Chapter Seventeen: Potions
As the group reached the dungeons, they found Neville Longbottom standing in the corner, waiting for the last possible second to enter the classroom.
"Oy, Neville!" called Ron, "What're you doing down here?
"Well, it would appear that the only reason for my dismal Potions grades was my confounded fear of Professor Snape. This year, I'm not taking anything from him, it's not worth it," said Neville, "I got an 'O' on the Potions O.W.L."
"Way to go, Neville, so did I," said Harry.
"Don't worry; I'm sure you'll do fine," encouraged Hermione.
Harry, Katie, Ron, Hermione, and Neville walked into the dungeon and immediately noticed a large alteration of the infamous room. Instead of tables of three, the tables now had room for five. The group quickly set themselves up at a table in the back. Suddenly, the door burst open and the Potions Master came striding through the doorway causing any stray conversations to cease.
"Quiet," said Snape, "Today will be a test to make sure that much of what I attempted to teach you is still in your heads. You will be writing an essay on strengthening potions. Now, can anyone tell me the properties?"
No one was surprised to see Hermione's hand shoot up but right beside hers was Harry's.
"Potter?" asked Snape, clearly befuddled by the young man's quickness to respond.
"If brewed correctly, the potions should increase the drinker's physical and magical strength," said Harry.
"Good, now tell me how this can be a potentially fatal potion," added Snape.
"Of course, Professor. The potions effects wear off after about an hour. When this happens, it usually leaves the drinker exhausted which, if in battle, could get them killed," said Harry.
"Good, now begin," said Snape.
After about half an hour, Harry's whole table handed their essays in to a shocked Snape. They quickly returned to their table and whispered in hushed voices, so as not to disturb the class and have points taken away from Gryffindor.
"Okay, I've set up date for DA, next Wednesday. I'm gonna see if the Heads of Houses can post signs in the common rooms for all to see. I want to set up a short meeting tonight for the Guard so that those I haven't taught yet will be able to see what we're hoping to accomplish on Saturday," said Harry.
"Excellent, I can't wait. I'm sick of people like Malfoy pushing me around. Soon, I won't have to worry about the likes of scum like him," said Neville with disdain.
"Speaking of Malfoy, I'm surprised that we haven't heard his drawling voice since the incident on the train. I wonder what's wrong with him," speculated Harry.
'Maybe he noticed your changes and is scared. Maybe he realized that he's permanently outnumbered," said Ron.
"Who cares? Let's get out of here," said Katie as the bell rang.
"Yeah, you're right. Let's go to dinner," conceded Harry.
Harry and his friends went to the Great Hall for dinner. Harry told the rest of the Guard about the meeting. Just as Harry was making his way back to the Gryffindor table he heard a familiar voice from the Ravenclaw table.
"Hey, Harry!" called Cho Chang causing Harry to stop wide-eyed. 'Oh, no. I forgot about Cho… this'll be awkward.'
"Hey, Cho," said Harry in, what he hoped was, a nonchalant voice.
"Umm… I just wanted to apologize about last year. I honestly could not comprehend what you were going through," said Cho, "Although, I still can't understand any better now."
"Yeah, few really know what I've gone through, and still am going through," said Harry, happy that Cho sounded sincere.
"I really am sorry about everything," said Cho.
"That's okay, I'm not sure what I would have done if I was in your place," said Harry as he tired of the chit-chat and wanted to get back to his dinner.
"I heard some rumor that you're starting a new Defense group. Is that true?" asked Cho.
"Er- yeah, that's true. Although, it was supposed to be a secret," said Harry, "Who told you?"
"Hannah Abbott told me. How come I wasn't asked to join?" demanded Cho in a playful voice.
"Well, I really didn't think you'd be interested," lied Harry, "Would you be interested in joining the Guard?"
"I would love to. What's involved?" asked Cho.
"Tonight we have a short meeting and tomorrow we have a training session. Our main goal is to protect the school in the event of an attack. Also, we will be patrolling the school at night and if the teachers need to leave for an Order meeting. If any incidents occur, our job will be to control them with as little force as necessary," said Harry.
"Sounds great. I'll see you later tonight," said Cho as she turned to return to her table.
"Bloody hell," muttered Harry as he sat down between Ron and Katie.
"Who was that, Harry?" asked Katie.
"Harry's girlfriend," teased Ron.
"Shut up before I curse you, Weasley," threatened Harry, "Well, last year we kind of dated but it didn't go past one date. Every time we were alone, she wanted to talk about her dead boyfriend, Cedric. He died the night Voldemort returned. Any way, every bloody time, she ended up crying on my shoulder," said Harry, "Last year was ridiculous. One day she liked me, the next she hated me. It was too up and down, it never would have worked between us. She always wanted to talk about things that caused me pain."
"He's got a point, you know," said Ron, "She was a weird one."
"Let's not talk about Harry's love life," said Harry in a Hermione-like voice.
After dinner, the Guard, plus Cho, all conjugated near each other. Harry stood while the others took a seat.
"Now, I have no doubts that by the end of the weekend, we will be all caught up on what I plan to teach you. The tricks I have planned won't be taught anywhere else," said Harry as he proceeded to go through numerous transformations to give examples, "We'll learn invisibility, Animagus transformations, apparation, and dozens of advanced offensive and defensive spells. I'm going to fashion some magical contracts to sign, just as an added precaution, or rather, an added incentive to not break the rules I've set down. Trust me, you don't want to see the consequences. When we're ready, we will patrol the corridors in shift. I'm working on a spell so that you can all keep in contact with me. That's it for now, see you tomorrow at nine. We probably need an early start."
As the Guard began to shuffle out of the Great Hall, Harry pulled Cho aside.
"If this is about last year, don't worry, I won't let it affect my performance," said Cho quickly.
"That's good but that's not why I pulled you aside. I had hoped that you would be able to persuade another Ravenclaw to join us, preferably a female, that way when your shift is over, you can rouse the other," explained Harry.
"I think I know just the person," said Cho, "We'll see you tomorrow."
Just as Harry passed through the Great Hall doors, an open palm collided with the back of his head.
"I though you and her were over!" teased Katie in a giddy voice.
"Ow! I just asked her to bring a Ravenclaw to training tomorrow," said Harry.
"I know, I was just kidding. Calm down, are you always this serious?" asked Katie.
"Well, no not really. I have a question for you though," said Harry, "Through what methods did you learn to use your powers?"
"My adopted parent's family passed on the secret of dual Animagi. It worked through searching your mind to find your mind's door, then, you kind of feel for your animal spirit. Is that how you learned?" asked Katie.
"Yeah," said Harry as the climbed through the Gryffindor portrait hole. They walked over to where Ron, Hermione and Ginny were seated. "Tomorrow, the five of us will teach the rest of the Guard our little bag of tricks."
"It's not that little," chuckled Ron with a smirk.
"Regardless of its size, I would like to teach Neville personally," said Harry.
"Why?" asked Ron.
"Well, you may have noticed how much he improved after last year. It would be an honor for me to teach such an eager student," said Harry.
Over the next few hours, Harry helped his friends with their homework. As Harry lay in his bed to go to sleep, he found he was too excited about the weekend to clear his mind completely. That night, Harry had the eeriest dream he had ever had. It was about events long past…