7 Staff

Hermione and Ron were having a politeness contest every time they had to speak to each other. Harry thought that was almost as bad as fighting. He was keen to return to Hogwarts for as much training as he could get from Moody and Shacklebolt.

All Ron wanted was Quidditch and some distance from Hermione. Hermione couldn't wait to lose herself in Potions and special projects. The awkwardness and uncertainty with Ron was consuming her.

Dawlish always put the three of them together in Defense Against the Dark Arts class. Hermione's eagerness had given way to a controlled, focused coolness that made the spells look easy. She wound Dawlish up simply by being able to react no matter how loudly or quickly he conducted his drills. Ron was getting more agile at dodging spells and he walked away from hexes that other students needed Madam Pomfrey's attentions for. Harry had also improved. His stun and body-bind spells were well above any that he had done last year. He was quicker and he had an uncanny sense of what his opponents were going to do next.

They were able to drop everything and perform well as a team. Dawlish was impressed enough to start rotating his pupils through different groups to see who made the best teams. He still drilled and tested them individually but he also emphasized team skills and leadership. He'd taken a page from McGonagall's book and the strictness and discipline brought results.

Peeves spotted Seamus Finnegan on the stairs carrying a large earthenware pot down to the greenhouses to Professor Sprout. He circled around Seamus, pelting him with gobstones he'd taken from some first years. Seamus held up the pot to shield himself and lost his footing. Landing flat on his back in front of half the school and winded from having the heavy pot on top of him, Seamus gasped "Accio dignity." Suddenly Peeves zoomed across the staircase and into the pot. Seamus lost his grip and it went end for end down the stairs with Peeves still inside. The battered flowerpot came to rest on the edge of the landing shaking precariously. Seamus got up and caught his breath while the swelling crowd of students roared with laughter. The stairs shifted, sending the flowerpot tumbling again. It crashed on the next landing and broke in half.

A dizzy, dirty Peeves crawled out and flew straight at Seamus.

Picking up a gobstone, he hurled it at the angry poltergeist. It hit him right between the eyes and spewed a smelly fluid all over his face. What seemed like the whole school thundered with mirth all around him. Totally unaccustomed to such humiliation, Peeves sped away threatening Seamus under his breath.

"You forgot your gobstones, Peeves." Seamus said in a flawless deadpan. The crowd roared again.

Hermione Granger picked her way around the debris on the stairs and gave him a funny look.

"Nice spell-work, you'll have to teach me that one," she said with perfect diction as she passed by. Seamus couldn't tell if she was angry, impressed or serious.

"Good arm, too!" one of the large Slytherin Quidditch players said heartily. Seamus wondered what spell sounded like accio dignity when one was gasping for air beneath a huge vase. For the next few days everyone was asking him about the spell he'd used on Peeves, who'd hardly been seen since the incident. He started to explain about "accio dignity" then caught himself. No joke you had to explain was ever funny. Instead he told them it was a bit of ancient Gaelic that even he couldn't repeat correctly. He said that he must have got lucky.

Harry took himself off to the Room of Requirement for his 'Special Studies' double class. The two Order members were waiting for him as usual.

Harry pulled a long velvet sack from his robes and laid it gently on the table.

"Professors, can either of you tell me what this is?" Harry drew the serpent's staff from the bag and held it out to his two teachers.

Kingsley and Mad-Eye looked sharply at each other.

"Goblin wrought silver," said Kingsley Shacklebolt as he examined the staff, clearly impressed. Moody's magic eye danced all along the staff as Kingsley handed it to him. Moody seemed to swell as he looked over the walking staff.

"Do you know what you've got here, Potter?"

"A horcrux?"

"No."

"Something that can find a horcrux?"

"Possibly. This isn't just any piece of Goblin made frippery for some pureblood aristocrat. Goblins made this to defend themselves against werewolves and magical beasts. It would probably work against a dragon if you could get close enough to use it. Many of these staffs have seeking powers. Some can guide the holder to hidden objects and attract helpful creatures like Thestrals and Hippogriffs. There are a lot of powerful objects like this at Grimmauld Place. Be careful of what you find in the House of Black, Harry."

Harry thought he saw Mad-Eye's magic eye blink as he handed back the staff.

"There are quite a few Death Eaters that are animagi," Kingsley stated as if he'd picked up an unspoken cue from Moody. "Tonight we're going to teach you how to deal with non-human adversaries. Think of it as Care of Magical Creatures. Backwards."

The lessons ran long. Harry learned so much from Kingsley he was actually discouraged. There was so much to know.