Chapter 12

"I'm telling you she looked like she'd been attacked by a wild beast!" exclaimed Harry in Charms the next day. The class was busy practicing silencing charms but since only Hermione could to do the spell properly, the room was still filled with obnoxiously loud ravens and bullfrogs. You could barely hear what the person next to you was saying; hence Harry was free to talk with Ron and Hermione as loudly as he wanted.

"Bloody hell, mate. I know Umbridge is evil but why would she attack Morgan?" asked Ron.

"She didn't attack her. Morgan was fine when we were serving detention together but when we got back to the common room, her robes were torn to pieces. Her entire left sleeve was gone!"

"Blimey, was she attacked in the hallway or something?"

"I don't know. She left a few minutes before I did and she was on the stairs when I came out. I don't know if she was already all banged up when I joined her 'cause it was too dark to see."

"Hmm, don't you think it's a bit odd that she was serving detention with you to begin with?" asked Hermione, thoughtfully. "I thought McGonagall gave her detention on Saturday."

"Yeah so?"

"Well, why would McGonagall let Umbridge oversee Morgan's detention? I thought McGonagall hated that woman."

"Maybe she was busy last night," suggested Ron as he pointed his want at his raven. "Silencio."

The raven gave a defiant caw, making Ron frown. "Why doesn't this stupid spell work?"

"That's because your wand work is sloppy. You have to sort of prod it, like this. Silencio." The raven opened its beak but no sound came out. "See?"

Ron grumbled to himself as he took back his raven.

"Do you have detention tonight, Harry?" asked Hermione.

"Yeah, for the rest of this week." Harry glanced across the room to where Morgan was sitting, poking her raven and muttering the silencing charm. Evidently she wasn't having much luck with it either. "Do you know if Morgan has detention again tonight?"

Hermione shrugged. "You could ask her."

While the rest of the Gryffindors headed for Transfiguration, Harry lagged behind until Morgan was walking along side him. Ron and Hermione were a little ahead but they were close enough to hear them.

"Hey, Morgan. How are you?"

"Hello, Potter. I'm fine," she said in a dead voice.

"Er, you know, you can just call me Harry. We're friends aren't we?"

"Sure. Whatever."

"So er, I was wondering if you have detention again, tonight," asked Harry. "Just, you know, curious."

"No. I only have one night of detention."

"Oh."

Harry tried to think of a way to ask her what happened to her last night without driving her away. But before he could phrase his question, Morgan asked him, "How's your hand? Is it bleeding again?"

"Oh, it's okay. It stopped bleeding this morning but I think after tonight, the cut will open up again."

Morgan nodded. "I'll have my first aid kit ready for you when you get back."

"Er, thanks. Listen, what happened to you last night?"

"It was nothing."

Harry stepped in front of her, blocking her path. "That wasn't nothing. You looked like you were attacked."

"It doesn't concern you, Potter. Now please move." She tried to step around him but Harry cut her off.

"Look, I know I'm being nosey but as a fellow Gryffindor and as a friend I want to know how the bloody hell you got so banged up."

She glared at him so coldly, Harry had to force himself not to flinch. "It's none of your business, okay."

"Potter. Risika. Get in here or I will take off points," barked McGonagall from the door of the Transfiguration room.

"Yes, Professor," they mumbled.

Harry followed Morgan in and they sat in the only two available seats, which were behind Ron and Hermione. It was then that he realized Umbridge was sitting in the corner with her clipboard.

"This ought to be good," whispered Ron, grinning as McGonagall marched in, ignoring Umbridge.

"Today we will continue with the Vanishing spell and –"

"Hem hem."

" – we will move on to practicing with mice," continued McGonagall, ignoring Umbridge. "Potter, Risika. Since you two were dawdling in the hallway, please pass out these two boxes of mice – one for each student."

Morgan and Harry got up and took the boxes from McGonagall as she continued, "Mice are mammals, which mean they are much more complicated than the snails you have been practicing on. So –"

"Hem hem. I was wondering if you got my note stating the time and place of your inspection?"

"Obviously I did. If I had not then I would have asked why you are in my classroom," replied McGonagall coldly. "As I was saying –"

"Hem hem."

"If you want to see how I normally teach my class I suggest you stop interrupting me. You see, I do not allow others to talk while I am talking," snapped McGonagall.

Umbridge stared at her dumbly before quickly scribbling notes on her clipboard. The class exchanged gleeful looks at how McGonagall was handling Umbridge. Luckily Umbirdge remained in her corner for the rest of class while the Gryffindors practiced vanishing their mice.

Harry, who had barely vanished his snail last week, was unsuccessful with his mouse. He thought his mouse looked a little more transparent than before, otherwise his spell had no effect on it. He glanced up at Ron and Hermione to see how they were doing. Hermione had vanished her mouse on her third try while Ron was waving his wand around uselessly.

When Harry turned to see how Morgan was doing, he was surprised to see her watching Hermione intently as Hermione showed Ron how to vanish his mouse properly. She caught Harry looking and promptly returned her attention to her mouse. She studied it for a long time, seeming to be in deep thought. Finally, she pulled out her wand and muttered, "Evanesco."

Amazingly, her mouse disappeared.

"Well done, Miss Risika. You managed to vanish your mouse on your first try. Five points for Gryffindor," said McGonagall. She moved to Harry's table. "Go on, Mr. Potter."

"Er, Evanesco." Harry's heart gave a lurch as the mouse disappeared but then he realized that he could still see the outlines of it as it twitched its head side to side.

"Close Mr. Potter. Keep practicing."

By the end of class, Harry hadn't been able to improve on his vanishing spell.

"Hey, you did better than me," said Ron, holding up his wiggling mouse tail. "At least yours is somewhat not visible."

They packed up their bags and were about to leave when Harry noticed Morgan staying behind, waiting for McGonagall, who was answering some of Umbridge's questions. Harry tapped Ron on the shoulder and the three of them slowed down to eavesdrop.

"Now how long have you been teaching?" asked Umbridge.

"Thirty-nine years."

"Impressive. Well, that will be all. You will receive the results of your examination in a few weeks time."

"I can hardly wait," said McGonagall coolly. "Move along, you three. Miss Risika, a word, please."

Harry, Ron, and Hermione had no choice but to leave but before the door closed, Harry caught the beginning of McGonagall's sentence, "About last night's detention…"

"Do you reckon McGonagall found out about Umbridge and her… uh, methods?" asked Ron as the trio walked out of the castle and onto the grounds, heading for Care of Magical Creatures.

Harry shrugged. If McGonagall did find out about how Umbridge ran her detentions, then she would likely call him later. But as much as he'd like to see Umbridge get into trouble for her torturous ways, Harry felt like he would be admitting defeat to Umbridge in their private battle of wills.

"Oh no, that horrible woman is here too," said Hermione as they caught up with the rest of the Gryffindors, who were standing around Professor Grubby-Plank. Umbridge was scribbling on her clipboard as she conversed with the professor. After she finished speaking with Grubby-Plank, she moved among the students, asking questions about the class. Then she questioned Malfoy about his hippogriff injury. Luckily, Harry wasn't within earshot or else he was sure he'd lose his temper over the lies Malfoy was likely spewing.

Today they were studying forest imps. Harry and Ron were holding down the wiggling imp while Hermione sketched. The imp was restless and kept trying to get free of their grip. Its skin was dark brown and had a round belly and beady black eyes. It was about the size of Harry's forearm and the only thing remotely dangerous about it was its sharp teeth. Luckily, Professor Grubby-Plank had already gagged the imps before distributing them among the students.

By the time Umbridge excused herself from the class, Harry realized Morgan was missing. Did she skip this class to talk with McGonagall? Did McGonagall let her skip class? That would be so unlike their stern Head of House.

They ended class five minutes early and reached the Great Hall first. Harry glanced around, hoping to catch sight of Morgan at the Gryffindor table but she wasn't there.

"Relax, Harry. I'm sure she's probably still talking to McGonagall," said Hermione, loading her plate.

"Do you think she was sent to the hospital wing?" asked Harry, the memory of Morgan and her torn uniform flashed across his mind as he looked anxiously at Ron. Something horribly wrong had happened last night, he just knew it.

Ron shrugged. "You could go and check, mate."

"Maybe –"

"POTTER!" shouted Angelina, storming towards him.

Ron gulped. "Uh oh, I think she found out about your detention –"

"What is wrong with you?" yelled Angelina. "A whole week's worth of detention? Do you even care about winning the Quidditch cup this year?"

"Angelina, I –"

"Do you realize how behind we are in training as it is? The Slytherins keep booking the Quidditch field! We hardly have any time to practice and you go and land yourself in detention for a whole week again?!"

"Er, Angelina, maybe now's not the time," said Fred, coming up behind her and placing a calming hand on her shoulder.

"Yeah, McGonagall looks like she's about to kill both of you," said George on her other shoulder. He pointed in the direction of the staff table and they all flinched at the sight of McGonagall marching in their direction, her mouth gone ominously thin. They were in for it now.

"Miss Johnson! How dare you cause such a racket in the Great Hall! Five points from Gryffindor."

"But Professor, Potter's gone and landed himself in detention, AGAIN!"

"I'm well aware of that Miss Johnson, but if you continue to shout in the Great Hall like that I will take away your Captaincy. Now return to your seat."

Angelina cast Harry a disgusted glare as she moved to sit with Katie Bell and Alicia Spinnet at the end of the table.

"I reckon you should avoid Angelina for a while, Harry," said Fred. "She's getting a tad bit touchy."

"I think she can give Wood a run for his money," commented his twin. "And we thought he was obsessed…" He shook his head. The twins sat down next to their friend Lee Jordon, leaving Harry feeling guilty for letting down his teammates.

"Professor, do you know where Morgan is? She missed Care of Magical Creatures," asked Hermione and it was then that Harry realized McGonagall was still standing over them.

"She is currently in Professor Dumbledore's office and has been excused from class for the rest of the day," said McGonagall, eyeing Harry through narrow slits. "Potter, if I hear you are in detention again I will take ten points from Gryffindor for every detention you receive." And with that, she returned to her seat at the staff table.

"Well, it's not like I enjoy having my hand sliced open ever night," muttered Harry. "Does she think I want to be in detention for the rest of the year?"

"Of course she doesn't. You need to learn to control your temper. Umbridge is not a teacher to be taken lightly. Remember, she reports to the Minister of Magic, not Dumbledore," reminded Hermione. "Besides, I'm more curious about why Morgan's in Dumbledore's office."

"Yeah, I'd like a day off school," said Ron with a sigh. "Do you realize how much homework the teachers are loading us with? We've got O.W.L.s coming up, Quidditch practice every night the Quidditch pitch isn't booked, and I have prefect duties! I don't think I'll ever catch up this year."

"Skipping classes will only add to your work load, Ron," chimed Hermione.

Ron grumbled something about Hermione being a kill-joy as he stabbed his steak viciously with his knife. Harry turned to his dinner but Hermione's question kept ringing in his ear.

What was Morgan doing in Dumbledore's office?

Harry did not see Morgan for the rest of the week. He thought she would be in the common room with her first aid kit after his second detention, but she wasn't there. Hermione said she never came back to their dorm and she even asked McGonagall about Morgan. All she got from her was to focus on her own studies and not worry about Morgan.

By the end of the week, Harry's hand was bleeding profusely. He wished he had some of that orange paste Morgan had used on his hand so it would heal. Hermione had no luck reproducing it, but she did give him a bowl of murtlap essence that helped soothed his throbbing wound. It didn't heal his hand, but it had distracted him from the pain in order for him to listen to what she had to say.

"I think it's time we took Defense Against the Dark Arts into our own hands," said Hermione. "At this rate we won't be able to pass our O.W.L.s and we certainly won't be able to defend ourselves if we're attacked. We need someone to teach us how to properly use spells to fight and defend."

"What are you getting at Hermione?" asked Harry.

Hermione cast a hesitant glance at Ron who nodded in encouragement before taking a deep breath. She explained her idea of having Harry teach them Defense Against the Dark Arts since he was the only one who actually fought Voldemort. Harry could only gape at her crazy idea so Hermione took advantage of his shock and plowed on. She and Ron recounted all the things he did in the past five year – stop Voldemort from getting the Sorcerer's Stone, killing Riddle, fighting off a hundred dementors, etc.

Harry had exploded at how they were talking as if he was some clever wizard while everyone else were dunces. He tried to convince them that you only had your wits when you were out there, facing Voldemort, which was exactly Hermione's point.

She begged him to think about it and dropped the subject, mostly because she was afraid Harry would yell again. He seemed to always be angry these days, but he did give this idea some thought. As the days passed, Harry found himself lying awake at night, thinking of all the spells that had helped save his life.

Finally, one morning, Hermione brought up the subject of the secret Defense Against the Dark Arts lessons, wanting to know Harry's answer.

Harry chewed his toast and said slowly, "I suppose I could teach you two, right?"

"Er, well…" Hermione hesitated. "I was wondering if you'd be interested in teaching others. I figured we should let whoever wants to learn to have a chance, you know?"

Harry frowned. "I don't think anyone wants to learn from me. I'm an attention-seeking loon, remember?"

"You'd be surprised who wants to hear you out," replied Hermione.

"I think you'll be great," said Ron encouragingly.

"Ron and I will spread the word. There are a few people I'm sure who would be interested."

Harry nodded.

It was Friday night and lucky for them, tomorrow was the first Hogsmeade weekend of the year. Hermione was sitting in an armchair by the fireplace knitting socks when Harry and Ron came in. Ron had just finished Quidditch practice and Harry just finished his last detention with Umbridge.

Hermione smiled as they took their usual seats. It was late and the common room was deserted. She handed Harry a bowl of murtlap essence for his hand and soon they were all situated in comfortable, squishy armchairs.

"Well, I've finished spreading the word. I told everyone to meet us in Hogsmeade tomorrow," said Hermione.

"Excellent," said Ron.

"How many people did you tell?" asked Harry.

"Oh, a few…" Somehow, Harry had a feeling Hermione's idea of a 'few' was drastically different from Harry's.

"Hermione, you do realize that if Umbridge catches wind of this, we could get into a lot of trouble – actually, most likely expelled," said Harry.

"Well, I think there's no point being here at Hogwarts if we aren't learning how to use magic properly, and that includes defending ourselves," replied Hermione.

"Okay, who are you and what have you done with Hermione Granger," asked Ron, wide eye. "You sound a little too excited to be breaking school rules."

Hermione chuckled. "I think I've hit the rebellious age."

Ron and Harry laughed.

Just then the portrait swung open and Morgan climbed in. The three of them stared at her in surprise. She looked exhausted and deathly pale. She muttered a low greeting and headed for the staircase. She stumbled and leaned heavily on a nearby armchair for support.

The three of them leaped to their feet and rushed over to her. She looked like she was about to keel over any second.

"What happened to you?"

"Where did you go?"

"Are you okay?"

Up close, Harry noticed the deep bags under her eyes. She looked like she hadn't slept at all. Her eyes were dull and glazed as they barely registered them. Her weariness was practically tangible.

Morgan waved them off as she tried to right herself. But just then her vision decided to do a three-sixty on her and she collapsed into the chair. Her body weighed a ton and she no longer had the energy to move her limbs. All she wanted to do was lie here and sleep. If only those three mortals would shut up and leave her alone…

"Should we call Professor McGonagall?" asked Ron with concern.

"Forget Professor McGonagall, we need to get her to the Hospital Wing!" said Hermione anxiously. "Harry help me lift her."

"Stop! Stop! Stop!" Morgan stumbled away from them. Crazy mortals… "I'm fine. I don't need to go to the hospital wing, okay? I'm fine… just tired."

"You don't look fine," said Ron.

"Just tired," she mumbled and sat down on a nearby couch and leaned her head back. She took a deep breath and rubbed her eyes, feeling the stress of the week seep out of her. So tired…

"Where have you been all week?" asked Hermione. "You missed a lot of school work."

"It's okay. Dumbledore sent me the work I missed," lied Morgan. Like hell she was caught up. Her pile of workload just increased ten folds. Before they could ask again, she added, "I went back home. My guardian was ill." That was another lie but obviously Morgan couldn't tell them that she had been continuing her training under Isis' grueling instructions. That woman could be evil at times.

Just thinking about the stuff Isis put her through made Morgan groan. To graduate from the School, Sorcery were required to master the basics of all seven elements – fire, water, wind, earth, thunder, light, and darkness. Once a Sorcery learns the basics, he or she would then proceed to completely master one of the seven elements – which one depended on the clan he or she belonged to. Morgan belonged to the darkness clan. Their powers reside over shadows and minds. A popular rumor in the School was that the Master of the darkness clan could talk with spirits and the dead. No one had ever been able to prove that rumor true but neither could anyone prove it false.

Of course, Morgan had thought that was what she was going to learn when Isis summoned her home last week. But it turns out her Mistress had other plans for her. As a graduate and Isis' own personal heir, Morgan found herself in over her head with studying. Isis explained that to better Morgan's chance of surviving as long as Isis did, Morgan needed to completely master all seven elements. This was a requirement for all clan leaders; in case one of them died without an heir, there were six others who could take his or her place temporarily.

Isis had lost no time and set her to work immediately on mastering light. She explained that light magic was nearly the opposite of darkness but it was also their sister. Isis guided Morgan through the intermediate light spells – which took up the majority of the week to learn. Light magic leaned heavily in the illusion and seals but also involved casting spells using life as its source of power. Morgan discovered that the origins of the rumor she'd heard at the School came from the combination of the elements light and darkness, which allows Sorcery to communicate with the dead and see the souls of the living. Once Morgan had some-what gotten the jest of light magic, Isis sent her back to Hogwarts with an extra assignment – learning fire magic.

If Voldemort doesn't kill me, all this studying definitely will.

Morgan sighed and looked up to see Ron, Hermione, and Harry still staring at her. "What?"

Ron sat back in his chair and nodded. "Yup, she's gone mental. Let's get her to the hospital wing."

Hermione and Harry nodded.

"I have not gone mental!" exclaimed Morgan.

"Then why were you all sighing and groaning and muttering to yourself?"

"Because I had a long week, okay?" snapped Morgan.

"How's your guardian?" asked Hermione. "Is she okay?"

"She's fine now. She's really old so she's not as healthy as she used to be." Yeah right, Isis is just as fit as she was two hundred years ago. The only thing that's changed is her grouchiness.

"So how come you live with your guardian?" asked Harry. "What happened to your parents?"

Morgan crossed her arms and frowned at his question. It had been a long time since she thought about her parents. To tell the truth, she barely remembered them. She could only remember what it felt like to hug her father and what her mother smelled like – jasmine and winter air. It was a weird combination, but fresh snow and a cup of jasmine tea were the closest Morgan ever got in replicating that scent. But regardless, it still soothed her.

She had been only three years old when her parents were killed. They were the only family of Sorcery that lived outsides of the artificial world their people hid in. Redia had tracked them down and murdered them in cold blood. Isis said her mother had hidden Morgan away, which was the only reason she had survived. Isis was a close friend of Morgan's mother, so guardianship naturally fell to her. From that day on, Morgan lived at the School, learning Sorcery and staying under Isis' constant protection. And whenever they were alone together – like last week's training session – they would never speak of Morgan's mother.

"It's not good to dwell on the past," Isis once said. "You forget to live in the present and you lose sight of the future."

So Morgan pushed her parents into the farthest corner of her mind, refusing to think and wonder what life would have been like if they were still alive. Luckily, she wasn't constantly reminded since Matthew and Laris both lost their parents at a young age. Morgan supposed that was one of the reasons the three of them got along so well. Though the other two had other living relatives, they lived in different clans so communication was limited. The School was their home and they were each other's new family.

Returning to the present, Morgan answered Harry, "My parents are dead. I was raised by my guardian."

"I'm sorry." She knew that her past was similar to Harry's – in more ways than one – so she knew he was genuinely sorry.

"It's all right. Don't be."

The mood was heavy in the room. Luckily, Hermione changed the topic to something lighter.

"You know you came back just in time for the trip to Hogsmeade," she said. "Since you've probably never been there, how about we show you around tomorrow? We're also going to meet a couple of friends later."

Morgan shrugged. "Sure but I don't want to be a burden. If you're meeting others than I –"

"Nonsense, come along. Besides, we're meeting for reasons that I think you would like to be in on," said Hermione. "You see, we're thinking of putting together a Defense Against the Dark Arts class of our own – one where we actually learn how to do the spells we're studying, not the rubbish Umbridge is making us do, and I was wondering if you would be interested in joining."

"Um… sure. But who's going to teach it?" asked Morgan.

"Harry is," said Ron, indicating with his head in Harry's direction.

Harry scratched his head, slightly embarrassed as Morgan gaped with surprise. But she supposed she should have seen that coming. He'd been getting himself into trouble with that horrible woman for the first two weeks. Naturally he'd be involved with this little rebellion.

Morgan sensed Harry was nervous about the whole thing so she tried to reassure him. "Well, I don't see anything wrong with that. I mean, you can't be worse than Umbridge right?"

Harry smiled weakly. "Right."

"All right, then it's settled. We'll all meet up in the Great Hall and go to Hogsmeade together," said Hermione cheerfully.

Everyone nodded and Morgan followed Hermione back up the staircase to their room where Morgan gratefully climbed into bed and was asleep in seconds.