Thanks again to ChuckTheElf for beta-reading.

Chapter 14: Rumour Has It...

News of her fainting did not take long to travel around the third years, nor the rest of the Hogwarts pupils. Thanks to Neville, the whole school knew she was scared of Dementors, and Holly couldn't escape the whispers and stares.

The Slytherins in particular were having a field day at her expense. When Holly, Ron, and Hermione entered the Great Hall for breakfast the next day, the first people they saw were Pansy Parkinson, Alana Runcorn, and Evelyn Rowle holding court with the other third-year Slytherins. As they passed their table, Malfoy and friends did a ridiculous impression of a swooning fit; roaring laughter accompanied it.

"Ignore them," said Hermione, who was right behind her. "They aren't worth it."

"Hey Potter!" shouted Parkinson. "The Dementors are coming!"

"Wooooo…" chanted Goyle and Crabbe, circling a twitching Malfoy in place of actual Dementors.

"Some people just can't live up to their hype, can they?" said Rowle to Runcorn, who smirked in response.

Despite the others' reassurances, Holly still couldn't shake her feelings of inadequacy nor her annoyance at Neville, who was doing his best to avoid her angry gaze.

Why did Neville have to blab to Malfoy? It was bad enough that Ron and Hermione had to see her in such a state; now the whole school knew. Holly stirred her porridge, eating little of it. Just remembering Lupin's concerned glances and Madam Pomfrey declaring her 'delicate' was enough to make her flush in shame.

Fortunately for Neville, receiving her timetable drew Holly's attention off of him and onto her upcoming classes.

Hermione looked over hers happily. "Ooh, good, we're starting some new subjects today."

"Hermione," said Ron, frowning as he looked over her shoulder, "they've messed up your timetable. Look—they've got you down for about ten subjects a day. There isn't enough time."

But Hermione didn't seem concerned. "I'll manage. I've fixed it all with Professor McGonagall."

"But look," said Ron, laughing, "see this morning? Nine o'clock, Divination. And underneath, nine o'clock, Muggle Studies. And look—" Ron leaned closer to the timetable in disbelief, "—underneath that, Arithmancy, nine o'clock. I mean, I know you're good, Hermione, but no one's that good. How're you supposed to be in three classes at once?"

"Don't be silly," said Hermione shortly. "Of course I won't be in three classes at once."

"Well then—"

"Pass the marmalade," said Hermione.

"But—"

"Oh, Ron, what's it to you if my timetable's a bit full?" snapped Hermione. "I've told you, I've fixed it all with Professor McGonagall."

Ron did so quietly before sullenly munching on a rasher of bacon. Holly frowned. It was a bit rude of him to keep pushing, seeing as Hermione clearly wasn't interested in talking about it, but she didn't need to be so shirty.

"Switch timetables with me?"

As third years, they now had three blocks instead of two after lunch. Since she was only taking two electives—Care of Magical Creatures and Ancient Runes—Holly noted that she had free periods during the first block Wednesday and after lunch Friday while Ron and Hermione had Divination.

She grinned. With nearly three hours of extra free time, she'd have no problem keeping up.

Just then, Hagrid entered the Great Hall. He was wearing his long moleskin overcoat and was absent-mindedly swinging a dead polecat from one enormous hand.

"All righ'?" he said eagerly, pausing on his way to the staff table. "Yer in my firs' ever lesson! Right after lunch! Bin up since five getting everthin' ready… hope it's okay… me, a teacher… hones'ly…"

They had been informed during the Start-Of-Term Feast that Hagrid had been appointed the new Care professor after Kettleburn's retirement the previous year. There was no doubt that their course book was a personal favourite of his.

He grinned broadly at them and headed off to the staff table, still swinging the polecat.

"Wonder what he's been getting ready?" said Ron, a note of anxiety in his voice.

The Hall was starting to empty as people headed off towards their first lessons.

Holly and Ron swapped back their timetables.

"We'd better go," he said to Hermione, "look, Divination is at the top of North Tower. It'll take us ten minutes to get there…"

"Have fun with that," said Holly as she made a few bacon sandwiches to take with her.

They finished breakfast hastily, said goodbye to Fred and George and walked back through the hall. As they passed the Slytherin table, Malfoy did yet another impression of a fainting fit. The shouts of laughter followed Holly into the Entrance Hall.

After parting ways with Ron and Hermione, Holly slipped away from the main crowds, heading back towards Gryffindor Tower. She put on her Invisibility Cloak with the ease of long practice and made a detour towards a lesser-known corridor.

Pressing her index finger to the out-of-sight knocker, the first door opened. The second door opened after she gave her new password: Biscuits.

Her Hideaway had come a long way from when she first discovered the abandoned space last year. It was a shame to pack it all away before summer, but she could return to full-scale brewing with school in session again.

Holly Unshrunk her second trunk and took out her new cauldrons and potions ingredients. Setting everything up was quick work, and soon her potion-making could begin once more. Casting a perfunctory eye over the ten cauldrons over burners, Holly looked over the directions for Beautification Potion, Zygmunt Budge's version.

Grind the wings of three fairies and add to the cauldron.

Stir slowly, and then add morning dew.

Stir vigorously, then heat the mixture.

Find a single fresh rose. Pluck seven petals and add to the cauldron.

Chop the dried Lady's Mantle and add to cauldron, then stir.

Add a lock of unicorn hair and stir vigorously.

Add powdered ginger root and then heat.

Lastly, wave your wand over the cauldron to finish the potion.

As it brewed, Holly entered the abandoned dorm room and looked around. It was nice to know if things went belly-up again, she'd have a place to go. Once she cast a few wandless Scourgifys, the place was as good as she'd left it.

The potion shimmered once she added a single unicorn hair, just as it had before. Holly took a moment to admire the subtle colour when it caught the light exactly right.

After the brew finished, Holly drew up a schedule that would allow her to finish her subjects at a reasonable pace. Everything was self-paced, but the estimated completion time was about two years. She wouldn't be too overwhelmed if she staggered the start and completion times, but she'd need to juggle things carefully. And probably buy more notes from the Weasley twins.

The bell rang. There was no time for her to bottle the cooling potion, so she covered it with a Transfigured cheesecloth and departed her Hideaway.

Transfiguration proceeded without fanfare—though most of the class smelled heavily of perfume—and soon enough, it was time for lunch.

"What's going on with Parvati?" asked Holly as she served herself some beef stew. The olive-skinned girl had been casting suspicious glances at Ron since Transfiguration.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Trelawney told her to 'beware a red-haired man' and it got her all in a tizzy."

Ron didn't seem concerned about that. He had helped himself to some stew but had yet to eat it, choosing to stir it around idly for several minutes.

"Holly," he finally said in a low, serious voice, "you haven't seen a great black dog anywhere, have you?"

She thought back to the dog she had briefly befriended. "Yeah, I have," said Holly. "I saw one the night I left the Dursleys."

Ron's fork fell with a clatter.

"Probably a stray," said Hermione calmly.

Ron looked at Hermione as though she had gone mad. "Hermione, if Holly's seen a Grim, that's—that's bad," he said. "My — my uncle Bilius saw one and — and he died twenty-four hours later!"

"What's going on?" asked Holly.

"Coincidence," said Hermione airily, pouring herself some pumpkin juice.

"You don't know what you're talking about!" said Ron, starting to get angry. "Grims scare the living daylights out of most wizards!"

"There you are, then," said Hermione in a superior tone. "They see the Grim and die of fright. The Grim isn't an omen, it's the cause of death! And Holly's still with us because she's not stupid enough to see one and think, right, well, I'd better kick the bucket then!"

Despite not being fully aware of their current argument, Holly felt shocked at Hermione's casual insensitivity. She wasn't sure why Grims were so feared in the Wizarding world, but for Hermione to dismiss such a fear without knowing the background seemed rather cold of her.

Ron mouthed wordlessly at Hermione, who opened her bag, took out her new Arithmancy book, and propped it open against the juice jug. "I think Divination seems very woolly," she said, searching for a page. "A lot of guesswork, if you ask me."

Holly felt she needed to say something in Ron's defence. "Hermione, exactly how is Arithmancy any different from Divination? One is guessing with tea leaves and reading palms, the other is guessing with complicated math equations."

"Arithmancy can be used to find the most likely outcomes in any situation," said Hermione primly.

"'Most likely' doesn't mean 'absolute'," Holly pointed out. "Divination and Arithmancy seem like different sides to the same coin. One's just as woolly as the other."

That phrase seemed to snap Ron out of it. "There was nothing woolly about the Grim in that cup!" he said hotly, glaring at them both.

"You didn't seem quite so confident when you were telling Neville it was a sheep," said Hermione coolly.

"A sheep?" asked Holly, intrigued, but her query went ignored.

"Professor Trelawney said you didn't have the right aura! You just don't like being bad at something for a change!"

Hermione slammed her Arithmancy book down on the table so hard that bits of meat and carrot flew everywhere.

"If being good at Divination means I have to pretend to see death omens in a lump of tea leaves, I'm not sure I'll be studying it much longer! That lesson was absolute rubbish compared with my Arithmancy class!" She snatched up her bag and stalked away.

Ron frowned after her. "What's she talking about?" he said to Holly. "She hasn't been to an Arithmancy class yet."

Holly shrugged. "Search me. And really Ron, is this going to be a regular thing?"

"What?"

She sighed. "Never mind."

After lunch they headed out of the castle. Yesterday's rain had cleared; the sky was a pale grey, and the grass was springy and damp underfoot as they set off for their first-ever Care of Magical Creatures class. Hermione refused to talk to Ron once they joined her, and Holly sensed another peacekeeping session in the works. She silently walked beside them as they went down the sloping lawns to Hagrid's hut on the edge of the Forbidden Forest.

It was only when she spotted three only-too-familiar backs ahead of them that she realised they must be having these lessons with the Slytherins. Malfoy was talking animatedly to Crabbe and Goyle, who were chortling. Holly was quite sure she knew what they were talking about. Hagrid was waiting for his class at the door of his hut. He stood in his moleskin overcoat, with Fang the boarhound at his heels, looking impatient to start.

"C'mon, now, get a move on!" he called as the class approached. "Got a real treat for yeh today! Great lesson comin' up! Everyone here? Right, follow me!"

Hagrid strolled off around the edge of the trees, and five minutes later, they found themselves outside a kind of paddock. There was nothing in there.

"Now," began Hagrid, "Yeh'll—"

"I refuse!" said Malfoy said loudly, crossing his arms.

"Refu'e?" asked Hagrid, eyebrows narrowed.

"I refuse to listen to you," said Malfoy. "You're barely a wizard and I do not believe you have the qualifications to be a professor!"

Hagrid glowered and Malfoy took a step back, his confidence waning. "Well now, tha''s a funny thing ter say considerin' tha' I did me work over the summer ter become qualified. Somethin' the school governors require. Isn' your father one o' 'em?"

Malfoy gaped like a landed fish while others snickered and snorted.

Hagrid faced the rest of the class. "Now, firs' thing yeh'll want ter do is open yer books—"

"How?" came Malfoy's cold voice.

"Eh?"

"How do we open our books?" Malfoy repeated. He took out his copy of The Monster Book of Monsters, which he had bound shut with a length of rope. Other people took theirs out too; some, like Holly, had belted their book shut; others had crammed them inside tight bags or clamped them together with binder clips.

"Hasn' — hasn' anyone bin able ter open their books?" said Hagrid, looking crestfallen.

The class all shook their heads.

"Yeh've got ter stroke 'em," said Hagrid, as though this was the most obvious thing in the world. "Look—" He took Hermione's copy and ripped off the Spellotape that bound it. The book tried to bite, but Hagrid ran a giant forefinger down its spine, and the book shivered, and then fell open and lay quiet in his hand.

"Oh, how silly we've all been!" Malfoy sneered. "We should have stroked them! Why didn't we guess!"

"I — I thought they were funny," Hagrid said uncertainly to Hermione; she gave an awkward smile in response.

"Oh, tremendously funny!" said Malfoy, his voice becoming increasingly derisive. "Really witty, giving us books that try and rip our hands off!"

"Shut up, Malfoy," said Holly quietly after noticing Hagrid's expression.

"Righ' then," said Hagrid, who seemed to have lost his thread, "so — so yeh've got yer books an'… an'… now yeh need the Magical Creatures. Yeah. So I'll go an' get 'em. Hang on…" He strode away from them into the forest and out of sight.

"God, this place is going to the dogs," said Malfoy loudly. "That oaf teaching classes, can't believe my father allowed this—"

"Shut up, Malfoy."

"Careful, Potter, there's—"

"Oooooooh!" squealed Lavender Brown, pointing toward the opposite side of the paddock.

A dozen of the most bizarre creatures Holly had ever seen were trotting toward them. They had the bodies, hind legs, and tails of horses, but the front legs, wings, and heads of what seemed to be giant eagles, with cruel, steel-coloured beaks and large, brilliantly, orange eyes. The talons on their front legs were half a foot long and deadly-looking. Each of the beasts had a thick leather collar around its neck, which was attached to a long chain, and the ends of all of these were held in the vast hands of Hagrid, who came jogging into the paddock behind the creatures.

"Gee up, there!" he roared, shaking the chains and urging the creatures toward the fence where the class stood. Everyone drew back slightly as Hagrid reached them and tethered the creatures to the fence.

"Hippogriffs!" Hagrid roared happily, waving a hand at them. "Beau'iful, aren' they?"

Holly could sort of see what Hagrid meant. Once you got over the first shock of seeing something that was half horse, half bird, you started to appreciate the Hippogriffs' gleaming coats, changing smoothly from feather to hair, each of them a different colour: stormy grey, bronze, pinkish roan, gleaming chestnut, and inky black.

"So," said Hagrid, rubbing his hands together and beaming around, "if yeh wan' ter come a bit nearer…"

No one seemed to want to. Holly, Ron, and Hermione, however, approached the fence cautiously.

"Now, firs' thing yeh gotta know abou' Hippogriffs is, they're proud," said Hagrid. "Easily offended, Hippogriffs are. Don't never insult one, 'cause it might be the last thing yeh do." Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle weren't listening; they were talking in an undertone and Holly had a nasty feeling they were plotting how best to disrupt the lesson. "Yeh always wait fer the Hippogriff ter make the firs' move," Hagrid continued. "It's polite, see? Yeh walk toward him, and yeh bow, an' yeh wait. If he bows back, yeh're allowed ter touch him. If he doesn' bow, then get away from him sharpish, 'cause those talons hurt."

"Right — who wants ter go first?"

Most of the class backed farther away in answer. Even Holly, Ron, and Hermione had misgivings. The Hippogriffs were tossing their fierce heads and flexing their mighty wings; they didn't seem to like being tethered like this.

"No one?" said Hagrid, with a pleading look.

Holly internally sighed. "I'll do it."

There was an intake of breath behind her; Lavender and Parvati whispered to each other, but she ignored them and climbed over the paddock fence.

"Good lass, Holly!" roared Hagrid. "Right then — let's see how yeh get on with Buckbeak."

He untied one of the chains, pulled the grey Hippogriff away from its fellows, and slipped off its leather collar. The class on the other side of the paddock seemed to be holding its breath. Malfoy's eyes were narrowed maliciously.

"Easy now, Holly," said Hagrid quietly. "Yeh've got eye contact, now try not ter blink… Hippogriffs don' trust yeh if yeh blink too much…"

Holly kept her eyes open. Buckbeak had turned his great, sharp head and was staring at her with one fierce orange eye.

"Tha's it," said Hagrid. "Tha's it, Holly… now, bow."

Holly didn't feel much like exposing the back of her neck to Buckbeak, but she did as she was told. She gave a slow, long bow and then gave an unblinking stare. The Hippogriff suddenly bent its scaly front knees and sank into what was an unmistakable bow.

"Well done, Holly!" said Hagrid, ecstatic. "Right — yeh can touch him! Pat his beak, go on!"

Feeling that a better reward would have been to back away, Holly moved slowly toward the Hippogriff and reached out toward it. She gave the beak long gentle strokes and the Hippogriff closed its eyes lazily, as though enjoying it. The class broke into applause, all except for Malfoy and his cronies, who looked deeply disappointed.

"Righ' then, Holly," said Hagrid. "I reckon he migh' let yeh ride him!"

This was more than Holly had bargained for. "Er…"

"Yeh climb up there, jus' behind the wing joint," said Hagrid before she could protest, "an' mind yeh don' pull any of his feathers out, he won' like that…"

Following Hagrid's instructions, Holly hoisted herself onto Buckbeak's back. Once it stood up, though, she wasn't quite sure where to hold; everything was covered in feathers.

"Go on, then!" roared Hagrid, slapping the Hippogriff's hindquarters.

Without warning, twelve-foot wings flapped open on either side of her, and she could barely seize Buckbeak's neck before she soared upwards with a yelp.

Never again, thought Holly as she held on for dear life. Unlike her trusty Nimbus, the Hippogriff was in charge of her destination. Buckbeak's wings and hindquarters rose and fell with each flap, making her flight somewhat uneasy; the glossy feathers allowed no purchase for her hands to grip. Worst of all was the landing. As its smooth neck lowered, Holly did her best to lean back without falling too quickly over the beak or back over its hind legs. A heavy thud echoed as the four ill-assorted feet hit the ground.

Holly let out a relieved breath as she climbed down from Buckbeak.

"Good work, Holly!" roared Hagrid as everyone except Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle cheered. "Okay, who else wants a go?"

Emboldened by Holly's success, the rest of the class climbed cautiously into the paddock. Hagrid untied the Hippogriffs one by one, and soon people were bowing nervously, all over the paddock. Neville repeatedly ran backwards from his, which didn't seem to want to bend its knees. Ron and Hermione practised on the chestnut while Holly watched. Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle had taken over Buckbeak. He had bowed to Malfoy, who was now patting his beak, looking disdainful.

"This is very easy," said Malfoy with a drawl, loud enough for Holly to hear him. "I knew it must have been, if Potter could do it… I bet you're not dangerous at all, are you?"

"Knock it off, Malfoy," said Holly once Hermione safely perched herself onto the Hippogriff.

Malfoy sneered at her, but then he got a frightened look on his face and pointed and shouted, "Dementor! Dementor!"

It wasn't only Holly that flinched or spun around—nor only Gryffindors—but it didn't make her feel less foolish for doing so.

With half of the class distracted, Malfoy turned back to Buckbeak and said, "You're not so dangerous at all, are you, you great ugly brute?"

Things went pear-shaped in an instant. Holly had just started turning back to Malfoy's direction at the start of him saying 'ugly'… She could see Buckbeak rear back, its talons glinting in the light… Malfoy's face had lost its smug look, now contorting into a look of shock…

And she ran.

The world slowed around her as she pushed Malfoy out of the way. Holly had also hoped to get clear of the Hippogriff, trying to jump into the air at the same time as the shove, but fortune was not in her favour. The tail end of Buckbeak's claws dug painfully into her shin, the sound of talon against bone almost as excruciating as the pain that erupted.

Then, it was over. The world returned to its original pace, and she was barely aware of Hagrid wrestling a now-confused Buckbeak back into his collar.

"Did you see? It almost killed me!" yelled Malfoy as he scrambled up to the panicking class, free from injury.

Holly glared at the pompous blond. You're an idiot, she thought, wadding her robe against her wound.

Thankfully, Ron voiced what she could not. "Shut up!" he said as he and Hermione ran over to her. "Holly saved your arse and all you can do is whinge! You should have left if you didn't want to be here!"

"Nobody's dying!" said Hagrid, who had gone very white. "Someone help me — gotta get her outta here —"

Hermione ran to hold open the gate as Hagrid lifted Holly as easily as a newborn cat. Biting her lip in an attempt not to cry, she could feel her wound splitting further as Hagrid jostled her; blood splattered the grass and Hagrid ran up the slope toward the castle with Ron and Hermione on his heels.

"They should sack him straight away!" she could hear Pansy Parkinson say haughtily.

"It was Malfoy's fault!" snapped Dean Thomas.

"It's not my fault that beast can't understand humour!"

The voices faded as they approached the Hospital wing.

"Are you all right, Holly?" asked Hermione, her face white with worry.

She winced and nodded. "I'll be fine."

Ron stiffly nodded. "Course she will. Madam Pomfrey can mend cuts in about a second."

Indeed, Madam Pomfrey simply tsked as Hagrid set her down on a clean bed while Hermione and Ron explained the situation.

"Hippogriffs for third-years, Rubeus?" said the Mediwitch disapprovingly.

Hagrid reddened. "Thought it'd be an interestin' firs' lesson," he mumbled.

Madam Pomfrey carefully unwrapped her still-bleeding leg; there was a long, deep laceration from knee to ankle with yellowish fat visible. Hagrid, Ron, and Hermione winced.

"Interesting indeed," she said dryly.

~•~

Unfortunately for Holly, the fix wasn't quite as simple as she thought. While she was given Dittany and Murtlap Essence to speed up her healing, Madam Pomfrey also had her drink a very bitter Nerve Regeneration potion due to the depth of her wound to prevent nerve damage. It took three days before she was cleared to go, and even then, her leg gave painful throbs if she walked too fast.

"I don't see why you took the fall for Malfoy," said Alex.

Holly opened her self-organising notebook. "If Hagrid's job hadn't been jeopardised, I would have let him suffer."

"But how do you know it won't be? It wouldn't take much for him to make up some wild, near-death story."

"Can we just focus on what we have to do?" she snapped, annoyed with Alex questioning her actions. "What's done is done. Let's concentrate on Eternal Elixirs. How are the main three testing so far?"

Alex was silent for a moment but recovered quickly. "Well, the main three have finished preliminary testing. The Finch-Fletchley's have gone through four five millilitre sample packets of the dittany already—it'll be a bestseller for sure…"

Holly listened with one ear and jotted down notes. She didn't want to admit it, but Alex had a point. If Malfoy threatened Hagrid's job after she protected him from Buckbeak, it would be all for nought. Plus, she had missed her first class in Runes, Charms and Potions, to name a few, so she would have to play catch up for a bit, even with Hermione and Ron's help.

With a racing mind and heavy heart, she returned to the Gryffindor third-year girls' dorms, where the room was undergoing some sort of transformation.

"Holly!" That was Fay, the first one to spot her. She placed a crate of candles on her desk. "How's your leg?"

She shrugged. "Madam Pomfrey said it'd be all better in a week."

"I'm glad you're okay," said Parvati with a small grin. She put down her bottles of nail varnish on the bed. "Malfoy was right out of order, insulting a hippogriff like that. Even without Hagrid's warning, I'm sure he's seen one before."

Holly gave a closed-lip smile. "Thanks." Since the previous year's events, Holly had been more or less distant from her dormmates. True, Fay never blamed her for her petrification, Sally-Anne had apologized, and it seemed like water under the bridge for Lavender and Parvati, but she couldn't get over it. How could they assume the worst of her so quickly? Was it her fault for not spending more time with them? Should she have tried harder to fit in?

As much as she prided herself on having a few close friends over many acquaintances, part of her wondered how things would have turned out had she been more social. Still, Second Year was finished, and she couldn't hide away forever.

She looked over the room again. "So what's all this?"

Parvati spoke again: "Anyway, we're having a slumber party tonight. You know, to celebrate our first week back? Are you up for it?"

Holly looked to Fay for a reaction, but she had returned to her magazine. "I dunno…" she said, thinking about the work she had waiting for her. That was another thing Alex would have mentioned, had he got the chance. Her injury had forced her to miss the remainder of the weekdays, and she would have to spend the following few classes catching up.

"Please? There's so much you've missed over the last few days!"

But then, it wasn't as if she couldn't go to the Professors' office hours. Holly grinned. "What time?"

~•~

"So, who's coming?" asked Sally-Anne as she set up and lit the candles.

Lavender put down a bottle of raspberry fizz on her now-clear vanity. "Oh, a few of the girls from the other dorm."

"And how long is this going to take?" demanded Hermione, who was already surrounded by several textbooks and parchment on her bed. She no doubt wanted to finish her work before sunrise.

"Oh, lighten up, Hermione! It's Saturday!" said Fay, walking in with a hovering picnic basket.

"Which means from dusk 'til dawn," said Holly to Hermione with a smirk. "You might as well join us."

It wasn't the first time Lavender and Parvati threw a slumber party, but they seemed to be going all-out tonight. Mattresses had been pulled from the unused beds across various year levels; a few dozen candles had been strategically placed all around the room, with some floating at a set height; there were even a few luxurious treats, a large box of Honeydukes' truffles and Double-Dark Chocolate. The drinks available were far from sickeningly sweet pumpkin juice, and Holly wanted to try the raspberry fizz.

The guests arrived just before curfew, oohing and ahhing at the transformed dorm. Holly frowned at the sight of Leanne Clearwater—who had yet to apologise for her slander from the previous year—but Clearwater simply rolled her eyes and warmly greeted Sally-Anne.

"Don't let her get to you," said Hermione comfortingly, having decided to participate.

Holly huffed and nodded. "Let's get something to drink."

Once they had selected their beverages—and been roped into distributing drinks to the rest of the attendees—Hermione and Holly settled down on the extra pillows with the others on the floor.

"So!" said Lavender with a clap once everyone settled in. "How was your first week, everyone?"

The room filled with the sound of a dozen girls talking over one another.

"Snape's still a git…"

"Don't know why I chose Arithmancy…"

"Charms is still better than Transfiguration…"

"Runes are killer…"

"Boring!" declared Parvati, ending all conversation immediately. "You know what we're here for."

A few girls giggled.

"McLaggen grew about a foot over the summer," began Kellan O'Connor, a redhead from the other dorm. "Seems like a decent chap."

"Cormac?" replied Lavender with a scowl. "Maybe for the boys. Rumour has it he's following his older brother's footsteps. Just last week he was staring at Fawcett's breasts!"

Anabella Max nodded in agreement. "You just know he'll grow up to be a pest."

"Not that Potter will have to worry about that anytime soon," said Leanne before she sipped at her drink.

Holly sneered, Clearwater's comment reminding her of Marge's criticisms. "Time will tell."

"Honestly, the older boys are much more fanciable," said Parvati.

"Not to mention mature," pointed out Olivia Blume to several nods.

"In more ways than one." Jocunda Watkins waggled her eyebrows; there were more than a few snickers.

"We all know the clear winner is, though," said Sally-Anne.

"Diggory!"

"Davies!"

Both groups glared at the other momentarily before arguing over the virtues of the fifth-year boys.

Roger Davies and Cedric Diggory were considered fanciable; both were tall and handsome, but of the two, Holly preferred Cedric, who had scruffy dark hair and kind grey eyes. To her, Cedric seemed much more open and casually confident, something Roger lacked.

"Does it really matter?" asked Hermione, who had reached her limit with the boy talk. "They're both out of our league anyway."

Clearwater scoffed. "Way to ruin the mood, Granger."

"Hey, you never know," said Fay cheerfully. "But she has a point; the chances of handsome fifth-years looking at us are pretty slim."

"Especially if they're always eying Chang," said Sally-Anne.

"But I suppose we should focus on more attainable blokes," said Annabella. "So, who's fanciable in our year?"

"Finnegan is definitely out," said Kellan with a disgusted look.

"Agreed! Always making dirty jokes. For Merlin's sake, grow up!"

"Weasley?"

"Well, he's tall, I suppose," said Sophie Roper, finally deciding to interject.

"But he's ginger," said Kellan, missing the irony as she flipped her red hair over her shoulder. "Imagine how the kids would look!"

"He seems to have grown up a bit. Holly, Hermione, you two are friends with him. What say you?"

Hermione took a sip of her drink before answering Annabella. "Well, he has grown up. I'm surprised he's taking Runes this year, but he isn't anything special."

Nothing special? Holly frowned. Hermione seemed to be selling Ron short.

"That's not true," interjected Fay. "Ron is doing well. Better than I expected, actually. He seems to have really buckled down since Lockhart got a hold of him last year."

Holly and Hermione shared a quick glance, aware of what really caused Ron's change before the conversation lapsed into another topic. All the while, though, Holly couldn't help but be both annoyed and relieved. Annoyed by the blatant dismissal from everyone except Fay and maybe Annabella. At the same time, it meant that nobody would either join their trio or come to take Ron away.

But why should I care about that? Part of her wondered as she tuned out Lavender and Clearwater's argument. Ron, Hermione, and I have been close for two years now. Can't see that changing anytime soon.

~•~

Holly, Ron, and Hermione's first class—or rather, Holly's first class—on Monday was Ancient Runes. Holly looked around. There was Tracey and Justin, who gave her a polite nod and smile. Fay, who waved them over to near where she was sitting by the doors. And, to her chagrin, Malfoy, who looked like he wanted to be anywhere else. Sighing, she chose a seat next to Fay, with Ron taking the seat next to her and Hermione to his right.

Their professor, Bathsheba Babbling, was a middle-aged witch, a bit younger than McGonagall, in grey-brown robes. She strode purposefully towards the front of the class, and surveyed the students for a moment before declaring: "Twenty-seven. All present, then." She spun around and started drawing runes on the chalkboard.

No roll-call, Holly noticed. Hermione almost looked offended.

"We covered the finer details of the introduction to Ancient Runes," said Babbling, her eyes meeting Holly for a moment, "but would anyone like to recap for those joining us today?"

Several hands shot into the air, Malfoy's and Ron's included.

"Mr Weasley?"

"Runes are both a language and a magic system in its own right," started Ron, with no hint of nervousness. "It's used to inscribe long-lasting effects where wand magic is either temporary or ineffective."

"Brief and well-stated. Five points to Gryffindor," said Babbling. "As most of you already know, a few years ago, I finally got permission to teach both theory and practical work concurrently. In addition to learning the language, you'll be carving, or rather, drawing runes to see how they are applied in everyday life."

She tapped her desk with her wand, and several chalk slates found themselves on each desk.

"Now, take out your books and turn to page fifteen for today's lesson…"

Professor Babbling lectured for a while about how carved or written runes could interact with the ambient magic in a manner analogous to the wand motions for spells. The energy, or something like it, of the spells was essential to keep in mind. Ordinary enchanting, which they had learned in Charms, could cause objects to move about on their own without a constant input of energy, but the energy still had to come from somewhere, usually from the caster's wand, in which case the charms would wear off over time. For many charms, it was possible to draw on the ambient magic from the air for a more permanent result, but it could still be no more powerful than the caster.

With the first of the thirty-six Elder Futhark runes they were studying, Kennaz, they learned its primary meaning as Torch. It symbolised vision, creativity, inspiration, improvement, and vitality. Holly privately noted that it reminded her of a cartoon lightbulb appearing over one's head when an idea emerged. She did the same for the remaining sub-textual meanings, trying to connect them to the main meaning of Kennaz, and how they could be used in the more complex arrays they would be crafting.

"This is why you will learn with chalk and slates," she said as the class scribbled down notes. "When your skills improve, we will use increasingly more permanent methods."

After giving a brief sense of how the usual runic spells must be modified when working with Latin letters, along with the various shortcuts that could be used and their trade-offs— "All of which are far too sloppy to be accepted as graded work" — she deemed the class ready for practice.

"We will first draw with Norse, as we did with Wingardium Leviosa in the previous lesson," said Babbling. "Make sure the letters in 'Incendio' are nice and even, and take turns to ensure that someone is ready with the Flame-Freezing Charm. While chalk is an excellent tool for practice, its transient nature does make it a bit more unstable."

Holly watched as Fay, Ron, and Hermione placed their slates down in front of them and began writing with the entire blunt end of the chalk. She copied their example, doing her best to keep her letters as even as possible.

The more the Professor lectured, the more Holly came to regret missing the first lesson. Runes sounded like an exciting branch of magic, less dry than she expected.

"Just like last time, we won't be using any of the specialised spells for runic magic," said the Professor. "Another reason Latin runes are easier to work with is that a simple modification of the spell to be cast can be used for the runes. Now, in this case, the incantation is 'Incendio Potentia', and the wand motion is the same with the addition of a flick down to touch your wand to the runes. Everyone try that now, and once again, be careful to touch the tip of your wand on the chalk of the first letter. All the letters should be glowing once you've done so."

Holly performed the spell and was pleased to see all of her letters glowing, although the glow was less pronounced farther from her wand. Ron got it to work on the first try, all his letters glowing brightly. Fay and Hermione did somewhat better than her, but she chalked that up to it being her first go at the method.

"Now, when you've got it, hold your wand there. You should be able to feel the magic flowing into the letters. If you're having trouble, focus on putting more energy into the spell. When a flame appears, withdraw your wand."

No one needed to be told twice when the first flame appeared. It flicked out after a minute or so, and after Babbling answered several questions, they practised drawing Kennaz. Surprisingly, only Ron could keep his chalk flame going for more than a few minutes, but Hermione was a near second.

At this point, the period was almost over, so Babbling handed out their homework packet before dismissing them.

"About time!" said Ron, flipping through his packet enthusiastically as they headed down the corridor. "Bill and Percy told me about these. They'll last until the end of October."

Holly raised an eyebrow; Hermione frowned. "Since when are you so happy to get homework?"

"I reckon since I like what I'm learning," said Ron, putting his books into his threadbare bag.

"We have Potions next, right?" asked Holly as she took out her timetable. "We should get going before Snape gives me a detention or something."

"Professor Snape, Holly," corrected Hermione as she led the way.