Disclaimer: None of the Harry Potter universe is mine, it all belongs to JK Rowling. I'm just playing in her sandbox trying not to dig any holes.
"What the hell just happened?!" Ron cried as he, Harry and Hermione made their way back to the Gryffindor Common Room.
"Harry, you just survived the Killing Curse AGAIN!" Hermione cried. "How is that possible?"
"It's because the curse never actually connected," Harry said. "The Killing Curse affects the soul and body." He unbuttoned the first two buttons of his shirt, something that Hermione appreciated, to revel a vest.
"What is that?" Ron asked.
"It's a Kevlar vest," Harry said. "It's a material that the armed forces give their soldiers in order to protect them." He quickly told Ron the basics of the vest; Hermione was still ogling his chest. "During the fight at the Ministry, I noticed that the Killing Curse affects different materials differently. Voldemort's curse that hit the security desk at the Atrium made the wood burst into flames, also when Riddle sent one at me, Dumbledore used the bronze statue and the curse bounced right off. So I figured that it might be possible to wear armor that would block the curse, in fact, my mum had been experimenting with different materials before…and when I took a look at her notes, I noticed that a material that was very similar was Kevlar."
"What did you mean that your mother was experimenting with that curse?" Hermione asked.
Harry scratched the back of his head. "Well, she would use the curse on the materials," he said.
"But that's illegal!" Hermione cried.
"Not necessarily," Ron said. "It's illegal to use on another human, but if Harry's mum was just using it on inanimate objects she was fine."
Harry and Hermione goggled at Ron. "You know Ron, I think that was the most intelligent thing I've ever here you say," Hermione commented. Ron blushed heavily but looked quite pleased with himself.
"And he's right," Harry said. "But I'm going to have to repair this, it looks like the vest will only take one AK before it cracks."
"That's understandable," Hermione said. "I read that most vest can only handle one high-caliber bullet before they break, and since the Killing Curse is arguably the most powerful curse in existence it would stand to reason that the vest would do the same. Do you think it would be possible to get some more vests for the Order?"
"I don't think so," Harry said. "The military isn't going to release a large number of vests into the hands of a private militia, especially on the say-so of a kid."
"You're probably right," Hermione said. "What if we were to duplicate them then? Would that work?"
"The Duplication Charm isn't permanent," Harry said. "And we don't want it to fail during the middle of a battle or something like that. I'll lend you my mum's notes; maybe you can make heads or tails of it. The Arithmancy is beyond me."
"What are you going to do about Snape?" Ron asked. "Why didn't you just kill him?"
"I wanted him to suffer," Harry answered. "I wanted him to suffer like Sirius had too. And besides, I'm sure that the Order will take care of Snape, even Dumbledore can't protect him from what he did."
"Harry," Hermione began softly. "Don't you think you were a bit harsh on Professor Lupin? I mean he has a hard life."
"And I haven't," Harry responded. "I'll tell you this. Am I disgusted at the way I acted toward him? Yes, I am. But was I wrong in what I said? No, I don't think so. He was one of my parents' best friends, and he couldn't try and contact me before Hogwarts, or even before third year. I would have loved to meet someone who could have told me that my parents weren't useless drunks like the Dursleys said. And since third year, the only time I've even seen Remus Lupin was when he came to pick me up from Privet Drive last summer. Don't you think that during those private Patronus lessons during our third year he could have told me about my parents but no, he stayed away and ignored me. I understand that werewolves are discriminated against horribly in the magical world but still, even just sending me a letter couldn't have been that much work."
Hermione and Ron nodded. Harry was right, Professor Lupin had pretty much abandoned Harry, the only child of his best friends, for years and then when they finally meet, he abandons Harry again.
"Password?" the portrait of the Fat Lady asked when the trio reached the Gryffindor Common Room.
"Justice," Harry said succinctly. The portrait swung open admitting the trio. Neville was sitting at a table by the fire, and looked up when he heard the portrait hole open. The trio made their way over to the table and sat down across from Neville.
"So what did Dumbledore want?" Neville asked.
"You know, just how he was disappointed in me, how I created so much work for him and the Order over the summer, all that rot," Harry answered. "Oh yeah, and Snape used the Killing Curse on me."
"He WHAT!" Neville roared.
"Quiet!" Harry hissed. Neville's shout had brought some much-unwanted attention to their table. "Sorry about that, Neville just found out he lost a bet. Poor sod should learn to never bet on the Cannons." Chuckles filled the Common Room at Harry's comment and the spectators turned back to their work.
"Are you serious?" Neville asked.
"No, he was my godfather," Harry responded with a wan smile. Hermione rolled her eyes but seemed to be smiling. "But yes, it is true. It seems that our beloved Headmaster has been keeping secrets from the Order and when I called him on it, Snape didn't appreciate it."
"What secrets are you talking about?" Neville asked.
"Snape was the one who told Riddle about the prophecy," Harry said. "He wanted my mum, thought he loved her, but didn't care if me or my dad died in the process."
Neville looked ready to storm through the castle and strangle Snape with his own hands. Only a hand on the shoulder from Harry kept the enraged boy in his place.
"Don't worry about it Neville," Harry said. "Snape will get his. If the Order doesn't do anything, I always have the fact that he attempted the murder of a Lord of a Most Ancient and Noble House, plus was an accessory to the murders of my parents, a Lord and Lady of a Most Ancient and Noble House."
Neville reluctantly nodded. "So what now?" he asked.
"The wizarding world needs a massive kick up the ass," Harry said. "For too long Malfoy and his ilk have been allowed to strut up and down the streets just because of their name and so-called superiority, spouting off their bigotry and racial slurs, and yet no one did anything about it! Well no longer! Its time to show the Death Nibblers that their actions have consequences, and if the professors won't do their jobs and do so, then we will."
"Harry, you're talking about taking over the school," Hermione whispered. "A rebellion against the professors! You could be expelled!"
"I'm talking about taking this school back from the bigotry and hate that Dumbledore has allowed to fester since he became Headmaster," Harry growled. "He never stopped Snape from tormenting anyone who was not-Slytherin, he allowed Malfoy and his goons to spread his hate-filled nonsense without repercussion. Malfoy was able to curse you and call you 'Mudblood' and yet the professors did NOTHING! They just sat back and let Malfoy and his goons do whatever he liked. No longer!"
"I'm in Harry," Ron said. "I want some payback for what that ferret has done."
"Same here," Neville said. The three boys turned to Hermione.
"It's not that I don't agree with you Harry," Hermione said. "But I don't think this is a good idea. You're talking about taking over the school, starting a rebellion that could cause a whole lot of trouble. Trouble that we don't need right now, we've got enough trouble with V. out there."
"I know Hermione, but the best way to cripple Riddle is too undermine his recruiting efforts," Harry said. "We need to show the Death Nibblers that we aren't afraid but they need to be afraid of us. We need to show them that we aren't afraid to fight for what is right."
Hermione looked down at her hands. In her heart, she knew that Harry was right. It was time to make a stand, a stand against bigotry and hate, a stand for what's right instead of what was easy.
"Hermione?" Harry asked softly. "If we're going to do this, we're going to need your help. You're the only one who has the brains to keep us out of the frying pan."
"Yeah Hermione, we need you," Ron pleaded, staring directly into Hermione's eyes. The brunette blushed heavily under Ron's intense look and turned away.
"All right fine," Hermione said. Harry, Neville and Ron grinned, though Harry felt something stir in his chest when Hermione blushed.
"Right then, I think it's time for bed," Harry said. "It's been a long day. I'll see you guys in the morning."
The others decided to stay up a little longer so Harry bade them goodnight before making his way up to the dorms. Just before he reached the staircase though, he heard Hermione laugh and turned around to see Hermione slap Ron playfully on the arm. Again he felt something well up in his chest, something that burned fiercely.
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The next morning the burning sensation in Harry's chest hadn't vanished, only diminished. He awoke at the crack of dawn, having his drill instructors blow sharp whistles in his ear for four-and-a-half months would do that to a person. Rolling out of bed, Harry pulled on his sweats and a pullover and made laced up his trainers. Once he was kitted out, Harry made his way down to the common room and out the portrait hole. The portrait of the Fat Lady grunted sleepily as Harry closed the 'door' slowly. He made his way down to the entrance hall and out onto the grounds.
Harry relished the cold morning mountain air as he ran around the castle twice (4km) before heading back inside. He had just about reached the seventh floor when he heard feet shuffling coming from around the corner. Harry quickly drew his wand and cast several charms over himself, causing him to fade from sight as well as eliminating his scent from the air. Wherever Filch was, Mrs. Norris wasn't far behind. And just as Harry suspected, less than a moment later, Filch and Mrs. Norris came racing around the corner. Filch's eyes were bulging as he scanned the corridor. With a huff, he continued down the hallway, passing within feet of Harry.
Harry waited until Filch and Mrs. Norris were well gone before releasing his charms and fading back into view. He continued down the corridor to the entrance to the Room of Requirement and summoned the magical room. He pushed open the door to revel a large gymnasium. Harry locked the door and threw himself into his workout.
Sweat was dripping down Harry's face when he finished his workout. Casting a Cleansing Charm over him, Harry left the Room of Requirement behind and made his way back to his dorm room and the showers.
"Where have you been?" Hermione cried as Harry entered the common room, his clothes clinging to him.
"I went out early and ran around the castle twice then when to the room to work out," Harry answered. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to wash up before breakfast, and besides why do you care? It's not like I'm going anywhere I'm not supposed too."
Hermione looked down at the floor. She really needed to curtail her excessive need to know everything as well as her accusing tone.
"Look Hermione, I know you worry about me," Harry said. "But relax, I can take care of myself, it's what I've been trained for."
"I'm sorry Harry, I jumped to conclusions again," Hermione said. "I need to work on that."
"You do," Harry said. "You were acting a bit like Ron usually does."
Hermione's blush grew darker. "You're right," she whispered. "I'm sorry."
"It's all right Hermione, just keep a more open mind next time," Harry said. "You know, you could join me?"
"Join you?"
"Yeah," Harry said. "I mean exercising, it's something I'm thinking about adding to the DA's training, that is if I'm allowed to restart it."
"You want to restart the DA? That's wonderful! You were such a brilliant teacher last year, I learned so much."
It was Harry's turn to blush this time. "Thanks Hermione," he muttered. "But yes, I've noticed that not a lot of wizards or witches look after their bodies like the rest of the population do. I understand that magic can do a lot of things but I still think that being in shape and being prepared can give us an edge over the Death Eaters."
Hermione nodded vigorously. "I think you're right too Harry," she said. "We can talk more at breakfast but I think now you need to go upstairs and get washed up."
"Yes ma'am!" Harry saluted. Hermione giggled and slapped Harry on the arm before returning the salute.
"Get moving Private Potter," she barked, trying to sound stern and professional but failing miserably. Harry shot Hermione a lopsided grin that sent Hermione's stomach aflutter before rushing back up the spiral staircase.
"Morning Hermione," Ron said as he came lopping down the stairs. "Why was Harry coming back upstairs? He wasn't in the dorms when I woke up."
"Oh," Hermione said. "He went for a run this morning."
"He went for a run? Why would he do that?" Ron asked.
"Well, he wants to stay fit even though he's away from training," Hermione explained. "Remember, he's joined the military though I have no idea how he could be allowed to still come to Hogwarts when he's done so. Harry has to stay fit, don't you work out to stay in shape for Quidditch?"
"Well yeah," Ron answered with a blush. "But we just fly around and practice, why would we run around when Quidditch is played on a broom?"
Ten minutes later, Harry came lopping down the stairs dressed in his Hogwarts robes, though Hermione noticed that he had his vest on underneath his robes. Harry's hair was still wet and sticking up all over the place, making it seem even more messy than normal, something that didn't detract from Harry's overall appearance.
"Come on you two, I'm starving," Harry said. "Having to survive on military food is better than the Dursleys but it's nothing on Hogwarts' food."
The trio plus Neville, who had followed Harry down to the Common Room, made their way down to the Great Hall. When they did enter the Hall, Harry immediately scanned the Head Table and was pleased to see that Snape was nowhere in sight, though Harry did see another pair of familiar faces. Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks were sitting next to each other at the Head Table.
"What are Professor Lupin and Tonks doing up there?" Hermione asked.
"If I had to guess, Lupin is going to be our new DADA professor and Tonks is his assistant," Harry said. "Who's the fat guy sitting next to Dumbledore?"
"That's Horace Slughorn," Hermione answered. "He was the Potions Master before Snape and the Head of Slytherin."
"So Dumbledore must have convinced him to return," Harry said. "So that must have meant that Snape was going to be the Defence professor before…"
"Don't even think about that Harry," Neville shivered. "Snape was bad enough with Potions, if he was teaching Defence…"
"I get it," Harry said. The group sat down at the Gryffindor Table and Ron immediately began piling food onto his plate before shoveling mounds of it into his mouth. Hermione sniffed and turned away from the red-haired boy.
"Nothing beats the food at Hogwarts," Harry chuckled as he munched on a piece of bacon.
"Was the food really that bad?" Hermione asked.
"Not really," Harry said. "I got a lot more than I would if I had stayed at the Dursleys but the taste probably was just as bad. Military rations are all about nutrients and sustenance not taste."
"Oh" Hermione said before turning back to her own breakfast.
As the group was finishing up their breakfasts, Professor McGonagall descended down to the Gryffindor Table to pass out their timetables. When she reached the group, McGonagall paused before handing Harry his timetable.
Schedule for Fall Term: Harry James Potter
6th year Gryffindor
Monday, Wednesday, Friday:
8am-9:45am: Double DADA
10am-11:45am: Double Transfiguration
12pm-1pm: Lunch
1:30pm-3:15pm: Double Charms
3:30pm-5:15pm: Double Potions
Tuesday, Thursday:
8am-9:45am: Double Ancient Runes
10am-11:45am: Free Period
12pm-1pm: Lunch
1:30pm-3:15pm: Double Arithmancy
"I was very impressed with your Transfiguration scores," McGonagall said. "Your work in previous classes never rated higher than an EE."
"That's because I had to make sure that I wasn't any better than Dudley," Harry said shortly. "My relatives didn't want someone showing up their precious little Diddikins, it wasn't until third year that I realized that they didn't care about my Hogwarts grades."
McGonagall paled. "I see," she said quietly. "Why have you added Arithmancy and Ancient Runes? Are you sure that you can handle them, they are two of the more difficult classes that Hogwarts offers?"
Harry frowned at his Head of House. "I think my scores speak for themselves Professor," he said shortly. "And as I just said, I haven't been trying very hard in previous years. I do find it interesting that no one ever told me what classes my parents or Sirius took, I mean all I know about their years at Hogwarts was that my dad was excellent at Transfiguration and a very good Quidditch player while my mum was extraordinarily bright and excelled at Charms and Potions. You would think that an orphan would want to know what his parents studied, perhaps to allow him the chance to feel closer to them."
McGonagall flinched. Harry was correct, Minerva had always considered Lily and James Potter close friends after they had left Hogwarts and yet she had pretty much ignored their son. "My apologies Mr. Potter," McGonagall said. "I did not mean to cast aspersions on your intelligence. You should know that the Headmaster has asked that I talk to you about continuing on in your studies in Divination. He says that after the revelations from last June, you need to…"
"So now he thinks I need to know something," Harry interrupted McGonagall sharply. "You can tell the Headmaster that I have no liking to hear my death proclaimed to the entire class everyday."
"I shall rely your message Mr. Potter."
"Thank you Professor."
"Professor, what happened to Professor Snape?" Hermione asked. Harry, Ron and Neville looked at Hermione in shock, not that she had asked but that she had referred to Snape as a Professor.
"Severus Snape was taken into custody by Aurors Shacklebolt, Moody and Tonks," McGonagall said shortly. "Professor Dumbledore tried to stay their hands but it seems that the Order has broken."
"Good riddance," Harry muttered. "Perhaps now, the Order will actually start doing something instead of just sitting back and letting Voldemort take over."
"Mr. Potter!" McGonagall snapped. "Whatever your grievances with the Headmaster and the Order, that gives you no reason to air them in such a way."
"Really," Harry drawled looking up at the stern woman. "How many Death Eaters has the Order captured since the Ministry fiasco last June? Why hasn't anyone from the Order asked me for my memory of Voldemort's resurrection two years ago to identify the Death Eaters?"
McGonagall's face looked like a fish, gaping open at Harry.
"Perhaps you should continue passing out the timetables Professor," Harry said. "It looks like the other Gryffindors want to see what classes they'll be taking."
McGonagall bristled at the casual dismissal from a 6th year student but made her way down the table.
"Harry!" Hermione scolded. "You didn't need to be so crash with Professor McGonagall! She's on your side."
"Is she really?" Harry asked. "She was there that night fifteen years ago, standing right next to Dumbledore when he abandoned me at the Dursleys. She knew what type of people the Dursleys were but still let Dumbledore just leave me there."
Hermione's face crumbled as the announcement that her roll model had just stood back and let Harry be abandoned at the Dursleys.
"Come on, let's get to Defence," Harry said, pushing aside his plate and getting to his feet. Neville and Hermione both noticed that he discreetly patted himself down, though they weren't for sure why?
Harry led the group out of the Great Hall, leaving Dumbledore watching from the Head Table. They were the first students to reach the Defence classroom, even before Professor Lupin arrived. Harry looked up when he heard the footsteps echoing down the stone hallway and saw Remus Lupin making his way toward his classroom. The middle-aged werewolf froze when he spotted Harry, Ron, Hermione and Neville standing outside the room. Without a word, Lupin passed the group and opened the door to the classroom. Harry followed the werewolf into the room and the group found seats in the second row. Over the next ten minutes, the class filled up with students. Since this was a NEWT-level course, all four houses were combined into one class.
All fifth year members of the DA had passed and were allowed to continue onto NEWT DADA along with five Slytherins; Malfoy, Blaise Zabini, Daphne Greengrass, Tracey Davis and Pansy Parkinson. Harry wasn't surprised that any of the Slytherins had made it into NEWT DADA, Greengrass, Davis and Zabini were quintessential Slytherins while Parkinson and Malfoy were the children of Death Eaters so they knew quite a bit about the Dark Arts and how to counter them.
"Welcome to NEWT DADA," Professor Lupin began a moment after the bell rang. "You have all shown aptitude in Defence against the Dark Arts. Previous years, you have focused on defending against Dark creatures as well as learning defensive hexes and charms. This year you will be introduced to how deal with your fellow wizards. With the return of Voldemort (there were several flinches around the room), Headmaster Dumbledore has deemed it necessary that you all know how to defend yourselves against the Death Eaters and other Dark wizards. Every month we'll be having dueling tournament to see how far you've come. Today, we will be reviewing the ICW Code of Conduct regarding officially sanctioned duels."
Harry sighed as leaned back in his chair.
"Is there a problem Mr. Potter?" Lupin asked.
"Yes," Harry said. " If we're going to be fighting against Death Eaters, they're not going to sticking to the rules. They're going to be trying to kill us. You should be teaching us how to fight, not duel. Dueling means rules and regulations; a fight against a Death Eater is one for one's life and has no rules, no regulations. It's just you and your opponent."
Lupin frowned. "Mr. Potter, perhaps you can explain your statement?" he asked. Harry frowned.
"Last year at the Ministry, my friends and I tried to rescue someone who was very dear to me," Harry said. "We fought against twelve Death Eaters. They didn't use Stunners, Disarmers and Jelly-Legs Jinxes; they used Blasting, Slicing Hexes and the Unforgivables. And in fights, they won't stick to the ICW's rules and regulations, they are trying to kill us all!"
Remus narrowed his eyes at Harry. "Perhaps Harry, you would like to come up here and show the class how it's done?" Remus asked.
Harry frowned up at the werewolf but rose from his seat. He made his way up to the front of the class. "What is it exactly that you want me to do Professor?" he asked.
"Show us what you mean about the difference between a fight and a duel," Remus said. Harry blinked.
"And who would be my opponent Professor?" he asked.
"Myself," Remus said.
"Very well Professor," Harry said, with a hint of frustration. With a flick of his wrist, Harry's wand appeared in his hand. Remus arched an eyebrow when he noticed the quick-release wand holster as well as the fact the wand in Harry's hand wasn't his holly wand.
"New wand?" Remus asked. Harry grinned tightly.
"I didn't want something tied to both Dark Lords in my life," Harry said. "So then, let's begin."
Much of the classroom was confused at Harry's mention of two Dark Lords; they all knew about Voldemort but who was this second Dark Lord.
Spell fire erupted from Harry and Remus' wands, throwing multi-colored lights across the walls of the classroom. Remus stuck to strictly Light-spells while Harry used nearly everything in his arsenal aside from the Unforgivable, the only two Harry knew how to cast was the Killing Curse and the Imperious. Harry saw no benefit to knowing the Cruciatus Curse; his mother had already devised an electro-shock spell that worked much like a defibrillator. Lily Potter nee Evans had truly been a prodigy regarding Charms. While at training, Harry pored over his mother's journals and found out that Lily had a very similar mindset that Harry had adopted during the War. One of the first things she had written in her journal was a famous phrase from a famous American general during the Second World War, "The object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other guy die for his."
It was a lesson that had been drilled into him during training. In war people will die, and there was nothing that Harry could do about it, he couldn't save everyone. All Harry could do was to save as many people as he could and that meant ending the war as quickly as possible.
Harry advanced toward Remus, ducking, dodging, and weaving his way through Remus' spell fire, only shielding when he had no choice. Remus kept trying to push Harry back but as the fight wore on it was obvious to the spectators that Professor Lupin was losing, and quite badly. Suddenly Harry's wand tip flared brightly, causing Remus to look away to shield his eyes. Harry dove forward, executing a textbook forward roll and came up at the feet of Lupin. In a flash, Harry grabbed Moony's wrist and shoulder threw him onto the ground. Lupin cried out in shock and pain, and released his grip on his wand. Harry raised a hand and casually summoned it to his own hand while pointing his wand down at the wincing Lupin.
"Well done Mr. Potter," Lupin said. "May I have my wand back?"
Harry extended Remus' wand, handle first, toward the Professor. Remus gave Harry a small smile before reclaiming his wand and pocketing it. Moony turned back to the class.
"I think that's enough for today," Lupin said. "For homework, I want you to answer this question. If you are in a situation where you can't run away from a fight, what is the best way in dealing with your opponent? That will be all."
Without a word, Harry quickly began gathering up his books when Professor Lupin's voice called out, "Mr. Potter, do you mind sticking around for a moment?" Harry's shoulders stiffened but sat back down at his desk. Hermione, Ron and Neville looked at Harry, who just gave them a nod, before leaving the classroom.
"What would you like to talk about Professor?" Harry asked.
"Come now Harry, you know that you don't have to call me that," Lupin said. Harry just stayed silent, causing a sad look to cross Remus' face. "Harry, I just wanted to…"
"Professor, this isn't the best time right now," Harry said. "I know what you are trying to do but I can't deal with you asking for forgiveness right now. I've got too many things to deal with: the war, you, Dumbledore and wondering when the wizarding world is going turn on me again. You've made your bed, now lie in it."
Remus looked stricken at Harry's response but pressed onto a different tack. "Harry, why did you come to class? I saw your OWL scores; you had the highest score ever! You could go for your Mastery quite easily and attain it, so why?"
"It's nice to learn from a competent Defence professor for once," Harry said. "And I still have plenty of things to learn, one can never learn enough." Remus nodded. "I will see you Wednesday Professor."
"Mr. Potter," Remus said.
Harry caught up with Ron and Hermione outside the classroom, Harry hid a grin at the fact that they had been waiting for him.
"What did Professor Lupin want?" Hermione asked.
"He wanted to see if I would forgive him for abandoning and ignoring me at the behest of the Headmaster, as well as why I was even taking his class when my DADA OWL exempted me from it."
"Why are you taking Defence Harry?" Ron asked.
"It's nice to learn from actually competent professor," Harry said. "And one thing I've learned is that you can never know enough. Riddle has nearly half a century of magical experience over me. My military training will lessen that gap somewhat but it won't be enough. For all Remus' faults, being a substandard teacher is not one of them. I also told him that we would possibly talk after the war is over and hash everything out."
Hermione smiled. "I'm proud of you Harry, that's a very mature attitude you've taken," she said. Harry chuckled and scratched the back of his head in embarrassment but out of the corner of his eye, Harry noticed that Ron was frowning at him.
'What could that be about?' Harry thought as the trio made their way to their next class, Transfiguration. McGonagall ignored Harry as she began her lecture with an overview on what they would be learning in class this term. Harry quickly tuned her out as he had already read through his father's notes on NEWT-level transfiguration, Harry had poured over his father's notes on how to become an Animagus, hoping that he too could achieve what many considered the pinnacle of human Transfiguration.
"Mr. Potter," McGonagall's sharp voice cut through Harry's daydreaming and brought him back to the present. "Well now that Mr. Potter has deemed us worthy with his presence perhaps he can show us what he had retained over this summer. Mr. Potter, if you would Conjure a mammal of your choosing and then Vanish it."
Harry looked up at the Transfiguration Professor and then raised his wand. Minerva shivered at the gleam in Harry's eye, as she recognized it as one that had graced the eyes of James Potter many times during his time at Hogwarts. With a flick of Harry's wand, a very familiar tabby cat appeared on his desk. Several of the more attentive students realized who the cat resembled and gaped at Harry's cheek. With another flick of his wand, Harry Vanished the cat and returned his wand to its holster.
"Very good Mr. Potter, it seems that your Transfiguration mark for your OWL was well deserved," McGonagall said before turning back to the rest of the class. Harry's eyes scanned the room easily, taking in the rest of the class. He noticed that quite a few faces were showing mixtures of surprise and jealousy.
After Transfiguration was lunch, something of which Ron was quite happy about, much to the amusement of Harry and Hermione.
"Harry, how did you manage to Conjure such a complex animal, as well as Vanish it and without saying a word?" Hermione asked.
"My dad was extremely gifted at Transfiguration and wrote down a whole bunch of notes and tips in his journal that was in my family's vault," Harry said. "No offense to Professor McGonagall, but it was much easier to learn from my dad's notes than her chalkboard."
"Do you think I could take a look at your dad's notes?" Hermione asked.
"Sure, I've got the journal up in my trunk," Harry said. "After lessons I'll show it to you." Hermione beamed.
After lunch, the 6th year Gryffindors made their way down to the dungeons where Snape had reigned until this year. Harry was interested in how Slughorn's teaching methods would differ from Snape's, though anything would differ from Snape's teaching method as Snape didn't teach them.
Lily's journal had mentioned Slughorn several times, how he was quite a sleaze ball and he always wanted to be close to those who were powerful or could become powerful. And Lily had pegged Slughorn to a tee. As soon as he had entered the room, Slughorn had been trying to schmooze his way into Harry's confidence and trust.
Slughorn had the class after an introduction attempt to create the Draught of Living Death in the time remaining. Ron, who hadn't thought he would make the cut, had gotten a Potions book from the cabinet. And immediately began whining about how the previous user had scribbled in the margins so much that he could barely read the instructions.
"Honestly Ronald, here," Hermione said shoving her own book over to Ron's table. She took Ron's and tried to decipher it but gave up after a few moments. Harry slid her own book over to Hermione and picked up the battered copy of 'Advanced Potion-Making' and opened to the page giving the instructions for the Draught of Living Death. Harry was quite surprised to find out that he could reasonably read out the additions to the instructions.
"Time's up," Slughorn announced. "Step away from your cauldrons now." Slughorn circled the room, checking the potions and making comments.
"Ho, ho!" Slughorn cried as he looked over Harry's potion. "Now this is excellent, the most powerful Draught of Living Death I've ever seen. Even your mother couldn't have created a more perfect Draught of Living Death."
"Oh thank you sir," Harry said. Harry turned to Ron and Hermione, both of whom were wearing distinctly angry faces. Harry frowned at the pair. The bell rang signaling the end of the period, and Ron and Hermione grabbed their belongings and rushed out of the classroom. Harry's eyes narrowed as he gathered up his own belongings and followed them out. With a flick of his wand, Harry froze both Ron and Hermione as they stormed away from him.
"What in Merlin's name is going on with you two?" Harry demanded.
"You cheated!" Hermione cried.
"That should have been me!" Ron shouted. Harry blinked.
"And here I thought you two had changed," Harry growled. "But it seems that traitors never change their spots."
"We're not traitors!" Hermione shouted.
"Oh so you're not turning your backs on me again like last summer," Harry barked. "You're mad that I got a better grade than you in Potions. What about my Defence grade, are you jealous of that too?"
"I'm not jealous!" Hermione shouted. "You didn't use the proper instructions and cheated."
"Are you bloody kidding me Hermione? You're mad because you couldn't read those notes and I could, don't you remember that both you and Ron tried to read it but couldn't? And besides, there's no way that anyone would write down an alternative method of creating that potion if it didn't work! How do you think things are invented? By experimenting, challenging the known, it's how things evolve! And besides, didn't earlier want to take a look at my dad's Transfiguration notes. That's the same thing as writing notes in a textbook, I've got all my parents' old school books and you wouldn't believe that notes scribbled in the margins. If I decide to use those, does that make it cheating? And you Ron, I thought that you had gotten over this jealousy thing! I got lucky, you were the one who found that book first and you barely tried to read it before whining about it, so don't say that you should have gotten recognition for it."
Hermione and Ron hung their heads as Harry's words seeped through their anger.
"I don't want to deal with you two for the rest of the day," Harry said. "Hermione, you need to realize that you can't be best at everything. There's always going to be someone better than you. And Ron, grow the bloody fuck up! You whine about anything and everything just because it doesn't go your way. Get it through your troll-like head life isn't fair! If it was, my parents and Sirius would still be alive and I wouldn't have a murderous psychopath calling for my head ever since I was born." Harry released the pair and stormed off, leaving Ron and Hermione at the mercy of disgusted looks from their classmates.
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Harry refused to speak to either Hermione or Ron during dinner and quickly excused himself from the Gryffindor Common Room afterwards, taking both his cloak and the Marauder's Map with him.
"Ah Mr. Potter, I was hoping to speak with you," Dumbledore's voice brought Harry out of his furious pacing. Harry took a deep breath and turned to face the man who for all intents and purposes made his life a living hell.
"What did you wish to talk about Headmaster?" Harry asked.
"Perhaps we should have this discussion in my office," Dumbledore suggested. Harry nodded and followed the Headmaster up to his office. Once they were seated, Harry starred at the bearded man with a raised eyebrow.
"Mr. Potter, I know that I have made many mistakes regarding your upbringing," Dumbledore began. "Mistakes that I believe that I have no hope in atoning for, I can only hope that we can turn over a new leaf and start anew. I was overseeing the OWL scores from you class and saw that all the members of the DA received EE or higher on their OWLs, most impressive. You seem to have a future in teaching if you wish to pursue it."
"Actually sir, I was hoping to have your permission to start the DA up once again," Harry asked.
"Of course Harry, I mean, Mr. Potter," Dumbledore said. "That is a splendid idea."
"Thought I want it known that I will be running the club," Harry said. "I want no outside influence on how things are done. The DA will be open to all students fourth year and up, regardless of house affinity but I do ask to reserve the right to kick people out if they are a threat to the rest of the group."
"A most wise and mature decision Mr. Potter," Dumbledore said. "I do hope that you would allow a faculty member to oversee…they wouldn't interfere with the club just be present to make sure things don't get out of hand and in case there are any injuries."
"That sounds reasonable, Professor Lupin or Professor Flitwick would be most welcome," Harry said, hiding a grin at the miniscule frown that flashed across Dumbledore's face when Harry only suggested Lupin and Flitwick.
"I will let them know and see which would be willing to do so," Dumbledore said. "Now I believe it is getting close to curfew and I'm sure that you don't want to be caught out of bounds."
"Of course not sir, good evening," Harry said, getting to his feet and leaving the office. As Harry made his way down the spiral staircase, he was glad that Dumbledore couldn't see the feral grin that had made its way onto Harry's face as he walked. 'Stupid old goat, you've just given me the perfect chance to figure out who is sick and tired of letting the older generation destroy this world. You've given me the rope that will hang you, Voldemort and the Ministry.'
A/N: Well there you have the latest chapter of 'Vengeance or Justice'. As I said with True Meaning, these two stories will be my main focus from now on. I'm hoping to update at least one of the two once every two weeks, so that means each story should be updated at least once a month. I know its a bit of time between updates but I've been working 5-6 days a week and writing time is scarce. But still, please read and review this chapter, and check out my other works. In my opinion, 'Vengeance or Justice' and 'True Meaning' are my best works as of right now.
A/N 2: Some of you might think that my stance on Dumbledore has taken a 360 after the last chapter but that's not entirely true. Honestly there are two sides of canon Dumbledore that I see; the 'Great Light Wizard', the man who can do no wrong Dumbledore, and then the manipulative Dumbledore who only cares about defeating Voldemort. The first Dumbledore is a child's view of the man, while the second is the one that many see Dumbledore after his decisions regarding Harry are laid out at his feet. I'm trying to show Dumbledore as what he is; a good man who made too many mistakes regarding Harry, a man who has been in power for too long and believes in his own image too much but still a good man at heart. Hopefully I'll show this more in coming chapters.
Enjoy
S.R.W.M.O
