Ron and Hermione kept staring at him. It was probably the sappy grin on his face, Harry figured. He was just so happy to be out of his cell and … home. Even though he had to get up early for breakfast and spend the day in class, he couldn't contain his happiness.
"Thanks again for coming to my rescue, guys," he said around a mouthful of bacon.
"We couldn't just leave you there, Harry. Besides, Grey and Willow asked us to go." Ron had already filled Harry in on the events of the previous night.
"What do you think happened to Willow in there?" Harry asked.
"I don't know," Hermione said, "but I'm going to look for it in the library after classes. I think the eyes and the rage are a side effect of dark magic."
"How could she be into dark magic? She's so nice and …" Ron stopped himself before he went any further. Harry and Hermione raised their eyebrows.
"And what?" Hermione asked.
"Nothing," Ron said, his face beet-red. The other two laughed.
"Besides, anyone can use dark magic," Hermione lectured. "She must be powerful, though, to do those spells without a wand. Maybe that has something to do with it."
"I thought she'd kill your uncle, Harry, that fat slob," Ron said.
"I sort of did to. It was kind of scary. I mean, Dursley is a nasty git, but I didn't want him dead," Harry admitted. They nodded their agreement. "Still, I hope Willow is okay. She seemed really upset on the ride home."
"We have Dark Arts first, with the Slytherins," Hermione spat. "We can see if she's alright and check out the new professor at the same time."
Grey walked in to Giles' Dark Arts class ten minutes before the first student; the Watcher had asked him at breakfast to stop by. He saw Willow making last minute notes on a piece of paper and nodded his greeting. She smiled and went back to work. Giles saw him and led him out of her earshot.
"I wanted to thank you for helping Willow yesterday," the older man said. "I fear she will need a great deal more help in the coming months."
"We all will," Grey said cryptically. The night of sharing had left him drained. It would be awhile before he let himself slip into talkative mode again. Still, he knew that he had helped. That was something. "My pleasure."
"Would you care to sit in on my class? I understand from the headmaster that you were once an auror." Grey nodded. "Good. Not that you seem much for it, but if you have something to add, please feel free." He followed Giles back inside and took a seat in the rear of the room.
Students from Gryffindor and Slytherin began filing in, anxious to meet their fifth Dark Arts teacher. The previous classes had always been interesting, if nothing else. One student walked in, heavyset and looking nervous, and Grey recognized him instantly. He felt a twinge of sadness for Neville Longbottom and made a mental note to speak with him soon.
His three charges walked in at the tail end of the crush, Ron still eating the last scraps of breakfast. They walked directly over to Willow and began to speak in low tones.
"Are you alright this morning, Professor?" Hermione asked.
"Yeah, I feel better. A little tired, though. Hermione," Willow said seriously, "thanks for sitting with me last night after … everything. It meant a lot, especially when you don't know me at all."
"Well, you helped us with Harry and told off Snape. That pretty much guarantees you good marks from us," Ron said before she could answer.
"You have no idea how glad I am that you made Snape back off," Hermione added, sick of having Ron speak in her place. "I would have been in detention forever. I'm just glad I got to repay the favor." As she finished, Willow and Harry locked eyes.
"About last night … a-and your uncle … Harry, I'm sorry." She didn't know what else to say, and idly wondered if crying to begin class was acceptable.
"It's okay, Professor … Willow," Harry said, shifting into a more personal tone. "Ron told me how you and Grey are going to help us out this year. Magic can get kind of crazy sometimes. It can really mess with your head. We'll just have to help you out in return is all, like Hermione did." He looked up and saw Giles about to begin class. "We should sit. But really … don't worry about it. I know you didn't mean it." He smiled as the three of them shuffled to their seats.
Wow, Willow thought. What an amazing kid. Not only does he forgive me threatening to kill whatever family he has left, but he offers to help me? Astounded, she mentally noted that she needed to spend more time with those three, and soon. She felt that they could be valuable friends. Her reverie ended, she focused her attention on Giles, who had waved for silence and was beginning his opening speech.
"My name is Rupert Giles. As you all know from your schedules, I am here to teach you to defend yourself against the Dark Arts. Now, from what I can gather, you have spent a good deal of time learning about the various practices of the Dark Arts. That is to say, curses a so-called dark wizard can employ against you. Also, it seems, you have learned to identify and defeat a number of monsters whose presence, I daresay, would be hazardous to your health."
He had the class eating out of his hand as he walked among the rows, looking students in the eye. Hermione noticed that even Draco Malfoy was watching intently, not bothering with his normal snide remarks.
"My class, unfortunately, is not about this. It is not about monsters, nor is it about curses, though you will learn a great deal about both. My class is about evil." Someone gasped in the back of the room. No one else made a sound. "What is it? How do you know it? How can you stop it? And most importantly, how do you avoid becoming it?"
"Do you know how many times I have been within minutes of the world ending?" No one responded. "You will. Do you know why those various people wanted to end the world?" No one responded. "You will."
"I'm sorry if this frightens you. The world can, at times, be a frightening place. To cease being frightened, you must understand evil and learn to best it. In the end, that is why you have this class. To make the world a little more frightened of you."
In the back, Grey almost let out a low whistle.