Chapter 4: Time Tables, Classes and Problems.
Harry muttered to himself as he made his way downstairs to the common room dressed in his school clothes and robes. He ran a hand through his hair with the sole affect of making his hair spikier than usual.
He stopped when he saw Hermione curled up on the couch reading her book. Harry couldn't help but grin. It was one of the things he loved about Hogwarts - coming down the stairs to see Hermione curled up on the couch.
Harry moved around and sat down next to Hermione. Hermione looked up from her book and smiled when she saw him.
"Hey, did you have a good sleep?" Hermione asked. Harry shrugged.
"Not really. I kept thinking about Sirius," Harry admitted and Hermione sighed and marked her book before she closed it, placed it on the table, and moved in closer.
"He'll be fine. He managed to hide from the ministry for almost twelve years. He can hide a little bit longer until we find a way to clear his name," Hermione promised as she placed a hand on Harry's shoulder.
"I know," Harry sighed as he laid the back of his head on the couch. "But it doesn't stop me from worrying."
"I know," sighed Hermione. Harry remembered something as he turned to face Hermione once more.
"Hey, what did McGonagall give you last night?" Harry asked. Hermione looked at him, puzzled. "I saw you tucking something gold under your jumper."
"That was nothing Harry, just a necklace that fell out. I was tucking it back in because I didn't want it to get tugged off by Peeves, you know what he's like," Hermione told him, not once meeting his eyes. Harry nodded.
"Uh huh," a disbelieving tone came from him and she started to glare in response. "Fine," Harry held up his hands. "You don't want to tell me. But will you promise if it becomes dangerous or something like that that you will tell me?" Hermione smiled softly at him, pleased with his concern.
"Yes, I promise," she promised him, looking deep into his green eyes. Harry smiled back before his eyes ended up settling down to her lips. He noticed that her tongue snuck out and licked her bottom lip before he looked back up into her eyes once more.
Hermione couldn't breathe as she watched Harry move in closer. Her eyes closed halfway as she also moved in closer. Their noses almost met when a cough interrupted them, freezing them on the spot as they stared at each other, mixed emotions fighting in their eyes.
"We better get down to breakfast," a cold female voice said. Harry and Hermione looked over the back of the couch to see Ginny standing there with her arms crossed over her chest. "We can't be too late." With that, she walked out of the Common room.
Harry looked back at Hermione before his eyes flickered down to her lips and he sighed. The moment was lost.
"She's right," Harry told Hermione as he stood up and held out his hand. "Would you like to join me for breakfast?" Hermione smiled.
"I would like that very much," Hermione told him as she slipped her hand into his. They both walked out of the common room, holding hands.
Mia and Ron came downstairs with a furious look on their faces.
"I don't know what the hell is up with your sister but she is beginning to drive me nuts," Mia warned Ron, who agreed.
"Trust me, I know. She has been asking me questions about you lot all over the summer. Makes me wonder what she is up to," Ron told her.
"Well, we know she wants Harry," Mia reminded.
"Let me talk it over with the twins, maybe they can shed some insight into what is going on with Ginny," Ron suggested and Mia nodded.
"Okay, do it tonight. I'll be talking to my soon-to-be-source and see if I can get information on how to clear Dad's name," Mia told him as they both walked out of the common room.
Neither of them saw Percy sitting in the chair in the corner. He had seen Harry and Hermione's near-kiss when Ginny had come down the stairs and interrupted them. He frowned when he considered the angry look that had passed over Ginny's face. It was like she felt she was being betrayed. Percy sighed before shaking his head sadly. His mother had spoiled her too much.
Everyone made their way into the Great Hall. Seamus was laughing at something Dean had told him before he turned to face Harry, who sat down next to Hermione. Mia and Ron sat across from them.
"Hey Harry, did you hear?" Seamus asked, causing Harry to look at him curiously.
"Hear what?" Harry asked.
"Hagrid is the new professor for Care of Magical Creatures," Seamus excitedly told him, causing Harry's jaw to drop from shock.
"Are you serious?" Harry demanded and Seamus nodded.
"The reason it wasn't announced last night was because Hagrid was busy doing something else. Dumbledore didn't want to tell anyone until Hagrid was here too," Seamus explained.
"That explains the book," Ron told them as he tucked into his breakfast.
"Great, this means we'll have more information on creatures - Hagrid knows almost everything about every creature out there - including things that aren't in the book," Mia exclaimed, excitement bubbling in her voice.
"Is that all it takes to get you excited?" Dean asked in amusement. Mia rolled her eyes briefly before she shot him a grin, cupped her chin in her hand, and gave him a serious look.
"That's for me to know and you to find out," she teased him. Harry just looked at Mia in shock.
"Mia, you're flirting!" Harry scolded, causing Mia to look at him before she started laughing at his horrified expression.
"What? Are you the only one who's allowed to flirt?" Mia teased. "I sure saw some flirting happening this morning." Hermione blushed as she grabbed her toast and started to butter it while Ron choked on his sausages trying to fight back his laughter. Harry flushed but just glared at his cousin.
"Who was Harry flirting with?" Lavender asked as she sat down next to Mia and saw Hermione's blushing face. It must have clicked, because next she squealed, "Oh my god, you two kissed!" causing everyone to stop what they were doing.
Harry and Hermione just flushed even further.
"NO, we didn't!" Harry informed her, heatedly. "And even if we did, it wouldn't be anyone business."
"Oh come on," Lavender started but Mia clamped her hand over the blonde-haired girl's mouth.
"You know what she's like. She just likes to gossip," Mia cut in. Harry just narrowed his eyes at them before he turned back to Hermione and took the knife out of her hand when he saw that there was no bread left to butter because she had scraped it away.
Mia turned back to Lavender. "Don't try and piss him off - I have a feeling that he will blow something up if he does," she whispered to the girl. Lavender nodded as Mia unclamped her mouth before she looked at Mia.
"Hey, what's up with Ginny?" Lavender asked, nudging her head in Ginny's direction. Mia turned her head and looked past Ron to catch sight of Ginny glaring at Hermione, then shooting Harry a heartbroken look.
Mia sighed and turned back to Lavender. "She has a crush on Harry and has been making it clear since she arrived," Mia explained. Lavender sighed as well.
"I sure hope that she will get over her crush soon. The way Harry and Hermione keep getting closer - it looks like that Ginny might not get her dream," Lavender told Mia, who agreed as she tucked into her toast.
Both girls looked toward Harry and Hermione. Harry had buttered Hermione another piece of toast, telling her that he wasn't going to allow her to use a knife today. Though Hermione looked annoyed Mia could also see that she was milking it for all it was worth.
"Students," a female voice spoke up and everyone turned to see McGonagall heading toward them. "Good morning students, here are your schedules," she informed them.
"What do you think we have first today?" Parvati asked as Mia stood up once McGonagall called out her name and took her schedule from her.
"Oh no!" the black haired girl moaned.
"What?" Ron mumbled around the food in his mouth.
"We have divination first!" Mia exclaimed.
"With who?" Fred asked as he moved up behind Mia to look at her schedule before he snickered. "Trelawney. I pity you."
"Why?" Seamus asked as he stood up and took his timetable from McGonagall.
"Because she likes to predict death all the time," George explained before he and Fred shared a grin. "Okay... who wants to bet on who'll get the most death predictions this year?"
"Boys," McGonagall warned and the twins turned to look at her.
"Don't worry Professor, you can join in too," Fred told her, cheekily. She just glared at them before she turned back to her other students, unwilling to let the twins get to her.
"How much?" Dean asked.
"Five Sickles to enter, then whatever you want to spend on the person," George explained.
"Fine," Lavender told them as she dug out some money and handed it to the twins. "Here's your five Sickles. Two galleons on…who do we have the class with?" Lavender asked Mia, who looked at her timetable.
"Ravenclaw," Mia supplied her and Lavender nodded.
"Terry Boots - that boy keeps getting on my nerves," Lavender told the twins. "He keeps looking over at our table, too" she explained to everyone else, who spun around in their seats to see a young man over at the Ravenclaw table. He had light brown hair and dark brown eyes. He blushed when he saw that he had been caught before he looked back down at the book that was in his hand.
"Probably fancies you," Dean told Lavender before he turned to the twins.
"Here's five sickles and three gallons on Harry Potter," Dean told them. Harry looked at him, startled.
"Oi, how come you're picking me?" Harry asked, insulted.
"Mate, you have faced death more than us - she'll likely know that," Ron explained to Harry, who just shot him a disgruntled glare while Hermione covered her smile while rubbing Harry's back in a comforting way.
"Miss Granger, here's your timetable," McGonagall called out as she passed a slip of paper to the young woman.
"Thank you!" Hermione thanked her as she took a look at her timetable. Ron was leaning over behind Hermione at this point to grab some rolls at the other side of the table and glanced at Hermione's schedule as she received it.
"Just exactly how many classes are you taking!?" Ron asked as she tucked her timetable out of the way so he couldn't look at it any further.
"A fair few," Hermione retorted, causing Harry and Mia to look at each other.
"How much is a fair few?" Mia asked, curious.
"A few," Hermione replied, vaguely. Ron just threw up his hands in frustration before he turned to the twins.
"Here's five sickles, put me down for two galleons on Hermione Granger," Ron informed the twins, handing them the money before moving out of Hermione's range as she turned to hit him.
"Where is he?" she breathed out.
"Hiding, that's where he is," Fred told them, amused.
"Here's five sickles, 3 galleons that Hermione will kill Ron before the day is over," Harry told them as he handed the money over.
"Oh thanks Harry," Ron exclaimed, insulted. Everyone else just laughed while McGonagall just shook her head.
"How on earth do I live with you lot?" she asked them as she finished handing out the timetables.
"Because you love us Professor McGonagall, and you couldn't imagine life without us if we weren't here to brighten your day," The twins stated together. McGonagall's lips just thinned as she narrowed her eyes at her lions before clapping her hands.
"Class, the lot of you," she ordered them and watched as everyone packed up their stuff and headed out of the Great Hall, laughing and chatting animatedly as they went to start the day.
McGonagall finally allowed herself a small smile as she watched them all go. She had to admit, the twins were right. Without her lions, her day would just be normal every day. With her third years and the twins, there was never a dull day. With that, she walked out of the Great Hall, intending to get her lessons ready.
"Where is our Divination class?" Parvati asked as they walked.
"North tower," Harry told them and Lavender balked.
"The north tower? Does anyone here actually know where that is?" Lavender demanded.
"Sure, it's the opposite of the south tower," Seamus replied, causing Ron to snicker and Mia to roll her eyes.
"Lets just get a move on so we can get to class on time," Mia told them and they all sped up until they reached the stairs and came to a crossroad.
"Okay, left or right, take your pick," Harry told them.
"I think it's down this way," Hermione suggested as she tilted her head to the right but Ron shook his head.
"No, that's south, you can still see the lake," Ron pointed out and everyone saw a small patch of the lake through the window.
"So, left then," Dean stated and they all headed left only to come to another crossroad.
"Oh god, just kill me," Mia moaned as she rubbed her forehead. "Is this castle trying to drive us nuts?"
"Lets ask a painting for help," Harry suggested. They looked around and Harry caught sight of a knight in a painting. He walked over towards him only for the knight to jump back and thrust his sword at Harry.
"Aha! What villains are these that trespass upon my private lands! Come to scorn my fall, perchance? Draw, you knaves! Fight, you dogs!" the knight shouted as he waved his sword only for it to fall and sink down into the ground.
Hermione just arched an eyebrow at the situation before she shook her head, wondering why on earth Dumbledore kept this picture.
"Listen, we're looking for the north tower, do you know where it is?" Hermione asked and the knight looked up at her, his rage vanishing.
"A quest!" He exclaimed. "Follow me, dear friends, and we shall find our goal or else perish bravely in the charge." He grabbed his sword out of the ground and mounted his horse while Mia just muttered under her breath.
"You'd think we were going to battle," she rolled her eyes before the knight disappeared from the painting and showed up in the next one, causing everyone to chase after him. They climbed up the spiral staircase, feeling dizzier and dizzier as they climbed even higher until they finally came to a stop.
The girls leaned against the wall, breathing heavily and shaking their heads to get the dizziness back under control. The boys didn't look any better as they were hunched over with their hands on their knees. Once they were able to breathe again, they looked around and saw the knight in a painting once more.
"Farewell! Farewell, my comrades-in-arms! If you ever have need of noble heart and steely sinew, call upon Sir Cadogan!" he disappeared from sight.
"Yeah, we'll call you if we ever need someone... insane," Ron muttered under his breath as his breathing started to get back to normal.
Harry just looked around until he spotted a trapdoor in the ceiling. Squinting his eyes, he saw that it had 'Professor Sybill Trelawney, Divination Teacher' written upon a gold plaque.
"Oh, that's wonderful. How the heck are we supposed to get up there?" Harry demanded. An answer came down in the form of a sliver rope ladder. Harry just stared at it while Ron smirked.
"You first," Ron informed him.
Once everyone had climbed the ladder and entered their classroom, they found themselves bombarded with heavy scents of lavender and smoke. There were tables scattered all over the room with Crystal balls on top of velvet purple cushions in the middle of each table.
Everyone grabbed a seat, with Harry, Ron, Hermione and Mia sharing a table together. Mia reached out and touched the crystal ball, noticing that the insides started to cloud up before she pulled her hand away as a figure came into the classroom.
"Welcome," she greeted. She was covered in bright clothes and lots of jewellery, including different coloured bangles all clinking together on her wrists and several different types of necklaces adorning her neck. Her glasses seemed to be too large for her and seemingly magnified her eyes. "It is nice to see you at last in the physical world."
"What, we were dead?" Mia whispered to Harry, who looked away to hold back his laughter.
Professor Trelawney continued to tell everyone about what to expect in her class before she finally got them to each grab a teacup and fill them with tealeaves and water.
"Drink up, dears, time for you to tell the future," she told them, causing everyone to drink the hot water as quick as they could without burning themselves. "Now swap cups with the person sitting next to you." Hermione and Mia switched cups while Harry and Ron traded theirs. "Now, look and see what you can See."
"Wonderful," Ron muttered as he looked through his book while studying Harry's cup. "Okay, You have some sort of bowler hat - hey, that means the Ministry. Then you have an…" Ron turned the cup. "An acorn - which is…an unexpected windfall of money. Then you have what seems like a animal - yeah, there's it head!" Ron exclaimed and Harry snickered, causing Trelawney to turn around and look at the two of them before she moved over and took Harry's cup out of Ron's hand.
"Let me see," she informed them before she looked at the cup. "You have the falcon - meaning you have a very dangerous enemy out there."
"That we know," Hermione muttered under her breath. Trelawney took no notice of her as she turned the cup once more.
"The skull indicates danger on your path…" she turned the cup once more and let out a gasp before screaming, startling everybody. "Oh my, the Grim!"
"The grim?" Hermione asked, puzzled.
"It's the worst thing for a wizard or witch to foresee because it's an omen of death," Dean recited from his book. "It comes in the form of a black dog."
"Oh, poor Rex," Mia told Harry.
"Who is Rex, my dear?" Professor Trelawney asked and Mia arched an eyebrow at her.
"Aren't you supposed to see things that no one else can? Shouldn't you already know who Rex is?" Mia asked only to get an affronted look from the woman and a roll of her eyes. "Fine, Rex is Harry's dog - a pure black dog, mind you, and Harry has had him since he was a puppy. Fascinating how Harry is still alive after interacting with the Grim all the time, isn't it?"
"The Grim is a magical dog, little girl, and therefore it will cross your path," Trelawney informed her. "Mister Potter has an enemy!"
"Well, we already kinda know that," Hermione informed the woman, dryly.
"Excuse me?" Trelawney asked.
"We excuse you," Mia remarked causing Harry to bite his bottom lip as the teacher shot Mia a glare.
"Voldemort is Harry's enemy - considering he did try to kill Harry when he was a baby and the last two times while we were here at Hogwarts," Hermione jumped in.
"But he's dead! So it means that Mr Potter here must have another enemy," Trelawney informed her. Hermione just glared even harder at her when a new voice startled them.
"I win!" Dean shouted, causing everyone to look at him and his skin to darken even more. "Sorry," he whispered as he sat down, causing the Gryffindors to snigger as the bet came back to them.
"Class dismissed!" Trelawney told them. "I need to rest my inner eye." With that, she walked away from them and everyone walked out of class.
"Now that was productive," Mia told them.
"If she had told me that two years ago, I'd probably have believed her," Harry told Mia, who just rolled her eyes as they continued down towards Hagrid's hut.
"That was the largest waste of time I've ever had in a class," Hermione informed them. "My Arithmancy class was much more insightful." Ron frowned.
"And just how many classes are you taking again?" Ron asked once more.
"As I told you, a fair few," Hermione replied, causing Harry and Ron to look at each other before something else struck Ron.
"Wait a minute. Arithmancy is on at the same time as Divination. The only way you could have been there was if you were in two places at the same time," Ron informed her.
"Don't be silly, how can you be in two places at the same time?" Hermione informed him before she giggled. "Good thing that Harry didn't decide to pop his clogs because he saw a black dog." She moved ahead of everyone while Harry, Ron and Mia slowed their steps and stared after the bushy-haired girl.
"Just how is she getting to her classes?" Mia asked, puzzled and Harry shook his head.
"She won't tell me anything," Harry told her. "Besides, she would tell us if it was dangerous, right?"
"Yeah, of course she would," Ron, agreed, though not convincingly. Mia shook her head.
"We're not gonna get answers by just standing around. We better hurry to Hagrid's class," Mia told them and they sped up.
Soon, they arrived at Hagrid's hut. Hagrid came out and waved to the students.
"Morning kids! Come along, I have a real treat for you all today," Hagrid informed them. He led them around the back of his hut and to a big clearing next to the woods.
"Okay kids, open your books, and I'll get the animal that we are going to study," Hagrid told them before he walked off. Pansy was staring at him with an arched eyebrow.
"And how do you open the book?" Pansy asked in a sarcastic tone, causing giggles from the female Slytherins.
"You stroke the spine, Pansy," Mia shot at her.
"And how would you know?" Pansy asked with a sneer and Mia rolled her eyes.
"I asked the shop keeper. He was quite happy to help people if you just asked him," she informed Pansy before moving next to Hermione, who giggled before turning back to the front.
"God, wait till I tell my father what is going on here, the place is going to the dogs," Pansy muttered. Mia looked at her with an eyebrow arched.
"Now you're growing a backbone!?" Mia demanded incredulously, causing Hermione to bury her face into Harry's shoulder who just rolled his eyes at Mia.
"Listen here you little…" Pansy started but faltered when Mia stood in front of her, not backing away an inch.
"What? Little what?" Mia demanded. "Just because you think you are a pureblood doesn't mean that you are better than the lot of us." Pansy drew herself to her full height.
"You really think so?" Pansy sneered and Mia smirked.
"Well, Hermione is a muggleborn and she is getting better grades than any pureblood in the world, isn't she?" Mia remarked. "Not to mention that Harry's mother was a muggleborn and she got high grades as well."
Pansy's mouth just opened and closed, looking remarkably like a fish. "And do close your mouth unless you wish to catch flies." With that, Mia turned her back and walked over to the Gryffindor class.
Draco just smirked to himself as he moved over to the rock fence to pull himself up on it before he opened his book. Everyone else did the same as they waited for Hagrid to come back.
Draco had been keeping an eye on Pansy ever since her first spat with Mia back in first year. Pansy was determined to get one up on Mia to prove that purebloods were better, but she hadn't managed to score a point yet. Probably because Mia was street smart.
Hagrid came out of the forest with a creature following him. Draco noticed that it was half horse and half eagle; the top half with the head was of an eagle went down to its mid-back, which was normally found on a horse.
Draco smiled to himself when he saw this. Mia was going to love Care of Magical Creatures Class this term.
"What is that, Hagrid?" Ron asked, fear entering his voice.
"Hippogriffs!" Mia squealed with delight and Hagrid beamed at her.
"Ten points to Gryffindor," Hagrid told her. "You can come a little closer if you want." Mia was the only one who rushed nearer to the creatures while everyone else hung back a little way.
"Well, Mia doesn't seem to think they're dangerous," Neville spoke up.
"Mia like all kinds of animals, regardless if they are dangerous or not," Harry informed him as they all moved closer, trusting that Hagrid wouldn't bring something that would harm them.
Once they were all closer, Hagrid beamed.
"Okay, first thing you gotta know about Hippogriffs is that they are very proud creatures. You never want to insult one because it may be the last thing you ever do," Hagrid warned them in a firm tone, making it clear that they couldn't insult one. "When you do approach one, you bow first and keep eye contact. The less you blink, the better. Once they've accepted you, they will bow back and you can go near them. Mind you, if they think you are untrustworthy, you are better off staying away from them." Hagrid looked around his class to make sure that everyone was listening carefully before he clapped his hands. "Okay, who would like to go first?"
"I'll go," Harry jumped in. He was interested in hippogriffs and wanted to see what it would be like to touch one.
"Oh no, Harry, your tea leaves," Lavender moaned. Mia rolled her eyes.
"The tea leaves indicated Harry would die if he sees a black dog, not a hippogriff," Mia reminded her as Harry moved forward.
Once Harry was a few feet away from the hippogriff, he bowed while keeping eye contact with the creature.
The hippogriff eyed Harry closely before it sunk down into a bow, leaving Hagrid relieved and Gryffindors cheering softly. Harry moved in closer and stroked the Hippogriff's beak before moving to its feathery neck.
"Well done, Harry, well done," Hagrid praised. "I knew that Buckbeak would take to you." Mia just raised an eyebrow at the name. "Maybe he would let you fly him."
"What?" Harry asked as he turned horrified eyes toward Hagrid only to find himself being lifted up into air and down onto Buckbeak's back. Hagrid slapped Buckbeak's rear, provoking Buckbeak into taking a running leap as he soared into the air.
"Alright!" Ron cheered and everyone ran toward the stone fence where Draco was sitting.
"Whoa!" Draco yelled as he swung his body and jumped off the ledge onto the other side when everyone crashed into the stone, looking for Harry. Draco just shook his head. "Bloody hell." He stared at his former seat with a mournful look. "And that was my seat."
Harry found himself soaring over Hogwarts Lake. Buckbeak moved down closer and dipped his claw into the water while Harry sat up and spread his arms, enjoying the feel of the wind against his face. Buckbeak pulled up away from the water to soar up higher in the air and started to circle Hogwarts with Harry clinging onto his back, enjoying the ride.
Hagrid brought his fingers up to his mouth and whistled loudly, causing Buckbeak to complete his loop around Hogwarts and fly back over to where Hagrid was calling him.
Buckbeak came down to land with a small thud before slowing for a few feet until he finally came to a stop.
"Way to go, Harry!" his classmates cheered as they all hurried over to him. Harry swung his body around and jumped off of Buckbeak's back. Hagrid threw Buckbeak a dead ferret as a treat before he leaned in closer to Harry.
"How am I doing?" Hagrid asked softly and Harry grinned.
"Great class, Professor Hagrid," Harry told him and Hagrid smiled only to straighten up when he saw that Pansy was pushing her way through the class to get near Buckbeak.
"Oh, if Potter can do it, then everyone else would be able to," Pansy informed them as she moved closer to Buckbeak, who backed up slightly from the girl.
"Pansy," Hagrid warned.
"You're not dangerous at all, are you, you stupid ugly brute!" Pansy insulted. Buckbeak let out a screech before he reached up on his hind legs and slashed a claw down Pansy's arm, scratching her and ripping the fabric of her robes.
Hagrid ran in front of Buckbeak as Pansy fell to the ground, screaming. Mia moved forward, angry with the young woman.
"You stupid idiot!" Mia snapped as she yanked Pansy off the ground while Hagrid tried to calm Buckbeak. "What is it with you death nibblers, can't you deal with the fact that your stupid lord has been killed off by a one year old baby!? You need to go and get yourself killed?"
"It attacked me! Unprovoked!" Pansy shouted back at Mia, who just glared at her.
"You insulted him! Hagrid made it pretty clear that you couldn't insult a hippogriff! Even if you couldn't understand Hagrid, you should have read the damn book - the information is written clearly right there! That is, unless you can't read," Mia retorted before she shook her head. "Hagrid, you better take her up to the hospital wing before I put in her a coffin."
Hagrid nodded as he moved over and scooped Pansy into his arms and took her up to the hospital wing with everyone watching them go.
"Great, now she'll get her father to talk to someone who works for the ministry and they'll try and do something to hurt Hagrid," Ron exclaimed. Harry sighed as Buckbeak made his way over to Harry and nuzzled him. He stroked Buckbeak's beak and smiled softly while he looked at the rest of the class.
"We gotta do whatever it takes to prevent that," he told them and they all nodded. His eyes caught Draco's, who was standing at the back, and he nodded discreetly.
Everyone made their way back to Hogwarts. Classes were done for the day and the students from Gryffindor were in a sombre mood.
"Hagrid will probably get into trouble over this," Seamus told Harry, who nodded his agreement.
"I know," Harry told him.
"If anyone is to get into trouble, it's that stupid bitch," Mia raged as they entered the common room. "I swear to God, I will find some way to bring her down."
"Mia, right now we need to focus on Hagrid and how can we help him," Hermione told Mia as she placed a hand on her shoulder to calm her down. Mia closed her eyes and took a deep breath before she opened them once more, somewhat calmer.
"First thing we must do is find some way to prevent Hagrid from losing his enthusiasm in class," Mia told them and Hermione nodded.
"I'll talk to him and tell him that it should be okay to keep bringing in the creatures we're supposed to study," Hermione told her.
"Then we have to prepare for whatever curve ball Pansy will throw at us. I have a feeling that she will talk to her father to do something about Hagrid, so we need to be on guard for the Ministry. They'll try to do something to him," Mia told them.
"I'll keep a look out for the Ministry; they'll probably want to interrogate me anyway," Harry told her and Mia sighed as she turned to Ron.
"And you and I will go through the library - as your dad works for the ministry, there has to be some loophole we can find to protect Hagrid in all this," Mia told him and Ron nodded, not once objecting over the thought of being in the library.
"I'm going to talk to the twins," Ron told them as he shot Mia a look, one that Mia understood straight away.
"Oh yes, that's right. I made plans with someone earlier. I'll try not to be back too late," Mia told them before she bolted out of the common room. Ron made his way out of the common room at a slower pace than Mia, intending to seek out the twins.
Harry and Hermione exchanged puzzled looks.
"What was that about?" Hermione asked. Harry just shrugged in reply, not having an answer. Harry looked at Hermione once more and bit his bottom lip, wondering if he should bring up what had almost happened this morning or just leave it.
He had thought about it all day, wondering if they would have shared their first kiss if Ginny hadn't interrupted them, or wondering if it would have been a mistake. He ran a hand through his hair. He knew he really liked Hermione and that his attraction only grew the longer he was with her. He had understood that Hermione had been wary of their crush back at the end of last year; hell, he had been wary over it too, but ever since puberty had kicked in, he had found himself having dreams of Hermione and he wasn't sure what to do with them.
Sirius was on the run, so Harry couldn't contact him. He couldn't talk to Draco either because Dumbledore had been keeping a closer eye on him on. And there was no way he was going to be able to talk to Ron about this. While Ron and Draco were his best mates, Ron did have a tendency to let things slip and he didn't want anything getting back to Hermione. He couldn't go to Draco, either. With everything else that was going on, he didn't want to alert Dumbledore and risk exposing Draco too early.
Meanwhile Hermione was studying Harry out of the corner of her eye before she looked back at the fire. She had been debating with herself if she should bring up what had almost happened this morning. She wanted to figure out what it meant, but at the same time was scared that Harry would brush it off like it was an accident, like he had gotten caught up in the moment and wanted to keep it at that. She bit her bottom lip with worry.
Ever since she had seen Harry again in the summer, she found herself fantasizing and dreaming about him in such a way that made her blush whenever she came back to reality. As much as she loved Mia, she was a bit hesitant to tell Mia these personal things. And there was no way she was going to tell her mum about what was going on. Her dad was already hesitant about boys and girls sharing the same tower together without any direct supervision, so she didn't want to know what he would do if he found out that she was attracted to a boy.
"Harry…"
"Hermione…" they both started and looked at each other, startled, before they each let out a small laugh.
"Sorry, you go first," Harry, told her and Hermione smiled her thanks.
"About this morning," she started and Harry nodded, eagerly. "Erm…was it because we were caught up in the moment?"
"I don't know, I guess," Harry told her and Hermione nodded. "I guess it was as sign saying that we weren't supposed to kiss." Hermione looked at him before giving him a false smile.
"Yeah, I mean, we are best friends and if we were to get together, we'll probably end up breaking up and ruining our friendship. And I, for one, don't want that to happen," Hermione told him and Harry shot her a false smile of agreement.
"Yeah, same here," Harry told her. "So, friends?" Harry asked and Hermione nodded.
"Friends," she repeated and they both hugged and looked past each other, not happy with just being friends.
If Mia had been there, she probably would have whacked their heads together.
"So, what are you going to do?" Draco asked from where he was sitting in an empty classroom in an unused hallway. He was sitting on the teacher's desk while he watched as Mia pace the floor in front of him.
"I gotta figure out some way to stop anything happening to Hagrid and Buckbeak," Mia told him. "But to do that, I need to find some way to permanently shut up that stupid bint."
"The Parkinsons and the Malfoys are pretty good friends - they go way back thanks to Voldemort's views," Draco told her. "If Pansy tells her father then he'll contact my father and my dad will go to Fudge and put in a complaint," Draco told her. Mia ran a hand through her hair before an idea came to her and a sly smile crept up her face. Draco arched an eyebrow when he saw this. "And you have a plan."
"Yeah, I do. If they want a war then they'll have one. But it's gonna be on my terms and no one else's," Mia informed him, leaving Draco curious as to just what her plan was.
TBC
I always thought Draco was smarter than cannon Draco.
Oh, and don't flame me (Smiles sweetly).