Professor Potter

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Harry was seated at his usual spot at the junior end of the Gryffindor table. It was the Monday evening after the Halloween Ball and the school was still buzzing with discussion about the unusual, at least as far as the student body was concerned, behavior of the dragon during its visit. A number of questions were directed to him during his classes that day and his two responses were 'perhaps it was trying to get a better look at the people it was protecting' or 'it wanted you to get a better look'. Both answers were deemed insufficient and the discussions continued. 

Harry was working his way through some papers when he sensed more than heard someone approaching from his left side. He looked over and smiled a bit as Abagail moved to sit beside him. Every eye in the Hall had followed her progress and they were still darting over to catch a glimpse of guardian and ward as they sat side by side. 

"Well, little one, how was your day? Did you get as many questions as I did?" Harry asked quietly. 

"Not so many today, Harry. I think they've run out of ways to ask 'what were you thinking' or 'what was that all about' or 'what's a dragon's toenails feel like'," she said with a smile. 

Harry thought he 'heard' an indignant snort from that corner of his mind when the word toenail was said. 

"What have you been telling people?" 

"I just said that I felt like the dragon was calling to me. I hinted that since I was the one who recognized it when the hybrid attacked and that it came to help that maybe a link had formed or something like that. With my history of psychic occurrences it sounds possible," she replied. 

"I've noticed you getting more looks than usual." 

"It's not a problem, Harry. I know you know what that's like," she said with a little grin. 

"Oh yeah, that I do, and usually for things not nearly as cool as shaking hands with a dragon," he whispered. 

Abagail laughed a breathy laugh and then fixed an appraising eye on her guardian and asked, 

"And just what were you up to, Harry? What made you think to just hover there like that?" 

"I'm not sure. Maybe I am a show-off after all," he said with a smirk. "Or maybe I was just trying to give them a better look. That the dragon is real and not necessarily something to be afraid of. You certainly helped there." 

"If you say so, Harry," she replied with a smirk of her own. 

"Hey, be nice," Harry laughed. 

As the week progressed the novelty of the dragon's visit wore off and things returned to normal, or as normal as a castle full of witches and wizards in training could be. The first Quidditch match for Gryffindor took place that Saturday and while not spectacular, the results were solid. They played a see-saw match with Ravenclaw for over five hours until the Gryffindor seeker, Esmeralda Abercrombie, made an excellent catch of the snitch from a power dive that brought the stadium to its feet. Kreacher was making his presence felt and Bill Weasley was especially pleased. 

As Harry settled more and more into the routine of classes and the interaction with his students, both formally in the classroom and informally in the Great Hall, his mood could best be described as contented. Despite all his prior misgivings he felt that he was in the right place at the right time and best of all, he was having fun. He was also looking forward to the upcoming Christmas holidays, the first with James. There was a bump in the initial planning, however, and it occurred on the Saturday after Halloween. 

Apparently, Grandma and Granddad Weasley hadn't gotten enough of James on Halloween night so they had dropped by Saturday afternoon for a visit. Arthur Weasley's reasoning that they had just taken the Popular out for a spin and 'happened to be in the neighborhood' was accepted graciously by Harry and Ginny but with a strong unspoken suspicion as well. They were all sitting in the living room with James firmly in Molly Weasley's possession when the subject of the Christmas day festivities came up.