Disclaimer: 
All the HP-characters, potions, creatures etc. that you recognize from the books belong to J.K. Rowling.
The other characters, potions, creatures etc. are mine, all mine! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

~CHAPTER ONE~

It was a cool summer night at the beginning of September. There was a gentle breeze blowing and the temperature was just perfect - not too cold and not too hot. A young woman, about twenty years old, arrived outside the Hogwarts gates in a dark carriage.
She thanked the driver for handing her two suitcases over and, after paying the man, she walked towards the castle, the suitcases in her gloved hands.
She was wearing a long dress covered by a long coat, both black. Her black hair was pulled in a knot behind her head.
High-heeled boots clicked on the stones as she approached the big wooden door.
She put her suitcases on the ground as she opened the doors. After putting them inside she stepped into the building and closed the doors.

She picked up the suitcases again and walked toward the great hall. When she entered it, all of the students were looking at her, wondering who she was.
"Ah, here is our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Students, please welcome Miss Elizabeth Harper," Albus Dumbledore told the students with a smile. There was a little applause as Elizabeth walked towards the staff table and sat down.

Meanwhile, Hermione Granger was sitting at the Gryffindor table. It seemed like just yesterday that she walked into the great hall for the first time, being sorted.
This would be her last year at Hogwarts, and although she was really excited to go to a university next year, she was also a bit sad leaving her second home.

"And finally I would like to introduce this year's Head girl, Miss Hermione Granger," Dumbledore said.
Hermione got up as all the students, except the Slytherins, applauded.

"And this year's Head boy, Mr. Damien Daniels." A blonde Ravenclaw stood up as he received his applause.

After the feast the students left for their dorms. Hermione went with the teachers and Damien to Dumbledore's office.
"I'm glad to see all of you here," Dumbledore began. "Well, as you already heard, Miss Harper is our new D.A.D.A. teacher. Her classroom will not be on the second floor, per usual, but in the dungeons." Hermione was confused. Why would Dumbledore do that?
She looked at Snape. He clearly wasn't happy with the new arrangement.

Twenty minutes later the meeting was over. Professor McGonagall showed Hermione the way to her dorm. She stopped in front of a painting of a young girl who was wearing a beautiful white dress holding an umbrella. "Hello, what will your password be?" She asked Hermione after McGonagall had left.
"Dentist," She said smiling.

The portrait opened and Hermione walked up the ivory stairs that led toward her rooms. It was in Gryffindor colors, red and gold.
There was a big red couch in front of the fireplace and in the back there was a big desk. On the right side of the room was a golden door.
Behind the door was a bedroom. In the room there was a large poster bed, there was another golden door. Next to the door there was a round table with a chair. On the wall in front of the table was a big round mirror. The other golden door that Hermione had found led to the bathroom. There was a large round tub with ten golden tabs on it. It was white, just like the sink and the toilet.

Hermione went back into her bedroom and saw that the house elves had already brought her things up.
Crookshanks was already asleep on the bed. Feeling extremely tired, she changed into her nightgown and got into bed.

The next morning the students received their schedules. "What classes do you have?" Ron asked Hermione.

Hermione looked at her schedule. "First, I have two hours of Arithmacy, then Herbology, and after lunch Care of Magical Creatures," she told Ron.
She studied her schedule while eating her pancakes. "What's your first class?"

Ron rolled his eyes "Divination," was his short answer. Hermione couldn't help but chuckle, feeling relieved that she had dropped it after her third year.

Drinking her coffee, she looked at the staff table. Their new teacher, Professor Harper, wasn't there. "So, Herm, how's your new room?" Harry asked.

"It's great. You should come see it tonight," she answered. The boys promised that they would visit her after quidditch practice.

Hermione looked at her watch "Oh, I have to go!" She exclaimed. "I have to stop at the library first." Harry and Ron looked at each other.
Their first day hadn't even started yet, and already Hermione was heading toward the library.

During dinner Hermione couldn't stop talking about the new things she had learned in Arithmacy. Clearly, Harry and Ron weren't interested, and after a few minutes the subject had changed. Surprisingly enough, they were talking about quidditch. Even Ginny couldn't stop talking about quidditch.
While she was eating her spaghetti, Hermione looked at the staff table again. Professor Snape was sitting between Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall. He was rolling his eyes while Professor Dumbledore was talking to him with a smile on his face. Hermione almost felt sorry for him. Almost. When she looked closer at the staff table, she saw that Professor Harper wasn't there. She must like privacy, Hermione thought, wondering what her new professor was like.
After dinner she went back to her dorm to study. It was almost eight o'clock when she heard two voices outside. "We don't know the password, we're just visiting!" she heard Ron's voice yell at the portrait. "Maybe we should just call her," Harry said in a calm voice.
"No need to, I already heard Ron yell at my portrait," Hermione said with a smile on her face when she opened the portrait.
Ron's mouth fell open when he saw the living room. "Wow, you have all this just for yourself?" he asked her in amazement.
"Yes, isn't it great?" She exclaimed. "Let me show you the rest," she continued.

After the boys had seen everything the three of them went back to the living room. "So when are you on duty?" Harry suddenly asked her.
"Duty? What am I, a police man?" Hermione asked, a bit confused with his question. It didn't take long before she realized what he was talking about.
"Oh no, I'm not telling you two. Don't think that I won't give you detention if I catch you," she said quickly. Ron was shocked "You would give US detention?"
Hermione nodded, "Yes, detention with Snape," she said simply. Harry pretended to have a hearth attack.
"Hermione Granger, don't ever say something like that again. My poor little heart couldn't possibly take it!" He exclaimed.
"So maybe Trelawney is right after all! You will die this year," Ron said smiling. Hermione groaned, "She predicted your death AGAIN?" Harry nodded grimly.
"Oh well, she's just a quack anyways," she told him. Laughing, they sat down and continued talking about their first day back at Hogwarts.
After a while they started to discuss their new D.A.D.A. teacher. "I wonder what she's like," Harry said, "I mean, she looks pretty young."
"Pretty young or just pretty?" Ron asked him with a wide grin on his face. "Oh shut up Ron!" Harry said, turning a bit red.
"So what was she like during that meeting?" he asked Hermione quickly. Hermione shrugged, "She didn't talk at all; but Dumbledore told us that they had moved the classroom from the second floor to the dungeons." "Why did they do that?" Harry asked her.
"They didn't tell us why," Hermione said. "When do we have D.A.D.A.?" Ron asked suddenly. "Tomorrow, after potions," Hermione said.
She had already memorized her entire schedule. Harry groaned "We have potions tomorrow?" Hermione nodded. "Yeah, right after lunch.
We are going to make Polyjuice potion this year," she said with a smile. Ron snorted "Just make sure you don't use one of Crookshanks' hairs!" He said, trying not to laugh. "Oh shut up!" Hermione told him, while she threw a cushion at Ron's head.

The next day, after lunch, they had potions. To their relief they had it together with the Hufflepuffs.
This year the Gryffindors didn't have any classes with the Slytherins, and they were grateful for that.
Snape started his class by pointing out the dangers of the potions they were going to make.
"This year you will be making potions that can be pretty dangerous, if they are not properly prepared," he said, looking at Neville Longbottom. Neville gulped.
"Don't worry, Mister Longbottom. I am sure that Miss Granger will be there for you, telling you exactly what to do.
No matter how much detention she will receive for that," Snape said. He looked at Hermione for a moment.
"Hopefully she's able to brew a proper Polyjuice potion today, or you might end up looking like a cat." Hermione turned red. How on earth did he know that?
After that warning they started their potion. Once potions was over, the students crossed the hall towards the D.A.D.A. class.

Everyone was rather excited; they all wondered what professor Harper would be like. Silently the students walked into the classroom.
It was big and had a dusty look. One little window at the back of the class shined a bright light over the back row. The rest of the room was lit by candles.
Next to the door was a large bookcase filled with books. Right across from the bookcase was a big wooden door, which led to the professor's office.
In front of the room was professor Harper's desk. Elizabeth Harper was looking at her schedule. She stood up when she saw that all the students had found a seat.
"Good afternoon. I'm Professor Harper, and I will be your D.A.D.A. teacher for this year." Her bright blue eyes glided over the students, as if she wanted to memorize all their faces just by looking at them once. She got a list out of her desk drawer and began to read the names of the students, to see if they were all present. "Now, today's lesson will be about Sandcritters."
The professor explained that Sandcritters were sand-colored creatures, the size of a house elf.
They mostly live in deserts, but could also be found at beaches. Since they were sand-colored they were hard to detect, which gave them the opportunity to bite their victims unnoticed. A Sandcritter-bite could dehydrate the victim. During their class the students learned how to detect and get rid of the Sandcritters and, most importantly, how to heal their bites. Professor Harper spoke in a cold, but friendly voice. And, much to Hermione's surprise, she knew the students by name after the first fifteen minutes. Hermione was delighted by the amount of things she had learned in just one lesson.
She just hoped that every lesson would be like the first one.
Together with Ron and Harry, she walked to the great hall for breakfast. "Finally, we have a normal D.A.D.A. teacher again!" Ron exclaimed when they were walking up the stairs. "I know," Hermione said. "She's the best one we had since Lupin." Harry nodded in agreement