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The second term at Hogwarts started at full steam when the students returned. Classes were not lightened and the workload seemed to have doubled.
The sixth year class, currently, was trudging through a particularly difficult potions lesson. Kevin had handed back the vials of the sight-enhancing potion they had turned in at the end of last term and was setting them to work on combining it with a potion that would enhance a person’s hearing. He explained that there was no real difference between taking them separately and taking them together, except that the combining process required such skill that, if a student could handle this, they could handle most anything.
Kevin did not walk amongst the students as he normally did. His time at St. Mungo’s, as well as his lingering injury was not known school-wide and, he didn’t want to make the students nervous.
Prior to the start of term, Professor Dumbledore had told him that a number of owls had been sent to the school with concern about his continued presence. Dumbledore had done his best to alleviate the fears of the senders, and Arthur Weasley had used what influence he had on the Ministry council to see that Kevin kept his position. However, certain concessions had to be made on his part.
Kevin had been removed as head of security at Hogwarts. The Aurors patrolling the castle were now under the direct authority of Professor Snape. Kevin was not thrilled with the idea of losing his security force, but he stepped back gracefully.
The students had mixed feelings towards him. The Gryffindors, with a little prodding from Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny, were firmly behind Kevin. The Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff students did not openly reject him as a professor, but they were careful to make sure he never walked behind one of them. Of course, the Slytherins rejected him entirely.
When the final bell rang, Harry emptied his cauldron into a flask, marked it, and packed up his things. Just before he left the dungeon, he turned back to see Kevin struggling to make it to his feet. He would have stayed to help, but knew better. Kevin still had his pride.
He met Ginny on the way back up to Gryffindor tower. She smiled and lifted her chin a bit to show off the necklace dangling below her throat. Harry smiled back and slipped an arm around her waist. “Good day in classes?” he asked.
“All right, considering,” she answered. “The teachers seemed to have come up with about a dozen new homework ideas over the holidays.” They entered the tower, and took a seat near the fire. “These exams had better be worth it.” She giggled.
Harry took out a bundle of parchment from his bag and handed it over to her. “Here, I found these while I was going through some old notes. It’s a studying regime that Hermione made for Ron and me last year. I didn’t look at it much, but she told us that it would be very useful.” He smiled at the scornful glance Ginny gave him.
She glanced over the parchment. “Thanks, Harry.” Tucking it into her bag, she leaned over and kissed his cheek. “I’m going to get some work done before dinner.” Ginny walked back up to her dormitory. She knew that she would never get any work done with Harry in the same room.
Harry walked over to the windowsill and looked out onto the grounds. He could see the Quidditch pitch, which was currently occupied. Looking closely, he could discern Malfoy’s white-blonde hair whipping around the pitch. Malfoy appeared to have changed up his team roster. Crabbe and Goyle were still part of the team, but the larger chasers had been replaced with smaller, more agile flyers. Harry was looking forward to seeing how this new team would match up to Hufflepuff next weekend.
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The match was actually an enjoyable one, all except for the outcome.
The Slytherin team seemed to have abandoned their underhanded tactics and had chosen a civilized strategy for the game. There were still the usual fouls committed, but none were near the horrible one that Crabbe had done at the first match. Harry kept an arm around Ginny, who seemed to wince every time Crabbe swung his club. The memory of the injury was still fresh in her mind.
The match was back and forth the whole time, until Malfoy got hold of the Golden Snitch. The Slytherin portion of the stands cheered loudly, but the rest remained silent. Harry and Ginny walked back up to the castle, when a loud voice called out to them. “Oy there, Harry!” Harry looked around and saw Hagrid waving at him from his cabin.
He and Ginny walked over to him. “Hello, Hagrid. Anything wrong?”
Hagrid shook his head. “Nah, just wondering if you and Ginny had some time on your hands. Haven’t seen much of you this year, ‘cept in class. How’d you like some tea?” The kids followed the groundskeeper inside his hut. Hagrid started a pot of boiling water, and then took a seat at his table. Harry and Ginny joined. “How was the Quidditch match? I didn’t get a chance to go me self, but it sounded like a fierce one.”
“Yeah, it was,” Harry said. “Hufflepuff put up a good fight, but this was Slytherin’s day. I’m a bit glad that they did. I would love to squash them again in the finals.”
“And I’d love to see you do it, Harry,” Hagrid replied. “Especially after that underhanded attack Crabbe pulled. I’ve seen a bunch of Slytherins lead decent lives after they’ve left Hogwarts, but that one…and Malfoy, I just don’t know about them.” The pot started to steam. Hagrid got up and poured three cups that had tea bags in them. He handed one to Ginny and one to Harry. “So, Harry. How’d you like your special present?”
Harry knew he was referring to Godric’s Hollow. “It was great. Now I don’t have to go back to the Dursley’s after the school year is over. What did you do over the holidays, Hagrid?”
Hagrid took a drink from his tea. “Went to France to see Olympe.”
“Who?” Ginny asked.
“Madame Maxine, from Beauxbatons Academy,” Hagrid explained. “She and I spent some time together, and she helped me with Grawp a little.” Ginny looked confused again. Hagrid had forgotten that she didn’t know as much about what had been going on as Harry did. “He’s my brother, Ginny. Been staying in the Forbidden Forest since last year. I’ve been teaching him to speak English and to control himself around humans. In a few months, Professor Dumbledore figures he’ll be ready to go back to the giants and try to get them on our side.”
“So they haven’t pledged their loyalty to anyone, yet?” Harry asked.
“Nah. The leaders keep getting killed.” Hagrid drained the last of his tea. “But enough about that. I come to hear that the two of you have started spending some time together. How’s that going?”
Harry and Ginny suddenly blushed. Neither of them had expected this conversation from Hagrid. “It’s going all right,” Ginny finally said, her voice low.
“It’s nothing to be embarrassed about, Ginny,” Hagrid said. “I’ve been wondering how long it would take for ol’ Harry hear to get his wits about him and tell you how he feels. Been wondering about it all year, and I say, I’m happy for the both of you. But let me give you both a piece of advice.
“Be careful about sneaking around the castle at night. Teachers have caught many a couple when they were doing some ‘late-night studying’, except that they forgot their books. Even if you can avoid them though, them dogs of Professor Hall will get you. Why, just last term, Shawn was doing some patrols past midnight, when he came upon two Ravenclaws coming down from the Astronomy tower. Kevin didn’t see a need to make it a public incident, but left it up to Professor Flitwick. Nonetheless, those two ain’t been seen of bed after hours since.”
Harry finished off his tea. “Hagrid, is there something special about the dogs? When we were studying them, did you notice anything peculiar about them?”
Hagrid thought. “Can’t say I did, but in truth Harry, I never came across animals that were raised like these were. Special creatures, they are. Why do you ask?”
“We’re just curious,” Ginny answered. “We’ve noticed that they don’t seem to act like normal animals. It was just a question.” The bell rang for dinner, and Harry and Ginny got to their feet. “Coming, Hagrid?”
“Be along in a bit,” he said.
The students left the hut and walked back up towards the castle, hand in hand. Hagrid stood at his window and watched them. “Reminds me of another young couple I saw discover their love here,” he said, to himself. “Just as much in love as this one, they were.
“Hold on to her, Harry. You never know when the love of a good woman will come in handy.”