Dandelions

~35~

What a nightmare that November had become for Harper and her friends. It consisted of class, work, Order of The Phoenix work, helping Harper get ready for the tournament and being constantly teased for being 'A itty bitty Hufflepuff Champion!'. Harper decided against telling her friends what the first task was bound to be as they would all panic and beg her to find a way out of the tournament. Sirius and her relationship had become a bit
more tense as he had been worrying nonstop that she'd get injured or die.

"Will you all stop looking at me like it's the last time you're gonna see me? We have our first meeting today, focus on that. Not my task I have a week away to do." Harper huffed before grabbing her stuff and marching off the potions class with the Ravenclaws. Her friends watched her leave before all talking at once. "Alright, one at a time. Pads you first as your the boyfriend." Lily said making Marlene scoff at her. "She's refusing to tell us the task yet we have to help the Prewett twins with the prank? Bloody bullocks if you ask me." The three other boys nodded alongside there friend before Marlene said, "She's acting like she can't die in this too. I don't know, it makes me nervous.."

Harper arrived a few minutes early to class meaning that nobody was in the room or so she thought. "Oh hello." She took her quill, parchment, ink, and potions book out and placed them on her desk alongside her wand. It didn't take too long for the class to fill with chattering students and Professor Slughorn to begin there lesson. "We'll be studying Amortenia today! Our Beauxbaton company shall be joining us in about.. oh now! Welcome!" Slughorn announced the the students who looked rather uncomfortable to be in the dungeons. They were lectured on the dangers of amortenia before being told they'd all get a chance to smell it.

"First we'll have.. Abbot!" The girl smiled and giggled with her friends before walking up to the cauldron and smelling it. "I smell.. firewood. Oh! I also smell rain and um.. Cinnamon?" Pleased with her findings she was instructed to sit back down as another student was called. Harper's eyes wandered over to Estelle who had also been looking at her. She waved to the girl who winked back before being called up. "I zmell.. treacle tart, zmoke.. and zomething like flowers." Harper's stomach did a tumble as she had always worn cherry blossom perfume but shrugged it off and assumed it was someone else. "Miss.Rossi! You seem to be bored, why don't you come up next?"

Harper stood up and all eyes turned to her. She walked to the cauldron and took a large whiff of what the contents were. "I smell.. firewood." Firewood was always what her dad smelt like for some reason but not that she minded it much. "Also smoke and cologne." Sirius. She smelt Sirius of course! Who else would've it had been. "Very well." Slughorn smiled at the girl before she went back and sat down in her seat. The girl Estelle stood next to began to practically pronounce her undying love to her making Harper giggle. Estelle winked and kissed her making the poor girl pass out cold onto the ground. "Oh dear.. Ms.Annette please take Ms.Vazquez to the Hosptial Wing."

Macmillan sat next to Harper after smelling his amortenia and whispered, "She has to be part veela. Vazquez is completely straight." Harper giggled before turning back to listen to her other classmates announce what there amortenia was. "I want you a 12 inch essay on the properties and ingredients of the amortenia are. The Do's and the Do not's. It's due Monday. Alright off you go." Slughorn announced before waving everyone off to their following classes. Harper groaned as she had double History of Magic with Professor Binns, the most boring teacher ever. You'd think he was cool because he's the only ghost teacher, right? WRONG.

As expected, the class was a drag but they learned about the Witch Trials of 1692 making them also get a 12 page essay about it. Sirius joined Harper in the library as she did her work though he couldn't help but as her, "Pet, why aren't you telling any of us about the task? We want to help.." Harper looked up from her almost-finished potions essay with discomfort in her face. "Sirius, please. Not right now." She returned to finishing her essay making Sirius grow angry with the girl - was she insane or did she want to die. "No, Rossi. No, we are doing this RIGHT now. Listen, I want to help wether you involve our friends or not. Please?" She nodded and finished her last sentence before telling him.

"Please, don't tell any of them? They'll only worry." Sirius was speechless with what the girl would have to do. How in Merlin's name was she going to complete this task and stay alive? "Y-yeah sure.. Cmon now, let's get to the Room of Requirement, eh? I'll help you finish your essay for history after." Helping her up, the two walked to the Room of Requirements in silence. "Please be careful.. That's highly dangerous and I can't lose you." Sirius whispered before the two giant doors were open to show all the new members of the Order. "About time Pads and Rossi! Come on, we're starting with the Patronus!" James jumped up and down.

Harper and the four boys had all summonsed theirs which was not a shock for the boys but it was for Harper. The first time she performed her patronus, she was so quick to get it that it shocked all her teachers and Dumbeldore. Thinking of her happiest memory which was Christmas at the Potter's surrounded by her new family, a Chestnut Stallion burst out from the tip of her wand - amazing all that were watching her. "Now your turns! Think of your happiest memory you have and yell the indication, 'Expecto Patronum.' Yes? Yes, get started."The boys walked around to help people but before Marlene attempted hers she said to Harper, "You'd be a good teacher Harp!"

The only people that ended up getting their patronus were the 4 boys, Harper, Lily (a doe which almost made James pass out), and a younger Gryffindor boy. "I can't get it! Even bloody Pettigrew has it." Marlene complained as the room became deserted besides the 7 friends who stayed behind to clean up. "Hey, Wormtail is very capable of anything." Remus growled at the girl making her shut up. "Sorry.. Full moon tonight." That seemed to make James snap into action, "Yeah and if we don't go, you'll be transforming in here. Come on brothers! To the tree!" The four boys ran out at the speed of lightening making the 3 girls stay behind. "I'll help you out Mars. Come on." Lily said grabbing the girls wrist to help her out.

It took Marlene another 4 tries before a whisp of white came out of her wand. "What were you thinking of Mckinnon, because it's not good enough." Lily asked crossing her arms. "First time
I rode my broom.. Its the happiest time I can remember.. Wait I've got it!" She yelled turning around and pulling her wand from her pocket again. "EXPECTO PATRONUM!" A cat sprouted out of Marlene's wand and pounced around the common room chasing after an invisible figure. "There you go Marlene! Atta girl!" Harper cheered for the smiling girl as Lily casted hers aswell. Harper pulled her wand out and allowed her Stallion to meet the doe and cat.

"What did you think of?" Harper asked sitting down, exhausted after all that had happened that day. "The day where Dorcas told me she loved me and wanted to marry me someday.." Lily awed and wrapped the girl into a hug before going on and on about her and James's matching patronus. "Of course it matches, 'Lilypad', you are SOULMATES." The girls giggled before leaving the room and separating to their common rooms. Harper hated this part and hated that she wasn't a Gryffindor like her friends but she was greatful that she wasn't a Slytherin. Everyone was asleep as she arrived into her room so she had to be quiet while getting ready for sleep.

Collapsing on her bed, she stared out her window to the moon. "Oh Remmy.. How I wish you didn't have to go through so much pain and suffering." She noticed a large figure running out towards the woods followed by a stag and a black dog who had something on its back. 'Peter must be on Sirius's back then.' Harper decided. She fell asleep to the thoughts of Remus and the boy's returning safely back in the morning.