Harry did not recall much of his remaining lessons the first day. He could not get the image of the ruined block of steel, nor the one of orange acid streaming towards his face from his thoughts. The only thing he did recall from Charms or Transfiguration was that he did not have homework in either.
He therefore had the perfect opportunity to do his Dark Arts homework that night. But his mind was elsewhere. Ron too was not in a mood to do homework. Hermione had none, as she had already read the assigned pages and she was needlessly rereading her notes. Ginny was with some friends from her own year, playing Gobstones, but overheard their following conversation.
Harry sighed deeply, looking out the window at the darkening sky, from the table he, Ron and Hermione were sitting around. “I was really hoping to see Hagrid sooner than Thursday. I haven’t seen him all summer.”
“So go see him now. We can all go.”
“Ron! Did you forget? It’s almost dark,” Hermione scolded in a harsh whisper, wearily making sure there were no eavesdroppers..
“So. Harry’s got an invisibility cloak.”
“One of these days, you’re going to start acting like a prefect. Besides, only two of us can fit under it anymore and just barely.”
“Well, you made it clear that you don’t want to go. Go on Harry. Go get the cloak.”
“And just how do you plan on getting out of the tower? Even if I didn’t, the other prefects would stop you.”
“We’re still allowed in the corridors for a while,” Harry stated. “We can leave the common room and then put the cloak on. Nobody but you would know.”
“And we know you won’t turn us in. We’ve broken rules before, you included.”
Hermione ignored that it sounded like Ron was trying to blackmail her. “You know I wouldn’t, not that I have to. It’s never been this serious or dangerous before. I wouldn’t be surprised if Hagrid gave you detention.”
“He’s never done so before, even after becoming a professor,” Harry said, slightly annoyed by all of Hermione’s excuses.
“Then what are you waiting for,” Hermione snapped, turning back to her notes.
Harry slowly got up and then jogged up to his dormitory. When he came back, his prized invisibility cloak stuffed under his uniform shirt, Ginny was waiting for him at the bottom of the staircase. “Where are you going,” she asked, blocking his path.
“Ron and I are going to see Hagrid, Ginny.” Harry saw no point in lying to her. It was obvious she had heard him or she would not have known he was leaving at all. To anyone else it looked like he went upstairs to get something for studying.
“No you’re not. You’ll get in trouble and Gryffindor will loose points on the first day,” she reminded him in a harsh whisper.
“Move Ginny. Don’t make me push you out of my way. You know I don‘t want to hurt you.”
Ginny gave a hollow laugh. “I have six older brothers. Try it.” But before Harry could make up his mind whether or not to shove past her, Ginny shoved him against the wall of the staircase and pinned his wrists to his sides.
Not only had Ginny caught him by surprise but she was stronger. Already as tall as Harry, if not taller, she had several pounds of lean, strong muscle on him. As Harry struggled in vain to release his arms, Ginny leaned close to whisper in his ear. To anyone in the common who might have looked, it seemed Harry and Ginny were just hugging and kissing.
“I’m not going to stop you or Ron, even if you two should know better. But if you get caught, I won’t stick up for you either. Please don’t go,” she added before kissing his cheek. Ginny let go and walked back to her friends.
Harry stood still for a moment before walking out into the common room. He looked around slightly embarrassed, unable to tell if anyone had seen them. He now knew just how much Ginny liked him. “I’ll have to do something nice for her,” he said to himself.
Harry met Ron outside the common room. They walked some distance, appearing to go to the library, then hid behind a giant vase. There, they donned the cloak and continued quietly toward the castle entrance.
The quiet chatter of the Gryffindor common room faded to silence as the noise of heavy footfalls moved closer to the portrait hole entrance. As the last voice fell silent and all heads had turned toward the noise, the Fat Lady’s portrait swung open. Next moment, Harry and Ron were thrust through the opening, a silvery, liquid-like cloak trailing behind them.
Once they regained their balance, the boys turned back to the figure of Hagrid, who had brought them back to their dormitory. It was clear he had been yelling at them for some time. “Now, I expect the two of you to come to me for detention, after dinner, for the rest of the week!”
“Hagrid!” It was Harry who complained, in a completely shocked voice.
“Sorry Harry, but Professor Dumbledore made the new rules very clear. He said, ‘No exceptions.’” The portrait swung closed and Harry and Ron trudged sulkily back to the table where Hermione sat.
They slumped into their chairs as the other students went back to their conversations, many just glad Harry had not cost them points. Hagrid had never been comfortable taking points from anyone. Hermione looked up nervously then went back to her reading. “Well,” Harry snapped. “Go ahead and say it!”
“What,” Hermione responded curiously, not looking at him.
“That you told us not to go and that it’s our fault we’re in trouble,” Ron replied.
“Well she did,” Ginny stated, taking a seat by Hermione. “And it is. You’re a prefect Ron, why don’t you act like one?”
“Shut up Ginny!” Ginny and Ron were now glaring angrily at each other. Harry could not believe how they acted sometimes. He had always wanted a younger brother or sister and could never imagine arguing the way the Weasley children often did.
Shortly, Harry went to bed, careful to pull the bed curtains tight around him. He then lit his wand and stared at the photo albums he had packed until he fell asleep, after staring longingly at his mother for ten minutes.
Harry made sure he was wide awake and alert for his first lesson on Tuesday. He had no doubt that Snape would have a needlessly complicated potion ready for that first day.
As Harry entered the cold, dank, moldy dungeon, he noticed a stark contrast to his lessons from the prior day. So few students had met Snape’s stringent requirements to continue in Potions. Thusly the only eighteen students represented the four houses of Hogwarts. Harry and Hermione took their usual seats near the back of the classroom as Snape swiftly made his way towards the front of the room, black cloak billowing like thick smoke.
It seemed to Harry that Snape sneered at him before beginning his lesson. He set them to an extremely difficult potion, the Animal Control Potion. Simple in idea, this potion was the second most complicated potion Harry and Hermione had seen. Of course, it was Hermione who had brewed the Polyjuice Potion.
After brief notes on its rather obvious uses, Snape put the recipe for the potion on the black board. He had made it quite clear that this potion neither worked on people nor magical animals; it only worked on common animals. Despite being so complicated, it would be completed this day, save the final ingredient which could only be added under the full moon.
Harry set to work along side Hermione, Snape swooping around the dungeon making Harry feel uncomfortable. But Harry continued brewing his potion, frequently rereading the recipe.
Near the end of the lesson, Harry raised his hand over his cauldron to add some powdered viper fangs. Snape was nearby and before Harry could overturn his hand, the professor forcefully grabbed the boy’s wrist, wrenching his arm away.
Harry tugged at his arm, but Snape held tight, forcing Harry to fight the urge to glare at him. “What are you doing Potter?” Harry saw Malfoy turn from his own potion to gloat, dumping twice the needed amount of chopped garlic needed. His potion fizzed and turned from translucent red to sickly green.
“Adding the viper fangs to my potion,” Harry replied, doing his best not to sneer.
“This is the second time I have come to question your literacy skills. I clearly wrote that the flubberworm mucous, which is still on your desk, was to be added before.” Harry looked down and saw, to his regret that Snape was right. “I also wonder how it is you managed an Outstanding on your Potions O.W.L.”
“Maybe it’s because you weren’t there,” Harry muttered, louder than he meant. After only one lesson, he regretted continuing in Potions.
“Detention Potter! Tonight, after dinner!” Snape released Harry and walked toward the front of the dungeon.
“I can’t,” Harry said meekly, realizing what he had done.
“What do you mean, you can’t?” Snape turned back, anger briefly flashing in his cold, dark eyes.
“I already have detention tonight,” Harry answered, bracing himself for Snape’s fury. But this news seemed to make him glad. It surely made Malfoy glad, who was smirking smugly, still unaware he had ruined his own potion.
“Then tomorrow night, Potter!”
“Actually, I have detention every night this week.” Snape’s lips curled into a vicious sneer.
Snape put his hands on the front of Harry’s desk, looming over him. “Then your detention shall be Saturday morning, seven o’clock, here.” He stood back up. “And ten points from Gryffindor.”
“For what,” Harry asked angrily, before he could stop himself. He knew arguing with Snape would do nothing but cost him more points.
“Make that twenty points! You may have spent the summer like the child you are, but I assure you, it will not be tolerated in this class!” Hermione and Harry looked at each other for a moment, as Snape returned to his desk, mouths slightly agape.
But Snape did not get to his desk. He noticed Malfoy’s ruined potion and stopped, looking down at the putrid mess that had begun to congeal in the cauldron. Malfoy, too had just noticed his mistake and looked nervously at his Head of House. Snape’s face contorted nastily, for a brief second, but he said nothing. He turned brusquely and went back to his desk, leaving Malfoy to fix his problem on his own.
Harry returned to his potion, barely finishing before the bell. He had at least made it correctly. Malfoy‘s was still thick and now brown, when it should be light blue and like water. Harry bottled his sample, though it was more pink than blue and stored it until he would add the final ingredient in two weeks.