Harry Potter, and the Teaching Position

by ender74361

It's sixth year and Harry has been offered the Defense Against the Dark Arts teaching position. A new house competition has been instated, and something's wrong with Dumbledore.

9. The Stranger

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. Simple as that. It's starting to get hard to be creative in these stupid disclaimers!

Author's Note: REVIEW! For the love of God! Please… crashes to knees and sobs uncontrollably into his hands I'm going to compile a list of people that have me on their Author Alert list, but haven't reviewed in a while, and e-mail them and remind them that I'm alive. Maybe this is my just punishment for neglecting this piece for so long. On that last chapter, the only review I got was from my own Beta-reader! how pathetic is that? No offense to Ying-Yang-sama of course. I really appreciate his time, but if you haven't picked up on the fact that I'm desperate yet, you're too blind to read my fic. I guess I'll leave it at that. Thinks to himself I wonder if some of my favorite author's that have, like, hundreds of reviews, got off to this rocky of a start. Maybe I should be grateful. I stumbled on a great fic with five chapters that only had three reviews the other day. Oh well, what happens, happens.

Chapter Nine, The Stranger.

Harry received a surprise at breakfast the next morning. Professor McGonagall approached Harry as his morning meal was wrapping up. "Mr. Potter, I am here to inform you that your first House Dueling Competition will be in two weeks from this Wednesday. It is against Ravenclaw." Her words were like stunners that hit Harry square in the chest. "I hope that your obvious fondness of Ravenclaw captain, Cho Chang, will not affect your abilities?"

"Uh… no, of course… of course not," he stumbled across his words.

"Let us hope for the sake of your team and, more specifically, you, that it will not."

"It won't Professor. I promise. I may have a time convincing Cho of that, but in the end, she'll come around."

"I trust you will see to it that she does."

"Yes, Professor." Harry looked to the Ravenclaw table to see Professor Flitwick talking to Cho. Their eyes met, and they rose as if one entity to walk to the entrance hall. Cho's eyes were cloudy with confusion. She pleaded of Harry, "What are we to do, Harry? What are we to do?"

"We'll just have to duel each other, I suppose."

"Do you really want to do that?" A hurt expression came over her face. Harry didn't know whether to get mad at her for her unreasonableness, or to try and make everything better. "Of course I don't," he chose the latter, "The last thing I want to do is to hurt you, but we accepted roles as captains, and when we got together, we should have prepared for this. We knew this day would come, we just never addressed it. We still have to fill our roles as captain, despite our inattentiveness to this situation." She gave no response except a glare before she turned and walked away. Harry ran after her and turned her around, grabbing both shoulders. "You have no right to be mad at me for wanting to fulfill our commitments that we both made before we made commitments to each other!" She just stood there. Harry was angry, and he gave her a small and gentle shake, "Talk to me!" Her eyes began to shudder, and she hit him in the chest as she began to cry, "I hate you Harry Potter! I hate you!" Harry lifted one of his hands from her shoulder to her chin and made her look in his eyes, "Why?"

"For being right!" She fell into his chest and let her tears flow freely. His expressions softened, and he placed a hand behind her head and stroked it affectionately while whispering words of encouragement to her. "It's okay. We'll just have to live through it, and then, that weekend is our Hogsmeade weekend. We can close open wounds then."

"Alright." They stood there a little while longer.

"I don't hate you, Harry."

"I know, I know."

Things went smoothly for the rest of the day after that little mishap. Before Harry could blink, the day was over, and he was showing his dueling team their positions after his Gryffindor/Slytherin class. "There's one position yet to be filled. Tonight, Gaylon Malfoy will duel one random member to find his position on the team. So be prepared, because it is possible that you will be moving one step down in the rankings."

"It's just a bloody first year Professor!" Seamus spoke up.

"You watch out for that first year. He has already mastered the basic combatant spells, and is able to use them in order to cope with different situations. If I'm not careful, we'll have a captain dueling in second seat."

That conversation led to that night's dueling practice where everyone was gathered to see this boy wonder, named Malfoy of all things, duel for his spot on the team. Gaylon walked into the Room of Requirement that night with the gaze of the sixth and seventh year Gryffindors on him. He looked puny and small. In their eyes, there was no way this little kid could defeat anyone of them in a duel. But no one looked into his eyes. There was a fire there that looked as if it could not be smoldered. Gaylon was ready to prove himself. Ron and Hermione immediately walked over to him as to not make him feel unwelcome. Harry had not arrived yet, and everyone was giving Gaylon odd stares. Once Harry walked in the door, he decided not to waste any time. "The board will show Gaylon's name and then a name of a random duelist from the team. It will measure Gaylon's strength and place him accordingly. Are you ready, Gaylon?" The small boy nodded his head not in nervousness, but in a manner that showed everyone that he knew his objective, and would do his best to achieve it no matter the odds.

Harry waved his wand at the board after receiving Gaylon's verification, and Gaylon's name appeared on the board along with another. People gasped at the young Gryffindor's opponent. He would duel the second position, A team slot. "Okay then," Harry said, "Gaylon will duel Hermione." Harry expected there to be fear in Gaylon's eyes; instead, he just nodded and walked to the center floor where the dueling stage was rising. They bowed and the wizard's duel was on. Hermione was quick. "EXPELLARMUS!" Gaylon was a step ahead of her though, "PROTEGO EXPELLARMUS!" Harry blinked and it was over. Gaylon had muttered three incantations with three fast movements with his wand, "IMPEDIMENTIA! VARITA ENVOLVO! WINGARDIUM LEVIOSA!" Hermione went rigid and rose from the ground. Good trick, Malfoy. But Hermione is just going to blow you away from up there. You just gave her a height advantage! Harry thought this, but Hermione never made a move. Gaylon flipped his wand around and brought it towards the floor. He stopped the upside down Hermione just before her head hit. "That's the duel. Gaylon wins." The entirety of the Dueling team were speechless. No one could believe that a first year had just made second seat on the A class.

Hermione, released from her spell, walked over to Gaylon and shook his hand. "Hermione," Harry questioned, "why didn't you just blow him away from that elevated position?"

"It was that Varita Envovlo jinx, Harry. It made my wand arm go stiff; I couldn't do a thing." Harry turned to Gaylon, "What was that?"

"It's called the Wand Wrap Hex. It makes your opponents wand arm to be immobilized. I knew that I would have to know something that no one else did to qualify, and so I researched this spell and mastered it."

"That was very prudent of you. It's good to have you on the team."

The new standings appeared on the board, and people went to find their names. Gaylon was right behind Harry of course, with Hermione right behind them. Everyone was shocked to see Neville dueling in fourth position, A class just behind Hermione. Neville was probably shocked the most however. Ron was second position, B class with Seamus right in front of him, and Dean trailing in the slot just behind. Harry waited for everyone to be content with their listing, and then spoke up, "I've been told that our first match will be in two weeks against Ravenclaw, so we mu," A soft knock issued from the door, and Professor McGonagal came into the room, "Ms. Granger, you have a visitor. A Mister Victor Krum." Hermione looked shocked, and Harry shot Ron a warning look before speaking again, "We must prepare for Ravenclaw's ability to pull out spells that we've never heard of and their ability to cope to situations. I don't want anyone to speak of Hermione's defeat by Gaylon. I want him to be a sort of secret weapon for this match. Also, I want everyone to master that Wand Wrap Hex because it could be useful." The hex had been mastered by the end of the training session due to Gaylon's help with the theory and use of the spell. "Okay, great work tonight," Harry was concluding at the end of their practice, "I think that hex will be enough to blow Ravenclaw out of the water. Get some rest, you earned it."

The three Gryffindor friends were satisfied with their nights work as they walked back to their tower. They encountered Viktor Krum waiting by the portrait hole, "Hello, Her-my-nee!"

"Hello, Viktor! It's so nice to see you again! I wasn't really expecting you to come here, but I'm glad that you did."

"You think we could go inside your common room, Her-my-nee? This lady in the pink dress won't let me go through to other side." Viktor's English had obviously gotten better, but he still couldn't pronounce Hermione's name correctly. Ron was giving them both loathing stares, but they didn't seem to notice. At least Hermione didn't seem to care.

"Well actually, Viktor, I was just going down to the library after I dropped off my stuff and got my books. You could come with me if you like."

"Oh, no. Your woman who keeps the books, Madame Prince, no? well she kicked me out earlier. I was waiting for you in there and she made me go because I was just sitting. I was even being quite when she did it! But if you must go, I wouldn't mind having a fling session with you, Harry." Harry looked shocked, but he soon recovered as he realized that he had the chance to fly with a master of the game.

"Of course, I would love to!"

"And you?" Viktor had turned to Ron. Ron looked as shocked as Harry had been if not more, but rejected the offer, "Oh no, my flying isn't enough up to par to fly with you two when you really let loose. I would just hold you back, but I'd be more than happy to come and watch!" Harry was surprised by Ron's cheerful tone. He had expected him to have some smart remark to reply with, but Harry assumed that Ron couldn't say no to a brilliant display of flying and Quidditch techniques.

"Okay then," Hermione said, reentering the conversation, "I'll go to the library, and you all can go to the pitch. It's an hour and a half until curfew, boys, so be back on time."

"Always the Prefect first, aren't you, Hermione?" Ron said with a sneering quality in his voice."

"Yes, Ronald. And you should too. Don't tease me just because I actually take my responsibilities seriously." Ron looked like he was about to retort, but Harry interceded, "Now, guys, we only have an hour and a half. Let's not waste any of it with a row." He said this in a very mock parental manner with a huge grin sprawled across his face. They both looked at him and gave him a playful punch at the same time with smiles on their faces. "Fine then, boys, go on to your game." She turned into the portrait, "Ficulus Dracona." The portrait swung open and she crawled through with a small, "Finally." from the Fat Lady.

One minute, the three boys were laughing at Hermione's over dramatic antics, and then Harry found himself on the pitch, his broom in hand, and the Viktor Krum standing next to him. The elaborate flight dance started immediately, and Ron was left on the ground to admire. Harry found it easy to fly with Viktor. He let loose with a passion that he never felt before. The two fliers spiraled around each other in steep dives and graceful climbs. Occasionally, Viktor would shout out advice so that Harry could get maximum speed and maneuverability out of his Firebolt. Harry yelled down to Ron after a while to get a Snitch for them. "We've got thirty minutes, Viktor, and so I thought a friendly Seeker battle would be fun."

"Sounds great. I don't know why I never thought of these lighting charms for after hours practice. they're great!"

"There's Ron with the Snitch. Are you ready?" The professional Seeker responded with a nod. "Alright, Ron, let her fly!" Ron released the Snitch when the two Seekers backs were turned and yelled, "GO!" Harry and Viktor shot off at high speeds. Harry was using his newly learned techniques from Viktor to try and find the Snitch first. Then Harry spotted it after fifteen minutes of fervent searching. Viktor is faster than me. If I shoot off, he'll catch the Snitch. He's just had more training! Then an idea struck him, and he struck off lightning quick at an angle away from the Snitch. Krum saw the quick movement and shot off after Harry. Harry's suspicions were confirmed when Krum caught up with him quickly. Krum was looking ahead, then, seeing no Snitch, turned to Harry and smiled before falling back. Harry congratulated himself for outsmarting the Viktor Krum as he darted to the left, away from the side Krum had been on, and reached out his hand to grasp the Snitch firmly between his fingers. "NO WAY!" Ron's acclamation could be heard from the ground as if he was right next to Harry's ear. Krum didn't even know he was beat yet until he heard Ron's cry. He looked at Harry in utter shock. He looked to the struggling Snitch in Harry's hand and then back to Harry. He repeated this process several more times before Harry spoke up, "I can show you how I did it."

"Yes! I would very much like that opportunity."

"Ok. We'll talk about it on the way back to the common room, but right now, we've got to haul, or Hermione will kill us all!" Krum played as if he took Harry's words literally, and they all laughed at his joke. On the way back, Harry explained about how he had almost been beaten by a fourth year who performed that same trick on him, and he explained how to do it. Krum enjoyed this very much, "It's so simple, but it works so well! I'll have to try that, and I'll give you credit for it of course."

"Don't give me credit by name, Viktor, please. Say you learned it from a person who was taught it by Alison Hutch, and leave it at that."

That night, the four students one just formerly so stayed up late talking. Ron even seemed to be getting along fine with Viktor, but something seemed to be bothering him still. "Well, Her-my-nee, it is time for me to go," he said in his rough Bulgarian accent.

"Ok, Viktor, I'll see you around."

"Good night Ron. And to you to, Harry. It was fun flying with you; we'll have to do it again sometime. But I promise you won't win that time!

"We'll see about that!" Harry had said after Ron had gotten in his 'Good night' for Viktor. The Bulgarian Quidditch star left the common room, and Ron immediately turned towards Hermione. "Don't say a thing about us, Ron!"

"I wasn't going to say anything about both of you!"

"Don't make fun of him either. You are so disrespectful of people, do you know that?"

"Actually, I think Ron had no intention of making fun of Viktor. I think his concerns are the same as mine. I believe you may be the one making an unfair judgement." Harry interjected into the escalating row.

"And what would those 'concerns' be?"

"What?" Ron put in, "If you're as bloody smart as your O.W.L.S. show, then you should be able to put two and two together!"

"What are you rambling about?"

"I'll tell you what I'm rambling about. We were just talking about a stranger trying to infiltrate the school, an outsider, and then here we are, chatting merrily with an outsider not but just one night later! And he's from Durmstrang to top it all off!"

"But Viktor wouldn't,"

"You don't know that, Hermione," Ron quickly replied, "stronger wizards than the likes of him have fallen to… V-…Voldemort. Now wouldn't he attack a wizard that has very good connections with one of his enemy's best friends?"

Harry was impressed. As far as he could recollect, this was the first time Ron had used Voldemort's proper name, and his first time to really get the best of Hermione. Harry decided to take a stand on Ron's side, "Hermione, I know you don't want to admit it, but Ron is right. We at least need to keep an eye on him. And look on the bright side: our good relationship with him will make it easier to trail him. No problem, right?"

"Okay, we'll watch him. And what are you staring at me for, Ron?"

"We'll watch him and what?"

Hermione let out a sigh of defeat, "And you were right."

Author's Note: Okay, so I got a couple more reviews after I started typing this. Thanks to you who reviewed, and keep reading!

Druikin: Thanks, I thought that as well. That's why I put him there. It also makes for a cool angle.

Athenakitty: You, as always, ask some specific questions, but they are good as well. I talked about how Draco's reputation couldn't be cracked by just the three of them, and so no, he won't be thrown out. I'm going to deal with Harry finding peace soon. Chapter 11 or 12. And as for the muscle relaxing potion, maybe I'll throw something in for you next chapter.

Zyber Elthone: Thanks a lot. I've done more than you have read since I only show you reading up through chapter 1, but I won't be quitting anytime soon if that's what you mean.

Ying-Yang-sama: Thanks as always for pre-reading my chapters, and I'm glad you're still enjoying the story.