In Every Darkness
Chapter Fifty Six: Back to School
20.9.1996
"Harry!" Ron and Hermione raced across the Gryffindor common room when they saw Harry standing by the Portrait Hole.
"Hi guys," Harry smiled in greeting.
"We heard about the fight – it was in the Evening Prophet yesterday!" Hermione told him. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah," Harry replied, but a shadow was cast over him suddenly by the thought, and Hermione elbowed Ron in the ribs when the Ron would have opened his mouth, probably to ask a question that Harry wouldn't want to answer.
"Come on," she said quickly, as Ron looked about to ask anyway. "You look hungry, shall we go down to breakfast?"
Harry hesitated. He didn't feel hungry. "You have to eat," Grypis told him.
"I ate at Tatsu's," Harry replied.
"Hardly anything. Go with your friends, you don't have to eat much, just something," Grypis informed him tartly.
"Yeah, ok. Let's do that," Harry said aloud to his friends, and in his mind Grypis gave what might have been a cheer.
"You can't let yourself get too down over killing one of your enemies," Grypis told him. "I know it must be a horrible feeling, but in a kill or be killed situation, you can't really help killing people. It won't do anyone –least of all you- any good to get depressed."
"You're right, I suppose, I just can't help but feel … dirty," Harry replied.
"You heard your friends, in time it will fade. Just live, Gryfas. Live and be well and this will pass."
"Until the next time I have to kill someone," Harry thought back darkly.
"No need to even think about that," Grypis replied. "Your friends are feeling nervous, I think, because you aren't speaking much. Eventually you're going to have to tell them what happened, you know."
"I know," Harry replied. "I'm just trying to put it off for as long as possible."
"So what did you guys do yesterday?" Harry asked, mentally kicking himself for being unable to think of more stimulating conversation.
Ron gave him a funny look, but Hermione answered. "We were working on our assignments in Defence. It was funny, Tonks read over some of the peoples assignments, and then told us that she forgot to mention something about how you wrote things," here Hermione gave in to a bout of giggling and couldn't finish the sentence.
"She said that we had to be writing the essay assuming we are on the side of the people we had to do the assignments on. Malfoy was livid, because he has to write good thing about you now," Ron finished for Hermione.
At these words, Harry decided Hermione had the right idea and started laughing himself, Ron very quickly joining in with his friends.
It felt good to laugh, Harry realised. It helped reduce the tainted feeling of death.
A sudden vision came back to him, of Sirius laughing when Harry had first met him at the end of his third year, a little over two years ago now. When Sirius had laughed, his face had looked so much younger.
"Laughter is good," Grypis agreed. "Laugh more often."
"Will you stop ordering me around?" Harry demanded waspishly, his laughter dying once more as he and his friends pulled themselves together.
"Sometime, perhaps I'll consider it," Grypis told him after a moments thought.
"That was good," Ron said aloud. "Not as good as 'Draco Malfoy, the Amazing Bouncing Ferret,' sure, but nothing beats that."
The three friends were reduced to hysterics again, remembering the incident Ron spoke of, and slowly managed to make their way down to dinner.
Ron and Hermione seemed to think that laughter was helping Harry also, because they kept recalling the many humorous events that had occurred throughout Hogwarts over the past five and a bit years.
Severus Snape knelt in the Dark Lords chamber. He felt tired. Tired and old – not a good combination, especially with a meeting with the dark lord going on at the same time.
"Tell me, Severus, how you managed to fail me twice in one day," the Dark Lord hissed, and Severus flinched. The Dark Lord in a bad mood was not a good thing.
"My Lord, I apologise for any offence I may have done to you! I was not aware that the Muggle-loving fool had hired the Figg woman to replace Argus Filch."
"But you should have found that out, you know that don't you, Severus?" the Dark Lord interupted.
"Yes, Lord, I know that I have failed you in failing to discover this, I accept my punishment as my due," Severus said immediately, knowing exactly what was coming.
"Crucio," the Dark Lord hissed.
Severus screamed in agony, but only once. The curse was lifted quickly, and Severus knew that this was because of his words moments before the curse was inflicted.
"And at the Court House, Severus?" the Dark Lord asked now.
"My Lord, I had the Potter boy in my hands, my wand at his temple, but one of the other Death Eaters made the mistake of not seeing me, and sent a curse at the boy. He managed to move aside, and the curse struck me. I could not see it coming, the boy was in the way, and in any case I had not expected one of your own servants to attack me!" Severus cried out.
"Yes … That was not your fault Severus. Calling out to my Death Eaters that you had caught the boy would have made you the target of the Muggle-loving fool's attack, which would not have been good. Send the one that stunned you to me," the Dark Lord told him.
"Lord, the man was one of those who was stunned before we could all leave," Severus murmured. "I am sorry I could not bring him to you for punishment, but surely he faces far worse at the hands of my Lord's enemies?"
"Quite right, Severus. Very well, you may go. But do not fail me again, or the consequences will be far worse than this time!" Severus gladly fled the room, leaving the Dark Lord to his own devices.
Well, that wasn't too bad, Lupin remarked cheerfully.
Speak for yourself, Severus snarled. It was painful enough for me!
Touché, was the only response. The pair of them bickered as Severus walked them both back to his rooms at the Dark Fortress.
The next few days passed very well, in Harry's estimation at least. Tatsu came frequently to the school, teaching Harry new tricks to do with martial arts, and discussing the essay that Harry was doing on his magical guardian.
Despite the load of homework that Harry had, he was far happier than he had been the year before. The Defense Association had grown far larger. Now some seventy five per cent of students from second year up were involved in the group.
Now that everyone knew the Lord Voldemort was back, they were all eager to learn as much practical Defence Magic as possible. The first years hadn't joined the Association because they didn't know enough to keep up with the rest of the class, but Harry had ended up making accommodations for them also.
"Hey everyone, how are you?" He asked, walking in to the room on Saturday afternoon. Here were every single one of the first years at Hogwarts.
"Hi Harry!" all of them piped back.
Harry had decided, due to the pressure of all the first years, to start a programme to aid them in gaining confidence with magic. He was not always teacher, he enlisted Hermione's help also, and sometimes Ron. The Weasley boy was not particularly interested in teaching, however.
Harry and Hermione were teaching the first years bits of extra magic and aiding them in getting better confidence in practical magical application, which was what this group had been dubbed.
"What do you guys want to work on today?" Harry asked, smiling at them all. After the attack on Hogwarts, almost a month prior, he and the first years had remained good friends.
"Well, Professor Flitwick was teaching as how to make objects fly today," one girl, a Ravenclaw, said. "But my class at least didn't get much of a chance to do any of the practical stuff."
The rest of the Houses chimed in to say that they hadn't been able to get much practice done either. "Could we do some of that, then?" the Ravenclaw who'd spoken up first enquired.
"Of course we can. D'you want me to tell you how Ron used that spell to defeat a mountain troll?" Harry asked – he found that if the first years listened to a story about a spell, they were more likely to grasp how to do it quickly.
"Yes please!" All of them suddenly found seats and sat in a circle around Harry, who laughed slightly.
"Ok, back when me and Ron and Hermione were in first year …" Harry began.
A short time later, the story over and the first years fired with enthusiasm, the group stood up and Harry demonstrated the spell. "Wingardium leviosa!" he cried, flicking his wand at a vase, which immediately lifted into the air.
The first years raised a small cheer, and Harry repeated the incarnation clearly, then had them all repeat it back to him. "Ok good, now why don't you go and practice, and we'll meet in half an hour to demonstrate how we are going, if you want to."
The first years scattered and Harry settled down to write an essay for Michael McGonagall on Basilisk venom, its uses in potions and poisons, and any possible cures that could be made for, or by the venom.
Half an hour later, Harry was nearly done and the first years had returned to his area of the room, most of them looking triumphant, and a few of them confused.
"Well, who managed to do the spell?" Harry asked, smiling at them all.
Nearly everyone raised their hand. One boy signalled to get Harry's attention – he hadn't put his hand up with most of the rest of the group.
"Yes? Sam Taylor, isn't it?" Harry said, smiling confidently at the boy.
"I can't get it to work, Harry," the boy replied, shame faced. He was in Hufflepuff, Harry recalled.
"Well, tell me how you are saying the words," Harry told him, and the boy obeyed.
He was pouncing them almost right. "Close, very close. Did anyone else spot what Sam did wrong?"
Sam's brother, Luis, raised his hand.
"Yes Luis?"
"He didn't make the o sound in Leviosa long enough," the boy replied promptly.
"Quite right. Make the o sound long, Sam, go on, try it!" Harry urged the boy, who did as Harry asked, flicking his wand a feather which had helpfully appeared.
It immediately raised into the air, and the others cheered for their year mate. "Well done Sam!" Harry said, smiling proudly.
He had been trying to make sure that no one was embarrassed to ask questions in these sessions, knowing that this would only promote peoples difficulties. No one in the class laughed at anyone else when they made a mistake, since they were in first year, everyone was quite prone to them.
"Anyone else want to show the class how their going?" Harry asked, and immediately the rest of the students were clamouring to get up and demonstrate.
An afternoon well spent, Harry decided a while later as he packed up his things and walked with the first years back to the Gryffindor Common Room.
***
Hey look, no cliffie again! I'm getting better! Thanks to everyone who reviewed last chapter, and you are all individually thanked on the next chapter, as always. Review please everyone!
~WolfMoon~