Right, here's Chapter 4. Hope you enjoy. Also here's the disclaimer; I don't own Harry Potter and co. They belong to the wonderful JKR. I'm just borrowing them for non profit purposes, yada yada yada...
Also, I'd like to acknowledge a couple of passing comments that are made in this chapter. They were inspired by a couple of other stories here at fanfiction. The first is from MystyKitty's The Power of Dance. The second is from GNess' Muggle Movies 02: The Chamber. I'll bold them so you know what I'm talking about. Just giving credit where credit's deserved.
As Hermione had warned, they could hear the clicking of the professor's approaching footsteps. Seconds later, a middle aged witch entered. She had long, curly, caramel-colored hair that she had tried to restrain with some hair pins. It seemed, however, that the hair was winning the war. The professor wore sea-foam green robes and high healed boots that clicked loudly when she walked. They reminded Harry of muggle tap shoes. She beamed at the four new students and introduced herself.
"Hello, my name's Professor Wilkins," she beamed at the four new students, "and as I'm sure you've guessed, I'm the Defense Against the Dark Arts master here at Hogwarts." They all nodded in acknowledgment and she clapped her hands together in excitement. "Well, Dumbledore introduced you to us all this morning, but we don't know a thing about you." She gave them an eager sort of smile and Hermione laughed shortly. "So, who's going first?" None of them said anything, Ron was studying his hands, clearly hoping that if he didn't make eye contact with her, she wouldn't notice him. Draco was absentmindedly twirling his wand in his finger tips, and Hermione had an uncharacteristically blank look on her face.
"Well you know, there's really noting to tell. At least, nothing that I can think of How about you guys?" The three boys all nodded in agreement.
"I think then, we'll have the class ask you some questions, but I will say that I was prepared to let you off easy. Now you're at the mercy of the class." She winked at them.
"Damn, she's not letting us out of this is she?" Ron grumbled. It was more of a statement than a question.
"How about you come up here," She said, gesturing to the front of the room. Malfoy got to his feet first and was followed by Hermione. Ron and Harry trudged along grudgingly and Malfoy feigned surprise.
"What, the famous Potter's not in a hurry to be the center of attention?"
"Are you jealous? You're welcome to it anytime." Harry turned toward the class and threw out his arms. "Come one come all. Witness the wonder that is Draco Malfoy!"
Draco looked at him suspiciously. "What was that for?"
"Alright boys, calm down." Wilkins said, before Harry had a chance to reply. "How about we have a question for each of them and then two for the group?"
Harry didn't suppose that was so bad, but he wished that they had decided on a cover story earlier.
"Let's start with Miss... Granger is it?" Hermione nodded and the professor continued. "Who has a question for her?" Several hands shot up, including Sirius'. "Mr. Black, what's your question?"
Sirius leaned forward on his elbow, eyed the three boys, then gave her a devilish grin. "So which of them's your boyfriend?"
Harry flushed slightly and shifted on his feet, Draco was watching her closely with a slight smirk and Ron had broken out into a fit of coughs. Hermione, however, was blushing so intensely that it would have put a Weasly to shame.
"That's for me to know, and you to find out." She said, trying to cover her embarrassment.
"I'll get right on that." Sirius replied, smiling even wider.
"I see you went straight for the personal questions." Wilkins said. "How about we get a question for Mr. Weasly." Ron looked a little queasy, and Harry supposed he was hoping not to get as personal of a question as Hermione's.
"Relax Weasly, I doubt anyone's going to ask if you're a boxer or a briefs kind of guy." Ron glared at Malfoy, and half the girls in the class broke into giggles.
"How about we hear from you Mr. Pinkelman." Wilkins said, choosing to ignore Draco's comment.
A tall, muscularly built boy dropped his hand and asked, "What's your favorite Quidditch team?"
Ron relaxed at the mildness of the inquiry and actually smiled. "That's easy, I've been a Chudley Cannons fan for as long as I can remember." Pinkelman gave him a blank look at the reply.
Hermione was mouthing something to Ron that looked like 'they don't exist yet!'
"Oh, right!" Ron said hurriedly. "They're kind of a local favorite. Uh, Ireland's good." he finished somewhat lamely, but Pinkelman seemed to approve and began nodding in agreement.
"Good question, thank you. Let's see, Mr. Potter's next, a question for him please." Nobody raised their hand for a few seconds. It was clear that they had a question in mind, but no one was willing to ask it. Finally, James' hand went up.
"Yes, Mr. Potter?"
"How did you get your scar?"
Ron and Hermione were fidgeting next to Harry and all sorts of replies were flying through his head, some more truthful than others. Could he get away with telling a partial truth? Did he want to?
"Uh Potter, the American's have a saying. The cattle are growing restless." Malfoy said, after Harry had been quiet for a full minute. Harry's eyes refocused and he realized everyone was staring at him. It was then that it hit him. He was sick of the doom and gloom. In this place, he was safe from Voldermort. For the first time since he had started school at Hogwarts, his only worry could be to make sure Ron didn't attack Draco for another one of his asinine comments. Even if they would only be here for a week, it could be a week long vacation.
A smile replaced the grim look that had settled in on his features over the past months. "Funny story actually." Harry began. "We were sneaking out of school last year You see, Hermione had heard about this club in Tokyo and that was supposed to be 'wicked', I think is the word muggles use. She and Draco used to have this thing for dance clubs, and Ron and I certainly couldn't turn down a trip to Japan." Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Ron and Hermione giving him a funny look. "Anyway, to make a long story short, we ended up getting in a knife fight with a rabid hamster in an alley. The result being this." He lifted back his fringe to display his scar.
The room was again plunged into silence, but this time, everyone was looking at him with jaws dropped. "Uh... seriously?" A girl towards the front asked.
"What, you don't believe me?" Harry asked, feigning a hurt expression. "Would you find , 'there's a homicidal wizard out to kill me and my scar's a result of his failed attempt at avada kedavra' to be a more likely story?" A couple people chuckled and most people were smiling now.
Alright, well lets get a question for Mr. Malfoy then." Wilkins said with a tight smile. A hand belonging to a rather pretty girl with pig tails shot up. She did the action so fast, that her roll of parchment and quill were sent flying to the floor as she knocked her elbow on the edge of the desktop. Wilkins seemed so taken aback by her promptness that she called on her. "Yes, Miss Cook."
"So which is it then, boxers or briefs?"
Malfoy snickered. "Well, to quote Granger, that's for me to know, and you to find out."
"Why I do believe that had sexual undertones in it." Sirius said, feigning shock.
"That's quite enough." Professor Wilkins said from the back of the class. "Let's keep these next two questions PG if you would please." Hands shot up for the fifth time. "Lily Evans, I think I can count on you to keep us on track."
"I'd like to ask what school you're from." Lily said. It seemed, Harry thought, that she wasn't going to let them off the hook so easily.
"Well, it's kind of far away. You probably haven't ever heard of it." Hermione said and Draco groaned.
"Yeah, I kind of gathered that the first time." Lily said wryly.
"It's kind of like Hogwarts in that it's unplotable." Harry said, "Even the students aren't sure where it's located."
"We're on a mission." Malfoy cut in dramatically. "So we're not really at the liberty to discuss it with you." He wagged a single eyebrow at her.
Lily was still annoyed that they were evading the question, but it appeared they weren't likely to tell, and Professor Wilkins didn't seem like she was out for truthful answers.
"Ok, final question." The defense professor said.
"Why did you come to Hogwarts?" A sort boy towards the back asked, after he had been called on.
"We have something that we need Professor Dumbledore's help with." Hermione said.
"But why are you attending classes?" The same boy continued.
"My thoughts exactly." Ron grumbled.
"I personally couldn't imagine being at Hogwarts and not learning something." Hermione said in a tone that was very reminiscent of her during their first year.
"That's an admirable philosiphy." Wilkins said. "Alright, that's enough personal questions for now. I'm sure everyone will find plenty of time to fit more in over the next few days. Let's get on with the lesson."
They made their way back to their seats and Wilkins started talking about a set of curses that had been created specifically to jumble speech, thus making it difficult for the wizard to properly voice a spell.
Hermione had already pulled out a roll of parchment and quill, and was scribbling away. Harry smiled to himself. He would have never expected any different from her, but it was still amusing that she never passed up a chance for note taking.
"Can anyone tell me what's the most important element for successfully creating a tongue tying curse?" Hermione's hand shot up along with some others, including James, Remus, and Sirius.
"Precise enunciation." Hermione said when Wilkins called on her.
"Indeed," The professor acknowledged. "To properly disrupt someone's speech patterns, you yourself must be completely clear in your intent."
"Looks like we've got some competition." Harry heard Sirius whisper to James. James didn't look up, but he nodded in agreement.
"I'd give you points," Wilkins was saying, "but you don't really have a house to award them to."
"Professor, you could give them to Gryffindor." Sirius said.
"Yes Mr. Black, I'm sure you would enjoy that." Wilkins said with a laugh. "But I'm afraid you're going to have to earn points the old fashioned way."
"Well, it was worth a try."
The class continued much in that manner, and Harry started tapping his wand against the desk top in boredom. Wilkins seemed to be one of those professors that preferred lecture to a more 'hands on' approach. It certainly wasn't Harry's worst Defense Against the Dark Arts class, he would leave that honor to Umbridge, but he had defiantly experienced better.
He looked over at Remus Lupin. The boy was busy taking notes, but Harry could tell that he wasn't all that enthusiastic about it. Harry wondered if this wasn't the reason Lupin had given them such good lessons in that, remembering these classes, he strove to make his more interactive.
"Alright, quiz time." Wilkins said, snapping everyone except Hermione out of a stupor. "Let's see what you've all learned. Besides, I'd like our new students to show us what they can do. Everybody partner up." The class groaned and started to half-heartedly search out partners.
"I'll partner with Malfoy." Harry said to Hermione and Ron.
"Oh, do I feel loved." Draco said sarcastically.
"Everybody stand up and face your partner, wands out." Wilkins instructed.
"Do you think we're dueling?" Ron asked.
"If we are, I'm sure Granger's thanking her lucky stars that you don't still have that broken wand of yours." Malfoy said. "How about you Potter, fancy a duel?"
"Well lets see, the first time you challenged me, you never showed up. The second time, you conjured that snake and Lockhart managed to sick it on Justin Finch Fletchy."
"What, you wouldn't care to have them all find out you're a parceltongue? If I remember correctly, most of the school was terrified of you that year."
"And would that include you?" Harry asked, giving Draco an amused look.
"In your dreams Potter. Anybody with any sense would have realized you were about as likely to be Slytherin's heir as Granger here."
"Alright class, we're going to be dueling. Please refrain from anything that will injure your partner. Points for those who can properly use a tongue tying curse."
Harry and Draco faced each other, wands out, but neither seemed willing to bow to the other. Meanwhile, Hermione had managed to use the curse on her first try and Ron was babbeling incoherently. Most of the class had reached the climax of their duel, in one manner or another. A handful of people had properly done the curse, others were nursing the ill effects of other spells. Harry and Draco, however, were still in their stand off.
"Bow Potter, it's the proper thing to do."
"And I'm sure you wouldn't curse me while I was doing it." Harry said sarcastically.
"No, because I'll be bowing as well." Draco replied, "Though I don't see why I should. You certainly don't deserve it."
"Would both of you just get on with it." Hermione said. "You're making a scene."
Harry grudgingly tipped his head forward, as did Malfoy. They were more nods really, than bows. As soon as their heads snapped back up, Draco yelled, "Expelliarmus!"
Harry blocked it and attempted to use the tongue tying curse, but he must have mispronounced because nothing happened. Draco smirked and was about to try another curse when Harry got an idea. Pointing his wand at Draco's foot, he said "Accio shoe!" Draco's boot was suddenly tugged off, knocking him off balance. He teetered for a second, then fell backwards on the floor.
"Brilliant. Thanks so much." Malfoy said, wincing as he got to his feet. "That's twice you've caused me to land on my ass in twenty-four hours. My back is killing me." Class had ended, and students were starting to filter out. Harry handed Draco his boot, and he took it without comment.
"Maybe you should have joined DA instead of trying to rat us out to Umbridge." Ron suggested.
"Didn't seem to make much of a difference in your case." Draco snapped back. "I see Granger made quick work of you." Draco stormed out of the classroom in a billow of robes.
"What is it with him being so dramatic all the time?" Ron grumbled. "You'd think he'd spontaneously combust if he stopped acting like a git for more than five seconds."
Harry didn't know what to suggest. It was doubtful that there could be any form of civility between them, not after what had happened last June. Harry's blood still boiled when he thought of the Inquisitorial Squad capturing his friends and turning them in to Umbridge. Malfoy himself had been the ring leader of that little operation.
"Malfoy's the last thing I want to think about right now." Harry said. "Accident or not, I'm taking this trip as a vacation. For once, I can be sure Voldermort's not out to get me, and when I'm here, I'm not the famous Harry Potter. I just want a normal week."
"You may want that Harry, but I don't know if Malfoy's going to let you get it." Hermione said as they made their way through the school. She sighed heavily. "I don't know if I can take so much arguing and fighting with him. It's starting to get on my nerves."
Up ahead, they could see a pack of students that had assembled around someone. Most of them were girls, standing on their tip toes to try and get a better look. As the three of them drew closer, they could hear Malfoy's voice carrying over the crowd.
"That's right, it's a special school run by Dumbledore. He spends most of his time at Hogwarts, but he pops over to our school a couple times a day."
"But if it's a school run by Dumbledore, then why don't you just come to Hogwarts? Why is he running two separate schools?" Someone was asking.
"Some of the things we learn there are a little different than here."
"Malfoy, what are you doing?" Harry asked, the crowd's attention shifted to him.
"Just telling everyone a little about our school." Draco said with a shrug. "They wanted to know, so who was I to keep it from them?"
"Professor McGonagall wanted us to check in with her." Hermione said. "We shouldn't keep her waiting."
"Granger, if you wanted to go off and snog, you should just say so. There's no reason to make up excuses."
"You can keep your fantasies to yourself." Hermione growled back, firmly grasping the sleeve of Ron's robe as he tried to lunge after Malfoy.
"Ouch, such an Ice Queen." Draco said, hugging his shoulders and shivering.
"Right, well we're going to see Professor McGonagall. When you've finished with your bandstanding, you know where to find us." Hermione stalked down the corridor, Ron and Harry following. Once they had rounded a corner, she stopped dead in the middle of the hall, causing them to crash into her. "How dare he!" she began. "Why has that stupid ass decided to make such a sport out of tormenting us?"
"Because you're such easy targets." Malfoy had evidently left his admirers and caught up with them.
"Hermione's right Malfoy." Harry said. "You said that you would have to shoot yourself if you were pathetic enough to have your life revolve around tormenting us, but you're constantly picking fights with us."
"Let's just call it family instinct." Draco said. "Besides, on this occasion, what else am I supposed to do? It happens to be the Golden Gryffindor Trio, versus the Lone Slytherin. No one's here to support me, so I might as well go on the offense."
"That doesn't mean you have to make up for it by being three times worse than normal." Hermione said.
"Says who Granger? What makes you think I would ever adhere to your set of morals?"
"Listen, we've got to make it through this week and then that's it. Things don't have to be any different once we get back. In fact, I'd prefer they weren't, but for the time being, can we at least act like we're not mortal enemies?" Hermione asked. Everyone sort of grimaced and shifted on their feet, but no one said anything. "It's like I was saying earlier, a week of fighting will get really old."
Ron nodded slowly. "I'll try." Harry agreed.
Draco was frowning as if he had a bad taste in his mouth. "I won't make any guarantees, but I'll try also." He finally ground out.
Hermione glanced at her watch and emitted a squeak. "We were supposed to meet Professor McGonagall five minutes ago."
They took off down the corridor, tension still lingering between them, but for once, no one had an insult, snide remark or retort on the tip of their tongue.