AN ~ one review, one review, only one review. Its not fair. Is anyone even reading this, if so please let me know what you think. Also I have begun work on the story that precedes this one. I won't have the first chapter done for a while yet but, it focus on the relationships of Ana and Rose during their three years at Hogwarts. Its called Redemption of the Serpent. Also I made some additions to the school equipment list in the last chapter. The students also need to purchase 3 sets of muggle exercise clothing and 2 pairs comfortable running shoes.
My reviewers:
jasmine-softly-spoken ~ thank you! I hope that you will enjoy this story. Let me know if you think anything could be added to it to make it better.
Disclaimer: the characters of Anastasia Kou Cosmos and Rosaline Kou Cosmos are mine everything else belongs to J. K. Rowling
[ ]- authors notes
" "- talking
Chapter 2-The DADA Teacher
Saturday had come and Harry sat at the base of the stairs waiting for Mr. Weasley to come and pick him up. The Dursley's were hiding in the kitchen, remembering all to well the events of last summer. At noon the sound of a pop in the living room brought Harry's attention to the man who had just appeared in the house. Harry picked up his trunk and Hedwig's cage, before moving to stand beside Mr. Weasley. Harry placed his hand onto the rope that Mr. Weasley held out and Arthur tapped the rope with his wand. Seconds later Harry was standing in front of The Burrow trying desperately to repress the memories rising in his mind about the last time he had used a portkey. Harry was vaguely aware of the twins taking his trunk and Hedwig's cage, as Mrs. Weasley carefully guided him into the kitchen. Molly then gently pushed him into a chair at the kitchen table. She put a cup of Hot Chocolate in his hands and helped him to take a few sips. After half the cup was gone Harry looked up at Mrs. Weasley and gave her a weak smile.
"Thank you," Harry said as he took another sip of his chocolate.
"Your welcome dear," Mrs. Weasley replied as she gave him a hug before turning to get him a plate of food to eat. She placed the plate in front of Harry and then left to see what the twins were up to. Hearing a noise behind him Harry turned his head and saw Ron.
"Hey," Ron said looking at him. "Are you all right," he asked as walked forward to sit next to Harry.
"Yah, just memories," Harry replied as he smiled weakly at his friend. "Did you get your school letters yet?" Harry asked trying to change the subject.
"Yah, Mom nearly flipped she saw that a Dark Arts book was on the book list, but when she saw who wrote it, she relaxed and said that at least we wouldn't have to worry about buying them. Turns out the author is an old friend of the families. She can get you a copy to if you need one," Ron told his friend as he looked at him, concern for Harry visible in eyes.
"No need. Sirius sent me a copy for my birthday saying that if I knew more about the Dark Arts then I could defend and protect myself better from them. He told me not to let anyone but Hermonie and you know I had the book. I think that he didn't know it was on the book list for this year," Harry told his friend as he slowly ate the sandwich that Mrs. Weasley had placed in front of him.
"What else did you get?" Ron asked as he watched Harry eat his sandwich. "And what did the twins send you. Everyone has asked them but they refuse to answer," Ron told his friend.
"And so will Harry," Fred said as he came into the kitchen, his brother at his side, from placing Harry's trunk into Ron's room. Ron glared at his brothers, earning him a grin from them and a smile from Harry.
"It's okay Ron. It was just a note saying that since they couldn't give me a birthday gift I could pick some of their products and get them for free, as their gift." Harry smiled at the look of disbelief that can over Ron's face as he said this.
"But they won't even give us free stuff, and we're their family," Ron said as he looked at Harry, a look of complete shock on his face.
"But Ronniekins," Fred began. "We do give you free stuff…..it's not our fault that you didn't know about them before you used them," George finished. Ron looked at his brothers with steam coming out of his ears, and Harry began to laugh. This started a chain reaction and soon all four boys were laughing their heads off. When they finally stopped, Harry turned to Ron.
"You know Ron, since most of their stuff has been tested on you, you know exactly what each one does. You will know exactly what ones would be good to use for pranks on Malfoy," Harry told Ron, his eyes twinkling with mischief. "Besides," he continued. "When Fred and George graduate this year the position for school pranksters will be open and I think that between the two of us, we will be more than able to fill their shoes." Harry laughed at the look of delight that came over Ron's face at the prospect of causing mayhem for Malfoy, and the look of pride that appeared on the twins' faces at his desire to follow in their footsteps. Fred grabbed Ron, and George grabbed Harry, and they dragged the two of the them into the shed which was their lab. They pushed the two in, then followed in themselves, closing the door behind them. The four spent the afternoon planning tricks and pranks to play on their classmates.
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The rest of the summer was spent making plans for pranks and playing Qudditch. Harry practiced everyday with the practice snitch and was soon in better shape than he had ever been in. He was eating better than he had since they had left Hogwarts at the end of last term. Soon it was August 29 and they were getting ready to head to Diagon Alley. After they had arrived and met up with Hermonie, they headed to Gringotts Bank to withdraw some money. When they were done, Molly started to herd the group towards Flourish and Blotts were she said Ana was waiting for them. As he looked around Harry spotted a young woman leaning against the side of Flourish and Blotts. She wore her waist length golden hair down.
"Ana," Molly called as she ran forward to greet the woman Harry had noticed. The woman looked up when she heard her name. A smile spread across her face as she recognized the woman running towards her. After a brief hug the two woman looked towards the group of children that had followed Mrs. Weasley through the crowd.
"Let's see," Ana said as she looked at the children. Pointing at the twins she proclaimed, "These two are Frederick and George. That one is Ronald," she said pointing to the last red-headed boy in the group. "this beautiful young lady must be Virginia," she stated nodding her head towards the red-headed girl in the group. "and since no one in your family has brown hair this must be Hermonie Granger," she said looking towards the last girl in the group, before turning to the last member of their group. "You must be Harry," she stated as she looked towards the black-headed child, her eyes filling with tears. "You're parents would have been extremely proud of you, Harry," she said as she smiled at him. Harry's green eyes met golden eyes as he looked up at Ana.
"You Knew my parents?" he asked as he stared at Ana. Ana laughed as she looked at Harry, her golden eyes twinkling with laughter.
"Knew them," she laughed. "I more than knew them," she said shaking her head at Harry before continuing. "I was a Griffindor when I attended Hogwarts at the same time as your parents. Both me and my sister were friends with them, despite her being in a different house. Any way," she said as she bent down and picked up the bag that was at her feet, before handing it to Molly. "These are the books you wanted, with a few extras that should be useful for your DADA classes. My sister's book is also in there so you don't have to worry about buying it either. And don't you try arguing with me Molly," she snapped towards Mrs. Weasley as she made to open her mouth to protest. "Rose is teaching the class, and they'll need them. She expects a lot from her students. More so now as they haven't had many decent teachers in the last couple of years," Ana finished before forcing Molly to take the bag, ignoring her many attempts to thank her.
As Ana was talking, Harry was looking beyond her towards the Apothecary. As he watched Snape stepped out of the shop before turning, obviously waiting for someone to follow him out. Following after Snape was a young woman about the same age as Ana, with silver hair the same length as Ana's pulled back in a braid. As he watched Snape said something to the woman. She nodded and replied to whatever it has he had said. Snape then walked a short distance away before disapparating. The woman then began to look around the crowds, before her eyes caught sight of Harry and his friends. She began to walk towards them. Just before she arrived, Mrs. Weasley told them that they were free to get their things themselves and to stay out of trouble. They scattered, the twins heading one way, while Harry, Ron, Hermonie, and Ginny headed in the other. Over the last year Ginny had gotten over her crush on Harry and now thought of him as another brother. The last sight Harry had of the woman was of Mrs. Weasley gathering her into a hug before they were out of sight.
The four of them headed for Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions and got their muggle clothing, shoes and any alterations that needed to be done to their school robes completed. Harry came out of the shop with an entire new set of robes as he had grown six inches over the summer and his old robes no longer fit. From there they headed to Zonko's, where they ran into the twins. They purchased everything on their lists and then wandered around, enjoying one of the last few days of freedom before school started. When they left that night to head back to The Burrow, Harry felt better than he had all summer. Although he was exhausted it was a long time before he fell asleep that night as he wondered about the identity of the woman with the silver hair and why she looked so familiar.
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September 1st had arrived and for once The Burrow was not in a state of chaos as they got ready to leave for King Cross Station. Mrs. Weasley had made them pack all their things into their trunks the night before. By 10:30 am they were in London, and 15 minutes later they pulled up in front of the station. Everyone got themselves and their things out of the car. Within minutes they, and their things, were passed the barrier and on the train. The train ride passed rather well. Ron, Harry, and Ginny played exploding snap, while Hermonie read through her school textbooks. The journey was about halfway over when Draco Malfoy opened the door to their compartment, stepping in, with Crabbe and Goyle behind him.
"I'm surprised Potter, that you even showed up this year after what happened last year. Tell me Potter, are you going to kill anyone this year," Malfoy asked, as he smirked at the trio and Ginny. Harry paled, the memories of last year rising to the surface of his mind. Ron, Hermonie, and Ginny all grabbed their wands, pointing them straight at the Slytherin trio. Before they could get a spell off at Malfoy however, a voice behind him spoke out.
"Really, Mr. Malfoy, are you volunteering to be the first to go?" The attention of everyone was drawn towards the speaker behind Malfoy. It was the same woman that Harry had seen in Diagon Alley. "If not then I suggest you leave before I give you a 2 month detention for aggravating another student." The woman glared at Malfoy until he left without another word, sending a smirk towards a pale Harry as he went. She followed Malfoy with her eyes until he was out of sight. She then stepped into the compartment and walked over to Harry. "Are you all right, Mr. Potter?" she asked as she came to stand beside Harry. Harry looked up at the woman with the silver-coloured hair and nodded slowly. "If he bothers you at all this year about what happened Harry, I want you to tell me and I'll make sure that he doesn't do it again. OK Harry?" the woman asked as she looked down at Harry.
Harry nodded his head again before asking the question he had on his mind. "Why are you doing this?" This gained everyone's attention as they waited for the woman to give her answer.
"Believe it or not I had a similar thing happen to me when I was not much older than you are. However in my case the person who died was not a friend, it was my mother. What happened to you last year was not your fault Harry," she told him as she looked him in the eye. "When you suggested to Cedric that you share the Triwizard Cup and the title of Champion it was a very noble thing to do. You had no way of knowing what would happen, unless you were a seer, which you are not. Also your mother was one of my best friends in school. Which reminds me, I have a bunch of pictures of your parents and their friends that you can add to that photo album Hagrid gave to you," she said as she pulled a box out of one of the pockets of her purple robes. She handed the box to Harry before continuing to speak. "If you ever want to talk Harry, just come and find me. My door is always open." Having said that she stepped back out of the compartment, and walked off down the train. The other three people in the compartment looked at each other and then at Harry.
"Could you guys go and get the twins, I'm ready to tell you all what happened." Harry asked directing the question towards the other three. Hermonie nodded before she and Ron left the compartment to find the twins.
"Are you all right Harry?" Ginny asked as she came to sit beside him. Harry turned to face Ginny before nodding his head slowly. The normal twinkle that was always present in his eyes before was gone, leaving behind eyes that were haunted by memories and filled with unshed tears. Ginny pulled Harry into a hug and held him, offering a silent form of comfort to the young man beside her, who was lost in his memories. When Hermonie and Ron returned with the twins, she sat on the other side of Harry, while the boys sat across from him. Slowly Harry began to tell them everything that had happened to him over the years at Hogwarts. His adventure with the Philosopher's Stone, what had happened in the Chamber of Secrets, and the truth about Sirius. When he was done telling them about that, he slowly but surely began to tell them about the events of last year. He told them everything that happened, stopping often to gather his courage to continue his story. At each of these pauses both Hermonie and Ginny would give him a hug to remind him that he was not alone, and that they were here for him. Throughout the entire story no one spoke or interrupted. When he came to his duel with Voldemort and what had happened, everyone of the occupants of the compartment was in shock. When at last Harry was done his tale the cabin fell silent.
"Oh Harry," Hermonie said as she gathered him into a hug. That was it, the dam had broken and Harry began to sob while Hermonie held onto him. Everyone offered Harry their support and comfort.
When the announcement came that the train would be arriving in Hogsmeade soon came over the intercom, both Harry and his friends felt better about what had happened. Harry turned to each of his friends and smiled weakly at them, tears still visible in his eyes. "Thank you," he said as he looked at his friends, while wiping the tears from his face.
"No problem Harry. We're always here for you if you want to talk about it," George told him as he drew Harry into a hug.
The group made their way to the carriages, waving to Hagrid as they passed by him. The ride up to the school was quieter this year than before. As they made their way towards the Griffindor table to sit down, they did not notice the silver eyes that were following them. When everyone was seated, Professor McGonagall lead the first years out to be sorted.
[picture a sorting ceremony here, I'm to lazy to write one up. I may add one later, not likely though. Oh well back to the story.]
When the sorting was finished and Professor McGonagall had taken her seat, after putting the sorting hat away, Professor Dumbledore stood up. "Welcome to another school year. I trust that you all have kept yourselves safe over the summer," Dumbledore said as he looked around at the students seated before him. "As many of you know the Dark Lord, Voldemort, has been revived. At the end of the term last year a Death Eater within the school turned the Triwizard Cup into a portkey which took two of the contestants in the competition to a meeting with Voldemort. One was killed while the other barely escaped with his life. I ask that all of you keep the memory of Cedric Diggory in hearts and minds as you go through your schooling this year. In light of Voldemort's return, I have asked an old friend and former student of Hogwarts to teach the Defense Against the Dark Arts classes this year. A young woman who I believe that many of you will recognize. So without any further ado, it is my pleasure to introduce to you, Professor Rosaline Kou Cosmos, your new DADA teacher.
[AN. Opps, cliffie, I'm bad. *slaps hand* bad silver, bad. Good news is chapter 3 is already written I just need to type it up. However that may take awhile, my schedule is booked for the next couple of days with projects and assignments due. If it does not get up sometime this week it will definitely be up by the end of next weekend. Please remember to review I'd like to know what people think of this story. Till next time
Silver Tenshi]
[Edited on June 20, 2002]
