All right! Lots of stuff happening in this one. Things are changing, Nox is stepping up and I can't wait to have time to write more! Honestly, if my homework and job would just give me one more day off... But I hope you all enjoy! Let me know what you like best about this chapter because I feel like Nox may be getting a little carried away, but well... Umbridge...

Also! I've had an idea while talking with someone (thank you the ginger15) and I have plans for Nox to sort of split from the usual trio and do some "studying abroad." This won't happen for a long while (not till they start searching for Horcruxes) but I'm curious as to what you all think of this. I feel it will give him a chance to grow separately from them without the need to put up appearances like he has been, as well as get stronger and more prepared for the war that's coming.

"Harry, don't forget the two drops of hellebore," I hummed, stirring my own potion as the instruction demanded.

Harry had almost missed this step after all and the Draught of Peace we were making was very finicky. Snape probably felt like giving us a challenge just to watch the students poorer at potions fail, but despite his glaring at me from across the room, he wasn't about to stop me helping just yet. As it was, his eyes would drift to Neville's cauldron, expecting it to explode or catch fire as it had in previous years. I think it's almost funny how he's expecting it still. Neville's been doing decent enough when I teach him. Snape just spooks him into making mistakes. Neville was muttering under his breath too, though his brows were furrowed in concentration, making me crack a smile.

"How's Neville doing well and I'm not?" Ron hissed in annoyance.

"That's because he pays attention when I teach him," I chided Ron who huffed at his sparking green concoction. "And I've taught him a trick to help him with his nerves."

"What's that?" Harry asked.

"He thinks about Herbology," I shrug, checking on my potion as it started to shimmer with a silver mist. Perfect. "Keeps him focused on something he enjoys. Look at his potion ingredients."

Harry glanced over subtly to not draw Snape's attention. "What the… They're mislabeled."

"No. He's just labeled them with names of the plants they come from. Like I said, keeps his focus on Herbology which is actually really important to understand in potions," I hummed. "Lower your heat a bit more, Harry."

He did just as Snape strolled towards our table to check our progress. Hermione and I had already finished ours and Snape scolded Ron a bit about his before frowning down at Harry's. While not creating the fine silver mist it should, it was smoking a darker grey and would undoubtedly be considered passible. This, of course, set Snape's attention on me.

"Interrupting my lessons again, Sterling?" He snarled.

"It's Lupin, now, but simply giving tips when I feel it's needed," I replied, lifting my gaze steadily to his as those near us listened in. "Unless you'd rather another hole get burned through your fine tables."

His eyes narrowed. "Detention this evening, Lupin," he spat. "You'll be making your own potion tonight."

He means the Wolfsbane. How cute. He should know by now that I make it myself all the time anyway. "Yes, sir," I chimed, earning a sigh from Hermione as Snape requested his flagon of potions from the class and assigned the homework. "How was yours, Neville?" I asked as we headed for lunch—rain pounding against the windows outside.

"I-It was okay. Your tips really helped, Nox, though Snape still said I had the heat up too high…"

"Yeah, but that's an easy mistake. Hard to tell the temperature of a fire without something to measure it. Going by eyesight is tricky."

"You still got detention though…"

Hermione huffed. "Honestly, Nox. It's the first day of class!"

"Oh, you know he was messing with me. Figured I'd play back." I shrugged, biting into my sandwich with gusto.

Ron agreed. "Poisonous toadstools don't change their spots."

"You'd think he might be a bit better this year," Hermione muttered, ensuring no one was passing by before speaking. "..now he's in the Order and everything."

"It's better he doesn't act any different," I piped up. "He's got to keep up appearances as a spy. If he suddenly turned good, do you know how suspicious that would be? Besides, he still holds a grudge against your dad, Remus, and Sirius, Harry. They did basically threaten his life with a prank that was out of control."

"I guess," Harry murmured. "But how can Dumbledore trust Snape? Where's the evidence he ever really stopped working for You-Know-Who?"

I shot them a look, knowing I was teetering on the edge of something Harry hadn't found out about yet. "Could be that he's doing it for a reason, you know, betraying Voldemort."

Ron shivered, though Hermione just wrinkled her nose a bit, used to me saying his name around her.

"Maybe Snape's doing it for someone he trusts. Not necessarily Dumbledore, but since Dumbledore's views align with his, it's possible Voldemort did something that even Snape couldn't forgive that Dumbledore took advantage of."

"Dumbledore wouldn't—"

I cut Hermione off. "There's a lot we don't know about Dumbledore, Hermione. Mind you, he's a man feared by Voldemort and the current Minister of Magic. A man who easily summoned an army before and is starting to do it again. Taking advantage of someone's need for revenge wouldn't be a stretch for him. I don't even trust him."

"But you're in the Order, mate. You know more than any of us," Ron argued.

"And? I'm in the Order because I don't care for the whole Pure-bloods rule the world thing, and I have the tools to be able to help do something about it. I'm not in it for Dumbledore. I'm in it for me and my creatures. If there's a war coming, I'm going to be on the side that will keep me and those I care about safe. Or, well, as safe as I can make them."

The trio thought that over for the rest of lunch before the bell rang and Harry and Ron went to Divination while Hermione and I went to Arithmancy. I couldn't focus though, knowing what was coming in the next lesson. I can't let Harry blow his temper… No, that's about impossible the way things are right now. He's a bit calmer and isn't fighting with Hermione and Ron as much, but that's either because he doesn't have the added pressure of Cedric dying or because his lack of trust towards me means he's keeping them close. Problem is, if I can't keep him quiet, I have to draw attention to myself.

I felt a jab in my side and begrudgingly let Hermione correct the equation I'd written wrong before continuing on my notes, mind half-listening, and half-drifting towards what I remember about Umbridge. Harry gets angry, she gives him detention and she's got some illegal quill that carves what you write into your hand. I can deal with that. I don't want to, but Hermione made me swear not to get expelled. Unless… It's a weird way of doing things, but she should fall for it. She takes Harry and the twins from the Quidditch team because she finds out they love it. If I don't have that weakness… If getting expelled would make me happy, then… Perfect. I know what I'm going to do.

"Remind me to send Dumbledore Canary Creams for Christmas," I muttered as Hermione and I caught up with Harry and Ron outside the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom.

"Nox!"

I cracked a small smile at Hermione, who huffed, exasperated with me, before we entered and took our seats before the overly cheerful Umbridge seated at her desk. If I don't die from stress this year, I am so treating Lupin and I to a vacation.

"Well, good afternoon!" Umbridge greeted, getting a lackluster response. "Tut, tut. That won't do, now, will it? I should like you, please, to reply 'Good afternoon, Professor Umbridge.' One more time, please. Good afternoon, class!"

The others chanted out their "good afternoons" but I didn't so much as open my mouth. Honestly, I hate people like her. We're not five-year-olds. You want my respect as a teacher, you've gotta earn it, not pester me with this sort of nonsense… God, I won't make it through a single lesson with her, will I?

"There, now," she hummed. "That wasn't too difficult, was it? Wands away and quills out, please."

A good portion of the class let out soft sighed at that, knowing that there'd yet to be an interesting class taught without our wands in use. Umbridge pulled out her wand though, tapping the blackboard near her and making writing appear.

Defense Against the Dark Arts

A Return to Basic Principles

I sighed, quill and parchment out but my mind already drifting, not bothering to even lift my quill as I knew I wouldn't need to write down any of the nonsense she'd be putting up.

"Well now, your teaching in this subject has been rather disrupted and fragmented, hasn't it?" She hummed. "The constant changing of teachers, many of whom do not seem to have followed any Ministry-approved curriculum, has unfortunately resulted in your being far below the standard we would expect to see in your OWL year. You will be pleased to know, however, that these problems are now to be rectified. We will be following a carefully structured, theory-centered, Ministry-approved course of defensive magic this year. Copy down the following, please."

More words appeared on the board, though I simply lifted my quill and started doodling as she asked if we received her textbook—our response apparently not being enough for her.

"'I think we'll try that again. When I ask you a question, I should like you to reply, 'Yes, Professor Umbridge,' or 'No, Professor Umbridge.' So: has everyone got a copy of Defensive Magical Theory by Wilbert Slinkhard?"

"Fuck you, Professor Umbridge," I murmured under my breath, earning a half-smile from Harry beside me and a frown from Hermione.

"Good. I should like you to turn to page five and read 'Chapter One, Basics for Beginners.' There will be no need to talk."

"If I wanted a reading class, I'd have stayed in the library. Might learn more there," I huffed, flicking the book open but not even looking at it as my gaze drifted to the window.

The others were having trouble with it too. Harry looked about ready to fall asleep within seconds of reading it while Ron just spun his quill around his fingers. Hermione had the right idea though, having not even opened her book and instead, staring at Umbridge with her hand in the air. I watched her curiously, a half-smile on my face. Oh, I'm a bad influence on her, aren't I? Umbridge seemed settled for ignoring her, but other gazes started to drift to Hermione before I got fed up and spoke.

"Professor, Hermione has a question."

Umbridge flinched at my voice speaking up clearly and without concern for her rule of no talking. Still, she didn't say anything, so I spoke up louder.

"Well, if you're not going to ask what her question is, I will, and I might just take a long while explaining my answer and therefore ruining your opportunity to educate us on the proper Ministry—"

"Did you want to ask something about the chapter, dear?" Umbridge cut me off, though I cracked a smirk at seeing her grubby hands fisted in annoyance.

Oh, I might get detention, but it'll definitely be fun to screw with her.

"'Not about the chapter, no," Hermione replied.

"Well, we're reading just now. If you have other queries we can deal with them at the end of class."

"But what if everyone else needs to hear the answer?" I prompted, leaning back in my seat with my arms folded over my chest and my brows raised before Hermione continued with her question.

"I've got a query about your course aims."

"Hermione, was it?" Umbridge asked.

"Hermione Granger."

"Well, Miss Granger, I think the course aims are perfectly clear if you read them through carefully."

"Well, I don't," Hermione responded with bluntly. "There's nothing written up there about using defensive spells."

A number of people looked at the blackboard where they found Hermione was very much correct. Umbridge though, let out a little laugh.

"Using defensive spells? Why, I can't imagine any situation arising in my classroom that would require you to use a defensive spell, Miss Granger. You surely aren't expecting to be attacked during class?"

"We're not going to use magic?" Ron exclaimed.

"Students raise their hands when they wish to speak in my class, Mr.—"

"Weasley," Ron introduced, thrusting his hand up as I snorted.

"She's also never met me. I could attack someone in the middle of class, and no one would even know it was me," I hummed under my breath, getting a roll of Hermione's eyes as Harry snickered—his hand up too now.

"Yes, Miss Granger? You wanted to ask something else?" Umbridge questioned, eyes having lingered on Harry but choosing the lesser of the two evils.

"Yes. Surely the whole point of Defence Against the Dark Arts is to practice defensive spells?"

"Are you a Ministry-trained educational expert, Miss Granger?"

"No, but—"

"Well then, I'm afraid you are not qualified to decide what the 'whole point' of any class is. Wizards much older and cleverer than you have devised our new program of study. You will be learning about defensive spells in a secure, risk-free way—"

"What use is that?" Harry interrupted. "If we're going to be attacked, it won't be in a—"

"Hand, Mr. Potter!"

Harry lifted his hand again, but she picked on Dean instead.

"And your name is?"

"Dean Thomas."

"Well, Mr. Thomas?"

"Well, it's like Harry said, isn't it? If we're going to be attacked, it won't be risk-free."

"I repeat. Do you expect to be attacked during my class?"

"No, but—"

"I'll do it, if you want," I hummed, drawing semi-fearful eyes towards me. "Provide an example. After all, students jinx one another in the halls. Only reason we don't do it in class is the risk of detention—"

"Hand!" Umbridge scolded and I snorted, not bothering to lift my hand as she spoke again.

"I do not wish to criticize the way things have been run in this school, but you have been exposed to some very irresponsible wizards in this class, very irresponsible indeed—not to mention extremely dangerous half-breeds."

I felt fire in my gullet build at that, standing and a dangerous silence coming over the room when I did, though Hermione was hissing my name and hand her hand around my wrist.

"I'm sorry, I thought I just heard something rude said about our best teacher yet," I hummed, eerily calm and Umbridge went to say something, but I spoke over her. "And I'm not raising my hand because obviously I've got your attention and am the only one speaking."

"Y-You will raise your hand—"

"Or what?" I challenged. "You'll ignore me? That's perfectly fine, seeing as I'll keep everyone's attention so long as you are."

"What is your name?" She hissed.

"What's it matter to you?" I pressed, tipping my head.

"So, I know what to put on your detention slip."

"Oh, so you can't give me detention until you know my name? How fun!" I said, sarcasm leaking from every pore as murmurs started up.

"Nox," Hermione hissed under her breath, unheard and getting a squeeze from our hands before I let her hand go and stepped out from behind the desk.

"See, I wonder if you were taught Defense Against the Dark Arts without lifting your wand, professor," I chimed, standing in the front of the class and facing her as those behind me were eagerly awaiting what would happen. "If I remember right, that's about 1975-ish, right? The crux of when Voldemort first started gathering followers and placed a curse on the position, so that would mean your education was even more disrupted than ours and I doubt anyone of those professors refused to have you lift your wan—"

"Detention! For a week!" She screeched, though I pressed on.

"And you're so convinced that he's not back because of pure ignorance? Is that it?"

"T-Two weeks!"

"And you treat us as though we're mere children, but many of us are actually far more intelligent than you think and are prepared to realize what Voldemort's return means."

"A month!"

"It means, professor, that a war is coming and we need to know our defenses more than anything, but instead we've got some ignoramus who's more afraid of losing his position to someone who doesn't even want it than someone worried about the very people he was sworn into protecting."

"I'll get you expelled!"

"Oh? Will you?" I hummed. "That'd be rather nice. Won't have to deal with your bullshit lessons anyway and I teach myself better than most, so I'm sure I could learn far more than you could teach anyway. Oh, but wait? You still don't know my name, do you?"

"You won't ever be allowed back!"

"Just gives me more free time. Anyway," I turned my back to her, looking at the students. "You all know me, yes? I'm sure you all have mixed feelings about the whole Dark Lord thing, but you can all at least admit that this professor is useless, correct? So, why don't we just leave?"

They turned to one another murmuring.

"What? You think she's going to do something? Give us all detention?" I snorted. "Even if she did, that means we'd have to actually show up. Fun thing about human rights, no one can make you do anything. Well, wizarding rights shows only the Imperius could accomplish that, but that would put shame on the Ministry, wouldn't it? 'Classroom of students witness Ministry professor use forbidden curse on a defenseless student.' I can see the headlines now."

"Nox, what are you doing?" Hermione asked, standing now as well and I felt a wide smirk appear on my face.

"I'm leading a revolution, can't you tell? So, you all can walk out with me, or sit in here and read your books like good little boys and girls."

"But…" Dean muttered. "But what about our OWLs?"

"Well, you'll learn more crunching the books outside of this class instead of in it. And once people notice a whole class not showing up, something will have to give. But, it's up to you. I'm leaving."

"Me too," Harry agreed, looking to the others. "I saw him. I saw Voldemort last year—"

"That is a lie!" Umbridge shouted, but no one even looked her way.

"I saw him, I fought him!" Harry pressed on.

"Detention, Mr. Potter!"

"Voldemort could have killed me, but I had the practice of practical Defense Against the Dark Arts! I was able to live and escape because I knew how to fight! I won't learn that by reading about stupid theories. So, I'm leaving too."

"Me too," Ron agreed, standing and gathering his things as others started to murmur.

"A-And me," Neville agreed, making me smile. "And I might not be any good at Defense Against the Dark Arts, b-but I trust Nox."

Hermione sighed. "You really are causing trouble, Nox."

"But you love me anyway," I chirped, earning some chuckles as her face flushed.

"Nox is right," Dean huffed, standing as well. "I won't learn anything like this."

Others started standing too, even those from other houses and soon, the entire class started to filter out. Umbridge was quivering with rage behind us and I heard the tell-tale rustle of her drawing her wand the same instant I turned.

"Protego!"

Her spell bounced off my shield, startling students who stared in surprise at the wispy silver protection covering all of them.

"This," I said sharply. "Is precisely my point. This shield is from the physical practice I put in every day to improve myself. You think you can provide any of us with better defenses through theory alone?"

My shield fell and I took a step towards her, making her fire off another that I easily flicked away.

"I thought you were capable of teaching us, professor? Ministry level, but you can't even fight a sixteen-year-old?"

There was another spell fired and when I went to block it, it passed right through. I felt warm, fuzzy inside before I immediately snapped out of it with a flare of anger.

"Langlock!"

Her tongue was glued to the roof of her mouth.

"Calvorio!"

Her hair vanished from her head.

"Engorgio Skullus!"

Her head doubled in size and with a flick of my wand, she hung upside down from the ceiling, dropping her wand. I approached her, making her squirm as she tried to shift away from me unsuccessfully and I knelt down and smirked at her swelling head.

"My name is Nox Lupin, and if you call my father a half-breed again, you'll wish you never started working here. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got far better things to do than listening to your squealing."

Another flick of my wand and a pig's tail sprouted from her behind, earning laughter and cheers as I stepped out into the hall with the others of our class. Hermione looks about ready to strangle me, but this ended better than I expected.

"What were you thinking?" Hermione hissed as the group spread out to head off and do their own thing with our class "let out" for the day. "She's not going to let this go. You've just assaulted a Ministry worker!"

"In Hogwarts, where the Ministry has no sway," I countered. "I honestly was just going to say something about Voldemort and get a detention, but I'm not about to let her get away with insulting Remus."

"Does this mean you're teaching us Defense Against the Dark Arts?" Ron teased and I shrugged.

"Sure. She's obviously not going to teach, so if someone wants to spread the word, I'll teach anyone who's interest—"

"Mr. Lupin!"

I winced. "And here comes the backlash. Hello, Professor McGonagall," I greeted, turning to face her stunned expression as she stormed up. "Lovely day, don't you think?"

"It's pouring rain outside," Harry reminded me.

"Yeah, love the rain. Very… wet. Very nice." I chuckled awkwardly as she glowered down at me.

"I've just received word that a classroom full of students has run off in the halls. And when I questioned them, they informed me that Defense Against the Dark Arts was released early."

Oh, nothing about me? Surprising. I expected someone to give out that it was me, I silently mused.

"So, when I went to discover what our new Professor was thinking—letting students out early the first day of class—I was surprised to discover her hanging from the ceiling with an engorged head and a pigtail!"

"Wow, that's weird," I tried, playing nonchalant and awkwardly glancing away.

"And what else is strange is that when I unjinxed her and sent her to Madam Pomfrey's, all she would say was Nox Lupin."

And there's the nail in my coffin.

"I take it I'm getting detention?" I inquired, watching her expression twitch.

"Oh, you're getting far more than that. Headmaster's office. Now."

"Yes, ma'am."

Dumbledore sat in his office, enjoying a nice cup of tea before he started to hear murmurs from the headmasters' portraits in the room. He ignored it for a moment before peering open an eye as he sipped from his cup, catching a few words.

"…that Umbridge woman…"

"Who?"

"…the boy… Order…"

The door burst open then, silencing the portraits as Nox was led in by an irate McGonagall, securing the idea of what had happened in Dumbledore's mind and enticing a small smirk from him. He works fast…

"To what do I owe the pleasure, Minerva?"

"Mr. Lupin here, has infuriated and embarrassed Professor Umbridge, jinxing her repeatedly, and removing all of the students from her room before class was even a few minutes in!"

"Is this true, Nox?" Dumbledore asked, resisting the urge to smile and give away his thoughts on the whole situation while McGonagall was still in the room.

Nox obviously knew this, scowling at him for a moment before grumbling under his breath. "She started it."

"It doesn't matter who started it! She is a professor of this school and deserves respect no matter where she is from! Hanging her from the ceiling with multiple curses on her person is not respect! It's downright intolerable!" McGonagall roared, only making Dumbledore's lips twitch as he held back laughter.

"I will handle it, Minerva," he managed to get out. "For now, go prepare for your next class and shoo any of Professor Umbridge's wandering students towards the library to study, at the very least."

"Yes, headmaster." She shot one last scathing look at Nox, who flinched, before leaving.

Nox's gaze followed her out, focusing on the door as Dumbledore leaned back in his seat, conjuring up Nox's usual chair.

"You got carried away, I take it?"

Nox scowled at him, taking a seat. "She called my father a monstrous half-breed."

"Ah, yes. I suppose that would do it, wouldn't it?"

Nox gave him a look that only made Dumbledore more amused.

"So, what was it you actually did?"

Nox sighed, explaining what had happened and the gist of what he'd said and done, leaving Dumbledore mildly surprised and a little impressed.

"And she threatened you with what?"

"Oh, about two months of detention and expulsion," Nox replied with a shrug, enjoying his own tea Dumbledore had offered. "Detention is easy to avoid and you're the only one with the power to expel, so it's really just hot air."

"Correct, though if I weren't to punish you, you understand how that will look to the students."

"Sure. If you assign it, I'll do it. I'm sure as soon as her head is back to normal she'll come right up here to complain anyway. We talking detention or hard labor?" Nox asked, looking unbothered by the punishment he was going to receive.

"How about both?" Dumbledore smiled. "You can clean the aviary tower until the holidays twice a week. No Hogsmeade weekends after this first one in October as I need you to relay some information to Remus, including your troublemaking."

"Great," Nox huffed.

"I'll also ask that you take two weeks of detention with her as well."

Nox shot him a look. "Your way of satisfying her need for punishment? Need I remind you, she tried to use the Imperius Curse on me, and I have no doubt she'll be a fan of physical punishment. I have enough nightmares of that without her stupid pink cardigan getting thrown into the mix."

Dumbledore hummed. "Under Minerva then. She seems upset with you for this, so I'm sure she will come up with something to satisfy Umbridge."

"Umbridge won't be satisfied until I've been beaten within an inch of my life and bowing to her feet," Nox scoffed, sipping his tea.

"Yes, well, I do believe you've managed to prove your point to her easily enough. I expect we'll be hearing from the Ministry about this though, so you've put me in quite the position."

"Have I?" Nox hummed, a mischievous look in his eyes.

Clever. I expected him to handle Umbridge more maturely, but with a full moon affecting his temper and him not appreciating the task I forced upon him, he's getting revenge in his own way. He'll be very powerful later in life.

"Hm," Dumbledore smiled politely. "I will ensure the Minister—should he try to take action—that there is a classroom full of witnesses to prove that she attacked you first and used a forbidden curse upon your person."

"You might mention that it would be easy to slip to a newspaper," Nox supplied. "I still have Rita Skeeter under my thumb and I'm sure any paper or magazine would love to put that in their headlines."

Definitely a dangerous person to cross. "Well, I shall inform Minerva of your punishments and check up on your professor to relay the information to her." Dumbledore stood, vanishing the tea and Nox's chair once he was standing as well.

"Her student will still be skipping class so long as we're not allowed to use our wands," Nox reminded him.

"Yes, the other problem you've left me with. I doubt the Ministry will accept this, expecting me to enforce you all to return to lessons."

"Human rights," Nox brought up.

"Yes, well, they may threaten the student's OWLs."

"And I've already informed them I'll take care of that."

Dumbledore raised his brows. "You're accepting my previous offer then?"

"Begrudgingly," Nox huffed. "We'll be borrowing the Room of Requirement. I'll teach them there and Hermione will help me with gathering people. I'll have to vet them, but I'd rather risk someone ratting me out later than have anyone risk failing their OWLs because of an idiotic teacher. Still, it's a bit funny."

"Hm?"

Nox smiled with a chuckle, something far more relaxed and innocent than Dumbledore had seen from the boy since they met. "They brought her in to spy on you out of fear of you making an army, but her very presence here is causing that army to be formed. Hope I'm here to see Fudge's face when he finds out."

"Ah, do send Harry when you get the opportunity," Dumbledore said as they stepped out into the hall, drawing Nox's curious gaze towards him. "I believe I have something to inform him, and I have some free time after dinner."

Nox smiled a little and nodded, heading off as Dumbledore smiled at his back.

Powerful indeed.

I stepped into the Great Hall to complete silence before someone started clapping and I raised a brow when others joined in. Fred and George were the first to come up and congratulate me on becoming an honorary member of their pranking group—which I didn't know was taking members or even existed—and upon sitting by Harry and the others, stared at their obviously amused faces.

"Heard you got off," Ron smirked, high fiving me. "Nice."

"That's not 'nice,' Ronald," Hermione huffed, eyes sharp when she looked at me. "And you promised me, Nox. You swore you wouldn't do anything that could get you expelled! Umbridge wants you kicked out!"

"Well, for one thing, she doesn't have the power to do that, only Dumbledore does. Second," I ticked off. "Dumbledore already said that if Fudge gets brought in about it, we have a classroom full of witnesses that saw her use a forbidden curse on me. And third, I didn't technically break your promise."

"Nox!"

I held up my hands in surrender, leaning back away from her as she looked about ready to jinx me herself. "A-And, if it helps, I hadn't planned on making a scene until she bad-mouthed Remus. Or, well, not a big scene anyway. I only planned for a week of detention."

"Planned?" She screeched.

Oh, boy. "Look, I—"

"Shouldn't you tell them?" Harry asked then, making me grimace.

"Tell us what?" Hermione asked, whipping around to him as Ron frowned.

"Yeah, are you two hiding something? I thought we were friends."

"Nox told me not to say anything," Harry grumbled, brows furrowed as he watched me, and the others turned back to me.

"Because it's… something sensitive that I can't have people just spilling out all willy nilly," I muttered.

"So, you don't trust us?" Hermione breathed bringing forth a swirl of panic.

"No. No, I do. It's just…" I grimaced. "Look. I-I'll tell you. After dinner, all right? But I seriously mean it when I say it's… it's vital that this doesn't get out. Harry's the only one who knows and that's because it saved his life and will continue to save his life. I needed him to understand that and that's why I told him. But this isn't like my… my condition. If this gets out, it's not going to get me expelled, but it will get me killed if not worse. Understand?"

The two hesitated but nodded, allowing me to relax a little though I could feel things crumbling—like sand slipping through my fingers. If I lost Hermione and Ron's trust as well, things would become very complicated very quickly.

"So… what now?" Ron asked, allowing our conversation to continue. "We're not going back to Umbridge's class, right? So, what do we do?"

"I already said I'll teach you," I reminded him, looking to Hermione. "If you could find a… secretive way to communicate with people, just a date and time, that'd be really helpful. I know it will take time, but I'll spread the word by mouth first until Umbridge gets suspicious."

"Not that she isn't already," Harry murmured, eyeing the woman in her pink cardigan sitting at the staff table glaring heatedly at the side of my head.

"Yeah, but she can't do anything yet. Needs the power of someone above her and the Ministry will take a day to reply at the least and Dumbledore already 'took care' of my punishment."

"Yeah, what are you doing, anyway? People saw you come out of Dumbledore's office but said you didn't look bothered. You're not expelled, obviously," Ron brought up.

"Yeah, two weeks detention with McGonagall who didn't approve of my antics."

"Not with Umbridge?" Hermione questioned.

"No. She tried to use Imperio on me. I'm not about to believe she won't use the Cruciatus Curse, and neither is Dumbledore. So, I'm getting punished by McGonagall. And no Hogsmeade trips after this first one."

"Why not the first?"

"I've got stuff to pass on to Remus, apparently and Dumbledore is expecting me to tell him in person what I've done," I huffed.

"But… you're not expelled, right?" Hermione asked, hesitant.

"Nope. Ministry won't even press it because we can use the threat of Umbridge using the curse." I smirked. "One word from me and Rita Skeeter will have an article published in every newspaper she can get a hold of… Oh, and I'm cleaning the owl tower twice a week until the holidays, but that's hardly anything. I've had the itch to clean it since I stepped foot in there. Honestly, does Filch even do any cleaning?"

"Doubt it," Harry smiled before I remembered something.

"Oh, Harry, Dumbledore wants to talk to you after dinner."

"Me?"

I nodded. "It's important. About everything that's going on. Password is Sugar Quills."

"He's going to tell me everything?"

"Not everything, but everything you're involved in, yes. Sounded like it." I lifted my gaze from my plate. "You're welcome for that, by the way. I've been trying to convince him since the Order started up again."

Harry looked relieved and nodded. "Yeah… Yeah, thanks, Nox."

I hummed, hoping that this would help regain some of the trust that had been broken between us, but not keeping my hopes up too high. Once Harry finds out the truth, his trust in Dumbledore falters and I have no doubt that my knowing about it means he will have more trouble with me too. Still… here's hoping it won't last forever.

"Ah," I suddenly said, startling the trio. "I have detention with Snape after this."

"We can wait," Hermione offered.

"Yeah, but I don't want to explain in the common room where people might hear. I've got a place, but getting caught in the halls after dark is…"

"Why don't we just go now?" Harry asked, making Ron pout.

"But we haven't had dessert yet."

"I'll have the house-elves in the kitchen send you something," I hummed, getting a huff from Hermione. "But we best hurry. It's… not something easy to say nor easy to believe and I know you'll have questions."

The group nodded and we headed out, slipping to where I knew the Room of Requirement was—after double and triple-checking with the twins earlier—and showing them the room.

"Whoa, this is nice!" Ron gaped at the comfy sofas and fireplace while I took a seat and started pouring tea.

"It's the room I'm going to use for teaching people Defense Against the Dark Arts. It's called the Room of Requirement. It literally provides you with anything you need." I waved at the door that latched shut and the gentle hum of magic thickened the air in the room. "Soundproof, so no eavesdroppers."

"Wicked," Ron beamed, his smile growing when a platter of desserts appeared on the table for him to mow through.

"How did you find this?" Hermione asked.

"Twins."

"Of course," she huffed, before growing more serious. "So, what is it you want to tell us?"

I slowly lowered my tea and let out a soft sigh. "I'm a Seer, basically."

"A what?" Ron asked though Hermione's eyes went wide.

"Like Professor Trelawney?"

"Not like her, no." I wrinkled my nose. "She'll have occasional really good prophecies, but most of her stuff is made up. Dumbledore only keeps her around because of the good stuff and to keep her safe from people who want to use her. No. I… I can see a future, our future but only one version of it."

"I don't get it," Ron muttered, brows furrowed. "So, you can see stuff? Like what I'll have for lunch tomorrow?"

"No. Not really. I just… Well, it's a bit foggy, if I'm being honest. The small details aren't that great, but I remember large events. I know the big changes that are going to happen up until not long after our last year studying."

"So… So, you knew about Vol—You-Know-Who coming back last year," Hermione concluded, making me nod.

"Yes."

"You knew about the basilisk and Quirrell and Professor Moody—"

"And Harry's name getting put in the Goblet of Fire and every task involved, and the Death Eaters at the World Cup and Umbridge showing up now. Yes. Yes, I knew it all."

"Why didn't you stop it then?" Ron demanded, looking to Harry who was remaining silent. "He could've stopped you from even meeting him. Nox, you could have stopped Voldemort returning!"

"That wouldn't have stopped him," I sighed, expecting this after how Harry had reacted. "Voldemort has a lot of people backing him up. Harry doesn't go, then someone else will take Harry when he's not in Hogwarts. Maybe take him on his way to Hogwarts. And if that had happened, then Harry would've probably been killed without anyone even realizing. There are too many variables that would have changed."

"Oh, so instead you send him off to die?"

"No. And I know we were secretive about this, but as soon as I saw Harry's red sparks in the sky, I rushed down to alert Remus and the others that something was wrong. That's why Dumbledore had left the stands too. We all went to see if there was a way to get Harry back before he got hurt."

"But you didn't say anything!"

"And if Harry didn't go, then Cedric would have!" I countered Ron, making him bristle but go quiet. "Or Krum, or Fleur, or all three! And then what? Then two extra people would have been dead."

"Two?" Hermione questioned, having caught the slip and I forced myself to calm down, setting my tea down before I dropped it or burned myself.

"The future I saw, Harry and Cedric agree to touch the Goblet at the same time, and both get transported to Voldemort. Having no need for Cedric, he's killed immediately," I murmur, making Hermione bring her hands to her mouth in shock. "I changed that. I made Harry swear he would do anything to keep Cedric from touching the goblet, even if it was cruel. Cedric's alive because of that."

"Then… Then, you knew about Moody too," Hermione added, and I nodded.

"And I made sure that Barty Jr. was revealed early in the hopes that maybe none of this would happen. So, yes, Ron. I had tried to stop it completely and Dubh was nearly killed for it."

"Oh, yeah. Save some bird over your friend," Ron scoffed, making me bristle.

"Dubh is every bit of a friend to me as Harry, and the only reason I didn't want Harry further was because I didn't want the future to be worse off because of it."

"The future is already worse off!"

"No, it's not, because it's still along the lines of what I remember," I argued, reining back my temper as much as I could. "I know how Voldemort gets beaten. I know everything that needs to happen o reach that point and yes, I will change things if I feel they can be changed without any of you getting killed. That is the only time I will change things because changing things however you feel to ensure no one gets hurt in any way? Changing every little thing so Harry or you or whoever lives the perfect little life with no knowledge of worry or fear? That's how people die. That's how people become unprepared to deal with the challenges ahead of them and believe it or not, but we are going to war, Ron. You're all going to need to be prepared because I can't be in every place at once to save you every time you fall and skin your knee. Understand?"

Ron went quiet, still not looking thrilled as I took a deep breath and let it out.

"Now, I don't care if you don't trust me. Harry doesn't, obviously, which is why we haven't exactly been… close lately. All I ask is that you never mention this ability of mine to anyone. No one. Because as much as I enjoyed being tortured the first twelve years of my life, I'd rather not have to deal with far worse because someone spilled, and Voldemort found out."

Ron huffed but didn't argue, and Hermione looked a bit concerned.

"So, you know what's going to happen with Umbridge?"

I looked at her and nodded. "I've already changed things with what I caused in class. Harry was supposed to shout and get detention for a week, where Umbridge would basically abuse her power over him to try and make him break."

"What?" Harry questioned, having not known this for many reasons.

"She has a quill that carves what you write in the back of your hand," I rattled off.

"That's illegal!" Hermione gasped.

"Not that she cares. She's part of the Ministry and who would believe a sixteen-year-old, let alone the supposedly crazy Harry Potter? Thing is, she does that, and when she sees it's not working bans you from Quidditch forever."

"Forever?" Ron questioned, looking stunned.

"Yup. You, Fred and George. The three of you attack Malfoy right after a Quidditch match for saying something about your mother."

"That little—"

"Don't," I said sternly. "You do something now, and you'll get in worse trouble than usual. Umbridge is literally trying to take over Hogwarts from within to be put under control of the Ministry."

"She can't do that! Dumbledore—"

"Will have ended up getting kicked out."

"How!"

"She can't!"

I sighed. "Look. It's all really complicated, and I may have changed some of it as I said. Thing is, Harry, you were supposed to be at the center of all this. You challenge Umbridge, you start teaching students Defense Against the Dark Arts, you not me."

"I-I can't teach anyone."

I manage a small smile. "You actually do pretty well, if I'm being honest. I'll have you helping me later if you'd like, seeing as I've become the one to do the teaching with a bigger group of students."

"Wait, so what about you?" Hermione asked. "Can't you see your own actions?"

I shook my head. "No. I know one future and it doesn't have me in it. I change something too big, and the future I know becomes obsolete, useless."

"But you just fought with Umbridge," Ron argued. "You just said—"

"I can make guesses as to what will happen," I reassured him. "It's not entirely accurate, really, but it's enough to help me prepare for what could change. So, I took Harry's place by fighting with Umbridge. This means I get punished, which I have, but not by Umbridge which has changed things. Undoubtedly, by tomorrow Umbridge will start posting notices about banning things by order of the Ministry. The Ministry is technically a level above Dumbledore, so he'll have to let her. I don't know what will change with me having convinced everyone to skip her lessons. I can try our little meet up here, but she'll find out eventually and will ban that too. We can keep it going and I can fib if she ever catches us in the act, but in the future I know, Dumbledore ends up leaving because he admits he formed the group."

"But he… won't that be treason?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah, but they can only imprison him if they catch him. He escapes and eventually comes back. The fun part is getting Umbridge out. Which reminds me, how are your dreams, Harry?"

Harry stiffened. "What? What do you mean?"

"You've been walking down a corridor, haven't you? Looking for something?"

Harry paled. "H-How…"

I raised a brow. "I just explained how. Now, be sure and tell Dumbledore this when you speak with him. I'll do my best to help you later about it, explain it better than him as I'm sure he won't be explaining it well enough to calm you down. Thing is, if he mentions Occlumency, accept and don't be bitter towards the person who teaches you."

"What? I don't understand."

I sighed. "And I'll explain it later when it makes more sense. Just… let me know if the dreams ever change. Let us all know, preferably, since we're all spilling our secrets here. But you better go. Dinner's probably over and he'll be waiting for you."

The group stood up and Harry was the first to go as Hermione and Ron hesitated.

"I still think you're barney," Ron grumbled.

"Acceptable." I shrugged. "I wrestle with dragons and tease a Zouwu with cat toys. I think being a little insane is perfectly fine."

His lip twitched up slightly before he seemed to realize he was doing so and frowned instead.

"I don't trust you."

"Also fine."

"But… as long as you prove it. Your… Your psychic thing. That you're helping Harry, I guess I'll listen."

"That's all I ask," I smiled, waving him off and stretching with a long sigh, starting off towards the Gryffindor tower beside Hermione. "It's fine for you too, you know. We can even stop dating until you figure out how you feel about it."

"You… You want to stop?"

I paused, looking at her in confusion. "What? No. Course not, but I'm not about to force you to stay with me when you don't trust me or feel obligated to—"

Her lips suddenly pressed to mine, and I leaned forward, eyes closing until she backed up.

"I-I believe you," she murmured, expression sad. "A-And I trust you. It's just… for you to have known everything all this time… Oh, Nox."

I blinked in surprise as she wrapped her arms around me in a hug, a few tears dripping on the nape of my neck. "H-Hey. Don't cry. You know I have no idea what to do when you cry."

She let out a small wet chuckle. "Y-You idiot. I'm crying for you." She pulled back and ran her knuckles over my cheek. "You were always suffering by yourself, weren't you? Always worried about what to do o-or what you couldn't stop."

A tight knot had wormed its way up my throat as I felt relief that Hermione was willing to trust me despite everything. That I hadn't lost everyone, and that she understood me.

"Fuck working in the Ministry," I murmured, confusing her.

"What?"

I pressed my forehead to hers with a soft smile. "I hope you become the Minister. You're definitely far too good for me."

Her face flushed as I kissed the top of her nose, smiling and nodding back down the corridor.

"I better go to detention before Filch finds us snogging in the corridor."

"Nox!"