ghost stories - h. potter

0.4

【𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐑】

· 。ﾟ☆: *. ☆彡

Belle, who had to part with Luna as soon as breakfast was over, found herself alone as she headed towards her first class which happened to be potions. Her green vintage Doc Martens squeaked slightly against the stone floor as she headed down to the dungeons where her first class would be.

Belle sighed and rubbed her arms through the thin uniform sweater, the air getting colder as she delved deeper into the castle. Though a part of Belle was excited to be heading back to classes, she knew that the sensation she was feeling would not last very long for she would be taking her N.E.W.Ts this year and the classes would become progressively more difficult as the days went on.

As she had told Professor Flitwick at the beginning of her fifth year that she wasn't quite sure what she wanted to do after she'd finished school, he'd given her a list of options that played into her strengths, such as Care of Magical Creatures, Herbology and Defence Against the Dark Arts. As she hadn't quite decided what she wanted to do yet, she'd simply signed up for all of the classes that he'd recommended to her - something she knew she was probably going to come to regret as the year progressed.

He, like Remus, had also suggested that she think about pursuing a career in teaching at Hogwarts, which was something she was beginning to give a little more thought to. He had informed her that it would be difficult, which was something she hadn't totally thought through at the time as she was now taking seven N.E.W.T classes and didn't even know if she was going to end up becoming a teacher after rall.

Upon entering the potions classroom, Belle noted that although she was early, she was one of the last to arrive. Many spots at the tables had been taken up and Belle decided to join a girl she knew fairly well from a distance. She approached the famous Gryffindor somewhat shyly, her fingers tapping against the strap of her bag as Hermione looked up from the book she was reading at the sound of her footsteps,

"Er, hi," she started awkwardly, not quite sure how to introduce herself to Hermione Granger. The girl's face broke into a small, warm smile at the sight of Belle - the very girl she had seen talking to Harry that morning.

"Is it alright if I sit here? Everywhere else is full," she asked and Hermione nodded.

"Of course," Hermione gestured to one of the three empty seats around the table and Belle slid into the seat next to her.

"I'm Hermione, by the way."

"Belle. It's nice to meet you," Belle smiled gently.

"How are you doing?" Hermione asked, wanting to make small talk with the girl and Belle gave a non-committal nod.

"Not too bad, it's quite a strange feeling to be back here after everything. Yourself?" Hermione gave a small sigh but kept the smile on her face nonetheless.

"You're not wrong about that. It's strange, but I'm glad we could come back and finish our last year without any threat." Belle knew exactly what she was talking about as every year since Harry had at Hogwarts, something disastrous had happened. In their first year it was the Philosopher's stone and Quirrel, then the chamber of secrets, Sirius Black escaping from Azkaban, the goblet of fire, Voldemort's reappearance to the world, Dumbledore's death, the Carrow's taking over and then finally the war that had taken place at the castle itself.

"Maybe this year will finally be a quiet one," Belle said, causing Hermione to chuckle.

"If there's anything I've learnt about being friends with Harry, it's that we're never going to get a quiet year at Hogwarts." The two girls exchanged a small laugh just as Harry and Ron entered the room. Ron's arm shot out, whacking Harry in the stomach who groaned.