Our time •|Harry Potters Twin Sister|• {book two}

Chapter 7

As the year grew on, we found ourselves with a lot of homework and studying. Harry, surprise surprise, had become the best in potions, of pure favouritism and cheating. But I wasn't bitter, not me, that's Hermione.

We barely understood what McGonagall was saying, even Hermione was asking her to repeat the instrument she was giving.

Non-verbal spells were now expected, not only in Defense Against the Dark Arts, but in Charms and Transfiguration too. Luckily I had been practising the non-verbal spells in my free time as well.

One result of their enormous workload and the frantic hours of practicing non-verbal spells was that Harry, Ron, Hermione and I had so far been unable to find time to go and visit Hagrid. He had stopped coming to meals at the staff table, an ominous sign, and on the few occasions when they had passed him in the corridors or out in the grounds, he had mysteriously failed to notice them or hear their greetings.

"We've got to go and explain," said Hermione, looking up at Hagrid's huge empty chair at the staff table the following Saturday at breakfast.

"We've got Quidditch tryouts this morning!" said Ron. "And we're supposed to be practicing that Aguamenti Charm from Flitwick! Anyway, explain what? How are we going to tell him we hated his stupid subject?"

"We didn't hate it!" said Hermione.

"Speak for yourself, I haven't forgotten the Skrewts," said Ron darkly. "And I'm telling you now, we've had a narrow escape. You didn't hear him going on about his gormless brother -- we'd have been teaching Grawp how to tie his shoelaces if we'd stayed. "

"I hate not talking to Hagrid," said Hermione, looking upset.

"We'll go down after Quidditch," Harry assured her. He too was missing Hagrid, although like Ron he thought that they were better off without Grawp in their lives. "But trials might take all morning, the number of people who have applied. " He felt slightly nervous at confronting the first hurdle of his Captaincy. "I dunno why the team's this popular all of a sudden. "

"Oh, come on, Harry," said Hermione, suddenly impatient. "It's not Quidditch that's popular, it's you! You've never been more interesting, and frankly, you've never been more fanciable. "

Ron gagged on a large piece of kipper just as I snorted. Hermione spared us one look of disdain before turning back to Harry.

"Everyone knows you've been telling the truth now, don't they? The whole Wizarding world has had to admit that you were right about Voldemort being back and that you really have fought him twice in the last two years and escaped both times. And now they're calling you 'the Chosen One'--well, come on, can't you see why people are fascinated by you?"

Mine and Rons laughing became louder as we watched Harry turn red and pulled his collar.

"And you've been through all that persecution from the Ministry when they were trying to make out you were unstable and a liar. You can still see the marks on the back of your hand where that evil woman made you write with your own blood, but you stuck to your story anyway. . . "

"You can still see where those brains got hold of me in the Ministry, look," said Ron, shaking back his sleeves.

I rolled my eyes.

"And it doesn't hurt that you've grown about a foot over the summer either," Hermione finished, ignoring Ron.

"I'm tall," said Ron inconsequentially.