Chapter 19: Resources and Reunion
"Morning Greengrass" Harry said as he entered the room of requirement. It was the day after her observation of the DA's non-verbals lesson and he had come to hear what she thought. He found her reading a rather large tome named 'Herpon's Experiments with the Soul.'
"Morning Potter" she replied from her lavish green armchair near the centre of the room without taking her eyes off of the book.
"Where'd you find a book like that?" Harry asked without trying to sound too eager at the prospect of more knowledge about horcruxes.
"My father sent it to me. Well that's not entirely true, my father sent it to me so that I could give it to you. Apparently the word 'horcrux' pops up in this book somewhere but I haven't found it." She said standing and giving it to him.
Harry nodded his thanks and laid the book on a pedestal that materialised in front of him. "We'll go through that later, tell your father thanks from me but put a nice diplomatic spin on it." Daphne snorted and went back to her seat.
"Will do."
Harry willed a chair to appear across from her and he took a seat, where hers was an extravagant piece of furniture, his was a replica of the comfy Gryffindor couches.
"So, what did you think of the DA?" Harry asked.
Daphne looked thoughtful for a moment then took out a little notebook. Flipping through it for a moment she stopped and said "Ah, here we go. So first I'd like to note that from pure dedication to you alone, anyone in that room could be a viable candidate. They follow your directions much more readily than I thought they would."
Harry scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. It's true that the DA saw him as an authority figure rather than a fellow student which unnerved him slightly. However whenever he realised that he was leading a war effort that feeling vanished swiftly.
"I've then gone through each member individually and made note of anything that I noticed that may be of use to us." Daphne explained. "First up I have the obvious, Hermione Granger. Her intellect is something even the most staunch pureblood activists can't protest and she's a powerful witch in her own right. Next up we have the twins. I saw them testing their sweets on some of the younger students in your class and the magic in them is ingenious. Those two are secret prodigies which was a pleasant surprise."
Harry nodded thoughtfully. The twins had shown some serious ingenuity and craftsmanship. 'If I can get them focused on the creation of weapons and supplies then we could change the way wizarding war is waged.'
"Next I have Ron Weasley. At first I overlooked him but when I came back around to his side of the room he had taken charge of a situation where Zachariah Smith was complaining about something. I feel he could be useful in a 'team leader' sort of role if he is taught some basic leadership skills.
"He has taken charge of his life more this year, I agree that he has a lot of potential." Harry supplied. Daphne nodded and looked back at her list.
"Moving on I have Susan Bones. She doesn't possess a lot of magical value but her aunt is the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. A steadfast woman who is dedicated to justice and a valuable ally. Also, Marietta Edgecombe's mother works in the floo department. A wise ally to make if we plan on using the floo system to get to the Chateaux."
"I agree, both of them provide good access to more useful allies. Even if we only bring them on as a way to get to these people then they have proved their worth already."
"Exactly. That's it however, no one else jumped out at me as particularly useful although I have only been there for one lesson so I may have missed something." She said.
"I'd like to add two more to the list. They both may seem odd but I think they have hidden value." Harry prefaced. "Luna Lovegood and Neville Longbottom." Daphne leaned forward, intrigued. Both of those two seemed more like liabilities than assets. "Luna, I believe, has some sort of connection with ambient magic. I have heard her say things so intuitively that she couldn't possibly have figured it out herself."
"That is both surprising and makes incredible sense but what about Longbottom? He isn't anything special, not even his family name is worth much anymore." Daphne spoke.
Running his hand through his hair, Harry tried to articulate his thoughts about Neville. "Nev' is a bit of a paradox. A few weeks ago I would agree with your assessment of him. The boy had no confidence, no skills and no friends. But once he got a new wand and his magic started working properly he advanced rapidly and you saw him as the only volunteer for my demonstration, he held out quite well against me in the verbal bout. I think that with a little bit more confidence and a guiding hand, Neville could prove himself to be something special."
"Gee, you keep gushing about him and I'll begin to think you want him on the team for reasons other than his effectiveness." Daphne joked.
"Ha-ha very funny, I don't fancy Neville and I'd appreciate it if you didn't start that rumour. No time for that kind of stuff anyway."
"Really? Because I saw Cho Chang giving you long, drawn out gazes and Marietta teasing her whenever she did."
"Oh Merlin, no! Cedric was my mate and honestly Cho seems to be a mess right now. I've got enough on my plate thank you very much."
"Hmm fair enough, the Great Harry Potter doesn't have time for his adoring fans." She paused as if realising something. "So you fancy Malfoy then? Since you give him so much attention." Daphne said, continuing the banter.
"Greengrass I swear if you put any images in my head I will feed you to a dragon." Harry mock-threatened. The two shared a laugh before Harry continued. "Speaking of Malfoy, have you noticed he's toned it down this year?"
Daphne nodded her head in agreement. "Yes he's certainly become much quieter. Most of Slytherin couldn't be more thankful, his blathering can be quite irritating at times."
"Tell me about it."
"You forget, we have to live with him. He only bothers you a couple times a month."
"True. Couldn't imagine waking up everyday in the same damn room as the ferret." Harry said, shivering at the prospect.
"Oh that's not an issue. We all have our own rooms in Slytherin." Daphne revealed casually.
"What!? You mean to tell me if I didn't tell the sorting hat to put me in Gryffindor that I would have gotten my own room?" Harry burst out.
"Well, you only get your own room in the third year, first two years it's shared dorms. However, you nearly being in Slytherin is much more interesting, why'd you not get in?" She asked, making it sound like he failed a test.
"I met Malfoy at Madame Maulkins, he was perhaps the most obnoxious person I'd ever had the displeasure of meeting. There was also that pathetic attempt of trying to make friends after belittling Ron. All of that combined made me want to be in any house but the one he got into." Harry explained.
"Of course, and then Malfoy ruined the image of Slytherin throughout the years to the point that if you wear green and silver then you must be a prat" Daphne said exasperated. Harry hummed his agreement.
"The hat told me I'd be great in Slytherin, not sure if I have the energy to project facades all day though."
"Well you're either going to go down as the guy who beat the Dark Lord or the guy who cemented his reign, lots of fame in that."
"Thanks Greengrass, you really know how to kill my optimism."
"Cry about it, what're you going to do with all that fame after the war?"
Harry shook his head at Daphne's antics and considered her question. The last person to ask him that was Sirius and he had given a fairly standard answer. But he was a different person now, he'd seen how his actions could make a positive impact on the world around him. "A few months ago, my answer was that I'd like to live happily ever after with my friends and family." Harry admitted
"But now?"
"Now, I don't see myself ever stopping. After Umbridge, I know that I have the will and the power to make positive change. So I'll probably work myself into the dirt trying to make that happen on a larger scale." Harry said tiredly.
"Ambitious, determined and willing to compromise for your goals. We'll make a Slytherin out of you yet." Daphne joked. "Seems like this alliance is in it for the long run, you're going to have to get used to me."
"That doesn't sound so bad." Harry replied with a small smile.
A couple days after his chat with Daphne about the DA, Harry dawdled down the corridor to his DADA class. Dumbledore had arranged for another person to fill the role of Professor for the remainder of the term although he neglected to tell anyone who it was. Harry wasn't concerned, the calibre of teacher at Hogwarts was reliably unreliable and with the DA running he'd get enough practice at the simple O.W.L level spells.
Approaching the pile up of students outside the class, Harry noticed Hermione and Ron close to the door. Hermione beckoned him over and he obliged, squeezing through various groups of his fellow students to reach her.
"'Ello mate!" Ron called over the chatter.
"Hey guys, heard anything about the new prof?" Harry asked
"Unfortunately, no. Professor Dumbledore was very vague in his announcement yesterday." Hermione replied.
"Where were you by the way?" She asked.
'Blowing up an age-old chamber with magic I can barely comprehend.'
"Oh, just practising some spells." He replied euphemistically.
"Nice, anything for the DA?" Ron asked eagerly.
"Some here and there, I've got a good lesson planned for this week don't worry." Harry said, trying to end this topic of discussion before he gets caught in his lies.
However, his worry was misplaced as he was literally saved by the bell for class to begin. The door beside them flung open and slammed against the castle's walls. The chatter around the doorway ceased and everyone looked at the open door with confusion and weariness. Ron walked slowly into the room, Harry just behind him. The room was devoid of any seating areas or desks, only a blackboard in front of the stairs to the office and a large mirror on the ceiling. The class had by now followed the duo in and had fanned out on the edges of the room, whispering their confusion to their friends.
Harry and Ron were close to the centre of the room when Harry noticed something in the corner of the ceiling mirror. A face, somewhat recognisable, looking at him.
"A sneak-o-scope, quite ingenious these pieces of magic, they show you the faces of any immediate threats. Really popular in the wizarding wars for obvious…" Hermione explained from somewhere behind Harry who was putting the dots together. The second he realised what was about to happen, he saw a jet of light fly from the top of the office staircase hurtling towards the unsuspecting Ron.
Harry reached out and grabbed Ron's shoulder, pulling the redhead behind him whilst simultaneously pulling out his wand and casting a non-verbal protego. The spell clanged against his shield and he immediately returned fire with a stunner and body bind, the spell that hit his shield was non-lethal and he knew to respond in kind.
'Too many people here, if this guy is serious then there could be a disaster.' He thought.
The spells were absorbed by a shield and the assailant laughed. "Well done Potter, at least someone had the balls to return fire. Wands away everyone." said the unknown person. They descended the stairs with several methodical 'clinks' before walking around the blackboard to reveal themself.
"Blimey, didn't expect him" Ron exclaimed quietly as Hermione helped him to his feet.
Harry, who hadn't lowered his wand yet, tried to rationalise what he was seeing. He never expected the man to return to Hogwarts, especially after what happened. He looked around and saw Daphne with her wand in hand as well which he smiled at, of course she was ready to fight.
"Alright you lot. I'm your new Professor, Alastor Moody, you may address me as sir or Professor whichever your preference."
"Fuckin hell" Harry whispered, remembering the pain of Moody's 'instruction.'
"Today I have tested every class the same way I have your class and only three others have had the sense to either run, defend or attack. Can anyone give me a reason as to why I would perform such an exercise?"
Hermione raised her hand to which Moody nodded. "To test our skills in a pseudo-real scenario?" Hermione replied.
"Correct! The Dark Arts is a branch of magic that spans from beasts to spells to potions and your encounters with them will likely have little to no warning attached. Potter here demonstrated two of three possible responses one can choose from when encountering the arts." Moody explained.
There was a scoff at the back of the room and Moody's spinning eye locked on to the origin of the noise. "Mr Nott! If you were to encounter a rampaging giant, how would you respond?"
The boy stood still in shock for a moment before answering. "Ah- I would - I would call the aurors?"
"In the perfect scenario that is exactly true, however we were talking about the unexpected nature of the arts so please make sure you are keeping up before interrupting my lesson." Without taking his eyes off of the boy he yelled out "Potter! How would you deal with a rampaging giant?"
Knowing the answer already, Harry confidently replied. "Giants are extremely resistant to spells therefore any attack would have to be conjuration and possibly banishing debris. I'd aim for the eyes and legs, once it's down and blind it can't cause much damage. If I can't attack it for some reason, then keeping mobile with apparition is probably my best bet."
"Well said. Giants, as you mentioned, are basically magically invincible. However a speeding chunk of rock will do the trick to hurt it. Killing a giant hasn't been done in centuries and it apparently took a battalion of wizards to do so. The buggers are just too resilient." Moody explained. With a click of his fingers the room was suddenly filled with desks and chairs once more. "Everyone take a seat, today we'll be discussing hypothetical scenarios so that I may gauge your understanding of different topics covered in the O.W.L examinations." The class took their seats and attentively waited for the lesson to continue, it was off to a good start and they hoped for more exciting discussion.
"Can anyone tell me five signs to identify a werewolf?"
"Come in Potter" A muffled voice called from the other side of the door. Harry opened it and walked into Molly's office, it was decorated similarly to the way it was last year which Harry found disturbing.
'Mental note to check the map, just in case' he thought.
"So much for staying away from you aye? Who knows what mess you'll wrap me up in." Moody said with a laugh which Harry shared remembering their encounter at the train station.
"I'll be surprised if your term here isn't full of bizarre events and a spectacular send off. DADA Professors don't usually last the year." Harry said.
Moody grunted his agreement. "Why do you think I have so many sneak-o-scopes boy?"
"Your stunning reflection?" Harry japed.
"Alright Potter, you know what happens to cheeky brats. Let's see how far you've progressed." Moody said standing from behind his desk and walking down into the classroom.
"This ought to be fun." Harry said following him ready for a tough fight.