2. News

The next day Harry woke up in a very odd position, his head was hanging off the end of his bed and one foot was resting on his pillow while the other was hanging off the side. He groaned as he got up. The last thing he wanted to do was go to his classes. But he needed to. So he got up, changed out of his pajamas into his robes and headed down to the common room. He looked at his watch, it was 10: 45 a.m. "I'm late for Transfiguration!" he said to him-self. With that he took off out of the common room.

"Your late Mr. Potter" said Professor McGonagall as Harry burst into the room. "Sorry Professor, I woke up late" replied Harry as he took his seat next to Ron's and Hermione's.
"Today we will be discussing how to transfigure a cat into a spider or any other insect or arachnid" said McGonagall. When Ron heard the word 'spider' he seamed to get very fidgety.

After class they took what seemed to be the longest most dragged on walk of their lives. They were on their way to their first advanced Potions class; it was a double class also, so they expected it to neither fun nor short.
Harry, Ron and Hermione walked in the door and sat down in the cold wooded chairs.
They sat in silence. Snape rushed in dramatically, his cloke whipping around him as he walked hastily towards his desk. "Today, class, we will be reviewing Potions from former year lessons" he said in his evil, sly voice, "I will start off with an oral exam... Mr. Potter, will you please tell me the ingredients of the Polijuice potion". He took Harry completely by surprise. It took him a several seconds to respond. "Uh... i-it's ingredieants are that of, Boomslang skin, shredded horn of Bicorn, leeches, fluxweed, knotgrass and...Uh and" Harry racked his brains to remember to the last ingredient. Then it flew into his mind like a bird hitting a window that it thought was open, "and lacewing flies", then hesitantly he added, "Sir". Snape surveyed him closely. Harry thought he might have gotten away with this one... but he was wrong. "hmm... Almost correct Mr. Potter but you forgot the most important ingredient, the piece of the person that the brewer wants to turn into, zero points" Snape said in a snake-like way. Harry's mouth dropped. "But Professor-!".
"Silence Mr. Potter, I will not have you disturbing my class"
"But-"
"10 points from Griffindor".
Harry slunk back into his chair angrily. He wanted with all his being to shoot Snape with a good curse. He thought for once he might have gotten something right. But Snape always found something wrong with it.
"Mr. Weasly, tell me the uses of flubberworm mucus" Snape said with an evil smile. But Ron smiled right back. "It's used for everything from transformation potions to killing potions, but it's main use is when it is combined with weginwealed tree bark to make the Weginwealed Healing potion" said Ron. The whole class stared at him. Snape's smile had evaporated, "Tell me the properties of Boomslang skin, Mr. Weasly". Ron answered with ease. Snape asked him several more questions, several more, very difficult, questions. But Ron aced them all. Soon Snape had no choice but to move on to the other students.

"Ron you were amazing!" said Hermione as they walked to Charms, "how'd you know all that stuff, I wasn't even sure of that last question about the Stress Reliving potion". "Well Hermione, I figure why not at least try to get potions right, it couldn't hurt, could it?" replied Ron.
"This can't be the Ron Weasly I know" said Harry looking at Ron in disbelief. "Well it's not, it's the new and improved Ron Weasly" said Ron smiling from ear to ear. "I'm so proud of you!" said Hermione giving Ron a hug. He looked the same as he always didn't when Hermione had hugged him in the past... shocked, confused and a little excited. She pulled away from Ron and continued walking. "I still can't believe Snape got on me for forgetting to mention the piece of the person you want to turn into" said Harry. "I don't know why you're so surprised, Harry, I highly doubt he'd let something like that slide" said Hermione, "and Harry, it was a pretty big part of the potion so..." Hermione's voice drained out from anticipation. All of the sudden Harry felt very happy. "Oh well it's no big deal, lets get to Charms" he said. The joy went just as fast as it had come. Harry had no clue why he was happy all of the sudden. Ron and Hermione were looking at him as if he was going mad. Harry shook off their looks, and walked into the Charms class room.

At dinner that night Harry snarfed his food down as fast as possible. He had a yard essay from Snape (obviously punishment for Ron's aced oral test), a 2 foot essay from McGonagall about transforming mammals into insects, and a drawing of the different parts of a Mimbulus mimbletonia from Professor Sprout. "Harry slow down or you'll suffocate your self, mate" said Ron. "Look who's talking, Ron" Hermione shot at Ron. Harry swallowed that last bit of his food. "We have a ton of homework, I for one want to get it done, 'cause if the homework piles up like last year, I'll go crazy" he said as he picked up his bag, "I'm gonna head to the library". Hermione stared from Harry to Ron, then back again, "This is some cruel trick you two are playing on me, isn't it? There is no way Ron Weasly could have aced a potions test and Harry Potter is going to the library to study in the same day" said Hermione. Harry just smiled.

At the doors of the Great Hall, Professor McGonagall called for Harry. "Mr. Potter, could I have a word with you?" "Sure Professor" said Harry as he turned around to face McGonagall. "Mr. Potter will you please tell Mr. Weasly that he is the new Quiditch captain". Harry's heart jumped. Ron was the captain not him. At first he felt a twinge of jealously, but he soon realized that he had a lot on his plate at the moment anyway and that being captain would just add another huge chip on his shoulder. "Yes, of course, he'll be ecstatic Professor" said Harry smiling and imaging Ron's face. "Good to here it, Potter. We need some happiness around here lately" McGonagall replied, looking at him closely.

Harry walked into the library only to spot Draco Malfoy standing right in front of him. "Well, well, hello Potty" said Malfoy maliciously. Harry didn't have time for this. "Malfoy get out of my way" said Harry pushing past him, but he caught Harry around the throat and pushed him back in front of him-self. "Tisk tisk, naughty Potty, I believe there's still that matter of a certain bunch spells that were cast on me and my associates" said Malfoy as Crabbe and Goyle became more predominate behind Malfoy. But Harry already had his hand on his wand. "Cranio Archium!" Harry shouted his new favorite spell. Malfoy got a shocked look on his face, and then fell to his knees, screaming, as a horrible pain rushed through his head. Crabbe and Goyle look stupidly shocked that Harry had hit Malfoy. They just stared at him with dumbfound looks on their faces. Harry knew he should get out of there before Madam Pince came to see what all the noise was. Harry put his wand back in his robes and left for the common room, leaving Malfoy moaning in pain while Crabbe and Goyle were staring at him. If they would have had any sense at all they would have come after Harry. But since they have the IQ of a rock, Harry got away just fine.

"Harry I thought you were going to go study in the library?" said Hermione as Harry walked through the portrait hole. "I ran into Malfoy, he wanted to get back at me for turning him into a slug" said Harry slowly sitting down in an armchair. "Didn't we do that back on the train home from our fourth year?" asked Ron going over his potions homework. "How did he remember something like that? I wouldn't have" said Hermione, closing her Arithmacy book and leaning back comfortably in her chair, "he probably just wanted an excuse to get in a duel with you". "Yeah, you probably right Hermione" Harry noted, as he pulled out his Herbology homework and sat it on the coffee table in front of the fire, "He would've lost anyway had it been a proper duel, I shot him with the head-ache spell, and those goons of his just stared at him". Harry started drawing a Mimbulus mimbletonia as best as he could. "You actually cursed him, Harry!" Hermione exclaimed. "Yeah so, he was going to jinx me anyway what was I supposed to do? Just let him curse me?" Harry replied coolly. "Hermione, what exactly do you expect us to do when we're being attacked?" asked Ron furiously. Hermione didn't answer, she just scowled at them.

The next day Harry was looking forward to seeing who the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher would be. He soon got his wish...
"Hello, everyone's attention please" said Professor McGonagall standing up. She sat back down as Dumbledore rose. "I would like you all to meet your new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Nymphadora Tonks". Tonks blushed and said "Just Tonks, Dumbledore" Harry heard her say quietly. "...But she prefers to be called by her surname" Dumbledore added. Everyone clapped loudly, even some of the Slytherins. Tonks blushed even more, as Harry caught her eye and winked.

"So..." began Ron, trying to break the silence that had settled in after Dumbledore's announcement, "Harry any news of the new Quiditch captain?" Harry suddenly remembered, "Oh yeah, McGonagall told me" he said, he wanted to see how long Ron would pursue the subject. Ron waited a few seconds, and then said impatiently, "So, who is it". "You" replied Harry. Ron's face went pink faster than a traffic lights. "I-I'm Captain?" he said slowly to him self, then he shouted it out, so the whole could Great Hall hear. "Congratulations, Ron" said Hermione smiling at Ron's eccentric jubilation. "So when are you gonna set the tryouts mate?" asked Harry also smiling at Ron. "Uh, I dunno, um..." Ron said, "How about next Friday?". "Agreed" said Harry. Ron looked like he had just won a thousand galleons. "A Toast to Griffindor new Quiditch captain" said Hermione raising her goblet. Harry followed the suit.

Harry walked away from Herbology at the end of the day feeling like this year would be a lot better than he had expected. He was looking forward to Defense Against the Dark Arts...looking forward to seeing someone from the Order... someone close to Sirius.
"Uh, hello class" said Tonks, once everyone was seated, "I am Professor Tonks". The whole class stared at her. She seamed to be getting hot under all the pressure. "I see that you all are behind from where you should be in your lessons" she continued. Several kids nodded and murmured in agreement. Tonks got more confident with the input of the class. "For the next semester we will be catching up on things that you all missed last year, then in the second we will start working on some new stuff ". Tonks tried, but failed to talk like a teacher, through out the class she continually used the words 'like' and 'stuff', words that Harry knew he would never hear out of McGonagall's or Flitwick's mouths during a class. But Tonks talking like them (and often acting like them), made the students more comfortable around her. Harry looked around the room as Hermione lay in a full body bind on the floor. Dean was openly telling Tonks that he had been having a lot of trouble with the Pretificus Totalus spell since his first year. Harry doubted he would ever see any student telling a teacher, with out the slightest bit of embarrassment at least, that they couldn't do one of the simplest spells. Tonks helped Dean through the wand motion and incantation. Soon Dean was doing the spell like he had been doing it for 5 years. Harry heard a mumble on the floor next to him. He looked down and saw that Hermione was still under the spell. The muttered the counter jinx and Hermione rose up. "Well now, Tonks seams to be hitting it off well with everyone" she noted. "Yeah, everyone seams to be happy to be here" Harry replied, "And everyone's so comfortable around her". "No offense to Lupin, but... she might even be a better teacher than he was" Hermione said getting back into position so she could have her turn to jinx Harry. Harry looked at Hermione angrily. "I-I mean that everyone seams to connect with her better, not that she's can teach better spells or anything" Hermione added under Harry's hateful scowl.

"That's all class, your all free to go, except Mr. Potter there" said Tonks at the end of class. Harry stood up and walked forward as the rest of the students left. He gave a quick glance at Ron and Hermione as the walked out the door. "Sit down Harry" he heard behind him. He turned sat down on a stool in front of Tonks' desk. Harry had a horrible feeling in his stomach; he really hoped she wasn't going to bring up what he thought she was. "Harry, I'd like to talk about..."she paused for a moment trying to find the right thing to say," I'd like to talk to you about Sirius". Harry felt like someone had just set a bomb off inside him. "I've already told everyone I don't want to talk about it!" Harry shouted. "Harry, please calm down".
"No, I wont, everybody thinks that I need to talk about it, I don't. I had already got my feelings worked out and I was getting over it" Harry lied.
"Harry just hear me out, instead of biting my head off ok, Sirius went in battle, he went fighting Voldemort, he went... trying to save you-" Tonks was interrupted again.
"Don't remind me, it's all my fault he's-he's..." Harry tried to continue even though most of his energy was going into trying not to cry," If I hadn't been so stupid, he would still be here!" Harry couldn't help it anymore. Tears started streaming down his face.
"Harry, don't blame your-self, Sirius would hate to see you like this" Tonks said very calmly. These words stuck Harry. She's right, he thought, he would hate to see me crying my eyes out over him. Harry took a deep breath. "Harry, please don't injure your-self over this, you have a lot more on your own to be taking care of, a lot more things to be preparing for" she said, her face was clam, but in her eyes Harry could see horrible hurt. Harry hated her for reminding him about the Prophecy. "You have a lot to be getting on with Harry, you should get some sleep, I think you should eat some dinner then go to bed" Tonks got up and got ready to leave the class room for dinner. "Ok" said Harry simply. But the last thing he wanted to do was going into the Great Hall with puffy red eyes and the chance that he'd break into tears any moment. "I need to get a book for my Potions essay, so I'll stop by the library" he said. "Alright" said Tonks, "...And Harry"

"Yeah?"

"Take care of your-self and your friends".
"I will". Harry stopped by the library and got the book he needed. Then he decided just head to the common room.
Harry walked through the portrait hole. His feet hurt and his mourning for Sirius was reinstated, like a wound being ripped open again. Suddenly Harry realized he was not alone in the common room. He looked over and saw someone in the arm chair that he always sat in. She was crying