Chapter 7
(A/N I do not own any of these characters they belong to J K Rowling)
Hi all I'm normally not fond of having author's notes at the start of a fic but I want to make sure this gets seen and read! My previous chapters including this one have all been beta read by Ariana Dumbledore, who has done a great job. However Ariana can no longer beta for me due to other commitments so if anyone else will be a beta reader for me please let me know asap!
Harry woke up the next morning refreshed and energized. Since his connection had been broken, he was able to sleep much easier with the knowledge that his thoughts and dreams were safe from Voldemort. Thankfully, Voldemort wasn't up to much recently, so Harry wasn't having any visions either for which he was grateful.
It was then that he remembered the events of the day before and he groaned to himself. He hated keeping secrets from his best friend. Had it been Hermione he could have told her that he wasn't allowed to say anything due to secrecy issues and she would have understood. Ron, however, would have taken it as a personal insult that he wasn't included in the secret.
Harry quickly changed into his school robes and tied his hair back. He strapped his sword to his side, underneath his cloak and cast a disillusion charm to hide the name. It just felt right having it close to him in case he needed it.
Hurrying out of his room, Harry noticed that it was almost time for breakfast. He rushed to the common room to see if his friends were still there. Sure enough both Ron and Hermione were waiting for him.
"Hi, guys. You didn't have to wait long did you?" Harry asked.
"Harry, mate, let's hurry up and get down there. I'm starving!" Ron said, exasperated.
"Ron, I'm sure there will still be plenty of food left when we get there. Anyway, we do need to get our timetables," Hermione said.
The three friends quickly made their way down to the great hall. Most of the students were already there and Harry was once again subjected to all the stares he was receiving.
"For Merlin's sake Harry, did you have to go and change the way you look? I mean are we going to be constantly stared at all year?" Ron asked.
"Hey, it's not my fault my hair grew and I was finally given proper meals."
Sitting down they quickly piled their plates high with food. Harry ended up eating almost twice the normal amount he would have eaten in previous years. Even Ron was impressed since the amount of food Harry had consumed was no where near the amount Ron could eat. Hermione just looked at the pair with mild disgust. Thankfully, McGonagall came around at the moment with their timetables. Harry took his and stared at it in shock.
"Harry, what's wrong? What is it?" Hermione asked, concerned. Harry silently handed his timetable over to her. She took the timetable and stared at it.
Hogwarts' School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Sixth Year Gryffindor Timetable
Student: Harry James Gryffindor Potter
Monday
7 am - Special Studies 9 am - NEWT Potions 1 pm - NEWT Charms 3 pm - NEWT Defence Against the Dark Arts 6 pm - 10 pm - Special Studies
Tuesday
7 am - Special Studies 9 am - NEWT Defence Against the Dark Arts 1 pm - NEWT Transfiguration 3 pm - Special Studies 6 pm - Gryffindor Quidditch Practice 9 pm - 10 pm - Special Studies
Wednesday
7 am - Special Studies 9 am - NEWT Transfiguration 1 pm - NEWT Charms 3 pm - NEWT Defence Against the Dark Arts 6 pm - DA
Thursday
7 am - Special Studies 9 am - NEWT Defence Against the Dark Arts 1 pm - NEWT Potions 3 pm - Special Studies 6 pm - Gryffindor Quidditch Practice 9 pm - 10 pm - Special Studies
Friday
7 am - Special Studies 9 am - NEWT Potions 1 pm - Special Studies 3 pm - NEWT Defence Against the Dark Arts 6 pm - DA
Saturday
9 am - Special Studies 8 pm - Special Studies
Sunday
9 am - Special Studies 8 pm - Special Studies
"Harry when are you supposed to be able to do your homework?" Hermione asked.
"I have no idea, Hermione. I mean, I knew it would be a lot but this is ridiculous."
Ron took hold of Harry's timetable and let out a low whistle. "Bloody hell, Harry. When do they expect you to eat and sleep?"
"I don't know, Ron. Anyway, what do you guys have?"
Harry had a look at their timetables. Hermione had the same lessons as he did but was also in Arithmancy on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. He noticed that she was also down for the morning special lessons on Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays and for most of the evenings as well but for only two hours instead of his four. Also, Ron was only down for an hour in the evenings, same as Neville, Luna and Ginny.
Looking at his watch, Harry noticed that they only had fifteen minutes to get to potions. He and Hermione quickly grabbed their stuff and hurried to the dungeons while Ron went to Muggle Studies. When they reached the Potions' door, Harry noticed that there weren't very many students. It was a lesson of about thirteen where he and Hermione were the only Gryffindors. There was Susan Bones from Hufflepuff and Terry Boot and Padma Patil from Ravenclaw. The rest were from Slytherin including Draco Malfoy, Pansy Parkinson, Blaise Zabini, Nott and a few others that Harry didn't recognize. No Crabbe or Goyle, which wasn't really a surprise.
Walking in, Harry and Hermione quickly took a seat at the back even though they knew that Snape was going to split them up. Susan, Padma, and Terry sat towards the back as well. Only Draco and Blaise were sitting down by the front. There was quiet chatter when the door banged open and Snape stalked in in his usual dramatic fashion. He walked towards the front and stared at the students, giving Harry and Hermione a sneer.
"This is perhaps the most difficult lesson you will ever face in your entire education here at Hogwarts and only the best can enter my lesson. Each of you has achieved an Outstanding in your OWLs, though I am shocked to see one of you.." Stopping his tirade, he stared directly at Harry. "But nevertheless it seems that fame can buy Mr. Gryffindor everything. Even a new middle name. How very loyal to your house."
There were a few snickers from some of the Slytherins. Harry simply stared back with a bored expression.
"Well, Mr. Gryffindor, I see that only one other member of the dream team made it to this lesson. Never mind, I have no room for redheaded idiots here. Still, I really do think I should split up the dream duo. Gryffindor swap places with Zabini now!"
Harry simply got up with a calm expression and picked up his things and walked towards the front and sat down next to Draco.
"There, that's better. Now, today you will be making a sleeping drought. It is milder than the dreamless sleep potion but it is safer. Gather you ingredients and get started."
Harry pulled out his new potions book and turned to the page of the potion. Reading the list of ingredients he needed, he took out his cauldron and got started. He knew that he needed to start a conversation with Malfoy but Harry had no idea how to start. Luckily, it was Malfoy who took the first step.
"So, Potter, I'm surprised to see you here. Especially since I thought you were taking remedial potions." Harry noted that there was no maliciousness behind the statement. Just curiosity. So Harry shrugged.
"I studied hard in the last term. Besides, it was worth it just to imagine the look on Snape's face when he realized that I was taking this lesson. So, dumb and dumber not make it?"
"Did you even have to ask?" Malfoy sneered. "Besides, we're not friends anymore, as I'm sure you noticed."
Harry was dying to ask why, but didn't want to push his luck. Malfoy wasn't exactly being friendly but wasn't hostile or arrogant either. He decided to try a different approach.
"Hermione and I wanted to thank you for helping her out yesterday," he said cautiously.
Malfoy shrugged as if it were nothing. Harry took that as the end of their conversation and turned his concentration back to his potion. For the next hour he and Malfoy didn't speak and soon it was time to hand in their finished potions. Harry was pleased to see that his potion was the same shade of blue as Malfoy's, which was a sure sign that he had done it correctly. Taking a sample of his potion, Harry cleaned up his area and took the sample to the front desk where Snape was sitting. Silently, Harry handed his sample over, while Snape looked at him in disgust. Turning around he gathered his things and walked out of the lesson room. He was surprised to see Hermione talking to Blaise when he entered the crowded hallway. Blaise Zabini was someone that Harry knew very little about. She was a rather petite blond and was good at Potions. Although she was never really insulting to Gryffindors she wasn't exactly friendly either. Hermione turned and realized that Harry was out of the lesson and waved him over.
"Harry meet Blaise," she said pleasantly. "Blaise and some of the other Slytherins have signed up for the DA!"
Harry smiled at Blaise. "Really? That's great! I can't wait to see you all on Wednesday."
Blaise looked up at the boy-who-lived with a shrewd expression. "Really? The fact that we're Slytherins doesn't bother you, Potter?"
Harry decided to be honest. "At one point, yes, it would have, but not anymore. Dumbledore and the Sorting Hat are right. We need to learn how to work together as a team."
"So, what changed Potter?" Malfoy questioned.
Harry shrugged. "I guess I grew up."
Harry then turned towards Hermione and reminded her that they needed to go to Charms. It turned out that Blaise and Malfoy were also in that lesson so they walked together. On the way Blaise asked Hermione several questions about the DA and what was going to be taught.
Once reaching the lesson room they walked in to a shocked lesson. Since Potions was so far and they had been talking, they were the last to get there and needless to say everyone was shocked to see two Gryffindors and two Slytherins walk in so calmly. Especially when two of those students were Harry and Malfoy. Harry and Hermione walked towards the table where Ron and the other Gryffindors were sitting. They sat on either side of Ron.
"What on Earth were you doing with that Slytherin?" Ron made no effort to lower his voice.
Harry frowned. "We're in the same Potions lesson Ron and we walked up. That's all. Plus, Blaise wanted to talk to Hermione. We better shut up now though. Flitwick is about to start lesson."
Harry turned his attention back to Flitwick, who had now started his lecture. They were going to learn charms that could be used for survival. Such as minor healing charms, how to conjure small amounts of food and how to make a shelter more comfortable. Harry concentrated. Skills like these, no matter how insignificant, were useful. He had realized over the summer that while many charms didn't appear like much, they could be very dangerous if used in the right way. Just look at the tickling charm. If not taken off a victim it could torture much like the Cruciatus Curse. There is a fine line between pleasure and pain. Flitwick also gave them a review of their OWL results. Most of the students had done really well in the exam and Flitwick was ecstatic. When the lesson was over and the trio were getting ready to leave, Flitwick called Harry over.
"Mr. Potter, a word please." Harry stopped and looked at Flitwick, who waited until they were alone in the room before speaking.
"First of all, Mr. Potter, congratulations on your new guardian. I have to say that I haven't seen Albus happier than when he came back and told us you had agreed."
"Thank you, Professor. Was there anything else you wanted to say?" the youth asked.
"Ah, yes, tell me Mr. Potter, are there any students that barred from the DA?"
Harry frowned. What did Flitwick mean? Then he realized that he was asking about Marietta. "Professor, at the moment, the group is open to all eligible students. However, any student that attends only to cause trouble will be banned from any future meetings."
"That is good to hear. Certain students had thought they would not be welcome back. Also, I wanted to thank you. Your friendship has helped one of my favorite students. I know that Luna Lovegood has been treated badly by many students, especially from my house, and she has always taken it silently. However, since joining your group of friends she is more confident and more aware of what is around her. You see, she has the second sight and that causes her to view the world differently and most don't understand that."
"Luna is a good friend of ours now, Professor and we won't stand for her being treated badly."
Flitwick nodded. He understood that while the old Potter wouldn't stand for anyone hurting a friend, the new Potter would retaliate back and he had a feeling that none of his students would be able to defend themselves from that.
Ron sat down with Hermione at the Gryffindor table. They had decided to walk on ahead and wait for Harry in the Great Hall. Filling his plate up with food, Ron leaned back and started to eat. He glanced every few minutes at Hermione and frowned. Normally Hermione would be eating and reading from some big textbook but she kept glancing at the door. Ron wasn't stupid. He knew that she was waiting for Harry. He felt a surge of anger. 'Why is she waiting for him? I'm here!'
"He's a big boy, Hermione. I'm sure he can look after himself." It came out a lot harsher than he had wanted it to.
Hermione jumped but quickly calmed herself. "I was just wondering what Professor Flitwick wanted to talk to Harry about."
"I'm sure that he'll tell us. If he wants to that is."
"What did you mean by that Ron?"
"It's just that he never tells anyone anything! He just goes ahead and does it. For goodness sake, he hasn't even told us how the Dursleys really treated him or what happened at the Tri-wizard Tournament. He didn't tell us how Sirius died...just that he did. He didn't mention anything about him being captain let alone that he could play Quidditch again! To top it all off, he didn't tell anyone about letting Dumbledore becoming his guardian! It's certainly given Harry some perks but then again he is the boy-who- lived!"
"Ron! How can you talk about Harry like that? And shut up! We are in the Great Hall! We can have this conversation later in private!" she hissed back.
Ron let out a growl of frustration and angrily dug into his food. He was so stupid! The one chance he had to talk to his Hermione and he ruined it by talking about Harry! He was brought out of his melancholy thoughts when Harry had finally reached the Great Hall and sat down.
"So, Ron. Quidditch is starting up soon and man do we need to start up a good team and soon. Do you realize how many positions we have to fill? Four!"
"Err, Harry, don't you mean five? Three chasers and two beaters?"
"Nope. Ginny is a good player. I was thinking that she would be great as a chaser. Anyway, we need to have tryouts soon. I was thinking about this weekend."
"But don't you have practice scheduled this week already, Harry?"
"Yes, but we need to find new players first and I've already asked McGonagall and she said that this weekend is fine for tryouts."
Soon it was time for the trio to head to Defence Against the Dark Arts. Walking in they were surprised to see that their first professor was going to be Tonks, who upon seeing Hermione and Ron enter rushed forward to see the hunk that Harry had apparently now become. Harry blushed and stood in front of her.
"Hi, Tonks. How have you been?" He didn't get a chance to say anything further as he soon found himself in a death grip of a hug. 'Kind of like Hermione's,' he thought.
"Harry! Oh My God! I can't believe it! You've changed so much! Everyone said that you have and damn do you look good. If I wasn't one of your professors I'd drag you to my room and have my wicked way with you...but then again there is always detention."
With that Tonks winked at Hermione, who couldn't seem to stop giggling, and sauntered off towards the front of the room leaving a blushing and gaping Harry behind. Once he realized that Tonks was teasing him, he sat down and threw a glare at her.
Looking around, Harry was pleased to see that all of the DA members from their year were in this lesson. As were Draco Blaise, and many others. The lesson went great. Although Tonks was very clumsy, she was a good Auror and an even better teacher. Everyone liked her, including the Slytherins. She went over what it meant to be an Auror and basic Auror training. In the last half hour, they were paired up and practiced shielding charms. The DA members had all perfect shields.
"Alright everyone that was great. I will be having lessons with you this week and on the last day we will be casting a shield that is rarely used because it is very draining and difficult to cast. However, if done correctly it will protect you from most curses and hexes. There is also the added bonus that the color is different for most people and can be used to determine the amount of magic a person has in them. Now, for homework, I want two rolls of parchment on different shielding charms. Class dismissed."
Everyone in the lesson was excited to be able to see how powerful they all were. There were already whispers going around the room that Harry would obviously have the most powerful one. Harry groaned. If this was true it was going to cause problems.
Soon enough it was time for Harry's first special lesson. Harry made his way to Dumbledore's office wondering what it would be about. He knew that there was going to be an Occulmency lesson but that wasn't going to take up four hours. When he got to the stone gargoyle he gave the password and quickly made his way up the stairs. He walked through the door and found Snape and Dumbledore talking in hushed voices. 'This is beginning to become a pattern. Does Snape have nothing else to do in his spare time?'
"Ah, Harry, sit down. How have your lessons been?"
"Fine, Albus. A bit routine though since it's mostly recapping last year right now."
"Yes, well, you will find that for a while. Don't worry though. You'll find everything challenging soon enough. Now, Severus told me that you and Mr. Malfoy were paired up in Potions. How did it go?"
Harry told them about their limited conversation and how he felt no hostility coming from the blond Slytherin. He also told them about what happened after the lesson.
"Zabini and Draco have joined the DA!" Snape exclaimed.
"Well I know that Blaise has but I'm not sure about Draco yet."
"Still Harry, keep trying to talk to him. It seems that Mr. Malfoy no longer shares his father's views. The Zabini family is one of the few Pureblood Slytherin families that has openly rejected joining Voldemort. Mr. Malfoy's recent association with Miss Zabini shows that plainly."
After a few minutes discussion Snape left the room. Albus looked at Harry. he knew his young charge was eager to start and probably had several questions.
"Albus, what are we going to be doing in these lessons? When are Hermione and the others going to be joining us? When do I have lessons with the other professors? When do I do my homework? Or do my Prefect duties? Or get any sleep?"
Dumbledore chuckled. "Take a few breaths my boy. Now, Miss Granger will join us at eight o'clock tonight. You will both do your Occulmency training until nine, then you will do your Prefect rounds, and then come back to finish up. I'm sure that once you set up a routine you will be able to find time to sleep and there are slots for meals. The other students will join is on the weekends. As for homework, well you won't be doing any, there are far more important things for you to be learning, but that's not to say we won't be giving you any work to do. Also, we will be using your library quite a bit in some lessons. You will be able to learn a great deal from those books. Harry, if at any time you feel that things get to be too much then you may have to consider giving up Quidditch. It shouldn't come to that but the option is there."
Dumbledore sat quietly for a few moments and let the new information sink into Harry's already clouded mind. "Now, for the first few lessons I will be teaching you how to Apparate. It is as you know a highly useful skill to have."
Dumbledore then gave Harry a lecture on the theory of Apparition and what it involved. It was primarily a form of wandless magic and how far you were able to travel depended on the individual's power. Harry also learned that the more power an individual had the quieter the 'pop' was when you you Apparated or Disapparated.
"We will be practicing Apparition on the Forbidden Forest just beyond where the wards end. For now I want you to read the book, Apparition Made Easy. It should be in the books that Minerva and Remus picked up for you. Just as a quick note, Harry. Yes, you can tell your other friends about these lessons. I will let you know if I want you to be quiet about them. Now, if I'm not mistaken, Miss Granger should be arriving soon."
Just as Dumbledore finished talking, there was a knock on the door and Hermione walked in. For the next hour they worked on their meditation exercises and clearing their minds. Then Dumbledore tried to enter their minds using Legimency. Harry found that he was able to easily recognize as attack now, but it still took time for him to be able to block out an attacker. Dumbledore, however, assured him that they were making good progress.
At nine o'clock, Harry and Hermione left for their Prefect rounds. Hermione explained that Professor McGonagall, who was responsible for the Prefects, had given them both the duties that would occur at night so that should they get caught coming out of the Headmaster's office after hours no one would suspect anything.
While walking around, Harry realized that they would have to be careful of what they said during their rounds lest someone overheard. Even in the relative safety of the Gryffindor common room they would have to be careful since there were certain issues that they couldn't talk about in the presence of Ron. He voiced these concerns to Hermione.
"Well, the easiest thing to do would be to say whatever we wanted to in front of everyone."
Harry gave Hermione a confused look. "I mean, if we knew a different language or one we made up, like a code or something..."
"That could work Hermione but if we suddenly started talking in a different language then people are going to think we are talking about them or something important. Maybe we could come up with some signals. Ones that if we used no one else would think twice about but that we knew meant something."
Hermione nodded. "I'll try and come up with something. Oh, Harry. Can I use your library? There is something that I want to look up but I don't think the main library has anything on the subject."
"Sure. What do you want to research?"
"Just a challenge someone gave me, that's all."
It was almost half past ten when Dumbledore finally let Harry and Hermione go. They dragged themselves to the common room. On entering they noticed that almost everyone in their year was still up. Ron and Ginny were talking to Dean, Seamus, and Neville. Ginny was sitting on Dean's lap and Ron was throwing Dean dirty looks.
"Hey guys. How did Prefect duties go? Catch anyone out of bounds?" Neville asked when he noticed them enter. Harry through himself onto a sofa in front of them and Hermione sat next to him.
"Not yet, Neville. It's still early in the year. Give it a few weeks and there will be people sneaking about."
"Oh, I wouldn't be so sure of that. You do most of the sneaking around this place," Ron sneered at Harry.
"I think that all three of us are included in that Ron." Hermione was annoyed. She was tired and really couldn't deal with Ron's immaturity at this moment.
"Anyway, I got to go to sleep. I'm exhausted. Harry, you should probably head out too. You said that you had that early lesson that you wanted to prepare for."
Harry smiled. Trust Hermione to remind him of his early lesson. Seven in the morning! He groaned inwardly. He didn't really want to think about such an early lesson. He said goodnight to the others and walked to his room. Once there, he decided to find the book that Albus recommended he read. Sitting in front of the fire, Harry read through three chapters before falling asleep.
"Come on, Gryffindor! Concentrate! I know you can go faster than this."
Harry groaned as he tried to mentally drown out Snape's voice and concentrate solely on blocking Snape's attacks. The man seemed determined to behead him with his sword. 'The greasy git must have got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.'
On the other side of the room, Hermione was throwing knives at moving targets. She had decided to concentrate on what she was good at. Besides she much preferred knives to swords.
It was Wednesday and that meant that he didn't have a lesson with Albus today. He did, however, have his first DA lesson that evening. Yesterday, he and Albus had read up an Apparition and Albus had told Harry that they were going to the forest on Saturday to practice.
Another sudden attack from Snape caused Harry to drop to the ground and roll out of Snape's way. Twenty minutes later Snape decided that they had enough for the day and left the room, but not before telling Harry that he expected a full report from him about the actions of the Slytherins in the DA lesson. To Harry's surprise, there were about twenty Slytherin students who had joined the DA. Zabini, Millicent, Malfoy and twelve others were in the clear and had Snape's backing while others such as Nott and Parkinson did not.
Turning to his bedroom, Harry hurried and had a shower before rushing out to Transfiguration. Walking in, Harry noticed that Hermione and Ron were already there. He sat down at the table in front of them and next to Neville. McGonagall had them practice transfiguring parts of themselves.
"Human transfiguration is perhaps one of the hardest parts of Transfiguration. Master this and you are one step closer to becoming an Animagus. As you know, there are very few witches and wizards out there who have the skill to become one. I warn you now that should I see anyone use some of these spells out of class and against a student it will be a month's worth of detentions with Filch. I will not tolerate anyone messing around with this. Yes, Mr. Longbottom?"
Harry looked at Neville in surprise. Neville hardly ever raised his hand to volunteer or ask a question.
"Professor, how long does it take to become an Animagus? Do you get to choose what animal you are?"
"It depends on the individual, Mr. Longbottom. It can take anywhere from six months to several years and no you can not choose your form. It depends solely on your personality."
There were a few excited whispers around the room at the thought of becoming an Animagus. However, the time period put a quite a few people off. While McGonagall was trying to answer other questions, Hermione raised her hand.
"Professor, is it possible for anyone to have a magical creature as their form?"
"There are only three wizards in known history to ever have such a form and those are Merlin, and two of the Hogwarts' founders. There have been no others."
Harry looked up in surprise at that. Hesitantly, he asked who they were and what forms they had.
"Salazar Slytherin was a basilisk and Godric Gryffindor was a griffin."
The rest of the lesson was spent trying to change their partner's hair colour, which most were able to do without much mishap. Harry won ten points for Gryffindor for being the first to complete the task.
In Defence Against the Dark Arts, they were once again going over different types of shield charms. Only this time Tonks was teaching them curses that were designed to weaken a person's shield. The only students to get them right the first time were Harry, Hermione and Malfoy.
As luck would have it the more nervous Harry felt about the DA the sooner it came. Due to the large amount of students who had signed up it was decided that they would conduct the lessons in the Great Hall. About 80 students had signed up and that was practically all of the students from 4th year and up. Harry guessed that by Christmas at least twenty of those would either drop out or be kicked out. He hoped he was wrong though. Harry started to pace on the stage and was soon joined by Hermione and Remus. Soon enough the students started to pour in and it would have got off to a great start if it hadn't been for Ron's outburst. When he saw the Slytherins enter the hall, Ron had started moaning loudly and it took both Ginny and Hermione to get him to shut up. As an angry Hermione stormed back to the front, Harry asked what had happened. He had been absorbed with the register and hadn't heard the commotion.
"Oh, it's Ron. Don't worry. He's shutting up for now but he's going to probably kick off later in the common room."
There wasn't any more time to talk as all the student's had arrived. Harry calmly walked forward. "Okay, thank you all for coming. The main point of the DA is to learn offensive and defensive skills as well as getting some practice at duelling. Also, there is the fact that many of us need to learn to work as a team. So, you may find yourself paired with other students from other houses."
Parvati raised her hand. "Harry, are you allowed to give house points or detentions? I mean, is the DA a lesson or a study group?"
"It's a study group do there won't be points or detentions being given out. However, I can throw you out of the group if there are signs of the dark arts or if you attack another student deliberately. I will take you to the Headmaster's office myself."
"What are we going to be learning here anyway, Potter?"
Nott and company had so far just said a few snide remarks but they were especially keen on getting at Malfoy, who was calmly standing on the other side of the room.
"During the first two or three meetings we will be going over a list of spells that I have. Spells such as Expelliarmus and Stupefy. This is so that I we can split you up into groups according to skill and experience. I will also be going over the Patronus spell. Some members if the DA last year are able to do this already and we will be going over it again for the rest of you."
Harry then proceeded to group the students by year and then into pairs. He made sure each person was paired with someone from an alternative house. Harry teamed Malfoy with Parvati, who looked nervous about-facing the blond Slytherin but calmed when Harry gave her a confident look. Ron was with Nott and Neville was with Blaise. They were instructed to use the disarming spell and some mild hexes to see who was more advanced. Once each group was finished, Harry had them take a break. He could easily tell that there were certain students were more advanced than the others. Such as Malfoy, Blaise, and most of the old DA members. He decided to split them into two groups. The Basic group, which included most of the students, went over to the side with Remus and Hermione to practice a list of hexes and charms that Harry gave them. Harry took the 30 remaining students to the top end of the hall.
"Well done all of you. From what I've seen you guys are much more advanced then the others, So this is going to be the plan, we will spend an half hour practicing new hexes, curses and shields and the rest of the time will be spent duelling each other."
Harry took out his wand and conjured several targets and placed them against a wall. "Now, what I want to do is see how well you can aim. So for now just use the full body bind and see how many times you can hit the target."
Quite a few students looked a bit scornful at this but soon realized just how bad their aim was. Several missed all together while others were able to hit the target they were nowhere near the centre. The only student who was able to hit the target at the centre was Malfoy.
"Malfoy, wait, why don't you see how well you do with moving targets."
Much like Hermione's dagger throwing, Malfoy was able to hit several of the targets before Harry had him stop.
"That was great work, Malfoy. What the rest of you need to realize is that when you dual, your opponent won't stay standing in one place. You need to be able to aim and hit your target. That is it for now. I'll see you all on Friday."
Harry waited as all the students made their way out before turning to Remus and Hermione. "Well, what did you think? How did it go?"
"It was great, Harry! Everyone was generally interested and we were lucky that no one messed around either," Hermione said enthusiastically.
"You were great, Harry. You managed to hold their attention, which isn't easy with such a large group. You are showing the makings of being a great teacher," Remus said fondly.
"Really?" Harry was smiling now. He really wanted to do well at this. Just then a voice Harry knew all too well spoke up.
"Yes, Harry, really. And I have to say I agree with Remus. You will become a wonderful teacher should you decide to follow that as a career," Professor Dumbledore said.
Harry looked up at him in surprise. Had he been watching the entire time?
"I decided to come and see for myself just how the lesson would go. And I have to say that I was quite impressed with Mr. Malfoy's skills towards the end. However, I also came to give you some other news."
Dumbledore took a pause. He just knew that Harry and Remus weren't going to be happy with this at all. "I just got notice that we will be having a visitor at the end of the week. Minister Fudge has decided to come and observe the school, as he puts it, however, he wishes to see Harry and have me declared to be an unfit guardian."
"WHAT!"
Dumbledore was right. He nearly found himself deafened by the three yells.
"Let him come, Albus, and see for himself. But I will go to hell and back before he tries to discredit you or me again," Harry said, passionately.
"Thank you for that, Harry. We will discuss this more when it gets closer to the date. Now, I think you should go and get some rest. After all you have another long day tomorrow."
Harry and Hermione knew a dismissal when they heard one. No doubt, Remus and Dumbledore were going to discuss this further. Harry walked towards Gryffindor tower. He could feel himself getting annoyed. He knew that Fudge was going to visit at some point so why was he getting so worked up about it? He felt a small hand slip into his and give it a gentle squeeze. He looked at Hermione and smiled.
"Don't worry, Harry. Everything will be fine. The best thing you can do is stay calm and not let the minister bait you about the headmaster."
"I know, Hermione and that's going to be the hard part. You just know that Fudge is going to try and make things as awkward as possible and deliberately say things to cause trouble."
They didn't have much more chance to talk when they reached the portrait of the fat lady. Giving the password, "affinity", they walked in and made their way to their friends.
"Hey, that was a great meeting, Harry! Who would have thought that it would have such a large turnout!" Dean, Neville, Ginny, Parvati and Lavender agreed with Seamus. They were also enthused about the meeting and couldn't wait until Friday's session.
Harry looked over at Ron. "Hey, mate, what did you think?"
"Oh sure, it was great, but it would have been much better without the slimy Slytherins."
Harry frowned. "Ron, don't say that. Not all of the Slytherins are so bad. I mean, Blaise is alright and we just got to know the others."
"We don't need them. They're all traitors. How do you know that they aren't Death Eaters and are going to sell you over to You Know Who? And what about Malfoy! You were so impressed with him! And singled him out for attention! What is he supposed to be? Better than us?"
"Ron, you know that I don't think like that. Also, you can't just label people like that. Not every Slytherin is a Death Eater and not every Death Eater is a Slytherin. I don't think Malfoy is better than you all but you have to agree that he has got great aim and reflexes."
"He probably got it from Death Eater lessons and torturing people."
"Harry is right Ron. After all we already know of one Death Eater who is a Gryffindor. Remember Wormtail?"
Ron shuddered at the memory of the rat that used to share his bed. The he glared at Hermione.
"He was a Gryffindor and did more damage and caused more pain than any of the other Slytherin Death Eaters," she went on.
Neville looked at Ron. "The Lestranges, the ones who att...attacked my parents, Bellatrix was a Slytherin but her husband was a Ravenclaw. Harry's right Ron. We shouldn't put labels on people. We have no right to judge."
Ron got up, clearly seeing he wasn't going to get anywhere in this conversation. Even his own sister wasn't agreeing with him.
"Fine, but don't come to me when you get stabbed in the back by those Slytherins. Mark my words Harry. They're going to betray you."
Ron then turned and headed up to the sixth-year dormitories. Harry sighed and wished goodnight to everyone went to his room. Not feeling tired; he carried on reading the book on Apparition and quickly finished it. Just as he was ready to go to bed, Ron's words came back to him. 'Mark my words Harry, they're going to betray you.' Harry shivered and decided not to listen to Ron and become paranoid. He wasn't going to become best friends with them over night but he was willing to give them a chance.
Well what do you all think! Send me a review and let me know.
As I mentioned at the top I am in desperate need of a beta reader as my grammer is pretty awful and I really don't want to put chapters up without them being checked as I now they wont be as good as these chapters. I already have chapter 8 done and have started chapter 9 so the quicker someone offers the quicker those will be up!
Thanks to Ariana Dumbledore for the last time for doing a great job!
Author responses
Thanks to everyone who sent me a review as I have mentioned before I love reading them Athenakitty – With everything that's gone on I'm sure anyone will feel confused or overwhelmed at times especially Hermione since she knows so much. Harry wont decline the captaincy as Dumbledore said he needs something to take his mind off all that has happened or will happen with Voldemort. As I mentioned last time Fudge will make an appearance in the next chapter. As for Narcissa I have something special planned for her! (And no I wont tell you more about that you just have to wait and see) Thanks for the review!
Csferosha – So glad there are others that don't like Ron either expect more Ron bashing!
EnterTheLion – Thanks for the reviews Harry will grow to be as powerful as Dumbledore or Godric but he wont become a super human, as I really don't like those sorts of stories. As for Hermione that's what I had planned anyway. Cheers.
Hexe605 – I wanna go and see Troy too but don't think I'll get the time with work and stuff. Yep Nott has become the official bad guy in place or Draco Malfoy. Hope you liked this chapter.
Lani Lalaith – I like Dumbledore and I've written the way I believe he really thinks and acts for Harry. Glad to know that I'm doing this okay so far.
MortyM – I'll try my best but to be honest I thought I was going too slow!
Ninotsjka – Eh Quidditch match? I have no idea hopefully I'll be able to do that justice should be up soon though. Crabbe Goyle well this chapter has answered that question. Thanks for the review.
RogueBHS – Cho crawling you know I really like that thought. I'm not that keen on her either seems really quite vain to me. Thanks for the review! Oh just to mention I read your fic the other day Faith which I like Ron's a jealous idiot as usual. Thanks for the review.
yaminy-grint4eva – I'll be sure to read your fic. Cheers
Also thanks to ChoChangLookAlike, Potter Reader, krr84, Griffon offspring, Anonymous9 and borne-shadow-child and any one else I might have missed out for their reviews.
Next Chapter – Lessons with Tonks and Dumbledore. Quidditch Try outs. Oh and did I mention Fudge, Umbridge and Percy Weasley.
(A/N I do not own any of these characters they belong to J K Rowling)
Hi all I'm normally not fond of having author's notes at the start of a fic but I want to make sure this gets seen and read! My previous chapters including this one have all been beta read by Ariana Dumbledore, who has done a great job. However Ariana can no longer beta for me due to other commitments so if anyone else will be a beta reader for me please let me know asap!
Harry woke up the next morning refreshed and energized. Since his connection had been broken, he was able to sleep much easier with the knowledge that his thoughts and dreams were safe from Voldemort. Thankfully, Voldemort wasn't up to much recently, so Harry wasn't having any visions either for which he was grateful.
It was then that he remembered the events of the day before and he groaned to himself. He hated keeping secrets from his best friend. Had it been Hermione he could have told her that he wasn't allowed to say anything due to secrecy issues and she would have understood. Ron, however, would have taken it as a personal insult that he wasn't included in the secret.
Harry quickly changed into his school robes and tied his hair back. He strapped his sword to his side, underneath his cloak and cast a disillusion charm to hide the name. It just felt right having it close to him in case he needed it.
Hurrying out of his room, Harry noticed that it was almost time for breakfast. He rushed to the common room to see if his friends were still there. Sure enough both Ron and Hermione were waiting for him.
"Hi, guys. You didn't have to wait long did you?" Harry asked.
"Harry, mate, let's hurry up and get down there. I'm starving!" Ron said, exasperated.
"Ron, I'm sure there will still be plenty of food left when we get there. Anyway, we do need to get our timetables," Hermione said.
The three friends quickly made their way down to the great hall. Most of the students were already there and Harry was once again subjected to all the stares he was receiving.
"For Merlin's sake Harry, did you have to go and change the way you look? I mean are we going to be constantly stared at all year?" Ron asked.
"Hey, it's not my fault my hair grew and I was finally given proper meals."
Sitting down they quickly piled their plates high with food. Harry ended up eating almost twice the normal amount he would have eaten in previous years. Even Ron was impressed since the amount of food Harry had consumed was no where near the amount Ron could eat. Hermione just looked at the pair with mild disgust. Thankfully, McGonagall came around at the moment with their timetables. Harry took his and stared at it in shock.
"Harry, what's wrong? What is it?" Hermione asked, concerned. Harry silently handed his timetable over to her. She took the timetable and stared at it.
Hogwarts' School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Sixth Year Gryffindor Timetable
Student: Harry James Gryffindor Potter
Monday
7 am - Special Studies 9 am - NEWT Potions 1 pm - NEWT Charms 3 pm - NEWT Defence Against the Dark Arts 6 pm - 10 pm - Special Studies
Tuesday
7 am - Special Studies 9 am - NEWT Defence Against the Dark Arts 1 pm - NEWT Transfiguration 3 pm - Special Studies 6 pm - Gryffindor Quidditch Practice 9 pm - 10 pm - Special Studies
Wednesday
7 am - Special Studies 9 am - NEWT Transfiguration 1 pm - NEWT Charms 3 pm - NEWT Defence Against the Dark Arts 6 pm - DA
Thursday
7 am - Special Studies 9 am - NEWT Defence Against the Dark Arts 1 pm - NEWT Potions 3 pm - Special Studies 6 pm - Gryffindor Quidditch Practice 9 pm - 10 pm - Special Studies
Friday
7 am - Special Studies 9 am - NEWT Potions 1 pm - Special Studies 3 pm - NEWT Defence Against the Dark Arts 6 pm - DA
Saturday
9 am - Special Studies 8 pm - Special Studies
Sunday
9 am - Special Studies 8 pm - Special Studies
"Harry when are you supposed to be able to do your homework?" Hermione asked.
"I have no idea, Hermione. I mean, I knew it would be a lot but this is ridiculous."
Ron took hold of Harry's timetable and let out a low whistle. "Bloody hell, Harry. When do they expect you to eat and sleep?"
"I don't know, Ron. Anyway, what do you guys have?"
Harry had a look at their timetables. Hermione had the same lessons as he did but was also in Arithmancy on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. He noticed that she was also down for the morning special lessons on Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays and for most of the evenings as well but for only two hours instead of his four. Also, Ron was only down for an hour in the evenings, same as Neville, Luna and Ginny.
Looking at his watch, Harry noticed that they only had fifteen minutes to get to potions. He and Hermione quickly grabbed their stuff and hurried to the dungeons while Ron went to Muggle Studies. When they reached the Potions' door, Harry noticed that there weren't very many students. It was a lesson of about thirteen where he and Hermione were the only Gryffindors. There was Susan Bones from Hufflepuff and Terry Boot and Padma Patil from Ravenclaw. The rest were from Slytherin including Draco Malfoy, Pansy Parkinson, Blaise Zabini, Nott and a few others that Harry didn't recognize. No Crabbe or Goyle, which wasn't really a surprise.
Walking in, Harry and Hermione quickly took a seat at the back even though they knew that Snape was going to split them up. Susan, Padma, and Terry sat towards the back as well. Only Draco and Blaise were sitting down by the front. There was quiet chatter when the door banged open and Snape stalked in in his usual dramatic fashion. He walked towards the front and stared at the students, giving Harry and Hermione a sneer.
"This is perhaps the most difficult lesson you will ever face in your entire education here at Hogwarts and only the best can enter my lesson. Each of you has achieved an Outstanding in your OWLs, though I am shocked to see one of you.." Stopping his tirade, he stared directly at Harry. "But nevertheless it seems that fame can buy Mr. Gryffindor everything. Even a new middle name. How very loyal to your house."
There were a few snickers from some of the Slytherins. Harry simply stared back with a bored expression.
"Well, Mr. Gryffindor, I see that only one other member of the dream team made it to this lesson. Never mind, I have no room for redheaded idiots here. Still, I really do think I should split up the dream duo. Gryffindor swap places with Zabini now!"
Harry simply got up with a calm expression and picked up his things and walked towards the front and sat down next to Draco.
"There, that's better. Now, today you will be making a sleeping drought. It is milder than the dreamless sleep potion but it is safer. Gather you ingredients and get started."
Harry pulled out his new potions book and turned to the page of the potion. Reading the list of ingredients he needed, he took out his cauldron and got started. He knew that he needed to start a conversation with Malfoy but Harry had no idea how to start. Luckily, it was Malfoy who took the first step.
"So, Potter, I'm surprised to see you here. Especially since I thought you were taking remedial potions." Harry noted that there was no maliciousness behind the statement. Just curiosity. So Harry shrugged.
"I studied hard in the last term. Besides, it was worth it just to imagine the look on Snape's face when he realized that I was taking this lesson. So, dumb and dumber not make it?"
"Did you even have to ask?" Malfoy sneered. "Besides, we're not friends anymore, as I'm sure you noticed."
Harry was dying to ask why, but didn't want to push his luck. Malfoy wasn't exactly being friendly but wasn't hostile or arrogant either. He decided to try a different approach.
"Hermione and I wanted to thank you for helping her out yesterday," he said cautiously.
Malfoy shrugged as if it were nothing. Harry took that as the end of their conversation and turned his concentration back to his potion. For the next hour he and Malfoy didn't speak and soon it was time to hand in their finished potions. Harry was pleased to see that his potion was the same shade of blue as Malfoy's, which was a sure sign that he had done it correctly. Taking a sample of his potion, Harry cleaned up his area and took the sample to the front desk where Snape was sitting. Silently, Harry handed his sample over, while Snape looked at him in disgust. Turning around he gathered his things and walked out of the lesson room. He was surprised to see Hermione talking to Blaise when he entered the crowded hallway. Blaise Zabini was someone that Harry knew very little about. She was a rather petite blond and was good at Potions. Although she was never really insulting to Gryffindors she wasn't exactly friendly either. Hermione turned and realized that Harry was out of the lesson and waved him over.
"Harry meet Blaise," she said pleasantly. "Blaise and some of the other Slytherins have signed up for the DA!"
Harry smiled at Blaise. "Really? That's great! I can't wait to see you all on Wednesday."
Blaise looked up at the boy-who-lived with a shrewd expression. "Really? The fact that we're Slytherins doesn't bother you, Potter?"
Harry decided to be honest. "At one point, yes, it would have, but not anymore. Dumbledore and the Sorting Hat are right. We need to learn how to work together as a team."
"So, what changed Potter?" Malfoy questioned.
Harry shrugged. "I guess I grew up."
Harry then turned towards Hermione and reminded her that they needed to go to Charms. It turned out that Blaise and Malfoy were also in that lesson so they walked together. On the way Blaise asked Hermione several questions about the DA and what was going to be taught.
Once reaching the lesson room they walked in to a shocked lesson. Since Potions was so far and they had been talking, they were the last to get there and needless to say everyone was shocked to see two Gryffindors and two Slytherins walk in so calmly. Especially when two of those students were Harry and Malfoy. Harry and Hermione walked towards the table where Ron and the other Gryffindors were sitting. They sat on either side of Ron.
"What on Earth were you doing with that Slytherin?" Ron made no effort to lower his voice.
Harry frowned. "We're in the same Potions lesson Ron and we walked up. That's all. Plus, Blaise wanted to talk to Hermione. We better shut up now though. Flitwick is about to start lesson."
Harry turned his attention back to Flitwick, who had now started his lecture. They were going to learn charms that could be used for survival. Such as minor healing charms, how to conjure small amounts of food and how to make a shelter more comfortable. Harry concentrated. Skills like these, no matter how insignificant, were useful. He had realized over the summer that while many charms didn't appear like much, they could be very dangerous if used in the right way. Just look at the tickling charm. If not taken off a victim it could torture much like the Cruciatus Curse. There is a fine line between pleasure and pain. Flitwick also gave them a review of their OWL results. Most of the students had done really well in the exam and Flitwick was ecstatic. When the lesson was over and the trio were getting ready to leave, Flitwick called Harry over.
"Mr. Potter, a word please." Harry stopped and looked at Flitwick, who waited until they were alone in the room before speaking.
"First of all, Mr. Potter, congratulations on your new guardian. I have to say that I haven't seen Albus happier than when he came back and told us you had agreed."
"Thank you, Professor. Was there anything else you wanted to say?" the youth asked.
"Ah, yes, tell me Mr. Potter, are there any students that barred from the DA?"
Harry frowned. What did Flitwick mean? Then he realized that he was asking about Marietta. "Professor, at the moment, the group is open to all eligible students. However, any student that attends only to cause trouble will be banned from any future meetings."
"That is good to hear. Certain students had thought they would not be welcome back. Also, I wanted to thank you. Your friendship has helped one of my favorite students. I know that Luna Lovegood has been treated badly by many students, especially from my house, and she has always taken it silently. However, since joining your group of friends she is more confident and more aware of what is around her. You see, she has the second sight and that causes her to view the world differently and most don't understand that."
"Luna is a good friend of ours now, Professor and we won't stand for her being treated badly."
Flitwick nodded. He understood that while the old Potter wouldn't stand for anyone hurting a friend, the new Potter would retaliate back and he had a feeling that none of his students would be able to defend themselves from that.
Ron sat down with Hermione at the Gryffindor table. They had decided to walk on ahead and wait for Harry in the Great Hall. Filling his plate up with food, Ron leaned back and started to eat. He glanced every few minutes at Hermione and frowned. Normally Hermione would be eating and reading from some big textbook but she kept glancing at the door. Ron wasn't stupid. He knew that she was waiting for Harry. He felt a surge of anger. 'Why is she waiting for him? I'm here!'
"He's a big boy, Hermione. I'm sure he can look after himself." It came out a lot harsher than he had wanted it to.
Hermione jumped but quickly calmed herself. "I was just wondering what Professor Flitwick wanted to talk to Harry about."
"I'm sure that he'll tell us. If he wants to that is."
"What did you mean by that Ron?"
"It's just that he never tells anyone anything! He just goes ahead and does it. For goodness sake, he hasn't even told us how the Dursleys really treated him or what happened at the Tri-wizard Tournament. He didn't tell us how Sirius died...just that he did. He didn't mention anything about him being captain let alone that he could play Quidditch again! To top it all off, he didn't tell anyone about letting Dumbledore becoming his guardian! It's certainly given Harry some perks but then again he is the boy-who- lived!"
"Ron! How can you talk about Harry like that? And shut up! We are in the Great Hall! We can have this conversation later in private!" she hissed back.
Ron let out a growl of frustration and angrily dug into his food. He was so stupid! The one chance he had to talk to his Hermione and he ruined it by talking about Harry! He was brought out of his melancholy thoughts when Harry had finally reached the Great Hall and sat down.
"So, Ron. Quidditch is starting up soon and man do we need to start up a good team and soon. Do you realize how many positions we have to fill? Four!"
"Err, Harry, don't you mean five? Three chasers and two beaters?"
"Nope. Ginny is a good player. I was thinking that she would be great as a chaser. Anyway, we need to have tryouts soon. I was thinking about this weekend."
"But don't you have practice scheduled this week already, Harry?"
"Yes, but we need to find new players first and I've already asked McGonagall and she said that this weekend is fine for tryouts."
Soon it was time for the trio to head to Defence Against the Dark Arts. Walking in they were surprised to see that their first professor was going to be Tonks, who upon seeing Hermione and Ron enter rushed forward to see the hunk that Harry had apparently now become. Harry blushed and stood in front of her.
"Hi, Tonks. How have you been?" He didn't get a chance to say anything further as he soon found himself in a death grip of a hug. 'Kind of like Hermione's,' he thought.
"Harry! Oh My God! I can't believe it! You've changed so much! Everyone said that you have and damn do you look good. If I wasn't one of your professors I'd drag you to my room and have my wicked way with you...but then again there is always detention."
With that Tonks winked at Hermione, who couldn't seem to stop giggling, and sauntered off towards the front of the room leaving a blushing and gaping Harry behind. Once he realized that Tonks was teasing him, he sat down and threw a glare at her.
Looking around, Harry was pleased to see that all of the DA members from their year were in this lesson. As were Draco Blaise, and many others. The lesson went great. Although Tonks was very clumsy, she was a good Auror and an even better teacher. Everyone liked her, including the Slytherins. She went over what it meant to be an Auror and basic Auror training. In the last half hour, they were paired up and practiced shielding charms. The DA members had all perfect shields.
"Alright everyone that was great. I will be having lessons with you this week and on the last day we will be casting a shield that is rarely used because it is very draining and difficult to cast. However, if done correctly it will protect you from most curses and hexes. There is also the added bonus that the color is different for most people and can be used to determine the amount of magic a person has in them. Now, for homework, I want two rolls of parchment on different shielding charms. Class dismissed."
Everyone in the lesson was excited to be able to see how powerful they all were. There were already whispers going around the room that Harry would obviously have the most powerful one. Harry groaned. If this was true it was going to cause problems.
Soon enough it was time for Harry's first special lesson. Harry made his way to Dumbledore's office wondering what it would be about. He knew that there was going to be an Occulmency lesson but that wasn't going to take up four hours. When he got to the stone gargoyle he gave the password and quickly made his way up the stairs. He walked through the door and found Snape and Dumbledore talking in hushed voices. 'This is beginning to become a pattern. Does Snape have nothing else to do in his spare time?'
"Ah, Harry, sit down. How have your lessons been?"
"Fine, Albus. A bit routine though since it's mostly recapping last year right now."
"Yes, well, you will find that for a while. Don't worry though. You'll find everything challenging soon enough. Now, Severus told me that you and Mr. Malfoy were paired up in Potions. How did it go?"
Harry told them about their limited conversation and how he felt no hostility coming from the blond Slytherin. He also told them about what happened after the lesson.
"Zabini and Draco have joined the DA!" Snape exclaimed.
"Well I know that Blaise has but I'm not sure about Draco yet."
"Still Harry, keep trying to talk to him. It seems that Mr. Malfoy no longer shares his father's views. The Zabini family is one of the few Pureblood Slytherin families that has openly rejected joining Voldemort. Mr. Malfoy's recent association with Miss Zabini shows that plainly."
After a few minutes discussion Snape left the room. Albus looked at Harry. he knew his young charge was eager to start and probably had several questions.
"Albus, what are we going to be doing in these lessons? When are Hermione and the others going to be joining us? When do I have lessons with the other professors? When do I do my homework? Or do my Prefect duties? Or get any sleep?"
Dumbledore chuckled. "Take a few breaths my boy. Now, Miss Granger will join us at eight o'clock tonight. You will both do your Occulmency training until nine, then you will do your Prefect rounds, and then come back to finish up. I'm sure that once you set up a routine you will be able to find time to sleep and there are slots for meals. The other students will join is on the weekends. As for homework, well you won't be doing any, there are far more important things for you to be learning, but that's not to say we won't be giving you any work to do. Also, we will be using your library quite a bit in some lessons. You will be able to learn a great deal from those books. Harry, if at any time you feel that things get to be too much then you may have to consider giving up Quidditch. It shouldn't come to that but the option is there."
Dumbledore sat quietly for a few moments and let the new information sink into Harry's already clouded mind. "Now, for the first few lessons I will be teaching you how to Apparate. It is as you know a highly useful skill to have."
Dumbledore then gave Harry a lecture on the theory of Apparition and what it involved. It was primarily a form of wandless magic and how far you were able to travel depended on the individual's power. Harry also learned that the more power an individual had the quieter the 'pop' was when you you Apparated or Disapparated.
"We will be practicing Apparition on the Forbidden Forest just beyond where the wards end. For now I want you to read the book, Apparition Made Easy. It should be in the books that Minerva and Remus picked up for you. Just as a quick note, Harry. Yes, you can tell your other friends about these lessons. I will let you know if I want you to be quiet about them. Now, if I'm not mistaken, Miss Granger should be arriving soon."
Just as Dumbledore finished talking, there was a knock on the door and Hermione walked in. For the next hour they worked on their meditation exercises and clearing their minds. Then Dumbledore tried to enter their minds using Legimency. Harry found that he was able to easily recognize as attack now, but it still took time for him to be able to block out an attacker. Dumbledore, however, assured him that they were making good progress.
At nine o'clock, Harry and Hermione left for their Prefect rounds. Hermione explained that Professor McGonagall, who was responsible for the Prefects, had given them both the duties that would occur at night so that should they get caught coming out of the Headmaster's office after hours no one would suspect anything.
While walking around, Harry realized that they would have to be careful of what they said during their rounds lest someone overheard. Even in the relative safety of the Gryffindor common room they would have to be careful since there were certain issues that they couldn't talk about in the presence of Ron. He voiced these concerns to Hermione.
"Well, the easiest thing to do would be to say whatever we wanted to in front of everyone."
Harry gave Hermione a confused look. "I mean, if we knew a different language or one we made up, like a code or something..."
"That could work Hermione but if we suddenly started talking in a different language then people are going to think we are talking about them or something important. Maybe we could come up with some signals. Ones that if we used no one else would think twice about but that we knew meant something."
Hermione nodded. "I'll try and come up with something. Oh, Harry. Can I use your library? There is something that I want to look up but I don't think the main library has anything on the subject."
"Sure. What do you want to research?"
"Just a challenge someone gave me, that's all."
It was almost half past ten when Dumbledore finally let Harry and Hermione go. They dragged themselves to the common room. On entering they noticed that almost everyone in their year was still up. Ron and Ginny were talking to Dean, Seamus, and Neville. Ginny was sitting on Dean's lap and Ron was throwing Dean dirty looks.
"Hey guys. How did Prefect duties go? Catch anyone out of bounds?" Neville asked when he noticed them enter. Harry through himself onto a sofa in front of them and Hermione sat next to him.
"Not yet, Neville. It's still early in the year. Give it a few weeks and there will be people sneaking about."
"Oh, I wouldn't be so sure of that. You do most of the sneaking around this place," Ron sneered at Harry.
"I think that all three of us are included in that Ron." Hermione was annoyed. She was tired and really couldn't deal with Ron's immaturity at this moment.
"Anyway, I got to go to sleep. I'm exhausted. Harry, you should probably head out too. You said that you had that early lesson that you wanted to prepare for."
Harry smiled. Trust Hermione to remind him of his early lesson. Seven in the morning! He groaned inwardly. He didn't really want to think about such an early lesson. He said goodnight to the others and walked to his room. Once there, he decided to find the book that Albus recommended he read. Sitting in front of the fire, Harry read through three chapters before falling asleep.
"Come on, Gryffindor! Concentrate! I know you can go faster than this."
Harry groaned as he tried to mentally drown out Snape's voice and concentrate solely on blocking Snape's attacks. The man seemed determined to behead him with his sword. 'The greasy git must have got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.'
On the other side of the room, Hermione was throwing knives at moving targets. She had decided to concentrate on what she was good at. Besides she much preferred knives to swords.
It was Wednesday and that meant that he didn't have a lesson with Albus today. He did, however, have his first DA lesson that evening. Yesterday, he and Albus had read up an Apparition and Albus had told Harry that they were going to the forest on Saturday to practice.
Another sudden attack from Snape caused Harry to drop to the ground and roll out of Snape's way. Twenty minutes later Snape decided that they had enough for the day and left the room, but not before telling Harry that he expected a full report from him about the actions of the Slytherins in the DA lesson. To Harry's surprise, there were about twenty Slytherin students who had joined the DA. Zabini, Millicent, Malfoy and twelve others were in the clear and had Snape's backing while others such as Nott and Parkinson did not.
Turning to his bedroom, Harry hurried and had a shower before rushing out to Transfiguration. Walking in, Harry noticed that Hermione and Ron were already there. He sat down at the table in front of them and next to Neville. McGonagall had them practice transfiguring parts of themselves.
"Human transfiguration is perhaps one of the hardest parts of Transfiguration. Master this and you are one step closer to becoming an Animagus. As you know, there are very few witches and wizards out there who have the skill to become one. I warn you now that should I see anyone use some of these spells out of class and against a student it will be a month's worth of detentions with Filch. I will not tolerate anyone messing around with this. Yes, Mr. Longbottom?"
Harry looked at Neville in surprise. Neville hardly ever raised his hand to volunteer or ask a question.
"Professor, how long does it take to become an Animagus? Do you get to choose what animal you are?"
"It depends on the individual, Mr. Longbottom. It can take anywhere from six months to several years and no you can not choose your form. It depends solely on your personality."
There were a few excited whispers around the room at the thought of becoming an Animagus. However, the time period put a quite a few people off. While McGonagall was trying to answer other questions, Hermione raised her hand.
"Professor, is it possible for anyone to have a magical creature as their form?"
"There are only three wizards in known history to ever have such a form and those are Merlin, and two of the Hogwarts' founders. There have been no others."
Harry looked up in surprise at that. Hesitantly, he asked who they were and what forms they had.
"Salazar Slytherin was a basilisk and Godric Gryffindor was a griffin."
The rest of the lesson was spent trying to change their partner's hair colour, which most were able to do without much mishap. Harry won ten points for Gryffindor for being the first to complete the task.
In Defence Against the Dark Arts, they were once again going over different types of shield charms. Only this time Tonks was teaching them curses that were designed to weaken a person's shield. The only students to get them right the first time were Harry, Hermione and Malfoy.
As luck would have it the more nervous Harry felt about the DA the sooner it came. Due to the large amount of students who had signed up it was decided that they would conduct the lessons in the Great Hall. About 80 students had signed up and that was practically all of the students from 4th year and up. Harry guessed that by Christmas at least twenty of those would either drop out or be kicked out. He hoped he was wrong though. Harry started to pace on the stage and was soon joined by Hermione and Remus. Soon enough the students started to pour in and it would have got off to a great start if it hadn't been for Ron's outburst. When he saw the Slytherins enter the hall, Ron had started moaning loudly and it took both Ginny and Hermione to get him to shut up. As an angry Hermione stormed back to the front, Harry asked what had happened. He had been absorbed with the register and hadn't heard the commotion.
"Oh, it's Ron. Don't worry. He's shutting up for now but he's going to probably kick off later in the common room."
There wasn't any more time to talk as all the student's had arrived. Harry calmly walked forward. "Okay, thank you all for coming. The main point of the DA is to learn offensive and defensive skills as well as getting some practice at duelling. Also, there is the fact that many of us need to learn to work as a team. So, you may find yourself paired with other students from other houses."
Parvati raised her hand. "Harry, are you allowed to give house points or detentions? I mean, is the DA a lesson or a study group?"
"It's a study group do there won't be points or detentions being given out. However, I can throw you out of the group if there are signs of the dark arts or if you attack another student deliberately. I will take you to the Headmaster's office myself."
"What are we going to be learning here anyway, Potter?"
Nott and company had so far just said a few snide remarks but they were especially keen on getting at Malfoy, who was calmly standing on the other side of the room.
"During the first two or three meetings we will be going over a list of spells that I have. Spells such as Expelliarmus and Stupefy. This is so that I we can split you up into groups according to skill and experience. I will also be going over the Patronus spell. Some members if the DA last year are able to do this already and we will be going over it again for the rest of you."
Harry then proceeded to group the students by year and then into pairs. He made sure each person was paired with someone from an alternative house. Harry teamed Malfoy with Parvati, who looked nervous about-facing the blond Slytherin but calmed when Harry gave her a confident look. Ron was with Nott and Neville was with Blaise. They were instructed to use the disarming spell and some mild hexes to see who was more advanced. Once each group was finished, Harry had them take a break. He could easily tell that there were certain students were more advanced than the others. Such as Malfoy, Blaise, and most of the old DA members. He decided to split them into two groups. The Basic group, which included most of the students, went over to the side with Remus and Hermione to practice a list of hexes and charms that Harry gave them. Harry took the 30 remaining students to the top end of the hall.
"Well done all of you. From what I've seen you guys are much more advanced then the others, So this is going to be the plan, we will spend an half hour practicing new hexes, curses and shields and the rest of the time will be spent duelling each other."
Harry took out his wand and conjured several targets and placed them against a wall. "Now, what I want to do is see how well you can aim. So for now just use the full body bind and see how many times you can hit the target."
Quite a few students looked a bit scornful at this but soon realized just how bad their aim was. Several missed all together while others were able to hit the target they were nowhere near the centre. The only student who was able to hit the target at the centre was Malfoy.
"Malfoy, wait, why don't you see how well you do with moving targets."
Much like Hermione's dagger throwing, Malfoy was able to hit several of the targets before Harry had him stop.
"That was great work, Malfoy. What the rest of you need to realize is that when you dual, your opponent won't stay standing in one place. You need to be able to aim and hit your target. That is it for now. I'll see you all on Friday."
Harry waited as all the students made their way out before turning to Remus and Hermione. "Well, what did you think? How did it go?"
"It was great, Harry! Everyone was generally interested and we were lucky that no one messed around either," Hermione said enthusiastically.
"You were great, Harry. You managed to hold their attention, which isn't easy with such a large group. You are showing the makings of being a great teacher," Remus said fondly.
"Really?" Harry was smiling now. He really wanted to do well at this. Just then a voice Harry knew all too well spoke up.
"Yes, Harry, really. And I have to say I agree with Remus. You will become a wonderful teacher should you decide to follow that as a career," Professor Dumbledore said.
Harry looked up at him in surprise. Had he been watching the entire time?
"I decided to come and see for myself just how the lesson would go. And I have to say that I was quite impressed with Mr. Malfoy's skills towards the end. However, I also came to give you some other news."
Dumbledore took a pause. He just knew that Harry and Remus weren't going to be happy with this at all. "I just got notice that we will be having a visitor at the end of the week. Minister Fudge has decided to come and observe the school, as he puts it, however, he wishes to see Harry and have me declared to be an unfit guardian."
"WHAT!"
Dumbledore was right. He nearly found himself deafened by the three yells.
"Let him come, Albus, and see for himself. But I will go to hell and back before he tries to discredit you or me again," Harry said, passionately.
"Thank you for that, Harry. We will discuss this more when it gets closer to the date. Now, I think you should go and get some rest. After all you have another long day tomorrow."
Harry and Hermione knew a dismissal when they heard one. No doubt, Remus and Dumbledore were going to discuss this further. Harry walked towards Gryffindor tower. He could feel himself getting annoyed. He knew that Fudge was going to visit at some point so why was he getting so worked up about it? He felt a small hand slip into his and give it a gentle squeeze. He looked at Hermione and smiled.
"Don't worry, Harry. Everything will be fine. The best thing you can do is stay calm and not let the minister bait you about the headmaster."
"I know, Hermione and that's going to be the hard part. You just know that Fudge is going to try and make things as awkward as possible and deliberately say things to cause trouble."
They didn't have much more chance to talk when they reached the portrait of the fat lady. Giving the password, "affinity", they walked in and made their way to their friends.
"Hey, that was a great meeting, Harry! Who would have thought that it would have such a large turnout!" Dean, Neville, Ginny, Parvati and Lavender agreed with Seamus. They were also enthused about the meeting and couldn't wait until Friday's session.
Harry looked over at Ron. "Hey, mate, what did you think?"
"Oh sure, it was great, but it would have been much better without the slimy Slytherins."
Harry frowned. "Ron, don't say that. Not all of the Slytherins are so bad. I mean, Blaise is alright and we just got to know the others."
"We don't need them. They're all traitors. How do you know that they aren't Death Eaters and are going to sell you over to You Know Who? And what about Malfoy! You were so impressed with him! And singled him out for attention! What is he supposed to be? Better than us?"
"Ron, you know that I don't think like that. Also, you can't just label people like that. Not every Slytherin is a Death Eater and not every Death Eater is a Slytherin. I don't think Malfoy is better than you all but you have to agree that he has got great aim and reflexes."
"He probably got it from Death Eater lessons and torturing people."
"Harry is right Ron. After all we already know of one Death Eater who is a Gryffindor. Remember Wormtail?"
Ron shuddered at the memory of the rat that used to share his bed. The he glared at Hermione.
"He was a Gryffindor and did more damage and caused more pain than any of the other Slytherin Death Eaters," she went on.
Neville looked at Ron. "The Lestranges, the ones who att...attacked my parents, Bellatrix was a Slytherin but her husband was a Ravenclaw. Harry's right Ron. We shouldn't put labels on people. We have no right to judge."
Ron got up, clearly seeing he wasn't going to get anywhere in this conversation. Even his own sister wasn't agreeing with him.
"Fine, but don't come to me when you get stabbed in the back by those Slytherins. Mark my words Harry. They're going to betray you."
Ron then turned and headed up to the sixth-year dormitories. Harry sighed and wished goodnight to everyone went to his room. Not feeling tired; he carried on reading the book on Apparition and quickly finished it. Just as he was ready to go to bed, Ron's words came back to him. 'Mark my words Harry, they're going to betray you.' Harry shivered and decided not to listen to Ron and become paranoid. He wasn't going to become best friends with them over night but he was willing to give them a chance.
Well what do you all think! Send me a review and let me know.
As I mentioned at the top I am in desperate need of a beta reader as my grammer is pretty awful and I really don't want to put chapters up without them being checked as I now they wont be as good as these chapters. I already have chapter 8 done and have started chapter 9 so the quicker someone offers the quicker those will be up!
Thanks to Ariana Dumbledore for the last time for doing a great job!
Author responses
Thanks to everyone who sent me a review as I have mentioned before I love reading them Athenakitty – With everything that's gone on I'm sure anyone will feel confused or overwhelmed at times especially Hermione since she knows so much. Harry wont decline the captaincy as Dumbledore said he needs something to take his mind off all that has happened or will happen with Voldemort. As I mentioned last time Fudge will make an appearance in the next chapter. As for Narcissa I have something special planned for her! (And no I wont tell you more about that you just have to wait and see) Thanks for the review!
Csferosha – So glad there are others that don't like Ron either expect more Ron bashing!
EnterTheLion – Thanks for the reviews Harry will grow to be as powerful as Dumbledore or Godric but he wont become a super human, as I really don't like those sorts of stories. As for Hermione that's what I had planned anyway. Cheers.
Hexe605 – I wanna go and see Troy too but don't think I'll get the time with work and stuff. Yep Nott has become the official bad guy in place or Draco Malfoy. Hope you liked this chapter.
Lani Lalaith – I like Dumbledore and I've written the way I believe he really thinks and acts for Harry. Glad to know that I'm doing this okay so far.
MortyM – I'll try my best but to be honest I thought I was going too slow!
Ninotsjka – Eh Quidditch match? I have no idea hopefully I'll be able to do that justice should be up soon though. Crabbe Goyle well this chapter has answered that question. Thanks for the review.
RogueBHS – Cho crawling you know I really like that thought. I'm not that keen on her either seems really quite vain to me. Thanks for the review! Oh just to mention I read your fic the other day Faith which I like Ron's a jealous idiot as usual. Thanks for the review.
yaminy-grint4eva – I'll be sure to read your fic. Cheers
Also thanks to ChoChangLookAlike, Potter Reader, krr84, Griffon offspring, Anonymous9 and borne-shadow-child and any one else I might have missed out for their reviews.
Next Chapter – Lessons with Tonks and Dumbledore. Quidditch Try outs. Oh and did I mention Fudge, Umbridge and Percy Weasley.
