The Friday of their second week turned out to be another quiet day. Nott had not and did not make his move as yet, but the group were feeling a little tense being on heightened alert for the entire day.
When they returned to the apartments after lunch, bringing Tracey with them, Harry had to promise both Daphne and Hermione he would not escort them both to the Arithmancy classroom.
"While I appreciate the effort you go to so we are safe," said Hermione. "When Daphne and I enter the classroom you will then be walking back to our apartment or wherever, alone."
"She's right, Harry," said Daphne. "Please promise us you'll remain here until after we returned."
"In other words, I'm grounded," he huffed.
"If you want to see it that way," replied Hermione, "Yes."
Her affirmation actually surprised him. He expected her to 'hum' and 'hah' about it before he'd smile and say he was kidding. That she didn't, showed she truly was worried.
"Very well," he said. "I shall remain in the Lords' Quarters, but may invade the Longbottom apartment out of sheer boredom."
"If you make a start on the research for the Charms and Potions assignments," she suggested, "Writing down some good bibliography, it'll help Daphne and me in getting them knocked over that much quicker."
Yup," he replied. "That, I can do."
Turning to Tracey, he asked, "What about you, Tracey? What do you have on this afternoon?"
"Muggle Studies," she quickly replied.
He gave a little snort and asked, "Muggle recent history, don't you mean?"
"Oh, no!" she replied. "The new professor, Professor Claystock, is... I think... a muggleborn. She's brilliant. She's teaching us the far more up-to-date information on muggles."
That had him perk up. "Do you think she'd mind if I sat in?" he asked.
Tracey frowned a little in thought before she replied, "I don't see why not."
Turning to look at 'his' girls, obviously his expression told them what he was asking.
The two glanced at one another for a bare moment before Hermione sighed and said, "Yes, Harry. So long as you stick with Tracey, you can go to Muggle Studies."
He grinned back, kissed both, and prepared to get ready to go by restocking his satchel.
He didn't realise both girls were now blushing. Tracey, however, could see it and was grinning at the both of them.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
With nothing untoward happening between the apartment and the Muggle Studies Classroom - somewhere in the castle Harry had only passed through without stopping in the past - both he and Tracey entered the classroom.
When the professor entered, a witch who was wearing a hooded sweatshirt for Eton College over a pair of jeans and trainers, she saw him, studied him for a moment and then decided to ignore him.
Taking that as permission to remain in the class, Harry settled back and prepared to enjoy the lesson.
By even a quarter of the way through the lesson it was clear the professor knew her stuff. Not only was her information, as far as could tell, completely accurate; but, when one of the attending purebloods scoffed at what she'd said about man being on the moon, she turned to Harry and asked, "Lord Potter?"
"Yes, Professor?" he asked.
"I believe you were raised in a muggle home, were you not?" she asked.
"Yes, Professor."
"And attended muggle schooling right up to summer break in which you turned eleven?"
"Yes, Professor."
She gave a small nod and a smirk in his direction. "Identify for me the name of the National Aeronautical and Space Administration, commonly referred to by it's acronym NASA, mission that first saw man... muggles... land on the moon?"
"I can do more than that, Professor," he grinned.
"The name of the mission was simply referred to as Apollo 11," he replied. The two men who first stepped onto the surface of the moon were Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. That occurred on the twentieth of July, 1969.
"Since then, I believe there have been a further ten people who have set foot on the moon's surface - all muggles."
She smiled back and said, "Correct. Do you remember what Mister Armstrong said as he stepped onto the surface of the moon, being the first man to do so?"
"Yes, Professor," he grinned. "He said, 'One small step for man; one giant leap for mankind'. However, I believe he was supposed to say, 'for a man'."
"Again, correct," she nodded, before turning back to the pureblood. "Does the fact Lord Potter, who probably didn't even realise he was going to be here today, was able to give that information prove to you the basic facts I've been trying to get you to understand?"
"Errr... Yes, Professor," mumbled the Ravenclaw boy, looking away.
After class, Harry approached the Professor and thanked her for not tossing him out when she first saw him.
"Why would I do that?" she asked. "Just because it wasn't your class, and so long as you were not being a hindrance to my teaching of the class, I cannot see any reason you shouldn't be allowed to attend."
He smiled back and said, "Still; thank you, Professor."
His trip back to the apartment was done in the company of Susan and Hannah. Until he walked in and saw them in the classroom he had no idea they both took that class.
Tracey had made her way back to Slytherin in the company of Blaise Zabini, but had promised to head for the apartment after dinner.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
After a quiet Friday afternoon and evening, and a surprisingly quiet weekend, Monday was quickly upon them.
It took them a while to plan how they were going to deal with an ambush by Nott, but Tracey was able to learn more about it over the same time period.
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