Chapter 281 - Two Places at Once (2/2)

”Anyway, I think Three Broomsticks will be warmer than here. Let's go,” said Hermione.

They bundled their scarves back over their faces and left the sweetshop. The bitter wind was like knives on their faces after the sugary warmth of Honeydukes. The street was not very busy; nobody was lingering to chat, just hurrying toward their destinations.

”I hate this new normal,” said Chris.

”Honestly? Me too,” said Adrian seriously. ”My father was barely at home over the summer. The bad news he brought every time. . . Horrible, just horrible.”

They entered the crowded buzzing pub Three Broomsticks. Ron and Chris went to bring Butterbeers. Chris saw in a corner Ginny and Dean were talking holding hands. Smiling to herself, Chris went back to her friends with Butterbeers. They talked, laughed and drank two more glasses of Butterbeers as the day wore on. After leaving the shop as they started to walk back to the school Chris felt someone was watching her. She quickly turned hoping to see some random boy from school but there was no one.

After dinner, Chris went to Room of Requirement but found it locked. Rolling her eyes angrily she pulled out the Time-Turner hanging around her neck and turned the hourglass over ten times.

The surroundings dissolved. Chris had the sensation that she was flying very fast, backward. A blur of colours and shapes rushed past her, her ears were pounding —

And then she felt solid ground beneath her feet, and everything came into focus again —

Chris was standing outside the Gryffindor tower, the Fat lady looked down at her.

”Where did you come from?” she asked.

”Never mind,” Chris said running away, checking her watch. As soon as she turned the corner she saw herself coming back from the forest trip, holding the book of Half-Blood Prince. As the 'past Chris' entered the Gryffindor tower ignoring the Fat Lady's annoying looks, Chris walked to the Room of Requirement chuckling as she realised why the Fat Lady had given her annoyed look that morning. She reached the Room of Requirement and found it still locked. Groaning she walked back to the Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. There she began experimenting a potion using the notes from the Prince's book and she was very surprised by the results. It was clear that the Prince knew what he was doing.

*****

The next day, Chris, Ginny, Harry and Hermione got Slughorn's rolled parchments with purple ribbon when they all were lounging in the common room after dinner.

”Another party tomorrow evening?” sighed Chris. ”Kill me.”

”They are not that bad, you know,” said Hermione.

”We have to go, don't we?” said Ginny turning to Harry. ”You can't schedule a practice in this weather.”

There was a thunderstorm outside.

”Yeah, but I don't,” said Harry smiling. ”I have a meeting with Dumbledore tomorrow evening.”

”Of course, you do,” said Chris looking at Harry's smiling face.

”Do you know where he is going, though?” asked Colin.

”No, but I think, I will ask him,” said Harry.

”Don't push your luck much,” warned Chris opening the potion book by the Half-Blood Prince.

”So I shouldn't ask?” said Harry surprised.

”Yes, you can ask. I'm just saying, look curious but not too curious,” said Chris flipping the pages of the Advanced Potion-Making. The more she had read, she had realized that there wasn't just only short cuts of potions making but also the imaginative little jinxes and hexes scribbled in the margins, which Chris was sure, judging by the crossings-out and revisions, that the Prince had invented himself.

”Are you reading that book again?” asked Hermione sternly.

”Yeah,” said Chris casually. ”It's really fun. The spells are really useful which Prince created himself.”

”Or herself,” said Hermione irritably. ”It might have been a girl. I think the handwriting looks more like a girl's than a boy's.”

”The Half-Blood Prince, he was called,” Harry said. ”How many girls have been Princes?”

Hermione seemed to have no answer to this. Chris hid her smile. Hermione merely scowled and twitched her essay on The Principles of Rematerialization away from Ron, who was trying to read it upside down.

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To be continued. . .