Shifting Perspectives

Chapter Eight

"Stop it!" Harry hissed quietly at his Potions partner.

Parkinson raised a delicate eyebrow. "Stop what? Breathing? Thinking? Working?"

"No! You know what I mean. Stop staring at me. I gave you back the handkerchief, didn't I?"

"Yes, and I'm very grateful. But I can't help if it's all in your head."

"It isn't all in my head!"

Parkinson rolled her eyes. "Potter, just pass the wormwood."

"Why should I do anything you tell me to?"

"Because you don't want to fail this class?" Parkinson suggested.

"Can't argue with that logic."

Parkinson's mouth quirked in a brief smile. "Hold this and stir while I add these." She tipped the roots in gently. "Keep stirring until the roots dissolve and the potion turns green."

Harry stared at the surface of the potion. It was a sickly yellow color, with tinges of blue creeping across. "This looks disgusting."

"Don't let Snape hear you. He'd probably make you test it," Parkinson commented dryly. "Stop stirring; that's good. Let it sit for a while. I'm going to finish straining the essence of belladonna. Tell me when the potion stops bubbling."

"When the bubbling completely stops, or is just about stopped?"

"When it completely stops." Parkinson poured the belladonna through the strainer, collecting the strands that floated on top, talking as she went. "We pour the pure belladonna in first, and then we add the belladonna strands when they've dried. After that, we're done for today."

"What happens if you add the strands first or don't wait until they're dried?" Harry asked when his curiosity got the best of him.

"You vomit up everything you ate in the past forty-eight hours. It's not pleasant."

"Ugh."

"That's why you should always pay attention to potion directions. It could save your life."

Harry squinted at the potion. "It's stopped bubbling."

"I'm not done straining yet." Parkinson handed him a beaker full of the pure essence. "This is the stuff I've already strained. Pour it in on top while I finish straining the rest."

Harry dumped the belladonna into the cauldron. It slid slowly out of the beaker, like molasses, and it hissed as it mixed into the potion. Parkinson finished straining and laid the strands out to dry. Then she leaned across to add it to the potion. Harry reddened as she brushed across him and glanced at her, hoping she hadn't noticed.

"Oh, sorry," she said, but there was a wicked gleam in her eyes.

"You could just go around, you know."

"I could," Parkinson agreed, "but I don't think I will. Why go around just to do something that takes two seconds?"

"I could move the cauldron," Harry offered.

"I wouldn't advise that," Parkinson said smoothly. "You wouldn't want any of the potion to splash out, would you?"

Harry gritted his teeth. "Fine." He resolved to move the cauldron first thing in their next Potions lesson.

"The strands are ready to be added."

"I'll do it," Harry said quickly. He grabbed the strands out of Parkinson's hand before she could protest.

"Just let the strands float on the surface," Parkinson instructed. "There. We're done." She pulled out another beaker and reached over to collect a sample. "I'll let Professor Snape have this. You put away everything."

Grumbling, Harry collected the ingredients and returned them to the student store cupboard.

* * *

"Welcome back," Harry said to the D.A. members. "We're going to go over everything we learned last year today and see how much you remember. Break off with your partner, grab a few cushions if you want, and try to see how many spells you remember. If there's anything you don't know, just ask and I'll go over it."

Harry, watching Neville and Ginny, was surprised. Neville had remembered every spell and performed each excellently. "Good job," he said encouragingly. "I see you've been practicing."

Neville nodded. "I practiced all summer. And my gran got me a new wand since I broke Dad's. She was furious, though. At least I saved the pieces."

"I think I've forgotten how to cast Impedimenta," Ginny confessed. "I can't get it to work."

"That's fine," Harry said. Raising his voice so the entire room could hear him, he asked, "Who else has forgotten spells over the summer?"

People seemed to have developed sudden interests in their shoes and ceilings and were remarkably reluctant to meet his eyes. It's the Synchronized Shoe and Ceiling Inspection Team, Harry thought. "You don't have to be embarrassed about it. Just tell me what spells you've forgotten."

From the general muttering, he was able to tell that for the most part, it was curses for specific uses, like Impedimenta and Reducto that were being forgotten, rather than more general spells like Protego. "Okay, okay," he said. "We'll start off with Impedimenta." How had he taught it last time? "You have to concentrate on stopping the object. Imagine the object slowing down, gesture with your wand like this, and then say Impedimenta very clearly. Let me demonstrate. Neville, can I demonstrate on you?"

Neville nodded. "Sure."

"Impedimenta!" Harry yelled. Neville froze into place. "Okay. Does anyone need me to show that again? Okay, then find your partners and practice it a few times. Then we'll go over the other curses people have forgotten, and maybe next lesson we'll be able to do something new. It shouldn't take you as long this time, since you already know the spell."

* * *

"What are Hermione and Ginny going on about?" Harry asked Ron quietly.

Ron shrugged and swallowed. "The prefects have to plan a ball."

"Not another one," Harry groaned.

"That's what I thought."

"It's to help morale," Hermione explained. "It wasn't my idea, so don't look at me like that, Harry. Ron, you're a prefect, you should be thinking of ideas as well."

"But I can't think of anything! And your ideas are so much better," Ron whined.

"You just need to learn to apply yourself. If you just tried harder, do you know how much higher your grades would be?"

"Hermione, I am trying, all right? I'm just not as good as you are!"

Hermione shook her head, but let it drop. "Ginny, what will the prefects have to do for the ball? Aside from decorating."

"Hmm..." Ginny said, considering. "Pick music?"

Hermione wrote it down in her perfect handwriting. "Work with the house elves?"

"Pick food," Ron said around bits of his dinner.

"See?" Hermione said, pleased. "You can think of ideas." Ron rolled his eyes and ignored her.

"Make posters?" Ginny suggested. "Spread the word around in general."

"Check supplies and equipment, so we don't run out?"

"Yes, that's important," Ginny agreed. "I think that's all. The teachers will do the more difficult bits anyway."

"I suppose," Hermione said, looking over her parchment. "I'll go give this to Cho."

"I'll come with you," Ginny said, rising from her seat.

* * *

Harry and Hermione were working on Potions homework in the common room when Ron burst in, wild-eyed. "She just cornered me--I didn't know what to do--in front of everyone!"

Behind him, Seamus and Dean, sniggering loudly, climbed in through the portrait hole.

"Ron, calm down!" Hermione said sharply. "What's going on?"

"Luna just came up to me in the Great Hall and asked me to the ball! It was in front of everyone, and I didn't know what to do, so I just said yes! Now what do I do?" Ron moaned.

"Luna?" Harry said, astonished.

"Do you have the dress robes your brothers bought you?" Hermione asked briskly.

"Yes."

"Then you take her to the ball, dance with her a couple times and try to make the best of things."

Ron gaped at her. "I can't go to the ball with Luna!"

Hermione's eyes flashed dangerously. "You can and you will. You agreed to take her to the ball, Ronald, and I expect you to keep your word."

"But it's Luna!"

"That doesn't change anything."

Ron appealed to Harry. "Harry! You know I can't go with Luna!"

"Why not?" Ginny said defensively. "What's wrong with Luna?"

"I don't know, Ron," Harry said slowly. "I think they're right. You did agree to take her."

Seamus clapped Ron on the back. "Looks like you're stuck with Loony Lovegood, mate."

"Don't call her that!" Ginny said angrily.

Ron sat down heavily in a chair. "I'm doomed," he groaned.