Perception Check

Harry walked along the seventh floor to the Arithmancy room. While he himself didn't have Arithmancy for another two hours, he decided he'd meet up with Hermione before Transfiguration. It'd also be a great time to talk to her about their lessons with Snape.

"At least we're learning something," he muttered.

He sat down outside the Arithmancy classroom, then, after deciding he had nothing better to do, took out an essay for Snape.

I expect to see two distinct essays on my desk at the start of class.

"I don't know what his problem with me is," Harry muttered.

His blindsight tripped, and he looked up to see who was walking by the room. He couldn't believe it when he saw it.

"H-hey, Cho," he managed with a suddenly dry mouth.

"Hello, Harry," she replied. "What are you doing here?"

Harry put the essay in his pack. "Waiting for Hermione. You?"

His heart rate picked up when Cho sat down next to him.

"I'm waiting for Cedric. We always walk to our next classes together."

She's still with Cedric. Of course, she's still with Cedric. Why wouldn't she be? Why do I care?

"Erm… what… what class do you have next?"

"Defence."

Harry made a face, then blushed when Cho giggled.

That was stupid.

As stupid as he felt, a part of him was happy to hear her laugh.

"Don't like our new professor?" she asked.

"She's spreading all these lies about Rose, about me. It's bad enough that we aren't learning anything. At least Lockhart wasn't trying to brainwash the entire school."

"She didn't say anything like that with us," Cho said. "But… Lovegood insists that the Daily Prophet is making up stories. At least, I think that's what she's saying. It's hard to tell with her."

Harry laughed in spite of himself. "I always left interpreting Luna up to Rose."

"She did seem good at it. I think Longbottom follows her, but Blake hardly keeps up with either of them."

"Who?"

���Their other friend, Melody Blake, one of the third-years. She usually talks with them, but she's been sitting on her own for a few days now."

"Right."

Harry tried, but he couldn't put a face to "Blake". He tended to tune Luna out, so she might've said something that he'd missed. He resolved to pay more attention. After all, noticing small details was supposed to be his specialty.

Harry sensed more movement in front of him. He looked up, but didn't immediately see anything.

"They're packing up," he said.

Cho opened her mouth, but closed it when the door opened. She smiled at him before standing and meeting Cedric at the door.

"Hey, Harry," Hermione said. "Need something from Professor Vector?"

"No, I was looking for you," Harry said.

"Harry, want to say," Cedric said, "that move you did last year was brilliant."

"Which one?" Harry asked, a broad grin on his face.

"Which one do you think?" Cedric asked, laughing. "Jumping off your broom to get away from Cho and I. I doubt anyone saw that one coming."

"Don't worry, Gryffindor's drilling that as part of our standard practices," Harry said. "To keep everyone on their toes."

Cedric and Cho laughed, although Hermione brought a hand to her face.

"Only Quidditch players would think nearly dying was a good thing."

Says Rose's best friend.

"We should get going," Cedric said. "See you two later."

"It was nice talking to you, Harry," Cho said.

"Same!" Harry blurted.

A familiar pain arose in his chest. He blushed as Cedric and Cho walked off. He stared down the corridor, some small part of him hoping Cho would come back.

"I thought you were over her," Hermione said.

Harry jumped, then realized he'd forgotten Hermione was with him.

"What?" he asked.

"She's still with Cedric," Hermione said, beginning the walk to Transfiguration. "And you said last year you were over her."

Harry paused and thought about it. He had been over her. Now, he was stuttering when he talked to her, couldn't think of anything to say, and his face was hot. He felt as if he were back in third year, trying desperately to talk to her.

I was never this awkward around Ellie.

His entire body seemed to sink closer to the ground when his thoughts turned to Ellie.

"Hold on," Harry said, "I never said anything about her. How did you know I used to like her?"

"Sally-Anne told me, when she kept glaring at her when she thought no one was looking. I knew she liked you, so it wasn't hard to work out."

Harry rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Don't worry," Hermione said. "I won't tell anyone, but remember: Cedric's my friend, and if I think you're trying to ruin his relationship with Cho, I'll stop you."

Harry nodded, beginning their trip in silence. Harry began to space out and his mind drifted right back to where it'd been a minute ago; where it'd been for much of the summer. The same set of questions returned to his thoughts. What was Ellie's involvement in luring him out of the castle? Had that been her? If not, who was it? Hadn't Rose said something about her in the graveyard? He'd been sure he'd sensed two people with him before he'd passed out.

"I assume you stopped by for a reason," Hermione said. "Or were you just trying to catch Cho?"

"There's a reason." Harry thought for a moment about Snape and their lessons. "And I didn't know Cho would be there!"

Hermione laughed at him. "Well, you know now."

Harry fumed for a moment. Had Hermione always been so annoying, or had he just not noticed that either?

"Do you know why Professor Snape hates me so much?" Harry asked.

"Why would I?" Hermione asked.

"Well, Rose knew something, and she told you everything."

Hermione shook her head. "She made a point to never tell me anyone else's secrets. From what I could tell, something horrible happened to him."

"Right! Sirius said he'd done something to make Snape hate him!"

"There you go. Professor Snape is probably taking it out on you."

Harry groaned, irritated by his answer, more so by the fact that he couldn't do anything about it.

Luna crept out of bed that night. She got dressed, then quietly went down to the common room. After peering inside to find it empty, she crept over to the portal and left Ravenclaw Tower.

She was on a mission to investigate Umbridge. She'd taken notes in class, but it wasn't enough to prove Umbridge was a vampire. She'd need to check Umbridge's reflection or find a potion that vampires used to pass as human hidden in Umbridge's office. Luna had already done the research on such a potion, so she knew what to look for. All she had to do was find it, and she'd have the evidence she needed to blow the whole case wide open.

Daddy and Toad will be so proud of me.

With Tutela as a lookout, she made her way to Umbridge's office. She was blind in the dark corridor, but Tutela guided her through it. Her heart beat loudly in her ears. She could hardly contain her excitement.

"I think you–"

"When have I ever asked for your opinion?!"

Luna heard voices up ahead, then spotted two lights walking towards a corner. She looked around, trying hard not to panic. Panic was bad; it made the dreams worse. By the light of the approaching prefects, she caught the outline of a suit of armor, and an idea struck her. She ran over to it and stood up straight beside it.

Tutela hid behind the armor and listened for the pair of prefects.

"You ask Perks for her opinion!"

"No, I don't! I don't care what she thinks either!"

Luna held still and listened. Why were they talking about Princess? She watched as Malfoy and Parkinson walked into view. They kept shouting at one another, walking right past her.

"Sure. You just have rounds with her!"

"That's not my fault. I didn't ask for them."

"Get Snape to change your rounds."

Luna's heart stopped when the pair stopped walking not two feet from her. Malfoy stopped just ahead of Parkinson, turning to face her.

"You can't order me around!" he snapped. "You're nothing without me!"

"You think I'm so stupid, don't you?" she shot back. "I always get what I want. If you don't want to change your rounds, then maybe people will all wonder why you like spending time with a mudblood so much."

A strong scent of anger filled Luna's nose as Malfoy raised his hand to strike Parkinson.

"You–" he spat, but didn't hit or swear at her. He glared at her for a moment before lowering his hand.

"You're not as stupid as you look," Parkinson said. A cruel smile crept over her face. "Don't worry. I'm sure your rounds will be changed one way or another."

Malfoy stormed off with Parkinson right behind him. Luna held still until she was sure they were gone, then began making notes in her investigator's notebook.

The chief vampire recruiter at Hogwarts is encountering problems, she wrote. Further investigation required. Check with Princess. She might know.

Luna and Tutela crept through the castle. They didn't encounter any further opposition on the way to Umbridge's office. Luna knew they were getting close when she caught the scent of flowers. Not beautiful, natural flowers that Toad had told her about in the Forbidden Forest that she certainly had never snuck out to look at. Flowers that had been ripped from their homes and stuck inside a vase to be put on display. She was sure Toad would be as annoyed as she was if he could smell it. He liked plants a lot more than she did.

<Moon, focus.>

Luna shifted her focus from the sickening scent coming from the office to the door blocking it. After a few attempts to unlock it with her wand, she gave up the tactic.

<It's not working,> Luna told Tutela. <Stand guard. I've got an idea.>

Luna took the piece of chalk from behind her ear. She crouched down to put the doorknob on eye-level, then drew runes on the knob. After she charged them, the doorknob vanished.

<Done.>

Luna and Tutela slipped inside the office. Fortunately for her, the cats in the pictures were all sleeping soundly. She turned to Tutela and held her finger to her lips.

<Do you know what it looks like?>

<Sort of. Well enough that I'll know when I find it.>

Luna sniffed the air, but could only catch the scent of the flower corpses littering the rooms.

<Check everywhere. Tell me if you find something suspicious.>

As her dad had shown her, Luna carefully went through everything, taking note of where something was before moving it. She looked through every drawer and cabinet at least once, but found little of interest in any of them.

<I found something,> she told Tutela. <I think it's veritaserum.>

<Interesting, but not what we're looking for.>

<I wish I could cast spontaneous search.>

Luna held still for six seconds, but nothing happened.

<Moon, you don't have Serendipity.>

<No, but I can pretend.>

<We've searched everywhere. There's nothing here. If she's got the potion, she's not keeping it in here.>

Luna nodded her agreement. She sniffed the air again, but still only got the scent of dead, preserved flowers.

<I hate that smell.>

<I'll check out the door for anyone coming.>

Tutela poked her head out the door, then wagged her tail. Luna slipped out the door, shutting it gently behind her. She and Tutela crept down the corridor. Despite not knowing how long she'd been gone, Luna was certain no one in Ravenclaw Tower had noticed her absence. Rose had been right; it was easier when no one took you seriously. Luna could come and go as she pleased, and no one noticed. Except Toad. He always noticed her.

On the fifth floor, she caught traces of a familiar scent. A near overpowering smell of cologne mixed with an equally strong smell of perfume. Malfoy and Parkinson.

Along with the smell, the pair brought with them the sound of shouting.

"What goes on in my family is none of your business!"

"It will be one day! You might as well tell me now."

Luna looked around for somewhere to hide. In the absence of another group of statues, she bolted down the corridor.

<You should hide in my pack, so there's only one of us.>

Tutela looked up at her, then leapt into her pack.

Luna smiled knowing her homunculus was safe, then sniffed the air.

She froze when she caught another familiar scent. This one matched the scent of the office she'd left not ten minutes ago. She glared at the memory of the voice that accompanied it.

Rose Peta-Lorrum took her own life. Sad, but not unheard-of.

Her head whipped around as she looked for somewhere to hide. There was nothing. She was alone in an empty corridor. Two Slytherin prefects closing in behind her, and a vampire ahead of her.

She looked between the two ends of the corridor, wondering which one would be worse. Brain had told her that Butterhead liked to pick fights, and she was no good in a fight. Not without Rose, Toad, or Brain to help her. Umbridge was a vampire, but she couldn't just make students disappear, so it wouldn't be so bad. Unless she turned her. What would being a vampire be like? Luna liked to go out in the sun, so she didn't really want to be a vampire.

As she made up her mind, Umbridge rounded the corner first.

"Ms. Lovegood, I believe. I'm glad I ran into you, because I heard the strangest story from one of your classmates earlier today about your outlandish theories about the Minister of Magic."

On the outside, Luna showed nothing but an innocent smile. On the inside…

Crab apples!

The setting sun lit up the sky orange. Harry drifted aimlessly, the wind rushing past his face. He saw Hogwarts pass by below him. Soaring over the castle, he turned and smiled to his companion.

Riding alongside him, Cho turned and smiled back at him. A beautiful sunset, with a beautiful girl by his side. Harry wanted for nothing else. Everything was perfect.

They passed by over mountains, fields, and forests. The sun slowly sank under the horizon, and suddenly, the world was covered in shadow.

Harry looked to Cho, expecting to still see her smiling face, but someone else had taken her place.

Ellie lunged at him, her arms extending to ten feet long. He tried to steer his broom away, but it'd vanished. Ellie wrapped her arms around him, dragging him closer to the ground.

Struggling against her grip, Harry felt his forehead begin to burn. He looked ahead and saw their final destination.

A graveyard loomed in the distance. Shadows stirred around the graves, all bowing to their master. Their master that rose up from a large tombstone, covered in dark gray robes. A pale, snake-like face turned to face him, glaring at him with beady red eyes.

Harry struggled against Ellie's grasp, trying to find his wand, but he was trapped. His wand was nowhere to be found. He tried to call for help, but no sound came out. He was as mute as Ellie.

They crashed into the graveyard, but Ellie retained her grip on him. She held him down before Voldemort, who'd grown to tower over them.

"Excellent work, my faithful servant."

Harry stared in horror at Ellie. She smiled back at him, her face suddenly just as sweet as he remembered it.

"It's okay," she mouthed. "It will all be over soon."

"Ellie!" he finally managed to shout.

Any attempt to escape was rendered futile by Ellie. His forehead felt as if a hot iron were being pressed against it. His arms were sore from Ellie's grip. Powerless to stop him, he watched Voldemort grow bigger, drawing an enormous wand.

"Goodbye, Harry Potter."

As Voldemort raised his wand, Ellie's hands snaked around and held his cheeks. She pressed her lips to his, just as a green flash lit up the graveyard.

"Harry!"

Harry opened his eyes. The dull throbbing in his forehead began to subside. He grabbed his glasses then looked around the room, struggling to see in the dark.

Come on, Scarface. You shouldn't be looking at all.

Stop calling me that! he thought as he checked his blindsight.

"Harry, are you alright?" Neville asked.

"Fine," Harry replied, rubbing his forehead. When he brought his hand away, he realized it was covered in sweat.

"Seemed like you were having a bad dream."

"It's nothing. I'm fine."

Sunday meant little to do to keep his mind off his dream. Little to do until it was time to meet with Hermione and Snape, at least.

Harry had always thought he'd just been bad at potions, but with Snape teaching defence, he was starting to realize it was just Snape. Sure, Hermione was fine, but she was always going to be fine. He'd forgotten just how easily she absorbed information.

On his way down into the Dungeons, Harry picked up movement all around him. People moving about, heading out to enjoy the day, or staying in to cram homework or studying for Monday. If there was one thing he enjoyed about needing less sleep, it was having more time to deal with the work they were given. He wasn't like Ron or Hermione; he didn't enjoy doing it. Nor was he like Sally-Anne or Neville, who did the work they hated because they knew it had to be done.

"Harry!"

Sensing the movement behind him, he turned and smiled at Cho. She trotted over to him, then fell in step alongside him.

"What are you doing down here?" he asked.

"I had a question for Professor Snape. You?"

"Oh, I'm just… he's been tutoring me and Hermione on defence."

Harry caught the slightest twitch on Cho's face and immediately recognized anger when he saw it.

At least I'm not the only one that thinks Umbridge is bad at teaching.

"I doubt he'd mind teaching one more!" Harry blurted.

A smile crept over Cho's face, but not her normal smile. This one looked… mean.

"I'd love to."

As it turned out, Snape did mind teaching one more.

"I hope you're pleased with yourself," Hermione said after they'd left the dungeons an hour later. "You were lucky he let us stay, never mind letting us come back."

Harry was disappointed when they didn't find Cho waiting for them. It would've been nice; some small consolation to his humiliation. He took comfort knowing that he'd see her later. At least, he hoped he would.

"He could've kicked us out! Then what? All so you could spend more time with another boy's girlfriend?! What's wrong with you?!"

"Me? What about you?"

"What about me? Cedric and I are friends. I talk to him or Professor Vector about what's going on. He's just a good listener, that's all!"

"Is it? You always smile when he's around, you laugh at everything he says, you–"

"No, and no!" Hermione shot back. "I know how I feel about him, unlike you and Cho. Cedric's one of my best friends, one of a handful that doesn't think Rose killed herself, and I'm not going to stand by and watch you try to steal his girlfriend!"

Harry clenched his fists and rounded on Hermione. He'd had enough of people trying to live his life for him, and now Hermione was trying to tell him how he felt. He was done.

"If you hate me being there so much, maybe I should just quit!"

"Maybe you should!"

Harry felt a hand on his shoulder, and realized he'd been stupid enough again to ignore his blindsight. After cursing at himself, he looked into the familiar face of Alavel.

"I apologize for intruding, but I couldn't help but overhear your predicament."

"There's no problem," Hermione spat. She shrugged off the hand on her own shoulder. "Harry's just giving up."

Harry clenched his fists again and tried to take a step towards Hermione, but Alavel held him in place.

"Let's all calm down," Alavel said. "Both of you, please take a step away from the other."

The tension in Harry's body eased up, and he stepped back. Hermione made no such effort.

"Ms. Granger," Alavel said. "Now."

Hermione glared defiantly at him, but complied nonetheless.

"If I may make a suggestion," Alavel said, "I believe I have the solution to your current predicament."

Harry broke his glare on Hermione and waited for Alavel to speak. When it appeared that Alavel had Hermione's attention, he continued.

"Mr. Potter, you are a marvelous teacher. If Ms. Chang wishes to learn, why not teach her yourself?"

The thought of he and Cho, one on one, made its way to the foreground of his mind. Just the two of them, alone, once or twice a week.

"Hold on, how'd you know this was about her?" Hermione asked.

"Because I spoke with her a moment ago," Alavel said. "She seemed rather upset, and as a member of staff, it is my duty to ensure the well-being of all students. And speaking of the other students, there are plenty of them that would benefit from such lessons. Why not gather them all and start a club?"

Harry���s dream shattered, replaced by Hermione's sneer.

"I doubt he'll like that."

Hermione looked at Alavel. Harry couldn't see his face, but he could see Hermione's sneer fade from hers.

"Nastiness is most unbecoming of you, Ms. Granger. No matter the circumstances, there is never a need for it, and My Lady Rose would be most disappointed to see you like that." He turned his attention back to Harry. "And Mr. Potter, I will remind you that Mr. Diggory has spoken for Ms. Chang. Do not try to sabotage their relationship. I needn't remind you how it felt to be on the receiving end of that."

Harry's mind wandered back to watching Ellie walk away, taking his dreams with her. He imagined the same thing happening to Cedric. It didn't matter if Cho was walking to him; he couldn't do that to another person.

"Of course," Harry said. "I didn't mean to–"

"We needn't say anything more on the subject," Alavel said. "Mr. Diggory is a kind young man. I'm sure he harbored no ill feelings towards you." Alavel nodded to them. "I must be off. Please, give my words some consideration."

Harry nodded at Alavel as the Nimblewright walked off and left them alone. Harry turned back to Hermione, who was noticeably nicer.

"I'm sorry, Harry," she said. "I didn't mean to get worked up like that."

"It's fine," he said. "I… I guess I deserved it."

"You didn't mean to. Not everyone can think of other people all the time."

"What about Princess?"

"Princess is a quirk of nature further engineered by Rose," Hermione replied. "She doesn't count."

Harry laughed.

"What does that make you?"

"A lost cause," Hermione replied, laughing just as hard as Harry. "Rose was like a black hole; you couldn't help but be drawn in, and then she warped you the closer you got. It's much too late for me."

They laughed together for some time, and started walking back towards Gryffindor Tower. Part of him was disappointed that he wouldn't be spending more time with Cho, but the more he thought about it, the more Harry realized that Alavel was right. He shouldn't worry about someone who was with someone else.

"Alavel was right," Hermione said.

"Yeah, he was," Harry said absently.

"We should be trying to teach other people," Hermione said. "We're learning a lot, and Princess says you're an amazing teacher."

Harry snapped out of his musings.

"That's just flying," Harry said. "I've had loads of practice with that, but I've never dueled someone, not really. I mean, there were a few times in the Dueling Club a few years back, then all the stuff Rose taught us, but that's not much."

"It's better than most people have got," Hermione replied. "We should do something. It's what Rose would've done."

After Alavel, that was all the convincing Harry needed.