Chapter 14

Survival of the Fittest

Harry sighed deeply and slammed his book shut in frustration.

He had been sitting in the library for nearly three hours now with almost nothing to show for it. All he had found out was that Rowena Ravenclaw had a castle somewhere in Glen Coe and had several possessions that hadn't been seen in hundreds of years. He could probably learn more if he went to her castle, but that would mean finding it first. And no one seemed to know where it was.

He looked down at the picture of the beautiful woman on the cover of the book, her flowing red hair disappearing beneath her frame. She then looked at Harry and winked, almost mockingly.

"Oh, shut up," he said, even more annoyed. He turned the book over and sat back in his chair.

"Who are you talking to?" a feminine voice asked from right behind him. Harry jumped and turned around to see the Slytherin girl he had met on Halloween. She either didn't seem to notice or didn't seem to care that she had snuck up behind him and startled him.

"Uh… I was talking to… no one," he said uncomfortably. "It's Chelsea, right?"

She nodded and walked over to the table next to him. "I was about to head to class, but I saw you over here and wanted to thank you again for your help that night."

"It was the least I could do," Harry told her. "Just don't go chasing after Death Eater's anymore."

She smiled and nodded. She looked like she wanted to say something else, but Harry noticed a group of her Slytherin friends waving her over. "You'd better get to class then," he told her, pointing out the three girls across the room.

"Right. Bye then," she said. "And… thanks," she added hastily before she left.

Harry watched her go, his brow furrowed in thought. For some reason she reminded him of Luna. He couldn't place it, but it was something. She didn't carry quite the dottiness Luna did, but the Slytherin girl certainly had a carefree air about her. Especially when it came to what other people thought of her.

He looked back down at his book on the table and immediately remembered why he was so frustrated. "Useless," he muttered, flicking his wand and banishing the book back to its place on the shelf.

"Mr. Potter," he heard a voice call out from the other side of the room. He looked over to see Madadm Pince scowling at him. "No magic in the library."

"Sorry," he said, half-heartedly. Not bothering to look back at the strict librarian, he grabbed the next book and opened it up. He thumbed through it, not paying close attention as he allowed his mind to wander.

It had only been four days since he talked with Hermione, but things were already back to normal. The two of them and Ron were spending most of their time together outside of classes. The past two evenings, the three of them sat in Harry's room, going through various books and scrolls that he had borrowed from the library. It was helpful to get a different set of opinions, especially one from Hermione's mind.

And yet, as nice as it was to have things the way they used to be, Harry still felt a bit uncomfortable around Hermione. They had something of an unspoken agreement not to discuss some of the things that had happened the other night. Harry knew that some of her actions were made when she let her emotions get the better of her, and he didn't blame her at all for that. But it was something else that was on Harry's mind.

It seemed like Hermione had convinced him that he didn't have romantic feelings for him, but now he wasn't so sure he agreed with her. He certainly cared about her, probably more than he cared about anyone else. But was that enough?

He found her physically attractive, though maybe not more so than some of the other girls at Hogwarts. And he didn't seem to mind the idea of dating her. But again, now that he thought about it, that was also the same with other girls he knew. The only difference was their history, and how he felt about her because of that.

With his ability to keep Voldemort out of his head, Harry had allowed himself to think about these things for the first time in a while. But, with his limited experience in such matters, he wasn't making much sense of it. What he needed was someone he could talk to about everything. It's the kind of thing he would like to be able to talk about with his parents about. Or even Sirius.

Maybe Remus wouldn't mind talking with him next time they were together. Harry obviously wasn't as close to Remus as he had been with Sirius, but there was no reason he shouldn't be. He and James were practically brothers, meaning he was practically Harry's uncle.

Harry shut his book, deciding that he wasn't going to get any work done at the moment. He gathered his things and made his way toward the exit, ignoring the look Madam Pince gave him. Once he was back in the hallway, he chose to head up to the Room of Requirement. Maybe working on some new spells would help clear his head.

.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.

Something didn't feel right.

Harry wrapped his heavy cloak even tighter around himself immediately after stepping outside. It had been cold recently, but not this cold. In fact, it wasn't nearly this bad when Harry had entered Gringotts half an hour ago. Even with his thick dragon hide vest on, he was still rather uncomfortable. The stars above and the moonlight shining down told him that there were no Dementors present. Perhaps he was just imagining it, but he felt that something was out of place.

The reason he was in London was nothing more than some shopping. But it was what he was shopping for that made it necessary for him to sneak out of Hogwarts in the middle of the night. He had purposefully come this late to avoid as many people as he could. There weren't any lights on in the shop windows of Diagon Alley, but he knew there would be shops open in some of the other alleyways. And what he was looking for probably wouldn't be found in a respectable place such as Diagon Alley.

He had gone to Gringotts to withdraw some money, as well as check his account to make sure Fred and George had stopped paying him as much as they previously were. Fortunately for them, Harry's account was in order.

He made sure the hood of his cloak was covering his face before he walked down the steps of the bank and turned on to Knockturn Alley. He could see several lanterns shining from the sides of the street, and a few lights coming from the shops. Not knowing the area well, Harry walked slowly down the alley, eyeing each of the shops to see if they might have what he was looking for.

It wasn't long before Harry realised what was feeling so out of place: he was being followed. He could sense at least two people behind him, as they had been ever since he left Gringotts. Their movement told him that they were stalking him, and not just shopping like he was.

Harry continued down the alley, acting as if nothing was wrong, but his mind was racing. He didn't know who it was, but he had to assume the worst and figure they were Death Eaters. As nonchalantly as possible, he sped up his steps until he got near the end of the alley.

Not sparing a glance behind him, he ducked into a smaller alleyway to his right, but saw nothing but a brick wall twenty yards away. Mentally cursing, he tried to Disapparate, but found himself unable. One of his soon-to-be assailants must have put up a ward to prevent him from getting away. Apparently they knew he was coming. Harry quickly went through his options in his mind. In an emergency like this, it was legal to create a Portkey but Harry didn't know how. He could summon a broomstick from a nearby store, but there was no way it would get to him in time, or get to him without someone noticing.

In one last act of desperation, he fired several Reductor Curses at the wall impeding him, but they did nothing but dissipate on contact. Well, he thought, I can't escape, but I can still fight my way out. He turned back towards the way he came in to see the two figures standing there, blocking his path. They were both wearing black cloaks like Harry's. The only difference was they both had white masks covering their faces.

"Evenin' Potter," the one on the left said. "Nice night for a stroll, innit?"

Harry did his best to keep a cool demeanor, but inside he was bewildered and frustrated. Somehow these two Death Eaters knew he was coming before he even left the school. It could just have easily been Voldemort waiting for him. He didn't know what was going on, but he wanted some answers. If he could get out of this alive, that is.

In one swift move, he pulled off his cloak and tossed it aside, and drew his wand. "So," he said to them, "you two know who I am. How about you extend me the same courtesy?"

The Death Eater who didn't speak before merely laughed at this, and the other one said, "Sorry Potter, but we're needin' ya to come with us. Seems our master has a problem wit ya." The second man laughed again at the obvious joke.

"Sorry guys," Harry said, "but I'm not giving in that easily. I'm afraid you're going to have to take me forcefully."

Harry could tell the first man was grinning when he said, "That's just the way we like it."

He immediately fired a Cutting Hex straight at Harry's chest, who sidestepped it easily. Unfortunately, he walked right in to an identical spell from his other attacker. Harry grunted as the spell sliced through his shirt, but stopped at his vest. He kicked himself mentally for not concentrating.

He sent Stunners at each of them before diving to the side when his spells rebounded off their shields. He felt himself land hard on a rock, which he immediately banished in their direction. One of the men ducked out of the way, but the other couldn't and it hit his mask with a loud crack.

He fell to his knees, clutching his face and spitting blood through the mouth hole on his mask. This angered his partner, who turned to Harry and shouted, "Deflagro!"

A glowing ball of fire the size of his head rushed towards Harry. Thinking quickly, he muttered, "Gelidus," instantly freezing the projectile. It dropped to the ground a foot in front of him and cracked, shattering into dozens of pieces. Harry again used a Banishing Charm, sending the shards the other directions.

The Death Eater leaped backwards and yelled, "Comburo!" sending a jet of fire from his wand to melt the razor sharp pieces of ice.

Harry used that second to transfigure the hard dirt between the two Death Eaters into quicksand. Neither of them had time to react quickly enough, and when they did try to get away, it was too late. They both struggled but could do nothing as they slowly sank into the ground. Harry allowed himself to smirk at their position as he walked over to them.

He allowed them to sink all the way to their shoulders before he transfigured the ground back, leaving them stuck in place. One of the screamed out in frustration as he fought to break free, but neither of them could move anything but their heads.

"This isn't over, Potter!" the other one yelled out.

Harry swiftly kicked him in the face, his boot making a resounding crunch as the other man fell silent. "Well, as long as no one's going anywhere, let's see who we're dealing with," Harry said.

He knelt down in front of one of the Death Eaters and pulled off his mask. Harry immediately recognised the face underneath as Mulciber, one of the wizards he fought at the Ministry. His nose was broken from Harry's kick and blood was flowing freely down his face. He sneered at Harry while he futilely tried to free himself.

"Don't worry," Harry told him, "I'm sure they've got your old cell waiting for you back at Azkaban."

With nothing else to do, Mulciber spit a mouthful of blood onto Harry's boots. Harry wrinkled his nose in disgust before he vanished it and swung the mask hard into the side of Mulciber's head. It fell limp as the man lost consciousness and Harry tossed his mask aside.

He moved over to the other man and crouched down to remove his mask as well. The man beneath it was one Harry had never seen before. He looked to be around Harry's age, or maybe a few years older. "What's your name?" Harry asked him, but he got no answer. "How did you know I would be here?" he asked again, but the other man remained silent and looked away from him. "Very well, I'll leave it to the Ministry to sort you out," Harry said while standing back up. He dropped the mask on the ground and stomped down hard on it, breaking it into several pieces.

"Actually," Harry said, causing the Death Eater to look back and forth between Harry and his broken mask, fear etched into his face. "On second thought, I think I'll just get the information myself," Harry told him, focusing his mind so he could sift through the young man's thoughts.

The young Death Eater looked back over at him, expecting the same kind of physical harm his partner got. Very few wizards knew about Legilimency, and he clearly expected some sort of torture to make him talk. Then for some reason, his eyes flicked over and he looked at something behind Harry. Harry had a pretty good idea what that meant and tried to turn around, but something hit him hard in the back of the head. How lame… was his last thought before he blacked out.

.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.

"You're serious about this?"

"Well, isn't it something you would normally do?"

"Of course it is, but isn't that a dangerous bit of magic?"

"Not if we do it right. What does everyone else think?"

"I'm in. I would do it anyway, so why not?"

"Me too. Might as well make it formal just to be safe."

"I wouldn't like to be the odd one out."

"I don't know if we can do anything about that."

"Hey, don't talk to her like that!"

Harry could hear several voices, far off and indistinct, like he was listening from underwater. He tried to move his body, but nothing seemed to respond. He couldn't feel any of his limbs. In fact, all he could feel was a dull pain in the back of his head. He tried to focus his mind, but everything was still hazy. The voices, however, seemed to be growing clearer.

"Sticks and stones…" a female said in a sing-song voice.

"I don't even know what that means," said a masculine voice.

"If we could get back on topic…" a different male said.

"Right… so were all agreed then?" a new voice asked.

"Yes."

"Yeah."

"But of course."

""Well, if everyone else is."

"Good. I'd say we do it as soon as possible. And I also think we shouldn't tell Harry. You know what he'll think"

"Agreed. Speaking of which, it looks like he's waking up."

Harry was finally able to open his eyes, looking up at the familiar ceiling of the Hospital Wing. It was daytime from what he could tell. He tried to think back, and remembered it being dark out last time he was conscious. He continued trying to move the rest of his body, and was relieved when feeling slowly crept back into his arms and legs.

The next moment, a dark shape appeared above his head. Harry couldn't make it out at first, but blinked several times and saw that it was the very worried face of Ron. "Am I dead?" Harry muttered as Hermione's face swam into focus alongside Ron.

Ron managed a weak smile and said, "No, not yet."

Harry groaned and massaged his forehead. "What happened?"

"We were hoping you could tell us that, mate," Ron said nervously.

Very slowly, Harry managed to pull himself up into a sitting position, propping some pillows up behind him. Hermione and Ron leaned back and sat down on the bed beside his. On the other side of him, Ginny, Neville, and Luna were seated at a table, wearing concerned looks on their faces.

"Fred and George showed up last night, carrying you," Ron told him. "Said they saved you from Death Eaters."

Harry suddenly remembered what had happened. He noticed Hermione looking at him anxiously, desperate for an explanation. He gingerly rubbed the large knot on the back of his head as he explained to them, "I was coming out of Gringotts when I realised I was being followed. I ducked down Knockturn Alley but they cornered me. Used Anti-Apparation Wards and everything." He didn't feel the need to tell them that he was looking for something on Knockturn Alley. "I managed to stop two of them, but a third must have… snuck up behind me."

"Well, you must have made a lot of noise," Ron said. "Fred told me he heard something from his shop. And that the Ministry showed up right before they left."

"Did they at least catch the Death Eaters?" asked Harry

"No… they got away. Fred and George were more concerned with getting you out of there," Ron told him.

"I'll have to remember to thank them."

"That's all well and good," Hermione spoke up, "but why were you even out there to begin with?"

"I assure you, this time I wasn't looking for them, if that's what you mean," Harry said defensively. "Somehow they knew I was coming."

"So you think they have a spy here in the castle?" Ginny asked.

"There must be. I have the connection with Voldemort blocked," Harry told her.

"What do you mean 'this time?" Hermione asked quickly.

Harry looked away from her. "Well… there have been a few times when Snape has given me some information. I couldn't just ignore it, could I?" he asked hopefully, not wanting to incur Hermione's anger.

"Of course not." Harry breathed a sigh of relief. "But there were plenty of people you could have told. There was no reason that you had to go after them and put yourself at risk. Are you insane!?"

"Look," Harry said, thinking quickly, "uh, let's just agree to disagree."

"You're not getting off that easy," Hermione told him forcefully.

"Well can you at least wait until my head doesn't hurt so much?" Harry pleaded with her.

Luckily, he was spared when Madam Pomfrey, apparently hearing the raised voices, entered the room. She quickly shooed everyone away from Harry's bed and started poking and prodding him.

"You seem to be all right, Mr. Potter," she said when she was done manhandling him. "I'll set out your potions and you can leave as soon as you take them. The rest of you can wait outside, he won't be long."

Harry mentally thanked the Healer as she ushered his friends out the door. Now, if he could only find a way escape the Hospital Wing without passing a fuming Hermione, he might avoid ending up under Madam Pomfrey's care again in the very near future.

.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.

Harry was very relieved to find that the Daily Prophet had no articles on what had happened the previous night. With no Death Eaters captured, and not much apparent damage, there wasn't much of a story. Harry was very, very grateful to Fred and George for getting him away from there before anyone saw him. He had done well to stay out of the news so far this year, which was even better as Rita Skeeter was up to her usual business.

He was also able to calm Hermione down, with no small amount of effort, by assuring her he wouldn't run off alone and without notifying anyone beforehand. She, of course, demanded he not run off alone at all. In the end, he promised her that he wouldn't leave the castle again without her or Ron, or one of his other three closest friends.

Harry had slept through his morning classes, but woke up in time for lunch. None of the other students knew what had happened, so he wasn't bothered with a bunch of questions. His first class of the afternoon was Defense Against the Dark Arts, and he made his way up to the classroom with Hermione, Neville, and Ron alongside him. Lancaster wasn't there when they arrived, so the four of them sat together and wait. As predicted, Hermione talked about their previous exam, that they were due to get back today. Ron, who was sitting next to her, had to endure it, while Harry and Neville tuned her out.

"Good afternoon class," Lancaster said cheerfully when he entered the room. He made his way to his desk and took out a stack of papers while the class quieted down. "Let's see… Mr. Longbottom, if you would be so kind as to hand these out."

Neville got up and picked up the papers without hesitation, lest Hermione's eagerness spill over into impatience. He began passing them out to the rest of the class as Lancaster removed several books from his desk and went on. "I was very pleased with everyone's results on this exam. So pleased, in fact, that I've decided to give everyone a break today instead of moving right into our next area of study."

Most of the class grinned at this piece of information, including Neville, who had just returned to his seat next to Harry. Their previous lessons had been so grueling that everyone could appreciate a day away from rigorous studies.

"Thank you, Mr. Longbottom. So then," Lancaster continued, "I trust everyone read the supplementary book I assigned for you, The Art of Duelling?" Everyone nodded. "Excellent! I thought we could take a little time and discuss the finer points of a wizard's duel. Now, has anyone here ever been in a proper wizard's duel?"

Lancaster was apparently not expecting any positive answers, which was something Harry wished he had noticed. He raised his hand, but immediately regretted it when he saw that no one else had. Some of the other students were looking at him oddly, as was his professor.

"Mr. Potter? Surely you now of the International Ban on Duelling, restricting it to the most special of circumstances?" Harry nodded. "Well then… might I ask with whom you duelled?"

Harry looked around nervously, but didn't see any easy way out of his situation. He looked back at Lancaster and answered softly, but assuredly, "Voldemort."

He could feel everyone in the room wince slightly. "The Dark Lord?" Lancaster repeated. "But when?"

"The end of my fourth year."

Lancaster's eyes widened significantly, as did some of the other students. Most of the group had been in the D.A. and knew that Harry's stories were true and that the Prophet was slandering his name. However, the fact that he had duelled Voldemort and got away was as much as most people knew. Only Harry, and now Hermione, knew exactly what had happened.

Apparently Lancaster didn't even read the Daily Prophet. "But-but… a fourth year?" he stuttered. "A fourth year against the greatest dark lord in a hundred years? Forgive me for being so blunt, dear boy, but how did you fare?"

Harry smiled ruefully and answered, "Not well." The class had gone completely silent, and Harry continued to look forward at his professor. "I had a much more limited knowledge of spells, while he used nothing but Unforgivables."

This piece of information seemed to floor Lancaster. "The Unforgivable Curses? Y-y-you mean you fought off the Imperius from Voldemort?"

"Well, Professor Moody had showed us how earlier in the—" Harry started.

"And you fought off the Cruciatus as well?"

"Well you can't really fight the Cruciatus, you just have to endure it, but—"

"And the Killing Curse too?"

"Well you obviously there was nothing I could do about that one. And he wasn't on target, or I wouldn't be here," Harry said, growing annoyed by some of their awed looks.

"Regardless," Lancaster said collecting himself, "Very few witches and wizards face the Killing Curse at least once in their lifetimes. Let alone before they get out of school."

"Actually, I think it has been three or four times now," Harry said before he could stop himself. His professor looked even more surprised, and a few people in the room gasped.

"But still," said Lancaster, "you fought with him. And you got away. How did you manage to escape?"

This time, Harry managed to hold his tongue. He didn't figure anyone knew about the Priori Incantatem effect, save for Ron and Hermione, but he still wasn't keen on sharing to everyone that his wand and Voldemort's wand were brothers. "I'd rather not discuss that, sir. Mainly by luck," he said firmly.

"Well… very well," Lancaster said. "But still, to survive a duel with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is remarkable. You never seem to run out of surprises."

That's not even the half of it, Harry thought to himself as Lancaster continued. "Now, Harry, having been in a proper wizard's duel, what must each dueller do first?"

"You bow to your opponent," Harry said.

"Correct. It is appropriate to bow to each other before starting a duel. Though this custom has been lost in recent generations," Lancaster went on describing proper duelling techniques, with Harry only half-listening.

He was finding it hard to concentrate with various classmates (the ones who weren't in the D.A.) staring at him every five minutes. Had he been paying attention, he would have picked up on the whispered conversations happening between the two in front of him; as it was, he merely caught pieces, such as, "…bowed to You-Know-Who!?" and "…been under his Cruciatus too…" Harry found it almost funny how much things had changed. A few years ago, no one believed a word he had said, and all the students were convinced he was making up stories solely for attention.

He was relieved when the class finally ended. Unfortunately, his relief was short-lived. He looked up from packing his books back into his bag to see several of his classmates waiting for him. Harry sighed and asked patiently, "Can I help you all with something?"

They all looked at each other, but Ernie Macmillan was the one that first spoke up. "Well, the thing is, after today's class, we all realise that we've forgotten how much danger we're in, and how much we need to be able to protect ourselves. So we were wondering if you would consider reforming our old club."

Harry raised an eyebrow at them. "This, coming from the group that didn't show up when they—" he nodded towards Ron and Hermione "—called you last June?" It was still a sore spot for Harry that only Neville and Luna had bothered helping.

Most of his classmates shifted uncomfortably or looked away. Ernie continued to speak for them, "Well… the thing is, since we never met last year, none of us bothered carrying our coins anymore. Otherwise we would have helped. We're all sorry, right guys?"

Most of them nodded, and some looked rather ashamed. Harry relaxed a little bit after seeing this. "You really want to do this?" he asked. "Even though we have a competent Defense professor?"

They all nodded again, and Terry Boot said, "It can't hurt to have some supplemental instruction, right?"

Since Harry had wanted Ron and Hermione to do just this earlier in the year, there was no need for him to consider it. "All right then, we'll do it," Harry told them, and everyone smiled. "Let's see… well, I guess we could meet tonight." No one objected so Harry went on, "Eight o'clock, at the regular place. Everyone should spread the word in their common rooms tonight. We're not breaking any rules this time so there's no need to keep it secret."

"You're sure about that?" Ernie asked. "That it's allowed, I mean. We took a pretty big risk last time, and I still don't want to lose my prefect's badge."

"It shouldn't be a problem, since Umbridge is gone and all her decrees were lifted," Harry said. "But I'll check with McGonagall just to be sure."

"Harry?" Hermione said from his other side. He looked over at her questioningly, and she asked, "Well, shouldn't we have an age limit? I mean, some of the spells we worked on last time were fairly advanced, and the younger students just don't understand magic well enough or have enough control yet."

Harry understood where she was coming from, but didn't particularly agree with her. "I think anyone who wants to learn how to defend them self should be allowed. Voldemort has shown that he's not above attacking children. I'm living proof of that."

"I agree with Harry," Parvati said. "We shouldn't exclude anyone that wants to learn just because of their ability."

"Yeah, but Hermione's right as well," Michael Coroner spoke up. "They would hold us back." He went on, "Say we allowed anyone fourth year and up, and then have each house work with their younger classmates other times during the week. Teach them basic stuff that they can handle. And when the rest of us meet, we can do whatever Harry has for us."

"Oh, I think that's a great idea!" Hermione said brightly. She then turned to Harry and said, "But it's up to you."

"I think it sounds good," Harry smiled. "As long as no one minds helping out the younger kids." Everyone shook their heads. "All right then, so I'll see you all tonight."

"Everyone seemed to be excited," Hermione said after the rest of the class left.

Harry nodded in agreement. "I just hope they'll take it seriously. We aren't really doing this for fun, are we?"

"No, but that doesn't mean we can't have fun doing it," Hermione said. "Lighten up, Harry. If they all enjoy it, then they're more likely to work hard."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Harry said. "So what are you doing before dinner?"

Hermione shrugged. "I don't know… go to the library, I suppose."

"So nothing important then," Harry said with a hint of humor. "Maybe you could come by my room when you get back from Arithmancy and help me figure out what I'm going to talk about tonight."

"That's fine," said Hermione. "Oh, but I'd better leave now or I'll be late. Professor Vector said she won't accept our essays if they aren't on her desk when she gets there."

"Cheers then," Harry said as she left the room.

"So what are you going to do now?" Ron asked him. Ron, Harry, and Neville were the only ones left in the room.

"Go talk to McGonagall, I suppose," Harry answered. "Since I've got the chance." There was actually someone else he needed to talk to, after what had just come up. If Harry could find her, that is.

"Well, I guess we'll go back to the common room. I think Ginny's got a free period, so we'll let her know what's going on," Ron said, and Neville nodded in agreement.

"Right then. I'll see you at dinner," said Harry. He followed them out the door before heading the opposite way down the hall.

After stopping by McGonagall's office and making sure that he wouldn't be breaking any rules (she was delighted at the idea) he headed back down to the ground floor, keeping an eye open for the other person he sought. Unfortunately, he had no idea where to look.

Much to his surprise, he did run in to Luna out in the courtyard. Like Ginny, she also had a free period, and seemed to be spending it wandering around the school. Harry didn't ask exactly what she was doing, not wanting to hear what magical creature she was searching for this time. Instead, he told Luna all about the discussion he had after Defense and the D.A. meeting later.

"Oh, that's great!" she said excitedly. "It'll be nice to feel like I have friends again."

Harry mentally sighed, and said, "Luna, you do have friends."

"Oh… right. I forgot," she said. "Oh, now I need to go write father. I was going to do it later, but since we're meeting tonight… I need to tell him that all the Wrackspurts have disappeared from the castle." She stopped and gazed around the courtyard. "I haven't felt any this term. Have you?"

"Er… no?" Harry said uncertainly, not able to remember all of Luna's creatures.

Luna nodded, and said, "Father will be most interested. Winter is when they're supposed to be most prominent. It could mean something bad will happen soon." She turned and skipped a few steps in the direction of the Entrance Hall, but stopped and skipped back over to Harry. "See you tonight then," was all she said before turning back and leaving the courtyard. Harry couldn't help but smile at his friend.

Once Luna had gone, Harry went back inside as well. He wandered the halls for nearly an hour, visiting just about every hallway in the castle. In fact, he was just about to give up when he finally found who he was looking for. He let out a great sigh of relief when he spotted Chelsea, the Slytherin girl. She was coming out of Flitwick's classroom with a few of her friends.

He hurried over to her, and she smiled when she saw him. "Hey, could I talk to you for a second?" he asked.

"Yeah, sure," Chelsea said. She then turned to her friends, who were all giving Harry odd looks, and said, "I'll catch up with you later." They nodded apprehensively and continued down the hall, one of them throwing another look Harry's way. "So what is it?"

"Well," Harry said, "I was wondering what you were doing tonight."

She looked at him funnily and asked, "What are you talking about?"

"See, we've got this group that gets together and practices defensive spells, to learn to protect ourselves, and we're having a meeting tonight," Harry explained. "And I was wondering if you wanted to go."

Chelsea continued looking at him doubtfully. "How come I've never heard about this before?"

"Well, we started it two years ago, since Umbridge wasn't teaching us anything," Harry told her. "So we had to keep it a secret. We kind of forgot about it last year, but now that things are getting more dangerous, a lot of my classmates wanted to start it up again."

Chelsea had nodded in agreement when Harry mentioned Umbridge. "It's a good idea, I guess," she said. "But why ask me?"

"Don't you want to learn to defend yourself better?" Harry asked.

"Of course. I just didn't figure you would want Slytherins in your group."

Harry smirked ruefully and said, "Actually, you'd be the first." He then added, "But I'm sure you know that crest on your robes won't protect you from Voldemort."

She flinched at the mention of Voldemort's name, but nodded and said, "That's what I've been telling my friends for the past year and a half." She then looked at him wryly and asked, "Say, this wouldn't have anything to do with my comment the other week on your filtered perspective of our house, would it?"

Harry hoped he hadn't been that obvious, but this girl was cleverer than he had anticipated. "Well, you heard what the Sorting Hat's been saying the past couple years. Uniting the houses and all that. I'm sure you're sick of the rift that the house rivalries have caused."

"It is getting out of hand," she agreed. "All right Harry, I'll come to your little club. So long as you keep those Gryffindors of yours on a short leash."

"That's the spirit!" Harry said in a mock cheerful tone. "Meet me at a quarter to eight, up on the seventh floor by that tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy." She looked at him questioningly and he added, "Just trust me."

"If you say so," Chelsea said, before turning and heading down the hallway to the stairs.

.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.

Harry paced nervously back and forth as the clock ticked closer to eight. Most of the people he was expecting were already seated in the room, chatting animatedly while they all waited for the last few to arrive.

Chelsea had looked understandably skeptical when she had met Harry outside the Room of Requirement. And even more so when a door appeared out of nowhere in front of them. She was reluctant to enter until Harry explained what the room was and how he accessed it. Once they did go inside, Harry showed her some of the room's abilities. She was extremely impressed, and surprised she had never known about such a room.

After that, Harry had introduced Chelsea to Hermione, Ron, and Neville, and then to Ginny and Luna when they arrived a few minutes later. He had mainly done this so that she would have someone to talk to or work with during the meeting. Harry was rather pleased that none of them said anything about her being in Slytherin. He had half-expected Ron to make some rude comment.

"Harry, you're going to be fine," Hermione said from beside him, snapping him from his thoughts. "You've done this dozens of times."

"Yeah… yeah, you're right," Harry said with no conviction. He had never been one for speaking to large groups of people, even though he had done it many times in his fifth year. He just hoped once he took that first step, he would be fine.

A few moments later, a chime sounded in the room, indicating that it had reached eight. Harry assumed that everyone who was coming was here already. Everyone seemed to quiet down and face the front of the room where Harry, Ron, and Hermione were standing. Or rather, where Harry was standing; Ron and Hermione were sitting on the table beside him. The whole room was looking at him expectantly, so he took a deep breath and began.

"Good evening everyone," he said shakily. "Well… I guess you all know why we're here. To all of you who I didn't talk with earlier today, I assume your housemates explained everything to you." Most of them nodded and Harry went on, "Good. Uh… well, for everyone who wasn't with us two years ago, we started this group to learn some defensive magic on our own, since Umbridge wasn't teaching us any."

There were several boos and hisses at the mention of Umbridge's name and Harry smiled. "Well, it's not going to be a secret club this time, but I think it will be just as necessary. The threat of Voldemort is even greater now than it has ever been." He ignored all the gasps and added, "Every one of us is at risk.

"So, I wanted to meet tonight just to go over what we would be learning and work out scheduling and all that. I know a lot of you have Quidditch practice, so I don't think we'll be able to have a fixed meeting time. We had the same problem last time, but fortunately Hermione," he gestured to her, "came up with a brilliant way to let everyone know about when we would meet next. Each member had a fake Galleon and when I charmed mine to show the meeting time, it would appear on everyone's coin. Of course, there isn't need for that kind of secrecy anymore, but it's an easy way to tell everyone all at once, so I think we'll continue using them."

Hermione then took over for a moment. "Before everyone leaves, if I can get you all to sign up on this parchment," she drew a roll of parchment from her bag, "then I can make some more coins for all the new people." A few of the people eyed the parchment warily. Hermione understood and added, "Don't worry, there aren't any Loyalty Charms or anything on it. We don't have to hide from anyone so it doesn't matter who you talk about it with."

"So," Harry said, "Are there any questions before we continue?"

"Yeah," a Hufflepuff that Harry didn't know spoke up, "What is a Slytherin doing here?"

Harry looked over at Chelsea who was glaring at the kid who asked the question. He growled under his breath, annoyed that he had to deal with something like this so early. "She's here because I invited her," he said shortly. "And technically, so are all of you. This is a fairly informal group, so I don't have a lot of rules. I'll tell you one of them. Everyone in this room is here because I want them to be here. If you disrespect anyone here, then consider yourself no longer a part of this group." He then looked at the younger Hufflepuff and said, "This is the only time I'll say it."

Several people looked between Harry and the other boy nervously, but most of the group remained silent and still. Harry was satisfied and confident that they all got the message. He went back to smiling and said, "All right then, let's get started. Last time, all we did was work on certain spells useful for defense in a variety of situations. This time, I'd like to do something else. Or, rather, something more.

"I'm sure you all know that I wasn't here the past two months." Everyone seemed to perk up, hoping Harry share his secrets with them. "I won't tell you where I was or what I was doing, so don't bother asking. But I will tell you that I learned a whole lot. And I think most of it will be helpful to you all. Basically, I've learned that, in a duel, it's not the person who knows the most spells that will win. It takes an understanding of magic and its functions to know what you can do in any situation." Harry saw some confused looks. "Ummm… how about an example. Can I get a volunteer?"

Nobody stepped forward at first, probably figuring Harry wanted to take his previous anger out on someone. Harry looked over to his friends, wordlessly asking one of them to help. Ginny and Chelsea both looked the other way, while Luna looked Harry right in the eye. Or so he thought; it almost seemed like she was looking directly through Harry. Neville looked right at him and shook is head defiantly. "No one?" Harry asked.

"Uh, I guess I could," someone in the crowd said, and Harry identified the voice as Anthony Goldstein.

He got up and walked over to Harry, who said, "Just stand there for a moment." He turned back to the group and said, "So… the example… let's see." He thought for a few moments, trying to figure out what spell to use. When he decided on one, he looked back at the group and asked, "Can anyone tell me what the Reductor Curse does?"

A lot of the group seemed to know of the Curse, and several of them raised their hands. Harry was expecting a bunch of blank looks, and was pleased by the response. He pointed to Justin Finch-Fletchley, who said, "It's used to blast apart solid objects." Many of the others nodded in agreement.

"Actually," Harry said, "that's only partially true." Justin looked puzzled, but instead of explaining himself, Harry pulled out his wand and pointed it at Anthony, saying, "Reducto."

About half of the group gasped, and a few of them jumped out of their seats and drew their own wands. Anthony just stood there, a look of shock frozen on his face as the spell hurtled towards him. A split-second later, it connected, lifting him off his feet and sending him back a few yards in the air before dropping him to the ground with a loud thump.

Then, much to everyone's surprise, Anthony stood up, grimacing and rubbing his chest. "Ow! Bloody hell, Harry, that hurt!"

"Sorry," Harry said with grin, "but it had to be done."

Anthony turned and headed back to his seat, mumbling something that sounded like, "See if I ever volunteer again…"

"Hey, Goldstein, I thought that badge on your robes actually meant something," another Ravenclaw called out jokingly.

"Coming from someone who didn't even make Prefect, I wouldn't expect you to know what a Head Boy badge means," Anthony shot back, still massaging his chest. A good number of the group laughed at the exchange.

Harry smiled as well, but got their attention back. "Back to the matter at hand… as you can see, Anthony is not dead. Your definition, Justin, was close, but not exactly right." Everyone had calmed down now and was hanging on Harry's every word. "With an inanimate object, the curse will blast it apart, like you said. With living things though, it isn't as effective. And it becomes less and less effective the more complex being is. With a person, like Anthony, it will merely feel like a rather forceful kick, but with very little physical damage."

From the looks of everyone, it seemed that no one knew quite that much about the curse. Not even Hermione. "So that is one of the things I hope to teach you all," Harry went on. "Knowing how to cast a particular spell can be helpful, but not as much as understanding exactly what a spell can do and how you can use it in any number of situations."

Harry paused for a minute to let that sink in, before moving on. "Now… the next thing… " he said, thinking about what he wanted to do. He figured the last curse would actually be useful for a demonstration. Closing his eyes, he mentally asked the room for what he needed.

When he opened his eyes, he saw two identical wooden tables appear on one side of the room. Those who never been in the Room of Requirement, or didn't exactly know its capabilities were startled, but the rest simply looked interested, curious as to what Harry would do next.

"Perfect," Harry said, looking over at the tables. "All right then," he started before facing them and raising his wand. He aimed at the first one and shouted at the top of his lungs, "REDUCTO!" The people closest to him winced, but the red beam that shot from his wand was dull and thin. It struck the table, but instead of shattering, it merely cracked down the middle. The two halves clunked to the floor and Harry turned to the other one. He focused himself and, in barely more than a whisper, said, "Reducto." This time though, a beam of the brightest red flew from Harry's wand and connected with the table, instantly destroying it and sending splinters and fragments all over the room. Several people whistled at the power of his spell.

After asking the room to get rid of the mess, Harry addressed the group again. "Most of you sixth and seventh years have learned how to cast nonverbal spells. Incantations are just words we use to help learn spells. It doesn't really matter what you say or how you say it… as long as you know the spell you want to cast. You have to be able to feel it, not just think or say it." He pointed his wand to the side and said, "Crucio." Everyone tensed up or opened their eyes wide in surprise, but instead of the Cruciatus Curse, a simple shield was conjured beside him.

"Most witches and wizards don't have the focus or concentration to cast nonverbal spells, or cast a spell while saying something else," Harry went on. "In fact, most people don't even bother, and use incantations because it's easier. Or there's no need to do otherwise. I don't expect any of you to master it, but I want you to understand the importance and usefulness of nonverbal spellcasting."

Harry let them think about what he said for a few minutes, while he went over and had a whispered conversation with Ron and Hermione. When he was done, he faced everyone and asked, "So, are there any questions?"

Only one person raised their hand: a Ravenclaw girl he vaguely recognised. Everyone else seemed too awed with him to speak up. Harry nodded at the girl, and she timidly asked, "Where did you learn all of this?"

"Our various Defense teachers, and some of it I taught myself," Harry told her. "Which means it's not impossible. Some of what we work on will be pretty advanced stuff, so I don't expect everyone to pick it up. But I do expect everyone to try. Agreed?"

They all nodded, and Harry said, "All right then, let's split up and do some actual work. Let's have everyone who was in the group last time work with some of the new people. Find out what all they know and go over as much of the basic stuff as you can."

With that, everyone stood up and sorted themselves out. Harry, Hermione, and Ron joined them and each found a group of new students to work with. Harry spent a little time getting know the students he was helping. It wasn't easy as most of them seemed too nervous or too intimidated by him to speak up.

For the next half hour, Harry covered the Disarming Spell and Stunner, as that was all they had time for. Most of them already knew both spells, and the others picked it up quickly. Harry glanced around and saw that most of the other groups were having similar success.

When Harry checked his watch and saw that it was nearly nine, he got everyone's attention and ended the meeting. "We'll get everyone's coins to them sometime during the week," Harry told them as they passed around the parchment to sign it. "And then I can notify everyone of the next meeting."

Once everyone left, Harry sat around with his rest of his friends, talking about how things went. "There really weren't a whole lot of people, were there?" he asked them.

"I was thinking the same thing, mate," Ron agreed with him.

"Well, we didn't give everyone much notice, did we?" Hermione said. "Plus a lot of people are busy with other clubs."

"We still had more than last time," Ginny said. "By the way Harry, I think you did great tonight."

"Oh yeah?" Harry asked. "Well, it's thanks to Hermione for helping me prepare. You think they'll come back?"

"Are you kidding? They think you're a god, Harry," Neville told him. "They'll want to come back every day." Luna sniggered behind her hands until Harry looked over at her warningly.

"He's right though," Ron said. "You saw those two Ravenclaws in the front row, right? Looking at you all dreamily."

"Come off it, Ron," Harry told him, "they were just paying attention."

"I saw more than just those two, Ron," Hermione added playfully. "You know what it is, Harry? Same as last year, you're the Chosen One. You're the hero again. Hero to the entire wizarding world."

"Shut up, all of you," Harry said irritably.

"You know, people never stop being impressed or surprised by what you've done or what you can do," Ginny said, grinning mischievously at him. "Can you imagine years from now, when they're all reading your biography? Learning all of your secrets."

Harry sank down in his chair, scowling at all of them. "I should go back to Grimmauld Place," he muttered as they all began to laugh.

.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.

A/N- yeah…