History of Magic was by far the most boring class in all of Hogwarts. One might think that learning about events that preceded their own generation would interest students, and it just might, if the professor teaching the subject had a bit more enthusiasm about his subject. Professor Binns, the only ghost professor at Hogwarts, was a clear cure for insomnia. His monotone voice carried across the student’s ears, but rarely got beyond that. Even Hermione, who was normally a good listener in all her subjects, began to doze off.
Harry set his chin in his right hand. He could feel his eyelids start to fall as Professor Binns talked about the formation of the first Ministry of Magic. He had made a personal promise to himself that he would do as well as he could in all his classes, which meant no copying of Hermione’s notes or work, listening well in class and staying awake. The last part was the hardest one to keep, especially with Professor Binns.
His vision started to blur as he tried to slip into unconsciousness. A flash of red caught his eye and he was shaken back to reality. Ginny? he thought. No, it was just Ron, who was a lot closer to sleep then he was. Harry shook his head. For the past hour, her name seemed to creep up in the back of his mind and he had no idea why.
The bell finally sounded to end classes for the day. He, Ron and Hermione made their way back up to Gryffindor tower to relax a bit before dinner. Harry left Ron and Hermione in the common room and went up to his dormitory to catch a quick nap. He entered the room, threw his bag by his bed, and stopped in his tracks. The room was not empty as he thought it might be. Dean Thomas was sitting on his bed, parchment and quill in hand.
The West Ham boy looked up at Harry as he entered. “Hey there, Harry,” he said. “You need a break, too?”
Harry nodded and lay down on his own four-poster bed. “I’d forgotten that some of these days could be longer than others.”
“I know how that can be,” Dean replied. “Going to be even worse once Quidditch starts, eh?” Harry mentally hit himself. He had forgotten about Quidditch and how he had to find a whole new team. It was one more thing that weighed on his mind. Dean got up from his bed, tucking the parchment under his pillow. He walked over to Harry. “Hey, listen. When you hold tryouts, think there might be any chance I could make Beater? I’ve wanted to play for so long, but I never got the chance.”
Harry opened one eye and looked at him. “If you impress me, I might think about it.” Dean smiled and went back to his own bed, grabbing the parchment and picking up his quill. After a few moments, Harry’s curiosity got the better of him. “What are you writing? We didn’t get any homework today.”
Dean didn’t answer for a moment. “It’s a letter,” he finally said, his voice a little shaky. “To a girl.”
Harry felt his fists tighten, and then released them before Dean noticed. He didn’t press the issue, since he had a good idea who Dean was writing to. He rolled onto his side and tried to get some sleep, but he was more awake now then he had been all day.
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An hour later, Ron was shaking Harry awake for dinner. He slowly got to his feet and followed him and Hermione down to the Great Hall. Harry did not see Dean again until they entered the hall, when he saw him sitting at the same spot he had taken at lunch. This time, though, Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil had joined the group.
They took a seat near the head of the table and began helping themselves to the varieties of food offered. Harry began to notice that neither Kevin nor Sara had entered the hall. He wasn’t concerned since he had an appointment with Kevin later that evening, but it was odd for a teacher not to be present at mealtime without a good reason.
This reason became clear as a gray owl swooped down from the ceiling and landed in front of Harry. He knew that this was Avis, Kevin’s personal owl. Avis extended his leg, indicating that he had a letter for Harry. He untied the note, and Avis soared from the table. Harry unfurled the note:
Dear Harry,
Sorry to do this, but I have to cancel for tonight. Something came up and Sara and I are going to be busy. Get in touch with Sara tomorrow about when I’ll be available. If nothing else, talk with me on Wednesday after Defense Against the Dark Arts. Keep out of trouble.
Kevin
Harry’s heart sank. He was looking forward to talking with Kevin tonight. There were so many things he wanted to ask, but now he would have to wait. Looking around the table, he thought about talking with Ron or Hermione. The only problem was that neither of them could give him the answers he really needed. First, he wanted to talk about Cho and how she suddenly had a change of heart towards him. Ron had already made his feelings about her clear, but Hermione might be an objective person. She had scolded Ron for jumping to conclusions about her. However, he did feel a bit uncomfortable about speaking with Hermione about something like this.
There was always Ginny, but she another part of his problem. Since last night, she had been reclusive. He wondered if it might have something to do with Cho, but pushed that thought out of his mind. Hermione had told him last year that Ginny no longer had any interest in him, which had suited him fine. The last month or so, though, he had noticed that she paid a bit more attention to him and that he felt a bit awkward when she was near. He had had these feelings before, he remembered. They started in his third year when…
Harry suddenly lost his appetite. He remembered the feelings had started in his third year, when he had first noticed Cho.
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Harry went to bed early that night. He had not been in much of a social mood after he had realized that he was developing feelings for Ginny Weasley. It was not something he was prepared for. Up until last year, Harry had thought of her only as “Ron’s little sister.” Then, after everything that had happened, Ginny became “a fellow Gryffindor” and, most recently, he started to think of her as “a friend.” She had gone from a person in his life, to a center point in his life in the span of a year.
Harry placed his hands over his eyes. All of this was happening too fast for him to handle it. He needed someone to talk to, but the only person he thought would understand all of this was shut up somewhere. Harry decided to do the only thing he could think of. Throwing off his covers, he reached into his bag and pulled out a piece of parchment, his quill and a bottle of ink. If he couldn’t talk to Kevin directly, he’d put it all on paper and give it to him tomorrow, if not at breakfast then he’d send Hedwig with it.
He started writing, not sure how he wanted to word his letter but he didn’t care. Kevin would understand what he meant to say, and Harry could always explain what he meant when he spoke with him. He didn’t know how long he had been writing, but it was long enough for the other boys in his dormitory to stomp up the stairs. Harry finished his last sentence, tucked the parchment away, and dove back under the covers.
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Kevin was still nowhere to be seen at breakfast the next day. Harry finished early and made his way to the owlery to give Hedwig the letter. He probably could have given it to another teacher to give to him, but he didn’t want to take the chance that it might be read by accident.
He met up with Ron and Hermione outside Professor Flitwick’s Charm classroom. The small teacher appeared to be in quite a good mood. “Today,” he started. “We will be studying the Discidium charm. It is a very good addition to any spell, where there are multiple targets. This particular charm turns one spell into many. Let me demonstrate.”
He walked over to his desk, jumped on top and waved his wand at a cabinet on the side of the room. It opened and four cushions floated out, landing on the floor opposite Flitwick. “Now I want you all to watch very closely. Accio Cushion.” The cushion farthest right leapt from its resting spot into Flitwick’s arms. “Now that was a common Summoning Charm. It works for one object at a time. However, with the Discidium charm attached to it, you can use one spell for multiple targets.” He waved his wand and the cushion returned to its original spot. The Charms professor waved his wand again. “Discidium Accio Cushion.” All four leapt from the ground and flew at Professor Flitwick. They knocked the small teacher from his desk to the floor. A number of students close to him got up from their desks and went to help their teacher. He waved them off. “No worries, no worries. This is not the first time such a thing has happened.” He stood up and the students returned to their desks. “Now, this is a common spell used by many wizards, but there is something unique about this spell. Can anyone figure it out?”
Not surprising to anyone, Hermione raised her hand. Professor Flitwick pointed at her, indicating she could answer. “The spell has been used, but without the incantation.”
“Correct, Miss Granger,” he said. “Ten points to Gryffindor. Indeed, many wizards have mastered this charm and do not need to recite it for it to affect their spells. This is only one of many such spells that can be used by wizards without incantations. Depending on their specialty, one can become in wordless magic in Charms or Defense Against the Dark Arts. We will, of course, be studying these more in-depth as the term goes on.”
Something in the back of Harry’s mind forced his attention away from Professor Flitwick’s lecture. Being sure not to draw any attention to himself, he pulled the Auror book from his bag. He flipped through some pages until he came to a section he had recently skipped over entitled Discidium. He scanned the pages and saw a list of spells that could be used with this charm, and sure enough, the Patronus Charm was among them. Well, at least one of his questions was answered.
The class continued with an enjoyable air as the Gryffindors practiced the charm over and over. It was an easy enough spell when the incantation was used, but when they tried it wordlessly, it didn’t work. Even Hermione had trouble with the spell.
After the first lesson, the Gryffindors marched to the fifth floor for their first Muggle History lesson. As they walked along the corridor, Harry saw for the first time the Ministry wizards and Aurors that Dumbledore had mentioned. They were simply adult wizards dressed in dark robes. They did not look menacing or threatening in any way. In fact, one wizard stopped to help a seventh year Hufflepuff girl who had dropped her bag when she had accidentally bumped into him. He waved at her as she walked on to her class.
Harry stopped as he passed the friendly wizard. “That was nice of you,” he said.
The ministry wizard looked down at him with a smile. “And why shouldn’t it be? Just because we are here to protect the school doesn’t mean that we must act like Dementors.”
“No,” Harry quickly said. “That’s not what I meant. At least I don’t think that’s what I meant. I’m sorry, it’s just that most of the Aurors I’ve met walk around with scowls and attack shadows.”
The Auror’s smile got wider. “Well, we can’t all be like Mad-Eye Moody.” He extended his hand. “My name is Dragair, and you are?”
Harry shook his hand with a look of disbelief. There were only perhaps a small number of people who didn’t instantly know who he was by looking at the scar on his forehead. “I’m Harry,” he responded, not wanting to give his last name. No sense in drawing undue attention.
Dragair seemed to know anyway. “Ah yes, Harry Potter. I had hoped I would meet you. Are you enjoying your sixth year so far? How are your classes going?”
Harry suddenly that he had been going to a class. “I’m sorry, but I have to go. I’m late.”
He ran off, Dragair waving behind him. He reached the classroom just in time for his stomach to take a dive. The class was combined with the Slytherins, which included Malfoy and his cronies. Malfoy shot Harry a hateful glare as Harry took a seat on the other side of the room with Ron and Hermione. They had apparently just noticed that he had not been with them. “Where did you run off to?” Ron asked.
He told them about Dragair and how he had stopped to talk for a moment. Sara suddenly walked into the classroom; the students took their seats. Harry could not get over how beautiful she looked, especially now in her crimson robes. This sentiment was shared by most of the guys in the class who had their eyes glued to the front of the room. Sara let the silence set for a moment. “Good morning. How are you all doing today?”
There was a murmur from the students. Harry had to chuckle a bit, since he had never seen a class act like this before. Granted, they were not all likely to answer a teacher with clear sentences, but they at least had their attention elsewhere while they didn’t answer them. Sara didn’t seem to mind it, though. “I’m glad to hear that. Welcome to Muggle History. This class will familiarize you with the Muggle world and how it has progressed over the centuries. While some of you may find the class pointless, I assure you that most professions nowadays require you to interact with Muggles at least part of the time. Whether it is for a few minutes, or years on end, it is a good idea to have and understanding of their world and their history. Of course, your class will be at a disadvantage since you are starting so late. Each year, I have designed a curriculum that will build upon each other over seven years. Since you’re all starting in year six, you’ll only have two years of study, unless you wish to do any study on your own.” She smiled across the entire class.
Sara started telling them about American development in the mid 1800’s, specifically emphasizing the Civil War and the effect it had on other countries. When the bell rang to end class, Harry quickly made his way to the front. “Sara, got a minute?”
She looked up at him from some papers on her desk. “I take it you want to talk about that letter. Kevin’s sorry he had to cancel, but he had to help Hagrid with something…big. He should be at lunch, and I’ll talk to him.” It was the best that Harry could hope for.
Ron and Hermione were waiting outside the class. “You seem to disappear a lot, mate,” Ron said. “We should put a bell around your neck so we know where you are.”
They made their way down to the Great Hall, where Harry found a brown tawny owl was waiting for him. He unfurled the note and read:
Meet me in the Room of Requirement at 5 o’clock.