Foreshadowing the Unexpected

Chapter 17 - Making it Work

"Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice; it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved." - William Jennings Bryan

The next few days were frustrating for Connor as he struggled to catch up on his homework and attend extra lessons with Professor Lyra and Madam Cosgrove.

His lessons with the matron were generally short, and consisted of asking him questions about the reading. She didn't want to allow him try any healing charms until she was sure he knew all the theory behind them. Connor found his studies about healing interesting, but was bored with the constant repetition of questions.

"Perhaps after the holidays," she told him, when his frustration became obvious. "Something small, like a paper cut."

"At least that's something to look forward to, then," Connor said.

Professor Lyra had not been joking when she suggested that Connor might experience headaches for the first few days of going without his afternoon Occlumency. Connor learned to hide in his room, grit his teeth and focus on his homework while willing his mind to hold it's defences steady.

Madam Cosgrove had offered him a pain-relief potion, but both Professor Lyra and Professor Snape had advised him not to take it unless the pain was truly unbearable, since the whole point of the exercise was to strengthen his mind. After a few days, the headaches began to subside, becoming more tolerable.

Professor Lyra wanted Connor to use the holiday break to work on eliminating the need to Occlude before going to bed. Connor felt confident that this would pose little challenge, because there would only be a handful of people around to distract him, except for family gatherings with the Weasleys.

His sessions with Professor Lyra became more interesting as he got to know her a little better. He learned that she wasn't really as stiffly formal as she had seemed at first, and that she had a subtle sense of humour. Connor mentally filed away the small personal facts that she shared about herself from time to time, and began to see the 'whole picture' as he fit the pieces all together.

Apparently Professor Lyra's mother had discovered her daughter's Seer abilities when she was nine years old, when she had predicted that her Grandmother was destined to die falling from a great height. A year later, the woman in question had fallen from her broomstick while over a deep gorge and subsequently died. After that she began to make small predictions with regularity, and Professor Lyra's parents had thus decided against letting their attend Hogwarts. They opted to home-school her, instead, with the use of private tutors. Connor also learned that she had travelled extensively when she was in her teens, and had worked briefly making prophecies for those who sought her out.

"You would be amazed at the lengths people will go to for a glimpse of their future," she'd told Connor during one lesson. "And they are often disappointed by what they learn."

The practice had been profitable, but ultimately not very satisfying. Now, though, she apparently didn't try to make prophecies upon demand as she once had. Connor wasn't sure how she used her gift now that she taught at Hogwarts.

Potions was another matter all together. Connor's friends had been nothing short of amazed by his sudden promotion to a fourth year Advanced Potions class, but didn't question that he was gifted enough to qualify. If anyone found it strange that Snape was permitting a student's advancement in such a way for the first time in history, Connor never heard any complaints.

When Connor received back his first piece of homework from his new Potions class, Snape simply said, "I'll expect better from you in the future," and handed him his essay with a large red 'eighty percent' at the top.

Connor stared at his grade with mixed feelings. On one hand, he wasn't used to receiving anything less than a ninety on his Potions papers, and that was when he was only half-trying. On the other hand, he appeared to have received one of the highest grades in the class. A quick scan of the other students' papers told Connor he'd landed himself in a very difficult class. He'd have to work extra hard to satisfy Snape. Luckily, he had been able to produce an acceptable Clarifying Potion during his first practical lesson with his new class. In practical lessons, at least, Connor felt he could hold his own.

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The day of the Yule Ball came the day before the end of term, and was also the first day that Connor was allowed to rejoin his classmates for meals in the Great Hall. He suspected that Professor Lyra had worked it out that way, in case he had problems once he was back in the general population. If something went wrong, and he was overwhelmed, the other students would have a couple of weeks during he holiday to forget about it, and Connor would be able to use that time to improve his mental shields.

He was relieved to find that being around a larger number of students didn't seem to be bothering him, though, even with the excited chatter going on.

Students who weren't discussing the ball were busy talking about their plans for the holidays. Zack was still trying to explain the concept of ocean cruises to Quentin.

Connor listened with half an ear while he piled his plate high with food.

"Why in the name of Merlin would they put a swimming pool on a boat?" Quentin demanded. "It's right there on the ocean!"

"But the ship is huge, Quint!" Zack tried to explain. "And travelling very fast."

"I still don't get it...."

The post arrived; most of the parcels landed into the laps of excited-looking girls.

"If my mother didn't send the robes I asked for, I don't know what I'm going to do," Desiree Martin said fretfully as an owl dropped a package onto her empty plate. "It's too late to get new ones, now!"

"My mum sent mine two days ago," Ivy said quietly to Connor, "and they're pink."

"Oh no!" Desiree wailed as she opened the package. "These aren't the robes I told her I wanted. These will look dreadful on me!"

Connor smirked as he looked over at the shimmering brown and gold fabric in the reserve Chaser's hands. "It would look nice on Ivy," he said with an innocent air, looking pointedly at Ivy. "Maybe you two should trade robes."

Ivy's mouth hung open in disbelief for a moment before she burst out laughing. "How do you feel about pink, Desiree?" she asked the crestfallen girl.

"Really?" Desiree sniffed, obviously fighting back tears. "You'd trade with me?"

"Why don't we go back to the common room and see?" Ivy suggested, getting to her feet. "We look about the same size, and I bet pink will look great on you--your hair's pretty dark."

"What was all that about?" Rachel asked in bewilderment as she watched Ivy and Desiree depart.

"Nothing," Connor said, returning to his meal.

"What are we going to do while everyone is at the ball?" Quentin asked.

"I have to finish packing," Connor said gloomily. "I've been so busy trying to get caught up in class and keep up with Potions, that still haven't gotten around to it." He looked glumly down at his plate and pushed his eggs around with is fork. "I still have an essay to finish for Charms, a chapter summary for Transfiguration, and a list of native magical plants and herbs used in healing potions, too. I'll probably be busy right up until we leave tomorrow."

The last assignment that he mentioned was an extra one especially for him. Snape hadn't been clear on whether he would earn extra credit for it.

"I heard that McGonagall is having the house elves bring food up for everyone not going to the ball, so all of the houses can have their own parties in their common rooms," Jarod said as he sat down and grabbed a thick piece of bread and began to butter it. "Me and Patrick are going to sneak out by the lake and set off some fireworks, too. You should come out with us, Connor. It'll be fun."

"I'll think about it," Connor said noncommittally.

Conversation flowed around Connor; he enjoyed being back in the middle of things again. He didn't have any lessons with Madam Cosgrove or Professor Lyra again until after the holidays, and he was hoping to get a large portion of his holiday homework completed before getting home. He wanted to have the whole holiday to himself, with nothing school-related to work on, if he could help it.

"I'm going to go to the library to try out that charm to find some books," Rachel announced once they were finished eating. "Do you want to come, Connor? You won't get any quiet time to work in the common room today."

"Sure," Connor nodded. "I just need to run up and grab my books and stuff."

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Twenty minutes later, Connor was seated at a table in the back of the library with Rachel and Quentin, who were going over the charm they wanted to try to help them find books checked out by the Marauders. To avoid attracting Madam Pince's attention, they were working out which area they wanted to delimit.

Connor offered to act as a distraction by asking Madam Pince to help him find books on magical plants native to England. Considering the fact the woman made Connor uneasy with her vulture-like appearance and sharp tongue, he felt this was quite a contribution on his part.

He waited until Rachel and Quentin had disappeared into the area of the library furthest from the Herbology section, and then went up to the front desk where Madam Pince sat reading.

"Ah, Mr Potter," she said when she saw him. "I was just about to send you an owl, asking you to come see me before you left for the holiday."

"You were?" Connor was taken aback. He knew that the librarian knew who he was, of course, but she was never very friendly to him unless Ivy was with him.

"Yes," she said, getting slowly to her feet and opening a drawer. "Professor Snape was in here earlier and asked me to find this book and see the you got it before tomorrow."

She handed him a slim leather-bound volume of obvious age, with no identifying marks on the outside at all. He flipped open the cover and found the title page: The Healing Crafte by Wilhemina Goodewell.

"Thank you," Connor said automatically. He pocketed the book, and hoped that she wouldn't question why the professor wanted him to have it.

"You're welcome," she answered with a nod. "Sign here, please."

She stabbed a bony finger at a form that read Restricted Section Withdrawal and already bore Professor Snape's signature on it. Connor signed his name as well, trying not to seem surprised that he was being given use of a restricted book.

"Professor Snape assures me that allowing you to remove this book from school grounds is not a mistake," Madam Pince said in a tone that clearly said, Don't prove him wrong.

"I understand," Connor answered timidly. "Er, I was wondering if you could show me where I could find books about magical plants native to England?"

"Certainly," she said in a clipped tone.

She moved out from behind her desk and began to lead him into the stacks. Suddenly, there was a rumble and a shriek, followed by the sound of books falling from the other side of the library.

Connor took off at a run in the direction he'd seen Rachel and Quentin going, with Madam Pince right behind him. He would never have guessed that the old woman could move that fast.

"My books!" Madam Pince whispered in horror when she saw the cause of the noise.

"Rachel! Quentin! Are you all right?" Connor asked as he carefully waded into the books strewn everywhere. He was careful not to step on any of them as he went to help his friends to their feet.

"Explain yourselves!" Madam Pince demanded furiously, as Rachel and Quentin extracted themselves from the avalanche of literature.

"I don't know what happened," Quentin said, rubbing his forehead, where a spectacular bruise was forming. "We were looking for some books, when they all just suddenly jumped off the shelves and landed on us!"

Connor closed his hands into fists as they began to itch and tingle.

"I think maybe someone tried to hex us," Rachel said, holding her arm. "These poor books!"

Madam Pince visibly softened at Rachel's choice of words. "Yes. Well, are the two of you injured?"

"I'm not sure," Rachel said shakily. "My arm hurts."

Connor could tell that she wasn't kidding. Her expression was pained, and she had a long scrape down one cheek.

"I hurt all over," Quentin said with a wince as he discovered that his nose was beginning to bleed.

"Well, then, up to the hospital wing with both of you to be looked over," Madam Pince said.

"We'll come back to help re-shelf the books once Madam Cosgrove fixes us," Rachel said.

"Don't you worry about that," Madam Pince said brusquely. "Go on, now."

Quentin didn't need to be told twice, and led the way out of the library.

Connor knew that he wouldn't be allowed to go with them. As soon as Madam Cosgrove saw him, she would just shoo him back out again. Luckily, Madam Pince saved him having to make an excuse.

"Right, then, Mr Potter," she said, back ramrod straight and nostrils flaring. "I'll just show you where to find your books, and then I'll get started here."

"Would you like me to help you?" Connor offered, feeling slightly guilty.

"No, no!" Madam Pince said. "I'm going to need to check over each one to make sure there's no damage before I replace them on the shelves. If I find out who dared..."

Connor nodded warily as her lips thinned in anger, and followed her to the Herbology section.

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Connor was still in the library an hour later, halfway through the Potions essay, when Rachel and Quentin returned, completely healed.

"How did Madam Pince take it?" Rachel whispered as she sat down across from Connor.

"All right, I suppose," Connor said. "I offered to help her clean up the books, but she wouldn't let me. What happened, anyway?"

"We think that we made the terms of the spell too broad," Quentin said. "We need to be more specific about what we ask for, I reckon. We're going to ask Zack about it when we see him. He's the best one of us at Charms."

"I can't believe that they all shot out at us like that," Rachel groaned. "I was so sure we had it right."

"We'll figure it out sooner or later," Quentin assured her. "I'm going back to the tower to finish packing."

"I'm going to offer to help Madam Pince again," Rachel said, clearly feeling guilty about being the cause of the elderly woman's extra work.

Connor watched them go and returned to his work.

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Two hours after lunch, Connor went back to Gryffindor tower to find last minute dance lessons going on, the younger years looking on with interest.

There were girls painting each other's fingernails and toenails in one corner of the crowded common room and a cluster of whispering and giggling girls in another. There was talk of hair curling charms and make-up application. Connor felt distinctly out of his depth, and especially uneasy when he heard a Muggle born girl talking about something called a curling iron. Why anyone would want to stick a metal rod heated by electricity into their hair was a mystery that he didn't particularly want to have solved.

"I'll be in our room," Connor said decisively to Zack and Quentin, who were trying to concentrate on a game of chess in front of the fire. "I'm starting to get a headache."

"I thought you weren't supposed to Occlude in the afternoons anymore," Quentin said with a hint of concern.

"It's not that kind of headache," Connor said, pointed nodding toward the girls with the nail polish.

"Coward," Quentin said with a chuckle. "You should see what Vanessa gets up to when she has friends over."

"I hope I never have to find out," Connor said with an exaggerated shiver. "See you later."

Connor escaped to his room and flopped down on the bed, only noticing Andrew Tillman when the other boy spoke. "Going to the ball, Potter?"

"Merlin, no!" Connor said with an amused laugh. "You?"

"Yes," Andrew said, taking a set of nice deep red robes out of his wardrobe and pulling his wand. "Jenny Merchant, from Hufflepuff, asked me last week."

"I don't think I know who she is," Connor said, trying to picture her.

"She's a fourth year," Andrew said, trying to work a charm to take the wrinkles from his robes. "She's reserve Chaser for Hufflepuff."

Connor got a vague image of a petite brunette, but nothing more. "Well, I hope you have a good time."

Andrew nodded and, deciding that the robes were beyond his ability to unwrinkle, said something about asking one of the girls downstairs to help him. He left the room, and Connor lay back on his bed to relax for a few minutes.

He didn't expect to fall asleep, but the next thing he knew, his room was full of people who were making a lot of noise.

A glance at his watch told him that it was already almost seven o'clock.

"What's going on?" he asked groggily to the room in general.

"Sorry, Connor," Ivy said, sitting on the edge of his bed as he sat up. "We didn't mean to wake you."

"What are all these girls doing it here?" Connor asked, seeing Victoria, along with several of her roommates gathered around Zack, who was sitting in a chair while they styled his hair.

"They're fussing over Zack," Ivy sighed. "They want him to look extra nice so that Victoria can make Richard McCaughy jealous. She's been flirting with him for weeks and he never asked her to the ball."

Connor rubbed his eyes, trying to work out the machinations of girls in general. "Did he ask someone else?" he asked, smirking as several girls added hair potions to Zack's hair. Quentin was sitting on his own bed laughing at the spectacle. "Maybe he had already asked someone, and couldn't ask Tori."

"Nope," Ivy said. "Victoria had Marcus ask Richard who he was going with, and Richard said that he wasn't taking anyone."

"Maybe he's not going to the ball at all," Connor said logically.

"No, he's going, all right," Ivy answered. "He told Amanda yesterday that the girl he'd wanted to ask already had a date."

"Then why didn't Tori just ask him, instead, If she wanted to go with him so much?" Connor asked in confusion.

"You'd have to ask her," Ivy said absently, scowling slightly as she watched Zack.

"Whatever," Connor said, giving up. "How much longer is everyone going to be in here? I still need to get packed."

"Well, I've been waiting for Victoria to finish so she can help me with my hair. There's only an hour until the ball starts." Ivy said.

When Ivy said this, two of the girls gasped. One of them said, "It's that late already?" and they rushed from the room.

"You need an hour to get ready?" Connor asked incredulously.

"At least!" Ivy said earnestly. "I'd better go tear Victoria away from Zack. Honestly, he looks just fine!"

Within moments, Ivy had dragged Victoria from the room, along with the other two girls who were apparently there to offer advice and suggestions about Zack's appearance.

"Thank Merlin!" Quentin said, jumping off of his bed and attempting to ruffle Zack's neatly styled hair.

"Don't!" Connor said quickly, halting Quentin in his tracks even as Zack was trying to duck out of the way. "They'll just come back to fix it!"

"Good point," Quentin said, stepping away from Zack. "Besides, we wouldn't want to mess up his pretty little hair ribbon!"

"Sod off," Zack scowled. He got up to look self-consciously in the mirror and sighed with relief. "I was afraid I was going to look like some poncy git."

"No more so than usual," Connor said with a smirk, earning him a rude gesture in return. "I'm starved!"

"What else is new?" Zack asked, taking his shoes from his wardrobe and making sure they were neatly polished.

"Just go downstairs," Quentin said. "The common room's full of trays and platters."

"Yeah," said Zack, sounding a bit wistful, "it looks like there's going to be quite a party going on."

"I'm going down, then," Connor decided aloud. "You guys coming?"

"I might as well," Zack said. "It's only going to take me another ten minutes to get dressed, so that can wait."

"I'm coming," Quentin said. He hopped off of his bed, and led the way.

The common room had been rearranged in the time that Connor had been napping. Most of the tables were all shoved together to make one long buffet against the far wall. Chairs and sofas had been pushed to the edges of the room to make an open space in the centre of the room, where quite a few students were dancing to some old American wizarding rock on an ancient and battered phonograph player.

Connor grabbed a plate, filled it up with several different types of finger sandwiches and found a free seat near the portrait hole. Zack took a seat on the floor in front of Connor and nibbled on a handful of biscuits while Quentin chased off a first year in a chair beside Connor so that he could sit.

They ate in silence for a while until the edge was taken off of their hunger and watched the other kids dancing and chatting. A lot of older boys were standing around in their dress robes, waiting for their dates to finish getting ready, or killing time until it was late enough to go and meet girls from other houses in the entrance hall.

"What is this music?" Zack asked curiously. "It's like nothing I've ever heard before."

"Probably because it's old," Quentin said, "and American."

"It's an old band from about thirty years ago," Connor said. "They're called the Doxies and this song is called Gnomes and Kneazles."

"How do you know that?" Quentin asked.

"My grandmother has loads of old records at her house. She plays them all the time when she's cooking and stuff," Connor said with a shrug. "She says it makes the house seem less empty."

"Are you going over to her house for Christmas Eve again this year?" Zack asked.

Connor had invited Zack to spend the previous Christmas with his family and had introduced the Muggle-born boy to a lot of wizarding holiday customs.

"Of course," Connor said. "It's tradition. Shame you can't come again this year. I feel sorry that you're going to be stuck on a big boat."

"I'll survive," Zack said with a chuckle. "Muggles actually pay a lot of money to go on cruises. I'll bring back pictures to show you."

"Remember to save some of the film and get it developed the wizarding way," Quentin said. "If you don't, none of them will move!"

"My mum would get a big thrill out of having moving pictures from our holiday," Zack mused.

"Why not save them all to be developed here. Tim Nelson knows how," Connor suggested.

"Nah," Zack said, standing up and dusting the crumbs from his hands. "They've got to have some Muggle ones to show the neighbours. I'd better go get dressed."

"Don't mess up your hair!" Quentin called teasingly after him.

Zack ignored him.

"So, have you done your Christmas shopping yet?" Connor asked Quentin as the music switched to a slower song, and the floor all but emptied.

"No," Quentin said. "Still need to find something for Mother."

"I haven't found anything thing for Lucy," Connor mused. "Maybe we could meet and go to Diagon Alley for a few hours this week."

"Sounds good," Quentin said. "We should see if Ivy and Ra--"

"Hey, Quentin," Rachel interrupted as she came down the girl's staircase, "why aren't you dancing?"

"Why? Are you in the mood to dance with me?" Quentin asked.

Rachel shrugged and made her way through a knot of first year boys playing Exploding Snap on the carpet by the stairs. She grabbed a biscuit from the buffet as she passed and bit into it.

"I just think that if you got up and asked someone to dance, other people would follow, and we could get this party started," she said after swallowing her mouthful. "I know Connor won't. He hates to dance."

"I've got to go up and get packed, anyway," Connor said, jumping to his feet, intending to make his escape.

He was halfway across the room when he saw Ivy coming down the stairs. She looked exactly like she had when he'd seen her in the vision during the last Hogsmeade trip. The robes she wore seemed to shift from shimmering brown to gold, depending on how the light hit it, and her hair was curled and twisted up into some sort of complicated knot on top of her head. "Wow, Ivy!" he said with a smile. "You look great!"

Ivy blushed and smiled. "Thank you!"

"Ivy!" Quentin said, his mouth hanging slightly open for a moment. "You look very, er, wow!"

"Thanks, Quint," Ivy said. "I'm a bit nervous, now that I think about it. I'm bound to be one of the youngest people there."

"Well, you don't look it," Rachel said admiringly. "That colour really suits you!"

Ivy turned in a circle to show them the full effect of her robes; when Aiden and Zack came down the steps at the same time and spotted her.

"You clean up decently enough," Aiden said, smiling in approval.

"Oh, that's just brilliant," Rachel said sarcastically. "It's a wonder the girls aren't all falling over you."

Ivy laughed in a way that said she didn't mind Aiden's comments at all and turned to survey Zack in his dress robes. His hair was still pulled back into a ponytail that fell just below his shoulders, and his high-collared, deep green robes made his hazel eyes stand out dramatically.

"You look very nice," Ivy told him appraisingly. "Richard will certainly be sorry he didn't ask Victoria when he had the chance. Now he'll think he's got real competition."

"You look beautiful," Zack said, sounding uncomfortable and fidgeting with his collar.

"Zack!" Victoria called down the steps. "I'll be just another couple of minutes."

"Er, all right" Zack answered back.

"Well, knowing Tori," Aiden said with a grin, "We'll see you in about an hour."

Zack sighed in resignation and sat down on the nearest chair to wait.

"Have a good time," Connor told Ivy and Aiden as they left the common room. He turned to the others. "I'm going to go pack."

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When Connor returned to the common room almost two hours later, it was to find the food trays considerably emptier and the dance floor a lot more crowded.

He scanned the crowd for signs of Rachel and Quentin, but didn't see them right away. His cousin Patrick dancing with a pretty second year girl that Connor thought might be one of Rachel's dorm mates, but he couldn't think of her name. Jarod was dancing with Stella Anders, Gryffindor's reserve Seeker.

He finally spotted Quentin dancing with a first year girl. Quentin was patiently trying to teach her the steps to a waltz. Rachel was sitting across the room, apparently gossiping with some of her roommates. It took a moment to realize that Professor Lupin and Ms Grayson were ensconced in the far corner of the room, playing chess.

Connor walked around some dancing couples and stopped beside the board to see who was winning. He didn't speak, because he didn't want to break anyone's concentration.

After a few minutes, Professor Lupin made a move, then looked up to smile at Connor. "Hello, Connor."

"Hi," Connor said, watching as Ms Grayson countered his move. "What are you doing in here?"

"I was asked to chaperone in here since all of the Prefects are at the ball," he said easily. "Ms. Grayson graciously offered to keep me company. All packed?"

"Pretty much," Connor said. "I told Zack I'd look after Godric while he was on his cruise, so I've got to get one of the older guys to shrink down the cage for me so it'll fit in my trunk. Godric can fly to Potter Headquarters."

"Looking forward to going home?" Ms. Grayson asked kindly.

"Yes," Connor said. "I've even finished most of my homework so I don't have to worry about it."

"Most of your homework?" Lupin asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Professor Snape assigned me some last minute reading," Connor said. "But that's no big deal."

"You've been working hard, lately," Lupin said conversationally. "I haven't had a chance to talk with you since you were in hospital. I'm sorry I was away; I would have been there for you."

"I know. It's not your fault."

"You know that you can come and talk to me any time you need to," Lupin said seriously. "As a professor or as an uncle."

"Yeah, I know," Connor said with a smile. He wasn't sure if Lupin knew about his healing ability and didn't want to risk saying anything he shouldn't in front of Ms Grayson, or any of the nearby students. "Where did you go this time?"

"The Carpathian mountains," he answered, moving a chessman to intercept one of Ms Grayson's pieces. "But it ended in disappointment, I'm afraid."

"Why have you been taking so many trips this year, Uncle Remus?" Connor asked curiously.

"Connor," Ms Grayson interrupted suddenly, "would you be a dear and see if there's any tea left over there?"

"It's all right, Elizabeth," Lupin said calmly. "Connor's family. There's no harm in his knowing."

"Knowing what?" Connor asked warily.

"I've been searching for an alternative to the Wolfsbane Potion," Lupin told him. "It appears that after all these years, its efficacy is beginning to wane, and my monthly transformations are becoming harder on my body."

At Connor's horrified expression, Ms Grayson rushed to console him. "Connor! It's not as bad as it sounds. Your uncle is still completely aware of himself during his transformations. His mind stays human. It's just the effects the transformations are having on his body; particularly his joints."

"But you're not going mad at the full moon or anything?" Connor asked with some measure of relief.

"No, not at all," Lupin assured him. "So I've been travelling to different places where Potions Masters believe they've made a breakthrough and offering myself as a test subject if the findings look promising."

"But what about Professor Snape? Isn't he supposed to be the most brilliant Potions Master in all of Britain?" Connor asked. "Can't he come up with something?"

"He's been trying," Lupin said. "How do you think I've been finding out where to go? Apparently this is becoming common among those who have been taking the Wolfsbane Potion since its inception. We apparently work up a tolerance for it, and increasing the dosage isn't an option, for various reasons. That means that there are bound to be more people working to solve the problem worldwide."

"Oh," Connor said. Then he remembered that one of his worst episodes with itching hands had been shortly after the full moon, in Defence Against the Dark Arts. It must have been his proximity to a still-healing Professor Lupin that had triggered the response.

"You don't need to worry about this," Lupin told Connor firmly. "Tomorrow you'll be going home, and we'll see each other at Christmas at the very least. We'll have time for a nice long talk then, if you still have questions. All right?"

Connor nodded, and smiled distractedly when Ms Grayson stood and squeezed his shoulder briefly when she passed to get herself some tea. Professor Lupin clapped him on the back affectionately and went to join her, and Connor made his way over to sit with Rachel.

Quentin was apparently very popular among the first year girls, and apparently didn't know how to turn them down when they asked him to dance with them. Connor watched with a gleeful smile as his friend steered a starry-eyed girl around the room. He'd be able to tease him about this for months.

"Oh! Don't they look sweet?" One of Rachel's friends sighed.

Connor looked up to see Professor Lupin dancing gracefully with Ms Grayson, showing off a little with some of his moves, and earning applause from the romantics looking on.

As the song ended, the clock struck eleven, and the portrait swung open to admit Zack and Ivy. Ivy's hair had fallen from its elegant knot, and Zack was sporting a black eye, but they were both laughing uproariously.

"What happened?" Ms Grayson demanded as soon as she spotted them.

"Well, that's a funny story," Ivy answered when she finally calmed down. "Aiden and Christa Belmuth made up at the ball, and so I offered to step out gracefully."

"And Richard McCaughy spent most of the evening fawning over Victoria and being as rude as possible to me," Zack added. "Which was pretty much the plan."

"The plan?" Lupin asked, carefully examining the boy's eye while Ms Grayson looked at Ivy's bruised knuckles.

"To make Richard jealous," Rachel answered. "Victoria's like him for ages, but he didn't ask her to the ball."

"So how did this all end with a black eye for Zack, and Ivy looking as though she's been in a fight?"

"I went to tell Zack that I was heading back here, and he asked me if I wanted to have a last dance first," Ivy explained.

"Victoria was off talking to some friends," Zack said, "so I didn't see the harm. We went out onto the dance floor, and suddenly Richard shows up and says that Victoria deserves better than me."

"He didn't!" Rachel said excitedly.

"He did," Ivy said mischeiveously.

"So, I decided to taunt him a little bit," Zack said with a smile, "and I told him that the better man had won."

Quentin laughed at this and said, "Brilliant!"

"Yes, well, it was until his punched me in the eye," Zack said with a rueful chuckle.

"That doesn't explain what happened to Ivy," Rachel said.

"I got so mad when he hit Zack, that I hit him," Ivy said, and began to laugh again, which set Zack off again.

"Victoria ran to Richard, to see if he was all right, and McGonagall sent us back here," Zack said cheerfully. "I think we're in a fair bit of trouble."

"I would think so," Lupin answered shrewdly. "Professor McGonagall doesn't take kindly to fighting, especially at an even like the Yule Ball. I think you can count on detention when you get back from your holidays, at the very least."

Connor bit his lip as his hands itched and moved away from the cluster of people under the pretence of getting something to drink. Luckily, Ms Grayson volunteered to take Ivy and Zack to Madam Cosgrove, and Connor excused himself to go to bed. This would be the last night that he would be doing Occlumency, if he was lucky.