The Princess of Light

Chapter 5.17 (The pink toad and her cardboard)

"Yeah, Quirrell was a great teacher." Said Harry loudly. "There was just that minor drawback of him having Lord Voldemort sticking out of the back of his head."

This pronouncement was followed by one of the loudest silences Aurora had ever heard. Then-

"I think another week's detention would do you some good, Mr. Potter." Said Umbridge sleekly.

~~~~
"Freaking idiot!" Aurora hissed as she put some more Dittany on the back of Harry's hand, careful not to touch it with hers. "Get a grip, Potter!" She continued. "This is exactly what she wants, don't you see? Do I really need to glue your mouth shut for next lesson?"

"Like you weren't jumping to scream something at her."

"Everyone was, Harry...but no one but you did. Not even Effie, do you know what that means? It means that even Effie realises it's no use. She's not going to listen to you, Harry and she's going to continue being the insufferable little...twitch she is...don't let her get to you!" The warning was very clear in her voice.

"She just makes me so angry, Ara. I could kill her." Harry admitted.

"I suggest you don't." Aurora said, some of her previous fierceness gone and worry seeping through. "Maybe I can help you stay calm when you're in class with her..." she said thoughtfully.

Harry looked down at Aurora's long tan legs that were in full view now that she had thrown off her stocking somewhere. He highly doubted he'd ever be anything near truly calm whenever she was around. However much her presence comforted him, his racing heart would never really go away.

Aurora leaned forwards and grabbed one of Harry's wrists.

He felt how his heart immediately reacted to her touch and he hoped she didn't notice.

But of course, she did.

Her own face flushed and she cleared her throat. "Yeah, your heartbeat is- er- definitely too quick."

"Yeah..." Said Harry awkwardly, looking away.

After a while of silence he did look back and saw Aurora was looking down at his hand with a smile.

"So, how do you suggest I lower it?"

"Oh, right, er- breathing."

"I want to know how to lower my heartrate not how to stay alive." Harry joked, but it sounded nervous.

Aurora was now absent-mindedly running her thumb over his wrist. Harry never knew his wrist was that sensitive but everything inside him seemed to be in complete disarray at the touch.

Aurora laughed breathily. "No, I mean, you need to concentrate on your breathing. If you ever feel nervous or angry, you just need to sigh out and then breathe in again deeply. At first, that will be hard because your heart is hammering so quickly that it needs oxygen but after a while you'll completely control how long you want to breathe in or out and you'll feel much better instantly. Even some physical complaints can be cured by simply breathing in and out."

"Where did you learn all this?"

"Jace...he became an expert in controlling his rage every full moon. He could've been quite dangerous if he wasn't so used to it."

"So if Jace doesn't become a werewolf during the full moon, what does happen to him?"

"The werewolf gene fights to get to the surface but Jace has enough humanity left at that point to push it down without him having to do anything. It does hurt, however, makes him very sick. He gets a fever, and he has trouble breathing and sometimes his eyes will start glowing and he'll have sudden sourges of energy out of nowhere but he has to hold them in because they are dangerous."