CHAPTER TWELVE
Another new school year in Hogwarts has begun. Harry has taken the usual train from platform nine and three-quarters, and has arrived at the castle together with Ron and Hermione…
They were all gathered in the Great Hall for the start of term feast.
"Look, Harry," said Hermione, "Look who's at the staff table - it's Jeanne!"
Harry turned to look. Jeanne, in her usual green and brown outfit, was sitting between Hagrid and Professor Flitwick.
"We've got some new teachers, too," observed Ron.
At this moment, Professor Dumbledore stood up to speak.
"Welcome to another new school year," he said, beaming at everyone, his half-moon spectacles glinting. "Before we begin our feast, I have the pleasure of introducing two new members of staff to you.
"Firstly, we have Professor Marcus Flynn, who is here to conduct some research on Potions jointly with Professor Snape."
The students clapped politely. Professor Flynn stood up and bowed. He was tall and good-looking, but he had a rather innocent and childlike expression on his face.
"Did he say Marcus Flint?" he asked. Marcus Flint had been the much-disliked (at least by the Gryffindors) Quidditch captain of the Slytherin team.
"It's Flynn, not Flint," said Hermione, clapping enthusiastically. "He's quite handsome, isn't he?"
"Doesn't look very bright," he commented.
"And secondly," continued Professor Dumbledore, "we have Professor Venilda Maricai. She is temporarily here to replace Professor Trelawney, who is away on Sabbatical Leave."
Professor Maricai had large, green eyes, and her golden curls were twisted fashionably at the back of her head. She looked very glamorous, and looked as if she knew it. Harry privately thought she looked rather vain. Ron, however, looked as if he was pleased he hadn't dropped Divination.
After the feast, Harry went up to talk to Jeanne.
"You've grown taller, Harry," she said, looking pleased to see him. She put a hand on his shoulder, and kissed him affectionately on the cheek.
Harry was startled, but secretly rather pleased.
"I'm surprised you're here," he said.
"Hagrid dragged me here. I guess I can't always run away…and anyway, I'm not as frightened of crowds as I used to be."
"Where's Professor Lupin?" he asked.
"Over there," she said, smiling and pointing.
Lupin was leaving the Hall. Professor Maricai was with him, talking animatedly. For some reason, the sight of them together displeased Harry.
He turned to look at Jeanne, but she didn't seem to mind.
"Hagrid's leaving," she said. "I've got to go, too. See you all sometime for tea, as usual?"
Harry nodded, and she smiled, and left.
Friday afternoon found Harry on his way to Hagrid's cabin alone. Hermione was in the library, and Ron had gone to see Professor McGonagall about something.
He was halfway there when he heard footsteps behind him. Turning around, he saw that it was Professor Flynn. He smiled when he saw Harry.
"Good afternoon," he said, turning his childlike gaze on Harry. "You're Harry Potter, aren't you?"
"Just taking a look around the school," said Flynn, looking around him. "Do you mind if I walk with you?"
"I'm going to Hagrid's cabin," explained Harry.
"Wonderful!" said Flynn, smiling, "I'll go with you!"
Harry wasn't too pleased. For some reason, he found Professor Flynn rather irritating.
It was a stormy day. Dark clouds were gathering, and the wind was blowing strongly. When they reached Hagrid's, Harry saw Jeanne outside at one of the enclosures. It was mating season for the Hippogriffs, and two males were sparring with each other while a female looked on. Jeanne was obviously trying to separate the two.
Professor Flynn's childlike face lit up when he saw her.
"Who's that?" he asked, excitedly.
"That's Jeanne," said Harry, surprised. "Hagrid's assistant. She was at your table, at the start of term feast."
Flynn was still watching. Jeanne was shouting at the Hippogriffs; her hair had come down, and was floating behind her in the wind like a silky black banner. She suddenly mounted one of the Hippogriffs, and it took flight. At this moment, the clouds broke slightly and a shaft of sunlight shone down on her, producing a very dramatic effect.
Professor Flynn couldn't seem to take his eyes off her.
"What a beautiful girl!" he said, looking spellbound.
Jeanne flew the Hippogriff to the end of the pen, and tied it up.
"Harry, will you introduce me to her?" asked Flynn.
"But you must have met her," protested Harry. "She was at your table - "
They had reached the pen. Jeanne saw them and came over, tying her hair up again. She was wearing her usual rather sullen expression.
"Jeanne, this is Professor Marcus Flynn," said Harry, feeling slightly awkward. "He wants to meet you. Professor Flynn, Jeanne Graham."
Professor Flynn didn't seem surprised to hear that Jeanne, though Chinese, had an English surname.
"But we've met," said Jeanne, surprised and not looking too thrilled. "I met you at the start of term feast."
"Have we?" said Flynn in his childlike way. "It must have been too confusing that night…so many new faces…"
She shook hands with him, then turned to Harry.
"I can't stay, Harry," she said. "I need to see Madam Pomfrey about something."
"I'll walk back to the castle with you!" said Flynn, enthusiastically.
"I beg your pardon, but I'm in a bit of a hurry," she said, giving him a polite smile. "Please excuse me." And she transformed into a hawk, and flew off toward the castle.
"What an amazing girl!" said Flynn, watching in an awestruck manner. He did not seem interested in staying with Harry, now that Jeanne had gone, and to Harry's relief he set off back to the castle.
"Looks like Jeanne has a new admirer," said Harry to himself.
Professor Flynn proved to be a persistent admirer. He began to come down to Hagrid's quite often, hoping to meet Jeanne. When Neville came over to Hagrid's to discuss his homework with Jeanne, he would hang around and try to contribute his own views. He would also enthusiastically join in the discussion whenever Jeanne went to talk to Professor Snape about potions.
Jeanne put up with it at first, but after a while she began to lose patience.
"I'm quite busy today, Marcus," she said crossly one day, when he had come round again. "Please don't bother me."
Flynn, however, didn't seem put off whenever she got cross. He was as persistent as ever. Ron and Hagrid found the entire situation very funny.
"Professor Flynn's coming, Jeanne," Ron would say, looking out of the window. At first this had the effect of sending Jeanne running out the back door, but after a while she realised they were only pulling her leg. In the end, she stationed some of her bird friends on the roof of the hut to warn her if Flynn was coming. She would then transform herself into a bird and fly out the window, and perch on the roof until he left.
"Why don' yeh like Professor Flynn, Jeanie?" asked Hagrid one day. "Yeh get annoy'd when we tease yeh with him. Yeh never used ter get cross even when we teased yeh with Professor Snape, an' Flynn's much better-lookin' than him."
"Severus doesn't keep hanging around the way Marcus does," said Jeanne, looking up from a shirt of Hagrid's that she was mending. "And at least Severus can contribute something intelligent to the conversation. Marcus is incapable of uttering anything remotely interesting."
"But he's a Professor!" pointed out Hermione.
Jeanne smiled, then gave a small shrug.
"He's supposed to be doing research with Severus," she said, "but Severus seems to be doing most of the work."
"I'm not surprised," said Harry. "Flynn doesn't have time to do any work. He's always hanging around trying to get near you."
"I'm asking Neville to come to my room for tuition, from now on," she said.
"Neville doesn't mind Professor Flynn," said Ron. "He sometimes takes over our Potions classes, so that Snape can do his research, and he's a vast improvement on Snape."
"He's a playboy, though," said Harry. "We see photos of him every week in Witches' Weekly. He's always attending some ball or party during the weekend, and he seems loaded with money."
Jeanne looked rather disapproving.
"You shouldn't read tabloids like Witches' Weekly, Harry," she said reprovingly. "It's trash."
"I don't," said Harry. "Parvati Patil and Lavendar Brown are the ones who buy it. I just happened to see Flynn inside."
"Only bad thing I can see 'bout Professor Flynn is that he likes huntin'," said Hagrid. "Flyin'-Fox huntin' an' all that. I tol' him no huntin's allow'd in Hogwarts here, though, if he wants ter, he has ter do it elsewhere."
Jeanne looked even more disapproving.
"Barbarian!" she muttered, turning back to the shirt. She ran the tip of Hagrid's pink umbrella over a rip in the sleeve, and it closed up, like, well, magic.
Jeanne was not the only one with a new admirer. To Harry and the others' astonishment, Professor Maricai appeared to have attached herself to Professor Lupin. She was not as obvious as Professor Flynn was with Jeanne, but Harry and the others noticed that she would always try to sit next to Lupin during meals, and she didn't have Professor Trelawney's preference for staying closeted up in her room. She would often be seen somewhere near Lupin's office, or waiting outside his classroom to ask him something when the class ended.
"It doesn't make sense," said Hermione, looking puzzled, after dinner one day. "I don't think she's really the type Professor Lupin would go for."
"I don't think Lupin likes her," said Harry. "He's his usual polite self with her, but that's all. She's the one after him."
"I wonder whether she knows he's a werewolf," said Hermione, thoughtfully.
"I didn't think he'd be the type she'd go after, either," pointed out Ron. "She's more Flynn's type."
"Flynn's too busy chasing Jeanne," said Harry. "And that only leaves Lupin. No one in their right mind would go after Snape, and I don't think she'd go for Flitwick."
"Things are pretty interesting this term, aren't they?" said Hermione. "Last year it was only Professor Lupin and Jeanne."
Harry said nothing. Although he knew Jeanne and Lupin were officially only friends, he somehow found the thought of either of them being with anyone else very offensive.
"Lupin will never go after Professor Maricai, anyway," he said to himself. "For the same reason he's refused to be with Jeanne."
Professor Lupin, however, showed no sign of being interested in Professor Maricai. If anything, Harry couldn't help noticing that Lupin and Jeanne seemed closer than ever. They were still discreet about their relationship, so that most of the school appeared to be unaware of it, but Harry, who knew about them, sometimes felt that each seemed to know what the other was thinking without saying anything.
Jeanne sometimes came for meals at the Hall now, but she hardly ever sat with Lupin. She usually sat with Hagrid, or Professor Flitwick, or even Snape. Harry sometimes saw her and Lupin exchange a look from opposite ends of the table. Sometimes they would just smile quietly at each other, as if at some private joke. Once, Harry saw Lupin looking at Jeanne as if asking her a question; she gazed back, as if listening, then gave a small shake of the head in reply.
Jeanne didn't even seem to mind the attention Professor Maricai was paying to Lupin. She would watch in amusement while he patiently listened to one of Professor Maricai's long and involved stories, and give him a mischievous smile if she caught his eye.
Harry couldn't quite understand, himself, why he felt concerned about their relationship working out. Perhaps because Jeanne had confided in him about it. Lupin had been one of his father's close friends, and Harry liked Jeanne. He knew her habitual sullen expression was partly the result of the misery she'd endured in Kamchatka. The sullen expression usually vanished into a smile, though, when she saw Harry. She had always seemed especially fond of him. She was giving Neville tuition, but she would also sometimes quietly ask Harry how his schoolwork was progressing, and Hagrid would occasionally let slip that she had been worrying about him behind his back.
Because of all this, Harry somehow found himself checking the Marauder's Map every full moon, without telling anyone, to make sure Jeanne was still helping Madam Pomfrey look after Lupin. He was pleased to note that they were also still roaming around the grounds at night, during that time, as wolves.
He had noticed some irregularities in the Map's behaviour, though. On one occasion, he had brought it out because he wanted to ask Jeanne something, and he wanted to check if she was in her room or down at Hagrid's. To his surprise, she was in Lupin's room.
"She must have dropped by to talk," he thought. "It isn't full moon at the moment."
Then he blinked. The two small dots in Lupin's room had disappeared.
"Where have they gone?" he wondered. Could they have Apparated out of the castle?
"But no one can Apparate from the castle," thought Harry. He carefully searched through the whole Map, but they were nowhere to be found.
He checked the Map more often after that. He began to notice that Jeanne sometimes didn't appear to be on the school premises at all, usually at night. He thought that she might have transformed into a bird, and flown out of the grounds for a breath of air; but the Map would then show that she was still absent, even four or five hours later.
"It's not possible; the Map must be faulty," Harry decided. "Lupin and the others must have made a mistake while writing it."
