Hi! Just a quick warning of a brief allusion to abuse at the end of this chapter. Happy reading, and stay safe!
Well. That was certainly one way to get introduced to the school.
To Danny's credit, he took it all very well. Considering… everything that we think is going on with him. Plus the added surprise of the ghosts recognizing him, calling him Phantom, and then naming him their next king in the same breath. Or, non-breath… Do ghosts breath? He'll ask Danny later, when he gets back from his tour of the castle with the other ghosts.
He was sitting with Harry and Hermione, trying to get the school work they put off the day before all done before the weekend ended. Hooray… homework…
But Ron's mind was firmly not on homework. It was on everything else that seemed much more important.
After they had escaped last night and made it back to the dorm, they had sat Danny down on his four-poster bed and asked for an explanation on what the heck that was all about.
He explained that when his town never recognized him as a ghost, they instead gave him a new identity. He used his anonymity to keep his human life and friends and family safe while also protecting his town from ghostly threats. He'd named himself Phantom while in ghost form, and that one of his best friends designed a symbol for him. (That explained the ghost P on his ghost suit).
When asked about his supposed royal claim, he became incredibly cagey and difficult. It reminded him of when he or Hermione had asked Harry for details of his time with Quirrell and the Philosophers stone. Or the Chamber of Secrets. Or what happened when he was taken away at the end of the TriWizard Tournament. Or his time over the summers with his muggle family...
After they had finished with questions and went to bed, he had lain awake for a while, thoughts all on his best mate and Danny and how similar they both were. Not in just having black hair, dark pasts hanging over them, and being far too skinny to be healthy.
They were both famous in their respective worlds, but neither seemed to want the fame.
He finally understood that sentiment. He'd been stupid and jealous and a right prick to Harry and Hermione in his previous years. He still felt hot, bubbling shame at the thought of how he had treated Hermione in their third year, and abandoned Harry last year.
He'd been tired of living in his brother's and then Harry's shadow, tired of being looked over and second best… but those were just excuses.
Seeing how the Ministry had treated Harry over the summer, after idolizing him all his life for something he can barely remember, (something he couldn't control and never wanted), after everything he went through at school, after being there when You-Know-Who returned and then disbelieved and mistreated when he's told the world the truth... He'd never wanted fame less.
And then he'd been made a Prefect and got onto the quidditch team this year. He had a tiny, tiny, piece of the notoriety that Harry had endured and he could barely handle it. Hermione was helping him loads with his Prefect duties and Harry was helping him with quidditch.
He had such good friends.
As he'd lain there, staring at the top of his four-poster bed, he'd decided that he would do better. He would be there for Harry and Hermione, and Danny too. He could handle his new responsibilities as Prefect, Keeper and as a good friend to Harry, Hermione and now Danny, too.
If Danny's past is anything close to Harry's, (which is what it was looking like), he could use some good friends.
Which brought his thought circle right back to where he started. Danny.
He was a nice bloke. The accent, and non-human features took some getting used to, but in the time Danny had been hanging out with them, he seems to have relaxed some. Especially after their time on the quidditch pitch. He smiled at the memory. That had been loads of fun.
There was still some time to go before Danny was comfortable in large crowds of people, and the spectacle at the feast did not help that. The school's reaction to confirming he's a muggle won't help that either.
But who knows? When they had gone down to breakfast that morning, Danny seemed to be trying his hardest to act normally, even with the whispers that followed him everywhere he went. Maybe, when classes began, that would allow Danny to be integrated better amongst the students than just making an announcement of how he arrived and then... expecting everything to go alright.
Adults hadn't been doing much to inspire confidence recently. The prime example being keeping them, especially Harry, isolated and out of the loop. Did they really think that we would let the information out? He could understand Harry's short fuse. He had every right to be angry, and honestly, he was surprised that it took this long for his best mate to reach the end of his patience.
Although, ever since Danny had shown up and become a part of their group, he'd noticed that Harry had been doing better…
"Oi" Harry's voice broke him out of his meandering thoughts. "You spaced for a bit, Ron. You alright?"
"Yeah, I'm alright. Just thinking."
"You know," Hermione said, absently petting Crookshanks as she read over Harry's potions essay, "I've been thinking as well."
"Not a surprise. But about what?"
"Is my essay that bad?"
"No, no Harry, this essay is nicely written, and I've only found a few minor mistakes so far. I've been thinking about Danny and his extra classes with the ghosts."
"Mmm. I suppose it will be interesting." Harry remarked.
"It's not just that." she sighed before continuing, "He had no idea that he was considered royalty, even though he defeated that king ghost over a year ago! And now the ghosts are teaching him so that he can be prepared for that, and so that he knows about this Infinite Realms place, and…"
She paused, scrunched her eyebrows, and worried her lip.
"What, are you worried he may not learn enough? He said he doesn't even want to accept the crown."
"That's just it! He's preparing for something he knows may be in his future, even if he doesn't want it to be. Shouldn't we be doing something similar?"
"What do you mean?" Harry asked, quickly glancing at him to share a confused look.
"Well," she dropped her voice to a whisper, "we know You-Know-Who is back, we know that the toad won't be teaching us anything useful this year, and, knowing us, we know that we will most likely find ourselves in the middle of the fight despite the Order's best efforts to keep us out of it." She took a breath, and looked at them both determinedly. "I think… I think we need to prepare. Learn to fight. Then, even if we somehow keep out of the fight and away from danger, we will be prepared for the Defense Against the Dark Arts OWL at the very least."
"Hmm." He considered, while Harry looked thoughtful.
"That's… It's a good idea, Hermione." Harry began slowly, "But, who would teach us? Umbridge won't let us get away with it, even if we called it a study group."
"Well… I was thinking, Harry… that you would be able to teach us?" At Harry's open mouthed surprise, she hurriedly continued.
"It's just that you're the best in our year at Defense and, well, you had all that extra practice last year for the third task, well- all the tasks really, and with all the experience you've had with actually using magic in dangerous situations, I figured you would know best how to prepare for situations like that, and…"
"Hermione" he cut her off, as Harry began to look increasingly overwhelmed at the idea. He may be doing better at controlling his anger the past couple of days, but this was a lot.
But… Harry looked more worried than angry.
"But... I never did any of that on my own! I always had help, and I had no idea what I was doing half the time! You're- You're putting way too much faith in me when I haven't even..."
"Harry," he cut Harry off before he could work himself up further, "what I think Hermione is trying to say, is that we know that things are only just beginning. With You-Know-Who back, we want to be prepared. We know that you had help, and we know that we have no effing clue what you went through on your own, but, Harry, you can't deny that you're great at Defense. We just want you to help us get good at it, too. Not to go looking for a fight, mind! But you have to admit that when there's trouble, we usually end up right in the thick of it."
That brought a weak sort of smiling grimace onto Harry's face. He'd take it.
"Harry, just… think about it? Please?" Hermione implored gently.
Harry sighed wearily, but nodded resignedly.
"All right, I'll- I'll think about it."
He and Hermione smiled appreciatively at him, just as the portrait hole opened up and Danny clambered through.
Looking around and spotting them, Danny made his way towards them, valiantly ignoring the whispers ignited at his appearance.
"Hey guys." He greeted them as he joined them at their table.
"Hello Danny! How was the tour of the castle?" Hermione excitedly asked.
"Interesting. It's very different flying through the walls, than walking on all the staircases. Much faster. The moving paintings were all very surprised, but they surprised me too, so I'd say we're even." Here he paused, and began rubbing the back of his neck again. An action they were all quickly realizing was Danny's habit when nervous or uncomfortable.
"What happened?" Harry was quick to ask.
"Well," Danny sighed resignedly, "Nothing bad I guess, since it was going to get out eventually. Especially since a lot of other students saw me in ghost form while the ghosts were showing me around. But just now, as Sir Nick was showing me back to the common room, a group of students were lingering in a hallway as I transformed back. I guess I was just… It's strange having something that I've kept secret for so long be known so freely here. The students didn't take it too well, either." Danny recounted.
"Who were they?" "What did they say?" "Are you alright?" Danny seemed startled by their simultaneous questions, but answered them nonetheless.
"Umm, okay, in order; they were wearing yellow, they didn't say anything, they just gasped and ran away, and yeah I'm alright. It's really not a big deal, I've had worse and I'm expecting worse based on how the Umbridge lady looks at me."
"Hufflepuffs then. Hmm, I would've expected Malfoy to have made some kind of move by now." He mused.
"Yeah. Maybe he's waiting for more information though? I mean, Danny is a mystery to all but us and the Professors. But now that it will get out that he's part ghost, he may try something." Harry added darkly.
"I'm assuming from your tones that you don't like this Malfoy guy. What did he do to you guys?" Danny asked.
"Draco Malfoy is, well, a bully to put it lightly. His family is old fashioned, well connected within our government and very well off, financially." Hermione supplied dryly, waving her wand at the hovering knitting needles flashing beside her, finishing off what looked to be a knobby green hat.
"Ah, a rich bully. Even worse, a magical, rich bully." Danny said, strangely amused.
"Not to mention he's a Slytherin." He added scathingly. He held off from saying anything else, Danny would find out soon enough.
"Hold on." Danny interrupted while holding up a hand. "Hufflepuff and Slytherin? I heard the talking hat talk about those, but I'm still a little confused about what they even are?"
"Oh, sorry Danny, we just assumed that it had all been explained to you. Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin are all Hogwarts houses." Hermione explained.
"Houses?"
"Er, they're sort of like sports teams. We all go to the same school, but we compete against each other, as opposed to other schools. We compete for house points, which awards the House Cup at the end of the year, and also the Quidditch Cup."
"Hmm, I think I get it. So Gryffindor is red," he said gesturing around at the common room, "and Hufflepuff is yellow. I'm going to guess that Slytherin is the snake house, so green. And that leaves Ravenclaw as blue, right?"
"Yep. And we have classes with other houses, so you'll get to meet all sorts soon enough." Harry said, grimacing as he picked up his quill to continue his essay.
"Did anything else happen on your tour, Danny?" Ron asked, trying to prevent the inevitable return to schoolwork.
"Actually, I found a wall I couldn't phase through. Well, it was more like I face planted the wall than found it, but it was weird because that only ever happens when ghost shields are up." Danny said while rubbing at phantom pain in his nose.
"Really?" Hermione instantly took interest, and began rapid fire questions on where this room was and what a ghost shield was.
Which inevitably led to he and Harry continuing their essays together, while Danny and Hermione talked.
It was almost surreal, sitting and doing something so mundane as schoolwork, while Hermione talked to Danny about house elves when he asked about her knitting. How strange his life was, to be friends with Harry Potter, a literal celebrity, Hermione Granger, the utter genius who time traveled at the age of 13 to go to as many classes as she could, and now Danny Fenton, a muggle half-ghost hybrid.
He shook his head, and smiled to himself, as he checked his work with Harry.
Wow. Two weeks sure do fly by when you're having fun in magic school. And what a school it was. These classes… were awesome! They were incredibly interesting, and he was relishing the fact that he was actually doing well in this school.
Despite being four years behind everyone else in magical education, he had gone to an American public high school up until the middle of his sophomore year. With the added pressure of being a secret superhero who is up all hours of the day and night, he had to become creative in his studying methods to actually retain enough information to just pass his classes.
With those methods at his disposal, plus his arrival happening in the second week of the school year for Hogwarts, he wasn't just catching up in magical education, but actively wanting to learn more. He and Hermione were getting on great, in this respect. Not to say that he wasn't getting along with Harry and Ron, too. He had a lot of fun with the trio, and hopefully, they were having fun hanging out with him, too.
Sitting with Harry, Ron and Hermione in the library now, finishing up schoolwork, and just generally being comfortable in each other's company, he couldn't help but think on a few of the more memorable encounters he'd had with students and professors the past two weeks.
The most memorable interaction with a student was definitely an interesting one.
.
On their way down to lunch after Danny's first morning of classes, he had so many questions and Hermione was turning out to be a wealth of willing information.
"Well, it's different in America due to Rappaport's Law, but in the British Magical community, there is some communication and covert cooperation between the Ministry of Magic and the Muggle Government which helps when…"
"Well, well, well…" Hermione's explanation was cut off by a cool, drawling voice that had him and the trio turning towards it right in front of the doors to the Great Hall.
"It looks like the ghost has finally showed itself. What's wrong freak, too scared to just come out and tell everyone that you're a half breed impossibility? Have to hide behind human skin to feel normal?"
Just as Harry and Ron started forward, with very clear intentions of violence, Danny stopped them and turned back to the boy with slicked back, platinum blonde hair, flanked by two boys that looked more like bodyguards than friends. Danny was about to fall back into sarcastic quips and tricks he usually used to deal with bullies, when he saw something that stopped him. A shadow of something behind the grey eyes… A feeling of desperately hidden emotion… Hmm.
"I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name." He stuck out his hand, not paying any attention to the looks of surprise he received as he refused to react to the insults. "I'm Danny, nice to meet you."
Quickly covering his surprise with a scoff, the boy sneered at his offered hand.
"Like I would lower myself to actually touching you. Not only are you a weird half breed creature, but a muggle as well. How low could you get." Here the blond rose his eyebrows in mock contemplation, basking in the shocked gasps heard around the Entrance hall from all those who stopped to watch. "Though, you do seem to have some manners; more than Potter and Weasley anyway. My name, is Draco Malfoy."
Ah. So this was Malfoy.
"Cool! Is your name based off of the constellation, or the Latin word for dragon?"
The looks of shock he received didn't disappear this time, and it seemed that Draco was so surprised that he couldn't stop himself from answering.
"The… constellation. It's a… tradition from my mother's family. The eldest child is always named after a… wait a minute!" He straightened, his pale face gaining a flush of embarrassment.
"I just insulted you! Aren't you upset?"
"Well, I didn't take what you said as a compliment, but its far from the worst I've heard. Besides, I can tell you didn't actually mean it."
"Wha- Yes I did!"
"Ah, don't worry dude, your secret's safe with me."
There was a smattering of stifled laughter around the hall, no doubt at the look on Draco's face. He could feel the mirth rolling off of Harry and Ron behind him.
"That's it freak!" Draco whipped a wand out of his robes and pointed it right at Danny.
This sobered the atmosphere immediately, but he just looked calmly back at Draco. Blue eyes met grey and held steady.
"I'm not afraid of you, Draco. But you… you are afraid of something. Not of me, but of something you didn't think you would be afraid of. Something you don't think you can get away from." He spoke quietly, just loud enough for Draco and the trio to hear.
"I'm no stranger to fear, Draco Malfoy. So, from me to you, the freak to the bully, if you want to stop being afraid, I may be able to help you."
There was a deafening silence, no one even seemed to be breathing. Draco stood stock still, wand still pointed at his face.
Danny turned and made his way into the Great Hall, the trio following after him.
"It was nice to meet you Draco! I'm sure I'll see you again in class!" He called absently over his shoulder, and he led the way to the Gryffindor table, where a delicious lunch awaited him and his friends.
.
Yep, very interesting. He could tell that Draco wasn't like Dash, or any of the other bullies he'd encountered. He may have been one before, from what Harry and Ron had to say, but now… now he was afraid, and being pushed to act the way he does. That didn't sit right with Danny.
He hoped that Draco's pride didn't outweigh his need to gain control of his fear, and he got help from someone.
In any case, Draco wasn't the only student to confront him in some way. Many other students came up to him between lessons or during meals, so there was almost always an audience. It was all the same general interactions though; they came up either suspicious or curious, always questioning if he was really a muggle or ghostly. He always answered honestly, ignoring any snide or confrontational tones some of the questions were asked in. He found that if he played innocent, and just acted like he didn't know they were trying to insult him in some way, they would back off pretty quickly.
Funnily enough, the green clad Slytherin students seemed to be the most intrigued by him. Most were either confrontational or tentative when talking to him at first, but after realizing he was not intimidated or afraid, they seemed to become more genuine in their curiosity. It seems that many of them had never interacted with a muggle before, and so they were interested to interact with a person that had no magic at all.
He actually enjoyed the genuinely curious questions he received, since he could then reciprocate the curiosity and ask the plethora of questions he was accumulating. He'd made a number of friends this way, in all four houses.
It was funny, he was a known unknown in this world, and yet he was getting along better with the students here than he ever had at Casper High.
Stranger still, he was getting along with the teachers, as well. While Professor Binns was great, and very enthusiastic in both his History of Magic and Ghostly classes, (the other students in his History of Magic class had looks of open mouthed shock the entirety of the first class he was in, for some reason), but he had to be honest.
Professor Sinistra was amazing, and by far his favorite.
.
Wednesday night found them all trudging up the steps to the top of the Astronomy tower, yawning in many of the students cases, as it was so close to midnight.
With one exception.
Danny was vibrating with excited energy. He could barely contain his joy, and had to put a huge amount of effort to allow gravity to still affect him, to make sure his feet stayed firmly on the ground.
As they reached the top of the tower, and they went about setting up their telescopes, Professor Sinistra finally arrived.
Tall and sharp, her natural dark, curly hair cut short beneath her plum purple wizards hat that matched her robes. Her sea-blue eyes swept the class and when her gaze landed on him she gave a small smile, and made her way over to him.
"And you must be Mr. Fenton." She said shaking his hand. "I'm Professor Sinistra, and it is a pleasure to meet you. Ready for your first astronomy lesson?"
"Professor, you have no idea! I love learning about space and.. well, I've wanted to be an astronaut since I was little."
"An astronaut! Very ambitious!" She said approvingly. "I've visited America once or twice myself. I had to take time off two years ago to visit Florida to attend the launch of the Advanced Com…"
"Advanced Communication Technology Satellite! You were there?! You saw it launch! Oh my gosh, how was it?!"
There was no doubt now. He was hovering a bit, as he was now eye level with the Professor. But she didn't seem to mind, as her own eyes lit up with joy and she gave him a bright smile.
"Oh, it was simply amazing, Mr. Fenton. A trip well worth taking! You know, while getting my Mastery in Astronomy, I was able to intern at NASA for a few months to help further my understanding of the non-magical aspects of the cosmos. Something tells me that you may be interested in doing something similar?"
Oh. My. Gosh. All of what Professor Sinistra just said was incredible and he could not believe that he was hearing it. His expression probably told the Professor his answer, for she chuckled, smiling widely.
"I think we will get along famously, Mr. Fenton. Why don't we chat later, though, for right now it's time to continue with our study of Saturn and her moons, right class?" She said, turning towards the rest of the class, who were standing beside their telescopes and tables filled with open books and star charts.
He allowed his feet to meet the floor once again, smiling sheepishly at Ron and Harry's incredulous and Hermione's delighted look.
"I have no idea what you were talking about for half of that conversation, mate." Ron said.
Laughing lightly, along with the quiet chuckles of the surrounding Gryffindor and Ravenclaw students who were listening in, he settled down next to his telescope and readied himself for what was probably going to be the best class of his life.
.
He had spoken with Professor Sinistra again after the class, which resulted in them talking about space and the scientific studies being pursued by both the magical and muggle communities, well into the early morning. It was fascinating, and he soaked up all the extra knowledge of space and the stars from a magical perspective like a sponge.
Professor Sinistra and astronomy aside, he enjoyed all of his classes.
Herbology and Care of Magical Creatures were fun and interactive. Ancient Runes, History of Magic and his Ghostly studies were a lot more like his Casper High classes, but he was enjoying them as well, (guess that's what happens when he wasn't hounded by bullies, ghosts, and hunters while in an American public high school setting.)
Divination was… interesting. He hadn't found out much about his summoning besides the fact that he was summoned using the positioning of Polaris and the -highly-contested-by-NASA-if-it-even-exists- Planet X. Nibiru. That was a fun discovery. Other than that he couldn't really say he enjoyed the continuous ogling stare of Professor Trelawney, or the way she spoke to him in hushed, reverent tones. It cracked Harry and Ron up, though. He was thankful that they thought it was ridiculous, since a couple of girls, Lavender and Parvati he thinks, seemed to take it seriously and copied Professor Trelawney while in the stuffy classroom.
Finally, Potions.
It was also pretty interesting, but not in the same way as Divination. The class itself, he thought was challenging yet fun. It was a lot like cooking with his Mom. Fiddly, and complicated, with added chemistry and magical elements, (but without the bringing food to life as a result.)
Professor Snape though… he was a little strange. He was incredibly intelligent, no doubt about that, but he was also kind of… slimy. He reminded him of Vlad.
Sharp gaze, penetrating in a way that made him thankful he had mental shields. Incredibly biased, favoring the Slytherins exclusively. (Draco was present, but didn't seem to engage much, and ducked his head whenever Danny looked at him. Huh.) There was an incredible wave of anger and hatred radiating off of the Professor when he looked at Harry specifically, too.
All in all, not his favorite Professor.
He hadn't officially met Umbridge yet, though, so…
"I was wondering Harry," Hermione's voice pulled him back to the present, sitting in the library finishing a potions essay on anti-venoms, "If you've given any more thought to my idea?"
"Idea?" Harry asked. "Idea about what?"
Danny also had no idea what she was talking about.
"The idea about the Defense lessons?" She lowered her voice to a whisper.
At that, Harry looked contemplative and Ron looked up with interest. He still had no idea what they were talking about.
"Yeah. I… I've thought about it a lot." Harry said slowly.
"And?"
"Well… I dunno…" Harry looked very unsure, and looked to Ron.
"I think it's a good idea for us to be prepared, Harry, hopefully just for our exams, but if we get caught up in more…" Ron's voice trailed off, quiet just like Hermione and Harry's.
"But… you remember what I said about most of it being luck? I'm not sure I'm…"
"Harry," Hermione cut him off gently, "You can't deny that you are good at Defense against the Dark Arts. The best in our year. You are the only one who can throw off the Imperious curse completely, you have a fully corporeal patronus, and you know a bunch of spells from last year that many fully grown wizards can't perform."
Ron nodded along, looking carefully at Harry's still unsure expression.
"So, what do you say?"
"Hmm. Just you two?"
"Well… Actually, I thought that it would be good to teach anyone who wants to learn Harry." Hermione said carefully. Harry's face scrunched in sudden annoyance.
"But I'm a nutter, remember? No one would want to be taught by me."
Well that was concerning. He had noticed that Harry was not treated all that well by everyone here, but hadn't gotten around to asking about it. Before he could ask, Hermione spoke again.
"I think you'd be surprised, Harry." Hermione said gently. "How about Ron and I put out feelers for anyone who would be interested in learning more Defense, and have them all meet up with us in Hogsmead next weekend?"
Harry looked thoughtful, and finally nodded his agreement. At that, he couldn't hold back the questions any longer.
"So… you guys are starting a club?" He asked.
They turned to him, surprised.
"Oh! Danny, I'm sorry! You're so quiet that I almost forgot that you were there!" Hermione said abashed.
"It's cool. It comes with the ghostly territory. So, a club huh? Anything I can do to help?"
"Well…"
"Actually," Ron interrupted, "wouldn't it be good for Danny to come too? Just to watch? I mean, it could be useful for him to know what spells can be performed offensively or defensively, and whether to avoid them or not, right?"
"That's an idea…" Harry thought aloud. "What do you say, Danny?"
"I'm down to come and watch if you guys are okay with that. But, Hogsmead?"
"Oh, that's the wizarding village at the base of the mountain. Third years and above can go to visit it on specific weekends. Do you think you'll be able to come with? Maybe we should ask Professor McGonagall?"
Quiet conversation continued as the whispered plan formed.
The morning of the Hogsmead trip dawned bright, but had a biting chill carried on the wind. Winter was on its way. Danny seemed completely comfortable in the cold, dressed in nothing but his hooded jumper and trousers, while everyone else was bundled in coats and scarves. Professor McGonagall had given Danny special permission to visit the village, since he didn't have any legal guardians that they knew of.
As they made their way towards the village, Harry was thinking over the plans they had made. Hermione had asked around for anyone interested in joining them, while Ron had made arrangements to meet in a little pub in Hogsmead called The Hog's Head. He hadn't done much more than worry about who would show up, what he would teach them, and how to keep this from Umbridge once they got started.
He was granted a chance to push all that worry aside for a while, as they happily showed Danny the sights of the little wizarding village.
They took him to Zonko's and Honeyduke's, and showed him to the Shrieking Shack.
But all too soon, it was time for their scheduled meeting in The Hog's Head.
Entering the run down pub, he saw that they were the first to arrive. Sighing to relieve some built up tension, he helped as they began arranging some tables and chairs together for their meeting, ignoring the three odd patrons already seated at the bar.
They ordered Butterbeers for the four of them, and sat in silence as they waited.
Suddenly, Danny looked up at the door.
"Here they come."
The door opened shortly after, and there was a flash of dusty sunlight that split the room. He straightened in his seat between Hermione and Ron, and watched as a troupe of students made their way into the pub.
First, Neville, along with Dean, Lavender, Parvati and her sister Padma. They were closely followed by Cho Chang and one of her usually-giggling friends. (Harry's stomach gave an odd lurch at the sight of Cho, but he realized that it wasn't as distracting as it was before. He'd had a crush on Cho, she was very pretty and a fantastic Seeker, but… he had other things to worry about. He found his interest in romantic relationships simply overshadowed by the impending mountain of a coming war and the Ministry denying its existence.)
Then came Angelina Johnson, Alicia Spinnet and Katie Bell, along with three Ravenclaw boys in his year called Anthony Goldstein, Terry Boot and Michael Corner. Ernie Macmillan, Justin Finch-Fletchly, Hannah Abbot and two more Hufflepuff fifth years, a girl with a long plait down her back and a boy on the Hufflepuff Quidditch team were next to come in. They were followed by Ginny, Luna Lovegood, Colin Creevey, his younger brother Dennis and another Hufflepuff girl with auburn red hair that looked to be in Dennis' year.
Surprise shot through Harry when next through the door was a group of Slytherins. Four girls, all clad in emerald green scarves, two of which he only knew to be in the year above him, while the last two were in his year, but he'd never had a chance to interact with; Daphne Greengrass and Tracy Davis.
It seemed that Ron and Hermione shared his surprise, but before any attention could be brought to their presence, Fred, George and their friend Lee Jordan brought up the rear and closed the door behind them.
Looking at the mass of people chatting and maneuvering into seats around them, he felt his throat seize in sudden panic.
"Hermione…" He said hoarsely.
"I know Harry, I know, but the idea was quite popular. Don't worry I'll be speaking to them first, alright?" She whispered back. "Ron, Danny, let's get everyone organized."
But she needn't have worried, Fred had made it through the crowd and up to the bar.
"Hi! Can we get…" he paused, counting the group quickly, "thirty Butterbeers, please?"
His request seemed to jolt the vaguely familiar barman out of his shock at seeing his pub so full, and he began to bring up dusty bottles from underneath the bar.
"Alright, cough up everyone…" As George collected the coins to pay for the drinks, Fred passed them out, and everyone finally settled around them, looking a range of excited and curious. Finally, all focus landed on Harry, expectant gazes pinning him in place.
Hermione cleared her throat nervously, as focus shifted to her. "Well- uh, hi."
No one said a word, but Hermione soldiered on bravely, "Well, erm, you know why we're all here. We, um, we want to study and learn Defense. Proper Defense, not the rubbish the toad is teaching us, because no one in their right mind could call that Defense Against the Dark Arts." Her voice gaining strength and confidence the longer she spoke. "So, we figured, that it would be best to take matters into our own hands."
She looked sideways at him, confirming that he was still onboard with all of this, before she continued, "And by that I mean learning to properly defend ourselves; actually practicing the spells instead of just memorizing theory, and being prepared…"
"Prepared for our OWLs?" Michael Corner asked abruptly.
"Well, yes, of course for our exams, but there are…" She paused a moment to collect her thoughts, and take a breath, "I, personally, want to be properly trained in Defense because… because V-Voldemort is back."
The reaction was instantaneous. Shrieks and shudders, flinches and yelps. Everyone reacted as expected, all except Danny, who just looked confused and rather startled, and surprisingly, the Slytherins.
Daphne Greengrass had flinched, and then hunched her shoulders, Tracy Davis placing a comforting hand on her arm. The two -as-of-yet- unnamed sixth years had stood protectively around them, the one with blue-green eyes and wavy brown hair, putting a protective hand on the young, second-year Hufflepuff's shoulder.
He didn't get more time to think on that, as he felt the focus of the group fall heavily back onto him.
"And where's the proof of that?" The Hufflepuff quidditch player in his year said loudly. "Where's the proof that You-Know-Who's back?"
"Well, Dumbledore believes..." Hermione started.
"Dumbledore believes him." The boy interrupted, pointing a finger at Harry.
"And who are you?" Ron asked angrily.
"Zacharias Smith, and if he," Zacharias jabs a finger at Harry once more, "wants me to believe his tall tales about You-Know-Who returning, I want to hear the whole story."
"I've already told my story." He said standing up, drawing all attention onto him, before anything else could be said. "I told Dumbledore, I even told the Minister for Magic. If you don't believe it coming from them, why should I waste my time telling you?"
"Well, if you gave us more details, I might be convinced that you didn't make the whole thing up." Zacharias said dismissively. "All Dumbledore told us was that you saw You-Know-Who kill Cedric, and then you brought his body back with you when you escaped. If you could tell us more about how…"
"If you, or anyone else, just came here to know exactly what it looks like when Voldemort murders someone, then clear out now." He said tightly, fighting down the anger and sadness at the memories rising like the tide behind his eyes. "I'm not here to talk about Cedric Diggory, or the night he was killed. I'm here because I think that being prepared for what we know is coming is important. But if you don't believe me then you must be alright with how Umbridge is teaching us, so clear off and have fun in class." He waved an arm at the dingy, pub door. It seemed like the group was holding it's breath. They waited a moment, but no one moved. Not even Zacharias Smith.
He took his seat again, and looked away, feeling distinctly hollow and tired.
"Is it true that you can produce a corporeal patronus?" Came the quiet voice of the Hufflepuff with the long plait.
He looked at her a moment, feeling a strange sense of deja vu. "How did you..?"
"My Auntie, Madame Bones, attended your hearing over the summer. She said she was very impressed that you could produce a corporeal stag patronus. My name is Susan Bones, by the way. So, is it true?"
"Yes." He said, remembering the blonde, no-nonsense, woman from his hearing.
"Blimey Harry! I didn't know you could do that!" Came the awed voice of Lee Jordan.
"Mum told us not to tell anyone," Fred said smiling at him.
"Said you got enough attention as it is!" George finished with a chuckle.
"She's not wrong." He mumbled, which caused a few people to laugh.
But this caused others to ask after the other adventures he'd been through. 'Had he really saved the Philosopher's stone from You-Know-Who in his first year?,' 'Did he really defeat the Basilisk with the Gryffindor sword?,' 'You were attacked by Sirius Black and all those Dementors third year weren't you? And you fought them all off?!,' 'Remember all the tasks from the Tournament? He defeated a dragon, and mermaids, and everything in the maze of the final task on his own!'
He tried valiantly to explain that he'd had help, that he'd gotten lucky, that he didn't have any idea what he was doing half the time. But the result stayed the same, everyone was thoroughly impressed by him, and agreed that they wanted him to teach them Defense.
As Hermione took over once more, trying to decide on how often they would meet, he turned to Ron and Danny, a slight grimace on his face.
"I should've expected all that, but still…"
"Well, it may not have been all that exciting or glamorous at the time, but you can't deny that you really did do all those things Harry." Ron said consolingly.
"He did!?" Danny sputtered, coming out of what seemed to be shocked silence. "That wasn't all… How can… ugh." Danny buried his face in his hands, but then started to laugh which prompted him and Ron to share a worried glance.
"Oh man. No wonder you guys didn't bat an eye at my weirdness! You guys have been dealing with magical weirdness for longer than I've been half-ghost!" Danny said finally, laughing a bit sadly now. "That's kinda messed up."
"And why is the ghost kid here, anyway? He can't possibly be here to join." The snide voice of Zacharias Smith broke through their little side conversation.
He bristled protectively, and saw Ron scowling darkly, but Cho's friend spoke up before they could answer.
"It's a fair question. Why would he join a club for learning Defense if he can't even use magic in the first place?"
"It's a tactical advantage, is it not?"
The unknown voice halted all other conversation. All eyes turned towards the green clad girls, who had been silent at the back of the group up until that point. The sixth year with a short, black pixie cut cleared her throat and spoke again. "It's true that Danny can't perform magic, but it would be beneficial for him to know what he's up against in the magical world. If he comes to observe these lessons, then he can prepare himself, just like us."
"And who invited you?" Asked Zacharias rudely.
"I did!" Came the voice of little Dennis Creevey. "Well, not all of them, I invited my friend Ella." He continued proudly, noticing all the attention on him, as he pointed to his fellow second year, the Hufflepuff with auburn red hair.
She blushed instantly, but gave a shaky wave and smiled. "Hi. I'm Ella Grey. I- I heard about this group from Dennis, and I- I asked if my sister wanted to come, too." She gestured behind her to the sixth year with blue-green eyes, and brown hair.
"Hello," the indicated Slytherin said, ignoring the stunned silence of the group, "I'm Chloe Grey. When I heard about a Defense training group being taught by Harry Potter," she tilted her head in acknowledgment to him, "I knew it wasn't something we could afford to miss out on. That's why I invited friends that I trusted, and knew wanted more Defense training." Chloe finished, gesturing to the other Slytherin girls.
"I'm Miranda Sikes." The final, unnamed sixth year introduced, "And these are Daphne Greengrass and Tracy Davis." Both fifth years nodded.
"Well-, um…" Hermione seemed to be casting about for something to say, but again, Zacharias Smith seemed to have a desperate need to speak as loudly and as supremely as possible.
"Well, that's just brilliant. Umbridge will know about this by the end of the day. No need to sign the parchment you lot, we all know you'll turn us in to save your own skins." He jeered savagely.
"You really think that?" Tracy spoke up softly. "You really think we would be here if we wanted to be taught by that toad a moment longer?"
"You don't seem to understand what's at stake if we don't learn to defend ourselves," Daphne spoke up, looking at Zacharias unwaveringly. "I'm here because I know that Potter is telling the truth. I'm here to learn to properly defend myself, my sister and my mother. If my father ever found out I even thought about being here…" she took a breath and let it out shakily, Tracy and Miranda putting comforting hands on her shoulders. "We're here, just like you; but unlike you, I will happily sign the parchment to pledge that I will keep this group a secret from Umbridge and the Ministry."
"We all will." Chloe said forcefully, Ella nodding with a determined look.
"You really think that the entirety of Slytherin house is happy that the Ministry is endangering us by not allowing us to learn how to defend ourselves?" Miranda spoke up, looking around at the gathered group of students. "No. The reason that only we could come and endure your disdain for us today, is because we know what the consequences will be if this group gets caught, and we have decided that it is worth the risk."
"That's right," Chloe spoke up again, hand still on her sister's shoulder. "So, Hermione," she walked with purpose up to Hermione who was standing beside the table with the parchment for them to sign; Ella, Miranda, Daphne and Tracy following right behind her, "I would like to put my name down. And you will tell us when and where the first meeting will be, right?"
"Yes, of course. …Thank you." Hermione said a little breathlessly. Chloe nodded, and signed her name just under Fred and George's. She was quickly followed by her sister and the rest of the Slytherins without a moment's hesitation.
They then left the Hog's Head together, Ella turning around while holding the door open, "Bye Dennis! See you in Charms!"
"Bye Ella!" Dennis waved cheerily as the door closed, and Harry was hard pressed not to let his jaw drop at what just happened.
He'd never considered, or never wanted to acknowledge, that it must be hard for those in Slytherin who disagreed with their parents. How dangerous letting their voices heard could be. He thought of the Dursley's, and what he had endured from them over the years. How that could easily have been much worse had he openly shown magic and refused to back down from them. He then… thought of Danny.
They hadn't been told much, but the implications were there. His parents were ghost hunters, and Danny was part ghost. Danny had said that only a few people had known about him being part ghost, and it didn't sound like his parents were amongst that few. Is that what Daphne was going through? What other Slytherin students were enduring?
A sense of determination settled around his shame of never realizing the situation his fellow classmates could be placed in. He turned to Hermione and Ron and saw the same looks on both their faces.
They were right. Making this group, and training all those who wanted to learn Defense held a lot of risk right now, but it was worth it if even one lesson helped someone defend themselves when they truly needed it.
As they made their way back up to the castle, after the rest of the crowd had signed their names, promising their discretion, Danny cleared his throat.
"You know, I figured that this would all be a bit more involved and important than just a club or study group for exams. But, I think I'm going to need a bit more information about what's going on." He said in an odd voice.
"What kind of information?" Ron asked, pulling his red scarf up to try and block the chilling wind.
"Well, let's start with, who's Voldemort?"
Yay! ･ﾟ* Plot Progression! :･ﾟ
Also, some character progression as well!
Hopefully I'm getting all my ideas across without being too heavy handed, but I'm really excited to get the story moving now and can't wait to write the rest!
Thanks for reading!