Disclaimer :

Harry Potter ain't mine,

And never will be,

What's hers is hers,

The rest belongs to me.

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 is customary, I would like to begin by thanking all those who took the time to review. It's really encouraging to see that your story is appreciated by others. Thanks to : michelle, Erinamation-limited2-nothing, shdurrani, Rachel A. Prongs, Wolfmoon and chochamg913 (Harry, minister of Magic ? No way ! Ack ! I thought I made a mistake with Zabinis name. I'll try to change it, fear not !!).

To everyone : enjoy !!!

*****************************************************************************************

Friday. Harry didn't have lessons on Friday, except for combat lessons the evening. Nontheless, he woke up bright and early. Getting up and brushing his teeth, he thought of the things he had to do today. He had several wards to put up : the Hufflepuff and Slytherin commonrooms, the ground outside (including the quidditch pitch), and the teachers quarters (if they accepted, of course). In other words, he had a lot to do today.

Getting dressed, he went down to the great hall. Most students were already there. The same could also be said for the teachers. His presence was mostly unnoticed, students busy eating and talking about todays lessons, and teachers were talking between themselves. As Harry approached the head table, he looked at Snape, who was glaring at him. His eyes held a strange mixture of loathing and … respect ? He wondered why.

Ignoring Snapes look, he went to a free place, sat down, and began to eat. He didn't speak to anyone the entire meal, lost in his own thoughts. He didn't even notice that Remus had twice tried to strike up a conversation, or that Mcgonagall had asked him several questions, only to be met with silence. He was so lost that he didn't even notice the glances Cho, Ron and Hermione gave him.

The meal was over. Students left their house tables and went each one their way to their respective classes. The teachers left. Soon, only Dumbledore and Harry were left. Dumbledore looked at Harry, and noticed his glazed eyes.

"Harry ?" No answer. Moving his hand before Harrys' eyes, he asked again, "Harry ?", only to met met with the same reply. He decided to act. "Voldemorts attacking …" No sooner the words were out of his mouth that Harry had jumped to his feet, wand in hand, looking around frantically. Noticing the empty hall and Dumbledores amused expression, he said :

"Where is he ?"

"Harry, you may not have noticed, but there's nobody here except for you and me."

"Erm, yes, well …" He didn't finish his sentance, and put away his wand. "I was lost in my thoughts."

"Yes, so I noticed. As did Minerva and Remus, since you didn't answer them when they asked you a question."

"Oh. I didn't even hear them asking …" he said sheepishly. He had been thinking about Voldemort, wondering what he was doing, and the wards that he would put up.

"What's worrying you ? Even the most distracted of people would notice 3 different people asking them a question. You only reacted when I used the name 'Voldemort'. What could be worrying you so ?"

"Other than Voldemort ? I mean, it's been a year. So many students here will soon be facing a time of war, and I know for sure than very few, if any, are prepared. I'm worried." Harry sighed. These thoughts had surfaced from time to time, but he had pushed them back. This time, they had come to the fore, taking up all his thoughts. And every word was true. The students just weren't prepared, and couldn't be prepared with the short time they had at their disposal.

"James, I know this. And I, too, have been doing my best to prepare Voldemorts return. But that's all we can do : our best. Don't wear yourself out trying to do too much. Even if it isn't enough, your best is just that. And if everyone does as much, there is still hope."

Dumbledore smiled as his words sunk into Harrys mind. And as they did, a thought came through : ' What's comin' will come, an we'll meet it when it does.' It was what Hagrid had told Harry just before they had had to return home after his forth year. And he was right.

"If you will excuse me, professor, I have some wards to place." With that, he stood and left the hall, leaving Dumbledore watching him, a smile on his lips and a twinkle in his eye, sucking on a lemon drop, as Harry exited the hall …

*****************************************************************************************

All day was spent placing wards. He had finished the commonrooms and the teachers quarters, which had gone quickly. The quidditch pitch had taken much more time, given the size of the darn thing. If Harry hadn't enjoyed playing the game so much, he would have given up half-way through. After lunch, he had continued placing wards : protection spells and charms, surveillance wards, detection spells, and everything else he could think of. He also placed a number of runes, allowing Harry to be aware whenever a presence coming from outside arrived.

By dinnertime, he was magically exhausted. He could still have performed a number of spells if need be, but he could feel the effort he had made during the day. Of course, he was carefull to hide this from the students. If they knew how tired he was, they would start to wonder what he had done during the day And that could lead to situations Harry would rather avoid. Walking slowly over to the head table, he saw Snape had his eyebrows raised. Despite Harrys' efforts, he had noticed his state, and was silently questionning the reasons behind it.

Harry made his way towards an empty seat and dropped himself into his seat, leaning back and enjoying not being on his feet. Only half of the staff was present, the other half was sure to arrive shortly. Harry, taking slow and deliberate mouvements, started to put food on his plate. Today was pasta, and every type of pasta Harry knew, and some he didn't, could be found along with a veriaty of sauces. He smiled as he remembered the first time he had eaten here, the food suddenly appearing in plates and dishes before their very eyes. Of course, since he had been in the kitchens, he knew that it was the house elves that prepared the food, placing it on tables which transported the food from the kitchens into the great hall. In a waord, it was … magical.

Harry started to eat. A couple of teachers entered, as well as students who rushed to their respective house tables to eat. Harrys eyes scanned the hall, taking everything in. He wasn't being paranoïd, since he wasn't fearing an attack. He was simply … observing. After all, he had gone from 4th year student to teacher after a year. No longer would he sit down with housemates, talking about coming quidditch practice or whatever homeworh such-and-such a teacher had given. He didn't worry about house points being removed, either, which was a good thing. He just sometimes had the impression that things had gone too quick. Much like the upcoming war.

It would be stupid to deny that a war was coming. Only in this mornings Daily Prophet (which he had only bothered to read at lunch) were mentionned 2 attacks on muggle-born wizards, with a dark mark hanging over each house. Fudge was trying to cover it up, and continued to deny Voldemorts return. He really was the biggest fool Harry could think of. He had half a mind to find the minister and beat him to a pulp, but that wouldn't solve anything. Like Dumbledore said, we could only do our best. And that, for Harry, was protecting the lives of all those in Hogwarts.

Harry had now finished what was on his plate. He felt better, the short time resting having replenished some of his strength. Looking at the time, he realized that he had to get his swords for tonights lessons. Getting up, he left the great hall and jogged to his chambers, taking turns here and passages there. Arriving, he opened the entrance and proceded to float the swords down to the great hall. Tonights lesson was going to be tiring …

*****************************************************************************************

He hadn't been wrong when he thought it was going to be tiring. His arms ached, lungs burned, his heart raced, and he had to pretend it was nothing. Stupid, idiotic pride. After a warm up and basic sequences, he was already tired out. And he still had an hour left. He would never last at this rate.

"Okay. We'll start with some small duels. Who would like to duel ?" Almost everyone put their hand up. "Okay. Those who don't want to duel can move to the back of the hall to practice in pairs. Make sure the dulling charm of your partners sword and your own are active before starting. The others, come to the front." Brilliant idea. That way, I don't have to do any effort. "Now, does anybody want to duel anyone else in particular ?" No one moved. "Okay, we'll do this differently." Taking some parchment, he magicked everyones name on a piece before piling all the pieces of paper into one small heap. Casting a small spell, 2 pieces of folded parchment came out of the pile. Harry picked them up, unfolded them and read them aloud. "Remus Lupin and Ronald Weasley." The other students made a circle, and Remus and Ron stood in the middle. "Okay. Check your swords." Both ran their thumbs over the blade before nodding. Remus looked quite calm and composed, as he always did, whereas Ron was shaking quite visible. "Ready ?" Both raised their swords in front of their faces. "Go !"

Remus lunged forward, swinging his sword horizontally from right to left. A simple blow. Ron blocked, but barely, having trouble dealing with the fact he had to dissociate his opponent with the teacher. Remus followed up with a few more basic blows before getting through Rons blocks, hitting him in the thigh. Ron winced, but stayed upright.

"Mr Weasley, you are facing an opponent, not a teacher. Fight accordingly."

Ron gave a small nod, before attacking himself. He lunged rather well, starting off with the same move that Remus had started with. Soon, they had a proper duel going, although they only used the basic mouvements Harry had taught them. A few more blows were exchanged before Ron was hit in the same thigh, causing him to fall onto one knee. Harry gave a small whistle.

"Okay. Good start, once mr Weasley got into the swing of things. Next duel …"

The rest of the lesson continued like that. Those who had dueled went off to the side to continue practicing. Hermione also won her duel. Ginny dueled against Crabbe, who didn't even have time to swing his sword before Ginny had disarmed him. By some twist of fate, Malfoy had to go up against Goyle. Goyle actually wasn't too bad. He had the strength, but lacked speed and agility. Draco, on the other hand, lacked strength. Golye swung his weapon madly, forcing Malfoy to do some evasive dodging more than once. Malfoy eventually beat him with a clever blow to Goyles hand, causing him to loose his weapon. But Goyle had come oh so close to beating him, it was almost funny.

The duels finished in time. After a brief cooling down session, the swords were put away and the students returned to their common rooms. As thay had done last week, Remus, Ron, Cho (hadn't dueled, but had trained with another Ravenclaw while the duels had taken place), Hermione and Ginny waited for Harry. Once all the other students and teachers had left. Harry allowed himself to fal to the floor. Cho ran over.

"Harry, are you okay ?" she asked worridly.

"No, I'm knackered. I spent the whole day putting up wards, and I'm literally spent," he said. "I'll be okay as soon as I get a good nights sleep, though. I'm actually surprised my disguise stayed on. I must have overdone it this morning when I put it on …" he managed to utter. Remus put the tables back in their proper places. Leaning on Remus and Ron for support while Cho followed levitating the swords, they made their way back to Harrys' chambers. Cho left the trunk near the entrance hole while Remus and Ron hauled, err, carried, Harry up the stairs. After making their way to the master bedroom, they got him into bed. Actually, that's twisting the truth a bit. They uncerimoniously stuffed him under the bedsheets once they had removed his boots and cloak, not bothering with the rest. Remus removed his disguise, which had been close to removing itself.

"Erm, wouldn't it be better if someone stayed to watch over him, just in case ?" Ron asked.

"I'll do it," Cho immediately volonteered. Remus smiled at her.

"He's lucky he has you, you know. Take good care of him. And don't tire yourself out. Remember to get some sleep, too." With that, Remus, Hermione, Ron and Ginny left, the room. Cho heard the painting move and getting back into place, before she was met with silence other than the sound of the fire burning in the fireplace. Looking at the bed where Harry was soundly asleep, she smiled. He looked so peaceful, almost angelic. She arranged the covers on his double bed to cover his whole body, leaving only his head visible. She would have liked to stay awake all night, watching him, but she knew he wouldn't want that. She watchad as he shifted slightly and whispered a name so softly she almost didn't hear it.

"Cho." His lips twitched into a smile as he shifted again. Cho smiled. She got up and walked to the other side of the bed. Removing her cloak and shoes, she slipped under the sheets and moved next to Harry, feeling the warmth he was radiating. Wrapping her arms around him, he unconciously moved his arm around her waist and pulled her closer. She moved her head up, kissing him on the chin before lowering her head.

"I love you, Harry," she whispered, before closing her eyes and slowly drifting off to sleep, her head resting on his shoulder. The last words she heard before dozing off were :

"I love you too, Cho …"

*****************************************************************************************

Harry woke up slowly on Saturday morning. He was still tired, despite having had a good nights rest. He could feel someone next to him, but couldn't remember who and couldn't be bothered to open his eyes to see who it was. For the moment, he was content to just lie there, underneath the warm sheets.

As he awoke, yesterdays events came slowly through the fog that clung to his mind : his discussion with Dumbledore, the placing of wards and charms all around the castle, the combat lesson after dinner. That was his last memory, Remus and Ron dragging him back to his quarters. He couldn't remember anything after that. So who was it next to him ?

Opening his eyes, he saw long, black, shiney hair. Lifting his left arm, he brushed the hair out of the persons face. It was Cho. Her arms were still wrapped tightly around him, her head rested upon his shoulder, and his arms was still around her waist. They were both still completely clothed. Harry didn't move. He didn't want to wake her. She looked so peaceful lying there, eyes closed, slowly breathing. 'She's really beautiful,' Harry thought, as he watched her.

They stayed like that for several minutes. Harry had glanced over to the clock that stood on his bedside table, and saw that it was almost 9. He was worried about what her dormmates would say or think, but they would find something to say. Besides, Dumbledore knew that they loved each other, and was sure that they would be adult-like in their dealings. And Harry planned on revealing himself soon. He actually had to give that some thought : how and when would he reveal himself ? Voldemort still hadn't given a proper sign about his presence, and Harry was worried that his 'coming back' would make Voldemort begin his campaign. On the other hand, the longer he stayed hidden, the more time Voldemort would have to prepare. He would have to speak to Dumbledore about this.

He felt Cho start to shift and stretch. Looking down, he saw her open her eyes slowly.

"Morning," Harry said, as her gaze moved up to his face.

"Harry ? Wha, what are doing here ?" Cho asked sleepily.

"Err, Cho, You're actually in my bed, not the other way round," Harry said with a hint of amusement in his voice.

"Oh, "was all she could reply. She visibly wasn't quite awake yet. "What am I doing here ?"

"I don't know. All I remember is giving last nights lesson and being dragged here. After that, nothing." Harry answered. They still hadn't moved and still had their arms wrapped around each other.

"Oh yeah, I remember. You were tired, and I wanted to stay to make sure you were okay. So professor Lupin and Ron put you in bed and left. I … I …" She faltered at this point, looking for the right words. "I knew you would be a bit angry if I kept watch over you all night, but I didn't want to sleep in another room. And this room has only one bed." She bit her lip, hoping he would understand.

"It's okay. I see. There's only one problem."

"What's that ?" she asked slightly worried.

"Now that I've woken up with you by my side, I don't know if I'll stand having to wake up without you by my side."

Cho looked up and saw the smile on his face and a twinkle in his eye, much like Dumbledore.

"I don't know how I'll stand it either."

Lowering his head, he kissed her hair before bringing her closer. "We'll manage."

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-**-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

They stayed wrapped up in each others arms for several minutes before deciding that it was time to wake up. Harry still had wards to put up, and Cho had to return to her room mates. They still didn't know what they were going to say to explain her absence, but still had a little time before she had to go.

They got up, Harry stretching to remove the many kinks that had appeared in his back. His first thought was to take a shower and change clothes. But Cho would have to be brought back to her house dorms first.

Harry figured that they could say that she hadn't felt well after yesterdays lesson and that she had gone to the hospital wing. Hey could arrange with Pomfrey that she say they had to put Cho in a private room, in case any of her friends had gone to look fer her there. After putting their respective shoes on, they walked down to see madame Pomfrey, who relunctantly agreed, but only because they had explained the whole situation to her. That, plus the fact that Harry had begged her on his knees, she eventually agreed. Thanking her profusely, Harry walked Cho back to her common room.

Once he had dropped her off safely, he went back to his chambers. He showered and changed clothes, leaving the dirty laundry in a basket for the house elves to collect and clean. He now felt completely up to finishing the wards. He only had classrooms and teachers quarters left to do. He would also put up the transportation runes. He hadn't thought of doing it while putting up the wards, or even before, which was actually quite stupid. He could have cut his travelling time down some. Oh well …

Checking that his disguise was well in place, he left his chambers and walked down the kitchens. He hadn't had breakfast yet, and needed all the energy he could get. He arrived at the painting of the fruit bowl and reached up to tickle the pear. It giggles and turned into a door handle. Opening the painting he walked in, only to be knocked back by a knee-height brown missile.

"Mister Potter has come." It was Dobby, the house-elf. He almost worshipped Harry ever since, well, ever since always, actually. But he had only been able to do so freely after Harry had freed him at the end of Harrys' second year, when he had tricked Lucius Malfoy into giving Dobby a sock. And, as everyone knows, it's only by giving a house-elf an item of clothing that he was alowed to be free.

"Hello Dobby." Harry said. "How are you ?"

The elf backed off a little, a large, toothy grin on his face. "Dobby is well, sir. He is very well. And happy that you have returned."

"Me too Dobby. Any chance of a late breakfast …" No sooner were the words out of his mouth than the elves scurried about. After less than a minute, he was presented with a large basket containing an assortment of sandwiches, chilled pumpkin juice, and a cold pasta salad. "Wow. Impressive service. Thanks." The house-elves beamed at the compliment before returning to their respective jobs as Harry went his way, munching sandwiches …

*****************************************************************************************

It was now dinnertime. Harry was tired, but not as much as yesterday. He had placed wards on all the classrooms, several of the teachers quarters (some had refused, such as Snape), and placed transportation runes in key spots (every classroom, teachers chamber and office, great hall, house common rooms, and Hogwarts main gates). Luckily, he had had to place more runes today. Runes are a lot easier to place, since they require less energy. Just more concentration and precision.

Harry was slowly making his way through his meal. He caught Cho looking his way, and she gave him a wink. He understood that her friends mush have bought their story. He also saw Ron and Hermione sitting next to each other and talking. They were holding each others hands, eating with their free hands. Harry looked briefly around the hall and noticed that they weren't the only couple there. Not that that was any of his business, of course. He was happy that Ron and Hermione were a couple. He couldn't imagine them with anyone else.

Finishing his meal, he leaned back in his chair contendedly. He continued to look around the hall till Dumbledore bade everyone a good night. He saw Ron and Hermione leaving with the other Gryffindor sixth years and a couple of fifth years, Ginny included. He saw Cho leaving, chatting with her friends. He saw Draco Malfoy leaving, being followed by Crabbe abd Goyle. They still stuck to him, too thick to think for themselves. That's why they would make such great death eaters.

Harry mentally went over what he had to do. Next weeks lessons were aleady prepared. He had taken the liberty of planning several weeks ahead, both in general classes and advanced classes. And since next weeks advanced classes were both physical training, he didn't have much to prepare. General classes had been taken care of aswell. He had also decided what spells would be taught in duelling classes. He hadn't given much thought to armed combat classes, since he had been too tired yesterday to really think about it. He would have to talk with Remus about that. All that meant that he had tomorrow day free, since he had private combat class the evening. It would probably end up a friends night, though, with Sirius teasing the 2 couples and Remus watching, while he, Ron, Cho and Hermione had to suffer the consequences. Ginny probably wouldn't come, prefering to do her homework in the relative calm of the Gryffindor common room.

The great hall was now empty of students. Only a few teachers had remained, and were talking amongst themselves. Harry got up to leave before he noticed Snape watching.

"Why did you come back ?" he asked Harry.

"Unfinished business. If I left, it was to recieve a special training as the heir to Godric Gryffindor. Rowena had made a prophecy about a heir of Slytherin causing great chaos. The outcome, however, wasn't told. So Godric created a special place for his heir to train, in the aim of fighting the heir of Salazar. To this end, I was taken there and taught. Now, I'm back."

Snape could see the determination in his eyes and hear it in his voice. The message Harry was conveying was loud and clear : 'I'm here to fight, and fight I will.' He didn't say anything. He just nodded, getting up, and left the great hall with a swish of his robes, leaving Harry wondering what was the aim of their conversation …

*****************************************************************************************