'I wanted to check if either of you were borrowing Hermione's Potions book?'
'Harry was, I think. Weren't you, Harry?'
Predictions
While Hermione was in Arithmacy, Harry and Ron endured Divination. Professor Trelawny was conducting the lesson in her usual, dramatic way...
'DEATH!'
Terror instantly swept through the class. Lavender and Parvati looked particularly concerned, and Neville nearly fell of his pouffe.
'The Death card, my children,' explained Professor Trewlawny, resuming her dreamy tone, and holding up an actual Death card from the Tarot. 'If you did the homework I assigned, you would know this card portends transformation! Endings and beginnings! The dawning of a new awakening!'
'Why didn't she say all that in the first place?' Ron whispered grumpily to Harry, fed up with Professor Trewlawny's dramatics.
'Now,' she proceeded, picking up a Tarot deck from her desk, 'take out your cards, we're going to make some predictions. Mr Longbottom!' she said suddenly, pointing a long finger at Neville. 'I foresaw you would forget your deck so I brought a spare.'
She handed her deck to Neville, who received it with a shaky hand.
'Everybody, shuffle your cards,' she instructed. 'Then, using your Inner Eye, pull out a card at random. It will reveal the very energy surrounding you at this time.'
'I wonder if there's a card for extreme boredom,' groaned Ron, lazily shuffling his cards. As told, he pulled out a card and observed his fortune. 'I got the Five of Swords, what does that mean?'
'I'll check,' said Harry, consulting his Divination book. 'Maybe you're going to be stabbed five times?'
'We can only hope,' said Ron, flicking his card down.
As Ron said this, Professor Trewlawny glided over to their table and nosed in.
'Ah, the Five of Swords!' she said profoundly, staring down at Ron's card through her magnified glasses. 'My dear, I sense you must be prepared to loose a battle. Accept defeat, or be plagued by feelings of bitterness and jealousy!'
'Sorry, Ron,' said Harry, smirking.
'Hey, it happens,' shrugged Ron. Professor Trewlawny was not impressed by such a cavalier response to what she considered a very significant warning.
'Dear boy, this card is not to be taken lightly! You must be aware when this battle takes place, for only then can you truly surrender and heal. Now,' she turned her attention to Harry, 'why don't you draw a card from your deck, Mr Potter?'
Harry gulped. He knew whatever card he picked, Professor Trewlawny would associate it with his ultimate demise. Taking the plunge, Harry shuffled his deck and pulled out a card.
Great he thought, hardly believing his luck.
'DEATH!' screeched Professor Trelawny.
'We - can - read!' Ron spelled-out sarcastically. All eyes in the class were now on Harry.
'My poor, poor boy!' Professer Trewlawy clutched her heart, as if the sorrow were too much to bear. 'I am not surprised you have been connected with the energies of the Death card! For only last night when I was gazing in my crystal ball...'
'Here we go,' mumbled Ron, rolling his eyes.
'...I foresaw danger coming to you, Mr Potter! Terrible, terrible danger. You will experience an intense, inner transformation! New feelings will emerge within you...yes. But hence, this change will lead towards suffering, pain and - '
Ron overrode her.
'Oh, would you look at the time? Class is finished, time for lunch. Damn, can you believe it? Come on Harry...'
Although it was actually two minutes until the end of class, everyone took Ron's announcement seriously and packed away their things, heading down the stairs and out into halls.
'Can you believe her? Honestly!' Ron complained, once they were in the clear. 'I swear, Harry, until you show up to class as a corpse, she's never going to lighten up.' Harry laughed.
'I know.'
'HARRY! RON!'
Harry and Ron spun around. It was Neville.
'Hey guys,' he said, catching up with them. 'I wanted to check if either of you were borrowing Hermione's Potions book?'
'Harry was, I think. Weren't you, Harry?' said Ron, looking in Harry's direction. Harry, after hearing the words borrowing Hermione's Potions book, was panic-stricken. How did Neville know that?
Er, yeah. Why?' he said sternly, staring Neville in the eye.
'I thought I'd let you know I found it in our room and returned it to Hermione this morning.'
'You did WHAT?' Harry blurted out, unable to stop himself. Neville was very thrown aback, as was Ron, by what seemed to be an unnecessarily anxious reaction.
'Well, Potions class is coming up and...and I thought she'll need it, that's all. I better be heading off now, though,' he said, backing steadily away from Harry. 'I'll see you guys later. I really hope you don't die, Harry. Bye!'
And he ran off, leaving Ron to question Harry.
'What's the matter? You didn't need that book any more, did you?'
Harry didn't answer. He was too busy trying to control a sudden urge to pull his hair out! Maybe I shouldn't jump to conclusions he told himself. Maybe she didn't see what I wrote?
But any strain of hope Harry had was quickly demolished when Lavender and Parvati passed by.
'It's such an incredibly beautiful day, don't you think, Parvati?'
'Yes, definitely incredibly beautiful, Lavender. I do hope tomorrow is as incredibly beautiful as it is today.'
Both girls gave Harry and knowing look as they walked away, giggling amongst themselves like a pair of hyenas. Harry wanted to sink into the ground and disappear.
'What the hell is wrong with those two?' said Ron, watching their departure with a revolted expression.
'I wish I was dead...' mumbled Harry under his breath.
'Huh?'
'Ah, I mean...I hope there's, er...bread! I hope there's bread at lunch.'
Harry cringed at this feeble attempt to cover up his last comment. Ron was giving him a very bizarre look.
'What do you mean you hope there's bread at lunch. There's always bread! And anyway, Harry, it's not time for lunch yet. We have Potions now. I was just kidding before.'
Harry's panic instantly resurfaced.
'Potions!' he exclaimed. Hermione was going to be in Potions. He wasn't ready for her yet!
'Yeah, Potions! Harry, what's wrong with you? Why are you acting like we have our O.W.L's in an hour?'
Forget the O.W.L's, Hermione knew! She knew what Harry had written her Potions book, before he had a chance to explain himself. And worse, Lavender and Parvati obviously knew as well! Maybe even Neville ...the whole school at this rate Harry thought, exaggerating. He needed to take action; or better yet, he needed to hide.
'Listen, Ron, tell Snape I'm...well, tell him something! Tell him I need to study. I can't come to class.'
'Well, wait a sec! Where are you going?'
'The library,' said Harry, already on his way. 'I'll talk to you later!'
Ron was totally baffled.
'The library?' he mouthed to himself.
Krum Still Loves Hermione?
'Where's Harry?'
This was the first thing Hermione said to Ron when he arrived at Potions class. She was already seated in their usual spot. Ron slumped into the seat next to her, dumping his school bag on the desk.
'Fairy land!' he replied huffily, as he pulled out his books. Hermione hadn't expected this response at all.
'What?' she said, crossing her eyebrows. Ron zipped up his school bag and turned towards her.
'See if you can understand this, Hermione: one minute Harry's talking about bread, and the next he's skipping class to go to the library!'
'He's skipping class? Why?'
'The hell if I know! To study, apparently. He's been acting a bit weird. Freaked out about something, I don't know.'
'He is?' This isn't about what he wrote in my Potions book? Hermione wondered frantically, not even knowing if this was the case.
'Today,' Professor Snape had begun from the front of the class, 'we will learn how to make a sleeping potion, similar to what our school nurse Madame Pomfrey uses on her patients, only more powerful...and Mr Weasley, if you do not stop talking you can be the official taste tester!'
Ron's mouth sealed shut.
'Because this particular sleeping potion is very strong, it can have an after-effect. But who here can tell me the proper term for this?'
Hermione's hand shot up in the air, scraping Ron by the ear.
'Watch it!' he grumbled. 'That arm's a weapon...'
'Anyone?' repeated Snape, purposely avoiding Hermione, who was stretching her hand so high she was almost standing on her seat.
'Yes, Draco Malfoy.'
Vanquished, Hermione's hand flopped back down.
'I believe,' said Malfoy, in a very pompous tone, 'that potion relapse is the proper term. Other terms include potion backsliding or potion regression. Potion relapse often occurs when a potion hasn't been sufficiently cleansed from a person's body.'
Snape nodded appraisingly.
`Excellent, Malfoy. Twenty points to Slytherin.'
`Twenty!' hissed Ron under his breath. `That's robbery!'
Malfoy, who was sitting at the table in front of Ron and Hermione, turned around to give the two of them and an arrogant glare. He even had the indecency to shoot Hermione a wink.
`Got something in your eye, Malfoy?' said Hermione, glaring back.
Malfoy snickered and turned back round. Snape was still discussing potion relapse.
`Potion relapse can be either insignificant or extreme, depending on the circumstances. The potions you find it most commonly associated with include switching potions, mood changing potions…and of course,' he looked specifically at Hermione, `love potions.'
The whole class, except for Ron, began to laugh. Hermione put on a dignified face, but was unable to fight the pink forming in her cheeks. Ron leant over to her and whispered, `don't listen to him, Hermione. He's probably made heaps of love potions in his day.'
`How do you figure?' Hermione whispered back. Ron sniggered.
`As if Snape could ever get a girl to go out with him! I mean for one, it looks like he hasn't washed his hair since leaving the womb...'
`I strongly advise you research potion relapse to the full extent,' Snape continued. `That, of course, means going to the library, though I'm sure most of you have forgotten what the library looks like.' Snape looked directly at Ron. `It's the big room with all the books in it.'
Ron's cheeks went a little pink themselves, when suddenly, something flew in and interrupted the class: it was an owl, and it carried a letter for Hermione. Everyone groaned. They had fond memories of Krum sending Hermione constant mail. Snape wasn't impressed either.
`Hurry up and read it, Miss Granger! And next time, save the excitement of your social life for after my class!'
Quickly, Hermione unrolled her letter, avoiding Snape's and everyone else's glares. Surely this was a message from her parents, checking up on her? But no, it wasn't. Oh, what could he possibly want now?
Dear Hermione,
Why didn't you say you were still interested in me? You must be, otherwise why would you send the love potion? Now that I'm cured, I realise I'm still interested in you as well. I would be honoured if you'd join me at the Annual Drakon Hunt next week in Greece. I know it's short notice, but please consider taking the time off school. I'd love to see you again.
Yours Sincerely,
Viktor Krum
Hermione couldn't work out was more absurd: the fact Krum thought she was still interested in him, or that she would ever take time of school!
`It's not from Krummy is it?' said Ron jokingly. `That would be a right cack!'
`Well of course it's not!' Hermione snapped, shoving the letter into her school bag. `Don't be ridiculous…'
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