The Substitute and the Secret

The Substitute and the Secret

It was Wednesday evening, the day after the detention in the Forbidden Forest. It was almost midnight, and the Gryffindor first-years were on their way to their Astronomy class. Harry, Ron, Hermione and Neville were bringing up the rear, trailing after the main group; after McGonagall had taken 150 points off Gryffindor because of Harry, Hermione and Neville's actions, only Ron was still speaking to the other three anyway. They found the Ravenclaw first-years, with whom they shared the class, waiting on the steps a few feet below the door. Parvati greeted Padma and asked her why they were waiting.

'There's something walking around in the Astronomy class -- it's not Sinistra, it's something with hooves,' answered her twin.

At this, everyone fell quiet and listened. It did sound as if something with hooves was pacing up and down above them. The pupils looked nervously at each other, thinking about what creatures had hooves.

'Maybe it's another troll!' whispered Neville.

Harry thought of the centaurs he'd seen in the Forest the night before, and wondered if a centaur could climb all those steps. He already knew that the centaurs were interested in the stars; maybe one of them was visiting Professor Sinistra to discuss them.

Lisa Turpin said, 'Someone should go up and look,' and looked around at Harry. Everyone else in the main group looked at Harry too.

'Honestly!' muttered Hermione. 'Lose 50 points, and everyone expects you to leap into danger.'

'I think it's a centaur,' Harry muttered back, 'and they're OK. I don't mind going.'

Watched by the rest of the class, Harry climbed up the last few stairs to the classroom. He looked through the door, and saw a blond palomino centaur inside. 'Firenze? Is that you?'

The centaur turned his head towards him. 'We meet again, Harry Potter. Yes, Professor Sinistra is unwell, and I am to teach you tonight. Where is the rest of your class?'

Harry called down to the others to tell them this, and all of them climbed up into the classroom. Most of the pupils clustered together on the side opposite the centaur. Firenze frowned, but didn't comment.

'Now, who is here?' he asked, checking a parchment. 'Harry Potter -- I met you in the Forest.' He then pointed to Hermione, 'and you were with him -- your name is?' She answered, and Firenze then looked around the rest of the class. 'I don't recognise any of the rest of you, so answer when I call your name.' He then worked through the other names on the list.

Then, apparently ignoring Lavender, Parvati and Padma whispering together, he explained that they were supposed to be studying Saturn in that lesson, but the sky had clouded over since he had arrived earlier to make use of the equipment, making it impossible to see Saturn through the telescope.

'Tonight's lesson, therefore, will be on the facts about Saturn. The planet was known to the ancients; it is thus the most distant planet to have no known discoverer. Despite this long history, it was not until some time after the invention of the telescope that the nature of its rings was even partly understood.' He noticed Seamus had his hand up. 'Yes?'

'Please -- I know this is an astronomy lesson, but we've looked at Saturn briefly last week, and we can read the facts about it later. But we've never seen a centaur before -- could you tell us about centaurs instead?'

Firenze looked around the class uncertainly, but almost everyone was nodding in agreement with Seamus. The rest of the lesson was therefore spent on questions and answers about centaurs rather than the history of attempts to understand the nature of Saturn's rings.

After the lesson, the group split up and headed back to their respective common rooms.

'That was interesting,' said Hermione, 'but it was our last astronomy lesson before the exams, and we didn't learn anything about Saturn.'

She noticed Ron grinning. 'We might need those points to pass the exam!' she pointed out irritably.

Ron shook his head. 'Didn't you realise what Lavender and the others were talking about? They learnt something, and it wasn't about Saturn.'

She shrugged. 'I suppose they were gossiping about someone.'

'They kept looking over at you and Harry. That centaur said he saw you two in the Forbidden Forest together -- I bet they think you sneaked in there to be alone together.'

'But we didn't!' said Harry. 'You know we were there with Neville and Malfoy, doing that detention.'

'Of course I know -- but how many others know?'

'Well, we can tell Seamus and Dean when we get back to the dorm -- or tomorrow, before breakfast.' said Harry.

'And I'll tell Lavender and Parvati what really happened,' said Hermione.

*

The following morning, Hermione told the other two girls in her dorm, 'I've got to explain about what Firenze said yesterday.'

Lavender and Parvati looked at each other, and then at Hermione. Parvati continued to do her hair while listening.

'When we had detention two days ago, Hagrid took us into the Forest -- that's me, Harry, Neville and Malfoy. We met some centaurs in there while we were looking for something that kills unicorns.' She thought the other two were looking rather disappointed at this revelation.

'Why exactly were all of you doing detention anyway?' asked Lavender. 'We never did hear what happened.'

Hermione relaxed, now that the other two realised there was a perfectly innocent explanation, and explained further, taking the looks the other two gave each other as being their acceptance of how innocent it all really was.

*

At breakfast, Hermione learnt that Harry had told Seamus and Dean what had happened, and that Ron and Neville had backed up his story about doing an unspecified favour for Hagrid, 'It's better if you don't know what it was about, so Malfoy's lot can't drag you into it too', and she told them she'd cleared it up with Lavender and Parvati.

'And you can see they're telling some of their friends now,' she said happily, 'so that's all sorted now.'

'They look rather happy to be stopping a rumour though,' said Ron thoughtfully.

*

By lunchtime, it had become clear that the rumours were stronger and more widespread than ever. Ron asked Hermione to tell them just what she'd told the other two girls.

'Oh, I told them how Professor McGonagall caught us up the Astronomy Tower about one o'clock in the morning -- Parvati thought I meant all four of us, but I explained it was just Harry and me, and Neville wanted to warn us, and Malfoy wanted to catch us there.'

'Did you say why you were up there?' Ron asked patiently.

'I couldn't tell them about Norbert -- so I just said it was something secret.'

Ron was laughing now. 'Don't you know,' he managed to say, 'what the Astronomy Tower's famous for?'

Hermione looked blank.

'Fred and George told me about it --' he began.

'Fred also told you that you had to wrestle a troll to be Sorted!' said Harry.

'Really?' said Hermione. 'You did have to fight a troll later.'

Ron waved his hand dismissively. 'I remember Charlie talking about it too, so it's not something Fred and George made up. Couples go up to the Tower to be alone! You told them you and Harry went up there to do something secret, and were caught, and that Malfoy was sneaking about trying to catch you doing it ...'

Hermione's jaw dropped, and Harry was looking as though he'd been Stunned.

'... and you wonder why there are rumours?' Ron said, laughing at their expressions.

'Well,' said Harry, grinning, 'at least they're talking about us, if not to us, now.'

---

Copyright © 2/11/2002, Peter Murray