Chapter 8: Shield with one hand and with the other …

"The harshest decision in times of war is always involves sacrifice. For the choice, to save a loved one's life over another's, can also mean the sacrificing of one's soul." An epitaph in the back of a burnt copy of Hogwarts a History. Author unknown.

Could he keep on going? The thought fell through his mind. Lightning pierced the air around him. He was in a black cloud, struggling to see and walk as bolts jolted him from left to right. He was burning all over, sweat lined his clothes as the harsh smell of smoke clogged his nose. Coughing, he ran on. Just as he felt like he'd collapse the flashing halted, the vaporous darkness receded and began to take shape. Harry drew his wand.

He was in a darkened place with a giant green cauldron in the middle. Nothing appeared inside. Everything seemed cool apart from Harry who still somehow burned as if on fire. Then Voldemort appeared, colder than the floor beneath him. He strode around the cauldron, torn robes billowing, no emotion on his snakelike face. In the next moment, Lucius Malfoy had appeared. They began speaking but everything seemed muted. Harry knew he shouldn't go closer. But he found himself moving that way.

The black cloud at the edge of his vision gave a loud grumble. Harry stopped, his breathing ragged now. He still couldn't hear them.

Voldemort gestured and Lucius became utterly silent. The darkness on the side formed into another figure as Draco Malfoy joined them. Father and son quaked in the Dark Lords presence. Like a predator taunting its play, Voldemort basked in this. Gesturing to both of them to draw closer, he leaned over the Cauldron. Harry crept forward again.

He had to see what they talking about!

Lightning began to blaze around him as the thunder boomed, cracking his ears and shaking the ground in which he stood. Just a little further; his limbs were turning to lead. He could almost hear them! CRACK! As if the Lightning had broken free and was now raging, it burst into the air like a ferocious bull and shattered the cauldron. Draco, Lucius and Voldemort all reared and burst in to flames, but not before Voldemort turned and caught sight of Harry. Red eyes lit up and he began to laugh as everything was consumed by a fiendish fire.

Harry awoke with a fierce jolt in his bed in Gryffindor tower. He was panting heavily and felt like he'd just run a marathon. What was that? He questioned as he sank back into bed, the bedsheets clinging to him. Turning, he saw Ron, Neville, Seamus and Dean all sleeping soundly in their beds. He let out a sigh of relief. At least they hadn't seen him.

The sun was just beginning to rise out of the window and across the lake as Harry swung his legs over the bed and attempted to calm his breathing. He hadn't dreamt like that for a long time. Not since his strange nightmare where Voldemort killed another him earlier in the summer. Perhaps, Tom was particularly emotional tonight and it was spilling over the edges, he speculated.

Despite his aching head, Harry knew he should get up. He hadn't exactly got much sleep after his meeting with Daphne last night, but knew that night time endeavours might become a common thing in the future, so he'd have to get used to them. Struggling into his running clothes, he put his shoes on and crept past his roommates, down into the Common Room and through the still sleeping portrait.

The castle seemed so quiet at this time in the morning as Harry strolled down the halls and out towards the lake. He'd noticed since his return, that now he could feel his own magic, he could almost feel other magics as well. The Hogwarts Expresses seemed to pulse a little yesterday when he'd touched it. However, if the Hogwarts Express was a light hum, then the Castle was an orchestra at full symphony. Each and every crevice boomed as if ready to-

"Potty, Potty, Potty!" Peeves rounded the corner. "Peevesy has chosen you, potty. You're the chosen one."

"Thanks, Peeves. But I think the Daily Prophet has beaten you to it." He replied.

"No, Potty! YOU ARE PEEVES' CHOSEN ONE!" And before Harry could make sense of it, Peeves had thrown a greenish goo he'd been hiding behind his back at him. Harry leapt to the side and out of the way, but Peeves was ready. He somehow managed to direct the goo at Harry, covering half of him as he backed away and ran down the stairs. The poltergeist chased him all the way to the Entrance Hall, where Harry sprinted through the main doors and out of harms way.

Harry heard a cackling laughter behind him as Peeves halted inside the castle. "I'll get you POTTY!"

He couldn't help but laugh: less than a day back at Hogwarts and his morning routine had already come under attack. Focusing his magic inside, he reached in to his core and remembered what the cleaning spell felt like. Raising his hand over himself he channeled the spell, aimed it at the goo and spoke in his mind 'Tergeo'. Within seconds most of the goo had disappeared. Smiling at his results, he used the momentum from the encounter with Peeves to carry on jogging around the lake.

As he ran, Harry marvelled at how beautiful the lake was, particularly when compared to the suburban enclosure he'd been confined to over the summer. When he finally made it once around, he stopped to collect himself and rest. Climbing up onto a large rock, he sat down, and began to apply his Occlumency training to the dream he'd been through last night.

What were Lucius and Voldemort talking about?

What was in the Cauldron?

And Why was Draco there?

Whether it was real or not Harry didn't know. Unfortunately, clearing his mind and reinforcing his Occlumency barriers, no matter how hard he'd worked at building them up, weren't going to shed any light on the matter either. Regardless, he still ran through his morning exercises before heading up to the castle to change for breakfast.

After a long shower, Harry emerged just as Ron was waking up. "Wotcha." He said, face half covered by his sheets.

"Morning mate, I'll wait downstairs shall I?" Harry replied.

"Cool," was all Ron could muster before his head hit the pillow again.

Smirking, Harry grabbed the Marauders' notebook he'd been given by Remus and headed for the common room. There were only a handful of Gryffindors around this early, so Harry jumped down on the couch to study a particular spell he'd found inside. During the course of the Marauders antics, they had looked into several advanced shielding spells. One in particular, seemed to be very difficult. Harry had only heard it mentioned in his Dueling book and was eager to get more information on it.

"What are you reading, Harry?" Said Ginny as she plopped down on the couch next to him. Her auburn hair gliding behind her.

"Oh, Morning Ginny. Um, just a book Remus gave me."

"Doesn't look like any old book." It's tattered cover betraying its history.

"It's one my dad made, along with Sirius and Remus while they were here. It's got so many notes and ideas in it. But mostly, dad and Sirius' arguments over which spell would work the best for a certain prank." Harry said, smiling.

"Sounds like an entertaining read. Anything we can use?" Harry laughed at that.

"I like where your head's at."

"Who do you think is the twins' protege?"

"Oh, that's a dangerous thought."

"Only if you annoy me, Potter."

He chuckled "I wouldn't dream of it." A quick flash of what Ginny's bat bogey hex would have done to Zacharais Smith on the Hogwarts Expresses made Harry shiver. A short silence lapsed between them.

"Liste-.."

"I was - .."

They both laughed. "You go," she said.

"I was just going to say, thanks. Those letters you wrote to me over the summer, they-, well they really helped. It meant-…"

"Where's Ron, Harry?" Hermione asked as she came up behind them. Harry wanted to finish talking with Ginny, but figured it could wait until they were alone.

"Where do you think, still sleeping. And Morning by the way."

"Morning," she replied, flustered. "Harry, we have to get down to breakfast early for our schedules."

"I know that, I'm here aren't I?"

"Well, maybe you should go and -

"Come on you lot -" Ron finally emerged from the stairs to the boys dorms. "I'm starving." He said, walking straight past everyone with a smirking Neville hot on his heels. Harry exchanged looks with Ginny, Hermione being too gobsmacked to respond. They all followed the boys and made their way down to the Great Hall for breakfast. Along the way, Ron was bouncier than normal at this time in the morning, telling them he expected little to no work today having dropped a few lessons this year. Harry thought he might be in for a bit of a surprise with what he would ask of them later that evening, but kept that to himself for now.

A strange atmosphere buzzed in the air as they walked into the hall and sat for breakfast. The early morning sun was warming the castle, casting a light glow over the Great hall. This usually would have been the time for the first day excitement, with magic notes and frisbee's cheekily dancing though the air. But, Harry thought he sensed a subdued nature to everyone in the castle. There were no longer carefree faces floating around the hall with the summer's hot gossip. People were afraid.

Harry spied several groups huddled around copies of the Daily Prophet, catching whatever news they could. The onslaught of owl post, was far less welcomed for fear of what they might reveal. Now more than ever, people needed hope.

With that in mind, Harry turned to his friends and leaned closer, indicating this was something he wanted only the 5 of them to hear. "Listen guys, I wanted to have a meeting tonight. In the room of requirement. Just the 6 of us that were at the Ministry; I'll tell Luna later on. That alright with everyone?"

"Well, Harry, we're bound to have a lot of homework from today. Ginny also has her O.W.L.'s this year." Hermione said matter of factly. Ginny wrinkled her nose as if she'd smelt something bad.

"I know, but this is important. There are a few things I need to tell you. A few things I need to show you."

"Like what, mate?" Ron said as he finished his third plate of eggs.

"Well, I can't talk now, but it's important. Trust me" All of his friends looked curious, but Neville and Ginny were the first to speak up.

"We're with you, Harry." They said together.

Hermione looked a little crestfallen at this. "Of course, we'll be there, Harry." She said. Although, Harry noted she looked quite skeptical. He thought she would come around once she had more answers. She usually did in that way.

Casting a look around the hall once more, Harry noticed Daphne, chatting amicably with Tracy Davis, a fellow Slytherin at their table. She seemed particularly stoic and guarded, but gave no indication that their rendezvous last night had ever happened. Harry would have to remember to give her a list of books he'd used soon, as promised, and in the meantime, wondered if their little chat the night before had had as much of an effect on her as it had on him. He'd gone to bed the previous night thinking about it, a set of blue eyes, making his heart flutter a little more than it should.

A few seconds later, his daydream was interrupted by Professor Mcgonagall who had their schedules for the year.

"Obviously, you did well in Herbology, ," she began. "The best in the year, Professor Sprout tells me." Neville balked at the praise, and turned a fair shade of pink. "However, it seems you didn't quite get enough to continue my Transfiguration class." The normal stern which said with as much gentleness as Harry had seen in her.

"Thanks, Professor. But that's okay. My gran and I talked it through and I think focusing on Charms, Herbology, Defence and Potions would be the best option. Speaking of Professor, is it possible we now qualify for our N.E.W.T. Potions, what with the new teacher?" Neville asked.

"Professor Slughorn indeed accepts Exceeds Expectations results into his Potions class this year." Harry and Neville high-fived over this. Knowing he wanted to become an Auror, Harry needed his potions N.E.W.T. to qualify.

"I believe there will be quite a few of you who are now eligible for his class as well. So, I shall place it into your schedules. Perhaps you as well, Mr. Weasley?"

"Oh…nah, that's okay Professor, I was really just-".

"Mm," Mcgonagall exclaimed without looking away from his schedule. "I've gone ahead and added it in. And I expect you to put in the effort, Mr. Weasley. We can't have you sleeping in the common room in your spare time now, can we?"

Ron's mouth opened like a fish as if to say, what did I do to deserve that ….and how did she know? Ginny, who was sitting opposite, took immediate advantage and tried to throw a grape into it. Unfortunately, it missed and splattered on his cheek.

"Oi!" Ron said, as the rest of them laughed. He grabbed the leftover grape and went to throw it back just as Mcgonagall coughed and levelled her eyes at him. Ginny promptly left saying she had to get to first class. "I think the rest of you had better shoo as well. Here are the rest of your schedules." She said and finished handing them out.

Harry examined his and realised they had Defence Against the Dark Arts first with Snape. The mood turned apprehensive among the group as they headed to class. For the first time with Snape they weren't heading down into the dungeons, however, this did little to pacify Harry's dread. After last years disastrous attempt at Occlumency teaching, which had verged on torture, Harry was not looking forward to spending any second more under Snape's tutelage.

As they were waiting outside, Snape strode past them, the door slamming open when he entered. Everyone else followed and sat awaiting his instruction. The room, looked like Snape had picked the dungeon up and placed it much higher in the caste. The walls had somehow become blackened, unhealthy looking pictures clung to them as if by grease and the room smelled somehow much older than in previous years. Harry felt like it was an extension of Snape's personality: cold, dark, suspect and probably filthy.

"Books away!" Snape snapped just as everyone was reaching into their bags. "The past few years of uneven teaching have given you a lacklustre - at best - education in the area of Defence Against The Dark Arts. In fact, its a wonder so many of you were even able to pass the exams, let alone return for your N.E.W.T's." Harry swore he glanced at him. "With circumstances being as they are, Headmaster Dumbledore would like you to have a more practical education this year. Thus, we shall beginning with Non-verbal spell casting."

Harry heard Ron gulp next to him. A feeling that seemed to be mirrored by most in the class. Even Hermione seemed uncertain.

"Now, pair off and practice trying to disarm one another without saying a word." Snape said as he waved his wand to clear the tables away. Ron paired with Harry and Neville with Hermione as they all faced each other.

"Want to go first mate?" Harry asked.

"Um, -you know what I think I'll let you take the reins on this one," Harry smiled. Around the room everyone was trying in vein to produce a silent spell. Several, Harry noticed, were whispering it when Snape's back was turned. Hermione and Neville both had the faces scrunched in concentration as they tried back and forth. Daphne was paired, surprisingly, with a Ravenclaw , at the opposite end of the class.

Shaking his head, Harry focused back on the task and on his magic, calling up within him the memory of what Expeliarmus felt like. He'd done this countless times over the summer and had found that each spell felt different. It wasn't something he could explain, only do. Once, he recalled what each felt like, he simply had to remember and repeat it. He'd even got to the point where saying the name in his mind had almost become irrelevant.

Getting his wand in position, Harry thought Expelliarmus! A blueish jet shot from the end of his wand straight at a surprised Ron.

"Waaaaa, Protego!" Ron barely said in time to absorb the incoming spell. His reflexes hadn't been dulled since the Ministry it seemed.

"Weasley! Potter! Did you hear me say no speaking! 5 points from Gryffindor for both of you."

"What! But, Sir, Harry didn't speak."

"Are you calling me a liar, Weasley?" The room fell several degrees as everyone stopped to watch Snape round on Ron.

"No, Sir. But I bet Harry could do it again." Ron said defiantly. Oh shit. The last thing Harry wanted to do was have a game of one up with Snape. Especially in front of everyone.

"Well, I'm sure the chosen one wouldn't mind proving it." He said, not missing a beat as he turned to face Harry, black eyes meeting green.

Before Harry could nod, Snape had already sent a spell at him. Calling on his magic, Harry raised a shield - Protego - quickly to absorb it. The spell sank harmlessly into the shield and then shimmered out of existence. He tried not to smirk at the look on Snape's face. Just as Harry lowered his wand, Snape unexpectedly sent two more spells, with lightning speed. Harry barely had time to raise the same shield before the spells impacted. Wow. Snape was quick, Harry thought.

"Well, well, well. It would seem you are the chosen one after all, Potter." Snape drawled, his every word a mocking blow. " Hooray for our saviour". Before yelling at everyone to carry on, Snape cast a curious look Harry's way; for a split second Harry thought he felt a probe against his Occlumency walls, but he raised his barriers like he'd practiced and detected nothing more. Curiously, his hidden wand from Ollivander also gave a muted buzz up his sleeve when this happened. He'd have to write and ask the ancient wand maker exactly what this wand did.

For the rest of the class, most non-Slytherin's, tried to catch his eye and wink in someway. Hermione, however, seemed extremely put out by his success against Snape and redoubled her efforts to cast silently, all the while sending inquisitive looks his way. By the end, she had managed to cast the disarming spell a few times and had even helped Neville to some success. Daphne didn't catch his eye at all; she appeared busy trying to cast her own spells non-verbally, and by the end of class was one of the only ones to do so.

A little while later when they were leaving, Harry knew Snape had got his own back with the amount of homework he'd assigned them. "Two parchments, as well as practical and theory homework. For one class! Unbelievable." Ron moaned. "-Mental!"

"True, but it was worth it to see you trounce Snape, Harry." Neville put in. Several other people came up to congratulate him on their way down to lunch.

Seeing her opportunity, Hermione pounced. "How did you get so good, Harry? I mean I'm happy for you and well done, but you weren't that good at the end of last term."

"I told you, I studied over the summer."

"That was more than just studying, Harry." She responded a little too strongly.

"You're right, but for now, that's essentially it." Hermione seemed far from satisfied with the answer, but didn't push the issue. Harry thought he caught a look on her face as if she were mentally tallying the questions she wanted to ask him.

"That's what you're harping on at him for!? Can you believe Snape - the greasy git, shooting two extras at you without warning."

"Good job you were ready, Harry." Neville said, clapping him on he back. Ready wasn't quite the term Harry would use, he just reacted and fortunately it had been the right spell. Harry thought this wouldn't be the first time he would be thankful he'd practiced non-verbal casting so much over the summer. "And thanks for your help, Hermione. That's the first time I've ever mastered a spell within the first class for Defence." The boy beamed. "You make a pretty good teacher, you know."

"Oh, well.. you're welcome, Neville." Now it was Hermione's turn to beam, her earlier questions for Harry seemingly put on hold. Harry thought he noticed both of them turn a little pink, but was immediately distracted by Ron's growling belly.

"Come on you lot." He said, as they all laughed and made their way down to lunch.

The mood in the hall was a subdued one as they ate. Harry however noticed several people glancing in his direction, prompting him to ask. "Do I have something on my face?"

"Hardly Harry," Hermione said. "Word must have spread about your performance against Snape"."

"That was barely an hour ago-."

"I know, I'm surprised it took that long." Harry looked confused at that. "What? You're the chosen one now, Harry. Combine that with the fact that everyone knows you were telling the truth last year and the that you.."

"-Pulled one over on old Slime ball…" Ron jumped in.

"-Lead a secret fight against You-Know-Who at the Ministry…" Neville picked up.

"And you look different this year… more grown up. I'd say it's rather obvious why they're looking this way." Hermione seemed to think this was the most obvious answer in the world, but Harry was only more confused. "You're Hogwarts most eligible, Harry." She finished, rolling her eyes.

Harry had no idea how to respond to that. He was suddenly very aware of his surroundings. The cup in his hand seemed a little slippy. Had the room been this hot a few minutes ago?

"We were there too you know." He thought he heard Ron say.

A few moments later, Harry spilt his drink as he went to put it down. If only Occlumency barriers could help you calm your heart rate, he thought, He'd have to look into it as a matter of urgency. Glancing around the Hall, he caught several girls' eyes as they looked away quickly and giggled.

"Don't we have Potions now?" The others looked at him and smirked.

"Sure thing, Harry." Hermione said, rescuing him. As they were heading out of the hall, Harry heard his name being called from behind. It was Susan Bones, a red headed Hufflepuff who'd been in the D.A. last year.

"Hey Harry. Um…I was wondering if I could talk to you for a second," she said shyly.

"Oh, um, sure thing, Susan. I'll meet you guys in class," Harry said, turning to his friends. He thought he caught Hermione smiling knowingly but tried not to think about it, though he had to admit it was hard: Susan was one of the prettiest girls in his year. Hermione's words echoed in his mind as Harry was afraid he was about to be put on the spot…

"Listen, Harry. I just wanted to say…. Sorry."

Oh? "Sorry?"

"Well… I wanted to say I'm sorry I didn't believe in you more last year. Things were really confusing, with Umbridge and Cedric, and nobody really explained anything to us. I think deep down we all knew, that's why we joined the D.A. It was just easier than admitting to ourselves that something was really wrong out there." She cast her eyes down. Harry thought she seemed very sad in that moment.

"Oh, well, thanks Susan. I, um,.. thanks for saying so. I'm glad you decided to join too." She looked up and half smiled in return.

"Well, me and a few of the others from last year were wondering if you were thinking about restarting it again? I mean… I know we don't have Umbridge, but none of us are really looking forward to having Snape …and you were such a good teacher." She finished almost breathless before looking away shyly once again.

"Actually, it's funny you should mention that, because, yes it will be back this year. I don't want too many people though, so the same group as last year would be best." Her eyes lit up at that and she smiled back at him. Yet, in the next second she seemed to catch herself and the smile vanished almost as fast as it had appeared, her eyes changing into a haunted look as if she'd just remembered something.

"That's great, Harry. Well, let us know." She said before heading off back in the direction of the hall.

Harry wondered what would make her so upset. Susan had always been one of the most cheerful girls he knew. And then it hit him. "Hey Susan."he said as he caught up behind her. "…I'm sorry… about your Aunt. I read about her in the Prophet." Susan's eyes immediately shot down to the floor. Harry was worried he'd said too much. She looked like she was about to cry. It started to rain heavily on the window behind them.

Oh well done, Harry. First day and already you've made a girl cry!

She shifted uncomfortably and in that moment she a pretty girl at school, but someone who now, like him, didn't have any family left. Then without really thinking, he stepped forward and hugged her.

She stiffened as if stunned for a second, before relaxing and hugging him back. They were there for several seconds more then broke apart. Harry was grateful the hall was relatively deserted.

"Thanks, Harry." She said smiling softly at him. This time the smile stayed on her face as a light blush rose to her cheeks. In that moment, Harry was also very aware of their proximity to one another and of how well her school clothes hugged her figure.

"S'okay," he managed. "Listen, I'll contact you and everyone else soon about the D.A. Then we can start preparing."

"Sure thing. See you around." She said and skipped off back to the Hall. She turned and glanced over her shoulder at him briefly as she walked on. Swallowing hard, Harry realised he was probably late for potions by now. At a sprint, he managed to make it just as everyone else was walking into Slughorn's classroom.

"Ah, Harry m'boy, Just in time." Slughorn said, as he waved Harry in behind Ron, Neville and Hermione; the latter giving him a knowing look as they sat down. Out of the corner of his eye, Harry noticed Daphne was also in the class. She sat with her blonde Slytherin friend, Tracy and didn't appear interested in looking his way.

"Before we begin, I have a note here from Professor Mcgonagall suggesting that several of you might not have the required potions equipment as of yet. Therefore, you may borrow text books and ingredients from the store cupboards for the meantime." Out of the dozen or so people progressing with N.E.W.T. potions, Harry knew one face would be present, Malfoy. He was a little relieved, knowing that if he was to keep an eye on him, he could do so easier from close by. However, when Harry went to grab a textbook, along with Ron and Neville, and Ernie Macmillan, he was surprised to see Malfoy getting up as well. Apparently, kissing Snape's ass doesn't guarantee you a Outstanding on your exams. Harry and Ron smirked at each other after glancing in his direction.

"Now then, all of you quiet down. I have a special treat for you here." The portly man said before gesturing to the potions that simmered happily on the front table. "Can anyone name these two potions?"

While several hands took to the air, Hermione's pierced it with glee. Slughorn nodded to her. "It's Amortentia, Sir. The love potion."

"Quite right, Miss-"

"Granger, Sir."

"Very well done, Miss Granger. Indeed, this is the most potent love potion there is, capable of ensnaring the strongest of minds and turning even the sanest witch or wizard into a bumbling doormat." The classes' eyes widened. The pearly-sheened potion sat innocently simmering away as Slughorn talked. "For this reason, it is probably one of the most powerful potions you will ever see." The way he talked about it, Slughorn sounded like he revered the potion. As it wafted out into the room, Harry thought it smelt a little like a woody broomstick handle, fresh spring air, and … coconut; perhaps from a cake he'd had at some point, he reasoned.

Casting his eyes around the room, he saw several wistful sets of eyes as they each took in the potion. Neville looked particularly pink after having taken his in and immediately looked for something to distract himself.

Sweeping his moustache behind his bulk and covering the Amortentia cauldron, Slughorn continued, "Indeed, 5 points to Gryffindor, Miss Granger. Now, how about this potion here. Any ideas?"

The second one Harry knew, very well, having struggled to brew it earlier in the summer. The blood red liquid bubbled every now and again, but otherwise remained where it was, scentless and surreptitious. Surprisingly, no hands went up in the air: even Hermione's face was scrunched in confusion. "No takers."

"It's Interanimalos, Sir. The Animagus potion." Harry turned to see Daphne had correctly guessed it.

"Quite correct, . 10 points to you. Now, would you happen to know how it works?" Slughorn smiled as he asked, his earlier assertion about her potions skills having been proven right.

Daphne considered for a second before answering. "When brewed correctly, the potion will take the drinker into a long trance whereby they will be presented with their inner animal. Supposably." She added.

"Yes, very good. Quite the interesting potion this one. Disastrous if even the slightest instruction is not followed during the brewing process and exceedingly rare too, as you can see from the ingredients pages within your books, page 123." Harry's eyes widened. He hoped Neville wouldn't put it together…..Too late. As soon as his friend took one look at the page his eyes shot up and caught Harry glancing at him. Trying to save face for now, Harry simply winked and turned back to Slughorn.

"Now then. As for today's treat, can anyone tell me what this potion is here?" He pointed to the small cauldron that sat higher than the other two on his desk. Hermione had to go on tiptoes to see the golden liquid splashing excitedly within. As she did so, she let out an audible gasp.

The stout man's eyes lit up like a Christmas tree. "Go on, Miss Granger."

"Felix Felicis." She said breathlessly.

"Spot on. 15 points to Gryffindor. More commonly known as Liquid Luck, this little potion will grant the drinker a whole day of luckiness. Thus, no matter what your endeavours, you will most likely succeed and more." The whole class surveyed the pot with unrestrained levels of desire, something Slughorn seemed to delight in creating.

"Have you ever taken it, Sir?" Michael Corner asked avidly.

"Indeed, I have. Two Teaspoon fulls at breakfast. Two utterly perfect days." His gaze lingered for a moment, as if he could see through everyone, the room and out towards the Horizon.

He chuckled, before continuing, "Now, a vial of this will be the prize for the person who can brew, the best version of Interanimalos over here." Harry's heart skipped a beat. He could do this. In fact, he'd already done it. But brewing the correct potion would mean revealing that he'd either made the potion before or was somehow suddenly great at potions: the latter hardly seeming possible. "This is what the final result should look like an hour from now." Slughorn said, as the blood red potion carried on simmering. "Instructions follow on page 124. Good luck."

The entire room erupted as if possessed. Each hastily grabbed scales and ingredients and began to read and chop with fervour. Harry noticed Malfoy quickly begin chopping before looking at his book confusedly. Daphne seemed to take her time preparing as she readied her ingredients. Harry flicked to the correct page and read down the instructions in his copy of Advanced Potion-Making. Several methods seemed different to the instructions left by Sirius and his father. For instance, the first item in the standard book was:

Dice and grind the beans.

Yet, Harry knew his previous method had been to, slice the beans, empty the juice, then grind them. It was at this point he had to make a decision: follow the book like everyone else or go for the gold. Glancing around he noticed everyone was keeping one eye on dicing and the other on what everyone else was doing. If he diverged from the standard instructions, it would be obvious.

Looking up at the golden potion awaiting him on the table, he made his decision. He began slicing the beans carefully like he'd done before. By this point, most others were now onto step 2 and a black mist was emanating around the room.

He carried on like this for the next few steps as he caught up with the rest. Across the table, sweat had begun to crease Neville's brow so intent was he on his cauldron. Hermione likewise had lost control of her hair and Ron had lost control of his potion, a dark vapour starting to ooze from the sides. Slughorn had to rush over and correct it, tutting as he did so.

By this point, Harry's was one of the only potions to be emitting the correct greying colour and odour. Scanning the room, he noticed Daphne's potion was also simmering as perfectly as his own. To his surprise, Malfoy's was also brewing nicely. Harry redoubled his efforts. As he approached the last few steps, he noticed Neville glancing in his direction anxiously. His friends potion was almost as good as his own except for a slight foulness to the odour which distinguished it.

Taking his eyes off his own potion, Harry surveyed Neville's attempts. "Try pausing for an extra two seconds during your stirring rotation." He whispered.

"Harry, how do you know that?" Hermione picked up. Her own potion was slightly off the mark as Neville's was. Harry simply shrugged and carried on. Within a minute, Hermione, Neville and Harry's potions were all on track. Sweat was starting to fall down his back now, he felt. The golden potion waited nonchalantly in the middle of the class, glowing spectacularly.

"10 minutes to go." Slughorn announced as the tension in the room became harsher than the odour that was leaking from Seamus' cauldron. Ron appeared to have given up completely and Hannah Abbott, was making little wincing noises in the background. Harry tried to focus, but caught Malfoy glancing maliciously in their direction. His potion looked as good as perfect as well.

Just as he added the last ingredient and started his final crucial step, he spied something flying through the air. It was headed straight for Neville's cauldron. Reaching out, Harry snatched the stray piece of dirt out of this air as if it were a snitch. Neville looked up shocked. The dirt had come out of thin air, but Harry could guess at its source.

"Thanks, mate. That was a close one." He said before concentrating again.

Turning back to his own potion, he realised he'd missed a few key rotations. DAMN IT!

He carried on anyway, the instructions in his head, but knew it was over. The potion bubbled a little more harshly than it should as he finished up. Harry grit his teeth and gazed at Malfoy's perfect potion, a smirk plastered on his face, such that he almost looked like his old big headed self.

"And that makes it time, Ladies and Gentlemen, ladle's down please." Slughorn said as he surveyed the room. Harry's was good, almost great, but not perfect. Neville and Hermione had likewise suffered on their last steps. Slughorn beamed at Harry's more than the others, but reserved his delight until he'd checked around. Finally, Slughorn approached the Slytherin bench and could hardly hide his surprise.

"Well, well, well." He said. Daphne had produced a perfect potion, and seemed put out that Draco somehow had done the same. "It looks like we have a double winners. My, My a fantastic job to both of you! Although, to everyone's credit it was one of the closest competitions I think I've ever seen in my dungeon. Congratulations, and Mr. Malfoy, it seems your mother passed on her talents to you after all." He said with a distinct twinkle in Daphne's direction, before splitting the bottled Felix Felicis and handing half over to each. Daphne's smiled politely as she received it. Harry realised this was the first time he'd seen her do so openly, but thought she secretly wanted to burst underneath. For a small moment she caught his eye and he gave her an almost imperceptible nod. She looked away quickly and hid her reaction, as well as the bottle. Malfoy however, did little to conceal his glee, as he smirked haughtily in Harry's direction then pocketed the contents safely in his robes. He seemed to clutch it very tightly there, Harry noticed.

He brought this up with his friends as they headed for the common room before dinner. "Who cares what Malfoy's reaction to it was," Ron exclaimed. "You saw what the git tried to do to Neville's potion!"

"Ron, you don't know it was him, you didn't see him do it."

"Oh, please Hermione, who else would. Snakes may be slimy, but the others aren't stupid. Malfoy saw how well Neville was doing and sent something flying over." Neville was quiet as they arrived at the tower for a free period.

"Are you alright, Neville?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah," he said, dragging his feet. "I really thought I could get it. I've been practicing loads over the summer."

"Well if it's any consolation, yours was one of the best in the class. Why do you think 'Malfoy' targeted it." She said. Harry thought he saw Ron looking put out at this. Neville smiled and turned to him.

"Yeah, cheers for the save, Harry." Neville said, clapping him on the back. "Sorry it probably cost you the potion." Harry smiled as they pushed open the portrait door and took seats by the fire in the common room.

"How did you manage to do so well Harry." Hermione inserted, her eyebrows cocked in a curious fashion. "I mean, well done, but somehow you knew what would work."

Harry thought about this, how much did he want to let on here? "Well, like I said, I studied a lot over the summer…. and that was one of the potions that looked interesting." Hermione eyed him suspiciously. Just before she had a chance to ask a follow up question, Harry beat her to it. "I'll let you know tonight, I promise. Speaking of, can you all meet me in the Room of Requirement at 8? I have something I want to do after dinner then I'll meet you all there."

Hermione and Ron looked back, worry etched across their brows. Neville on the other hand looked intrigued. He already knew some of Harry's plans and appeared excited to learn more. "Sure, mate. But why can't we talk about it here?" Ron asked.

"Because some things I want to say in complete privacy." He said glancing around, the common room was sparsely populated at that point, most Gryffindors still in class, so he wasn't too worried. "And for others the room will be necessary. Just trust me for now okay." It was obvious Hermione and Ron weren't satisfied, but let it drop until later.

After some tough Defence homework, the group headed down for dinner where Harry managed to spread the message to Ginny and Luna, who were both happy to attend. After he'd finished, he went to leave the hall, but was stopped by no less than a dozen people all asking about the D.A. Harry had no idea it would be this in demand. He conferred to all of them the same message, that he would let them know via the coins from last year when their first meeting would be.

Finally, he made it the to the Room of Requirement. He wanted to get here an hour or so before hand to test out the room's capabilities. All summer long Harry had sat in his cosy, but restricted, trunk and dreamed of the endless things he could do with such a room. As he walked opposite the portrait of Barnabus the Barmy, Harry thought over and over exactly what he wanted the room to do. On the third time, he stopped and nothing happened. Curious he approached the wall where the door should have been, only for a grand oak door to appear instantly before him.

Barely able to contain his excitement, Harry pulled the large door open and stepped through. Immediately, he noticed the interior resembled last years room, but with several major changes. First, the floor was no longer stone but a light bouncy wood. Not bad, he thoughts as he jumped up onto it. Next an array of objects were hanging on hooks dotted around the room: Harry noticed a shield, a few old swords, a skipping rope except with a metal chain, several red and yellow punch bags with gloves dangling round and targets drawn on, a dozen targeting rings on large polls that looked like smaller versions of the quidditch goals, hundreds of worn looking books were stacked in the corner next to them and finally, piled in the corner were what Harry had come for: the training dummy's. They'd used the wooden mechanical contraptions last year during the D.A. but hadn't really gotten to see what they were fully capable of. This year he hoped he could animate them to attack and cast spells just as normal opponents would. Harry had asked the Room for the perfect place to practice dueling, and it hadn't disappointed.

Now for a test run. He took his jumper, tie and the rest of his school clothes off and changed into his running gear. He skimmed through the dummy's instruction manual before activating them to circle the room. Starting with just two to be safe, Harry pulled out his Holly wand. The other was tucked safely up his sleeve.

"Medium level. Begin!" Without hesitation the mechanical dummies rolled into action, casting spells and circling him. Smirking, Harry was off, dashing ducking and shielding as he aimed curses right back at the Dummies. He hadn't managed to practice dueling since the ministry, but had been growing physically stronger all summer thanks to his extra exercise. So, he used to this advantage and kept on the move as the dummies tailed him around the room.

He ducked behind a pillar, to shield from one and thought Protego to block the other dummy's, which had flanked him, spell then immediately after he shot two Stupefy's at it. It couldn't raise it's own shield in time and was struck in the chest by both sending it flying back. Wasting no time, the other dummy rounded on him and started rapidly firing hexes like it's wooden life was on the line. Harry blocked and retreated back as fast as he could, barely able to retaliate. Sweat began to pour down his body as the dummy chased him. Then without thinking Harry reached out with his wandless hand to shield, raised his wand and fired a succession of spells right at the Dummy, which at this point was too committed to block. They struck it in the chest and it went flying back into the wall.

His eyes widened in surprise, Cool! That little trick would come in handy! While his wandless casting was far less powerful than with his wand, it apparently could still be useful. As he was thinking about how he could apply it, a spell shot at him from the side. He managed to duck just as the spell rocketed over his head and impacted the wall behind. The dummies were standing again and heading in his direction. Smiling once again, Harry leapt into action.

Half an hour later, he yelled. "Cancel!" The dummies came to a halt mid casting then backed off into the corner. He'd got in a good work out against them and managed to figure out how they were operating against him by the end. Next time he'd have to use it against them. Thankfully, Harry had programmed the dummies to only use the tickling spell. Otherwise, instead of tingles on his skin he'd have bruises, or worse.

Checking the clock, he realised he only had a few minutes before his friends arrived, so he cooled down and waited for them on a newly constructed couch area the room had produced.

Several minutes later, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville and Luna came through the door together. They marvelled at the changes to the room before joining him on the couch.

"Nice job, Harry." Neville noted, curiously looking at the weapons the room had conjured. Ron and Ginny, nodded in agreement. However, Hermione looked concerned and Luna wore her trademark airy look as if this were the most normal location to chat.

"Okay…so, firstly guys, thanks for coming. I know I've got some explaining to do, but bare with me. Before I start, I just wanted to tell you what I want from this. Why you're here." He paused and looked into each of their eyes. They all stared back at him with a mixture of hope, trust and love. His heart began to ache with happiness for how lucky he was to have such friends. Harry wished he could bottle this moment up and use it for a Patronus memory later on. Yet, despite wanting to protect them more than anything else, he knew he also couldn't do it alone.

"I want to protect you: this war is getting serious and it will only get worse. A few disappearances and an attack over the summer will become daily news as Voldemort gets stronger." None of them flinched at the name. "The whole country will soon feel the darkness spreading. Hell you can feel it in the hall, and its the first day back. People are scared. And if they're scared now, imagine how they will be in a year…..What I want to do with you this year is train, prepare as best we can for the fight to come. Dumbledore, the order, and the ministry may be content with keeping us at school and out of the fight, but before long we will be in the eye of it, whether they like it or not."

The all seemed to fidget at the thought of this, but kept their eyes locked on him nonetheless.

"I'm going to reform the D.A. this year for all the old members. I want to push us to learn how to fight. I'm not saying we weren't bloody lucky last year at the Ministry, and trust me, I never want to put you in that situation again." Neville and Ron made to protest, but Harry held his hand up to subdue them. "I know, but it was my responsibility and we were all nearly killed. It was stupid. But I'm glad we at least had the D.A. to practise. If we hadn't then we might not be here right now." They all shuddered at that. "I want to train, so that, if we're ever in a that situation again, we at least have a fighting chance."

"I don't think any of us would argue with that, mate." Ron said.

"Yeah, sign me up, Potter." Ginny agreed winking.

"So," Hermione began skeptically, "over the summer you were learning spells, but Harry how did you practise?" She said, almost fearing the answer.

"Well,…"From here he proceeded to tell them about his excursion into Diagon Alley, his new wand and how he got it, protecting Ollivander and most of the studying/practicing he'd been doing since. He kept a few things back, like Daphne and his Animagus training; some things he promised not to tell or wasn't ready to yet. They reacted with varying degrees of shock. He was about to move onto his future ideas when Hermione jumped to her feet.

"Harry, I can't believe you'd be so reckless. And I can't believe Professor Lupin would let you do that!"

"Well, he understands, Hermione. He knows that I have to do this. Otherwise, I'm basically a lamb for the slaughter out there."

"Harry, you can't just put your life at risk like that. What do you think Dumbledore would do if he found out? If something happened to you?" Harry had a good idea if Dumbledore found out, he'd take no chances in securing him, but thought that best not to say.

"Hermione, I didn't mean to be in it. When I left I had no idea that the Alley would be attacked. Neither did Neville when he went to his internship that day, but things happened and I wasn't just going to run when people around me are suffering. I realised this summer, that's not who I am nor is it who I will ever be."

"Harry, that's fine and I'm happy for you, but you're too important to be running head first into battle without back up. What if Voldemort had been there and seen you. You'd be dead!" She said, close to tears now. She snapped her eyes shut and turned away.

Harry took a deep breath. His heart quivered inside his chest. He could feel the tension in the room pulse as he and Hermione wrestled with their emotions. "I'm sorry, Harry." She choked as she stepped forwards and hugged him as if he'd fall to pieces if she let go. "Merlin, I just - you've got to be more careful! After all, what would we do without you? Promise me, Harry. Promise me you won't do anything like that again without telling us. Promise." She implored, releasing the hug and staring deeply into his eyes.

"I.." Harry caught himself there. He didn't know what to say. Of course he wanted to say that his goal this year may also be to leave the castle and help where needed. But, he hesitated. What if Hermione didn't agree? What if they weren't ready to come? What if something happened to one of them and it was his fault for asking them to come….

He couldn't find an answer he wanted to say. Gulping, he replied, "I promise, Hermione."

Harry didn't realise quite how much tension his friend had kept inside, until her body sank and shoulders dropped as if releasing a damm of pent up emotion. The others released a sigh, but none of them offered any input, seeming to release Hermione had to get this off her chest.

"Can we keep all this between us." He asked next. They all nodded in the affirmative; as if they would tell anyone else. "I'd like for us to meet before every D.A. meeting as well and talk about the war and what's going on. Remus will likely pass some info from the order meetings when he can."

"Sounds fun, mate." Ron said, lightening the tone.

"I'd like that, Harry. Perhaps I'll ask dad to pass us information from the Quibbler." Luna suggested smiling.

"That'd be lovely, Luna." He replied, not sure whether or not her dad would be able to pass on relevant information or just updates on Nargle migration.

"Gosh, is that the time?" Hermione exclaimed. "We're past curfew! We need to get back to our dorms!" She grabbed Ron and pulled him towards the door.

"Ger- off, woman, we're perfects you know. We can just say we were patrolling the school or something."

"Ron, that's hardly the point.."

"I knew you were there," Neville nudged him and smirked as they followed. "I don't know how. But the way you talked about it…"

"Yeah, I wasn't very good at hiding that." The boys shared a smirk. He pulled out the map to check the coast was clear when he saw a name heading their way. "We have to hurry, someone's coming!" He said adding a spring to his step. They all exited and headed down the corridor towards both the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw towers. The castle seemed more silent than normal at this hour.

As his friends shot off, Harry managed to drop back unnoticed; Ron had somehow started an arguement with Luna about whether the Chudney Canon's Captain had an infestation of fairies in her brain while Neville seemed focused on an answer Hermione was giving him.

Falling back, Harry ran back up the hallway opposite the Statue of Barnabus the Barmy. He was just in time to see Draco walking in front of the stone wall three times. In place of the doom and gloom he had been sporting this year, Malfoy now looked rather airy with a strange look of bemusement on his pale face. Seconds later, the grand door to the Room Of Requirement materialised before him. He considered it strangely for a moment, as if the door held the secrets he'd been looking for, before entering. The door closed slowly behind and Harry was able to sneak up and catch a glimpse of a vast room full of junk just as the door gave a creak and slammed shut.

Harry reached out to grasp the handle. But stopped himself half way. What if Malfoy was on the other side waiting for him? He had seemed confident, more so than usual. And he looked….well…weirdly less arrogant. If anything though that was more cause to investigate. Harry reached forward to test the handle but abruptly halted as he felt his new wand give off a buzz under his sleeve.

Reconsidering, Harry withdrew his outstretched hand and turned back to wait around the corner for Malfoy.

10 minutes, 15 minutes, 20 went by, and still no sign. His friends would be worrying and thus coming after him soon. Damn it! Getting up he headed back to the common room. Determined to check the map when he got back.

What was Malfoy up to? And why had he looked so cheery? And what exactly was this wand?

Harry had no answers, but he did know one thing. Malfoy had never looked that happy before.