Harry Potter, Heir of Gryffindor

Professor Potter

Retrieving his timetable from Hermione, Harry glanced at it briefly and said, "It looks like we've got Defense first then Charms. And after lunch its Transfiguration and Potions." Then, turning to Ginny, he asked, "How about you? What does your day look like?"

Ginny studied her timetable for a moment longer then said, grimly, "I start out with Potions" This was met with groans of sympathy from the other three. "Then its Herbology." Then, brightening, she continued, "But this afternoon I have Defense and Charms."

As they got up from the table a few minutes later and prepared to leave the Great Hall, Harry turned to Ginny and said, "Thank you."

"What for," she asked in surprise.

"For just being you," he nodded as a small, grateful smile began to fill his features.

Beaming up at him, Ginny's eyes sparkled as they met his and a warm smile of friendship and love spread across her face. "You're welcome."

Harry felt himself falling forward into the depths of her eyes as time seemed to stand still for them. It was almost as if the rest of the world had been put on hold and their two hearts were becoming one. The atmosphere was charged with an energy he could not explain and he felt himself opening up to the world around him, and to this beautiful girl in front of him in particular, more thoroughly than he had ever thought possible. It was as if nothing else - none of the sad and sometimes painful events of the past fifteen plus years of his life - mattered any more, as though he had been given an new lease on life and a chance to start all over. This was home and this girl standing in front of him was love, all of the love he had been missing out on since his parents had been taken from him so long ago.

He didn't know how long it had lasted when the spell was suddenly broken as another student accidentally brushed his shoulder on their way to class and twisted his torso just enough to cause him to break eye contact. Harry blushed and smiled again. ""Sorry about that," he said.

"That's quite alright," Ginny said, blushing shyly. "I guess we had better get to class."

"Yeah," Harry whispered. "Will I see you at lunch?""

"Of course."

Out in the hall Ron pulled Harry aside and said, "You fancy her, don't you."

It was a statement more than a question and Harry didn't know how to respond. This was Ron, after all, and Harry had no idea how he would feel about his best friend falling deeply and madly in love with his little sister. Finally, after several seconds of sheer panic, Harry decided that telling his friend the truth would probably be the best approach. "Yeah," he said apprehensively. "I can't explain it, Ron, but its like . . . its like . . . its like I've finally found what I've been looking for all my life. It's peace. It's life. It's love. It's acceptance. It's . . . it's indescribable really. And to top it all off it's like going home. I can't explain it, Ron, but I think I love her."

"You do," Hermione said from behind him. "And she loves you too. She always has and I think she always will."

Blushing, Harry turned to face his other best friend. "Yeah," he said, "I just hope I'm good enough for her."

"The important thing," Ron said, "to me anyway, is that she's happy. The only thing I ask, Harry, is that you treat her right."

"Ron!" Hermione scolded sharply.

Harry laughed and smiled despite himself. "You two," he laughed. "When will you ever learn?" Then, still smiling, said, "Don't worry, Ron, I learned a lot last summer and I promise that I will treat her with all of the tenderness, love, devotion and respect she deserves."

Ron smiled and nodded his head, seemingly a little surprised at Harry's words, and said, "That's all anyone can hope for, Harry. And it's not that you need them or anything but you have my blessings."

"Thanks," Harry said. Then, putting his arms over the shoulders of the two people with whom he had shared so many adventures, said, "Now if we don't hurry we are going to be late and I really don't want to miss this class." With that the tree friends strode off to class and an aura of glowing white light seemed to envelope and energize them as they made their way through the crowded corridors.

Professor Dumbledore stood up from where he had been resting on the teacher's desk as they entered the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom and calmly strode over to close the door. Harry, Ron and Hermione scanned the room for empty seats and found three in the back row between Neville Longbottom and a Ravenclaw boy Harry did not recognize. As they made their way to their seats Professor Dumbledore cleared his throat. "Now that we are all here," he began confidently, "I fear that I must issue an apology." The room fell suddenly silent as all whispered conversations stopped and everyone turned their attention to the Headmaster. Harry, Ron and Hermione quickly found their seats and, sitting down, gave all of their attention to the man standing before them. "For the past five years you have gone through five Defense Against the Dark Arts professors. The first proved to be potentially more lethal than anyone could have imagined. The second proved to be little more than a pompous fraud. The third . . ." and here he paused, "was perhaps the best teacher you have had thus far but has the unfortunate handicap of being a werewolf. The forth, although many of you did learn a few things from him, was, in the end, proven to be a fraud. And last year's . . . professor was little more than an overzealous bureaucrat." Professor Dumbledore hung his head briefly and when he looked up again Harry could see a tear trickling down the headmaster's cheek. "I am sorry," he said. "You have a lot of catching up to do; and, with the tragic events that took place this past summer the Ministry of Magic and this school have officially been placed on a wartime footing.

"With this in mind, the Board of Governors has granted me permission to expand the staff and to hire the people I deem most highly qualified to teach you what you will need to know and the Ministry of Magic has graciously consented to allow me to recruit from within the ranks of their aurors. To this end you will now have five Defense Against the Dark Arts professors. In addition, as many of you have noticed, you now have two Defense Against the Dark Arts classes. The first will be a series of lectures in which you will be presented with the background information behind the spells you will be expected to learn. The second will be a laboratory course in which you will be given the opportunity to practice these spells and hone your skills."

Walking around to stand behind his desk the Headmaster quickly glanced back at the four shadowy figures standing silently in the gloom against the wall at the front of the room. Harry hadn't noticed them before but now that he did he felt a certain sense of foreboding, almost as though he was about to be introduced to four of the most difficult taskmasters he would ever face.

"Before we begin, however, I believe a number of introductions are in order," Dumbledore said with a hint of sternness in his voice.

"The first person I would like you to meet is Miss Nymphadora Tonks." Hermione gasped delightedly. "Miss Tonks is an auror and a metamorphmagus, which means she has the ability to change her appearance at will. She will be teaching courses in concealment and disguise." Tonks stepped forward, her blue, shoulder length hair sparkling in the torchlight, and smiled sheepishly. As she stepped aside her hair cycled from blue through violet to red, orange, yellow, green and back to blue."

Lavender and Parvati giggled while most of the others gasped audibly. Harry, Ron, Hermione and Neville however, just smiled in appreciation as their friend left the stage. One of the tree remaining shadowy figures growled, "Show off!" One of the other figures chuckled softly with a deep, rich, baritone voice.

Professor Dumbledor winked merrily at Tonks and turned back to his students. "The second person I would like to introduce," he said brightly, "is also and auror. He has a broad range of experiences and will be teaching you many spells as well as helping you hone your abilities and helping you learn to become sensitive to the presence of danger. I give you Mister Kingsley Shacklebolt." A tall, bald, solidly built, black wizard with a gold hoop dangling from his right ear stepped into the light and bowed courteously. Lavender and Parvati swooned and the others applauded politely.

As soon as Kingsley had retreated back into the shadows Professor Dumbledor cleared his throat and proceeded with the next introduction. "Two years ago I hired Alastor Moody to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts. Unfortunately, however, he was kidnapped before he could fill the post and was held captive while an imposter, posing as Professor Moody, took his place. The real Alastor Moody - this Alastor Moody - has agreed to come back and give you the benefit of his many years of experience as an auror during our current foe's last reign of terror."

With the familiar clump of his wooden leg, Mad-Eye Moody stepped out of the shadows and into the light, his magical eye spinning in its socket and the many scars on his face casting odd shadows that made him look even more frightening than he really was. Three of the four Gryffindors in the back row, who had had many encounters with the retired auror, applauded enthusiastically. Harry, who still occasionally had nightmares about the fake Moody and what might have been had Professors McGonnagall, Dumbledor and Snape not arrived when they did, applauded as well, but not as enthusiastically. The others applauded politely.

Professor Moody hobbled back into the shadows and sat down. It seemed to Harry that it was getting more difficult for the old man to get around and his heart went out to him.

"Your fourth Defense Against the Dark Arts instructor was here three years ago and has graciously consented to return. Yes, as many of you will undoubtedly recall, Professor Lupin is a werewolf. However, he is one of the best teachers I have had the pleasure of working with in all of my many long years. He has a way about him that communicates patience, understanding and confidence." Smiling shyly, Remus stepped forward and nodded quickly. To his obvious surprise he received a standing ovation accented with the occasional whistle and cheer. Harry could not help smiling as his friend blushed in accepting his warm welcome.

Professor Dumbledore motioned for Tonks, Kingsley, Mad Eye and Remus to join him in front of the teacher's desk. Tonks, who settled on her natural state, stepped forward and conjured a chair for Professor Moody and then hiked herself up onto Dumbledor's desk and sat there swinging her legs while the others stepped forward and conjured chairs for themselves. Moody grumbled something about not being an invalid to which Tonks replied, "And I love you too, Mad-Eye." Professor Dumbledor listened to this exchange and then shook his head and laughed softly to himself.

"Your fifth instructor - for it is not to be me," he continued, "is a young wizard who has faced dangers most full-grown wizards could not have handled and come through with flying colors. And, I am told, both he and his partner are exceptional duelers. And whether he knows it or not, he is an excellent teacher who instills confidence in his pupils. He will primarily be responsible for teaching one of the Tuesday eveming labs. However, as time allows, he will be circulating through all of the classes and labs to teach you all a new charm he and two of his friends have recently developed and assist the other teachers with their lessons. He needs no further introduction because most of you already know him." Then, looking squarely into Harry's eyes, he smiled and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Professor Harry Potter."

Harry's eyes bulged and his mouth fell open. His heart skipped a beat and his mind fogged over. He couldn't believe what he had just heard. The world suddenly went into slow motion as he looked around in stunned disbelief. Then, as he slowly became aware of his surroundings, he realized that everyone in the room was giving him a standing ovation. His friends were cheering him and Ron and Neville were patting on the back while pulling him to his feet. And when he looked down towards the teacher's desk he saw that Tonks' hair color was cycling rapidly through the colors of the rainbow and even Mad Eye Moody was giving him a standing ovation. When he looked at Professor Dumbledor, Harry saw that he was motioning for him to come to the front of the room.

Harry slowly made his way up to the front of the class where he was met by Remus, Tonks and Kingsley. Blushing brightly he looked at each of them then said, "Professors."

Shaking his hand firmly, Remus said, "We're on equal footing, here, Harry, so please, when we're teaching it's just like it was this summer. We are Remus, Kingsley, Alastor and . . ."

"Tonks," Tonks cut in. "If you ever use my first name I promise that I will hex you into next week." Harry looked at Tonks and smiled. Her hair was still cycling through the colors of the rainbow and he had to stop himself from laughing. "Does it always do that, Tonks," he asked, stifling a laugh.

"Only when I feel like celebrating," she said as she leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. "Welcome to the club, Harry."

Harry walked over and stood in front of Mad-Eye and shook his hand. "Er . . . Professor."

Moody scowled and growled, "Weren't you listening, laddy? When we're like this its Alastor."

"Okay," Harry said softly, quickly apologizing. "I just wanted to hear it from you."

"That's quite alright, lad. It's good to have you aboard."

As the applause died down Tonks, Remus and Kingsley returned to their seats and Tonks budged over to make room for Harry to sit beside her on the desk. Professor Dumbledore nodded so Harry walked over and sat next to Tonks. Leaning over, he whispered out of the corner of his mouth, "You know, Tonks, I kind of prefer your natural state. I mean the fact that you can disguise yourself is nice but I like you just the way you are."

Tonks laughed merrily and her hair immediately returned to the soft blond color it had been before she started celebrating.

Professor Dumbledore held his hands up for silence. "My part in this class is largely ceremonial. These five people will be your Defense Against the Dark Arts professors this year and, hopefully, next. For the remainder of this period I will step aside and listen as they tell you a little bit about themselves and what they are going to be teaching you this year."

The blood drained from Harry's face and he looked over at Tonks for support. As Remus stepped forward and started telling the class about his experiences, not as a werewolf but as a 'freelance' auror, Tonks leaned over and whispered into his ear, "Just pretend you are standing in front of one of your D.A. classes and relax. Tell them about the charm and go from there."

Harry nodded and whispered back, "Thanks."

After Remus came Kingsley then Mad Eye then Tonks. With fifteen minutes left to go Harry stood up and, looking nervously out at the sea of faces before him, tried to start. "Er . . . um . . . er . . ." he faltered then glanced back over at Tonks.

"Go on," she mouthed encouragingly. "Go on. Just relax and talk about what you know."

Harry shook his head, squared his shoulders, looked up, cleared his voice, made eye contact with Ron and began. "Most of you probably already know how I got this scar so I won't talk about that. And most of you probably remember the three tasks of the Triwizard tournament so there's no use talking about that either. What most of you probably don't know about, however, apart from rumor and gossip, is what really happened when I was helping to protect the Sorcerer's Stone, what happened when Ginny Weasley and I were down in the Chamber of Secrets, what happened the night Sirius Black - my godfather," he emphasized, "escaped, what happened the night Cedric Diggory died or what happened in the Ministry of Magic last year. This is my chance to set the record straight so I guess that is a good place to begin."

For the next ten minutes Harry summarized these events and experiences to an attentive audience, leaving out certain details so as not to embarrass Ron, Hermione or Professor Snape. It hurt him to talk about Cedric's death and his voice cracked several times in the retelling of that story but he somehow managed it. Then he shifted gears and told them about his decision to fight back, how he, Remus and Hermione researched and developed the new defensive charm and about the day the Dursleys died. When he was finished he came back to himself and realized that he was now looking into Lavender Brown's eyes and that everyone, teachers included, was looking at him with the utmost expressions or respect on their faces.

The bell rang a few seconds later and the rest of the students slowly left the room. On his way by, Ron held up Harry's book bag so that Harry could see that he had it. When it was just himself and the other teachers in the room, Harry turned to them and softly asked, "What happened? How did they find me; and how did the get by the Order?"

"As to how they found you, Harry," Dumbledor said, "we do not know. We suspect Cornelius Fudge may have sold that information to Mister Malfoy but we have no proof as of yet. As to how they got past the Order, all we can say for sure is that they must have been watching both you and us for quite some time because we tried to vary our shifts enough to keep anyone guessing. But as it turns out all of our precautions were not enough. They caught us at a shift change and killed four of our people as they were comparing notes."

"Oh," Harry said, biting his lip and looking down at his shoes.

Ron and Hermione met him just outside the door as Harry left the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom and as Ron handed him his book bag he smiled and said, "Bloody brilliant, Harry! You're a professor now."

Harry shushed him and sternly reprimanded his friend. "Keep it down will you, Ron. It'll be all over school before lunch but I don't want to make a big deal out of it. I'm just in charge of the D.A. I'd rather leave the teaching to those who know what they're doing."

"But, Harry," Hermione said, smiling up at him, "you do know what you're doing. You should have seen the looks on the other teacher's faces while you were talking. Even Professor Moody was impressed."

"Yeah," Ron laughed. "And I thought Tonks was going to wet herself when you were telling about Voldemort's return."

Hermione glared reprovingly at Ron for several seconds. "That wasn't funny, Ron," she scolded.

"I know his return wasn't funny and I know the process wasn't funny," Ron said apologetically but still laughing, "but Tonks was priceless."

Hermione threw her hand up in frustration. "Oh!" she said in exasperation. "Boys!" She then turned and stormed off towards the Charms classroom.

Ron glanced sideways at Harry. "What's wrong with her?" he asked.

Harry just shook his head and smiled. "I think she's just being Hermione." "Yeah," Ron agreed dreamily, "Hermione."

"I think we had better catch up to her or we're going to be late," Harry said as they set off through the crowded corridors. While they were making their way to the Charms classroom Harry realized that Ron had said Voldemort's name without so much as a flinch and made a note to ask him about it later on.

Hermione was still fuming when they found her in Professor Flitwick's classroom and sat down on either side of her. "You're going to have to learn to lighten up a bit, Hermione," Harry said softly as he took out a fresh roll of parchment and prepared to take notes. "For what lies ahead, we are all going to have to find some reason to laugh."

"I know," she said, tears beginning to fill her eyes. "Its just that sometimes Ron can be such a prat."

"I'm sorry, Hermione," Ron said tenderly while rubbing her arm. "I know I should be more sensitive but I . . . I . . . I just can't help being who I am."

Hermione turned and smiled up at Ron, wiping the tears from her eyes. "Thanks," she said. "I wouldn't have you any other way."

Ron smiled and then turned to open a fresh bottle of ink.

Tiny Professor Flitwick entered the room, climbed to the top of his chair and perched himself atop the pile of cushions he used to see over the top of his desk. Clearing his fruity, squeaky voice he said, "Welcome back. As you know, Hogwarts is now, officially, on a military footing. This year, in addition to your regular coursework, you will be learning a number of defensive charms. Some of these charms are old and have not been used for years. Some of these charms are obscure and have only been recorded in the ledgers of certain volumes of family magic. Some of them are new; so new, in fact, that they have yet to be officially tested and recognized.

"In addition, this year you will begin developing and testing your own personal charms. These charms will be graded on their usefulness, effectiveness and reproducibility. This is why documentation is so important. It doesn't matter that you can produce these charms so much as it matters that your fellow students can reproduce them. That is why, it is so important that nothing be left out of a charm's documentation."

The tiny professor shifted slightly in his seat and turned to look at Harry. "It would seem that one of your classmates has developed a highly effective rebounding charm. Professor Dumbledore and the Acting Minister of Magic have asked me to help Mister Potter test this charm, prepare its documentation and get it ready for release. With Mister Potter's permission and assistance I would like him to give us a basic understanding of this charm and how it works and then provide us with a brief demonstration."

Harry looked up and grimaced resignedly. "This is getting out of hand," he grumbled. Then, pushing his chair back from the table, stood up and reluctantly made his way to the front of the class. Professor Flitwick nodded, turning the class over to him. Harry took a deep breath, once more made eye contact with Ron and began. "This charm is a purely defensive maneuver," he said. "It is a rebounding charm based upon some of the principles associated with a few of the muggles' more spiritual philosophies. Its component parts, therefore, if the texts are to be believed, are as old as time itself." He paused and briefly scanned the faces of his fellow students. Hermione, he could see, was watching him with rapt attention. He knew that she knew most of the inner workings of the charm but he was still grateful that she was such an attentive listener.

"Now I will grant that it is not an easy charm to master as it is equal parts philosophy, faith and magic. The philosophy boarders on religion; the faith is a matter of degree; and the magic lies in the orderly arrangement of the pieces within your hearts and minds. This charm will not shield you from experiencing the thoughts and emotions of the person or persons casting the spells but it will shield you from the effects of those spells. In addition, the effectiveness of this charm depends, in large measure, upon the uses to which it is put.

"This charm is not a toy and should not be used lightly. In a few minutes I will use it to demonstrate its power. After Professor Flitwick and I have completed its documentation and have begun teaching it you should use it for learning and practice purposes only unless or until you find yourself in a situation where you need it to defend yourselves against hostile forces.

"Before we launch ourselves into a full blown discussion of this charm there are a few more things you should know about it. The first is that it is a powerful piece of wordless and wandless magic. The second is that the use of this charm taps directly into the infinite power of Creation and your body becomes, in essence, your wand. The third thing you should know about this charm is that it is a very powerful bit of magic and can be very draining in cases of prolonged exposure. After all," he quipped with a friendly smile, "the last time I used it I wound up in the hospital wing for two weeks."

A nervous laughter rippled through the room as Harry strode to the blackboard and pulled out his wand.

For the next hour Harry described the charm in detail, using his wand to create illustrations and three-dimensional models as he went. Professor Flitwick watched in silence and closely studied the charts, diagrams and models Harry was using to illustrate the finer points of the charm, obviously impressed with what he was both seeing and hearing. When it was over Harry looked up and said seriously, "I need a volunteer. I need someone to cast a spell and try to hurt me. I don't want anything too dangerous because this charm is very effective. After all, twenty death eaters gave their lives in the original proof and I don't want anyone hurt. Neither do I want anyone to get sick or belch slugs for an hour. The spells you cast should be something you can deal with and should have an easy counter curse."

Several seconds passed as Harry's students glanced nervously around, wondering who would be the first to volunteer. Finally, Harry, after scanning the sea of apprehensive faces, said, "Ron, Hermione, Neville, Dean, Seamus, Parvati, Padma, Lavender. Could you all come forward please."

As the eight members of Dumbledor's Army slowly rose from their seats, wands in hand, Harry smiled at them reassuringly. When the last of them reached the front of the room Harry stepped to center stage and directed the others to fan out around him in a rough oval. Professor Flitwick moved to one of the vacated desks and perched himself on the tabletop, dangling his legs freely in the open air.

"This is just like in class, guys," Harry said, glancing reassuringly into Neville's eyes and laying his wand on Professor Flitwick's desk. "On the count of three I want you to cast your spells. One... Two... Three."

The room was suddenly filled with the shouts and screams of eight sixth-year witches and wizards simultaneously casting a number of different spells at one of their own. As the eight bolts of brightly colored beams of energy raced towards their target Harry stood quietly, his eyes closed and his head slightly bowed. Just as the hurtling bolts of energy would have made contact with his body a blinding flash of white light erupted from somewhere within Harry's body and the casters fell victim to their own curses.

Harry looked up when it was over and smiled sheepishly. Looking around he saw that Ron, Dean and Padma had tried the jelly legs curse; that Neville and Hermione had tried a binding curse, that Seamus and Parvati had tried petrification spells; and that Lavender was covered by a swarm of pink butterflies. He couldn't help but laugh at Lavender's predicament and through a bout of suppressed giggles asked her where she had learned that spell.

"In the library!" Lavender screamed as she struggled to get away from the swarming butterflies. Harry picked up his wand and flicked it expertly, causing the butterflies to vanish. Walking around the stage Harry released his friends from their curses, complimenting each of them on their progress. When he got to Neville he could see that Neville was struggling uselessly against the ropes that bound him at least as tightly as Wormtail's ropes had bound him to the headstone a little more than a year previous. Releasing his dueling partner and friend from his self-inflicted confinement Harry reached out his hand to help Neville to his feet. "Looking good, Neville," he complimented. "You'll have to catch me up on the last two weeks of training sometime."

Before Neville could respond Professor Fitwick squealed in delight and jumped down off the desk he had been sitting on. "Very good, Mister Potter!" he exclaimed. "Very well done indeed! I can see that this is going to be one of the easiest documentations I have ever done. And I think you should be able to start teaching it sometime next week."

Harry blushed as the bell rang, thanked Professor Flitwick, retrieved his books and headed off for the Great Hall and lunch with Ginny.