Harry Potter and the New Marauders (A Harry Potter Fanfiction)

The Potions Master

Charms didn't go too badly. After all, Teddy had already picked up most of what Hermione was talking about, but he was a bit disappointed when the points for first successful attempt at making a feather fly went to Jack. Seeing as how it made Jack smile, though, Teddy couldn't begrudge him that. When the bell rang, Teddy levitated his books into his bag.

"He needed that, didn't he?" Teddy asked Hermione, his book bag floating happily beside him.

"It's so good of you to see it that way," she told him. "And where were you at dinner, and breakfast?"

"I'm glad someone noticed," he answered flatly.

Hermione's eyebrows went up. "Teddy, why don't you see if Jack would like to go to Hagrid's with you this afternoon?" She then bent down to whisper. "I hear the others are avoiding him, since he got out of Hospital?"

"I know the feeling," Teddy nodded sadly. "I think they're onto him."

"Oh, no," Hermione sighed, as Teddy headed out.

Teddy had thought of asking Jack already, but he was too scared. He still felt terrible about finding out that Jack had been bitten and was now infected, and asking him to clarify what he'd overheard in Hospital was just out of the question. He'd been planning on asking Freddie along, but when he arrived in the dungeons for Potions class, Teddy saw that Freddie was already partnered with Sammy Keith from Ravenclaw. Teddy looked around, saw Ciaran and Lee sitting together, as well as some other paired off Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws. He also noticed that the Slytherins were there, too.

Sitting alone at the back of the room, near the door, was Jack.

"Hey!" Teddy greeted him, "You mind?"

Jack looked surprised. "No! No, n-not at all?" Jack smiled as Teddy sat.

"Leg still hurt?" Teddy asked, for lack of anything better to say. His face and hair both turned magenta. He shifted them back before the Slytherins could see him.

"Yeah," Jack nodded. "But Madame Pomfrey says it'll stop before the year's out. But it's not so bad."

"You missed a lot yesterday," Teddy told him.

"So I heard!" Jack snickered. "Did you really turn into a white wolf with no moon?"

"Nohhhhh," Teddy drawled, rolling his eyes. "It was an illusion, with my dog."

"Bloody good one then, if you ask me!" Jack congratulated him. "Can we..." he leaned over to whisper, "...you know, transform without a full moon? I mean, like they said Professor McGonagall can?"

"Well, she's an Animagus, not a Werecat, and tha's diff'rent..."

About then, Professor Malfoy came in and smacked them both over the heads with a back issue of POTIONS MONTHLY.

"All right, how many of you know how to cook - food?" Malfoy asked, as the door slammed behind him.

A few hands went up.

"WITHOUT a house elf?"

Several hands went down.

"It's going to be a long year," Malfoy sighed, noticing that Parkinson still had his hand up. "Your mother never could cook, either, poor dear," Malfoy added wistfully.

"Tell me about it, sir!" Parkinson laughed, and Malfoy smiled weakly.

"Fine, then...did anyone even bother to look at their copy of Phyllida Spore's 1,000 Magical Herbs & Fungiyet?"

Teddy slowly raised his hand.

"No one?" Malfoy rolled his eyes, reaching down under the desk to grab a tall, slender box. "All right, does anyone know what this is then?" He then lifted the lid.