Here's Six. I'm glad to be getting so many wonderful reviews. Thanks
especially to Sorrow1. I'm glad you picked up on the fact that Minerva
doesn't just look sixteen, but that she is sixteen. So yeah, she is
thinking differently than she would if she was her old age (however old
that is). This will get more obvious as the story continue.
And BlueMew I can understand how you would hate Professor Trelawney's class. It was meant to be horrible. Because the way I see it is, Professor Trelawney's only knows how to teach one subject and that is divinations. Now she's required to teach DaDA. She's not entirely sure what she's doing, so she's doing the best she can with what she's got. Professor Dumbledore understands this, and this also part of the reason he asked Harry to head D. A. again.
Thanks to all my other reviewers. Your encouragements really make me want to keep going with this story. And so I will.
But first I must mention that I don't own Harry Potter. Now...
Read on.
~*~*~*~*
Chapter 6 Dumbledore's Army
Harry told Hermione and Ron what happened during potions. Ron was ecstatic to learn that Draco Malfoy really wasn't going to be at Hogwarts this year, but Hermione was more concerned with what Pansy had blurted out.
"Who is 'she', Harry, and what does Pansy mean, 'she'll be coming for you'?
Harry shrugged. "Don't really know; don't really care."
"What do you mean you don't care?" Hermione exclaimed. "This could be serious."
"I don't think it is." Harry said, shaking his head. "Pansy's just pissed off that her boyfriend isn't here, and she's trying to get to me."
"Ugh. Malfoy and Parkinson." Ron said, making a spewy face. "I bet those two won't be winning any couple of the year awards."
"Well, a nasty boy like Malfoy deserves an equally nasty girl." Hermione said, before turning back to Harry. "I think you're taking this way too lightly. This could really be something you need to worry about. I wouldn't be surprised if the Parkinson family has some ties with Vol--" ("Hermione!" Ron hissed. "Don't.") "--oh fine, Ron, with You-Know-Who."
"No." Harry said. "What I think is that this year I'm going to be way too busy to worry about something a bratty girl having a hissy fit said, because she's upset that the only boy who could stomach taking her to the Holiday Ball isn't going to be here."
"But what about what Ron prophesized?"
"For the last time, it wasn't a prophesy." Ron insisted. "It was a..."
"Reading." Hermione finished. "Because you're a Seer. I know, Ron. But it was still a vision of the future. A vision that said something would be coming for you, Harry. I think what Pansy said is connected to what Ron read."
Harry looked at Hermione. That certainly made a lot of sense, and she was probably right. Hermione was almost always right. But after what happened last year, he would not get involved in another "adventure". Or at least nothing he could drag his friends into. He would not loose another person he loved. And if that meant ignoring the obvious, then that would be what he did.
Deciding the best course of action would be to ignore Hermione's last statement, Harry asked. "What's a Seer, and how's that different from a Diviner?"
"Huh? Oh. A Seer isn't different from a Diviner. Not really. A seer is special kind of Diviner. They can read the future in living things, like trees and people. In animals and other magical creatures. Anything that's alive. The stars too, although the stars aren't really alive. There's just some sort of magical quality about them." Hermione answered. "And Seers don't just see the future. They can read past events, and emotions too. Especially if they are strong emotions."
Ron nodded. "That's why none of the junk I did in Professor Trelawney's class worked for me. Tea leaves are already dead. Crystal balls are just hunks of glass. We didn't do too much of anything with something that was really living."
"Oh." Harry said, immensely relieved to be having a different conversation. He knew Hermione would take the bait. She never could resist explaining something.
"Hey. What's going on?"
Harry looked back and smiled as Mindy sat down next to him. "Hermione was just explaining to me what a Seer is."
"Oh." Mindy said, looking over at Ron. "So that's what you are?"
Ron nodded. "At least that's what Firenze tells me. And Hermione confirms it. She read about it in all those books she got for me."
"And that you haven't read yet." Hermione frowned.
Ron shrugged, sitting back. "Why should I have to read about it? I'm living it."
"Really." Hermione huffed. "If it was me, I'd want to learn all I could about what I am."
Ron frowned. "Seems you already are, and it's not you."
"You, see, Ron. That's you problem. You never..."
Harry turned away from the bickering that would undoubtedly grow into a full blown argument and looked at Mindy. "What happened with Snape?"
"Nothing." Mindy shrugged. "I have detention, is all."
"Oh." Harry said. "I hope he doesn't have you doing something disgusting."
"I don't think it will be that bad." Mindy answered. "Things could be worse, I suppose."
"Naw." Harry said. "I can't think of anything worse than detention with Snape."
Mindy smirked. "That's only because he hates you."
"He doesn't seem so fond of you." Harry retorted with a grin.
"Yeah, well, I plan to give him hell." Mindy grinned. The smile on her face faded as she turned to look Harry in the eye. "What are you going to do?"
Harry frowned. "About what?"
"About what Pansy said."
Harry stared at Mindy. Not her too. He had just gotten out that conversation with Hermione. He didn't want to get in with Mindy. "Pretend like I never heard it." He answered shortly and stood.
"I don't care about what you think about..." Ron was practically shouting at Hermione, but stopped when he saw Harry's sudden movement. "Where are you going?"
"Back to the Tower. I have homework." Harry answered, and turned to walk away. He could feel three sets of eyes on him but he didn't look back. They would probably start discussing him as soon as he left the Great Hall. They would be worried, but that just made it all the more important for him to pretend like there wasn't problem. He knew it was foolish and completely unrealistic to believe if he ignored the trouble that was undoubtedly coming, it wouldn't come. But he didn't know what else to do. He wouldn't watch another friend die.
~*~*~*~*
The next few days passed without incident. Everyone was falling back into the rhythm of school. After the first few bumpy days, things were returning to normal. Or at least as normal as things got at a school for witch craft and wizardry.
Mindy was getting the hang of being a student, and was even able to suppress the desire to tell Professor Lupin how to teach Transfigurations. She joined in class activities and was starting to gain the same reputation Hermione had: impossibly knowledgeable on every subject imaginable.
Harry was right. Their second Defense against Darks Arts lesson was no better than the first, and she was actually glad Harry had decided to institute D. A. It was good to know that the students of Hogwarts would get a proper lesson from someone. She found Potions particularly enjoyable. She did little things that annoyed Snape beyond belief. She constantly interrupted his lesson with stupid questions, made several rude comments about his hair, and would chatter with anyone close enough to be suckered into a conversation. She was careful not to include Harry though. She didn't want Snape taking any frustrations with her out on Harry. By the end of her second Potions class, she had lost 150 points. But she more than made up for that in Transfigurations and Care of Magical Creatures the next day.
Soon it was Friday evening and she found herself making her way down to the dungeons. She pushed the classroom door open and stepped in. Severus looked up as she walked towards his desk.
"I'm ready to get started." Mindy said.
Snape nodded. "Go get your cauldron set up." He stood and waved his wand. The potion his morning class had been working on disappeared from the blackboard and a new one began writing across the board. "This is a very delicate potion." Snape said turning around to look at Mindy as she pulled out the ingredients needed as they appeared on the blackboard. "If you don't get the measurements exactly right and you drink the potion..."
"My head will explode?" Mindy asked a mock hopeful tone in her voice.
Snape narrowed his eyes. "Your head will not explode. Though there could be equally disastrous consequences."
"But no exploding head?" Mindy asked, sounding fairly disappointed. "Too bad. I always wondered what the inside of a head looked like."
"That is not funny, Minerva."
"How would you know, Severus? You never had much of a sense of humor."
Severus studied her for a moment. "Just get started. You won't leave until you get it right."
"I hope it doesn't take too long." Mindy commented, filling her cauldron with water and bringing it to a boil. "Gryffindor Quidditch tryouts are tomorrow."
"What does that have to do with you?" Snape asked.
"I'm trying out." Mindy answered. "And I should probably get as much rest tonight as I can."
Snape frowned. "You can't try out." He said. "It's unfair to the other students."
"Don't be ridiculous." Mindy said looking up from the dragon scale she was mincing. "I'm sixteen too you know. Besides, I probably won't make the team. It has been a while since I've played Quidditch. Everybody else will probably be better than me."
"Then why are you trying out at all?"
"Harry asked me to."
"Oh, right. 'Harry'." Snape sneered.
Mindy frowned. "Yes, Harry. And speaking of the boy, why are you so horrible to him?"
"What are you talking about?"
"In class, you're always staring down your nose at him; searching for a mistake."
"Potter is the one most likely to make a mistake."
"Talk about being unfair." Mindy frowned. "You're not even giving Harry a chance."
"Give him a chance for what? Potter won't last long in my class, Minerva. He doesn't have the right...qualities."
"You don't know that. You don't try to see what he does right. You're always looking for what he does wrong."
"That's because he does very little right."
"Oh, just give him a chance, Severus. Take it easy on him and..."
"I will not take it easy on him. That's his problem. Everybody is always letting him off; treating him special. He may have every other professor in this school charmed into believing he's perfect, but I have news for you, Minerva, he is not the sweet little angelic boy everyone is trying to make him out to be."
"No one said he was an angle. I would be the last person to call him that. He can get himself into his share of trouble. But just because he isn't an angel, Severus, it doesn't make him a devil."
"You're just as deluded by the Great Harry Potter as every body else, Minerva."
"That's not true. Harry has never tried to delude anybody. And you're being prejudice against him."
Snape shook his head. "I'll run my class the way I see fit. I won't put your precious Potter out, but if he can't cut it..."
"Ha." Mindy huffed. "If you want to worry about somebody not cutting it, it should be Parkinson. She wouldn't know she had a salinta potion if she drank it and couldn't speak for a month."
Snape tilted his head, and looked at Mindy curiously. "Now you're making fun of the other students, Minerva."
Mindy looked up surprise. She couldn't believe she had just said that about Pansy. She may be sixteen, but she was still Professor Minerva McGonagall. And professors don't call their students stupid. She shook her head, frowning. "I--I don't know what got into me. I shouldn't have said that about Pansy. She has...potential. I'm sorry."
Snape shrugged. "You're sixteen. I suppose you should expect slips of the tongue. Just drop this whole Potter thing and we'll call it even."
Mindy nodded. "But Harry will do alright in your class, Severus. You'll see."
Snape rolled his eyes. "Fine, Minerva, if you insist on believing that. You need to start your potion over."
Mindy blinked, caught a little off guard by Snape's last statement. "Huh?" She looked down at her potion. It looked alright to her. "What? Why?"
"You've left it boiling too long. It's ruined." Snape waved his wand and the contents of Mindy's cauldron disappeared. "Start again. And this time less talk and more work."
Mindy frowned, but started again. She soon realized what Severus meant when he said the potion was very delicate. Everything had to be precisely timed and accurately measured or else it would be either no good, or volatile. Several times she put an ingredient in too quickly and her potion exploded on her. She supposed the potion was so complex because it was so modified. De-aging potions were never meant to last a full three months. They were never meant to last a full three hours.
She had to start anew five times, before she finally got the potion right. Then Snape made her brew it three more times, just to ensure that the first time wasn't just a lucky chance. It was just past mid-night before she left the dungeon classroom, and Mindy wanted nothing more than to never see it again.
~*~*~*~*
Mindy awoke the next morning to someone shaking her arm. She cracked one eye opened and saw Hermione leaning over her. "Go away." Mindy mumbled sleepily, rolling over.
"If you're still planning on trying out for the Quidditch team, Mindy, I suggest you get up."
Mindy opened her eyes and set up. That's right. Today was Saturday. She looked over at Hermione. "What time is?"
"It's 8:00. You should have been on the pitch five minutes ago."
"Oh, no." Mindy moaned, rolling out of bed and grabbing her things. "Why didn't you wake me earlier?"
"I did." Hermione answered. "At 7:30. You said you were getting up. I guessed you changed your mind."
"I don't even remember that." Mindy said, as she stood up and stumbled for the door. "Will you go tell Harry I'm on my way there?"
"Sure." Hermione answered. "He'll understand. You did get in pretty late last night."
"Thanks." Mindy said, rushing out the room, heading for the girls bathroom. Fifteen minutes later, her broom in hand, and hair still damp, she ran out onto the Quidditch pitch. There were more students present than she had expected. But with so many openings on the team, she guessed she should have expected a large turn out. She looked around and spotted Harry, Ron and Ginny standing off to one side of the field surrounded by a bunch of hopeful Gryffindors. Harry looked back, spotted her and waved.
Mindy smiled and returned the wave, before walking towards him.
"You're just in time." Harry said. "We've already had try outs for beaters and we're about to see the chasers now."
"So I haven't missed anything?" Mindy asked relieved.
"Not a thing." Ron answered.
"Here." Harry said, holding out an upside down wizard's hat. "Draw a number. That's the order you're going to go up in."
Mindy reached into the hat and pulled out a slip of paper. She opened it and read, "Fifteen."
"You're going to be one of the last to go." Harry said, handing the hat to the next kid waiting. "I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing. I suppose its all how you look at it."
"I suppose." Mindy said, staring at her slip of paper and moving back to the end of the group.
Harry waited for everyone to take a number, before speaking again. "Okay." He called. "You're going to go up in groups of two. Ron will play Keeper, and your goal is to try to get as many scores on him as possible, while still playing well with your other team mates. Ginny is one of our chasers and she'll be flying with you. Any goal she makes as a result of your pass will count as one of yours, but don't try to use her to make all of your goals. That'll just count against you in the end. Alright. Will the people who pulled one and two please step forward."
Two students stepped up. One was a first year that Mindy hadn't met yet. He was a small boy with mousy brown hair and more freckles across his face than Ron probably had on his whole body. He had intense blue eyes, that were at the moment glowing with nervousness. The other was Hannah Storm, a snippy third year girl that was gushing confidence. She made an odd contrast with the nervous little boy.
"Your names?" Harry asked, as he took their numbers.
"Tobias Walker." The boy answered.
"Hannah Storm." The girl said, lifting her chin.
"Alright." Harry said, scratching their names down on the piece of parchment he held. He looked up and smiled at them both. "Well, mount your brooms and good luck."
Harry blew the referee's whistle and both Hannah and Tobias kicked off into the air. Tobias shot up with a speed Mindy couldn't believe he had. Hannah followed after him, trying to catch up, but not quite making it.
Ginny raised an eyebrow at the speed of the boy. She looked at Harry. "He's fast."
Harry nodded and scratched something down on his parchment. "You had better get going."
Ginny nodded and she and Ron took off; Ginny going to join the two Gryffindors and Ron flying over to protect the goals.
Mindy joined the other's waiting to tryout on the bleachers while Harry released a quaffle, making sure to keep the budglers and the snitch strapped in. He then made his way for a high spot in the bleachers where he had a good view and blew his whistle, signaling that the tryout had begun.
Hannah immediately went for the quaffle. She scooped it up and flew back at Ron. She attempted a goal, but it was a little too obvious and Ron blocked it easily. He tossed the ball back to Ginny, who passed it to Tobias. The boy weaved around towards the goal, going at it from the right side, but at the last minute he changed direction and attempted to score on the left. Ron didn't see this coming, and though he made a mad dash back to the other end, he couldn't get there in enough time to stop the score.
The students below cheered on Tobias, and even at this distance, Mindy could see the grin plastered across his face. The tryout continued in that manner. Hannah scored two goals, but for the most part, she was entirely too direct. Ron could see any move she was going to make way before she made it. But Tobias did exceptionally well, scoring five more times on Ron. It was mostly due to his incredible speed on the broom. By the time the first group was done, everyone was thoroughly impressed with the boy.
Even though Harry tried not to show any partiality, he couldn't help but pat the boy on the shoulder and say, "Really good job." He quickly turned away and called. "Next two please."
And so the tryouts wore on. Everyone was doing very well, and Mindy felt sorry for Harry, Ron, and Ginny. They were going to have their work cut out for them, trying to decide who to put on the team.
Soon enough, it was her turn and she was stepping up to Harry, along with another boy, handing him her number. "Alright." Harry said. "Mindy James and Howard Little." He smiled at them both. "Get ready to kick off and good luck."
Mindy mounted her broom. Harry blew his whistle and Mindy took off. Howard sped past her, but she didn't try to catch up with him, instead going her own way. Once in the air, Harry blew the whistle a second time, and Howard shot for the quaffle. Mindy watched him snatch it up, and make a rush for the goal. Ron easily deflected the shot and tossed the ball back to Ginny, who in turn passed it to Mindy.
Howard turned around and actually went after Mindy, in an attempt to get the ball back. "Hey!" Mindy yelled. Holding the ball in one hand, she steered with her other and flew under Howard. She shot up, once she had gotten past him, headed for Ron. Ron had gotten much better and being a Keeper and the most goals that had been scored on him all day were the ones made by Tobias. That was because Tobias was fast, but on her broom (a broom she was starting to think might be too much for her just last year) she didn't have a hope of being that quick. So she decided to be surprising.
Aiming dead for Ron, Mindy flew straight at him. "What're you doing?" Ron yelled, when it became apparent that she wasn't about to change course. Mindy said nothing, only flying as straight as she could. Ron bulked first and swerved right. Mindy swerved left at the last minute and tossed the ball into the high hoop.
"You're crazy." Ron shouted as he snatched up the quaffle.
"Yeah, but I scored." Mindy answered with a laugh.
"Ron shook his head." He grinned and tossed the ball back to Ginny.
Ginny passed it to Howard, who tried the same trick Mindy had. But it didn't work a second time. Instead of swerving away, Ron flew towards Howard. Ron's broom handle smashed into the other boys, and Howard's broom tilted to the side. "Hey." Howard yelled as he dropped the ball.
Mindy saw it coming and swooped below. She caught the ball, flew under Ron, and shot up. She tossed the ball into the high hoop, and swerved around. "That's two." She yelled, waving two fingers in Ron's face.
"Yeah, and no more." Ron said, slapping at her hand but purposely missing.
Mindy laughed and flew back out where she could get the quaffle again. Ron wasn't kidding about not letting her score again. There was nothing Mindy could do to make another goal, try as she might. But she had more fun than she thought she would playing. And she wasn't as bad off as poor Howard, who didn't get the chance to score once.
Harry blew his whistle again and called them down to the field. "I believe that was everybody." Harry said, once everybody had landed and dismounted. "We'll make our decisions on who makes the team and post the final results on the board in the Gryffindor common room by Monday afternoon." Harry said. "But I want you all to know, you did very well. I was extremely impressed by everybody and even if you don't make the team, you should all still be proud of yourself." He looked around at the group. "Er, that's it. You're um, dismissed."
Mindy turned and headed with the others back towards the school. She didn't think she had made the team, but it was nice to play Quidditch again. Glancing over her shoulder, she watched Harry, Ron, and Ginny walking towards the bleachers and sitting down. Their heads were bent together as they discussed the try outs, and possibly who would make the team. Mindy smiled. Harry really was going to make a great captain. She new she had made the right decision.
And he would be great student. Especially in Potions. After last night, Mindy wanted nothing more than to prove Snape wrong. He was determined to have Harry fail his class, but she was just as determined to have Harry pass. And Harry would pass, with the highest marks possible. She would make sure of it. Even if killed her.
~*~*~*~*
Monday came and Harry had to post the results of the tryouts. There was a crowd of Gryffindors waiting around the board. Harry, Ginny and Ron had had a hard time deciding on the final cut for the team. Choosing new beaters was easy enough. They picked a pair of second year twins, Simon and Simone Jackson. They were small, but they were quick and worked flawlessly together. There was just something about twin partnerships. It was like they shared one brain. And right now, Gryffindor needed beaters that actually worked with each other. Plus being Angelina's little cousins didn't hurt.
Choosing new chasers was a whole different story. Tobias Walker was an obvious choice, but after him, nobody else stood out. The three must have debated over who should fill the final spot for the rest of Saturday and the better part of Sunday. But in the end, Harry was sure they made the right decision.
He pushed through the crowd of students standing around the board and posted the parchment listing the results on it, along with a tentative list of practice times. He had to fight his way back out of the crowd as everyone rushed in, trying to read the paper all at once. Harry made his way to the couch in front of the fire place, where Hermione, Ron and Mindy were seated. He sat down, ignoring the disappointed groans and excited yelps coming from the other side of the room.
Harry looked at Mindy, who appeared to be working on Transfigurations homework. "Aren't you going to see if you made it?" He asked.
"I probably haven't." Mindy answered, glancing up from her work for a second before going back to it.
"You don't know that." Harry said.
"Just the same, I'd rather wait for the crowd to die down some." She said. She looked up at Harry and asked. "Have you done your Potions homework yet? It's due tomorrow."
"Oh." Harry said. "I know. I'll work on it tonight."
"I think you ought to work it now." Mindy said, closing her Transfigurations book, and pulling out her Potions book. "Come on. We'll do it together."
"There's no rush." Harry said. "We have time."
"Yeah, but you have to get your work perfect." Mindy said. "You heard Snape. He'll kick anybody he doesn't think is doing well enough out."
"Mindy's right, Harry." Hermione said, glancing up from her Arithamacy. "You had better start your homework."
"Personally." Ron jumped in. "I'd be glad to get out Snape's class."
Harry nodded his agreement. "I wouldn't complain."
"But I would." Mindy answered. "If you leave, I'd be all by myself. And who am I suppose to make rude comments to about his hair then?"
Harry grinned. "Oh, fine then. Let's do our homework, but only after you look and see if you've made the team."
"Alright." Mindy said standing. "If that's what it takes to get you to work on Potions." She left the group and walked over to join the gaggle of students around the board.
Hermione looked at her and then back at Harry and Ron. "Did she make the team?" She asked.
Harry grinned and Ron nodded. "It was a hard choice." Ron said. "But Mindy was really good on the broom. Plus we like her."
"Really?" Hermione raised an eyebrow. "Just a few days ago, Ron, you were claiming she worked for You-Know-Who."
"Just a few days ago, I was being paranoid." Ron answered. "I still think there's something different about her, but she's an alright person."
"Yeah." Harry said, watching Mindy as she got tired of waiting at the back of the group and started pushing her way to the front of the line. "She's a very alright person." Harry could feel two sets of eyes on him and he looked back at Ron and Hermione. "What?"
"Over Cho already, I see." Hermione said.
"No." Harry gasped. "It's not like..." But Mindy was back. She plopped down next to Harry and threw her arms around his neck.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you." She said. She gave him a kiss on the cheek and Harry could feel the blood rushing to his face. "You guys won't be sorry. I'll be the best chaser you've ever seen" Mindy said, rushing over to give Ron an equally tight hug. "Thank you."
She released Ron and turned to head for the girls' dorms. Ron's ears were slightly pink, but Harry knew that was nothing compared to the scarlet his cheeks must be.
"I have to go find Ginny and thank her." Mindy said, halfway to the door leading up to the girls' rooms. "But we're still doing our potions as soon as I get back." She said, spinning around to look at Harry. "So get your book out."
"Uh-huh." Harry said, ducking his head so Mindy wouldn't see the blush still plastered across his face.
"Humm-hmm." Hermione grinned, as soon as Mindy had left the room.
Harry looked at her, and Hermione gave him a knowing smile before turning back to her homework.
~*~*~*~*
The days turned into weeks and soon September was melting away into October. No more excitement happened. Ron didn't have anymore readings during class, and the school was gradually forgetting he was even a diviner. Even Parvati and Lavender were leaving him alone, much to Ron's relief.
As October steadily came closer, the school began to buzz with talk about the first D. A. meeting. It had taken Harry the better part of September to pick the perfect day. Working around Quidditch practices and student schedules wasn't easy. But several meetings with all the Quidditch captains (including to his displeasure the Slytherin) and numerous polls of the students, led him to believe that Thursday was probably the day most students could make it. So on Monday, of the last week of September, he announced the first meeting of D. A. would be October second. Anticipating a large turn out, Professor Dumbledore told him he could hold the meeting in the Great Hall. Harry didn't know if he'd have that many students out, but he could probably use the extra space anyway. But until then, he still had to deal with classes.
Harry had to admit, he had been nervous about going to Defense against the Dark Arts the next day. He wasn't sure how Professor Trelawney would take him teaching a class she was supposed to be over. But to his up most surprise, she was completely supportive. Half way through their lesson (searching Tarot Cards for dark enemies) she floated over to Ron's and Harry's table.
Both Ron and Harry were doing terribly at the lesson and had just started making up scenarios they thought fit the picture on the cards.
"Okay." Ron said, looking down at a card he held in his hand. "This guy has a lot of swords stuck in him, so obviously that means somebody's going to stab you in the back Harry."
"Really?" Harry asked.
"Oh, yeah." Ron answered. "And because the guy on the card in blond, it will be a brunette that does it."
"Okay." Harry said. "What else?"
"Okay. Let's see. And since it's a guy on the card that means the person will be a girl. Yeah. A girl. And she won't use swords. What's opposite of a sword?"
Harry shrugged. "How about a feather?"
"That sounds good." Ron said. "The girl will stab you with a feather. Beware the feathers, Harry."
Harry grinned. "So let me get this straight. A brunette girl is going to stab me in the back with a feather?"
"It's possible." Ron said, laying the card down, and drawing the next. "I mean if I was gonna to stab somebody in the...Oh, hi Professor Trelawney."
Harry looked back to see Professor Trelawney staring down at him. She smiled mistily. "How are the readings going?"
"Brilliantly." Ron lied.
"I knew it would be for my star pupil." Professor Trelawney turned her large eyes on Harry. "I hear you're going to host a Defense against the Darks Arts club."
"Oh, um, yes." Harry answered, a bit nervously.
Professor Trelawney smiled a real smile. "Oh, good. I'm glad my influence is rubbing off on you already. I would like to be of some assistance in your little endeavor." She pulled three books out of her robes and sat them on the table. "I bought these over the summer when Professor Dumbledore asked if I would teach this class." She said. "I, of course, don't need them, but I believe you will be showing the students what to do if they cannot master the Eye in enough time to prevent being attack dark forces. You may find them more useful than I."
Harry picked up the books, fully expecting to see something like 'Finding Danger by Reading the Signs', but to his surprise they were real defense against the dark art books. It was a three volume set, 'Practical Defense, by Unpractical Methods'. He flipped through the first book, spotting several spells he would probably get into a lot of trouble for using, but he couldn't wait to try out.
"Thanks." Harry said. "I can really use these."
Professor Trelawney nodded. "I know." She said. "If you need anything else, stop by and see me." She turned around and floated off.
"Who knew Professor Trelawney could be helpful." Ron said who had grabbed volume two of the series. "Wow, a body binding curse that's strong enough to work on Vampires." He looked up at Harry. "That's a serious spell. Will you teach us this one?"
"Maybe." Harry said, looking at the technique for the curse. He grinned. He was going to have fun with these books.
It was Potions that he should have been worried about however. All his other teachers really had lightened their work load on him. Professor Trelawney had given Harry a free pass on homework for the rest of year, saying that D. A. was more than enough outside work to make up for whatever assignments she might assign. Professor Lupin didn't ask him to write as long of essays, usually shaving a couple of inches off the assignments. He had never had much trouble in Hagrid's class and the only person Firenze was really concerned with doing homework was Ron. But Snape seemed to give him extra work. If was not for Mindy, Harry didn't know how he would keep up in the class.
"I hate him." Harry said, tossing his quill down and sitting back on the couch. He was back in Gryffindor tower, sitting in his usual place in front of the fire.
Mindy was seated next to him. "I know." She said, looking up from her Potions book, "But you've got to do this, Harry."
"I want to quit." Harry said, refusing to look at his homework.
"No you don't." Mindy answered. "You need Potions if you're going to be an Auror."
"No I don't." Harry said, stubbornly.
Mindy smiled at him and wrapped one arm around his shoulders. "Yes you do, Harry. And come on, you've gotten this far. Don't give up now. He's got to let up on you soon."
Harry smiled at Mindy. He liked it when she sat close to him. It almost made Potions worth it. "Alright. I guess I can keep going."
"Good." Mindy grinned, turning back to her work. "How far have you gotten on that essay?"
"Um, I have two and a half feet. One more foot to go and then I'm done."
"Good." Mindy said. "Can I read what you've got so far?"
Harry nodded, sliding Mindy his parchment. He looked up as Hermione and Ron stepped through the portrait hole. They walked over, Ron flopping down in the arm chair, Hermione taking a seat next Mindy.
"What are you two working on?" Hermione asked.
"Potions." Mindy answered.
"You should be working on your first lesson for D.A." Ron said, frowning at the Potions homework.
Harry nodded. "Yeah, but if I don't do this now, I never will."
Ron shrugged and pulled out his Divinations book. "Say, Harry. Can I read your palm? I'm supposed to read three people for homework, and Firenze will know if I make it up."
Harry glanced up. "I don't remember that assignment."
"That's because I'm the only one who has to do it." Ron answered. "What do you say?"
Harry looked at Ron. He didn't know if he was entirely comfortable with Ron reading him. While, for the most part Ron hadn't been seeing anything, Harry didn't want to chance any dark visions. So far, there hadn't been any trouble and he didn't want any to turn up. "Um, maybe later." Harry said.
"It's okay." Ron said, looking at Harry. "I'll go find Collin. He owes me."
Hermione watched Ron walk away. "He's really taking this class seriously." She said.
"You expected him not to?" Mindy asked, glancing over at Hermione.
Hermione shrugged. "I don't know. It's a nice change though." She looked over at Harry. "You should let him read you, Harry. He's not completely accurate, but its fun."
"I'm sure it is." Harry said, never looking up.
"It's alright if you're nervous." Hermione said. "But there's really nothing to worry about."
"I know." Harry said. "Tell me everything you know about snake wood." He added, just to change the subject.
"I know a lot about snake wood." Hermione said.
"Good." Harry said. "That should make up the last foot of my essay."
"Loads of homework from Snape again?"
Harry nodded.
"He's only doing it because you're over D. A." Hermione said. "It's like you're teaching the class he's always wanted."
Harry nodded again. "I hate him."
Hermione smiled. "I know."
Harry finished up his Potions homework (well, Mindy and Hermione finished it for him) and he went up to his room where it was quiet, to plan for his first D. A. meeting. He hadn't been working an hour when Ron came in. Harry glanced up at him. He looked a bit distracted, and a little worried.
"Is something wrong?" Harry asked.
"I don't know." Ron answered. "I think something's going to happen."
Harry frowned. "What do you mean?"
Ron shook his head. "I don't know. It was foggy." He looked over at Harry for the first time since stepping into the room. "I think we ought to keep an eye on Collin." Harry didn't know what to say to this, but Ron wasn't expecting a response and went on. "I tried to warn him, but I didn't exactly know what to say. I don't think he was listening anyway."
"What do you think is going to happen to him?" Harry asked.
"I don't know. All I saw was--dark. That can't be good though, right?" He looked at Harry questioningly.
Harry shook his head. "Maybe you should ask someone. Firenze or Hermione even. She's read a lot about Divinations, since you became a diviner."
Ron shook his head again. "No. It was probably nothing. Let's just keep an eye on him." He sat down on the edge of his bed. He was much paler than he had been an hour earlier. "I think I'll go to bed now." Ron said.
Harry watched Ron, wondering if maybe he should tell someone. But if he told, then that would be acknowledging that there might be something wrong. And he desperately did not want anything to be wrong.
~*~*~*~*
Before Harry knew it, October had come and then October second was there. Harry could not get through his breakfast the morning of the second with out someone coming up asking him about what he had planned for the evening's lesson. The first years seem particularly excited and they buzzed around most of the morning.
He found it difficult to focus in classes, but Professor Trelawney seemed to understand and left him to his thoughts. He had no such luck with Professor Snape who found any opportunity to pick on him. Snape was quizzing Harry about the details of a sleeping potion Harry never even heard of, when Mindy jumped in. She answered every question before Harry could open his mouth.
Professor Snape whirled on Mindy. "I am speaking to Mr. Potter, Ms. James. I expect him to answer the questions."
"Well, I'm speaking to you." Mindy said. "And if I know the answers, I will give them."
Snape frowned. "Detention, Ms. James. Tonight. At six."
"But D. A. is tonight at six." Mindy said. "You can't give me detention for then."
Snape became very quiet. His already pale skin lost even more of its color and he looked ashen faced. He was dangerously angry. "I will give you detention when I choose." He answered quietly.
Mindy rolled her eyes at him. "Oh, fine, Severus. Whatever makes you happy."
Harry, along with the rest of the class, stared at Mindy. She had called Snape by his first name. Either she was very brave or very insane.
"What did you call me?" Professor Snape hissed.
Mindy didn't answer. She folded her arms across her chest and attempted to stare Snape down.
"I will see you every night for a week." Snape said. "And it won't be fun and games."
"Oh, darn." Mindy said. "Now I have to put away my party hat."
Little spots of color formed on Snape's cheeks. They stood out against his white skin. He said nothing to Mindy. Instead he whirled around, his black robes flaring out about him, and marched to his desk. Professor Snape was so angry with Mindy that he had completely forgotten Harry, and he left the boy alone for the rest of the period.
"I can't you believe you did that." Harry said to Mindy as they were leaving the dungeon classroom.
"Did what?" Mindy asked nonchalantly.
"What do mean, did what?" Harry asked. "Mindy, you really took a blow back there."
Mindy laughed. "What're you talking about Harry?"
"A week with Snape."
Mindy smiled. "I kept him off your back, didn't I? Remember I promised."
Harry took Mindy's hand and squeezed it. "I won't forget this." He said, looking her in her large eyes.
Mindy looked back at Harry. He could see just the tiniest of blushes starting to work its way across her nose. "Oh, um." She looked down, seeming to remember that she was holding his hand. She took it back quickly. "It was nothing." She said, looking away. "I have to go...um...do...that thing." She turned and hurried off; though it seemed to Harry she had just picked a random direction and gone it.
Harry didn't see Mindy again that evening. He had thought he'd see her at dinner (which had been moved up to accommodate the nights D. A. meeting), but she never turned up. Harry didn't stay long, though. He found it hard to eat, wondering about what would happen that night, but mostly thinking about Mindy. He left early, telling Ron and Hermione he had to prepare for the night.
At 5:30 he met up with Ron, Hermione, and Ginny and headed down to the Great Hall. Again, he didn't see Mindy, but he assumed she was probably on her way down to the dungeons. When he arrived at the Great Hall, he found that it was looked good deal different from the way it had looked that morning. The long house tables were gone. In the middle of the room was a large pedestal. Harry walked towards it warily.
"Am I supposed to stand on that?" He asked. He had just assumed he would be floor level with the other people there. He wasn't sure he would like standing above every one else's head.
"I guess it's so everybody can see you." Hermione said, walking towards the pedestal.
"Does Professor Dumbledore think that many people will show up?" Harry asked.
"All of the fifth years will be here." Ginny said, "And that alone should fill up this room."
"Maybe." Harry said. He walked over to the pedestal, dumping the books he had brought down with him on it, and set down on the edge.
"Harry, I was thinking about how you should go about this." Hermione said, joining Harry on the pedestal. "There will be a lot more people this time around and you might do better if you split everybody up into groups. First, second and third years could go in one group. Fourth and sixth years in another. If any seventh years show up they can go with them. The fifth years should be by themselves, so you can go over stuff that will probably be on the OWLs. That way you can show the younger students things more appropriate to their age, and not have to worry about the older ones becoming bored with old spells. How does that sound?"
"Sounds...okay." Harry answered. "But I was only planning on one lesson."
"What were you going to do?" Hermione asked.
Harry shrugged. "I figured I'd start with the basics. I'd show everyone some simple stunning spells. And that shield charmed I show you guys last year seemed to work well."
"The older kids already know that stuff." Ron said. "Hermione's right. You ought to split us up."
"Okay." Harry said. "But what will I go over with the fourth, fifth and sixth years then."
"How about that body binding curse that's strong enough for vampires." Ron answered. "I know you've been practicing it."
Harry grinned. He had been working with the curse, and a good deal more from the books Professor Trelawney had given him, in his spare time. "I could do that."
"But how is any one going to practice it?" Hermione reasoned. "A spell that strong would be dangerous to humans. You can't expect people to partner up and practice on each other."
Harry nodded. "I know. But I guess I can just show everyone the technique. Maybe I can talk to Professor Lupin and see if he can get us a buggart. If we can get it to turn into a vampire, people can take turns practicing on it."
"And it would be good to show the first and second years what to do with buggarts." Ginny nodded her agreement. "And good review for the fifth years."
Hermione shrugged. "I suppose that sounds alright. But your first lesson will be a short one."
I wasn't planning on it being too long." He said. He dug through the pile of books he had brought with him until he found volume two of 'Practical Defense by Unpractical Methods' and began reading up on the 'Totalus Dominatus'.
It was five till six when the first of the students began to trickle in. Cho Chang was among the first to arrive. She walked over to Harry.
"Hi." She said, smiling at him. "So, how are you?"
Harry looked up at her. "I'm good."
"You look good." She said,
"Er, Thanks."
She smiled again before turning around and going to join some of her friends.
Harry frowned at her back, shrugged, then turned back to his book.
"You know, she broke up with Michael Corner." Ginny said quietly, leaning towards Harry.
Harry looked up. "I didn't know." He said.
"I only know because Michael tried to get back with me."
"You didn't take him back, did you?" Ron asked looking quite horrified at the idea.
"Course not." Ginny answered. "I'm dating Dean. Anyway, Harry, I guess she's trying to let you know she's available again."
"Oh." Harry said. He thought about whether or not he cared, and decided he didn't. He said nothing more on the subject and went back to practicing the wrist flicks of the binding curse.
By six o'clock the Great Hall was filled. Harry was slightly surprised to see the huge turn out. All of the fifth years were present. He had expected that. But he didn't expect a unanimous showing from the first and second years (including most of, if not all of, the Slytherins). All of the Gryffindors had come, and nearly all of the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws. Even a good deal of the seventh years had showed up. He saw that Hermione was right. The only way he would be able to show anybody anything was to break them up into groups.
Standing on top of the pedestal, Harry waited for everyone to notice that he was ready to start and quiet down. When he had everyone's attention he began. "Okay. Welcome to the first meeting of D. A. First off, I'd like everybody to split up. First, Second and third years to the right side of the room please. You guys are group one. Fifth years in the middle. You're group two. And fourth, sixth and seventh years take the left. You can be group three." There was a good deal of shuffling as everyone found their places. Harry waited once again for the room to quiet down. "Alright. Group one, you will work on a simple stunning spell today. Can I get a volunteer, please?"
No one stepped forward immediately. After a bit mumbling one small brown head started making its way to the platform, and to Harry's surprise Tobias Walker stepped up on the low stage. "What do I have to do?" He asked.
"Nothing." Harry answered. "Just stand there." He turned back to group one. "Alright. I'm going to stun Tobias." He turned back to Tobias. "Are you ready?" Tobias nodded. Harry held up his wand and yelled "STUPEFY!" Tobias became rigid and fell back. There was a collective gasp from the first and second years, who hadn't had a chance to see this spell in action. Harry quickly revived the boy and instructed group one to break into pairs to practice.
He then turned his attentions to the fifth years and quickly demonstrated the shielding spell--"You say 'Protego'"-- and set them to work in pairs; one person attempting to stun his partner and the other trying to shield the blast.
Finally he turned to the last group. "Okay. I thought you should work on something harder. There is a body binding spell that is strong enough to bind vampires. The spell is too strong to be performed on each other, so I'll just teach you the words and show you the technique. What you need to say is 'Totalus Dominatus'. Make sure you flick your wrist like this," he demonstrated flicking his wrist in a smooth upward and downward motion, "Or the spell won't come off right." He looked back at all the waiting faces. "Okay." He called. "Everyone, get started."
Soon the Great Hall was filled with the sounds of kids shouting 'Stupefy' and 'Protego' and jets of red and green bouncing off the walls. Harry hopped down from the platform and walked through the crowds of students, correcting mistakes and ducking random magical blasts. Professor Dumbledore stopped in for about half an hour. He watched the going-ons a bit. He sent Harry a nod and a wink, before stepping out of the room again.
After about two hours of practice, Harry decided everyone had worked hard enough for the night. He was fairly sure most of the fifth years had gotten a hang of the stunning spell and shielding charm. Judging from the great number of first, second and third years shaking off the effects of stupefy, he was confident they had picked up that spell. The fourth, sixth, and seventh years were having some trouble with 'Totalus Dominatus', but he expected that. It was tricky spell and the majority of them were doing very well.
Harry hopped back onto the platform and shot off a series of red sparks. This got every bodies attention and they turned to look at him. "Okay." He called. "That's enough for tonight. I think everyone is doing fairly well, but if you have any questions I'll wait here for a bit afterward. We'll meet again, same time next week. See you then."
The students began putting away their wands and exiting the Great Hall. Hermione walked up the platform. "Harry, I have to go. I've still got a little Arithamacy homework to do." She said. "I'll see you back at the tower."
Harry nodded. "See you."
Ron waved at Harry, following after Hermione. "Bye, Harry." He called, before disappearing into the crowd of departing students.
Gradually the Great Hall emptied out and Harry began to gather up his books. He turned around, about to leave, when he spotted Dennis Creevey coming back in. "Is something wrong?" Harry asked.
"No." Denis answered. "It's just that my brother wants to interview you about your first D. A. meeting. He ran back up to the Tower to get his note pad. I told him I'll ask you to wait."
"Now?" Harry asked. "He wants to interview me now?"
Dennis shrugged. "He figures he won't get a chance to later. Will you wait for him?"
Harry sighed. "Sure. I guess."
"Great." Dennis grinned. "I'll go tell him." The boy turned on his heels and ran out, leaving Harry alone.
Harry sat down on the stage to wait, and began thumbing through his books. He heard the doors open and he looked up fully expecting to see Collin walking in. He was pleasantly surprised, however, to see that it was Mindy approaching him. He smiled at her. "Hi."
Mindy grinned back. She looked exhausted. One long strand of hair had come down from her usually tight pony tail. There was a smudge of dirt on her left cheek. "I guess I missed the whole thing."
"Yeah." Harry said. "Sorry."
"It's okay." Mindy said, walking over to sit down next to Harry. "I'll catch it next week. So, did it go well?"
Harry nodded. "It went very well." He looked at her and the tired expression on her face. "What did Snape have you doing?"
Mindy grimaced. "Cleaning the grim out of the corners in his class. I swear that class hadn't been cleaned since the school was built."
"I never even noticed there was grim in the corners of the class."
"Well, you'd better notice that there isn't any now. And I expect a compliment on how spotless everything is too. Or you'll be sorry, Harry Potter."
Harry grinned. He reached up and brushed the loose strand of her hair behind her ear. "I promise I'll notice." He said.
Mindy looked up at Harry. That tiny blush was starting to spread across her nose again. And to Harry she had never looked prettier. Harry touched the smudge on her cheek and in a moment of insanity (or clarity) decided he wanted to kiss her. He leaned towards her.
"Harry?" Mindy whispered quietly. Her warm breath touched his lips, and he closed his eyes moving in closer. Their noses touched and then their glasses collided.
Harry sat back, and Mindy turned away. Harry laughed nervously. "I had forgotten these." He said, reaching up to take off his glasses.
Mindy had removed hers as well, and was rubbing the bridge of her nose. "Harry we can't..."
But Harry wasn't listening. He was thinking it was now or never. He touched her cheek again, and Mindy stopped talking. She turned to look at Harry. There was a something in her eyes. Longing and...something else. Was it reluctance? Harry decided not to think anymore. He leaned towards her. Their lips were inches apart and then they met. At first Harry thought Mindy was going to pull away, but then she was leaning into the kiss. Harry felt her arms wrap around his waist. The tip of her tongue touched his lips and he parted them. He leaned in to the kiss, pulling her closer, but then her hands were on his chest. She pulled back, pushing him away gently, almost unwillingly.
"Harry." Mindy said, standing up and walking a few feet away, her back to him. "We can't..."
"What?" Harry asked. "Didn't you...I mean, I thought..."
Mindy turned around. "It's not that. It's just..."
But whatever she was going to say was cut off by the creak of the Great Hall door. Harry looked up annoyed, and for the second time that night was surprise to see the person walking through the doors. This time it was Ron followed by Hermione. He looked incredibly distraught, staring wildly around the room. "Where's Collin?" He asked, completely ignoring the fact that Harry and Mindy had been in the middle of something.
"I don't know." Harry snapped.
Ron looked at Harry but didn't register the annoyance in his voice. "Come on. We have to find him." He turned and ran back out of the Great Hall
Harry looked at Hermione who shrugged. "Sorry." She apologized. "But I think we should keep up with."
Harry nodded and he and Mindy followed Hermione out of the Great Hall. They caught up with Ron quickly and headed down one of the many deserted corridors of Hogwarts.
"What's going on?" Mindy asked.
Hermione shook her head. "I'm not entirely sure. Ron saw Dennis and just got this weird look in his eyes. Then he said we had to find Collin; that something was wrong."
Harry thought back to other night when Ron had come back to their room and what he said about Collin. He jogged a few paces so that he was strolling along side Ron. "Does this have something to do with what you saw when you read Collin?"
Ron nodded. "I think so. When I saw Dennis earlier, there was, I don't know, a black cloud hanging over his head. But it wasn't about himself. It was about his brother. We have to find him before it's..." Ron stopped dead. Harry quickly halted to keep from out running his friend. He felt Hermione bump into him.
"What is it?" She asked.
"Too late." Ron moaned. He was staring into a darkened hall. All of the posted torches were out.
Harry frowned. That rarely happened at Hogwarts. He pulled out his wand. "Lumos." He shinned the thin beam of light into the hall and there, less than halfway down, was a boy lying on his stomach. It was Collin. Harry recognized his curling hair; the note pad lying next to him. "Collin." Harry called, but the boy wasn't moving. He looked very dead.
Behind him, Mindy moaned. "I'd better go get Madam Pomfrey." He heard Hermione say, though what Madam Pomfrey could do for Collin Creevey now was beyond Harry.
"Someone should tell Professor Dumbledore." Harry said.
"I'll go." Mindy volunteered and hurried away.
Harry walked over to the boy and knelt down beside his body. He looked back at Ron, who hadn't come any further than the entrance. He looked paler than Harry ever remembered seeing him.
"Are you okay?"
"I knew this was going to happen." Ron whispered. "I knew and I didn't stop it." He sat down on the floor, hard. "I'm sorry, Collin."
Harry looked back at the boy on the floor, and for a second he thought he was looking at Cedric Diggory. Harry squeezed his eyes shut and when he opened them again, he noticed something hadn't noticed before: A single black owl feather lying gently across Collin's right hand.
~*~*~*~*
Well there's chapter six. I thought it'd take me longer to finish, but once I started working on it, I didn't want to stop. It's way longer than my past chapters, but I had a lot to get out this time around. Well, I put Harry and Mindy together, but you guys saw that coming, right? I got more votes for those two, and I was kinda leaning that way myself. I think it should work out well, even if doesn't end entirely happy.
Anyway, I hope ya'll enjoyed.
That is all from me.
Today's fan fic was brought to you by the letter R. And what begins with R?
REVIEW!!!
And BlueMew I can understand how you would hate Professor Trelawney's class. It was meant to be horrible. Because the way I see it is, Professor Trelawney's only knows how to teach one subject and that is divinations. Now she's required to teach DaDA. She's not entirely sure what she's doing, so she's doing the best she can with what she's got. Professor Dumbledore understands this, and this also part of the reason he asked Harry to head D. A. again.
Thanks to all my other reviewers. Your encouragements really make me want to keep going with this story. And so I will.
But first I must mention that I don't own Harry Potter. Now...
Read on.
~*~*~*~*
Chapter 6 Dumbledore's Army
Harry told Hermione and Ron what happened during potions. Ron was ecstatic to learn that Draco Malfoy really wasn't going to be at Hogwarts this year, but Hermione was more concerned with what Pansy had blurted out.
"Who is 'she', Harry, and what does Pansy mean, 'she'll be coming for you'?
Harry shrugged. "Don't really know; don't really care."
"What do you mean you don't care?" Hermione exclaimed. "This could be serious."
"I don't think it is." Harry said, shaking his head. "Pansy's just pissed off that her boyfriend isn't here, and she's trying to get to me."
"Ugh. Malfoy and Parkinson." Ron said, making a spewy face. "I bet those two won't be winning any couple of the year awards."
"Well, a nasty boy like Malfoy deserves an equally nasty girl." Hermione said, before turning back to Harry. "I think you're taking this way too lightly. This could really be something you need to worry about. I wouldn't be surprised if the Parkinson family has some ties with Vol--" ("Hermione!" Ron hissed. "Don't.") "--oh fine, Ron, with You-Know-Who."
"No." Harry said. "What I think is that this year I'm going to be way too busy to worry about something a bratty girl having a hissy fit said, because she's upset that the only boy who could stomach taking her to the Holiday Ball isn't going to be here."
"But what about what Ron prophesized?"
"For the last time, it wasn't a prophesy." Ron insisted. "It was a..."
"Reading." Hermione finished. "Because you're a Seer. I know, Ron. But it was still a vision of the future. A vision that said something would be coming for you, Harry. I think what Pansy said is connected to what Ron read."
Harry looked at Hermione. That certainly made a lot of sense, and she was probably right. Hermione was almost always right. But after what happened last year, he would not get involved in another "adventure". Or at least nothing he could drag his friends into. He would not loose another person he loved. And if that meant ignoring the obvious, then that would be what he did.
Deciding the best course of action would be to ignore Hermione's last statement, Harry asked. "What's a Seer, and how's that different from a Diviner?"
"Huh? Oh. A Seer isn't different from a Diviner. Not really. A seer is special kind of Diviner. They can read the future in living things, like trees and people. In animals and other magical creatures. Anything that's alive. The stars too, although the stars aren't really alive. There's just some sort of magical quality about them." Hermione answered. "And Seers don't just see the future. They can read past events, and emotions too. Especially if they are strong emotions."
Ron nodded. "That's why none of the junk I did in Professor Trelawney's class worked for me. Tea leaves are already dead. Crystal balls are just hunks of glass. We didn't do too much of anything with something that was really living."
"Oh." Harry said, immensely relieved to be having a different conversation. He knew Hermione would take the bait. She never could resist explaining something.
"Hey. What's going on?"
Harry looked back and smiled as Mindy sat down next to him. "Hermione was just explaining to me what a Seer is."
"Oh." Mindy said, looking over at Ron. "So that's what you are?"
Ron nodded. "At least that's what Firenze tells me. And Hermione confirms it. She read about it in all those books she got for me."
"And that you haven't read yet." Hermione frowned.
Ron shrugged, sitting back. "Why should I have to read about it? I'm living it."
"Really." Hermione huffed. "If it was me, I'd want to learn all I could about what I am."
Ron frowned. "Seems you already are, and it's not you."
"You, see, Ron. That's you problem. You never..."
Harry turned away from the bickering that would undoubtedly grow into a full blown argument and looked at Mindy. "What happened with Snape?"
"Nothing." Mindy shrugged. "I have detention, is all."
"Oh." Harry said. "I hope he doesn't have you doing something disgusting."
"I don't think it will be that bad." Mindy answered. "Things could be worse, I suppose."
"Naw." Harry said. "I can't think of anything worse than detention with Snape."
Mindy smirked. "That's only because he hates you."
"He doesn't seem so fond of you." Harry retorted with a grin.
"Yeah, well, I plan to give him hell." Mindy grinned. The smile on her face faded as she turned to look Harry in the eye. "What are you going to do?"
Harry frowned. "About what?"
"About what Pansy said."
Harry stared at Mindy. Not her too. He had just gotten out that conversation with Hermione. He didn't want to get in with Mindy. "Pretend like I never heard it." He answered shortly and stood.
"I don't care about what you think about..." Ron was practically shouting at Hermione, but stopped when he saw Harry's sudden movement. "Where are you going?"
"Back to the Tower. I have homework." Harry answered, and turned to walk away. He could feel three sets of eyes on him but he didn't look back. They would probably start discussing him as soon as he left the Great Hall. They would be worried, but that just made it all the more important for him to pretend like there wasn't problem. He knew it was foolish and completely unrealistic to believe if he ignored the trouble that was undoubtedly coming, it wouldn't come. But he didn't know what else to do. He wouldn't watch another friend die.
~*~*~*~*
The next few days passed without incident. Everyone was falling back into the rhythm of school. After the first few bumpy days, things were returning to normal. Or at least as normal as things got at a school for witch craft and wizardry.
Mindy was getting the hang of being a student, and was even able to suppress the desire to tell Professor Lupin how to teach Transfigurations. She joined in class activities and was starting to gain the same reputation Hermione had: impossibly knowledgeable on every subject imaginable.
Harry was right. Their second Defense against Darks Arts lesson was no better than the first, and she was actually glad Harry had decided to institute D. A. It was good to know that the students of Hogwarts would get a proper lesson from someone. She found Potions particularly enjoyable. She did little things that annoyed Snape beyond belief. She constantly interrupted his lesson with stupid questions, made several rude comments about his hair, and would chatter with anyone close enough to be suckered into a conversation. She was careful not to include Harry though. She didn't want Snape taking any frustrations with her out on Harry. By the end of her second Potions class, she had lost 150 points. But she more than made up for that in Transfigurations and Care of Magical Creatures the next day.
Soon it was Friday evening and she found herself making her way down to the dungeons. She pushed the classroom door open and stepped in. Severus looked up as she walked towards his desk.
"I'm ready to get started." Mindy said.
Snape nodded. "Go get your cauldron set up." He stood and waved his wand. The potion his morning class had been working on disappeared from the blackboard and a new one began writing across the board. "This is a very delicate potion." Snape said turning around to look at Mindy as she pulled out the ingredients needed as they appeared on the blackboard. "If you don't get the measurements exactly right and you drink the potion..."
"My head will explode?" Mindy asked a mock hopeful tone in her voice.
Snape narrowed his eyes. "Your head will not explode. Though there could be equally disastrous consequences."
"But no exploding head?" Mindy asked, sounding fairly disappointed. "Too bad. I always wondered what the inside of a head looked like."
"That is not funny, Minerva."
"How would you know, Severus? You never had much of a sense of humor."
Severus studied her for a moment. "Just get started. You won't leave until you get it right."
"I hope it doesn't take too long." Mindy commented, filling her cauldron with water and bringing it to a boil. "Gryffindor Quidditch tryouts are tomorrow."
"What does that have to do with you?" Snape asked.
"I'm trying out." Mindy answered. "And I should probably get as much rest tonight as I can."
Snape frowned. "You can't try out." He said. "It's unfair to the other students."
"Don't be ridiculous." Mindy said looking up from the dragon scale she was mincing. "I'm sixteen too you know. Besides, I probably won't make the team. It has been a while since I've played Quidditch. Everybody else will probably be better than me."
"Then why are you trying out at all?"
"Harry asked me to."
"Oh, right. 'Harry'." Snape sneered.
Mindy frowned. "Yes, Harry. And speaking of the boy, why are you so horrible to him?"
"What are you talking about?"
"In class, you're always staring down your nose at him; searching for a mistake."
"Potter is the one most likely to make a mistake."
"Talk about being unfair." Mindy frowned. "You're not even giving Harry a chance."
"Give him a chance for what? Potter won't last long in my class, Minerva. He doesn't have the right...qualities."
"You don't know that. You don't try to see what he does right. You're always looking for what he does wrong."
"That's because he does very little right."
"Oh, just give him a chance, Severus. Take it easy on him and..."
"I will not take it easy on him. That's his problem. Everybody is always letting him off; treating him special. He may have every other professor in this school charmed into believing he's perfect, but I have news for you, Minerva, he is not the sweet little angelic boy everyone is trying to make him out to be."
"No one said he was an angle. I would be the last person to call him that. He can get himself into his share of trouble. But just because he isn't an angel, Severus, it doesn't make him a devil."
"You're just as deluded by the Great Harry Potter as every body else, Minerva."
"That's not true. Harry has never tried to delude anybody. And you're being prejudice against him."
Snape shook his head. "I'll run my class the way I see fit. I won't put your precious Potter out, but if he can't cut it..."
"Ha." Mindy huffed. "If you want to worry about somebody not cutting it, it should be Parkinson. She wouldn't know she had a salinta potion if she drank it and couldn't speak for a month."
Snape tilted his head, and looked at Mindy curiously. "Now you're making fun of the other students, Minerva."
Mindy looked up surprise. She couldn't believe she had just said that about Pansy. She may be sixteen, but she was still Professor Minerva McGonagall. And professors don't call their students stupid. She shook her head, frowning. "I--I don't know what got into me. I shouldn't have said that about Pansy. She has...potential. I'm sorry."
Snape shrugged. "You're sixteen. I suppose you should expect slips of the tongue. Just drop this whole Potter thing and we'll call it even."
Mindy nodded. "But Harry will do alright in your class, Severus. You'll see."
Snape rolled his eyes. "Fine, Minerva, if you insist on believing that. You need to start your potion over."
Mindy blinked, caught a little off guard by Snape's last statement. "Huh?" She looked down at her potion. It looked alright to her. "What? Why?"
"You've left it boiling too long. It's ruined." Snape waved his wand and the contents of Mindy's cauldron disappeared. "Start again. And this time less talk and more work."
Mindy frowned, but started again. She soon realized what Severus meant when he said the potion was very delicate. Everything had to be precisely timed and accurately measured or else it would be either no good, or volatile. Several times she put an ingredient in too quickly and her potion exploded on her. She supposed the potion was so complex because it was so modified. De-aging potions were never meant to last a full three months. They were never meant to last a full three hours.
She had to start anew five times, before she finally got the potion right. Then Snape made her brew it three more times, just to ensure that the first time wasn't just a lucky chance. It was just past mid-night before she left the dungeon classroom, and Mindy wanted nothing more than to never see it again.
~*~*~*~*
Mindy awoke the next morning to someone shaking her arm. She cracked one eye opened and saw Hermione leaning over her. "Go away." Mindy mumbled sleepily, rolling over.
"If you're still planning on trying out for the Quidditch team, Mindy, I suggest you get up."
Mindy opened her eyes and set up. That's right. Today was Saturday. She looked over at Hermione. "What time is?"
"It's 8:00. You should have been on the pitch five minutes ago."
"Oh, no." Mindy moaned, rolling out of bed and grabbing her things. "Why didn't you wake me earlier?"
"I did." Hermione answered. "At 7:30. You said you were getting up. I guessed you changed your mind."
"I don't even remember that." Mindy said, as she stood up and stumbled for the door. "Will you go tell Harry I'm on my way there?"
"Sure." Hermione answered. "He'll understand. You did get in pretty late last night."
"Thanks." Mindy said, rushing out the room, heading for the girls bathroom. Fifteen minutes later, her broom in hand, and hair still damp, she ran out onto the Quidditch pitch. There were more students present than she had expected. But with so many openings on the team, she guessed she should have expected a large turn out. She looked around and spotted Harry, Ron and Ginny standing off to one side of the field surrounded by a bunch of hopeful Gryffindors. Harry looked back, spotted her and waved.
Mindy smiled and returned the wave, before walking towards him.
"You're just in time." Harry said. "We've already had try outs for beaters and we're about to see the chasers now."
"So I haven't missed anything?" Mindy asked relieved.
"Not a thing." Ron answered.
"Here." Harry said, holding out an upside down wizard's hat. "Draw a number. That's the order you're going to go up in."
Mindy reached into the hat and pulled out a slip of paper. She opened it and read, "Fifteen."
"You're going to be one of the last to go." Harry said, handing the hat to the next kid waiting. "I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing. I suppose its all how you look at it."
"I suppose." Mindy said, staring at her slip of paper and moving back to the end of the group.
Harry waited for everyone to take a number, before speaking again. "Okay." He called. "You're going to go up in groups of two. Ron will play Keeper, and your goal is to try to get as many scores on him as possible, while still playing well with your other team mates. Ginny is one of our chasers and she'll be flying with you. Any goal she makes as a result of your pass will count as one of yours, but don't try to use her to make all of your goals. That'll just count against you in the end. Alright. Will the people who pulled one and two please step forward."
Two students stepped up. One was a first year that Mindy hadn't met yet. He was a small boy with mousy brown hair and more freckles across his face than Ron probably had on his whole body. He had intense blue eyes, that were at the moment glowing with nervousness. The other was Hannah Storm, a snippy third year girl that was gushing confidence. She made an odd contrast with the nervous little boy.
"Your names?" Harry asked, as he took their numbers.
"Tobias Walker." The boy answered.
"Hannah Storm." The girl said, lifting her chin.
"Alright." Harry said, scratching their names down on the piece of parchment he held. He looked up and smiled at them both. "Well, mount your brooms and good luck."
Harry blew the referee's whistle and both Hannah and Tobias kicked off into the air. Tobias shot up with a speed Mindy couldn't believe he had. Hannah followed after him, trying to catch up, but not quite making it.
Ginny raised an eyebrow at the speed of the boy. She looked at Harry. "He's fast."
Harry nodded and scratched something down on his parchment. "You had better get going."
Ginny nodded and she and Ron took off; Ginny going to join the two Gryffindors and Ron flying over to protect the goals.
Mindy joined the other's waiting to tryout on the bleachers while Harry released a quaffle, making sure to keep the budglers and the snitch strapped in. He then made his way for a high spot in the bleachers where he had a good view and blew his whistle, signaling that the tryout had begun.
Hannah immediately went for the quaffle. She scooped it up and flew back at Ron. She attempted a goal, but it was a little too obvious and Ron blocked it easily. He tossed the ball back to Ginny, who passed it to Tobias. The boy weaved around towards the goal, going at it from the right side, but at the last minute he changed direction and attempted to score on the left. Ron didn't see this coming, and though he made a mad dash back to the other end, he couldn't get there in enough time to stop the score.
The students below cheered on Tobias, and even at this distance, Mindy could see the grin plastered across his face. The tryout continued in that manner. Hannah scored two goals, but for the most part, she was entirely too direct. Ron could see any move she was going to make way before she made it. But Tobias did exceptionally well, scoring five more times on Ron. It was mostly due to his incredible speed on the broom. By the time the first group was done, everyone was thoroughly impressed with the boy.
Even though Harry tried not to show any partiality, he couldn't help but pat the boy on the shoulder and say, "Really good job." He quickly turned away and called. "Next two please."
And so the tryouts wore on. Everyone was doing very well, and Mindy felt sorry for Harry, Ron, and Ginny. They were going to have their work cut out for them, trying to decide who to put on the team.
Soon enough, it was her turn and she was stepping up to Harry, along with another boy, handing him her number. "Alright." Harry said. "Mindy James and Howard Little." He smiled at them both. "Get ready to kick off and good luck."
Mindy mounted her broom. Harry blew his whistle and Mindy took off. Howard sped past her, but she didn't try to catch up with him, instead going her own way. Once in the air, Harry blew the whistle a second time, and Howard shot for the quaffle. Mindy watched him snatch it up, and make a rush for the goal. Ron easily deflected the shot and tossed the ball back to Ginny, who in turn passed it to Mindy.
Howard turned around and actually went after Mindy, in an attempt to get the ball back. "Hey!" Mindy yelled. Holding the ball in one hand, she steered with her other and flew under Howard. She shot up, once she had gotten past him, headed for Ron. Ron had gotten much better and being a Keeper and the most goals that had been scored on him all day were the ones made by Tobias. That was because Tobias was fast, but on her broom (a broom she was starting to think might be too much for her just last year) she didn't have a hope of being that quick. So she decided to be surprising.
Aiming dead for Ron, Mindy flew straight at him. "What're you doing?" Ron yelled, when it became apparent that she wasn't about to change course. Mindy said nothing, only flying as straight as she could. Ron bulked first and swerved right. Mindy swerved left at the last minute and tossed the ball into the high hoop.
"You're crazy." Ron shouted as he snatched up the quaffle.
"Yeah, but I scored." Mindy answered with a laugh.
"Ron shook his head." He grinned and tossed the ball back to Ginny.
Ginny passed it to Howard, who tried the same trick Mindy had. But it didn't work a second time. Instead of swerving away, Ron flew towards Howard. Ron's broom handle smashed into the other boys, and Howard's broom tilted to the side. "Hey." Howard yelled as he dropped the ball.
Mindy saw it coming and swooped below. She caught the ball, flew under Ron, and shot up. She tossed the ball into the high hoop, and swerved around. "That's two." She yelled, waving two fingers in Ron's face.
"Yeah, and no more." Ron said, slapping at her hand but purposely missing.
Mindy laughed and flew back out where she could get the quaffle again. Ron wasn't kidding about not letting her score again. There was nothing Mindy could do to make another goal, try as she might. But she had more fun than she thought she would playing. And she wasn't as bad off as poor Howard, who didn't get the chance to score once.
Harry blew his whistle again and called them down to the field. "I believe that was everybody." Harry said, once everybody had landed and dismounted. "We'll make our decisions on who makes the team and post the final results on the board in the Gryffindor common room by Monday afternoon." Harry said. "But I want you all to know, you did very well. I was extremely impressed by everybody and even if you don't make the team, you should all still be proud of yourself." He looked around at the group. "Er, that's it. You're um, dismissed."
Mindy turned and headed with the others back towards the school. She didn't think she had made the team, but it was nice to play Quidditch again. Glancing over her shoulder, she watched Harry, Ron, and Ginny walking towards the bleachers and sitting down. Their heads were bent together as they discussed the try outs, and possibly who would make the team. Mindy smiled. Harry really was going to make a great captain. She new she had made the right decision.
And he would be great student. Especially in Potions. After last night, Mindy wanted nothing more than to prove Snape wrong. He was determined to have Harry fail his class, but she was just as determined to have Harry pass. And Harry would pass, with the highest marks possible. She would make sure of it. Even if killed her.
~*~*~*~*
Monday came and Harry had to post the results of the tryouts. There was a crowd of Gryffindors waiting around the board. Harry, Ginny and Ron had had a hard time deciding on the final cut for the team. Choosing new beaters was easy enough. They picked a pair of second year twins, Simon and Simone Jackson. They were small, but they were quick and worked flawlessly together. There was just something about twin partnerships. It was like they shared one brain. And right now, Gryffindor needed beaters that actually worked with each other. Plus being Angelina's little cousins didn't hurt.
Choosing new chasers was a whole different story. Tobias Walker was an obvious choice, but after him, nobody else stood out. The three must have debated over who should fill the final spot for the rest of Saturday and the better part of Sunday. But in the end, Harry was sure they made the right decision.
He pushed through the crowd of students standing around the board and posted the parchment listing the results on it, along with a tentative list of practice times. He had to fight his way back out of the crowd as everyone rushed in, trying to read the paper all at once. Harry made his way to the couch in front of the fire place, where Hermione, Ron and Mindy were seated. He sat down, ignoring the disappointed groans and excited yelps coming from the other side of the room.
Harry looked at Mindy, who appeared to be working on Transfigurations homework. "Aren't you going to see if you made it?" He asked.
"I probably haven't." Mindy answered, glancing up from her work for a second before going back to it.
"You don't know that." Harry said.
"Just the same, I'd rather wait for the crowd to die down some." She said. She looked up at Harry and asked. "Have you done your Potions homework yet? It's due tomorrow."
"Oh." Harry said. "I know. I'll work on it tonight."
"I think you ought to work it now." Mindy said, closing her Transfigurations book, and pulling out her Potions book. "Come on. We'll do it together."
"There's no rush." Harry said. "We have time."
"Yeah, but you have to get your work perfect." Mindy said. "You heard Snape. He'll kick anybody he doesn't think is doing well enough out."
"Mindy's right, Harry." Hermione said, glancing up from her Arithamacy. "You had better start your homework."
"Personally." Ron jumped in. "I'd be glad to get out Snape's class."
Harry nodded his agreement. "I wouldn't complain."
"But I would." Mindy answered. "If you leave, I'd be all by myself. And who am I suppose to make rude comments to about his hair then?"
Harry grinned. "Oh, fine then. Let's do our homework, but only after you look and see if you've made the team."
"Alright." Mindy said standing. "If that's what it takes to get you to work on Potions." She left the group and walked over to join the gaggle of students around the board.
Hermione looked at her and then back at Harry and Ron. "Did she make the team?" She asked.
Harry grinned and Ron nodded. "It was a hard choice." Ron said. "But Mindy was really good on the broom. Plus we like her."
"Really?" Hermione raised an eyebrow. "Just a few days ago, Ron, you were claiming she worked for You-Know-Who."
"Just a few days ago, I was being paranoid." Ron answered. "I still think there's something different about her, but she's an alright person."
"Yeah." Harry said, watching Mindy as she got tired of waiting at the back of the group and started pushing her way to the front of the line. "She's a very alright person." Harry could feel two sets of eyes on him and he looked back at Ron and Hermione. "What?"
"Over Cho already, I see." Hermione said.
"No." Harry gasped. "It's not like..." But Mindy was back. She plopped down next to Harry and threw her arms around his neck.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you." She said. She gave him a kiss on the cheek and Harry could feel the blood rushing to his face. "You guys won't be sorry. I'll be the best chaser you've ever seen" Mindy said, rushing over to give Ron an equally tight hug. "Thank you."
She released Ron and turned to head for the girls' dorms. Ron's ears were slightly pink, but Harry knew that was nothing compared to the scarlet his cheeks must be.
"I have to go find Ginny and thank her." Mindy said, halfway to the door leading up to the girls' rooms. "But we're still doing our potions as soon as I get back." She said, spinning around to look at Harry. "So get your book out."
"Uh-huh." Harry said, ducking his head so Mindy wouldn't see the blush still plastered across his face.
"Humm-hmm." Hermione grinned, as soon as Mindy had left the room.
Harry looked at her, and Hermione gave him a knowing smile before turning back to her homework.
~*~*~*~*
The days turned into weeks and soon September was melting away into October. No more excitement happened. Ron didn't have anymore readings during class, and the school was gradually forgetting he was even a diviner. Even Parvati and Lavender were leaving him alone, much to Ron's relief.
As October steadily came closer, the school began to buzz with talk about the first D. A. meeting. It had taken Harry the better part of September to pick the perfect day. Working around Quidditch practices and student schedules wasn't easy. But several meetings with all the Quidditch captains (including to his displeasure the Slytherin) and numerous polls of the students, led him to believe that Thursday was probably the day most students could make it. So on Monday, of the last week of September, he announced the first meeting of D. A. would be October second. Anticipating a large turn out, Professor Dumbledore told him he could hold the meeting in the Great Hall. Harry didn't know if he'd have that many students out, but he could probably use the extra space anyway. But until then, he still had to deal with classes.
Harry had to admit, he had been nervous about going to Defense against the Dark Arts the next day. He wasn't sure how Professor Trelawney would take him teaching a class she was supposed to be over. But to his up most surprise, she was completely supportive. Half way through their lesson (searching Tarot Cards for dark enemies) she floated over to Ron's and Harry's table.
Both Ron and Harry were doing terribly at the lesson and had just started making up scenarios they thought fit the picture on the cards.
"Okay." Ron said, looking down at a card he held in his hand. "This guy has a lot of swords stuck in him, so obviously that means somebody's going to stab you in the back Harry."
"Really?" Harry asked.
"Oh, yeah." Ron answered. "And because the guy on the card in blond, it will be a brunette that does it."
"Okay." Harry said. "What else?"
"Okay. Let's see. And since it's a guy on the card that means the person will be a girl. Yeah. A girl. And she won't use swords. What's opposite of a sword?"
Harry shrugged. "How about a feather?"
"That sounds good." Ron said. "The girl will stab you with a feather. Beware the feathers, Harry."
Harry grinned. "So let me get this straight. A brunette girl is going to stab me in the back with a feather?"
"It's possible." Ron said, laying the card down, and drawing the next. "I mean if I was gonna to stab somebody in the...Oh, hi Professor Trelawney."
Harry looked back to see Professor Trelawney staring down at him. She smiled mistily. "How are the readings going?"
"Brilliantly." Ron lied.
"I knew it would be for my star pupil." Professor Trelawney turned her large eyes on Harry. "I hear you're going to host a Defense against the Darks Arts club."
"Oh, um, yes." Harry answered, a bit nervously.
Professor Trelawney smiled a real smile. "Oh, good. I'm glad my influence is rubbing off on you already. I would like to be of some assistance in your little endeavor." She pulled three books out of her robes and sat them on the table. "I bought these over the summer when Professor Dumbledore asked if I would teach this class." She said. "I, of course, don't need them, but I believe you will be showing the students what to do if they cannot master the Eye in enough time to prevent being attack dark forces. You may find them more useful than I."
Harry picked up the books, fully expecting to see something like 'Finding Danger by Reading the Signs', but to his surprise they were real defense against the dark art books. It was a three volume set, 'Practical Defense, by Unpractical Methods'. He flipped through the first book, spotting several spells he would probably get into a lot of trouble for using, but he couldn't wait to try out.
"Thanks." Harry said. "I can really use these."
Professor Trelawney nodded. "I know." She said. "If you need anything else, stop by and see me." She turned around and floated off.
"Who knew Professor Trelawney could be helpful." Ron said who had grabbed volume two of the series. "Wow, a body binding curse that's strong enough to work on Vampires." He looked up at Harry. "That's a serious spell. Will you teach us this one?"
"Maybe." Harry said, looking at the technique for the curse. He grinned. He was going to have fun with these books.
It was Potions that he should have been worried about however. All his other teachers really had lightened their work load on him. Professor Trelawney had given Harry a free pass on homework for the rest of year, saying that D. A. was more than enough outside work to make up for whatever assignments she might assign. Professor Lupin didn't ask him to write as long of essays, usually shaving a couple of inches off the assignments. He had never had much trouble in Hagrid's class and the only person Firenze was really concerned with doing homework was Ron. But Snape seemed to give him extra work. If was not for Mindy, Harry didn't know how he would keep up in the class.
"I hate him." Harry said, tossing his quill down and sitting back on the couch. He was back in Gryffindor tower, sitting in his usual place in front of the fire.
Mindy was seated next to him. "I know." She said, looking up from her Potions book, "But you've got to do this, Harry."
"I want to quit." Harry said, refusing to look at his homework.
"No you don't." Mindy answered. "You need Potions if you're going to be an Auror."
"No I don't." Harry said, stubbornly.
Mindy smiled at him and wrapped one arm around his shoulders. "Yes you do, Harry. And come on, you've gotten this far. Don't give up now. He's got to let up on you soon."
Harry smiled at Mindy. He liked it when she sat close to him. It almost made Potions worth it. "Alright. I guess I can keep going."
"Good." Mindy grinned, turning back to her work. "How far have you gotten on that essay?"
"Um, I have two and a half feet. One more foot to go and then I'm done."
"Good." Mindy said. "Can I read what you've got so far?"
Harry nodded, sliding Mindy his parchment. He looked up as Hermione and Ron stepped through the portrait hole. They walked over, Ron flopping down in the arm chair, Hermione taking a seat next Mindy.
"What are you two working on?" Hermione asked.
"Potions." Mindy answered.
"You should be working on your first lesson for D.A." Ron said, frowning at the Potions homework.
Harry nodded. "Yeah, but if I don't do this now, I never will."
Ron shrugged and pulled out his Divinations book. "Say, Harry. Can I read your palm? I'm supposed to read three people for homework, and Firenze will know if I make it up."
Harry glanced up. "I don't remember that assignment."
"That's because I'm the only one who has to do it." Ron answered. "What do you say?"
Harry looked at Ron. He didn't know if he was entirely comfortable with Ron reading him. While, for the most part Ron hadn't been seeing anything, Harry didn't want to chance any dark visions. So far, there hadn't been any trouble and he didn't want any to turn up. "Um, maybe later." Harry said.
"It's okay." Ron said, looking at Harry. "I'll go find Collin. He owes me."
Hermione watched Ron walk away. "He's really taking this class seriously." She said.
"You expected him not to?" Mindy asked, glancing over at Hermione.
Hermione shrugged. "I don't know. It's a nice change though." She looked over at Harry. "You should let him read you, Harry. He's not completely accurate, but its fun."
"I'm sure it is." Harry said, never looking up.
"It's alright if you're nervous." Hermione said. "But there's really nothing to worry about."
"I know." Harry said. "Tell me everything you know about snake wood." He added, just to change the subject.
"I know a lot about snake wood." Hermione said.
"Good." Harry said. "That should make up the last foot of my essay."
"Loads of homework from Snape again?"
Harry nodded.
"He's only doing it because you're over D. A." Hermione said. "It's like you're teaching the class he's always wanted."
Harry nodded again. "I hate him."
Hermione smiled. "I know."
Harry finished up his Potions homework (well, Mindy and Hermione finished it for him) and he went up to his room where it was quiet, to plan for his first D. A. meeting. He hadn't been working an hour when Ron came in. Harry glanced up at him. He looked a bit distracted, and a little worried.
"Is something wrong?" Harry asked.
"I don't know." Ron answered. "I think something's going to happen."
Harry frowned. "What do you mean?"
Ron shook his head. "I don't know. It was foggy." He looked over at Harry for the first time since stepping into the room. "I think we ought to keep an eye on Collin." Harry didn't know what to say to this, but Ron wasn't expecting a response and went on. "I tried to warn him, but I didn't exactly know what to say. I don't think he was listening anyway."
"What do you think is going to happen to him?" Harry asked.
"I don't know. All I saw was--dark. That can't be good though, right?" He looked at Harry questioningly.
Harry shook his head. "Maybe you should ask someone. Firenze or Hermione even. She's read a lot about Divinations, since you became a diviner."
Ron shook his head again. "No. It was probably nothing. Let's just keep an eye on him." He sat down on the edge of his bed. He was much paler than he had been an hour earlier. "I think I'll go to bed now." Ron said.
Harry watched Ron, wondering if maybe he should tell someone. But if he told, then that would be acknowledging that there might be something wrong. And he desperately did not want anything to be wrong.
~*~*~*~*
Before Harry knew it, October had come and then October second was there. Harry could not get through his breakfast the morning of the second with out someone coming up asking him about what he had planned for the evening's lesson. The first years seem particularly excited and they buzzed around most of the morning.
He found it difficult to focus in classes, but Professor Trelawney seemed to understand and left him to his thoughts. He had no such luck with Professor Snape who found any opportunity to pick on him. Snape was quizzing Harry about the details of a sleeping potion Harry never even heard of, when Mindy jumped in. She answered every question before Harry could open his mouth.
Professor Snape whirled on Mindy. "I am speaking to Mr. Potter, Ms. James. I expect him to answer the questions."
"Well, I'm speaking to you." Mindy said. "And if I know the answers, I will give them."
Snape frowned. "Detention, Ms. James. Tonight. At six."
"But D. A. is tonight at six." Mindy said. "You can't give me detention for then."
Snape became very quiet. His already pale skin lost even more of its color and he looked ashen faced. He was dangerously angry. "I will give you detention when I choose." He answered quietly.
Mindy rolled her eyes at him. "Oh, fine, Severus. Whatever makes you happy."
Harry, along with the rest of the class, stared at Mindy. She had called Snape by his first name. Either she was very brave or very insane.
"What did you call me?" Professor Snape hissed.
Mindy didn't answer. She folded her arms across her chest and attempted to stare Snape down.
"I will see you every night for a week." Snape said. "And it won't be fun and games."
"Oh, darn." Mindy said. "Now I have to put away my party hat."
Little spots of color formed on Snape's cheeks. They stood out against his white skin. He said nothing to Mindy. Instead he whirled around, his black robes flaring out about him, and marched to his desk. Professor Snape was so angry with Mindy that he had completely forgotten Harry, and he left the boy alone for the rest of the period.
"I can't you believe you did that." Harry said to Mindy as they were leaving the dungeon classroom.
"Did what?" Mindy asked nonchalantly.
"What do mean, did what?" Harry asked. "Mindy, you really took a blow back there."
Mindy laughed. "What're you talking about Harry?"
"A week with Snape."
Mindy smiled. "I kept him off your back, didn't I? Remember I promised."
Harry took Mindy's hand and squeezed it. "I won't forget this." He said, looking her in her large eyes.
Mindy looked back at Harry. He could see just the tiniest of blushes starting to work its way across her nose. "Oh, um." She looked down, seeming to remember that she was holding his hand. She took it back quickly. "It was nothing." She said, looking away. "I have to go...um...do...that thing." She turned and hurried off; though it seemed to Harry she had just picked a random direction and gone it.
Harry didn't see Mindy again that evening. He had thought he'd see her at dinner (which had been moved up to accommodate the nights D. A. meeting), but she never turned up. Harry didn't stay long, though. He found it hard to eat, wondering about what would happen that night, but mostly thinking about Mindy. He left early, telling Ron and Hermione he had to prepare for the night.
At 5:30 he met up with Ron, Hermione, and Ginny and headed down to the Great Hall. Again, he didn't see Mindy, but he assumed she was probably on her way down to the dungeons. When he arrived at the Great Hall, he found that it was looked good deal different from the way it had looked that morning. The long house tables were gone. In the middle of the room was a large pedestal. Harry walked towards it warily.
"Am I supposed to stand on that?" He asked. He had just assumed he would be floor level with the other people there. He wasn't sure he would like standing above every one else's head.
"I guess it's so everybody can see you." Hermione said, walking towards the pedestal.
"Does Professor Dumbledore think that many people will show up?" Harry asked.
"All of the fifth years will be here." Ginny said, "And that alone should fill up this room."
"Maybe." Harry said. He walked over to the pedestal, dumping the books he had brought down with him on it, and set down on the edge.
"Harry, I was thinking about how you should go about this." Hermione said, joining Harry on the pedestal. "There will be a lot more people this time around and you might do better if you split everybody up into groups. First, second and third years could go in one group. Fourth and sixth years in another. If any seventh years show up they can go with them. The fifth years should be by themselves, so you can go over stuff that will probably be on the OWLs. That way you can show the younger students things more appropriate to their age, and not have to worry about the older ones becoming bored with old spells. How does that sound?"
"Sounds...okay." Harry answered. "But I was only planning on one lesson."
"What were you going to do?" Hermione asked.
Harry shrugged. "I figured I'd start with the basics. I'd show everyone some simple stunning spells. And that shield charmed I show you guys last year seemed to work well."
"The older kids already know that stuff." Ron said. "Hermione's right. You ought to split us up."
"Okay." Harry said. "But what will I go over with the fourth, fifth and sixth years then."
"How about that body binding curse that's strong enough for vampires." Ron answered. "I know you've been practicing it."
Harry grinned. He had been working with the curse, and a good deal more from the books Professor Trelawney had given him, in his spare time. "I could do that."
"But how is any one going to practice it?" Hermione reasoned. "A spell that strong would be dangerous to humans. You can't expect people to partner up and practice on each other."
Harry nodded. "I know. But I guess I can just show everyone the technique. Maybe I can talk to Professor Lupin and see if he can get us a buggart. If we can get it to turn into a vampire, people can take turns practicing on it."
"And it would be good to show the first and second years what to do with buggarts." Ginny nodded her agreement. "And good review for the fifth years."
Hermione shrugged. "I suppose that sounds alright. But your first lesson will be a short one."
I wasn't planning on it being too long." He said. He dug through the pile of books he had brought with him until he found volume two of 'Practical Defense by Unpractical Methods' and began reading up on the 'Totalus Dominatus'.
It was five till six when the first of the students began to trickle in. Cho Chang was among the first to arrive. She walked over to Harry.
"Hi." She said, smiling at him. "So, how are you?"
Harry looked up at her. "I'm good."
"You look good." She said,
"Er, Thanks."
She smiled again before turning around and going to join some of her friends.
Harry frowned at her back, shrugged, then turned back to his book.
"You know, she broke up with Michael Corner." Ginny said quietly, leaning towards Harry.
Harry looked up. "I didn't know." He said.
"I only know because Michael tried to get back with me."
"You didn't take him back, did you?" Ron asked looking quite horrified at the idea.
"Course not." Ginny answered. "I'm dating Dean. Anyway, Harry, I guess she's trying to let you know she's available again."
"Oh." Harry said. He thought about whether or not he cared, and decided he didn't. He said nothing more on the subject and went back to practicing the wrist flicks of the binding curse.
By six o'clock the Great Hall was filled. Harry was slightly surprised to see the huge turn out. All of the fifth years were present. He had expected that. But he didn't expect a unanimous showing from the first and second years (including most of, if not all of, the Slytherins). All of the Gryffindors had come, and nearly all of the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws. Even a good deal of the seventh years had showed up. He saw that Hermione was right. The only way he would be able to show anybody anything was to break them up into groups.
Standing on top of the pedestal, Harry waited for everyone to notice that he was ready to start and quiet down. When he had everyone's attention he began. "Okay. Welcome to the first meeting of D. A. First off, I'd like everybody to split up. First, Second and third years to the right side of the room please. You guys are group one. Fifth years in the middle. You're group two. And fourth, sixth and seventh years take the left. You can be group three." There was a good deal of shuffling as everyone found their places. Harry waited once again for the room to quiet down. "Alright. Group one, you will work on a simple stunning spell today. Can I get a volunteer, please?"
No one stepped forward immediately. After a bit mumbling one small brown head started making its way to the platform, and to Harry's surprise Tobias Walker stepped up on the low stage. "What do I have to do?" He asked.
"Nothing." Harry answered. "Just stand there." He turned back to group one. "Alright. I'm going to stun Tobias." He turned back to Tobias. "Are you ready?" Tobias nodded. Harry held up his wand and yelled "STUPEFY!" Tobias became rigid and fell back. There was a collective gasp from the first and second years, who hadn't had a chance to see this spell in action. Harry quickly revived the boy and instructed group one to break into pairs to practice.
He then turned his attentions to the fifth years and quickly demonstrated the shielding spell--"You say 'Protego'"-- and set them to work in pairs; one person attempting to stun his partner and the other trying to shield the blast.
Finally he turned to the last group. "Okay. I thought you should work on something harder. There is a body binding spell that is strong enough to bind vampires. The spell is too strong to be performed on each other, so I'll just teach you the words and show you the technique. What you need to say is 'Totalus Dominatus'. Make sure you flick your wrist like this," he demonstrated flicking his wrist in a smooth upward and downward motion, "Or the spell won't come off right." He looked back at all the waiting faces. "Okay." He called. "Everyone, get started."
Soon the Great Hall was filled with the sounds of kids shouting 'Stupefy' and 'Protego' and jets of red and green bouncing off the walls. Harry hopped down from the platform and walked through the crowds of students, correcting mistakes and ducking random magical blasts. Professor Dumbledore stopped in for about half an hour. He watched the going-ons a bit. He sent Harry a nod and a wink, before stepping out of the room again.
After about two hours of practice, Harry decided everyone had worked hard enough for the night. He was fairly sure most of the fifth years had gotten a hang of the stunning spell and shielding charm. Judging from the great number of first, second and third years shaking off the effects of stupefy, he was confident they had picked up that spell. The fourth, sixth, and seventh years were having some trouble with 'Totalus Dominatus', but he expected that. It was tricky spell and the majority of them were doing very well.
Harry hopped back onto the platform and shot off a series of red sparks. This got every bodies attention and they turned to look at him. "Okay." He called. "That's enough for tonight. I think everyone is doing fairly well, but if you have any questions I'll wait here for a bit afterward. We'll meet again, same time next week. See you then."
The students began putting away their wands and exiting the Great Hall. Hermione walked up the platform. "Harry, I have to go. I've still got a little Arithamacy homework to do." She said. "I'll see you back at the tower."
Harry nodded. "See you."
Ron waved at Harry, following after Hermione. "Bye, Harry." He called, before disappearing into the crowd of departing students.
Gradually the Great Hall emptied out and Harry began to gather up his books. He turned around, about to leave, when he spotted Dennis Creevey coming back in. "Is something wrong?" Harry asked.
"No." Denis answered. "It's just that my brother wants to interview you about your first D. A. meeting. He ran back up to the Tower to get his note pad. I told him I'll ask you to wait."
"Now?" Harry asked. "He wants to interview me now?"
Dennis shrugged. "He figures he won't get a chance to later. Will you wait for him?"
Harry sighed. "Sure. I guess."
"Great." Dennis grinned. "I'll go tell him." The boy turned on his heels and ran out, leaving Harry alone.
Harry sat down on the stage to wait, and began thumbing through his books. He heard the doors open and he looked up fully expecting to see Collin walking in. He was pleasantly surprised, however, to see that it was Mindy approaching him. He smiled at her. "Hi."
Mindy grinned back. She looked exhausted. One long strand of hair had come down from her usually tight pony tail. There was a smudge of dirt on her left cheek. "I guess I missed the whole thing."
"Yeah." Harry said. "Sorry."
"It's okay." Mindy said, walking over to sit down next to Harry. "I'll catch it next week. So, did it go well?"
Harry nodded. "It went very well." He looked at her and the tired expression on her face. "What did Snape have you doing?"
Mindy grimaced. "Cleaning the grim out of the corners in his class. I swear that class hadn't been cleaned since the school was built."
"I never even noticed there was grim in the corners of the class."
"Well, you'd better notice that there isn't any now. And I expect a compliment on how spotless everything is too. Or you'll be sorry, Harry Potter."
Harry grinned. He reached up and brushed the loose strand of her hair behind her ear. "I promise I'll notice." He said.
Mindy looked up at Harry. That tiny blush was starting to spread across her nose again. And to Harry she had never looked prettier. Harry touched the smudge on her cheek and in a moment of insanity (or clarity) decided he wanted to kiss her. He leaned towards her.
"Harry?" Mindy whispered quietly. Her warm breath touched his lips, and he closed his eyes moving in closer. Their noses touched and then their glasses collided.
Harry sat back, and Mindy turned away. Harry laughed nervously. "I had forgotten these." He said, reaching up to take off his glasses.
Mindy had removed hers as well, and was rubbing the bridge of her nose. "Harry we can't..."
But Harry wasn't listening. He was thinking it was now or never. He touched her cheek again, and Mindy stopped talking. She turned to look at Harry. There was a something in her eyes. Longing and...something else. Was it reluctance? Harry decided not to think anymore. He leaned towards her. Their lips were inches apart and then they met. At first Harry thought Mindy was going to pull away, but then she was leaning into the kiss. Harry felt her arms wrap around his waist. The tip of her tongue touched his lips and he parted them. He leaned in to the kiss, pulling her closer, but then her hands were on his chest. She pulled back, pushing him away gently, almost unwillingly.
"Harry." Mindy said, standing up and walking a few feet away, her back to him. "We can't..."
"What?" Harry asked. "Didn't you...I mean, I thought..."
Mindy turned around. "It's not that. It's just..."
But whatever she was going to say was cut off by the creak of the Great Hall door. Harry looked up annoyed, and for the second time that night was surprise to see the person walking through the doors. This time it was Ron followed by Hermione. He looked incredibly distraught, staring wildly around the room. "Where's Collin?" He asked, completely ignoring the fact that Harry and Mindy had been in the middle of something.
"I don't know." Harry snapped.
Ron looked at Harry but didn't register the annoyance in his voice. "Come on. We have to find him." He turned and ran back out of the Great Hall
Harry looked at Hermione who shrugged. "Sorry." She apologized. "But I think we should keep up with."
Harry nodded and he and Mindy followed Hermione out of the Great Hall. They caught up with Ron quickly and headed down one of the many deserted corridors of Hogwarts.
"What's going on?" Mindy asked.
Hermione shook her head. "I'm not entirely sure. Ron saw Dennis and just got this weird look in his eyes. Then he said we had to find Collin; that something was wrong."
Harry thought back to other night when Ron had come back to their room and what he said about Collin. He jogged a few paces so that he was strolling along side Ron. "Does this have something to do with what you saw when you read Collin?"
Ron nodded. "I think so. When I saw Dennis earlier, there was, I don't know, a black cloud hanging over his head. But it wasn't about himself. It was about his brother. We have to find him before it's..." Ron stopped dead. Harry quickly halted to keep from out running his friend. He felt Hermione bump into him.
"What is it?" She asked.
"Too late." Ron moaned. He was staring into a darkened hall. All of the posted torches were out.
Harry frowned. That rarely happened at Hogwarts. He pulled out his wand. "Lumos." He shinned the thin beam of light into the hall and there, less than halfway down, was a boy lying on his stomach. It was Collin. Harry recognized his curling hair; the note pad lying next to him. "Collin." Harry called, but the boy wasn't moving. He looked very dead.
Behind him, Mindy moaned. "I'd better go get Madam Pomfrey." He heard Hermione say, though what Madam Pomfrey could do for Collin Creevey now was beyond Harry.
"Someone should tell Professor Dumbledore." Harry said.
"I'll go." Mindy volunteered and hurried away.
Harry walked over to the boy and knelt down beside his body. He looked back at Ron, who hadn't come any further than the entrance. He looked paler than Harry ever remembered seeing him.
"Are you okay?"
"I knew this was going to happen." Ron whispered. "I knew and I didn't stop it." He sat down on the floor, hard. "I'm sorry, Collin."
Harry looked back at the boy on the floor, and for a second he thought he was looking at Cedric Diggory. Harry squeezed his eyes shut and when he opened them again, he noticed something hadn't noticed before: A single black owl feather lying gently across Collin's right hand.
~*~*~*~*
Well there's chapter six. I thought it'd take me longer to finish, but once I started working on it, I didn't want to stop. It's way longer than my past chapters, but I had a lot to get out this time around. Well, I put Harry and Mindy together, but you guys saw that coming, right? I got more votes for those two, and I was kinda leaning that way myself. I think it should work out well, even if doesn't end entirely happy.
Anyway, I hope ya'll enjoyed.
That is all from me.
Today's fan fic was brought to you by the letter R. And what begins with R?
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