Diane seemed to be just like her sister. When she realized none of the class was writing, but was staring vividly at Hermione, she seemed not to be able to ignore it any more.

"Did you have a question, Miss… Granger, was it?" Diane asked.

"Yes, Professor," Hermione answered. "I had a question about the course aims."

Diane looked astounded. "The course aims are quite clear, aren't they?"

"No, I'm afraid they're not," Hermione stated flatly. "You see, they say nothing about using defensive spells."

Diane gave a little laugh. "Why would you need to use magic in my classroom? The theory should be plenty."

Dean's hand shot in the air.

"And you are…?" Diane asked.

"Dean Thomas," Dean said. "And, I wanted to tell you, that if you don't let us use magic, you're in for a hard year."

Diane raised her eyebrows, and the excitement they once held vanished. "Are you threatening me, Mr. Thomas?" she asked lightly.

"Not me, Professor, but your… um… I guess she was your sister? She did the same thing, and surely you know what happened to her?" Dean said.

Diane smiled sinisterly. "As a matter of fact, I don't. Would you like to elaborate Mr. Thomas?"

Harry felt sure that Diane knew what happened, but didn't say such. Hermione's hand, however, shot in the air, and Harry could practically feel the hatred radiating off of her.

"Miss Granger?" Diane asked, over Neville's "ooh!", whose hand had been waving in front of her face in the air.

Hermione was shaking with anger as she answered. "Dolores Umbridge, your sister, didn't let us use magic. The result: rebellion of students, ghosts, poltergeists, and personnel. Dolores Umbridge wasn't a success, she was a—"

"That's enough!" Diane sang through the room, and Hermione stopped abruptly. "I will NOT have you insulting my sister, who was the best teacher who ever came through this school!" Several people snorted, but over her own raging, Diane didn't hear them. "Her way of teaching will be continued because it was the best yet! You will now kindly write your course aims without complaint!"

Harry raised his hand into the air to ask a question, a question he already knew the answer to.

"Mr. Potter!" Diane bellowed, and Harry thought he was in trouble instead of being called upon. "Well?" she asked, when Harry paused, thinking she was going to start yelling at him for asking a question.

"Oh, well, I have a question," Harry stated.

"Obviously," Diane said, annoyed.

"Well, did the Ministry of Magic make you come here?"

Diane stared at him long and hard for a moment, taking him in. She finally answered, and in her voice, Harry could hear a daring, as if she was half-wanting him to challenge her words and say they were untrue. "Cornelius Fudge informed me, being the new Undersecretary to the Minister, since my dear sister is not able to at the present," several snickers rang through the room, "that Dumbledore was once again looking for a suitable Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. He asked me if I would be interested, seeing as I have had great experience in the subject. I didn't want to, but I would if the Ministry needed me."

Harry sat there for a moment as she stared at him, then she bent down over her work. This time, it was Neville whose hand rose shakily into the air.

"Oh, what is it now?" Diane asked irritably.

"Oh, um… sorry, Professor, it's just…" Neville began.

"Spit it out, Mr. What's-your-face, spit it out!" Diane shouted.

"Excuse me!" Hermione's voice rang through immediately after Diane. Diane looked at her, showing she had her attention. "His name is Neville. Neville Longbottom."

A truly evil grin spread across Diane's face, Harry thought, as she turned toward Neville with new light. "Longbottom?"

"Uh… yes, Professor. I was wondering if you believed that… that You-Know-… that V-V-Vol… Voldemort," several shivers ran down the room as Neville got out his name, "if he was back."

Everyone stared at Diane. She finally smiled, producing the type of smile Dolores Umbridge sometimes wore. Harry heart was pounding against his ribs as he waited. "Do I believe the Dark Lord's back?" she asked quietly, sinisterly, Harry thought. She smiled balefully and looked deliberately in Harry's direction. "No."

Harry stood up so fast his chair flew backward. He felt rather than saw someone else near him stand up, too. Harry didn't say anything, just stood there, his anger keeping him in silence as words were not enough. The other person who stood, however, had immediately stormed one word: "DIANE!" By the voice, Harry knew it was Kelly.

"Ten points from Gryffindor!" Diane cried triumphantly. "Now sit down!"

Hermione and Ron grabbed Harry's shoulders and forced him down, but Hermione didn't reach back for Kelly quick enough. Kelly kicked back her chair and stormed up to Diane's desk, Diane looking a mix of amazement and triumph.

She whispered something so quiet, that even in the tense silence, it couldn't be understood. Diane seemed to be the only one who had heard her. Her expression went grave and she glared at Kelly. "No," Diane whispered.

"Then shut it," Kelly said bluntly, turning on her heel and heading back to their table.

The rest of Defense Against the Dark Arts was spent staring at a page that no one was taking in. Diane was making them read the second book in the series by Wilbert Slinkhard with the amazing title of Defensive Magical Theory Two. Harry, however, was staring at the page blankly, thinking of what he always did in Defense Against the Dark Arts these days: plans for the next D.A. lesson, in this case, the first of the new year.

It was amazing how in ten minutes, it seemed all of Hogwarts had known what happened in Diane's class. Members of the D.A. simply had to look at Harry. He'd nod without them having to ask—the D.A. was on again.

Kelly, it was obvious, was in a huffy mood. She snapped at anyone who came up to her, glaring at Diane after every mouthful. Harry thought she caught Dumbledore's eye once, and that they exchanged dark looks, but Harry scratched that out immediately, because next second he looked, Dumbledore was deep in conversation with McGonagall, and they looked like they'd been talking for the whole of dinner.

Harry went up to the common room after dinner and dropped off his bag without touching his homework—he'd be doing none of it tonight. He sat in armchair and waited for Ron and Hermione, who came up ten minutes later with Kelly at their heels, looking a little better now that she was out of Diane's vision.

"Hermione, the—" Harry started.

"No," Hermione said sharply.

"What?" Harry asked, unbelieving.

"You know what happened last time, with Umbridge. Don't tell me you've forgotten. Dumbledore had to flee here so you could stay. I don't—"

"Hermione, please! I get the idea!" Harry said. He wasn't going to stand one of her lectures on the first day back.

"I think it's a superb idea," Kelly said suddenly. "Whatever this secret Defense organization is."

"The D.A.," Harry said, looking at her happily. He had an ally.

However, the moment Harry said "the D.A.", Kelly almost screamed. She looked utterly petrified. "W-w-what?" she asked shakily, collapsing on the couch, shivering at a chill that flew down her spine. Ron was looking at Kelly as though he feared for her sanity, but Hermione was looking at her as though she was trying to understand her properly.

"The D.A.," Harry said, and Kelly almost screamed again. "Dumbledore's Army."

Kelly suddenly lightened and relaxed. "Oh," she said calmly.

"What'd you think it was?" Ron asked, looking disbelieving.

"Oh," Hermione said softly.

"What?" Ron asked immediately.

"It's none of your business, Ron," Hermione snapped.

"Well excuse me!" Ron said.

"You're excused. Bathroom's down the corridor," Kelly said quickly, in an obvious attempt to lighten the mood, and, so Harry thought, to divert the subject.

Ron glared at her, and that made Kelly laugh.

"The D.A.," Kelly said finally, settling down. "I like it. Has anyone else mentioned it to you today, Harry?"

"Well, not verbally, but we would just meet eyes and I'd nod, and then they'd nod to show they understood. Everyone thinks the D.A.'s on again," Harry said.

"I'm all for it!" Kelly said happily. "Anything against her."

"I think it's okay… but we can't have any sneaks. No one new, just the same people. That way we can continue from where we left off," Ron said slowly.

"Sounds good, but we have to include Kelly now. And if we can't trust you, Kelly, I'll have Hermione hex you into an oblivion," Harry said, turning toward Hermione. "You?"

"I don't like it," Hermione said flatly. "And you don't control me, Harry. I'll hex her out of my own will."

"Oh, come on, Hermione!" Kelly pleaded. "We need some brains in this operation!"

"You've got brains! Use them!" Hermione said with a slight edge of asperity in her voice.

Kelly looked at Hermione, then said abruptly, "We're going to bed early."

Hermione looked up. "We are?"

"Yes," Kelly said so firmly that Hermione didn't object.

Kelly started walking up the girls' staircase and looked back when she neared the top. "Hermione?"

Hermione reluctantly followed her up, and Kelly immediately started a whispered conversation with Hermione.

"Well… that was… interesting…." Ron said. They were silent for a moment, then Ron spoke again. "Should we let the other D.A. members know? I've still got my galleon. Have you got yours, Harry?"

"Of course I've got mine, but Marietta might still have hers. I doubt it, but she could. And if she doesn't, who knows who has it now," Harry said thoughtfully.

"Yes…" Ron said. "But it's not like the person who would have it now knows what it means."

Harry thought about it. "True…"

"I say stick to the galleons," Ron said.

Harry thought a little longer before saying, "Well… okay. But let's at least give out new ones, just in case."

"Excellent!" Ron said.

"What's excellent?" Dean asked as he came striding forward. "Oh, Harry, I meant to ask you, is the D.A. starting up again?"

"Yes," Harry answered. "We're using the galleons again, but issuing new ones. Do you still have yours? You can chuck it."

"Of course I still have mine! I didn't think we'd have another teacher like Umbridge, but just in case we did…." Dean trailed off.

"The D.A.'s up again?" Neville asked as he crawled through the portrait hole. "Fantastic! Gran was really amazed at all the stuff I told her I could do now. Mind you, she wasn't too happy about dad's old wand, but she was really proud of me all the same."

"Good, Neville," Harry said, smiling.

"Yeah," Seamus added as he walked down from their dorm. "Listen, Harry, me mam wanted to ask you if you would accept her apology. She believes you now."

Harry smiled, glad Mrs. Finnigan finally did. "Sure, of course—"

A giant crash came from a girls' dorm upstairs.

"What's going on up there?" Ron asked.

A loud thud erupted from somewhere to their right. Ron started walking along the common room, trying to place where the sounds were coming from. Several screams were coming from the same area. Seamus dashed toward the girls' staircase and started climbing, which suddenly turned into a slide. After flailing his arms hopelessly while trying to stay put, he fell to the bottom. Harry was about to explain that the staircase turned into a slide if boys tried to climb it when Ron interrupted.

"Harry," Ron finally said after another thud. "Harry, that's coming from the sixth year girls' dorm! Remember? Theirs is the second door to the right, too!"

Another loud crash—louder than before—erupted and then… silence.

"What—?" Seamus started.

Someone screamed and slid down the slide. It was Parvati Patil, a sixth year Gryffindor.

"H… help!" she gasped. "H… Harry!"

"Sit down, Parvati," Dean said, showing her to a chair.

Parvati sat down and kept staring at Harry, utterly petrified. It took several seconds that seemed like an eternity before she spoke. "A person…"

"What person?" Ron asked quickly.

"A hooded person came and took them," Parvati said.

"Took who?" Seamus pressed.

Parvati looked at Harry. "Hermione and Kelly."

A/N:

BUM BUM BUM… I love doing that. So this is the first semi-exciting thing that happens. It's actually pretty lame by tomorrow, but it's my lame snack to try and tie you over until dinner. The next huge thing is at Christmas, and from there it's bam, bam, bam! From one thing right to another. Christmas is only… chapters away! We're… so… close…. WHAT DID I PUT IN THERE THAT FILLED UP THAT MUCH SPACE?!?! (It's really not that much, but it's more than enough) -checks- Oh. Well, I'm not sure if that's much of an excuse, Riles…. But maybe… I mean, it is… semi-important. Perhaps. Not really. We'll see. –I was talking to myself there-

Next chapter! Erm… well, the sixth year boys discuss the kidnapping, Harry has a dream about something… something. -.- Helpful, I know. Then he wakes up and goes to breakfast and gets murdered! BWAHAHA!!! No, sorry, had an urge to put that. Then he goes to breakfast and you'll have to see what happens then!

SO WAHOO!!! -ish in trouble with lots of peoplez now- HEY, I DON'T ASK MY MUM TO GROUND ME, OKAY?!?! -goes quiet- I'm done now.

Review and make me happy, as alwayz.

Thankx for listening!

Riles