Chapter 8 – Buckbeak's Escape
After they got back to school, time seemed to speed up as they worked their way toward their final exams. Harry found himself knocking on the door to Professor McGonagall's office.
"Come in," he heard her voice say from the other side of the door. He opened it and stepped inside. "Mr. Potter, how did you enjoy your Easter break? I believe this is the first time you've left the castle for it."
"Yes, it is, Professor," replied Harry nervously. "I very much enjoyed the Grangers' hospitality."
"To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit," asked Minerva softly, apparently sensing his unease.
"I, er, would like to talk about my schedule for next year."
"Next year?" repeated Harry's head of house, surprised. "Normally, the students take the same classes in fourth year that they took in third year."
"I know. I'd er, like to drop Divination and take Arithmancy instead," Harry explained quickly, while he still had the nerve.
Professor McGonagall smiled slightly at this statement. "I can quite understand why you'd prefer a more, shall we say, respectable discipline. But it would be difficult if not impossible for you to start Arithmancy a year late."
"Hermione's agreed to tutor me in it this summer," stated Harry pleadingly. He then sighed. "I'm really getting tired of my death being predicted every day. I'm not learning anything except that I hate that subject. Hermione said that Arithmancy is a type of math, and I always did well at math in muggle school."
"Well," Professor McGonagall sighed, "I'm not sure if I should. It would take a lot of work on your part. I know that you've improved tremendously since Christmas, but…"
"I promise I'll do whatever work I have to," Harry pleaded. "Please, professor. I made a mistake signing up for Divination, and I don't want it to haunt me for the rest of my time at Hogwarts."
She took a deep breath and smiled again. "Very well, Potter, I'll give you your chance. You will have to take an entrance exam during the summer which will cover the same material as the final exam that Miss Granger will be taking shortly. It will have to be before your Hogwarts letters arrive, which means you should be prepared in mid-July. The school will owl you when an exact time and date is determined. If you pass the test, you will be allowed to take the course. If not, then I'm afraid you will be stuck with Divination."
"Thank you, professor," replied Harry, with a smile on his face.
"You're welcome, Harry," responded McGonagall softly. "You're dismissed."
True to Hermione's prediction, on the day before the final Quidditch match against Slytherin, she happily announced to Harry, "You did it! You are now both a master Occlumens and Legilimens! You said my exact thoughts!"
Harry smiled. "Thanks. I don't know about being a 'master' at them, but…"
"There is always room for improvement, Harry," clarified Hermione. "But we've both learned everything we can from this book. Now the only way for us to improve is practice."
"All right," conceded Harry. "Have you noticed the way that Snape has been trying to get me to look him in the eyes since we got back from Easter break?"
"Yes, of course," answered Hermione. "He always has, but now we notice because we've learned what he's doing."
"Today, he actually did manage to look me in the eyes for a second, and I felt a tingling sensation."
Her eyes went wide. "What happened then?"
"I automatically put my shields up, and he visibly stumbled backwards for a second, and then I put my head down."
"I saw him stumble, but I didn't know what caused it. Then he took ten points from you for tripping him, when you weren't anywhere near him."
"That's Snape for you!" declared Harry. "At least he didn't give me detention."
"How does a teacher like that stay at Hogwarts?" complained Hermione. "Doesn't Professor Dumbledore know about it?"
"Of course he knows," yelled Harry, causing Hermione to back up. "Sorry. But if he knows what his students do, he knows what his teachers do. And if he doesn't, it's his responsibility as headmaster to find out. He has to know that everyone except the Slytherins hates Snape!" Harry exclaimed, standing up and beginning to pace. "He should find out why. I think he can make himself invisible to spy on classes. And if he can't, he can come and borrow my cloak! Come to think of it, he also must know that most students believe that Trelawney is a fraud! Even Professor McGonagall thinks so! She must have told him!"
"You're right," agreed a scandalized-looking Hermione. "And I've told you about the Muggle Studies professor! Why doesn't he do something about it?"
"What about Quirrel and Lockhart?" added Harry.
"But, but it's his responsibility to make sure that we receive a quality education from Hogwarts, but he's not even trying. At least this year we have a good Defense teacher, but you're right. Our first two were useless. Our Potions professor is useless, too. The only reason I do well in that class is because I learn from the book, not him! Although in your case, he's so unprofessional that it wouldn't matter if you quoted the entire textbook verbatim on one of his tests. He'd still flunk you! We also have useless Muggle Studies and Divination teachers! But at least we realize they're useless. A lot of students go through those classes and think they learned something! This is terrible! Somebody has to do something about it!" declared Hermione, a determined look forming in her eyes."
"But what can we do?"
"We can start by making a detailed list of our complaints about the quality of education here, and then send a copy to Professor Dumbledore."
"Like that'll do a lot of good," replied Harry sarcastically.
"If he doesn't do anything about it, we'll send a copy to every member of the school board. If that doesn't help, we'll send it to the ministry of magic itself."
Harry looked thoughtful. "Hm. Maybe something like that could work, but it couldn't be just us. Maybe if we got a few hundred students to sign it like a petition…"
"A petition!" squealed Hermione, surprising Harry with a quick kiss. "Yes, that's it! He'll have to sack them if enough students demand it! We should form a student government…"
"Hold on, Hermione," responded Harry smiling. "One thing at a time! Let's put together our list of complaints, and then quietly get people to sign it. I don't think we should bother with Slytherin students, or Percy, for that matter."
"Percy? Why not? He's Head Boy."
"He'd also sell his mother to Filch for a bigger badge," explained Harry sarcastically. "Haven't you noticed how much he flaunts his authority? The way it's gone to his head? I'm sure that he'll take the petition as rebellion against authority and try to confiscate it and give us detention."
"I'm not sure about that," replied Hermione skeptically.
"If you'd like, ask his siblings about it. I guess we shouldn't trust his girlfriend either."
Hermione took a deep breath. "Fine, Harry, I'll trust you on this. When should we try to get it done so we can present a copy to Dumbledore?"
"Truthfully, I think it would be best for everyone who signs it, including myself, to present it after grades have been handed out. You KNOW Snape will fail everyone on the list, even you, if he sees it before then."
"You're probably right, Harry. Unfortunately, contrary to what that greasy git thinks of himself, he is one of the least professional teachers here!"
"Anyway," said Harry, changing the subject, "We were talking about Occlumency."
"Oh, yes," replied Hermione. "If you don't mind, I'd like to send the book to my parents so they can study it now."
"Sure," agreed Harry. "Why now?"
"Well, the more they learn from the book, the less time I have to spend teaching them, which would leave me with time to do…other things," Hermione explained with a wink, causing Harry to go scarlet.
The next day, Gryffindor won the house cup mainly because of Harry's Seeker skills. Hermione sent the Occlumency book to her mother, requesting that she and her father practice it, so that no one would be able to steal information on Harry from them. She promised that she'd try to read their minds when she finished the term. Quietly, they'd gotten the petition made, and every member of the Gryffindor Quidditch team had signed the petition, as well as many other students from Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw. Final exams began. Due to Hermione's help, Harry was doing quite well on them. Before they knew it, it was the last day of exams, and they were headed toward Professor Lupin's obstacle course.
"Well, this should be fun," commented Harry, with a smile on his face.
"Er, well, yes. It should be, er, fun," responded a very nervous Hermione.
"What are you nervous about, Hermione? You'll be at the top of the class."
"I doubt it, Harry. You're better than me in Defense." Hermione looked to Harry like she expected to die during the exam.
"I doubt I will, but what if I do? Will you be mad at me?" He then looked around suspiciously and whispered, "I could make sure you do better than me, if that'll make you happy."
"No, you can't," Hermione practically yelled. "You've got to do your best!"
'All right, just please stop worrying. You'll make yourself sick."
"I'll try."
After Harry had beaten Hermione, who'd been stopped by a Boggart who took on Professor McGonagall's appearance and said she'd failed all her classes, and was the worst disgrace that Gryffindor has ever had. The Boggart/McGonagall went on to say that if she wants to continue her education, she'll have to repeat this year, and she'll be transferred to Hufflepuff because she wasn't worthy to be a Gryffindor anymore.
After the exam was over, Harry held back his laughter so he could comfort her after that ordeal. While they were walking toward the Great Hall, they ran into Minister Fudge, who proved conclusively to Harry that he was in Mr. Malfoy's pocket and cared nothing about justice. He actually brought the executioner to the appeal! Hermione still had hope for Buckbeak, but admitted that it was a fool's hope.
After lunch, they separated for their exams. Harry found himself alone with Ron, who had happily signed the petition the day Gryffindor won the cup, waiting for whatever test Trelawney had in store for him. Ron, who'd been avoiding both Harry and Hermione since before Easter, decided to speak first. "Dad said he invited you to the world cup if he can get the tickets."
Harry nodded, trying to be somewhat friendly. "Uh-huh. That was nice of him. It sounds like a lot of fun."
"Oh yeah!" agreed Ron, always ready to talk quidditch. "I hope that Bulgaria gets there! I'd love to see Krum in action!"
"Who?" asked Harry, but he never got his answer. Ron was called away to take his test before he could respond.
When Ron came out, he told Harry that she had him look into a crystal ball, and he'd made up things that he saw. Harry decided to do the same thing. He made up a story about seeing Buckbeak fly away, which didn't seem to please his instructor. Before he left, though, she scared him with what seemed to be a real prophecy.
After he got out of there, he went to Hermione who told him she'd just gotten a letter from Hagrid that said he'd lost the appeal and they were going to execute the hippogriff at sunset. After they decided to sneak to Hagrid's hut after dinner, Harry told Hermione about Trelawney's prophecy. She simply laughed it off, but he insisted that this was different. She then asked, "So what if it is a prophecy? What good does knowing about it do? If something's just going to happen anyway, what difference does it make to know beforehand?"
Harry decided to concede, knowing that if he didn't, she'd keep at him until he did. Before they knew it, they were inside Hagrid's hut, and Hermione had just discovered Scabbers. Almost as soon as she had Harry pick up the old rat, they heard voices outside and snuck out the back door under the cloak. Once they got outside, Scabbers bit Harry and ran off.
While he was rubbing his wound, he and Hermione saw a big black dog start chasing the rat. Harry remarked, "Oh, well, what Ron doesn't know won't hurt him," causing Hermione to giggle. He looked over at the condemned hippogriff and decided, "I'm going to free Buckbeak!" and ran out of the cloak and straight at the tethered animal, leaving a stunned Hermione behind.
After bowing to Buckbeak and untying him, Harry started pulling on his rope. They got out of sight just before Hagrid's front door opened and Fudge, along with everyone else, saw that the condemned animal was nowhere to be found. Hermione's disembodied voice whispered, "We've got to find a place to hide Beaky until we figure out what to do. Any suggestions?"
Harry hadn't really thought beyond untying the animal and his face showed it. "Er, we could try hiding him under the cloak." He never heard Hermione's reply, because at that moment, the black dog they'd seen earlier ran past them straight under the trunk of the Whomping Willow with something small and furry in its teeth, and Buckbeak ran after the dog, disappearing under the tree as well.
Harry got back under the cloak with his girlfriend, and they looked at each other for a few seconds before Hermione remarked, "I doubt they'll find him under there."
Harry laughed and suggested, "We should get back to the castle."
-MITAB-
The next day, when Harry and Hermione were eating lunch at the Gryffindor table, they were surprised to find a disheveled but cheerful Professor Lupin walking up to them. He whispered to them, "If you wouldn't mind, I'd like to speak to both you and Hermione in my office once you're finished."
When they arrived at his office, he closed the door and charmed it for privacy.
Lupin looked at the two students in front of him and sighed. "Well, I've got a strange tale to tell you."
"A strange tale, sir?" repeated Hermione.
"Yes," replied the professor. "It started last night while I was watching the two of you on the Marauder's Map."
Both Harry and Hermione looked at each other, sure that they were in trouble for freeing Buckbeak."
"Don't worry," smiled Lupin. "This is not about your saving an innocent creature from a terrible fate."
They both looked relieved for a second, and then confused. Harry spoke first, "Then, what is this about, Professor Lupin?"
"Well, the reason I was watching the map was because I thought you might sneak off and visit Professor Hagrid. I was right. I saw the two of you go into Hagrid's hut, but when you left, you had someone else with you."
"No, we didn't," argued Harry.
"Just Ron Weasley's rat, Scabbers," added Hermione.
"Scabbers?" repeated Lupin, looking amused. "Is that what Ron calls him?" The two kids nodded. "The map calls him Peter Pettigrew."
"That's impossible," countered Harry. "Peter Pettigrew is…"
"Dead," said Lupin. "That's what everyone, including me, believed. Sirius Black was sent to Azkaban for his murder. In just a few days, two of my three best friends were killed while the other was responsible for it and sent to prison."
"Your three best friends?" asked Hermione.
"Yes. James Potter, Peter Pettigrew, and Sirius Black. When I first came to Hogwarts, they were my best friends. They each became animagi. James was a stag, Sirius a black dog, and Peter a rat."
"My dad could become a stag, like my Patronus?" asked Harry. Lupin nodded. "Hold on, are you telling me that Peter Pettigrew has been living with Ron, and in my dormitory, all this time?"
"Yes," agreed Lupin.
"Why?" asked Hermione.
"Because Peter was the traitor, not Sirius. He faked his own death by cutting off his own finger and leaving it for evidence. He killed everyone Sirius was accused of killing."
"How do you know this?" asked Hermione.
"I have to get back to my story," replied Lupin. "We all had nicknames. I was called Moony…"
"Because you're a were…" began Hermione.
"A werewolf?" Lupin looked surprised. "You really are the brightest witch of your age! How long have you known?"
"A, a werewolf?" repeated Harry, tensing up.
"Hush, Harry," scolded Hermione. "Since Professor Snape assigned the essay."
"He should be pleased about that. Yes, I suppose I should let you know. The reason they became animagi was so that they could stay with me during my transformations. Every month at the full moon I was snuck over through the passage that starts under the Whomping Willow that ends at the Shrieking Shack." Harry and Hermione both gasped. "Well, it didn't take James and Sirius long to figure out that I was always sick or away on the full moons. They came up with the idea of becoming animagi, and that made my transformations almost enjoyable. Anyway, I was called Moony; Peter was called Wormtail; Sirius was called Padfoot; and James was called Prongs."
"The map," said Harry.
"Yes," agreed Lupin. "The reason I immediately recognized the Marauder's Map was because I was one of the mapmakers. By the way, that's what we called ourselves, the Marauders. Anyway Harry, when your parents were hiding from Voldemort, everyone thought that Sirius was their Secret-Keeper, but he wasn't. It was Peter. Sirius had suggested making Peter Secret-Keeper because no one would suspect that James would trust little Peter with such a task.
"It turned out that trusting Peter was the biggest mistake of their lives. That rodent went straight to Voldemort and led him right to your parents!" Hermione grabbed Harry's hand. "The next day, Sirius went after Peter to avenge your parents' deaths. He cornered Peter, who started shouting out how Sirius had been the traitor. He then cut off his finger, broke the sidewalk, transformed, and ran off to find a wizarding family to live with, and wait for news of Voldemort."
"The Weasleys."
Lupin nodded. "The Weasleys. Last summer, their family's picture was in the Daily Prophet, and Wormtail was with Ron in the photo. Minister Fudge happened to visit Azkaban that day, and had that newspaper with him. While he was there, Sirius asked to borrow the paper. He saw the front page, and immediately recognized the rat, and realized that Peter was at Hogwarts, in a perfect position to kill you, should the need arise. He decided that he had to escape prison and stop Peter, so he used his unregistered form to get past the Dementors, and that's who he's really been after all this time. Not you - Peter. He went to Ron's bed, not yours."
"Wow," replied Harry, stunned.
"Anyway," continued Lupin. "I watched you two leave Hagrid's hut with Peter, but then Peter left you almost immediately."
"He bit me and ran off."
"You should have Madam Pomfrey check the bite for infections from that rat! Anyway, I then saw Sirius chasing Peter on the map. I 'mischief managed' the map and put it in this drawer." He then opened the drawer and took it out. "Then I made my way to the place they were headed, the Whomping Willow." He smiled. "When I got in the passageway, I found a rather confused hippogriff, and I left him in the passage and kept on going until I got to the Shrieking Shack, where I found Sirius about to kill Peter.
He explained everything to me, and I got Sirius to just capture Petigrew instead of kill him so Sirius could prove his innocence, so we put him in a magical force field that neither a man, nor a rat, could escape. After we had him captured, I realized that I'd forgotten to take the potion, wolfsbane, that Professor Snape has been making me every month since I've been teaching here.
Sirius then left with Buckbeak, and took him to a forest far away while I transformed into a werewolf and apparently terrorized Peter all night from the other side of his force field. Sirius then apparated back to Hogsmeade, transformed into a dog, and came back to the Shrieking Shack to wait for me to bring him news, so he could find out if he was cleared."
Lupin continued. "After I changed back, I brought Pettigrew to the castle, where I found that Minister Fudge himself had spent the night after looking for some escaped hippogriff. After hearing Pettigrew confess to everything under the influence of Veritaserum, Fudge had him arrested and cleared Sirius Black of all charges. He said something about giving the story to Rita Skeeter of the Daily Prophet to make sure that people wouldn't try to capture Black."
Lupin then touched the map and winked at Harry. He then turned around and walked away. Harry, catching the hint, smiled, grabbed the map and stuffed it in his pocket while Hermione turned her head to look the other way. After giving Harry plenty of time, Lupin turned around and commented, "Harry, Sirius Black wants to speak to you."
"All right," agreed Harry, shrugging his shoulders. "Since he was innocent, I guess I can meet him."
"By the way," remarked Lupin. "If you don't tell anyone about Sirius being an Animagus, I won't tell anyone about you freeing Buckbeak." Both children laughed at this.
-MITAB-
A few hours later, Harry found himself back in Lupin's office, alone with his godfather. Sirius Black looked like a man who'd been on the run for a long time. "You really look so much like James, except for your eyes. You have…"
"…my mother's eyes. Yes, I know," completed Harry sadly.
Sirius hesitantly put a hand on Harry's shoulder. "It seems cruel that I got to spend so much time with them, and you so little. I know that you're aware that your parents appointed me your guardian," commented Black stiffly. "That if anything happened to them, that I…"
"Do you mean you want me to live with you?" asked Harry.
"I'll understand of course, if you want to stay with your aunt and uncle. And the only home I own is ghastly. We'd have to find another one anyway."
Harry couldn't believe his ears. "I've already decided that I'll never go back to live with them, even if I have to be on my own, so I'll be glad to live with you. My only condition is that we live in Potter Manor."
"You know about Potter Manor?" asked Black, apparently surprised.
"I fixed it up over Easter break and was planning on moving there tomorrow. I do want to keep it a secret from Dumbledore and the Ministry of Magic, though. I don't want anyone to be able to find me. Right now, only Hermione's family knows about it."
Sirius smiled, "It's a deal, as long as I can tell Moony." Harry nodded. "You know, I can't for the life of me remember where that mansion is."
Chapter 9 – Leaving Hogwarts
The next morning, Harry woke up very early and snuck down to the common room. He was surprised to hear music softly playing when he got there. "Hello," he called out, causing the bushy-haired brunette sitting on the other side of the room, completely absorbed in the music coming from her cd player, to jump.
"Oh, Harry," Hermione responded, panting from the shock. "It's you."
"Yes, love," answered Harry while approaching her. "I'm sure you're disappointed. I know you were hoping I was Ron com…"
"Ew!" shrieked Hermione while lowering the volume of her cd. "Don't even joke about me fancying that prat!" Then she smiled mischievously. "Now that captain of the Hufflepuff team, Cedric Diggory. He's soooo handsome, and such a GOOD seeker. All it took for him to beat you was help from a hundred dementors."
Harry grinned just as mischievously as his girlfriend. "But did you see the seeker for the Ravenclaw team, Cho Chang? She's so…"
"Okay, okay," replied Hermione. "I guess two can play at that game. I'm sorry."
Harry chuckled. "Me, too. Anyway, I can see, or rather hear, that you got your cd player working here."
She smiled, "Yeah. I suppose I should have told you earlier. I guess that since it gets its power magically, its operation isn't affected by the magic of this castle, so I believe that magical laptops would work here. If only we knew if they were legal or not."
"Why don't we write Mr. Weasley? We'll just say that we found out how to make magic batteries from the book we sent him, and were wondering if using magical batteries and Internet connections that don't change the behavior of the computers would be illegal. In fact, instead of writing him, we can ask him at King's Cross Station today."
"All right, Harry," she agreed.
"Now, if we can do that, Hermione, I'd like to know if we can put the text of our books onto the computers."
She beamed at him. "Oh, that would be helpful!" she exclaimed. "We could easily search the text for words, and only need to bring our laptops with us instead of the books!"
"I still think we should carry the books to classes," countered Harry. "No need to call attention from the teachers. But I think we should get book bags that are magically weightless and bottomless for next year."
"You don't have to buy me…" began Hermione.
"I want to, Mine," argued Harry.
"Er, don't you mean, 'Mione?'" asked Hermione.
Harry blushed. "I prefer calling you 'Mine' if you don't mind."
Now she blushed. "Er, well I guess you can call me 'Mine' but only you, and ONLY when we're alone. But now I will have to think up a nickname for you."
"Well, the prophet calls me the 'Boy-Who-Lived' and Draco calls me 'Scarhead,'" suggested Harry.
"No. Don't be silly! None of those names suits you." She sighed. "I'll have to think about it and get back to you."
"Okay, Mine, whatever you say. Did you get everyone in the school to sign our petition?" asked Harry. "Or will we have to take it to everyone on the train."
"I believe we got everyone we wanted," answered Hermione. "One hundred and fifty signatures out of two hundred and twenty-four* total. That's nearly three-fourths of the students."
"That's great!" exclaimed Harry. "If that doesn't get Dumbledore's attention, I don't know what will."
"Yeah," agreed Hermione distractedly. "I, er, tried talking to Percy about education here."
"You didn't tell him about the petition, did you?"
"No, of course not!" defended Hermione. "I was just trying to see what he thought, conversationally. You were right, Harry. When I even suggested that a few of our professors aren't doing a very good job, he about jumped down my throat. He told me that if I didn't stop badmouthing the school system, he'd have to take house points from me or put me in detention!"
"Well, Mine," chuckled Harry. "I won't gloat over it. I'm sorry that I was right. I honestly don't think that Percy has a mind of his own. He's so full of rules and regulations he can't see past that badge of his."
"Did you let the Dursleys know not to pick you up today?" asked Hermione, changing the subject.
Harry smiled, "Actually, I told them to come an hour after the train arrives. After we get back, I'll rent an owl to send them a letter that says they'll never see me again. I wouldn't want to subject Hedwig to them."
"Of course not," agreed Hermione, stopping her cd player. "I don't know about you, Harry, but I want to have a shower before breakfast, so I'm going back up to my dorm."
"Good idea. I guess I'll do the same thing."
-MITAB-
After they'd showered and had breakfast, they quickly found themselves on the train back home. They found an empty compartment, and sat down. Before they could get settled though, Neville approached. "D, Do you mind if I sit here?"
"Of course not, Neville," replied Hermione.
"Not as long as you don't mind watching us snog the whole ride," joked Harry, causing Neville to blush while Hermione slapped Harry's arm.
"Neville," began Hermione, "We weren't gonna…"
"It's none of my business," countered Neville simply, as he took a seat.
"So," asked Neville, "W, When are you gonna present that petition to P, Professor Dumbledore?"
"After we get our grades, Neville," answered Harry. "We figured that Snape would fail everybody who signed the petition if we didn't wait."
Neville smiled. "Good! He gives me a bad enough grade without that factoring in."
"Who gives you a bad grade?" asked a red-head girl who just stuck her head into the compartment.
"Professor S, Snape," answered Neville.
"That greasy git!" responded Ginny. "I think he just hates everybody who's not in Slytherin! May I join you guys?"
"Sure, Ginny," answered Harry, causing her ears to turn slightly pink. She was almost completely over her crush, almost.
She sat next to Neville, whose ears inexplicably went pink the moment she sat down.
"We were talking about our petition," explained Hermione, filling Ginny in, "and how we're waiting to turn it in until after grades are handed out, because we think Snape would give bad grades to everyone involved, no matter how well they performed in class."
"Yeah," agreed Ginny, "That's a good idea."
"What's a good idea?" asked Ron.
"You finding another compartment," replied Ginny, smiling.
"It's all right if you sit with us," said Harry. "Hermione and I want to talk to your father at the station."
"What do you want to talk to dad about?" asked Ginny, obviously curious.
"He won't have the quidditch tickets yet," remarked Ron. "You're not changing your minds about going, are you?"
"No, Ronald," answered Hermione. "It's not about quidditch. It's about muggle artifacts law."
"Well, dad's the right one to talk about that with," replied Ginny. "He's the head of that department."
"Yes, we know," responded Hermione. "We want to know if it's illegal to…"
"…to use magical batteries in muggle devices," finished Harry.
"Batteries?" asked Ron. "What are those?"
"They're a type of portable muggle power source that doesn't need plugs," answered Ginny proudly. "Don't you ever pay attention to dad going on about muggles, Ron."
"That's right, Ginny," replied Harry.
She smiled. "Dad's taught me a lot of muggle stuff. I signed up for muggle studies. Of course, that was before you told me how pathetic the teacher is."
"Hopefully, we'll be able to force the school to get us better teachers before school starts back," commented Hermione.
The ride went by smoothly, and when the trolley came around, Harry treated everyone to whatever sweets they wanted. Harry and Hermione couldn't help but notice the way that Neville and Ginny were glancing at each other every now and then. Whenever their eyes met, both their cheeks would go red and they'd immediately become very interested in their shoes.
When the train ride ended, Harry and Hermione followed the youngest Weasleys to their parents, signaling both the Grangers and Sirius (who appeared to have gotten new clothes and a haircut) to wait a few minutes. When they saw the adult Weasleys, they asked if they could have a private word with Mr. Weasley, to which he heartily agreed.
Once they were out of earshot of everyone else, Mr. Weasley said, "How are you two? I can't thank you enough for that book, by the way, it's very fascinating how the author managed to make magical plugs!" He then looked around, as though expecting someone to be eavesdropping. "I've even been experimenting with that myself."
"That's what we wanted to talk to you about, sir," responded Harry.
"We read the book before sending it to you, and we think we could make one of their portable computers run on a magical battery and use a magical connection to the Internet."
"Really," asked Mr. Weasley with the expression of a small child on Christmas morning. "A Pomcuter? You really think it would work?"
"Yes, sir," answered Hermione. "We tried it with a muggle music player at Hogwarts and it worked."
"Incredible!" exclaimed Mr. Weasley.
"Anyway," continued Hermione. "We wanted to know if it would be illegal to do that to a computer and use it both at Hogwarts, and in the muggle world."
"Well," answered Mr. Weasley. "That would depend."
"On what, sir?" both Harry and Hermione asked together.
"On whether it functions any differently than the device would with a proper muggle battery and Interestnet connection. The reason using a flying car would be illegal is because muggle cars don't fly."
"Oh," Hermione sighed. "Apart from the fact that the battery doesn't run out, it will function exactly as a normal computer."
"Then it's perfectly technically legal," assured Mr. Weasley, "Although I wouldn't let a muggle get too good of a look at it if I were you."
"None but maybe my parents," replied Hermione excitedly.
"You're not planning on doing underage magic are you?" asked Mr. Weasley seriously. "Both of you live with muggles, so it'll be easy for the ministry to catch you at it."
"No, sir," they both answered together.
"We were just planning on buying the computers this summer and bringing them to Hogwarts this fall," explained Harry.
"Then we'd perform the charms on them at school," added Hermione.
"All right, then," replied Mr. Weasley. "Was there anything else?"
"No, sir," they both answered while shaking their heads.
"Then I'll get back to my family, and I'll owl you when I find out about the world cup tickets."
"Thank you, sir," responded Harry.
"Bye, then," said Mr. Weasley.
After he'd gone, the young couple found Hermione's parents deep in conversation with Sirius Black. As they approached, the adults all turned toward them.
"Ah, Harry, Hermione," greeted Adam Granger happily. "How was your trip home?"
"Great," replied Hermione while Harry nodded his accent.
"What were you talking to Mr. Weasley about, dear," asked Marissa Granger.
"Nothing," answered Hermione. "We were just making sure that charming computers to work without electricity and with a magical Internet connection was legal."
"Oh," Mrs. Granger responded uneasily.
"Yes," said Hermione happily. "And it is legal, and my cd player worked at school, so Harry wants to by us laptops to use next year."
"That's great, honey," agreed Mr. Granger, "but we'll be glad to buy you a laptop. The only reason we haven't before was because you couldn't use it at Hogwarts."
"Really?" asked Hermione, hugging her father. "Thank you, daddy! I'd like it as soon as possible so that we can set it up and program it with as much information as we can."
"So," asked Mrs. Granger. "You're going to teach Harry arithmancy, teach us how to stop people from reading our minds, and set up magical laptops with all the information you can this summer."
"Yes," answered Hermione. "Although I suppose the laptops can wait until after Harry's had his test in the middle of July. That reminds me, Harry, did you get an arithmancy book or do you need to borrow mine?"
"I picked one up for him earlier today," answered Sirius, revealing a book that he'd been holding at his side.
"Er, how'd you guys meet, anyway?" asked Harry. "I know I didn't show you any pictures of each other."
"We saw you wave at Sirius while you guys were walking toward the Weasleys," explained Marissa.
"So we figured that he probably was the man Hermione wrote us about yesterday, and decided to take a chance and introduce ourselves."
"We've been invited to dinner at the Grangers," added Sirius, smiling. "And I accepted."
Chapter 10 – A New Life
Harry and Hermione were giving Sirius the tour of the Grangers' home and were currently in the garden, while Mr. and Mrs. Granger were inside preparing dinner. Sirius commented, "It really is nice to walk around as a free man! Even after I escaped, I still couldn't stroll around in gardens like this."
"Yes, I suppose not, Mr. Black," replied Hermione.
"Call me Sirius, Hermione," corrected Sirius Black with a smile. Then, looking around he remarked, "This really is a beautiful garden. I'll bet you had a hand in making it."
She blushed. "I helped a bit."
"So, how long have you two been going out?"
They both smiled. "Since just after Christmas," answered Harry. "We've been friends since Halloween of first year, but that's another story."
"I'd love to hear it sometime, but go on with how you started dating," asked Sirius.
"What happened at Christmas was that Harry had received a Firebolt with no note," explained Hermione."
"Oh," replied Sirius, his face free of expression.
"Yes," continued Hermione. "And since we'd been told that you were out to kill Harry, I was afraid you'd cursed it and sent it to trick Harry into riding it so he'd fall off it and die."
"Hm," remarked Sirius.
"Anyway, she turned it over to Professor McGonagall, and Ron Weasley went ballistic, saying she was jealous and other nonsense like that," continued Harry.
"But Harry," added Hermione with a smile, "stood up for me and let me explain my fears."
"After that," Harry went on, "he wouldn't hang out with us anymore, so we spent a lot more time together, and well…"
"Starting kissing," suggested Sirius with a smile.
Both Harry and Hermione turned beet red. "Er, yeah," agreed Harry.
"And then Ron caught us and started acting worse toward us." Hermione sighed. "We're back on speaking terms with him, but I don't think our friendship will ever be close again."
Sirius responded, "I'm sorry about Ron, but I've got a confession to make."
"What?" asked both teenagers together.
Sirius chuckled, "I did send Harry the broomstick for Christmas."
"So I was at least half right!" declared Hermione triumphantly while Harry just stood there dazed for a few seconds.
Harry then smiled. "So in a way, you brought us together!"
They all chuckled a bit at that, but were interrupted when Marissa Granger called out, "Dinner's ready, you three."
"I'll be right there!" replied Sirius. "This is my first home-cooked meal in thirteen years!"
-MITAB-
While they were eating, Mr. Granger commented to Sirius, "I understand you met Harry yesterday afternoon."
"Yes," he replied, "although really it was reacquainted myself with him. I knew him as a baby. He's turned into an outstanding young man."
Harry's ears turned pink. "He has indeed," agreed Mrs. Granger, causing the pink to spread from Harry's ears to his cheeks.
"I must admit that I'm glad there'll be an adult staying with Harry," responded Mr. Granger. "I understood why he had to leave those awful relatives of his, and I know he can take care of himself, but I planned on checking on him every few days, just to make sure he was all right."
"I promised James and Lily I'd look after him, and now I finally can keep that promise," declared Sirius.
"So, what did you do after you met Harry?" asked Marissa.
"Well, a few minutes after I left Harry, Dumbledore called me to his office."
"What did he want?" asked Harry, frowning. He could guess what the meeting was about.
"He wanted to talk me out of taking Harry away from the Dursleys."
"What?" asked Adam and Marissa at the same time with horrified expressions on their faces.
"Yeah, even after I told him about how the Dursleys treat Harry! He tried to tell me how Harry's safer there and I lost my temper. I yelled at him about how he should have put Harry anywhere but with those people! There were literally hundreds of families lined up ready to take in the 'Boy-Who-Lived!' It might not have been good for him to be raised with fame, but it would have been better than the Dursleys!"
"I know that's true!" agreed Harry, fuming at that thought, which had never occurred to him before.
Before anyone could say anything more, an owl started tapping at the window nearest the dining room. Mrs. Granger got up and let the owl, which was carrying a copy of the evening edition of the Daily Prophet, into the house. It flew straight to Sirius, who relieved it of the paper and gave it a coin.
"What's in the news?" asked Hermione.
"Let me find out," replied Sirius, as he unrolled the paper. "What? That imbecile Fudge!"
"What's happened?" asked Harry, with a worried look on his face that was shared by his girlfriend.
"Pettigrew's escaped! Some idiot let him loose for a second before putting him in a cell. He transformed into a rat and got away!"
Marissa looked concerned. "Do you think he'll go after Harry?"
Sirius got a hungry expression on his face. "I hope he does," he answered calmly. "I'm cleared now, so I don't need to keep that murderer alive, especially since the ministry can't keep that rat prisoner. But I doubt he'll do that. He'll probably just find some other wizarding family to take him in as a pet." Then Sirius' face turned grim. "Unless…"
"Unless what?" asked Hermione.
"Unless he tries to find his master," finished Sirius.
Everyone at the table was silent until Harry decided to change the subject. "So, Hermione, have you figured out an Arithmancy study schedule for me, yet?"
Hermione smiled. "Of course, Harry! You'll have to learn a chapter a day to make sure we have time to test you before Professor Vector does. You'll need to read chapter one tonight and then again tomorrow before I come over at noon to discuss it and test you, and then we'll keep doing that with every chapter until we finish chapter twenty. Then I'll start making up exams for you to take every day until your test." Harry's eyes were bulging out more and more as she spoke, but he nodded his head in ascent anyway, knowing that he would need to work hard to get out of Divination.
"I don't think you need to go there every day, dear," remarked Hermione's mum. "Harry, why don't you come here every other day?"
"Sure," agreed Harry.
"Of course it doesn't matter where we meet at, just as long as meet every day," said Hermione.
"Then it's settled," announced Sirius. "I'd also like to invite all of you to dinner at our house tomorrow. I can apparate at about noon to pick Hermione up, and you all can come over at five. I'd also like to see about putting you on the Potter floo network." Sirius turned to Harry. "I seem to remember something about being able to set up fireplaces that could floo to and from Potter Manor and nowhere else. I'd like to ask that painting, Joseph or Joshua or…"
"Julius?" supplied Harry.
"Yes, Julius Potter, your ancestor from long ago. I guess you've met him."
"Yeah, and I set up my security with him, which reminds me, I'll have to tell him to allow you in the house."
"Yes," agreed Sirius, "That would be helpful."
"Adam, Marissa," asked Harry, turning his attention on Hermione's parents. "How have you been doing with that book Hermione sent you?"
"Well," answered Mrs. Granger. "We've read it, and have tried building the walls like the book says, but it's hard to tell how we're doing without anyone to test us."
Hermione then turned to her mother. "Would you like me to test you now, so we know where we stand?"
She looked apprehensive. "I guess we'll have to have someone test us, and I'd rather it be you." Her father nodded in agreement.
"Okay," agreed Hermione. "Mum, I'll try you first. Look me in the eyes." They looked each other in the eyes for about five minutes. Both their faces appeared to concentrate more and more until finally Hermione ended it and spoke. "You did very well, mum! I had to do almost a full power assault before I could get through. With more practice, I believe you'll be able to completely keep me or anyone else out of your mind. Dad, are you ready?" Her father nodded his head, and the same thing happened. He was at the same level as his wife.
When they were done, Sirius questioned, "You're studying Occlumency?"
"Yes," answered Hermione. "Harry and I have already learned both that and Legilimency."
"That's a bit surprising at your age, but I didn't know muggles could learn it."
"Muggles can learn Occlumency, but not Legilimency," stated Harry knowledgably. "We found a book on it in the Potter library."
-MITAB-
Sirius and Harry arrived outside of Potter Manor about a half hour after that. Once Harry had told Sirius the address, he was able to apparate them outside the place, and the gate opened immediately for Harry.
"Er, Sirius," remarked Harry.
"Yeah, pup."
"Because of the security arrangements, it would probably be best if you stay close to me so that the doors can't close you out."
"Okay," agreed Sirius, chuckling. "But as soon as we get in there I want you to tell Julius to let me in."
"Sure thing."
"You know," commented Sirius, looking around. "I'd forgotten just how beautiful this place is, even when it's getting dark."
"Yeah," agreed Harry, with a smile on his face. "It really is. I'd love to spend all night exploring the grounds, but unfortunately, I have a lot of reading to do tonight, so if you don't mind, I'd like to hurry up and set the security so I can get to it."
"I understand, pup," replied Sirius. "You're trying to learn a year's worth of material in three weeks. Your mum would really be proud of you for that. She was always a dedicated student."
Harry smiled, "Like Hermione?"
Sirius chuckled, "Yep, just like Hermione."
As they approached the door to the mansion, it opened right up, and Harry let Sirius walk in ahead of him.
As he entered in, he saw Dobby appear right in front of Sirius Black and bow to the ground. "What friend of the great Harry Potter does Dobby have the privilege of addressing, sir?"
"Well, Dobby," answered Padfoot with a grin, "My name is Sirius Black."
"Sirius Black?" Dobby shrieked, "No! You is the escaped murderer who wants to kill Harry Potter! Dobby will not let you…"
"It's all right, Dobby," interrupted Harry, chuckling, "honestly. Sirius Black was innocent! He was cleared of all charges yesterday. Peter Pettigrew was the traitor. He faked his death and framed Sirius, but Sirius caught him and proved his innocence."
"But, unfortunately, Dobby," added Sirius, "the traitor escaped the ministry today. I want you to keep an eye out for him, in case he decides to attack Harry. Pettigrew can turn into a rat, so you need to keep a close eye out."
"Dobby will protect Harry Potter with his very life!" declared Dobby proudly.
"I'm glad to hear it," responded Sirius. "By the way, I'm going to be living here now as Harry's guardian."
"Yes," agreed Harry. "He's my godfather."
"Tomorrow morning, I think I'll go to the ministry to fill out the parchmentwork to make it legal," remarked Sirius. "For now, I believe Julius' portrait is in the library."
They walked straight to the library and right to the painting. Harry noticed Sirius do a double-take as they passed the computer. "Wasn't that muggle machine on the fifth floor?"
"Yes," answered Harry, still walking, "but I replaced it with a better one and moved this here. It can still be useful."
"Maybe you can show me how sometime," remarked Sirius. "Once you've passed your arithmancy test. I'd also like you to consider training as an animagus."
Harry brightened up, "You'd do that?"
"Of course," replied Sirius, obviously glad of Harry's reaction.
"Would you train Hermione, too, if she wants?"
"Naturally. Otherwise we couldn't let her join the Marauders, could we?"
Whatever response Harry had was interrupted by the voice of Julius Potter. "Harry, it's good to see you again!"
"It's good to see you too, Julius. May I introduce you to my godfather, Sir…"
"Sirius Black?" completed the portrait with a frightened look on his face. "But I'd heard you…"
"He's been cleared of all charges," clarified Harry. After a brief explanation about Wormtail's treachery, Harry said, "Now he's going to live here, so I need to change my security settings."
"Naturally," agreed Julius. "I assume you want the doors to open for him, the floo to allow him through the fireplace, and the wards to allow him to apparate in the living room, which, by the way, is the only place anyone can apparate in this house. That way, even if someone manages somehow to get through the ward, there's more warning than if he got into your bedroom while you were sleeping."
"Yes," responded Harry importantly, "Allow him full clearance."
"What about Moony?" asked Sirius. "I'd like him to be able to visit freely."
Harry agreed, "All right. Should I give him full clearance?"
"Yes," agreed Sirius, "On second thought, no. Let him floo or apparate. If he comes to the door, we should be able to answer it for him."
"Okay," replied Harry. "Any particular reason why?"
"Well," explained Sirius, "I'm not sure how the security system would perceive the werewolf if he ever got loose. I know the werewolf can't apparate or floo, but what if he ran into the house?"
"Well," conceded Harry, "I guess you've got a point. Julius, give Remus Lupin floo and apparition clearance."
"Done," replied the portrait. "Anything else?"
"Yes," answered Harry. "Sirius mentioned something to me about being able to set a fireplace that could only floo here and back, that wouldn't be part of the regular floo network."
"Yes," responded Julius. "May I assume you would like to do that at Miss Granger's house?" he asked with a wink.
"Yes," answered Harry, slightly blushing.
"All you'll have to do, no, Sirius will have to do it because of the age restrictions. Sirius, while holding Harry's hand, point your wand at their fireplace and say the incantation." After Julius had recited a complex Latin spell, and made Sirius repeat it until he said it perfectly, he explained how they'd know if they were successful. "
Their fireplace will glow green for a few seconds if it works. Then it will work as a normal floo, except only to this house. To come here, they'll say, 'Diagon Lily' which, by the way, Sirius, is the new password. To leave from here, they'll say, 'Granger Residence.' You may want to bring them some floo powder. I believe that James and Lily kept an ample supply in a cabinet near the fireplace."
"Thank you very much, Julius," replied Harry. "I believe that's all for now. I have a book I need to memorize. I'll see you later."
"Hopefully, sooner rather than later," responded Julius.
As Harry and Sirius were walking out of the library, Sirius remarked, "I'll find that extra floo powder, and tomorrow we'll go to the Grangers' house together to set up their fireplace.
"All right," agreed Harry. "For now, I'll be reading in my room."
-MITAB-
Sirius found about a year's supply of floo powder in one of the cabinets, so he set aside one container to bring to the Grangers when he and Harry would apparate there the next day. When Harry woke up the next morning and went down to breakfast, Sirius was nowhere to be found. Dobby popped into the dining room and asked, "Is the great Harry Potter ready for breakfast?"
"Er, yes Dobby, that sounds good," he answered. Dobby snapped his fingers, and a plate filled with pancakes, sausages, bacon, and eggs appeared in front of him, along with silverware and a glass of pumpkin juice. "Wow, that's great," exclaimed Harry, who didn't believe he'd ever get used to being served like this at home.
"Dobby is pleased to serve, sir."
"Dobby," asked Harry, "Do you know where Sirius is?"
"Of course, sir. Sirius is giving Dobby a message for Master Harry. Sirius is going to the Ministry of Magic to apply to be Harry Potter's legal guardian."
"Of course," replied Harry, putting his hand on his forehead. "He mentioned that yesterday. I might as well eat breakfast and reread chapter one."
At about 11:30, Harry was just finishing the last page of chapter one when he heard Sirius' voice downstairs calling his name. "I'll be down there in a few minutes," he called as he read the last paragraph."
Five minutes later, he walked down the stairs to see Sirius sitting on a couch with a smile on his face, holding a piece of parchment in his hand. "Hi, Sirius," Harry greeted his godfather. "How'd it go?"
"It went great," explained Sirius. "There's just a few formalities that have to be done. I need the Dursleys to fill out this form, relinquishing their guardianship…"
"They should be happy to do that," cut in Harry.
"And then they'll arrange a court date where you have to appear and say you want me to be your guardian."
"Okay. When do we see the Dursleys?"
"I was hoping to do that tonight after dinner. Do you think we should call first?"
"If we did, they'd make sure they're not there. I say we just apparate outside their house and knock on the door," Harry suggested with a smile.
Sirius grinned back. "Unannounced it is. For now though, it's time to pick up Hermione." He grabbed the floo powder, and then Harry's hand. Together, they disappeared with a pop.
They reappeared in the Grangers' back yard (that had a privacy fence) and knocked at the back door.
"Harry," greeted Hermione with a smile on her face as she hugged him. "What are you doing here? I thought just Sirius was coming."
"Well I was," explained Sirius, "but we found out how to put your fireplace on the Potter Manor floo network, and Harry had to be here to help."
"Really?" asked Hermione excitedly. "I know you mentioned the Potter Floo Network, but muggle houses aren't allowed on the floo network."
"Yeah, really," replied Harry. "You won't be on the regular floo network. You guys will only be able to floo to my house and back." Then Harry looked thoughtful for a moment, and then smiled. "Actually, I guess you could floo from here to my house, and then from my house to anywhere else."
"So, may we come in?" asked Sirius.
"Of course! My parents are at work right now. I'll call them when we get to your house so they don't drive all the way to your house for dinner!"
They performed the spell on the Grangers' fireplace exactly as they were told, and it glowed green while Hermione squealed with joy, much to Harry and Sirius' amusement. Hermione and then Harry flooed to Potter Manor (using the password, 'Diagon Lily') and Sirius apparated. Hermione immediately raced to the fifth floor to use the telephone. When she came back downstairs she announced, "My parents are a bit nervous about flooing, so they asked me to floo back home when it's about time for dinner, and then show them how it's done."
Harry chuckled, "At least they can't accidentally end up somewhere else."
"Anyway," suggested Hermione. "I think it's about time we started talking about Arithmancy."
Hermione was pleased at how much Harry had remembered, to which he responded, "What do you expect after reading the chapter twice within twenty-four hours."
"That's the point, Harry," she explained.
Harry replied, "I know, Mine," and then stole a quick kiss.
After she was sure he knew the material, she complimented, "You've done a great job studying chapter one. How do you want to spend the rest of the afternoon?" she asked suggestively
He smiled shyly. "I think we can think of something, Mine." He then pressed his lips to hers.
A few hours later, Hermione flooed out of the manor to meet her parents, and Dobby started preparing for dinner. Before long, Mr. and Mrs. Granger fell to the floor of the living room after arriving in the fireplace. They were quickly followed by Hermione, who smirked at her parents.
After a pleasant dinner, the Grangers all left via the fireplace, and it was time for Harry and Sirius to visit the Dursleys.
They apparated to an empty alley, and walked from there. When they arrived at Number Four Privet Drive at 7:55 p.m., Sirius Black knocked on the door.
The door opened, revealing Vernon Dursley in all his bulk. Upon seeing Harry, his face began turning purple.
"DON'T. TELL. ME. YOU'RE. LEAVING. THAT. FREAK. HERE. AGAIN?" he yelled, forgetting about what his neighbors thought.
"No," answered Sirius calmly. "I'd never leave Harry with you again. We simply need you to fill out a form, relinquishing your custody of Harry to me."
Vernon calmed down a bit. His face was now pink instead of purple. "Well then, in that case, you can come in, but just long enough for me to fill out your bloody form."
They walked inside the house, and Harry could hear Petunia gasp while Dudley asked, "What's HE doing here?"
"We'll go to the kitchen table so we can lean on it," suggested Vernon coldly. "Does Petunia need to sign the bloody form as well?"
"Yes," answered Sirius, equally coldly. "By the way, did Harry leave anything of his here when he left last year?"
"There's a box in the cupboard," replied Petunia, who had joined them when she was mentioned. Harry walked away to retrieve the box. "What's going on, Vernon?"
"Just a bloody form to fill out to get rid of the freak for good," answered Vernon.
"For good?" asked Petunia, while Vernon began filling out the form.
"Yes, for good," hissed Sirius. "He'll never be subjected to your abuse and neglect again."
"I'll be right back," said Petunia, leaving the kitchen.
Harry came back into the kitchen carrying a small box. "This is all the rest of my stuff."
"That looks like it's done," remarked Vernon Dursley, ignoring Harry, "All that's needed is for Petunia to sign it." He then turned to Sirius. "It will be valid in the normal world, won't it? I don't want the police coming around asking about this freak!"
"Don't worry, Dursley," hissed Sirius, "No one will ever look for Harry here again!"
At that moment, Petunia entered the kitchen, carrying a box even smaller than the one Harry was already holding. It looked like an old shoebox. She turned to Harry and explained, "This belonged to Lily. I think you should have it," and put the box into to one Harry was already holding. Then she turned to her husband. "Vernon, where do I sign?"
She quickly signed the form, and then Harry and Sirius left. When they got back to the manor, Sirius commented, "Well, that went better than I thought it would. I'll turn in the form first thing tomorrow and they'll schedule us a court date. Are you gonna look through your stuff?"
Harry sighed, "I don't have time for that, right now. I've got to study Arithmancy. I'll put it in my room and look through it after I've taken my test. Goodnight, Sirius."
A week later, Harry was in the Potter library being tested by Hermione at Potter Manor on chapter seven of the Arithmancy book. Their court date was set for July 17th at 10 a.m. Harry was getting tired of his study schedule, but was determined to pass his Arithmancy test. He found that it wasn't nearly as hard as it looked, and Hermione was a very patient tutor, answering any questions he had.
He had just correctly answered the last question from the end of the chapter when two owls from Hogwarts flew in through an open window that had been charmed to stop anything but owls from getting through. One went to Hermione while the other went to Harry. They both took the packages off of the owls. Hermione's owl flew away, while Harry's seemed to be waiting for something. Harry opened his envelope and pulled out two pieces of parchment. The first one was his grades, which he temporarily put to the side. The other was a letter from McGonagall. It said,
Dear Mr. Potter,
Professor Vector has agreed to give you the Arithmancy placement test at Hogwarts on July 16th at two o'clock. Will that be acceptable to you? Please send a response to me with this owl.
Sincerely,
Professor McGonagall,
Deputy Headmistress
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
P.S. Congratulations on your grades. You were second in your class, only behind Miss Granger."
He then immediately looked at his grades, where he had received 'Outstandings' in Defense Against the Dark Arts, Care of Magical Creatures, Transfiguration, Charms, History of Magic (Hermione taught him that), Astronomy, and Herbology. He surprisingly received "Exceeds Expectations" in Divination (he figured that surviving exceeded Trelawney's expectations, besides, he'd been right in his 'prophesy' about Buckbeak, and that had to count for something). He received an "Acceptable" in Potions, which was actually the best grade he'd ever gotten in that course. He switched grades with Hermione to find that she had "Outstandings" in everything except potions. She got an "Exceeds Expectations" in potions. She pleasantly remarked, "Probably because I'm dating you!" when Harry commented on it.
"I'd say it's time to send our petition to Professor Dumbledore," suggested Harry.
"Absolutely!" agreed Hermione, and they got their petition from Harry's room, tied it to Hedwig's leg, and sent her to fly it to Professor Dumbledore.