Harry Potter and The Jade Dragon

Chapter 3 ~ A New Term Begins

"Potter! Weasley! Granger! I want a word with you!"

Harry, Ron and Hermione turned to look in the direction of the voice. Professor McGonagall, tall and beady-eyed, was standing at the entrance of the Great Hall. The start of term feast had ended, and the three of them had just left the Hall together with the other Gryffindors.

They turned to follow her, wondering what trouble they could have got into when the term had barely started. Professor McGonagall led them swiftly to her office, sat down at her desk, and waved her wand. Three stools appeared out of nowhere, and positioned themselves in front of the desk.

"Sit," she said briskly.

They sat down, and looked at her.

Professor McGonagall took out three sheets of parchment, and laid them on her desk.

"Right," she said in a businesslike tone. "The three of you have decided to take part in the exchange programme. That will mean some additional effort on your part. These are the assignments you will be missing here while you are in China from October to November. We will be giving you extra lessons, but there is no harm if you start reading up on them earlier." She handed one sheet of parchment to each of them.

Hermione looked pleased, but Ron and Harry's faces fell when they saw the long list. Ron involuntarily gave a small groan.

Professor McGonagall regarded him steadily.

"You were informed earlier that you would have to do extra work, Weasley," she said tartly. "You were aware of it when you signed the acceptance form. I am expecting you to perform better than you did last year."

Ron gloomily nodded, and rolled up the piece of parchment.

"I would like to remind the three of you that while you are in China, you also represent our school," continued Professor McGonagall. "You should be on your best behaviour at all times. I shall be most displeased if anyone from Gryffindor embarrasses the school in any way."

"Please, Professor, who else is going, besides us?" asked Hermione, voicing what Ron and Harry had also been wondering.

"The number is small, as this is the first time we are trying out such a programme," replied Professor McGonagall. "There will be twelve students in your class altogether : six from Tian-Long, and six from Hogwarts. The other Hogwarts students are from Slytherin : Draco Malfoy, Vincent Crabbe, and Gregory Goyle."

She saw the looks of horror on their faces, and said in a very final tone, "Remember that all of you represent Hogwarts while you are there. I expect you to put aside any existing animosity and to give a good impression of our school during your stay there."

Ron couldn't seem to accept the news.

"But – why them?" he burst out. "Who did the choosing? It must have been Snape!"

Professor McGonagall glared at him.

"Professor Snape, Weasley," she said sharply. "And it was not Severus Snape, nor I, who selected all of you. The Sorting Hat was asked to make the choice. You should be happy that the three of you are together. We asked the Sorting Hat to choose students who are already familiar with one another, to minimise the chances of homesickness while you are there."

Ron and Harry's faces looked mutinous, indicating they had no desire to be familiar with Draco Malfoy.

"Professor," said Hermione, "Will the classes be in English?"

"They certainly will," replied Professor McGonagall. "The Headmistress there, Lady Wen-Li, has been planning this exchange programme for some time. She has been encouraging her staff to learn English."