Harry grinned. "That is the compressed spell." Seeing her look he waved a hand. "Well, it was a book aimed at potion Masters, after all. The full, uncompressed spell had over fifty words and about 350 wand motions. After you finish designing the spell, you see how the parts over-lap each other and can combine the wand motions down."
He was enjoying the shock on their faces. "Yeah, and the words don't matter so much either, as long as they are the right number of beats said at the right time." He turned and continued toward the main entrance. "Hey, if we come up with a new spell, can we claim it or something? Are there royalties or stuff?" Hermione had a glazed look as she thought about compressed and uncompressed spells. "We should probably ask Professor Flitwick, he would know. Especially since he has a Charms Mastery. Can you teach us this one? Or is it like some of your other, 'Only Harry' stuff?"
Harry shrugged. "I think I can teach it, but it should be fun finding out. Where is Terry?"
Padma grinned. "Apparently he and Hannah decided to hang out with Susan and Neville. Seemed in a hurry too."
Hermione was still stuck on the idea of a new spell, but tried to focus. "So where are we heading to, Harry?"
He waved toward a hut. "You probably won't believe me, but I am headed to Hagrid's hut to find me some Tea."
Padma paused. "Will he mind if we tag along?" Harry shook his head. "I don't think he would. He seems like a nice fellow, really."
As it was nearing Tea time, the three students wandered over the castle grounds toward the wooden hut. Built out of trees instead of planks, roughly torn and ripped into the shape of a rough stone, the house felt slightly squished but inviting. Warm light could be seen in the windows, and soft smoke rose from the chimney.
As they neared it they could see a lethal looking crossbow, the size of a child really, resting next to the door... along with a pink umbrella. A really small one. Maybe Hagrid only wanted a dry face.
As Harry knocked on the wooden door he could hear nails scratching on the floor and Hagrid's deep voice thumping from inside. "Get back you ole furball, come on Fang. Back! Don't make me put you in time out young pup!" There was a bark that actually shook the ground under Harry's feet.
The door, huge as it was, cracked open and they could see part of Hagrid's face as he pushed the creature back from the door. "Just a moment, ye youngins." Turning back, they could see that he held the collar of a monstrous dog, mouth full of teeth... and a huge tongue, desperate to lick people.
At the moment, Harry wasn't sure if it was safer to be liked or hated by 'Fang'. The thing seemed MADE of energy.
"Hagrid, is this a bad time? My friends and I can come back later if you need..."
The door was now open, although Hagrid had a tight hold on Fang's collar. "No worries, Harry. Everyone inside, the tea is bout to be ready, I know it."
The house had... scale. It looked small and cramped, until they walked in... and they realized that Hagrid was BIG. The chairs were big, the table was huge, and all three of them could have sat in one chair with no problem. Maybe some blushing, but no problem.
The large man bustled around, passing cups of some strange tea to Harry and Hermione, while Padma placed hers on the table and tried to damage something Hagrid called a 'Rock Cake'. She quietly argued that if she couldn't crack it, then eating it would probably leave everyone toothless.
Harry grinned, and picked one up while Hagrid wasn't watching. Filling it with a few threads, Harry removed half of the 'cake' and left air, converting one cake into two soft and squishy... eww. Well, apparently taste was an issue, not just hardness.
They talked for a while. Hagrid seemed very friendly and open... almost too open, really. Harry had asked about an article on Hagrid's table and somehow it ended up with Hagrid accidentally confessing to moving some super secret something from Gringotts (Which was actually broken into, of all things) to Hogwarts. Probably had to do with that one corridor of death, really.
He had also confessed to accidentally using the same women's restroom three times in one day and to hiding his broken wand inside of an umbrella (But I won't say which one, or whether or not it's pink!), and many other things...
So not really the guy who should keep secrets, really.
Still the tea was nice, and the cakes were nice table decorations. It was a nice break, really.
The room was dim, only the fire under a cauldron letting Severus see the glass holding his firewhiskey. He was collapsed in a deep and soft chair, holding his glass against his forehead. Everything at the end of class was a blur now. Snape remembered putting that dunderhead in his place. How dare he cheat... but those eyes looked at him. After that...
It had taken several minutes for Severus to realize the room was empty. He must have dismissed class, right?
Snape finished another glass and gently raised the glass bottle, blue tinted and reinforced to handle the magical drink. He was not sure how much he had finished so far, but this USED to be a new bottle. More dark happiness filled his glass as he sat back.
He had taken two pain potions already. Any more could cause issues, severe ones... but his head felt so raw. His mind felt torn. It reminded him of darker times, of older times. What had happened?
Probably Potter in some way. That spawn of evil was likely behind it. And behind his missing drink. It had been full just a... how long ago? Too soon gone, anyway. Damn Potter.
Harry was feeling awkward. Talking to teachers about class was easy, but this was one of his projects. "Hermione, we can do this later. I am sure Professor Flitwick is busy today..."
Padma was reading something about skin blemishes, but she still took time to give him a sympathetic pat on the arm. "Harry, she has that 'why wait' look. The study and homework one."
Hermione nodded. "If you can really mess with spells that quickly, and make the new spell teachable... we HAVE to show him!" Her eyes had a quiet glow, and she seemed overly energetic.
Harry gave a slight sigh. He hadn't really bothered being discreet, but he hadn't realized how EASY it was to freak wizards and witches out. Then again, three of his classes so far seemed to be taught by incompetent people... maybe being normal made you a genius here? Hermione seemed pretty normal. Then again, there were wizards like Malfoy who seemed unable to take subtle hints.
At this point the Charms class let out, Slytherins and Hufflepuffs carefully heading in different directions. As they cleared Harry was pulled in by Hermione, Padma wandering in behind while reading her book. "Professor Flitwick! We have a question about new spells and charms and such."
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