In no time at all, Defense Against the Dark Arts had becomemost people's favorite class. Only Draco and a few other Slytherins had anything bad to say about Professor Lupin.

 "Look at the state of his robes," Draco would say in a loudwhisper as Professor Lupin passed. "He dresses like our old houseelf." here I would hit him upside down on the head.

 But no one else cared that Professor Lupin's robes were patched andfrayed. His next few lessons were just as interesting as the first. Afterboggarts, we studied Red Caps, nasty little goblinlike creatures thatlurked wherever there had been bloodshed: in the dungeons of castlesand the potholes of deserted battlefields, waiting to bludgeon thosewho had gotten lost. From Red Caps we moved on to kappas,creepy water-dwellers that looked like scaly monkeys, with webbedhands itching to strangle unwitting waders in their ponds.

My other classes were going great too. I had always been an excellent student, and it was just showing.

Nobody really liked Care of Magical Creatures, which, after theaction-packed first class, had become extremely dull. Hagridseemed to have lost his confidence. We were now spending lessonafter lesson learning how to look after flobberworms, which had tobe some of the most boring creatures in existence. 

"Why would anyone bother looking after them?" said Draco in disgust, afteryet another hour of poking shredded lettuce down the flobberworms' slimy throats. 

At the start of October, however, Draco at least had something else tooccupy him, something so  enjoyable for him it more than made up for his unsatisfactory classes. The Quidditch season was approaching, and Marcus, Captain of the Slytherin team, called a meetingone Thursday evening to discuss tactics for the new season

.There were seven people on a Quidditch team: three Chasers,whose job it was to score goals by putting the Quaffle (a red,soccer-sized ball) through one of the fifty-foot-high hoops at eachend of the field; two Beaters, who were equipped with heavy batsto repel the Bludgers (two heavy black balls that zoomed aroundtrying to attack the players); a Keeper, who defended the goalposts, and the Seeker, who had the hardest job of all, that of catching the Golden Snitch, a tiny, winged, walnut-sized ball, whosecapture ended the game and earned the Seeker's team an extra onehundred and fifty points.

But.

Apperently, Dracos arm was still hurt, so he was a Gloomy Gus.

One day, I came back to Slytherin Common Room  to find the room buzzing excitedly.

"What's happened?" I asked Zoe and Nicholas, who were sitting in two of the best chairs by the fireside and completing somestar charts for Astronomy. 

"First Hogsmeade weekend," said Zoe, pointing at a notice thathad appeared on the battered old bulletin board. "End of October.Halloween." '=

"Excellent," said Draco, who had followed me through the hole. "I need to visit Zonko's. I'm nearly out of Stink Pellets." 

I threw myself into a chair beside Zoe, my high spiritsebbing away Nicholas seemed to read my mind. 

"Emma, I'm sure you'll be able to go next time," he said. "They'rebound to catch Black soon. He's been sighted once already" 

"Black's not fool enough to try anything in Hogsmeade," said Draco. "Ask Snape if you can go this time, Ems. The nextone might not be for ages —"

 "Draco!" said Nicholas. "Emma's supposed to stay in school —" 

"She can't be the only third year left behind," said Zoe. "AskMcGonagall, go on, Emma —" 

"Yeah, I think I will,"I said making up my mind.

We had Potions first thing tomorrow. I, who had resolved to askProfessor McGonagall after the lesson whether I could go into Hogsmeade with the rest, joined the line outside the class trying todecide how he was going to argue my case. 

I was distracted, however, by a disturbance at the front of the line.Lavender Brown seemed to be crying. Parvati had her armaround her and was explaining something to Seamus Finnigan andDean Thomas, who were looking very serious. 

"What's the matter, Lavender?" said Hermione anxiously as she,Harry, and Ron went to join the group, I followed. 

"She got a letter from home this morning," Parvati whispered."It's her rabbit, Binky. He's been killed by a fox." 

"Oh," said Hermione, "I'm sorry, Lavender." 

"I should have known!" said Lavender tragically. "You knowwhat day it is?"

 "Er —" 

"The sixteenth of October! 'That thing you're dreading, it willhappen on the sixteenth of October!' Remember? She was right,she was right!"

 The whole class was gathered around Lavender now. Seamusshook his head seriously. Hermione hesitated; then said,"You — you were dreading Binky being killed by a fox?""Well, not necessarily by a fox," said Lavender, looking up atHermione with streaming eyes, "but I was obviously dreading himdying, wasn't I?" 

"Oh," said Hermione. then I asked "Was Binky an old rabbit?"

 "N — no!" sobbed Lavender. "H — he was only a baby!"

 Parvati tightened her arm around Lavender's shoulders. 

"But then, why would you dread him dying?" I asked. 

Parvati glared at me.

"Well, look at it logically," I said, turning to the rest ofthe group. "I mean, Binky didn't even die today, did he? Lavenderjust got the news today —"

 Lavender wailed loudly. 

"—Oh, shut up will you? and shecan't have been dreading it, because it's come as a real shock —" 

"I agree." Said Hermione

Don't mind Hermione, Lavender," said Ron loudly, "shedoesn't think other people's pets matter very much."

 Professor Snape opened the classroom door at that moment, which was perhaps lucky; Hermione and Ron were lookingdaggers at each other, and when they got into class, they seatedthemselves on either side of Harry and didn't talk to each other forthe whole class. 

I still hadn't decided what I was going to say to Professor Snape when the bell rang at the end of the lesson, but it was he who brought up the subject of Hogsmeade first. 

"One moment, please!" he called as the class made to leave. "As half of you are all in my House, you should hand Hogsmeade permissionforms to me before Halloween. No form, no visiting the village, sodon't forget! Well,that's all, you may leave."

 "Ask him now," Zoe hissed at me. 

"Oh, but —" Nicholas began. 

"Go for it, Ems," said Draco stubbornly. 

I waited for the rest of the class to disappear, then headednervously for Professor Snape's desk.

 "Yes, Ms Potter?" 

I took a deep breath.

 "Professor, my aunt and uncle — er — forgot to sign my form," I said.Professor Snaped looked over his work at me but didn't say anything. 

"So — er — d'you think it would be all right — I mean, will itbe okay if I — if I go to Hogsmeade?" 

Professor Snape looked down and began shuffling paperson his desk.

 "I'm afraid not,Ms Potter," she said. "You heard what I said. Noform, no visiting the village. That's the rule."

 "But — Professor, my aunt and uncle — you know, they'reMuggles, they don't really understand about — about Hogwartsforms and stuff," I said, while Zoe egged me on with vigorous nods. "If you said I could go —" 

"But I don't say so," said Professor Snape, standing up andpiling his papers neatly into a drawer. 

"The form clearly states thatthe parent or guardian must give permission." he turned to lookat him, with an odd expression on her face. Was it pity? "I'm sorry,Ms  Potter, but that's my final word. You had better hurry, or you'll belate for your next lesson." 

There was nothing to be done. 

Zoe called Professor McGonagall alot of names, and I had to endure everyone in the class talking loudly and happily about what they were going to do first, once they got intoHogsmeade. 

"There's always the feast," said Zoe, in an effort to cheer me up. "You know, the Halloween feast, in the evening." 

"Yeah," I said gloomily, "great."

 The Halloween feast was always good, but it would taste a lotbetter if I was coming to it after a day in Hogsmeade witheveryone else. Nothing anyone said made me feel any better aboutbeing left behind. 

Astoria Karlov, who was good with a quill, hadoffered to forge Uncle Vernon's signature on the form, but as I had already told Professor Snape he hadn't had it signed, thatwas no good. "Maybe it's your hair" said Astoria.

"What?"

"Your hair, that's why your uncle didn't sign."

 On Halloween morning, I awoke with the rest and wentdown to breakfast, feeling thoroughly depressed, though doing my best to act normally."We'll bring you lots of sweets back from Honeydukes," said Nicholas, looking desperately sorry for me.

 "Yeah, loads," said Draco.

"Don't worry about me," I said in what I hoped was anoffhand voice, "I'll see you at the feast. Have a good time."  

They left, and I went to the library.

Then I heard voices, and went to investigte

"What are you doing?" Filch was snarling suspiciously.

 "Nothing," said Harry. 

"Nothing!" spat Filch, his jowls quivering unpleasantly. "A likelystory! Sneaking around on your own — why aren't you inHogsmeade buying Stink Pellets and Belch Powder and WhizzingWorms like the rest of your nasty little friends?"

 Harry shrugged.

 "Well, get back to your common room where you belong!"snapped Filch, and he stood glaring until Harry had passed out ofsight. 

I followed him, ignoring Flitch's glare, and was walking along another corridor when a voice from insideone of the rooms said,

 "Harry Emma?"Harry doubled back and I turned to see who had spoken and met ProfessorLupin, looking around his office door. 

"What are you doing?" said Lupin, though in a very differentvoice from Filch. 

"Where are Ron and Hermione? And, Draco, Nicholas and Zoe?" 

"Hogsmeade," said Harry, in a would-be casual voice. 

"Ah," said Lupin. He considered Harry and me for a moment. "Whydon't you come in? I've just taken delivery of a grindylow for ournext lesson."

"A what?" said Harry. 

We followed Lupin into his office. In the corner stood a verylarge tank of water. A sickly green creature with sharp little hornshad its face pressed against the glass, pulling faces and flexing itslong, spindly fingers.

 "Water demon," said Lupin, surveying the grindylow thoughtfully. "We shouldn't have much difficulty with him, not after thekappas. The trick is to break his grip. You notice the abnormallylong fingers? Strong, but very brittle." 

The grindylow bared its green teeth and then buried itself in atangle of weeds in a corner."Cup of tea?" Lupin said, looking around for his kettle. "I wasjust thinking of making one." 

"All right," said Harry awkwardly. 

"Thanks you" I smiled.

Lupin tapped the kettle with his wand and a blast of steamissued suddenly from the spout."Sit down," said Lupin, taking the lid off a dusty tin. "I'veonly got teabags, I'm afraid — but I daresay you've had enough oftea leaves?"

 Harry and I looked at him. Lupin's eyes were twinkling."How did you know about that?" Harry asked.

 "Professor McGonagall told me," said Lupin, passing me achipped mug of tea. "You're not worried, are you?"

 "No," said Harry. I thought for a moment of telling Lupin about the dog we'dseen in Magnolia Crescent but decided not to. 

I didn't wantLupin to think he was a coward, especially since Lupin alreadyseemed to think we couldn't cope with a boggart. 

Something of my thoughts seemed to have shown on my face, because Lupin said, "Anything worrying you, Emma?" 

"No," I lied. I drank a bit of tea and watched the grindylow brandishing a fist at him. 

"Yes," I said suddenly, putting my tea down on Lupin's desk. "You know that day we fought the boggart? 

"Yes," said Lupin slowly. 

"Why didn't you let us fight it?"I said abruptly

.Lupin raised his eyebrows."I would have thought that was obvious, Emma," he said, sounding surprised. I, who had expected Lupin to deny that he'd done any suchthing, was taken aback. 

"Why?" I said again. 

"Well," said Lupin, frowning slightly, "I assumed that if the boggart faced you or you Harry, it would assume the shape of Lord Voldemort." 

Harry stared, and I  raised an eyebrow. 

Not only was this the last answer I'd expected,but Lupin had said Voldemort's name. The only person I hadever heard say the name aloud (apart from myself and my brother) was ProfessorDumbledore. 

"Clearly, I was wrong," said Lupin, still frowning at Harry and me. "ButI didn't think it a good idea for Lord Voldemort to materialize inthe staffroom. I imagined that people would panic." 

"I didn't think of Voldemort," said Harry honestly. "I — Iremembered those dementors." I took in a sharp breath,"me too." I whispered

"I see," said Lupin thoughtfully. 

"Well, well . . . I'm impressed."He smiled slightly at the look of surprise on Harry and my face. 

"Thatsuggests that what you fear most of all is — fear. Very wise." 

U didn't know what to say to that, so I drank some moretea.

 "So you've been thinking that I didn't believe you capable offighting the boggart?" said Lupin shrewdly.

 "Well . . . yeah," said Harry. He was suddenly feeling a lot happier. "Professor Lupin, you know the dementors —" 

He was interrupted by a knock on the door. 

"Come in," called Lupin.The door opened, and in came Snape. He was carrying a goblet,which was smoking faintly, he raised his eyebrows at me and stopped at the sight of Harry, hisblack eyes narrowing.

 "Ah, Severus," said Lupin, smiling. "Thanks very much. Couldyou leave it here on the desk for me?" 

Snape set down the smoking goblet, his eyes wandering betweenHarry and Lupin. 

"I was just showing Harry and Emma my grindylow," said Lupin pleasantly,pointing at the tank. 

"Fascinating," said Snape, without looking at it. "You shoulddrink that directly, Lupin."

 "Yes, yes, I will," said Lupin."I made an entire cauldronful," Snape continued. "If you needmore."

 "I should probably take some again tomorrow. Thanks verymuch, Severus." 

"Not at all," said Snape,He backed out of the room, unsmiling and watchful.Harry and I looked curiously at the goblet. Lupin smiled. 

"Professor Snape has very kindly concocted a potion for me," he said. "I have never been much of a potion-brewer and this one isparticularly complex." He picked up the goblet and sniffed it. "Pitysugar makes it useless," he added, taking a sip and shuddering. 

"Why — ?" I began. 

Lupin looked at me and answered theunfinished question. 

"I've been feeling a bit off-color," he said. "This potion is theonly thing that helps. I am very lucky to be working alongside Professor Snape; there aren't many wizards who are up to making it."

 "Professor Snape's very interested in the Dark Arts," Harry blurtedout.

 "Really?" said Lupin, looking only mildly interested as he tookanother gulp of potion."Some people reckon —" Harry hesitated, then plunged recklessly on, "some people reckon he'd do anything to get the DefenseAgainst the Dark Arts job."  He couldn't be suggesting--

Lupin drained the goblet and pulled a face."Disgusting," he said. "Well, Harry Emma, I'd better get back to work.I'll see you at the feast later."

 "Right," said Harry, putting down his empty teacup.The empty goblet was still smoking. 

"There you go," said Zoe. "We got as much as we could carry." 

A shower of brilliantly colored sweets fell into my lap. It wasdusk, and Zoe, Nicholas and Draco had just turned up in the commonroom, pink-faced from the cold wind and looking as though they'dhad the time of their lives. 

"Thanks," I said, picking up a packet of tiny black PepperImps. "What's Hogsmeade like? Where did you go?" 

By the sound of it — everywhere. Dervish and Banges, the wizarding equipment shop, Zonko's Joke Shop, into the Three Broomsticks for foaming mugs of hot butterbeer, and many places besides. 

"The post office, Emma! About two hundred owls, all sitting onshelves, all color-coded depending on how fast you want your letter to get there!" 

"Honeydukes has got a new kind of fudge; they were giving outfree samples, there's a bit, look —""We think we saw an ogre, honestly, they get all sorts at theThree Broomsticks —" 

"Wish we could have brought you some butterbeer, really warmsyou up —"

Then we went down to the feast. The food was delicious; even Draco, Nicholas and Zoe, who were fullto bursting with Honeydukes sweets, managed second helpings ofeverything. I kept glancing at the staff table. Professor Lupinlooked cheerful and as well as he ever did; he was talking animatedly to tiny little Professor Flitwick, the Charms teacher. 

Imoved my eyes along the table, to the place where Snape sat. Was I imagining it, or were Snape's eyes flickering toward Lupin moreoften than was natural? 

The feast finished with an entertainment provided by the Hogwarts ghosts. They popped out of the walls and tables to do a bit offormation gliding; Nearly Headless Nick, the Gryffindor ghost,had a great success with a reenactment of his own botched beheading.

We followed the rest of the Slytherins along the usual path to the dungeons, and were talking amiable when Snape burst in. 

"Out in the great hall. All of you." he snarled "Now!"