Harry Potter and the Dark Mark

Chapter Eight

Harry watched her surreptitiously from across the room. He couldn't imagine her crying over him. He could, however, imagine she might think that he saw her as a silly little girl, seeing how he'd told her that to her face. He winced at the memory. She'd not given him chance to apologise yet, either. He certainly didn't regard her as a little girl any more.

The entire Gryffindor Common Room was in a heightened state of anticipation because tomorrow was the day that the entire school was going to Hogsmeade. Colin Creevey was making sure his camera had a new film, and Ginny was listening to his chatter about form, composition, and subject. She was actually managing to smile and look interested, and laugh at the right intervals. Harry thought that alone deserved an award for concentration and agreeability in the extreme. He was watching Colin's reactions to her like a hawk. He realised he perhaps wasn't the only boy in Gryffindor to notice that Ginny Weasely was exceptionally pretty.

"Where's Hermione?" Neville asked. Harry jumped. He had completely forgotten Neville was sitting next to him. They were attempting to do Divination homework, and failing. Harry was used to having Ron help him devise bizarre occurrences for his predictions, and although Neville was here, Harry had discovered that he was extraordinarily unimaginative. So far Harry, much to his chagrin, would be subject to only eight life-threatening accidents in the next week.

"Dunno. Why?"

"I was thinking that she might know how to do this, that's all," Neville began. "Where's Ron?"

"Dunno. With Hermione," Harry answered tonelessly.

"Oh. What are they doing?"

Harry gave Neville his full attention, mildly irritated but amused simultaneously. "They said they were going to the library first, to look up Streeler Venom, and then they were going to practise a bit of transfiguration in an empty classroom somewhere," he answered. Hermione had failed to find Streeler Venom listed in connection with any Dark Arts spell or potion, but was still determined to prove that Wormtail was up to no good.

"Oh. Why are they looking up Streeler Venom?"

"Er... remember Ron's Dad has a problem with Horklumps in his garden!" Harry cried, realising his mistake too late.

"Oh yeah! Wait... wasn't that gnomes?" Neville persisted.

Harry was so exasperated he nearly hexed Neville to shut him up. The truth was, he had no idea where Hermione and Ron were, only that they had been going there nearly every day since she had offered to help him with transfiguration, for at least half an hour at a time, and Harry was not welcome to tag along. Just as he felt frustrated enough to reach for his wand, unsuspecting Neville was saved, because everyone's attention was drawn to the portrait hole by a series of thumps, and a muffled cry of 'Open up!'

Not a single person moved. Harry, with a sigh, took it upon himself to go and face whatever lay in wait on the other side of the portrait. He waited, with wand in hand, as the door swung on its hinges. It had been known for Slytherins who had discovered the way to Gryffindor to pretend to be students in need of help, and then curse the first person to open the door. "Ron! Hermione! What happened?" Harry cried in shock, viewing the scene before him. Ron's clothes were scorched and burnt, and the ends of Hermione's hair were slightly singed. Hermione was making weak sounding noises. Harry listened, and then he realised she wasn't crying as he had thought, but laughing.

"Oh, Harry!" gasped Hermione. She grabbed his shoulder and he helped her in through the portrait hole. She was like a limp rag doll, weakened from laughing so hard. The tears were starting to leak out of the corners of her eyes.

"I wish, I wish I'd had one of those Muggle whatnots that you use to make moving pictures with," Ron choked. His ears were bright red, and he was laughing too.

"Why?" Harry asked. He watched, bewildered, as they staggered over to one of the large settees and collapsed on it together, still laughing. As soon as they had begun to calm down, Ron made a strangled noise in his throat, muttered the words 'Snape's face', and they began laughing all over again. It wasn't until they realised everyone in the Common Room was waiting for their explanation that they kept back their gurgles of laughter and attempted to explain.

"After we'd left the library, Ron suggested we, er, find an empty classroom to practise transfiguration in," Hermione began.

"Right, and so we were down in the dungeons-" Ron continued, but Harry interrupted.

"Hang on, that's miles away from the library! Why go down there when there are other empty classrooms around school?"

"We felt like a walk!" Hermione answered. Ron carried on.

"Anyway, so there we were, and we were going to that classroom down the corridor from Snape's office-" This time Ginny interrupted.

"Ron! That classroom's where... well, where couples go!" she exclaimed, reddening.

"I know!" he said impatiently. "Hang on a minute, how do you know?" he demanded. Ginny reddened even more.

"Go on," she changed the subject. Hermione sat up properly, a grin on her face.

"Hmm. So, we walked in, and there was Malfoy-" Ron laughed again.

"And Pansy Parkinson-" supplemented Hermione.

"KISSING!" they yelled in unison. There were a few laughs from the Gryffindors.

"Wait, it gets better," Hermione assured everyone.

"Yeah, MUCH better," Ron added. "Malfoy saw us, and he almost dropped Pansy in fright, and swore at Hermione and told us to get out-"

"Which we did with pleasure," Hermione added.

"But as we closed the door, it turned out that Malfoy had yelled at us so loudly that Snape had overheard us in his office, and come out to yell at us. He gave us a proper grilling, and then asked us why we were down there together." Ron had to pause to laugh.

Hermione filled in for him. "There was this awful silence, and then up pipes Pansy's voice from inside the classroom, asking Malfoy why he thought to come to the classroom, and he answers her saying, saying that-" Now it was Hermione's turn to dissolve into a fit of giggles.

"Saying that there were two reasons Snape had agreed to having a Potions assistant this year, and the other day Malfoy'd been looking for to torment 'that Mudblood' but he'd come across Snape and Professor Brauen in this classroom!" Ron snorted.

"He said he didn't like to think what they'd been up to!" choked Hermione. There were screams, guffaws and shrieks from everyone in the Common Room at her words.

"Snape's face!" Ron moaned again. "He was brilliant though! He forgot us, flung open the door to the classroom and stormed in. Malfoy did drop Pansy this time, and they were both so scared you'd have thought there was a basilisk in the room!"

"So then Malfoy squeaks, 'Oh, Proff...fessor S...snape, I, er, did you overhear my little joke?" Hermione squealed in an impression of a terrified Malfoy.

"Snape stalked up to this cupboard, and opened it, and then pointed to it. And he said, 'This, Mr Malfoy, is a store cupboard. Within it, you find ingredients for Potions. Professor Brauen and I were fetching supplies for her next class. I would appreciate it if you didn't circulate vicious rumours about my assistant and myself. What goes on behind these doors is purely professional, and just because what you get up to in this classroom is private, it does not necessarily follow suit that I should behave in the same adolescent manner!' And Malfoy's eyes nearly popped out of his head!" cried Ron, with glee.

Hermione continued, "He asked Malfoy what he'd seen, and Malfoy got all sulky and admitted he all he had seen was the two Professors leaving the classroom with some scrolls and bottles in their arms, and that he had made the whole thing up!"

"Then Snape strode out, and was standing there looking at us as if we smelt of Hippogriff dung. He asked us to ignore Malfoy's stupid stories when there was this massive explosion!" Ron started laughing all over again.

"It turns out Peeves had been hiding in the cupboard spying on Malfoy, and he'd decided to throw a dungbomb at Snape! We ran as fast as we could. Last thing we heard was Snape absolutely losing it with Malfoy, because he didn't see Peeves... he thought Malfoy had done it!" Hermione giggled again, leaning on Ron. Everyone loved the thought of Malfoy getting it in the neck from Snape.

"Serves him right for all the times he's got our lot in trouble," Lee Jordan shouted.

George leaned over to Ron. "Tut tut, baby brother of mine, you shouldn't smoke!" he chided. Ron looked confused.

"No, smoking is very bad for your health," Fred chimed in. Harry stifled a laugh as he saw what the conversation was leading up to.

"I'm not smoking! I don't!" Ron cried, bewildered.

"Now, don't lie, Ron, we can all see that you're smoking right now!" Harry joined in with a grin. Fred and George gave him approving looks.

Fred extended his arm and carefully pressed the collar of Ron's robes between his thumb and forefinger. The threads that had been smouldering quietly were extinguished. "There. Now you've stopped smoking!" he joked. Ron gave him a look, and the twins moved away rapidly.

Harry watched his two best friends together. When the attention had moved away from them, he sat on the seat opposite them.

"I have a few questions," he told them.

"Yes, me too!" said Ginny behind him, making him jump. She looked quite menacing.

"Erm, what were you doing, going into that classroom?" Harry asked.

"That's what I want to know!" said Ginny. "Malfoy seemed to think he'd find you down there when he said he'd been looking for 'that mudblood.' Why look for you down there? Do you go there often?"

Ron and Hermione looked shifty, and shuffled next to each other. Harry suddenly noticed they were holding hands.

"About bloody time too!" he exclaimed. Hermione's cheeks went pink, and the tips of Ron's ears turned red again. Ginny laughed, and shook her head, smiling, before walking away.

"I have a question too, though," said Hermione, more seriously. "Malfoy seemed to think there was a reason Snape wanted a Potions Assistant this year. I want to know what that reason is."

"Yeah," Ron agreed, seeing a nice opportunity to change the subject. "And I want to know what Ginny has been up to in that classroom!" There was a pause. "And who with!"

Harry laughed awkwardly. He wouldn't mind knowing either. That wasn't what he said to Hermione and Ron though. Instead he asked another question. "What makes you think Snape needs a reason?"

"I don't know," Hermione said quietly. "Ask me again after the next Dark Mark."

That stopped their giggles, and with sighs, the three friends moved over to the table Neville was sitting at, and got out their homework. Each one of them was looking forwards to the trip tomorrow.