Caught Off Guard: The Hooligan of Hogwarts
Author's Note: Oh Boy! Here it comes! I have dug myself a Plot Hole and I am going to have to offer a 'Missing Moment' from Chapter 3 to fill it in…As before, what a character is thinking is denoted by the use of italics. Also, EXTRA SPECIAL THANKS and dedications go out to The Amazing Karla, The Wonderful MC and the Fabulous Prof. Roz….
MISSING MOMENT - CHAPTER 3: Inter-Student Relations.
Madame Hooche's 'Welcome to Vector's' opening lecture the first week of classes….
Delivering her speech as she walked up and down the aisles, Mme. Hooch purposely timed her strides so that she was once again standing squarely at the head of the class.
"Attendance and broomsticks are mandatory. If you don't have your brooms, don't bother showing up. You don't show up, I will fail you. If any of you expect second chances - I suggest you fly on someone else's time."
"Your final project will be the creation of your own broom of your own design. It will meet the criteria and perform to the levels stipulated by this class. The best broom will be determined by its capability of surviving the rigors of a Quidditch match. If it is still in one piece, then its design will be submitted to Quality Quidditch Supplies for consideration as their newest model. I do not need to tell you what far-reaching implications that can entail." Half standing-half sitting on the edge of her desk she continued, "All of you are roughly the same calibre flyer. The only variable will be the quality of your broom."
Daphne Greengrass, seated two rows up and one seat to the left of Ron, raised her hand,"Madame Hooch?"
"Yes?" Mme. Hooch (with her sharply enunciated tones, manly stride and absolute command of the material) garnered nothing but unflagging attention and respect from her ten hand picked students.
"What about this Friday?"
Judging by the look on Mme. Hooch's face, Harry knew that the coming answer wasn't going to bode well for any of them. It was a replica of what Oliver Wood projected just before he initiated a particularly nasty training session.
"This Friday," clasping her hands together sharply and giving her fingers a dramatically greedy twist, "I am going to put all of you through your paces. Make sure you are as good as I assume you are. Then, I am going to tighten you up."
Standing, she marched around her desk and tucked in her chair, scraping its legs on the floorboards. "Bring your brooms. Bring a towel. Bring a change of clothes." Looking at each of them in turn, she let herself indulge in a sincerely wicked-sounding promise, "If you don't, you are going to wish you had." Reaching for a piece of chalk, she scrawled a loopy over-sized V on the blackboard and slipped into her lecture by starting with, "Velocity is actually a formula…"
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"Who knew there was so much vocabulary involved with flying?" Ron was more amazed than complaining as he collected the heaps of notes he took during Mme. Hooch's lecture. Struggling to get his long legs out from underneath a desk that was entirely too small for him, he was even more astounded over the fact that neither he nor Harry exchanged one look throughout the lesson.
Re-stacking his own books into something more easily managed, Harry concurred, "I will never use the word 'zoom' again."
"Hey Harry - what's up with Greengrass being in class? I know EVERYONE who plays Quidditch and I have NEVER seen her pretty backside on the Pitch." The way Ron shook head showed how perplexed he was.
"Don't know. What I do know is that Madame Hooch wouldn't have her here if she could not keep up." Harry knew his answer was fairly empty - but he was telling the truth. NO ONE got into Vectors without being CHOSEN.
A black robe, lined with green, worn by a pretty seventeen year-old girl turned and faced both boys with a challenging look on her face.
"Ummm… Ahhh… Hiya Daphne." Watching Ron shift his books to his other hand and crack a smile at the Slytherin though half-lidded eyes, Harry could see that his mate was counting on Weasley Charm to get his big foot out of his bigger mouth.
"Weasley, might I make a couple of suggestions?" Daphne asked.
Daphne's voice, Snape's words, Harry thought. Yep, she's Slytherin alright.
"I would enjoy listening to anything you had to say, Daphne." Ron's voice was full of innuendo. Going for the gold, he asked, "Does midnight - on the Astronomy Observation Deck - work for you?"
Harry had to fight back a groan that burned in the back of his throat and threatened to roll his eyes to the ceiling from Ron laying it on so thick.
"One: girls have ears. And, for the most part, those ears are connected to fully-functional brains. That means that we can actually hear what you say and decide for ourselves whether or not your Ego-itis is a chronic condition needing medical attention or if it is based on your sexual frustration with having regular 'dates' with the same five 'ladies'." Wriggling the five her fingers on her right hand for effect, she made it crystal clear who the 'ladies' were.
"Second: think - THEN - speak. I GUARENTEE you will live longer if you do." Daphne's expression told Ron EXACTLY what would happen if he ever challenged her flight capabilities again as she strode out of the room and disappeared around the corner of the jamb.
Harry gave into now urgent need to groan and roll his eyes when he heard give a low whistle. "Sass, brass and brains wrapped in one conveniently placed, pretty package. We are lucky men, my friend."
Passing by their instructor's desk on the way out the door, Draco Malfoy was having a conversation with rather severe toned Mme. Hooch, "Mr. Malfoy. My class consists of two classes a week. If you cannot…"
The rest of what she was saying, as well as Malfoy's response, were lost as they crossed the threshold and entered the ebb and flow of a hallway jammed with students going to their next classes and lunch.
Second Author's Note: Now - onto the story!
Chapter 8: Target Practice
"Harry Potter - you have to tell me EVERYTHING!" Lavender's demanding squeal sounded like nails scratching a chalkboard as she curled her fingers and dug her grip more deeply into his jumper. The glint in her eyes reminded him of the way a Thestral jockeyed for a blood apple. "And don't leave out a single detail!"
"Mate - we gotta talk!" Harry could feel Ron's words weighted by the look in his eyes. Ron only gets that glint in his eye when he is focusing on an oncoming quaffle or skewering his best friend for long overdue details. Specifically as the details pertained to a certain brunette and what actually happened in the darkness of a broom cupboard.
"Damn, Harry. Good job." Dean's outburst had Harry glancing to his left. Looking at his dorm-mate, his friend's face mirrored the tone of his voice: impressed. Ginny, swanning up to her boyfriend, wearing a 'you-have-the-mentality-of-a-troll' look on her face, erased whatever else the Londoner was going to say. The way Dean went from practically thumping him on the back to being towed away by a red-head who silenced him with a glare, made Harry feel grateful that he did not have to answer to Ginny for being a seventeen-year old male.
Back off, people! Everyone was talking at him at the same time. Questions and chatter came from every direction. The bawdier assumptions about the where, what and how of his liaison with Hermione, he silenced with a glare. Scanning his House, there was only one person he wanted to talk to and she was cornered by a fan club of her own. No way of getting to her right now. She was surrounded by a crowd of different people, all of whom were making the same kind of comments that he was being barraged with. Her head turned from one person after another, shooting down the well-intentioned romantic comments and the slightly lewder connotations with the same amount of accuracy. He watched as she gave each person a disparaging eye-roll, a terse one-word answer, or in Pavarti's case, both. Despite the distance, he could see flickers of irritation flash in her eyes when the Indian girl grabbed Hermione's arm and - with different words - asked the same question, a g a i n.
People - if she didn't say anything the first time, what makes you think she will say something different the second time? He'd bet a treacle tart that she was looking for the most immediate means of escape.
She hates being the centre of attention. Something else tickled the back of mind. Why is everybody asking me where and when Hermione and I kissed?
Seamus, being shorter than he and Ron, abruptly climbed onto the bench. Putting his fingers in his mouth, Seamus scattered Harry's thoughts with an ear-piercing whistle.
"All right you lot!"
Harry waited for the floor to open up and swallow him when he realized Seamus was addressing the whole Hall and referring to him and Hermione at the same time. Looking over several heads, what he saw made him smile: Pavarti may have Hermione's arm, but not her attention. He felt a corner of his mouth quirk when he saw Hermione zero in on a flagon of pumpkin juice and then mentally gauge the distance from the flagon to Seamus's head. Good intentions, bad idea: too many witnesses. Attempting to make eye contact while everyone else was looking at his dorm-mate, Harry found his quirk become a grim line when she answered him with a volley of well-sharpened daggers launched from deep within her brown eyes. Catching movement out of the corner of his eye, Harry mentally sighed. Even the Slytherins, in their not-even-House-elves-would-use-them-for-dishrags ugly robes were ready to listen to what the Irish boy was about to say.
"Anyone who placed a bet is to meet me in the Student Quad after classes. All wagers will be settled then!"
Calling out reassurance to those who wanted more details, Seamus hopped down off the bench and started to dig in his book bag for parchment and quill. Laughing and fending off the more apprehensive concerns with a hand wave, Harry felt himself become less amused with how blasé Seamus sounded when he said, "Don't get your knickers in a bunch, everyone! Don't fret - you'll all be sorted out after classes and not a moment sooner!"
You've been keeping a betting pool - wee Seamus - about me and Hermione? Harry felt his eyes narrow as he focused on the columns and headings on the tally sheets that were being spread out and passed around. Snagging a parchment in transit and originally meant for some Ravenclaw somewhere behind him, he followed a row of marks that were cross-referenced by dates, locations and 'acts'. Getting to 'third base', on a prep table, in the kitchens, during Transfiguration? Hermione is going to have to take a number. I have first dibs on our resident Love-Bookie. Recalling Ron's words, Harry silently tut-tutted the boy. You forget that I know where you sleep, my friend! Watching Hagrid hoist Flitwick onto his shoulders and wade through the crowd to make sure that their guesses were 'still on the list', Harry felt his wand arm become twitchy. The kind of impulse that would only be satisfied by dragging Seamus by the scruff of his neck into the hallway for a first-hand demonstration of 'Why You Never Mess With A Witch or Wizard Who Is More Powerful Than Yourself'.
So, Naked Boy, have you ever wondered what would happen if you were hit by a Body Augmentation Curse?
The vision of the Irish lad scaled down to the size of a Leprechaun faded when Harry saw Ron hold up both of his hands and heard him holler, "OYE!"
Ron made sure his voice only carried far enough to make sure everyone in Gryffindor House, not the entire student body, turned their heads and focused on what he was about to say.
"There will be a MANDATORY HOUSE MEETING, everyone! I want EVERYONE in the Gryffindor Common Room on Sunday, at four o'clock. I DO NOT CARE if you are strapped to a hospital bed. Find someone to levitate your sorry carcass to this meeting. No exceptions, excuses, whining about homework or begging off." Ron's blue eyes swept the crowd. "We are the only House still standing and I want to keep it that way!" Harry saw everyone around him agreeing to Ron's plan.
Lowering his arms and smiling broadly, he finished his speech. "Good." Rubbing his palms together for effect he decreed, "Now, let's eat! I'm starving!"
Jerked to a stop after having taken only two steps, he shot a scowl at Lavender. Her grip on his jumper kept him from using Ron's announcement as a means to melt into the crowd and leave the Hall. Her quirked eyebrow and over-sweet smile was the equivalent of an immobilising hex. Following her line of sight it was a fight to keep from gnawing off his own wrist as he connected the dots. Pavarti was closing in on him and it was Lavender's job to keep him from escaping. Hang on - last time I saw Pavarti, she had been grilling Hermione. If Pavarti is coming at me, then where is Hermione? Scanning for the Head Girl again, he caught sight of a straight-backed, brown-haired female give a furtive look around her before she flipped up the hood of her robe and slipped out of the Hall
A quick promise whispered in Lavender's ear set him free. Leaving Lavender to placate a not-so-amused Pavarti, he angled his way through the crowd. It was a long two seconds before the feeling of impending backlash subsided. Giving up His Most Furriest to the H.G.M. kills two birds with one stone, he reasoned with himself. The word still gets out, and there will be enough fall-outs to prevent MacMillan from retaliating.
Saddling up to Ron, a challenging 'you-are-standing-here-for-WHAT-reason?' glare was necessary to convince a hovering Hufflepuff that he would find safer company among his fellow Housemates. Looking in Ron's eyes, Harry passed him the parchment he had severely wrinkled and asked quietly, "Can you take my books to class?"
Watching Ron tuck the paper inside his robe and size up the situation as more Ravenclaws, some older Hufflepuffs and abhorrently garbed Slytherins closed in on the Gryffindor Table, had him thinking like his Keeper. Seeing Seamus the centre of the newcomers' attentions, Ron nodded to Harry. Speaking only loud enough to be heard - not overheard - there was no mistaking the loyalty in his voice. "Yeah, no problem."
Sweeping the throng, Ron's inner strategist played out the most likely scenario. The Gossip Mill's Special Edition will be looking for verification before 'going to print'. Once they see that Harry and Hermione are gone - at the same time - that'll be fuel for the proverbial fire.
Stifling an instinctual groan, he levelled a knowing look at Harry. "You won't have long, though." Concern for his 'other' sister deepened the timbre of his voice and momentarily chased the humour out of his eyes. "Find her fast, okay?"
"Done." Not missing the moment of unguarded affection in Ron's face, Harry made sure that his other best friend was reassured. "I promise."
Harry clapped his friend's shoulder, "Thanks, Ron," before slipping though the crowd and making his own way out of the Great Hall.
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The din from the Great Hall spilled out into corridor as Harry pushed open one of the massive oak doors. Letting the door swing shut behind him did not totally cut off the noise, but it did muffle enough of it for him to pick up on the tapping of footfalls against floorboards. Looking left, then right, he barely managed to glimpse a swirl of black robe disappearing around the next corner. Sprinting down the corridor, classroom doors and access ways blurred together as he caught up with his quarry.
"Hermione - wait up!" His voice sounded so loud as it bounced off the empty corridor walls and rang around his ears.
"Hermione - stop!" He knew that she could not be too far ahead.
Breaking out into a run, it was only seconds before his fingers grabbed a fistful of robe. Coming to a halt, Harry used his momentum to spin the person he had been chasing so that he could talk to his best friend face to face.
"Hermione - you have to believe me - I never meant for this to happen. It is just that everything happened so fast." Fixing his eyes on a spot on the wall over her shoulder, Harry knew his words were coming out too fast. "It's just that I saw you standing up there, and that cow Parkinson was being - well, she always is - a wench, and all of a sudden, I heard myself talking and then Seamus started in and then…" Feelings and thoughts from the last thirty minutes, eight weeks and seven years all started to blend together. A montage of events, complete with sound effects, played out in his head as he continued to look at the wall. Careful Potter - not yet! Now's not the time. Shaking his head, the spots that danced in the darkness of his tightly shut eyes pushed those thoughts to a slightly safer emotional distance. "It's just that, you know…" His voiced trailed off again as he settled his gaze more squarely on a hooded Hermione. "Aren't you going to say anything, Hermione?"
"First of all, I strongly recommend complete sentences. Daddy always says that there are too many people in the world who do not know how to string words together properly." A feminine voice explained. "That is why The Quibbler is always particular when it comes to hiring freelance journalists." Flipping the hood back, pale blonde hair, blue eyes and a porcelain complexion was the last thing Harry expected to see.
LUNA!
"Oh Merlin, Luna - I am so sorry! I thought… you know… and then I just started going on…" Great job on picking up where you left off, Potter. Bonus points allotted for stating the obvious.
"Second of all, I'm not sure that I want to give you what I was asked to give you," Luna's voice carried a hint of indecision.
Huh - what? Inner-Harry and Harry shared the same thought. As a general rule, Harry always gave himself a few extra seconds to process anything that Luna said - just to make sure he understood everything she did say, in the manner that she meant it to be heard. Watching her blink several times with out saying anything more, he felt like he might need a week - possibly a fortnight - for this one to fully sink in.
This time a hand resting on his arm did not warrant a scowl. A firmly stated, "Walk and talk with me," had him turning around and branching off towards the east end of the castle and falling in-step with the willowy Ravenclaw.
Patting his arm with her fingers, Luna did not look at him when she said, "You acted too rashly."
Looking at the fingers that drummed against his robe, Harry sighed. "I know - I wanted to catch up with her before she sent her Howler. And maybe I did not think everything through but what was I supposed to do? Just stand there and not do something about it?"
The girl walking beside him didn't answer his question or even glance in his direction despite the way his voice rose in indignation. Rounding a corner and climbing a flight of stairs, the silence between him and Luna stretched all the way to the landing and the length of the adjoining hallway.
Now in an inner part of the castle, the walls were peppered with sconces alight with oil-lamps. Minute air drafts made the flames flicker and cast subtly moving shadows against the walls as the two friends walked along.
"Luna. Do you know something that I don't?"
A wry smile revealed a row of white, even teeth, "Many, many things, Harry."
Dropping the smile, Harry saw her expression become pensive. "You laid claim to a victory of a battle which you did not fight."
"That's not what happened at all! She was backed into a corner! That," Luna's disapproving look had him searching for a different word to apply to Pansy, "Parkinson girl wouldn't stop! And don't forget, no one else was coming forward to vindicate Hermione!"
"What did vindicate her, Harry?" Luna paused in front of a top of another flight of stairs and without taking her hand off his arm, they both started to descend. "Was it you?"
Frustration in trying to follow Luna's logic was bringing colour to his cheeks. "What do you mean? You were there - you saw what was going on."
"I saw someone doing well at something they did not like doing and I saw someone do something which they are very good at doing despite knowing that they should not be doing that in the first place." Turning west, Luna paused before they started walking down another corridor.
"Luna, I have no idea what you just said," Harry replied with a rueful shake of his head. He could feel his skin starting to prickle like it did when he gave the wrong answer in class even though he had done the homework.
A look of consideration flashed in her eyes before she said, "People look at what is in front of them and react. Seeing what is taking place around you - that is something entirely different."
Coming up on a hallway sprinkled with classroom doors, the number of students passing them was increasing. Changing his position as to prevent Luna from being accidentally jostled, Harry had one thought on his mind. Which he shared with the pretty Ravenclaw, "How bad is it?"
"Harry." Luna's look became pensive again as they stopped at a doorway. "Understand. Just because you cannot see what someone else has set in motion, don't assume that it is not taking place."
"Well, at the very least," flashing a mischievous grin at the blonde girl, "I can tell Ron I saw you safely to your afternoon lesson." Harry said. Even if I am more confused then when I started out, I am glad that it was her robes I grabbed.
"No - this is your next lesson - Harry." Eyes sparkling with her point being made, the final nail - tempered by double entendre - was pounded into Harry's thick head when he saw her look past his shoulder and beam at the person coming up behind him. "Hello, Ronald."
Harry saw his friend's face light up at seeing who was standing in front of the Divination classroom door. Hearing Ron ask Luna to give him a moment, Harry received a questioning look from his red-haired friend whom he answered with a self-deprecating shrug, "No, I missed her. "
Giving his mate a look that meant that they would talk later, Harry stepped aside and let Ron pass so he could stand near Luna. Kicking up the corners of his mouth with a genuine smile, Harry gestured to his companion. "But I did accost someone who is fair, sage and more generous than you or I."
Looking over at Harry and then up at Ron, Luna smiled. "I told you Ronald that I would catch up with you after lunch." Not side-tracked by his charm, Harry easily read her pointed look as she added, "It was always my plan to meet you here."
Okay - I get you now.
Harry quirked an eyebrow at her and nodded in defeat. Leaving those two in the corridor, Harry gave the girl credit. Luna had just proved her point and had done it well. Just because I did not see what she was intending doesn't mean her intentions didn't exist. Taking his thoughts one step further as he collected his books from a rather subdued Dean and waited for Firenz to start the class, his eyes clouded over with embarrassment. Hermione was vindicated by her wand being tested - which would have happened anyway whether I thumped my chest or not.
Thinking of the situation he had put he and Hermione in, one thought dominated all the others swirling around in his head as the Centaur began his lecture. Oh Merlin, am I in for it now!
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