Revelations and Romance

Revelations and Romance chapter 2

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2: Raine and Duels

January 4th

Tuesday started quietly enough, with Professor Grubbly-Plank teaching them about Crups, strange fork-tailed dogs. However, this enjoyable start to the day was marred by Draco's continued attempts to get one of the Crups to attack Hermione -- although the Crup was considerably friendlier to her than Draco was.

Harry, Ron and Hermione were still laughing at Draco as they walked back to the castle during the mid-morning break.

'Just because the Professor said that Crups attack Muggles,' said Ron. 'We keep telling Malfoy you're not a Muggle, you're a witch! Even that Crup is more intelligent than he is! I think Crabbe and Goyle are beginning to have an effect on his brain.'

'Did you see the expression on his face when it just licked Hermione's hand and wagged its tail?' asked Harry, grinning.

'What, Malfoy's brain?' asked Ron.

'I liked the Crup,' said Hermione, ignoring Ron's joke. 'I don't think I'll ever have one as a pet though.'

'Why not?' asked Ron. 'It wouldn't ever attack you.'

'Because of my parents,' she reminded him. 'Whatever I do after leaving Hogwarts, I want them to be able to visit me.'

'Oh, right. I forgot that, unlike Malfoy,' said Ron.

'Well, it's bad news for the rest of the morning,' said Harry. 'Potions next, and more of Malfoy.'

The other two groaned.

As predicted, the Potions lesson was no highlight. Draco left the trio alone, apparently embarrassed by the fiasco of the Care of Magical Creatures class. Snape, however, was his usual unpleasant self.

'Longbottom! Are you planning to avoid all potions completely after you leave this school?' he roared at Neville. 'Does it not occur to you that you might be in this class in order to learn something that will be useful to you -- or do you intend to spend your future melting cauldrons to order?'

Neville stammered an inaudible answer, which didn't change Snape's mood in the slightest. He swept over to where Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil were sharing a cauldron, and found fault with the uneven sizes of their chopped Gillyweed.

'Is there no Gryffindor who understands the need for careful preparation of ingredients? Five points from Gryffindor -- for each of you.'

Harry thought this was most unfair -- he could clearly see Pansy Parkinson's badly-chopped Gillyweed, and was sure that Snape wouldn't mention that.

Snape paced back toward his desk at the front of the room, not even bothering to glance at Hermione, as there was no fault to be found with her work. The other Gryffindors were also working well, and he didn't criticise them or the Slytherins, either.

After the lesson, Harry, Ron and Hermione walked back through the dungeons to the Great Hall for lunch.

'That potion would have been useful in your second task last year,' commented Hermione. None of them wanted to talk about Snape.

'Dobby's Gillyweed worked all right anyway,' said Harry. 'I didn't really need to be able to breathe both air and water in that task. Now I know why Snape had some of it, though.'

'There's got to be something we could use that for, to get back at Malfoy,' mused Ron. 'You don't suppose there's a version of the potion which makes you breathe air, then water, every other breath?'

Hermione grinned at him. 'I wonder how long a potion like that would last? Several months would be good.'

In the Great Hall, Ginny sat next to Ron. It was the first time they'd seen each other that day, as Ginny hadn't been at breakfast.

'Ginny -- I'm sorry about what I said yesterday. You know I didn't really mean it, don't you?' he said. She nodded.

'Are you avoiding your friends today?' asked Harry.

'Those two just won't stop going on about those Hufflepuffs,' she said, in an exasperated tone.

'Maybe we can change the subject,' said Hermione, on the other side of Ron. She put her arm around Ron and they kissed until Harry's cough reminded them to stop.

'Are you trying to get them to gossip about you?' demanded Ginny.

'Actually, yes,' said Ron. 'Ask us again after classes, and we'll explain why. I don't want to go into it here.' Seamus was sitting on Harry's other side, and Ron didn't think Harry wanted everyone to know.

Ginny frowned, clearly puzzled by her brother's attitude.

'We've got the insomnia cure next,' said Harry, hoping to change to a more neutral subject.

'Is that Potions?' asked Ginny.

Harry shook his head. 'We just had that. Double History of Magic is next.'

Ginny giggled as she realised what he meant. 'That's not very nice!' she protested insincerely.

The lesson confirmed Harry's opinion. Binns reached the end of the Goblin Rebellions, and told them that the next lessons would be about the Dark Wizards of the seventeenth century. Their homework was to read about the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries in their textbooks.

'That was so thrilling,' said Ron, as they made their way back to the common room. Their last lesson on Tuesday was for free study.

'I suppose it will continue on to include the background to Voldemort, though,' said Harry thoughtfully. 'That could be useful.'

Ron sighed. 'Can't you at least stop using his name in public, like now?'

'Sorry. I didn't grow up with him in the background, like you did.'

'Nor did Hermione, but she manages to remember!'

'Hermione remembers everything -- you know that! Besides, she likes you better than I do, and I'm sure you're glad she does.'

Ron grinned, and looked at Hermione, who was blushing from Harry's compliment.

They sat in their usual place in the uncrowded common room, and started on their homework. Harry decided to start with the background reading for History of Magic, and found it more interesting than he'd expected. He wished Binns' teaching style was more like Bathilda Bagshot's writing style.

When the portrait hole opened after the last of the day's lessons, and pupils from the other years streamed in, Ginny came over to them. She hesitated once more. 'If I sit here, I can see out of the window,' she said, sitting in the same chair next to Harry as the two previous days. Harry tried not to grin too obviously, and looked across at Hermione, who was sitting in a pensive position looking at a piece of parchment. It was doubtless coincidence that her hand just happened to be covering her mouth.

Harry couldn't resist saying, 'But it's dark outside now, so there's nothing to see.'

Ginny mumbled something vague, and changed the subject. 'Well, why do you want them to gossip about you?' she asked Ron.

Ron started to explain about Harry's concerns about You-Know-Who attacking his friends, and especially a girlfriend. Harry and Hermione joined in and soon Ginny had the whole story, including Harry's worries about Hermione being a target if rumours about her being his girlfriend continued.

'Oh. So that wasn't true yesterday? You're just kissing Hermione to keep her safe?' Ginny asked Ron.

'No!' said her brother. 'I do want to keep her safe, but I really do love her. You don't seriously think I proposed to her for Harry's sake, do you?'

'You proposed to Hermione?' Ginny said, astonished. 'You mean you're engaged now?'

'Didn't I mention that yesterday?'

'No, you didn't! How can you just forget to tell me that you just got engaged?'

'I said "maybe",' said Hermione. 'We aren't engaged -- not yet, anyway. I think we should wait to see how we feel by the time we leave Hogwarts.'

'Oh.' Ginny seemed almost dazed by the news. 'But you really do love Ron? You're not interested in Harry, then?'

Hermione smiled at the younger girl. 'I like Harry as a friend. And you knew before Ron did that I really liked him -- remember when we talked about boys when I was staying at the Burrow?'

'Oh, yes. I told you I thought it was weird that a girl would like him.'

'My own sister,' sighed Ron. 'She's got no respect for her elders and betters.'

'I have! But you're only older, not better,' she teased.

'If only she was more like Percy.'

'You want Ginny to be as officious as you always complained Percy was, and then going to work at the Ministry?' asked Harry, grinning. 'Or just obsessed with a Prefect badge and on her way to becoming Head Girl?'

'Oh, don't! I take it all back!' said Ron. 'No, we couldn't have anyone else like Percy in the family.'

'I'd like to be a Prefect,' said Ginny dreamily. 'I could tell Shona and Fen that, if they didn't stop gossiping all the time, I'd give them detentions.'

Harry and Ron both looked at Hermione.

'I hadn't really thought about doing that,' she admitted. 'But I don't mind Lavender and Parvati spreading gossip about me kissing Ron.'

'If they do, then Shona and Fen will too,' said Ginny. 'But I suppose you want that, because it makes it more likely that you'll be safe. You know they're bound to exaggerate it though -- they'll probably claim you've been sleeping together, like Hannah and Ernie.'

'I wonder if the Slytherins hear their gossip,' said Harry, mainly to draw Ginny's attention from Ron and Hermione, who were blushing and trying to stifle a giggle respectively.

'Oh, Raine is keen on gossip too. I'm sure the Slytherins will hear any gossip that Fen hears.'

'So she's second to top in Potions, and top in gossip?' asked Ron with a grin.

'Sort of,' said Ginny, smiling.

Ron told Ginny about Malfoy and the Crup, which made her laugh. Then they headed down to the Great Hall for dinner.

After dinner, as they walked back up to the common room, Hermione whispered something to Ron. Once in the common room, Ginny sat down in the same chair as before, then noticed the others hadn't sat down. Hermione was still standing by the portrait hole, and Ron wasn't in the common room. Harry sat beside her, and noticed her puzzled expression. 'Ron and Hermione are going to go and check on something, and Ron's just gone to get something from upstairs.'

When Ron reappeared, he and Hermione went back out through the portrait hole. Ginny was sure she heard Hermione giggle just as the portrait closed the entrance.

She and Harry got on with doing their homework. Crookshanks appeared from wherever he'd been, and jumped onto the chair where Hermione usually sat.

Ginny looked at her watch when she'd finished her homework. 'When did they go to check on whatever it was? They've been over an hour now, haven't they?'

'Yes, I think they have. I hope they remember we've got Astronomy later this evening,' he commented. 'I expect Hermione will remember, anyway.'

'Are you being rude about my brother?' she asked sternly. 'That's my job!'

Before Harry could answer, the portrait opened to let Ron and Hermione back in. They came and sat down. Ginny picked Crookshanks up and put him on her lap to give Hermione her chair back. Ron handed Harry a folded piece of shimmering cloth, which Harry put into a pocket.

'Where have you been?' asked Ginny, ignoring the piece of cloth. Then she sniffed. 'Can I smell bubble bath? Crookshanks, what have you been getting into?'

Hermione looked at her cat and smiled. 'It doesn't matter, Ginny.'

Ginny tickled Crookshanks' throat. 'Cats aren't meant to use bubble bath when they wash themselves, silly!' Ron grinned at her.

Ron and Hermione resumed the homework they'd been doing before dinner. Harry soon finished his, apart from the sixteenth century reading, which he decided to leave until the next day, and leaned back in his chair. 'Astronomy later,' he commented. Hermione nodded, but Ron looked startled and checked his watch. 'I don't think I'll get this finished by then. Please can I look at your essay?'

'It's better if you do it yourself,' said Hermione.

'It's better if I do it,' he retorted. 'It's not much use, being honest and not getting all of it done.'

*

When the three fifth-years went up to their Astronomy lesson, Harry took the chance to talk to the other two without Ginny hearing. 'How was the Prefects' bathroom this evening?'

'Wet,' said Ron.

Hermione pretended to punch his arm. 'Fun,' she said. 'Nicely romantic, and no visit from Myrtle.'

'Good,' said Harry. 'But you're either going to have to tell Ginny what's going on ...'

'No chance!' exclaimed Ron.

'... or get her to be friends with her classmates again. Otherwise, she's going to guess. She's not all that young -- and she isn't stupid.'

'She hasn't guessed yet,' said Ron.

'She's only just got as far as believing you're in love,' said Hermione. 'It'll take her a while to think of the possibility you're actually making love to me.'

Harry looked round to make sure they were still far enough from anyone behind them that they couldn't be overheard. The other Gryffindors were far enough ahead to be safe, but the class was shared with Ravenclaws, and he didn't know where they were.

'The more time she spends around you two, the more likely she is to guess,' he said. 'If you don't want her to guess, you have to avoid her or just be obvious enough for gossip about you kissing.'

*

The next day began with Herbology, and then Hermione went to Arithmancy while the other two went to Divination. They continued with the Tarot cards, and Trelawney showed them how to do more detailed readings. Harry's, as he expected, came up with more details of how his death would happen. It involved an old enemy (he sighed at that cliche), flight (that was newer) and an orb. 'So, basically, Voldemort is going to kill me during a Quidditch match?' he asked her. A perverse glee filled him as she winced at the never-spoken name. He sat thinking of other ways he could mention the name every time she predicted his death -- maybe that would stop her doing it -- and wasn't paying much attention to the rest of the lesson.

On their way down to lunch afterwards, Ron said accusingly, 'You did that deliberately, not saying You-Know-Who to her!' But he was grinning.

Harry admitted, 'I did think about it, but it was more fun to watch her reaction. When is she ever going to get fed up with foreseeing my death?'

They could hear Parvati and Lavender behind them chattering excitedly -- they'd taken up Trelawney's offer to let pupils borrow some of the Tarot decks. Harry grimaced at Ron.

Hermione was already sitting at the Gryffindor table when they reached the Great Hall. She was talking to Ginny, who was sitting next to her, and a brunette girl that Harry didn't recognise, who was standing behind Ginny. Ron crept up behind Hermione, his finger on his lips to warn Ginny not to say anything. He grabbed her by her shoulders, and when she turned her head, startled, his lips were there to meet hers. After a moment, they separated, Hermione now grinning. Ron sat beside her, on the other side from Ginny.

'You must be Ginny's brother,' said the brunette girl. Ginny nodded. The brunette then looked at Harry, no longer hidden behind Ron's taller form. Her jaw dropped open.

'And that's Harry,' said Ginny, grinning at the now-blushing girl. 'Harry, this is Raine, who I was telling you about.'

'Hello,' said Harry, amused by Raine's reaction. Mostly now people reacted much less noticeably.

'Hello,' said Raine weakly and eventually.

Harry stopped himself just in time from saying that she was reacting more than even Ginny had when she was eleven, and said instead, 'I'm only another pupil, you know. The lightning scar doesn't make me all that special.'

'But ... but you're the reason I don't have to worry so much about my parents! They're much safer now that you've defeated the Dark Lord!'

'Sorry, but he came back last year.'

She nodded. 'I know. Dad told me. He's an Auror, so he hears these things. But the Dark Lord can't attack openly now if he wants Fudge to keep denying that he's back.'

'It's nice to know that some people in the Ministry believe he's back.'

Raine turned to look over at the Slytherin table, as if she'd heard something Harry hadn't. 'I'd better get back over there before they start tying a noose. Nice to meet you, Mr Potter ...'

'Mister Potter?' repeated Ron incredulously.

'... and Hermione, and Ron, and thanks for introducing me, Ginny,' she finished, blushing slightly, and moving towards the other table.

'Ginny's right, she is really nice,' said Hermione. 'A real change from Malfoy and the others who make all the noise. I wonder how many others are nice, and we just don't notice them?'

After lunch, the fifth-years had another free period, as did some pupils from other years. Harry and Ron worked on their Divination homework, which they soon realised would have been easier if they'd borrowed decks of Tarot cards. Hermione was doing the background reading for History of Magic, and clearly having a better time than the two boys. Crookshanks had managed to perch on the window sill behind Ron and Hermione, and was staring at something out of the window and making soft meowing noises. The three of them ignored him.

'Oh!' Hermione said after a while, staring at a passage in the book. 'I just found some Malfoys.'

'Quick, close the book before they escape!' urged Ron.

She glared at him, and went back to reading the passage. 'It says they arrived in England in the sixteenth century, fleeing from persecution abroad.'

'Does it say where they came from? Maybe we can send them back,' said Ron.

'Ha ha,' she commented, continuing to read.

'Anything else interesting?' asked Harry. 'I didn't get out of the fifteenth yesterday, and now I'm stuck on this Tarot rubbish.'

'One of them was very close to being made the first ever Minister of Magic.'

'Oh, that's just terrific,' said Ron sarcastically. 'That must be why Malfoy acts as if his Dad runs the country now.'

Hermione read further, and grinned. 'Well, you're going to have to read this yourself for homework, so you'll find out more details then.'

Harry looked at his watch. 'For now, we'd better get to Dark Arts.'

Professor McCardle continued from the last lesson of the previous term, dividing the class into pairs and having them duel, after first making sure they knew the Finite Incantatem spell. One of each pair was supposed to use the Rictusempra charm while the other blocked it, then the roles were reversed. She'd chosen that as an attacking spell because it was fairly harmless, but very obvious when it affected its target. Ron and Hermione formed one pair, Harry and Neville were another, Seamus and Dean the third, and Lavender and Parvati the fourth. Hermione, Neville, Dean and Parvati attacked first; Ron failed to block in time, but Harry had no difficulty. Neither Seamus nor Lavender succeeded in blocking. Then the others attacked, and Hermione unsurprisingly blocked Ron's attack while Neville was soon chuckling uncontrollably. Harry removed the spell, and they did two more rounds with the same results. Dean and Parvati had no more success in blocking than their partners had had; it was taking a while for most of the class to get back into the swing of blocking.

Professor McCardle came over to Ron and Hermione, frowning. 'I feel your pairs are mismatched. Weasley, are you too much of a gentleman to attack a lady?'

'That's no lady,' replied Ron, 'that's my ... best friend.'

Hermione laughed, along with Harry and Neville, and the Professor too was trying to suppress a smile.

'Regardless,' she said at length, 'it might be better, Weasley, if you were paired with Longbottom, and if Potter were paired with Miss Granger.'

The four switched round as ordered, Ron muttering, 'I definitely don't want to "pair" with another boy, I want Hermione,' quietly enough that the other three could hear him, but the Professor, now talking to Dean and Seamus, couldn't. Neville grinned at Ron.

This pairing worked better, as Harry's practising for the previous year's Tournament made him more skilled at duelling than Ron or Neville. Since Hermione had coached him, she was also familiar with the curses he'd learnt, and was about as good at blocking them, so they soon agreed to give up on Rictusempra in favour of more practice on the advanced curses. It wasn't too noticeable that they'd changed curses, since both managed to block every attack. They were careful to make sure nobody else got in the way while staggering about laughing under the effect of the Tickling Charm.

Ron and Neville were staying with the Tickling Charm. That was just as well, since neither of them seemed to be able to block curses as well as Harry or Hermione, and Ron seemed to be spending much of the lesson rolling on the floor laughing loudly. Neville spent at least half of the time he was defending laughing as well, but the Charm didn't seem to affect him as strongly.

When the bell went for the end of the day's lessons, the Professor talked to each pair about what they needed to practise more of before the next day's lesson, then dismissed them. Harry and Hermione were the last pair, though Ron was visible outside the door, waiting for them.

'You were only supposed to be using the Tickling Charm, you know,' she said reprovingly to both of them.

'Oh -- I can explain ...' said Harry, launching into an explanation of the previous year's practicing. Professor McCardle held up her hand to stop him before he'd got very far.

'I am aware of that. I have to admit, when I realised what the two of you were actually doing, I was quite concerned at the risk you were taking. But, by the time I'd realised, it was apparent that you're both very skilful at blocking, and it made no difference what curses each of you used. I would prefer, though, if in future you would warn me and get my permission before changing the lesson so drastically.'

They glanced at each other, then back at her, shamefacedly.

'You may go and join your patient friend. One more point: if you had told me first, I'm not sure if I would have given my permission, but if I had, you would both have earned points for the quality of your duelling. As you didn't ask, I'll take off the same number of points for not asking, for a total of zero.' She shooed them out of the classroom.

They told Ron what she'd said, as she'd been speaking too softly for him to hear.

'That's not a bad way to get told off,' he said. 'I wonder how many points you would have got?'

That evening after dinner, in the common room, Ginny came over to where the three of them were sitting, paused and opened her mouth to speak.

'Ginny, please, just sit down next to Harry,' said Hermione.

'If you insist,' she said with a grin, and sat in her usual chair, lifting Crookshanks onto the chair's arm.

'Spoil-sport,' Harry said to Hermione, with a grin.

'Sorry, Ginny, I just can't take the excuses for sitting there any more. We all know you want to sit next to Harry because he's Harry.'

Ginny blushed. 'I hoped you hadn't guessed.'

'Never mind,' Harry told her. The four of them got on with their homework. Harry was still struggling with Divination, while Hermione was reading through the rest of the History of Magic background reading. Ron was puzzling over a Charms essay that the other two had done earlier. Ginny took a cloth-wrapped package from her bookbag, and opened it to reveal a deck of Tarot cards.

'What?' said Harry, in surprise.

'They're Tarot cards,' she said, showing him the deck. 'We just started doing them this week. Didn't you do them last year?'

'No,' Harry replied. 'We just started on them this week, too.'

'Strange,' said Ron. 'We should be a year ahead of you. I wonder what happened?'

'She's probably being lazy,' said Hermione. 'It's not like Transfiguration, where you have to start with easy things and get harder. Divination just jumps around from subject to subject, doesn't it? Tea-cups, crystal balls, astrology and now Tarot.'

'I suppose so, but I don't see what difference it makes,' said Ron.

'Think about it. If it doesn't matter what order you learn them in, she can just prepare one set of lessons for the week, and teach it to all her classes.'

'Sneaky,' said Ginny admiringly. 'And it means I can copy off Ron!'

'Not much point,' said Ron. 'If you do, you'll only predict the death of whoever sits next to you. That's what I keep doing to Harry.'

'Is she still doing that?' The two boys nodded. 'That's bad. She predicted my death in the first lesson, too. McGonagall told me I didn't have to hand my homework in if I died, but otherwise she wasn't going to make allowances.'

'That's about what she told me after our Divination lesson,' said Harry. 'It must be a double-act they've got going.'

Hermione raised her eyebrows at the thought of McGonagall cooperating with Trelawney, and went back to reading Bagshot's History.

'Can we borrow those when you've finished with them?' asked Harry. 'We didn't realise her homework was almost impossible without them.'

'Yes. You can borrow them now, and I'll do the Herbology essay instead,' said Ginny. She put the cloth wrapper beside her on the chair, and Crookshanks grabbed at it with a paw. 'Stop it, you silly cat! Give it back!' She tickled him until he let go, then put the wrapper on her other side.

Harry borrowed the cards gratefully, and the impossible homework was soon done. Ron borrowed them next, finished interpreting the reading he had done, and returned them to Ginny, who wrapped them up again, and put them back in her bag.

Ginny stretched and yawned, then checked her watch. 'I am going to bed now. I know old people don't need their beauty sleep,' she said, then grabbed her bag and ran before Ron's thrown cushion could hit her.