Hey everyone!

Thank you all for your wonderful reviews! They make me giddy... which perhaps isn't the best thing... LOL

In the previous chapter, with the OWL scores, I made a note saying those who took Astronomy received an automatic OWL due to the disturbances while writing it. Below that, there was supposed to be a + which Harry received for his Defence OWL, indicating an extra OWL received for his practical. Anyways, the + wasn't posted... I hate it when that happens... Does anyone know how to fix things like that? Whenever I preview, it gets rid of spaces and characters... So annoying...

Also, I've mentioned this before, but apparently not everyone read it. I know for the Animagus Spell, the animal chooses the wizard, but I'm doing it a bit differently. 1) Because I didn't remember that detail from the books and I don't want to change it now and 2) because it actually works out better if the wizard chooses the animal. You'll see what I mean later.

dihall - I'm glad you liked it! I seem to have this fascination with Snape being embarrassed...LOL Harry hasn't "heard" Ron's real concerns regarding Harry and Hermione because he blocked off the thoughts when talking to his best friends. I should have probably mentioned this earlier. This all occurred when Harry was telling them about his identity as a Magus. He purposely made sure he wouldn't hear anything to give them privacy. In the Magus Circle though, because they're all linked, Harry can't help but sometimes hear the conversations or thoughts floating around the link. Harry hears unguarded thoughts if his shields are down or not up high enough. However, the Circle isn't used to mindspeech and so they project their thoughts "loudly" and since Harry is already connected to them, he'll get double the dosage - one from the link and the other from his ability as a mindspeaker. As the Circle gets used to mindspeech, the conversations will become private.

Luke - I'm so glad you're enjoying this! Thank you for such a thoughtful review. And Draco actually joins the rest of the gang right here in this chapter.

Thanks to my betas, Earthwytch and Abbey (On-A-Rainy-Day)!


Chapter Seven: Training Begins!

"You can't be serious!" Harry thought his disbelief and anger were quite justified under the circumstances as he faced down Snape and Dumbledore. Minerva, though she didn't say it, agreed with the young Magus. Tonks wasn't as restrained.

"You're not really buying that rubbish in the Prophet, are you? If Lucius Malfoy is innocent, then I'm the Minister for Magic!"

"Of course he's not innocent! We all know that, don't we?" Harry looked at Dumbledore and Snape, trying to see if they were under the Imperius Curse – something that was probably impossible to do to Dumbledore – or had their memories tampered with.

"Harry, do stop that. Neither Severus nor I have been cursed. You all know that even if we still had Severus as a spy, any information from Lucius Malfoy would still have been extremely valuable. I realize, Harry, that you and the Malfoys don't get along-" Dumbledore ignored Harry's snort, "but I believe they are sincere in their wishes to change sides."

"Albus, you know there are ways to lie even under the influence of Veritaserum! This is utter nonsense!"

Snape sneered at Moody. "Stop being so paranoid, Mad-Eye. Draco Malfoy, no matter how highly he thinks of himself, cannot lie well enough to fool two skilled Legilimens while under the influence of Veritaserum."

Harry interrupted the death glares Snape and Moody were sending each other. "This could still be a trick from Lucius. You haven't spoken to him yet. Lucius could have lied to his son so that he could pass whatever test you gave him. Lucius probably has a private agenda of his own and we are falling for his trick right now!"

"Potter, Lucius Malfoy having his own agenda is a given. What matters is whether that agenda coincides with our own. For now, there is no harm in Draco staying at Hogwarts. If this is a trick from the Dark Lord and Lucius, then there's no harm done – Draco won't be able to find anything that could harm us. In fact, by befriending him, you may be able to convert Draco fully onto our side and save him from a horrible fate. That is if Draco is being played by Lucius. If he isn't, if Lucius is serious about being a spy for the Order, then we have gained three valuable allies."

"Lucius Malfoy has tried to kill me countless times!"

"Potter, have you never heard the phrase "Keep your friends close and your enemies even closer"?"

"Albus, are you sure about this?" Minerva asked quietly. At his nod, Moody and Tonks silenced whatever protests they were about to make.

"When do you plan on telling the Order?" Moody gruffly asked. He might have backed off for now but that didn't mean he was going to leave it be. He fully planned to make Dumbledore see reason.

Dumbledore ignored the question from Moody for the moment and instead tried to appease Harry, who was quite cross at being asked to get along with the two people who he most disliked in the world beside Voldemort, Bellatrix and Wormtail.

"Harry, I realize it's a difficult thing to ask you to do. I know your reasons for not liking Lucius are quite sound, and your disagreements with his son are legendary. It's not easy to set that aside. But often, we are asked to do things we don't like for the sake of the greater good. We are not asking you to trust Lucius, especially since I don't quite fully trust him myself. But life is all about giving people chances even if we feel they don't deserve it. Do you know why I so frequently give people second chances when they ask for it? It is because people are more inclined to do what is right after seeing what can happen if they do what is wrong. We are, after all, only human. It's not always easy to choose to do what is right. If we are careful, we will have lost nothing except our prides if Lucius ends up betraying us; if he is indeed sincere in his actions as I believe him to be, then we will have gained something far more valuable. Until Lucius proves to us that he cannot be trusted, judging him by his past actions make us no better than our enemies. Besides, you never thought you could get along with Severus but look at how friendly the two of you are now! Who knows? Perhaps the young Mr Malfoy and yourself could become the best of friends."

Five snorts were the answer to that unlikely idea. Still, Harry looked over at Snape and thought about how far they'd come along. While Snape hadn't joined the Magus Circle, Harry knew it really was only a matter of time. Snape really wasn't too bad once you got past the prejudices and the vicious tongue. However, although Snape and he had a history filled with animosity, they had always been on the same side. The same couldn't be said for either of the Malfoys. Nonetheless, Harry reluctantly agreed to initiate a truce of sorts with Draco Malfoy before heading to his room. After all, it would be easier to keep an eye on the Malfoys if he and the blonde Slytherin were close.


When Ron, Hermione and Ginny came by after breakfast the following morning to help prepare for the first DA meeting, Harry took them aside and dropped the news of Draco Malfoy's presence at Hogwarts. Before they could say anything disparaging about the Slytherin, Harry reluctantly asked them to be civil to him, to Ron's complete and utter shock.

"What do you mean we have to be nice to the ferret?"

Harry sighed. "The Malfoys have switched sides – Lucius offered to spy on Voldemort for the Order. Dumbledore wants me to befriend Malfoy and make him see the error of his ways, so to speak, so that even if Lucius ends up betraying us, Malfoy won't become a Death Eater."

"This is insane! This is Malfoy we're talking about! How can he expect you to become friends with that great git after all he's done to us?"

"I'm not happy about this either Ron. But if I can prevent one more person from joining Voldemort's side, then… Look. You know I hate them. The two of them did their best to make my life absolutely miserable! But even scum like the Malfoys deserve a chance to get out of Voldemort's clutches. Besides, if becoming friends with the git means we get to spend the remaining two years at Hogwarts in peace, without fights, lost points and Hermione not being called a you-know-what, then I'm all for it."

At the mention of Hermione, Ron closed his mouth with an audible snap and silenced his protests. The Weasley-Malfoy feud could be put on hold if it meant Hermione wouldn't be called a Mudblood again.

Noticing that they were waiting for her reaction, Hermione nodded in agreement. "I could care less about what the twitchy little ferret calls me. But it would be nice to spend our last two years here in peace. Besides, if we can cost Voldemort his most talented follower, then all the better."

Ron set his jaw and nodded his agreement. "If Hermione can get past being called a you-know-what and you can put aside your differences with the ferret, then so can I. But I still hate the git so maybe we should limit our contact with each other. I'm not sure I can control myself from using the curses we'll learn on him."

When they looked at her, Ginny just shrugged her shoulders. "Malfoy hasn't done nearly as much to me as he has to you. If you can handle getting past that, then I'll do my best to keep the peace."

Harry smiled in relief and the four of them headed to the Room of Requirement to wait for the other members of the DA.


Harry looked around the room in shock. While he had known Hermione had received quite a number of responses, he hadn't thought the group would be quite so large. Besides all the DA members (except for Marietta), there were quite a few strangers around the room – Harry thought he could even spot some of the younger Slytherins clustered together!

"Hermione, did any of the letters you received say anything about inviting more people?"

Hermione, who had been wondering whether or not she had enough of the charmed parchment with her, finished counting heads and deemed the names to be a tight fit but still doable. "No, but then again, I didn't quite say they weren't allowed to either. I do wish they had told me in advance – it's a good thing I charmed a few more parchments or else we would have been in quite a pickle."

"Mate, you'd better start – they're getting a bit restless."

Nodding, Harry stepped forward and watched as the entire group fell silent. Harry felt unnerved – it had been difficult enough having everyone unabashedly stare at him when they had first arrived. Well, at least they were quiet now. Seeing the encouraging smiles from his friends helped ease his discomfort a bit.

"Welcome to the first meeting of the Defence Association – formerly known as Dumbledore's Army. There are parchments going around – please sign one of them. Since most of us here are underage and aren't allowed to use magic over the summer, we have to keep this a secret. Therefore, the parchments are jinxed so that if you tell anyone about our meetings, you'll find yourself in quite an embarrassing situation. Hermione and the Weasley twins worked together to form the jinx so I'd listen to the warning if I were you."

At that, faces paled and many were reluctant to sign the parchment. After all, if the Weasley twins were involved, it was likely dangerous to even just sign their name on the parchment. With Harry's assurance that they would only be jinxed if they betrayed the DA, all the parchments were soon filled with names and were handed back to Hermione.

"Now, the meetings will be held here three times a week – Monday, Wednesday and Friday. It will always start at the same time as today so please try to be prompt. While the meetings are strictly voluntary, I won't teach the same material over and over again for people who have missed it.

"Everyone, please stand up and find yourself a partner. We're going to go over some of the basics…"


Remus sighed in exhaustion. He hadn't felt this tired and out of sorts since the last full moon. Pretending to be a Muggle reporter and trying to investigate the recent burglaries in the Muggle libraries and museums were much more difficult than he had thought it would be.

It didn't help that he hadn't really discovered anything. The Order wasn't even certain it had been the Death Eaters who were causing mayhem. There was no Dark Mark, no deaths, not even a Memory Charm on the Muggles who discovered the messes the perpetrators left behind. If it wasn't for the fact that they hadn't heard a peep about Voldemort in weeks and the eyewitnesses' accounts of historians who suddenly vanished into thin air, Remus would have thought he was on a wild goose chase. And what possible interest would Voldemort have in Muggle historians and literature anyway? After all, he hated all things Muggle.

Remus glanced down at his watch – it was almost five o'clock. He looked at the imposing white building in front of him and straightened his shoulders, trying to look professional. He'd call it a day after this interview and head back to his room at the nearby motel.


Draco, having slept in and unwilling to see Potter, decided to skip lunch in the Great Hall. He instead enjoyed a snack in the kitchens and was about to return to the dungeons when he ran into Potter. He had planned to just ignore him and continue on his way when Potter stopped him.

"Listen Malfoy. We're on the same side now and we have to put up with each other for the next few weeks or so without any of the other students around. So could we call a truce of sorts? After all, we're supposed to be friends so Voldemort thinks everything's going according to plan. And who knows? Maybe we'll actually become friends. Highly doubtful, but crazier things have been known to happen," Harry remarked lightly before holding his hand out for Malfoy to shake.

Harry hoped Malfoy would accept – after years of hatred between them, he knew the extended olive branch would not likely happen again if it was refused this time. They would pretend to get along for the sake of his cover and Dumbledore, but they would never really be anything other than enemies.

Harry wanted to believe that the younger Malfoy was more than what he had seen in the past five years. Harry wasn't expecting miracles – he didn't expect Malfoy to suddenly be a completely different person who actually cared about Muggle-borns. However, if they really were going to start anew, Malfoy would need to lose some of his Malfoyness. Harry could never be friends with someone who thought everyone and everything was beneath him.

As those thoughts were running through Harry's head, Draco was remembering the event that took place before their first year, when his hand had been rejected. He briefly thought about doing the same as payback, but as he looked into Potter's emerald green eyes and saw genuine sincerity, knowing what this handshake would mean, Draco couldn't help but grasp Potter's hand. Besides, the truce benefited him more than it did Potter.

When they shook hands, Draco was surprised (though he shouldn't have been considering the recent magical growth spurt Potter experienced) to feel surrounded by an unseen web of tightly-leashed power before it immediately cut off. Potter kept Draco's hand between both of his for a moment and looked into his eyes. Draco had the distinct impression that Potter was gazing directly into his soul. Before he could think further on what had just happened, Harry dragged him up the stairs. "Come on, Malfoy – I've heard there's nothing like playing sports for some male bonding." Still somewhat out of sorts, Draco didn't put up any resistance as Potter dragged him outside.

As they took their brooms to the sky and flew around the Quidditch pitch, occasionally talking about random things, Draco couldn't help but laugh out loud at the surrealism of it all. Still, for the first time in a while, he felt truly free and happy, and so he refused to question it and just let things be.


Since there wasn't much for Draco to do while at Hogwarts for the summer, he was invited to train with Harry, although they made sure the lessons were spent training and pushing Malfoy to his limits instead, lest they give away Harry's identity as a Magus. Harry had originally considered inviting Malfoy to the DA meetings, but felt that it might be inviting more trouble than it was worth. Still, Harry often duelled with Malfoy, though he had to be careful to make sure his Magus shields weren't in place. Fortunately for them, Draco wasn't at all surprised at seeing how good Harry was – he was known for his skills at Defence, after all. Draco was also aware that the DA had continued their meetings over the summer, though he didn't ask for an invitation – he had enough on his plate with lessons from Snape.

Training with Malfoy was limited to the mornings when Harry didn't have a DA meeting; after lunch until dinner, Harry and Malfoy went flying or simply spent some time together talking and playing games. While their conversations at first had been stilted and awkward, often interjected during periods of oppressive silence, hours spent in each other's presence slowly eased the uncomfortable atmosphere between the two. While not the best of friends, they got along with each other well enough and that was certainly more than what anyone had previously expected.

Draco continued to alternate between his usual arrogance and abiding by the truce, though the former was more often in jest than anything else – in private, anyway. In public, he acted as he always did – as he often told Harry, "Above all else, I'm still a Slytherin and a Malfoy, Potter."

Hermione, Ron, and Ginny often came to Hogwarts after dinner. While they and Draco did their best to avoid each other, since Harry often hung out with the blonde Slytherin, it was inevitable that they would meet. Surprising all of them, it was Ron who offered the olive branch to Draco first; he asked the blonde for a game of wizard chess seeing as how Harry refused to play with him anymore. After that, the Weasley-Malfoy feud was taken out on the game and the common interest between them allowed them to greet each other politely, if still a bit snidely.

Draco had Crabbe visit once, but it was completely unsatisfying to act like he had done in the past, and he was surprised to find he'd rather spend time in Potter's company. Besides, without Goyle, things just didn't feel the same. While Draco didn't exactly miss Goyle (who would actually miss a lumbering fool like Goyle?) he did hope the boy would attend Hogwarts for his sixth year. He made a great lackey and the dorms would certainly feel different without his presence. Sneering at Crabbe who was still stuffing his face, Draco left the kitchens and spent time with Potter by the lake instead.

Their school letters arrived (Dumbledore having finally found a satisfactory Potions Professor) and they selected their classes for sixth year. They all spent a day in Diagon Alley to buy the necessary books and supplies for their classes. Surprisingly, Malfoy did not protest to hanging around them, even in the eye of the public. Needless to say, they caused quite a scene as they made their way to Flourish and Blotts. Harry, since he promised Dumbledore he would not try to find out who the new Professor was, did not pry; he was assured though that the person didn't have a vendetta against him.

Members of the Circle as well as the Order came and went. The Order had still not been told about the existence of a Magus – Harry wasn't comfortable with them all knowing just yet. He had considered just telling a few but didn't think it fair. He was well aware he was in for it as soon as Mrs Weasley and Ginny found out.


"Mum?"

Molly snapped out of her thoughts. "Yes, Ginny?"

"Are you alright, mum?" Ginny's voice was quiet and held a note of worry. Her mum had been rather out of sorts, lately. Fred and George had even stopped causing trouble – the Order Headquarters had been prank-free for almost an entire week. Frankly, the whole thing made Ginny rather nervous.

"I'm fine, dear. Just thinking about what to make for dinner."

With that, Molly started to lightly hum as she began to prepare dinner. While she seemed to be back to her normal self and was acting busy, Ginny wasn't at all fooled. She was about to push the issue when she heard Ron bellowing her name. Knowing better than to allow Ron into the kitchen while their mum was making dinner, Ginny reluctantly left to see what her dear brother wanted. Honestly, she loved him but he really had the worst timing!

As soon as Ginny left the kitchen, Molly sighed in relief. Her daughter had inherited her fiery temper and stubbornness and the last thing she needed was Ginny prodding her. Molly got misty-eyed as she thought of her almost adult daughter. Where did the time go? It seemed like only yesterday that Ginny clung to her robes whenever Molly needed to leave the house. Molly smiled, remembering one particular incident – in the end she had had to take her stubborn five year old daughter with her to Diagon Alley. It had been a fun day, just the Weasley girls out on the town. They hadn't had many of those once Ginny began to get older.

Molly sighed. The war was tearing her family apart, and she could do nothing except watch it happen. Since his promotion, Arthur practically lived at the Ministry – the only time she saw him was at night when he carefully slipped in to bed, trying not to wake her and failing miserably. She almost wished Dumbledore hadn't landed him that promotion; she dearly missed her husband who was fascinated with all things Muggle.

Her two oldest sons, Bill and Charlie, hardly ever visited now that You-Know-Who had returned, making things busier for them than ever before. Charlie, who lived so far away, could not return to London as often as Molly wished he would. Besides, he was often away on Order missions. And while Bill lived in a flat near Gringotts, between the Order missions, his job and his girlfriend, he barely even had time to owl his dear old mum.

Fred and George… Maybe she expected too much from her twins sons. After all, they had a very successful business doing what they loved. Still, Molly thought the whole thing was utter nonsense – and they were going to go back to Hogwarts so that they could take their NEWTs even if it was the last thing she did. Even if they didn't want to work for the Ministry, it was always a good idea to have a back-up, just in case their joke shop didn't work out or they came to their senses.

And Percy… Her perfect son. Well, clearly, not so perfect anymore. It still hurt, thinking about it all. How he could do that to the family, to her, she still had no idea. She certainly did not raise any of her children to be that way. She had hoped that once it became clear he was in the wrong he'd come back and beg for forgiveness. They both would have cried and she would have engulfed him in a hug and things would have been alright again. Yet weeks had passed and not a word or hair from Percy! Last she'd heard, he was no longer together with that nice Ravenclaw girl, Penelope.

At least she had Ron and Ginny still. And they listened to her, bless their hearts. It would be so nice if Ron could finally ask Hermione to be his girlfriend and Ginny could settle down with Neville. His parents were wonderful people and she had no doubt that he would turn out to be just as talented a wizard as Frank was.

Shaking her head to dispel her thoughts, Molly returned to making dinner. It would do no good to dwell on things she could not change and the last thing anyone in her family needed was to be concerned about her. She just had to hope that everything would work out in the end.


"Are you certain?"

"Yes, Albus, I'm sure. Draco is a scanner. I felt it when we shook hands – he was feeling my power level. I immediately increased my shields to maximum and I've been keeping it like that ever since in his presence. I thought it was just a fluke at first, but it's been happening more and more often."

"A scanner? The Aurors would love someone like that… But so would You-Know-Who," said Tonks.

"He'll need to learn how to shield himself before the magic around him becomes too overwhelming. But I'm not sure how we're going to teach him without letting him know I'm a Magus."

"By teaching him Occlumency. He'll need to know it after all to make sure Voldemort doesn't find out about the Malfoy family's true loyalties. You've far surpassed my skills as an Occlumens and you are a natural Legilimens. So while you're teaching him that, teach him different shielding techniques as well. I'm sure Mr Malfoy will be much more comfortable with you, a Gryffindor, than Severus, who is a Slytherin."

"Er, right. I'm a Gryffindor and Gryffindors are noble; I wouldn't dare to use whatever information I may find against Malfoy, but Professor Snape is a slimy Slytherin and so would take advantage of the opportunity given." Harry smiled sweetly at a sneering Snape, making McGonagall hide a smile. Tonks disguised her laughter into a cough and Dumbledore's eyes just twinkled in amusement as he popped in another sherbet lemon into his mouth.

After a moment, Harry began to speak about something that had been bothering him for a few days.

"I think the presence of a Magus might be triggering something in other people's magic. I thought Draco and his sudden scanning ability was a mere coincidence, but I've found out some things about Ron, Hermione and Ginny as well. Ron is a beastspeaker, Hermione is a mindspeaker, and Ginny has the potential to be an animagus. When I first scanned them, there was nothing that I could see. But after spending time with me… None of their talents have been activated, so to speak. But it's close. After a few more lessons, I'm certain their powers will be revealed. I am somehow unknowingly affecting other people's magic."

"Maybe we should stick you with Trelawney – then perhaps she will finally be able to make an accurate prediction regarding your untimely demise," Severus said drolly.

"It's not funny! I might be tampering with these people, possibly causing something that wasn't ever meant to happen!"

Dumbledore interrupted the upset Magus. "Harry, my boy, you are powerful, more so than any wizard, but you are still human. You cannot grant a person power that didn't exist in them before, that is beyond their own limitations. You are merely helping people reach a potential they may not have been able to reach on their own, or just simply speeding up the process. But it is their potential you are working with."

Moody gruffly added, "Still, we need to discover a way to control this… affect you have on other people. It wouldn't do to have any Death Eater or even You-Know-Who benefit from this."

"No kidding!" Harry responded, feeling much better with the assurances from Dumbledore.


"Hermione, are you feeling alright?"

Hermione tried to smile. "It's nothing, Ron. Just a slight headache. I've been reading too much again I suppose."

Ron frowned. "You've been having a lot of those headaches lately. Maybe you should go to St. Mungo's."

"I don't need to go to St. Mungo's, Ron. Look, if it makes you feel better, I'll take a potion for it – if I'm still in pain, then I'll consider going to St. Mungo's, okay?"

Ron sighed but reluctantly nodded. "Come on – mum's almost done making lunch."

"I'm just going to take the potion first. I'll be right there."

Hermione relaxed slightly as Ron left. She had been so focused on trying to figure out what was happening to her that she hadn't even heard him enter her room. It was a good thing she had cast a spell days ago to hide the title of the book she had been reading – she knew Ron wouldn't approve of it. The tome was barely legal, but she thought she was experiencing some delayed side effects of an obscure Dark curse that she might have been hit with at the Department of Mysteries.

At first, she had merely wanted proof that she wasn't crazy, that there was a logical explanation for why she was hearing voices inside her head. Then she realized the voices sounded awfully familiar. After hearing a few rather embarrassing comments, she realized that she was hearing the thoughts of those around her.

She was about to tell someone when she heard Ron thinking about how pretty she looked in her sundress and how her smile was the prettiest thing he had ever seen. He had never paid her those compliments before, and she found herself rather liking the attention. Although she knew it was wrong, she convinced herself that she might as well find out what kind of a curse allows you to hear people's thoughts and come up with a counter-curse before telling anyone.

While there were quite a few Dark curses that allowed you to hear other people's most private thoughts, she didn't quite understand why Death Eaters would want her to have the ability to do so. And none of the spells listed headaches as their possible side effects.

Hermione closed the thick tome and hid it under her pillow before reaching for a potions vial. Downing the contents, she headed down to the kitchen. She promised herself that she would tell someone if the situation didn't improve soon.


"I've never seen Draco so intent, so focused. He will be a formidable wizard. In some ways, he already is. And, of course," Snape grimaced since it was expected of him, "Potter is doing brilliantly, even while restraining himself. If his anonymity continues into the school year, it will be interesting to watch him try to be 'only' Harry Potter." Snape smiled a small, rueful smile. Snape was reporting on the progress of his two students to the Headmaster when Lucius Malfoy dropped by.

"In a few days, it will have been three weeks since Draco came to Hogwarts seeking 'refuge'. The Dark Lord wants to check up on him that night to see if he has gained any useful knowledge. Draco will likely be tortured by the Death Eater who will be sent to meet him in the Forest unless he has anything useful to report. I am not certain who it will be, but it is possible that the Dark Lord will send a skilled Legilimens to ensure that Draco is not hiding anything."

"Relax, Lucius. Potter is teaching Draco Occlumency – the brat's actually quite skilled in the subject. He's also a good teacher apparently, which could explain Draco's progress. In any case, by the time Draco has to meet the Death Eater, he'll be skilled enough to fool anyone short of the Dark Lord himself."

Lucius relaxed minutely. "When you come up with the information Draco will be feeding the Death Eater, have him fire-call me with it. I have no doubts that the Dark Lord will summon me to verify the information – we'll need to make sure it corresponds." With that, Lucius gracefully entered the fireplace and left Dumbledore's office.


/ Harry, come to the hospital wing immediately! Something's wrong with Ms Granger! /

Hearing McGonagall's mindcall, Harry Apparated straight to the hospital wing, not caring about the fact that he was doing so in Draco's presence. Draco, who had been practicing Occlumency with Harry, was flummoxed seeing the empty space where Harry had stood in just seconds before. "Potter? Where did he go?"


"What's wrong with Hermione?" Harry frantically asked as soon as he arrived.

"We don't know. She's unconscious for the moment. Mr Weasley?"

Hearing Dumbledore call his name, Ron snapped out of his daze. Seeing Harry, Ron burst into an explanation, hoping his best friend could fix whatever was wrong with Hermione. "Harry! She just collapsed! I didn't know what to do – no one was with us at Headquarters! What if I took too long getting here? Should I have gone to St. Mungo's instead? What-"

"Ron! Slow down! Tell me what happened before she collapsed."

"Nothing! She had a terrible headache, but she took a potion for it and said she felt better. I wanted her to go to St. Mungo's since she's been having quite a few of those headaches lately, but she said she was fine. And she really seemed better so I didn't think much of it. Then when we were playing chess, her headache seemed to come back. She was clutching her head and moaning in pain so I left to fetch another potion for her. When I came back, she screamed before collapsing. I knew I should have insisted she go to St. Mungo's. It really is all my fault…"

Harry sighed in relief. "It's not your fault, Ron. I should have been keeping a closer eye, really. And someone should have told me that she'd been having headaches – I could have prevented this from happening days ago! Anyways, she'll be fine – she's just coming into her mindspeaking ability. She was probably overwhelmed with hearing all of the thoughts around her."

"So she's going to be okay?"

"Yeah, Ron, once she gets used to blocking out people's thoughts, she'll be back to her usual self."

Harry quickly shielded the bed Hermione was laying on, blocking out everything to make sure she got plenty of rest. He was about to Apparate back when a voice made him freeze in his tracks.


Hermione's NEWT-level classes:

Ancient Runes
Arithmancy
Astronomy
Care of Magical Creatures
Charms
Defence Against the Dark Arts
Herbology
History of Magic
Potions
Transfiguration

Ron's NEWT-level classes:

Astronomy
Care of Magical Creatures
Charms
Defence Against the Dark Arts
Herbology
Potions

Transfiguration

Harry's NEWT-level classes:

Astronomy
Care of Magical Creatures
Charms
Defence Against the Dark Arts
Herbology
Potions
Transfiguration

Draco's NEWT-level classes:

Ancient Runes
Arithmancy
Astronomy
Care of Magical Creatures

Charms
Defence Against the Dark Arts
Herbology
History of Magic
Potions
Transfiguration

Neville's NEWT-level classes:

Astronomy
Care of Magical Creatures
Charms
Defence Against the Dark Arts
Divination
Herbology
History of Magic

Potions


A cliff-hanger! Sort of... Also, I know I said that Hermione would almost lose her mind over not being able to block out other people's thoughts, but I figured this would work better. I mean, Harry would have definitely noticed before that point. Still, I kind of wanted to do the whole Buffy thing (for those of you who have watched the show) where she gets the essence of a demon that allows her to read people's minds and Angel saves her... Hmm... Perhaps I might do that still, with Ron saving her...What do you think?

Oh, and the NEWT-level classes are obviously guesses of mine and my betas. I figured the students would normally take whatever courses they can to ensure their future plans (since it seems a job at the Ministry requires at least 5 NEWTs). Harry, however, is still training and he will continue to train throughout the school year. He won't have the time so I figured he'd drop Divination. I might have him drop Astronomy in the future - not sure yet. Review and tell me what you think!