"Have you heard?" Katie said, as she sat down next to George Weasley at the Gryffindor table, "Has Hermione spoken to you?"
"About what?"
"About having a proper Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher." Katie smiled brightly. "At long last, Hermione has supplied anyone who wants to learn properly with an answer."
"I'm not letting Hermione teach me, no offence to the girl, but she lacks some people skills."
"You and Fred are still mad at her for confiscating all of your products, besides Hermione's not going to be the one teaching everyone."
"She's not?" Fred said, "But it would have to be more often then Hogsmeade weekends, and well the only person in this whole school that can teach anyone one anything other than Hermione is Harriet. She got passed all those tasks last year, faced You Know Who - and it's Harriet isn't it?"
"That's what Hermione is hoping for," Katie said, "there's going to be a meeting about it next Hogsmeade weekend."
Fred groaned a little, then teased, "One little mention of her name and Georgie's off in dreamland!"
"I was not -" George stopped talking, the doors to the Great Hall had just opened, Harriet entering the hall with his younger brother and Hermione.
Fred wriggled his eyebrows, "You were saying!"
Harriet was rubbing at her eyes as she sat down next to them. "'Lo."
George was suspicious needless to say, he had seen Harriet tired before, but never like this. Harriet was continuously scowling at the teachers table, whilst she helped herself to food.
"I still say you should do something! What she is up to is completely evil!" Hermione said.
"We've had this conversation."
"Did you ask about tryouts?"
"Yep, she turned me down like I thought she would."
"Even more reason to think about -"
"We've had that conversation too Hermione, and I just don't know how I feel about it right now. Can I just get through this week first, deal with the first Quidditch match and see how I feel -"
"Fair enough." Hermione answered
"I've had enough, I'm going to do some homework, maybe even catch some sleep before Toad Face makes my hand bleed again."
Harriet was gone without another word, her plate still half full of food.
"Hand bleed?" George asked.
"Harriet's detentions with Umbridge are not just lines." Hermione whispered. "She's making Harriet use a quill that writes in her own blood, it's leaving a scar on her hand."
George felt his face pale.
"We know." Ron said, "that's exactly how we feel."
It seemed the thing that spurred Harriet on to stand up-to Umbridge was her trying to take over Hogwarts. George reckoned there were other reasons for it too, but that seemed to be Harriet's breaking point. Though she did not at all looked pleased by the amount of people that turned up to the Hogs Head. Everyone's attention was on Harriet, and she was clearly having none of it, refusing to speak when Hermione gave Harriet a pointed look, Harriet shrugged, turning her attention elsewhere.
"I wouldn't want to be in Hermione's shoes right now!" Fred whispered.
"Er - well hi, everyone." Hermione started, "well, we all know why we are here, Harriet here had the idea -" Fred and George both snorted as Harriet throw her a sharp look. "I mean I had the idea that it might be good if people who wanted to study Defence Against the Dark Arts - I mean really study it, not the rubbish Umbridge has been doing with us - because no one can call that lessons."
"Hear, hear!"
"Well we figured we should take matters into our own hands." Hermione continued.
"You just want to pass your Defence Against the Dark Arts OWL."
"Well, yes, but not only because of that, but because Voldemort is back." Hermione said, "So that's the plan anyway, if you want to join, then we need to decide how we're going to -'
"Where's the proof You-Know-who is back?" said a blonde George recognised from the Hufflepuff Quidditch team. George watched as Harriet turned her sole focus onto him, she looked at everyone in the room. George wondered what she was thinking, making him miss apart of the conversation.
"It's OK Hermione." Harriet said, and after a moment she added. "What makes me say that Voldemort is back. It could be that I saw him, fought him. Dumbledore told the school what happened last year. If you don't believe him, you wont believe me, and I'm not wasting my afternoon convincing anyone."
"All Dumbledore said was Cedric Diggory got killed by You-Know-Who and that you brought Diggory's body back. He didn't give us details, I think we'd all ,like to know how he got murdered -"
"Can't help you," Harriet said, "because I'm not here to talk about that night, so if that's what you're here for, you might as well clear off."
"Does this bloke not know when to give up," Fred whispered.
"Best in the school and he's annoying her." George said
"I wouldn't want to be in his shoes now either." Fred said. "I don't like his chances."
"Is it true," interrupted a girl, looking at Harriet, "that you can produce a Patronus?"
There was a murmur of interest.
"Yes," Harriet said looking a little defensive.
"A corporeal Patronus?"
"You don't know Madam Bones, do you?" Harriet asked.
"She's my auntie. I'm Susan Bones. She told me about your hearing and your Patronus."
"It's a stag," Harriet smiled, "It's always been a stag."
"Blimey Harriet, I didn't know you knew that!"
"Mum told us not to spread it around," Fred said
"Reckoned you got enough attention as it was." George said
"She's not wrong."
"Did you kill a Basilisk, with that sword in Dumbledore's office? That's what one of the portraits told me."
"Yes."
"And in our first year," Neville said, "you save that Philological Stone."
"Philosopher's," Hermione hissed.
"Yeah that from You-Know-Who."
"Not to mention all those tasks you got past in the Triwizard Tournament." George said.
There was a murmur of impressed agreement. Harriet looked rather uncomfortable.
"Look, when you say it like that, it sounds impressive and I had a lot of help with all that stuff."
"Not with those dragons, that was some cool bit of flying!"
"Or those Dementors."
"OK, OK, some of it I did without help. The point I'm trying to make is-"
"You're just trying to weasel out of showing us any of this stuff -"
Harriet looked liked she wanted to bunch the Hufflepuff player in the face.
"How about you just shut up!" Ron suggested.
"We all turned up to learn from her and now she's telling us she can't do any of it."
"That's not what Harriet said." Fred said
"Would you like us to clean out your ears for you?" George inquired. Harriet at least looked amused, even if the Hufflepuff idiot didn't.
Hermione brought the meeting to an order after that. And the discussion continued about how often their meetings should be until everyone was in agreement Hermione brought out a piece of parchment for everyone to sign. George did so happily. Once the meeting drew to a close, he along with his twin and their friend Lee Jorden left.
"I see what you mean." Lee said nudging Fred.
"What?" George said.
"You've got it so bad, you couldn't keep your eyes of Harriet throughout our whole time in the Hogs Head!" Lee teased.
