Alexandra Dursley {Golden Trio}

Chapter 112 - Cindy Jones

Happy reading nerds...jk i love you all so much!! :)

 The rest of the holidays passed in a post-Christmas gloom. Remus left on boxing day, much to Al's dismay, but promising he'd try and write, and George left with Fred the day after that, promising to visit on New Year's. This left Al with a mountain of homework to complete before her return with the others to Hogwarts, but she still found time to read through the first few chapters of both her new books, finding some fantastic spells to try at the Duelling Club.

 On the last day of the holidays, Al headed back to Hogwarts by flooing with the others into McGonagall's office. She bid goodbye to Harry, Ginny and Ron (the latter of which had cheered up significantly over the last few days) and headed down to the Slytherin common room where she'd agreed to meet Daphne and Theo, who had spent Christmas at Hogwarts.

 When she arrived, they were sat on what used to be their usual sofas, although Al had found that she'd spent less and less time on them in the last few months. "Good Christmas?" Theo asked cheerily as she approached, having put her trunk in the dorm.

 "Yes thanks, I've got an excellent book on Transfiguration I can lend you," Al said, "Did you two have a nice cosy time?" she asked, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.

 "I suppose you could say that," Theo said, grinning and wiggling his eyebrows too.

 "Oh, will you two shut it," Daphne said, flushing pink and making Al laugh. "Have you seen the notice board - Apparation lessons."

 "Oh, excellent," Al said, "That'll be dead useful over summer - we can actually visit each other!"

 "Yeah, it'll be great," Daphne said sleepily, and Al raised her eyebrows at Theo, who only smirked in response.

*****

 All Al's subjects carried on as normal, except Alchemy, where they were moving onto the practical application of knowledge with the NEWT coming closer. "You will have a written paper, for all the theory," Dumbledore explained, "That will be taken on the twelfth of June with the NEWT Charms students. And in the afternoon you will have a practical examination in here. You will most likely by asked to do a breakdown and analysis of an unknown compound, demonstrate the correct way to form a particular compound, or use various equations to calculate numeric changes during a reaction. All of these will involve correct safety procedures."

 "Right," Al said, writing it down on a scrap of parchment and shoving it into A Beginner's Guide to Alchemy, before pulling on her dragon-hide gloves and walking over to the bubbling glassware and stands that were on the desk closest the wall. Dumbledore guided her through the analysis of bubotuber pus, and she finished with a completely colourless liquid. She added an indicator to it and it flashed coral, then pale blue, then blood red. Al referred to her textbook and wrote down what each of those meant, before packing everything away.

 "Our lesson on Sunday is in my office, please, Al," Dumbledore called, and then Al headed off to lunch before Arithmancy.

*****

 Saturday brought the amateur Duelling Club, with the usual fifty students swarming into the hall, some accompanied by even more friends and Al saw that the fresh sign-up sheet that had been pinned up over the holidays now had almost twenty more names on it, from a variety of houses.

 In addition to these new students, Slughorn attended, bringing with him two of the people Al had met at the party. "Alright everyone into your usual pairs," Al called, before pairing up the newcomers as well. She waved her wand, and colourful sheets of paper marked the boundaries around the couples. "Bow! And one, two, three!" There was a flying of green and red paint throughout the room and Al dodged around, correcting grips and aims as she went, before finally reaching the place where Slughorn was talking to Flitwick, with Starkfeather and the world-champion duellist, Cindy Jones, stood behind him.