Chapter 7
During the train ride Harry and Hermione got to know Caroline quite well. Her father had to shift to France when she was ten. Now he had got a job at the ministry so they had decided to come back to England. They were soon joined by Ron, Luna and Ginny. Together they had a very cheerful journey. When they reached Hogwarts Caroline was getting a bit nervous about which house she would get sorted into. She hoped that it would be Gryffindor. She got her wish as the sorting hat shouted `Gryffindor!' as soon as she put it in her head. There were loud cheers at the Gryffindor table. Harry and Hermione were foremost in welcoming her to their house. Within a matter of a couple of weeks Caroline had become an integral member of Hogwarts.
About three weeks into the term Professor McGonagall announced that all the seventh years would be required to make a project involving most things they learnt at Hogwarts. They would be working in groups of three. The project would have to involve all subjects, treated with equal importance. There would be a presentation before Christmas where all the trios would have to present their project. Professor Dumbledore would judge them. All presentations would count towards their NEWTs. The house with best presentation would be awarded one hundred and fifty points. The presentations could involve readings as well practical demonstrations. She made chits to decide the groups for the Gryffindor students. Ron, Lavender and Seamus were in the first group. Parvati, Dean and Neville were in the second while the third consisted of Harry, Hermione and Caroline.
Everybody took this project very seriously. Harry, Hermione and Caroline divided the workload between them. They had to work on five subjects. Transfiguration, Potions, Charms, Defense against Dark Arts and Herbology. They decided to have both readings and demonstrations from each. Harry was handling Defense against Dark Arts and Charms. Caroline took care of Herbology and Transfigurations. Hermione agreed to do Potions since the other two were not as good with the subject.
Hermione as usual was progressing at lightning speed. Though she had only one subject, her portion was by far the most difficult. Caroline planned out her Transfiguration portion pretty well but was having difficulty over the practical demonstration of Herbology. Harry had written out the theoretical parts for both his subjects. He had decided to have a combined demonstration for charms and Defense against Dark Arts. He would single handedly duel Hermione and Caroline. While dueling he would use apparation to avoid spells like Dumbledore had done at the ministry of magic in his battle with Voldemort. So he thought he should work on his apparating skills. Every evening after sunset he would go near the lake and practice.
One evening just as he had finished practicing, he saw a figure moving far away near the forbidden forest. By the size he knew it wasn't Hagrid. He moved closer. The figure kept coming towards him. He took out his wand. In the dark he couldn't se well. To his relief he saw it was Caroline.
"Goodness Caroline! You gave me a real scare. What are you up to?" he asked her.
"I was just looking for some samples for the Herbology presentation. I found them. See", she said showing Harry the samples. "If you aren't doing anything would you mind sitting with me for some time. I don't feel like going in right now. It's so pleasant here", she added.
"Sure", replied Harry as the two of them sat down.
"So Harry, seven years at Hogwarts must have been thrilling experience. I wish I had more than one year to spend here. I never really fitted in at Beauxbatons. In less than six months this feels more like home than Beauxbatons did in six years", said Caroline starting a conversations.
"You should not ask me this question since I've told you about my childhood. For me Hogwarts doesn't fell like home. It is home. It is what I live for. All my friends are here. About the thrilling experience, yes it has been a bit too thrilling", he replied.
"Hermione must be your best friend. You two really seem to be very close", said Caroline.
"Most definitely. She has been there for me at every moment. Even no one believed I had not put my name in the goblet of fire, she stood by me. Ron has been a faithful pal too. Seamus, Dean, Neville, Luna, Parvati, Lavender etc. have been great too. And of course now there is you", he replied. A smile appeared on Caroline's face.
"So how's quidditch going?" said Caroline.
"Great. The first match was unexpectedly easy. Enough of your questions. How about you? What about your friends at Beauxbatons? Aren't you keeping in touch with them?" he asked.
"Oh they were only friends for names sake. I've understood the meaning of friendship here. You and Hermione were my first real friends. My friends there were all girls. I don't know why I always felt shy with boys. Of course, everything has changed here. Thanks to you. In France all my friends were fashion conscious idiots. They cared too much about their appearance. They made fun of me saying I was ugly", she replied.
"What?? You ugly?? Were they kidding? I think you are the prettiest girl I've seen. You…", started Harry but stopped abruptly, his face turning red.
"Thanks Harry. No one had complimented me like that before", she said also blushing.
"Perhaps we should head back now. Hermione will get worried", said Harry getting up. Caroline followed him. Together they walked back to the common room. Hermione was nowhere to be seen. Just as Caroline went to her dorm she showed up.
"Where have you been Harry?" asked Hermione.
"I was practicing apparation and Caroline was collecting some samples. We bumped into each other near the lake. We decided to sit there for a while since the weather was so pleasant", replied Harry.
"You could have at least informed me. I was getting anxious", she said.
"Sorry for that but it was decided on the spot. Anyway I think I should go to bed. See you tomorrow morning", he replied before going up to his dorm. Hermione stood there for a couple of minutes. She wondered why she was feeling bad. What was wrong in Harry and Caroline spending some time together? They were good friends after all. Then a thought struck her. A thought, that scared her. Could it be possible she wanted more than just friendship from Harry? Could it be possible that she had started having feelings for Harry?
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