An: I'm so sorry, everybody. I really meant to get this out sooner, but things got really hectic. I have just started a new job, so I don't know how that's going to effect my posting. Anyway, you all have Ssdiablo to thank for getting me to get this chapter out, as that was without a doubt one of the weirdest reviews I have ever received.

A few weeks later, Harry walked in to Defense Against the Dark Arts class to see Professor Thorpe smiling at every body while sitting on top of her desk. Before her on the floor was a wooden chest, a wooden chair, and a rocking horse. She smiled as everyone filed into the classroom, knowing that they all wondered what she was up to.

Harry looked up at her and she winked, making him smile because he knew how much she was enjoying herself.

Everyone was seated and she hopped onto her feet. "Quiet everyone. Today's lesson will be quite different from my previous ones, but I think you'll like it.

"Can anyone tell me how identify an object as being magical or not?" No one answered and she nodded. "It is difficult sometimes, isn't it? The truth is, the way to tell varies with each object; each new encounter. Today, we will be talking about dark magic. What the most common enchantments are, how to tell if something is enchanted, and what to do once you find an enchanted object." She looked around the room as deciding who to pick on and her eyes came to a stop on Ron. "Mr. Weasley, come up here please."

Ron grudgingly went up to the front of the class and waited for instructions. Thorpe smiled at him. "Thank you. Now, I would like you to try to tell me which of these objects I should stay away from."

Ron visibly swallowed as he looked between the three. Thorpe gave him a reassuring smile and he stammered out, "I don't know. All of them are dangerous?"

Thorpe chuckled and put her hands on her hips. "Now you sound like Mad-eye Moody. I'll give you a hint, one of them is completely safe, one is relatively harmless, and one is potentially life threatening. Just guess one, I'll walk towards it, and we'll see if you were right or not."

Ron paled and shot back, "Well, that makes me feel better, I might get you killed just because I guessed wrong!"

Thorpe bit her lip to keep from smiling and sighed. "I said potentially life threatening. I know exactly how to deal with it, nothing will happen. Besides, I have a helper in the room right now, just in case I get in over my head. Pick one!"

Ron grimaced and whispered, "The rocking horse."

Thorpe cocked an eyebrow and inched toward it, making sure that the entire class was paying attention.

Everyone was silent, the only noise to be heard were her footsteps. She got closer, passing by the chest and it rumbled agitatedly. The chair scooted forward a bit as she passed by and a few girls in the class gasped.

Harry caught her eye and grinned, the tension in the class was so thick it was palpable. She finally got to a few feet in front of the horse and stopped. "Well, I guess it's safe then, isn't it?" Ron gave her a relieved nod and she walked over and put a foot on it. Instantly, it reacted. Her foot was sucked in and huge arms appeared out of the sides, trying to get the rest of her to follow. Harry bolted upright and rushed to help her, but she placed a shield around her so that the students couldn't get close and hurt themselves. The door to her office flew open and Lupin did a quick succession of spells that lifted the shield, froze the rocking horse, and got Thorpe's leg safely out. She said a quick thank you and turned to the panicked classroom. "Now, that was to show you that you don't always know when something is dangerous. In this case, being wrong could have proved fatal, but I knew to have Mr. Lupin standing by so that he could help me. I would have eventually freed myself, but it was a lot quicker and more painless than if I had done it myself. Would anyone care to guess which is the harmless one?"

No one even moved, they were so scared of another wrong answer so she laughed and sat down in the chair. It wriggled a bit, but calmed down when she hushed it and she smiled. "There. This chair has been charmed to scoot itself into a table. It wouldn't hurt me; except maybe by pushing me too far into whatever table I'm sitting at. That can happen sometimes, but it's an excellent judge of distance. The chest has been charmed to move about when someone walks past it, I believe Mr. Lupin and his friends did that when they were here at school, am I right?"

Lupin smiled. "Yes, I'm afraid Harry's father is to blame for that one. It was a Halloween prank that we forgot to undo."

Thorpe turned back to the class. "Can anyone tell me what this rocking horse really is?"

Harry raised his hand. "Professor, wouldn't it be a boggart?"

Thorpe stood up and started walking around the class. "Actually, no. It stayed the same, even when all of you in the front row walked past it to get to your seats. It didn't change at all, a boggart would have turned into whatever you fear. What this particular thing is will be addressed in a moment."

"It was found seventeen years ago in a muggle home outside Suffolk. Luckily, it didn't come into contact with any children, like the Death Eaters who enchanted it had hoped. It did, however, eat half of a car and a small dog." A few people laughed a bit at this and Thorpe went on.

"As to what exactly this is, that's a rather difficult question. Have any of you heard of a mimic?" Everyone shook his or her head and Thorpe smiled. "Not surprising, really. A mimic is a dark creature that can take on any general form, the only draw back to this for them is that they are unusually large creatures so; let's say one takes on the shape of this rocking horse, it would be unusually big. They can not go any smaller than about 150 cubic feet. They are non-existent around here, so don't start worrying about them as they were destroyed in this area about two hundred years ago."

"This horse, however, is not a mimic, but it is close. It is an enchantment to make it take on the qualities of a mimic. It can change shape, with guidance of course; it can attack quite fiercely; it can even create an adhesive so that whatever has come into contact with it stays in contact. Any questions so far?"

Padma raised her hand and Thorpe indicated for her to ask her question. "Professor, since it's a dark creature, will it attack every time?"

Thorpe exchanged a glance with Remus and stifled a smile. "This particular mimic, Miss Patil, would. It was enchanted to be that way so it will stay that way. Actual mimics are much different. They were created long ago by an unnamed wizard, whether he was a dark wizard or not we don't know. He did, however, create these creatures that are usually mean and quite aggressive. Occasionally you will find one who can be coerced into tolerating you, but not often. Now, to address another issue. Just because a creature is considered a dark creature doesn't mean that they are necessarily disposed to act any certain way. Mr. Lupin here, is classified as dark, so people make two assumptions about him that aren't true. The first one is that he's a creature. He isn't a creature except one night a month. The second assumption is that he will hurt anyone and anything he can. You all have had him for a professor and from what I hear, you preferred his teaching to mine, is this correct?"

All the Gryffindors nodded, making Remus blush. Thorpe went on. "Exactly, he's exceptionally kind and patient with everyone, I have yet to hear him raise his voice in anger, and he doesn't go around hurting people like everyone is lead to believe. Now for the hard question, and I want you to answer honestly."

Thorpe paused sending a worried glance to Harry. "Would all of you mind if he helped out with lessons once in a while?"

Harry immediately shot his hand into the air. "No, Professor, I reckon he'd be brilliant." Several other students agreed, surprisingly some were Slytherin.

Thorpe beamed at her class. "Fantastic. He and I have several lessons in mind that I wouldn't be able to do by myself. You all will have a very interesting year. Now, that's all for today. Tonight, I would like you all to read the chapter on detecting Dark Arts around you and we will pick this up next time. Also, pick a dark enchantment, other than one we've talked about in class today, and write an essay on how to tell it from something that hasn't been charmed."

The students filed out of class around Harry and he waited until all of them had left. He grinned up at his two professors and got up. "So, does this mean that I get to start calling you Professor Lupin again?"

Lupin smiled. "I'm afraid not, Harry. This is an informal role at best, soon enough the parents will start complaining and I will have to move on once more."

Thorpe frowned. " If that happens, I'm just going to have to owl them and tell them that I have you firmly under control. You are excellent when you're teaching and I refuse to let you give this up because of a few misconceived notions!"

Lupin winked at Harry, letting him know that it was time to get to his next class and leave the two of them alone, and put his hands on her shoulders. Harry quickly left and went to his potions class, glad that someone finally cared enough about Remus to stick up for him, especially when he wouldn't do it himself.

Remus watched Harry leave and planted a kiss on Helena's forehead. "Darling, I know you mean well, but you can loose our job if we're not careful. Don't risk all of that for me, please?"

Helena pouted and stepped in for a hug, not wanting Remus to see how upset she was. "Bugger the job, Rem. I know how pleased it makes you to be up in front of this class and I am not going to let you step aside, throwing your dreams away because it makes everyone happier."

Remus chuckled softly and wrapped his arms around her tightly before saying, "You care about teaching them, too. I just don't want you to do anything you will regret later."

Helena buried her face into his chest before straightening up fast. "You use that line a lot, it's starting not to work any more. I've made a lot of choices in my life, some I'm not very proud of, but I have never regretted a single one. Not even the one that is the reason I work in England and not America, although that's certainly one I would regret if I regretted any." Remus quirked an eyebrow at her and she continued. "But I don't. I don't regret that and I don't regret giving you back your dream job. I certainly wouldn't regret anything I could do with you. I want you to have so many things and this seems like the best way to start giving you everything you could want."

Remus sighed and shook his head. "I don't deserve to have this job, Lena. I don't deserve any of this. These kids don't deserve to have their safety risked just because I want to teach again."

Helena set her jaw, her eyes flashing with anger. "Remus John Lupin! Don't you ever dare tell me that you don't deserve some happiness again! You deserve it more than anyone I know. You aren't putting the kids in danger, I'm here to make sure of that and you'll be away during transformations anyway, so don't bring that up." Remus started to object and Helena glared at him, effectively silencing him. "No, I don't want to hear it because it won't happen."

His shoulders fell and he rested his forehead against hers, giving up on the fight. "But it has already happened once and something might come up where it happens again. I've almost bitten someone before, I can't live with the knowledge of having done that to another person. It's a horrible, painful, fearsome disease and I don't want to risk others getting it.", he said in determination.

Helena kissed his cheek and was surprised when her lips stopped a tear that had been making its way down his cheek. "You won't. That's why you will go to Grimmwauld Place for the moon. I'll go too, just to make sure that nothing happens during the night, and everything will be fine. I can come back and teach the next day and act as if I have been here the entire time. No one will get hurt, no one will be bitten. Dumbledore has already approved all of these plans, even though I hadn't even talked to you about them. I'm sorry to spring it on you like this. I knew that if I gave you the option of thinking it over and giving me an answer before I brought it up to the class that you would say no. Did you see them? Even some Slytherins wanted you here!" Helena giggled and suddenly broke free. "Come on, I have a surprise for you."

Remus followed her through the castle, up several flights of stairs and around a circular hallway three times. "Lena? Why are we going to the Room of Requirement?"

Helena grinned back at him as she opened the door, pulled him inside, and locked it behind her. "I have a meeting with Sirius soon to check on his progress and I thought you might want to be here for it."

Remus sat down in a squashy chair that appeared at his bidding and smiled. "Yes, dear. That would be lovely. I know you're his contact, but I still miss talking to the old boy directly. How is he?"

Helena shrugged as a large mirror appeared in the middle of a table. "Haven't talked to him in a week, so I don't know. He's been calling at exactly eleven o'clock, so you can ask him yourself here any moment."

Sirius's face appeared on cue and he stuck his tongue out at Helena. "Bloody prat, you didn't tell me that I would get to see Moony. Had I known, I would have arrived earlier so that he and I could talk in private."

Helena scoffed at the image. "Oh hush. After we're done I'll leave so that the two of you can catch up on old times." This seemed to satisfy both wizards and Lena nodded. "Good, so we can get on with business. Did you acquire the password into the Malfoy Manner?"

Sirius shook his head. "I did at one point but apparently they change it weekly. I found the secret entrance, however, so that should prove crucial. Pettigrew is currently staying in the McNair estate, if you could call it that. It's really just a dilapidated old shack in the middle of some woods. It's heavily warded, so I can't get close enough to see if he has any set routine for going outside. I can get close enough to tell when he's there or not, but that's about it."

Helena looked pleased. "Excellent. Did you receive the pendant I sent to you?"

Sirius held something up in the mirror, a small plain silver cross on a black cord. "Sure did. Is this what I think it is?"

Helena smiled and nodded, elaborating when she saw Remus's confused face. "It's a marker letting me know if you're safe or not. Also, if you're in trouble, I will know exactly where you are and I can instantly come to your aid. I have a pendant just like it around my neck, so you'll have the same effects on that end. Quite an ingenious little device, really."

Sirius nodded. "We used them often during the first war. I think they have toned them down somewhat because James's let me know everything he felt." Helena burst into laughter and Sirius frowned. "Very distracting while trying to perform intricate charms. In any case, I haven't felt anything of the sort this time around, so Remus should be relieved."

Helena couldn't help herself and threw a wicked glance over to Remus's pleading eyes and responded, "You wouldn't have anyway. Remus has decided to wait."

Sirius smirked and shrugged. "Whatever works for him, doll. Business is over now, so I'd like to have a private conversation with my fellow Marauder if you don't mind."

Helena excused herself and left the two to talk alone, going down to get some lunch brought up to her room later on.

Harry spent all day trying to do that paper for Thorpe's class, but he couldn't come up with a good topic. He was currently pouring over books in the library, looking for a good one. His heart dropped when he heard that familiar drawl behind him.

"Well well, it looks as if Thorpe's little boyfriend is trying to impress her. What's the matter, Potter? Doesn't she like it when she can give you a 'private lesson'?"

Harry sighed and turned to face him. "What are you talking about, Malfoy?"

Draco smirked to Crabbe and Goyle before sauntering over. "Don't play stupid, Potter. I've heard you call her by her first name, I've seen those looks you exchange, and the way she favors you in class. Can't her werewolf boyfriend satisfy her?"

Harry narrowed his eyes but said nothing. Helena wouldn't like it if he got into a fight right now, not to mention what Lupin and Sirius would do.

Draco took his silence for a yes and laughed. "He can't? I always knew werewolves were pathetic. Of course, I wouldn't mind trying to satisfy her myself." He got right in front of Harry and whispered, "I'll bet she'd take it, too. Such a whore, wouldn't you say, Potter? First you, then the monster, now she'll have me."

Harry lunged, but was stopped from tackling Malfoy by a strong force around his stomach. Helena had wrapped her arm around him, barely keeping him from punching Draco in the nose. She glared at the blonde haired boy. "Mr. Malfoy, your housemates have you to thank for this, fifty points from Slytherin. Mr. Potter, five points from Gryffindor for not observing the rules in the library."

Harry opened his mouth to protest and Thorpe interrupted him. "More points will be taken from any one who doubts my decision. Mr. Malfoy? The next time I hear you refer to any teacher in any way other than with the utmost respect, you will be serving detention for the rest of the school year, is that clear?"

Draco hid a smirk as he nodded solemnly and winked at Harry, almost getting him to attack again. Thorpe glared at both boys before stalking out of the library. Harry gathered up his things and left before Draco could coerce him further.

He got into the hall and saw Helena clutching at her throat. She grimaced and gasped before falling to the floor on her knees. Harry rushed over and knelt down beside her. "Are you alright?"

She struggled to gulp in some air and Harry stood up. "I'm getting Pomphrey." He said desperately.

Helena tore the necklace off her neck and breathed deeply. "No, tell Remus that the class is his for the next few days. I will be back as soon as possible."

Harry wanted to ask her what she meant but she put the necklace back on and disappeared.

An: alrighty everyone!! This is the chapter! A big thank you to my beta, Prof Pendragon. If any of you want a truly funny story to read, I suggest reading her story, Santa Claws. Funny funny stuff right there.

More thanks to all of my readers and especially my reviewers. For those of you who don't review, review!! Review!!! I love this stuff, really. I want attention!! Hehehe, love you all and see you next chapter!