Chapter 64 is here... Sit back, relax and enjoy!

"There have been killings every day," remarked Neville, sulking. "My nan tells me, it is exactly like the last time," he added.

"We are in the middle of a war, what did you expect?" retorted Ron, annoyed with all the Voldemort talk. To be fair to Ron, it was all he heard throughout the summer.

"Just the other day, I read on the papers that the Greek Ministry fell," added Seamus, ignoring Ron's remark.

"Yeah... and before that? Bulgaria and Albania," finished Neville, looking white.

"That makes it 3 in just about a month," continued Seamus. "He isn't taking over them. Wizards and witches are supporting him, joining his army..." he added in despair.

"Shall we change the topic now? Enough of you-know-who," chimed in Ron, angrily and made the two boys sitting in front of him, glance at him surprised.

"What's up with him?" remarked Neville.

"I thought he said he wasn't upset about not being a prefect," retorted Seamus, with a chuckle.

"What?" retorted Ron. "I'm not upset about that..." he added.

"Really? You want to say that again?" retorted Seamus. "You have been whinging all day... right from when Harry and Hermione left," he added.

Seamus was right, at least partially. Ron was excited to learn that Harry would be a prefect. But, there was a small part of him, that had been hoping against hope, it'd be him, who would be made a prefect. Alas, that wasn't to be.

"I was a bit sad... But it's Harry, so I'm not bothered. Besides, as Fred and George said, being a prefect is no fun," retorted Ron. "Imagine if I had to tell off someone..." he added with a chuckle.

"Right... like anyone would listen," retorted Seamus, with a chuckle.

Just then, they heard footsteps. A moment later, they saw Harry and Hermione come back from a round.

"You are back," remarked Neville.

"Tell off any kids?" added Seamus with a smirk.

"Ha ha... very funny," retorted Hermione sarcastically.

"Speaking of which, who all are with you?" asked Ron, curiously.

"Hannah and Ernie from Hufflepuff," replied Harry. "Goldstein and Padma Patil are Ravenclaw prefects," he added.

After a couple of seconds, Hermione finished the list, "Draco and Daphne are Slytherin's prefects," she said quietly. To find out that 4 of the 6 phoenix juniors left were prefects, wasn't something Hermione wanted to rub in Ron's face.

However, Hermione's words seemed to impact Seamus and Neville the most, as they both gave Hermione a shocked look. And then, like clockwork, both of them glanced at Harry.

"What?" retorted Harry, looking at Seamus and Neville's faces.

"We were not going to take her name in front of him," remarked Seamus looking at Hermione.

"Whose name?" retorted Hermione, and almost immediately realised who they meant.

"Oh come on lads... It's not like that... We are not mortal enemies," retorted Harry.

"Imagine having 2 mortal enemies at the same time," retorted Seamus with a chuckle, though his joke did not bring a smile to anyone else's face.

"Anybody here saw Professor Slughorn? He was sitting with a group of students. I wonder what they were talking about," remarked Hermione, breaking the awkward silence that followed.

"Who?" retorted Seamus.

"Professor Horace Slughorn," repeated Hermione.

"Oh... the new Professor?" retorted Seamus. "He is an old one, isn't he? Been at Hogwarts for years... and retired... is what I read in the papers," he added.

"He was at Hogwarts a long time ago," added Ron.

"He's going to be taking our defence against the dark arts, is he? I heard Mad-eye didn't want to continue on the job," asked Seamus.

"I'm glad he's gone..." remarked Neville.

"He is going to be taking potions," replied Harry.

"Potions?" retorted Seamus and Neville together, surprised. Ron and Hermione looked at him, wondering how he knew what he knew. Harry nodded in response.

"What about Snape? Is he gone for good?" retorted Seamus, excited. However, this time, Harry shook his head.

"What's happened to Snape then?" asked Seamus. Though Ron and Hermione realised what Harry's expression meant.

"Harry... you're joking," gasped Ron.

"Is he really..." began Hermione and left the sentence open-ended.

"What?" retorted Seamus, confused.

"Snape is going to be taking our defence against the dark arts this year," replied Harry, sulking.

There was an instant uproar over this piece of news and kept everyone engaged for the remainder of the journey. While Harry spent virtually the rest of the train journey in silence.

A few seats away sat Draco, who also spent the entire train journey in absolute silence. The usually chirpy, borderline rich-brat annoying Malfoy was nothing like his usual self. Even when he met with Harry and Hermione during the prefects' meeting before the start of the train journey, he was rather quiet.

So, when the prefects rejoined at the end of the journey, to help the first years navigate...

"First years... gather around here," announced Hermione. A few feet beside her, Daphne and the rest of the prefects were doing the same. Rest of the prefects, except Harry and Draco, of course.

"Harry... a little help?" remarked Hermione, in a loud whisper.

"What do you want me to do, Hermione?" asked Harry blankly.

"Look... they are standing there clueless... tell them to gather here," she replied. "And look inside the compartments once, will you?" she added, with a tone of authority.

"Yes," replied Harry and walked away.

"And what's up with you? You look like you have seen a ghost," remarked Hermione, looking at Draco, who was standing a few feet behind the pack. "Draco," called out Hermione after a few seconds of silence.

"Uh... What?" retorted Draco.

"What is it with you two? Go and check the compartments... and get any first-year loitering around here," ordered Hermione. "And ask everyone else you find to get a move on," she added.

Soon, every Hogwarts student found themselves inside the castle, sitting in the Great Hall, with a mouthwatering feast in front of them.

The sorting ceremony took place quite elegantly, even though the hat had some words of caution for everyone. As tradition would have it, Dumbledore had a few words to speak before everyone started tucking into the feast.

When everyone was done, Dumbledore gave a welcome speech to the old and the new students of the year. A few words about Voldemort weren't missed either. And then he went on to introduce the year's staff, introducing Horace Slughorn to the school in the process. The announcement that Snape would be taking over the defence against the dark arts post drew groans from the entire hall, as expected.

And the first night at Hogwarts ended peacefully.

Everything was at a high intensity from the get-go. Especially for the 5th and 7th years, for they were going to give their OWLs and NEWTs, respectively.

The morning of their first school day, Ron, Hermione and Harry found themselves seated in the great hall, having breakfast when they received their timetable.

"Our first class with Professor White is tomorrow," remarked Ron, a few seconds later. "I can't wait for his class," he added. Professor of Combat, Benjamin White, from the rich wizarding nation of the United States of America had joined Hogwarts just more than half a year ago. Combat classes were then introduced for 5th-year students and above.

And from what they had heard till now from the likes of Fred and George, Professor White was a nice, warm professor who always looked happy and calm. And his classes were jovial and time seemed to pass quite effortlessly.

However, before they could get to combat mode, they had to get through 2 polar-opposite experiences. Gryffindor and Ravenclaw were paired together in the potions class, with their new professor, Horace Slughorn. Unlike their potions classes till now, this one was much more pleasant. The lack of Severus Snape lifted everyone's mood immediately. Professor Slughorn seemed quite adept at teaching a class and was quite appreciative of students' responses.

However, towards the end of the day, Gryffindor found themselves paired with Slytherin for what turned out to be a long and frustrating defence against the dark arts class with Snape. Snape, who on his best day looked like he had just been to the funeral of his best friend was in a particularly bad mood that day. And with every sentence he spoke, he made it a point to criticise every previous defence against the dark arts professor for how they had handled this subject.

Hermione's "Runes" and "Arithmancy" classes, Ron and Harry's "Divination" and "Care of magical creatures" along with their other regular subjects like Charms, Transfiguration had also started in full flow. Professors had started giving mild homework from the first week itself, much to the dismay of the students.

"There is so much to study... and I have no time at all for properly covering everything..." a remark from Hermione could be heard too.

Right at the end of their 2nd day of school came the moment they had all been eagerly waiting for. Gryffindor was paired with Slytherin for their Combat class. However, when the time came, all of them were slightly confused. The students had received a note earlier that day, that they would all have to assemble at the great hall for their class with Professor White.

Harry and Ron finished their Divination lesson as quickly as they could and bolted straight to the great hall. The moment they reached, they looked around and couldn't find anything different about the place.

"Are we having our class here?" wondered Ron, out loud.

"The chairs and tables haven't been moved..." retorted Harry looking around.

A couple of minutes after all the students had arrived, they heard footsteps and the tapping sound of a walking cane.

"Good evening," they heard a deep, yet cheerful voice. Professor Benjamin White appeared with a smile on his face, in his usual shirt, trouser, vest and jacket attire. He was also sporting a neck-tie

"Good evening, Professor," retorted the entire class enthusiastically.

"Good... good," he remarked under his breath. White's eyes fell on the phoenix juniors, who were standing together somewhere in the middle of the group.

"Let's walk," he said and started making his way out of the great hall. The class followed behind him closely.

"Where do you think he's taking us?" whispered Ron.

"The castle grounds?" retorted Hermione, sounding unsure.

Professor White kept walking, past the castle grounds, right towards the forbidden forest. For one nasty moment, everyone thought that they were heading straight into the forest. However, fortunately for them, Professor White halted right outside the forest.

"Everyone... please gather around," remarked White, calmly.

After a few moments, he continued. "Welcome to today's combat class. For the next 3 years, we are going to journey together and try to become the best versions of ourselves," he said and glanced around at the class. "None of us wants to fight, but we can't avoid it. Especially, during a time like this," he added, this time his glance falling towards Harry. "We should be ready for all situations, for all fights, with all possible tools at our disposal," continued Professor White.

Everyone stood quietly and listened to White's words.

"Combat isn't about spells. It isn't about whether you are more powerful, or your enemies are..." White's words sent chills into everyone present.

"It is about the courage to act," he said powerfully.

"The will to react to whatever you are faced with," he added animatedly.

"And... it is about your decision-making," he finished and took a deep breath.

The students looked at each other and then back at Professor White.

"Don't be ashamed of running away... This isn't about pride," continued White, this time, his voice much more whispery. And he gave a quick glance once again to Harry.

"But if you're on top... make sure your enemy doesn't get back up... ever again," he finished.

For the few moments that followed, there was a pin-drop silence.

"Ugh... I have been doing it again, haven't I?" chuckled White, confusing the students in front of him. "Enjoy your hour, everyone... Let's make every minute count," he added cheerfully.

"We are outside... With nature around us... I want all of you to work on combining your skills... Transfigure what you can... charm it how you like... This is your freedom to do whatever you want with magic..." finished White with a big smile.

Everybody looked at each other, confused. One minute, they were getting a rousing speech. The next, they saw an old man, asking them to have fun.

"Go go go..." remarked White excitedly, with another big smile on his face. And with that, the combat class officially began.

Their first class ended up being quite fun, eventually. It brought everybody's creative side to the front. There were laughs all around and the mood lightened up.

The following morning, at breakfast, everyone received a surprise.

"We are reopening the duelling club!
Do you think you are good? Find out against the best this school has to offer.
Every Tuesday and Thursday
Open to 4th years and above"

"Blimey... duelling club? I can't believe we are going to do this again," remarked Ron, excitedly.

"This is going to be fun," retorted Harry.

"Oh yes... 4th years are allowed too," remarked an elated Colin.

"What's up with you? I can't believe I'm about to ask you this... but, are you okay?" asked Daphne so loudly that everyone turned their heads towards Daphne and Draco, who was sitting beside them.

"Leave me alone," retorted Draco, his voice making him sound like he was in agony. Draco was just about to get up and leave when Ron and Harry spoke up at the same time.

"Draco," they called out together. Harry glanced at Ron, and Ron continued.

"What's up, mate? You have been awfully silent ever since you came back," remarked Ron. Harry was mostly silent throughout the train journey and had been much more subdued than his usual self. But in all that time, even he noticed that Draco had been acting somewhat similarly, if not more.

Draco glanced at Harry and Ron with a guilty look. He had a newspaper in his hand, that he tucked behind him. He wanted to let it all out, but he couldn't possibly do that. Not with this secret, he couldn't.

"Yeah... he's been acting weird... I'm not complaining, but he has passed not 1 remark about me... I have intentionally pulled his leg countless times... Not one response back, not one taunt... nothing..." exclaimed Daphne. "Something's up... and he's not telling us what it is," she added.

"Draco... you can tell us what's bothering you," chimed in Hermione softly.

Draco stood like a rock. After a few seconds, his eyes were glistening, and he shook his head faintly.

"Hey... you alright?" remarked Harry, shocked. "What is going on?" he asked, looking concerned.

"I... can't," retorted Draco, faintly.

"Why not?" retorted Ron and Harry together.

"I... can't," repeated Draco.

"Maybe you can tell us someplace else?" asked Hermione. Draco seemed to faintly nod his head. Harry and Ron took the sign and called Neville.

"Are you going somewhere?" asked Colin.

"Uh... yes," replied Harry hastily.

"Can I come with you all? Is this some secret meeting?" asked Colin, excitedly.

"No," replied Harry bluntly. Ron, Hermione and Daphne shook their heads politely.

"Please? I won't tell anyone," protested Colin.

"No, Colin... I'm sorry... but you're not coming with us," retorted Harry.

"Oh, come on... How come your ex-girlfriend is still part of the group, and I am not? This is not fair," sulked Colin.

"Colin..." exclaimed Harry. "She is part of the group... you are not, I'm sorry... but we are going now," he added strongly.

Harry, Ron, Neville, Hermione, Daphne and Draco left for the room of requirement instantly.

Once they were in, all eyes were on Draco. However, he still looked hesitant to speak up. After everyone started convincing him to speak up, he gave up. His first act of telling the truth was to hand over the newspaper he held.

Ron who took the newspaper glanced at the part that Draco had folded on.

It was a fairly normal article in the daily prophet, normal for the times they were in. The article detailed out all the killings that had been reported in the past few months, all of which were almost certainly done in the name of Voldemort.

The latest entry of which had been a couple of days back, a group of local German wizards, who were low-level wand-makers and were part of a group that was staunchly against Voldemort's doings.

Ron handed the newspaper to Harry, looking perplexed. Harry glanced at the article and passed it on to Hermione who later passed it on to Neville, finally reaching Daphne. Once everyone had done reading the article, their eyes fell back on Draco. And each one of them was as confused as the next.

"Draco... what's the meaning of this? I don't understand," remarked Ron, cautiously.

Draco stood silently, however, tears were forming in his eyes.

Finally, after a couple of minutes, he spoke up.

"All these people getting killed..." he began. "And he's not going to stop," he added.

"We will fight you-know-who..." retorted Ron, assuredly.

"I tried to talk to him... But he wouldn't listen," continued Draco.

"What?" gasped Harry, shocked. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"I found out a couple of weeks back... He wanted me to spy on you... on us," replied Draco.

"You-know-who told you to spy on us?" asked Ron, shocked.

"No," replied Draco. "Not him," he added as tears poured down his cheeks.

The 5 of them stood rooted to the spot and watched Draco in shock. After a few moments, Draco continued.

"I hoped he wouldn't go back to his old habits... I tried talking sense into him, but he wouldn't listen," he said. After a few more seconds, the truth came out. "My father's a death eater," he said, softly, looking utterly embarrassed and disgusted.

"What?" gasped Daphne, shocked. Neville stared at him stunned. While Ron, Hermione and Harry were shocked too, it wasn't as big a surprise for them.

"What are you talking about, Draco?" retorted Daphne.

"Yes... He was talking to his friend, Eldon Redwood... they were talking about you-know-who... and about their plans to attack the Greek ministry of magic," replied Draco. The name "Eldon Redwood" rang alarm bells in Harry's ear. He was present at the little Hangleton graveyard when Lockhart betrayed them and John died in the process.

"Of this list, I'm sure he has killed a few with his own hands..." remarked Draco as he broke down completely.

That wasn't a pleasant day for any of the phoenix juniors. Draco's words and his state earlier that morning remained front and centre in everyone's minds. So much so that, in the evening when Harry, Ron and Hermione sat in the library and Ron was re-reading the newspaper, they didn't even discuss the article questioning Sirius' innocence.

The article that took half the page's space had scathing remarks about how fishy Sirius' trial was. The coerced confession of a mentally unstable Peter Pettigrew who was killed immediately after Sirius was released, the stacked evidence in Sirius' favour, almost as if all of it was manufactured to favour him, the people supporting him being the exact ones who had accused him over a decade ago and the nail in the coffin according to the article, the death of the poor soul, Janus Keddle (a wizard who wanted the truth to prevail).

Harry was lost in his thoughts, while Ron was lost in a world of his own, mostly replaying Draco's words from the morning. Hermione was the only one who seemed to be getting some work done, however, even she was distracted.

And just then, a first-year Hufflepuff kid walked up to them and handed Ron and Harry a note.

"Professor Dumbledore wants to see you," the kid said and ran away, probably because he had seen Harry Potter in the flesh for the first time.

"Ron Weasley and Harry Potter,
Please come to my office before the end of the evening

Regards, Albus Dumbledore"

"Why are we being summoned?" asked Ron, perplexed.

"I don't know," replied Harry, equally perplexed.

The boys left the library and made their way to Dumbledore's office.

And to their surprise, they were welcomed not just by Professor Dumbledore, but also by, Professor Benjamin White.

"Good evening Professor Dumbledore, Professor White," greeted Harry and Ron the moment they entered.

"Good evening Ron, Harry," greeted Dumbledore while White gave a warm smile in response.

"I asked you both to come up here to talk to you both about something," began Dumbledore as the boys watched him keenly.

"I have long thought about this and there is no better time than the present for us to start with it. How would you both like to receive some extra training?" continued Dumbledore and gave a pause.

"Extra training?" asked Ron, excitedly.

"Yes, Ron... Similar to your sessions with Professor Lupin," replied Dumbledore.

"Yes, Professor... We would love that," replied Ron instantly and glanced at Harry. Harry nodded along with equal excitement.

"Good... I'm glad that you are excited," remarked Dumbledore with a smile. "In that case, I'd like to inform you that," he continued and glanced at Harry. "Harry, you will be personally trained by Professor White," he said and glanced at Benjamin. "Professor White has graciously accepted to train you," he added.

"Oh," retorted Harry. "Thank you, Professor," replied Harry calmly.

"And Ron..." exclaimed Dumbledore. "Your training sessions will be taken by myself. I have decided to personally oversee your training," he remarked and glanced at Ron.

Ron stared at Dumbledore, shocked. He assumed that it'd be either Professor White or one of the professors. He didn't even consider the possibility that Dumbledore himself would train him.

"Professor?" retorted Ron, excitedly.

"Yes, Mr Weasley... And I'm excited about it," he added with a warm smile.

PS - Chapter 65 is in the works