Chương 128: Chapter 128

"I personally think you're lucky that the only problem you have with your sister is that she is annoying," Blaise commented almost absently as he scratched a few notes on his parchment. "My sister's a mental case. I swear, sometimes I really wonder about her."

"I didn't know you had a sister," Harry said with a frown.

"She's already graduated from Hogwarts," Blaise explained.

"Yeah, and now she's learning from his mum about how best to seduce a man," Tracey quipped glibly, earning her a small glare from her dark-skinned friend. The young brunette just responded with a dazzling smile.

"I do remember hearing something about that." Harry idly twirled his wand in his hand. "Not about your sister of course, but about your mum. Didn't she earn the nickname, the Black Widow in certain pureblood circles due to her marrying several men and all of them dying under mysterious circumstances."

Blaise shifted. Emotion finally played on his face. He shifted, clearly uncomfortable about where this conversation was going.

"Weren't we talking about Lisa's older sister?" he asked, trying to redirect the subject.

"We were." Tracey nodded her head, the smile on her face still in place. "But then you mentioned your sister, so really, you only have yourself to blame. Besides, it's not like you really care what we say about her. You don't even like your sister anyway. You just admitted she's a mental case."

"It's not you talking about my sister that bother's me," Blaise mumbled just loud enough for Harry to hear. Perhaps it was time to change the subject.

Turning to Lisa, Harry asked, "so do you have anymore questions about Transfiguration?"

"I have one," Susan said. Harry turned to her and raised an eyebrow. The young redhead had been a bit more talkative since the troll incident. A bit more assertive. He wondered if it had something to do with her outburst the day after, but didn't think it mattered in the end. In his mind, this change could only be a good thing.

Nodding, he gave her the go ahead to continue.

"You mentioned a fifth unknown variable. Do you know what it is?"

Harry rubbed his chin for a second, pondering.

"The fifth variable is considered an unknown because the variable itself is always changing," he started with a small frown. "Professor McGonagall showed us the basic arithmetic equation that all Trasnfiguration uses. What she didn't mention was that the variable known as Z is actually another arithmetic formula that is subject to change based on many different factors."

Susan blinked.

"Oh."

"I wouldn't worry about the unknown variable right now," Harry said offhandedly. "We won't need to start worrying about it until fourth of fifth year when we get into cross-species transfiguration."

"So how do you know about it?" Terry asked, frowning as Susan went back to work on writing her potions essay.

"Easy, I studied ahead."

Terry raised an eyebrow.

"Up to fourth year?"

"Nothing wrong with looking ahead to see what will be coming up later on."

Everyone looked at Harry for several more seconds before shaking their heads.

"How is that you're not in Ravenclaw again?" Hannah asked curiously.

"What I want to know is where you find the time to read so far ahead," Tracey added. "In all the time Blaise and I have started studying with you guys, we've never seen you so much as pick up a book. Come to think of it," she tapped a forefinger to her chin and looked up at the ceiling, "I don't think I've ever seen you do your homework here either." She frowned. "You're always helping us."

"That's because Harry get's his homework done the same day we get it," Neville said. "He usually does it after class is finished and we've all gone to our respective common rooms. After that he reads."

Tracey gave Harry a deadpan look.

"So let me get this straight. You're on the Quidditch team as its new Seeker, the youngest in centuries I might add, you always finish your homework the day it's due, then you read for the rest of that time, and this is on top of the time you spend helping us with our work and classes." She shook her head. "Where do you find the time to do all this?"

Harry gave her a helpless shrug.

"I have a lot of energy."

Tracey gave him a pout, completely unsatisfied by the answer. He almost chuckled at the sight, and couldn't help but wonder if she actually wanted him to extrapolate. He doubted it. The female Slytherin was not really into theory. She was intelligent, but preferred practical application over theoretical knowledge.

"E-Excuse me."

Heads turned, Harry's included, toward the source of the new voice. He was not surprised to find Hermione Granger standing before him, looking incredibly nervous. In truth, he had been expecting her to speak with him for some time now. Several times during class, he would see the bushy-haired witch looking at him, worrying her thumb and looking like she wanted to say something. He wondered if she had been gathering her courage to speak with him.

"Can we help you, Miss Granger?" asked Harry. Hermione winced at the very formal means to address her, but didn't protest.

"I was wondering if I could talk to you, Harry?" Her eyes focused on his, then flickered to her left, away from him.

"I don't see why not." Harry stood up and gestured for the girl to follow. She did, trailing slightly behind him as his friends watched them leave.

They walked through several isles of books cases in silence. Hermione fidgeted beside him, sending occasional glances his way, then turning her head. When they reached a more secluded spot, Harry turned to her.

"So, what did you want to talk about."

"I-I wanted to apologize," Hermione stuttered out nervously. Harry raised an eyebrow. "I've been extremely rude to you when you've never done anything to earn my contempt. You always tried to be nice and help me, but I kept turning you away and trying to upstage you in class. I'm sorry," she finished in a small voice.