Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, or any of its' characters, names, or settings.

Chapter 12- DADA

Thanks for the reviews. . .

Angelic-Winkles, NitenGale, Sapphire Serenity. And. . .

firehottie: Thank you. . . I actually am trying to make them all annoying, and Ginny and Padma all bitchy.

GEmory: OMG! Thanks again for your review! I am trying to make Ron, Harry and Ginny really clueless and stupid, but I think I might have gone a little overboard. You are like one of the only people who connect with all the ideas and clues in my story.

gazy: Thanks a lot gazy, and I also really like your story. I'm sorry if I just don't have enough time to read or review it. I'm gonna be pretty busy this weekend, cuz I'm having all of my cousins coming over, and they're gonna be staying with me for a couple of days, AND, I have ANOTHER story due for school TOMORROW, and I haven't even started it yet. Yah. . . OMG! I just read your really long review. . . and you rock! Thank you so much, and I'm REALLY sorry if I couldn't review your story too often.

Shadow on the Wall: Yo. . . I wasn't TRYING to be immature at all. Poodle was the only name for a house elf that I could think of. But, what exactly did you mean when you said that the review was even worse. . . what review were you even talking about?


The rustle of wings flapping from above interrupted the lively conversation that Hermione was having with Katie Bell, Alicia Spinnet, Neville, Luna, Dean and Seamus.

"Great!" Katie said happily, as she looked up eagerly. "Owl post!"

Several owls flew in, and they circled around the four house tables before finding the people that they had to deliver the letters and packages to. Hermione had just spotted a familiar looking black owl, before it flew down in front of her.

"Hey Alfred!" she said to the owl softly, as she untied the letter from her claw. "I sure hope Mom and Dad are taking good care of you, since I just bought you at Diagon Alley last week. I don't think they're used to having an owl in our house yet.

Unfolding the letter, she read:

Dearest Hermione,

How was your trip to Hogwarts? We bet you were pretty excited about seeing all of your friends again, but we keep wondering why you didn't visit them during the summer like how you always do. Anyways, we miss you already, and we hope you will have a wonderful school year. Sharon says hello and she wishes you well for your second last year of school. Your father just got a pay raise at the dentistry, and we are very happy about it.

Mom and Dad

A smile spread across Hermione's face, as she folded up the letter and shoved it back into the envelope. She felt very happy, because a pay raise meant a lot to her father for he was very devoted and proud of his work.

'I must remember to send them an owl after supper tonight,' she told herself as she drained up her glass of orange juice. 'I can't believe I forgot to write to them this morning.'

"Hey 'Mione," Dean said turning to her. "How do you think Tonks will be as our new DADA teacher?"

"I don't really know," Hermione replied truthfully. "I still can't see her as our serious professor."

She looked up at the head table and she watched Tonks, who was a curly haired brunette today, eating her breakfast and talking quietly to Professor Flitwick. As Hermione observed Tonks, a sudden thought came into her mind.

'How is Tonks going to treat me in class? I mean, everybody in the order has made it clear that they don't like me or that I'm not good enough. But what made them all hate me so much? I bet Harry and Ron must've told them something about me.'

She could feel her blood boiling again, but she quickly shook away her anger as her timetable appeared in front of her plate, waiting to be picked up and read. Hermione grabbed it off the table, and scanned her eyes across the table of classes. She looked over to 'Monday', and she read:

9:00- Defense Against the Dark Arts (Professor Tonks) accompanied by Slytherin

10:00- Arithmancy (Professor Viktor) accompanied by Ravenclaw

11:00- History of Magic (Professor Binns) accompanied by Ravenclaw

12:00 to 12:50- Lunch

12:50 to 1:00- Potions (Professor Snape) accompanied by Slytherin

1:00- Care of Magical Creatures (Professor Hagrid) accompanied by Slytherin

2:00- Charms (Professor Flitwick) accompanied by Hufflepuff

3:00- Transfiguration (Professor McGonnagal) Gryfinndor

Every 2 days at 12:00 midnight starting on Tuesday September 2nd-

Astronomy (Professor Sinistra) accompanied by Slytherin

'Hmm. . . interesting,' Hermione thought, as she skimmed over the schedule once more. 'It looks like we're with Slytherin four times today! And, it looks like I have Tonks very first period. Today's DADA lesson will probably answer all of my questions about Tonks.'

"Bye you guys!" Luna called to Neville and Hermione as she joined the other Ravenclaws. "I'll see you later, and 'Mione. . . be sure to show us your new common room!"

"Okay!" Hermione called back, and she looked down at her watch before saying to Neville, "It's already 8:50, so that'll probably give us only 10 minutes to get to the DADA classroom."

"Yup," Neville replied as they both got up. Katie, Dean, Seamus, and Alicia soon followed them closely behind as they made their way across the Great Hall.

As Hermione, Neville, Dean, Seamus, Katie and Alicia dashed into the DADA classroom, the bell rang, signaling the start of the first period. All of the Gryffindor and Slytherin students that were already seated and waiting for the class to begin, turned around when the group of Gryffindors barged into the room.

"Phew!" Hermione heard Neville sigh beside her. "Right on time!"

"Sorry," Alicia apologized, and the students turned back to the front to face Tonks, who was sitting behind her desk.

"That's alright," she replied warmly. "But do try to get here on time next time. You may all take a seat now. I think there are some seats left in the back of the room."

The small pack of Gryffindors made their way down the rows of desks to the back of the room, where they sat down on the leftover seats. Hermione ended up sitting in between Dean and Katie. She adjusted her backpack so it was wrapped around the back of her chair, and then she turned back to the front of the room.

'Oh great!' she groaned feeling herself losing some of her patience. 'Why does he have to be sitting in front of me?'

She was now staring at the back of a bright red haired boy.

'Right when I'm trying my best to pretend that they don't exist to me anymore,' she added to herself exasperatedly. 'Which by the way. . . is already hard enough as it is, considering the fact that we're in the same house and in also most of the same classes.'

Suddenly, Ron turned around and he flashed Hermione a hopeful smile. With all of her effort in not making any eye contact with him, she gave him the dirtiest look she could muster, which made him turn back around right away, as he looked disappointed and slightly defeated.

"Good for you," Hermione said out loud sarcastically. She kicked the back of his chair with all of her strength, causing him to be pushed forward as he banged the top of his forehead onto his desktop. "Now you know how bad I've felt for the past 4 months, and you deserve it!"

All of the students sitting around or behind her, had witnessed this and they all couldn't help laughing at the sight they just saw of Ron hitting his head onto the desk. That was the last thing Hermione said to either Ron or Harry in a very long time.


Draco turned around to the back of the room at the sound of loud laughter.

'What's so funny?' he asked himself, as he watched all of the Gryffindors in the back laugh hysterically at something. They were all looking at Hermione, who was looking very smug, as she glared at a red-faced Ron.

'What's going on?' Draco thought in confusion, as he watched Ron put his head down to hide his embarrassment.

Hermione was still staring at Ron with narrow eyes. Looking around the room, the gray-eyed teenager observed Harry, who was not sitting too far away from Ron and Hermione. He looked extremely angry, as he stared daggers at Hermione.

'Yup,' Draco thought to himself. 'She's definitely moved on from hanging out with those stupid buffoons.'

"Can I please have your attention please!" Professor Tonks called out, which made the laughter from the back of the room die out, and Draco turned back around to face her.

'Do I know her from some place?' Draco asked himself, as he felt like he recognized her from somewhere.

He watched her closely, and when he realized where he had seen her before, he felt surprise as he thought to himself, 'Hey. . . I've seen her with those adult friends of Potter before. Hmmm…'

Draco snickered at the thought of Dumbledore getting professional aurors to teach and baby-sit the students of Hogwarts.

"Now that we are all settled down," Tonks said, putting a stop to his thoughts. "I will now take the attendance."

She bent down over her desk and grabbed a long piece of parchment and a quill. She looked down at it, and she started to call out the long list of names, which was followed by calls of "Present!", or "Here!".

"Oh great!" Draco mumbled to himself as he leant back on his chair, giving out a bored and casual look that said he didn't give a damn about the world. 'I'm going to have to wait a while until they finally say my name.'

"Lavender Brown!" Tonks called out.

"Here!" she replied.

"Seamus Finnigan!"

"Present!" was his reply.

Tonks suddenly broke into a grin as she looked down at the next name.

"Hermione Granger!" she called, and she looked up at her, giving her a warm smile.

Draco turned around, and expecting Hermione to look happy to see her old friend back, he was surprised to see a look of astonish spread across her face as she stared at Tonks with wide-eyed confusion.

"H-h-here!" she called out nervously.

'Now I wonder what's wrong with her,' thought Draco as he turned back on his seat. 'Looks like there are quite A LOT of things Granger is hiding from the public.'

Only about 5 minutes passed by before Tonks put her parchment back down on her desk. She looked up and her eyes swept across the classroom, taking in all of the students that were staring at her intently.

"Now," she quickly said as she grabbed a textbook off her desk. The whole class followed suit. "I know that in the past, you have all had some quite. . . er. . . different kinds of teachers from what are usually required. I don't know if you liked not having a normal teacher, but I am sorry to say that I will be just your average DADA teacher this year."

She smiled as she then said, "I am not a werewolf, nor am I a world-wide popular celebrity, but I still expect the same amount of respect you have given your past professors. Well. . . that is, IF you ever gave them any."

"A lot of this year's lessons will require you to only need your wand, but some days, like today for instance, you will have to copy down notes from the board or answer questions from your textbooks."

"Everybody please turn to page 4 and read the introduction, including pages 5-8. After completing that, answer these questions."

And with that, she flicked her wand toward the blackboard, and 10 questions appeared on it.

"You may begin," she said quietly, and everyone's heads bent down towards their textbook as they all started to read.

Only about 20 minutes passed by before the blond haired Slytherin found himself finished. As he put his pencil down, he stretched and he looked around the room, to find that nobody was finished yet. All of the students still had their heads down over their desktops as they scribbled furiously.

'Wasn't she a purple haired person yesterday,' Draco thought, as he observed her sitting behind her desk, reading something. 'How strange. I see this room has changed a lot since that stupid old Dolores hag left.'

He looked extremely bored as he looked around the class. He took in the bright sun shining through the high glass windows as it lit up the room and it's stonewalls. Draco's eyes wandered around the class and he slowly rotated around on his seat. He was surprised to find Granger sitting with her head resting on her right hand as she too, looked bored. She caught his silver gray eyes, and Draco gave her a small smile.

This confused him.

'What was that for?' he asked himself turning back around on his seat. 'Why did I just smile at her? I must be growing very soft. I mean, she's only just a mudbl-. . '

He quickly stopped, and he shook his head. He felt slightly ashamed as he thought to himself, 'What am I doing! I'm sounding like my father again, and that's something I do NOT want to be doing.'

The class jumped as the loud bell overhead rang, signaling the end of first period.

"Okay class!" called Tonks, over the noise of everyone packing up their stuff. "Excellent work today. We'll take up the work tomorrow. You may leave now."

"Ready to go now Draco?" Pansy asked, coming over to him.

"Yup," he said as he flipped his backpack over his shoulder. They linked arms with each other, before walking out of the DADA classroom.

'Today's class was unusually normal,' he thought. 'A little too normal. I need more excitement and drama.'

But, Draco didn't now that he would later on be getting more drama then he would ever ask for.