Chapter 13

Tom immediately raised a hand like the eager schoolboy he was at heart. "I'm in."

"Wait, wait," Annabel said, looking at Harry in slight disbelief. "Self-defence? What does that even mean?" The other also looked eager to get an answer to that, so Harry took a deep breath and started talking.

"I'm thinking of making the club about more than just learning hexes and curses. We'll learn those, too, but I can also show you some hand-to-hand moves. What to do should you lose your wand. On top of that, I think that we as muggleborns or muggle-raised teens need to learn about the wizarding world and how to truly navigate it."

"We need to understand their laws," Ben Bishop said with an agreeable nod.

"Exactly," Harry said, pleased to see that his friends were starting to understand what Harry's goals were for them all. "This whole miserable episode of the past day has clearly shown us that muggleborns and muggle-raised witches and wizards are essentially second-rate citizens in the wizarding world."

"We had noticed that, too," Lukas murmured with a frown.

"So we keep promoting the Ancestor Potion to prove once and for all that we are descendent from squibs and thus from actual witches and wizards, and in the meantime we make sure we can defend ourselves in every way that matters." Harry sat back in his seat and gave everyone an expectant look.

"That sounds fine by me," Lukas said, sharing a quick glance with Annabel. "We're in." The Hufflepuffs voiced their support not soon after, and just like that Harry had the start of an official magical self-defence club.

"I'm thinking of calling it the Defence Association. DA for short," Harry said, leaning forwards again and placing both arms on the table.

"Good name," Tom said with an admiring little smile. "Informative yet to the point."

Harry chuckled in response. There was something rather hilarious about Tom Riddle approving of the name that had once been used by a group of teenagers determined to destroy him once and for all. Of course, back in those days most kids had ended up calling it Dumbledore's Army, much to Harry's later disappointment. At that moment Harry was never naming anything after his old mentor again, for obvious reasons, but he did rather like the name Defence Association, and he particularly liked using something from his old life to help the people in his current one. It had a nice, warm nostalgic ring to Harry.

"When do we meet?" Myrtle asked eagerly.

"For now I'm thinking this Saturday." Harry quickly held up a hand when Lukas looked about to protest. "Quidditch season hasn't started yet, so for now our Saturdays are free. Once Quidditch starts up we'll meet on a different day."

"Good, because while I like your idea for this student group, I like Quidditch more," Lukas said while Arnold Wells made an agreeable noise.

"Trust me, I get it." Harry grinned for a moment, knowing full well that in his past life he'd have made the exact same comment. "For now, I need your help recruiting others. We're looking for muggleborns and muggle-raised kids, 3rd year and up. Anyone who fits that bill is welcome."

"Where will we meet?" Tom asked, a calculating look on his face.

"I'm thinking under the beech tree near the lake for now, unless it's raining buckets. I'll find us an indoor location over the next few weeks." Harry was happy to see no one seemed to mind meeting outside. It was still September and the weather had been mild, so it shouldn't be a problem. Harry was going to introduce this brand-new DA to the Room of Requirement eventually, but he didn't want to lead with that from the start. It might make clever folks like Tom a bit suspicious how Harry suddenly knew so many of Hogwarts' secrets. Best to give it some time and then show them the room with an excuse that a house-elf told Harry about it. Which was ultimately true.

Harry wasn't worried about people abusing the Room of Requirement. He'd already removed all the valuable items from it over the summer. Whatever was left in there other people were welcome to use. Harry hardly needed it with the fortune from the basilisk sale filling his vault.

They turned towards their homework. Harry quickly finished his Transfiguration essay and then took out a fresh sheet of parchment and started making a list of spells and curses he wanted to teach his brand-new students. He'd start simple, as he'd done with the original DA. Make sure they all knew the basics. But after that he'd move on to more complex magic. The Patronus Charm, for sure. But Harry also considered a few of the more useful spells he'd learned during Auror training, such as different types of restraint.

And Harry planned on teaching his new students wandless magic. It would be a momentous task, and not every student would be able to learn, but Harry made it a goal there and then to teach as many of them as he could to at least summon a wand back wandlessly. It was one of the most important and potentially life-saving things to know in a duel.

"Want some help?" Tom whispered across the table. Apparently the man was really good at reading upside down because he stared eagerly at Harry's notes. "I'd be happy to help you create a comprehensive curriculum for the DA."

Harry blinked and then sighed. Tom the eager schoolboy wanted to do more work to no one's surprise. From time to time Tom really reminded Harry of Hermione and her endless enthusiasm for academics. Except Tom had an underlying dark side that forever lingered just beneath the surface that Hermione had never had. Not that Harry minded. His adult years had taught him quite well that the world was rarely divided between light and dark, but that most things were just different shades of grey. Including Tom Marvolo Riddle.

"Sure," Harry finally said when Tom's gaze became more and more pleading by the minute.

"Myrtle, switch places with me," Tom all but demanded. Yeah, they really had to work on his manners. When Tom was in public, he had impeccable manners. But Harry noticed that when Tom was around what he considered his peers, he forgot about polite gestures at once.

A minute of moving books and quills later, Tom plopped down beside Harry and gave him a pleased little smile. "All right, what have you got so far?" Without waiting for permission, Tom slid Harry's parchment closer and gave it a good look, nodding along with all the suggestions until he came across one that stumped him. "The Patronus Charm? That seems a bit excessive."

"It's not. It's the only defence against Dementors, and lethifolds though I don't expect we'll run into many of those here in Britain," Harry said in a snooty tone, feeling just a bit insulted at Tom's clear dismissal.

"I don't expect us to meet many Dementors either," Tom said, his smile morning into a teasing grin as he gave Harry a rather condescending look.

"It can also be used to communicate," Harry quickly countered.

Tom shook his head and picked up Harry's quill. "It takes years to master. It's a complete waste of time." And with that, Tom crossed out the Patronus charm on Harry's list.

In seconds Harry had his wand in hand, aimed it straight at Tom's face and said, "Expecto Patronum."

He expected his trusty stag to erupt but what shot out of his wand was a lioness who batted Tom straight out of his chair with one enormous swipe of her paw.

Myrtle shrieked while Annabel and Lukas jumped up from their chairs. The lioness prowled around the table once, giving everyone a good look before she arrived back at Tom, who sat on the floor looking like he hadn't a clue what had just happened. The lioness gave a soundless roar and sat on her haunches, glaring at Tom.

"Don't ever interfere with my work again," Harry said in an utterly serious voice, glaring at Tom just as much as his Patronus was doing.

"I'm sorry," Tom said quickly, though Harry doubted he meant it. "Is that a corporeal Patronus?" Tom reached out a hand to the silvery lioness, who immediately batted at it with her giant paw, lips curling up in a snarl.

"No, that's a unicorn, Tom," Harry drawled, meanwhile staring at the lioness in surprise. Up until that day, Harry's Patronus had been a stag. He'd tested it during the holidays, and his stag had appeared like always. But now there was a lioness, and the more Harry thought about that, the more he understood why. It was the same as yet opposite of his Animagus form. Two different sides of the same coin. Or rather Harry, a man, living inside a woman's body. Duality sharing a single form.

The lioness glanced over her shoulder at Harry before dissolving into the air, having deemed Harry safe and Tom no longer a threat.

"No casting spells in the library!" Jamaal Gallegos the librarian snapped as he came hurrying over. "Out, all of you."

Harry got up from his seat and raised a hand while giving Gallegos a contrite look. "I did that, Sir. Please don't send my friends away for my mistake."

Gallegos gave him a considering look as Tom finally got up from the floor and dusted himself off. "Very well, your friends can stay, but you're banned for today and tomorrow."

Harry hung his head, trying to seem remorseful, while he packed his things.

"You can cast a corporeal Patronus?" Arnold said in utter disbelief while Ben seemed at a complete loss for words.

"You have to teach us," Annabel said while Myrtle was still white as a sheet while she stared at Harry.

"I will, during the DA." Harry winked at his friends while he finished loading up his bookbag. He slung it over his shoulder. "I'll see you at dinner. Don't worry," he quickly added with Myrtle looked ready to protest. "I was finished with homework anyway."

And with that, Harry strolled out of the library while around him student after student whispered about the fact that measly Harrier Hubble had just cast a corporeal Patronus in the library.

Tom came hurrying after Harry, books barely clutched to his chest, parchment flapping about under his elbow. "Harriet, wait!"

Slowing his pace, Harry gave Tom an amused smirk over his shoulder.

When Tom finally caught up with Harry, he whispered, "Just how powerful are you, Harriet Hubble?"

"Plenty powerful," Harry responded with a chuckle.

"Yes," Tom said, face a mask of intrigue. "I suspect that you are."

"Ruin my work again, and you'll get confirmation of your suspicion."

Tom laughed. "Don't tempt me. Now where are we going?"

"The kitchens." Harry led him down the staircase with a spring in his step. The hilarious mental image of Harry's lioness dumping Tom on his arse was going to fuel decades of Patronus charms, Harry was sure. "I could do with a spot of tea."

"Excellent plan," Tom agreed with a polite little smile. "Do lead the way." Now that they were back in public he seemed to have remembered his manners again.

Soon enough they were seated at a table in the kitchens with a steaming pot of tea between them, as well as a plate with slices of fruitcake. Now that Harry had given him a real demonstration of his powers, Tom was suddenly a lot more agreeable to go along with Harry's more advanced suggestions instead of just dismissing them out of hand.

"We should also add some wards," Tom said when they were on their second cup of tea. "So very few people know how to create wards, even basic ones."

Harry blinked. "That's a really good suggestion. I'll add it to the list."

Tom was reading Harry's parchment upside down again. "Wandless magic?" Tom seemed stuck between wanting to believe Harry could do wandless magic and wanting to laugh in her face at the mere suggestion a student could do that at all.

"Yeah," Harry said vaguely. "I've been practicing some stuff over the summer. Just small stuff."

"Like what?" Tom said in a clear dare while he sat back and crossed his arms, brown eyes narrowed.

"Like this." Harry pretended to concentrate really hard, face scrunched up in a deep frown, and then he waved his hand at the plate between them, released a small burst of magic, and pushed a slice of fruitcake right off the plate.

"Very nice." Tom's face broke out into a wide grin, as though he couldn't contain himself. He raised his hand, gestured with his long fingers and the slice of cake rose into the air where it hovered between them for a few seconds before falling to the tabletop.

"Brilliant! You can be my assistant teacher," Harry said at once.

"Or," Tom said with a bit of a pinched expression at being called an 'assistant' of any kind. "I can simply teach the group with you."

"Or we can do that, sure," Harry agreed easily enough. It probably was a good idea to have someone else there to help with teaching. In his first life Harry had been the sole teacher of the DA and that had been rather taxing at times. Having someone there who could teach as well as Harry was definitely a good thing. And, to be honest, Harry was curious to see how Tom would teach others. Once upon a time Tom Riddle had applied to become a teacher at Hogwarts, after all.

They drank more tea and Tom had a few more suggestions while Harry also came up with more ideas and by the time they should be headed to the Great Hall for dinner they had enough of a curriculum to keep the DA busy for years and years.

"Thanks," Harry said as they trooped across the Entrance Hall. "That was helpful." And a surprising amount of fun, but Harry wasn't about to admit that.

"No. Thank you," Tom said immediately. He even looked like he meant it, and he gave Harry a crooked grin before heading towards the Slytherin table.

Harry sat down beside Myrtle at the Ravenclaw table and was immediately subjected to a mild form of interrogation about what Harry had planned for the DA and could he please, please, please teach Myrtle the Patronus charm as well. Around them many students were still whispering about Harry's impromptu demonstration in the library. Many students who hadn't witnessed the event openly questioned how a fifth year muggleborn could pull something like that off and if it even had been real. But those who had witnessed it insisted Harriet's Patronus had been the real thing.

Sighing, Harry reached for the roasted carrots and parsnips and spooned some on his plate. Curse his Gryffindor impulsivity. Every single day Harry promised himself he was going to keep a low profile, and every single day his impulsivity buggered it all up. Just as Harry placed a porkchop on his plate, Headmaster Dippet rose from his seat at the head table.

"Might I have your attention for a moment, please?" Dippet said, still looking as though he'd barely slept in weeks. "I have some unpleasant news to share."

Around them students quieted down, placing down their cutlery and sitting back while they stared at Dippet in anticipation and curiosity.

"I have had the unpleasant task yesterday of expelling a student. Konrad Mulciber, a fifth year Slytherin, is no longer a student at this school." Immediate whispers erupted and it took Dippet a minute of waving his hands around to calm everyone down again. "Mr Mulciber is accused of various serious crimes and the Auror department are investigating those crimes as we speak. I'd like to take this moment to ask any student, no matter who you are, to come speak to me personally should another student ever hurt you in any way. My door is always open and I will take your story seriously, I promise. Thank you. Back to your meals." And with a tired sigh Dippet sat down again.

The whispers turned into full blown chatter and most people seemed to understand Mulciber had been expelled because he'd sexually assaulted at least a handful of female students. Both Harry and Myrtle were the immediate subject of many, many curious looks, but Harry gave Myrtle a little pep-talk.

"Ignore them," Harry whispered while he went about plating up his dinner as usual. "They're curious, as is expected. But ultimately their opinion doesn't matter and their words cannot hurt us. So, just ignore them and carry on with your life."

"Keep calm and carry on," Myrtle said with determination in her voice.

Harry blinked. That sounded familiar, but it took rooting through some of Harriet's memories to realize why. It was the message on a famous propaganda poster created by the British Government at the start of the war. "Yes, exactly," Harry told Myrtle with an amused smile. "Keep calm and carry on."

A few spots down the table, Olive was giving them dirty looks while Patricia and Daisy avoided Harry's gaze like the plague. Well, as long as they stuck with dirty looks and didn't try to escalate things again, Harry didn't care what his roommates got up to.

After dinner Myrtle and Harry went up to their dormitory. Myrtle wanted to practise the Aguamenti charm, which they'd learned just that morning, and she needed to do that in the bathroom. While Harry sat down on his bed, he remembered Tom's words about warding and this reminded Harry he needed to put up some words around their beds. As much as Harry wanted to believe otherwise, he wasn't yet convinced their roommates wouldn't try something in retaliation, and messing with their belongings and their beds was the safest way for their roommates to get revenge.

"Myrtle, want me to ward your bed?" Harry called into the bathroom where Myrtle was shooting jet after jet of water into a shower stall.

"Yes, please!"

And so Harry got to work. His trunk was already properly warded but he added a few extra wards to Myrtle's trunk to keep her stuff safe. Then he warded both their desks and their wardrobes and finally he turned both their beds into bunkers. Well, magically speaking he fortified them in such a way that even a pissed off dragon would have trouble getting to them while they were sleeping safely in their beds.

And just because he could, Harry added a colour reveal charm to their wards. These were popular charms with shopkeepers and houseowners. If anyone tried to mess with the wards, their whole heads would turn a bright colour and stay that way for a few days, making it easy to catch shoplifters and burglars. Harry loved those charms because it had made his work as an Auror so much easier when you could pick the suspect out of a crowd at a distance because his entire head was bright orange.

For Myrtle, Harry choose a nice metallic bronze and for himself a bright Ravenclaw blue. This way they'd know at once if one of their roommates tried to get through their wards at any time, even when they weren't there.

After Harry explained to a gleeful Myrtle how the wards worked, they decided to turn in for the night. The next day, Thursday, was their busiest day of the whole week and they both wanted to be well rested.

As usual by now, Harry and Myrtle left for breakfast well before their roommates. They had double Potions first thing. Harriet had always worked with Myrtle in the past during Potions, and Harry meant to continue that, but Tom clearly had different plans. He all but shouldered poor Myrtle aside and almost sat down in Harry's lap in his eagerness to be his partner for that class.

"Hi, Tom," Harry said with an amused look as Tom finally found his own seat and tried to recover from his rather uncharacteristically clumsy claiming of Harry's desk. "Sleep well?"

Daisy entered the classroom without her usual two cronies. Myrtle stood awkwardly to the side until she finally sat down beside an equally awkward Daisy when Slughorn told them to settle down.

"I slept very well, thank you," Tom said, getting his potions kit out. "Yourself?"

"Very well, thank you." Harry pretended as though nothing was amiss while he got his own kit. "If you want to work with me, you can simply ask. No need to upset poor Myrtle like that."

Tom blinked and then his lips pulled back into a triumphant grin. "Okay. From now on we shall partner up in every class we share."

"You forgot the magic word," Harry muttered, again a little put off by Tom's demanding tone.

To his credit, Tom seemed to realize at once he'd been rather rude. "Apologies. Let me rephrase that. Harriet, would you please be my partner in all our shared classes. I do believe we work well together and we'd be able to bring out the best in each other."

"Well," Harry said as he beamed at Tom. "If you put it like that, of course I'll partner with you."

Just at that moment the classroom door opened and Olive and Patricia stepped through, heads down but that did nothing to hide the fact that Patricia's head was a nice metallic bronze while Olive's was a bright blue.

"Sorry we're late," Olive mumbled as they sat down at the first available desk. "We were at the hospital wing."

"I can see why," Slughorn said with a well-meaning chuckle. "Someone did an excellent job at some colour charms."

Harry looked at his two colourful roommates with mild interest, but beside him, Tom narrowed his eyes and seemed to know exactly who had done such an excellent job on Olive and Patricia.

"What did they do?" Tom whispered as Slughorn began lecturing on the potion they were to brew.

"I just added a colour modifier to the wards around my bed and trunk," Harry said with a giggle because he couldn't help himself. Sometimes it was nice to take credit for a job well done.

"Oh, that is clever," Tom mused, more to himself than to Harry. "I'll have to look into that. Ever since I've started spending time with you, my wards have been tampered with as well. No one got through," Tom added quickly when Harry looked ready to ask him about that. "But it would be nice to know exactly who it was."

"I'll teach you," Harry offered at once, because he liked Tom nowadays, and he wanted Tom to be safe in Slytherin. Besides, Harry was also curious who exactly would be trying to mess with Tom's belongings.

The rest of the day flew by. Harry was still banned from the library that afternoon but that hardly mattered because they had classes almost to dinner time. After dinner Harry and Myrtle decided to simply go to the Ravenclaw common room and do their homework there, since they were both already tired and they still had Astronomy later that night.

But the moment they stepped through the door and into the common room, Olive, Patricia and Rosemary Driscoll, their Head of House were waiting for them.

"They did this!" Olive snarled, head still blue. She tapped the Prefect badge on her chest. "They attacked a Prefect. They should be expelled at the very least."