chapter 12:Learning

Over the next couple of months, Harry fell into the routine of Hogwarts lessons. He and Hermione soon became friendly rivals, competing for the top spot in all their lessons save Herbology, where Neville easily outpaced the two of them but helped them in exchange for aid where he was weak. Sue Li and Padma Parvati quickly joined in what became known as the "Study Group" and at Flitwick's suggestion, they relocated it to an otherwise-disused classroom just off the library which Flitwick and McGonogall helped to transform into a place where they could study several different subjects at once, moving between tables as required.

Within weeks, Padma's twin Parvati joined the Study Group, as did several other students from Gryffindor and some from Hufflepuff, but the Slytherins remained aloof.

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"Hermione, Professor Snape said two feet of Parchment, not five." Harry groaned as Hermione continued writing.

"I want to show that I…" Hermione began before Harry, moving so quickly that he almost blurred, plucked the quill out of her hand. "Harry!"

"Come on." Harry said, half-lifting, half-pulling her out of the chair. "I think we need to go and get a second opinion."

"Harry, I don't appreciate being manhandled like this!" Hermione protested as Harry escorted her out of the study room, several of the other students sniggering as she was dragged out through the door. "This is not the way to treat a lady! Harry, are you even listening to me? Harry!"

"Hush, Hermione." Harry instructed. "You'll thank me for this."

"I bet I won't." Hermione sulked as they made their way to Snape's newly-refurbished and expanded (thanks to a large donation from Lucius Malfoy) Potions Classroom.

Harry knocked on the door, waiting for Snape to respond before stepping into the room.

"My apologies for interrupting, Professor," Harry said as Snape looked up from the pile of parchment he was looking through, "But I had a question about the essays you have been setting us."

Snape raised an eyebrow and motioned for Harry to continue.

"Hermione believes that the required length is a minimum, whereas I think is it a guide. If you ask for two feet of Parchment, what would be the maximum length you wish to see?"

"No more than two and a half feet." Severus stated, then his eyes narrowed as Hermione flinched. "How much have you written?"

"Five feet and four inches… so far." Hermione offered meekly and Severus sighed.

"For future reference, Miss Granger, when the length of an essay is specified, going more than one quarter beyond the length specified will generally result in the parchment being cut off at the upper limit and only the first portion marked. While you may wish to show you can recite facts at will, it is the ordering, understanding and interpretation of them that is most important. Is that clear?"

"Y… yes, sir."

"Then I would strongly suggest re-writing your essay keeping the maximum length in mind, Miss Granger. Dismissed."

Hermione bobbed her head before almost teleporting out of the door and Snape raised an eyebrow at Harry.

"And why did you bring her to me instead of Flitwick or McGonogall?"

"I had another reason, so it seemed a good idea to combine both of my tasks." Harry said as he pulled a book out of his pocket and Snape stared at it almost hungrily.

"I started Mum's second Journal this morning and I remembered I said I'd lend this to you." Harry said, placing it on Snape's desk. "If you'll excuse me…"

Snape waved one hand in dismissal, his gaze never leaving the book on his desk. Harry walked to the door, then glanced back as he left.

A single tear was trickling down Snape's cheek.

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"I got a note from… Hagrid… inviting me over for a cup of tea." Harry looked up from the piece of paper that Grace had dropped in front of him. "According to my mom's Journal, Hagrid was one of her friends. I wonder if he'll tell me about her and Dad. Want to come?"

"Well, it'll be interesting." Hermione noted and Neville looked torn.

"Nev?"

"I… I'm coming." Neville finally decided, his face set with determination. "I wonder if he can tell me about my parents, too?"

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"That's Hagrid's place?" Hermione asked curiously as they approached the large, circular wooden hut. As they drew closer, the door opened and Hagrid emerged, a large bag in his hand.

"Hello?" Harry called and the huge man waved at them, a smile visible on his face despite his huge, bushy beard.

"'ello." He called. "I was jest about ta feed tha' Thestrals. You wanna help?"

"Thestrals?" Harry repeated. "I've never heard of them before. Hermione?"

"I've come across a reference, but I didn't try to follow it up." Hermione admitted and Hagrid laughed.

"Well, come on. Friendly critters, they are. Help by pullin' tha carriages fer the second years an' up. This way!"

The trio followed Hagrid round to an apparently-empty paddock near the Hut and Hermione frowned as Hagrid carefully opened the gate.

"There's nothing there." She protested and Harry shook his head.

"No, there's… something. Somethings. Kinda horse-shaped, but with wings… I can see them, but at the same time, I can't."

"Aye, magical critters, they are." Hagrid said, looking at Harry curiously. "You can only see 'em if ye've seen death itself, s'why they useda be seen as omens. 'arry, ye say ye can see 'em, yet you can't?"

"I can sort of see their shapes… like a ripple." Harry shrugged as he stepped into the paddock. "Maybe because I was so young when…"

Harry trailed off and Hagrid nodded. "Aye, mebbe. Anyway, Thestrals eat meat. Dere's a coupla-dozen Thestrals around, but most like to hunt in the Forest. Dese ones are the old or very young, so 'ere ya go!"

Hermione looked aghast at the strip of meat that Hagrid had just dropped into her hands.

"Now, jest 'old it out, like so." Hagrid instructed and Harry held his towards a small Thestral that was approaching him cautiously. The colt crept closer, then tugged the meat out of his hand and retreated, eating it as it did so.

"That's just bizarre." Hermione finally declared as she watched the strip of meat slowly vanishing.

"Bootiful creatures, Thestrals." Hagrid murmured as the meat he was holding began to vanish.

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"I actually touched a Thestral." Hermione marveled as she sat down on the over-sized couch and accepted a huge mug of tea from Hagrid. Neville looked at the Rock Cake that Harry had taken, then winced as Harry took a bite, producing a noise not unlike shattering stone.

"Mmmm, nice." Harry said between chomps while Hermione stared wide-eyed at him. "Crunchy."

"Made 'em meself." Hagrid said proudly.

Neville covertly returned the cake he had been given back to the plate it had come from.

"So, 'ow are ya doing?" Hagrid asked after taking a bite out of his own Rock Cake, causing Hermione to flinch at the noise. "Yer dad useda love Transfiguration and yer dad was great in Defense, Neville."

"He was?" Neville asked in surprise. "I… never knew that."

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"How did you manage to eat three of those cakes?" Hermione asked as they walked back to the castle. "Those things were harder than bricks! I was getting toothache just looking at them!"

Harry smiled at Hermione, but Neville spoke up.

"Did you see that he had a copy of the Daily Prophet from a couple of months ago on his table?" He noted. "It said that Gringotts had been robbed!"

"I saw." Harry said, his smile vanishing. "Apparently it happened on my birthday. Odd coincidence."

For a moment, they walked in silence before Harry spoke up again.

"You know, I overheard a couple of Professors talking about putting in obstacles to protect a stone." Harry frowned. "I wonder if it could be related… Hermione, what's the most valuable stone you know of… magically speaking?"

"I… I'll have to do some resear…" Hermione began, only for Neville to cut her off.

"The two most important are the Resurrection Stone and the Philosopher's Stone."

"I've heard of the Philosopher's Stone, but what's the Resurrection Stone?" Harry asked curiously.

"It's one of the Three Hallows, created by Death itself, according to legend." Neville began as Hogwarts grew ahead of them. "The story goes that centuries ago the three Peverell Brothers managed to defeat Death, so he granted each of them a boon. The oldest asked for a wand that could never be beaten, the middle one a stone that would let him summon the spirits of the dead…"

Harry concentrated on committing the story to memory and from the way her face was slightly scrunched, Hermione was doing the same thing.

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Harry laughed as he pulled off a perfect Immelman Turn, reversing his direction in a single climbing maneuver, then he circled round and dropped down to intercept the ball that Hermione was throwing to Neville. To his surprise, the ball seemed to adhere to his hand until he made a throwing motion, whereupon the odd sensation vanished and the ball arced away.

"What is that?" He asked curiously.

"It's a spare Quaffle." Neville supplied. "Madam Hooch let us borrow it so we could practise flying while passing it. Hermione's very good at blocking it."

"School PE lessons." Hermione admitted.

"Well, you both look like you know what you're doing." Harry grinned, then he ducked as Neville scooped the ball up from the ground and hurled it at him. A moment later, the Quaffle bounced off the back of his head and he turned to see Hermione looking overly innocent while Neville chuckled.

"So, will you be trying out for the team next year?" Harry asked and Hermione looked thoughtful.

"...probably not." She finally decided. "I'm not really a sporty type. I always preferred reading to P.E."

"I prefer gardening." Neville admitted. "I mean, flying's nice, but you just can't beat the feel of good, fine, rich soil as you tamp it down around the roots of your newest plant."

Harry tilted his broom up and slowly spun on the spot, then he back-rolled into a flying position.

"I'm going to do a few more laps." He called. "Have fun and don't do anything I wouldn't do!"

Hermione's response was a well-flung Quaffle which Harry laughingly snagged and threw back before accelerating away.

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Harry opened the door and looked up at the three-headed dog.

"You must be Fluffy." He smiled, lifting one hand… which the right-head of the Cerberus promptly bit. For a moment, the hellhound froze, then the head released its grip and whimpered slightly before a tooth fragment landed on the floor.

"There, there." Harry chuckled as he stroked the sulking head, then he reached out and started to stroke the other two heads. "You're quite friendly after all, aren't you?"

A gasp from behind him made him look round to see Hagrid's startled expression.

"Hello, Hagrid." Harry said with a smile. "Nice dog, this."

"Aye, that he is." Hagrid agreed, moving to start stroking the third head. "Fluffy's a real friendly puppy once you show him yer in charge."

Harry grinned as Hagrid continued talking about the care and feeding of Cerberus', then he glanced down at the trapdoor on which the dog was resting. To his amazement, the trapdoor seemed to go almost transparent, letting him see the vines stretching across the room underneath.

"…and he loves ta play fetch, don'tcha Fluffy?" Hagrid remarked enthusiastically as the head he was stroking started to lick him before stopping with a whimper.

"Hagrid, Fluffy may need some dental help." Harry said, picking up the fang fragment and holding it up so that the huge man could see it.

"Blimey, yer right, 'arry." Hagrid said in shock, his eyebrows shooting up. "Well, a potion or two an' 'e'll be right as rain, you'll see."