"Charlie!" a shout rand out as they approached the house. Moments later a red headed girl of about sixteen flung herself into his arms.
"Hey there little sis, miss me?"
"Of course not! Mum didn't say you were coming though."
"That's because it was a surprise. Ginny, I'd like to introduce you to David. David this is my little sister Ginny."
"Hey, less of the little!"
"It's a pleasure to meet you Ginny," said David and without thinking he left the bottle hanging in mid air to shake her hand.
"Wow, you can do wandless magic!" exclaimed Ginny.
"I can do a bit."
"Charlie?" called a new voice.
"Ah Mum, I hope you don't mind. I thought I'd surprise you."
"Well you certainly chose the right day to do it. It's lovely to see you dear."
"Mum, may I introduce David? David this is my mother Molly. Mum it was David who arranged the transport so that I could be here."
"It was nothing Molly. I spend quite a bit of time at the reserve and since I was coming anyway it was easy to bring Charlie along with me. Thank you very much for inviting me."
"You're welcome dear. Let's go up to the garden. You must meet my husband." David went with Molly and was introduced to Arthur who took custody of the wine. Charlie moved off to be engulfed by his siblings. Molly disappeared as David and Arthur began playing with David's mobile telephone. She went to greet the guests who were arriving by floo. Remus, Tonks and the twins arrived half an hour later accompanied by a large black and white dog. Remus and Tonks rescued David from Arthur and proceeded to tell him that they were not a couple.
"We're just friends," explained Tonks. "Friends who share a house because the house is large and it would be lonely to live there alone."
"I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable, I drew the wrong conclusion; I don't have much experience of these things. Charlie told me he thought it was unlikely but you had appeared so together."
"You've spoken with Charlie?"
"Last Monday. He's over there." Tonks moved off and Remus leaned in close to David.
"Tonks is very fond of Charlie," he said in a low voice.
"Oh, I really put my foot in it then, telling him about you two," moaned David wincing.
"Don't worry. I expect she can convince him."
David cast around for a change of subject and his gaze fell on the dog who had arrived with Remus, who was now being enthusiastically greeted by the younger Weasleys. "Is that your dog?" he asked.
"Yes, well sort of came with the house as it were. We call him Snuffles." David raised an eyebrow. "Don't look at me like that," Remus protested. "I didn't choose the name. He's friendly if a bit protective."
"I'm fond of animals. You'll have to introduce me."
Once all the guests had arrived they sat down to eat lunch in the garden. Remus placed himself next to David and told him who all the people were and a bit about each of them. When it came to the younger guests this sparked a discussion of his time teaching at Hogwarts. There were quite a lot of adults, some of who worked at the Ministry with Arthur or his third son Percy, and others who were 'friends of the family.' The youngsters included Hermione Granger and Neville Longbottom. Hermione's parents were the only muggles present and were sitting with Arthur patiently explaining muggle technologies.
"Why aren't you still teaching if you enjoyed it so much?" asked David.
"I resigned at the end of the year after a conflict with another member of staff. There's a jinx on the DADA position. Teachers only last a year, compared to what happened to some of them I got of lightly. I'd like to go back. Albus keeps asking me to, but I really want a part time job since I have other projects I want to work on. That's why I have the library job."
Remus obviously did not want to pursue the topic and the conversation moved on to other things. After lunch the youngsters raided the Weasley broom shed and headed off to the clearing in the orchard to play quidditch dragging Charlie, Tonks and the twins with them. The adults stayed in the garden either sitting on conjured chairs or standing in groups. David was grateful that Remus stayed with him because he did not feel back in touch enough with the Wizarding World to know what to say to strangers. The suggestions from his dad and grandfather were many years out of date. David ended up sitting with Remus in a corner or the garden with Snuffles lying on the ground in front of them. David admitted to knowing next to nothing about the current state of affairs in Britain and Remus filled him in with particular reference to the work done by the Ministry workers who were in attendance. Their previous meetings had taken place in muggle establishments and so their conversations had been more muggle.
Every now and then David noticed that Mad-eye Moody's 'mad-eye' was watching him. He wondered what he had done to gain the interest of the paranoid ex-auror but reflected that it was probably just that he was an unknown quantity. He mentioned the occurrence to Remus.
"Oh that's Alastor Moody," Remus told him. "He's very security conscious and he's currently tracking an unknown red head so you've come under suspicion."
"What's this red head done?" David asked with mild interest.
"Who knows with Moody," said Remus dismissively.
Miles away in Scotland, Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was staring at the resumes on his desk in growing frustration. None of the candidates the Ministry had sent him for the post of Defence Against the Dark Arts instructor were any use at all. Two years previously the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge had past a decree to enable the Ministry to supply a teacher should the headmaster be unable to find a suitable candidate. The first result of this had been the obnoxious Dolores Umbridge. She had refused to teach any practical skills at all and had just had the students read from a text book. She had also tried to take over the school and it was amazing that he had remained as headmaster. They had finally got rid of her after she was caught attempting to manacle a student in preparation for a physical beating from Filch the caretaker. Since the beating had not taken place, fortunately for the student involved, she had been able to return to her former job as the special assistant to the Minister for Magic. It had still been a tough fight to remove her from Hogwarts but he had managed it forcing the Ministry to relent in the process to the point of allowing him to interview their candidates, conceding that he would be more likely to know if they would be suitable teachers. Filch had not laid a finger on the student, or even agreed to administer the beating and so kept his job with the teachers keeping a more wary eye on him than they had before.
Last year's teacher had been a little better. The Ministry had persuaded an auror to take early retirement and do the job. Unfortunately it had turned out that there was a reason the auror needed to retire; he was going a bit senile and got muddled in his spells. The students had not learnt much under him either, but at least he had not tried to harm any other them. He was the first one for years who had not, although it had not been Remus Lupin's fault that he had put his students in danger; that had been sheer bad luck. This year after he had been yet again unsuccessful in persuading Remus to return the Ministry had provided him with two possible candidates whom he and Minerva had interviewed two days previously. One was so immensely overweight there was no way he would be able to duel at all, while the other he knew to be a Death Eater. So it was a choice between useless or dangerous. His mind turned once more to Severus Snape. If he could just find another potions master he could switch Severus across, but potions masters were also hard to come by. He had tried to get Horace Slughorn to return the previous year in vain. He wondered idly if this was why he was so determined to finally destroy Voldemort; the vain hope that once he was gone his jinx on the position would unravel.
The headmaster was startled out of his reverie by the arrival in a flash of light of his phoenix, which he had not seen for nearly two years. The bird settled on his perch, which the headmaster had kept in the hope he would return, and regarded his bonded one.
"Fawkes, welcome back, I've missed you," said Dumbledore. The phoenix eyed him silently. "That would be a weight off my mind," answered Dumbledore. "And I'm sure I'd enjoy some of Molly's excellent cooking even if I am unsuccessful." He left his desk and went to the fire to floo to the Burrow.
A little while later David and Remus were rudely interrupted in their conversation by a large red plumbed bird landing on David's shoulder and taking hold of his hair.
"Ow, Fawkes, what d'you want?" he exclaimed. The bird continued pulling and David reluctantly rose to go where he was being led. Remus and Snuffles followed.
"I didn't know you knew Fawkes," Remus commented.
"Yeah, he appeared in my lab a few months ago. It was Fawkes who told me to go to that Library you work at." At that point David noticed where or rather towards whom they were headed. "You meddling gaudy chicken, how can you do this to me?" he grumbled loudly. Fawkes did not react other than to tug harder on his hair. "Okay, okay, I apologize for calling you a chicken but you have no idea what you are asking me to do." He lowered his voice and turned to Remus. "Whatever happens do not leave me alone with that man." By this time everyone in the garden was watching David and Fawkes, mostly in amusement. Fawkes finally let go when David was standing in front of Dumbledore who had risen from a chintz chair in which he had been sitting whilst talking to Molly.
"Good afternoon Professor," said David coldly. "My name's David. It appears that this manipulative phoenix desires us to meet."
"Yes and we should not disobey him," said Dumbledore ignoring David's tone. "Shall we sit down, Mr David?"
"I don't…" began David and then cut off and glared at the phoenix who had settled on Dumbledore's shoulder. "Oh very well," he huffed and sat down as if upon an invisible chair. "It's just David, Professor. I have no need for titles. Who would bond to a phoenix when they are this much trouble just to their friends!" Remus conjured a chair and joined them with Snuffles again lying at his feet and feigning disinterest in the human conversation.
"I hear from Fawkes that I have you to thank for his return. I haven't seen him in nearly two years, has he been with you all that time?"
"No, he appeared a couple of months ago. He can be very annoying but I will admit I have grown fond of him."
"Am I correct in thinking that you are the David who has had articles published in the last issues of most of the major British wizarding academic journals?"
"Yes that would be me."
"Fawkes told me to come here today to find a new member of staff. I am pleasantly surprised to be meeting you particularly if your practical skills reflect your written ones."
"They do. Do you require a teacher, healer or gamekeeper?"
"Teacher, specifically the Defence Against the Dark Arts position. I would like to interview you."
"I have no formal qualifications. I never took any official exams at school and after than my education was from a series of unofficial apprenticeships. I have no papers to prove my skills."
"I have employed staff without even that in the past. Your published work speaks to your knowledge."
"I've been declared insane."
"Fawkes says that was to keep you quiet and that you're saner than I am."
"You may be right about that," muttered David but nobody heard him since at that moment a loud crack sounded and Charlie Weasley apparated among them.
"David, are you as good with broken bones as you are with burns? There's been an accident in the orchard, Hermione…" but before he could finish David had drawn his wand and disappeared. "I'd best get back then," said Charlie and disapparated. Dumbledore turned to Remus and Molly.
"I think we'd better follow don't you?"
David appeared in the orchard clearing and immediately spotted a crowd of youths at one end, most clutching brooms. He shouldered his way past them to find Hermione lying on the ground and Neville restraining a distraught Ron repeatedly telling him that she must not be moved because she could have hurt her neck or back. David tried to take charge.
"Okay everyone, back up three paces, I need room to work." Nobody moved; then Charlie appeared and yelled.
"He can help her, now move!"
Once he had space David knelt down beside the prone girl and held his hands face down a few centimetres above her chest. A crimson glow started around his hands growing bigger and covering her whole body. It turned black around her neck left leg and chest and the crimson became muddy. As everyone watched the black slowly changed to muddy crimson over the course of about five minutes.
David removed his hands and spoke. "Hermione?" She opened her eyes and tried to sit up but David stopped her.
"Harry?" she asked.
"No Hermione. I'm David, Harry's dead."
"Yes, I saw him. He told me to come back, to live. He said Ron needed me."
"Hermione, do you remember what happened?"
Her brow creased in thought. "We were flying, but I never fly, I don't like it. Then I fell."
"Is that what happened?" David asked the onlookers.
"Yes, we were surprised that Hermione wanted to fly and she was really reckless. We tried to get her to be more careful, and then she fell."
"Hermione, you've been hexed," said David. "Someone has hexed you to want to fly and then to loose control and fall. The hex is still active, if I let you go now you would be in the air again as soon as you could. Don't worry, I can remove the hex. The thing is: do you know who did this to you?"
"No."
"What about your friends? Do any of you know?" There was a general shaking of heads. "Okay, now this is serious. Whoever did this to you wants you dead. The spell is still active which means you would continue flying and falling until you died. When I remove the hex I can create an echo of the event that created it. The thing is that this spell is of my own invention, it is not Ministry approved and given my lack of standing with those in power nobody will accept the echo as evidence of a crime. So you have a choice. You can go to St Mungo's and get them to remove the hex; the crime will be reported but you won't know the perpetrator. Or, I can remove the hex and show the echo; then you and your friends will know who it was and can be on your guard."
"Ron, what do you think I should do?" asked Hermione.
"See the echo. We don't know who did it. Going to St Mungo's won't help us protect you."
"Professor Dumbledore, what do you think?" asked Hermione spotting him.
"I agree with Ronald. Neither case will catch the perpetrator so it is best to be warned."
"Okay. Mr David could you please produce the echo?"
"It's just David; if I ever need a title I would use a more interesting one than Mr. I don't want to be accused of libel, so Ron, could you make sure that only people who will use this knowledge to help Hermione are here?" Ron nodded his approval of the witnesses. "I'm afraid you won't see it yourself Hermione, but if you trust your friends to bear witness? Good. I suggest you close your eyes, this will be a bit bright."
David resumed his former position and once again the crimson light surrounded Hermione and grew muddy. Slowly it brightened to the original crimson. A mist grew out of the glow and rose above them. The mist solidified into a translucent depiction of a train corridor. It showed Hermione tripping over something and a flash of light catching her in the back as she fell. The flash came from further down the corridor, where a girl stood with wand outstretched. The image disintegrated, the crimson glow ceased and David stood up gesturing to Ron to help Hermione sit up.
"So who was it?" she asked.
"Pansy Parkinson," said Ron distastefully.
"But why? I know she doesn't like me, but kill me?"
"Isn't it obvious," snarled Ron. "She wants to be head-girl and knows you're her biggest competition. The question is what can we do about it?"
"You can do nothing Ron," said David resignedly. "However I can do something. I can make sure you are able to defend yourselves properly. Your defensive knowledge is obviously lacking, especially since I am given to understand that Hermione is top of your year." He turned to Dumbledore. "Recent events have caused me to reconsider your offer; however I wish to change it slightly. I am very busy with my own research which takes me all over the world. I am only really able to teach part time. Luckily I happen to know someone who less than an hour ago was telling me he'd like to teach at Hogwarts but due to his own commitments could only do so part time. Would you interview Remus and me for a job share?"
"Oh please do Professor," entreated Hermione, "Professor Lupin was the best DADA teacher we ever had." There was a chorus of agreement from the younger people around.
"Firenze and Professor Trelawney share a subject so it's not impossible," said Ginny hopefully.
"What do you think Fawkes, shall we have two Defence Against the Dark Arts teachers?" asked Dumbledore of the phoenix perched on his shoulder. "Gentlemen, Fawkes suggests that we adjourn to the castle for an interview. Shall we? I guarantee you will be back in time for Molly's wonderful supper."