The Potter Twins and the Half-Blood Prince {6}

6. The Half-Blood Prince

"Heaven forbid someone whispers 'he's part of some scheme'. Your enemies whisper so you have to scream" ~ First Burn, Lin-Manuel Miranda

Harry, Riley, and Ron meet Hermione and me in the common room before breakfast. Clearly hoping for some support in this theory, Harry wastes no time in telling Hermione what he supposedly overheard Draco saying on the Hogwarts Express. 

"But he was obviously showing off for Parkinson, wasn't he?" Ron interjects before Hermione can say anything. 

"Well," she says uncertainly, "I don't know. It would be like Malfoy to make himself seem more important than he is...but that's a big lie to tell..."

"Exactly," Harry says, but he can't press the point any further, because so many people are trying to listen in on our conversation, not to mention staring and whispering at us behind their hands. 

"It's rude to point," Riley calls out to a particularly minuscule first-year boy as we join the queue to climb out of the portrait hole. Riley laughs when the boy turns bright red. "I love being a sixth year, all of the little first-years get all terrified whenever we look at them."

"What a strange thing to enjoy," I snigger. "Don't forget that we get free periods, too. Extra time to relax, thank god."

"We're going to need that time for studying, Haylee!" Hermione says as we set off down the corridor. 

"Yeah, but not today," says Ron. "Today's going to be a real loss, I reckon."

Riley and I walk ahead when Hermione confiscates a Fanged Frisbee off of a group of boys, exhibiting yet another prime example of Ron and Hermione's conflicting morals as prefects. Riley looks over his shoulder a couple of times, and then a sombre look appears on his face. 

"I don't want to give Harry the satisfaction," he says quietly as we approach the Gryffindor table. "But I have to admit; Draco and Tessa are acting very strangely." He casts a suspicious eye over the Slytherin table. "Look, I'm not saying that they're...Death Eaters," he lowers his voice to a hiss, "but something's up. After everything you went through last year, Draco attacking Harry is a serious step back, don't you think? And Tessa has just been off recently; going back to her natural hair colour, the way she acts around us...Something happened over the holidays, Haylee. Harry is still grasping at straws, but we're both idiots if we can't see that something's changed."

Feeling considerably less cheerful, I sit down for breakfast with the others, debating how Hagrid will react when he discovers none of us is taking his class this year. After we've finished eating, we remain in our places and wait for McGonagall to descent from the staff table. The distribution of class timetables is far more complicated this year, for McGonagall needs to confirm that everybody achieved the necessary O.W.L grades to continue with our chosen N.E.W.Ts.

Hermione is immediately cleared to continue with Charms, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, Herbology, Arithmancy, Ancient Runes, and Potions, and shoots off to her first period of Ancient Runes instantly. Neville, however, takes a little longer to sort out. 

"Herbology, fine," McGonagall says. "Professor Sprout will be delighted to see you back with an 'Outstanding' O.W.L. And you qualify for Defence Against the Dark Arts with  'Exceeds Expectations'. But the problem is with Transfiguration. I'm sorry, Longbottom, but an 'Acceptable' really isn't good enough to continue with N.E.W.T level. I just don't think you'll be able to cope with the coursework."

Neville hangs his head. Professor McGonagall peers at him through her square spectacles.

"Why do you want to continue with Transfiguration, anyway? I've never had the impression that you particularly enjoyed it. "

Neville looks miserable and mutters something about "my grandmother wants. "

"Hmph," snorts Professor McGonagall. "It's high time your grandmother learned to be proud of the grandson she's got, rather than the one she thinks she ought to have--particularly after what happened at the Ministry. "

Neville turns very pink and blinks confusedly; Professor McGonagall has never paid him a compliment before.

"I'm sorry, Longbottom, but I cannot let you into my N. E. W. T. class. I see that you have an 'Exceeds Expectations' in Charm, however--why not try for a N. E. W. T. in Charms?"

"My grandmother thinks Charms is a soft option," mumbles Neville.

"Take Charms," says Professor McGonagall, "and I shall drop Augusta a line reminding her that just because she failed her Charms O. W. L. , the subject is not necessarily worthless. " Smiling slightly at the look of delighted incredulity on Neville's face, Professor McGonagall taps a blank schedule with the tip of her wand and hands it, now carrying details of his new classes, to Neville.