Tenth Chapter and its Saturday, how's everyone's weekend going?

Finally, Mad-Eye's Lesson, I am going to be following the canon timeline for the main events with the cup but with some major twists. Draco part of the gang, other changes and I'm going to put Neville in a position of more confidence and I'm going to empower Ron and... I really think you're going to like Percy's role in this story.

Harry is going to be smarter but not ridiculously smart.

Hogwarts was wonderful in September.

It wasn't exactly hot but the leaves were usually still green or in the very early stages of turning. The air was still warm enough to explore the grounds in a jumper or maybe a cloak.

Harry found, however, that he didn't experience the cold the same way he used to.

The grounds were filled with students who were meeting up to discuss their new classes and the latest discussion was Professor Moody's classes or Mad-Eye as he was known as.

He was known for being mad. He seemed to be paranoid about attacks coming from every which way but his classes were a huge discussion.

Some students seemed to find him brilliant. Others seemed to follow the opposite side of the spectrum. They all agreed that his classes were memorable, to say the least. Harry had met Draco in the library the night before their first DADA class to discuss their plans for the full moon.

But their discussion deviated almost immediately as they began speaking about the upcoming class first thing in the morning.

The thing about the classes was: everyone was excited but no one would go into details. They wouldn't discuss what they learnt.

"Moody is one of the most interesting teachers we've had!" George had said with an amused expression on his face as he and Fred joined them at the table for lunch after their first class with Mad-Eye.

"He's seriously twisted," Fred had declared with pride in his voice and almost admiration in his voice. "Mad as a hatter but brilliant. But wow, we learnt a lot. He really knows his stuff."

Naturally, Harry and Draco spent the first fifteen minutes discussing everything they had heard about the class from both the Slytherins and Gryffindors who had been Mad-Eyed as they were calling it. It seemed even the least interested in school work were completely enthralled by Mad Eyes class.

Once they finished discussing the possibilities, Harry launched into his reason for wanting to meet and Draco was… stunned to silence.

"So, it's true? You really can get into the chamber? I mean, I heard about it but… jeez, Potter! Slytherin's chamber!"

"Yeah but I'm not the heir," Harry muttered.

"Wow but I'm not sure how I feel about locking myself somewhere I've never been before… Isn't there a massive beast in there? A killer snake?"

"A basilisk and it's dead. I killed it in my second year," Harry said, showing Draco his scar, "it bit me but Dumbledore's phoenix healed me."

Draco's face had gone pale.

"Those snakes are deadly! Honestly, they say Hogwarts is the safest school and you've nearly died how many times now? You'd be safer with the wizarding mafia!"

There was no point arguing this. Not only had Harry faced more injuries and near-death encounters at Hogwarts than he ever did at the Dursleys but he had also been attacked by two of the professors hired to keep him and his peers safe.

It made Harry wonder what the screening process was for the DADA post. But, considering the curse on the position, he reckoned it probably didn't receive a lot of applicants.

Still, one professor was possessed by Voldemort, the other was an egotistical jerk who tried to wipe his memory to keep his reputation… Remus was the only DADA professor who was never a threat to Harry once.

The job description was probably reduced to 'be able to read three letters and speak more than monosyllables. Must be able to hold a wand.'

Perhaps this was his reason for having reluctance towards this new professor. He didn't have the best track record with people who taught this class. And a new professor brought in a new and scary way for Harry's life to be put in jeopardy.

"Tell you what, why don't I take you down after DADA tomorrow, we can scout out the chamber but I think it'll work because no one besides me can open the door to get in, Myrtle'll keep anyone from getting close enough to hear any noise we make if it travels up considering how far underground we'll be."

Draco considered this with a frown before hesitantly nodding.

"You'll want to bring your broom though, getting out is a bit tricky. Do you reckon you can fly long enough to get out when recovering from that?"

Harry avoided mentioning their transformations allowed in the library in case the portraits were feeling particularly chatty after hearing Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy were werewolves.

"I think so. I'll decide once I've seen it," Draco muttered, his eyes gleaming with relief; clearly, he had not figured out where he was going to go for his transformation and Harry remembered Draco had promised Lucius that they would find a place from them to transform by the 15th or he was going to go to Severus.

When Harry went back to his common room, Ron and Hermione were waiting up.

"Harry, where were you?"

"I met Draco to talk about Moody's class, you didn't get the note I left asking if you wanted to join us? I left it on your bed, Ron."

"I think Crookshanks ate it. He was on my bed this afternoon and I think I saw paper hanging out of his mouth," Ron muttered, falling easily into Harry's plan. Crookshanks was always on Ron's bed, "I swear, Hermione, your cat must eat more paper than actual food!"

Thankfully, since last year, Ron's feelings towards Crookshanks had shifted and he no longer hated the large, ginger cat. In fact, Harry heard him say more than once how he wished Crookshanks had have succeeded.

He frequently mentioned when it was just him and Harry how he wanted to throw up when he thought about putting 'Scabbers' in his bed with him, in his pocket and once Fred and George had shoved him in his underwear. He actually threw up after recalling that.

The only person with as close to a bad reaction was Percy who was the one who found him. Apparently, Percy had cursed when he found out.

"Hush, now, Ronald, he's bored. Oh, Harry, I'm sorry we stood you up," Hermione muttered as she ran her fingers through his messy fur, clearly very sorry and this made his stomach clamp in guilt. He didn't want them to feel bad. Oh, this whole thing was a mess.

He went up to his room and broke out his DADA book and began reviewing the first few chapters again. With all the help he had over the summer, he had mostly read all of the books and had reviewed and gone over so much.

According to the outline, they would be discussing the class into and then diving into strong disarming spells. He wanted to be prepared. He wanted to do well this year.

He fell asleep not long after picking up his book, despite his best efforts not to. He woke up in the morning, face buried deep into the book, which mow had crinkled pages and a spot of drool.

He got up, showered and glanced into the mirror, admiring his new features and lowkey checking his chin for hair… none. Not even peach fuzz.

Neville had hair. Right under his nose and was in the bathroom shaving his entire chin.

"It helps them grow, Harry, try it," Neville encouraged, seeing Harry's confusion.

He made a note to ask Sirius to send him a razor as students weren't allowed to order them on their own and required parents or guardians to send them and the permission slip had to be noted and signed by Madam Pomphry. It made sense. This was a rule enforced by the heads of houses: if a rule was supported by all four heads of houses, it could be passed without the headmaster's permission.

Once he was dressed and his hair was presentable, he made his way to the Great Hall where Draco was sitting at the table, talking Hermione down from something. Her cheeks were flushed in the way they always did when she was angry. But, she was clearly coming down from her anger and Harry could see her fists visibly uncurling as Draco spoke to her… not a sight he had ever thought he would see.

In the past, Draco was the reason for her anger. Now, he was neutralizing it.

"Seriously, Granger, house-elves require a family. Without a family to ground their magic, their magic becomes erratic and can have really chaotic effects. They also require a family for health and wellness.

"What about Dobby?"

"Dobby is an exception. There are a rare few who do well but most don't do well without a family. They need the grounding, the stabilization. I'll get you a book about it, I have several books about house-elves. They forget to take care of their basic needs without a family. They fall into depression. They can't find homes because it's hard for them to make money when they aren't clean or their clothes are unpresentable," Draco explained. "It would be like a vision of telly without the power trees."

"Okay, so they aren't mistreated here?"

"No. They are treated wonderfully. One of these days, I'll show you their quarters. Some families abuse their help but most treat them well because they know unhappy elves don't work as hard. Elves have schedules they follow and only work during certain hours which is why houses have multiple elves to cover shifts. Dobby was cursed, however, by a spell that taints the house-elf to human relationship. It causes angry outbursts and anxiety from both parties. It can't be reversed until the elf is set free but it renders household members unable to do so with the way it taints the minds of all involved."

Hermione's eyes glowed at the idea of new books to read. She seemed pacified for the moment, having received information about house-elves that put her mind to rest.

"Who's ready for class? I can't wait! I did the reading," Ron declared as he sat down and loaded his plate, ignoring the look of mock shock on Hermione's face as she pretended to faint at hearing that Ron had done homework without her breathing down his throat.

"I went over my books too. I had already read them over the summer with Severus and Tonks, so I was pretty much caught up but I wanted to freshen up on the details," Harry explained.

They went off to the DADA classroom and sat down. Excited whispers could be heard throughout the classroom as everyone pulled out their books and opened them.

The door slammed open and Mad-Eye limped towards the front of the room, his wood leg thumping quickly as he rushed towards the front of the room, mumbling under his breath as his glass eye frantically spun around the room.

"Books away, you won't be needing them!"

He got to the front of the room and began speaking again.

"You will only need your wands and quills here as I believe in the more practical study. It is my job to prepare you for what you are up against and facts are great but they won't help you in real life. If someone is going to use an illegal spell on you, they aren't going to let you review your textbook to block their spell."

Mad-Eye stopped talking long enough to write the word 'Unforgivable' onto the blackboard.

"Now, as we know, these spells are illegal. The ministry has decided that you are not ready for this information until sixth year… Dumbledore and I, however, believe you are more mature than they give you credit for and now is your time to prove it. I will have one year to get you ready for the worst the world can throw at you…"

"Just one year? You're not staying?"

Ron flushed at his outburst and looked nervously at the man who thankfully smiled but it did nothing more than make his face more contorted, it was nice to know he was capable of a look other than paranoid and suspicious.

"No, I am here as a favour to Dumbledore and will be returning to my peaceful retirement as soon as I am finished this year."

Somehow, Harry doubted this man knew what 'peaceful' was.

"Now, unforgivables are some of the most illegal spells known to our kind, quickly one of you name off one of the three unforgivables…"

A few hands shot up, including Ron and Hermione's. Harry simply watched inquisitively. He was content just to sit and listen, gather an opinion of this new professor before he began answering questions

"You."

He pointed to Ron who looked a little nervous but he cleared his throat.

"The… erm… imperious curse?"

Mad-Eye nodded and grinned darkly.

"Yes… very good… Weasley? Yes, your father would know all about that one; it was a big thing in the ministry. Not too long ago several witches and wizards were put under this spell and did unthinkable things. The difficult thing was sorting through the trials to see who was really under the influence of this spell or not. Of course, the best way to understand is to see for yourself, gather around."

As the students formed a semi-circle around his desk, he grabbed a large glass jar which contained three large spiders that caused Ron to freeze for a second and Draco crashed right into the now nervous-looking redhead who had stopped too suddenly.

Once they gathered round, Mad-Eye pulled a spider from the jar and held it for everyone to see, much to Ron's horror.

One he had his wand out, he set the spider down onto the table.

"Imperio!"

The spider immediately began doing what looked like a tap dance. This was amusing to everyone in the room except Ron who was still staring at the spider-like it was going to dance down his shirt and Mad-Eye who was glancing around at everyone with a look of annoyance.

"Funny, is it? Hmm… I don't think you realise the seriousness of this. Under this spell, I could have this spider do anything, drown itself, bite someone, jump down their throat, drink poison."

It was as though the laughter was sucked out of their lungs as they realised the gravity of this spell if it was cast on a person. Harry knew if someone were to cast this spell on someone else, it would be to see a tap dance.

"Now, this spell can be fought," Mad-Eye said, putting the dancing spider into the jars. For a second, Harry was distracted by listening to the other spiders scurrying away from the other spider and its un-spiderlike movements but he was able to regain focus on Mad-Eye. "But its main purpose for creation was actually emergency control. If someone is going to hurt themselves or someone else and there is no time to physically stop them, the imperious can neutralise the person and keep them safely seated. It is only legal under certain circumstances with very specialised training."

"Now, who knows the next spell, eh? Anyone?"

Once again, Hermione's hand went up but this time, so did Neville's. Neville, who had never raised a hand before in previous years was more confident this year. He was still very nervous but with Harry and Hermione doing their best to help him with his newly diagnosed anxiety, he was doing better.

It made Harry's stomach swell with pride when he saw Neville confident enough to want to speak out in class.

"Yes, boy?"

"The… the cruciotious," Neville said with a firm voice at the end.

Mad Eye's brow quirked as he glanced at the roster and back to Neville.

"Yer name is Longbottom, isn't it?"

"Yes, sir."

"Yes, very good, boy. Yes, the Cruciatus curse causes pain. Unimaginable pain. In medieval times, it was a diagnostic spell actually but now, as magic and research progressed, it is no longer used for anything other than torture," Mad-Eye said as he pulled a spider out of the jar and away from the tap-dancing spider.

The spider went onto the table and made a run towards Ron, who jumped back and glared at it for scaring him but Mad-Eye had shouted "Crucio" and the spider had stopped in its tracks and began jerking and twisting in undeniable pain.

After several moments, Hermione yelled for the man to stop.

Harry followed her gaze to Neville who looked like he was about to have a panic attack.

"Right, then, who knows the final spell?"

The final spider was returned to jar and immediately collapsed in relief.

After several moments, Hermione slowly raised her hand.

"Avada Kedevra."

It was the first time Harry ever heard Hermione hesitate in an answer.

Once again, Mad-Eye nodded.

"Right, then," he muttered, pulling the now final and now struggling spider out. Harry so focused on Moody that he jumped when he felt Ron brush past him to get a bit further away from the lively spider.

The movements didn't last long because almost as soon as the words Aveda Kedevra left the man's mouth, the spider stopped moving and was clearly…

"Dead. The is the killing curse. The worse of the three and unlike the other two, it cannot be blocked, dodged or repelled. The only known survivor of this curse is actually standing right in front of me," Mad-Eye said with something close to pride and admiration in his eyes as he pointed to Harry who blushed as he clued in a few seconds behind everyone else that he was pointing to him, resulting in everyone looking at him.

Harry looked over to Draco, Hermione and Ron who were the only ones not staring at him.

"Now, if this spell can't be reversed, repelled or fought, why learn about them; because you need to know what you are up against! You need to be aware! You need to find somewhere other than under that table to stick your gum, Mister Finnigan! That's right, I see you! Now, everyone, take out a quill and parchment!"

They took notes on the spells, discussing the origins of the spells, how they used to and sometimes were still used for legal purposes and the most used illegal purposes for the spells.

When class ended, Mad-Eye asked for Harry and Neville to stay behind.

He quickly checked in with Harry and made sure he was okay and then he asked Neville, who said he wasn't okay, to stay behind for tea.

Harry, left the room, after promising Neville he'd bring Tonks to the common room and they'd wait to begin.

* * * * * GREAT HALL * * * * *

The great hall, as Harry discovered was a special kind of torture. His new-found senses made everything louder and smells were stronger to the point where it was almost painful. The food all smelled great, specifically the meats but the rest of it was too much.

He could smell body odour on people who had yet to discover deoderant and he could smell excessive spices in peoples pores. It was actually funny just how subtley the foods people ate could effect their smells.

But he could now hear when his peers farted and smell it stronger just like he could when they burped.

Then there was the deafening sounds of them talking, laughing and joking with each other.

He had gotten used to it… mostly but there were times someone would laugh really loud or give an excited shriek over something and it would take Harry everything he had not to jump or visible acknowledge the sound of someone laughing way over that the Ravenclaw Table.

Leaving the Great Hall after a meal was his favourite.

But it was hard to shake the feeling he was being watched.

Today, he was going to prepare their table in the Gryffindor common room for their study group. Tonks was going to meet him, Hermione, Neville and Draco; that was his other matter of business, meeting Professor McGonagall to get Draco permission to enter the common room until the library allowed for use to the group study rooms.

The group study rooms were rooms with tables, chalkboards and everything a small group would need to study together.

"Ah, yes, I heard about bringing mister Malfoy into your study group and I am proud of your inclusion of other houses, it shows good spirit. Now, as long as you're certain Mister Malfoy will use proper manners, I have gotten a guest password for him and anyone you invite. I for one, am very pleased with your study ethic this year and I am also exceptionally pleased with your homework this year," Professor McGonagall said proudly with a smile on her stern face, "make sure he and anyone else invited knows this is a privilege and privileges can be removed."

"Yes, ma'am. Thank you, ma'am."

"Of course, Mr Potter," she said, standing up to guide him out of her office, "please let me know if you need anything to help you study. I will bring Miss Tonks to you when she arrives at my office via the floo network."

The tutoring session was a quick refresher in etiquette for Hermione followed by a some history of magic, potions and transfiguration.

Draco contributed a lot of knowledge based on his upbringing and he brought the books he promised for Hermione.

By the time they had left, they had each completed some of the homework and had reviewed several chapters together.

Neville looked much better than earlier and was happily showing Tonks and Harry some of the books Moody had loaned him while Hermione and Draco were talking about the stuff inside the books; the laws in regards to elf care, the psychology of an elf with and without a family and their magic. He had done a lot of research when he was younger because his tutor had apparently discussed house-elves with him for most of the summer.

They had all moved away from the soundproof study area and were lounging by the fire. Draco had received more than a few odd looks as lions came into through the Fat Lady but he did a good job ignoring it; he was a Slytherin after all, he was used to it and he was in their territory.

They spent the rest of the evening watching Harry learn his metamorphmagus ability.

Things were good.