-͟͟͞☆ Chapter 11

𝗡𝗼𝘄 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴:
"Liam Bennet"
01:53 ━━━━●───── 07:58

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🛸✮☄

“A hug is worth a thousand words. A friend is worth more."
-Charles Caleb

THIRD PERSON POV 

"Catch me, catch me," A little girl laughed, running around in circles, clapping her hands loudly. It was a summer morning as the sun glowed brightly in the sky, with birds chirping around. 

"Little girl? Where did a little girl came from now?" Rabastan asked confused looking at the book in Regulus hand. "Maybe a memory or something" Evan replied.

A girl, a little older than the former, was running behind her, with a huge grin on her face. Just like the two girls, two butterflies were flying in the garden, circling around each other. 

"Aww that's so cute" Alice whispered with a smile.

"Don't run so fast my star, you'll fall down" The older girl called out as the younger one turned back to her just to poke out her tongue at the girl. "You are just saying this because you want to win" she laughed, running faster, leaving the girl behind in their garden, not minding the fact that she wasn't allowed to leave her house. 

After a few second of running when she didn't hear the sound of the older girl, she turned her head to look for, not seeing the stone that came in front of her causing her to fall on her face. 

"Ouch" She cried as her knees came in contact with the ground harshly while she balanced her upper body on her palms. 

"Are you okay?" She heard someone say, as she looked up to find a young boy around her age, bend over his knees and staring at her. 

"Who are these people? New characters?" Briony asked looking at Lily who shrugged. "Maybe"

"Is someone okay after they just fell down?" She asked as her eyes filled with tears after seeing her palms scratched and bleeding. "I-i am sorry, I am help you" He said holding her arms and helping her get up. 

The girl looked down to find both of her knees bleeding and her dress scrapped around that area. Her lips began to wobble as the boy's eyes widened in fright. "Are you going to cry?" He asked in shock as the girl looked at him with glassy eyes. 

"No, I am going to do magic" She said and then started crying loudly. 

"Well, that was kind of accurate" Marlene whispered scratching her head.

Suddenly the older girl came there panting and looked at the two of them with wide eyes. "Hey, what did you do to my sister?" She said coming and standing in front of the younger girl while glaring at the boy. 

"I-I didn't do anything, she fell  and she hurt, and now she crying" The boy said pointing to the girl who was sobbing while holding her sister's back of the dress. 

The older girl turned around and stared at her sister, " Adalyn don't cry, you know it makes you look weak, and if mummy sees you like this, things are gonna turn out for the worse" She said shaking the girl's hand but she didn't stop crying. 

"Adalyn?" Sirius mumbled, his brows furrowing in confusion. Is it a dream? A memory? Flashback?

"Goldy locks" Adalyn cried more loudly, "I am hurt" She said pointing at her knees. "What? Merlin, you're bleeding" Aurelia gasped as she sat on her knees to examine the girl's wounds. 

"It hurts, goldy locks" Adalyn said softly caressing her palms. "I-i know it does, but-but, we can't let mother or father see it Adalyn" Aurelia whispered and Adalyn's eyes widen as she remembered the incident of last month. 

"Last month?" Briony whispered, her eyes darting towards where her sister was sitting with her husband.

"If you ever disobey me again, ever do things you are not to, or every trouble us again, you'll have to turn into a beast every month" She remembered her father's lines and she didn't wanted to become that. It would be much more painful. 

"She told in third year, greyback" Remus mumbled staring at the ground.

"No no no" She said shaking her head, "Don't tell father, don't tell mother, I will hide it" She said covering her knees with both her hands but then quickly retreating it back. "It stings" She said looking at her sister who looked very conflicted. 

"What the f*ck?" Regulus said, a scowl forming on his face as his glared at those two people sitting in a corner. Is this what it was about?

"Merlin Prongs, what have they done with her" Sirius mumbled, his voice a breathy air, as he stared wide eyed at the book.

"Wait, I will come in a few minutes" Aurelia said and ran towards her home, "No goldy locks, don't leave me" Adalyn cried trying to run behind her but her knees hurted so much, she could not even make herself to walk. 

The girl stood there, tears streaming down her face as she waited for her sister to come back. 

"Little girl, come here" She heard someone say and turned to find the same boy from before running towards her with a small box and a bottle in his hands. 

"I always fall down in school, so my mumma taught me how to clean wounds, so I don't have to be in pain waiting for anyone" He said as he set the box down and gestured the little girl to sit down. 

"I am not a little girl, I am a brave girl" Adalyn sniffed, looking at the boy who laughed loudly. "Brave girl, ohk brave girl, sit down" He said. 

Briony smiled sadly, her little brave girl, oh how much she wished she could see her once and hug her with all the love she had.

"Mother said not to talk to anyone here, you all are mudbloods," Adalyn said as the boy frowned, "What is mudblood?" 

Sirius breath hitched in his throat. Mudblood. His daughter was being taught words like mudblood as if they're compliment to people.

"I don't know" Adalyn shrugged, "but she said never to even see in your direction" 

"Oh, but now you saw me, and you even talked to me, so it's ohk if you sit down and get your hurt cleaned, I promise your mother won't know about it and she won't scold you" He said as Adalyn looked at him with tilted head. 

"Promise?" She asked sticking out her pinky finger, "Promise" He said linking her pinky to her as the girl sniffed wiping her tears and sitting down on the ground. 

"They're so cute" Lily whispered with a small smile, as she suddenly remembered a certain childhood friend of hers too, who was like this.

The boy opened the bottle and poured it slowly onto her knees as she winced loudly, "It stings, you know burns, but it will be okay" He said keeping the bottle aside while opening the box. 

"I am Adalyn, Adalyn Scamander" She said as the boy looked at her with a toothy grin. "I am Liam. Liam Bennet" 

Adalyn woke up with a gasp as she looked around the room, her eyes wide in shock. Everyone was asleep, the curtains drawn to their bed and the moon glowed in the sky. 

"Oh so it was a dream" Marlene mumbled with a nod.

What did she just saw? And why? How? Just out of the blue? She took a deep breath and stared at her hands, which were shaking. It's alright, It's alright, she whispered patting her palms on her knees while taking deep breaths. Why the hell did she dream about this?

Without any context, without any thoughts , why did she dream about it. About him? Was this due to her powers? But whenever it happened before, she never dreamed about her visions. Was it because this was not a vision, but a memory? 

"He has some connections doesn't he? He did something to her" Rabastan said, his eyes hardening as he stared at the book.

Seamus dressed at top speed next morning and left the dormitory before Harry had even put on his socks. 

"Does he think he'll turn into a nutter if he stays in a room with me too long?" asked Harry loudly, as the hem of Seamus's robes whipped out of sight." Don't worry about it, Harry," Dean muttered, hoisting his schoolbag onto his shoulder. "He's just . . ." 

But apparently he was unable to say exactly what Seamus was, and after a slightly awkward pause followed him out of the room. 

Neville and Ron both gave Harry it's-his-problem-not-yours looks, but Harry was not much consoled. How much more of this was he going to have to take? 

"What's the matter?" asked Hermione five minutes later, catching up with Harry and Ron halfway across the common room as they all headed toward breakfast. "You look absolutely — oh for heaven's sake. "She was staring at the common room notice board, where a large new sign had been put up.

GALLONS OF GALLEONS! Pocket money failing to keep pace with your outgoings? Like to earn a little extra gold?
Contact Fred and George Weasley,
Gryffindor common room,
 for simple, part-time, virtually painless jobs
(WE REGRET THAT ALL WORK IS UNDERTAKEN AT APPLICANT'S OWN RISK)

"Let them do it, if people get to laugh, what's the problem?" Frank mumbled to himself.

"They are the limit," said Hermione grimly, taking down the sign, which Fred and George had pinned up over a poster giving the date of the first Hogsmeade weekend in October. "We'll have to talk to them, Ron." 

Ron looked positively alarmed. "Why?"

"Because we're prefects!" said Hermione, as they climbed out through the portrait hole. "It's up to us to stop this kind of thing!"

Ron said nothing; Harry could tell from his glum expression that the prospect of stopping Fred and George doing exactly what they liked was not one that he found inviting. 

"Anyway, what's up, Harry?" Hermione continued, as they walked down a flight of stairs lined with portraits of old witches and wizards, all of whom ignored them, being engrossed in their own conversation. "You look really angry about something."

"Seamus reckons Harry's lying about You-Know-Who," said Ron succinctly, when Harry did not respond. Hermione, whom Harry had expected to react angrily on his behalf ,sighed."Yes, Lavender thinks so too," she said gloomily.

"Been having a nice little chat with her about whether or not I'm a lying, attention-seeking prat, have you?" Harry said loudly.

 "No," said Hermione calmly, "I told her to keep her big fat mouth shut about you, actually. And it would be quite nice if you stopped jumping down Ron's and my throats, Harry, because if you haven't noticed, we're on your side." 

There was a short pause. "Sorry," said Harry in a low voice. "That's quite all right," said Hermione with dignity. Then she shook her head. "Don't you remember what Dumbledore said at the end-of-term feast last year?"

Harry and Ron both looked at her blankly, and Hermione sighed again. "About You-Know-Who. He said, 'His gift for spreading discord and enmity is very great. We can fight it only by showing an equally strong bond of friendship and trust —' "

"I don't even remember what I ate last night for dinner" Peter mumbled to Remus who shook his head, "because you didn't have dinner last night peter"

 "How do you remember stuff like that?" asked Ron, looking at her in admiration. "I listen, Ron," said Hermione with a touch of asperity. "So do I, but I still couldn't tell you exactly what —"

 "The point," Hermione pressed on loudly, "is that this sort of thing is exactly what Dumbledore was talking about. You-Know-Who's only been back two months, and we've started fighting among ourselves. And the Sorting Hat's warning was the same — stand together, be united —"

 "And Harry said it last night," retorted Ron, "if that means we're supposed to get matey with the Slytherins, fat chance."

 "Well, I think it's a pity we're not trying for a bit of inter-House unity," said Hermione crossly. They had reached the foot of the marble staircase. A line of fourth year Ravenclaws was crossing the entrance hall; they caught sight of Harry and hurried to form a tighter group, as though frightened he might attack stragglers.

"Yeah, we really ought to be trying to make friends with people like that," said Harry sarcastically. 

They followed the Ravenclaws into the Great Hall, looking instinctively at the staff table as they entered. Professor Grubbly- Plankwas chatting to Professor Sinistra, the Astronomy teacher, and Hagrid was once again conspicuous only by his absence. The enchanted ceiling above them echoed Harry's mood; it was a miserable rain-cloud gray. "Dumbledore didn't even mention how long that Grubbly-Plank woman's staying," he said, as they made their way across to the Gryffindor table.

 "Maybe . . ." said Hermione thoughtfully. "What?" said both Harry and Ron together. "Well . . . maybe he didn't want to draw attention to Hagrid not being here." 

"What d'you mean, draw attention to it?" said Ron, half laughing. "How could we not notice?" Before Hermione could answer, a tall black girl with long, braided hair had marched up to Harry. "Hi, Angelina."

"Hi," she said briskly, "good summer?" And without waiting for an answer, "Listen, I've been made Gryffindor Quidditch Captain."

"Will Harry become the captain? I really hope he does, but Adalyn's good in quidditch too, she should also get the chance to be the captain, well, that's messy" James mumbled to himself, his hands running the messy black locks of hair.

"Nice one," said Harry, grinning at her; he suspected Angelina's pep talks might not be as long-winded as Oliver Wood's had been, which could only be an improvement. 

"Yeah, well, we need a new Keeper now Oliver's left. Tryouts are on Friday at five o'clock and I want the whole team there, all right? Then we can see how the new person'll fit in."

 "Okay," said Harry, and she smiled at him and departed. "I'd forgotten Wood had left," said Hermione vaguely, sitting down beside Ron and pulling a plate of toast toward her. 

"I suppose that will make quite a difference to the team?"

"I s'pose," said Harry, taking the bench opposite. "He was a good Keeper. . . ."

 "Still, it won't hurt to have some new blood, will it?" said Ron. 

"He really wants to join the team, I think he'll get into it, I hope he does" Alice said to Frank who nodded.

They found Arilene and Adalyn already seated on the table, and joined them. 

"Good morning everyone" Arilene smiled looking at the three who greeted her back. Arilene gently nudged Adalyn, who was lost looking at her porridge. 

Startled the girl looked up to find the trio staring at her, "Morning" she mumbled and went back to staring at her porridge again. 

"What happened to her" Harry asked as Arilene sighed, "Just what happens with you, one time you're alright and the next angry or gloomy" She said as the boy just frowned at her. 

"I still don't understand that memory" Sirius said frowning at the floor. "What's there to understand? It was a memory of hers," Briony said looking at him with a confused gaze.

"It was an incomplete memory, something's missing or not been told. Why would it have affected her if it were some random memory? Why did she react on seeing that boy as if... as if.." Sirius trailed off, his frown deepening as the gears worked in his mind.

"I am not like that" 

With a whoosh and a clatter, hundreds of owls came soaring in through the upper windows. They descended all over the Hall, bringing letters and packages to their owners and showering the breakfasters with droplets of water; it was clearly raining hard outside. 

 Hermione, however, had to move her orange juice aside quickly to make way for a large damp barn owl bearing a sodden Daily Prophet in its beak.

"What are you still getting that for?" said Harry irritably, thinking of Seamus, as Hermione placed a Knut in the leather pouch on the owl's leg and it took off again. 

"I'm not bothering . . . load of rubbish, It's best to know what the enemy are saying," said Hermione darkly, and she unfurled the newspaper and disappeared behind it, not emerging until Harry and Ron had finished eating. 

"Nothing," she said simply, rolling up the newspaper and laying it down by her plate. "Nothing about you or Dumbledore or anything." Professor McGonagall was now moving along the table handing out schedules. 

"Look at today!" groaned Ron. "History of Magic, double Potions, Divination, and double Defense Against the Dark Arts . . . Binns, Snape, Trelawney, and that Umbridge woman all in one day! I wish Fred and George'd hurry up and get those Skiving Snack boxes sorted. . . ." 

"Do mine ears deceive me?" said Fred, arriving with George and squeezing onto the bench beside Harry. "Hogwarts prefects surely don't wish to skive off lessons?"

"Look what we've got today," said Ron grumpily, shoving his schedule under Fred's nose. "That's the worst Monday I've ever seen."

 "Fair point, little bro," said Fred, scanning the column. "You can have a bit of Nosebleed Nougat cheap if you like." 

 "Why's it cheap?" said Ron suspiciously. "Because you'll keep bleeding till you shrivel up, we haven't got an antidote yet," said George, helping himself to a kipper. "Cheers," said Ron moodily, pocketing his schedule, "but I think I'll take the lessons."

"That's a good one, that can use that in a fight, somehow forcefully feeding it. It'll weaken the enemy" Mary said as Marlene scoffed from beside her, "Sure Mary sure, maybe you should try it one day... forcefully feeding someone" She said giving the girl a smirk that clearly suggested something else, causing her to blush and look away.

 "And speaking of your Skiving Snack boxes," said Hermione, eyeing Fred and George beadily, "you can't advertise for testers on the Gryffindor notice board." 

"Says who?" said George, looking astonished. "Says me," said Hermione. "And Ron."

 "Leave me out of it," said Ron hastily. Hermione glared at him. Fred and George sniggered. "You'll be singing a different tune soon enough, Hermione," said Fred, thickly buttering a crumpet. "You're starting your fifth year, you'll be begging us for a Snack box before long." 

"And why would starting fifth year mean I want a Skiving Snack box?" asked Hermione. "Fifth year's O.W.L. year," said George. "So?"

 "So you've got your exams coming up, haven't you? They'll be keeping your noses so hard to that grindstone they'll be rubbed raw," said Fred with satisfaction. 

"Half our year had minor breakdowns coming up to O.W.L.s," said George happily. "Tears and tantrums . . . Patricia Stimpson kept coming over faint. . . ."

 "Kenneth Towler came out in boils, d'you remember?" said Fred reminiscently.

"That's 'cause you put Bulbadox Powder in his pajamas," said George. "Oh yeah," said Fred, grinning. "I'd forgotten. . . . Hard to keep track sometimes, isn't it?"

 "Anyway, it's a nightmare of a year, the fifth," said George. "If you  care about exam results anyway. Fred and I managed to keep our spirits up somehow." 

"— now that we've got our O.W.L.s," George said hastily. "I mean, do we really need N.E.W.T.s? But we didn't think Mum could take us leaving school early, not on top of Percy turning out to be the world's biggest prat."

 "We're not going to waste our last year here, though," said Fred, looking affectionately around at the Great Hall.

 "We're going to use it to do a bit of market research, find out exactly what the average Hogwarts student requires from his joke shop, carefully evaluate the results of our research, and then produce the products to fit the demand." 

"I wish they both were here, honestly, I'm done with this sh!t" Rabastan grumbled rolling his eyes. "Taking sides with the blood traitors Lestrange? Losing your touch are you" Evan mumbled looking at the boy with a sharp smirk.

"But where are you going to get the gold to start a joke shop?" asked Hermione skeptically. "You're going to need all the ingredients and materials — and premises too, I suppose. . . ." 

Harry did not look at the twins. His face felt hot; he deliberately dropped his fork and dived down to retrieve it. 

"Why is he feeling that way? Even if others know what's the problem in it" Alice asked looking at Frank who shrugged, "That's Harry Potter for you Aly"

He heard Fred say overhead, "Ask us no questions and we'll tell you no lies, Hermione. C'mon, George, if we get there early we might be able to sell a few Extendable Ears before Herbology." 

Harry emerged from under the table to see Fred and George walking away, each carrying a stack of toast. "What did that mean?" said Hermione, looking from Harry to Ron. " 'Ask us no questions . . .' Does that mean they've already got some gold to start a joke shop?" 

Adalyn who was previously looking at the porridge was now looking at Harry who found her gaze and made a hand sign to zip her lips. The girl just smiled a bit and showed him a thumbs up. 

"Aww he made her smile" Euphemia whispered with a small smile of her own.

History of Magic was by common consent the most boring subject ever devised by Wizard-kind. Professor Binns, their ghost teacher, had a wheezy, droning voice that was almost guaranteed to cause severe drowsiness within ten minutes, five in warm weather. 

Today they suffered through three quarters of an hour's droning on the subject of giant wars. Harry heard just enough within the first ten minutes to appreciate dimly that in another teacher's hands this subject might have been mildly interesting, but then his brain disengaged, and he spent the remaining thirty-five minutes playing hangman on a corner of his parchment with Ron, while Hermione shot them filthy looks out of the corner of her eye. 

"How would it be," she asked them coldly as they left the classroom for break "if I refused to lend you my notes this year?" 

"We'll ask for Arilene's" Harry said as the girl just rolled her eyes, "I am on hermione's side" 

"Adalyn?" Ron asked looking towards the girl who looked at them blankly, "I copy Arilene's" she muttered. 

"Poor them, I usually confiscate Moony's notes when he's sleeping" James said with a shrug.

"Then, we'd fail our O.W.L.s," said Ron. "If you want that on your conscience, Hermione . . ."

"Well, you'd deserve it," she snapped. "You don't even try to listen to him, do you?" 

"We do try," said Ron. "We just haven't got your brains or your memory or your concentration — you're just cleverer than we are —is it nice to rub it in?" 

"Oh, don't give me that rubbish," said Hermione, but she looked slightly mollified as she led the way out into the damp courtyard. A fine misty drizzle was falling, so that the people standing in huddles around the yard looked blurred at the edges.

 Harry, Ron, Arilene, Adalyn and Hermione chose a secluded corner under a heavily dripping balcony, turning up the collars of their robes against the chilly September air and talking about what Snape was likely to set them in the first lesson of the year. 

They had got as far as agreeing that it was likely to be something extremely difficult, just to catch them off guard after at wo-month holiday, when someone walked around the corner toward them. 

"Hello, Harry!" It was Cho Chang and what was more, she was on her own again. This was most unusual: Cho was almost always surrounded by a gang of giggling girls; Harry remembered the agony of trying to get her by herself to ask her to the Yule Ball.

"Well, this better be good, after that Train ride, I am not as horrified as before" James mumbled.

 "Hi," said Harry. 

"So did you . . . er. . . have a good summer?" He asked awkwardly not know what to talk to her now. It's not like she was a bad person, she was good, but-but harry didn't knew why, he didn't wanted to talk to any other girl now. Was it because Sirius warned him? Not entirely, but he now just had his thoughts on only one. 

"That's a man" James said with a proud grin.

 "Oh, it was all right, you know. . . ." 

"Is that a Tornados badge?" Ron demanded suddenly, pointing at the front of Cho's robes, to which a sky-blue badge emblazoned with a double gold T was pinned. "You don't support them, do you?" 

"Yeah, I do," said Cho. "Have you always supported them, or just since they started winning the league?" said Ron, in what Harry considered an unnecessarily accusatory tone of voice. "I've supported them since I was six," said Cho coolly. "Anyway . . .see you, Harry."

She walked away. Hermione waited until Cho was halfway across the courtyard before rounding on Ron. 

"You are so tactless!"
"What? I only asked her if —"

 "Couldn't you tell she wanted to talk to Harry on her own?" 

 "So? She could've done, I wasn't stopping —"

But Harry was grateful for Ron for asking the question. 

 "What on earth were you attacking her about her Quidditch team for?"

 "Attacking? I wasn't attacking her, I was only —" 

"Who cares if she supports the Tornados?"

"Oh Merlin, they fight more than Sirius and Briony did" Lily groaned shaking her head.

 "Oh, come on, half the people you see wearing those badges only bought them last season —"

"But what does it matter?" 

"It means they're not real fans, they're just jumping on the bandwagon —" 

"That's the bell," said Harry listlessly, because Ron and Hermione were bickering too loudly to hear it.

They did not stop arguing all the way down to Snape's dungeon, which gave Harry plenty of time to reflect that how last year he was dying to even say a few words to cho and now he doesn't want to do anything with her? And why? 

Cause now you want to think and talk to Adalyn, said a voice in his brain that caused Harry's brows to scrunch up. Why does he so suddenly wants to only talk to Adalyn and only think about her? What was wrong with him? 

"That's love my dear, You're in L-O-V-E" Marlene sang with a grin on her face.

He filed into the classroom behind Ron, Arilene, Adalyn and Hermione and followed them to their usual table at the back, ignoring the huffy, irritable noises now issuing from the two of them.

"Settle down," said Snape coldly, shutting the door behind him. There was no real need for the call to order; the moment the class  had heard the door close, quiet had fallen and all fidgeting stopped. Snape's mere presence was usually enough to ensure a class's silence. 

Snape eyed the class before his lips curled in annoyance, "Settle down with your partners assigned to you last year"

This lone statement caused the class to groan loudly. The Slytherins and Gryffindors eyed each other with disgust but none of them had the guts to defy the order of their professor. Seems like snape is doing the real house uniting work. 

"He's doing the real inter-house unity work" Alice mumbled eyeing snape who said stiffly in corner with his eyes fixed on the floor.

They all dragged their feet to their assigned table and almost everyone threw their bag on their seat in anger or annoyance. 

"Merlin give me strength" Adalyn mumbled as she saw Aeson coming towards their seat with a scowl on his face. "Lovely seeing my two favorite people in the world" He drawled out standing as far away from them as possible, "I would suggest not to even come an inch near me to infect me with your gross-"

but he stopped as soon as he saw the sliver knife shining in Adalyn's hand who was looking at it with deep concentration. 

"Just stay away from me" He grumbled taking out his books while keeping a close check on the girl causing Harry to snicker at him. 

Arilene stood quietly at the table without even looking in Rosier's direction and the boy, standing there with a blank face did the same. "Thank god this time I have to light the flame to start the fire" Astoria mumbled while staring at the two. 

"Before we begin today's lesson," said Snape, sweeping over to his desk and staring around at them all, "I think it appropriate to remind you that next June you will be sitting an important examination, during which you will prove how much you have learned about the composition and use of magical potions. Moronic though some of this class undoubtedly are, I expect you to scrape an 'Acceptable' iny our O.W.L., or suffer my . . . displeasure." 

His gaze lingered this time upon Neville, who gulped. "After this year, of course, many of you will cease studying with me," Snape went on. "I take only the very best into my N.E.W.T. Potions class, which means that some of us will certainly be saying good-bye."

His eyes rested on Harry and his lip curled. Harry glared back, feeling a grim pleasure at the idea that he would be able to give up Potions after fifth year.

"Well he has some guts to glare back a teacher" Fleamont mumbled looking at the book.

"But we have another year to go before that happy moment of farewell," said Snape softly, "so whether you are intending to attempt N.E.W.T. or not, I advise all of you to concentrate your efforts upon maintaining the high-pass level I have come to expect from my O.W.L. students. 

Today we will be mixing a potion that often comes up at Ordinary Wizarding Level: the Draught of Peace, a potion to calm anxiety and soothe agitation. Be warned: If you are too heavy-handed with the ingredients you will put the drinker into a heavy and sometimes irreversible sleep, so you will need to pay close attention to what you are doing." 

"Irreversible sleep? That's one way to say it" Rabastan mumbled with a raise of his brows.

"The ingredients and method"— Snape flicked his wand — "are on the blackboard" — (they appeared there) — "you will find everything you need" — he flicked his 

wand again — "in the store cupboard" — (the door of the said cupboard sprang open) — "you have an hour and a half and you all will be making your own separate potion, this isn't a group work . . . Start." 

 The ingredients had to be added to the cauldron in precisely the right order and quantities; the mixture had to be stirred exactly the right number of times, firstly in clockwise, then in counterclockwise directions; the heat of the flames on which it was simmering had to be lowered to exactly the right level for a specific number of minutes before the final ingredient was added.

 "A light silver vapor should now be rising from your potion," called Snape, with ten minutes left to go. 

Harry, who was sweating profusely, looked desperately around the dungeon. His own cauldron was issuing copious amounts of dark gray steam; Ron's was spitting green sparks. 

Lestrange's potion beside him looked an awful color of black with silver vapor rising. Was he doing this right or wrong? He looked beside in Adalyn's potion, to find her staring at it blankly.  Her cauldron was not even touched. What was she doing? 

"Hey Adalyn, what are you doing? Your potion? " He asked in a panic voice as the girl looked at him, "It'll take a minute" She whispered waving her wand as liquid sprang up in the cauldron with the perfect color of silver vapor evaporating from it. Harry's mouth hung open in disbelief, "How-how did you do it?" He asked as Adalyn shook his head, "It's not real" 

"What? Wait, how is that possible?" Briony whispered amused by the fact. "I don't knew there was a spell to do that" James said, his brows furrowing in confusion. "Not a legal one" Sirius mumbled, his voice low as he crosses his hands over his chest.

"What?" James asked leaning towards the boy who shook his head. "No, there isn't, maybe just bluff or something"

"What do you mean it's not real?" Harry asked as the girl just sighed, "I'll explain it afterwards, do you want me to do the same for you?" 

Before Harry had even a chance to reply Snape stopped at their table and  looked down at Harry with a horrible smirk on his face. 

"Potter, what is this supposed to be?" The Slytherins  of the class all looked up eagerly; they loved hearing Snape taunt Harry. "The Draught of Peace," said Harry tensely.

"Tell me, Potter," said Snape softly, "can you read?"

"No dear Lord Snape, he's been living on your mercy for fifteen years" James mumbled sarcastically.

Draco Malfoy laughed. "Yes, I can," said Harry, his fingers clenched tightly around his wand. "Read the third line of the instructions for me, Potter." Harry squinted at the blackboard; it was not easy to make out the instructions through the haze of multicolored steam now filling the dungeon. 

" 'Add powdered moonstone, stir three times counterclockwise, allow to simmer for seven minutes, then add two drops of syrup of hellebore.' "His heart sank. He had not added syrup of hellebore, but had proceeded straight to the fourth line of the instructions after allowing his potion to simmer for seven minutes. 

"Did you do everything on the third line, Potter?"

 "No," said Harry very quietly.

"I beg your pardon?" 

"No," said Harry, more loudly. "I forgot the hellebore. . . ." 

"I know you did, Potter, which means that this mess is utterly worthless. Evanesco"

"I feel bad" Lily mumbled, if someone vanished her potion in front of her. Well that was something she didn't even wanna think about.

The contents of Harry's potion vanished; he was left standing foolishly beside an empty cauldron.

 "Those of you who have managed to read the instructions, fill one flagon with a sample of your potion, label it clearly with your name, and bring it up to my desk for testing," said Snape. "Homework: twelve inches of parchment on the properties of moonstone and its uses in potion-making, to be handed in on Thursday. "While everyone around him filled their flagons, Harry cleared away his things, seething. 

But he was not alone, Adalyn waved her wand and the liquid vanished from there as she went outside the class without saying a word to anyone. Even tho the class has not ended yet. 

"How does Snape doesn't say anything to her?" Evan muttered confused glancing at the said man. "Who knows? He doesn't leave Potter's son, it's a surprise he's silent with his best friend's daughter" Rabastan said.

"He called her a blood traitor's daughter last year and practically insulted her in front of every student if you both remember" Regulus exclaimed rolling his eyes.

Harry stuffed his wand back into his bag and slumped down onto his seat, watching everyone else march up to Snape's desk with filled and corked flagons. When at long last the bell rang, Harry was first out of the dungeon and had already started his lunch by the time Ron ,Arilene and Hermione joined him in the Great Hall. The ceiling had turned an even murkier gray during the morning. Rain was lashing the high windows. 

"That was really unfair," said Hermione consolingly, sitting down next to Harry and helping herself to shepherd's pie. "Your potion wasn't nearly as bad as Goyle's, when he put it in his flagon the whole thing shattered and set his robes on fire." 

"Yeah, well," said Harry, glowering at his plate, "since when has Snape ever been fair to me?"

 Neither of the others answered; all three of them knew that Snape and Harry's mutual enmity had been absolute from the moment Harry had set foot in Hogwarts.

"I did think he might be a bit better this year," said Hermione in a disappointed voice. "I mean . . . you know . . ." She looked carefully around; there were half a dozen empty seats on either side of them and nobody was passing the table. ". . . Now he's in the Order and everything."

 "Poisonous toadstools don't change their spots," said Ron sagely. "Anyway, I've always thought Dumbledore was cracked trusting Snape, where's the evidence he ever really stopped working for You Know-Who?"

 "I think Dumbledore's probably got plenty of evidence, even if he doesn't share it with you, Ron," snapped Hermione. 

"Oh, shut up, the pair of you," said Harry heavily, as Ron opened his mouth to argue back. Hermione and Ron both froze, looking angry and offended. "Can't you give it a rest?" he said. "You're always having a go at each other, it's driving me mad." And abandoning his shepherd's pie, he swung his schoolbag back over his shoulder and left them sitting there. 

"Do you know where's Adalyn" Arilene asked Hermione and Ron who shook their head causing the girl to sigh. Now what happened with her?

He walked up the marble staircase two steps at a time, past the many students hurrying toward lunch. The anger that had just flared so unexpectedly still blazed inside him, and the vision of Ron and  Hermione's shocked faces afforded him a sense of deep satisfaction. Serve them right, he thought. Why can't they give it a rest? . . . Bickering all the time . . . It's enough to drive anyone up the wall

He walked up the astronomy tower. No lessons would be going on right now and he didn't have any intentions of attending the Divination class right now. 

"Chapter's over" Regulus said handing the book to Lucius with a scowl on his face, that he didn't even bother hiding.

SNEEK PEAK INTO NEXT CHAPTER

There was a collective intake of breath from the class, for none of them, apart from Ron and Hermione, had ever heard Harry talk about what had happened on the night that Cedric had died. They stared avidly from Harry to Professor Umbridge, who had raised her eyes and was staring at him without a trace of a fake smile on her face. "Cedric Diggory's death was a tragic accident," she said coldly. 

"The nurse at st. mungo's said the same when you were born, how pitiful" Adalyn said wiping a fake tear from her eyes causing Arilene to smack her head as the class attention diverted to her, "Oh please, listen to Harry, I was just humoring Miss. Dolores here" Adalyn said waving her hand as the woman glared at her before turning towards Harry. 

"It was murder," said Harry. He could feel himself shaking. He had  hardly talked to anyone about this, least of all thirty eagerly listening classmates. "Voldemort killed him, and you know it." Professor Umbridge's face was quite blank. For a moment he thought she was going to scream at him. Then she said, in her softest, most sweetly girlish voice, "Come here, Mr. Potter, dear."