Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.
A/N: I'm so sorry you guys had to wait so long! Most of you probably thought I abandoned the story, but let me assure you one thing: I will NOT leave the story unfinished. I have written so many lonely scenes that I want to include in later chapters, and I've got it all planned out in my mind until the end, that there is no way in the world I will stop writing it. You'll just to wait sometimes, because I do have private life. It's also because I've got too much to include that it takes me long periods to update. And when you've got loads of things to write, you something get stuck and you don't know how to write it well so you'll be please with it. What I mean is that I had a major writing block, and my computer also suffered a few virus attacks, so I needed to fix it before I could actually continue writing. And in addition to all that, my Beta had troubles with her Internet, so she couldn't email it to me.
You probably don't know, but I keep updates on this story in my profile, here on So if you really want to know what's up with the next chapters, drop by from time to time in my user page. Just click my pen-name and you're there.
One last thing before I thank all my readers. Another reason why it took me so long to write this chapter is because it spread to 29 pages. Now, the thing is, that if you read the whole 29 pages at once, you'll get a bit overloaded, so I'm afraid to say that I split this chapter into two parts (trust me, it's better this way). But don't worry; chapter 12 (which is the second part) is already written, and is going through Beta process now. Chapter 13 is still at the works.
This is the last time I'm answering reviews via the chapter. I'm going to answer them using new feature of replying to reviews, so you'll get them back in your email box. ;)
SleepyHeather: It will. Lupin's in charge as you'll read in this chapter. Who stole the cloak? Was it even stolen? Guess you'll have to wait and see.
Ocean's Shadow: We shall see ;) And Harry has to be a bit OOC because it is an AU story, but sometimes he acts like Canon Harry would...Um...I wonder why... ;)
shadylion: I listened to your advice and I hope this chapter and the next will be more descriptive.
Thank the rest of you who read and reviewed! I am really glad that (most of) you liked the second version of chapter 10 better than the first! Enjoy this chapter as well, and I'll be very happy to read your reviews.
Chapter 11 – Secrets:
Five minutes later, Harry was sitting next to Draco in Transfiguration, smiling broadly despite himself. And why wouldn't he? As he took his seat, just behind Weasley's and Granger's table, he heard the most amusing thing whispered to Hermione by Ron, something that sounded a lot like: "Looks like he Imperiused McGonagall, too, otherwise she would have turned him into a rat and wouldn't take 10 points from Slytherin! He was fifteen minutes late and you saw how he entered the class, like he owned the damn place!"
Too bad Hermione was too concentrated copying notes from the blackboard, like McGonagall asked them to, and ignored him completely.
Harry was practically enjoying seeing Weasley driving himself mad like that. It was also really funny that whenever McGonagall turned her back to the class, Harry was throwing small paper balls at Ron from behind. He and Draco tried their best to suppress their laughs as Harry kept doing it until Ron finally got really pissed and couldn't ignore them any longer. He turned around to glare at them, very red-faced, and gave Harry the nastiest look he could manage at the moment.
Harry, then, seized the opportunity. With a fake yawn, he stretched out his right hand, purposely letting his sleeve slide down, and revealed his forearm. Ron fearfully glanced up at his exposed skin. No Dark Mark was burned upon Harry's flesh, like he had thought. Harry knew it wasn't very convincing since the Death Eaters had the Mark on their left forearm, and right now, his left hand was still hidden under the plaster cast. However, Ron didn't seem to know this little fact, and he just continued to gape at Harry in disbelief. How thick is he? Harry thought.
"Weasley, didn't your mother ever told you it's not polite to stare?" Draco asked quietly, enjoying the plan Harry came up with. Ron turned to look at him, putting his fuming look back on his face.
"Leave him alone, Draco. I don't have time to use the Cruciatus Curse on him after class," Harry commented seriously.
"Then perhaps after dinner?" Draco suggested, playing along. Ron made a soft whimpering noise and gulped with difficulty.
"Um, no, sorry. I already have plans after dinner to kill a first year Hufflepuff. You see, he thought it would be okay to run into me and then walk off after saying a simple 'sorry'. Well, you know I don't take a simple 'sorry' as an apology..."
"Certainly not," Draco said, shaking his head. "That prat! So, what are you going to do to him?"
"I think I'll start with –" Harry began to say, but was cut off by McGonagall.
"Mr. Potter and Mr. Malfoy!" she called warningly. Ron immediately turned back to his table.
"I guess we'll have to take care of Weasley some other time, then," Draco whispered, but loud enough for Ron to hear him.
"Yeah," Harry whispered back. "Guess I'll have to take off this cast first. I'll need both of my hands to strangle him, then I'll stun him so he won't scream when I'll use the Cruciatus on him. How does that sound like?"
"Brilliant," Draco said, but then he caught another suspicious look from McGonagall and they got back to copy notes from the blackboard. After a moment, when it was safe enough, he whispered quietly so only Harry would hear him this time. "When are you really going to take that off?" He indicated the plaster cast on Harry's left hand.
"I don't know. It itches now, so I guess it healed. And I don't feel any pain in my shoulder anymore. I know it's been only two days, but I'm really sick of it. It was very tiring sleeping on my right side for couple of nights in a row. Maybe I'll step by the Hospital Wing later and see if I can take it off."
When Harry looked up again he saw Hermione comforting a very harassed-looking Ron, and he smiled to himself in satisfaction. That will teach Weasley not to talk like that about me behind my back.
"Oh, come off it, Ron. You don't really believe they were serious, do you?" Hermione said on their way to Defense Against the Dark Arts. "They were just trying to scare you for the fun. Just don't let them get to you."
"They were serious, Hermione! Potter said he'll kill a Hufflepuff kid tonight, after dinner!" Ron argued.
"Oh, and you believe him? Tell me Ron, is there a logical explanation why he would talk about killing someone when he knows you're hearing him and you could get him caught?"
"To show me he is really going to finish me off!"
"Oh, that's a load of rubbish!" she huffed.
Not so far from there, three Slytherins were walking out from the Hospital Wing to the same class. Blaise looked at Harry annoyed, while Draco rolled his eyes at his two friends.
"No, I will not let you copy my notes, Harry!" Blaise said firmly, holding tight to his school bag, so Harry won't try to snatch it again, while he also bragged he could use his left hand again to do so. "You should've listened in class and not fool around with Weasley! Luckily, I chose to sit next to a quiet Ravenclaw, or else I would have ended up like you two, chasing after some sucker to do all the hard work for you. I'm not going to be that sucker, Harry. Not again, anyway," he added quietly.
"'Fool around with Weasley'! That was a good one!" Draco chuckled. Harry cast him a dark look, but turned back to Blaise with disgust.
"Ugh, the way you said it sounded like you were implying something!" he said with a shudder.
"Well, maybe I'm not talking about this particular Weasley, if you know what I mean..." Blaise replied with a knowing tone in his voice.
Harry rolled his eyes and Draco spoke again. "Funny, I remember him saying something like he's starting to let go of her, and that she's not his type."
"Yeah, right!" Blaise snorted. "You should have seen him at Hogsmeade. After he got stunned by Thomas, I saw him waking up in her lap."
Draco quickly caught on and changed the subject. "Wait a minute – He got stunned by Thomas? As Dean Thomas? Dark bloke, Gryffindor, Mudblood?" he said incredulously.
Blaise nodded. "That's the one."
Draco started to laugh his head off. Harry began to feel his anger rise. He didn't expect such behavior from Draco, and he wished that for once, Blaise would have kept his mouth shut.
"Could you stop talking about me like I'm not here?" Harry said crossly.
"All right, all right. I'm going to the lavatory, I'll see you later," Draco said. "And Blaise, tell Harry when you see him that I was stunned to hear such shocking news that he couldn't overcome a Mudblood," he added as he walked off.
Blaise chuckled at the comment, but stopped when he saw Harry looking at him grumpily. "Sorry," he said apologetically.
After a few seconds of silence between them, Harry saw Blaise looking around nervously. "Checking for Pansy?" he said amusingly.
"No," Blaise replied seriously. He held Harry by the shoulder and stopped him from walking. "I need to tell you something before he gets back."
"What is it?" Harry whispered, unsure why, since no one was around.
"I remembered it this morning, but I couldn't tell you when he was around. Guess who I saw entering the Hog's Head yesterday?" Blaise said. Harry shrugged. "Draco's father."
"Lucius Malfoy?" Harry asked in dismay. His face fell at Blaise's nod and he could feel his heart racing. "Wh...What was he doing there?"
"I don't know, but he looked suspicious, if you ask me. I think he saw me, but I'm not quite sure. I was talking to Pansy at the moment, so I guess he might have missed me. Listen, don't tell Draco I told you that, he will be all moody again, all right?"
"All right," he said sincerely, and they continued walking to their class. Harry was wondering what Lucius Malfoy could have done in Hogsmeade, especially in the Hog's Head, a bar that didn't exactly matching his social level. He was starting to get worried. Lucius Malfoy was so close to him that day, which also happened to be the 15th anniversary of Voldemort's fall. Was it just a coincidence?
"Are you okay? You seem quiet all of the sudden," Blaise commented.
"No, I'm fine, just thinking," Harry said quietly. He forced himself to forget about what bothered him right now and looked amused again. "Say... about Pansy. You guys hit it off?"
Blaise's face flushed. It was rather rare to see Blaise blushing, even if he was a bit shy sometimes, but ever since he started to like Pansy, he used to blush almost every time their names were mentioned in the same sentence. "It was okay," he mumbled.
"Did you ask her out?"
"I didn't have time to," he said, looking uneasy with the subject. "I heard what happened to you and I came right away to check."
"You're an idiot," Harry said. Blaise gaped at him. "Well, you could've forgotten about me, and done something about yourself for a change. I was fine if you haven't noticed."
"I'm not the idiot around here, you are. When are you going to ask out the red-head? Stop chasing her around and get to the point."
"Mind your business, will you?" Harry spat. "I have no intention in asking her out."
"Right, so you just kissed her, and wooed after her for weeks now, and you're not interested in her at all?"
"'Wooed her'? I can't believe that just came out of your mouth! And yes, I'm not interested in her. She's Weasel's sister, and Thomas' girlfriend."
"I don't believe you," Blaise said, and caused Harry to sigh with annoyance. "If what you're afraid of is mine and Draco's reaction, then don't worry about it, we won't mind. Just get over your denial and define what you're feeling towards her, because it looks bad when you're walking after her like a lost puppy."
"Oh, shut up!" Harry snapped, and finally they entered the class, and after that, they didn't speak about this subject again.
Ten minutes before the lesson was over, Professor Lupin asked everyone to put down their quills (as they did some theoretical studying lately) and got their full attention.
"I'm sure you all have seen the signs about the new Dueling Club that taking place this Saturday." Everyone nodded, and Lupin began to pace around the class. "A few students approached me with questions before the class started, so I wanted to clarify what you will be facing there: You'll be paired with someone from a different House. You won't get a chance to pick your opponent, since the selection will be randomly. It won't be like the Dueling Club you had in your second year. Hopefully, it will be more experienced, more challenging, and more difficult. You won't be asked to disarm your opponents, but to attack them –" A series of confused whispers interrupted his speech, and Lupin hurried to explain more. "Of course you'll be protected, so you won't get seriously hurt. I'm saying 'seriously hurt' because you can get hurt if a spell was to hit you. So you ask yourselves what is the purpose? If no one can get hurt, how do you call who won? Well, the purpose of the dueling is to see who knows how to avoid spells, and how to counter-attack. It will be simply just spells we practiced throughout your last six years here, nothing dark and dangerous. And, the first person who has the least ability to attack back is the loser. Any more questions?"
A Hufflepuff girl raised her hand. "Yes sir. The sign didn't say where the Club will be held."
Lupin nodded slightly. "Yes, that is because it isn't settled yet. I shall tell you the exact location and time by our next lesson on Thursday. Right now, the Headmaster and I are debating whether it will be in the Great Hall or somewhere else – Right, Miss Granger?" Lupin gestured to Hermione's hand.
"Professor, is there a chance we'll be dueling with a seventh year student?" she asked excitedly.
"No, I'm afraid not. Seventh year students are might be just one year ahead of you, but they are more experienced, and their classes are slightly more advanced." Granger looked a little disappointed with his answer.
The bell just rang and everyone headed to the door, in order to get down for lunch. "We'll talk about it more on Thursday," Lupin called before they all left the classroom.
"Harry, are you coming?" Blaise and Draco asked together, when they saw that Harry stayed behind.
"Go without me, I'll catch with you later," he said. When they left and only he and Professor Lupin were left in the class, Harry walked towards him.
"Hello Harry, is there something I can do for you?" Lupin asked, just noticing he was there.
"Yes. I need your help."
A few minutes later, after Harry finished explaining everything to Lupin, silence fell between them, in which, each of them thought to himself for a moment about what Harry just requested. Harry felt a bit awkward asking for Lupin's help. He never asked for anyone's help before because he never needed it. He always did things by himself, but this time was different, this time he really needed someone to help him.
"I don't know, Harry," Lupin sighed and looked worried.
"Please, Professor. It's really important to me. I wouldn't have asked for your help if it wasn't."
"Do your parents know about this?"
"No, at least I don't think they do. And please, Remus, they can't know. They have enough on their minds right now!" Harry pleaded again.
Lupin smiled feebly at something Harry just said. It was the first time in years, maybe ever since Harry had attended Hogwarts six years ago, that he called him by his first name. It wasn't 'Professor' or just 'Lupin', it was simply 'Remus'. Without knowing that what might have been just a simple slip of the tongue, touched his heart. Lupin thought to himself it meant that Harry wasn't all closed up inside like he thought, but kept within himself a soft side that no one yet had the chance to break through. Maybe now he succeeded to make a small crack.
"All right, I'll help you," he said and watched Harry's face lit into a wide grin.
"You will?" Harry asked, almost not believing his ears.
"Yes, I will. Meet me here tonight after dinner. I'll see then what I can do for you."
On the afternoon, Ginny was trying to study in the common room for a Defense Against the Dark Arts exam she had on Friday, but couldn't concentrate. It was hard enough to put up with Ron and Hermione bickering over nothing again, but it wasn't what made her mind wander with her thoughts.
Before Ron came over, she and Hermione had a conversation she couldn't get out of her mind right now.
Flashback:
Ginny sat in that same armchair only 20 minutes ago, trying to think of something that she had just been asked by Dean, when the portrait hole opened, and Hermione climbed into the common room and sat next to her.
"Hey Ginny. Have you seen Ron?" she asked. Ginny shook her head absently, still thinking to herself and not paying much attention to her friend.
"We said we'd meet in the library, but I guess he blew me off. Honestly, I don't know how he managed to achieve eight O.W.L.S if he's hardly studying!" Hermione ranted.
Ginny did not reply, which made Hermione a bit suspicious. "Are you all right, Ginny?" she asked.
"What?" Ginny said, finally snapping out of her thoughts. "Oh, I'm fine. Dean just came over, and tried to convince me to give him another chance. I was just wondering if I did the right thing, breaking up with him, I mean."
"You want to get back together with him? I thought you said he was getting on your nerves?"
"He does, but... I don't know..." her voice trailed off. "I've almost accepted, but then I told him I would have to think about it."
"Maybe you should think this through before you decide anything? Or maybe you should start over?" Hermione suggested. "If you really can't stand Dean, there's no reason why you should take him back. Why don't you go for someone who's different than him? Someone like Neville for an instance! Neville is really nice, and I heard he really fancies you!" she said encouragingly.
"Neville? Really?" Ginny grimaced. "But I don't like Neville. I mean, I like him, but not like that. And there's no way in the world I would date him! It was bad enough going with him to the Yule Ball. He always stepped on my toes while we danced. That's why I ran from there and met Michael."
At the thought of Michael, Ginny couldn't suppress a groan, and covered her face in her hands. "God! Do I really have that rubbish taste in guys?"
"No, of course not. I'm dating your brother, am I not?" Hermione joked and they both chuckled. "Maybe you just haven't met the right one, yet," Hermione said soothingly.
Ginny looked into blank space again. Hermione was always helpful with such sort of things, and maybe she was right. Maybe she shouldn't get back together with Dean and should move on. Maybe Neville is the one for her? 'No, snap out of it, Weasley! You're hallucinating!' she told herself. Hermione's voice got her attention once more.
"I know there is one guy who's really right for you. I mean, just by looking at him, I can tell that you'll be right for each other," she said.
Ginny shifted in her armchair to a more comfortable position, interested to hear more. "Who's he?" she asked eagerly. "Do I know him?"
"Oh, you definitely know him. Let's see, you two love Quidditch. You, hate studying, yet achieve great grades, and both are too stubborn to admit what you have feeling for each other. Maybe you have met the right guy, but you just haven't given him a chance?"
Now it was as clear as glass. Ginny knew who she was taking about, and she had no passion talking about him. It will only upset her, anyway. "Hermione..." Ginny sighed heavily, wishing to drop the subject.
"Ginny, I saw the whole thing from the Three Broomsticks. I was there, remember? And you can't fool me about what I saw –"
"What you saw was Dean stunning him, and then me waking him up because I wanted to be nice, that's all! End of story."
"Was it really just that?" Hermione asked quietly, leaning over and looking at her closely.
Ginny avoided her look, but somehow it made her feel like it was burning her skin, and she couldn't get away from it anymore. "Yes," she said firmly, looking up again. Hermione arched an eyebrow and Ginny knew she couldn't avoid her knowing look anymore. It was enough lying to herself, but to someone who wanted to help her? She sighed again. "No, but It's not that simple. He was there, lying on the ground, unarmed, and I couldn't help myself but feel a bit sorry for him, and mad at Dean for doing this to him when all he tried to do was help me. I don't know why I felt like that. Maybe it was because he wanted to protect me, or the way he acted all heroic and caring for my sake. I tried to think how he would have treated me, and how would it be if I was walking with him to Hogsmeade and not with Dean."
"How would it be?"
"I don't know yet. It's still all blurry to me. I don't even know if it ever clear up, what with all that Death Eater business."
"Do you really think he could be a Death Eater?" Hermione asked.
"I would think so as long as I don't have a proof that he's not."
End of Flashback.
"You are so immature, Ronald Weasley!" Hermione shouted.
Ginny found herself back in the present, where Ron and Hermione were still fighting. Ron was making lame excuses to why he went down to the Quidditch pitch to fly with couple of friends instead of meeting Hermione in the library. Hermione looked livid, her face red like she was holding her breath to stop herself from shouting even louder at him. She looked like she was about to explode.
Ginny couldn't take it anymore.
"For god's sake! I don't know why you call yourselves a couple! All you do is arguing! Why don't you lock yourselves inside a broom cupboard and snog for a change, so some of us could actually study?" she snarled.
Ron and Hermione, who apparently forgot Ginny was sitting close to them, stared at her in surprise. She said no more, and gathered all her books and fled to the library before they started another row while she was still there.
Harry didn't want to fill Draco and Blaise in what he asked from Lupin. Whether it would interest, amuse or bore them, he wasn't sure. It was a private conversation either way, and he wasn't sure he would tell them about it at all.
So he stayed quiet all during the day, careful not to let it slip out, even though his insides were screaming to get this out, because he almost never kept a secret from his friends. He always told them everything, but this time he had to draw a line. He wanted to keep it for himself for a change, just to be safe.
His excuse for not walking with them back to the dungeons right after dinner was rather lame, but yet somewhat true. Even though he wasn't really going to do it now, he told them he was going to talk to the Ravenclaw's Quidditch team Captain about the match they're having right after the holiday break. Now, however, he was going to meet with Lupin. He would talk to the Ravenclaw's Captain sometime tomorrow morning instead.
He wasn't sure if they bought it or not, but was pretty certain they would eventually ask him where he was when he'll be back in a few hours and not right away. He shook all those thoughts out of his mind and hurried to Professor's Lupin office. When he got there, the door was already slightly ajar, waiting for him to push it and come inside. He hesitated whether he should knock on the door or just come in without Lupin's invitation.
He finally decided to knock before entering. When there wasn't any answer, he peeked into the room. It was empty, so he let himself enter the Professor's office, thinking there was no point staying in the hall. Though he had visited this office several times before, Harry never took a good look at it. Seeing he had some time now, he took a look around. At the very end of the room was a desk, dusty, and full of paperwork, dried quills and empty goblets. The shelves hanging on the walls were mostly packed with books. On a long wooden cabinet under the window on the right sat a few tanks and cages, each one held a different dark creature Harry remembered they'd studied a few years ago.
Right when he ran his hand over the cool glass of a snake's tank, completely fascinated by the creature, Harry was startled by a voice.
"I thought you'll be here by now."
Harry turned around. Professor Lupin was standing at the door, holding a tray with two empty mugs and a steaming kettle. In the dim light of the room, his features looked more apparent, making him look a few years older than he actually was.
"Professor," Harry said, a bit nervous about entering his office without permission. "I didn't mean to intrude –"
Lupin waved his free hand dismissively. "No need apologizing, Harry. You're not intruding at all. I have invited you here tonight, have I not?" He walked into the room and stopped by a small, rounded coffee table that sat near two patchy armchairs by the burning hearth. "I left the door open for you on purpose so you will come in, while I went down to the kitchens to bring us some tea. I thought it would be nice to enjoy it while we sit and discuss what we are going to do before we actually begin."
He settled the tray down on the table, seated himself in one of the armchairs, which emitted a small cloud of dust in the contact with a faint 'poof' sound, and poured the hot tea into the mugs. "You are more than welcome to sit down and join me," he offered. Harry vaguely nodded and made his way to the free armchair, and accepted his mug from Lupin.
"You know, there are some very enthusiastic house elves down there in the kitchens. I almost came back with a cart full of biscuits and cupcakes," he chuckled quietly. Harry's mouth bore a small smile. "They looked terribly depressed when I had to refused to their generous offer, because I was full from tonight's dinner you see, but it turned out it was their huge, prominent eyes that misled me."
Harry snorted on his tea. He knew how house elves normally looked and acted when they were treated nice and fairly, since they once had one when he about five. Though he didn't remember how he was called, he remembered that his dad brought him home one rainy day from work. They kept him for a while, until his dad had to give him back for whatever reason, he couldn't remember. He could still feel how sad he felt when he was gone, but what would you expect from a five year old boy, who thought the house elf was his pet or a family member by himself?
"Anyways, why don't you tell me what we're really doing here?" Lupin said suddenly. Harry realized they had been sitting there quietly, drinking on their tea, for a few short minutes, without saying a word to each other.
Harry thought whether to tell the actual truth or come up with an alternative reason. He hadn't given Lupin a satisfactory answer why he wanted to do this, and he knew he will have to tell the truth sooner or later, if he wanted his full help. He couldn't avoid this anymore. Lupin would not help him if he didn't get a satisfactory answer.
"Why," Lupin went on, "are you so interested to enrich your knowledge in the subject? It seemed to me like it is extremely important to you to know more than you already do. Why couldn't you just open a book and learn it by yourself?"
Harry swallowed. Without thinking, some sort of an explanation escaped his mouth. "Is it wrong to think about the future? To be prepared for something that is bigger than what we can face here at Hogwarts?"
"Of course there's nothing wrong with that," Lupin hurried to reply. "I was just interested to know what your full intention is. Why do you really need my help, Harry? Does is have something to do with the Dueling Club?"
"A bit, yeah," Harry said. "Look, if I tell you something, do you promise you won't laugh at me or tell anyone?"
Lupin stared at him for a moment and then seriously said, "Go on."
"I want," Harry started, thinking how exactly to phrase what he wanted to say so it won't sound silly. "I want to... look good at the Dueling Club."
"Ah, I see," Lupin said slowly. "And by looking good, you want to learn some more spells that could help you win your opponent, and also can help you in the future?" Harry nodded. "Well, I don't mind helping you learn more things that will help you in the future, but as for the Dueling Club, I think we can put it under the 'cheating category', won't we? The purpose of this Dueling Club is to see what exactly you learned during your six years here, and if you get extra help from me, your Professor, it'd be exactly like cheating. Everyone is going to use their basic knowledge, not something they learned in less than a week just to show off."
"Well, I understand that, I do, but I still want to do this. It has nothing to do with showing off. Look, if you won't help me –"
"I didn't say that. I'm just saying that we can find other solutions."
"Well, what if it isn't just about the Dueling Club? What if it is more a personal issue that I can't exactly tell you about?"
Lupin's brows furrowed. "Why can't you tell me? If you're in trouble, Harry –"
"I'm not," Harry cut him off. "I just – I can't tell you for now. I need to know that you're going to help me with this. Like you said, you're my professor, and as my professor, you suppose to teach me."
There was a long moment of silent. Neither of them spoke. Harry watched Lupin's eyes dart from side to side, as though he was reading, and knew that he was thinking what he should do. Finally, Lupin looked up at Harry and said, "All right, I'll teach you."
"Thank you," Harry said with a small trace of smile on his lips.
"You're not aiming for someone in particular, are you Harry?" Lupin suddenly asked. Harry didn't expect that question. After a long pause in which his mind was racing with possible excuses, he finally managed to stammer out a 'no'.
"Okay, then," Lupin said, putting his now empty mug back on the table and getting up from his seat. "Get up. We will start with something small for tonight."
Harry did as he was told. Lupin instructed him to pull out his wand and stand right in front of him. They went through some basic things and simple spells that Harry already knew, but was glad they did, as he found he forgot a little bit of this and a little bit of that, from lack of using those spells over the years. He accidentally blasted an empty wine bottle that sat on the desk, which made him to groan in frustration and Lupin to chuckle, obviously amused.
"That okay, Harry. I think you've done your share for tonight," Lupin said after the second time Harry blew up the repaired bottle. Harry rubbed his temples in small circles, trying to get rid of an uncontrollable headache that was currently forming. "You are probably tired. Let's call it off for tonight. We'll meet here again tomorrow, at the same time, yes?"
"All right," Harry said in a worn out voice.
"I didn't think there's much to teach you that we already been though in class years ago, but I guess I was wrong. If there is something in particular that you would like to learn, look it up first. Go to the library and search for something that is not so difficult to learn in less than a week."
"Okay," he said. "I better hurry back to my dormitory, before Filch will catch me wandering in the hallways in this late hour of the night. It's way past curfew."
"Right. Good night and good luck!" Lupin called before Harry closed the door of his office and walked down to the dungeons. He fell asleep at once when he collapsed on his bed, not even bothering to change his clothes.
For the next few days, Harry had to bear the unwanted questions from his friends, asking where he went every night after dinner. In addition to that, no one seemed to believe that he wasn't a Death Eater. He had to tolerate people staring at him and whispering to themselves every time he went past them. He was getting really pissed off and tired of this, and wished it would die down soon.
He hadn't seen or heard from Ginny in days. The last time he saw her was their encounter in the dungeons. It was frustrating knowing that she was scared of him, of how the rumors made him into something he wasn't. He found that he was missing her presence around him. Not seeing her every day was like having something missing from his agenda. Sometimes he was feeling rather sorry that he didn't wait and listen to what she had to say that day in Hogsmeade, instead of just taking off.
Remembering that day in Hogsmeade, Harry also remembered what he was preparing for, for the past few days. His mission was to avenge what Dean did to him. He learned a few tricks and new spells from a couple of books he found in the library, and with Lupin's help, he practiced more than he needed to defeat Dean. No one would call him a coward after the Dueling Club, he promised himself.
Only one problem was in his way: How to get Dean as his opponent. That, he had to ask from Lupin, he knew. There wasn't any other way.
"Is there a chance you'll be letting me pick my own opponent, sir?" Harry asked innocently on Wednesday night, after they'd practiced a few more spells.
"Like I already said in class on Monday, Harry, the selection will be random. You don't get to pick who you duel," Lupin explained.
"How exactly does the selection work?" Harry pressed on.
"Isn't it enough that I help you get ready and learn more spells? Do you really need to know that?" Lupin asked, surely suspecting something.
"I just don't want to be stuck with someone who is rubbish. I want a challenge, someone I know I can defeat, but not so easily," Harry said.
"Do you have someone in mind?"
"Yes, and I want to see how hard it will be to duel with him."
Lupin looked at Harry for a moment. "How do you know it'd be hard? How do you know this person isn't a dreadful dueler?"
"Because I tasted his power once," Harry said, the words floating out of his mouth without thinking through. "I want to try him again."
"What do you really want from him, Harry? You said you're not aiming for anyone in particular," Lupin said, watching Harry very closely.
"I'm not. I don't want anything from him. It's nothing personal, I swear," Harry said defensively. "Just the challenge."
"Okay," Lupin said slowly, almost like he didn't believe Harry (which he had a good reason not to, because Harry was lying). "I tell you what. You tell me his name then I'll do my best so you two will be each other's opponents."
"You will? You promise?" Harry asked. Lupin nodded. "Well, if so, then it's Dean Thomas, from Gryffindor."
"Very well," Lupin said calmly. "Well, that's it for tonight, Harry. I'll see you tomorrow morning in class."
Harry was leaving the office with a satisfied grin on his face. His plan was going along really well so far. The last part of it will take place on Saturday.
Remus Lupin, on the other hand, was staring blankly into the flames, dancing happily in the fireplace. His mind was somewhere else; worried that he might have made a mistake. Harry was acting weird, he noticed. He could sense he was lying about something, but what exactly? He told him so many things and reasons, that he didn't know which one of them was a lie, if not all of them. He knew he shouldn't have helped him, but he just couldn't turn him down. And now he had to keep his concerns for himself, because he promised Harry he wouldn't tell it to his parents, but was it a smart decision?
"I hope you're not going to do something stupid, Harry."
A/N: Well, that's the chapter. Again, don't think it took me this long to write this short one, I already said there is a second part (a bit longer), which will come soon, and I started to write chapter 13 as well.
So I'd like to get your reviews now, because they make me so happy! Thanks for reading.