Standard Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story; they all belong to JK Rowlings. This is a work of fan fiction, produced solely for enjoyment. No infringement of rights is intended.

– CHAPTER NINETEEN –

Moody Thursdays

Ron, it transpired had moved into one of the other common rooms. Using inter-House relations as an excuse, he had gone to Professor Flitwick, asking to sleep in what had been Hufflepuff's dormitories. All the teachers had been very impressed with his idea, and Professor McGonagall had announced the following evening that anyone could move to other dormitories if they so wished.

Although most people were reticent to move away from those they had slept with since arriving at Hogwarts, there was quite a lot of moving among the First and Second Years. From the upper years, only Luna moved, to go and sleep in Ginny's dormitory, much to the other girls' displeasure and two of them moved away within a few days. Ginny was so incensed by the tactless act, that she jinxed both girls the following day after a lesson.

Harry continued to see Ron during classes, but Ron sat with Terry Boot, and refused to look at either Harry or Hermione, always sitting near the front. Every time Harry tried to approach him, he turned and walked away, or started a conversation with whoever was near him. It looked like their friendship might be irreparable, and Harry and Hermione quickly gave up trying to talk to him, instead spending hours in the library working or researching artefacts belonging to Rowena Ravenclaw or Godric Gryffindor which might have survived until the present day.

If not in the Library with Hermione, Harry could often be found spending time with Ginny. He didn't tell her the reason for his and Ron's break-up, although she had harassed him about it ever since breakfast on the second day of lessons, when Ron had sat as far away from them as possible. Harry wasn't talking to Ron at the moment, but he knew what Ginny's reaction would be if she found out the reason, and didn't want to put Ron through one of her tirades. Instead, they spent a lot time walking around the lake, or sneaking into the Room of Requirement after curfew, during which time Harry practised some of the spells he'd learnt over the summer with her.

As much as he loved the time he spent with Ginny, and he constantly regretted having taken so long to notice her, Harry felt guilty about not having told Ron about their renewed relationship the moment they'd broken away from their kiss. It prayed on his mind that Ron didn't want them to be together, and it made him uncomfortable, knowing he may have lost his best friend over a matter of indiscretion. Unfortunately, there were other, far more important things on his mind at the same time, and he was never able to pluck up the courage to confront Ron about his renewed relationship with Ginny.

Ever since Moody had mentioned extra Defence practice, Harry had become impatient to start his training, and after their first Defence against the Dark Arts lesson, during which Moody insisted on putting everyone through a rigorous test on their Shield Charm, Harry stayed behind. Hermione stood uncertainly at the back of the classroom, but Ron strode out, not even looking at them as he left. As Harry approached the front of the class, Moody looked up from his notes,

'Ah Harry, I see you haven't forgotten our little arrangement then?' Harry smiled nervously.

'No Sir, I haven't forgotten. I would be very grateful for any time you would be willing to spend with me.' Moody smiled appreciatively.

'Right then, in that case, how about you meet me back here at eight o'clock tomorrow evening? I'm sure this room will be big enough for us.' Harry nodded, and was about to turn away, when he remembered something.

'Actually Sir,' Harry hesitated, 'there's another room which would probably be far more useful.' Moody looked at him questioningly so he pressed on. 'It's called the Room of Requirement; it equips itself for your needs. It's where the DA practised.' A smile of recognition spread across Moody's lips, although on him it looked more like a grimace.

'Ah yes,' he said smiling in recollection, 'Dumbledore mentioned it some time ago, opposite that tapestry of Barnaby the Barmy wasn't it?' Harry's stomach lurched at the mention of Dumbledore, and suddenly, he remembered that Malfoy had been using the Room of Requirement to fix the Vanishing Cabinet throughout last year. Anger flared up inside him and he clenched his fists, fighting to control his emotions, but Moody was looking down at his notes again and didn't notice anything.

'Barnabas the Barmy Sir,' he answered haltingly, 'but yes, opposite his tapestry on the Seventh Floor, we could ask it to supply all kinds of things. When the DA used it, it provided books on defence, dark detectors, and cushions for stunning.' Moody looked thoughtful.

'Hmm, yes, that sounds like the ideal place to practise, why don't you take me there tomorrow? Come by my office at eight, and we'll go together.' Harry nodded, and swinging his bag back onto his shoulder, turned back towards the classroom door. He had hardly taken three steps when Moody called after him. 'By the way, Potter, when are you starting the DA up again?' Harry turned back to him and frowned.

'I don't know yet, most of the original members aren't here anymore, I don't know how many people will want to join.'

'Well why don't you put up a few posters telling people where and when to go for the first meeting? That way you'll know straight away how many people want to join; I'm sure you'll be pleasantly surprised.' Harry smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. He turned back towards Hermione and they left in an uncomfortable silence.

They'd barely made it to the end of the corridor when Hermione started pestering him about what he should teach the DA this year, listing all the useful spells they'd learnt over the summer, but Harry wasn't listening. Instead, he threw his hands up in frustration,

'Honestly Hermione, Moody's just asked me when I'm going to start it up again. How in Merlin's name do you expect me to already have a teaching plan for the whole year? I barely planned more than a few sessions in advance in the first place!' Hermione huffed and pushing passed a small group of First Years, hurried off towards the Great Hall, leaving Harry trailing in her wake.

Harry shook his head at her retreating back, wondering if things would ever be the same again for Ron, Hermione and him. He knew that she was upset at Ron's behaviour, and he didn't mind spending time with her in the Library, but try as he might, he could not stand it when she felt the urge to start reaming off what she thought he needed to do. It just wasn't in his nature to let himself be told what to do; surely she knew that by now?

As he made his way to the Great Hall for dinner, he thought about his upcoming lessons with Moody; he realised that he'd never actually been taught how to duel properly. He'd been taught a few spells, and had learnt a few by himself, but he'd never been taught how to use them. He hoped Moody would be willing to show him or Harry may end up looking like him; or worse.

He gulped, but his sombre mood was lightened as he turned into the Great Hall, and saw Ginny sitting next to Hermione, talking animatedly. He just couldn't believe the effect that she had on him these days. All he had to do now was think about her, and however miserable he was feeling, and he had a lot to feel miserable about, he would feel lightened, as if she could share the pressure weighing down on him without even realising it.

As he approached the girls, Hermione saw him and fell silent and scowling, turned to talk to Neville. Harry sighed, and sitting down next to Ginny, squeezed her small hand gently.

'Hi,' he whispered, leaning into her ear, 'how are you?'

'I'm fine thanks Harry; Hermione said that Moody's going to be giving you extra lessons, is it true?' Harry nodded. 'Wow, I wonder what he'll teach you.' She wondered aloud. 'I mean, he's a legend at the Ministry. He must know loads of complex spells; you'll probably be able to learn loads from him.'

While Ginny mused over the new turn in Harry's life, Harry was trying to look at Hermione surreptitiously, wondering why she was so angry with him. It wasn't like he'd something terrible was it? After all, he didn't ignore her every time she snapped at him over homework, but he felt that there was something missing this time. Breaking Ginny out of her reverie, he whispered in her ear.

'Ginny, why is Hermione angry? She's ignoring me, and all I said was that she should give me a bit of time to plan the DA meetings before she tried to tell me what to teach them. I don't even know who I'm going to be teaching yet. I might have to go over everything we did last time with them.' Ginny looked at him with pity.

'Harry, it's not you're fault. Hermione's just really upset about Ron at the moment; anything is likely to annoy her now. Why aren't you talking to him anyway?' Harry shrugged and started filling his plate.

Ginny looked shrewdly at him for a few moments, but realising that he wasn't going to tell her, she turned back to her food. After the meal, Hermione hurried off without talking to Harry, but Harry wasn't going to give up as quickly as she expected. Giving Hermione a small head-start, Harry squeezed Ginny's hand and raced after her, knowing already where to find her. Catching up with her just before the Library, he grabbed her hand and pulled her into an alcove.

'Hermione wait, what's going on? Why are we suddenly not talking? Don't tell me that mouthing you off, sorry for that by the way,' he added quickly when she glared at him, 'is what's bothering you. We've said much worse to each other in the past, and you've never reacted like this before.' His face softened as he continued. 'I've already lost Ron because of my stupidity; I don't want to lose you too.' His voice cracked, and he looked down at his hands, not knowing what else to say.

Hermione looked at him in astonishment; truly, this was a reformed Harry. Never had he opened up as much as he had this summer, 'This must be Ginny's influence, I've never seen him like this before' she thought. Sighing, she pulled him into a gentle hug,

'You're not going to lose me Harry;' she whispered gently, 'we're still friends, I just –' she faltered, 'I just miss Ron.' Harry nodded,

'I know, I miss him too, but I don't exactly blame him. I should have told him straight away, like Ginny did with you.' He looked up at her for confirmation, and she shrugged.

'Yeah, she told me when we went up to pack my trunk.' Harry signed.

'I'm just worried that he'll never talk to us again, I mean, this is much worse than in Fourth Year, at least then he was just jealous.' Hermione held him closer.

'Don't worry Harry; he'll come around, just give him time. In the meantime,' she added, her voice turning serious, 'we should keep looking for possible artefacts, there's a whole section of the Library that we haven't looked in yet.' Harry didn't point out that they'd only been looking for two days, and that most of the Library had yet to be covered. Instead, he nodded dully and let her lead them into yet another section of the Library.

The next day, Harry spent most of the day eagerly awaiting his lesson with Moody, and he could barely sit still throughout Potions, much to Hermione's displeasure. In fact, he was so distracted; he mixed up all of the ingredients, even with her help, and when Slughorn ambled over to review his work, he took one shocked look at the contents of Harry's cauldron and backed away quickly.

'Harry m'boy, what in Merlin's name do you have there?' He asked, pulling out his wand. 'Because whatever it is, it most certainly isn't Veritaserum!' He waved his wand at the cauldron, and the thick, murky brown liquid vanished. Zabini smirked, but Harry didn't look the least bit put out.

'Sorry Sir, I'm feeling a bit sick this morning, I had a Peppermint Toad last night and it's not sitting very still.' He rubbed his stomach for added emphasis, but Neville looked at him incredulously. He didn't remember Harry eating any Peppermint Toads before going to bed, but Harry winked at him and he relaxed. Slughorn laughed, and turning to Hermione's cauldron, added.

'Very well, but keep that in mind next time you buy anything from Honeydukes!' Harry grinned sheepishly but didn't reply. Zabini looked livid that Harry had managed to get away with such a poor potion, his had been considerably better than Harry's, and he'd been told to write a length of parchment on the processes required to produce Veritaserum, from start to finish.

He spent the rest of the lesson throwing filthy looks in Harry's direction, but Harry didn't notice, as he was counting the minutes until his session with Moody. At the end of the lesson he rushed off to lunch excitedly, not considering that eight o'clock wouldn't come any faster if he ate sooner. Hermione barely kept up with him, and in a disgruntled voice told him to slow down or she wouldn't help him with any more of his homework.

Although this didn't have the desired effect, it did give Hermione enough time to catch up with him while he stopped and thought about it, before he rushed off again almost immediately, leaving Hermione trailing behind. When she arrived at the table, he was already wolfing down his food, and she couldn't suppress a grin, thinking about how similar his eaten habits were to Ron's.

After lunch though, Hermione put her foot down and insisted that they go back to the Library until Sparring at three thirty. Harry tried to wiggle out of it by saying he wanted to spend some time with Ginny, but was stopped in his tracks when she said she had Herbology. Slightly annoyed, Harry trundled up the staircases behind Hermione, muttering something about her trying to ruin his day. She smiled at his antics, but didn't hesitate to drag him to yet another area of the Library they needed to look through.

At three thirty, they ran down to the lakeshore, to find that the class was just starting, and they hurried to join in the warm up exercises. Unfortunately, being the two best duellers, Savage paired Harry and Ron up, and although Harry kept to defensive moves as they'd been instructed, Ron wasted no time in trying to beat Harry to a pulp. Savage eventually stopped them when Ron managed to break Harry's nose, and after sending Harry up to Madam Pomfrey, gave Ron a detention.

Harry thought that he'd deserved all the punishment Ron gave him and didn't make a fuss about it; after all, Madam Pomfrey would fix his nose is a second, and if this helped Ron vent some of his anger at Harry, he was glad to act as a punch bag for a few weeks. Hermione on the other hand, was furious, and as she accompanied Harry up to the hospital wing, she didn't stop cursing Ron and his fiery temper.

At ten to eight, Harry hurried down the second floor corridor to Moody's classroom and was about to knock, when Moody opened the door, grinning.

'Saw you coming.' He growled good-naturedly, pointing at his magical eye.

'Right then Potter, lead the way!' Harry eagerly obliged, and in next to no time they were standing opposite the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy, and Harry was pacing backwards and forwards, muttering,

'I need a room where Moody can teach me how to duel and fight in realistic situations … something like what we had for the DA would be nice … a few books that I could use too …'

'Impressive Potter, I wish I'd known about this room when I was here. Could have come in handy don't you think?' He winked at Harry and opened the highly polished door which had just appeared out of nowhere.

Stepping inside behind Moody, Harry gasped at the dramatic changes the room had made; it was huge. Along one wall was a bookshelf with a few books on fighting the Dark Arts, and what looked like Auror training books. Against the other wall, there was a table covered in dark detectors, and on the floor were a few weights and fitness mats. At the back of the room stood a number of human shaped targets, and Harry thought he could make out wands in their hands -

'Right then,' Moody said, turning to face Harry, 'we won't start with anything rigorous today. I just want to get an idea of your knowledge of spells, your wand work, and your fighting style.' Harry nodded in understanding. 'Right,' Moody suddenly barked, making Harry jump, 'where's your wand?'

Harry flicked his wrist and his wand jumped out of his holster. 'Very good, I'll have none of that wand in the back pocket nonsense if I'm to train you.' Harry grinned slightly, remembering when Moody had warned him about losing a buttock.

'Now show me what stance you'd take if I were to challenge you to a duel.' Harry straightened his back, stretching to his full height, and facing Moody, pointed his wand at his heart. Moody grinned, and suddenly shot a Stunner at Harry, catching him completely off guard. He slumped to the floor, but Moody immediately revived him and helped him up.

'Constant Vigilance, Potter! How many times will I have to repeat it before you understand? I could have been a polyjuiced Death Eater like that scum a few years ago, and you just gave me an easy target. You must always be on your guard, and in a fight, never present so much of your body as a target. Stand like this,' he turned to face Harry side on, 'and crouch a bit. Always keep your knees bent, ready to jump out of the way of an Unforgivable. I want you to practise walking around with your legs bent and getting used to it, because it's tiring, and you'll need to build up some stamina to be able to do you for hours.' Harry nodded uncertainly, his enthusiasm for the session was rapidly diminishing, but he realised that he was learning invaluable advice which might help him survive the next few months and years.

Moody then tested out Harry's spell work, asking him to perform some of the spells he'd learnt over the summer. Harry showed him how he had bound a Death Eater in iron hoops, and he Banished Moody onto the top of the bookshelf, much to Moody's amusement.

'Those are some very impressive, and I must say, rather amusing, spells Harry.' Moody said, grinning, after they tried out a few more of the older spells. 'Now, I saw your Shield Charm yesterday, and I must say it was very impressive,' Harry grinned at the compliment, 'but I want to test it against something else than I can teach in class. Wand up!' Harry lifted his wand, and the instant Moody lifted his, he bellowed 'Protego!'. He didn't hear the incantation, but he saw the purple beam of light shooting towards him and stood his ground. Moody wanted to test the limits of his Shield; he wasn't about to sent something lethal at Harry – he hoped.

Thankfully, his Shield held, just, and the spell vanished. Harry's Shield was wavering, and the spell hadn't bounced back onto Moody, but neither had it penetrated Harry's defences. Shaking a bit, he cancelled his Shield and sat down.

'Very good Potter, I'm surprised you managed to stop that, usually no one less experienced than an Auror can deflect that curse with a simple Protego Charm.' Harry looked up questioningly.

'Are there other shield charms that are more effective?' He asked. Moody nodded, but Harry was flummoxed. 'Then why don't they teach them to us instead of Protego?'

'Because they are very complex spells, and much harder to conjure and hold up than Protego.' Harry concentrated on a distant memory.

'Hold on, is there one that looks like a silver solid shield?' Moody nodded enthusiastically, asking him how he knew. 'I saw Voldemort conjure it in the Department of Mysteries.' Harry answered quietly. Moody scowled, and pulled Harry to his feet.

'There's nothing you can do for them now Harry, they wouldn't want you to wallow in misery and guilt now would they? You need to be strong, for them, and for yourself. Voldemort won't wait until you stop grieving to attack you, you need to put it behind you and focus on the task ahead. You can grieve after you've beaten that piece of filth, but right now, if you stop and start thinking about them, you won't be able to stop.' Harry nodded shakily, and taking a deep breath, stood up again.

'Very good, now I think we should stop here for the time being, you're worn out, and I don't want to push you, well not too much anyway.' Harry smiled weakly, and walking towards the door, called over his shoulder.

'Thanks for the session Professor, see you tomorrow.' He opened the door and walked back to his room, not waiting for a reply from Moody, too physically and emotionally worn out to think straight.

He found Ginny and Hermione in the Common Room waiting for him, but he didn't feel like recounting his evening, and told them he'd tell them about it in the morning. After giving Ginny a quick peck on the cheek, he climbed the flight of steps and reaching his room, collapsed on his bed, too tired to change into his pyjamas. Neville looked up, concerned for his friend, and asked him is he was feeling alright, but Harry only snored lightly in response. Smiling to himself, Neville climbed into bed, and flicking his wand, extinguished the candles, before falling asleep himself.

Nancy L. - This is not the end of this fanfic, far from it, but I'm at University at the moment, and therefore can't dedicate as much timeasI'd like to it. At the moment the chapters are about a third the length of canon chapters, and I hope to write a book length fanfic, so I'm barely a third way into the story. Remember, this fanfic's not even 2 months old, and I didn't prepare it at all before posting, it just popped into my head while I was reading someone else's story, so give me a little time. Don't worry, I'm not leaving you 'hi and dry', but the last few weeks have been incredibly hectic (thanks to a bunch of courseworks and tests). Tomorrow I have the day off, so I hope to add a chapter or two, until then, you'll just have to be patient!