Light Return Feast

You were sitting alone at the end of the Slytherin table in the Great Hall. The winter break was officially over and the rest of the student body was due back any minute now. Crabbe and Goyle received a letter midway through the day delivered by Draco’s eagle owl with instructions to meet him down in Hogsmeade station when the train arrived. You weren’t sure what that was about. You hadn’t actually seen the letter for yourself but Crabbe and Goyle were about as subtle as a bag of rocks so if it said anything else you would’ve found out.

Vincent and Gregory left a while ago along with Damian Perriss and Percy Weasley - the two fifth year prefects who stayed for the holidays. You noticed during your first term that the fifth year prefects were the ones who dealt with the first years, and since Hagrid was up at the Head Table, you took that to mean that the returning first years wouldn’t be sailing across the Black Lake and would instead be guided back to the castle by the fifth year prefects.

The noise level outside the Great Hall rose as the departed students made their return. You were seated at the end of the table closest to the door so you had a view of everyone as they came in.

There was no real set pattern in how the students arrived. You supposed it was just a matter of who got off the train and made it up to the castle first. A handful of older Ravenclaws were the first ‘early birds’ to arrive but the first students that you actually recognized were the first year Hufflepuff boys - the purebloods Ernie Macmillan and Zacharias Smith, the halfblood Wayne Hopkins, and the muggleborn Justin Finch-Fletchley. The four boys were trailing behind the fifth year prefect who you identified as Gabriel Truman. You shared Charms with the Hufflepuffs but didn’t interact with them much outside it. However, seeing the Puffs once again reminded you that you needed to approach Professor Sprout in order to earn some house points from her so you could complete your self-imposed game of House Point Bingo.

Percy Weasley strode in next with the returning first year Gryffindors and his female counterpart bringing up the rear. A familiar mass of bushy brown hair caught your eye and you felt your cheeks flush when you saw the real Hermione Granger for the first time since you saw the older version of her in the Mirror of Erised. You quickly averted your eyes and looked away so you wouldn’t be caught looking. But averting your eyes caused you to spot Neville Longbottom who was trailing behind at the back of the group with the female prefect and looked extra pale. Hopefully he’d be okay once he ate a warm meal with his friends.

The next students you recognized were Gemma’s friends Lysandra Yaxley and Evanora Rowle. Gemma was obviously not with them since she was dealing with your fellow Slytherin first years. Speaking of which, they were sure taking their sweet time. Well over half of the returning students were back now. The rest of the Hufflepuff first years came in and then all the Ravenclaw first years arrived together. Penny Clearwater led the little birds into the room while her fellow prefect Robert Hilliard brought up the rear. You tensed when you briefly locked eyes with Terry Boot. Similarly to the Hufflepuffs, you didn’t interact much with the first year Ravenclaws outside of the few classes you had together. In fact, your groups in Herbology had remained more or less the same since that first lesson all the way back in September. But the one Ravenclaw you actually made a point to avoid was Terry Boot.

It wasn’t that you had anything personally against the boy… it was mostly due to the awkward history that the two of you shared. Your earliest memories were of being another nameless magical orphan with no known family lineage crammed in the oversized boot-shaped building known as Mother Goose’s Orphanage for Magical Children. Back then, even your mother’s identity was a mystery so Mother Goose and her assortment of Sisters made one up for you as they did with all the other nameless orphans.

Boot. Cobbler. Heel. Trainer. Cleat. Plimsoll. And even Golash. Those were a handful of the common ‘shoe-based’ surnames Mother Goose and the Sisters gave the orphans that they raised in the manky old boot. Other times they’d draw their inspiration from literature such as classic nursery rhymes, fairy tales, and novels. Of which your old name was a prime example.

One of the Sisters once informed you that they had been stuck between calling you Jack Nimble or Jack Quick but then Mother Goose weighed in and decided to call you Oliver Swift. A name that was one letter away from the titular orphan from the classic English novel while also keeping to the ‘speedy’ theme the Sisters were originally going for. Another factor might have been that one of the other orphans, currently a second year Gryffindor, had been named Jacob Spratt. Perhaps Mother Goose wanted to avoid having a Jake and a Jack running around in a similar age group?

Your thoughts turned away from the other two orphans when you thought of how things had changed… at least for you.

When you turned seven, Lucius Malfoy made his attempt at restoring his family’s standing in society by donating thousands of galleons to a war orphan fund. The war caused a lot of collateral damage. Wizards and witches had died on both sides. Entire families had been wiped out. The money from the war orphan fund went toward performing blood tests on the many children who were orphaned during the war in an effort to find members of magical families that were in danger of being lost.

Two weeks after you submitted your blood, Mother Goose pulled you aside to tell you that an official from the Ministry of Magic had come to meet with you. The tall, dark-haired man introduced himself as Pius Thicknesse from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. He was the one who explained to you that the blood they took from you could be traced all the way back to not just the Gaunt Family but back even further to Salazar Slytherin - one of the greatest wizards of his age who had founded one of the most famous magical schools in the world. And now you were the last heir of the Gaunt Family.

The Ministry removed you from Mother Goose’s Orphanage and told you they were using what was left of the war orphan fund to get you situated in your ‘ancestral family home’.

It definitely wasn’t as glamorous as you envisioned. You still weren’t sure if going from a crowded oversized boot to a rundown shack was a step up or down. When Pius Thicknesse brought you to Little Hangleton, you were introduced to Auror Kinglsey Shacklebolt who made a joke about being on ‘Shack Duty’. He had apparently spent the morning scouring your new home for magical pests and curses.

‘Shack’ somehow missed the pit of vicious snakes that were living deep under the floorboards.

And when you told Pius about the faint hissing murmuring you heard, he was so caught up in explaining what a Parselmouth was and what it meant to your family that he completely forgot to get anyone to actually do anything about the snakes. The Parseltongue confirmed what the blood test revealed… you were the last of the Gaunt Family.

Just like that you were given a new identity.

They even let you pick your new first name! Your real name.

As Oliver Swift you were just another orphan. But as Marvolo Gaunt you were special.

You were lucky. You got out and went on to better things. Jake and Terry weren’t so fortunate. Their blood was magical but it didn’t come from a longstanding pureblood family that the Ministry was willing to expend a reasonable about of effort into restoring so they would be spending the rest of their childhood in the magical orphanage.

And that was why you made a point to avoid the other orphans from Mother Goose’s. Not just because it reminded you of a time before you were special but also because you didn’t want to rub your good fortune in their faces. Surnames carried a great deal of weight in the magical world and the fact that Terry twitched every time someone called him ‘Boot’ told you that he was sensitive about his.

There was a loud THUNK and you were jolted out of your thoughts when Crabbe and Goyle slammed a large cauldron down on the table in front of you.

“Wow, you were really out of it,” Gemma Farley remarked as she stood at the end of the table beside you with the rest of your recently arrived fellow Slytherin first years gathered around her. “Didn’t even see us walk in.”

But you barely registered their presence as your attention was still fixed on the cauldron sitting on the table in front of you. There was a golden cake sticking out from the cauldron’s brim with vanilla icing coating the upper portion and fourteen green candles stuck in the top as well as a big silver one for good luck. It was a cauldron cake… except it wasn’t… normal Cauldron Cakes were small confections that could fit in one hand. They were fluffy yellow cakes topped with frosting inside cauldron-shaped chocolate shells. This was a full-sized cauldron filled with cake… a cauldron birthday cake. A wide smile spread across your face when you realized that the birthday cake was for you.

“Happy Birthday, Marvolo!” the group chorused.

“Thanks, guys!” you gushed as you turned to face Gemma and your fellow Slytherin first years. Damien Perriss had already wandered off. “I can’t believe you got me a cauldron birthday cake!”

“Actually, that was mostly this one,” Gemma informed you as she grabbed Millicent by her broad shoulders and managed to pull the girl in front of her. You noted that your taller-than-average fellow fourteen year old was a few inches taller than the averaged height fifth year behind her. You were, unfortunately, still waiting on a growth spurt so BOTH girls were taller than you.

Millie’s face flushed when she suddenly found herself at the center of attention. “Er…. you mentioned that the ministry people never celebrated your birthday since it’s only a week after Christmas… and since you helped all of us pass Snape’s not-really-a-surprise exam on the Wiggenweld Potion… I thought it fitting that we all celebrate together… with a cauldron cake. I found the recipe for regular Cauldron Cakes over the holidays... mum helped me adjust it to make a full-sized cake.”

That was amazing! She made you a birthday cake! You beamed at her as Gemma leaned forward and patted Millicent’s shoulder. “You should've seen the poor thing trying to board the train while juggling the cauldron, her trunk, and her cat.”

“Mittens was in his carrier… but he was not happy about being jostled,” Millie admitted.

Gemma pointed at Draco, “I saw that one standing and gawking nearby so I gave him a shove in her direction and told him to act like a gentleman.”

Draco rubbed a phantom pain in his shoulder, “I nearly pulled my arm out of the socket hauling that bloody cauldron onto the train.”

“You’re lucky she didn’t hand you the cat… or you’d be complaining about scratches instead,” Blaise chimed in with a smirk.

“I suppose that’s why he decided to owl these two strapping lads during the ride,” Gemma said as she motioned to Crabbe and Goyle and cast a teasing smirk at Draco. “Did you two pull your shoulders out too? You ran for the carriages like a pair of charging centaurs.”

“Nah, it was just a cake,” Goyle said with a shrug, oblivious to the embarrassment he just caused Draco by drastically downplaying the blonde boy’s alleged struggle.

“Are we gonna eat it now?” Crabbe asked hopefully which showed their true motivation for cutting such a quick pace.

“The feast hasn’t even started yet,” Gemma reminded him as she made a quick nod toward the table full of empty plates. Your cauldron cake was the only food on it. “What kind of responsible prefect would I be if I let you kids stuff yourselves with cake before supper? I’ll come back and take the Stasis Charm off after the main course.”

“Stasis Charm?” you repeated.

“Da cast it to keep it from going bad on the long train ride,” Millie explained. “Daphne and Tracey spent half the trip prodding at it.”

“It was an interesting charm,” Tracey defended herself.

Daphne didn’t say anything as she seemed to be occupied staring at Theodore, who you noticed looked notably pale and even more withdrawn than normal. Nott was usually extremely quiet but, unless his nose was buried in a book, he was usually alert.

“What’s with him?” you inquired.

“No idea,” Blaise replied. “He’s been out of it since we got on the horseless carriage down at Hogsmeade Station.”

“Wait… horseless carriages?” you repeated. “Is that how everyone else got to the castle when we were on the boats?”

“Yes, there was a whole fleet of horse-drawn carriages - minus the horses - waiting for us when we got off the train,” Pansy confirmed. “Although, it was annoying that they weren’t there when we left back in December. Everyone that was going home had to drag their luggage all the way down to Hogsmeade. I’m not looking forward to doing that again in June.”

“The carriages aren’t big enough to fit everyone’s luggage,” Gemma explained. “And there are assigned rooms and beds here in the castle so it’s easy enough for the elves to transport everyone’s luggage to the proper place once the sorting ceremony is over. Meanwhile, there are no assigned compartments on the train so they would have no way of knowing where everyone would be sitting until everyone’s already boarded.” The prefect shrugged, “It could be worse. At least they bring everyone’s stuff down to the entrance hall so you can grab it on your way out of the castle. Can you imagine how many accidents there would be if the students had to drag their trunks up or down the stairs to their common rooms? We’re lucky we only have one long flight of stairs to go down to reach the dungeons. The Gryffindors and Ravenclaws are all the way up in towers.”

“Some of the older students floated their trunks down to Hogsmeade,” Tracey supplied. “But none of us could keep our Levitation Charm going for that long.”

“I guess that means you lot will need to work on building up your stamina during the new term,” Gemma advised. She stepped away from the others and came around behind you and placed her hands on your shoulders. “Anyway, I’m off, happy belated birthday, you little scamp.” She brought her hand up to your head and you braced yourself to have your hair ruffled like she usually did. But instead she used her hold on your hair to pull your head back and your heart stopped as you found yourself staring up at the prefect’s descending face as she leaned down pressed her lips to your forehead for a quick kiss.

The girls giggled and you felt the heat radiating off of your face from an intense blush as Gemma gave you one last pat on the shoulder and walked off. Your stomach did another funny flip as your mind flashed back to Mirror of Erised and its depiction of the older version of you and Gemma surrounded by four children.

Rather than remain the target of teasing ridicule from your fellow first year Slytherins, you decided to shift some of the attention away by giving your best friend a proper thank you for the homemade birthday cake and makeshift birthday party. You sprang up from your seat at the end of the table and threw your arms around Millicent for a tight hug.

“Thanks Millie,” you gushed as you gave her another tight squeeze, “You’re the best!”

It was mostly a whim, but since Gemma had just laid one on you, you decided to ‘pay it forward’ and gave Millie a quick peck on the cheek as you pulled away. As a result, Millicent’s face went beet red. Oops. Maybe that was a bad idea. You hadn’t meant to embarrass her.

Of course, then Pansy made the situation even worse when she chimed with her usual shrill cackle of laughter, “Aw, that’s adorable! They’ve got matching blushes!”

Oh well, so much for dodging that Blasting Curse. Millicent hadn’t actually registered Pansy’s teasing and looked like she had frozen in shock. You grabbed her hand and guided her into your vacated seat at the end of the Slytherin table and shifted over to the seat beside her.

Pansy plopped herself down in the seat across from you with a way too wide grin on her face. Vincent and Gregory took the two seats on your other side and eagerly eyed your vanilla-frosted cauldron birthday cake. Draco and Blaise sat down on Pansy’s left and right respectively while Daphne and Tracey situated themselves across from the still pale and shaken Theodore who sat down on the other side of Goyle. You’d have to check up on him later. Theodore Nott was a very quiet and private person and you knew you were more likely to get some kind of a response from him if you talked to him alone versus surrounded by a crowd of your peers.

The feast soon began and the serving trays filled with food. You helped yourselves to dinner and shared stories about your holiday. Apparently, while you spent Christmas with Crabbe and Goyle, the others had gathered for a traditional Yule Ball which was hosted by the Parkinsons this year.

“Too bad you missed it, Marvolo,” Pansy said as she recounted the night. “I got my hair done, wore a brand new dress, and mother even allowed me to wear some makeup.” Pansy’s smile stretched a bit wider when she said the word ‘makeup’. Draco smirked and Blaise covered his mouth and coughed in an attempt to hide a chuckle.

“What’s so funny?” you asked. Was Pansy’s makeup that bad?

You glanced over at Blaise and saw his eyes dart up to your forehead as if you were the-Boy-Who-Lived.

“You’ve got–” Millicent finally spoke up again but was cut off when Pansy shushed her.

“So what did you do while you were stuck here in the castle?” she questioned in a rather clear attempt at changing the subject.

Something was up. Just for that you decided not to tell the others about your holiday adventure with Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and the Mirror of Erised. They could speculate on how you earned those ten house points from Headmaster Dumbledore on their own.

“I spent a lot of time in the library,” you intentionally downplayed your holiday drama.

“We tried to tell ‘im it was a winter break but he still went ev’ry day,” Goyle added.

“Waste of a holiday if ya ask me,” Crabbe imparted.

“Gotta be careful with that, Marvolo,” Blaise advised, “I’m all for studying but if you spend all your time with your nose buried in your books then you won’t notice anything going on around you.” Again, the corners of his mouth quirked upward and his eyes flickered up to your forehead.

“Oh yeah?” you countered, “You’ll know it was time well spent when my marks are higher than all of yours at the end of the year.”

But the thought of your holiday antics caused you to cast a glance across the Great Hall and your gaze locked with Harry Potter’s. You idly noted that Harry had gone back to using the Potter family hair potion to tidy his previously messy mop of black hair now that he was no longer entranced by the Mirror of Erised. Harry held your gaze and casually reached up to scratch at the lightning bolt scar on his forehead.

That was odd. The Boy-Who-Lived usually didn’t like to draw attention to his scar. Even with his hair potion he still kept his fringe down to at least partially cover his famous scar.

Your eyes shifted to the side and you saw that Hermione had followed the gaze of the bespectacled boy beside her and was looking across the hall at you. She gave a tiny wave and mouthed a silent ‘thank you’ which told you that Harry and Ron had informed her and Neville of your involvement in their holiday break at Hogwarts. And then, oddly enough, Granger reached up and scratched her forehead the same way that Potter just did.

“What’re you looking at?” Draco suddenly demanded. Drawing your attention back to your table.

You were rather pleased with the quick response you concocted. “Potter’s new hair. You lot were so caught up in surprising me with that cake that I bet none of you noticed.”

Draco, Pansy, and Blaise all turned to look back behind them.

“Ha!” Draco laughed, “Looks like someone finally taught him how to use a comb.”

“It’s about time he tamed that rat’s nest,” Pansy agreed.

It was while they were distracted gawking at Potter that all the pieces finally fell into place. Pansy’s too wide smile, her shushing Millicent, and her emphasis on the word ‘makeup’, Draco’s barely hidden laughter, Blaise’s not-very-discrete glances at your forehead, the two Gryffindors’ attempting to signal you from across the hall.

You turned to your best friend and the only one at the table that you currently trusted and asked in a low whisper, “Millie, is there something on my forehead?”

She blinked in surprise then nodded, “Yeah, Farley’s lipstick left a mark.”

You reached up and rubbed the spot where Gemma kissed you.

Pansy turned back and saw you rubbing your forehead and shrieked in protest when her fun at your expense was ruined. “What! Millicent! You told him!?”

“No, he figured it out,” Millie insisted. She turned back to you and glanced up at your forehead. “Rubbing it like that is only smudging it. Use water.”

“One of you could’ve told me,” you complained as you grabbed a nearby pitcher of water, poured some in your empty goblet, then dabbed your fingers into the cup and used the water to wipe the smeared lipstick off your forehead.

“You were over the moon about it when your precious Gemma kissed your cheek at the last Quidditch match,” Pansy pointed out. “I thought you would’ve enjoyed having a memento.”

“Over the moon,” you agreed with a nod then quickly shot back, “But then someone else decided to kiss me and that brought me crashing back down.”

Pansy’s eyes narrowed, “Keep messing with me, Gaunt… see what happens! I haven’t given you a birthday present yet! Maybe next time I’ll ask around and borrow some lipstick!”

Nope. Uh-uh. Her threats weren’t going to work on you. “I’d rather snog a Dementor, Parkinson.” It was right there on the tip of your tongue. But out of the corner of your eye you caught Draco frantically shaking his head. Your dubious roommate hadn’t told you about the lipstick on your forehead but he had warned you about antagonizing Parkinson after she kissed you following the Quidditch match last term.

Maybe comparing the annoying girl unfavorably to a foul, soul-sucking demon was a step too far?

You shook your head and retorted with a much safer, “You don’t scare me, Parkinson.”

“It’s coming, Gaunt,” she insisted and then crossed her arms over her chest and spent the rest of the meal smirking at you.

Blaise found the whole situation hilarious. “Looks like your days are numbered, Marvolo. If you show up dead or dismembered at any point over the new term, we all know who the top suspect is.”

True to her word, Gemma came back after the main dinner course ended and removed the Stasis Charm on your cauldron birthday cake then she cast another spell to light the fourteen green candles. Then everyone sang the Happy Birthday song. You remembered the song from back in the orphanage but you hadn’t heard it since you became Marvolo Gaunt so it wasn’t as embarrassing as you expected.

“How’re we supposed to cut it?” Crabbe wondered after you blew out the candles.

At that, the cauldron birthday cake vanished off the table. It reappeared roughly thirty seconds later on a serving tray. The cauldron had been removed, the candles were plucked out of the vanilla frosting, and the cake had been cut into pieces. Must’ve been the elves. You leaned over and shouted a loud “THANK YOU!” down through the table.

Everyone helped themselves to a piece of cake, including Gemma who brought a small plate with her.

“Aw, who told him?” the fifth year asked when she caught a glimpse of your forehead.

“Millicent!” Pansy was quick to throw her roommate under the Knight Bus.

“No, he figured it out on his own!” Millicent insisted. “It was probably from all of you gawking it like it was Harry Potter’s scar.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Gemma said as she set her cake plate down and gave you a reassuring pat on the shoulder from behind. “Someone will have to remind me to use my non-smudge lipstick next time.”

Next time?

You barely had a second to process that juicy nugget of information before Gemma crouched down behind you and placed her hands on your shoulders then rested her chin on her right hand which was rested on your shoulder. “Oh, speaking of which…” You couldn’t fight back the shiver that ran down your spine from her whispered breath on your ear. The attractive older girl no doubt felt it due to her extremely close proximity to you. “How’s it going with the Colour Change Charm?”

‘Next time’? ‘Speaking of which’? What did learning a charm have to do with…

Your train of thought was viciously derailed when Gemma leaned forward and from that point on there was one single thought going through your mind…

HER BOOBS WERE PRESSING INTO YOUR BACK! HER BOOBS WERE PRESSING INTO YOUR BACK!! HER BOOBS WERE PRESSING INTO YOUR BACK!!! HER BOOBS WERE–

They were pulled away and your cognitive processes finally started to return. You had no idea how much time had passed. It could’ve been a second, a minute, an hour, or even a day. You had absolutely no concept of time just then.

You attempted to take stock of your surroundings. You were still in the Great Hall seated at the Slytherin table. There was still a partially eaten birthday cake in front of you. Pansy was still sitting directly across from you… but she was no longer smirking. In fact, she was scowling. No idea what her deal was.

“Hello?” a familiar voice called out from behind you. “Are you still in there?” Gemma reached up and lightly knocked on the side of your head.

“Er… what’d you say?” was your ever so eloquent response.

“I asked how your work with the Colour Change Charm is going,” Gemma lowered her voice and reiterated. You could actually follow along now that she wasn’t whispering directly in your ear. “Did you make any progress on liquids over the holidays?”

“Oh… er… not really,” you quietly confessed. “I turned a live rat canary yellow. And I managed it while only whispering the incantation. But no luck in changing water. I even tried to turn some pumpkin juice green during dinner one night… but that didn’t work either.”

“Sounds like we’ve got our work cut out for us,” Gemma mused, “Flitwick usually covers the Colour Change Charm fairly early in the Spring Term so we’d best get a move on. I can work with you on Saturday.”

“I can do Saturday,” you were quick to agree.

“Great,” Gemma said, “Come by my room in the morning and I’ll work with you until lunch. We’ll see where it goes from there. You’re going to be really busy soon and every weekend after that is going to be hectic.”

“Busy?” repeated Millicent, who was still seated on your right side and close enough to overhear your quiet conversation with the Perfect Prefect. “With what? The term hasn’t even officially started yet.”

“Not with class,” Gemma informed her. “Quidditch. Slytherin usually plays Ravenclaw the first weekend in February. Flint’s going to spend the end of January and beginning of February dragging your little friend out onto the pitch so he can use him for target practice whenever he can get away with it. I hope you didn’t forget that Slytherin is currently in last place in the standings for the Inter-House Quidditch Cup.” You glanced across the table at Malfoy and knew he didn’t need reminding of Slytherin’s last place standing after the ill-conceived bet he lost to Gemma at the last Quidditch match. She gave you another pat on the shoulder as she stood up and then raised her voice to speak at a more normal volume. “Flint’s going to be even more unbearable when he discovers that Skye Parkin was smart enough to plan ahead and book her time with the pitch last term. That means Flint is going to have to plan his training schedule around Parkin’s. Ravenclaw’s first practice is Saturday morning which is why I know you’ll at least have that time Flint free.”

“How do you know that?” Draco demanded from across the table. His attention had been drawn by the talk of Quidditch.

“Because it’s one of Ravenclaw’s usual strategies,” Gemma explained. “They book the pitch in advance so that the team can plan their studying around their practices. Flint would know that too if he ever did any proper scouting.”

“Miss Farley! Would you care to explain why you were just hanging off of that first year?”

You all turned to see Professor Sprout striding toward you. There was a wary expression and the normally fairly chipper and upbeat Hufflepuff Head of House’s face.

“Oh, that’s simple, professor,” Prefect Farley replied, “This first year happens to be a reserve on the Slytherin Quidditch team and I was giving him some advanced warning that Flint was going to start monopolising his free time and that he’d have to manage his studying around practice. This is the big returning feast and it’s rather loud in here so I had to get a little close in order to have a proper conversation with him.”

You were pleased that Gemma hadn’t broadcasted that she was going to be tutoring you. Even if it was on an advanced extracurricular spell. In Slytherin House, you didn’t openly announce when you needed extra help in something. Otherwise that information could be potentially used against you.

“It looks like Mr. Gaunt and Mr. Malfoy have gotten the message,” Professor Sprout pointed out. “I also have a matter to discuss with Mr. Gaunt so you’d best be on your way.”

“Of course, professor,” Gemma agreed as she snagged another piece of cake off the tray in front of you then took her plate and walked away.

“Is there something I can do for you, professor?” you inquired.

“Yes, come with me,” Professor Sprout instructed, “Let’s have a chat outside.”

You stood up amid a loud ‘Ooooooooooo’ from Pansy who obviously thought you were in some kind of trouble. You hoped you weren’t. You shouldn’t be. You wracked your brain attempting to think of anything you might’ve done wrong as you followed the Herbology professor out of the Great Hall but you couldn’t think of anything.

Once the door was closed, Professor Sprout didn’t waste time explaining what she wanted. “Last term, after you and Miss Bulstrode showed Professor Flitwick the Colour Change Charm that you were working on for extra credit... you made a comment about wanting to earn some House Points from me. I may have a way for you to do just that.”

You let out a sigh of relief. You weren’t in trouble. Then you blinked in surprise when you realised that, not two hours ago, you reminded yourself that you needed to earn points from the Head of Hufflepuff for your game of House Point Bingo. You hadn’t expected her to approach you about it.

“One of my first years is struggling in Potions and Professor Snape mentioned at the end of term staff meeting that you are not only the top of your year in the subject but are also responsible for raising your house’s average by tutoring your fellow Slytherins.”

Ah. That explained why she brought you out of the Great Hall. Much like Gemma, Professor Sprout knew better than to announce that one of her students was struggling in front of a table full of Slytherins.

“I put a lot of effort in,” you responded since you figured the Head of Hufflepuff would probably appreciate the mention of hard work. “Back in December I hosted a group study session on the Wiggenweld Potion after I had been studying it extensively since the beginning of November. And Draco and I partner with Vincent and Gregory in Potions to help them out and in doing so I’ve managed to turn Goyle into one of the better brewers in our year. If your Hufflepuff is willing to put in the work then I should be able to help.”

“Splendid, splendid,” Professor Sprout remarked. “Previously, I went to my Potions prodigy, Penny Haywood, when one of my ‘Puffs was struggling in Potions but she graduated last year. Professor Snape saw fit to inform me that if you manage to keep your nose clean and stay out of trouble that you could potentially be better than her.” Knowing Professor Snape and how hard he played into the house rivalry, he probably said that more to tweak his fellow Head of House rather than compliment your Potions prowess. “That, of course, remains to be seen. But last term you managed to balance your place on the Quidditch team along with your studies.”

“Speaking of… we’ll need to figure out a time for me to do the tutoring…” you reasoned, “As Prefect Farley mentioned, Flint’s likely to start Quidditch practice up again soon and I’ll have to deal with that until the match against Ravenclaw. She tipped me off that Ravenclaw already has the pitch booked for their practices… and that the first one is Saturday morning.”

“So you’re available then?” Professor Sprout pressed you.

No. You had your special tutoring session with Gemma then.

“Er… I’m not so sure…” you answered. “Since Ravenclaw has the pitch in the morning, I wouldn’t put it past Flint to book it for the afternoon. If my weekend is going to be largely dominated by Quidditch then I’ll likely need that time for my own school work. If you assign us homework in Herbology on Friday… then that’s when I’ll have to get it done.”

“How about this?” Professor Sprout offered. “We’ll make it official and I’ll write you a note saying you’ll be tutoring one of my students Saturday afternoon after lunch. That will excuse you if Mr. Flint springs an afternoon Quidditch practice on you.”

That would work. You nodded your agreement. “And er… the points?”

“IF you’re able to help Justin and his performance in Potions improves… then I’ll award you some points.”

Your eyes widened at the name she let slip. Justin Finch-Fletchley. The muggleborn. That was probably another reason why Professor Sprout removed you from the Slytherin table to make her request. You could think of a fair number of Slytherins who wouldn’t be too keen on you tutoring a muggleborn.

“Is there a problem, Mr. Gaunt?” the Head of Hufflepuff House asked. The same wary expression that she had regarded Gemma with earlier was back. Actually, it seemed to be more intense than the look she gave Gemma.

“No, no, of course not!” you were quick to reassure her. But then you thought of something. “Er… actually… maybe. We’ve discussed the when… and now you’ve mentioned the who… but I’m not sure about the where and the how. Professor Snape’s lessons are largely practical. If I’m going to properly help Justin it’ll need to be somewhere that I can assess his brewing skills so I can see firsthand where I can help him improve.”

“There are no classes on Saturdays,” the Herbology professor reminded you. “I can discuss the matter with Professor Snape and see if he’ll allow you to use his classroom. Maybe get him to sign that note while I’m at it… that way you’ll have his written permission to be in his classroom.”

“Great,” you agreed. Better her than you. “Then you’ve got yourself a deal!”

“Good,” Professor Sprout said with a nod, “We can see about arranging future sessions if this first one works out.” She turned to go back into the Great Hall but stopped and turned back to look at you. “Be sure to be on your best behavior, Mr. Gaunt.”

The Head of Hufflepuff House’s implied message was very clear: ‘Don’t mess with my student‘.

You followed Professor Sprout back into the Great Hall and reclaimed your seat at the Slytherin table. The rest of your cake had ‘mysteriously vanished’ while you were out of the room.

It was Blaise who asked the question that most of your housemates were likely wondering. “What was that about?”

“Professor Sprout asked me to tutor one of the Hufflepuffs in Potions,” you explained. “I might be able to get some House Points out of it.”

You made a point to avoid mentioning which Hufflepuff you were tutoring and watched as Professor Sprout made her way back to the Head Table by walking in between the Slytherin and Hufflepuff tables. She stopped to greet and welcome back a number of her students along the way but you noted that she didn’t linger overly long with the first years.

The Herbology professor reached the Head Table and sat down next to Professor Snape. The Heads of Hufflepuff and Slytherin had a short discussion that was almost definitely centered around you considering they kept glancing in your direction. Eventually, Professor Snape caught your eye and gave you a curt nod.

“Looks like Professor Snape’s on board,” you remarked.

Bingo.