Chapter Seven
"Disappearing Act"

Page One

"Harry! Wake up, Harry!" said Ron hastily.

"Hmm?" mumbled Harry in reply.

"If you don't get up you'll miss breakfast! Now, get up!"

"Are you sure you're not Hermione?" groaned Harry sarcastically.

"Oh, come on. I'm starving!" replied Ron, who had already gotten dressed and was now pulling Harry's blankets away to make him get up.

"Fine," said Harry grudgingly.

"Meet me down in the common room after you're dressed and we can go down together." Ron left Harry alone in the boy's dormitory. Neville, Dean and Seamus had already left for breakfast.

Harry slowly crawled out of bed and lazily reached for his glasses that sat on his bedside table. He slid them up the bridge of his nose and suddenly the boys dormitory was a lot clearer. He looked at the window and saw a brilliant blue sky with a few white balloonish clouds.

Harry remembered Ron's whines about how hungry he was, so Harry tried to hurry himself as he threw on his robes. He quickly picked up his wand and his book bag and sped down the spiral staircase.

"Finally," said Ron, getting up from one of the squishy armchairs by the fire.

"Let's hurry," said Hermione, who was standing next to the armchair that Ron was in. "I don't want to miss breakfast."

The three of them left the Common Room and dashed down to the Great Hall. They had just passed the threshold of the Great Hall when the giant platters filled once more. But this time they offered ham, eggs, bacon and sausages.

"Oh, yes!" cried Ron very melodramatically. "Food, glorious food, at last!"

Ron ran towards the Gryffindor table and grabbed a seat. He quickly filled his plate and started shoveling food into his mouth.

Hermione sighed and shook her head, but said nothing.

Harry and Hermione joined Ron at the table who was trying very hard to cram four sausages into his mouth.

"For cripes sake, Ron, slow down," said Harry, who was scooping some eggs onto his own plate. He then turned to Hermione and said, "You'd almost think he hadn't eaten in days."

When Ron had finally finished eating his fourth helping of scrambled eggs, they got up and were walking towards the door when Malfoy stepped in front of them.

"So Potter, did you like that little surprise? If I were you, I would steer clear of my father, he isn't too happy with you."

"What's your git of a father got against Harry, Malfoy?" spat Ron, who was looking a bit off-color.

Malfoy's eyes narrowed as he said threateningly, "Oh, you'll find out soon enough." With that, Malfoy turned and strode off.

Harry, Ron and Hermione exchanged looks of silent laughter, then pressed forward towards their first Potions lesson.

"Potter, Weasley, Granger! You're late," sneered Professor Malfoy. "Fifteen points from Gryffindor, now g-o t-o y-o-u-r s-e-a-t-s!"

"Fifteen points!" whispered Ron angrily. "We were two minutes late! Oy, this is going to be a fun class."

It was obvious that the Gryffindors and Slytherins didn't want to get near each other. All of the Slytherins were on one side of the room and the Gryffindors were opposite them. A few Gryffindors shot dirty looks at the Slytherins, while the Slytherins retaliated by tossing spit-wads and disguising rude messages in coughs.

Harry, Ron and Hermione went to join Neville who was alone at a table looking downtrodden and lonely.

"Hiya, Neville," whispered Harry energetically.

"Shhh!" whispered Neville out of the corner of his mouth. "Seamus already lost us five points just for sneezing! I don't want to find out what Professor Malfoy does to people that talk."

"Everyone get out your quills, parchment and your scales," said Professor Malfoy in a voice not unlike Draco's, long and drawling. "Today we will be working on the Exsanguinatus potion. Can anyone tell me what this potion's effects are?"

Almost at once, Hermione raised her hand, as always. Professor Malfoy, however, completely ignored her. He looked around the classroom for another raised hand, but none was to be found except for Hermione's. Finally, he said, "Yes, Ms. Granger?"

"The Exsanguinatus potion acts more like a poison. It drains the drinker of their blood almost instantly," stated Hermione in a very matter-of-fact tone.

"Good," muttered Professor Malfoy quietly. "Two points to Gryffindor. Everyone turn to page fourteen in Percolating Potions. Add your ingredients, I will move among you, monitoring your progress. Begin."

Everyone opened their books and began shuffling through the pages, looking for the list of needed ingredients.

"Two dead flies," muttered Neville. "Check."

Professor Malfoy was sweeping about the room; shouting out praises to the Slytherins while bashing the Gryffindors to no end.

"Well done, Ms. Parkinson. Your ingredients have been measured perfectly. Ten points to Slytherin."

He then turned on Lavender Brown, a fellow Gryffindor.

"Ms. Bikey," he shouted.

"Brown, sir," Lavender whispered meekly, her head down.

"Whatever. Your potion is lacking some much-needed zing. Add one more toad leg and ten points will be taken from Gryffindor for your lack of effort."

Many jaws dropped in shock at what Malfoy just proclaimed.

"Ten points!" said Dean Thomas in an angry whisper. "There's nothing wrong with your potion, Lavender. It says here not to add more than four frog legs or your potion will turn to sludge! You've already added five, just ignore Malfoy."

Finally, after twenty additional points were given to Slytherin and Gryffindor was down by thirty more, class came to a close.

"Homework, class; describe the full effects of this potion in no less than four hundred words, to be turned in tomorrow. Dismissed."

Everyone, even the Slytherins were fuming about this assignment.

"Four hundred words!" screamed Crabbe as they trudged out to the hallway. "I can't write that many! I don't even know that many!"

"Never fear," said Malfoy coolly. "I'll talk to Professor Malfoy, he'll lower our assignments to at most one hundred words. I'm afraid I can't say the same for those pathetic Gryffindors."

Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle strode off, laughing.

"I would love to sock him once in the face," said Seamus. "Just 'cause."

"What's next, Hermione?" asked Ron.

"Defense Against the Dark Arts with Snape," she said with a sigh. "I was so hoping that there would be a new teacher for that position this year."

"Yeah, but how could the ever find someone that could do as well as Lupin?" replied Harry.

"Speaking of that, has anyone heard from Lupin since last year?" asked Ron quizzically.

"Not that I know of," said Harry. "I hope he's doing alright."

They had just reached the dungeon where Snape was now holding the Defense Against the Dark Arts lessons, so their conversation had to be put on hold.

They stepped inside the dark, damp room expecting to see Snape looking just as menacing as always, but they found that the room was empty.

"Perhaps we're early…" said Hermione, sitting down at a desk in the back of the room. Harry and Ron took seats on opposite sides of Hermione and were just about to resume their conversation about Lupin, when the other fourth year Gryffindors filed into the room.

Everyone sat down quickly and quietly. They all sat quite still, expecting Snape to pop in at any moment, trying to catch them off guard. Five minutes passed, then ten, then twenty.

"Where do you think he is?" asked Ron suddenly.

A burst of whispers spread through the room like a giant wave.

"This is very unlike him," said Parvati Patil.

"This is giving me the creeps, where on earth could he be?" whispered Neville cautiously as though Snape could hear him.

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