Chapter 98: Detentions and Engagements

Disclaimer: 

Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K Rowling.

I own nothing but the original characters I make.

"Dialogue"

'Thoughts'

-Author notes-

Chapter 98: Detentions and Engagements

"Take a seat, Mister Potter." 

Harry heard McGoganall say after entering her small office. He also noted the figure of Snape standing next to her desk with his usual unpleasant expression.

He ignored his looks and sat down in front of Professor McGonagall.

"First, I would like you to clarify what happened yesterday during the Dueling Club." She asked.

Harry gave her the same excuse he offered to his house mates. He got distracted and the snake startled him. So he reacted like that, got nervous and ran away.

"You expect us to believe that, Potter? You crushed that snake's head with your hands. You must have done some dark magic, maybe a ritual…" Snape narrowed his eyes while looking at him.

"Severus!, that's enough. Also, that is a very serious accusation to throw around with no evidence, don't forget what James Potter's job is...he would not delve into that kind of magic. And I did not call Harry here for that." McGonagall reprimanded the potions professor.

"He must be punished at least!. He is as arrogant as his father." He leaned forward to get his face closer to Harry in an attempt of intimidation.

"Severus!, this has nothing to do with James Potter and your rivalry with him. And let's not talk about the fact that it was YOU, the one who instructed young Malfoy to use that spell…what were you thinking?, summoning a venomous snake in front of a hundred children."

"That wasn't…" Snape stood straight and coughed.

"It was not meant to be a venomous one. Draco must have done something wrong during the summoning."

"Regardless…" She turned to look at Harry.

"My reason for bein' upset if not about that, Mister Potter, is for what you did after. You ran out of the classroom without saying a word, you disappeared completely, making everyone worried and you broke the curfew when you did not return to your room before nine P.M. What do you have to say about it?"

"Ah…that…I have no excuse for that, I just wanted to be alone for a bit." 

Harry could not reveal his real reason for being upset. He couldn't exactly say 'Well, you see Professor, I just discovered that I may be partially responsible for the end of an entire world and the deaths of all my loved ones.'

That fact will always weigh on him from now on…but he decided to continue on despite all of that because there are people here whose lives may depend on his future actions. He could not fail again…

"Then I have no other choice but to give you detention." Said McGonagall.

"Leave him with me. A month of cleaning cauldrons with his bare hands will teach him some humility." Snape grinned.

"The usual punishment for skipping curfew is three detentions and twenty points loss for the House of the student." She reminded him.

"And so…twenty points from Gryffindor and you will have three detentions with Professor Lockhart since this happened during his Dueling Club."

Harry made a disgruntled expression.

'I have to spend three detentions with that man?...a month cleaning cauldrons almost seemed better.'

"You will start your detentions this afternoon. Then another one on Sunday and the last one on Monday. Be at his office at five P.M, don't be late." She told him.

"Yes, Professor McGonagall…may I leave now?" 

"You may"

He stood up and was about to leave when she spoke again

"Oh, Mister Potter…remember that you have the first Quidditch game of the year at the end of next week. There will be practice on Tuesday, Mister Wood will contact you for more details. Be sure to be well-rested and ready for it. " 

 "Yes Professor, I'll be ready."

"Be sure you do…I'm looking forward to seeing your first game, Harry." McGonagall gave him a warm smile.

Snape maintained his usual frown.

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After blowing off some steam and a few dummies at the Room of Requirements, Harry entered the great hall of Hogwarts to have something for lunch.

The hall was unusually full that day and he was able to find everyone already sitting on their spots.

He sat between his sister and Hermione and started eating in peace.

Lyra glanced at him.

"What were you doing, exercise again?" 

That was the excuse he gave Hermione last year, so he told his sister the same. Except Lyra knew more so she may suspect his exercises involve more than just physical training.

"Yes," Harry answered before taking more potatoes from the tray.

"Harry is always disappearing to go do something. Usually is exercise, isn't that right?" Commented Hermione.

"Yes, he did that last year also…he is going to become quite the hunk if he keeps going like this." Lavender grinned.

Parvati gave Harry an evaluating stare.

"There is a lot of potential there. If I wasn't already engaged I may give Mione some competition."

"Stop that!." Hermione exclaimed.

"Wait…you are already engaged?. You never mentioned that."

Parvati shrugged.

"Didn't seem important. Father made the marriage contracts for me and my sister Padma when were were still toddlers. So we have known our future husbands all our lives. We will both get married after we finish our education."

"But that's so wrong!. You should not be forced to marry someone just like that." Hermione said.

"Hermione, wizard families have different customs to muggle ones," Harry told her.

"For muggles, this may seem barbaric and outdated, but old wizard families put a lot of value on old traditions."

"That's correct," Parvati said.

"My family is very traditionalist. And…I don't dislike the fact of being engaged. Having my future already planned means that I don't have to stress myself and worry about it. I'm actually looking forward to my life after Hogwarts."

"But what about your career? is there nothing in particular you want to do?" Asked Hermione.

"If you ask my sister, she would probably tell you something else. But for me…not really. I just study enough to keep my grades decent, but there is nothing in particular I wanted to do." Parvati answered.

Hermione looked at Lavender.

"What about you?, are you engaged too?"

"Nop…my parents aren't that traditional. So I can date whoever I want…well, in the future." Lavender gave her a grin.

Hermione turned to the other side and glanced at Lyra and Ginny.

"I'm not engaged, of course!..." Ginny glanced at Neville for a second before looking down at her plate with a blush.

"Me neither. I don't know about Dad, but Mom would never allow us to be engaged this soon. She is a muggle-born like you, Hermione." Lyra said.

"But for a while, I thought they had made a contract for Harry…" she added.

"What?!, Harry is engaged?" Hermione and the other girls became shocked.

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