Chapter 6

Defense Against the Dark Arts

The news of Voldemort's latest plot had been leaked to the 'Daily Prophet' the next day along with several opinions of what should be done about the 'werewolf problem'. Some thought the werewolves should be relocated so they didn't pose a threat to the magical community while others thought they were nothing but animals that needed to be exterminated. There were a few who believed that werewolves had rights too but no one seemed to care about the minority.

Remus became a popular information source overnight. Since the majority of the students trusted Remus regardless of his werewolf status, they trusted Remus to tell them the truth without twisting it the way the 'Daily Prophet' tended to. There were, of course, some students who actually believed the propaganda in the 'Daily Prophet' and had no problem voicing their opinions when they passed Remus in the halls.

At least until Sirius overheard some of the comments and immediately started issuing detentions to anyone who said anything degrading about Remus.

Harry was also extremely popular since many wanted to know what living with a werewolf was actually like. It irritated Harry that with one article in the 'Daily Prophet' Remus was suddenly seen as something less than human. Remus was only a wolf during the full moon. Other than that he was just as human as everyone else. Why couldn't everyone else realize that?

The students at Hogwarts weren't the only ones asking questions. As soon as the article had been released, Remus had been contacted by several reporters from different publications and Ministry employees to schedule a meeting. It was obvious that the reporters wanted an exclusive interview but the Ministry employees made everyone nervous. They either wanted Remus' input or were attempting to get their hands on a known werewolf.

The end of the week brought the seventh years' first Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson with Professor Shacklebolt. Entering the classroom, everyone was surprised to see that all of the desks and chairs had been stacked against the walls and several oval shaped dueling platforms had been set up around the room. Waves of nervousness mixed with eagerness. No one had expected anything like this for the first class.

"Put your all of your belongings except you wand against the wall everyone," Professor Shacklebolt said as he entered the room and closed the door. "Today is going to be a rough awakening for many of you."

No one said a word as they quickly did as they were told. Harry now understood what Professor Shacklebolt was doing. He wanted to show everyone the harsh realities of the real world. The members of the D.A. had already learned this lesson when many of them received injuries while fighting Death Eaters. Waves of nervousness increased and were now mixed with waves of fear. Professor Shacklebolt was certainly making a powerful first impression.

"I'm well aware of you past experience with Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers," Professor Shacklebolt said as he slowly walked around the group of students. "You only had one who focused on the physical aspect of Defense Against the Dark Arts and unfortunately only had him for half of a school year. We will be operating in the same fashion except for a few small changes. There will be no actual homework for this class. There will be no assignments. You will be graded completely on your performance in class. If you need to improve your skills, you are expected to practice and research on your own time. I do not tolerate freeloaders. Anyone who does not give one hundred percent will be removed from the class. Do I make myself clear?"

The majority of the class stared at Professor Shacklebolt in shock while Harry, Ron and Hermione grinned at each other. They had been warned about the demands of the class but it was funny to see everyone else's reactions. There were quite a few female students who looked like they had been told they would be sleeping out in the forest for a week with no loo. Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown appeared to be the most shocked out of the entire group which wasn't surprising. Parvati and Lavender had always been more concerned about their appearance than their studies.

Professor Shacklebolt glanced around suspiciously before speaking again. "I said do I make myself clear?" he asked raising his voice.

"Yes, sir," everyone answered but there was definitely some nervousness still in the air.

"Good," Shacklebolt said with a nod. "Now, you will be sorted into groups of four. Whoever is in your group will be the individuals you will be dueling today. Your group will change every time we meet. I don't care if you like the members of your group or if you hate them. You will get along while you are in this room. Your duels will consist of non-harmful spells that can stun or disarm your opponent. Using any spells that can cause harm will result in your removal from this class and face more severe punishments from the Headmistress and possibly the Ministry."

A tense silence filled the room. No one doubted Shacklebolt's seriousness and no one dared ask what the punishments could possibly be. Harry ignored the discrete gazes from Ron and Hermione because he knew what they were thinking. The warning was made for one reason: his protection. There were several students in the class with links to followers of Voldemort that could possibly take advantage of their position.

Shacklebolt walked to his desk at the front of the classroom and picked up a roll of parchment. "When I read your names, go to the designated platform and wait for further instruction," he announced. "Platform One: Boot, Terry; Patil, Padma; Potter, Harry; and Zabini Blaise." He waited as the four students walked to the platform at the front of the room then continued. "Platform Two: Abbot, Hannah; Granger, Hermione; Longbottom, Neville; and Blustrode, Millicent."

Slowly, everyone was assigned a platform. It seemed that merging of houses was the theme of the day. The majority of the groups had a member from at least three different houses and no group had more than one Slytherin. Ron had the misfortune of being assigned to a group with Tracy Davis, Ernie Macmillan and Lavender Brown. That was one duel that made Harry nervous to think about. Lavender had yet to say a word to Ron since their breakup last year. She seemed to prefer to pretend that he didn't exist and focus on her current boyfriend, whoever that was.

"Now," Shacklebolt said loudly, gaining everyone's attention. "Decide the order of your duels and begin."

Chatter broke out as Padma, Terry and Zabini all turned to Harry and stared expectantly. Harry let out a sigh and forced himself to remain calm. Why did everyone always assume that he would make the decisions for them? "Who wants to go first?" he asked.

Zabini let out a snort as he enfolded his arms across his chest, his long slanting eyes glaring at Harry. Waves of jealousy and resentment poured off of him leaving no doubt how he really felt about Harry. "What does it matter?" he asked snidely. "We all know you're going to beat us all and show off in front of everyone."

"Shut it, Zabini," Padma barked before grabbing Harry by the hand. "I'll duel with you first, Harry," she said and jumped up on the dueling platform with Harry following her. "I swear. Some people will say anything to make themselves feel better."

"You do know that it probably wasn't the smartest thing to do," Terry told Zabini in a loud enough voice so Harry and Padma could here. "Harry does know a lot more about dueling than the rest of us meaning that we could learn a lot from him." Zabini rolled his eyes and shifted his gaze to Padma and Harry took their spots at opposite ends of the platform.

"Remember everyone," Professor Shacklebolt announced. "Nothing harmful. I want to see creativity. The Disarming Spell isn't the only way to disarm an opponent. Also, I want you to use non-verbal spells. You make it too easy for your opponent when they know what's coming their way. Begin!"

Harry turned his attention back to Padma and had to dodge a spell aimed at his head. Twisting his upper body to the left, Harry swung his right arm behind his back, pointing his wand at Padma and firing a spell back at her. She blocked it just in time, smiling innocently at him.

"En guard," Padma said good-naturedly.

"Thanks for the warning," Harry said dryly before taking the offensive. He immediately cast a Stunning Spell followed by a Trip Jinx and a Full Body Bind. Padma managed to avoid and block the first two spells but was hit on leg by the third. Her arms snapped to her sides, her legs sprang together and her entire body stiffened before she fell flat on her face.

Terry burst out laughing as Harry removed the spell and helped Padma to her feet. "See?" he asked Zabini. "Here we learn that it is never smart to get on Harry's bad side."

"Enlightening," Zabini said sarcastically. "Can we please move on? I would like to leave before dinner arrived."

"Sorry about that, Harry," Padma said as she jumped off the platform. "I didn't expect you to hit so hard so fast."

"I know," Harry said as he followed suit. "Most would believe that Zabini's comments would make me act more reserved which gave me the advantage. Never assume anything."

"Our turn!" Terry announced as he jumped up on the platform. "Come on, Zabini. Let's see what you've got."

Zabini reluctantly followed Terry, jumping up on the platform and moving so he was standing opposite Terry. Their duel was more traditional. They bowed and allowed each other to take the proper dueling stance before they began. Their spell casting was slower and more strategic. It certainly wasn't a duel that would happen against any Death Eater or Voldemort but Harry wasn't about to say anything considering Zabini's current opinion of him.

Terry managed to best Zabini after nearly twenty minutes, much to Harry and Padma's relief. Both of them thought they would have fallen asleep had the duel lasted any longer. Zabini grudgingly jumped off the platform, his mood even worse than before. Harry glanced at Padma who just shrugged her shoulders. It seemed that neither of them thought that Zabini would be a sore loser.

"All right," Terry said cheerfully. "Now that I'm warned up, show me what you've got, Harry."

Harry rolled his eyes as he jumped up on the platform. There was nothing wrong with having fun with the assignment. Terry, though, seemed to be taking it to the extreme. Letting out a calming breath, Harry cautiously reached out and picked up waves of excitement mixed with faint waves of eagerness, nervousness and annoyance from everyone else in the room. "I don't think you know what you're getting yourself into, Terry," Harry said at last.

Terry grinned as he took a defensive dueling stance. "Oh, I'm well aware that you will most likely humiliate me but at least I can have some fun," he said as he wiggled his eyebrows. "Hit me with everything you've got."

"Please do it, Harry," Padma added. "Maybe then he'll shut up."

The duel began almost immediately. Harry struck strategically while Terry tried to hit Harry with everything he could think of. It wasn't long before Terry's spell casting began to slow and his movements turned sluggish. He had used too much power too quickly which allowed Harry to gain the upper hand and disarm Terry before Terry even realized he was in danger. Dodging an oncoming spell, Harry moved forward as he turned, grabbed Terry's wrist and twisted it until Terry was forced to drop the wand.

Padma let out a cheer causing several nearby groups to turn their way. Terry managed to pull his hand free and attempted to shake the pain away as he glared at Harry. Evidently, Terry hadn't thought physically disarming someone was allowed but Professor Shacklebolt did say they should be creative.

"That's what I'm talking about!" Professor Shacklebolt announced as he moved to Harry's Platform. "In the classroom, the duel ends the moment one is disarmed. In the real world, however, you can't simply walk away. You have to physically fight for your life or you will die. You need to learn that proper dueling technique will only get you so far. It takes skill, a level head in the face of danger and improvisation to survive against those who would do you harm."

"You make it sound like everyone's out to kill us, Professor," Zabini said in a bored voice.

Shacklebolt stared at Zabini for a long moment. "Not everyone," he clarified. "Just enough for there to be a need to know how to defend yourself. Some of you may believe that you are safe because of your family's actions. That is not true. Look at what happened to the Malfoy family. Malfoy senior and son are currently in Azkaban while Mrs. Malfoy has left the country. They weren't safe so why should you be?"

Several Slytherins glared angrily at Professor Shacklebolt, especially Pansy Parkinson who looked like she wanted to attack Shacklebolt physically. Malfoy was still a sore subject for the entire house of Slytherin. For years, Malfoy had been the outspoken leader for his house, displaying how they should act and who they should hate. It seemed that Malfoy could do no wrong with Professor Snape in his corner. Now both were gone, leaving the Slytherins without a leader and a protector.

Once class was over, Harry found himself cornered by several D.A. members practically begging for him to reconsider leading the D.A. It was clear that Professor Shacklebolt was going to emphasize on the type of dueling that Harry had been using for years. Harry's advantage had always been his unpredictability with merging magical and muggle defense. No one seemed to realize, unfortunately, that it took a lot of time to find a way to make both styles work in a comfortable way.

Harry was saved from the pleading looks by an extremely excited Remus literally dragging him away with Ron and Hermione following. Not a word was said until they entered the Marauder's Quarters and saw the mountain of books on the table. Every single book was open and put into piles. Used parchment covered every available space. The majority of them either had notes crossed out or circled.

"Sirius is meeting with Minerva at the moment," Remus said quickly as he picked up a used piece of parchement from the table. "We've narrowed down the possibilities of Ravenclaw artifacts Voldemort could have used as a Horcrux." He grabbed an old book and handed it over to Harry. It was opened to a page with a picture of an intricate looking broach with a raven on it. "Ravenclaw's broach was stolen from a wizarding museum almost two hundred years ago. It was never found and no one knew who took it."

"But that would make it nearly impossible to find," Hermione protested. "It would be complete luck!"

"Correct but it is unaccounted for so it's a possibility," Remus said firmly as he picked up another book and handed it over to Harry. "Ravenclaw's spectacles were passed from descendent to descendent until they were damaged by a child seventy-five years ago. They were taken to a specialty shop to be restored when the store burned to the ground. The spectacles were never found among the remains of the building."

Harry stared down at the picture of oddly shaped pair of spectacles with a thoughtful look on his face. It was unlikely that the spectacles were still around and even more unlikely that Voldemort had found them. Still, it was a possibility that couldn't be ignored. Finding out where Hufflepuff's cup and Slytherin's locket had basically been luck. Who's to say that the 'Ravenclaw Horcrux' hadn't been found in a similar fashion?

"Finally," Remus said as he picked up another book and handed it over to Harry, "there is Ravenclaw's crystal ball. This was actually on display here at Hogwarts for a number of years before a descendent removed it for safekeeping. Three days later, the descendent was found dead in his home, the crystal ball missing from his collection."

Harry stared at the crystal ball that rested on wood stand with ravens carved into it. The death was surprisingly similar to Hepzibar Smith's. "When did this happen?" he asked.

"Thirty years ago," Remus answered. "It was believed that feuding family members had a hand in the death but nothing was ever proven."

And we have a winner. "So what's our next step?" asked Harry.

Remus stared at Harry with a raised eyebrow for a long moment. "We start working on possible locations of the two Horcruxes and then we can start planning on sending out reconnaissance teams to find out if one of the Horcruxes is indeed there," Remus said calmly.

The look on Remus' face gave Harry no doubt that the 'reconnaissance team' wouldn't include him. Harry bit back his frustration, silently vowing to bring the topic up later. He wasn't about to send someone else out looking for a Horcrux considering what had happened to Professor Dumbledore. The Horcrux they had found at Grimmauld Place had been a stroke of luck. Harry knew it was stupid to think that retrieving the other two Horcruxes would be as injury-free.

"Who could possibly go except for us?" asked Hermione. "If we really want to keep the fact that we're looking for the Horcruxes a secret it would be best to just keep it between us."

"I agree," Remus said with a nod. "That's why Sirius and I will most likely be the ones going."

"Well that's stupid," Ron said bluntly earning surprised looks from everyone. The tips of his ears turned slightly pink in embarrassment but he continued on. "Look what happened to Dumbledore. Harry was able to help because of his healer training. It would be stupid not to take Harry and if you're taking Harry, you're taking us."

Remus let out a long breath as he ran his fingers through his graying hair. "Now Ron—"

"Ron's right, Remus," Harry interrupted softly. "I have to go. You weren't there when Professor Dumbledore slowly poisoned himself. It's only a matter of time before Voldemort finds out about what we're doing. When that happens, we're going to need all the help we can get, that includes Tonks and Kingsley if they can come."

"Sirius isn't going to like this, you know that right?" Remus asked cautiously.

Harry stared at Remus stubbornly as he enfolded his arms across his chest. "Sirius doesn't seem to like anything I do that concerns the war," he answered as evenly as he could manage. "If Sirius had his way, I would be sheltered from everything indefinitely. I can't afford to do that, especially not when people are dying."

Remus raised his hands, signaling surrender. "You don't have to convince me, Harry," he said gently. "I know Sirius can be completely irrational when he's overprotective. However, I also know that Sirius is only acting this way because he cares. He wants to make sure you live to see your next birthday without more scars than you already have."

"I understand that he wants to protect me but he can't protect me from everything," Harry protested in frustration. "It doesn't matter how young I am. I've been a part of this ever since I was a year old. Voldemort killed my parents, is the reason Dumbledore is dead and has made my life as abnormal as possible. How can I not be involved?"

The sound of someone clearing their throat caused everyone to quickly turn and see Sirius standing in the doorway. Harry and Remus shared an uncomfortable glance. This certainly wasn't the ideal way for Sirius to find out. Ron and Hermione took a cautious step back, preparing to flee the room if necessary. Not a word was said as Sirius approached Harry with compassionate look on his face and rested a hand on Harry's shoulder.

Waves of understanding mixed with a hint of fear poured off of Sirius as his eyes stared into Harry's. "You may have seen more than anyone should at your age, Harry, but you haven't seen everything you could," said Sirius. "I have seen more than what you could imagine in the last war. Can you blame me for wanting to spare you that?"

"But that's not your decision to make," Harry countered softly. "Sooner or later I have to face Voldemort. Keeping me naïve will only make it more of a shock when I'm forced to face it."

Sirius let out a sigh as he bowed his head. Waves of anguish and reluctance swirled around him. It was then that Harry realized what Sirius was going through. With all of the changes in their lives, Sirius had wanted to hold onto one of the most precious things in his life: his relationship with Harry. Letting go of Harry would mean that his duty as godfather was over. They had lost out on so many years because of Sirius' imprisonment in Azkaban. It was understandable that Sirius would want to hold on for as long as he could.

"I'll always need you, Sirius," Harry added sincerely. "You know that, right?"

Sirius smiled slightly as he pulled Harry into a one-armed embrace. "I know, kiddo," he whispered, "and I know I can be a controlling prat sometimes. I just don't want to lose you."

"Me neither," Harry said as he returned the embrace. He knew the discussion wasn't over. It would be a while before they figured out a leveled ground but it was a start. Harry knew he had to accept that even though the war depended heavily on him that was no reason to jump in to attempt to end it quickly. Sirius knew accepting that Harry was growing up didn't mean that he wouldn't be needed any longer. Harry would always need Sirius' guidance just not in the same way as before.

A/N: Sorry it took so long. Hopefully you all like it.