Harry Potter and the Children of the Clan

Chapter 34

Chapter 34

In the weeks that followed the beginning of the new school year at Hogwarts, the students settled into their routines except for the first years who had to learn what was routine for a school that taught magic to young witches and wizards. The Weasley Clan Kids and their comrades took to occupying the central section of the Gryffindor table every evening for homework and socializing. There was a lot of discussion about the upcoming Quidditch try outs. Kai was already a lock for chaser. Fred was trying out for a shot at the one open beater position. And James was going to try out for keeper. The Weasley sisters, neither of whom had an interest in Quidditch were splitting their time between academics and special interests.

Vee, of course, was pursuing her interest in the healing arts. Once again she was keeping an eye on the student body for signs of impending illnesses. She was working on a perfect record over the course of the past three years. Every predicted illness came to pass. Therefore, it amazed her that Trevor had given no indication of any maladies beyond the physical injuries that were in the process of healing. She would have thought that his weakened system would have made him susceptible to any number of germs that the other students were carrying. In fact, he was showing some remarkable recuperative abilities. At least physically. He was still very withdrawn and the only people able to engage in any significant communication were Domi and Abagail.

Domi was pursuing two interests in her free time. One was Trevor. She was doing what she could to draw him out and that included trips to Hagrid's hut to play with Wullie and to listen to Morgotta's stories. A number of other students were trying to get him to communicate more freely but they were mostly getting nods, shakes, shrugs and a couple of mumbled words. The triplets scored a free pass from Harry when they actually managed to get a laugh from the boy.

On the second Saturday of the term, during lunch, Angus and Fergus MacTavish got into an argument about something, no one was sure what, and when Seamus came over to mediate, it only served to inflame the situation. Angus decided to try and resolve the issue with a handful of potatoes from his plateful of sausage and mash. The ensuing food fight was brief, intense and thankfully localized, but Trevor was one of the few innocent bystanders to be struck by friendly fire. It wasn't a bark from one of the teachers or the thankfully absent Deputy Headmaster that brought the fight to an end. It was the utter amazement of the brothers at the short burst of staccato laughter from the slight boy across the table. The smile that went along with the laughter was short lived after he sampled a bit of mashed squash from the handful that hit his cheek. It was not to his liking.

Domi's other interest was fashion, at least as far as witches and wizards thought of fashion. She was always out of bed before the other girls in her dorm room, making sure her robe was meticulously clean and wrinkle free. She was working on some sketches of additional embellishments she had in mind. And she was attracting inquiries from other girls in the Gryffindor tower who were interested in perking up their otherwise bland wardrobe. She had also begun to pester her two male cousins about doing something about the nature of their hair, neither of whom gave a fig about it, in their words. She was undaunted however, since it was still early in the year. She had ideas about Trevor in this regard; thinking that a bit of a sprucing up would do the boy some good.

Of course, with a student population of nearly three hundred students spread across seven levels, Trevor's wasn't the only story unfolding, it was just one of the more compelling. The sixth year projects class was in the process of getting their proposals together. Now it might be an overstatement to refer to Hogwarts as the silicon valley of the magical world, but it would be accurate to say that some very interesting and in some cases, rather sophisticated, projects were coming out of this ongoing effort. The Potter Institute was developing some highly effective plant extracts that were producing significant results in the area of chronic pain relief, joint inflammation and mobility issues. One very promising product, which if successful, could replace Skele-grow potion with a preparation that would work more quickly and perhaps most importantly, taste good.