Harry mechanically sliced the pieces of puffer-fish eyes like he had done for numerous other potions he had brewed with Archades in the past with a soft sigh as they worked in silence. Potions hadn't changed since their first lesson with Professor Snape in regards to the overly bitter Potion master's attitude towards him and Archades's almost fanatical desire to impress the man; often resulting in angry glares from his brewing partners when he dared impose on the professor and cause their house points.
Honestly, he could sympathise with the two of them, how dare he breathe?
As everyone in the class reached the stage of the brewing process where all that was left was to let the potion simmer over a fire for forty minutes, Snape begun with the theory potion of the class.
As he silently began to take notes down from the lecture, he noticed Archades become overly interested in something the Professor was saying.
"Any true Potions Master would not only be able to brew his or her own concoctions to absolute perfection under any circ*mstances, but they would also have their very own supply of rare and powerful ingredients in their stores" he said, almost causing Harry to groan in frustration; this couldn't end well.
Raising his hand, Archades spoke "Why's that sir?"
Snape, Harry noticed, had taken somewhat of a liking for the brown haired youth – and by 'liking', he meant that he merely tolerated his existence that little bit more then other students' - , which was why he didn't kill him whenever he spoke out of turn, like how he assumed he would be if he tried the same thing. It seemed that the Potions professor enjoyed answering Archie's questions as much as the boy liked to ask them.
"For a number of reasons" Snape began in a drawl "one would be that one would normally have to conquer or befriend a dangerous or rare magical creature to obtain any sort of rare or powerful ingredients from them; such an action would obviously only be a positive towards any critic's assessment of their skills" he paused for a little while, noting with satisfaction that everyone was writing this down "also, those with the greater stockpile of rare and powerful ingredients can obviously, much more readily, brew any concoction when required; making them much more sought after" he finished.
"What kinds of ingredients would be labelled as 'rare and powerful' sir?" Archie asked, the hunger for that knowledge clearly visible in his eyes.
"Anything from a creature the ministry deems dangerous would be on that list" he said while circling the room and checking on the still simmering potions "a lot of the creatures on the Forbidden Forest would classify as rare or dangerous, not to mention the magical plants that grow and need to be collected at specific times of the year which only adds to their rareness…yes, the Forbidden forest would be a good place to begin with obtaining your own ingredients stockpile" he commented distractedly as he worked to fix a Hufflepuff student's potion before it would explode. Harry resisted the urge to bang his head against the table in annoyance; did Snapehaveto say that?!
Harry, followed by Archades, made his way to the first floor after their Charms lesson with one purpose in mind. Stopping at the door of the office he wished to be at, he knocked three times, hoping the occupant was inside.
The door opened to reveal Madam Hooch who upon realizing who had knocked grinned down at Harry knowingly and ushered him inside.
"Do I even need to ask what it is you are here for Mr. Potter?" she drawled, her hawk like eyes seemingly piercing his soul.
"I'm here to ask for permission to try out for the Ravenclaw Quidditch team" he confirmed. Neither of the two occupants of the room seemed to be all that surprised; Archie having figured it out when he realized where they were going, and Hooch having expected this since she first saw the boy fly last year.
"Do you have a signed permission slip from your parent or guardian?" she asked, wincing slightly when she realized what she had said. Harry seemed to pay her no mind and fished out a slip of parchment from his slacks for Hooch's inspection.
Hooch quickly read through the Quidditch application form, nodding at random intervals where either Harry or Remus had signed before she fetched her wand and spelled the parchment away.
"Well, everything seems to be in order" she said with a smile "The Ravenclaw tryouts are this Saturday at five o'clock, make sure you're there on time if you want to make an impression" she advised. Harry nodded in thanks and was about to leave before Hooch placed a hand on his shoulder to halt him for a moment.
"Do you mind me asking what position you're trying for Mr. Potter?" she asked, genuinely curious. Most of the young kids these days wanted all the glory and went for seeker, but something about this boy just seemed different.
"Chaser" was his firm and determined reply. Hooch grinned and nodded in approval.
"I have a good feeling about you Mr. Potter" she said, still grinning "Quidditch is in your blood, you're father was one of the best Chasers Hogwarts had seen in centuries, I hope he passed his skill onto you – Slytherin has held the cup for far too long in my opinion" she said with a brief chuckle.
"No wonder you kept asking all those questions about Chasers and Seekers during the first match we watched together last year…well, I hope you're good because otherwise, Gryffindor is just going to trounce everyone this year" Archie supplied unhelpfully.
Hooch grinned again "More like Weasley will trounce everyone this year Mr. Montague" she corrected as the two chuckled at their little joke.
"I'll try my best Madam" Harry said, dismissing himself and Archades with a nod before leaving the office and heading towards the great hall for lunch.
"You know, you never told me what you did during the summer, I told you about going to the Zabini's beach house with Stephanie and her family remember?" Archie asked, as the two walked to their destination, weaving in and around the throng of students heading to the same place.
"Nothing much, I did a lot of studying" he admitted, causing Archie to groan.
"You're even a bookworm on your holidays? Hopeless!" he moaned in dissatisfaction. Harry didn't feel the need to let him know that only half of it was actual book work, there was no need for Archie to know he could perform magic outside of school.
"I also had to attend a trial at the Ministry so my uncle could open his inn" he began "some woman by the name of Umbridge tried to stop its opening by vetoing the request to place wards up on the property, we went to trial and won, it was quite the experience."
Archie's eyes seemed to gain an understanding after seemingly going into thought "Stephanie's dad mentioned something about that" Archie said, in reminiscence "the Moony Nights, right?"
Harry nodded "I take it he was there during the trial on the Wizengamot then?"
"Yeah, he had to leave the beach house a few times for Ministry work; that was one of the days. I didn't get any of the papers, but apparently the trial caused a big commotion in the Ministry and the country in general" Archie said, scratching his cheek in thought.
"'Moony Nights' purpose is to act as a sanctuary for all sorts of half-breeds and intelligent magical creatures that are otherwise oppressed in someway by the ministry" he began "My uncle is a werewolf so he wouldn't discriminate against anybody by not letting them in, whether they be Wizard, Werewolf, Veela, Vampire or whatever" he said with a shrug.
Archie gained a faraway look as his eyes watered slightly. Harry barely noticed this before the usually jovial boy covered it up quickly with his standard grin "It sounds like a marvellous idea; I might come by during the holidays next time with Stephanie if I can; where is it?"
"Knockturn Alley of course" Harry answered, filing away Archie's strange behaviour for another time "It would be a hassle if bigoted people protested against its existence for bringing 'dangerous' creatures into their lives, so we had to avoid any main alleys; Knockturn Alley is perfect."
Archie frowned in thought as they rounded a corner, almost crashing into someone in the process.
"Oh, hey Harry" greeted the pink haired which with a brilliant smile.
"Nymphadora" Harry greeted likewise with a nod as they paused in their trek towards the great hall "this is Archades Montague, Archades, this is Nymphadora Tonks."
Ignoring the murderous look on the seventh year's face Archie saw fit to put in his two cents.
"Potter!" he exclaimed in mock outrage "fraternizing with beautiful older women behind my back, how dare you!"
Harry rolled his eyes, shooting Tonks a look which clearly said 'he's not with me'.
Tonks giggled at the boy's antics and shook his hand "You heard my name from Harry, but don't call me Nymphadora, it usually gets people hexed" she said with a smile.
Archades chuckled as he shook her hand "Don't worry, I understand, he calls 'Archades'" he said, saying the name with a wince "everyone else calls me Archie."
"Tonks, everyone calls me Tonks" Tonks introduced likewise. Harry was just ignoring the two; he quite enjoyed annoying them by using their full first names thank you very much.
"How's 'Moony Nights' coming along then Harry?" Tonks asked as all three of them started towards the great hall again "My mum apologizes for not showing up to the trial by the way, she had other clients to attend to on the same day, besides, my dad's the one that takes care of the courtroom stuff anyway" she apologized.
Harry waved it off, already knowing how Andromeda and Ted Tonks worked their law firm "The Goblins, knowing what the place's purpose was were quick to erect the wards once we got the permit" he began as his company listened with rapt attention.
"What kind of wards did they put up?" Archie asked wanting to know the spells used to protect public establishments involved.
"Anti-apparation wards, Anti-portkey wards, Anti-aggression wards, Structure strengthening wards, Anti-trespasser wards, and Object restriction wards to name a few off the top of my head" he listed off to his two confused companions.
"I know what the first two do" Tonks began slowly "obviously, but what about the rest? I never took runes or took much interest in warding before you ask" she said, glaring at Harry, daring him to say something. Archie looked just as interested as Tonks did about the topic.
"Well, the Anti-aggression wards prevent anyone who means harm to an occupant of Moony Nights from entering the premises or removes someone who intend harm that is already in there" he began "that one is fairly essential for dealing with some of the less intelligent werewolves and vampires who insist on keeping up with that centuries old feud" he explained, gaining understanding nods from his two companions. It is generally known that the younger and less educated werewolves and vampires sometimes insist on honouring a feud that was all but dealt with as soon as it began "the Structure strengthening wards are what Gringotts place around all of their valued clients vaults to stop anyone smashing through the walls or floors to get into them" he said, pausing slightly to gather his thoughts as they reached the great hall "for Moony Nights, it basically means that no one can destroy the premises from the outside physically or magically, and if they choose to do so from the inside, the anti-aggression wards will just kick them out."
Tonks had a thoughtful expression on her face at that explanation "You can't have that ward work on doors though form memory" she supplied what's to stop someone from smashing the doors down?"
"Every door and the hinges they rest on are enchanted by the goblins as well to be unbreakable" Harry explained "only an extremely powerful wizard or gifted ward-breaker could break them down, but I was hoping to amend that sometime in the future" he admitted.
"Anti-trespasser wards allow whoever they are keyed into to add 'undesirables' into them and restrict certain magical signatures from entering again" he explained with a shrug, most establishments had that ward on them "and object restriction wards basically prevent anyone bringing anything like silver or any other substance that it is keyed to prevent from allowing within."
"Wow…that's so cool" Archie said in awe, listening to the power of warding magic.
Harry nodded "I agree, I've been reading up on wards over the holidays, it's definitely something I'd be interested in learning."
"I'm off to my table Harry, when can we continue our little sparring sessions we were doing last year?" she asked, ignorant to the incredulous look on Archie's face.
"Saturday night sounds good, I've been practising so it should be interesting" Harry admitted, he too ignoring to the sputtering of his friend until he voiced his thoughts.
"Is 'sparring sessions' your codename for 'sex'?" he asked in an overly loud whisper. Harry sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance as a giggling Tonks left him with a perverted idiot.
"Where's Stephanie when you need her…I" he mumbled under his breath.
"You call for me?" a feminine drawl came from behind the two Ravenclaws. As Harry spotted the very girl he was thinking about walking into the great hall his grin turned insidious as he sicked an outraged Stephanie on Archades. Amidst the yelps of pain and pathetic whimpering of his friend, he had to admit that it was good to be back at Hogwarts.
"You are all here because you think you're good enough to try out for the Quidditch team" the voice of Robert Ellwood, Ravenclaw Chaser and team captain called out to the dozen or so Quidditch hopefuls standing on the Quidditch pitch. The weather was perfect, in Harry's opinion, for Quidditch; not too hot, not too cold and the sun just setting so magical lights were switched on to illuminate the field.
"As a Chaser, I will be taking those of you who wish to try out for the two vacant positions we currently have due to the graduations of Elliot and Grimsby. Seeker tryouts will be held by Spencer, Beater tryouts by Polack and Keeper tryouts by Worthington" he said in a loud and clear voice, pointing to the mentioned people for each position "we only have vacancies for Chasers this season, but if you impress your trainer enough, you will be placed on the reserve team or taken note of to replace the players currently occupying that position when they graduate" he finished, looking at the determined faces of the students before him "Any questions?"
Seeing that no one raised their hands, he blew the whistle he had hanging from his neck and everyone broke up into separate groups. Harry followed Ellwood over to a box that held two dozen or so Quaffles and stood at attention, a 'Comet Two Sixty' provided by the school held by his side. The only other person he recognized in the chaser tryouts was Roger Davis, another of the boys who showed promise on a broom last year.
Ellwood kicked open the box revealing the Quaffles to the group before turning to them "Your first task for the caser tryouts is to each catch one of these Quaffles that I pass to you in mid air and shoot at one of the three hoops our reserve keeper is guarding" he explained, motioning to the fourth year hovering in front of the goals "Know that you're not expected to score; I will be judging your form, grip, throwing strength and vision. Mount up and fly towards the marker in the sky, you are to fly straight towards the goals when your name is called to receive the Quaffle before making your shot from no closer then thirty yards of the hoops" he continued to explain, and sure enough, there were coloured smoke clouds as markers in the sky for them to use; a red smoke cloud for their starting position and a thin secular shaped cloud surrounding the hoops showing the thirty yard point from every position around.
The five rookies flew to the red cloud and waited for their names to be called. The first to be called was a fourth year girl Harry didn't recognize who launched off from her starting position on the whistle, caught the Quaffle somewhat difficultly after a little fumble and shot the ball from thirty yards on the mark, only narrowly missing the mark.
Roger Davis was the next and as soon as his name was called, he zoomed off at a speed much quicker then the first applicant. When the Quaffle was thrown at him, it was a little behind him and not in front like he had hoped due to the speed he had flown at; to rectify the problem, he yanked on his broom yard and did a backwards loop so he could catch the ball before shooting from thirty five yards and narrowly missing the wide hoop. Harry was impressed and Ellwood seemed to be also, that shot totally had the keeper beat; he just needed to be more accurate.
The third on fourth Chaser applicants were completely unremarkable after Roger's performance, so it was no surprise that Ellwood didn't seem all that eager when he called Harry's name. Launching off as fast as his borrowed broom would take him, Harry rushed towards the goal waiting for his pass. Unfortunately, the pass was coming in too low seeing as Harry had flew wider away from the goal so he could pull keeper to the near hoop before he shot. Gritting his teeth in annoyance, Harry tried something he had read in a Quidditch plays book Archie had let him borrow before this and hoped it would work.
Ellwood watched with a frown as the Quaffle was losing its altitude before it would hit its mark; however he was shocked at what Potter did to rectify this. The second year rolled off his broom to his right, away from him, with his arm reach out low to catch the ball. Harry was completely upside down on his broom when he caught the Quaffle with his legs interlocked on the broomstick to remain flying, however, he was not yet done. Using the inertia from his roll, he came back up on the opposite side of his broom and hurled the ball with an outward spin that completely fooled the keeper. The Quaffle flew over the keeper's head and curled into the far hoop after ricocheting from the inside portion of the metal hoop.
There was silence as Harry lowered himself to the ground until two students began to cheer from the stands. Harry purposefully looked away from Tonks and Archie who, he was sure, were deliberately trying to embarrass him with their idiocy, though he failed to hide a small smile that was plastered on his face due to the adrenaline rush of what he had just pulled.
The remaining two trials for the Chaser try-outs were a passing test and a defending test where they simply had to throw as good a pass as possible to a randomly flying Ellwood and attempting to pull off interceptions of passes between the recently finished beaters and Chaser captain himself. It was no surprise when Roger and Harry shined in these tests scoring seven out of ten and nine out of ten passes respectfully and four interceptions each.
"Alright guys, I thank you all for trying out but I doubt there's any use denying the skill these two showed today on the pitch, have either of you played before?" he asked, looking as excited as he sounded.
"I played at home with my brothers on the summer holidays on occasion" admitted Davis with an embarrassed flush as Harry shook his head.
"No, but I've played football for most of my life…the theory and strategies are similar…" Harry mumbled as Ellwood's eyes were twinkling merrily, his excitement not yet abated.
"Being a Chaser's in your blood Potter, I'm sure you'll do the Blue and Bronze proud" he encouraged, referring to their house colours "You too Roger, I expect good things this year. Out biggest weakness last season was our lack of good chasers; we might actually stand a chance of winning the cup this season with Moran gone and Weasley having to carry his team of rookies" he said almost all in one breath and an almost evil cackle.
"I take it we make the team then?" Harry unnecessarily asked with a drawl, feeling quite tired after practise and remembering he had to meet Tonks tonight for their sparring session.
"Of course Potter, of course" he said distractedly, eyeing the two in the Quidditch uniforms before frowning "We'll need a lot of practise before our first game though so we can work well together, do you two have brooms?"
Roger nodded "I'm going to borrow my brother's Nimbus 1700; now that he has a job, he won't need it" he said with a smile while Harry shrugged.
"I don't but I'll send a notice to Gringotts so that they can purchase one with my money" this seemed to pacify their captain for now as they were introduced to the rest of the team. They were reintroduced to the Keeper, Nigel Worthington, the seeker, Allison Spencer and one of the beaters, Graham Polack and introduced to Amelia Jones, the other beater who apparently had a wicked aim despite her lack of strength.
"We'll have our first team training same time next week and every Saturday evening until the end of the season. Also, starting Wednesday week, we'll be having team strategy sessions and practises for the rest of the season also at six in the evening. If this timetable clashes with any classes or prior engagements, I expect you to grovel at Professor Flitwick's feet until he writes you a pass allowing you to attend – I. Don't. Like. Slackers" he finished, punctuating every word with a glare at the two new members who nodded in acceptance. Harry was happy he was free at those times; he didn't much fancy grovelling…
On the way back to the castle, after parting ways with his new team mates, he was ambushed by Tonks and Archie who began to congratulate him in earnest, without anyone around to hear their antics and laugh at him.
"Don't touch my hair woman" snapped Harry as Tonks gave him a noogie while holding him in a headlock, causing Archie to laugh even more then he already was.
"Aww, poor widdle baby Potter is worried aboud his scwuffy hairs being messier?" Tonks taunted in a ridiculous baby voice that only aggravated him some more.
"Keep up that behaviour and I won't put in a good word for you to Remus, Nymphadora" he said with a grin, enjoying how the Metamorph's hair changed rapidly through various shades of red as a sign of her embarrassment or anger, he wasn't certain.
"Hey, Tonks has the hots for your uncle? You're cheating on Harry?!" Archie joined in with the teasing, putting his bit in with mock outrage. Harry just grinned triumphantly when the speed of the colour changing of her hair only increased.
"Idon'thave the hots for his 'uncle'" she bit out first "I'mnotcheating on Harry because one needs to bedatingto do so" she stated, her eyes narrowing as further as she continued "and theonlyreason you seem to think I do have the hots for him is because you saw meembarrassedafter making an ass of myself by falling down my own stairs" she hissed, as if she had said this many times before, it seemed to be rehearsed enough.
"You told Ted that how many times exactly?" Harry asked with a grin as Tonks only seemed to be angered further. When she whipped out her wand to hex him, Harry shook his head in faux disappointment.
"You harm me Nymphadora and I don't think these tired muscles will be able to make our sparring session tonight" he said, causing the girl to halt. Having the boy conjure her dummies and practically be a target dummy himself that can cast defensive charms and dodge her spells was definitely improving her spell casting speed, reflexes and aim. She really didn't want to harm that if she could help it.
"You could hex Archades though, no one really likes him anyway" he said as the boy turned to him slowly, shocked, angry and scared at the same time.
"Traitor!" he bellowed, well, more like squeaked as he bolted for the doors while dodging a cackling Tonks's hexes. Nothing cruel, Harry could tell, but they would definitely be uncomfortable if they hit. Harry noticed, with amusem*nt, that Archie could definitely move quickly when motivated.
Harry and the rest of the Quidditch team stumbled through the Ravenclaw common room entrance, glad that there was a seventh year girl already there answering the mandatory riddle else one of them would have surely just blasted their way into the rooms.
It had been a long and tiring training session for the new Quidditch team and Ellwood was quite brutal on him for not yet having procured his own broom. Davis had borrowed his brother's Nimbus 1700 like he said he would and Harry was impressed how much better it flew and handled compared to the school brooms when he was allowed to have a test fly on it. The difference between the two makes was staggering; it felt like the school brooms were like tricycles while the Nimbus was a racing motorbike.
Collapsing on the couch beside Archie who could be seen hunched over a piece of parchment writing his Potion's assignment out, he waited patiently for him to finish his assignment or notice him before making his presence known.
"Hey Harry, you look buggered" he joked, rolling up his assignment after signing his name on it and sealing it "rough night?" he jokes, earning himself an impressive death glare from Harry.
"I just spent five hours hurling a Quaffle with both arms at a moving target over fifty feet away with no rest until I could hit it ten times in a row, ridiculous stamina training where we had to run laps around the Quidditch pitch while dodging Quaffles and going through and inventing team strategies – lucky tomorrow is Sunday" he finished with a sigh, ignoring Archie who was gaping at his friend.
"Well damn, I'm glad I didn't try out, that's crazy" he sympathized, sitting down on the seat across from Harry after bagging his homework.
"You got any homework?" Archie asked, wondering if his friend had time to finish it with his Quidditch training, personal studies which he kept to himself and 'sparring sessions that are not codenames for sexual encounters'.
"I usually finish all my assignments in class or during history" he said with a yawn as he leaned back in the chair and propped his feet on the table, earning glares from the nearby group of fifth year girls who were simply ignored.
"During History? What do you do for notes?" asked a perplexed Archie "That exam was pretty hard last year and I take notes myself" he said with a frown.
Harry shrugged and yawned again, too tired to explain it to him "I'll tell you another time, I'm just gonna…take…a little nap…" he said between yawns as he drifted off.
Before he could succumb to the beautiful darkness he so craved however, he was quickly interrupted by Archie who had slapped him hard enough to annoy him across the face.
"Bartholomew just came in" indicated Archie as he began to do his Transfiguration homework which Harry usually helped him with anyway. It was funny how Harry could simplify the overly complicating McGonagall's explanations so he could understand the subject.
Seeing the owl he shared with Remus flying with a broom shaped package, Harry grinned when he noticed he had the Quidditch team's and most of the room's undivided attention, well, the owl did at least.
Opening the package, he pulled out a brand new broom that had a body of dark Irish oak with gold trimming. The butt of the broom had dozens upon dozens of neatly cut thin wooden twigs that resembled the broom's brush; each twig looked to be personally crafted and perfectly straight. On the tip of the broom was a golden plaque with the engraving of the broom's name: 'Nimbus 2000'.
Looking up to his captain, the boy seemed to be hyperventilating, much to his amusem*nt while everyone else looked on in shock.
"That's a Nimbus two thousand!" gaped Ellwood in shock rushing over to Harry but not daring to touch the broom, while glaring at anyone who even dared to even think such a thing.
"This is the fasted racing broom on the market; it just came out this week! I saw it advertised in my 'Quidditch Monthly' magazine!" he cooed, eyeing the broom with awe while never actually touching it – to be honest, it was creeping Harry out a bit.
"I'm getting you a broom service kit" Ellwood said with conviction "No way are you going to let this baby get treated bad, I'm going to make you service it every day!" he promised while he was dragged away with force by the team Seeker and his girlfriend Allison Spencer.
As the crowd dissipated, Archie retook his seat, trying not to look impressed by the broom "So…" he began "you going to let me have a ride on your broom?"
Harry just looked at him, no expression on his face while the group of girl's that had glared at Harry earlier for resting his feet on the table stopped talking and began giggling at Archie.
"You're such a queer…" Harry said, as he went up to his room so he could put his broom away safely, leaving a stumped and horrified Archie behind who didn't understand what happened.
It wasn't until five minutes later that he realized what he just said as he attempted to 'save face' with the pretty girls that had overheard their conversation.
Harry and Archie could be found sitting together in their History class, speaking in hushed tones with each other after Harry had shown the boy the secret to his success in the class.
"Cedric said that the world cup was awesome" commented Archie wistfully "I couldn't go, but his dad got their family tickets through some connection in the ministry, he was telling me that the Russia, Japan final was the best match he'd ever seen" he narrated under his breath, continuing with their Quidditch discussion while two identical Quills scribbled down whatever the professor said without their assistance.
"What happened with Ireland? I thought with Moran helping them they'd surely do well" Harry commented with a frown, making sure that his quills were taking notes as they had been charmed to do.
"They lost to Japan in the match before the final" he said with a nod "the Irish chasers apparently showed the best teamwork out of any chaser team in decades of Quidditch; they're calling them the famous 'Troy, Mullet and Moran trio'" he said, putting air quotations around the makeshift name.
"Where's the next one being held?" asked Harry, changing the topic.
"Here in Britain apparently" said Archie with a shrug "if it gets approved though, the Ministry will have to divert a lot of its funding and personnel to build the stadium because there hasn't been one held in Britain for over five hundred years, and that stadium is nowhere near big enough."
Harry frowned at that "How big was the one in Japan?"
"It seated eighty thousand" replied Archie easily. It fascinated Harry how much the boy justknewthese random facts about anything Quidditch "the ministry will probably try and beat that though…"
"We will be discussing a new topic today now that we are finished with the war against the Dark Lord Grindelwald" Binns's voice called out to the class, his voice sounding like an old vacuum but the change in topic definitely got everyone's attention. They had, to start the term, been briefly going over the defeat of every dark wizard for the past thousand years and it seemed they were up to the most recent of them.
"The Dark Lord, commonly known as 'He-who-must-not-be-named'" he began, as Harry rolled his eyes at the stupid name "was, unfortunately, winning the war until one night almost a decade ago" he said ominously; his voice, that could usually put everyone asleep, right now held everyone's attention like Professor Snape could easily do in any of his classes.
"It was on that night that he attacked the Longbottom's home in Sparrow's End by himself for reasons unknown…" Archie noticed, as Binns continued to explain the story of the 'Boy-who-lived' that Harry's eyes had darkened as if he were brooding.
"Nobody knows what exactly happened, but after…defeating Frank and Alice Longbottom, 'You-know-who' turned his wand on young Neville Longbottom to fire the killing curse at the lad and nip any chance of opposition in the bud, however, miraculously, the killing curse backfired and claimed 'He-who-must-not-be-named' instead…"
Everyone in the room had become deathly silent, a contrast to the quiet chattering that usually occurred during this class "All that was left of the Dark Lord were his robes on the floor without his body in them and a lightning bolt scar on young Neville's forehead…many believe the lad to be a hero and the 'chosen one' that brought the end of a horrible war…" he said, with a pause.
"However, there were some who were not at all Happy with the news of 'You-know-who's' demise and they attacked several places around Britain in search for their lord…many people died that night…"
Everyone jumped slightly in some way when the silence was broken by the sound of one of the wooden chairs scraping against the floor and Harry Potter leaving the room with an unreadable expression on his face. Binns was about to call his name when the bell signifying the end of the period rang, so instead of calling him back, he dismissed them all, including a worried Archie.
