watch as he stood up again and egged on the Slytherins who raised their arms and called out 'hooo', getting louder and louder until Malfoy swooned again and the table burst into deafening cheers.
"What are they doing?" Ginny asked but had her answer quickly enough. Harry stormed over and dropped onto the bench with an ugly scowl, his cheeks slightly red as he refused to look up from the toast he piled onto his plate.
"Ignore him, Harry," Hermione said, "He wants to get under your skin."
"Well, it's working," Harry said under his breath.
"Hooo," went the Slytherins again, a lot of them were standing now as well as having their arms in the air. Malfoy was swinging his arm as if he was winding himself up before bringing it with a slap to his own forehead and falling back onto the bench to yet more cheers. Professor McGonagall came storming over from the staff table with timetables scattering behind her and the Slytherins broke apart as she shouted at Malfoy who was still looking very pleased with himself.
"He's a git," Ron grabbed a rack of toast and didn't notice Atia puffing her cheeks indignantly at him. She had been watching Malfoy with a look of surprise and her lips drawn tightly in what Hazel thought might be disapproval, "Who cares what he thinks."
Harry cared. It was written all over his face and even if it wasn't there was a squirming embarrassment in her stomach that could only be his. Anger welled up in Hazel's chest as she stared over at the very smug looking Malfoy. How could he make fun of something so horrible? It wasn't like the dementors were fluffy puppies that Harry had fainted in front of. She had seen how pale and unwell Harry had been last night and now Malfoy was tormenting him in front of the whole school?
She took a deep breath. Feeling embarrassed and angry at the same time was not a pleasant sensation, like her body had been cut in two and both were responding differently. It was making her head spin, a little like last night all over again. Don't faint. Not here. Not in front of Malfoy. Anything but that.
"Have you seen your timetable?" Hazel asked to try and take her mind of it. Maybe if Harry stopped feeling so terrible, maybe it would help how she was feeling as well.
"Yeah, we've got Divination this morning, then Transfiguration and then our first Care of Magical Creatures this afternoon."
"Have you seen Hermione's timetable?" Ron snatched it out of Hermione's hand, "Look, every single slot's filled. You're not going to have any free periods this year at all."
"I'm aware of that, Ron. Thank you very much," Hermione snatched it back off him with a frightful scowl, "I'm taking every class I can this year, I don't want to miss out on anything!"
"What about eating? Sleeping? Not even Percy took this many classes."
"I'll manage, thank you very much!" Hermione said in a voice that very much suggested the conversation was over. Hazel glanced down at her bag and saw it was twice the size of everyone else's and bulging with thick textbooks. She wasn't going to carry those around with her all day, surely?
"We need to go if we're going to make Divination," Hermione glanced up at the clock, "It's on the other side of the castle."
"I'll see you later," Harry said as he took a deep breath and stood from the table. As soon as he was in view, Malfoy swooned again and the whole Slytherin table burst into laughter.
"That's it!" McGonagall bellowed from the staff table, "Twenty points from Slytherin! I warned you, Malfoy!"
"What a prat," Ginny shook her head as they left the Great Hall, "How can one person be that much of a git."
"He's not a git!" Atia said a little haughtily, "He's just having fun."
"Harry wasn't having fun," Hazel said in a very cold voice that wasn't like her, "Malfoy was just being a bully."
"Draco makes jokes like that all the time," Atia's face had gone a little pink, but she had a stubborn look, "It's just the way he is. He doesn't mean any harm by any of it."
"You can't honestly believe that?" Ginny said in astonishment.
"Can we drop it, please?"
Maybe it was for the best they did. The idea that Draco Malfoy was just having a joke with Harry was about as believable as Professor Snape being Neville's fairy godmother. Even thinking of that smug face, with his eyes fixed on Harry as he humiliated him made her blood boil.
Thankfully, if there was ever a class to defuse a tense situation then it was History of Magic. Professor Binns made his usual entrance as he drifted in through the blackboard, which was the single most interesting thing he would do all year. He sat down in his chair, well floated on it, and began speaking in the same monotonous drone he had used all last year, rhyming off names and dates with the enthusiasm of someone clipping their toenails. This year he was discussing the Wizarding Conventions of the 15th and 16th centuries, or at least that's what Hazel had read about in the textbook before term. If Professor Binns could make goblin rebellions about as exciting as stirring a cup of tea, then his description of political conferences took it to the next level.
Hazel did her best to stay alert but the drone was a bit like listening to a washing machine and the longer the class dragged on for, the fewer and fewer notes she took as her mind began to wander. Would she have the steak for dinner tonight? Or maybe try the beef casserole? Ginny said it was good, but she had never tried it. How was Hagrid going to get on? Were the gobstones club going to practise in the Common Room again this year and soak the carpet in that disgusting liquid they shot out so the whole room stank? Every so often those black-hooded monsters came into her mind, and she hurriedly thought about anything else, even gobstones.
The bell went and made Hazel jump. She had all but drifted off but like everyone else she hurried to pack her bag and put her quills away as Professor Binns gave them their homework in that same boring voice and then disappeared behind his blackboard.
"I think I might have broken a record," Atia stifled a yawn as they left, "I don't think I lifted my quill a single time in that whole class. Is there anything interesting this year?"
Hazel thought back to the summer, when she had read the book cover to cover, "I think next term we'll move on to the history of weights and measures?"
"Weights and measures eh?" Ginny was straightening out her fiery red hair as it had crumpled and bent slightly where she'd been sleeping on it, "Wonderful. This class is going to simply fly by."
After lunch they had Herbology with the Hufflepuffs and, joy of joys, it didn't rain! It threatened to, the clouds hanging over the greenhouse like an unending binbag but there was no rain! Not that Hazel gave it a chance as she hurried from the greenhouses and back up into the castle. They had a break to clean up and to try and get some of the mud off their shoes before it was time for their last class of the day, Charms.
Tiny Professor Flitwick was waiting for them, standing rather precariously on top of a pile of books that were in turn sitting on his chair. He tapped his wand against his palm as everyone took their seats and pulled out their Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2 as well as their wands. Once they were ready, he read out the roll and hopped down from the books onto his desk and then down onto the floor where he walked up and down in front of the class.
"This year, we will be moving onto slightly more complex magic," he said in a high-pitched voice, "Building on the work we did last year on our fundamentals. Many of the charms we work on this year will seem a little familiar to what you did in your first year, which is why it is so essential to be comfortable with our basic wand work."
Hazel shifted uncomfortably because she had been absolutely terrible at the basic wand work for most of last year. It had taken her until after Christmas to get the hang of it and then she'd worked very hard to try and catch up. This would be her first chance since the start of last year to start off level with everyone else.
"We'll start today with something simple, the revelio charm," Professor Flitwick continued, "Can anyone tell me what it does? Miss Potter?"
She knew that one! She'd been reading about it just this morning! Hazel had never put her hand up once all of last year, so this was already going much better, "Sir, it's a revealing charm. It helps point you to something you've lost."
"Exactly, Miss Potter! Five points to Gryffindor," Professor Flitwick seemed very pleased, "As Miss Potter says, this charm will show us the location of an item that we have lost. However, it's not the only spell that can do something like this. So why would we want to use revelio over something else? Why would we only want to know the location of something over just bringing it to us with something like accio? Yes, Miss Weasley?"
"Accio will summon the item to you. Sometimes you just want to know where something is without moving it. My Great Aunt Murel uses accio all the time," Ginny whispered this second part under her breath to Hazel, "You should see how many holes there are in her living room wall."
"That's precisely it! Another five points to Gryffindor! We'll practise the wand movements and incantation first. This can be a tricky little charm at first, but don't be discouraged if it doesn't work right away, everyone will get there in the end. Now, please repeat after me, revelio."
"Revelio," said the entire class as they covered the movement he made with his wand. It was familiar to a few spells they'd done last year, so Hazel could see what he meant about it being tricky.
Hazel waved her wand, then yelped in surprise as it flew out of her hand and across the room, landing at the feet of Magnus Gilchrist who was sitting at the desk opposite her. Everyone laughed and Hazel felt her cheeks begin to burn.
"Goodness!" Professor Flitwick exclaimed as he waved his own wand and had Hazel's float back to her desk, "Try to keep a firm but gentle grip on your wand, Miss Potter. We don't want any accidents now."
"No, Professor," She could hear Romilda Vane and Theodora McLaggen giggling from further down the classroom and her stomach sank horribly. It couldn't be happening again. Professor McGonagall had told her last year that her poor spell casting last year had been because of a lack of confidence, but then she'd been able to get the hang of it.
Ah, said that horrible little voice again in her ear, you heard what Aunt Marge called you. A runt. Useless. Maybe she was right after all.
"Let's try again, everyone," Professor Flitwick said brightly, "Revelio!"
"Revelio," It happened again. Everyone in the class but Ginny, Atia and Colin burst out into laughter as Hazel's wand hit the back wall and she was left sitting with her arm outstretched like an idiot. This time Professor Flitwick picked the wand up himself and handed it back to her. She took it with her face burning and sank down below her books so no one could see her. It was a tricky charm, Professor Flitwick had said so himself, but then no one else's wands were flying out of their hands like darts, were they? Why was it just her?
Maybe you are just useless after all...
They worked at the charm for the whole class and no matter what she tried, it was no use. She tried wrapping more fingers around the handle, then less, she tried balancing it on her palm, she even tried whispering the spell without any wand movement at all but no. Each and every time she tried, the wand tried to escape like a dog towards a paddling pool.
"Alright class," Professor Flitwick clapped his hands together, "I think that's enough practise for today! Your homework will be to read the chapter on revealing charms and write an essay on-"
There was an urgent knock on the door.
"Yes?" Professor Flitwick called.
It was Professor McGonagall, looking a little pale and her mouth was pressed so tight that Hazel could barely see her lips. Her eyes swept the room until they fell on Atia, halfway through packing up.
"Excuse me, Professor Flitwick," She said in a clipped tone that Hazel had heard before. It was the same anxious way she had spoken last year, when discussing the students who had been petrified. Her heart started to beat a little faster, "I need to take Miss Malfoy please. Her brother is in the hospital wing."
Atia's face drained of colour, and she began shoving her books and parchment into her bag until Ginny stopped her.
"You go," She said in a firm voice, "We'll pack up for you."
Atia gave a little nod in thanks and hurried from the room, the door slamming shut behind her. There was a moment of awkward silence in which everyone looked uncomfortably at one another before the bell rang and they all jumped.
"What do you think's happened?" Hazel asked once they were out in the corridor. Her heart was still thumping
"I don't know," Ginny frowned, "but McGonagall looked worried enough."
Hazel bit her lip, "What if it's really bad?"
"Madam Pomfrey will fix him up in no time. She grew your brother's arm back, remember?"
Hazel nodded but she couldn't help but her stomach squirmed with guilt, after all the anger she'd felt this morning towards Malfoy and now he was lying in the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey was very good at healing injuries but what it was something super serious? What if he'd come across a dementor and it had attacked him? "I hope he's okay."
Ginny snorted. Her sympathy for Draco Malfoy only went so far.
AN: Sorry this is a super long chapter but there didn't seem to be any natural breaks! Hope you enjoy! :)