Spells and Visions; A Harry Potter story

Chapter 5: Prisoner's Daughter 2

The next Dark Arts class we had, was quite a bit different from the ones we had earlier that year. First of all, I hadn't much time to apologise to my friends and brother yet, and while no one knew what was going on, they didn't see me being with them for a few days. They were clearly still angry at me, too. They sat as far away as possible from me in class. Second, it wasn't Lupin who was teaching us that day, but Snape.

Harry came storming inside the class.
"Sorry I'm late, Professor Lupin..."
He looked confused when he stared at Snape.
"Where is Professor Lupin?"
"Ten points from Gryffindor, since you are ten minutes late. Sit down. Professor Lupin is too ill to teach today. As I was saying, Lupin hasn't left any records of the topics you have been covering so far-"
Hermione interrupted him.
"Sir, we've done Boggarts, Red Caps, Kappas and Grindylows-"
"Be quiet," Snape snapped. "I wasn't asking for information. I was commenting on the lack of Lupin's organisation."
"He's the best Dark Arts teacher we've ever had," Dean said, and the whole class agreed.
"I expect first years to deal with Red Caps and Grindylows. Today we will be covering werewolves." He flicked to one of the last chapters in the book.
"But sir, we're not supposed to do werewolves yet," Hermione said.
"Be quiet, miss Granger. Everbody, turn to page three hundred and ninety-four. Now!"

Against our will, we did as he said. I was tired. I hadn't slept well in days.
"Can anyone tell me what the differences are between a werewolf and a regular wolf?"
Hermione's hand shot into the air, but she was the only one.
My head fell from my hand, which was the only thing holding it up.
"Miss Black, there will be no sleeping in my class."
"This is not your class," I whispered to myself.
"What was that?"
"Nothing! Nothing." I sat right up and tried to keep my eyes open.

Snape continued.
"Has Lupin not even told you the plain differences between a normal wolf and a werewolf?"
"We told you," Parvati said. "We haven't got to werewolves yet-"
"Silence!" Snape said. "Well, I never thought that I'd meet a third year class who can't even recognize a werewolf."
"Please, sir," Hermione interrupted him, again. "The werewolf is different from a true wolf in small ways-"
"This is the second time you have spoken out of turn, miss Granger! Five points from Gryffindor for being an insufferable know-it-all."
Even I was awake now.
Hermione's face went red and she stared at the floor, probably trying hard not to cry. Ron apparently didn't take that.
"You asked a question and she knew the answer!" Ron said angrily. "Why ask if you don't want to be told?"
"Detention, Weasley! And if I ever hear you criticise the way I teach again, you will be very sorry."

When the bell rang, Snape gave us a lot of homework again, but I was glad to be out of his class.

~

The next day, the first Quidditch match was Hufflepuff against Gryffindor. The weather was very bad. It was storming and raining, and still the crowd was full. Even I decided to come, because I knew Cedric would play. He was a Seeker after all, and had to go against Harry.
We were hardly able to see anything, and while we were dry, team Hufflepuff and Gryffindor were soaking wet within minutes. At a certain moment, there was a flash of lightning. Madam Hooch called for a quick timeout, and then they went up in the air again. This was exactly the reason I didn't want to play Quidditch. The thunder didn't stop, and the storm and rain certainly didn't.

Cedric and Harry had now both caught sight of the Snitch, and were racing against the storm, higher up in the air, and something strange happened.
Harry didn't move, and Cedric caught the Snitch, after which he came down. But Harry was still in the air. He lingered a moment, and while Hufflepuff was cheering because their Seeker had won them a hundred and fifty points, the Gryffindors were still looking out for Harry.

Suddenly Harry fell down. Backwards. Not even holding his broomstick. I stood up. What was happening?
I looked at Dumbledore. Prove yourself, I thought. If you let him fall to his death-
But Dumbledore stood up and pointed his wand at the falling Harry.
"Arresto Momentum!" I heard him say. I looked back at Harry. He fell slowly now, as if in slow motion, and softly touched the ground.
Then he ran onto the pitch and furiously shot silvery things into the air. Dementors. They were the ones that did that to Harry. They shouldn't be able to come here.