Disclaimer: All things Harry Potter are not mine!

Chapter Ten: Introducing Professor Potter

HPOV

MINISTRY SEEKS EDUCATIONAL REFORM: DOLORES UMBRIDGE APPOINTED FIRST-EVER "HIGH INQUISITOR"

In a surprise move last night the Ministry of Magic passed new legislation giving itself an unprecedented level of control at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

"The Minister has been growing uneasy about on-goings at Hogwarts for some time," said Junior assistant to the Minister, Percy Weasley. "He is now responding to concerns voiced by anxious parents who feel the school may be moving in a direction they do not approve.

This is not the first time in recent weeks Fudge has used new laws to effect improvements at the Wizarding school. As recently as August 30th Educational Decree Twenty-Three was passed, to ensure that, in the event of the current headmaster being unable to provide a candidate for a teaching post, the Ministry should select an appropriate person.

"That's how Dolores Umbridge came to be appointed to the teaching staff at Hogwarts," said Weasley last night. "Dumbledore couldn't find anyone, so the Minister put in Umbridge, and of course, she's been an immediate success, totally revolutionizing the teaching of Defense Against the Dark Arts and providing the Minister with on-the-ground feedback about what's really happening at Hogwarts."

"It is this last function that the Ministry has now formalized with the passing of Educational Decree Twenty-Three, which creates the new position of 'Hogwarts High Inquisitor'…"

A deep frown was set on Harry's face as he continued to listen to Hermione read through the morning issue of the Daily Prophet, and it kept getting deeper with every word she recited. Ron was sitting across from him with a half-eaten piece of toast in his hand, his face dumbstruck and Mia was next to him, her eyes burning bright with agitation. The article went on to say that being the new High Inquisitor of Hogwarts, Umbridge had to the power to observe the "falling standards" of the school, inspecting the other teachers to make sure that they are giving out a Ministry-approved instruction. There was even some mention of Dumbledore's habit of hiring inadequate teachers, such as Remus Lupin, the werewolf, Alastor Moody, the deranged Ex-Auror, and Rubeus Hagrid, the half-breed, made by none other than Lucius Malfoy. By the time Hermione had finished reading, Harry's decent mood for the start of the day had already been plundered.

"So now we know how we ended up with Umbridge!" Hermione whispered furiously. "Dumbledore couldn't find anyone so Fudge forced her on us! This is outrageous!"

"I know it is," Harry muttered, glaring at the Daily Prophet with great distaste. However, he was surprised to see that there was a beaming grin on Ron's face.

"What are you smiling about?" Harry asked him.

"Umbridge has the power to inspect the teachers, right?" Ron said. "That means eventually she'll have to observe Snape and McGonagall's class."

All at once, Harry saw Mia's frown disappear in the blink of an eye and she hastily stuffed the last of her own toast into her mouth, gathering her things with her other hand.

"Come on, guys!" she exclaimed with a giddy grin. "We have Potions after History of Magic, and the faster we deal with Binns, the sooner we get to see that hag get exactly what she deserves! Oh, I hope she's stupid enough to mess with that greasy bat!"

"Hold on, Mia!" Ron called after her, but she was already rushing out of the hall with that grin still on her face. "Bloody hell, I haven't seen her get this excited since Snape went up against Lockhart in second year."

"We better hurry if we're going to catch up with her," Harry said, smiling after his crazy best friend as he slung his bag over his shoulder and made to follow her.

Thankfully, the day was already proving to be much better than how they started last week. Umbridge wasn't in Binns' class, but it was no less boring as he had them read the next chapter in their books, and Harry was content with passing floating notes back and forth to Mia, who was sitting in front of him. At one point she had sent him a small doodle of a cartoon toad with huge warts trapped inside of a jar, eyes scrunched up in anger and screaming the word, "Enough!" Harry had to press his fist into his mouth to keep himself from snorting, but the same couldn't be said for Ron, because when he showed him the doodle, the redhead snorted so loud that Hermione gave him a reproving glare over her shoulder and Harry shoved his shoulder to get him to be quiet. Lucky for them they had an Umbridge-free morning, even in double Potions, although Mia was slightly put out by that. When Snape handed back their moonstone essays, he gave Harry's back to him with a bit of an ugly sneer, and when Harry looked at his paper, he was very surprised to see a spiky black A at the top right corner.

"Acceptable," he muttered in disbelief.

"You're kidding," Ron said, leaning across to see for himself. "Well I'll be…I wonder how painful it was for Snape to write that?"

"See? I told you that you were smarter than you thought," Mia stated with a proud smile, placing her own paper inside of her bag.

"It's thanks to your help, though," Harry said. "Thank you so much for helping me, Mia. He probably would've given me a T otherwise."

"No problem," Mia said. "You can just buy me that crystal-lensed telescope from that shop in Diagon Alley for my birthday and we'll call it even."

"Why on earth would you want a telescope for your birthday?" Ron said. "Why not ask for those new Coca Cannon Balls from Honeydukes, or Spark Hats from Cobblers?"

"Well I was thinking about demanding Harry's soul, but I thought that might be a bit much," Mia replied with a smirk. "I figured a telescope would suffice."

"Thanks for that," Harry said with an amused eye roll while Hermione giggled at them. When class had begun, Snape gave them instructions on the board for yet another potion, and this time Harry made sure to re-read them at least three times as he worked on his potion, wanting to prove the sniveling potions master that he wasn't incompetent. After what felt like forever, the lesson was coming to an end, and although Harry's potion wasn't as clear as Hermione and Mia's he felt confident that it was acceptable, as there were others whose potions was sparkling, smoking, or even bubbling different colors. It was such an improvement from last Monday that Harry actually smiled a bit in relief as they left the dungeons to head back to the Great Hall for lunch. The hour was spent with Harry and his friends taking a breather, talking and laughing together, and at one point Fred and George came over to sit with them with their friend Lee Jordan, and Hermione glared outright when Fred offered one of their candies to Mia to try out.

"I thought we told you to stop that," she said. "Those things could be dangerous."

"You said we couldn't give out the candies to first years," George corrected. "And do you really think so low of us, Hermione?"

"We would never endanger the life of our precious Mia," Fred stated, pulling Mia to his side and playfully glaring at Hermione. "You should be ashamed."

"Our little Mia, our precious flower, our darling treasure, would never be submitted to any harm from us," George declared.

"Because you know I would hex you, right?" Mia asked.

"That and the fact that we would be on the brunt end of another one of Harry's tantrums," George said with a shiver. "That's not very pleasant."

"I hear you on that," Ron muttered.

"And for your information, this is a harmless little candy that is meant to be a hit with all the younger kids," Fred explained. "We call it 'The Sweet Tooth Toffee,' you only have to suck on it, and you'll get course after course of delicious treats and deserts, enough to make your sweet tooth quiver. It'll hold everything from chocolate mousse to cinnamon apple tarts. Mia, would you be a dear and test it out for us?"

"I won't turn into a blueberry, will I?" Mia asked apprehensively.

"Why on earth would you turn into a blueberry?" Lee asked.

"Never mind," Mia said while Harry laughed. "It's a Muggle thing."

"But yet very interesting," George said, his eyes gleaming with mischief as he leaned forward on his arm towards Mia. "Tell us more about this Blueberry Transformation, Mia."

"Don't even think about it, you two," Hermione warned.

"What? We're just asking a simple question," George said. Mia smiled at this and then leaned in to whisper something in Fred's ear, to which he furrowed his eyebrows.

"What in the world is a Williwonka? It sounds dangerous," he said. At that precise moment Harry spit out some of the juice he was drinking and cracked up laughing, tears forming in his eyes while Hermione sighed and shook her head at them all. The rest of their lunch hour passed pleasantly and soon it was time for them all to split up. Mia and Hermione were set to go to their Ancient Runes class while Harry and Ron had to head up to their Divination class with Professor Trelawny. Since Divination still wasn't his favorite class to take, Harry figured it would another day of listening to Trelawney's fake-mystic tone echoing through the stifling hot and heavily scented classroom, predicting his demise all the while. However, once he and Ron both entered the class, he realized that this wasn't going to be a typical lesson after all, for sitting in a chair close to Professor Trelawney's desk with clipboard in hand was none other than Umbridge herself, smiling sweetly at them all as they came up the ladder. All the cheerful chatter from the students quickly fell silent at the sight of her and they quietly made their way over to their seats. When Trelawney herself finally made her appearance, she offered a somewhat stiff greeting to Umbridge while passing out their Dream Oracles textbook.

"We shall be continuing our study of prophetic dreams today," Trelawney announced her voice as well as her hands a little shaky. "Divide into pairs, please, and interpret each other's latest nighttime visions with the aid of the Oracle."

Harry saw Umbridge immediately start making notes on her clipboard once class started, and Professor Trelawney began sweeping the room as students grouped together to discuss their dreams. Harry opened up his textbook and tried to remember his most recent dreams with very little success. The only thing he knew was that they started off similar to nightmares, but there was something that always made them go away. Something that floated just behind his eyelids like snow, followed by a soothing scent. Unfortunately that was all he could remember, but he knew that wasn't going to be good enough for Trelawney, or even Umbridge, who started following Trelawney around after a little while, continuing to take notes while asking the occasional question here and there. Ron advised him to think of something quick before they came over their way, and Harry hastily suggested that he had dreamt about drowning Snape in his cauldron. While Ron handled the calculations of Harry's dream, he listened in on what the two teachers were saying, as they were now within earshot of him. Umbridge asked Trelawney how long she had been teaching at Hogwarts, to which she answered proudly that she had been at the castle almost sixteen years. As the seconds passed, Umbridge asked a few more questions, including one involving Trelawney's relation to the celebrated Seer Cassandra Trelawney, and how curious it was that Trelawney was the first one in the family since Cassandra to have inherited the second sight. The more she talked, the more visibly nervous Trelawney became, and she wrapped her shawl tighter around herself as if it would protect her. Although her senses came to be on full alert when Umbridge asked for her to make a prediction for her.

"I don't understand you," Trelawney said slowly.

"I'd like you to make a prediction for me," Umbridge said kindly.

"The Inner Eye does not See upon command!" Trelawney said, scandalized.

"I see," Umbridge said gently to herself, scribbling another note onto her clipboard.

"I—but—but—wait," Professor Trelawney said, trying to make her voice take on its usual floaty, dream-like tone as her eyes sharpened upon Umbridge. "I…I think I do see something…something that concerns you. Why, I sense something…something dark! I'm afraid—I'm afraid that you are in grave danger!"

"Right," Umbridge said softly, once again writing in her notes as she turned to head back over towards her seat. "Well, if that's really the best you could do for me…"

Trelawney scowled heavily after Umbridge before whipping around and swooping down on Harry and Ron's table, briskly asking them what they have done for their dream diaries so far. The rest of the class passed by unpleasantly tense, and after stating that Harry's dreams indicated his traumatic death once again, they were finally all free to go. Umbridge left the room first, and Harry was in no hurry to follow her as he gathered his things and took his time upon leaving with Ron.

"Doesn't look like Umbridge was impressed with Trelawney's lessen, eh?" Ron muttered as they made their way down the stairs of the tower. "Although she wasn't really helping her case."

"Could you blame her?" Harry said. "Umbridge has the power to observe and critique teachers, if there's something she doesn't like, she could give a report that can have them sacked. It's enough to make anyone nervous."

"Good thing Hagrid's not here, then," Ron stated. "I'd hate to see what she'd put about his class."

"Harry! Ron!"

The two boys turned around and Harry smiled at the sight of Mia hurrying down the corridor towards them with Hermione not too far behind her, grinning broadly with her ponytail swinging back and forth. When she reached them, she skidded to a halt, her face still beaming as she held out her hands and raised what appeared to be a rough, chipped and bumpy-looking gray slate with faded words in another language on it in front of them as if she had discovered the world's greatest treasure.

"What's with this piece of rock?" Ron asked.

"It's not just a piece of rock!" Mia exclaimed in an almost offensive tone, glaring at him. "It's an ancient slab that has runes on it dating back centuries! This is pure magical history here!"

"It's part of our new project," Hermione explained as she caught up with them. "Professor Babbling took us outside of the school to a large cave on the side of the foundation of the castle, where she hid slabs like this for us to find. She had us divide in pairs and whichever one we found we had to begin research on it. We have to figure out which wizarding culture it originated from, translate the words of the spell on them, and do a report on it. Mia's a bit excited about it."

"A bit?" Ron repeated as Mia was nearly bouncing on her toes in glee.

"Isn't it amazing?" she gushed. "Oh, I can't wait to find out what spell this is, then I can test it out!"

"Not on us!" Harry, Ron and Hermione said together in unison.

"Aw, you guys are no fun," Mia pouted, sticking her bottom lip out. Harry shook his head and placed his arm around Mia's shoulder as they continued their walk down the corridor.

"Maybe we can try it out on Malfoy," he suggested. "Will that make you feel better?"

"Absolutely!" Mia replied, perking up at once. "Thanks, Harry!"

"Mia, you don't even know what that spell will do," Hermione reprimanded.

"That's why Malfoy would make a wonderful test subject," Mia said, a sly grin coming onto her face.

"You're scary when you make that face, you know," Harry pointed out.

"I know," Mia said cheerfully, wrapping her arm free arm around Harry's waist to pull him closer, and he took a sharp but quiet intake of breath when she did. Something stirred strangely in his chest, but he didn't know what it was, and he could feel his cheeks feeling a little warmer than usual. What was his deal? He and Mia have always held each other before, this was nothing new. It was always relaxing, comforting, and so…so natural. As if it was something they could do for the rest of their days and not think twice about it. Yet holding her now against him, feeling her warmth and seeing her delighted expression…it wasn't the same. It was better. Much better.

By the time they reached their Defense Against the Dark arts class, they found Umbridge sitting at her desk, patiently waiting for them all. From the corner of his eye, Harry saw Mia's lovely smile disappear and her arm fell from his waist as she outright glared at the woman, her gaze holding nothing but disgust. Umbridge didn't seem bothered by this, as she simply kept on smiling at them as they took their seats, and he scowled heavily at her. He himself couldn't stand her, and her sugary expression always made a spike of anger erupt in his chest, especially after she gave Mia the detentions that were meant for him after denying the truth of how Cedric died. That alone made his blood boil, and he hated that Mia was made to pay for standing up for him. When they took their seats, Mia sat down next to him while Ron and Hermione sat directly behind them. Ten minutes later, when the rest of the class had showed up, Umbridge greeted them all and instructed them to put their wands away before picking up where they left off last week, and begin reading chapter two of their textbooks silently. She was met with no objections as everyone opened their books and started reading. Everyone, that is, except for Hermione, who raised her hand into the air. Umbridge saw her, and instead of pretending not to notice her, she walked over to Hermione's desk and leaned in, whispering softly so as not to draw attention to the rest of the class.

"What is it this time, Miss Granger?"

"I've already read chapter two," Hermione informed her.

"Well then, proceed to chapter three."

"I've read that, too. I've read the whole book."

"Did you, now?" Umbridge said. "Well then, you should be able to tell me what Slinkhard says about counterjinxes in chapter fifteen."

"He says that counterjinxes are improperly named," Hermione replied without missing a beat. "He says 'counterjinx' is just a name people give their jinxes when they want to make them sound more acceptable."

At this point Umbridge raised her eyebrows in surprise, and Harry could see the corners of Mia's mouth twitch into half a smirk, practically feeling her pride for Hermione having one on Umbridge rolling off her in waves.

"But I disagree," Hermione went on, speaking clearly so everyone in the room was now paying attention to the conversation. "Slinkhard doesn't like jinxes, does he? But I think they can be very useful when they're used defensively."

"Oh you do, do you?" Umbridge said, her stare turning a bit cold and her gentle smile becoming more tight as she straightened up. "Well I'm afraid that it is Slinkhard's opinion that matters in this class, not yours. Miss Granger, I'm going to be taking five points from Gryffindor."

"What?" Harry said angrily as the rest of the class broke out in shocked mutterings and whispers. "What for?"

"Harry, no!" Mia hissed, taking hold of the sleeve of his robes, her eyes wide.

"For disrupting my class with pointless interruptions," Umbridge replied. "I am here to teach you using a Ministry-approved method that does not include inviting students to give their opinions on matters about which they know very little. Your previous teachers in this subject may have allowed you more license, but as none of them—with the possible exception of Professor Quirrell, who did at least appear to have restricted himself to age-appropriate subjects—would have passed a Ministry inspection—"

"Oh yeah, Quirrell was such a great teacher, considering—"

Harry was cut off from the rest of his sentence, for at that moment Mia clutched his shoulder so tightly her nails were digging into his skin and he gave a hiss of pain, turning to look at her in frustration. Yet when he set his eyes on her, he was stunned to see that they were shining in desperation, and she was shaking her head fiercely.

"Mr. Potter, it would be wise for you to cease your constant interruptions in my class," Umbridge said, a warning in her voice as she stared him down. "You and Miss Granger repeatedly talking out of place…"

"Professor," Mia said, quickly, raising her hand high in the air while the other one kept a hold of Harry's shoulder. Her face was set but her voice was calm, steady and unyielding as she looked Umbridge straight in the eye. "I'm sorry, but I do not see them as speaking out of place. Hermione raised her hand like you instructed us to when we need to speak with you so as not to disturb anyone, and Harry is only voicing his objection because Professor Quirrell turned out to be a dangerous man, which could be said by anyone in the school, including Professor Dumbledore himself."

The entire room was dead silent at this point, waiting with baited breath, and Harry was stumped at Mia's actions. Although her response was polite, there was no denying that Mia was challenging Umbridge while once again sticking up for her friends. Umbridge stood almost rigid in her spot, clasping her hands together in front of her so tight Harry thought she was sure to rip her fingers off. After a few more seconds though, her posture became more relaxed and she sighed, her smile growing even wider and her eyes gleaming as she looked at Mia. Harry felt something bad stirring in his stomach and he wanted to curse the old toad for the way she was staring at Mia, like a hunter who's caught a grand prize in their net.

"Be that as it may, Miss Thatcher, I will not have such interruptions in my classroom when it goes against my authority. And it seems that you have not learned your lesson of restraining yourself from encouraging such delinquent behavior from your friends. I am assigning another week's worth of detentions for you, and Mr. Potter, you shall do yet another essay, along with Miss Granger."

"What?!" Harry seethed.

"Professor—" Hermione said.

"This conversation is now finished," Umbridge said sharply, her tone leaving no room for further argument. "Mr. Potter, Miss Granger, at the end of class you will both be receiving your essay topics, and Miss Thatcher, I will see you at five o'clock to start your detentions."

Harry's eyes narrowed dangerously as he glared at Umbridge with the deepest loathing, infuriated at this injustice. This woman was absolutely despicable! Being so crude to Hermione when she was just voicing her opinion on the wretchedly boring book they were forced to read, and having Mia being the only one to receive detention for something she didn't start! It's almost like the toad was giving Mia these detentions just to get under his skin, and even though he hated to admit it, it was working perfectly at the moment. He opened his mouth again, about to demand that she clear Mia from this new round of unfair detentions, but a small hand on his arm stopped him short.

"Harry, please. Don't."

The voice that spoke to him was so soft, quiet, and there was something in it that made him stop from uttering another word. Harry looked over to see Mia gazing at him, and the sight of her made him falter. Her face was calmly blank, but her blue eyes were shining with emotion. They were fierce, yet resigned, defiant and yet accepting, sad, but glad at the same time. It was like she knew what would happen if she spoke out, but went with it anyway. Harry immediately felt guilty and his shame washed over him in waves. People had warned him about losing his temper with Umbridge, but he let her get to him, and now Mia was being made to suffer the consequences again. With everything going on right now, this was the last thing Mia needed on her plate. The rest of class passed silently as they continued reading from their books, or in Hermione's case, taking notes from it as a way to pass the time. Umbridge took a seat at her desk and watched over them all the entire time, like a hawk watching its prey. Once the bell finally sounded, everyone couldn't get out of there fast enough. Mia was quiet as she packed up her things, not really making eye contact with anyone, only increasing Harry's guilt. Was she mad at him? He wouldn't blame her if she was. She only just got through with her first week of detentions and now thanks to him not being able to keep his mouth shut once again, she has to do it all over again.

"That sniveling old gargoyle!" Hermione hissed after they left the class. "How could she do this?"

"Why is she only giving you detentions?" Ron said to Mia, glancing over his shoulder with an expression that looked as if he wanted to run back and jinx the pink-clad woman. "What's she got against you?"

"It's me," Harry interjected in a low voice. "You guys are my friends and you stick up for me. She knows that it'll just get my boiling if you guys suffer because of me, and she's hoping it'll keep me quiet and obedient. Mia, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have lost my temper again. I didn't mean for you to get in trouble again."

"Don't worry about it, Harry," Mia muttered as she looked over to face him. "I'm as much to blame. And don't ever apologize for standing up as well. She was being petty towards Hermione, and you stood by her. I'm just sorry she gave you guys extra work, that's the last thing any of us need right now."

"But at least you'll only have to do lines," Hermione tried putting in encouragingly. "That's what she had you doing last time, right?"

"Yeah…yeah, just lines," Mia replied softly with a smile that didn't look quite right to Harry. He has seen Mia smile, so brightly and so beautifully it made her whole face shine. This one was sad, half-hearted, and, unless he was imagining it, foreboding.

"Mia, is something wrong?" Harry asked.

"What? Of course not," Mia replied. "I'm just wishing our Hogsmeade trip would come sooner, it would be nice to get away and have a break from everything, wouldn't it?"

No, that wasn't it. Harry could feel that something was bothering her, but before he could have a chance to ask what it was, Mia suggested they hurry up if they wanted to make it to their Charms lesson on time, and started walking a bit faster.

Fortunately, later on in the day, they felt as though they had received some form of revenge when they went to their Transfiguration lesson. As it turns out, Umbridge was there to observe Professor McGonagall, and the moment he sat down, Harry was excited to see her get exactly what she deserved. His wish was indeed fulfilled, for once McGonagall entered the class, it was obvious that she was not going to take anything that Umbridge was going to throw at her. As Professor McGonagall started the class, Umbridge tried interrupting twice to have her input, but there was no way the elderly Transfiguration teacher was having any of that. She briskly stated in cold fury that she could not possibly give Umbridge an insight to her teaching methods if she is constantly interrupted. That shut Umbridge up right away, which made the whole class positively gleeful. After that, Umbridge didn't dare follow McGonagall around like she had done to Trelawney, but she scribbling many notes furiously on her clipboard, and when class was over, she only asked a couple more questions before taking her leave.

However, their little victory was short lived as they went to one of their last classes of the day, Care of Magical Creatures, to see that Umbridge was there as well. Harry himself was nervous, seeing as Umbridge was sure to inquire about Hagrid's absence since she supposedly had a particularly distaste for half-breeds. She went around interrogating students about how class normally is with Hagrid, and once she got to Malfoy, Harry nearly lost it once again. The arrogant blonde made some snide remarks, speaking of how incompetent Hagrid was, and how it was his fault that he got attacked by a Hippogriff in third year. Harry was about to snap back, but after one look at Mia's pleading face, he remained quiet and just glared at them, balling his hand into a fist so tight he was sure his nails almost pierced his skin. Either way, Umbridge seemed satisfied with Grubbly-Plank, and was smiling as she walked away back towards the castle, still writing on her clipboard.

Finally, it was the end of the day, but it wasn't much better because even though they were on their way to dinner, Harry knew that Mia had to hurry and eat quickly so she could make her detention.

"Come on guys, cheer up," Mia said as they took their seats at their house table. "I did this before, I can do it again."

"Mia, you still have so much work to do," Hermione said. "What if she keeps you late again?"

"Then I'll just have to stay up for a while and get it done," Mia replied with a shrug.

"Don't act so indifferent about it," Harry said. "You were exhausted last week."

"And I'll have many more exhausting nights ahead of me, with or without detention," Mia stated, pulling some beef and noodles towards her plate. "There's no use complaining about it."

"Doesn't mean we have to like it," Ron said. "I could always ask Fred and George to slip her poison."

"I appreciate it Ron, but the last thing I need is for you to get expelled," Mia declined with a smile. "Your mother will hide pieces of your body where we can't find them."

"Thanks for that image," Ron grumbled.

"No problem," Mia giggled, stuffing some bread into her mouth. All too soon, it was time for them to say goodbye to Mia, and Harry watched sadly as she left the Great Hall, the guilt in his chest never lifting.

"That foul woman," Hermione said, her eyes narrowing in her anger. "She's absolutely awful."

"Hear, hear," Ron agreed. "But what can we do?"

"I'm not sure, but we can't just do nothing," Hermione sighed, furrowing her eyebrows as she went into deep thought. "There has to be some way…"

"Unless we get another teacher, I doubt it, Hermione," Harry put in moodily. "Umbridge is here to stay, if Fudge has anything to say about it."

All of a sudden, Hermione snapped her head in his direction, her eyes going wide and her mouth slightly agape, as if lightning had struck her senseless. She stared at Harry as if seeing him in a brand new light, her fork hanging limply between her fingers.

"Hermione? Hello?" Ron said, trying to wave his hand in front of her. "Did you break her?"

"Another teacher," Hermione whispered finally, staring at Harry for a few more seconds until a grin started making its way onto her face, very similar to that of a Cheshire cat, and her eyes glinted.

"Oh no," Ron said. "Not that look…"

"Harry Potter, I have a proposition for you," Hermione said.

"Why do I have a feeling I'm not going to like it?" Harry said slowly and cautiously.

"You're right, we do need someone to teach us," she said in a low voice that was breathless from excitement. "And I have the perfect person in mind."

…...

"Hermione, have you gone completely mad?!"

"I'm still trying to figure that one out myself, mate."

"It's not funny, Ron!"

"She does have a point though."

"Thank you, Ron."

"Will you two just listen?!"

Harry stood in front of his two friends, glowering in annoyance at the both of them, trying to make them understand why this idea was not going to work. It was very late at night, and the common room dark except for the light coming from a couple flaming torches and the fireplace. Hermione had wanted to wait until they had some privacy, so they patiently waited until everyone had left to go up to bed, which was fine with them because they had wanted to wait for Mia to get done her detention anyway. But once Hermione told them her idea, Harry thought she had actually gone bonkers.

"No Harry, you need to listen," Hermione pressed on, her face alight with the same glow that S.P.E.W usually gave her, passion coating every word she spoke. "It's like you said in Umbridge's first lesson, this goes beyond just learning something out of books! We need to actually prepare ourselves for what's out there, learn how to properly defend ourselves. If we learn nothing for an entire year, that we will not only fail our O.W.L's, but we'll be too vulnerable for what's waiting beyond these walls. We've got to be able to defend ourselves, and if Umbridge refuses to teach us how, then we need someone who will. And that someone is you, Harry."

"I'm not a teacher, Hermione," Harry protested.

"You are the best in our year in Defense Against the Dark Arts." Hermione argued. "You beat me in third year, along with everyone else, and under proper instruction, you out beat everyone. Besides, I'm not just talking about test results, Harry. Think about all that you've done!"

"What do you mean?" Harry said.

"You know what, I don't think I want someone this daft teaching me," Ron snickered before pretending to be deep in thought. "Let's see, you saved the Sorcerer's Stone in first year—"

"That was just luck, not skill—"

"You killed the Basilisk in second year—"

"If Fawkes hadn't shown up with the hat, I would've been dead—"

"You fought off about a hundred Dementors in third year—"

"That was just a fluke with the Time Turner—"

"You fought off against You-Know-Who last year—"

"And Cedric died because of it!" Harry exclaimed loudly, glowering at the two of them and making Ron fall silent. "It's all great when you put it like that, but that's not what it's like at all! You have no idea what it's like! Most of it was pure luck that I got out of it alive, I blundered through it all, and I almost always had help! This isn't like school, where all you have to worry about is memorizing spells from books, and knowing that if you don't get it right you can always try again tomorrow. Out there, facing him, there is no trying again tomorrow! If you don't follow your brain or your guts, you will die! No if, ands, or buts about it! In real life, when you know that your seconds away from being murdered, or tortured, or—or seeing a friend die before your eyes…that's something you cannot learn in school. You think I'm some sort of hero or something, standing here alive after all of that when Cedric was unfortunate enough to be with me that night? You—you can't understand…"

"And that's exactly why we need you."

The new voice startled them all, and Harry turned around quickly to see that Mia had returned, standing just inside of the portrait hole, her school bag on her shoulder, looking tired but resolute as she stood there, gazing at Harry with a sort of fire he's hardly ever seen.

"Mia," Harry said, deflating a bit from his tirade. "How long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough," she answered, walking further into the common room. "Harry, everything you said, that is the very reason why we need you to teach us. None of us can ever hope to understand all the horrible things you've experienced in the past, the horrors I can still see in your eyes sometimes. All the things you've done, you weren't taking a test or practicing for an exam—your life was on the line, and I can't stand thinking about all the times when I—when we could have lost you. You're right, real life is nothing like school, but unfortunately, none of us know that or have any experience with it. We don't know what it's like to face death on any occasion, or seeing someone we love hurt, or putting our lives on the line just to survive. But you do. You're the only one who can truly prepare us for the dangers that are out there, to not go easy on us, and prepare us for the day when we have to fight."

"She's right, Harry," Hermione muttered quietly. "Right now you're our only hope of having any chance against…V-Voldemort."

This was the very first time Hermione had said Voldemort's name, and Harry's admiration for Hermione grew ten-fold. There was a moment of silence as all of his friends stared at him, and he eventually sighed, running a hand through his hair in contemplation.

"I'll—I'll think about it, okay?" he said. That seemed to be a good enough answer for them, because Hermione nodded at him with a small smile before standing to her feet and bidding them all goodnight.

"Are you coming, Mia?" she asked.

"I'll be up later, Mione," Mia replied, gesturing towards her bag. "I have some work to do, first."

"All right, just don't be too late," Hermione said sadly. "I'll help you finish tomorrow morning if you need me."

Mia smiled back and thanked Hermione before she disappeared up the staircase. Ron followed shortly after, and asked Harry if he was coming along. Harry looked over at Mia as she placed her things down on a nearby table to get started on her work. Making up his mind, he told ron that he'd be up later as well and then went over to join Mia at the table.

"Harry, what are you doing?" she said as he took a seat. "It's after midnight, you need to get some sleep."

"So do you," he pointed out. "But it's my fault that you need to stay up late in order to finish your work, so I'm going to help you get through it. With two of us working, it should go by quicker."

"Harry, you don't have to, you have your own work to worry about, and you have Quidditch practice tomorrow as well," Mia said.

"You help me all the time, Mia, now it's my turn to help you," Harry stated firmly, taking two of her books and pulling them towards him. "Now, what are we going to start with, Charms or History of Magic?"

Mia just stared at him for a moment before sighing and giving him a tired smile as she took her seat.

"You're too good of a person, Harry," she said, a tender softness in her voice. "Charms it is."

Harry nodded and then the two of them got started on what was sure to be a long night.

…

Sure enough, a few weeks later, in the early days of October, Harry found himself walking down to Hogsmeade with Ron, Hermione, and Mia towards the first official 'meeting' of their new defense group. After Hermione had put in the suggestion, Harry had been thinking over it a lot, and while it seemed like a crazy idea, at the same time it made complete sense. There was so much danger out there, and while Voldemort was laying low with his followers, Harry knew it wouldn't stay like that forever. Everyone would have to take a stand and defend themselves, his friends, his enemies, everyone. And while he didn't think himself much of a teacher, he knew that something had to be better than what they were learning now.

Therefore, he had agreed to leading this new defense group, and Hermione was absolutely delighted. She told Harry that she would spread the word to those she believed would be interested in hearing him out and considering him teaching them, and that they would meet the first weekend visit in Hogsmeade at the Hog's Head.

"I'm not sure about that, Hermione," Mia had said in concern. "It's a bit of a dodgy place, isn't it? Wouldn't the Three Broomsticks be better?"

"It's too crowded in there," Hermione explained. "And I'm sure not many students go to the Hog's Head, so it's more likely that we won't be overheard."

Harry himself had never been to the Hog's Head, although he had heard Hagrid talk about it before. The made their way through the main square of the village, passing by all the people as they went about their daily routine and all the students who were making their way in and out of the shops, especially the more popular ones such as Zonko's Joke Shop and Honeydukes, the famous candy store. Since it was the early stages of Fall, the air had a nice, cool crisp feeling to it, perfect for a light jumper and maybe a scarf to protect your face from the wind. The trees were already starting to change color, and that certain harvest smell the season usually brings started making its appearance. As they traveled further into the village, they eventually left the main road, and soon enough, they came upon an old, run-down looking building with a creaking wooden sign hanging above the door, with the image of a severed Hog' Head on it, with blood leaking onto the white cloth underneath it.

"Lovely spot," Mia noted lightly.

"Maybe it's nicer on the inside," Hermione said, walking forward to lead them into the pub. However, from the second they stepped inside, Harry understood why this place was not so popular with the residents. The bar room was very small compared to the one at the Three Broomsticks, along with being cold and dingy, with old-looking furniture, dusty tables, grime-coated windows, cobwebs up in the rafters, dirty drinking glasses, and a putrid smell that stung Harry's nose the moment they entered. There were very people here, which included a man with many bandages wrapped around his head, a woman wearing a long black veil in the corner, and two cloaked wizards who looked more like Dementors huddled at a table on the far right.

"Okay, next time I'm picking the meeting place," Mia said, frowning and burying herself further into her scarf.

"Come on, we might as well sit, before the others come," Ron said. The four of them ordered some Butterbeer from the bartender, an elder man with a grim, wrinkled face, a long gray beard, and rough, calloused hands that showed years of hard labor. After that they took their seats at a table at the far end of the room, away from the other customers.

"How many are supposed to come?" Harry asked, knowing that Mia, Ron and Hermione had made work of spreading the news.

"Just a couple people," Hermione replied smoothly. No sooner had she spoken then the door to the pub opened once again, and the next thing they knew, there was a huge crowd of people clamoring inside, and Harry felt his stomach drop. There was Dean, Neville, Lavender (to Mia's disgust and anger by the look on her face), Parvati and her sister, Padma, along with—Harry felt his heart skip a beat—Cho Chang with one of her own friends, Luna Lovegood, wearing her usual dreamy expression, Katie, Alicia, Angelina, Colin and Dennis Creevey, Ernie MacMillian, Justin Finch-Fletchy, Hannah Abbott, two Hufflepuffs that Harry didn't know, Alex Parker with two of his freinds, Lucy Cannon, Jenna Sterling and her brother, Derrick, Ginny, three Ravenclaw boys, and last but not least, Fred and George with Lee trailing in behind them. Harry's mouth dropped open a bit at the sight of everybody, and he turned his head over towards Mia, who immediately put her hands up in defense.

"Hey, don't look at me!" she said. "I only told Lucy, Alex, Jenna and Neville. The rest was all Hermione."

"I think we need to establish your idea of a couple people, Hermione," Harry croaked out weakly.

"Well, the idea was rather popular," Hermione said, slightly sheepish.

"You're telling me," Mia muttered. "We're going to need some more buttterbeers."

Once everyone had paid for their butterbeers, they all took a seat around Harry, Mia, Ron and Hermione, pushing tables together and clumping chairs around each other. While everyone was getting settled, Harry saw Luna come over and take a seat on Mia's left hand side, giving her a gentle, kind smile.

"Hello Mia," she greeted. "How are you feeling?"

"Oh, I'm fine thank you, Luna. How are you?"

"I'm quite well, thank you. Here, I brought this for you, it's a protective charm that's made from the teeth of a Krampa."

Luna held up a strange object hanging from a leather cord, dark brown in color and looking similar to a rabbit's foot, only it was more smooth like ivory, with violet designs painted on it, and looking like a moldy rock. Mia looked a bit apprehensive, but took the gift anyway, offering her thanks. When everyone was finally settled, they all quieted down and looked expectantly at Harry, who suddenly became red in the face and his throat felt extremely dry all of a sudden. What exactly was he supposed to say? Thankfully he was saved from having to make a welcome speech by Hermione, who stood to her feet and gave a shy smile at them all.

"Er—well—hi. Well, um, you know why we're all here. "Harry had the idea—I mean, I had the idea," she corrected after seeing the sharp look Harry threw at her. "That it might be good if people who wanted to study Defense Against the Dark Arts—and I mean really study it, not the rubbish that Umbridge is doing with us, because nobody can call that a proper Defense class, well I thought it would be good if we, well, took matters into our own hands. And by that I mean learning to defend ourselves properly, not just theory but the real spells. And this is also more than just wanting to be better prepared for O.W.L exams, or any of our other finals. We need to do this because…because…Lord Voldemort is back, and we need to learn how to defend ourselves. Well, that's the plan anyway, if you join us, we need to decide how we're going to—"

"Where's the proof that You-Know-Who is back?" said the one blonde haired Hufflepuff boy.

"Well, Dumbledore believes it—"

"You mean Dumbledore believes him," the boy said, nodding towards Harry.

"And who are you?" Ron asked snidely while Mia scowled heavily, and Harry could feel her shift a little closer to him.

"Zacharias Smith, and I think we've got the right to know exactly what makes him say You-Know-Who's back."

"Oh gee, I don't know, maybe Harry became bored one day and just decided to have a little fun by spreading fear into everyone's hearts and attempt to put the entire wizarding world on lockdown," Mia answered, sarcasm coating her tone in layers. "He has a rather dark sense of humor, you know."

"Mia, you're not helping," Hermione muttered. "That's not what we're here for…"

"Voldemort is back because I saw him come back," Harry ground out, his eyes narrowing. "Dumbledore told the entire school what happened last year and if you didn't believe him, you don't believe me, and I'm not wasting an afternoon trying to convince anyone."

"All he told us was that Cedric was killed by You-Know-Who," Lavender said aggressively, glaring at Harry. "He never gave any details—"

"Details?" Mia intercepted incredulously. "Are you telling me you want details of how Voldemort murders someone?"

"I wasn't talking to you, Mia!" Lavender snapped.

"I'm about to make sure you stop talking permanently," Mia snarled. "Who invited you, anyway?"

"Mia," Hermione groaned in exasperation.

"Look, I'm not here to talk about Cedric, so if that's all you're here for then you might as well clear out now!" Harry said angrily. There was silence after Harry spoke, and he glared around at them all, daring anyone else to ask him about that night. He tried his best not to think about that night, how he and Cedric arrived at the graveyard, how he had been killed just because he was there, and how Harry risked everything to make sure he brought his dead body back to his parents. The only person he had told about this in full detail was Mia, and he wasn't planning on telling anyone else anytime soon. About a minute passed in silence but no one rose from their seats. One girl with a long plait down her back, who turned out to be Susan Bones, niece of Amelia Bones, asked if it was true that Harry could produce a corporeal patronus. He confirmed that he could, which immediately caught the interest of everyone else. At that moment more people started asking about some of the other things he did, including killing the Basilisk and fighting through a bunch of spells and enchantments to protect the Sorcerer's Stone, all of which Harry confirmed was true. His face quickly became red at all the attention he was suddenly receiving, especially from Cho, who was looking at him in adoration. He modestly tried to ride it off but everyone pointed out things that he did completely on his own as well, such as handling the Dementors this past summer and the dragons in the tournament. Zacharias Smith started making his crude comments again, but soon fell silent when Fred and George pulled out a long, lethal looking instrument and threatened to stick it somewhere very unpleasant.

"Right well, at this point can we all say we want to learn from Harry?" Hermione asked hastily, probably knowing that the twins would follow through on their threat with great pleasure. To Harry's surprise, there was a murmur of agreement all around, and no one had any objections to it. The discussion then moved on to when they would have the meetings, which everyone agreed to having once a week, at least, and it could be varied as to which day for every week when the time came. Ideas were then thrown around for where they could have these lessons, but none of them seemed fitting—Madame Pince would skin them alive if any of her books got ruined, the Forbidden Forest was too dangerous, and an unused classroom could never guarantee privacy. Deciding to figure out the location at a later time, Hermione had everyone sign their name on a piece of parchment, so they knew who all was there, and to have them prove that they would never tell anyone what they were up to, similar to signing a contract. Once everyone had signed, the meeting was adjourned, and everyone took their leave. In the midst of their leaving, Harry saw Luna approach Mia once again out of the corner of his eye.

"Oh Mia I forgot, about that charm, make sure you hold it to the injured area, so you keep it in your left hand, okay?" she said softly in her dreamlike voice.

"Okay, thanks Luna," Mia said equally as soft, a true appreciative smile on her face.

"What's wrong with your hand?" Harry asked.

"I fell asleep on it the wrong way, the muscles have been hurting a little all day," Mia told him. "I guess Luna thought that this would help."

"Well I'd say that went rather well," Hermione said cheerfully when she, Harry, Mia and Ron were the only ones left.

"Except for Zacharias and Lavender," Mia said sourly. "I can't believe she even turned up!"

"Parvati probably convinced her to come, more than likely," Ron pointed out.

"Well she better keep her mouth shut or so help me I'll…"

Mia trailed off, but Harry and the others didn't need her to finish, for the blazing fire in her eyes said everything she was feeling towards their fellow Gryffindor.

"I think a good number of them were convinced to come by their friends," Hermione stated thoughtfully as they left the Hog's Head and made their way outside. "I mean that one Ravenclaw boy, Michael Corner, I doubt he and his friends would have come if he hadn't been going out with Ginny—"

"He's WHAT?!" Ron yelled, snapping his head towards Hermione, his eyes going wide and a vicious growl in his throat. "She's going out with—my sister's—how could—"

"Ron, breathe, you face is all red," Mia said, her own anger dissolving, and she was biting her lip trying not to laugh.

"Did you know?" Harry asked her in amusement.

"Of course, but not for long though," Mia replied. "Ginny told me when we were at the Burrow this past summer, they met at the Yule Ball last year and hit it off."

"Nobody's hitting anything!" Ron objected heatedly. "Which one was Michael Corner?"

"And this is why Ginny never tells you anything," Mia giggled while Hermione rolled her eyes. "Ron relax, she's fourteen years old, it's normal for her to be interest in someone by now."

"But she's too young to date!" Ron said.

"She's only a year younger than us, and she's smart, she knows how to handle herself," Mia said. Ron continued to mutter savagely under his breath while Mia turned her attention to Harry.

"So, are you excited for your first lesson?" she asked.

"Not sure, Harry said honestly. "I don't even know where to start."

"Try something simple at first, even the most common spells can save your life," Mia suggested. "Then just take everything you know and put it into teaching. I just hope you give us a lesson on how to conjure a patronus sometime, though."

"That's really advanced though," Harry reminded her.

"You managed to do it."

"Yeah, after a lot of failed attempts."

"Yet those failures prompted you to keep trying," Mia said with a smile. "Don't worry Professor Potter, you're going to do great."

"Urgh, don't call me that…"

"Why not? I think it's kind of catchy," Mia said, a thoughtful look coming onto her face. "Unless you would rather be called Professor Hawwy-bear, because that's fine with me."

"Don't you dare, Mia!" Harry exclaimed in horror, his face going red at the thought of Mia calling him that in front of everyone.

"Professor Hawwy-Bear Potter," Mia mused, a devilish smile coming across her face. "Yes, I like that a lot."

"Mia!"

Harry made a move to grab her, but the sneaky brunette just ducked under his arms and ran off ahead of them, laughing merrily.

"Hawwy-bear, Hawwy-bear, Hawwy-bear," she sang.

Oh, she's done for! Harry took off after her, and Mia shrieked as she sprinted away down the main road.

…

A couple of days later, Harry was returning to the common room, a little dirty and tired after a last minute Quidditch practice that Angelina had thrust upon them that morning. Wanting to have the pitch to themselves for a few extra hours, she told the whole team to meet together at the Quidditch pitch right after lunch so they could have a good few hours of practice before dinner. Ron still had some confidence issues when they had an audience, but was doing very well overall when they had their privacy. Angelina worked them hard today, having them try out new moves that she was sure the other teams wouldn't expect, and by the time they were done, they were all sweaty, tired, and aching for the food they had burned off from lunch. Once they made their way up to the castle, Harry told the others he would meet up with them soon, wanting to go place his Firebolt back up in his dormitory before heading down for dinner, and maybe even to grab a quick shower. By the time he reached the Portrait of the Fat Lady, he was picturing the delicious pot roast that was probably downstairs, with glazed carrots, steaming hot rolls, and chocolate pudding for dessert. His stomach grumbling at the thought, he hurriedly gave the password before entering the common room, although he stopped short when he went in.

The common room was empty, with everyone more than likely having gone down to dinner already, except for Mia, who was fast asleep on the loveseat, her feet curled up underneath her with a heavy textbook on her lap and her head resting on her arm. Harry stared at her for a moment before fondly shaking his head, smiling. Mia was probably doing homework earlier and fell asleep in front of the fire, the coziest spot in the tower. He really couldn't blame her, they still had piles of work to take care of each day, and even if Mia and Hermione were on top of it more than he and Ron, it was still a lot to handle. Never before had they needed to make so many charts, take so many notes, read this many chapters, and practice their spells to this extent. Harry really didn't want to bother her, but he knew that she needed to eat, so he decided to hurry up and take a shower before coming back down to wake her up. He went upstairs to his dorm to put his Firebolt away and about fifteen minutes later, he came back downstairs to see that Mia hasn't moved an inch. He came over to stand in front of her, but just as he was about to wake her, he paused for a moment.

Mia really did look so peaceful when she slept, her mouth open ever so slightly, and her hair always in her face. Her chest rose and fell slowly, and Harry could see the necklace he had given her lying loosely around her neck, just barely touching the pages of the textbook. The air outside was starting to get a bit cold, so Mia was wearing one of the sweaters Mrs. Weasley had made for her, this one a dark red color with flowers designed along the hem and collar. Somewhere in his head, Harry couldn't help but think that Mia looked very pretty in this shade of red. As he continued to gaze at her, he saw that there were many things that made Mia pretty. She didn't need any makeup, no matter how many times other girls had tried to get her to wear it more often, there was something natural about her that didn't need any improvements. She had a kindness that could blow people away, and such compassion, especially for those she loved. Once Mia decided you're family, that was that. It was the same thing she did for him, all those years ago when they met. She was the first person to show him such kindness and love, he didn't know what to think. She's so incredibly smart, smart enough to make him see his potential most times, and she most definitely had the bravery that would make Godric Gryffindor himself proud to have her in his house, Harry was sure of it.

Harry once again felt such a strange sensation in his chest as well as his stomach, and for reasons unknown to him, his heart started to pick up its pace a bit. His hands felt clammy, despite having just been in the shower, and his breathing was somehow more shallow. His attention was drawn to the stray curl that rested against Mia's cheek and he was once again tempted to tuck it behind her ear. With every logical part of his brain screaming at him, Harry slowly bent down a little, reached out his hand, and took the curl between his fingers, gently placing it behind her ear so it wasn't bothering her. This caused Mia to shift slightly where she sat, humming softly in her sleep. Harry quickly withdrew his hand, shocked at what he had done, and his heart seemed to burst. A clear revolution filtered across his mind, and his eyes went wide as he gasped softly, feeling as though a wrecking ball had sent him flying with full force. Swallowing the lump in his throat, Harry reached out again, this time taking Mia's shoulder and shaking it.

"Mia," he croaked hoarsely before clearing his throat. "Mia…"

Mia stirred again before her eyes slowly fluttered open and Harry was struck by the girl's intense, emotional and lovely deep blue eyes that gleamed in happiness most times. As soon as her gorggy brain registered who was standing before her, a smile came upon her face. It was that smile that hit Harry senseless, and it was like everything he knew was wiped clean from his mind, and his heart went from going a million miles a second to ceasing to move in the blink of an eye.

"Harry?" she mumbled sleepily. "What are you doing here?"

"Um, I—uh, you fell asleep," he stuttered, cursing the fact that he could feel his cheeks turn slightly red. "I didn't want you to miss dinner."

"Dinner? Oh, blast it all," she groaned, raising her head from her arm and rubbing at her eyes. "I can't believe I did it again. I swear, I'm sleeping for a week straight once we're done with our O.W.L's."

Harry nodded wordlessly at her, completely speechless as the crazy feelings were billowing through him.

"Harry? Are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost," Mia said, her smile turning into a concerned frown.

"Yeah…yeah, I'm alright," Harry replied, giving himself a little shake. "Just a bit tired, that's all. We should probably get going though."

"All right," Mia said, standing to her feet and placing a hand on his arm. "Maybe you should go to bed early, get a good night's sleep, since we're seeing our favorite teacher's tomorrow. Let me just put this book back upstairs, then we'll head down together."

"Sounds good," Harry said. Mia gave him another smile before turning around and heading up the stairs to the girl's dormitories. Once she was gone, Harry took a deep breath and ran a hand through his hair, trying to control his heart, which was back at full speed. He was desperately trying to make sense of his feelings, although deep down he knew what they meant. Right now, when she smiled at him, he had the strongest urge to just hold her in his arms, to breathe in her perfume, and…and…

I wanted to kiss her…just like before…

Harry stood rooted to the spot, his face becoming blank and his limbs feeling awfully heavy. No, no, no, this couldn't be! He and Mia had been friends since they were children, she was like a sister to him—wasn't she? She cared for him like no one else did, stuck by him through everything, and was there for him from the start, never leaving his side and changing his life in so many good ways. Incredible ways. This had to be some sort of mistake. There was absolutely, positively, undeniably no way that he was falling for his best friend…right?

Read and review, please. ;)