White Lies // Drarry

Chapter 23: 'Date'

The next two days passed by without much incidence. There was still a gloom hovering over Hogwarts at the presence of Aurors that proved to be a reminder of the escape of Carrow. The absence of Morgan was also felt dearly, though conversation about him normally ended with tones of betrayal and anger as they remembered that he had been fooling them all along.

Classes resumed as normal, but it was apparent that most of the faculty was distracted. Professor Sprout was still a bit shaken over the real identity of her assistant, but fought to stay cheery for her classes. Professor Bridgewood was the one who was most obviously affected if her running into doors were any indication. She was also more nervous and jittery than usual and kept on forgetting things like her glasses on top of her head or her wand shoved in her hair bun.

Remus assured Harry that it was just a side-effect of the Ministry's Obliviators going through her memory, and she was just having a hard time figuring out which memories were real, resulting in her severe disorientation. It would be gone once the investigation on her memories was done.

There was an evident change in Professor McGonagall as well. During the past two days, she was scarcely seen walking the hallways unlike before when she made it a point to personally supervise her students. Despite the absence of her presence, Harry and the rest kept their noses out of the Carrow issue just as they promised her – unless, of course, the Aurors patrolling Hogwarts just so happened to be talking loudly and they just so happened to be within earshot.

Surprisingly, Draco didn't have any more coughing fits. Snape said that the Ashwinder Eggs in the Amortentia that he drank probably did more good than bad, as the last fit that Draco experienced had him coughing up enough of the blood mixed with the Erumpent Exploding Fluid. Draco told them that the light shining around people haven't disappeared yet however, informing all of them that the botched up potion wasn't completely out of Draco's system yet.

Other than that, they occupied themselves with dutifully listening to class and doing their homework, except for Neville who was discharged from the Hospital Wing only on the second day.

As Neville had predicted, McGonagall already did send his grandmother a letter about her grandson's well-being, and Augusta Longbottom had personally and suddenly come to Hogwarts like a thunderstorm to fuss about him, admonish him, and then fuss about him some more. She arrived at the same time Blaise was there for a visit (carrying with him a box of chocolate frogs) and Neville almost fainted from all the embarrassment at having Blaise witness how his grandmother had lectured him about being more focused and less bumbling.

Despite her harsh words though, she presented to him a new wand, one she acquired from Ollivander. She merely had to enumerate the components of Neville's last wand, and the old man's face had sparked like a light bulb and he was off to disappear within the numerous shelves in his shop. She reprimanded Neville some more on how this was already his third wand and Blaise was looking at Neville sympathetically from behind her and Neville just wanted to crawl under the covers and never, ever emerge again.

Then, as she was preparing to leave, her face softened as she turned to him and patted his cheek softly. "You take care now, Neville," she said, the worry flitting across her face for just a moment before it was replaced by the usual cool demeanor of traditional purebloods. She nodded to Blaise as goodbye and briskly made her way to the door with a mutter of "Now excuse me while I join the Aurors in searching for that bloody scoundrel so that I may crush his bones into dust one by one."

Blaise realized two things in succession: first, with a growing dread, that Augusta Longbottom was a rather big obstacle for him to pass through in the courting of Neville; and second, he was actually already thinking of really, finally courting Neville. He grinned. It was good that he was always up for challenges.