Back to School

Chapter Seven

Back to School

When at last they arrived at Hogwarts, Harry searched the Great Hall for a glimpse of Tanya. As he took his place at the Gryffindor table, he spotted her sitting further down, almost to the empty area where the newly sorted first years would sit.

She turned to watch everyone file into the Hall and caught Harry's eye. She smiled happily, and at Harry's beckoning wave, moved to take a place next to him at the bench. Hermione sat on her opposite side, with Ron and Ginny taking seats on each side of her.

"It's so good to finally see you all again," she exclaimed, speaking more to Harry than to the others. At least that's how Harry chose to interpret it. "How was the rest of your summer?"

Harry took advantage of the others' catching up with the students all around them to capture Tanya's attention. "I've missed you terribly," he said shyly, making sure no one else overheard. "Are you ready for term to start tomorrow, then?"

"Aye, as ready as I'll ever be," she said. "I still don't have the results of my examinations, but everyone keeps telling me not to worry; I seem to have done well."

"Good, I hope you'll be in sixth year. Then we might have some classes together."

"Aye, I've been counseled by the staff about career choices. I'm heading for a career as a caretaker of Magical Creatures. So Professor McGonagall scheduled classes for me to prepare me for those particular NEWTs next year."

"Then you'll be under the immediate supervision of Hagrid," Harry said. "Do you get on well with him?"

"Aye, he's the best! I'm glad to be involved in something I feel so natural about. And he's so enthusiastic about teaching. He acts like I've bestowed a gift on him by being interested in his beasts."

"Yeah, that'd be Hagrid, all right. Mind you, he doesn't always realize that some of the more dangerous animals aren't really fitting for pets."

"Aye, he treats them all like kittens. I have to keep on my toes around him."

Harry looked up at the staff table and gave a start. "What's Raphael doing up there?" he asked incredulously.

Tanya smiled. "Oh, I forgot. Raphael will be apprenticing with Trelawney in Divination. Dumbledore offered him a job." She lowered her voice to avoid anyone hearing. "Trouble is, he can't do much. I suspect Dumbledore put him there to keep him out of harm's way."

Harry laughed, a load being lifted off his chest. It appeared by the laughter in her voice that Tanya didn't take Raphael very seriously. And yet . . . Harry's laughter died out, seeing the intensity of the look Raphael was giving Tanya, as if willing Tanya to seek him out. Harry guessed Raphael must still be considered a rival for Tanya's attention.

"Will you have to be taking any Divination classes for your NEWTs?" he asked nonchalantly.

"No, thank the gods!" Tanya laughed out loud. A lovely, uninhibited sound, Harry thought. Lowering her voice once more, Tanya said, "I think neither Trelawney nor I have the patience to get me through any more of her lessons!"

A hush fell over the Hall as Professor McGonagall marched down the aisle with the usual frightened-looking bunch of new first years following. It was time for the sorting to begin.

Dumbledore rose. "Welcome back to another Hogwarts year," he began. "A few announcements." His eyes considered the room at large, commanding them to take his next words seriously.

"If you don't already know, then hear this . . . Voldemort is back. Even the Ministry has decided to acknowledge this fact. For those first years among us who aren't yet acquainted with our current state of affairs, rest assured, your history classes will begin by bringing you up-to-date with the troubles in our midst.

"For everyone, be vigilant, be cautious, be alert. Now is not the time for petty squabbles and too much concentration on competition among Houses. It is, now more than ever, a time for unity and strength.

"Now, for you athletes and spectators at large . . . fear not, we will still have our Quidditch matches and the House cup at the end of the year. But I would like to think that we'll all keep the competition at an appropriate level. A little rivalry is good; it keeps us sharp; but let's not let it control us.

"Now on to things more academic. First years, be aware that the dark forest is strictly off limits; you do not know the dangers yet that lurk there. The rest of you do know; let that be enough to keep you out as well.

"We have a new apprentice Divination teacher this year; Mister Raphael Driver will be working with Professor Trelawney, perfecting his teaching skills." As Raphael stood up slightly, acknowledging the introduction, he once again looked to Tanya and smiled. Harry couldn't see from sitting behind her whether or not she'd smiled at him.

Raphael sat back down and Dumbledore continued. "We also have a transfer student with us." Harry frowned. Transfer? Tanya turned to him. "That sounded easier than explaining to everyone why I advanced so quickly," she explained to Harry. "It's easier for me." He smiled in understanding.

"Tanya Relke has been sorted into Gryffindor House, and I'm sure we'll all make sure she feels most welcome." He smiled, and Tanya stood up and sat down again so quickly, Harry was startled. Apparently, Tanya didn't like being the center of attention any more than he did.

"And now, the Sorting!"

After the new students had been sorted and everyone had their fill of the feast, the prefects led the way to the dorms.

They entered the common room, and as Tanya hung back to let others go around her, Harry followed suit. They drifted toward the corner fireplace, and sat down on the couch opposite, just happy to be in each other's company.

Everyone else was tired enough to drift up quickly to their dormitories, so it was only a matter of minutes before they found themselves alone. Harry looked at Tanya, running a finger down the arm of her new robes.

"So, you're now officially a witch," he said.

"There's something about these robes," she said with a smile. "They make you feel magical, don't they?"

"For me, I think it was more that I'd entered a world I hadn't known existed until about two days before my first term here. Once I got my letter accepting me into Hogwarts, everything seemed to happen so fast."

"I had to wait more than a year before I knew I'd ever be a part of it," she said. "It was a long year, but I'm glad it came out all right. I'm glad I'm here."

"I'm glad you're here, too," he said, looking directly into her eyes.

She leaned forward slowly, silently inviting him to do the same. When their lips met, Harry fought to still his breathing, allowing his hand to touch her hair, which she'd worn loose today. All those dreams and all that reading made him anxious once again for her touch, but he would not rush her. He would not push her in such a way that they ended up wrestling on this couch. He wanted something special, and he wasn't sure they'd ever find it here, at school, especially in the common room, where they could be disturbed at any time.

It was a good thing too, that he reined himself in. The Head Boy, a Ravenclaw that Harry didn't know well, someone by the unlikely name of Chance Mince, chose that moment to enter the room. Harry silently cursed the rule that allowed Head Boy and Head Girl to go into any Tower or dormitory, and stood up, trying not to look as though he and Tanya had been up to anything.

"It's quite late, you know," Mince said bossily. "You should both be in bed by now. Your own beds," he added insultingly. Tanya rolled her eyes and Harry clamped his mouth down tight, not wanting to begin the new school year by having points deducted from Gryffindor.

In spite of Mince's presence, Tanya deliberately stood up, and moving closer to Harry, threw her arms around his neck and kissed him, pressing her body into his. Harry's arms, of their own accord, came up to her back, pulling her even closer to him as he returned the kiss, his brain's inability to function patently obvious.

"I'll see you at breakfast," she breathed. Without a look at Mince, she walked purposefully up the stairs to the girls' dorm.

Harry's eyes followed her, nonplussed. As Mince turned to look back at Harry, Harry was grateful for the way his robes draped over him, lest Mince see exactly how much his body was affected by Tanya's wantonness. He turned away and strode up to his own dorm before Mince could get obnoxious.