Disclaimer :

Still isn't mine,

Never will be,

Except for the plot,

That you shall see.

(Okay, that sucked, but it's half one in the morning and I'm tired. Give me a break here.)

Summary :

Harry goes somewhere during the summer holidays after his forth year. He comes back a year later to teach D.A.D.A. (Defence Against the Dark Arts).

Authors Note :

As usual, I would like to start by thanking all those who took the time to review. It's really encouraging to see that your story is appreciated. Thanks to : LittleEar BigEar's sis, angel, Professor Granger, Matt, Rishi, Miranda Flairgold, Naia, toastedpaco, Elektra Joradees Gamblin, Phoenix353, Elspethelf, unknown(even to me), Moony (I like the pairing, although that's probably because I know a half-Chinese girl who's HOT, … erm, yeah) and silverlime.

This chapter is about Harrys' beginning of the year, including his first fighting lessons.

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Harry didn't have any lessons the next day, a Friday, so he had spent a part of the day patrolling the school, the other part preparing for the evenings lessons. He was quite happy about that. He had recieved the lists of people who had signed up for duelling and combat. There was a surprisingly small amount of people who had signed up for the combat lessons, and most were Gryffindor. There were 13 from Gryffindor (Hermione, Ron, Ginny and Seamus had signed up, amonst others), 4 Ravenclaw (Cho included), 4 Slytherin (Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle and a 5th year that Harry didn't know) and only 3 Hufflepuff (Justin Finch-Fletchley and Hannah Abbott, along with a 4th year Harry didn't know). And Remus, of course, but he wouldn't be on the students list. Harry thought that most of the students didn't think they would need the combat course, as they would rely solely on magic.

Dumbledore had placed the combat lessons on Friday evenings, from 7 till 9, whereas duelling lessons were tuesdays, also from 7 till 9. Harry just wished he had had more time to prepare for his first lesson. He had decided to teach them all the basics of sword fighting at first. Then, he could make half the lesson for sword fighting, he otherhalf would be learning a weapon of their choice. That way, they are better prepared.

Harry had quite an extensive array of swords, and Dumbledore had told Harry of the existance of several weapon rooms in the castle. He hadn't had the time yet to try and find them, and had no need for the moment. The day passed calmly, and Harry had prepared what he would need for his lessons and for future DADA classes. 25 swords had had dulling charms placed on them, meaning the students wouldn't be mortally wounded if they were hit. Just in great pain.

At around half-past-five, Remus came around to Harrys' living quarters, and they left for dinner together. Harry took along the trunk containing the swords, since the lessons would be given in the great hall. They chatted on the way there. Since Remus had expressed his desire to join Harrys' courses, Harry had inquired as to what fighting abilities Remus had. As it turned out, he was quite skilled in gaultlet fighting. Generally, the gauntlets have blades on them, to inflige additionnal damage. Plus, Remus benefitted from enhanced strength, endurance, agility and speed that came with being a werewolf.

They arrived in the great hall. A few students were already there, as were a few teachers chatting away at the head table. No one paid much attention as they entered and made their way towards the head table. Harry placed his trunk slightly to the side, and sat down. At 6 o'clock, everyone was seated, and dinner began. It was, thankfully, an uneventful meal, most likely due to the absence of Fred and George. The meal lasted about half an hour, before students started to drift away. At 5 minutes to seven, Harry asked all the students to leave so that he could prepare for the course. Of course, they had no choice but to oblige.

Once the great hall was empty of all the students, and all the teachers save Remus, Harry moved all the tables and chairs to the sides with a wave of his wand. He also brought the trunk in front of the stage.

At seven on the dot, Harry opened the doors. In the entrance hall were some fifty-odd people, more than what was on the list.

"First, those who wish to be spectators, enter and take a seat. This is a lesson, and silence will be required." About half of those present entered. There wasn't just students present. Several teachers were also there, such as Dumbledore, McGonagall and … Snape ? 'That's a surprise' Harry thought to himself as his former potions master took a seat next to the headmaster. Turning back to the rest of the students, Harry said in a loud voice, "the rest of you, place yourselves somewhere in the hall. Don't be too far from the stage, so as to be able to see what I am doing. And make sure that you have enough space. I don't want anyone unnecessarily hurt."

The rest of the students entered. They tended to stay according to their houses, although Cho was in between the Gryffindor and the Ravenclaw students. Remus was near Ron and Hermione, and insisted they call him 'Remus', since he was as much a student as they were in this class. Once they were arranged in an orderly way, Harry distributed them swords, checking to be sure the dulling charms were still in place. He then made his way back to the stage.

"Now. Some basic rules will have to be followed by all present, for your own safety. First, you will obey what I say. Refusal to do so will result in the removal of house points, detention, or removal from this course. Second : if any student makes any attempt to harm another student outside a duel, the same measures will be applied. This includes enchanting the sword in any way. I will tolerate no exceptions. Third, I will not tollerate any behaviour that puts a fellow student down. If you disagree with any of these rules, you can place your sword back in the trunk and leave." No one moved. "Good. Now, a question. Does anyone here have any armed combat knowledge whatsoever ?"

Remus, Cho, Hermione and Draco raised their hands. Harry already knew of Remuses, but asked the others.

"Miss Granger ?"

"I have some knowledge in fencing, sir. My parents made me take it a few years ago, and I kept doing it furing the summer holidays."

"Mr Malfoy ?"

"Fencing also, since I was 8, sir." With the same drawl he always had when answering.

"Miss Chang ?"

"I have some knowledge with daggers and knives, professor."

"Combat or throwing ?" Harry questionned.

"Both, sir."

'Good, she can be a valuable asset' Harry thought to himself.

"Okay. At first, we will be concentrating on normal swordsplay. After a time I see fit, probably about a month or so, I will be teaching you a second weapon, of your choice. Now, these lessons won't be easy. I am not training you to be able to prance about swinging from chandeliers, waving a sword in the air. You will learn to harm someone. To physically impair them. That is why I will have no qualms as to throwing someone out if they refuse to follow basic safety guidelines. Last of all, for next lessons, you will be expected to wear something less cumbersome than your school robes. I suggest plain trousers and t-shirt, with comfortable shoes. Or something along those lines."

Harry then started the lesson. He taught a few basic moves and counters, before pairing everyone up to practice. Hermione went with Cho, while Remus went with Ron ("But I can't attack a teacher," he kept saying). When it was 9 o'clock, Harry made everyone put the sword away.

He had been paying attention during the lessons, making corrections when necessary. Malfoy had a tendancy to hold the sword too much like a fencing rapier. A normal sword is heavier than a rapier, and requires more arm mouvement, whereas fencing is mainly in the forearm and wrist. Ron, however, seemed to be quite good. Hermione had it pretty easy too, not making the same mistakes as Malfoy. Cho seemed, on the other hand, to be having some difficulty. 'I think she might be too used to knive fighting. Swords are much heavier' Harry thought. Then, it struck him. He could talk to them, offering extra lessons.

"I would like an extra word with miss Chang and miss Granger, as well as mr Weasley. The rest of you may go."

They waited patiently on the side, talking with Remus while Harry got the rest of the swords and put the tables and chairs back in their original positions. The spectators had, as a whole left. Dumbledore had congratulated 'Professor Andrews' for a good lesson before leaving. Even Snape seemed to have thought that the lesson was worth attending. Finally, Harry was left with Remus, Cho, Hermione and Ron.

"First of all, congratulations on surviving your first lesson." They chuckled, although Hermione and Cho seemed a bit out of breath, and Rons forehead glistened with sweat. "Now, miss Granger, you prooved to be quite good, probably thanks to your fencing lessons. And you, mister Weasley, seem to have quite a talent with swords." Ron beemed at these words. Being the sixth son, he was always looking for a way to shine. And while he knew both Bill and Charlie, the two older brothers, were able swordsmen, he might be able to shine in this way. "However, I think your knife training might proove to be a small handicap with swords miss Chang. However, I would like to propose additionnal lessons for the 3 of you." Remus coughed rather loudly into his hand. "4 of you."

Remus, Hermione and Ron all three seemed quite eager at this. Cho was rather hesitant, however.

"A problem, miss Chang ?" Harry asked.

"Erm …, I know this might seem quite premature …, but could I start with extra knife fighting lessons ?"

Harry gave this a little thought. "I don't see why not. However, to be able to fully benefit from the sword fighting classes, you will have to try to get a litte extra practice in when you can."

"Yes, professor."

"Is Sunday evening, from 7 till 9, okay with you ?" Nods all around. "Good. If you want, I can provide all of you with dulled swords, so that you can practice by yourselves. Come by my quarters tomorrow morning after breakfast."

"Errr, sir, where are your quarters ?" Hermione asked.

Harry explained them the way, as well as telling them how to make their presence known. The students left, leaving Harry with Remus. Harry lifted the truck onto his shoulder, seemingly not bothered by the weight of 25 swords in there.

"Will you tell them tomorrow or Sunday ?" Remus asked.

"I would like to do it tomorrow, but we'll have to see how it goes. Did you enjoy your first lesson ?"

"Yes, Ha … sorry, James. You did very well."

"Thanks."

"Truth be told, my arms are a bit sore. I'll need those extra lessons, professor." Remus said with a grin. Harry rolled his eyes.

"Hey, do you think that Sirius would like lessons too ?"

"I think he already had some during his Auror training. He was a good swordman, if memory serves me well. He could maybe help you with your extra lessons, while you help Cho."

"Good idea, that." Harry agreed. "He's staying in your room, isn't he ?"

"Yes. I'll talk to him later. He might want to pass to talk about it with you.

"Okay. Good night, Remus."

"Good night, James."

With that, they both left the great hall and went their way to their respective chambers.

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Saturday morning came. Ron and Hermione got up quite early. They told Ginny what professor Andrews had told them the day before, since she had already gone to bed when they came back the night before. Ginny had enjoyed the lessons, but not enough to have extra private lessons. Ron wanted to have them, and was eager to see the professor again. Hermione was exited, and talked of finding a book on sword fighting in the library. Ron just rolled his eyes when she said this, but said nothing himself.

The three of them went to breakfast, and caught Cho just as she was about to enter the great hall. After a brief hello, they went each to their respective tables and started to eat. The tables started to fill up gradually as time went on. Harry wasn't there yet. Only half the teachers were there, along with Dumbledore.

Ron, Hermione and Ginny were halfway through their meal when Harry and Remus entered the hall, chatting away, with a big black dog known as Snuffles beside them. Harry and Remus were happily chatting away, and their entrance was, for the most part, unnoticed. However, all those who had been to Harrys' lesson the day before noticed, and started whispering amongst themselves.

Harry and Remus reached the head table. Harry vaulted over and took his place between Remus and Snape. Snape greeted him with a curt nod of the head, and Dumbledore gave him a warm smile. Hagrid, who was seated on the opposite side of the table, gave Harry a small wave before starting to eat. He started to heap sausages, fried tomatos, mushrooms, bacon, eggs and toast on his plate before he started to eat it. In all, he ate more than Remus and Snape put together.

Breakfast was over. Harry and Remus stood up to leave, and saw Hermione, Ron, Ginny and Cho do likewise. The 6 left the great hall, making small talk. Remus asked how their day had been yesterday before armed combat lessons. Unfortunately for them, they had started with double potions, still with the Slytherins. This had, of course, resulted in quite a few points being removed from Gryffindor house, and Neville melting his first cauldron of the year.

Upon arriving at the painting leading to Harrys' chambers, Harry placed a hand on the enchanted stone, which glowed briefly with a golden light before turning green and fading. The painting moved to the side, and all entered.

The 4 students were slightly awed with Harrys quarters. He had filled the shelves with a few … interesting items, as well as books. Hermione walked over and started to look at the titles, seeming a bit shocked when she saw some of the titles ('Less-then-friendly curses', 'Duelling curses', '1001 ways to cause pain'). Ron went and looked at some of the objetcs, not recognizing any of them. This was normal, since Harry had made them. Remus made his was to a small cupboard which Harry had added, and took out a bottle of chilled pumpkin juice and a goblet. Ginny and Cho were waiting nervously near the entrance. The painting closed, and Sirius was able to change back to human form since everyone present knew who he was.

"Make yourselves comfortable. I'll just be a minute." Harry said, entering the small storeroom near the office. Harry had taken out the more important or necessary objects, such as clothes, weapons for personnal use and other useful objects. He had also taken some books, since he could still learn, as Godric had told him. He had placed his personnal belongings in his bedroom. The rest of his belongings were in his trunk, whick he had placed in the storeroom. Grabbing its handle, he dragged it into the commonroom. Cho was sitting down looking into the fire, fingering her necklace. She had taken to doing so when she had felt it become warm on platform 9 ¾ 2 days ago. Ginny was talking with Remus and Sirius, and Ron and Hermione were discussing what some objects could be used for.

They stopped what they were doing when Harry came back. He brought the trunk into the middle of the room and stood it up. Taking a bunch of keys out of his pocket, he opened on of the key holes. A handle magically appeared, and Harry opened the 'door', indicating for everyone to enter. They did so, and were amazed at what they saw.

It was a series of 4 rooms. There were weapons of all sorts on each wall. Some were menacing, some just ordinary-looking. Some had runes on them. Some seemed to irradiate a special aura. Harry stepped in behind them, leaving the door open.

The first room contained all the swords. The left wall had several normal looking swords, and the gang decided that was where they should choose from. They want over and started looking for one they liked.

"There's a spell to help you, if you want." Harry said from behind them. Harmione turned to look at him.

"What's the spell for ?"

"Just like wands choose their ideal owner, some weapons are just meant to be with a certain person. Of course, some weapons will never choose a owner. The spell helps you to find the weapon that was made for you, if it's here. You just have to point your wand towards where the weapons are and say the incantation 'Weaponus Idealus' and concentrate on the type of weapon, in this case, swords."

"And how do we know which is the one we're destined for ?"

"You'll know. I can't explain it better than that, because it's different for each person and weapon."

Everyone moved away from the wall, and Hermione took out her wand. Pointing it at the swords, she said the words. A slight wind could be felt, and the light seemed to falter. Then, one of the swords started to shine. Hermione put her wand back in her pocket – making the room return to normal – before heading to and picking up the sword. It wasn't all that fancy. Quite light and of normal length, it sat comfortably in her hand. There were 3 runes, two placed on the swords hilt and one on the blade.

Each of the people present, except for Harry, did the same. And each time they were attracted to a different weapon in a different way. Rons sword was slightly longer and wider than a normal sword, and was also heavier. The hilt was covered in leather, and the metal had a slight green tinge to it. There were also the 3 same runes as on Hermiones sword. Ginnys had sword of normal length, but was almost as wide as Rons. There was only one rune on the hilt. Cho's sword was the longest, longer than Rons, but was thinner. The blade had a blue hue to it. There was 2 runes on the blade and 2 runes on the hilt. Sirius had a long black-bladed sword, with several silver runes on the hilt and blade. Finally, Remus had a long sword. The hilt was shaped like a wolves claw. There weren't any runes, however.

"The spell you used gave you the best choice of the weapons present. It's still possible that there is a better sword or better weapon type for you somewhere. Miss Chang, since you will be learning knife fighting early, would you like to find suitable knives ?"

"Yes please, professor."

"And no professor business here. You may call me James when not in lessons."

They followed James/Harry into the next room. One of the walls was covered in knives and short blades of all sorts. Some were single, some came in pairs. Cho performed the spell again, and was drawn to a pair of long daggers. The hilts ended in what looked like birds claws. The hanlde was in leather, and the blades had the same blueish shine as her sword. Several small runes were on the hilt and blade.

"The Eagles Claws" Harry whispered, slightly stunned.

"What ?" Cho asked, turning around to face Harry.

"That's what they're called : the Eagles Claws. They are very special. I'll teach you about them next lesson, tomorrow, as I will for your swords. Remus, there's one more thing for you, and I won't need a spell to find it." Remus gave Harry a quizzical look at Harry, who just chuckled. "Wait for me outside, I'll go get them" heading into another room as the rest of them exited Harrys' trunk and compared their swords.

Harry returned a minute later holding a pair of gauntlets. After closing his trunk and putting it away, he showed Remus the gauntlets. The forearms were made of a black metal, and had several runes along its length. The hand was solid leather with metal for the knuckles. The fingers were cut off, leaving the fingertips free.

"Whats so special about them ?" Ron asked.

"They're called 'the werewolves claws', and are very special." Harry put them on, and they adapted to fit his arms perfectly. "As you can see, they are enchanted to fit you perfectly. I'll explain the runes another time. The special part is this." Holding his arms to his sides, he gave a small flick of each wrist. Magically, 3 blades sprouted from the forearms, overlapping his hand by 30-odd centimeters. Everyone gasped. "The blades are enchanted to be extra sharp and strong. " With another flick of the wrists, the blades retracted, leaving no proof that there are blades. "I think you'll find them very useful. You can keep them on at all times. One of the runes is there to dull pain during werewolf transformations, and another one helps you to control youself in werewolf form." Remus was a bit shocked at this, but gratefully thanked Harry.

"Now, I trust each of you not to abuse the fact that I have given you a weapon. If I find out you have used it outside of your own practices or my lessons, I will seriously consider taking it back and refusing to continue lessons. Understood ?"

They all nodded in agreement.

"Good, now there's just one more thing to do. Remus, I believe it's time, don't you ?" Remus gave a small nod and a smile, whle the students were looking at him, nonplussed. "Cho, Ron, Hermione, Ginny …", removing his hood, "meet Harry Potter."