Raised By Wolfstar: Slytherin Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Lessons and the Leek

(Before I start I just want to say in this chapter the rest of Harry's close friends learn to cast their patronuses, one off which will stand out. I just want to say to choose each character's patronus I answered a spirit animal quiz as that character would and then checked to see is there were any canonical Patronuses of that animal. There is no extra meaning in my choices)

'So Harry,' said Allison at breakfast the following Wednesday, a mischievous grin on her face, 'You didn't mention the centaur that saved you was an absolute stud.'

They were to have their first lesson with Firenze that morning, but Harry didn't quite know how to answer that question.

'Wait, what? I was eleven and we were all kind of focused on the Philosopher's Stone immediately afterwards,' he said while staring at her. 'Also, no matter how handsome he is, his bottom half is still an animal and—'

But he was cut off by both Tracey and Allison bursting into a fit of giggles.

'She was just messing with you Harry,' said Tracey while trying to catch her breath. 'Lighten the mood after what happened to Trelawney.'

'How is she?' asked Theodore. 'I haven't really seen her since that night.'

'Terry told me he had gone up to her office and that she isn't doing very well,' said Allison, now back to her stoic self. 'She apparently could give Cho a run for her money from the amount of crying she's doing and he told me that she said she doesn't really want to be here if Umbridge is still teaching.'

'That evil Hag has truly damaged her, hasn't she?' said Tracey.

'And I sadly have a feeling that Umbridge isn't even at her peak potential for nastiness,' said Theodore darkly.

'Are you sure?' said Harry, as he took a small bite of toast with some scrambled egg on it. 'I can barely imagine her getting any worse.'

'We shall see. I get the feeling that Dumbledore hiring a non human has really sent her over the edge, you've seen how she treats Hagrid and Canini, so I think she is going to try her best to get revenge somehow,' said Theodore.

After breakfast Allison departed for her Study of Ancient Runes class and Harry followed Tracey and Theodore into the entrance hall, heading for Divination.

'Where are you going, Theo? We need to head to class,' said Harry looking puzzled, as Theodore bypassed the marble staircase.

Theodore turned around dramatically.

'Firenze isn't bipedal, how did you expect him to climb the ladder to the old classroom. We are now in classroom eleven. You two should get into the habit of reading the notice board.'

Classroom eleven was situated in the ground-floor corridor leading off the entrance hall on the opposite side to the Great Hall. Harry knew it to be one of those classrooms that were never used regularly, and that it therefore had the slightly neglected feeling of a cupboard or storeroom. When he entered it right behind Theodore, and found himself right in the middle of a forest clearing, he was therefore momentarily stunned.

'What the—?'

The classroom floor had become springily mossy and trees were growing out of it; their leafy branches fanned across the ceiling and windows, so that the room was full of slanting shafts of soft, dappled, green light. The students who had already arrived were sitting on the earthy floor with their backs resting against tree trunks or boulders, arms wrapped around their knees or folded tightly across their chests, looking rather nervous. In the middle of the room, where there were no trees, stood Firenze.

'Harry Potter,' he said, holding out a hand when Harry entered.

'Er—hi,' said Harry, shaking hands with the centaur, who surveyed him unblinkingly through those astonishingly blue eyes but did not smile. 'Er—good to see you...'