Chapter 23 - A class to remember

Monday came quickly, and Harry found himself trudging after Ron and Hermione towards the Great Hall. He hadn't seen Megan since their conversation outside and was worried about her, but angry also because she hadn't let him help. He looked across the hall and saw that Megan was sitting at the end of the table. He was about to walk over to her when she suddenly got up, and walked out of the hall. She walked straight past him without even looking at him. She didn't seem to notice anyone.

"Did you find out what was wrong with her?" Hermione asked softly. Harry shook his head. Hermione looked after her suspiciously, but didn't say anything else. They ate in silence and got up when it was time for class.

"What do we have first?" Ron asked as they left the hall together.

"Defence Against the Dark Arts" Hermione replied. Harry and Ron both groaned.

They got to the classroom and adjusted their eyes to the dark room. They got out their books and parchment, ready for the lesson that was to ensue. Harry wondered briefly if Professor Helsing was going to be like Professor Umbridge with regards to teaching methods, as the only lesson that they had so far was based on theoretical knowledge. His thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of Professor Helsing.

"Put your book and your wands away" Professor Helsing told the class. "You won't be needing either for today's lesson"

Harry, Ron and Hermione all looked at each other in confusion. The same thought was running through each of their heads. How were you supposed to have a lesson in magic without books or wands? Hermione raised her hand. Professor Helsing sighed and rolled her eyes. Hermione looked affronted by the teacher's open display of annoyance.

"Yes Miss Granger?" she asked, in a tired voice.

"I was wondering how we are supposed to have a magic lesson without wands or books?" Hermione asked

Professor Helsing sighed and walked to the front of the class.

"You along with every other person in the class. I will explain as soon as you have all packed away your belongings. Now hurry along, we don't have time to waste" she said, looking over the students, who were now hastily throwing their things into their bags. Once they were done, Professor Helsing asked them all to move into the centre of the room between the desks. With a flick of her wand, she then caused the desks to move to the edges of the room so that there was a large clearing in the classroom and instructed them all to sit on the floor. Harry looked around at the other students and was relieved to find that, by the expressions of his classmates, he was not the only person who thought this lesson was odd.

Once she had their attention, Professor Helsing continued.

"Over the course of the year, most of you will be learning to defend yourselves in one-on-one combat situations with other wizards or witches. Professor Dumbledore thought that this was necessary given certain past events" she started. There was a slight murmur among the students after this statement. They all knew what events she was talking about. The daily prophet had run a series of articles about the return of Voldemort and the Ministry's actions against suspected deatheaters.

Professor Helsing raised her hands to get them all to settle down. Once they had all stopped talking, she continued.

"In many one-on-one situations, a simple disarming charm is all that is required to leave you defenceless against any attack from your opponent. Therefore today, we will be practicing hand to hand combat so that in the unlikely event that you are faced with a battle and don't have the use of your wand, that you will be prepared. Now then, everyone stand up and form two lines. You have 5 seconds to choose your partner, otherwise I will choose your partner for you" She said and waited as they got into pairs. Harry let Ron and Hermione pair up, knowing that Ron would appreciate the extra time he could spend with Hermione. Unfortunately, everyone else seemed to have picked their partners already and there was no one for him to pair up with. He walked over to Professor Helsing to point this out.

"Looks like you'll be facing me today Mr Potter" she said with obvious amusement. Harry went a little pale at this comment. He hadn't been expecting to have to go against the teacher. Professor Helsing seemed to notice this.

"Don't worry yourself Mr Potter. It is not my mission to kill off the students at this point in time. You are in no immediate danger" she said, her eyes flashing with amusement.

Harry was suddenly reminded of being in Snape's class and wondered vaguely why Snape hated her when they obviously had so much in common. He shrugged the thought off as the lesson began in earnest.

Two gruelling hours later the three friends exited the classroom, each rubbing sore limbs and wishing that it were the end of the day so that they could pass out from their exahaustion. Instead, they made their way slowly to the great hall for lunch.

By the time they walked through the doors to the Great Hall, Ron was complaining loudly about the fact that the teacher should be suspended for allowing the students to hurt each other. Hermione pointed out sullenly that Ron was beginning to sound like Malfoy and they began bickering again. Harry looked around the Hall for someone else to sit with. He didn't feel like being in the middle of an argument at the moment. He saw Ginny sitting by herself and decided to sit there, leaving the other two standing in the entrance hall, voices raised slightly and arguing about everything from Professor Helsing, to Ron's eating habits. Harry sighed and shook his head as he sat down near Ginny. Ginny looked up and smiled at him.

"Where's Ron and Hermione?" she asked curiously. At that point they heard Hermione yelling something about Ron being an enormous prat. Ginny giggled, understanding and Harry rolled his eyes.

"Where's Megan?" He asked softly. Ginny grinned at him.

"She's in the library. She said she wasn't hungry. She spends a lot of time there actually" Ginny said thoughtfully. Harry groaned and Ginny looked at him quizzically.

"Another Hermione!" he said in mock despair. Ginny laughed and Harry grinned.

"I'm gunna go and see her, is that ok?" he asked. Ginny nodded and turned her attention to a conversation between two other girls in 5th year. Harry got up and headed to the library.

Harry walked slowly down the corridor leading to the library, lost in his own thoughts. He stopped abruptly in when he heard two people arguing up ahead. He crept further and sank back into a recess in the wall so that he could listen without being overheard.

"What do you want me to do about it?" came a voice which he immediately recognised as Megan's. Her voice was filled with a mixture of exasperation and annoyance.

"I don't know!" came another voice which made Harry's eyes widen. He recognised it as being Malfoy, but he had never heard the tone of fear that the choked voice contained.

There was a sigh, which Harry assumed was Megan's.

"When?" she asked in a calmer, more resigned tone.

He heard Malfoy mumble a reply, but couldn't make it out.

Another sigh.

"I'm coming with you" Megan said in a determined voice.

"No, you can't!" Malfoy exclaimed,

"I can and I will" she said in a cold, hard voice that indicated that she would not accept any rebuttal. "I might be able to persuade them to postpone it for a little while. Now leave before someone realises you're here"

Harry could hear footsteps and held his breath as he saw Malfoy walk straight past him, but Malfoy seemed to caught up in his own thoughts to notice Harry. He heard Megan sigh and footsteps retreating in the other direction. When he was sure that she was gone, he let out the breath he was holding and walked out into the hallway. The snippet of conversation that he'd heard was running through his head and he frowned, unable to work out what to make of it.

The rest of the day went rather quickly, and before Harry knew it, he was returning to the common room after dinner. He noticed that Megan was sitting at a table on the other side of the common room and walked over to her. She looked up when he reached her and smiled at him. He frowned. The last time that he had seen her, he didn't get such a welcoming reception. She motioned for him to come closer so that she could whisper something in his ear. He reluctantly obeyed.

"Meet me downstairs in 20 minutes. Wear your invisibility cloak" she said softly, before packing up her books and heading up to the girls dormitory. Harry watched her go with furrowed eyebrows. He couldn't work out how she had found out about the cloak. After a moment, curiosity got the better of him and he headed up to the boys dormitory to get his cloak.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------

Torches burned on either side of the cold, stone walls as Professor Helsing made her way down the endless corridors that night. She stumbled slightly as she rushed to the headmaster's office. She knew that this meeting must be important, because otherwise he wouldn't have called everyone for a meeting at such a late hour.

She reached the office and entered without knocking. She looked over at Dumbledore and felt ice grip her heart. There was no twinkle in his eyes this time. No reassuring smile. This must really be serious, she thought to herself as she sat down opposite him. A moment later, Snape and McGonagal rushed in also and took their places beside her. Snape was too concerned about the meeting to bother giving her his usual glare. Thank heavens for small mercies, she thought with a scowl, before being roused from her thoughts by the headmaster addressing them.

"I'm afraid I have some bad news" he started softly.

"What is it Albus?" Professor McGonagal asked after a moment of silence.

"I have received word of a number of attacks occurring earlier this evening. It seems that Voldemort has gathered more support than we had anticipated. The war has now begun in earnest" Dumbledore replied.

The reaction to this news was mixed. Snape stared pointedly at the wall, pretending to be bored with the conversation. McGonagal raised her hand to her mouth to stifle a gasp. Helsing let out a long breath and stroked her chin thoughtfully.

"How many died?" Helsing asked after a moment.

"I haven't received the final figures yet, but the last I heard there were 20 muggles dead and 3 aurors who arrived on the scene. No deatheaters have been caught" he said with a sigh.

McGonagal put her head in her hands.

"He's gotten smarter then" Helsing murmured.

Dumbledore nodded in agreement.

Snape rolled his eyes.

"If its all the same to you Albus, I think we would be better off discussing what we are going to do next rather than sitting here moping about those that we cannot help or giving compliments to the Dark Lord!" he said, his voice holding the slightest trace of anger.

"That is why we are here Severus" Dumbledore said in a tired voice.

"I think that we should prepare all of our supporters so that they will be ready to come to our aid when it is necessary" Snape said, turning to Dumbledore. "Get together all the international allies and cover it with some sort of big event."

"I can go back to the clans tonight and ensure that they are prepared for battle if it comes to that" Helsing added.

"Well I'm sure we can all rest easy knowing that the greatest supporters of the Dark Lord in the last war are joining our ranks" Snape said sarcastically.

"Still calling him the 'Dark Lord' Snape? Are you sure that your loyalties lie here?"

"Enough!" Dumbledore said, getting up from his desk. Both Helsing and Snape stopped bickering and looked up at Dumbledore.

"In this room we are all alleys and I would ask that you resolve your differences!" he said calmly. Helsing and Snape looked at each other momentarily, then nodded. Dumbledore sighed before slumping into his seat and continuing. "Alena, you go back to the clans tonight and make sure that they are prepared. Severus, you go back to Gimmauld Place and let everyone know that there will be a meeting tomorrow night. Minerva, you stay here, I'll need your help with some administrative details."

The three of them nodded and Snape and Helsing got up to leave.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------

Harry climbed out of the portrait hole and looked around the corridor. He could see no one there, so he pulled his invisibility cloak over himself and headed down the stairs as quietly as he could. He saw Megan standing at the bottom of the staircase. She looked up as he approached.

"Glad you could make it" she whispered so softly that he had to strain to hear.

"How did you know I was here?" Harry whispered back.

She looked confused for a moment, before shrugging with a small smile.

"I don't know exactly. I can just feel you there" she replied.

"What's this about?" Harry asked, starting to feel a little annoyed.

Her smile turned to a frown.

"I'm not exactly sure. Cho wanted to meet me and I thought that it would be better if someone came along." She said softly.

"Why did she want you to meet her? And why did you ask me?" Harry asked confused.

"You are the only person I know that has an invisibility cloak. Plus, there are some things that I think you ought to hear, and if you follow me, then I am not betraying a confidence." she replied, looking down at her watch. "It's nearly time. Follow me and try to keep quiet"

With that she began to walk along the corridor, stopping for a moment and looking back before continuing. Harry shook his head under the invisibility cloak as he followed her.

After making their way through endless corridors, Megan finally stopped in front of a stone wall. She looked over at Harry and indicated that he come closer, which he did. She whispered something softly to the wall and it opened, revealing a small room, with Cho pacing inside it. Harry let out an audible gasp and Megan coughed to cover it as Cho spun around.

"You're late" she snapped.

Megan merely shrugged as she moved into the room with Harry close behind. Harry felt the air move behind him as the wall went back in place and was thankful that he had been so close to Megan.

"What do you want?" Megan asked, folding her arms defensively across her chest.

"I want you to stop seeing Harry Potter" Cho said, with a hard expression. "Or else"

Megan raised an eyebrow.

"Is that a threat, Chang?" she asked politely.

Cho smirked.

"Take it however you like" she replied.

Megan's expression didn't change as she walked a little closer.

"Why are you so interested in Harry Potter?" she asked softly. "I mean, its common knowledge that you were together for a while last year and it ended badly. You were even with someone else afterwards. So why so interested now?"

Cho's eyes narrowed.

"What are you implying, Black?" she hissed angrily.

"There are some rumours going around that the deatheaters are recruiting 6th and 7th years this year" Megan said, her eyes never moving from Cho's. "What better way to win favour than to offer the Dark Lord his enemy on a platter?"

"I don't know what you're talking about" Cho replied, but her eyes wandered away from Megan's penetrating stare.

"Oh, but I think you do" Megan said, dropping her hands to her side. "I have it on a reliable source that you have been approached by one of the recruiters and, let's just say that what they were offering didn't seem to displease you?"

"You don't know anything!" Cho hissed angrily, her face slightly flushed with anger and her eyes staring straight at the floor.

Megan walked towards the wall and whispered the password. Harry followed silently as the door opened and she walked outside. She turned back as Cho looked up.

"The war is starting, Chang. Make sure you're on the right side" Megan said before the wall slid closed behind her.

Harry walked beside Megan silently as they made their way back to the Gryffindor Tower. Questions were running through his head so fast that he felt a little dizzy. They entered through the portrait hole and Megan sat down on one of the chairs near the fireplace. Harry took off the invisibility cloak and sat at another chair.

"Why did you ask me tonight?" he asked softly. Megan looked up at him and smiled faintly.

"Why do you think?" she countered. He frowned.

"I don't know" he said slowly. She sighed and turned back to the fire.

"You needed to know" she said simply. Harry considered this for a moment.

"Who is the contact you were talking about?" he asked.

"I can't tell you that" she replied without looking up. "I gave them my word"

"Is it Malfoy?" Harry asked. She chuckled and looked back over to him.

"Now what makes you think it would be Draco?" she asked. Harry shrugged.

"He's the only slytherin that I've ever seen you talking to" He replied.

She sighed and shook her head.

"I hoped after tonight that you might give up on your impression of all slytherins being dark wizards and witches" Megan said softly.

Harry stared at her for a moment, dumbfounded. She looked up at him again.

"It doesn't matter what house you're in Harry. Inside every person is the capability to do good or evil. A light side and a dark side. White and Black. The truth is, no one is really good or evil. The black and white that you place the world in, it doesn't exist. Only different shades of grey"

She got up then and turned to Harry, kissing him softly on the forehead.

"Get some sleep. I'll talk to you in the morning" she murmured, then walked up to the girls' dormitory.