The author was distracted as Sirius entered the large room this time; his face bore a troubled look, and he would occasionally stretch his neck, reaching up to massage it slightly.

"Neck ache?" Sirius asked, and the author rolled his eyes.

"I wish that was all," he muttered. "Car crash. I think I have some minor whiplash, and my car's probably gonna have to be wrecked, and I have to pay my insurance company a five-hundred dollar deductible plus find a new car, since mine may have to be wrecked."

Sirius only stared, starting to speak, but the author wasn't done.

"Oh, and let's not forget that my insurance rate's gonna soar," he made a flying gesture with his hand, letting his pen fly out of his hand.

"Accio," Sirius muttered, and the pen flew back to him. He handed it to the author.

"Thanks," he grumbled.

"Feel better?" Sirius asked, and the author nodded, sighing in relief. "You lived, at least. Harry's told me about car crashes, and they can be fatal. Be glad you're still here, and buck up."

"It nearly was fatal," the author nodded, looking up at the ceiling. "Suppose you're right. Just think Zen. 'Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift. That's why they call it the present'," he grinned at Sirius, holding out the next manuscript, and Sirius chuckled, shaking his head as he read it.

Chapter Three: Pay attention; there'll be a seminar on this next week

Harry,

I know you get Friday afternoons off, so how would you like to come and have a cup of tea around three with me? I want to hear all about your first week. Send us an answer back with Hedwig.

Hagrid

Harry smiled as he pulled a pen from his pocket (he'd taken to using one in lieu of a quill and parchment when not in class) and scribbled on the back.

Hagrid,

I'd love to come have tea with you. You can meet my new friends. He wrote this and sent it off with Hedwig with a grateful pat.

"Harry, your owl is beautiful," Cho said in awe as Hedwig took off. Harry smiled as he watched the bird exit the Great Hall.

"Hagrid bought her for me," he said, remembering the event fondly. He turned to Cho. "Do you want to go meet him after school Friday?"

"Isn't he the gamekeeper?" Marietta asked apprehensively. Harry nodded at her. "He's a little…scary."

"He's really nice," Harry said defensively. "He looks…a bit frightening, yes, but he's a big softie."

"We'd love to meet Hagrid," Hermione said, glaring at Marietta, who had the grace to look ashamed. "We'll all go with you."

……

So it was that they walked through the brisk afternoon air that Friday, bound for the large hut on the edge of the forest. Harry led the way up the front steps and knocked on the massive door. A great, booming bark sounded inside, and they all jumped at the noise; Hagrid had a dog, it seemed.

"Out the way, Fang!" Hagrid said, opening the door a crack. A giant dog's nose poked out before being shoved back by Hagrid's massive hand. "Out the way, yeh dozey dog! C'mon in," he said to the four, opening the door. Harry led the way inside. The cabin was all one enormous room inside, and Harry felt even smaller in comparison to the Hagrid-size furniture decorating the room. The table alone was large enough to set up a normal-size table and chairs on top of it. Near the door, Hagrid held the collar of a struggling boarhound, presumably Fang.

"Hello, Hagrid," Harry said as the girls fell in step behind him. "This is Hermione, Cho, and Marietta," the girls waved in turn as they were introduced.

"Blimey, Harry," Hagrid said, his eyes crinkling as he smiled. "Yeh've definitely taken after yer father. Couldn' keep the ladies away, tha' one."

Harry blushed, and Cho and Marietta burst out laughing. Hermione couldn't hold back a giggle, but she hugged Harry.

"Well, it's Harry's fault for being so adorable," she said, and Harry blushed more, beginning to question his decision to bring the girls along.

"Well, yeh lot make yerselves comfortable," Hagrid said, letting go of Fang's collar. He bound over and slid to a stop next to Marietta, nudging her hand with his nose. She scratched the dog's ears, and a thumping filled the hut as one of his massive paws kicked against the floor. Hagrid wandered over to his fireplace and retrieved a boiling kettle. "Tea?"

"Please," they all chorused, and Harry sat in a chair that could have comfortably sat three normal-sized people; indeed, Hermione and Cho joined him on either side, smiling.

"So, how did yeh meet Harry?" Hagrid asked, pouring them all some tea. "On the platform?"

"Yes, Hagrid, and I've been meaning to talk to you about that," Harry said in mock sternness, fixing Hagrid with a calculating eye. "You told me all you knew about the wizard world, but you never mentioned how to get onto Platform Nine and Three-Quarters."

Hagrid's eyes widened. "Oh," he said with a sheepish grin. "Whoops."

Harry laughed, and Hagrid chuckled as well. "Sorry 'bout tha', Harry," he said. "Think 'bout it, though. If I'd told yeh, yeh wouldn've met these three."

"I guess not," Harry said, smiling at his three companions. "That wouldn't be any fun."

"Aww," the three girls chorused, and Hermione and Cho kissed him on each cheek.

"Hagrid," Marietta said thoughtfully, eyeing the newspaper on the table. "Someone broke into Gringotts?"

"What?" Harry looked up, intrigued. Marietta handed the newspaper across the table to him, and he read the article, which was apparently a follow-up to an article about a break-in at Gringott's bank. One thing stuck out to Harry, though.

"Hagrid, the break-in happened the day we were at Gringotts," he said. "We could have seen whoever did it!"

"Harry, yeh came here ter talk abou' yer classes, righ'?" Hagrid replied, very obviously (and poorly) attempting to change the subject. "Tell me how it went."

"'The vault had in fact been emptied earlier the same day'," Hermione read, and Harry looked up at Hagrid once more.

"Was that that grubby little package you – "

"Uh-oh, it looks like rain!" Hagrid said, cutting off Harry's question. "You lot better git back up ter the castle after yeh finish yer tea."

Hagrid would hear no more questions about the mysterious contents of the vault (his attempts to divert the subject growing increasingly drastic), though he chided them once he found out about the boycott of Snape's classes.

"I'm not sayin' he's the nicest sort," he said, "but Dumbledore trusts him."

"That's perfectly fine," Marietta said with a shrug. "I just don't want him as a teacher."

"Yeah, Hagrid," Cho agreed, "he's a total git."

"And now that we've got a proper place to learn, we're doing even better," Hermione said. "I think we're actually learning more than we would with Professor Snape."

"And it's fun to study with all of the other students," Harry said with a smile. "We even met a few Slytherins that aren't half bad."

Hagrid couldn't argue with that point; school was about making friends and learning.

A light rain began shortly after four, and Hagrid sent them back up to the castle, and not a moment too soon; as soon as they entered the common room, the sky opened up, and rain began falling in sheets, with no sign of letting up any time soon.

"Ah, man," Cho muttered, glaring out at the grounds. "I was going to practice for quidditch tryouts tonight."

"When are they?" Harry asked, looking up from A Beginner's Guide to Potion-Making.

"Next weekend," Cho said. "They want to give you ickle firsties a chance to learn to fly."

Harry grinned. He'd seen the notice about quidditch training yesterday. This Wednesday, the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs would be learning to fly with the quidditch instructor, Madame Hooch, who also happened to be the referee in the inter-house quidditch matches. He couldn't wait to get out and fly.

"Look at him," Marietta laughed, nudging Harry. "He's so excited."

"Maybe you'll be so good they'll let you on the team, too," Cho said, smiling and resting her head on Harry's shoulder. "Then we could go to practice together!"

"First years don't normally play on the quidditch teams," Hermione said, scribbling away at a Transfiguration essay that wasn't due for two weeks. "They aren't even allowed their own brooms."

"Oh, don't be such a spoilsport," Cho pouted. "Every rule has exceptions."

"Let's hope not every rule," Hermione muttered, going back to her essay. Cho laughed and hugged Harry, seemingly just because she felt like it. Harry didn't mind; a small part of him rather liked the attention he was getting from the girls. Usually, the only attention he got was a beating or Uncle Vernon yelling at him for overcooking dinner. As he thought about dinner, his stomach growled, and Cho giggled.

"Dinnertime?" she asked, releasing him, and Harry nodded. "Come on, before they finish the veal."

……

"Good afternoon, first years," the silver-haired, hawk-eyed woman said, striding between the two rows of first years, one Ravencalw, one Hufflepuff, all standing next to old, worn-looking brooms.

"Good afternoon, Madame Hooch," they chorused.

"Welcome to your first, flying lesson," Madame Hooch said, turning to face them. "Everyone step up to the left side of your broom."

They hastened to do so, Harry looking down at his broom eagerly. It seemed to sense this, as it quivered. Next to him, Terry Boot eyed his broom in apprehension.

"Now, say clearly, 'Up!'," Madame Hooch instructed them.

"Up!" Harry said firmly, and his broom shot straight to his hand, causing him to wobble slightly with the force. Terry's rolled slightly, bobbing from the ground once and landing again. Across from him, Susan Bones was eyeing him enviously, her broom having not even moved from its stationary position on the ground.

"How do you do that?" she asked, and Harry shrugged.

"You have to want to fly, I guess," he said.

When everyone had gotten their brooms (either by Harry's method or from simply picking them up), Madame Hooch instructed them on proper mounting procedure (sending Padma Patil and Su Li into a fit of giggles).

"On the count of three, I will blow on my whistle," Madame Hooch said. "I want you to kick off from the ground hard. Fly up about ten feet, hover for a moment, and come right back down. Any showboating, and you will be given detention. Understand?"

"Yes, Madame Hooch," they chorused.

"On my whistle, then," she said. "One…two…three."

She blew on her whistle, and Harry kicked the ground, his broom taking to the air, although it seemed to pick up on his exuberance, as it flew much faster than some of the others, zooming to twenty feet before Harry had even registered taking off. He barely kept hold of the broom handle as he somehow managed a barrel roll before reaching twenty five feet. He stopped, grinning. Now that was fun!

"Harry Potter!" Madame Hooch said. "Down here this instant!"

Smiling sheepishly, Harry turned and dived for the ground, jumping from the broom before it had even stopped.

"I'm sorry, Madame Hooch," he said, tottering to a halt. "I just…couldn't control it."

"You looked perfectly in control to me," Madame Hooch said, her gaze stern, but lacking anger. She seemed…intrigued. "That wasn't your first time on a broom, was it?"

"It was," Harry said, looking around and realizing he was getting a few jealous looks (and some admiring ones from the girls). Madame Hooch continued to gaze at him calculatingly before shaking her head.

"Ten points from Ravenclaw," Madame Hooch said. "And be glad it's not detention. I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt on whether or not you actually knew what you were doing."

……

Meanwhile, in the Ravenclaw common room, three girls sat in their usual chairs by the fire, one reading a book while two played chess.

"So, what do you guys think of Harry?" Marietta asked, prodding one of her rooks to take a bishop.

"He's adorable," Cho said immediately, looking calculatingly at the board. "And he's really sweet. He's like the perfect little brother."

"Yeah, most boys that age are…well, rude," Hermione said, perusing Quidditch Through the Ages. "He's really polite."

"And did you notice he's starting to come out of his shell a little?" Marietta said. "I don't think he's ever had friends before."

"Well, Professor Flitwick told me that Dumbledore looked into his situation at home and did something about it," Hermione said, turning a page. "Hopefully, with them being nicer to him, he'll start to really open up."

"And his eyes…" Cho said, most likely not paying attention, the chess game forgotten. "They're so…intense…. When I see them, I just wanna…."

"Cho, you just got done saying how he's like a little brother," Hermione said with an amused chuckle. "And he's only eleven."

"I know," Cho said. "But imagine what he'll look like all grown up." She smiled, a faraway look in her eyes. "Hmm, with a deep, husky voice and broad shoulders, strong arms that wrap around you and make you feel all safe…. He'll lean in and whisper into your ear…"

As Cho was waxing poetic about Harry, the boy in question had walked up behind her chair and observed her curiously. Smiling mischievously, he leaned into Cho's ear.

"Cho," he breathed, and Cho jumped, turning and seeing him laugh.

"Harry!"

"So, who were you talking about? Some fifth year boy or something?" Harry cocked his head curiously. Cho smiled and kissed his cheek.

"In a manner of speaking," she said. "So, how did quidditch class go?"

"Great!" Harry said, his eyes lighting up. "Flying's fun, and it's really easy for me!"

"Really?" Cho asked, turning pink. "I fell of the broom the first time I tried to fly. How did you do?" She patted the spot next to her. Harry wedged into the oversized armchair next to her, and Cho wrapped her arm around him.

"Well, first they told us to stand next to the broom and say 'Up!', so we did, and the broom jumped up right away!" Harry finished with a smile, practically jumping in his seat. "Then we took off, and I accidentally went higher than we were supposed to, but Madame Hooch only took off some points."

"You should be more careful when flying," Hermione said, though she was grinning at his exuberance. "Cho broke her arm in four places the first time she rode a broom."

"Three places!" Cho corrected, pinking. "The fourth was just a fracture."

"Which is just a small break," Hermione added, rolling her eyes at Harry, who laughed. "Anyway, Cho, should you really be playing chess at a time like this? That essay for Sprout is due in two days."

"Oh, bugger!" Cho said, sitting up and removing her arm from around Harry. "Hermione, I forgot! Help!"

Hermione smiled. "Go get your things," she said in a mock resigned voice.

"Take over for me, Harry," Cho said, ruffling his hair and leaving the chair. Harry stared at the chess pieces in confusion for a moment, having never played the game.

"Um…."

"Ready yourselves, lads," the king piece said to his subjects, drawing his tiny black sword. "We march to our doom."

……

"Don't be nervous, Cho."

"You'll do just fine."

"And if not, we promise we'll only love you a little less."

"Marietta!" Hermione scolded the redhead, who smiled sheepishly and hugged Cho.

"You'll do fine," she said. "I've seen you practicing on your own. You're definitely seeker material."

"Really?"

"Of course," Harry said, grinning at her. "I've seen you a couple times. You'll do great."

Cho smiled at Harry, leaning in and tapping her cheek. "Kiss for good luck?"

Harry leaned in and pecked her on the cheek, turning red as Cho squealed giddily.

"Now I can't lose!" she said, pumping her fist triumphantly and taking off for the pitch.

"Let's just pretend to not know her," Marietta whispered to Hermione, who nodded.

……

Cho took a deep breath as the Ravenclaw team captain, Stephen Cornfoot (who was handsome, Cho noted, though his ears protruded slightly) paced in front of the prospective Seekers, seven in total.

"You're all here because you want to be the seeker on the Ravenclaw quidditch team," he said. "Seekers are often considered the most important position on a quidditch team. The seeker is solely responsible for ending the game and ending it quickly. A lot of strategy goes into seeking as well. What if your team is two hundred points behind? Do you catch the snitch to end the game or wait until you have a chance at winning? It's a high-pressure position. Do you all think you can handle it?"

Cho nodded, though Stephen didn't see. He nodded at one of the chasers, Stretton, Cho remembered, who held up a small golden snitch.

"The rules are simple," Stephen said. "First to catch the snitch is seeker." Stretton released the snitch, and Stephen stared them down for a few seconds. "Go."

Cho jumped onto her Cleansweep Five and took off along with the other seekers. In the stands, she saw Harry waving at her and felt heartened. She had to win for Harry.

Weaving between two other contenders, she pulled up, thinking of the Phillip Worely's advice. The Tutshill Tornadoes seeker always said:

"Focus, but relax. When you find that point where you can see everything but not get caught up in anything, that's when you're thinking like a seeker. And always watch for the gold."

The gold…. Watch for the gold….

"Go Cho!" Harry called as she swooped by him, and Cho looked back to grin at him, gasping when she saw a gleam of gold three feet above his head. She swerved around and shot straight at him, watching as his look changed to one of shock and then terror. Cho kicked up the speed, adjusting her aim and reaching out her arm. Spinning, she just felt her elbow skim the top of Harry's head as she snatched up the snitch, barely pulling up in time to avoid hitting the back wall of the stands. As she stopped, a horn blared.

"Congratulations, Cho Chang!" Stephen's magically magnified voice said. "The new Ravenclaw seeker!"

……

"It's really late," Hermione whispered, looking nervously around the entrance hall. "We shouldn't have stayed out so late."

"Oh, relax," Cho said, though her eyes darted around the room as well. "What's the worst that could happen?"

"Never ask that!" Marietta hissed, coming up behind them. "Haven't you ever seen the movies?"

"What's a movie?" Cho asked in confusion, and Marietta rolled her eyes. "Look, we get caught, we get a few detentions, no big deal."

"Are detentions bad?" Harry asked, and Cho shrugged.

"Depends on who you serve them with," she whispered as they climbed the marble stairs. "Snape gave the worst ones with the most manual labor. Filch usually just makes you clean or something."

"Still, you should try to avoid getting them," Hermione said sternly. "Especially for a silly reason like wanting to stay out late and fly," she added, fixing Cho with a glare. Cho only smiled back and hugged Harry.

"I wanted to see how Harry flies," she said. "You're really good. Stretton is leaving at the end of the year, so there'll be a chaser post free. You could play next year when you get your own broom!"

"Really?" Harry asked, hopeful. "I'm that good?"

"You're a natural," Marietta added. "We should talk to Cornfoot about maybe making you a reserve chaser. Stretton is really focusing on his NEWTs a lot this year."

"As he should," Hermione added in a mutter.

"Newts?" Harry asked. Was there some sort of class project involving taking care of a newt?

"NEWTs," Hermione repeated. "It stands for Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests, which is a silly same in my opinion, but they're the seventh year standardized tests. You can't graduate from Hogwarts without passing them and OWLs."

"Ordinary Wizarding Levels," Marietta added at Harry's perplexed look. "A slightly more normal name. Fifth years take OWLs. Your results on the OWLs and NEWTs pretty much shape your future as a wizard."

Harry nodded, committing this information to his growing knowledge of wizard life. Now that he thought about it, he had heard a couple of fifth years talking about OWLs in their last Potions study group. He looked up to see Hermione smiling at him.

"What?" he asked.

"I know that look," Hermione said as they climbed another stairway. "You're like me, absorbing everything you hear about this world to learn as fast as possible."

Harry nodded sheepishly. "I have a lot of catching up to do. I've been sort of dumped into all this. They need an instruction manual for muggle-born and muggle-raised kids."

"Tell me about it," Hermione said. "I read all I could, but not a lot of kids like reading – "

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!" a high voice cackled, and the foursome jumped as a man dressed not unlike a court jester seemed to float through the floor, wearing an impossibly wide smile as he leered down at them. "Students out so late? Tisk, tisk, that won't do."

"Peeves, please move," Hermione said exasperatedly, the first to recover from the shock of the poltergeist's sudden appearance. "We're on the way to our common room."

"But why are the ickle kiddies out so late?" Peeves asked with an exaggerated frown. "Setting a bad example for the firstie, you are," he grinned at Harry. "And Peeves has turned over a new leaf; it's his duty to report such reckless rule-flouting." He sucked in a great breath.

"Peeves, no…" Cho begged, but –

"STUDENTS IN THE CHARMS CORRIDOR! STUDENTS BREAKING CURFEW! STUDENTS DANCING THE TANGO WITHOUT PROPER MARIACHI SUPPORT!"

"Run!" Cho urged them, and they dashed around Peeves, running like mad. They reached the end of the corridor, but as Harry tried the handle on the door, he found it locked. He pulled out his wand.

"Alohomora!" he gasped, and the door opened.

"Well done, Harry," Hermione breathed as they slipped inside, slamming the door shut behind them. "Honestly, I can't stand that…thing. Tomorrow, I'm going to the library and see if I can find some means of removing a poltergeist from a building."

Harry chuckled. "Well, you were going to the library anyway, right?"

Hermione rolled her eyes, bumping him with her hip. "Yeah. So?"

Harry opened his mouth to retort, but stopped when he heard a sound similar to a scream, but with no volume behind it. Turning, he saw Cho staring with a look of open-mouthed horror at something further into the room they had escaped into. Next to her, Marietta was trembling uncontrollably. Harry followed their gaze and immediately understood their reactions.

Standing further into the room was a massive dog, larger than the Dursleys' tool shed. This in itself was not quite so bad, but the dog appeared to have two too many heads, and all three were glaring at the foursome with obvious anger at their intrusion.

"Back outside," Marietta said softly, her voice wavering dramatically. "Now."

The four skirted backward as the dog started growling angrily, the center head raising its hackles. Harry groped for the door handle, and his and Hermione's hands found it at the same time, turning it. They practically fell backward into the deserted corridor, Marietta kicking the door shut. Scrambling to their feet, they took off for the Ravenclaw common room, not caring about Filch or Peeves or detention, just wanting to be as far away as possible from the creature.

……

"There has to be some rule against something like this!" Cho said, clutching onto Harry like a lifeline. On his other side, Hermione rested her head on his other shoulder, clearly still frightened. Even Marietta sat at Harry's feet under the pretense of being closer to the fireplace. "Hermione?"

"I-I don't know," Hermione said. "In Hogwarts, A History, it says that guard animals are permitted under Section 12, Paragraph Q, Clause 4, Sub-Clause A of the Hogwarts Codex Operandi, but…a three headed dog…."

Marietta looked up at Hermione, clearly perplexed. "How do you remember all the sections and clauses and…?"

Hermione turned pink. "Well, it also mentions unicorns." At their looks, she blushed darker. "I like unicorns. But what was it guarding under that trapdoor, do you think?"

"Dunno," Harry said. "Probably whatever Hagrid took out of Gringotts that day. He mentioned he was taking it to Dumbledore."

"Well, it's safe, then," Cho said, shaking her head slowly. "You'd have to be mad to try and get past that thing."

Harry stared at the fireplace, deep in thought. What other dangerous things were there at this castle, in this whole world? Cho tightened her grip on his arm, resting her head on his shoulder, and he smiled reassuringly at her, resting his head against hers.

……

"Ah, Severus, thank you for visiting me at this late hour," Albus said, motioning to a seat across from his desk. "Severus, I'm afraid I have some…unfortunate news."

"Go on," was all the Potions master said, his face stoic.

"Well, I'm afraid the students absolutely refuse to go to your classes," Albus said, "unless you are willing to alter your teaching methods."

"I refuse to change the way I am just because a few children can't handle constructive criticism," Severus spat, and Albus shook his head, his expression resigned.

"Severus," he said sadly, "over ninety-five percent of the student body is willing to drop your class completely and take up studying for themselves. They're even finding a way to practice making actual potions, effective ones, even. All have testified that you give plenty of criticism, though it's hardly constructive. If you're not willing to change your methods, I'll have to find a new Potions instructor."

Severus nodded and stood. "It's been a pleasure working with you, Albus. I'll clear out my office and be on my way."

"You're decided, then?" Albus asked resignedly, and Severus nodded.

"I will continue to work alongside you in any…future endeavors," he said cryptically, "but I'm afraid our professional relationship has come to an end."

"Very well," Albus sighed. "Good luck, Severus."

"Thank you, Albus," Severus said. "Forgive me if I don't submit a formal written resignation."

With that, he strode out of Albus's office, quietly closing the door behind him. The office was silent for a moment as he sat, pondering. Severus left very large shoes to fill in terms of subject knowledge. However, he also had to learn from the hardheaded man's mistakes and make sure his next professor was more compromising."Ah," he said, an idea occurring to him. He reached for his quill and retrieved a piece of parchment, starting on a letter. With luck, he would have a new Potions professor by week's end.

"YES!" Sirius shouted with a huge grin. "Hahahaha! 'Bout time the bastard got sacked!"

"Thought you'd like that," the author said with a chuckle. "He was a bit of an ass."

Sirius nodded with a grin, his eyes skimming up to reread the scene. "But…who's Dumbledore gonna hire to fill the spot?"

The author shrugged. "Dunno," he said. "Haven't thought that far ahead."

"What?" Sirius asked incredulously. "How could…. You don't have any plan for this story, do you?"

"Well…" the author looked thoughtful for a moment. "I know it's gonna mostly follow the canon, but…not really," he ended with a grin. "With fan fiction, I usually just wing it. It's more fun that way."

Sirius shook his head; all that writing prowess, and he was flying by the seat of his pants. "Well, I suppose it's worked out in the past. Let's go post this thing."

The author heaved himself out of his chair, reaching for his teacup and downing the last of it. "Oh, and remind me to ask the readers who the new Potions professor will be."

"Did they ever tell who they wanted Harry to be with?" Sirius asked, and the author nodded.

"I'm still torn, but I'll figure that out when I come to it," he said. Sirius merely shook his head; what more could he really expect from this guy?