A/N:

Disclaimer: The World of Harry Potter and Hogwarts is the sole property of J.K. Rowlings.

Chapter 5

Wednesday was finally here. Defense against the Dark Arts. Several others had been talking about the new professor. She apparently did not subscribe to the theory that with enough hard study the practical will follow. In fact, she'd started in on Dark Creatures with the first years, counter curses with the seconds and on.. Only the sixth years hadn't had her yet.

Harry and Ron were speculating as they sat down to breakfast. "What do you think she'll do with us? Dueling?"

Hermione was sitting across from them and shook her head. "She's doing that with the seventh years." Ron and Harry looked at her and she shrugged. "I overheard them talking. No one knows just yet what she'll be doing with us."

Harry filled his plate while Ron was already eating. "So what? Still think she isn't a good teacher?"

Hermione shrugged, eating a bit. "Well, we haven't had her yet and one lesson doesn't mean she'll be a good teacher, now does it?"

Ron snorted. "What is it you have against her, Hermione?" He refilled his plate quickly. Harry nodded in agreement.

"Nothing, Ron. I just think we have to be prepared." Ron snorted in disgust around another mouthful of food. "Ron, look." She dropped her voice and leaned across the table toward them. "With Voldemort on the loose, can we really afford to take chances?"

"Plotting again Granger?" The sneering voice behind her, asked. "Won't get away with it this year you won't."

Harry sighed. They hadn't had to face Draco Malfoy yet this term. Harry had enjoyed the silence. "What do you want Draco?"

Draco smirked. "Why nothing Potter. Why would I want anything of you?" With another smirk, he swept away from the table, Crabbe and Goyle trailing behind like moving hulks of stupid muscle.

Harry glared after the sixth year Slytherin. Hermione watched the boy, a hateful look on her face. Even Ron had stopped eating long enough to glare after him. Harry felt eyes on him and looked up toward the teacher's table.

There, both Professors Stone and Dumbledore sat watching them interested. Dumbledore inclined his head slightly showing he knew he'd been seen but his face was inscrutable. Professor Stone, however, arched an eyebrow and flicked a glance at Snape, a smile quivering on her lips.

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They had their class straight after breakfast. Making their ways into the dungeons of the castle, the trio walked together, ignoring the glances swept their way by most of the other students even the younger ones, They entered the classroom and found seats together as normal. Professor Stone was nowhere to be seen as of yet. Soon the bell for class rang and everyone looked around expectantly.

The door to her office opened quietly and she stepped out, hair bound up into another braid, wearing not the teachers robes they expected but jeans and a shirt. She surveyed all of them from the top of the stairs, leaning on the railing. Her penetrating gaze swept over all of them causing several to squirm almost uncomfortably.

Her eyes scanned over them once again, studying each one for a moment before moving on. Never once did she betray that she knew any of the trio, her eyes not even staying on them any longer than any other. Finally she walked down into the room itself, coming to lean against the desk at the front of the room. Her shirt, although tucked into the top of her jeans was a bit loose, swaying slightly in her own created wind. "Well, since all of you not only survived Dolores Umbridge, but decided to face yet another year of Defense against the Dark Arts, I welcome you to my class. My name is Professor Heather Stone and I'll be the bane of your existence in your studies of the Dark Arts this year." She smiled a bit crookedly, one answered nervously from several students.

Harry and Ron shared a smile with each other before turning back to the front of the room. They'd heard quite a few things about their new professor's time here at Hogwarts. Stories, they were sure, Mrs. Weasley didn't want them hearing. Poor Bill had been the butt of a great many of those jokes if he was to be believed. Of course, Heather hadn't disabused them of that notion at all.

Heather scanned the room once more, then stretched, her floppy sleeves falling back from her wrists revealing several things. One was the metallic bracelets worn around her wrists that tinkled lightly as her arms shook. The other however was a tattoo. Several students leaned forward trying to get a better look at it and trying not to be noticed.

She smiled seeing the interest in it and pulled her sleeve up and displayed the tattoo on the underside of her right arm. The snarling black dog, in stark relief of her white skin stood out and stared at everyone who looked at it.

Harry looked at it and started. It looked exactly like Sirius had in his Animagus form. Why would she have that tattooed on her arm? He looked up at Heather's eyes finally and saw the slight compassion there, as if she knew what he was thinking. He dropped his eyes back to the book in front of him, unable to look at it any further.

The slight tink of her bracelets fell loudly over them as she lowered her arm once more, the sleeve draping naturally over the tattoo, hiding it from view. She grinned at the class. "Not a Death Mark, as you all can see. Now, there are several things that you are going to learn this year. One is a semi-obscure form of magic that not many ever master. Still, it will be needed for you to learn. Occlumency is the magical defense of the mind against outside penetration. It builds a shield of sorts so that it cannot be penetrated against attacks." She looked around at some of the stunned (or frightened) sixth years facing her. "You will also be learning the actual spell to that and trying it on your fellow students." She arched an eyebrow seeing several snicker at the thought. "Don't think you'll enjoy it because part of your final will be keeping me from your mind."

Several students shared looks a harsh whisper erupting in places, quickly quelled by the eyebrow arching further. She looked around once more and seemed to come to some internal decision. "Right then!" She smiled easily at all of them, most blinking at the sudden change in demeanor. "On to your first lesson, which, unfortunately, is all here in the classroom and with your books." She grinned seeing the crestfallen faces around her. "Don't worry. It won't all be book learning." Still grinning she wrinkled her nose in mock disgust. "I won't do that to you." There were several tentative chuckles around the room.

With an absent wave over her shoulder words suddenly appeared on the board, telling them of their assignment. "Now, for the next, oh…" She looked at the time, biting her lip, in thought. "Say hour. I want you all to follow these directions and then we'll see where we need to start eh?" She smiled sunnily, as the words on the board appeared to shift and move, changing from what they had read: Explain the uses of Bat Dung (guano) in potions and spell casting. To: Name me fifteen jinxes/curses and give the counters.

Harry blinked at the words and looked at the professor as she seemed to grimace slightly as she slid into her chair He frowned looking at her. She looked up at him and her cool "teacher's mask" seemed to fall into place as she looked pointedly at his parchment. Harry dropped his eyes to the parchment and picked up his quill beginning to write.

The hour passed swiftly, though most (most of those who had been in the D.A the previous year) were done well before that. The noise level, as people had put down their quills, had been steadily rising but suddenly dropped off as Professor Stone stood once more in front. A wave of her hand and all the parchments flew to her outstretched hand, landing one neat pile.

Several murmurs went up over that. Everyone had seen Dumbledore do the same thing, but never any other witch or wizard. Heather didn't look up from the parchments reading through them swiftly. "Well, it seems several of you, indeed quite a few of you have a good grounding in jinxes and curses and their counters. They're always good to know." Setting the papers down, almost negligently, she crossed her arms again, her loose top folding around her. "We'll be working on them some, though they won't be our main focus. This year, you're going to learn what each of you has done, instinctively at some point, in order to gain your position here at Hogwarts: Wandless magic."

Heather grinned, almost impishly, showing what Harry assumed would have been the face she wore during most of her time here at Hogwarts, at the murmurs running through her students. She chuckled again, a warm rich sound that seemed almost out of place here in the dark dungeon that housed Defense against the Dark Arts. "Now, you've all done it, but that has been all subconsciously. This time you'll be doing it consciously, and I hope, with a bit more control than before. You'll be doing what was called at one point in time 'hand wizardry'."

Hermione sat up straighter in her chair, an intense look of interest on her features. Harry and Ron shared a look. It seemed her opinion might just have been made about their new professor. They listened as Heather spoke about just how the wandless magic would come in handy for all of them should they be disarmed, or unable to reach their wand.

Finally, time was drawing to a close, though none seemed to have noticed the time going by. "I learned from one of the great 'hand wizards' alive and now I'm going to teach you. Meet me next lesson out at the edge of the Dark Forest and we'll head in to begin your work." Then as the bell rang she spoke up over the sounds of everyone leaving. "I want twelve inches of parchment on wandless magic by next week." There were several groans but everyone filed out, chattering at each other as they all filed out for their next classes.

The trio hung back a bit, Hermione nudged Harry and nodded to Professor Stone. The woman had sagged weakly behind the desk, her face looking pale and bit pinched around the eyes and mouth, not to mention slightly green. Harry poked Ron, drawing Ron's attention to their rather ill looking Professor. Ron frowned looking at her, confused. Hermione breezed past the two of them, approaching the Professor. "Professor Stone?"

Heather looked up and put on a brave face, smiling warmly. "Yes Miss Granger? Something wrong?"

Hermione frowned and studied the woman, who was still a bit pasty faced but recovering slowly. "I was going to ask you that. Are you alright?"

Heather smiled warmly, a quick glance darting to Harry, almost too quick to be caught. "I'm just fine Miss Granger. You three Gryffindors need to head on to your next class. I have papers to grade." Hermione frowned again, looking ready to say something but Heather cut across her words. "Dismissed Miss Granger." The words were cold, a true teacher's tone ringing from her voice.

Hermione blinked looking at her, before gathering up her bag and heading out to Charms. The two boys shared a look, both glancing back at the Professor before following on her heels. They looked a bit startled to see Snape striding toward the room they'd just left.

Slipping into the shadows, they watched as he entered the classroom, not closing the door behind him. Harry ran ahead and grabbed Hermione dragging her back to the open doorway so all three could listen in.

"You should rest more," Snape's sneering voice floated out seeming to swirl blackly around them. They could hear Heather just snort and the shuffling of parchment as she began grading the small quiz she'd given the sixth years. "I told you this post was no position for someone like you."

Heather's very irritated and waspish voice cut across whatever Snape had been about to say. "No, but its just perfect for someone like you right Severus? I'm just fine, but I have papers to grade, kindly show yourself out." There was more rustling of papers, as her attention turned back to them.

"You can't hide it forever. It was foolish of you to even think that you could handle-"

Again Heather's smooth voice, dripping icicles, cut across his. "Back off Severus. I got this post on my own merits and I will handle it. Now get out of my classroom. I'm sure you have your own work to do." There was a heavy thump and cautiously the three peered around the corner to see Heather sit down rather heavily in her chair, looking paler than before.

"Oh yes. You're handling it quite well." He slammed down a vial of something that looked like the Anti-Nausea potions that the sixth years had created a couple days before, and swept out of the room, robes swirling around him.

The trio slunk back into the shadows, glad that he was going the opposite way. Harry looked around the corner again in time to see Heather glare at the potion and go back to her work. Hermione tugged on his arm and the three raced to Charms to talk about what they had just witnessed.

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Special thanks: To mysticmoods and Shahanna for help in figuring out just what would be on the schedule for the sixth years to learn. Thank you ladies.