Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of he characters.

Chapter 13

Hermione walked down the staircase, making her way back to the Great Hall. As she was walking, she spotted Pansy Parkinson, the last person she wanted to see.

"Mudblood," Parkinson snarled.

"Parkinson, do you think it's wise to call me names when I'm Head Girl?"

Parkinson stuck her pig nose up in the air and walked up the stairs past Hermione. As Pansy was walking past her, Hermione noticed something.

Pansy face was incredibly green and she looked very tired. As Pansy was almost up he stairs, she tumbled and fell to her knees. Hermione chuckle at first, but soon stopped when Parkinson stayed on the floor, breathing heavily, as if she was out of breath.

Hermione ran up the stairs to help her.

"Parkinson, are you alright?" she asked and putting her hand out for Pansy to take, but instead, she slapped it out of her way.

"I don't need your help." She hissed at her and got up. She gave one more glare at Hermione and then walked away.

"I can't believe her!" Hermione thought to herself.

"That's the last time I try to help her, the little pig." With that, Hermione continued her way towards the Great Hall.

She noticed that it was more crowed in the Great Hall than earlier.

"Hermione, what took ya so long?" Harry asked when she approached them.

"I get a little... err... sidetracked. "Hermione replied. Everyone gave her a puzzling look, but they didn't ask any more questions.

Ron passed Hermione a piece of paper. It was her schedule. "We have double Defense Against the Dark Arts first today." Hermione said, looking at schedule.

"Yeah and guess with who?" Harry said grimly.

Hermione looked at it again. "Slytherin?"

"Yep. Over an hour of hell with those gits." Harry said through gritted teeth.

"That's not all, we also have that new dueling class with them as well." Neville added.

Harry, Ron and Neville sighed. Hermione didn't notice this because she saw Draco come in the Great Hall in the corner of her eye.

Good. He finally listened to me.

Draco looked in her direction but he quickly whipped his head back around to face in front of him.

I wander what's up with him.

She put her attention to her plate and started eating the food on it, tuning in and out the conversation Harry, Ron, Ginny and Neville were having.

The first bell of the school year rung and the five teenagers got up, as did the other students around them. "Well I guess there is a bright side to all this," Ron started.

"Really? What?" Neville asked.

"We get to spend double DADA with that hot teacher Professor Rielly."

The three boys grinned, while Hermione and Ginny rolled their eyes.

"What ever. Anyways, I gotta go." Ginny said. "And Hermione, make sure my brother doesn't do anything dumb, like asking the teacher out to the Yule ball. Like he did with Fleur."

Those were her finally words before she left.

Hermione, Harry and Neville started snickering.

Ron went red by the ears.

"Shut up you guys. That was almost three years ago, and she was a veela, I couldn't help it. It's not like Professor Rielly is one, right Hermione?"

Hermione didn't say anything but walked away with a smile on her face.

"Hermione is she?"

Hermione, Harry and Neville left Ron standing there with no answer. He finally ran to catch up with them, but not before muttering, "Women. They know one thing about you and they use it was a weapon. It's so great to be back at Hogwarts." Harry heard him and started laughing.


They reached the classroom and Harry Ron sat in the front row. Hermione and Neville sat right behind them. There was much chatter, even after the bell rang for class to begin.

"I wonder where she is?" Ron said after he and Harry turned around to face Hermione and Neville.

Draco was sitting on one of the desks with his feet on the chair. He was talking to Pansy. He seemed very upset.

"Good morning class."

Some of the students jumped at the sound of the voice. Everyone looked at where the voice was coming from. It came from Rielly. She was wearing a navy blue robe with a lighter,transparentblue fabric over it. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail. She was sitting on the balcony ledge leading to her office, her legs crossed and dangling off the edge.

Everyone quickly took a seat and looked at her. People where surprised that no one seen her coming.

"Allow me to introduce myself. As you may know, my name is Professor Rielly. I will be teaching you for this school year. Now I know that you guys are suppose to be studying for your N.E.W.T.'s, but how about we have a little fun?"

There were murmurs of agreement throughout the classroom.

"Now there still will be some learning," There was a moan from the class. Rielly smiled. "It's quite simple. I am doing this with all my classes so if a first year can do it, I'm sure you guys can."

Rielly dug in her pocket. Everyone sat silent, waiting for the revealing of what was in her pocket.

When she took her hand out her pocket, it was in a tight fist, obviously wrapped around something. She slowly unwrapped her fingers around the object. Some people had to move closer, amazed at the sight of it.

In her hand was a pyramid-shaped crystal. There was a glow of blue in the center of it, much like blue fire trapped in the center, its flames licking the crystal. The action of the blue glow was sending faint rays of light throughout the room.

It was hovering above Rielly's hand, spinning slowly as if on a gyratory display counter.

"Can anyone tell me what this is?"

Everyone sat silently. No one knew what it was. Even Hermione had to take her time to think about it. Finally Hermione raised her hand, not sure that her answer was right, but was willing to try.

"Yes Miss Granger?"

"I believe they're called Crystlidoids."

Rielly nodded. "Yes that is correct."

There were murmurs from the students. "Wow. It's so pretty." Lavender said to Pavarti as she nodded in agreement.

"Yes they are very beautiful, and very rare." Rielly started, trying to catch everyone attention. When all was silent, Rielly continued.

"Luckily, Professor Hagrid was kind enough to lend them to me. They have many purposes, but unfortunately, he has asked me not to tell you for you will be learning about them in the near future."

Rielly uncrossed her legs and jumped off the ledge and landed on the ground with much grace. Everyone looked at her with awe, especially the boys.

"Now here's how the game goes, believe it or not, Crystlidoids are actually fairies. They're the little glow inside the crystal and they're wicked fast to catch. So we're going to have a little contest. I'm going to have two people, one Gryffindor, one Slytherin, and you will try to catch the Crstlidoid. You may use any method you wish. It matters little to me."

Ron turned to Harry. "This'll be easy for you. You're a seeker." He whispered.

Harry grinned. "I guess you're right."

Rielly continued. "Now the only catch is that I'm only giving you the amount of two minutes to retrieve the crystlidoid and also you can not use any method that would kill them. You'll go one at a time and who ever catches them the fastest and under time limit, I'll give that house 10 house points. Now I'm pretty sure that I told you everything so let's move these desk so we can have some room."

Everyone got up and pushed the desks to the side of the class. In a few seconds the middle of the room was cleared.

"Alright, I will put you in pairs. I will give you a number and I want you to remember it."

She walked around the room whispering numbers in the their ears. When she was done, she walked back to the front of the class.

"Alright number one, please step forward to me."

Surprisingly, Harry and Draco stepped towards her. They were against each other!

Harry looked at Draco with such hatred, it seemed a wave of apprehension filled the room and everyone sensed it.

"Who wishes to go first?" Rielly asked as if she hadn't notice the look.

"I'll let Potter go first."

"Do you wish to go first, Mr. Potter?"

Harry was still glaring at Draco but turned to look at Rielly. "Yes. That's fine with me."

"Alright Mr. Potter. Please stand in the center of the class."

He worked his way in the middle and turned to face Rielly.

She raised her hand with the crystlidoid in it and sent it flying down to the ground. Everyone gasped at her action. Rielly chuckled. "Relax. The fairy is fine. All I did was break it's barrier."

"Yes but why is it glowing red like that?" Lavender asked in a slightly startled voice. It was true. The crystal surrounding it shattered and the blue inside, was now a fiery red. It was like a ball of fire.

"Don't be alarmed. This is just how they try to scare off predators, by making them think that they are a ball of fire. Actually, they can't burn you and they are extremely sensitive to touch. They will create a new crystal and lock themselves inside it, when touched."

She bent down and slowly cupped her hand under the ball of fire, to pick it up. "Wait till you feel it forming a crystal under your hand." She looked at Harry. "Are you ready?"

He nodded.

"BEGIN!"


The bell rung and everyone started putting their books in their bag to go to the next class. As Hermione was putting her bags in her bag, she heard Rielly talk to her telepathically.

Hermione, come see me at my desk.

Hermione turned to Harry and Ron, who were talking about the class.

"That was a wicked catch you did, mate." Ron said with much excitement. Harry smiled, but something about his smile didn't seem all too happy.

"Hey you guys, I'll meet up with you guys later. I have to talk to Rielly." Hermione told them.

"Alright we'll see you in Transfiguration." Harry said, and then he and Ron left out the door.

Hermione waited till everyone had left the class before going up to Rielly.

"You wanted to see me?" Hermione asked.

"Yes I did. Now Hermione, I know that the news of your new-found powers was quite overwhelming,"

No kidding. Hermione thought to herself.

"But this powers are quite useful and at times fun to have." Rielly gave a warming smile. Hermione gave a perplexed look.

"I'm sorry Hermione. I'm just wonder why Dumbledore has assigned you to Head Girl?"

Hermione felt insulted slightly. Did Rielly think that she wasn't cut out for the job?

"What d'you mean?" Hermione asked.

"Oh no, Hermione don't take it that way. I was just referring to your busy schedule. That's all. Although you tapped into your powers, you still have to learn how to control them and learn the rules. That's why we'll have to meet every weekday, thirty minutes before breakfast is open. That's okay with you?"

"What? No one every told me I had to learn how to control my powers."

If you don't then you'll just start to burst out your powers. You might even use the wrong power and can hurt someone and we don't want that to happen."

Hermione thought about this. "Alright. I'll do this." Hermione told her, and Rielly smiled.

"I knew you would understand. Now I'll give you a late pass, just incase you're late."

Rielly wrote her a pass and she was off to her next class. The next two classes, which were Transfiguration and Potion, where the dullest imaginable. All McGonagall and Snape do was talk about 'how important to N.E.W.T.'s' or 'this will be your most important year' and other loads of crap. Everyone was happy that the lunch bell rung.

Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny sat together.

I still can't get over that catch you guys made!" Ron said and then stuffed his face with food.

It was true. The catches both Hermione and Harry made were quite astonishing. Harry caught the Crystlidoid thirty seconds before the time limit. Hermione on the other hand used a different tactic. Hermione ended up being last and partnered with Pansy. Pansy went first and, as Hermione thought, never caught the Crystlidoid.

"Ginny you should've been there." Ron said after swallowing all that food.

"Ron, really it was nothing. I knew I couldn't catch that thing, so I used a simple imoblious spell. No big deal." Hermione told him, turning a bit red after the admiring comment. Then she looked at Harry.

"Harry, are you alright?"

Harry had an intense look on his face, as if thinking of something.

"Yeah, I fine. But haven't you notice something differently about Malfoy?"

Hermione's heart skipped a beat. "No. What's so different about him?" Ginny asked, urging Harry to go on.

"Everything. I mean, the way he talks, the way he acts, his attitude towards us. Even in DADA. Honesty, who would expect him to actually catch the Crystlidoid? He has no skill whatsoever."

"Yeah but you still beat him. Doesn't that mean you're still better than him?" Ron asked.

Harry sighed. "He caught it two seconds after me. That's not a big difference."

"He probably started pra-" Ginny never finished her sentence.

"Ginny?" Hermione called her. Ginny was looking at something. They all realized what she was staring at when they turned their head to see.

"Wow." Was all Hermione could say.

Standing in front of the Great Hall doors, was a boy. He was about the same height as Draco. He had auburn colored hair that went well with his tanned skin and muscular body. He had sharp, piercing, amber eyes and Hermione could've sworn he looked at her. He had on the Gryffindor robes and his shirt was unbuttoned at the top, showing just a hint of his chest. He also had his tie untied and hanging from his neck, much like what Ron does with his. His looks probably surpassed Cedric Diggory.

Put a little smirk on his face and then sat down at the Gryffindor table.

"Err... I know there must be a thousand students in this castle, but I seriously don't think I've seen him before." Ron said, turning his back to the boy. He looked at Ginny.

She was turning red at the cheeks.

"Of course you don't. He an exchange student."

"Exchange student? We actually do that? I didn't know. Why didn't they tell us about him yesterday?" Ron said.

"I dunno, but I met him last night. Everyone was going to bed and I was the only one in the common room. McGonagall later came in with him." Ginny said in a dreamy voice.

Hermione and Harry grinned, while Ron gave a frown. "Don't tell me you fancy that guy over there." Ron said.

Ginny turned even redder. "I might."

"Oh c'mon Ginny! Look at that guy! He has such a bad vibe coming from him, I'm getting goosebumps from looking at him. I mean, who's actually sane enough to change their eye color to amber!" (I would :D)

"So, what's his name?" Hermione asked completely ignoring Ron, like always.

"Ricardo Cortez. He's from Italy and a sixth year like me. Since I was the only one the common room at the time, McGonagall asked me to be his guide for a while."

Hermione looked at Ricardo again. He got and started walking towards them. When he reached them, he put on a very charming smile.

"Hello Ginny." He said. His voice was deep and it sent chills down both Hermione and Ginny's spine. His accent wasn't very deep, but you could tell he was from Italy.

"Hello. Everyone this is Ricardo. Ricardo, these are my friends, Hermione and Harry." She said pointing to Hermione then Harry.

"And this is my brother, Ron." She said pointing to Ron.

"Nice to meet you all."

"You too." Hermione and Harry said in unison. Ron barely let out a mumble.

The bell rung a few minutes later. "Well I guess we gotta go now," Ginny sighed. "See you later."

She got up and walked away with Ricardo right beside her.

"Well he seems nice, and he's pretty cute." Hermione said while the three of them got up and started walking to their next class.

"I don't trust him. Do you see how his eyes are? Only someone who've seen some pretty nasty could have eyes that sharp and that eye color." Ron said.

Hermione shook her head. "Ron, you're just being paranoid.You never like any guy Ginny liked. Except for Harry, and would you stop it commenting on his eyes? That's not the only body part he has!"

"So, what's your point?"

"I'm saying you need to try and get along with them."

"Why? If I don't she's just going to go out with them any ways."

Hermione sighed. "You're hopeless."

Although Hermione told him this, she couldn't help but notice that Ron was right about his eyes.

War vets usually have that type of stare, and I doubt he was born that way. I'll just have to keep a close eye on him.

Their next class was that new Dueling class. It was in the Quidditch field instead of in the Castled, which was good, because it was such a beautiful day.

A group of Gryffindors and Slytherins were in the middle of the quidditch field. Some were sitting, some were standing, but everyone seemed to be talking.

"I wonder if this Perry guy is any good. I don't want another reenactment of Lockhart." Ron told Harry and Hermione. Harry gave a little laugh, while Hermione glared at him. He was sitting on the green grass of the field. Harry was sitting next to him while Hermione stood.

"Honestly, Ron. How can you possibly talk to someone who has gotten their memories blown away?" Hermione said to him.

"Serves him right for being a fraud. I still don't know why you stick up for him."

Hermione rolled her eyes at him. A few seconds later, Tori came. His trousers and top was a cream color and he had a cape that what seemed to be made of gold silk.

"His clothes choice definitely reminds me of Lockhart." Ron whispered to Harry.

"You've got that right." Harry agreed.

"Good day class. My name is Professor Perry and I will be your Dueling instructor. Let me inform you that this class is for defensive reasons only. I have heard that quite a few unpleasant incidents have happen during the past few years." Hermione could've sworn he glanced at the three teenagers.

"But Dumbledore has asked the ministry to create this new class, in hopes that no other incidents occur no longer. Now this is how this class operates. You guys have me two times a week, so I will teach you a technique one day and you'll practice it. Then, on the second day, we will have a little contest. Whom ever does the best, will have a guaranteed spot in Dueling tournaments. Others who weren't in the highest rank, you will have another chance. Come here at lunch or after all your classes are over, and you will take the test over again. Understood?"

"Yes." The class said in harmony.

"Good, now boys make one line to your left on that side of the field and girls make a line to your right on the other side."

Everyone got up and started walking to where they were supposes to be.

One each side of the field, there was haystacks that were on a long pole. There were ten of them, and in the middle of the hay, there were targets. The boys and girls each stood behind a white line almost ten feet in front of the haystacks.

Tori put his wand to his throat. "Sonorous!" Tori said.

"All right. We're going to do a bit of targeting practicing. Use whatever spell you wish. I want to see what kind of moves you have. And please note that when you get to the last one, it will move around, so be on your feet. The first person starts on my count. I will tell you to stop if have not completed the entire task." His voice rang through the entire stadium. "Three, two, one, start!"


I just wanted to let you all know that I may not update for a while. Mostly for the past few months I have been packing up to move. I've been able to update this specific story because I had these on Document Manager. I just wanted to let you all know so that way you guys won't abandon me. I have about three more chapters to update, then I'll be done for a while until we hook up my computer at my new house. (So you guys reading my other stories don't think I quite writing them.)