Okay, to my faithful reviewers
A.M. Bookworm: Sorry, I have someone planned for moth of them. Padma will be a bit more angstful in her romance.
Hey guess what? I have a second HP fanfic, it is post HP by 20 years. I would be honored if my regulars here would give me their opinions on it.
Harry Potter and the Warriors of Zelcara
What It Means To Be . . .
"In here," Himura-sensei began, "you will learn to defend yourselves and each other. To defend each other, you must have respect for each other. Parchment and quills out! You will all write me an essay on what it means to be of a certain house." With that everyone began to write what it meant to be of their house. That was when Himura-sensei interrupted them. "Iie, I will assign you the house you will write on."
He walked around and stopped directly in front of Malfoy, "You will write on what it means to be a Gryffindor."
He walked to Harry, "You will write what it means to be a Slytherin."
Hermione, "Hufflepuff."
Ron, "Ravenclaw."
Neville, "Gryffindor."
When he finally came to a Slytherin named Blaise Zabini, he said to the boy, "You will write what it means to be a Slytherin."
After he had assigned everyone a house, only one person from each house actually got to do their houses. "I will collect and read these at the end of class. I will read the best out loud. Any which insults the house they are assigned will be given zero points and will loose house points." At the final part, both Harry and Malfoy crumpled what they had written and started anew.
When the class had half an hour left Himura sensei collected papers and allowed everyone to talk to each other as read. After fifteen minutes, he stood and handed papers back to Neville, Blaise, Hermione, and Padma. "Please read."
Neville stood and looked around. Malfoy chuckled and pulled a face at him. Neville set his eyes at the rest of the class and began. "To be Gryffindor means that you are brave. It can be one of many kinds of bravery. It could be the bravery that Parvati and Lavender show as they believe with all their hearts in Prof. Trelawny with out question. It could be the bravery Dean shows as he proudly displays his Muggle posters of his football team, no matter what anybody else says. It could be the courage to time and time again face Vo . . . Vold . . ." Neville took a deep breath, "To face Voldemort" everyone, save Hermione and Harry at least flinched at the name, some even screamed. "without concern for personal safety shown, not once, but five times by Harry, Hermione, and Ron. Or it could be the courage to just keep trying, no matter how hopeless one is, to just keep trying. I guess that is my courage." Neville sat down and waited for the laughter. Hermione and Padma gave him hugs and Ron and Harry both patted him on the back.
Himura-sensei stood. "in my classroom there is no room for phony titles such as 'dark lord' or cowardly substitutes like 'he-who-must-not-be- named' or 'you-know-who'. Any student I see using them will loose their house twenty points. His name is Voldemort," another round of gasps and a scream, "do not fear the name." he gestured to Blaise.
Blaise stood and brushed a dark blonde bange from his face. He spoke softly, "To be a Slytherin is to be ambitious. Most think that that makes us evil, but it doesn't. it means that when we want something we take it. We let nothing stand in our way. Some of us lust for raw power," with this he cast a look at Malfoy, "And that is what leads to the misconception of evil. I my self desire to be the world's greatest Auror, so that I may protect the ones I love. So I may protect my sister. I will destroy evil wherever I find it, but I will take the power to do so first. I am Slytherin. I wear that as a badge of honor." He sat down, and again his dirty blonde banges fell in his eyes. The three other Slytherins in the class scowled at him. Harry, for the first time noticed that Blaise was sitting away from everyone, but especially the other Slytherins.
Next was Hermione. "To be Hufflepuff is not just to be a left over. It is to be loyal. Cedric Diggory was competing in the Tri-Wizard Cup, but he never forgot his loyalty to Harry as a school mate. To be Hufflepuff is to be a hard-worker. Cedric Diggory was not handed anything, he worked hard for his place on the quidditch team, he worked hard at the Tri-wizard cup, and he worked hard at every thing he did. To be a Hufflepuff is to a true friend. At the end, Cedric Diggory chose to take the cup WITH Harry, as friends. To be a Hufflepuff is to be like Cedric Diggory." As Hermione sat down, half the class room had at least the beginnings of tears in their eyes.
Finally Padma stood, "I am Ravenclaw, I have not the courage of the Gryffindors, but I know what must be done. I have not the ambition of the Slytherins, but I know what I must take. I have not the diligence of the Hufflepuffs, but I know what cannot wait. I am Ravenclaw. I know what must be known. Knowledge is the source of greatest power. I am Ravenclaw."
Everyone clapped at her short but eloquent paper. He dismissed them early, but told them that tomorrow to be ready for a practical excerise. People filed out, but Himura-sensei called out, "Hari-kun please stay behind."
Harry stayed as everyone left, people were all headed to their common rooms, it was the end of the day. "Hari-kun, Aburusu-chan has told me that last year you taught this subject."
"Er . . . well the truth is that we had a lousy teacher, so I lead a . . . um study group."
"You will lead it again this year." There was no question in Himura- sensei's phrasing. He had no choice. "You will also be taking on two new members." He slid two folders across to Harry. "I trust you will show them all that you have taught your friends."
Harry looked in the files and saw the silver and green crests and said, "Are you joking, these are Slytherins!"
The teacher looked at Harry, who began to shrink back. "You may find Bureisu-kun, in a window sill in the third floor, facing the lake. You should talk to him straight away."
Harry walked out and saw Hermione, Ron, Padma, and Neville all waiting for him. Hermione took his hand, and asked, "What was that about?"
"We are reforming the D.A." Harry said simply.
Everyone's faces lit up. Hermione asked, "What's with the folders?"
"New members he wants me to take on."
"Who do we have?" asked Ron.
"Well. . ." said Harry, "Blaise and Korana Zabini."
Ron sputtered, "But, they're Slytherins!"
Harry shrugged his shoulders and said, "He didn't exactly give me a choice. Listen, I am going to talk to Blaise, and see if he is even interested. I'll catch up with you guys later." With that, Harry went one way, and the others when the other. Hermione held his glance for as long as she could.
He found Blaise exactly where Himura-sensei said he would be, in a window sill on the third floor, over looking the lake. "Hey," said Harry.
Blaise looked at Harry and turned back to his view, "What do you want Gryffindor?"
"Um, my name is ha . . ."
"I know what your name is," Blaise said without turning around. "What do you want?"
"Well, I was wondering if you would be interested in a study group for Defense Against the Dark Arts? After Umbridge last year, we are all a little rusty."
"You're fans aren't," he said turning around and hopping down from the sill. Harry took stock of Blaise for the first time. He was taller than Harry by about an inch and a half. He had dark-blonde hair that sat untamed on the top of his head. It was long and constantly falling in front of his icy blue eyes. He had a lean figure, that was toned. Harry was about to speak again, when a loud little voice came wailing down the hall.
"Blaaaaaaaaaaiiisssssssse!" the little girl was in tears. She grabbed Blaise around the waist and Blaise knelt down to comfort her. The girl had Blaise's dark blonde hair, but longer. She had warm brown eyes as opposed to Blaise's blue. Harry immediately recognized her as the girl he had seen sorted, Korana Zabini.
"They were so mean!" Korana wailed, "They called me mutt, even when the teacher told them to stop."
Harry thought for a moment that this girl could give moaning Myrtle a run for her money. She continued to whine, "The teacher could hear and everything and he didn't do a thing. And the other students wouldn't help me cause they said I was a Slytherin Snake. Why does everyone hate me?"
Blaise opened his mouth to answer his sister, when Harry piped up first, "Because they're stupid."
Korana looked at Harry, then her eyes shot wide, "Are you Harry Potter?"
Harry smiled, "Yeah, I am. And you are?"
The girl turned around, wiped a tear from her eye and said, "I am Korana Zabini. I am Blaise's half-sister."
"Sister," Blaise corrected, "You don't need to say half, all they need to know is that you are my sister."
"Well, its nice to meet you Korana," Harry said and shook her hand. "Korana, have you met Himura sensei yet?"
"No," she said.
"Have you met Professor Dumbledore?"
"Yup," she said brightly, "He is nice, and funny."
"Well they would like you and your brother to hang out with me and my friends. We don't have anybody as young as you, but I promise no one will call you mutt, or Slytherin Snake."
Korana looked at Harry, she wasn't sure she trusted him. She looked to her brother. Blaise just glared at Harry from beneath his veil of banges. His long face hard features gave him a frightening quality that only disappeared when he looked at Korana. Harry said to Blaise, "Listen, it is a group for learning Defense. Last year I had thirteen of my group successfully summon corporeal patronuses. And that included Neville Longbottom." Blaise's face shifted from distrust to astonishment. "The youngest were in fourth year, Lovegood and Ginny Weasly. We have a member in third year though, the younger Creevey brother."
"What do we have to give in return?" asked Blaise as he finally stood.
"Nothing except the promise that you will try, and that you will learn."
He looked at Korana, and Harry said, "Wouldn't it be best if she could take care of herself, if she could hold her own in a corridor duel. She could probably learn third year level spells, such as the disarming charm, the stunning spell, and a good old-fashioned Jelly-Legs Jinx."
Korana's eyes lit up a little brighter with every mentioned spell. She looked at Blaise, her eyes pleading to be able to. Blaise looked at Harry and said, "Fine, but with the dementors on the loose, the first thing you teach me is the Patronus Charm.
Blaise and Harry shook hands, and Harry had a feeling. His feeling told him that this was a deal with the devil, but his heart told him this was a strong new ally.
A.M. Bookworm: Sorry, I have someone planned for moth of them. Padma will be a bit more angstful in her romance.
Hey guess what? I have a second HP fanfic, it is post HP by 20 years. I would be honored if my regulars here would give me their opinions on it.
Harry Potter and the Warriors of Zelcara
What It Means To Be . . .
"In here," Himura-sensei began, "you will learn to defend yourselves and each other. To defend each other, you must have respect for each other. Parchment and quills out! You will all write me an essay on what it means to be of a certain house." With that everyone began to write what it meant to be of their house. That was when Himura-sensei interrupted them. "Iie, I will assign you the house you will write on."
He walked around and stopped directly in front of Malfoy, "You will write on what it means to be a Gryffindor."
He walked to Harry, "You will write what it means to be a Slytherin."
Hermione, "Hufflepuff."
Ron, "Ravenclaw."
Neville, "Gryffindor."
When he finally came to a Slytherin named Blaise Zabini, he said to the boy, "You will write what it means to be a Slytherin."
After he had assigned everyone a house, only one person from each house actually got to do their houses. "I will collect and read these at the end of class. I will read the best out loud. Any which insults the house they are assigned will be given zero points and will loose house points." At the final part, both Harry and Malfoy crumpled what they had written and started anew.
When the class had half an hour left Himura sensei collected papers and allowed everyone to talk to each other as read. After fifteen minutes, he stood and handed papers back to Neville, Blaise, Hermione, and Padma. "Please read."
Neville stood and looked around. Malfoy chuckled and pulled a face at him. Neville set his eyes at the rest of the class and began. "To be Gryffindor means that you are brave. It can be one of many kinds of bravery. It could be the bravery that Parvati and Lavender show as they believe with all their hearts in Prof. Trelawny with out question. It could be the bravery Dean shows as he proudly displays his Muggle posters of his football team, no matter what anybody else says. It could be the courage to time and time again face Vo . . . Vold . . ." Neville took a deep breath, "To face Voldemort" everyone, save Hermione and Harry at least flinched at the name, some even screamed. "without concern for personal safety shown, not once, but five times by Harry, Hermione, and Ron. Or it could be the courage to just keep trying, no matter how hopeless one is, to just keep trying. I guess that is my courage." Neville sat down and waited for the laughter. Hermione and Padma gave him hugs and Ron and Harry both patted him on the back.
Himura-sensei stood. "in my classroom there is no room for phony titles such as 'dark lord' or cowardly substitutes like 'he-who-must-not-be- named' or 'you-know-who'. Any student I see using them will loose their house twenty points. His name is Voldemort," another round of gasps and a scream, "do not fear the name." he gestured to Blaise.
Blaise stood and brushed a dark blonde bange from his face. He spoke softly, "To be a Slytherin is to be ambitious. Most think that that makes us evil, but it doesn't. it means that when we want something we take it. We let nothing stand in our way. Some of us lust for raw power," with this he cast a look at Malfoy, "And that is what leads to the misconception of evil. I my self desire to be the world's greatest Auror, so that I may protect the ones I love. So I may protect my sister. I will destroy evil wherever I find it, but I will take the power to do so first. I am Slytherin. I wear that as a badge of honor." He sat down, and again his dirty blonde banges fell in his eyes. The three other Slytherins in the class scowled at him. Harry, for the first time noticed that Blaise was sitting away from everyone, but especially the other Slytherins.
Next was Hermione. "To be Hufflepuff is not just to be a left over. It is to be loyal. Cedric Diggory was competing in the Tri-Wizard Cup, but he never forgot his loyalty to Harry as a school mate. To be Hufflepuff is to be a hard-worker. Cedric Diggory was not handed anything, he worked hard for his place on the quidditch team, he worked hard at the Tri-wizard cup, and he worked hard at every thing he did. To be a Hufflepuff is to a true friend. At the end, Cedric Diggory chose to take the cup WITH Harry, as friends. To be a Hufflepuff is to be like Cedric Diggory." As Hermione sat down, half the class room had at least the beginnings of tears in their eyes.
Finally Padma stood, "I am Ravenclaw, I have not the courage of the Gryffindors, but I know what must be done. I have not the ambition of the Slytherins, but I know what I must take. I have not the diligence of the Hufflepuffs, but I know what cannot wait. I am Ravenclaw. I know what must be known. Knowledge is the source of greatest power. I am Ravenclaw."
Everyone clapped at her short but eloquent paper. He dismissed them early, but told them that tomorrow to be ready for a practical excerise. People filed out, but Himura-sensei called out, "Hari-kun please stay behind."
Harry stayed as everyone left, people were all headed to their common rooms, it was the end of the day. "Hari-kun, Aburusu-chan has told me that last year you taught this subject."
"Er . . . well the truth is that we had a lousy teacher, so I lead a . . . um study group."
"You will lead it again this year." There was no question in Himura- sensei's phrasing. He had no choice. "You will also be taking on two new members." He slid two folders across to Harry. "I trust you will show them all that you have taught your friends."
Harry looked in the files and saw the silver and green crests and said, "Are you joking, these are Slytherins!"
The teacher looked at Harry, who began to shrink back. "You may find Bureisu-kun, in a window sill in the third floor, facing the lake. You should talk to him straight away."
Harry walked out and saw Hermione, Ron, Padma, and Neville all waiting for him. Hermione took his hand, and asked, "What was that about?"
"We are reforming the D.A." Harry said simply.
Everyone's faces lit up. Hermione asked, "What's with the folders?"
"New members he wants me to take on."
"Who do we have?" asked Ron.
"Well. . ." said Harry, "Blaise and Korana Zabini."
Ron sputtered, "But, they're Slytherins!"
Harry shrugged his shoulders and said, "He didn't exactly give me a choice. Listen, I am going to talk to Blaise, and see if he is even interested. I'll catch up with you guys later." With that, Harry went one way, and the others when the other. Hermione held his glance for as long as she could.
He found Blaise exactly where Himura-sensei said he would be, in a window sill on the third floor, over looking the lake. "Hey," said Harry.
Blaise looked at Harry and turned back to his view, "What do you want Gryffindor?"
"Um, my name is ha . . ."
"I know what your name is," Blaise said without turning around. "What do you want?"
"Well, I was wondering if you would be interested in a study group for Defense Against the Dark Arts? After Umbridge last year, we are all a little rusty."
"You're fans aren't," he said turning around and hopping down from the sill. Harry took stock of Blaise for the first time. He was taller than Harry by about an inch and a half. He had dark-blonde hair that sat untamed on the top of his head. It was long and constantly falling in front of his icy blue eyes. He had a lean figure, that was toned. Harry was about to speak again, when a loud little voice came wailing down the hall.
"Blaaaaaaaaaaiiisssssssse!" the little girl was in tears. She grabbed Blaise around the waist and Blaise knelt down to comfort her. The girl had Blaise's dark blonde hair, but longer. She had warm brown eyes as opposed to Blaise's blue. Harry immediately recognized her as the girl he had seen sorted, Korana Zabini.
"They were so mean!" Korana wailed, "They called me mutt, even when the teacher told them to stop."
Harry thought for a moment that this girl could give moaning Myrtle a run for her money. She continued to whine, "The teacher could hear and everything and he didn't do a thing. And the other students wouldn't help me cause they said I was a Slytherin Snake. Why does everyone hate me?"
Blaise opened his mouth to answer his sister, when Harry piped up first, "Because they're stupid."
Korana looked at Harry, then her eyes shot wide, "Are you Harry Potter?"
Harry smiled, "Yeah, I am. And you are?"
The girl turned around, wiped a tear from her eye and said, "I am Korana Zabini. I am Blaise's half-sister."
"Sister," Blaise corrected, "You don't need to say half, all they need to know is that you are my sister."
"Well, its nice to meet you Korana," Harry said and shook her hand. "Korana, have you met Himura sensei yet?"
"No," she said.
"Have you met Professor Dumbledore?"
"Yup," she said brightly, "He is nice, and funny."
"Well they would like you and your brother to hang out with me and my friends. We don't have anybody as young as you, but I promise no one will call you mutt, or Slytherin Snake."
Korana looked at Harry, she wasn't sure she trusted him. She looked to her brother. Blaise just glared at Harry from beneath his veil of banges. His long face hard features gave him a frightening quality that only disappeared when he looked at Korana. Harry said to Blaise, "Listen, it is a group for learning Defense. Last year I had thirteen of my group successfully summon corporeal patronuses. And that included Neville Longbottom." Blaise's face shifted from distrust to astonishment. "The youngest were in fourth year, Lovegood and Ginny Weasly. We have a member in third year though, the younger Creevey brother."
"What do we have to give in return?" asked Blaise as he finally stood.
"Nothing except the promise that you will try, and that you will learn."
He looked at Korana, and Harry said, "Wouldn't it be best if she could take care of herself, if she could hold her own in a corridor duel. She could probably learn third year level spells, such as the disarming charm, the stunning spell, and a good old-fashioned Jelly-Legs Jinx."
Korana's eyes lit up a little brighter with every mentioned spell. She looked at Blaise, her eyes pleading to be able to. Blaise looked at Harry and said, "Fine, but with the dementors on the loose, the first thing you teach me is the Patronus Charm.
Blaise and Harry shook hands, and Harry had a feeling. His feeling told him that this was a deal with the devil, but his heart told him this was a strong new ally.