Harry Potter & The Thousand Mysteries

'Harry?' asked Ron, as the trio sat around a circular table in the corner of the common room. Hermione was doing her Transfiguration homework- a pile of completed Arithmancy, Charms worksheets, two Herbology essays, and a three-foot long Potions essay sat neatly in the chair beside her. Beside Harry and Ron, sat an untidy pile of Divination charts, Charms worksheets, two Herbology essays, and a three-foot long Potions essay waiting to be completed.

'Yeah?' asked Harry, not looking up from his work.

'Harry, if Saturn is in the twelfth house, and Mercury is in the sixth, what does that mean?'

'Um,' Harry thought for a moment. 'I don't have a clue- Hermione?'

Sighing, Hermione looked up from her Transfiguration exercises. 'Really!' she exclaimed. She was getting more like McGonagall by the day, surmised Harry.

'I dropped Divination and I still know what that signifies,' she said. 'You really have to work harder!' She looked at them with a very self satisfied look in her eyes.

'If you'd care to share it with us just this once?' pleaded Ron.

'Supposedly,' began Hermione, ' the conjunctions between Mercury and Saturn signify wealth and glory, however, should they be in houses with a common factor, then the sum of the outer rings on both planets, divided by the total planets in both houses should give you a number to reference on your scale.'

She continued to talk to them about this for another five minutes. When she had finally finished, she exhaled audibly and looked at them both.

'I hope you understand a little better,' she said.

'No,' said Ron flatly. 'I wasn't listening.'

'Ron!'

'Hermione,' said Harry, interrupting her and changing the subject quickly. 'How do you know so much when you don't even do Divination?'

'I got a letter from the Governors last week,' said Hermione, 'the night when you were down on the Quidditch Pitch with Cho.

'They said that even although I hadn't been to a Divination in over a year and a half, my name was still down to sit the exam.'

'So what?' said Ron. 'Just don't go.'

'It's not that simple Ron,' she explained. She was speaking as if this were the worst news they would ever hear. 'If you don't turn up for an exam, you automatically fail every other exam, even if you get 100% in everything else.''

'I still don't see the problem,' said Ron. 'You turn up, write your name, and guess at everything. Simple!'

Hermione groaned. 'But how would that look on my CV? Transfiguration, Potions, Herbology, all above 90%, and then Divination, 1%. Less than satisfactory, I think.

'Anyway, Divination's easy- I'll just bluff my way through and say that I've been studying since I stopped coming to class. I think I'll know enough if I continue reading books on the subject.'

'But remember Hermione,' said Ron. It was his turn to look smug. 'Book won't help you much in this subject!'

'Hmph!' said Hermione. Clearly, she didn't value Professor Trelawney's opinion on books very highly.

'I'm sure I'll manage.'

They returned to poring over textbooks and sheets and diagrams, well into the wee hours.

'Finished!' said Harry finally, slamming his Potions textbook shut and throwing down his quill.

Hermione mumbled indistinctively, her nose still buried in a Divination textbook- How To See in Ten Easy Steps, by Norman Observall.

'Me too,' said Ron, as he completed the last sentence of the three foot long roll.

'Ugh, this is complete claptrap,' said Hermione, laying the Divinations book down softly. 'It's just coincidence and speculation.'

'We've been guessing for two and a half years, Hermy, and look where it got us!' Ron grinned maniacally.

'My point exactly,' she bit back.

Harry groaned inwardly- Hermione and Ron were always sniping at each other.

'When do you think the next Simulation is going to be?' asked Ron.

Harry and Hermione considered their answers.

'I think probably just before the holidays,' said Hermione.

'I'm guessing they'll wait a bit to let us sweat,' said Harry. 'And then spring it on us.'

'I think it'll be next week,' said Ron. 'None of us will expect it then.'

'Never!' scoffed Hermione.

'I bet you a Galleon,' said Ron.

'You're on!' Both, Harry discerned, had the manic glint in their eye.

'This,' he said, 'is going to be very interesting.'

***

'Longbottom, you really do defy belief,' said Professor Severus Snape in incredulity, as the podgy boy reduced his nineteenth cauldron to a smelted glob of pewter.

'S-Sorry, Professor,' stuttered the fifth year.

'It doesn't really come as a terribly shock,' he snarled. 'I would normally allow you to use one of the school cauldrons, Longbottom, but you seem to have melted all of them as well. Write home for another immediately.'

He turned, and continued to pace the rows.

'Too much asphodel, Thomas,' he spat. 'Did you even remember the powdered grass snake, Brown? I though not... Excellent work, Mr Malfoy.'

'Class, leave your potions on the simmer for distillation tomorrow, and get your things packed away. Now!'

'But sir, this class doesn't end for another ten minutes,' piped up Hermione. Snape looked at her with venom in his eyes.

'Does it really, Miss Granger? Well, thank you, in my fifteen years of teaching it never occurred to me to check what time the bell rings,' he said sarcastically.

Once the class had packed up their equipment, they all turned to hear what Snape had to say.

'As you all know, the OWL Grade examinations are mere months away, and still this class demonstrates a helpless lack of understanding relating to the most basic principles needed to develop in Potions.

'I highly recommend you all study harder. The Headmaster had asked me to distribute the following letter to you all.'

He walked along the corridors, dropping a sheaf of parchment on every desk.

Harry picked his up, and read.

Potions

OWL Grade Expectations

There are five possible grades that can be achieved by any Potions Student.

5. Basic

4. Principle

3. Transitional

2. Advanced

1. Honour

There will be three exams which each student is required to sit- Practical, Written and Theory.

During the Practical Exam, ach student will be given a range of ingredients and equipment and given two hours to complete a draft of a specified potion.

The Written exam will be similar to the Practical Exam, except the student should list the stages and the ingredients needed to procure a specified potion

The Theory Exam will involve one hour, during which the student must write a three-foot long essay, detailing the principles and factors to be considered when procuring potions, using examples.

The Overall Grade will be found by dividing the sum of the Practical, Written and Theory grades by three.


Harry Potter

Expected Grades:

Practical: 2/3

Written: 1

Theory: 3

Overall: 2 (Advanced)

*These are predicted grades based on your overall work in Potions. Should you go to pieces on the day of the exam and fail appallingly, then tough luck.

'What'd you get?' he whispered to Ron.

'Two, Two, Two slash three, Two,' he replied.

'Hermione?'

'Two, One, One, One,' she said. She looked very disappointed to have received a two.

'One, One, One, One!' shouted Malfoy from the opposite corner of the room. 'Father will be so pleased!'

'Oh, well done Draco!' crowed Pansy Parkinson. All the Gryffindors were looking at them with complete disgust.

'Please do not discuss your marks inside the classroom,' said Snape acidly. 'We wouldn't want to embarrass Longbottom.'

The Slytherins all burst into laughter as the bell rang, and the Gryffindors crowded round Neville and escorted him out the classroom.

'Who wants to do well in Potions anyway?' said Ron to Neville supportively.

'Yeah, even Hermione got a two,' said Harry. 'And if she got a two, the rest of us don't stand a chance.'

'Thanks, guys,' said Neville, and the magnificent seven walked into the Transfiguration classroom.

'Here are your OWL Expectation Papers,' said Professor McGonagall, as she handed out papers virtually identical to the one's they had received from Snape minutes before.

'What'd you get, Harry?' asked Ron.

'One for practical, one for theory and one for written,' he said, trying not to grin too broadly.

'You beat me at written,' said Ron.

'Sorry,' said Harry. He raised his hand.

'Yes, Potter?' asked McGonagall, flicking her head round from the blackboard, where she was drawing an immensely complicated chart.

'Professor, do we get these in every class?'

'Yes, Potter. You will revive three marks in every class. Can I get on with the lesson?'

'Sorry,' he said. She was certainly a bit shirty today.

Indeed, they did get grades in every class. Hermione got all ones, as expected, in everything except Divination, where she received all fives, and Herbology, where she got three twos.

Harry and Ron's marks were almost identical- mainly ones and twos in every subject- indeed, Harry's only three was in Potions.

'Not bad, Harry,' he said to himself, as he folded up the various slips of parchment and placed them carefully inside his trunk.

He got up, and sat in the chair beside the window.

The grounds were now devoid of frost and snow, and had instead changed to a healthy green. The first weeks of February at Hogwarts were, by definition, damp and horrible, but this year had proved to be the exception. The sun rained down on the ten streelers, the multi-coloured giant snails that Hagrid had provided for the fourth years.

As Harry rose from his chair, he heard a sharp hoot from behind him. Hedwig had appeared on the windowsill, and tied to her leg was a letter with a large muddy dog print on it.

Harry's heart reeled with excitement- he hadn't heard from Sirius in yonks.

He untied the letter, unfolded it, and read:

Dear Harry

Hope all is well at Hogwarts- and that you've been having no more wild parties (wink wink). Sorry I haven't written as regularly as I should, but I'm working abroad for Dumbledore at the moment.

Hope your OWL Expectations went well. I'm sure they did.

Remus will be in Hogsmeade on Saturday the twenty eighth of February- meet him in the Leaky Cauldron at eight o'clock. Dumbledore has already agreed you three can go.

I can't tell you much about where I am now- Moony will tell you when you see him, but I can tell you I've learned a lot of interesting things and I am sure we are close to major arrests!

Anywho, don't sweat about the exams- I'm sure you, Ron and Hermione will do fine.

Have a nice year, and write back!

Padfoot

Harry reread the letter before leaping out of his seat and down to the common room, to tell Hermione and Ron the news.

'That's great, Harry!' said Hermione.

'And Dumbledore's already agreed we can go? Excellent!'



The days drifted slowly by- the thought of the meeting with Remus Lupin was the only thing that sustained Harry throughout the month. The teachers had immersed them in a gruelling schedule of revision exercises and surprise tests. Every day Harry returned to the common room exhausted, and still had to struggle to do the three hours nightly of homework.

'The exams are ages away!' he, and others, frequently complained. Even Hermione seemed to think the teachers were overburdening them. She, having more subjects to revise than anyone else, was constantly completing charts and diagrams, or practising turning paper into toast. Several times, she was kept up until two or three o'clock in the morning, poring over ancient rune dictionaries. She was almost as bad as she had been when the exams of their third year were imminent, but this time everyone was stressed out and overworked.



Therefore, when early February turned to mid February, and mid February made a painfully slow transition to late February, Harry, Ron and Hermione prepared to make their trip into Hogsmeade

'Come on,' said Harry, as he finished his third hour of Charms revision that day. We better get going.'

'Yeah,' said Ron. 'We'll take this stuff upstairs first.'

Hermione bundled up her carefully organized, colour coded work, while Harry and Ron struggled to cram the various notes and scraps of paper into their bags.

When they reconvened in the Common Room, their cloaks about their shoulders, they all looked exhausted yet excited to finally be seeing their favourite teacher again.

'We're so sad, you know,' said Ron, as they descended the Marble Staircase into the Entrance Hall, 'that seeing an old teacher is the highlight of our month.'

Harry laughed.

They pulled the huge oaken doors open, and a fresh, chilly snap of spring breeze smacked them refreshingly about the cheeks.

'Oh, that's a nice breeze,' said Hermione, her cheeks turning pink.

They walked down the ground, the wind whipping their cloaks everywhere.

'This is fun,' said Ron, as they struggled to walk in the wind. The sun was shining down on the grounds in patches of bright dusky light.

***

'Oh, that was exhilarating,' said Hermione, as she pushed the door of the Leaky Cauldron shut.

'One word for it,' said Ron, as the three of them sat down at a table. 'Lupin isn't here.'

'What time is it?' asked Hermione, as she brought over three butterbeers.

'Eight ten,' said Harry, checking his digital watch. 'He'll be here soon.'

They waited for a while, chatting among themselves about the upcoming Counsel meeting, which Dumbledore had told Harry would be on the sixteenth of March.

'I've to tell everyone my cousin's ill,' he said. 'And that they need me in Surrey. I hope that should cover it.'

'Imagine if it got out!' said Hermione. 'You would be on the front page of the Daily Prophet!'

'I could do without that experience again,' said Harry. 'I wonder how Rita's been getting on.'

'She was at the first Simulation,' said Hermione. 'But I don't know what happened to her after that.'

Just at that moment, the tavern door opened, allowing a gust of strong wind inside. Coasters flew everywhere, and Harry felt the cold breeze whip his face.

The door was shut, and Harry saw Remus Lupin standing in the doorway.

'Moony!' exclaimed Harry. He was never sure what to call Lupin- Moony? Lupin? Remus? Professor? All sounded odd.

'Hello, Harry,' he said quietly, sitting down beside him. 'Hello Ron, Hermione.' He nodded at them.

'Hi there!' said Hermione cheerily. 'How have you been?'

'I'm...' he paused. 'Why don't we talk about this somewhere else?'

'Where?' asked Ron.

'Just follow me,' said the werewolf man, and they all stood up. Harry flung his cloak around him, and followed Lupin out into the cobbled street.

'This way,' he said, in barely more than a whisper, leading them up the main street. They turned a corner before the post office, with its many windows with owls flying back and forth, and down a smaller street, lined with houses.

Lupin stopped at the gate of one. It was quite small- a two story cottage with a pretty, flowery garden. Harry noticed some mandrake plants in the corner, and some other brightly coloured plants they had studied in Herbology.

Lupin opened the gate, and led them up the paved path. He pulled a key out his cloak pocket, and turned it in the lock. Then he pulled out another key, and turned it in the lock. Then another key, and finally, he placed the tip of his wand inside the keyhole.

The door swung open, and Harry, Hermione and Ron hurried in, completely unaware of where they were.

'There,' said Lupin, as he shut the door and took of his cloak. 'This is much more private.' The hall was big and airy, with a few wizarding portraits on the walls. A huge cheese plant adorned one corner of the room, and Harry noticed a cuckoo clock hanging on the wall. A staircase twisted upstairs, passing a wide window that allowed the spring dusk light inside.

'Where are we?' asked Hermione, as she too pulled off her cloak.

'Welcome, Harry, Ron and Hermione, to my house.'

'You live here!' exclaimed Ron.

'Let's have a cup of tea.' He led them into a sitting room. It was big and wide, with little decorations and few furnishings. On the small oval coffee table were a teapot and some mugs of butterbeer.

'Butterbeer or tea?' asked Lupin.

'Um, butterbeer, I think,' said Harry. Lupin looked as if he were suppressing a smile.

'I thought so.' He handed them each a brown glass bottle, and poured himself a mug of tea.

'Well, I suppose you three would like an explanation.'