mirrorball

chapter eighteen

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Ron, Clara, and Hermione returned in the late afternoon from their exam.

"Harry!" cried Clara as she climbed through the portrait hole to a common room that did not belong to her. "Harry, I passed!"

"Well done!" he said. "And Ron? And Hermione?"

"I passed but Ron... He — he just failed," whispered Hermione, as Ron came slouching into the room looking most morose. "It was really unlucky, a tiny thing, the examiner just spotted that he'd left half an eyebrow behind. . . . How did it go with Slughorn?"

"No joy," said Harry, as Ron joined them. "Bad luck, mate, but you'll pass next time — we can take it together."

"Yeah, I s'pose," said Ron grumpily. "But half an eyebrow! Like that matters!" 

"I know," said Hermione soothingly, "it does seem really harsh. . . ." 

The group then spent most of their night roundly abusing the Apparition examiner, and Ron looked fractionally more cheerful by the time the sun had set, now they were discussing the continuing problem of Slughorn and the memory.

"So, Harry — you going to use the Felix Felicis or what?" Ron demanded.

"Yeah, I s'pose I'd better," said Harry. "I don't reckon I'll need all of it, not twelve hours' worth, it can't take all night. .. . I'll just take a mouthful. Two or three hours should do it." 

"It's a great feeling when you take it," said Ron reminiscently. "Like you can't do anything wrong."

"What are you talking about?" said Hermione, laughing.

"You've never taken any!" chimed Clara.

"Yeah, but I thought I had, didn't I?" said Ron, as though explaining the obvious. "Same difference really . . ." 

They lingered for a while in the common room, the plan being that Harry should go to Slughorn's office once the teacher had had time to get back there from dinner. When the moon had risen to the level of the treetops in the Forbidden Forest, they decided the moment had come, and after checking carefully that Neville, Dean, and Seamus were all in the common room, snuck up to the boys' dormitory. Harry took out the rolled-up socks at the bottom of his trunk and extracted the tiny, gleaming bottle. "Well, here goes," said Harry, and he raised the little bottle and took a carefully measured gulp. 

"What does it feel like?" whispered Hermione. Harry did not answer for a moment. 

"Excellent," he said. "Really excellent. Right . . . I'm going down to Hagrid's."

"What?" said Ron and Hermione together, looking aghast. 

"No, Harry — you've got to go and see Slughorn, remember?" said Clara.

"No," said Harry confidently. "I'm going to Hagrid's, I've got a good feeling about going to Hagrid's."

"You've got a good feeling about burying a giant spider?" asked Ron, looking stunned.

"Yeah," said Harry, pulling his Invisibility Cloak out of his bag. "I feel like it's the place to be tonight, you know what I mean?"

"No," said Ron and Hermione together, both looking positively alarmed now.

"This is Felix Felicis, I suppose?" said Hermione anxiously, holding up the bottle to the light. "You haven't got another little bottle full of— I don't know —"

"Essence of Insanity?" suggested Clara, as Harry swung his cloak over his shoulders and Clara's shoulders. Harry laughed, and Ron and Hermione looked even more alarmed.

"Trust me," he said. "I know what I'm doing . . . or at least"— he strolled confidently to the door, pulling Clara after him — "Felix does." He pulled the Invisibility Cloak over his head and Clara's, and they set off down the stairs, Ron and Hermione hurrying along behind them. At the foot of the stairs, Harry slid through the open door while Clara struggled to keep up with his upbeat pace. 

"What were you doing up there with her?" shrieked Lavender Brown, staring right through Harry and Clara at Ron and Hermione emerging together from the boys' dormitories. Clara heard Ron spluttering behind her as she darted across the room away from them. She quickly pulled the cloak off of her as they reached the top of the dungeon stairs.

"Alright, good luck. Well, not that you need it." said Clara, pushing her half of the cloak back at Harry. Swiftly, Harry pulled Clara in by her chin and her waist and kissed her passionately. "Harry! We could get caught, be careful where you put your lips."

"Don't worry, darling, Felix won't let that happen." With a wink, Harry was back under the cloak and away on his mission. Clara turned and went on her way to her loving bed.

Three days later, there was a quidditch match between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff. Harry was in an exceptionally good mood. Felix was obviously incredibly wise and had brought him to success with Slughorn's memory. Dumbledore had also returned to the school again, and it seemed that he and Harry were back on friendly terms.

Clara and Luna sat in the stands with Hermione. It seemed as though McGonagall had not appreciated Luna's commentary, as a new third-year Slytherin was seated next to her to comment on the match. After a fairly intense game, Hufflepuff was surprisingly agile this season, it seemed as though Harry had spotted the snitch.

He whizzed towards something at catastrophic speeds and within seconds, he had secured his target. He pumped his fist upwards, the golden snitch held between his pointer finger and his thumb. Clara clapped briskly, a proud smile creeping onto her face. Harry truly was a brilliant player.

Gryffindor had officially won the match. The team's cheers could be heard all the way in the stands.

"There'll be a small party in the Gryffindor Common Room, are you two going to come?" asked Hermione. The girls were walking down the tall stands, and were passing by the team tents. Clara could see the rest of the team walk out of the tents, most likely headed towards the party Hermione was talking about. 

"Of course, but I think I left my book on the stands, I'll be there in a few." said Clara, pretending to turn back to the stands. Luna and Hermione walked off with the Gryffindor team, Luna seemed to be describing her latest dream to Hermione, and Clara quickly sunk into the Gryffindor tent. Just as suspected, Harry was still in the tent. He stood at the team's chalkboard, and his wand flicked every so often to continue erasing the plays that were displayed on the board.

"I didn't realize you had turned into Oliver Wood all of a sudden." said Clara as she saw Harry shake his head at one of the plays. Harry's head turned to the entrance of the tent, a smile on his face.

"I'm not, although I think I am beginning to understand his obsessive behavior. It's hard not to get caught up in the game when you care so much about it."

"Well," said Clara, brushing a streak of dirt off of Harry's cheek, "I think it suits you."

"Oh yeah?" A smirk grew on Harry's face and he guided Clara's face towards his with his hand. Their lips collided in a kiss that was filled with light and happiness. Clara could feel herself smiling, and there was no way to pause, rewind, or stop the feelings that coursed through her veins.

A flash of light awoke the couple from their fantasy. Clara's lips pulled away from Harry's as her head whipped towards the entrance of the tent. There stood a third-year Slytherin who Clara could've sworn she had taken points from a few weeks ago. A small camera was held in his hands. Fear swallowed Clara's heart as she realized what had happened.

"Who the hell are you?" said Harry, taking a step towards the small boy.

"I-" Words seemed to have escaped the young photographer, and his feet worked quicker than his mouth. Within an instant, the Slytherin was running out of the tent and towards the castle. 

"Well, I guess Felix is officially done helping me." said Harry before running after the student.