The Unexpected Task [H.P.]

Chapter 16 - A Dance Lesson

That night, after Harry, Ron, Hermione (who had thankfully stopped crying) and I had had enough of the raging party going on in the Gryffindor Common room, the four of us stepped out of the portrait hole, and clambered to the Owlery so Harry could recount the entirety of the first task in a letter to Sirius. The three of us watched as Harry scribbled out the events, page after page of blow-by-blow commentary. I looked over his shoulder, thinking even Ludo Bagman would curl his toes at the detail.

Finally, he signed the last page and stood, stretching out, smiling at the small bundle of parchment in which he had spent nearly half an hour doting over. I'd never seen Harry so focused, especially not when writing. As he tied the letter to Hedwig's leg, which she stuck out proudly, I watched as the Sun slipped further below the rolling mountains around the school, which were no less vibrant and green than they were the day I first arrived here, now nearly 3 months ago. I watched as my friends gathered their things and we began to descend the long spiral stairs out of the owlery, and thought about how much had changed. Three months ago, I was so worried, so scared, and now I felt like that had never happened. Everything felt so right, and for a while, I'd forgotten my life had been anything other than what it is here, at Hogwarts, with Harry, Ron and Hermione by my side. I'd never thanked them for their welcoming, their kindness as I adjusted, answering every question I had about the castle, defending me from Malfoy, even for guiding me through the Corridors I still hadn't mastered my way around.

Now, nearly a week later in the beginning stages of December, which brought even colder wind, I was beginning to see that they had failed to mention one thing, at least. But nothing could have prepared me for how busy and stressful the end of a term at Hogwarts could be. Every one of our classes seemed to be amping up in terms of work, as each professor had assigned the date of our final assessment or assignment. Hermione seemed to be spending even longer hours in the library than usual. I often thought about joining her, even asking a couple of times if she didn't mind me coming along, but she always shook her head, telling me that someone had to watch over Harry and Ron. I, at the time, agreed. And seeing them as they encountered more difficult, pressing school work, I wondered how they could ever get along without her as they struggled with even the less difficult work.

However, in some classes, such as Charms and Care of Magical Creatures, Professor Flitwick and Hagrid didn't expect much of us, and the former spent much of our last classes with him this term talking to Harry about his "perfect summoning charm" he had used, which he attributed to Hermione and I, who sat, pink-cheeked at his compliment. In our other classes, we were not so lucky. Professors McGonagall and Moody clearly planned to work us until the last possible second, and Snape asked us to procure an essay of two feet on a potion of our choosing before our last class, where he promised to test us on our antidote making skill.

On a particularly cold Tuesday, we endured a particularly challenging Transfiguration class where we were presented with the challenge of transfiguring a Guinea Fowl into a Guinea Pig, at which half the class failed to succeed. This included Harry and Ron, who sat behind Hermione and I, battling each other with fake wands from Fred and George. Upon the clanking of the lock on the cage holding the Guinea Pigs securing, of which half still sported feathers, Professor McGonagall cleared her throat, eyes slanted as she watched Harry and Ron turn to face her, each holding a comical item as their wands turned into toys.

"Now that Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley have both decided to behave, I have something to say to you all." She started, her mouth pressed into a thin line as she addressed the room. "The Yule Ball is approaching -" every girl in the room aside from Emorie and Hermione seemed to inhale at the very same moment "-a traditional part of The Triwizard Tournament and an excellent way to promote... er... socialization with the other Wizarding Schools."