One-Shot: Part of my Eleven-Verse

[mollywheezy]

Title: Fourth Year Floral Follies
Author: mollywheezy
Words: ~9800
Rated: PG-13
A/N: The fourth-year adventure of Rose, Al, Wil, and Scorpius, from Al's pov this time since he wanted a turn. ;) I have not finished writing second and third years yet. All you need to know is that Bill are Fleur Weasley are now professors at Hogwarts, and Rose dated her friend Wil Krum in their third year. Thanks to my beta and chief encourager rumpelsnorcack for helping me finish every year of this epic story! :)



Al, Rose, Scorpius, and Wil walked to Herbology together for their first class of the year. Al was glad to be back at Hogwarts with his friends, even though they had seen each other loads over the summer.

They walked into Greenhouse Five and sat at a table together talking and joking. They knew they would not be allowed to stay at the same table. It was too much to hope Professor Longbottom would go back on his decision they could never work together again, but they'd enjoy being together while they could.

"All right, fourth years! I'm going to put you into groups and we'll have an in-class project today to clear the cobwebs out of your brains after the summer holiday." There were a few snickers around the greenhouse, and Professor Longbottom smiled. It was generally a debate among the students whether Professor Longbottom or Professor Creevey was their favorite professor.

"You will stay in the same groups until further notice. For the next two class periods, we are going to examine the differences between the diluted and dried variations of many common herbological potions ingredients. We will prepare the ingredients today, some for drying and some for diluting, and let them rest until our next class period when we will make the comparison. I believe Professor Slughorn will have you brew some of these potions as well."

Professor Longbottom called out the groups and gave the assignments. Al was assigned Aggie Longbottom and Mary Riley. Al had seen Aggie over the holiday, of course, but apparently he hadn't been next to her when he was standing up. He turned to face her, and her breasts were immediately at his eye level. He'd known Aggie since they were babies. When in bloody hell did Aggie get breasts? Al stuttered something incoherent and turned to gather the vials they would need. He collected them, and turned around again, this time Mary's breasts were right at his eye level. Al's hands shook and the vials clattered, but he managed to catch all but one, which shattered on the floor.

"Mister Potter!" Professor Longbottom scolded. "Please be more careful. These are magical vials. Reparo charms lessen their efficacy."

"Sorry, Professor Longbottom. Clumsy I guess." Al shrugged, as Professor Longbottom Vanished the mess. Al retrieved another vial.

Aggie, Al, and Mary managed to get all of their supplies to their table without further incident, but then Al's problems really started. Aggie was across from him, and Mary was on the side of the table next to him, but with all three of them working with the ingredients in the center, the girls were bending over the table, once again putting their breasts immediately at his eye level. Al couldn't concentrate and dropped things constantly, but fortunately nothing else broke. He would never make it through the
class, and it was a double period today.

"Al, are you okay?" Aggie put her hand on Al's arm and whispered to him.

She was touching him! Aggie-who-now-had-breasts had her hand on his arm. Al felt his face get hot. His arm was burning. He thought he might faint. He managed to nod to Aggie's question.

She gave him a very worried look, but removed her hand from his arm and went back to work. He could still feel her handprint on his arm. Did this mean he fancied her now, or was it just hormones? Dad said hormones could make boys do stupid things. Maybe they made them clumsy, too? Unfortunately, Al knew he'd never have the courage to ask Dad anything about hormones in a letter. Mum always read his letters, too. He supposed he could ask Uncle Bill, since he was at Hogwarts, but Uncle Bill was scary and his least favorite uncle. Dad would be better. He'd just wait until Christmas.

Lost in his thoughts, Al cut his thumb while chopping shrivelfigs. Bloody Hell! A first year wouldn't cut themselves chopping shrivelfigs!

"Oh that looks bad," Mary said, gently picking up his hand to examine his wound. She was touching him! Mary-who-had-breasts-even-bigger-than-Aggie's was practically holding his hand. Al really was going to faint.

"Professor Longbottom!" Mary called. "Al's cut himself rather badly."

Everyone in the room looked at Al. Rose, Wil, and Scorpius from their different tables looked especially concerned. "Keep on working, class. Mr Potter will be fine."

Professor Longbottom came to their table immediately and examined Al's hand. "I don't think this will require a trip to the hospital wing." Professor Longbottom performed a disinfectant charm and then healed Al's cut. "There you go, Mr Potter." Professor Longbottom looked at Al. "Are you okay, Al?" He whispered. "You look really flushed."

Al nodded and somehow managed to look at Professor Longbottom. "Thank you, Sir. I'm fine." Al's voice cracked badly on the last word. He was very grateful Mary, Aggie, and The Breasts were kind enough not to laugh at him.

He finished the lesson for the day without further incident, until it came time to clean up. Since Al had been pretty useless most of the time, he offered to put everything away. He gathered their plant preparations in the vials, put them on the tray, carried it to the shelf, set it down, and turned to leave, but there was a huge crash. Apparently Al had not put the tray firmly on the shelf, and now everything the three of them had done that afternoon was in a broken heap on the floor.

Professor Longbottom sighed. "Mr Potter, you will return to the greenhouse at seven o'clock to redo the work you just ruined. We will talk more then. The rest of you, no homework for tonight. Class dismissed."

Al stood there, feeling dejected. Professor Longbottom came over and levitated the tray to his desk. "You can go, Mr Potter. I'll see you later."

Al felt awful. He usually did well in Herbology. "I'm sorry about . . ." Al gestured lamely. He couldn't very well tell Professor Longbottom he was sorry he panicked because of Mary's and Aggie's breasts.

Professor Longbottom waited until the other students had left. It's okay, Al," he said kindly. "I'll help you fix this later. Have a bit of a rest, and a good dinner, and you'll feel better."

Al nodded. "Thank you," he said to the floor as he left the greenhouse.

Rose, Scorpius, and Wil had waited for Al outside. "Are you feeling well, Al?" Rose asked, worriedly. "You look very flushed." Rose put her hand on Al's forehead.

"I'm fine, Rosie. Just . . . embarrassed at having such a bad start to the year in Herbology."

Rose looked suspiciously at Al, but she didn't press the matter.

"What did Professor Longbottom say to you, Al?" Scorpius asked

"He was actually nice. He told me to rest, have a good dinner, and he'd help me fix the mess later."

"Well, that's not so bad then!" Wil said heartily. "I thought he might have given you a real detention."

"No, just the usual." Unless students were severely goofing off, Professor Longbottom only made them redo the work from the day to make sure they had learned it properly, rather than making them do anything unpleasant as some teachers might. Of course, if students were misbehaving, Professor Longbottom's detentions were just as unpleasant, if not more so, than others. Rose could certainly attest to that.

Al cheered up, enjoyed the afternoon with his friends, ate as though he hadn't seen food in weeks, and returned to the greenhouse. Without The Breasts in the room, Al was able to properly do the work from the day without any problems.

"So what happened earlier today, Al? You did very well tonight," Professor Longbottom said, as he and Al were leaving.

Al shrugged. "Just cobwebs, I guess." He certainly couldn't tell Professor Longbottom the real problem, especially since one set of The Breasts belonged to his daughter.

***

The next Herbology class went well since Mary and Aggie did not allow Al to touch anything breakable, but if Al thought his problems were over, he was sadly mistaken.

The first class of the following week, Professor Longbottom taught them how to repot bouncing bulbs. Al managed the first few by looking down towards the table and focusing solely on the bulbs and pots. If he didn't look up, he wouldn't see The Breasts, and he would make it through class.

Unfortunately, one of the bulbs Mary was repotting escaped her grasp. In trying to catch it, she crashed into Al, who lost his balance and landed on his bum, with Mary on top of him, The Breasts pressed into his chest.

"I'm so sorry, Al! Are you OK?"

Al knew he could not speak, but he did manage a feeble nod. Thank Merlin for robes, or he'd have quite an embarrassing problem.

Mary had caught her bulb, and holding it tightly in one hand, she scrambled to her feet, and offered Al her other hand. He accepted it, and with Mary's help, stood up. If he thought about how good her hand felt in his, his problem was only going to get worse.

"Al, you're all flushed," Aggie said. "You fell pretty hard, are you sure you're OK?"

"I'm so sorry!" Mary repeated.

Al took a deep breath. "It's OK. I'm fine, really." Al managed to smile at Mary.

Mary planted her captured bulb, while Al retrieved another bulb from the package. Of course, now he was very distracted, and his bulb got away from him, too. It was apparently a very active one, as it bounced from the floor to about his head level repeatedly. Al brought up his arms to protect his face, and he wasn't sure how, but he hit the bulb out the window. The closed window.

The shattering glass brought Professor Longbottom's attention. "What happened, Mr Potter?"

"I-" Al shrugged helplessly.

"Go outside and try to catch that bulb before it wreaks havoc around Hogwarts."

Al left the greenhouse without a word. He ran around to the side where the bulb had gone out the window, but he didn't see it. He heard, "Ow! Wha' in the blazes . . ."

Al found Hagrid clutching the bulb and ran over to him.

"Sorry, Hagrid. That's mine. We're repotting bouncing bulbs in Herbology, and it got away from me," Al panted.

"How'd it make it so far?"

"It, er, went through the window. I'm not really sure what happened, exactly," Al shrugged.

"Well, no 'arm done. 'Ere you go, then." Hagrid returned the bulb to Al making sure to keep hold of it until Al had grasped it firmly.

"Thanks, Hagrid." Al smiled at Hagrid and ran back to the greenhouse.

Professor Longbottom was finishing replacing the greenhouse window when Al returned. He looked up at Al, and said, "Oh, good! You caught it." Professor Longbottom smiled. "I had an extra pane of glass so no real harm done, then."

Al nodded, feeling a bit guilty about not mentioning Hagrid, but decided he could tell Professor Longbottom about Hagrid later, when he wasn't in front of the entire class. He repotted the bulb, and retrieved another one. He thought he had a tight grip on it, but the bulb bounced onto the table and out the window Professor Longbottom had just replaced.

Professor Longbottom sighed. Before he could tell Al to go collect the bulb, Hagrid came in holding it. "Slipp'ry li'l buggers today, aren' they?" The class snickered, even Al.

"Thank you, Hagrid," Professor Longbottom took the bulb from Hagrid, who waved and left.

"Class, finish the bulb you are currently repotting and then you are free to go a bit early today. Except for Mr Potter." Professor Longbottom repotted Al's last bulb. Al sighed. He had a feeling he was really in trouble this time.

The class finished their tasks and gradually left, except for Rose, Scorpius, Wil, and Al. "There is no need for you three to wait for Mr Potter. He will see you at dinner."

Rose and Scorpius gave Al sympathetic looks. Wil said, "I'll take your bag back for you, Al."

"Thanks, Wil." Al gave his friends a feeble wave as they left him alone with Professor Longbottom.

Once they were gone, Professor Longbottom said, "There's no need to look so miserable, Al. I'm not angry with you."

"So I'm not in trouble?" Al asked hopefully.

"Well, not much," Professor Longbottom answered honestly. "I know nobody reads the Hogwarts' Handbook, but there is actually a rule about students or their parents being charged for any damage done to school property."

"But it was an accident!" Al protested.

"I know it was, Al. That's taken into account. Students are allowed one accident per term for which their parents are not billed. I didn't count the vials from last week at all, but two panes of Greenhouse Glass in one day, I'll have to report, especially since I don't have another replacement pane and will have to order one."

"Oh," Al sighed. "How much is a replacement pane?"

Al saw Professor Longbottom cringe, "It's one hundred galleons, Al."

"A hundred galleons! For glass?!"

"It's charmed glass, made especially for greenhouses. Unfortunately, Reparo interferes with the other charms built into the glass which are very useful for the plants. Reparo works as a temporary measure, but the glass won't have the proper charms anymore and will prevent the greenhouse's functioning at peak efficiency if it isn't properly replaced soon."

"Mum and Dad are going to kill me," Al moaned.

"Your parents won't kill you, Al, but I thought you might want to Floo one of them to tell them what's going on before they find out from Headmistress McGonagall. You can use the Floo in my office."

"That's a good idea. Thanks."

"All right, then. Why don't you repair the window, and we'll go make the call?"

"You want me to repair the window?"

"I'm sure you are quite capable of casting a Reparo charm, Al."

"OK," Al said shakily. He concentrated as hard as he could on bringing all the glass pieces back together, then swished and flicked, and the window was whole again.

"Very good, Al!"

Al smiled at Professor Longbottom. At least he'd done something right today.

***

Al accepted the Floo Powder Professor Longbottom handed to him, and then stared at the fireplace.

"Go ahead, Al. I already removed the charms from the fireplace so you can call."

"I was debating whether Mum or Dad would be less likely to kill me."

Professor Longbottom chuckled, "My money's on your dad."

Al nodded, "That's what I was thinking, too." Al threw the powder into the fire, took a deep breath, and said, "Harry Potter, Office of the Director of the Auror Division, Ministry of Magic". Al knelt on the floor and experienced the weird feeling of his head traveling through the Floo Network.

When the spinning stopped, Al saw his dad sitting at his desk doing paperwork. "Dad?"

"Al! What's happened?" Harry quickly dropped to his knees in front of the fireplace. "Are you O.K.?"

Al was startled by the panicked look on his dad's face. "No one's hurt or anything . . ."

"That's good, but you'll understand my worry since you've never Flooed me from Hogwarts before."

"That's true. It was Professor Longbottom's idea. I'm in his office."

Harry pinched the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath. "Why don't you start at the beginning, Al?"

Al considered mentioning Mary, then decided it might be best not to, especially not over a Floo connection. "We were repotting bouncing bulbs in Herbology today and one of my bulbs got away from me and went out the window, so I ran outside after it, and Hagrid had caught it, so I brought it back and repotted that one, and then a little later another bulb got away from me, and it went through the window, too, but Hagrid caught that one as well and brought it back before I could go after it, and
Professor Longbottom repotted that one. He had already replaced the glass though, and he didn't have another pane."

"So your bulb broke the greenhouse window?"

"Twice," Al whispered. "I'm sorry, Dad."

"It's OK, Al. It was an accident . . ."

"Yeah, it was!"

"So your bulbs got away from you, breaking the same window twice, but no one's hurt?"

"That's right."

"I'm missing something here, Al. I'm always glad to talk to you, of course, but why did you need to Floo me at work instead of sending an owl?"

"Professor Longbottom said there's a rule in the Hogwarts' Handbook that students are only allowed one accident per term, and then their parents are sent the bill."

"Oh. How much does the window cost?"

Al mumbled, "A hundred galleons."

"A hundred galleons! For glass?!"

"I'm sorry, Dad! I wasn't goofing off or anything! I'm just so clumsy lately . . ."

"It's OK, Al. I'm not mad at you. I was just surprised a window cost so much. It would have taken a fortune to rebuild all of the greenhouses after the war . . ." Harry shook his head. "Accidents happen. Don't worry about it. I'll pay for the window."

"Really? Thanks, Dad!"

"Bouncing bulbs are a bloody menace. When I was a fourth year, a bulb got away from me and whacked me in the head. I had a bruise on my forehead for a week."

Al laughed.

"You OK, then?"

Al nodded.

***

Al filled his friends in on what had happened over dinner.

"Well, it sounds like neither Professor Longbottom nor your dad is mad at you so that's good, right?" Scorpius asked.

Al nodded, giving a relieved sigh, "Yeah."

"Well, since that's sorted, I'm off," announced Rose, standing up.

"Where are you going?" Al asked.

"I'm meeting Avery to study Arithmancy," Rose answered.

"He's a sixth year!" Scorpius exclaimed.

"Studying? That's what it's called now?" Wil teased.

"We are just friends, and we are studying," Rose declared.

"If you're 'just friends' then why are you blushing?" Al asked.

Rose huffed loudly, turned on her heel, and left without another word.

***

Not even getting a one-class reprieve from his Herbology woes, Al knew he was in trouble as soon as he walked into the greenhouse. Not only did he have to worry about Mary and Aggie's breasts, the bloody plant had breasts. Al found himself staring at a pair of green breasts with nipples and everything. Not that he'd ever seen actual breasts, at least not in memorable history, but Wil's cousin had shown them that magazine when they were over at Wil's house last summer . . . Those bumps on the plant were exactly the same, except green of course. Al was transfixed. He hadn't heard a word Professor
Longbottom was saying, but he was sure Mary and Aggie would fill him in on anything important.

Could he touch the plant breasts? He had a feeling it'd be a long time before he got to touch real ones. He looked at Mary and Aggie. They were staring at Professor Longbottom and listening attentively. Al gently touched what he decided was the nipple. It gave him a little thrill, so he ran his fingers around both nipples, more firmly. The plant shivered. Emboldened, Al squeezed the plant breasts . . . and something exploded. There were shrieks, and Al was covered in some sticky substance . . .

"MISTER POTTER!" Professor Longbottom yelled. "Didn't I just tell everyone NOT to touch the Mimbulus mimbletonia until I had finished giving instructions?"

Al didn't answer. He was certain Professor Longbottom had said not to touch, but he didn't want to admit he wasn't listening. He didn't think "But the plant has breasts!" would go over very well as an excuse, either.

"WELL?!"

Al gulped.

Zara Smith shrieked, "This stuff is in my hair!" and began to cry. Professor Longbottom absently waved his wand in her direction, cleaning off most of the goo, as he continued to glare at Al.

"Answer me, Mr Potter!"

"Yes," Al whispered.

"Then why did you choose not to follow my instructions?"

Al shrugged. He certainly couldn't tell the truth, especially in front of the whole class. Al saw Mary wipe off some green sludge that was about to fall into her eye, and felt a pang of guilt. What was wrong with him anyway?

Professor Longbottom closed his eyes and sighed. He waved his wand over the entire class removing most of the green stuff from the students. "Scourgify only removes the worst of the stink sap. There will still be a residue. Except for Mr Potter, you may leave. I want all of you to read chapter 7 and be prepared for a test next class."

Al didn't look at anyone. He was certain the test was his fault. Professor Longbottom rarely gave tests at all, and certainly not unplanned ones. Everyone was probably mad at him for covering them in stink sap, too. All the students left quickly and quietly, without exclamations of joy for getting out of class or groans for being covered in stink sap. Other than Zara Smith who was still sniffling softly.

When everyone had left, Professor Longbottom said, "What is going on, Al? You used to do well in Herbology."

Al shrugged, "I guess I'm just in a clumsy phase . . ."

Professor Longbottom interrupted, "Don't even try the clumsy excuse. Today was not an accident. You weren't listening and touched the plant when I told you not to. Would you care to tell me the truth as to why?"

Al shook his head no. He chanced a glance at Professor Longbottom and could see his face getting red. That wasn't a good sign.

"Fine, then. Since you covered the greenhouse in stink sap, you will be cleaning the entire greenhouse, without magic. Cleaning products are in the cupboard in the corner. Give me your wand."

Al reluctantly handed Professor Longbottom his wand, and went to the cupboard to start scrubbing everything in the room. It was going to take forever!

***

The sun had set, and Al was still scrubbing. He was certain he'd missed dinner and wondered if he'd ever get to leave the greenhouse. His stomach growled so loudly it echoed.

"You must be hungry, Al. I had a late lunch and didn't realize the time. Why don't I conjure some sandwiches for you to take with you?"

"I haven't finished scrubbing everything yet."

"We'll call it close enough."

Al put the supplies away and washed his hands in the sink while Professor Longbottom conjured a plate with sandwiches, and a glass which he used his wand to fill with pumpkin juice.

"Thank you!" Al said, taking a sandwich. Professor Longbottom had been mad at him, but Al knew he was forgiven. The sandwiches were pimiento cheese with sharp mustard on pumpernickel, his favorite.

***

"So Al, you're a breast man?"

"What?" Al peered out from under the towel with which he was drying his hair to stare at a chuckling Wil.

"You couldn't resist touching the tits on that plant today, and you covered the entire class with stink sap."

Al didn't respond for a moment. "Is everyone really mad at me?"

"No," Scorpius chimed in. "Well, Zara Smith probably is, but who cares what she thinks?"

"Right you are, mate," Wil added. "What's up with Herbology anyway, Al? I know the plant tits today messed you up, but what's been going on?"

Al was quiet for a moment, but then thought, if he couldn't confide in his best friends, who could he tell? "Girls have breasts," Al muttered.

"News flash, that is," Wil rolled his eyes.

"I mean, I share a table with Mary and Aggie and their breasts are always Right There."

"You've just noticed this?" Scorpius asked.

Al shrugged and nodded.

"So you fancy Mary?" Wil asked.

"I think I sort of fancy both of them."

"You'll have better luck with Mary, since Aggie is going out with that older Hufflepuff bloke."

"Why aren't the two of you bothered by The Breasts?" Al demanded.

"Who says we aren't?" Scorpius asked.

"Well, you're both taller than me, so it's not as bad for you."

"What's our height have to do with anything?" Wil asked.

"Scorpius is a few inches taller, so he's at eye level with everyone, and you're taller than all of us, so you just see tops of heads. All the girls' breasts are right at my eye level."

Wil patted Al on his head, "Don't worry, Little Al. You'll grow."

Scorpius laughed, as Al pushed Wil's hand away huffily, "Geroff me!"

Al turned to Scorpius, "You don’t get to take the mickey out of me!"

"Why not?" Scorpius continued laughing.

"Because this is all your fault!"

"How is it my fault that girls' breasts are distracting you?"

"Because if you hadn't caused the Venomous Tentacula Debacle last year the four of us would still be able to work together in Herbology, and Mary and Aggie's breasts wouldn't be right in front of me to distract me!"

Scorpius stopped laughing.

"Rose has breasts," Wil pointed out.

Al glared at him menacingly.

"Why are you glaring at me? I just stated a fact."

"Rose is my cousin."

"You are allowed to go out with your first cousin . . ."

"I know, but eww. Rose and I were almost raised like siblings. I'm closer to her than I am Lily."

"Why don't you ask Mary to go to Hogsmeade with you?" Scorpius suggested.

"How is that supposed to help?"

"That's a good idea," Wil interjected. "You've said you sort of fancy her, and it couldn't hurt. Maybe if you had an actual date you'd get over going all wonky around girls."

"It could make things even weirder . . ."

"Rose and I went out and things didn't get weird."

"True. I'll think about it."

"We could also ask Professor Longbottom if he'd let us work together again. I know he said never . . ."

"Let's call that the last resort."

***

In the next Herbology class, they began with a test as Professor Longbottom had threatened. Al thought he did OK on it, since he could stare straight down at the paper and not be distracted by The Breasts.

Then they had another go with the Mimbulus mimbletonia. Al didn't touch it at all, even when he was technically supposed to. He spent the period watching Mary and debating the wisdom of asking her to Hogsmeade. Al did notice Professor Longbottom watching him and frowning, probably because Al wasn't really doing his share of the work. As Professor Longbottom didn't say anything to him, though, Al decided he was glad to have an accident-free lesson and left well enough alone.

After class Al walked back to the castle with Scorpius, Rose, and Wil.

"So did you ask her?" Wil asked Al.

"Ask who what?" Rose wondered.

"Mary. If she wants to go to Hogsmeade. With me," Al answered. "I decided I will, but I didn't manage it today. I'll ask her after next class . . ."

"The next class is on Friday, mate, that's your last chance."

"Well, that's when I'll ask her."

"Good for you, Al," Rose said. "I'm going with Avery, so maybe we'll see you there."

"When did this happen?" Scorpius asked.

"He asked me this morning after Arithmancy."

"When were you going to tell us?" Wil demanded.

"I just did," Rose smirked.

"You could have told us at lunch," Scorpius accused.

"Oh get over it, already. Honestly! Why don't you ask someone to Hogsmeade?"

Scorpius shrugged.

Wil winked and said, "I'm keeping my options open."

Rose rolled her eyes and muttered, "Boys."

***

Al arrived early to Herbology on Friday, wiping his sweaty hands on his robes and searching the room for Mary. Of course, she was huddled in the corner with Aggie and several other girls whispering. Why did girls always go everywhere together? They even went to the loo together for Merlin's sake.

He went to their table. Mary joined him a moment later, leaving Aggie talking to their other friends.

"Hi, Al."

"Hi, Mary." Al knew he wouldn't have much time, so he took a deep breath and started right in, "I was wondering if you would like to go with me to Hogsmeade tomorrow?"

"All right class! Pay attention and we'll get started."

Al was still staring at Mary, but she had turned to look at Professor Longbottom. Al deflated. She hadn't had a chance to answer, and Mary never talked out of turn in class. Al sighed and stared at the table, not really listening to Professor Longbottom.

After a moment, Al felt a tentative hand on his and looked up in surprise. Mary had her hand on his. On purpose! When he looked at her, she smiled and nodded. Al smiled back. He was going to have his first date.

Even though Mary's hand had only been on his for a second, Al was distracted by the feel of it. Would she let him hold her hand tomorrow? How did one go about holding a girl's hand? When Mary had touched his hand just now, it had seemed so natural. Maybe he was making too big a deal out of things?

Al had an even scarier and more exciting thought. Would they kiss? He was the only Slytherin fourth year who had yet to have his first kiss after all. If he didn't know how to go about holding a girl's hand, how would he know how to go about kissing one?

"Al! Al! Albus Potter!"

"Huh?" Al looked at Aggie who had grabbed his arm and given him a shake.

"You weren't listening at all, were you?"

Al could feel his face getting hot. "No."

Aggie rolled her eyes and went to get . . . whatever Professor Longbottom must have told them to have.

Mary smiled at Al, "It's OK. We'll fill you in."

Al smiled back, "Thanks!"

Aggie came back with several glass vials and dragon hide gloves for all of them. Al thanked her and put on his gloves. As he was tucking his sleeve more securely into the glove, Al knocked into the table causing one of the glass vials to roll. He quickly grabbed at it to keep it from falling, and knocked over the plant, which fell towards him. He grabbed the big stalk to right it, and many things happened at once. Mary yelled, "No!" There was a rumbling sound and Professor Longbottom yelled, "Protego!"

The plant turned into a geyser. Green gunk splattered the air in front of Al as if he were standing behind glass. He heard a groan behind him, and turned to look. Aggie shrieked, "Daddy!"

Professor Longbottom was on the floor, groaning, his face covered in the green goo. Aggie knelt beside him, clasping his hand and crying. Mary had her hands on Aggie's shoulders.

Rose yelled, "I'll get Hagrid!" and ran from the room. Everyone was talking at once. Scorpius and Wil ran over to stand next to Al.

Zara Smith screamed at Al, "You've killed Professor Longbottom! What do you have against him anyway?"

Aggie sobbed harder, and Mary knelt to hug her friend.

"Wha' 'appened?" Hagrid bellowed into the chaos.

"Professor Longbottom is hurt. The bubotuber sort of . . . vomited and got the pus all over his face," Mary told Hagrid.

"Everyone back to the castle! I'm taking Professor Longbottom to Madam Pomfrey." Hagrid knelt down and picked Professor Longbottom up as if he were a doll.

Aggie said, "I'm coming with you!"

"O.K., come on then."

"I'll bring your things, Aggie," Mary called after her. Mary hurriedly packed up, said a
hasty, "Everything'll be OK, Al," and left.

Wil nudged Al's shoulder. "Come on, Al. Let's go back to the castle like Hagrid said."

***

Al arrived in the Slytherin Common Room without remembering getting there. He flopped onto the overstuffed green sofa with a sigh. Rose joined him and put her arm around him, resting her head on his shoulder and giving him a squeeze.

"You O.K., mate?" Al glanced up at Wil who looked very worried.

"No. I probably just killed Uncle Neville."

"He'll be fine!" Wil spoke with confidence, but he looked at Rose.

Rose hurried to reassure him. "Bubotuber pus isn’t fatal. Mum had someone mail her some when she was a fourth year. It made her hands blister, but she recovered fully and doesn't even have scars from it."

"Why would anyone . . ." Scorpius started, but Rose's glare stopped him.

"Mum was fine, and Uncle Neville will be fine, too."

"It hit his face, though, not his hands. And it was because he was trying to protect me from my own stupidity. If stupidity was a crime, I'd spend the rest of my life in Azkaban."

"You aren't going to go to Azkaban for stupidity or anything else," Scorpius stated.

"What about assaulting a professor?"

"It was an accident!" Wil spoke very clearly and distinctly. "No one gets sent to Azkaban for something that's an accident."

Al shrugged. "I'm SO going to be expelled."

"They can't expel you for an accident, either!" Scorpius yelled, causing several heads to turn.

Al shrugged again. "I would never hurt anyone on purpose, but I haven't exactly had a good record in Herbology this year."

"No one thinks you would hurt anyone on purpose, Al," Rose comforted. "Uncle Neville will be all right."

"You don't know that, Rose," Al declared.

Scorpius flopped onto to the couch next to Rose, and Wil collapsed into the arm chair across from Al.

A drawling voice called from the wall, "I will go see what I can find out."

"Thank you, Professor Snape!" Rose responded to the portrait.

"So did you ask Mary to Hogsmeade?"

"Wil!" Rose reached across Al to smack Wil's leg just above his knee.

"Ow! What? Just trying to change the subject . . ." Wil rubbed his leg and glared at Rose.

Al snorted. "Yes, I asked Mary to Hogsmeade. And she said yes. Not like I'm going to get to go now, though . . ."

"You don't know that."

Al raised an eyebrow at Scorpius.

"Scorpius is right, Al! The other times you messed up, Professor Longbottom just made you redo the lesson that afternoon. He wouldn't make you miss Hogsmeade."

Al shrugged.

A spider Patronus appeared in front of him. "Please come to my office at once, Albus."

Al sighed, "Professor Slughorn wants me in his office."

"That is the creepiest Patronus ever," Scorpius shuddered.

"It'll be fine, Al." Rose stood up as Al did and hugged him.

"He called me Albus instead of Mr Potter, so that's at least a good sign." Al waved weakly to his friends as he left.

***

As soon as Al tentatively knocked on Professor Slughorn's office door, he heard a booming, "Come in!"

Al opened the door, gasping in surprise, "Dad!"

Harry gave Al a one-armed hug. "Hi, Al."

"I'm being expelled, aren't I?"

"What?!" Both Harry and Professor Slughorn exclaimed.

"My dear boy, whatever would make you think you were going to be expelled?"

"Professor Longbottom . . ."

"He'll be fine, Al. I just came to see if you were OK."

Al stared at Harry.

"Let me see here . . ." Professor Slughorn rummaged around in his desk and pulled out two bottles of butterbeer. "Here we go!" He handed the bottles to Harry. "Harry my boy, why don't you go somewhere with Albus, have a butterbeer, and you can explain things to him?"

"Thank you, Horace. I'll talk to you later. Come on, Al. We'll go walk around the lake . . ."

***

Al was too stunned to say anything but followed his dad out of the castle in silence. Once outside, Harry used his wand to open both bottles of butterbeer and handed one to Al.

Al still didn't know what to say, so he took a sip.

As they walked towards the lake, Harry said, "Hagrid Flooed Hannah after Neville was injured, and Hannah came here immediately. Madam Pomfrey had to send Neville to St. Mungo's . . ." Al gasped, spitting out some butterbeer, "just as a precaution," Harry reassured. "Hannah didn't want to take Neeve and Ella with her, so she Flooed your mum to come watch them. Aggie went with Hannah. As far as I know Frankie and Allie are still in class, unless Headmistress McGonagall sent for them. So your mum sent me a Patronus to let me know what was happening, and I came here, since I figured you'd be pretty upset." Harry took a sip of his butterbeer, and looked expectantly at Al.

"It was an accident! I didn't mean to hurt Uncle Neville!" Al's voice broke on the last word. Al blinked and sniffed. Fourteen was too old to cry.

"Well, of course it was an accident, Al. I know you'd never hurt Neville on purpose. Neville knows that, too."

"He'll really be okay?"

"Yes. Bubotuber pus isn't deadly. Your Aunt Hermione came in contact with some, and she's fine."

"That's what Rose said. But Uncle Neville got hurt because he was keeping the stuff from hitting me."

"That's the kind of person Neville is. He wouldn't let you, or any of his students, get hurt if he could prevent it. Why don't you start at the beginning and tell me what happened."

Al thought for a minute. He had told his friends, and he could always talk to Dad. And being older, maybe Dad would actually have advice . . . "Remember the Venomous Tentacula Debacle last year?"

"Yes . . ."

"Well, Professor Longbottom said Rose, Wil, Scorpius, and I could never work together again, so we're all in different groups, because 'never' didn't only mean until the end of last year."

"Did you think Professor Longbottom would have forgotten?"

"Not really, but we were sort of hoping he'd let us work together." Harry nodded. "So I'm in a group with Aggie and Mary Riley."

"So you don't like Aggie and Mary?"

"No! I like them! I mean, I've known Aggie forever, and Mary's really nice."

"I'm sorry, Al, I'm not understanding the problem . . ."

Al felt like his face was on fire. He took a large swig of butterbeer, looked at the ground, and muttered, "They have breasts, and I'm short."

"Ah, I see."

"You do?"

"Of course, Al. I was fourteen once, too. And short."

"It's like, when we're working at the table or something, The Breasts are always right at my eye level. All the time! And I just, sort of . . ."

"Can't concentrate and fall apart."

"Yeah!"

"I almost lost a Quidditch match because the Ravenclaw Seeker was so pretty. Oliver told me to quit being a gentleman and knock her off her broom." Harry chuckled.

"Who was the Ravenclaw Seeker, Dad?"

"Cho Chang."

"Cho Chang, the manager of the Tornados?!"

"That's the one."

"You fancied Cho Chang? What happened?"

"Well, she's a year older than I am, so I didn't have to deal with her in classes, only on the Quidditch Pitch. In my fourth year, I asked her to go to the Yule Ball with me, but she already had a date. I'd waited too long."

"If you fancied her, why'd you wait?"

"I couldn't ever get her on her own to ask."

"I know! Why do girls always travel in packs? They even go to the loo together!"

Harry laughed. "I still don't know the answer to that one."

Al finished off his butterbeer. "I managed to get a second alone with Mary before class started today and asked her to go to Hogsmeade with me tomorrow, and before she could answer Professor Longbottom started talking!"

"She never got a chance to answer?"

"Well, Mary never talks out of turn in class, but she touched my hand to get my attention and smiled and nodded."

"Good for you! You got up the nerve to ask a girl out a lot sooner than I did." Harry smiled at Al.

"I can't imagine I'll be allowed to go to Hogsmeade tomorrow."

"Well, I don't know about tomorrow. But even if you don't get to go tomorrow, Mary still said yes. There'll be other trips to Hogsmeade, and there are other things you can do, like ask her to go for a walk around the lake or bring sandwiches out here for a picnic."

"Those are good ideas! Thanks, Dad!" Al smiled. "So when was your first date, if Cho Chang said no?"

"I took Parvati Patil to the Yule Ball. Since I was one of the champions, I had to have a date because we had to open the dancing."

"You had to dance with a girl with everybody staring at you?!"

"Yes. We danced once, then I pretty much ignored her and hung around with your Uncle Ron the rest of the night."

"Did Uncle Ron not have a date?"

"He did-Parvati's twin sister Padma. Sorry to say, neither of us were very good dates."

"Madam Patil?!"

Harry nodded.

"Were they mad at you for ignoring them?"

"Probably, but they got over it. They found a couple of the students from Beauxbatons to keep them company. Parvati eventually married that bloke, so I think we were forgiven ages ago."

Al laughed.

"Feeling better?"

"Yeah, I am."

"Good."

Al and Harry walked back to the castle in companionable silence. When they opened the castle doors they were bombarded with noise.

“I will not! It’s true! He’s a bloody menace! I can’t believe you’re standing up for him since he almost killed your best friend’s dad! No one wanted to work with him before today, which is why Professor Longbottom stuck his daughter and her best friend with him. Of course, he’ll be expelled now . . .”

“He will not!”

“Of course he will! My father is on the Board of Governors, and he’ll make sure of it. You just can’t go around trying to kill professors and get away with it . . .”

“Al didn’t try to kill anyone you horrible dozy cow!” Mary pointed her wand at Zara Smith and shouted “Furnuculus!”

Zara shrieked as boils appeared on all her visible skin.

“What is going on here?” Headmistress McGonagall demanded, waving her wand absently at Zara whose boils vanished.

“She hexed me!” Zara pointed an accusing finger at Mary.

“Miss Riley, come with me,” Headmistress McGonagall said. Mary followed, looking terrified. She glanced over her shoulder, saw Al, and gave a feeble wave, mouthing "I'm sorry!"

Al sighed, slumping his shoulders, “Mary’s definitely not going to Hogsmeade tomorrow.”

Harry patted Al on the back. “No, but don’t worry. At least you know for certain she likes
you.”

Al looked up, feeling much more cheerful.

***

When Al eventually returned to the Slytherin Common Room, Rose, Wil, and Scorpius were still there having a whispered discussion.

Rose gestured for Al to come over quickly. “Al! Professor Snape told us Mary got detention
tomorrow! What happened?”

“When Dad and I came in from walking around the lake, we saw Mary and Zara Smith arguing, and Mary hexed her.”

“About time someone hexed her,” Wil muttered. Scorpius snorted, nodding in agreement.

“Mary has to collect all the pus from the bubotubers because Madam Pomfrey and Madam Patil need it for some potions. Professor Longbottom is in St. Mungo’s, but he’ll be OK. He won’t be here tomorrow, though, so Roxie is going to supervise Mary’s detention. As Head Girl, she’s allowed, and she wasn’t planning on going to Hogsmeade, since she wants to stay here and get an early start on studying for NEWTS.”

Al was quiet for a moment as he absorbed all this information. “I have an idea. I’ll be right back!” Al hurried out of the Slytherin Common Room.

***

Al knocked on the door to Professor Slughorn’s office. It only took a moment for his knock to be answered.

“Albus! Back already?”

“I’m sorry to bother you, Professor Slughorn . . .”

“Not a bother at all, my boy! Come in, come in!” Slughorn boomed.

“I heard from Professor Snape’s portrait that Madam Pomfrey and Madam Patil really need the bubotuber pus my class was supposed to collect today, and since it’s pretty much my fault Professor Longbottom is in hospital and the pus didn’t get collected, I’d like to help.”

“Well, Albus, there’s already a student who has detention who will be doing that tomorrow. You don’t have to miss going to Hogsmeade to help . . .”

“Well, Sir, it’s just that whenever anyone messes up something in Herbology, Professor Longbottom has us repeat the lesson that afternoon to make sure we’ve learned it properly. If he wasn’t in St. Mungo’s, I’m sure I would have been there this evening collecting bubotuber pus. I feel like I owe it to him after he was injured protecting me.”

“Well, Albus, that’s a fine sentiment. Very admirable. Let me ask Minerva and see what she thinks.”

Professor Slughorn sent off his Patronus. “I hate for you to miss going into the village, though, Albus. You haven’t been given detention, and you certainly wouldn’t be for an accident.”

“I know, Sir, but Professor Longbottom is a friend of my parents, and I feel responsible he’s in St. Mungo’s. I’d really like to do something to help him out.”

Professor Slughorn nodded, but before he could speak, a large silver tabby cat appeared. “Minerva agreed to your request. The young lady's detention will begin at eight o’clock, but you may arrive whenever you like.”

“Thank you, Professor.” Al struggled not to smile widely. “Good night.”

“Good night, Albus.”

***

Al returned to the Common Room, welcomed by the curious stares of his friends. “I asked Professor Slughorn if I could collect bubotuber pus tomorrow in order to help out Professor Longbottom, you know, since Madam Pomfrey and Madam Patil need it so badly, and I feel responsible for what happened.”

Wil burst out laughing. “You must really have it bad for Mary to voluntarily join her in detention.”

“At least I get to spend time with her! I can ask her to take a walk afterwards or something.”

“It’s a brilliant idea, Al,” Scorpius said. "And luckily Quidditch practice hasn't started yet, so you don't need to worry about that."

“You're really sweet, Al, and Mary will think so, too,” Rose added. Al knew he was blushing. “I have an idea! Since Roxie is supervising, we can get her to leave the two of you alone, and maybe bring you a picnic lunch.”

Al snorted. “Roxie would never do that! She’ll follow the rules to the letter.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that. Just leave it to me . . .”

***

The next morning at eight o’clock, Al walked into Greenhouse Five. Mary and Roxie were already there.

“Al!” Mary exclaimed. “Did you get detention, too?”

“Not exactly. I volunteered. Since Professor Longbottom always makes me redo the lesson when I mess up, I thought he would want me to. If he were here, I’m sure I would have been
here . . .” Al shrugged.

“OK. Well, let me show the two of you what to do. Then I’ll watch for awhile to make sure you know what you’re doing, and then I’m going to study.” Roxie demonstrated the proper technique for collecting bubotuber pus, and watched Mary and Al individually to make sure they were doing it correctly.

When Roxie was satisfied Mary and Al were not going to cause further accidents, she began her own work while Al and Mary worked in silence. After all of them worked for awhile, Roxie announced, “It’s hot in here. I’m going to go study outside. You two promise not to blow anything up, yeah?”

“We won’t,” Mary assured her. After Roxie left, Mary asked Al, “Is she supposed to leave us alone?”

“Probably not, but Rose said she had a plan to convince Roxie to leave.”

“How would she do that?”

“Well, she didn’t actually tell me, but from stuff we’ve done before I assume Rose told Roxie she’d tell Aunt Angelina what Roxie did.”

“What did she do?” Mary asked in an excited whisper.

“I have no idea, but since she left us alone there’s obviously something,” Al grinned.

Mary looked confused, so Al continued, “There’s always something you don’t want your parents to know about, so Rose came up with this plan when we were eight. She got the idea from some story she’d read. I don’t remember what. Anyway, she told Hugo she’d tell their mum and dad what he’d done unless he did her chores for a day. And it worked! Even when Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron questioned Hugo, he said he’d lost a bet. I’ve done the same thing.”

“Has it always worked?”

“There was one time it didn’t. Rose tried it on Victoire and got in trouble. Victoire has never done anything wrong in her entire life, I guess. But every other time it’s worked. We don’t do it very often so nobody will get suspicious.”

"I've never gotten in trouble before," Mary said quietly, looking embarrassed.

"That's OK. You're nice. Victoire always held it over our heads that she was perfect."

Mary blushed and said, "I think you're nice, too."

Al knew his face was on fire. "Thank you for hexing Zara. She's had it coming for a long time. Are your parents going to be mad?"

"Probably. I don't know, though. I've never had detention before, so maybe they'll understand since it's my first one?"

"What about last year when the entire year got detention?"

"I was at my cousin's wedding that weekend, so I wasn't here. Was it really awful? Aggie certainly thought so."

"I guess it really wasn't worse than any other detention. I just didn't think it was fair because I didn't even get a turn."

"A turn drinking Firewhisky or a turn kissing someone?"

Al felt like his entire body was on fire now. "Both, but I've had Firewhisky before. Uncle George gave me some once."

"Were your parents mad?"

"I think Dad thought it was funny. Mum sent a Howler, though. Probably because Aunt Hermione sent one to Rose. At least your parents can't send you a Howler."

Mary giggled, "That's a good point. I hadn't thought of that before."

Al and Mary collected the bubotuber pus in silence for a few minutes until Mary took a deep breath and hurriedly whispered, "I haven't kissed anyone before either."

"So, how are you two doing in here?" Roxie asked as she barged into the greenhouse.

Al and Mary both jumped.

"What are you up to?"

"Nothing at all," Al answered quickly, "Just collecting pus." Al squeezed a nodule and the pus squirted into the beaker. "See?"

"Why are both of you blushing?" Roxie asked suspiciously.

"We're not blushing. It's just hot in here, like you said before."

"Mm-hmm." Roxie looked unconvinced as she stared at them and the plants, but let it go. "Well, at least you're making progress. Al, I want to see you outside for just a minute."

Roxie left the greenhouse, and with a shrug to Mary, Al followed her.

"There is a picnic basket with temperature control charms under Uncle Neville's desk. I will leave you alone for the rest of the time until you finish collecting the pus, then I'll take it up to the Hospital Wing. I do not want to hear another word about you or Rose telling my mum anything. Deal?"

"Absolutely. Deal. Thanks for everything, Roxie."

Roxie's eyes narrowed at him. "Oh, go gather pus. I'll be out here when you finish."

Al returned to the greenhouse without another word. Mary had continued working in his absence and looked at him questioningly. "Er . . . after we finish here . . . er . . ." Al took a deep breath, "would-you-want-to-have-a-picnic-by-the-lake-and-maybe-take-a-walk?"

"Yes. That would be lovely."

***

Inspired by the idea of an afternoon by the lake, Al and Mary finished collecting all of the bubotuber pus in time for a late lunch. Al retrieved the picnic basket from under Professor Longbottom's desk, went outside, and called, "Roxie! We're finished."

"That was fast." Roxie walked into the greenhouse, examined the vials of pus, looked at the plants, and said, "O.K. You two may leave."

"Bye, Rox!" Al called as he exited the greenhouse with Mary. As they walked to the lake, Al realized he was holding the picnic basket in his left hand and clasped Mary's hand in his right. He wasn't sure if she took his hand or if he took hers, but either way, he was holding her hand! and it felt . . . good.

They found some large boulders to lean against which gave them a good vantage point to watch the giant squid. Roxie had outdone herself with the picnic, which was really more of a banquet. She even included a large quilt in the basket as well as any food they could want, including bottles of butterbeer and pumpkin juice. Al felt a bit guilty that Roxie went to all this trouble. He determined to do something nice for her sometime soon. He'd definitely make sure neither he nor Rose pulled their usual tricks on her . . . at least for awhile.

Al and Mary greatly enjoyed their lunch. Detention made them hungry, after all. Then they leaned back against the boulders, holding hands and talking while enjoying the antics of the giant squid.

When the sun was beginning to set, Al and Mary packed up the basket and stared at each other without speaking for several moments.

"Er . . ." Al started, but nothing else would come out of his mouth.

"Thank you for joining me in detention. Detentions probably aren't supposed to be fun, are they?" Mary giggled.

Al chuckled, "Not usually. I had fun, too. Thanks for hexing Zara for me. She's had it coming for ages."

Mary giggled again. "That's what Aggie said."

"Scorpius, Rose, and Wil agree, too. Too bad Headmistress McGonagall caught you so soon. Zara didn't have to endure the hex for more than a few seconds."

Mary gave a half-shrug, half-nod.

Al rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. I should have asked Dad how to go about kissing a girl, Al thought. Being closer together might help . . . He took a step towards Mary.

"I guess we should probably get back to the castle," Mary said. She didn't move, but looked down at her feet.

Al grabbed her hand, causing Mary to look up again quickly. Was he supposed to ask before he kissed her? "Er . . ." Al managed. He pulled Mary the last half-step closer to him, stood up straight, tilted his head back slightly, and pressed his lips to hers. When he pulled away after a brief moment, Al opened his eyes (he wasn't sure when he had closed them), and said, "Wow."

Mary giggled.

Al asked, "Could we do that again?"

Mary nodded, still giggling.

Al decided his second kiss was even better than the first. He could definitely get used to this . . .

***

"Class, before you leave today I have some good news to share with you. Professor Longbottom will be back at Hogwarts by your next class period."

Al started to clap and everyone joined him, some whistled, others cheered.

"Gee, thanks. I'm glad I'm such a superb substitute that you need to cheer that I'm leaving." The class laughed, and Professor Creevey rolled his eyes. He was smiling, so Al knew he wasn't actually upset.

As Rose, Wil, Scorpius, Al, and Mary walked back to the castle together, Rose commented, "We were really lucky to get Professor Creevey as our substitute. The poor third years got stuck with Uncle Bill."

"Why do you not like your Uncle Bill?" Mary asked.

"I like Uncle Bill. Sort of. Usually. He's just not as fun as Professor Creevey," Rose answered.

"And he's half responsible for bringing Victoire into the world, which isn't a good thing," Al added. Everyone laughed. They arrived back at the castle steps and Al said, "I'm going to go see if Professor Longbottom's in his office yet. I'll see you at dinner." Al spoke to the group but looked at Mary.

"See you then, Al." Blushing, Mary kissed Al quickly on the lips. Scorpius and Wil gave loud, dramatic sighs.

"Shut it, you lot." Al rolled his eyes at his friends, waved to Mary, and went to find Professor Longbottom.

***

Al knocked on the door to Professor Longbottom's office and heard, "Come in!"

Al tentatively opened the door and poked his head in. "Professor Longbottom?"

"Come on in, Al! Have a seat." Professor Longbottom gestured to the chair in front of his desk. "What can I do for you?"

Al entered the office. "I just wanted to apologize for putting you in St. Mungo's."

"It wasn't your fault, Al."

"It was, though." Al paused, and Professor Longbottom quirked an eyebrow. "Can you be Uncle Neville for a few minutes?"

"Of course, Al. I can be Uncle Neville anytime you need me to be." Neville got up from his desk and sat in the chair near Al's.

"So you're O.K., Uncle Neville?" Al stared at Neville's face, looking for any signs of scars.

"I'm fine, Al. Completely recovered."

"I'm glad." Al was quiet for a moment while Neville waited patiently. "You asked me before if I wanted to tell you the truth about what was going on in Herbology, and I decided that I do."

"O.K. . . ."

"I kept falling apart because of girls."

"Ah, I see."

"You do?"

"Of course, Al. I was fourteen once, too, and no one could pay me any amount of money to be fourteen again. I've lived through my little brother being fourteen and have taught more than twenty years worth of fourteen-year-olds. In a couple of years, I'll have a son who's fourteen." Neville gulped theatrically, making Al laugh. "So what brought an end to your girl woes? If you've figured out women, it'd be good if you let the rest of us in on the secret."

Al laughed and said, "I haven't figured out women, but I am going out with Mary now, and I haven't done anything stupid in Herbology since."

"Maybe it's just Professor Creevey's teaching?"

"No, I don't think so," Al shook his head.

"Feeling better now?"

"Yes. Thanks, Uncle Neville."

"Anytime, Al."