Chapter 26. Boggarts, Dementors and The Mirror of Erised
"Someone's worked up an appetite," Dean said as he watched Harry tuck in to his second helping of trifle. Harry just grinned as he licked the back of his fork.
"Hey, Harry," said Seamus, "when are we going to start up the DA again? Snape's class was almost as dull as Umbridge's." Harry and Hermione both winced at the sound of her name. Several others chimed in, enthusiastic to hear the answer to Seamus' question.
Parvati Patil added, "Padma says that all the other Ravenclaws who weren't in the DA are livid that they missed out on a chance to learn and get a top mark on the Defense OWL. I'd imagine, Harry, that there're a good number of people who would love to join the group this year if you do it."
"Are you talking about the DA?" Ernie Macmillan said, leading a small group of Hufflepuffs and settling into some of the now-vacant seats at the Gryffindor table.
"Yes," Hermione said, "we just need to decide when to meet."
Ron leaned to the side and waved at Luna, beckoning her over to their table and then to sit beside him.
"Hello, Ronald," she said dreamily, goggling at him as she slid in beside him. Padma Patil, Terry Boot and Anthony Goldstein followed her and hurried over as well to the Gryffindor table.
There was now a rather large group clustered around one end of the Gryffindor table, all voicing their eagerness to learn more defense.
"Do you all still have your galleons?" Hermione asked. They all nodded and several people pulled them out of their pockets to display them in their palms. Hermione glanced furtively at the head table and said, "Excellent. But we still ought to keep mum about this, if Snape were to find out we didn't think he was good enough and he saw this as going around him…" there were some shudders and several doleful nods around the table. Snape's reputation seemed to run far beyond just Gryffindor House.
"So, we'll still use the galleons?" Susan Bones asked.
Hermione looked to Harry who nodded and he then said, "So how about sometime next week we meet and—"
"No!" several voices cried out.
"Sooner!" several others urged.
"Okay, okay," Harry said, with his hands out in a placating gesture, a bit surprised at how keen everyone seemed. "We'll meet sooner then—"
"How about tonight?" Neville volunteered.
"Yeah."
"Works for me."
"Same place then?"
It was as if the obsession for learning that had always infected Hermione, had now spread, causing an epidemic of academic over-eagerness. Seeing not much of a choice but to go along, Harry said, "I guess that settles it then."
"A-hem," a voice said, causing a few people to peer over their shoulders to find the speaker.
Some people parted the way to reveal a cool-looking Cho Chang, standing with her arms crossed and looking at Harry with erstwhile determination.
"Oh, don't worry, Cho," Terry Boot said, "we've not forgot about you. We're—oof!" An elbow into his ribs shut him up and Cho acted like she hadn't heard him at all. Harry was having a distinctly bad feeling about this.
"A word—Mr. Quidditch Captain?" Cho said, jerking her head to one side in her best impersonation of a strict Professor McGonagall.
"Woo-hoo, Captain!" Dean shouted.
A few fists thumped the table and a couple shouts of "Hear-hear!" and a "Lions for the Cup!" resounded from boisterous Gryffindors.
"Er, sure," said Harry reluctantly, who quickly snuck a glance at Hermione to try to silently beg for a way out of this if he needed an escape route.
"What do you want with him?" Ron asked loudly as he eyed Cho beadily. Her silver Head Girl badge gleamed beside her silver raven pin, denoting her status as Ravenclaw Quidditch Captain.
"Team business, none of your business," she said coolly, not even looking at Ron.
"I'll be back in just moment," Harry said to those around him. He added quietly, "Hopefully soon."
"Has Ravenclaw scheduled their team try-outs yet?" Ron asked, more boldly this time.
Cho turned to glare at him and said, "Yes, as a matter of fact we have. And I would like to have scheduled some practices as well, however, someone," she turned her glare to Harry now, "took all the prime time slots on the pitch!"
"Don't look at me!" Harry defended himself quickly. "Slytherin took the real prime spots! I didn't take any more than they did!"
"What do you mean they're all taken?" Zacharias Smith stood up and asked nervously. Harry saw Ron smirk smugly at this.
"He took all the dinner slots!" Cho said accusingly as she pointed at Harry.
"And Slytherin had already booked all the late afternoon slots—so what?" Ron challenged, standing up and glaring down at Cho. "Anyway—we only took the first half of dinner."
"Oh, that's helpful," Cho said sarcastically. "We always did love to practice in the dark."
"Perfect then." Ron said smugly, sitting back down and smiling at Luna as she dreamily smiled back.
"I don't think so!" said Cho indignantly. She moved in front of Harry and tried to use her petite frame to look intimidating as she commanded, "Look, you're going to have to give us some of your practice time."
"Yeah, we—we'll need time to practice, too!" Smith said hurriedly as he watched them anxiously. Harry was sure that Smith was just afraid of looking like he'd failed as a captain even before he did anything as captain of the Hufflepuff team. Harry almost felt sorry for him, not really, but…almost.
A clamour rose up as everyone around the Gryffindor table voiced their demand that their House team get equal practice time.
"Is there a problem here?" McGonagall's voice silenced the group.
Cho immediately pointed at Harry and said, "He's booked all the practice slots for the pitch!"
"Not all, you twit," Ron grumbled, looking at her disgustedly.
"Weasley! There is no need for name-calling," McGonagall said. "Potter," she jerked her head to the side, much as Cho had done to try to talk to Harry alone at first. But this time, Harry hurried over to speak to his Head of House.
"What is the meaning of all this?" she asked Harry quietly.
Harry explained how Slytherin had booked all their practices when he'd gone down to see Madame Hooch and how he reckoned he ought to get some time booked while he could.
"Did you find out who the Slytherin Captain is?" she asked eagerly.
Harry shook his head. "Nooo…"
Her face fell. "Damn. Sev—Professor Snape still hasn't revealed who the captain is this year." Her eyes narrowed and she said with a shrewd look at the Head table where Snape was watching them all closely, "He's not allowed to book time. In fact, it's customary that it's only done after the teams have been chosen. All right—back." She pointed for Harry to return to the group.
"Pay attention now," Professor McGonagall said to the gathering. "The pitch is only to be booked for tryouts this week. Only after all four teams have chosen their respective teams, will practice times be scheduled. All the captains will work this out to ensure fair and equal practice opportunities."
Cho seemed mollified and Smith looked extremely relieved and shot Harry a smug look. Yup, Harry was definitely not feeling sorry for that prat at all. Ron grumbled something about, 'first come, first served', but Harry did think it sounded fairer than expecting him to give over time to Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw.
Harry waited until McGonagall left them alone and then leaned into the center of the group and said, "All right, let's meet in half an hour at the same place?"
"Should we bring others who want to come?" Padma asked.
Harry shook his head, "Not yet. Let's just meet together first. We can decide more then." He added, "And clear off now for a bit. We don't want a whole herd of us all heading there together." With that, the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws dispersed and Lavender and Parvati said they needed to go back to the Common Room to get ready.
Harry looked up, feeling someone watching him, to see Cho still standing there with her arms crossed, with an unreadable look on her face. Harry sighed and said to her, "You're welcome to come too, of course."
He felt an arm thread through his and he looked down to see Ginny grinning cheekily up at him. "Let's go there early, Harry. Shall we?" she said as she batted her lashes flirtatiously and then turned to smile at Cho.
Harry thought it was a miracle that Cho didn't try to hex Ginny before she whirled and stormed off out of the Great Hall.
"Sorry, Harry," Ginny whispered as she unthreaded her arm from his. "It looked like you might have needed some help there with her."
Harry paced before the wall that held the entrance to the Room of Requirement as Ron, Ginny, Dean, Seamus, Neville and Hermione stood behind him. I need a room to practice and teach defense…a room where none may spy upon us…
The door sprang into view and Harry grasped the brass handle and opened the door. The room looked nearly the same as it had the previous year.
"Can you believe Cho?" Ron said as he plopped down on two cushions.
"Yeah, what was up with her?" Seamus said, scowling.
Harry thought he ought to be fair and say she did have some right to upset and so he said, "Well, we did nick the last practice slots, Ron."
"So?" he said, shrugging. "Tough luck for her, mate. Things can't always go her way."
"I wouldn't exactly say things always go her way, Ron," Ginny said sitting cross-legged on the floor, beside Dean. "She did lose one boyfriend because he was killed by—well, by you know, Tom."
Harry looked at her with his head crooked to the side, "You know Dumbledore called him that. At the Ministry." He saw a chair off to the side of the room and summoned it over and sat down.
"So it's true then?" Seamus asked looking from Harry to the others. "You guys really were at the Ministry that night last term?"
Harry really didn't want to talk about this right now, cursed himself for bringing it up and said, "Ah, so what do you all think about letting more people in the—"
"Yeah we were," Ron said sitting up and looking strangely at Harry. "Must have been, what, a dozen Death Eaters there?" He looked to Neville and Ginny to confirm this and went on, "But look who's still fighting and look who's now rotting in a cell." Harry felt an annoying anger building at Ron's cavalier account of the event that cost Sirius his life, and that had changed Harry's life forever.
"Ron…" Hermione said tiredly.
"Whoa…so you guys helped to capture all those Death Eaters?" Seamus asked with awe, looking around at them all.
"Yeah, they didn't know what hit 'em," Ron started to say.
"No—" Ginny said abruptly, scrunching her face up at Ron, "Dumbledore is the one who captured them all."
"Oh, and we didn't fight them all the while before anyone came to help?" Ron said, leaning forward, challenging his little sister.
"We weren't doing very well at all, Ron, until Dumbledore showed up," said Neville quietly. "And even after that…" he trailed off as he looked at Harry with sorrow.
Harry felt grateful for Neville bringing the memory of the night back to the reality of its loss and tried desperately to turn the subject. "Does anyone—"
"Did you get a reward?" Seamus asked, wide-eyed.
"No," Hermione said quickly, "we didn't do much of anything that warrants any reward."
Harry let loose a spray of red sparks from his wand into the air. "Can we please drop this topic?" he said coolly as he stood up. "I'm sorry I brought it up. Since we're here at least, let me run something by all of you." Harry wasn't looking at any of them and just looking down at the floor as he paced a few steps and stopped. "What are your thoughts on letting new members into the group?" He looked up and said, "Dean, what do you think?"
"Sounds like you'd have to beat 'em off to keep 'em away, mate."
"Ginny?" Harry prompted.
"Well, Harry, I think if anyone wants help learning to defend themselves, then we can't just turn them away." Hermione nodded at this, as did Neville.
"I agree and all, o'course, but won't it just end with the same problem we've got in class now? A group of advanced people and then another who can barely wave a wand?" Seamus said.
"Maybe," Neville said looking at Harry, "if we all help the new people to catch up, then we can review last year at the same time as helping them. Then we can all move on and learn new stuff, wouldn't that work, Harry?"
Harry smiled as he saw Hermione nodding emphatically and he said, "Yeah, actually, I was kind of thinking something like that, Neville." Neville looked flattered that he'd had a good idea and couldn't conceal a grin.
"Will we all fit in here?" Ron asked, looking slightly distracted.
"Well," Harry said, "I think the room will adjust to be whatever size we need it to be."
"How do we decide who to let in?" Ginny asked, pulling her knees up to under her chin.
"Yeah, we wouldn't want another Marietta Edgecombe," Dean said darkly.
Harry looked to Hermione. He knew she had been working with loyalty charms and jinxes as a project over the summer. "I can get something for that," she said as she pulled out a book from her bag and began flipping pages.
Soon, the Hufflepuffs arrived into the Room of Requirement. A few moments later, two more groups, each of Ravenclaws came in. Lastly, Colin Creevey, with his brother Dennis at his heels, burst in through the door, panting, as Lavender, Parvati and Katie Bell followed at much less panicked pace.
"We're—here," Colin said, gasping for breath. "Did we miss—anything?"
"No," Harry said, waving them to take a cushion. "We're just about to start. Is that everyone?" he asked as he looked around the room. "All right then, I was just batting around some ideas about how to let in new members. We're all agreed we think this is a good thing, right?"
Everyone nodded eagerly, and Padma said, "Absolutely. Although, I already told some others that I would teach them on my own, if you didn't want more people."
"Well," Harry said, "you might be doing that anyway." He explained that it might work fastest if everyone helped any new members catch up quickly to the same skill level. "If we keep to a manageable size, then this should only take a few weeks of meetings to catch everyone up and we all can move on."
"What's manageable, Harry?" Justin Finch-Fletchly asked.
Harry chewed on his lip before answering and slowly said, "Well, I was thinking if we all recruited only a couple of people personally—people you can vouch for and all, then those can be the people who you'll be the one to help train them to catch up. Maybe only two new members per person?"
Hermione was chewing on the end of her quill, she had been writing furiously while Harry had been talking. "So," she said, "we'd rather be sponsoring the new members, yes?"
"Right," Harry said nodding at her and looking at her for her opinion.
"What if someone drags in a person who the rest of us don't think is trustworthy?" Ron asked.
"I've got that taken care of," said Hermione with a smug smile as she closed her book. "And everyone call tell their new recruits that they'll be taking an oath of loyalty."
"To the group?" Zacharias Smith asked.
"No," Hermione said, "To Harry."
Harry had been surprised there were no objections to this, not even from Smith. For nearly two hours, they reviewed the spells they'd learned the previous year and showed off any new skills they'd learned. Harry was impressed to see that both Parvati and Padma had been practicing with each other all summer and they showed off several new maneuvers in an impromptu duel. Harry partnered with Neville, as he had the year before, and was surprised to see that Neville had a new spark to his spell work and seemed to have gained a tremendous amount of quickness and even a fair amount of power. Harry almost didn't recognize the spells Neville sent as being sent by Neville.
"It's my new wand," he said as he blushed with a grin when Harry had asked how he'd gotten so good over the summer. "My grandmother bought it for me after I told her I'd broken the old one." Harry recalled that Neville had been using his father's old wand but that had been snapped at the Ministry last term. He was very glad that Neville now had a wand of his own and one that seemed to be much more in tune with Neville's magic.
Shortly before curfew, Harry called a stop to the group and sent them back to their Common Rooms in small groups. They'd made plans to meet again on soon, using their enchanted galleons to communicate and each would bring no more than two new members.
As Harry and the last of the Gryffindors were about to leave, Ginny came over to Harry and asked, "Can I talk to you for a moment?"
Harry looked up and saw Ron smirk and say, "We'll be waiting up for you two in the Common Room. You've got fifteen minutes before curfew," as he pushed Neville, Dean and Hermione out the door.
"I take it you two haven't told him yet?" Ginny asked, not really looking at Harry.
"Well, no," Harry said. "I thought we would all tell him together. You, me and Hermione—and Dean, too, if you want." There was no way Harry was going to brave that storm alone, he thought.
"Oh Merlin no, Harry! I wouldn't put Dean through that!" Ginny said wide-eyed and terror-stricken at the thought. "I—I wasn't sure if you two wouldn't have just told him by now."
"Wasn't sure or you'd hoped we'd already told him?" Harry asked. Ginny grinned at him and nodded. Harry leaned back and sat upon a table top near the door. "He's just been so hot and cold, lately. It's like any little thing might set him off, you know?" Harry asked, shaking his head at how volatile Ron had seemed so far.
"Gee, Harry, that doesn't sound familiar at all," said Ginny dryly.
Harry looked up at her and then half-grinned. "Oh, yeah, last year and all that…sorry about that. Was I really that bad?" Ginny nodded quickly and Harry looked down sheepishly.
"Mum calls it fits of the sullens," Ginny said. "She says it's normal at this age. But I sure never recall Fred and George acting like this. I tried telling Ron he acts more like an ornery Percy than anything when he gets into a snit, but that just set him off again."
"What happened with Percy?" Harry asked. "Didn't you all go meet him for dinner one night?"
Ginny shook her head, "No, he showed and then looked surprised to see us all there and then stormed out. I think Dad tried to set it all up, but, well, that was a bad night for Mum." Harry just nodded. That had been the night that she'd tried to stop the twins from coming to their first Order meeting.
"Well, I'm sorry about Percy," Harry said.
"It's not your fault, Harry."
Harry nodded. "Right, but think how angry Ron will be if we don't come clean soon. What's up with him and Luna? I saw them partnered up tonight."
"Beats me, you've a better chance getting a straight answer out of a centaur than Luna."
"Did…did Hermione tell you want happened? With her and Ron?" Harry asked tentatively.
Ginny nodded slowly, "Yeah, yeah she did."
"That's why he dropped those classes this summer—he didn't want to be around her, am I right?" Ginny just shrugged and nodded. Harry sighed and said, "I don't want him to get up in arms and then blow his chance at being an Auror and I don't want him to get angry and get into a fight with any of us. I don't want him to blame Hermione for all this." Harry saw that Ron still harboured resentment from her rejection of him and he'd seen Ron say hurtful things to her that seemed a manifestation of this resentment. And then, he thought, it sometimes seemed like they'd just been trying to make up some plan to ease Ron into it and justify why they should wait, just so they'd have plans that could go wrong and give them reason to delay yet again.
"I know, Harry," said Ginny, looking up at him. "It just doesn't seem fair."
Harry snorted as he slid off the table. "I think I'm learning life is never fair. So, when do we tell him—now?"
Ginny thought for a moment and then said, "He's locked into his class schedule after next week. If we wait until then, he can't mess up his dream of being an Auror."
"Two weeks?" Harry said, mulling it over.
"Less than, actually," Ginny corrected. It was obvious that the more time she had free reign with Dean, the better, she felt.
Harry couldn't deny that he felt an urge to put it off and this offered him the perfect justification for it. "Okay then, I'll let Hermione know—or, you can. Whoever sees her first, all right?"
Ginny nodded. "Yup, we need to get back," she said as she checked her watch.
"Barely made it," Ron said as they walked through the portrait hole as he stood with his arms crossed, smirking and looking directly at his wristwatch and then between Ginny and Harry.
"Bite me, Ronnikins," Ginny said as she breezed past him and straight up to her dormitory.
Harry took up a chair at their usual table, across from where Hermione was sitting and spreading out several books upon the table.
"Did you hack her off?" Ron asked suspiciously as he sat down beside Harry.
"Nope," said simply as he pulled out a roll of parchment and then rummaged for a quill and ink. Ron looked sceptical. Harry looked up at Hermione and asked, "You find anyone with your same Potions essay?"
"Nuh-uh," Hermione said without looking up from her writing. She paused and said, "But Padma did say she had the same essay as you. I warned her you might want to compare and she said she'd be happy to."
Harry smiled at this; he'd hate to hand anything in to Snape without some sort of comparison meter with which to judge his work—lord knows Snape's grading system was no indication to quality.
"Hah," Ron said smugly, leaning back on his chair. "Nobody said I had an essay to write for Potions."
Hermione looked up sharply at him and then back down at her work and sighed as she said in a bored voice, "Ron, you really think he won't expect an essay from you tomorrow?" Ron shrugged apathetically.
Harry had begun to write up a notice to post in the Common Room about Gryffindor Quidditch Try-outs and said, "Snape probably wants you to find out all the different essays he's assigned and then to do them all—just so he can say you only had to do one. Nothing less would satisfy him, mate."
"Exactly," Ron said. "So why bother trying to please the git?"
Harry could feel that Hermione was having a heck of a time biting her tongue and not ranting upon Ron's precarious placement into NEWT Potions but Ron, wisely, changed the subject and asked, "Is it true Harry, what Hermione said, that you and her didn't have to do the essay for McGonagall?" Harry nodded and smiled with not much sorrow, at Ron. "Bugger!"
"Sorry, mate," Harry said. "But we did more work than any essay this summer—she taught me more in one month than she has in over five years of classes. Plus she had us both doing several smaller assignments—researching and working with theory. We really didn't get off easy, you know."
"Well, bugger again," Ron said dejectedly. "You know, it's all your fault Harry. If you and Ginny wouldn't have gotten mum in such a snit over you two, then I could stayed there with you two and I wouldn't have had to listen to mum natter on and on, lecturing both me and Ginny about," Ron's voice mimicked his mum's as he said, "abstinence is always the most romantic and saying one mustn't get lost in the moment and forget the proper protections!" Ron shook his head, "I tell you, the number of times she harped on contraceptive charms and chastity jinxes—although mind you, she seemed of two minds about telling Ginny something that might hurt you." Ron laughed at the thought.
Proper protections… Harry had been listening absently as Ron was talking but as the topic turned to…proper protections…he suddenly felt a rather queasy in the stomach and like a ton of brinks had landed on his chest. Harry was now becoming fully aware that, and he felt increasingly embarrassed about this, the furthest thing from his often blood-deprived mind these past few days, had been making sure precautions were in place to prevent the next generation of Potter. With dread and trepidation, he slowly looked up from his parchment (which now had a very large ink blot on it) to see Hermione.
Hermione seemed to be writing away, oblivious to the conversation. Harry really couldn't believe that practical, always-prepared Hermione would not have remembered something as important as this. But still…the queasiness was only building.
"Oi, Seamus," Harry vaguely heard Ron call out and then mutter, "I'm off in search of a Transfiguration essay, then."
Harry was still transfixed on Hermione's oblivious demeanor. "Er, Hermione?" Harry asked in what sounded to him like a very high, strained voice.
"Hmm," she said as she read something and nibbled upon the feathered end of her quill.
"Did you, er, I mean, well," Harry was trying to keep his voice as low as possible and he really wished Hermione would just look at him and put his mind to ease (not to mention his stomach). "Did you just hear Ron?"
Hermione looked up and then over at Ron, sitting with Dean and Seamus. "What? Oh yeah, I'm sure he's getting their essays to copy now." She went back to her book, humming a tune softly.
"No, not that," Harry said. "I mean, I meant before that."
Hermione looked up slowly at Harry and gave him a bewildered look and said, "I'm not sure what you mean, Harry," and then looked to him expectantly for an explanation.
Harry felt the sinking feeling reach a new low at the prospect of trying to bring this up here and now, but then he got the strangest notion. He and Hermione were looking into each other's eyes and as he watched her face and saw into those brown eyes, he got the distinct notion that Hermione knew exactly what he was talking about. He got the notion that she was trying to rattle him just to see him squirm and that she really wanted to laugh at him right now. "Are you trying not to laugh at me?" he asked immediately.
Hermione coughed in what sounded more like a laugh turned into a cough and then schooled her face again and looked straight at Harry as she said, "Now why would I laugh at you?"
That notion was still there as he held her eyes, and was trying to read her face. "I know you would never forget something so important," he said much more calmly than he really felt. But he was definitely under the impression that Hermione had heard everything and since she had taken care of it and he'd never even asked; she felt making him squirm was due payback. "I'm not worried," he said to test her.
Hermione's face changed rapidly—her mouth dropped and she said, "Well what if I had? Then where would you be now?"
"Aha!" Harry said triumphantly. He lowered his voice as he said, "I knew you knew what I was talking about. And," he added smugly, "I knew you were lying to me."
Hermione scowled at him. "How?" she demanded.
Harry leaned forward and whispered, "I've started getting flashes of Legillimencing skills. I'm right aren't I?"
Hermione nodded slowly. "Wow, you're progressing really well then," she said, but then added with a pointed finger, "But don't you dare think you didn't deserve to sit there and squirm."
Harry hid a small smile at this. "So everything's…it's all…you know?"
"Taken care of?" Hermione said patronizingly. "Yes, Harry, we're fine." She couldn't help a small smile at him. "It was after all, in a certain book," she muttered as she went back to her work. Harry grinned and stretched out a leg beneath the table, leaning it against hers and then continuing on with the try-out notice.
"I was wondering why you weren't wearing the pin," Ron said as the trio walked out of Transfiguration.
McGonagall had given Harry both his captain pin and a tattered and worn book of plays that had been passed down among the Gryffindor captains for over three centuries.
"Can I see the playbook?" Ron asked excitedly. "I remember Charlie talking all about it and how he has nearly a dozen plays in there to his credit."
Harry shook his head and held his book bag protectively, "And risk having you lose it when we walk into the Potions dungeon? No way—not now."
"Harry's right, Ron," Hermione said as she led the way down several flights of stairs and across the castle. "Something that old and sacred should be treated with extreme care." She turned to Harry and asked, "Should we charm it?"
Hermione had taught Harry the spell she'd found that would make any book or piece of parchment appear blank unless one knew the proper password. It was likely the same spell that was on the Marauders' Map. But they had found that if they added a switching spell glamour on top of it, then even if you were reading the enchanted pages right in front of someone else, all they would see is something else. They'd used it on her notes from all the Order meetings and Harry had used it on his journal and, most recently, The Book. . In the case of Harry's journal, a copy of Quidditch Through the Ages appeared to anyone who didn't know he had a journal.
"Yeah, that's a brilliant idea." He jumped over to a statue and pulled Ron and Hermione behind it with him. He rummaged through his bag for the book and handed it to Hermione.
"What are you doing? You won't let me look at it but you'll pull it out for Hermione?" Ron said looking at the coveted playbook and licking his lips.
"Shh," Hermione said and then asked, "What do you want the password to be, Harry? Something only a Gryffindor would ever be able to say?"
Harry thought for a moment and then said, "I should do it. Can you tell if there are any other spells on it right now?"
Hermione waved her wand over it and the book was infused with a soft pale light. She shook her head, "None beside the moving sketches and transcribed writings."
Harry pointed his wand at the book and muttered the Enchantment and then muttered the intended phrase that would activate the charm, "I bleed Gryffindor red."
"What are you muttering?" Ron asked impatiently.
"What does it look like now?" Harry asked holding up the book.
Ron gaped down at the book that now looked like a report entitled, An International Assessment of Cauldron-Bottom Thickness. "Harry! What happened to the—"
Hermione slapped her hand over Ron's mouth, "Shh! He charmed it so no one will find out what it is and even if they do—they wouldn't be able to read it. C'mon—we need to hurry to class!" she said dragging them back into the hall and hurrying down the last flight of stairs and into the dungeons.
They filed into a dungeon room that they'd never seen before. It was obviously a potions classroom but it was much smaller than their previous classroom. It had several long marble worktables, each with four stools around them. Each work area also had a short, wooden chopping block table for slicing and dicing and a blackened area on the floor where it was clear, everyone would set their fires for their cauldrons. They took one of the stations near the back of the room, next to some Ravenclaws and waved Neville over to their table as soon as he reluctantly peered into the room.
"Thank god I can at least sit by people I know," he said gratefully.
"Not for long," Hermione said. "I've heard we'll be regrouped for the rest of the course and judging by the fact that we," she waved at Harry and Neville, "all had different essays, then we definitely won't be together."
Neville's face fell and Ron seemed about to panic. Harry said, "Well then Padma would be in my group." That didn't sound so bad. He had gone over to the Ravenclaw table at breakfast and offered to swap Potions essays since finding out they had the same assignment. He hadn't found anything in her essay that he hadn't already included and in fact, she had made a note to add several of his points to her essay.
The bell rang and as the sound died away, the door to the classroom slammed shut and Snape was striding to the front of the classroom. "Settle down," said Snape coldly as he whirled to face the class, unfurling his bat-like arms and then crossing them in front of his chest.
The class had fallen silent as soon as he had entered the room and so there really was no nothing to settle down at all. Snape sneered for good measure before continuing, "It has always been my desire and practice to only take the best into this class," his eyes paused pointedly upon Ron, Neville and Harry before he went on, "however, this year I have been forced to make exception to this high standard of quality. I would like to make you all aware of the fact that you are allowed enrollment into this course, contingent upon the consent of the instructor…me. If any one of you fails to meet the standard of performance I deem required, I will not hesitate to remove you from this class. This includes even those of you who had miraculously managed to weasel a mark of Outstanding upon your examination last term. Mr. Weasley!" Snape stared at Ron, boring his black eyes into the redhead's abject face of terror. "I might point out to you that your presence in this class, despite your inability to meet the examination standard has you on an extremely short rope. You are here due to a technicality. You shall prove yourself capable or you shall find yourself out." With his teeth bared in a mockery of a smile, Snape said, "You have no margin for inadequacy."
Snape then pulled out the register from his robes and began checking the scroll to the students present silently. Not a sound could be heard in the dungeon room. When finished, he rolled the scroll back up and tucked it away into a fold of his robe and said, "Pull out your assignments." There was some shuffling and shifting as everyone pulled out there scrolls of homework. "Now…there were four different assignments, as some of you may have noticed. You shall be working in teams for the remainder of your time in this class and your teams shall remain unchanged from now until you leave Hogwarts." Harry thought Snape looked wistfully at Harry (Probably can't wait until I'm gone) as he said this. "Now, assuming you are not utterly daft, I shall assume you can now reassemble yourselves into these groups." Snape stepped back and leaned against his desk as he obviously waited for everyone to follow his directions. "Now!" he barked.
Harry got up and went over to Padma and said, "Well, we know we're together. Are you the only Ravenclaw with our essay?"
"Yes," she said looking about the room as everyone was up and tentatively asking around to find those with matching essays. Nearly half the class was Slytherins and Harry saw Ernie as the only Hufflepuff in the course. "Let's split up then," she said as she moved off across the room.
"Biochemical effects of mind-altering potions?" he heard Blaise Zabini ask him.
Harry shook his head and said, "I think that was Hermione's though."
The Slytherin moved on with a short nod and Harry heard Padma call out, "Harry, over here!"
He sidestepped a disdainfully sneering Malfoy who seemed to be just sitting back, expecting people to seek him out. He saw Padma sitting with two Slytherin girls; one of which was Millicent Bulstrode and the other, the same girl he'd helped the previous day in defense class. "All four of us?" he asked.
Padma nodded, "There's fourteen in the class and that means two groups each of four and three."
Harry took a stool and watched the last two groups sort out. Hermione was sitting beside Blaise Zabini and a Slytherin girl who Harry did not know. He then noticed Ron sitting agitatedly back at his original table. Since Ron didn't have an essay, he had no way of finding a group to which he should belong. Harry felt a stab of pity for his friend and hoped Snape wouldn't try to use it to throw Ron out.
"You've got to be joking," came a disgusted drawl from behind. Harry and the rest of the class turned to see Ernie and Neville standing in front of the still seated Malfoy, whose face was distorted in a look of utter disbelief and disgust. It would have been rather funny if it weren't for the apparently poor fate for both Neville and Ernie.
"Mr. Malfoy, is there a problem?" Snape asked coolly and Harry turned with astonishment at the tone with which he addressed his formerly favoured pupil. Malfoy was glaring defiant daggers at Snape and scowled openly as Ernie and Neville seated themselves at his workstation, albeit, as far away from Malfoy as possible.
"Probably wanted to be grouped with you, Potter," Millicent said under her breath and Harry shuddered and then faked gagging, causing her and Padma both to smirk and hide their faces by looking down.
Snape glanced around at the newly assembled groups and stalked over to Ron, sitting all alone. "Mr. Weasley, are you daft?"
"N-no, sir," Ron said as his voice cracked in a very adolescent way.
"Then, why, Weasley have you not found your group, pray tell?" Snape could surely guess the reason but seemed quite intent on drawing this out to be as painful as possible for Ron. Harry almost felt so bad for Ron that he would have wished to trade places to spare his friend the pain…almost.
Ron muttered something incoherent that Harry knew well enough was an explanation about his lack of having an essay question. Snape made Ron repeat it though and then grinned sadistically as he said, "Were you not aware that an essay had been assigned to the students of this class, Weasley?"
"No, no sir, it's just I didn't know—"
"Did you think you would be afforded measures to compensate for your inferior intellect and abilities?"
Harry saw Hermione exchange a look with him; they both knew Ron should have gone to Snape to ask for an essay assignment. But when they had tried to tell Ron this, he argued that he would not have had time to complete it anyway, which, in all fairness, was a truthful point.
Snape was still hounding Ron and saying, "Since you seem to be unable to determine your proper group, I believe it may be best to assign you all of the essays to be completed. By tomorrow. During detention. With me. In fact, you may begin immediately after this class and spend your lunch hours here." Ron was so pale that Harry could see his freckles from across the room, even in the dimly lit dungeons. "For now, you may take the seat beside Ms. Parkinson. Consider this your last courtesy, Weasley, the next one, you walk. Ah yes, and twenty points from Gryffindor…for being unprepared and for disabusing the favor which I granted your Head of House in allowing your pathetic existence in my class."
Harry shot Ron a sympathetic look as he joined a group consisting of Pansy Parkinson, Mandy Brocklehurst and a Ravenclaw boy.
Snape resumed his position at his desk and gleefully (for him, anyway) announced, "I had intended for you all to begin work on your group projects, however, due to Mr. Weasley's actions or lack thereof, I am relegated to an alternative lesson. Pass your essay scrolls forward and clear your desks—there will be a quiz for the remainder of the period."
Snape then made them all spread out and spend the entire double period (nearly two hours!) scribbling answers to what Harry knew to be, incredibly advanced questions regarding potions. He was grateful that he had read over Hermione's essay and had some of the answers in his memory. He didn't have the exact answers for some questions regarding specific ingredients, but was at least able to describe what characteristics the correct ingredient would possess.
Finally, at long last, the bell rang (one hundred and twelve questions into the quiz) and they all dropped their quills and massaged their cramped hands, several people shooting Ron murderous glares.
"You are dismissed, except of course, for Mr. Weasley," Snape said, sneering maliciously.
"I can't believe Ron! I told him…" Hermione was just shaking her head in exasperation as she and Harry followed Padma, Neville and Ernie to Lunch.
"I know," said Harry, "I'm surprised it was only twenty points though." He stopped suddenly and smiled brightly, "Hey! That was the first Potions class I ever recall not having ever lost a point for Gryffindor!"
Hermione smiled and laughed, "Well, that almost makes up for Ron… or not."
"I take it Snape doesn't like you, Harry?" Padma asked innocently.
Harry guffawed, "Uh, yeah, one might say that."
Hermione informed her and Ernie, "It's not that he doesn't like Harry—it's more that he hates Harry."
"Why?" Ernie asked, again, innocently.
"'Cuz he's a greasy git, that's why," was all Harry offered as an explanation. Hermione brooked no argument as they entered the Great Hall and broke apart to head to their respective tables.
"Poor Ron," Harry said as they sat down. "Snape really knows how to hurt him—taking away one of his meals."
Hermione said, with as much sympathy as she could muster, "Well, I know he has Herbology later this afternoon, maybe you could shove some food into your bag, Neville? Give it to him to tide him over until dinner?"
Neville nodded, "Sure."
Hermione went on, "It's no wonder McGonagall told him he had to keep Herbology and Divination until he lasted the full two weeks of the drop/add period. At this rate…"
"It's too late now," Harry said, not willing to sit here and listen to Hermione rant on about Ron even when Ron wasn't around. "Say, I never got to ask you two about the house unity thing, did you have any ideas?"
Hermione cocked her head to the side, looking at Harry, "You don't have one already?"
He did a minor plan really involving trying to expand the DA group to include some of the more moderate Slytherins, but still, Hermione was always the one with the real plans. "Well, sorta'…but that's just the DA thing. You know, hopefully a few of our new members will be from Slytherin."
Neville stopped eating for a moment and looked at Harry as if he was questioning if it truly was Harry.
"What?" Harry said. "They can't all be bad, can they? I think Malfoy, the loudmouth, just gives them a bad name." As an afterthought, Harry added, "Well, he and Voldemort, really." Neville flinched at the name and dropped his fork and Harry gave him a sharp look. "You know, maybe one of our lessons should be learning to say the name." Neville paled at this, as he would if being grilled with questions by Snape. Harry said, "Well, perhaps, we should start with being able to tolerate hearing the name." Neville still didn't look any happier and Harry turned back to his lunch.
"I think those are excellent ideas, Harry," Hermione said proudly. "I also might have something to suggest but I won't know for sure until we have the first Prefect meeting." Harry looked up at her and grinned, gave her a wink and then went back to his lunch.
After finishing his plate, Neville packed a napkin with a few sandwiches and stuffed them in his bag for Ron before heading off to the greenhouses.
"I have Arithmancy next; today's your first day teaching, right?" Hermione said to Harry, smiling.
Harry felt his stomach flip at the thought and said, "Yeah, but I have my private study time with Dumbledore first."
Hermione looked jealous at the idea of private lessons with the headmaster. Over the summer, she'd been able to join in with most of Harry's training but his sessions with Dumbledore had not been open to her. Sure she had been able to talk with him often and he did join in spontaneously a few times to help with training, but it was nothing compared to the time Harry got to spend with the veritable wealth of walking knowledge and wisdom.
"Don't look so jealous, Hermione," Harry scolded playfully. "I teach you everything I know."
"You do not, Potter!" Hermione said. "There are plenty of things you've not taught me to do."
"Oh? Like what?" Harry said curiously as they both rose from the table and then headed out of the Hall.
"Like how you manage to be so silent when you apparate," Hermione whispered.
"So you want to know my secret, eh?" Harry said as he turned to look at her as they walked.
"Yes, yes I do, Harry Potter. Tell me your secrets," Hermione said playfully in a low voice.
Harry pretended to think on it and asked, "And just what would be in this for me? In return?"
Hermione pretended to do some thinking of her own and answered suggestively; "Perhaps I might let you pick out something new from your little book?"
"My book? Ah, so now it's my book…" Harry said, seeming to consider this carefully, slowed down and peered into an open classroom. Seeing it empty, he turned and pulled Hermione in the room and sealed the door before turning to her with a predatory grin.
"I don't think we have time to do this right now, though, Harry," said Hermione, clearly amused at his enthusiasm.
"No?" said Harry as he dropped his book bag and, placing his hands on her hips, drew her tight against him. "We have time for a proper kiss, though. Consider it our good night kiss we missed out on last night as well as the good morning kiss I never got this morning." His lips ghosted over hers.
"That sounds like two kisses then," Hermione said breathily as she clasped her arms around Harry's neck and then laced one hand up and into his perpetually messy locks.
"I've missed you," Harry whispered just as he claimed her mouth with his own, desperately trying to reacquaint his lips with the feel of hers. Her mouth opened, entreatingly, beneath his and she moaned as his tongue caressed hers.
Just the sound of Hermione moaning was enough to make Harry want to divest them of all their clothing and take her right there. He responded by running his hands up and under her robes. Her tucked in shirt offered him no access and his hands slid lower, over the swell of her hips and he gathered her skirt in one hand until he could feel the soft skin of her upper thigh beneath.
He felt her nails scrape at his scalp and as she tilted back her head, he dove in to kiss her neck, cursing the closed collar of her uniform.
"Harry," came her breathy moan that only seemed to sound like encouragement. More kisses and caresses of hands.
"We need to get going." That moan sounded a little less like encouragement; probably meant he ought to try harder.
"Harry," Hermione said more clearly, making him finally pull back from her neck to lean his forehead against hers. "We've got only a few more minutes to get to class."
Harry gave her a sad smile as he said, "Okay. Did Ginny talk to you? About telling Ron?"
Hermione nodded softly, still resting her head against his. "Yeah, that sounds good, especially now when Ron is probably debating dropping out of Potions as we speak. He's got enough to deal with."
Harry gave her a soft kiss on the lips and said, "I miss you so much at night." He moved his arms up, smoothed down her skirt and wrapped his arms around her back, holding her tight. "Just holding you."
"I know," Hermione said as she rested her head on his shoulder now, breathing in his scent; something like mint tea and…pumpkin pie. "Me, too."
They pulled apart enough to smile at each other. "We need to go," Harry said.
"Yup," Hermione said as she rumpled Harry's hair playfully before pulling away reluctantly.
"Hey! You messed up my hair! What will people say?"
Hermione smirked as she smoothed her robes and said, "They'll think you've been snogging with Malfoy."
"Oh!" Harry said, wounded and mortified at the thought. "You'll pay for that, Granger."
Finally, they surreptitiously left the empty classroom and Hermione had to trot off to make it in time for her class. Harry was, fortunately, quite close to the gargoyle that led to Dumbledore's office.
"Ice Mice," he said to make the stone gargoyle spring aside to reveal the entrance. The door to the office was already open and Harry saw Dumbledore look up and smile merrily as the moving staircase reached the top. Fawkes let out a trill in greeting and Harry said, "Good afternoon, Fawkes, Professor."
"Harry," Dumbledore said, rising from his high-backed chair behind his desk, "it's always a pleasure to see you. Come; let's sit comfortably by the fire." Dumbledore gestured for Harry to take one of the armchairs and Harry was grateful. The last time he'd spent any real length of time in this office, he'd been seated in the stiff-backed chair in front of the desk and had just witnessed his godfather's death and was being told his predestined fate. He much preferred the less formal squashy chair by the fireplace.
"How are classes for you?" he asked twinkling brightly at Harry.
"Fine, sir, just fine. All the extra work this summer has made everything seem quite easy thus far," Harry said. He'd breezed through his Charms and Transfiguration lessons with his now broad knowledge of practical applications of these subjects. Harry no longer just saw a charm that enchants a door to open upon a single person's touch, but, rather, a possible spell to be used to ensure privacy and to increase security. He was now seeing class lessons as merely examples of the applications for a spell. Many of his notes from class were actually his rambling questions regarding potential uses of these new spells or musings as to whether the spell structure or theory might be applied elsewhere to create an entirely new effect. A few times, in fact, he had actually found himself wondering if perhaps he'd been spending a little too much time around Hermione.
"Well, hopefully, you will still find challenge in your classes, Harry."
"Oh, I don't doubt I will, sir," replied Harry grimly recalling Snape's sadistic smiles thrown at him when he spoke of the course load for NEWT Potions.
"This afternoon is your first class teaching. Did you have a chance to look over the lesson plans I gave you?" Dumbledore asked, watching Harry closely, as always.
"Yes, sir, I have. Er, I do have a few questions, I suppose." Actually he only had a few but Hermione, after reading through the lesson plan book at breakfast had peppered him with all sorts of questions on their way to Transfiguration as to his rights and responsibilities as an assistant professor.
"Best clear them up now, then. What are they?"
"Well, you have homework assignments and tests in here to be given, am I also to be the one correcting this work? Do I, and mind you these are things I hadn't thought about until my friends brought them up, do I have the right to award and deduct House points during class for performance and behaviour? Is there a place I may keep assignments and tests and such and to work on these things, if it is indeed my responsibility to do so, other than my Common Room, where I can have a reasonable assurance that members of the class are not present and privy to this information nor able to hover over my shoulder as I perhaps grade their work. Is there--"
Dumbledore held his hands up to quiet Harry and grinned as he laughed and said, "I see I forgot a few minor details when giving you this assignment, yes, yes. Well, first off, consider yourself entitled to all the rights of a full professor while acting in your capacity as a professor. This includes, yes, you may have the right to award and deduct House points, as well as assign any detentions warranted by your students.
"As Professor Snape still holds his chambers and private office still in his dungeons, in close proximity to his House, there is no one currently utilizing the Defense office, behind the Defense classroom. Now, assuming you don't believe it to be cursed and you haven't too many horrid memories from years past in that office, you may feel free to use this space. It is likely you will need it not just to have a location to perform your duties such as reviewing and correcting assignments and tests, which is indeed your responsibility, but also, as the third year curriculum is devoted largely to the study of dark creatures, you will need the space to store and maintain some class props and creatures for study." Dumbledore paused at this for a moment as Harry nodded along his understanding.
"I will, Harry, take care of procuring the majority of creatures needed for study in your class. Hagrid, I know, has a colony of Kappas that he is holding for his classes, and in a few weeks, these will likely be your first specimens for a practical creature lesson."
Harry was recalling the wonderful lessons he'd had with Lupin; Grindylows, Red Caps, Boggarts…Boggarts! How in the world was he supposed to control a Boggart that for him, turned into a Dementor, for an entire class to practice with? "Er, sir? Will there be a practical lesson with Boggarts?"
Dumbledore seemed to beam with his twinkling blue eyes at Harry as he answered casually, "But of course."
"Er, well, but, er, sir—how exactly wise is that, when you know what my Boggart turns into? Wouldn't that just turn into an even bigger problem?" A Dementor loose in the classroom would be just enough to throw a group of third years into a hysteria worse than finding out they had Snape as a teacher for every class.
"And tell me, Harry, just what would your Boggart be?" Dumbledore asked in a way that made Harry slightly wary that this was a trick question.
"A Dementor, sir. It's always been a Dementor." Harry thought this would have been common knowledge to Dumbledore.
Settling back into his chair and templing his hands before him, Dumbledore went into his teaching mode where he would prompt Harry to answer questions, thus leading Harry to learn something that, after it was all said and out, Harry often felt it should have been obvious to begin with. "You recall, Harry, just what a Boggart does and how, yes?"
"Yes sir, it's a shape shifter. It takes the shape of a person's worst fear," Harry said reciting the textbook definition (or rather, Hermione's definition).
"True, true," Dumbledore said, nodding vaguely. "But how does it do this?"
"Ah, er, well..." Harry wasn't sure about that one. "Magic?" he answered knowing it was a safe answer.
Dumbledore chuckled. "But of course, magic. Let me ask you this, Harry. Do you think one's greatest fear may ever change?"
"Oh, definitely," he answered immediately. He had just seen last year Mrs. Weasley's encounter with a Boggart that surely would not have been the same had Voldemort never been reborn.
"And do you recall your last encounter with a real Dementor?"
"Of, course," Harry said quietly. How could he ever forget the night two Dementors tried to attack him and his cousin Dudley in an alleyway. He had barely managed to produce his Patronus in time to prevent Dudley from losing what passed for his soul.
"And, Harry, were you not able to deal quite capably with these Dementors then? Say, if you happened upon a lone Dementor somewhere, would you be paralysed with fear, or perhaps, would you just fight it and send it on its way?"
Harry frowned, "Well, of course I'd fight it off. I wouldn't really have time to be frightened, per se. Once it starts its att---" Harry stopped abruptly. Once it starts its attack on my memories—just like a Legilimency attack! I have to fight off the probing into my most dreaded and traumatic memories and feed forth memories of happiness to produce a Patronus—it's just like Occlumency filtering! "It's a Legilimencer, isn't it?" Harry asked quickly, turning to Dumbledore for confirmation.
Dumbledore beamed, "Very good, Harry. A Boggart is, indeed, a Legilimencer."
"Huh? No—a Dementor," Harry said shaking his head and then that hit him, too. "Oh—oh!" One probes for your one worst fear and the other through your memories. "I never realized…"
Dumbledore grinned at Harry and said, "Yes, actually, the next stage of your mastery of Occlumency is to work with a Boggart. Harry, before you will ever have to use one in your class, you and I will be using them for you to hone your Occlumency skills upon, agreed?"
"So, I'll be able to just prevent it from taking shape? What does it look like when no one's around?" Harry mused.
"You'll learn that, as well as learn how to quickly and effortlessly block your mind and feed forth thoughts of your own choosing to control the Boggart, like one might do to defend against an actual attack on the mind, Harry. This is the best time of year for lurking Boggarts to be found and as soon as one is located, we will be using it in our sessions. I wager, about four weeks working with the Boggart and you will be more than masterful enough to control the creature for your class."
This made Harry feel much better and it also meant that they would be starting in earnest upon his next level of Occlumency training. He was truly enjoying his lessons with Dumbledore and his recent bouts of unexpected Legilimencing ability also had him eager to make more progress.
"This training and skill shall also come in handy, Harry, for some other lessons I believe you will be giving." Dumbledore looked meaningful at Harry and went on, "I know you'd begun to teach your fellow students the Patronus Charm last year. However, for obvious reasons, you were not able to have them practice in the presence of a Dementor, or at least, an imitation of a Dementor."
"We can use a Boggart, yes! That would be perfect—I was trying to explain how much more difficult it is to actually do the charm when a Dementor was present—but, yes—that will be most helpful," Harry said, already planning to use the Boggart in his DA lessons.
"Yes," Dumbledore said, "a Boggart, with it's ability to Legilimence, is well suited to be an excellent imitation of a Dementor—minus, thankfully, the ability to actually administer its Kiss. Obviously, other shapes a Boggart may assume, do not take on the actual abilities of the fear. For instance, a Boggart in the shape of a spider, really isn't harmful as a spider might be—or perhaps a most poignant example is remembering what Remus's Boggart shape was—"
"The full moon," said Harry.
"Yes, the full moon. Which, quite thankfully, when a Boggart takes this form in the presence of a werewolf—it does not cause the werewolf to morph now does it?" Harry nodded his head, not ever having thought about these differences and what they all meant. "A Boggart already has the ability to Legilimence and so, therefore can Legilimence if it takes the form of another creature that is a Legilimencer.
"Did you notice, Harry, in the lesson plans what I have scheduled for every other Friday?" Dumbledore asked as Harry was absorbing everything.
"Oh, yes, er, you had—what was it? Oh yes, 'Practical Self-Defense' on the plans with no other description of the lessons. I meant to ask about those as well, sir."
Dumbledore grinned at Harry widely, "Those lessons, Harry, are for you to teach them what I'm sure they are most eager to have you teach them—Defense Against the Dark Arts."
Harry had not been worrying over handling teaching the class because he knew it was a set course, centering upon the handing of dark creatures for the third year level. But now, this, information, delivered by a broadly grinning Dumbledore—this was worrisome. "What, er, what do you mean, sir?"
"I mean, Harry," said Dumbledore, still grinning and twinkling, "they will be most anxious, I am sure, to have you teach them practical spells for defense and fighting--just like the rumors say you've taught other students, I left these plans for lessons undefined as I am sure since you've already done them before, you'll know what to do again." Harry gaped at him and then snapped his mouth shut. He supposed he should have seen this coming a mile away. "Oh yes, and I have added into the curriculum for each year in Defense, as well as Charms classes, to cover the Patronus Charm—we can never be too prepared."
They moved into discussing Harry's plans for the DA this year and how they were prepared to expand the group. He explained the precautions Hermione was to implement to protect the group's secrecy and, hopefully, to detect any potential members with nefarious intents.
Harry also explained how he was secretly curious as to whether any current members would move to sponsor a member of Slytherin House. He said that as far as trying to unify the Houses, he'd talked to Hermione and she said she might have some ideas that she may be able to work on, though she wouldn't know until the next Prefect meeting.
Dumbledore nodded at his, not seeming any bit surprised. "Have you thought about Mr. Malfoy, at all, Harry?" he asked, almost tentatively, as if he'd rather Harry had been the one to bring it up. Their time was coming to a close, though, and Harry had intentionally been avoiding talk of Malfoy.
Harry sighed and looked down before he answered honestly, "I try not to, sir—just thinking about him is infuriating." Dumbledore just looked on silently and Harry went on, "I'm sure you think there's hope for him, but I don't know what I can do about it. He told me he wanted to kill me at the end of last year for causing his father to be captured and convicted; I don't think he's changed his feelings towards me about that—regardless of the current rumors."
Harry couldn't help a small smirk as he thought about the fact that current opinion in Hogwarts was that Draco Malfoy, so appalled at finding out that his father had been in league with Voldemort and also involved with a plot to kill Harry, that Draco renounced his father's name and is currently, hopelessly (mainly hopeless because Harry had appeared to reject him) in love with Harry Potter.
Dumbledore looked a bit stressed at this for a brief moment and then asked, "What do you think, Harry, if Draco Malfoy was given a choice between joining you or joining Voldemort—which would he choose?"
This was silly, Harry thought. Malfoy had long ago declared his allegiance to his Dark Lord. "Simple, sir—Voldemort. He's as much as said so several times."
"And what about last year—when it was you and me, Harry—against our own Ministry and public opinion? Whose side did he take?"
"The Ministry's—and he's the one who probably gave the Daily Prophet half of its " public opinions."
"Yes, and Harry, tell me—if his choice was between the Ministry and Voldemort—who do you think he would choose?"
Harry was about to answer "Voldemort' again, seeing it as a simple answer, but then he recalled how Lucius Malfoy had slipped out of charges for being a Death Eater and renounced Voldemort after his fall, claiming the Imperius Curse had made him do it. "Well, I would guess that he—like his father—would choose whichever was most advantageous for Malfoy."
"Very good, Harry." Dumbledore leaned forward and looked at Harry with a burning intensity, rarely seen in his eyes as he said, "You've already realized that people will make choices not only based upon their ideals, but also, because of what they might gain personally. This is very important, Harry, to always keep in mind. It goes for those who you would believe it to be a foregone conclusion that they support the ideals of being a Death Eater, as well as for those whom you might assume to take up against Voldemort."
Harry narrowed his eyes as he thought about this and said quietly, "Like Fudge was last year."
Dumbledore's eyes widened slightly in surprise and he nodded, "Yes, the Minister was certainly guilty of acting upon his own best interests and not any ideals. When faced with facts—he took a new route around it and chose to be in denial—an entirely different state of choice all together.
"But the point, Harry, I need you to understand is that I'm very worried that our young Malfoy is obsessed with you."
Harry shook his head vigorously, "Sir, no—that was just the jinx—"
"No, not that, Harry. If you think about it, has he not always gone out of his way to try and provoke you?"
"Well, yes, but I've tried to ignore him—he's always the one who starts it—"
"Exactly, Harry! He is always watching you and trying to meddle in your life—even when it was just simpler schoolboy pranks. Harry," Dumbledore looked deadly serious now, "if young Malfoy ever came upon the choice where he had to decide between two things—one of which was more advantageous to him than the other—I fear that his obsessive hate towards you might cause him to go against his own instincts and take the less advantageous choice, simply because he would never allow himself to be on the same side as you."
The bell signalling the changing of classes rang in the distance from the office and Harry absently heard Fawkes trill a few wavering notes. But Harry didn't move. He was transfixed; not by just the words Dumbledore had spoken, but because through the burning intensity of Dumbledore's eyes, he'd had a glimpse of someone once making those very choices that Malfoy may someday choose. He'd seen a young greasy haired, hook-nosed teenager scowling and forsaking taking up with a group that held the likes of Sirius Black and James Potter.
"Smile, Harry!"
With a 'pffwoomp!', Harry was temporarily blinded and even knowing it had been Colin's brother Dennis Creevey who'd taken the picture, he still had to resist the temptation to blast the source of the bright light with a well aimed curse.
"Dennis…" said Harry warningly as he blinked rapidly to regain his sight, sans the bright white spots. "If I see that camera in this class once more after today, I'll blast it to smithereens," said Harry feeling he ought to put a stop to this immediately.
Other third year students were filing in to the classroom now and one said in an awed voice, "Whoa, could you really blast something into smithereens?"
Harry felt a blush creep into his cheeks as nearly all the third year students were now in the room and looking at him expectantly. All appeared quite willing to sacrifice Dennis' camera to see Harry blast something into smithereens.
"Well, if Dennis or anyone else tries to take another picture you just may find out," Harry said, hoping that would put an end to it.
Instead, Dennis looked like he was about to be the one to volunteer his camera for a demonstration. Harry caught his look and, shaking his head, walked over to Dennis and held out his hand, "Why don't I keep that, just to save you the temptation."
"Well, it—it's Colin's, Harry…" Dennis said meekly, knowing his picture-obsessed brother might go even more spare if he lost his precious camera.
"Well then Colin can find--, er I mean, I'll give it back after class." The last thing Harry needed was to actually encourage Colin Creevy to search him out.
Harry set the camera down behind his desk and hearing the final bell for class ring, he unrolled the register scroll and began calling off names.
"Stewart Ackerly?"
"Present," said a small Hufflepuff boy sitting in the front row.
"Malcolm Baddock?"
"Here," said a bored-sounding boy, who sat in the back row.
He continued with the register, trying to remember all the new faces that previously, had been nameless to him, with the exception of a few Gryffindors.
"And, Kevin Whitby?"
"Here, Professor!" said an overenthusiastic Hufflepuff that Harry hoped wasn't always so chipper. It's just roll call, lord knows how excited he'd get in a real lesson, Harry thought.
"All right, first off, you don't have to call me Professor. Just 'Harry' will be fine. Now the first thing—er—" He noticed a raised hand and checked the register for the name to be sure. "What, Orla?"
"Will you be teaching us how to fight Dementors?" the Ravenclaw asked excitedly as if she just might die if the answer was no.
"Er, well, that's really a tad advanced for right now and it seems we have a bit to catch up on—" Several groans of disappointment made Harry stop and Orla Quirke waved her hand again in the air.
"Yes, Orla?" She was beginning to remind Harry vaguely of Hermione for some reason.
"We've heard you've taught other students how to fight them and since the Ministry's been warning of possible Dementor attacks occurring at any time, now—anyplace—on anyone"—
"All right, okay, I see," said Harry to calm her down. He looked at the class, which was full of eager faces at the mention of learning to fight off a Dementor. Even the pair of Slytherin boys in the back who could barely manage to be bothered to answer during roll call, were having trouble trying to hide their interest now. "Well, I can tell you that Professor Dumbledore, who has prepared all of your lesson plans for this class, has included a section on Dementors to begin just after the Christmas holidays. Yes, Orla?"
She was kneeling on her seat now and almost looked like she wanted to be pacing around the classroom as she said, "But this is really important! It should be sooner!"
Harry saw several other students nod their agreement. "Well, he also has arranged for the Patronus Charm to be covered, I believe in your Charms class—that might be a bit sooner." They didn't seen happy with this and he could see Orla thinking hard for an argument and before she could raise her hand again, Harry said, "Look, there are several things that we absolutely need to cover before we could even think of moving on to Dementors. First of which is doing an abbreviated version of the material you should have covered last year and then we can actually move on to the third year unit on dark creatures. Yes, Dementors are dark creatures and I can see what I can do about moving it up."
Harry pulled out a stack of course syllabi and handed them to Stewart Ackerley to pass around. "This is the syllabus that Professor Dumbledore has devised for us. As you can see, we have at least three weeks to try to summarize the material you missed out on last year."
"Was Umbridge a Death Eater, Harry?" Dennis Creevey asked, not bothering to raise his hand.
Harry was caught off guard by, what he thought was, a ridiculous question.
"Don't be daft!" Orla said as she scowled at Dennis, who didn't look the least bit put down. "There aren't women Death Eaters!"
"Now, that, Orla, I can definitely tell you is not true," Harry said certainly. "There is in fact at least one woman who is a Death Eater and no, Dennis," he furrowed his brow and swallowed as he grittingly said the name, "Umbridge was not a Death Eater. Can we move on now?
"Who's the woman Death Eater?" someone asked.
Harry closed his eyes to remain calm at this continued line of questions. "Do you all recall the Prophet articles last year about the escapees from Azkaban?" They all nodded slowly. "Well, do your research, there was one listed in that group." Harry shuffled through some parchments, looking for the ones that had a summary of second year Defense material to hand out.
"Is it true, Professor, that you're a better dueller than Snape?" asked the over-eager Hufflepuff.
Straining not to hex the next person who asked a dumb question, Harry said with exasperation, "Call me 'Harry' and I have no idea as I have never duelled with Professor Snape."
"But you've duelled with You-Know-Who, haven't you?" said one of the Slytherin boys from the back row.
Harry could just tell the boy was trying to see how far he could push Harry to answer questions and Harry was getting fully irritated by now. In fact, he thought that as long as the boy brought it up, he might as well use it against him. "Who?" Harry asked innocently. The boy looked confused. Harry repeated, "Who do you mean, exactly?"
The boy was now looking embarrassed. Harry looked down to consult the register; Graham Pritchard was his name. "Er, You-Know-Who—you know."
Harry crossed his arms and looked at the boy, "No, I don't." Silence. Not even Orla Quirke was stirring to raise her hand. Harry moved his eyes over the class and then landed them back on the red-faced Slytherin. "If you can manage to actually say the name of who you mean, I'll answer your question. In fact, I'll offer House points for anyone who can say the name."
Instantly upon the mentioning of House points, Orla Quirke's hand shot up and she said, "Vol-Voldemort!" Several people flinched, a few quills dropped and one girl looked like she nearly fainted for a moment.
Harry grinned and even laughed. "Excellent, Orla. Five points to Ravenclaw."
Dennis Creevey raised his hand now and Harry looked to him as he said, "I'll say it, Harry—Voldemort. There—it's easy for me," he said turning to a Gryffindor girl at his side who had visibly winced, "I'm muggleborn."
As Harry said, "Five points to Gryffindor, Dennis," the other Slytherin in the back of the room spoke up.
"You best keep that quiet Creevey, or didn't you know that only makes you more of a target," he said and then sniggered along with Graham Pritchard.
Harry checked the register again, giving himself time to not hex the smarmy boy with a pudding bowl haircut. "Malcolm Baddock?" he confirmed, looking up and to the back of the room. "Let me assure you, not being a muggleborn, is no assurance of safety." It certainly had not helped his father nor had it helped Cedric Diggory or Sirius.
"Now," said Harry, determined to steer the class back on track, "this class is about giving you an assurance that you are capable of defending yourselves, to some extent. Here is the summary of your second year material," he handed the stack to Ackerley. "Your assignment for Friday is to review chapters sixteen through twenty of your book and be prepared to go over a brief review in class." Harry looked up to make sure they were all still there and listening, only to see Orla raise her hand yet again.
"Yes, Orla?" Harry said impatiently.
"It says here on the syllabus," Harry breathed a sigh of relief that it wasn't another diversion of topic, "that we have an exam in three weeks? It says it's the second year final exam?"
Harry flipped ahead in his lesson plan book. "Yes, that is correct. Did you not have an exam at the end of last year?"
"No, sir," she answered, "Professor Umbridge was not here to administer an exam on the day for which it was scheduled. She left before she could hand it out and then she was in the hospital and then she—"
"All right," Harry cut her off, not wanting to think about…her anymore than he had to. "So I guess since you never had your exam last year, it only makes sense to take it after we've completed the review of that material. It looks like Professor Dumbledore has noted here that it is to be open-book and that you may use any notes you like on the exam." Harry looked up and said, "It looks like it's meant to just make sure you know all the material you are responsible for and then, trust me, you'll end up using these exams when you hit fifth year and revise for OWLs."
Orla Quirke seemed energized by that thought and Harry was finally able to get into a groove of going over the summary material, just as the bell rang to end the class.
"Don't forget to read those chapters!" he called out as they packed up their belongings. Harry saw Dennis hurry up to the front. "Yes, Dennis?"
"Can I have Colin's camera back, Harry? He's going to be so jealous that I got five points in your class, wait until I tell him!"
Harry reluctantly, (he wished he knew of a good jinx for a camera) gave Dennis the camera back and then set to packing up his things before Snape had to leave his lurkdom of the dungeons and come back to the Defense classroom.
"You did very well, for your first class," came Dumbledore's voice from the back of the room. Harry looked up to see the headmaster seated in one of the seats, smiling away and twinkling up at Harry. "I must admit, I did want to make sure you did not have any problems with your first class and so I sat in quietly."
"You—you were here the whole time?" Harry asked. If this were true and he missed the brightly robed, silver-haired professor sitting in his class, then Moody would be very disappointed indeed in Harry's observational skills. "Sitting in here?" Harry asked in high voice, still not believing he could have missed him.
Rising stiffly from the cramped desk, Dumbledore stretched for a moment and smiled again at Harry as he laid a finger aside his nose and said, "If you will recall, I have mentioned to you before that I do have ways to become invisible, when it is my wish." Dumbledore turned and walked, humming, towards the door.
Ah yes, he said that after he caught me at the Mirror of Erised… "The Mirror of Erised," Harry said, almost to himself, but Dumbledore did hear him and stopped to smile back at him. "That's another Legilimencer, isn't it, sir? It finds your desires?" Harry asked, certain he was right.
"Very good, Harry. You are right again. Hmm, I may also pull that out from wherever it's at. It would also make an excellent training tool for you." With that, Dumbledore turned again to leave.
"Wait," Harry said, laughing now, "so you really mean you would be able to see yourself in the mirror with a pair of woollen socks, then?" He laughed again, "It's all how you control your mind!"
Harry shook his head as he shouldered his bag and walked towards the twinkling Professor Dumbledore, who was nodding with amusement in the doorway at Harry's catching on. "Wow, and all this time I just thought you were a bit mad."
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
I haven't said this for a bit, but for those of you who find FF.net's site to be unreliable or annoying, I do have a Yahoo group with all the files and such. The yahoo group name is: HP_AoF or you may find the link on my ff.net bio page.
Also, many thanks to my betas: Aramas, Lauren, and Jan. They help me not be stupid. :-)
Next up, I promise, you'll see some Krum…oh, and Quidditch try-outs, too!!