Chapter 7- The Briar Rose

Early Tuesday morning Harry and Ron got ready and went to the Great Hall for breakfast. They've learned that Potions class goes a lot slower on an empty stomach. Hermione and Ginny joined them ten minutes into Ron's third helping of sausage and toast.

"Slow down or you'll choke." Ginny said to Ron in a motherly fashion.

"So…mmf.. wha..smm yor…firs…clas?" Ron said with a mouthful of toast. Hermione and Ginny both looked at each other in disgust of Ron's table manners. Harry elbowed Ron to let him know that they did not take to Ron's eating habits as well as Harry did. Harry had years of watching Dudley shove food down his face. Harry whispered to Ron, "Keep your yap closed in front of the ladies."

After Ron swallowed, Ginny decided it was a good time to talk, "I have Dark Arts first, Divination, and Double Potions this afternoon."

"I am sure glad we don't have Divination this year." Ron said.

"I wouldn't mind Divination with Firenze," Hermione said, "he seems to know a lot more than Professor Trelawny."

"Yeah, me too," Harry said, "I wish we had more time, but I am sure Firenze wouldn't mind teaching us a few things in passing."

"That would be nice." Hermione said buttering her toast, "We should get going, Snape would love for us to be late."

Harry and Ron found themselves to be the only Gryffindors in the classroom. They both took a seat on each side of Hermione close to the entrance of the classroom. They wanted to be the first ones out if possible. Harry noticed that there were more Slytherins than any other house, however Crabbe and Goyle were not in attendance. All of the Slytherins sat in a group across the room from Harry, Ron, and Hermione. The last Slytherin to enter was Draco Malfoy, he was somewhat surprised to see Harry there, but not with Hermione.

"Looks like mugbloods have nothing better to do than study." Draco sneered.

"Sit down you git," Ron said growing heated, "or I'll tell everyone how your daddy whimpered and cried when he was arrested."

Draco was in shock after that comment. He quietly went to a seat in front of all the other Slytherins. He shot daggers at Ron, Hermione, and Harry.

"Lucius didn't cry or whimper." Hermione whispered to Ron.

"Yeah, I know that, but he doesn't, and way he sat down so quickly, I am sure that it's not beyond the Malfoys to cry and whimper." Ron said with a smile.

"Quiet class, quiet!" Professor Snape ordered as he strode into the dark classroom.

"This is your N.E.W.T. level Potions class, you studies this year will prepare you for you N.E.W.T exam next year. I promise you that if you do poorly on your N.E.W.Ts there will be no lowering the standard, again." Snape said looking at Ron and Harry. Now, Harry felt certain that Professor McGonagall made Snape to take Ron and himself into his Potions class. He can tell that Ron was thinking the same thing.

"Are you paying attention, Mr. Potter." Snape said interrupting Harry's train of thought.

"Yes." Harry said in a harsh tone.

"It seems like you have started daydreaming early this year, 5 points from Gryffindor." Snape sneered.

Harry could hear the Slytherins snickering; he sunk in his chair, thinking that he will not try to lose any more points today.

"Now today we will learn that all potions are not always in liquid form. We'll be making the Cloud of Peace today. The main ingredient is the Briar Rose, which in its self is a very powerful sleep inducer. Once the potion is applied, the victim will sleep until the counter potion is given. There are a few methods to counter this potion; we will not have enough time today to work on those. The ingredients and instructions are on the board, get in groups of 2 or 3 and begin. You have until the end of class to work on it; you will need all that time to get it right. The potion should be clear with a tint of red."

Harry, Ron, and Hermione gather together all ingredients and began to work. A minute into their task, Snape walks over to them.

"Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley can do without your help this year, Miss Granger." Snape said coldly, "No wonder they got the second highest scores in the class, since the had help from you Miss Granger."

"I did not help them." Hermione defended, "They got their scores on their own."

"I am sure a student like yourself can do this potion alone and in time." Snape hissed. "I will like to see if you were truly deserving of the Perfect O in your Potions O.W.L."

Hermione packed her things and moved to a seat alone in the center of class, she gather more ingredients and quickly began to make the potion. Harry and Ron could tell she was furious by the way she crushed her Briar Rose pedals.

"Remind me never to make her mad like that Harry." Ron said with a gulp.

"Hey, did you hear Snape," Harry whispered, "we got the second highest scores, that means everyone else got below an E. Snape couldn't just let Hermione into his class, he had to lower the standard for everyone."

"That means Crabbe and Goyle blew it big time," Ron said, "and we did better than Malfoy. I can't wait to let him have it."

Most of the students were having a hard time with the potion. Snape seemed to help mostly the Slytherin students. The Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs that were there, helped each other out. Ron and Harry were determined to get their potion done on time. They could tell that Hermione was to. A few minutes before the end of class, Snape announced everyone to stop with their potions, and he began to inspect the potions. None of the groups received full marks. One Hufflepuff group got a zero for having their potion a shade orange. All that were left were Draco's, Harry's group, and Hermione. Snape called Draco's first.

"Your liquid is a dark burgundy and you cannot see through it." Snape said disappointed,

"You used to much Briar Rose and not enough asphodel to balance it.Half marks for Mr. Malfoy's group. Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley, please bring your attempt up here."

Harry and Ron slowly brought up their potion, they knew it wasn't perfect, but it was way better than Malfoy's. It was clear and a shade of red, hopefully they got the right shade.

"What do you think this is?" Snape asked.

"The Cloud of Peace." Ron replied.

"Did I not say this should have a tint of red?" Snape snarled.

"It does have a tint of red!" Harry argued.

"It looks more like a shade of pink to me." Snape replied, "Sit down both of you, zero marks."

Harry and Ron stormed away from the Professors desk. Both were furious at the injustice. Before they could sit down, Snape stood up from his desk.

"Tonight two feet about the effects and cures of the Cloud of Peace. This will be due next week. That will be all…"

"What about Hermione?" Ron interrupted.

"You don't believe she is done do you Mr. Weasley?" Snape angrily questioned.

"Well, you could ask her instead of assuming." Ron argued.

"Very protective of Miss Granger I see," Snape said while the Slytherins began to laugh, "Miss Granger, are you finished?"

"Yes." Hermione answered.

"You have?" Snape said somewhat shocked, "Bring it up here."

Hermione quietly brought her potion to the front. Snape took a couple of minutes to examine the potion. He stirred it and brought it against a candle. Harry and Ron could see that Hermione had a clear liquid with a tint of red, definitely red.

"Well, it looks like you managed to make it look correct." Snape said, "however lets see if your confident in your work. Take a sip and mind you that the simplest cure takes fourteen weeks to prepare. You will get full marks if you drink it, and zero if you don't."

"That's not fair." Ron yelled, "you can see that she has the best potion in the class."

"I will determine what is fair in my class, Mr. Weasley." Snape snarled, "Five points from Gryffindor, would you like more?"

Ron sat down defeated. Harry can tell that he was worried about Hermione. So was Harry. Harry could see that Hermione was contemplating on drinking it. She would hate to not to get full marks if she could help it. Then Hermione took the vial and took a sip. She made a face that told Harry that the potion was almost as disgusting as the polyjuice potion he had in his second year. However, Hermione did not fall, nor gave any indication she was a bit sleepy.

"That was very courageous of you, child…" Snape said in awe to some extent, "but what do you expect from Harry Potter's sidekick. Do you know why you are not out cold on the floor?"

"You said earlier that not all potions are in liquid form." Hermione said with pride in her gamble, "I believe that this potion is most likely effective in a powder or crystal form, hence the name Cloud of Peace."

"Full marks, now sit down…" Snape said gritting his teeth, "What Miss Granger said was correct. This is only effective in its powered form. It takes five months for the liquid to evaporate and leave the crystal residue. At that time you must carefully crush it without breathing it in. Its best to have immunity to it before attempting to crush it. The final result is a light red powder that will put all who breathes it in a deep sleep, possibly everlasting. There once was a kingdom that slept for a hundred years before a prince found the cure. The Ministry of Magic forbids the powder form, because it is very easy to fill a room with it. We have asked special permission to make the liquid part. Now please empty your vials and wash out your cauldrons, then you may leave."

Snape angrily stormed out of the room and slammed the door. Harry and Ron quickly emptied they vials and washed their cauldrons. The rushed to Hermione's side as soon as they were finished.

"That was great Hermione." Ron cheered. "You really showed him."

"Yeah, Hermione," Harry added, "you should have seen his face when you had taken that sip."

"That git never learns." Hermione spat.

"What do you mean?" Harry asked.

"I read all of the chapters before classes start." Hermione started, "I even look up the reference in the library. But he always thinks I wouldn't know. I didn't know about the powder form of potion, but I have read about other powders. Really, does he think I cannot put two and two together?"

"I think he just jealous," Ron stated, "I am sure he didn't get a Perfect O.W.L. on his Potions exam. Plus, he is just a prat."

Hermione smiled at Ron, Ron quickly began to blush and started to head to the door.

"Come on," Ron yelled, "lets get to lunch, I'm starving."

Already the Great Hall was buzzing with students coming from their first set of classes. Neville and Ginny were already at the Gryffindor table eating their lunch.

"Hey Harry, Ginny says we're going to have a good time in Dark Arts." Neville said.

"Yeah, you guys don't really need to bring your books." Ginny added.

"What? What is Moody up too?" Hermione frowned.

"Don't worry there be enough to do," Ginny assured her, "Eat up, and make sure you have some energy."

"Aren't you going to tell us what's happening?" Harry asked.

"Nope, patience Potter, patience." Ginny giggled.

"Hey Ron, could you pass the jello." Neville asked. Ron just sat there, staring blankly at Ravenclaw's table.

"Ron, the jello." Neville asked again.

"Ron, Neville is talking to you." Hermione said, "don't be so rude." Ron continued to sit there with his empty stare, not saying a word to them.

"Why are you ignoring us?" Ginny said growing impatient herself, "you know mom taught you better manners than that."

Harry listened to the others attempt to get Ron to notice them. Harry could see that he was wide-awake, but did not move an inch. He did not even breathe. He looked like a statue. Harry then stood up and walked over to Ron. He swung at Ron's head. Everyone watching was taken aback at Harry's attack. But what was even more shocking is that Harry's hand passed thought Ron's head complete, as if Ron was a ghost.

"Ha, I knew it." Harry cheered, "He is using a Double Take coin. Good one Ron."

Ron emerged from under the Gryffindor table in tears. He looked as if he was trying to hold back the laughter all this time.

"You should have heard yourselves." Ron said picking up the coin. "I was about to wet myself."

"Ronald Weasley, don't you have anything better to do than play pranks?" Hermione huffed.

"Fred and George will get a kick out of this." Ginny said, "They'll like to know it's a success."

"Can I get one?" Neville asked.

"Well, there not out yet," Ron said, "these are test models."

"I'll tell them to send you one, Neville." Ginny said, "You should have one by this weekend."

"Thanks a lot Ginny," Neville said gratefully, " I going to use it on Seamus at Hogsmead this weekend."

"There is a Hogsmede trip this weekend?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, Professor McGonagall just posted it before lunch." Neville responded.

"Cool. We should do something together." Harry said, "How about some butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks at 4 o'clock."

"Well, if we are going to Hogsmeade I want to stop at Dervish and Banges and check out broomstick supplies." Ron said.

"I—I am suppose to be somewhere at 4." Neville said turning slightly red.

"Well, how about 5 o'clock." Harry posed.

"That's good." Ron said.

"That's good for me too." Hermione added.

"M—me too, Ernie and some others asked if we are going to have DA this year?" Neville said changing the subject quickly.

"Well, I haven't really thought to much about it." Harry said.

"We could have a meeting to talk about it." Hermione added.

"Well—OK, how about have we it at the Three Broomsticks." Harry said, "That way we can keep it a secret if we still need to. I will set the coins, but let everyone know it's at the Three Broomsticks this time instead of the Room of Requirements."

"Sounds good to me," Ginny said, " I need to get to the Owlery before my next class, enjoy Dark Arts."

With that, Ginny left the rest to post her letter. Harry and the others finished their lunch before heading off to Professor Moody's classroom. He wondered what could make Dark Arts so exciting, but he figured anything would be more exciting than what Umbridge had them doing last year. Mad-Eye Moody should keep the class interesting at least, even if he just tells stories of his adventures against Death Eaters. Harry observed that the line outside of Moody's door consisted of mostly DA members and only a couple of Slytherins. Unfortunately, they were Draco, Crabbe and Goyle. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville took their place at the back of the line, as a clank could be heard coming from the end of the hallway. As it grew louder, Harry realized it was Moody making his way to the classroom. Most of the students knew of the fake Moody, and they knew that Harry was a friend with the real one. However, Draco and the other two gave a face of disgust as Moody open the door.

"Come in children, come in." Moody said eyeing each student as they entered. His magical eye looked directly at each student's school bag. "I hope you don't plan to play Exploding Snaps during my class Mr. Weasley?"

"Um—I only play it at lunch or in at Gryffindor house." Ron said shocked that Moody saw right through his school bag.

"Good, but I am keeping an eye on you" Moody said cheerfully, "I've heard what trouble you Weasleys can cause."

Harry and Hermione laughed at Ron's embarrassment, they both knew that Moody was only teasing the son of his good friend Arthur Weasley. However, Harry and Hermione stopped laughing when they noticed there were no desk or chairs in the classroom except for the professor's desk.

"You might be wondering why the classroom is so empty…" Moody sneered, "I thought you had enough of studying form books last year. This year will focus on studying the practical aspects of Defense against the Dark Arts. Particularly, dueling."

Several students gasped as they heard they would be dueling. Harry could see that Neville began to grow a bit more pale than usual. Hermione pointed out that the Slytherines seemed cockier than they did before entering the classroom full of Gryffindors.

"You need to know what to do if you were attacked," Moody continued after the students grew quite, "dueling will get you there faster than any book can. You must know how to think on your feet, that is more important than knowing the greatest number of shield spells. This year you will all duel with a partner, and I will monitor you duel. I will give you suggestions and for homework, you will research new spells that should be incorporated into your duels. This is might scare you at first, but I assure you that there are scarier things out in the world. You might skip out on your homework, but remember this is for your own good rather than getting a good grade. You will be graded on how well you duel, how well you react to your opponent, and how you incorporate new spells into your duel. No Unforgivable Curses are allowed at anytime. Everything else is legal. Don't think magic is the only way you can win a duel. You win when you get your opponent's wand. Now pair and find an open space.

Hermione quickly looked around and raised her hand, "Um—Professor, is there enough room for everyone to duel?"

"Ah—yes, one moment." Moody said notice the lack of space, "Spacieli Expandus."

With a flick of his wand, the walls of the room began to move further away, the ceiling ascended higher until the room was as big as the Great Hall. Hermione seemed impressed and noticed that outside the window nothing was displaced. "That will be a handy spell when getting a house." She said to Ron and Harry. Hermione grabbed Ron by the arm and dragged him to the corner of the room to begin dueling. Harry and Neville found an area close to them.

"Wait—Mr. Potter," Moody said, "I would like you to partner with Draco Malfoy and Mr. Longbottom you can take on his partner Mr. Goyle."

"This—this isn't fair," Harry huffed, "I already chose my partner."

"Yes you have," Moody said as he focused both his good eye and his magical one onto Harry's eyes, "but you above all others should know that real preparation would be dueling against a rival rather than a friend. I am sure Mr. Malfoy will keep you on your toes."

"Harry, I am going to get creamed," Neville whispered, "Goyle isn't going to hold anything back."

"Neither should you, Neville." Harry said grabbing Neville's shoulder, "You are an experience dueler. Just remember everything you learned in DA last year and you'll be fine."

With that Neville approached Goyle while passing a snickering Malfoy.

"Your buddy is going to be dragon food once Goyle gets done with him." Draco said loud enough for the whole class to hear. "and you will be no better once I am done with you."

"I wouldn't bet on it if I were you Malfoy." Harry said threateningly.

"Take your places students and begin." Moody announced.

Harry quickly sidestepped Malfoy's stunner. He wanted to feel Malfoy out before casting his own spells. Malfoy cast spells quickly but sloppily. Harry knew that all he had to do was duck most of his spells and he would be ok. But that wouldn't get him Malfoy's wand. So Harry cast his first spell hitting Malfoy directly on his chest. It was the Blasting Curse that Harry had cast, it knocked Malfoy 10 feet into the air and against the wall. Most of the students stopped their duel to watch the remainder of Harry and Draco's match.

As soon as Draco landed he quickly moved out of the way of a stunner that Harry had quickly cast. He stood up and angrily began an incantation, "PERITI DIA…" Malfoy started before being blasted with a yellow light. Malfoy didn't feel a thing, but tried to finish the curse. However, no sound came from his mouth, Harry had hit him with the Silencing Charm. Harry ran over to a very stunned Malfoy. He looked Malfoy square in the eyes, and punched him directly on the nose. All that were watching gasped at the site of Malfoy hitting the floor. Harry bent over and grabbed Malfoy's wand from his shaking hand.

"Looks like Potter is the winner." Moody announced. He grabbed Malfoy and cast the counter charm on him.

"Did—did you see him punch me." Draco screamed. "Fighting is not allowed."

"Actually Malfoy, I said that you don't always need magic to win a duel and that everything but the Unforgivable curses were allowed. Plus if I am correct you were about to you're a Stone Changer curse. Very dark magic, Mr. Malfoy, they don't even allow it to be taught anymore. Thank goodness that Mr. Potter can handle himself. Maybe you should have stayed with Mr. Goyle. He seems more your speed."

Everyone turned to see Neville holding Goyle's wand with Goyle stuck to the ceiling of the room in what looked like a web of slime.

"I didn't think I had it in me Harry." Neville said, " but once we started dueling, I wasn't scared. I—I mean, I thought if I could face Death Eaters and live, a Slytherin can't be that bad."

"Great job, Neville." Harry cheered, "I definitely want you by my side if we ever have to face Death Eaters again."

"Neville, Harry that was great." Hermione said running over to them. " Both your duels were so exciting to watch."

"Who won your duel?" Neville asked as Ron hobbled over.

"There wasn't a winner," Ron said quickly, "it was a draw."

"Well, technically, yes," Hermione said, " but I was beating you."

"Well, I still have my wand," Ron said defensively, " and I was going to make a comeback right when we stopped."

"Why did you stop?" Harry asked.

"When Draco hit that wall, almost everyone stopped to watch." Hermione said, "All the Gryffindors wanted to watch you beat Malfoy."

"And did you ever, mate." Ron added happily, "That one is going to be the story of the week."

"Alright class, that's enough for today." Moody began, "Before your next class I want you to study the Stone Changer curse and its counter-curse. Most of the information can be found in books in the Forbidden section of the library. I have permission for all my N.E.W.T students to go into the Forbidden section and study. Please stick to what your researching or otherwise Madam Pince will have my only good foot. Good day class."

With that Moody chanted a charm to reduce the size of the room and escorted the students out of the classroom. Harry heard the most of the DA members did really well in their duels against non-DA members. Ron and Hermione walked with Harry to the library to study the new curses.

"I can't believe we have access to the Forbidden section this year." Hermione said while reaching for a dusty book on Dark curses, "This is were all the juicy magic stuff is anyway."

"How do you figure?" Ron asked.

"Anything that adults try to keep away from kids is usually very interesting." Hermione said with a mischievous grin, "my parents keep their wine collection high in the kitchen selves after they found me drinking one when I was four."

Ron and Harry burst out laughing picturing Hermione with a bottle of wine at the age of four.

"I was a very curious child." Hermione said in her defence.

"Shhh." Madam Pince hushed. "Just because you have work in the Forbidden section doesn't mean you can disturb the rest of the students, keep quiet."

With that, Harry, Hermione, and Ron quietly read from the Dark Arts books they found.