Ch 11: - Preparations.

By the time Harry reached the castle, the sorting had long finished and the rest of the school were well into the main course. He'd had touched the wall at the main entrance to find the sense of expectancy replaced by a certain contentment. At least the school's happy, he thought, as he stood in the doorway of the Great Hall.

He felt a sudden reluctance to join the feast - as if he were an interloper, distanced for ever from his friends and the other students by the legacy of his scar and the final words of the prophecy. He felt he belonged back in London, finished with academia, and preparing to fight for his life.

Harry's moment of hesitation was ended by Professor Dumbledore's voice booming out from the top table.

'May I have your attention please! I have one more announcement to make!' The hubbub finally quieted. 'In view of the situation, of which you are all aware, the school will be increasing the teaching of defence against the dark arts this year. The second and third years will be receiving additional practical instruction, however, to avoid putting additional strain on the existing teaching staff, I have asked Harry Potter to provide the additional instruction. Harry, would you please step forward?'

Harry stepped hesitantly forward into the great hall, as every face turned towards him in the sudden silence.

'Mr Potter has recently achieved one of the highest OWL result in Defence Against the Dark Arts that this school has ever witnessed.' Stated the Headmaster.

Harry was beginning to feel extremely uncomfortable. He could hear a gentle hissing noise from the Slytherin table. Some other people were starting to talk animatedly amongst themselves, but most were still looking at him open mouthed.

'Mr Potter's practical score of one hundred and twelve percent is certainly the highest ever recorded' continued Dumbledore, drowning out the talking with an increase in volume. Harry was almost cringing now.

'Harry also has a proven record for teaching defensive spells, as a number of pupils can testify.'

Harry noticed Cho Chang, on the Ravenclaw table, studying him with a thoughtfullook on her face. Michael Corner was looking from her to Harry and back again.

The Headmaster continued, 'Mr Potter will of course be accorded the respect due to a member of the teaching staff - and will have most of the commensurate rights and responsibilities. Details will be included with your timetables, to be issued tomorrow. Thank you!'

The Professor sat down, leaving Harry standing in the middle of the Hall. He looked around to the Gryffindor table, to see Hermione pointing at seat opposite her and Ron.

'Hi Harry!' she chuckled, as he sat down, 'Dumbledore doesn't mess about, does he?'

Harry grabbed some steak and kidney pie and potatoes, before they all vanished.

'Nothing like putting you on the spot, eh?' added Ron, with a big smile. 'Where've you been then?'

'Helping to empty the train, mate! Important job that!' mumbled Harry, through his mouthful of pie.

'Yeah, right! I thought the house elves did all that?'

'They do the donkey work, but someone's got to check they've done it properly'

'So the house elves aren't good enough to look after the job themselves?' asked Hermione angrily.

Harry looked up, surprised. He'd forgotten Hermione's dislike of the use of house elves.

'Well, - no – not in this case!' he retorted, slightly defensively. 'They missed a purse, actually.'

'What did you do with it?' she asked, slightly more subdued.

Harry shrugged. 'Gave it to Moody. He was in charge.'

The plates emptied suddenly, new platters and bowls appearing laden with puddings and fruit.

'I hadn't finished my first course!' He grumbled, taking a large slice of cherry pie and smothering it with cream.

'So what did you do here, Harry?', asked Ron, 'Did you learn to disapparate?'

Harry nodded.

'Cool! You'll have to teach us!'

'No chance!' countered Harry, 'I don't know how to unsplinch people.'

'Did you get splinched, Harry?' asked Hermione, looking concerned.

'Yeah. A couple of times. No big deal though' he muttered into his pudding.

'Did you try out your GTA?'

'Course I did! Goes great! You should see what Alison, Stephanie and me can do with brooms – what did I say?'

Ron had just choked on his treacle tart, and Hermione was pounding him on the back.

'Idiot' she fumed. 'You should know better than to say something like that to Ron, Harry - and just who are Alison and Stephanie?'

'Alison Linney and her little sister - you know, Hermione, down the end of the table.' He gestured down the table with his spoon.

'Harry, your manners are no better than Ron's these days. Don't wave your spoon around like that! So Stephanie's the one next to Ginny? How come she wasn't sorted?'

Harry glanced down the table. He hadn't notice Ginny there. She and Dean were listening to Alison describing something that looked rather like aerobatics. Alison looked down the table and smiled at Harry. He smiled back automatically, whilst Ginny regarded him with what appeared to be a mixture of amusement, anger, triumph and resignation. The four emotions fought for supremacy before resignation won and Ginny looked away. Dean looked sheepishly at Harry and back to Ginny.

'They had to come to school early.' explained Harry to a puzzled Hermione. 'Some kind of medical emergency with their Gran. Dumbledore got the sorting hat to put her in Gryffindor'

'Didn't know it would do that' said Ron.

'It won't, if it disagrees' added Hermione, knowledgably. 'It's all in -

'Hogwarts - A History!' the two boys chorused.

- o -

Back in the Common Room, Neville buttonholed Harry.

'What's this about teaching, Harry?'

'You heard what Dumbledore said, Neville! You were one of those who improved so much in the DA! So its all your fault!' chuckled Harry.

Neville looked serious for a moment, before bursting into laughter. After a short while, he sobered up and looked round to see if anyone was near.

'Harry,' he said quietly. 'Is everything Luna told me true?'

'Highly unlikely, mate,' Harry murmured, but seeing Neville's face added, 'but if it's about the order, almost certainly!'

Neville looked conspiratorial. 'So, are we going to have meetings of the order members here at school?'

Harry thought for a second. 'Hadn't thought of that. Good one. I'll see what the others say and let you know.'

Neville nodded and headed up to the dorm.

- o -

Most of the others had gone up to bed by the time Harry had finished telling Ron about his two weeks at school, and Ron had described his two miserable weeks at the Burrow. Hermione and Ginny had shooed the younger girls up to their dorm earlier; Alison Linney and Natalie McDonald had glanced at him and giggled as they passed, getting a look of amusement from Hermione and a look of disdain from Ginny. When the two prefects came back down much later, only Ron and Harry remained, sitting in armchairs beside the fire.

Hermione gave Ron a kiss and they both went to their respective dorms, leaving Harry and Ginny alone. Ron had hesitated on the stairs but then turned and vanished round the corner.

For a while neither of them spoke, Harry staring at the flames whilst Ginny stood beside his chair, watching him.

'Hermione says you found a purse on the train, Harry' said Ginny, hesitantly.

'Yeah' muttered Harry.

'Was it a dark red one, with a silver clasp?'

'Yeah. Yours?'

'Sounds like it. Thanks Harry, I'll see Professor Moody tomorrow.'

'No problem.'

Ginny turned to go but stopped and looked back at Harry. 'I hear you've been playing with the girlies!'

Harry looked up. 'They're good flyers, those two.' he said defensively.

Ginny started to speak but stopped and looked away. When she looked back, she was smiling, but the smile didn't go anywhere near her eyes. 'They're not the only girls you've been playing with, are they, Harry?'

Harry sat up, looking at Ginny more closely. 'What do you mean?' he said suspiciously.

'What about – Dora?' The smile was gone now.

'What about her?'

Ginny began to look annoyed. 'I know what you were doing!'

Harry looked at her open mouthed. 'How?' he breathed.

Ginny looked almost sad. 'Remember you caught a flash of what I was seeing a couple of times? Well I'm unhappy to report it works both ways! Dora certainly seemed to be enjoying herself!'

'Oh!'

'Oh indeed! I take it you were enjoying yourself as much as she was?'

Harry was silent, remembering. Despite the embarrassment of Ginny's revelation, a small smile appeared on his face.

Ginny gave Harry a disapproving glare, 'Obviously you were. Lucky you!'

'There's no need for you to get nasty, Ginny.' Harry said quietly. 'Dora wouldn't have started anything, if you hadn't told her about dreams.'

'So it's my fault now, is it?'

Harry said nothing.

'Will you be seeing her again?'

'No.'

'No?'

'Hardly likely, is it? Her in London and me up here.'

'Christmas?'

'She'll have someone else by then.'

Ginny's attitude slowly softened. 'There'll be others, Harry.'

'Perhaps'

Ginny was silent.

Harry just looked at her as the silence stretched between them.

Finally Ginny sighed, and turned away to head for her dorm.

'Well, if you do find one, Harry,' she said over her shoulder, 'check her out with me, will you? There's some girls at Hogwarts that I really don't want to see having that much fun!'

- o -

'Wake up Harry!' urged Ron, 'The others have gone down to breakfast already.'

The sound of hurrying feet died away as Harry stuffed his glasses on his nose, pulled back the curtain of his bed and looked round.

The room was grey, despite it being morning, and the rain was hammering on the window. Great, he thought, Typical bloody Monday! He staggered out of bed, washed and dressed. He was almost the last down to the Hall, and would have had trouble finding a place at table if Hermione hadn't kept him one.

'Morning, Harry.' She said, beaming.

'Morning,' he mumbled, starting on his porage.

Ron was grinning at him in a peculiar way. 'Pleasant dreams, last night Harry?' he said.

'What? I didn't dream about anything last night!'

'Oh. Ginny must have been joking then!'

Harry stopped eating and put his head in his hands for a moment. He looked up at Hermione 'What's she been saying then?' He asked in a resigned voice.

'Oh, nothing much, just how much fun Dora was having a couple of weeks ago.'

'Great!' he muttered. 'She told you this morning then?'

'No, on the train! We just kept quiet so she could tell you herself. She wanted to see your face when you realised!'

'So, she's a sadist now, hmmm?'

'That's not nice, Harry!' exclaimed Hermione.

'Whatever' he murmured.

Hermione was silent while she finished her breakfast. 'Have you seen any sign of the extra security around Professor Trelawny?' she asked, suddenly.

Harry looked round. Most people were returning to their common rooms.

'No.' he said quietly. I didn't see Trelawney at all until last night, just before the train arrived; and at the feast.'

'No extra people?' asked Ron.

'What? Like security wizards?'

'Yeah, why not? Black robes, shiny shoes, dark glasses, gunmetal coloured wands, and black earpieces!'

'Good grief!' muttered Hermione under her breath.

'Nope, nothing' said Harry, trying not to laugh. 'In fact she was standing in the window of one of the rooms above the entrance hall, when I left for the station.'

'A bit obvious, wasn't it?' asked Ron.

'They want to kidnap her, not kill her, Ron' argued Hermione.

'Yeah, I suppose. Right, we'll see you back in the common room, Harry, ok?'

'Ok, I'll not be long.'

- o -

'Good morning Mr Potter!' chorused the first and second years, as Harry entered the common room. They all had their instructions and class schedules and Professor McGonagall was handing out the class schedules to the fourth and fifth years.

'Er - morning - er- yeah, morning' mumbled Harry, beginning to go red.

It was obvious who had set him up, Hermione and Ron were in one corner laughing evilly, and Ginny was standing with Dean smiling slightly.

'No need for you to smile, Ginny,' he grumbled, 'Dumbledore almost had the fourths and fifths calling me Mister.'

Ginny's smile changed to a scowl. 'Dream on, Harry, she said scornfully. 'Wild hippogriffs wouldn't make me call you Mister.' Dean put his arm round Ginny in a proprietorial manner.

'That's what I told Du - the Headmaster.' replied Harry, correcting himself as he realised that Professor McGonagall was approaching. She handed Ginny a schedule.

'There you are Miss. Weasley,' she said, 'As you can see your first lessons are double potions. - Well girl? Don't just stand there!'

Ginny looked in horror at her schedule then she gave Dean a smile and Harry a glare before racing up to the girls dorm to get the right books.

Dean and Harry looked at each other speculatively, but any comments were still borne as Professor McGonagall handed them their schedules.

'Well, you two don't have any lessons until second period so you've no need to hurry.' she said, then bustled off to Katie Bell, Jack Sloper and the rest of the seventh years.

'DADA, second period' said Dean, gloomily.

'Yeah,' muttered Harry. 'Mind you, I like DADA.'

'It's alright for you, Mr. one hundred and twelve percent!'

Harry grunted. 'You might not have got a good enough OWL to do a DADA NEWT, if it hadn't been for me and the DA'

'And that would worry me?'

Harry grinned nastily. 'Never mind, we've got Hermione and good ole Ron to keep us company this year.'

Dean looked gloomier than ever at the mention of Ron. 'Could be worse I suppose, we could be in with Slytherin instead of Ravenclaw'

- o -

Professor Moody looked at the class ranged in front of him. 'Right, we're not going to mess about with history of Defence Against the Dark Arts, or any other peripheral stuff. Your previous teacher did you no favours last year, as I'm sure you realise. So, given the situation at Askaban, the first spell we're going to learn this year is the patronus spell -'

Harry leaned back and smiled at Hermione.

' - Which Harry Potter will now demonstrate!'

- o -

By lunchtime, Harry had demonstrated the spell four times, making Prongs parade up and down in front of the class like a prize stallion. Hermione had also managed to produce her otter patronus, which won her ten points for Gryffindor.

Various other members of the class were producing promising results, but several were making no progress at all. It was noticable that those who had been in the DA were doing best. Despite himself, Harry was proud of their ability.

'What does he think I am, an animal trainer?' complained Harry at lunch.

'Who, your boss?' chuckled Ron. 'When's your first teaching lesson?'

'Tomorrow morning!'

'Who?' asked Hermione.

'Gryffindor and Slytherin third years.' muttered Harry.

'Alison'll be pleased then,' piped up Ginny from just down the table.

Harry gave her a withering stare, which she completely ignored.

'How was Trelawny, Gin?' asked Ron.

'Same as usual.'

'Dotty?' muttered Hermione.

'Pretty much.'

'That's nasty!' complained Parvati Patil.

'She's a wonderful teacher!' added Lavender Brown

'As wonderful as Firenze?' asked Hermione.

'Er – well – 'Lavender went red.

Hermione shook her head. 'Bloody Pony Club.' she muttered.

Parvati and Lavender glared at Hermione and left in a huff.

'Right, that's them out of the way!' she said quietly. 'Ginny, was there anything at all odd about Trelawney'

Ginny looked round. Dean had gone back to the common room and there was no one else near them.

'No, really, she waffled on about signs of the zodiac all lesson. I really don't think she knows.'

'Any sign of alarm charms in her tower?' asked Harry.

'Possibly. The air seemed more charged than usual.'

'Right, could you and Luna keep a close watch on her, please. We're looking for anything out of place. She' s probably safe enough in her tower, so can you also find out if she has a regular pattern of movement outside the tower?'

'OK, said Ginny. We'll need a bit of help. How about we rope in a couple of third years?'

'What are you going to tell them!' asked Ron.

'I'll think of something. Having Fred and George as brothers certainly broadens the imagination.'

'Who're you going to try?' asked Hermione.

Ginny grinned evilly. 'Linney and McDonald. They'll do anything if I hint Harry's involved.'

Harry groaned.

'Can they keep a secret?' asked Hermione.

Ginny got up from the table. 'Depends what I threaten them with. See you later.'

- o -

After an afternoon of transfiguration and charms, Harry reached the Common Room with his brains frazzled. He hadn't been helped by Alison and Natalie waving at him as he passed them between lessons. NEWTs were obviously going to be even harder that he thought and as Hermione had surmised, Moody wanted him to take the ENEWT in DADA. He'd just got his books out to try a bit of homework before dinner when Ginny breezed up to him with Dean in tow.

'All set with those two.' she said, smiling slightly.

'Was that their idea of secrecy, waving at me in the corridor?'

'Of course! They can't suddenly ignore you can they?' she turned to Dean, 'I'll see you in the Great Hall, hmmm?' she smiled at him and headed off up to the girls' dorms.

'What's all that about?' asked Dean.

Harry shrugged and packed up his books again. Perhaps a quick trip to his classroom was in order. He could pretend to be preparing for his teaching activity. Sadly it didn't workout that way.

- o -

At the top of the great staircase, Harry ran into his second least favourite person at Hogwarts; Draco Malfoy.

The summer hadn't been kind to Malfoy. Already pale and intense, the incarceration of his father seemed to have concentrated his features into a narrow white face with burning eyes, beneath swept back hair which appeared more bleached than ever. Harry was suddenly reminded of the Veela at the quidditch world cup, as they began to drop their human guise.

Malfoy smiled frostily as Crabbe and Goyle ranged themselves beside him. 'Well Well,' he hissed, 'Mister Potter! The dead boy walking!'

Harry stood still, looking Malfoy in the eye. Crabbe and Goyle chuckled nastily.

'Nothing to say, Potter? Refusing to answer a prefect? That's ten points from Gryffindor, I think!' Malfoy waved his wand at the bulbs containing the house points.

Nothing happened. Malfoy's expression changed to puzzlement, then anger, as he waved his wand again and again.

Harry began to smile, 'Broken your wand then? or perhaps you didn't hear the Headmaster last night, when he mentioned privileges of the teaching staff.'

'You? teaching staff? Giving lessons to a load of kids? You're just Dumbledore's little poodle, Potter! He's going to get his, and you'll get yours!'

'And you're just the person to do it, are you Malfoy? Or will you have to wait till Daddy gets out of Askaban?'

Malfoy pulled his fist back as if to hit Harry but managed to restrain himself. Crabbe and Goyle moved in slightly, looking even uglier than usual. Harry had forgotten their fathers were in Askaban as well.

'Askaban's nothing!' snarled Malfoy 'He'll be out sooner than you think!'

'Just biding his time, hmmm?' sneered Harry. He glanced quickly round; other students were beginning to appear, heading for the Great Hall. He turned back to the seething Malfoy.

'Well, until Daddy gets out to back you up, I suggest you stop acting like some third rate gangster in a muggle movie and get out of my way.' He pushed past Malfoy, wondering if Malfoy would throw caution to the winds and actually hit him in view of the other students passing by - but nothing happened.

Harry was almost disappointed; he'd had a couple of cracking spells just waiting to be said.

- o -

The rain had stopped late that afternoon and the sky was clear, so after dinner some of Gryffindor went out onto the grass in front of the Castle to catch the evening sunshine before returning to their tower . The homework load was usually light for the younger pupils on the first day, so they ended up either in dorms or the common room, sitting round talking about the holidays, reading or playing chess and exploding snap. Ron and Hermione were having a game of four way chess with Ginny and Dean. Ron kept frowning at them when they looked at each other. Dean looked a bit uncomfortable but Ginny simply ignored her brother's displeasure.

Harry sank deep into an armchair in one corner and tried to concentrate on his homework, but it was no use. The constant chatter and noise of the games destroyed any hope of progress. He was just thinking of going up to the dorm when Katie Bell tapped him on the shoulder.

'Alright for Quidditch, Harry?' she asked, going on as if the answer had to be yes. 'Trials are on Friday evening, seven o'clock.'

'Well, actually Katie,' Harry replied slowly, 'I was thinking of giving Quidditch a miss this year, you know , teaching and NEWTs and all that –

'LIKE BLAZES YOU ARE, POTTER!' Katie yelled, startling the rest of the room into silence.

Harry grinned manically as he watched Katie's slow realisation.

'GIT' she shouted, as Harry finally collapsed into hysterical laughter. 'BE THERE OR BE IN DEEP, DEEP SH-!'

'Ok Katie, ok! Calm down!' he interrupted her, struggling to breathe and speak at the same time. 'Why are we waiting till Friday?'

'So I can check out the other teams first, dumbo!' she snarled.

Harry managed to stop laughing, just. 'Who's trying out for us?'

'Dunno yet, we've got beaters and a goalkeeper, one chaser and you as seeker.'

Harry finally composed himself and thought for a while. 'P'raps I could try for chaser and we could get a young seeker?'

'Who did you have in mind?'

Harry lowered his voice, even though the sound level in the room had returned to headache inducing levels. 'Alison Linney. She flies brilliantly and has her own broom, but she's too light to be a chaser.'

'That still leaves us short of a chaser.'

'Yeah. Well, are any more of the sixth or seventh years interested?'

'No chance!' muttered Katie, 'we swept them all up last year, when you and the twins were banned.'

'Fifth years then?'

Harry and Katie looked round the room; several fifth years were in evidence.

'Colin?' asked Katie, thoughtfully.

Harry was about to dismiss her suggestion as absurd when he realised that Colin Creevey was about the tallest fifth year in the house - and not just a beanpole either. Harry was so used to thinking of Colin as a little kid, he'd just not noticed him grow.

'Yeah,' he muttered, 'Good point. Sound him out, Katie. I think he's even got a half decent broom too.'

'Ok, Harry, I'll ask a few more, but I don't have much hope.'

As Katie made her way across the room, Harry decided that his earlier idea of going to his classroom was better than the dorm. He'd left before Katie reached her first objective.

- o -

Classroom number 14 was a haven of quiet. The sun had just set and the room was growing darker as dusk approached. Harry stood at one of the windows watching the breeze start ripples on the lake and the high clouds glowing yellow and orange towards the west. Eventually, he magiced the blinds closed, lit the torches around his desk and opened his transfiguration books; McGonagall had started the homework early.

Harry had been working for about a quarter of an hour before he became uneasy and looked up from the parchment. Most of the room was in semidarkness, away from his desk, so he waved his wand at the remaining torches and muttered the spell to light them. As the darkness receded, he looked around the room for the source of his unease and finally realised it was the desks and chairs in front of him. They were really cushions, held in the shape of desks by a standing spell. Harry could still just feel the power, itching like someone was tickling the inside of his skin with a feather. He smiled ruefully to himself and bent to his work again.

- o -

'What time did you get back, Harry?' asked Hermione. She and Harry were sitting at the Gryffindor table finishing breakfast. Ron had gone back to the Common Room in a huff and Ginny and Dean were sitting at the far end of the table with Neville and Luna, who had drifted over from the Ravenclaw table.

'About eleven, I think,' he said, round a mouthful of toast.

'So you missed the argument.'

'Yeah. They didn't come to blows though, did they?'

'No, Dean kept his cool but I think Ron was close. I don't know why he's so against Ginny being with Dean!'

Harry shrugged. He personally didn't like seeing them together, but why did Ron get so uptight?

'You were lucky not to get caught out so late, Harry.' added Hermione.

'I did.'

'What? You idiot! The first day and you start to lose Gryffindor house points! I thought you'd know better! What's Dumbledore going to say! He'll be furious'

Harry was silent as she glared at him across the table. At last she broke the silence. 'Who caught you, any way?'

'Filch.'

'I bet he loved that!'

Harry yawned, 'Not really, especially when I reminded him that teachers can be in the corridors at any hour.'

Hermione's eyes opened wide. 'Did Dumbledore intend that to apply to you?'

'Dunno, but there's things teachers have to do before lessons, which sometimes can't wait. I reckon if I stick to the direct route to the classroom, he won't complain.'

'You sound confident this morning anyway, Harry.' said Ginny, as she passed them on the way back to the tower.

Harry looked up. 'Well, yeah, I suppose I am. I've got a few things up my sleeve for this lot.'

'Don't turn them all into toads, will you?'

'Nah! Just few ought to do it!'

'You reckon? Well, good luck anyway. You'll need it!'

She was out of sight before Harry had a chance to reply.