The Serpent's Thirst

Harry sat silently between Ron and Hermione, flipping through his Defence Against the Dark Arts textbook. Ron sat with his brow knit in concentration as he watched Sirius intently, waiting for class to begin. Hermione, on Harry's other side, didn't dare to even blink for fear of missing a single word or movement. They weren't the only ones; most of the class was enthralled by their new teacher. Some seemed a little intimidated, still believing he was a convicted murderer. though, Dean and Seamus seemed very excited that he was once a convicted murderer.

Feeling as though his nerves had decided to take a holiday, and unable to deny his relief that Harry was in his very first class, Sirius began. "Right then," he said, clapping his hands together jovially.

Sirius couldn't wait to get the class started with some magic. "You've all had a disastrous year last year with Defence ... well, except for a few who managed to practice in secret." He gave Harry a small wink. Ron, Hermione, and a few others grinned. "I thought we should begin with a fun lesson. Turn to page 316 of your textbooks to the Yeti," he said, beaming at their stunned faces across the room. Sirius felt fairly calm, but knew that his heart was racing. Though he wished it wouldn't.

The rustle of pages told Sirius that he had gotten their full attention. Harry found the chapter on the Yeti and looked down at his book, his green eyes trailing over a picture of a huge white beast, its claws yellow against the bright wintry background. It was surrounded by a horizon of snow, and drool escaped from its menacing mouth, freezing on the fur of its chin.

"The Yeti is a giant creature who, apart from being ugly, is covered in white fur and lives in Tibet." Sirius took in a deep breath before continuing, hoping his voice was loud enough. He supposed someone would tell him if they couldn't hear him. "The beast eats anything. I really mean everything, even you. So if you were to encounter one of these, you'd best be prepared," he added.

Looking around, Sirius snapped his book shut. "I want you all to close your books and move to the windows," Sirius said, motioning for the students to get from their seats and move toward the large windows, where it looked out at the Hogwarts grounds surrounded by dark mountains.

Ron looked at Harry wondering what Sirius was going to show them. Harry shrugged, hardly caring. It was enough that at last they were going to have an exciting lesson, their first since the lessons that Barty Crouch, posing as Alastor Moody, had taught in their fourth year. All of the students were desperate to forget about Umbridge and her evil ways quickly. Their fears about their new teacher quickly evaporated.

The entire class stood quietly while Sirius contended with opening a window, pushed up his robe sleeves. Harry, Ron and Hermione looked over the Sirius' shoulder.

Sirius looked around as though completely amazed that the class was paying him any attention. He suddenly had a distinct and unpleasant feeling that the Slytherins wouldn't be half so attentive.

"There is something that a Yeti is extremely scared of. Who knows what it is?" Sirius continued, looking at his students.

Hermione's hand shot up. She obviously knew the answer and Sirius smiled before calling on her. The look on her face told him he was doing quite well already.

"The Yeti is afraid of fire and can sense it a mile away, when it then retreats into its ice cave."

"Correct. Five points to Gryffindor." The students smiled. Sirius took advantage of their good mood to continue. "So with that very important note, the best way to scare off an advancing Yeti is to use a Fireball Charm. It is extremely effective in that particular situation."

Sirius pointed his wand out of the open window, leaning as far out as he could. "The incantation for the Fireball Charm is Pila Incendium." The class muttered the words and then returned to gaze out the window curiously.

"Stand back everyone." The class shuffled a bit. "PILA INCENDIUM!" Sirius roared.

A giant red fireball erupted from the end of his wand and burst out into the open before vanishing into wisps of smoke. A couple of owls across the lake scattered in shock and some of the Defence students gasped in awe. A couple of the girls yelled in surprise. After the initial shock, all of the students were very impatient to try it out for themselves.

"Brilliant!" said Dean, taking out his own wand.

"I can see you really want to try out the charm, Mr. Thomas," Sirius replied, stepping away from the window. "For today's lesson you all may try the spell from the window. However, if you are ever in actual danger from the beast, it's important to remember to always point the wand toward the sky. The last thing you want is a flaming Yeti trampling you."

Harry, Ron, and Hermione smiled, glad to see Sirius' lesson going well so far.

By the end of the lesson all of the students were able to produce a good fireball, even Neville, whose magic had vastly improved since he had gotten a new wand, and it wasn't only in Defence. However, only Harry's and Hermione's Fireball Charms were anywhere near the intensity of the Professor's. Sirius awarded Harry and Hermione five points each for their excellent work.

"I want you all to revise the Yeti Chapter and next week we will discuss how to handle a Vampire.

"In addition, in a couple of weeks we will start discussing some Advanced Dark Arts that any of you may be facing some day soon," he added, and the class quieted, reminded of the true reason for their Defence lessons. As Sirius gave them their homework, he wiped the blackboard with a swipe of his wand.

As the rest of the class rushed out towards Potions, Hermione, Harry and Ron packed their books and walked toward Sirius. "Excellent Sirius," they all said.

Sirius' eyes were bright and happy. "Was I fine? Do I need to talk louder? Was I too dangerous for your own good?"

"Oh you're doing great, Sirius -- I mean, Professor Black," Hermione corrected herself happily. "It's just such a nice change having a competent teacher." She batted her eyelashes, a huge grin appearing on her face. Harry snorted, but his heart leapt as he stood next to her and their shoulders touched for a moment.

"Thank you." Sirius grinned, he leaned forward to look at them and his hair cascaded over his eyes. He suddenly glanced at Harry and Ron, and his smile disappeared. "You've got Potions next?"

Ron nodded gloomily. Remembering what had happened the day before in Sirius' office, he was even more reluctant than usual to go to Potions class, and he certainly didn't want to discuss the new Professor Snape with Sirius under the circumstances. Sirius shrugged. "Try and not stir trouble with her, please. She can be nasty and that's how I remember her." Harry wasn't sure he was completely convinced by Sirius' feelings towards Professor Snape. Sirius was right, though - she certainly was nasty.

"Get going now, you three! She might give you a month's detention for turning up late, and I don't want to think what she'll make you do."

Harry flinched. The last thing he needed was a detention like the ones he had been given by Professor Umbridge the previous year. Sirius waved after them as they ran off, heading in different directions.

The corridors seemed to be more crowded than usual. All of the students were trying to elbow past one another to get to their classes. Harry, Hermione and Ron made their way through the students as best they could. When Harry tried to squeeze past a pair of giggling Ravenclaws, a lumbering giant of a seventh year Hufflepuff knocked Harry's spectacles askew. "What the hell is going on?" Harry asked in frustration.

"It's Peeves," said Ron irritably on finding his path blocked by a crowd of Slytherins. "He's just flooded the west wing corridors with giant cockroaches."

Hermione accidentally bumped Harry's shoulder, her fingers suddenly grasping at his robes. She was unexpectedly pressed against him by the dense flow of students with nowhere else to go. "Oh, I'm sorry Harry," she gasped, her eyes locking with his for a moment.

They soon stopped moving altogether. The combined heat from the tight throng was making Harry sweat slightly. Of course, he thought, it might also have been the fact that he was pressed up against Hermione.

"I can hear Filch screaming for Dumbledore to get rid of Peeves," Hermione said, her eyes patrolling the corridor, hearing the Caretaker's voice. At the same time she was trying to ignore the fact that Harry was staring at her.

Harry narrowed his eyes, feeling her breath tickle on his neck. He had to put his mind elsewhere. "Oh, is that him shouting?" Harry asked with a strained grin. "I thought I was hearing a Banshee who'd just nipped her thumb." At this, Ron laughed hysterically. The image of Filch as a long-haired Banshee nursing a sore thumb was hard to resist. Harry smirked, watching Ron double up with laughter.

The crowd had barely started moving again when a girl suddenly screamed. Ron stood on tiptoe to get a better look at what was going on.

"What is it, Ron?" Hermione asked.

Ron stretched his neck a little further in order to get a better look. "It's a giant cockroach," he said, his face fixed in an expression of deep disgust. "Ugh! They're friggin' huge! They're about the size of a hand," Ron added in horror.

Harry didn't want to look; his friend's description was enough to convince him of that. Looking ahead though, he could see the tips of two chocolate brown feelers moving in all directions.

Hermione clucked her tongue in frustration. "Oh for goodness' sake! We'll be late for class!" she shouted, and a burst of manic energy overtook her. She grabbed Harry's and Ron's hands and started pulling them through the crush of students.

"Hermione!" Ron yelled. "Ouch, you're pulling my arm off!"

"That's better then having your head decapitated when Snape sees you late to class!"

Down the dark stairs they went and into another passageway, where still more students were piled up.

Being dragged along behind her, Harry followed Hermione as she jerked them through the crowd, marching mercilessly over the students that stood in her way. Harry couldn't stop himself apologising to the students that were injured in Hermione's hurry.

Despite the rush, Harry felt a sudden impulse to let go of her hand. Hermione wouldn't let him go. He struggled free, accidentally twisting her wrist too hard.

"Ouch! Harry. What-?" Hermione stopped, spinning around.

Harry couldn't hear her. An unpleasant pain throbbed in his scar. He could hear his own breathing and his heart pounding. Soon that disappeared too and a new sound flooded his ears, that distinct, chilling voice he dreaded hearing again.

White-hot agony flooded Harry and he yelled, hardly realising that he had fallen to his knees. With his hands pressed onto his forehead, he lay limply on the stone floor. The corridor around him was deathly silent. Squinting, Harry could see only black. He panicked.

As his alertness returned, Harry recognised that the darkness were simply the black robes of people circling him, wondering what had happened. For the students, many of whom had heard of Harry's visions, it was a chance to see Harry's reaction to one of these visions first-hand. For all the talk they had heard, few had personally seen Harry in this situation.

Looking around frantically, sweat dotting his pallid face, Harry spotted Hermione and Ron kneeling by his side, quite ashen from the experience.

"Harry?" Hermione was trembling.

Ron's eyes were wide with shock. He had never gotten used to seeing the pain inflicted on his best friend whenever Voldemort experienced strong feelings.

Harry didn't answer Hermione. He cringed, feeling a little sick and propped himself up. Hermione inhaled sharply at his sudden movement, and Harry felt Ron pushing him down again.

"No! Let me go. I'm going to go tell Sirius-" Harry started to say, struggling against Ron's grip. Ron reluctantly let go of him.

"What happened? What did you see?" Hermione whispered, helping Harry up.

Harry shook his head. "I - I don't know." He stood up with the help of his friends and turned away from the Potions corridor. Students around him whispered quietly with worried looks on their faces. Hermione and Ron moved to follow him, but Harry turned around. "Listen, go to class. If we all go, we'll all get into trouble."

"But, Harry," Hermione protested. She saw the determined look on his face and bit her lip.

Harry waved his hand. "I'll tell you afterwards," he told them, and he ran off to the staff room where he knew Sirius would be relaxing, probably enjoying some Butterbeer near the raging fire.

He ran for what seemed forever, trying not to forget what he had heard the Dark Lord say; he knew he shouldn't have heard it in the first place. Harry made a right turn and saw the door to the staff room. Banging it open, ignoring the horrified shouts by the gargoyles which guarded the door, he found Sirius turned in his seat to view whoever interrupted the peacefulness of the room. In the fire, Harry spotted Remus' egg shape head. One look at his godson's pale, stunned face, Sirius stood up quickly, curiosity and alarm clear on his face.

"Harry, are all right?" Sirius asked, walking forward. Harmless green flames gently licked Remus' face as he looked on intently from the fire.

Harry had to catch his breath before he could say a word. He felt his godfather steer him into a seat.

"What happened Harry? Did you have a vision?" Remus joined in the conversation. Sirius hushed him up, waving a hand frantically toward the fireplace as he stared fearfully at Harry.

"Voldemort and some Death Eater!" Harry finally croaked, after drinking some water that had magically appeared at a flick of Sirius' wand. Sirius sighed. Harry explained what happened, and he saw that neither of the two Marauders had the slightest clue as to what was going on.

"You don't know what they are planning?" Harry asked desperately, seeing their blank faces.

"Well, it's good you told us. Voldemort has been oddly quiet these past few weeks." Remus pinched his chin, lost in thought for a moment. He shook his head as if to clear it, and nodded decisively. "I'd better get going and alert the rest of the Order. Sirius, you'll tell Dumbledore?"

Sirius nodded, and Remus' face disappeared from the fire. Sirius knelt down beside the armchair, surveying Harry. "You only heard that he wanted a Guardian ... nothing else? Or what kind of a Guardian it is?" His questions were in vain. Harry responded by shaking his head several times miserably.

Harry kneaded his forehead with his knuckles and closed his eyes in exhaustion. "Nothing. He was pretty desperate to find the person."

A heavy silence followed. Harry soothed his frustration by closing his eyes. He felt slightly better as time passed. At last, he turned to Sirius who had started to pace the room.

"Are you feeling all right now, Harry?"

Harry nodded; the pain in his scar had lessened.

"Do you want to go to the hospital wing?" said Sirius.

Harry sighed. "No, I'm fine now. If you hear anything, please tell me, Sirius," he pleaded, rubbing his eyes. "I think I'd better go to Potions. Hermione's got my things." He was simply relieved to have gotten the information to the Order so quickly. Harry shot a quick glance at his watch. He was going to be really late. He just hoped the Potions Mistress would be understanding.

On his way back to Dungeon Six, Harry kept thinking about what Voldemort had said, unable to erase the words from his mind. The Dark Lord's voice had been so cold and so morbidly terrifying that it never ceased to numb Harry's mind every time he remembered the sound.

"Ahhh, Mr. Potter ... you decided that you were too good for class, because of your status? You thought that you could be excused for being late when other students cannot?" The cool female voice echoed in the dungeon amongst the hissing and spluttering sounds of the bubbling and steaming cauldrons.

Harry shut the door without answering her question. Catching Ron's and Hermione's eyes, he raised his eyebrows at them. They looked sorrowfully back at him. Hermione inclined her head, deep lines appearing on her forehead.

Harry hastily walked to the very back of the dungeon where the Gryffindors all sat, while ignoring the smirks and sneers aimed at him by the Slytherins. He sat down with a thud, his eyes piercing the pale blue ones of the teacher. Professor Snape narrowed her eyes, habitually twirling her wand.

"As I was telling the Gryffindors, your lateness has lost your house twenty points. I have been told what occurred, Mr. Potter, but you should have waited until the end of class to go and visit a certain Professor," she said with immense dislike, her eyes blazing with wrath.

Harry scowled and swore under his breath. Ron nudged him in the ribs in warning. Professor Snape turned around and headed to her own desk, and steam from dozens of cauldrons began to obscure Harry's view of her. He breathed in deeply and began reading the instructions for today's potion when the Professor spoke again, just as he was igniting the flames at the bottom of his cauldron.

"Oh, and, Potter... you have detention as well."

Instead of a healthy yellow flame emerging from the bottom of Harry's cauldron, a small purple fire exploded out of his wand. Ron nearly fell off his chair and the Slytherins laughed hysterically at Harry's misfortune.

***

After dinner, Harry had told Hermione and Ron what he had heard and they looked at him with the same lost expression that Harry had seen on Sirius' and Remus' faces. They shook their heads and sat limply in the common room, homework untouched in front of them.

After an hour of exhausted conversation about Voldemort, Ron decided to change the subject and focus on Quidditch instead, to help them stop thinking about the Dark Lord. Harry remembered something which brought a smile to his face and took a roll of parchment from his pocket, pinning it up on the notice board. He stood back and just staring at it as Ron walked over to take a look at the notice as well, knowing that his sister Ginny was going to try out as Chaser.

It was an announcement for Quidditch tryouts: Gryffindor needed new Chasers and Beaters. The only team members were now Harry, Ron and Katie Bell. Harry had been made captain two weeks ago, just after start of term. He had never been so happy as at the moment Professor McGonagall had told him the news.

As Harry straightened the note on the board, Lilac played happily at his shoes, trying to pull off his shoelaces, and Crookshanks contented himself with ripping up the hem of Harry's robes.

"Oh, Harry-- I saw Sirius on the way to the Library, and he is absolutely furious with Professor Snape," Hermione said softly, her eyes peeking above her Charms textbook.

Harry returned his best friend's attention and he pulled on his cloak. "Well, he has every right to be." He flipped his Gryffindor scarf around his neck and for an instant it covered his face.

Hermione stood up and pulled the scarf down so she could see his eyes. Ron, watching every move in the background, sat in stony silence. Harry relaxed as Hermione clasped his cloak shut, and he could sense she was ignoring her ex-boyfriend.

"--At least you're with Professor Grubbly-Plank for detention and not with her ..." Hermione whispered. "And don't worry too much about Voldemort. You are safe."

Harry raised his eyebrows and nodded. "I'm off. Can't wait to see what detention has got for me," Harry replied, grinning sarcastically. He walked off, his kitten running along side, then she circled her Master.

"LILAC! DO YOU HAVE A DEATH WISH OR SOMETHING?" Harry shouted at the white kitten after nearly stepping on her as he moved towards the portrait. Gryffindors sitting around the common room, relaxing and doing homework began to giggle. Lilac raised her head and meowed innocently.

Hermione sighed, scooping Lilac up into her arms returning to the fire where she and Ron were half-finished with their homework. Sitting down only after Harry had left, Hermione sighed and ran her fingers through her tangled hair, wincing when she tugged some of the frizzy knots she caught.

Ron was oddly quiet, his head low as he wrote his essay on an antidote for a Heart Shrivelling Potion, one of the Dark Potions they were currently studying. Ron seemed intent on avoiding Hermione's eyes and his silence was not welcoming. As Hermione watched him, a sinking feeling developed in her stomach, and she understood.

"Ron?"

His quill stopped midway through a word and without looking up, Ron said, "what?"

Ron closed his eyes, the image of Hermione adjusting Harry's scarf still clear in his mind. He could see the look in her eyes, the longing for Harry. He had never seen that perfect expression directed toward him when he and Hermione had been together. He squeezed his eyes shut, and tried to drive the thought out of his mind. Why was he acting like this when he had forgiven them on the train journey to Hogwarts? He supposed that while he had forgiven them quickly, he was not going to forget the betrayal so easily. Seeing them embrace one another so willingly and lovingly, giggling behind his back at the Cottage was going to take a while for him to forget.

Ron knew that Harry and Hermione were going to get together again -- there was no denying that. However, he had thought that their relationship would start at some later time and at a time when Ron would not see them look into each other's eyes like that.

"Ron, please, talk to me," Hermione pleaded, her lips trembling as she watched the top of Ron's red head, her eyes round and anxious. His silence was terrifying her and she was worried that their friendship would not last.

She turned away from Ron, knowing that he still felt heartbroken, even though they had patched up. She cursed herself for being stupid enough to try to get close to Harry right in front of Ron. The moment, though, had been there for the taking, and she hadn't been able to resist. She ached too! But still--in front of Ron? How idiotic could she be? Did her intelligence fail when it came to love? She sighed loudly, catching Ron's attention .

"Hermione -" Ron spoke at last.

Hermione interrupted him. "Ron, it was a mistake. I should never had done it-- at least not right in front of you. After all we've put you through," she replied politely, scared that the wrong word might anger him.

"No, no, don't feel sorry. You have every right to love anyone you want ... I'm just feeling -" Ron floundered, clearly at a loss for words.

"Heartbroken?" Hermione answered for him, feeling a familiar rush of guilt suffocate her heart. She bit her lip harder, feeling quite empty. She tilted her head, thinking about the conversation on the train. She and Harry had told Ron that they loved each other. Than again, seeing them acting with love stirred his emotions up once more. Ron had seemed to understand that. Still, seeing them acting on their feelings couldn't be easy for him. He looked nearly as upset now as he had all those weeks ago.

"Like I said." Ron picked up his things, closing his Potions book and rolling up his parchment. Hermione watched, fretting his reaction. "You are free to love Harry ... just please do it when I'm not watching," he croaked, his voice getting a little quieter with each word, his throat feeling tighter and tighter. He turned and headed off to his dormitory, leaving Hermione to despair in her thoughts alone.