A/N: Hi!

I'm so sorry that I didn't update sooner, but I really didn't have time. a new school year started for me and I was adjusting to classes and all that shit. Well, good thing is, that I decided taht I doN't want to stop writing and opened the word again.

This chapter has Umbridge appearing finally. But you're gonna hate me at the end of it. :D

Obligatory disclaimer: Don't own anything you may recognize from books or games. Though the fact still stands that I would like to own Altair.

Part 5

They barely made it on time, but they managed. Unfortunatelly, most of the good seats were already taken. There were two in the first row and then two more in the one but last row.

"Guess we're not sitting together this year..." muttered Ron.

"So which seats do you want?" Harry asked his two best friends.

"I'll sit in the front row," decided Hermione and moved there.

"Guess I'm sitting with her?" mused Ron. "That is, if you don't mind..."

"No, it's alright," Harry smiled and made his way to the back row.

Altair was already there, deciding not to participate in the debate and simply claim a seat he wanted.

"Now, that all of you are here, we will start the class," McGonagall said from her desk. "This is your OWL year and I expect all of you to scrape at least an acceptable. Yes, even you, Longbottom," she added when Neville released a pained squeak.

"We will start with a revision of last year's spells, starting with simple vanishing spells."

Then she distributed a snail to each of the students and sat at her desk.

"You may begin. If you don't remember the spell, it is on one of the first pages in your book – chapter one: revision."

And so the students started to vanishing their snails. Hermione, of course, was the first one to manage it. It took her only two tries, as she needed her wrist to remember the correct movements of the wand.

The second to manage was, surprisingly, Harry. How he did it, he will never know, but he managed only on his fifth try and it made him feel, like the day might not be as bad, as it sounded at first.

He decided to look how Altair was doing and was startled when he found out the man didn't even try yet.

"Do you know the spell?" Harry asked him in whisper.

"Yes, I'm merely trying to decide wether the wand movements are nescessary or not. I find them bothersome, too much movement is inpractical in battle..."

"You think you can do it without the wand movement?" Harry was surprised, never hearing anything like that before.

"No idea, might as well try it..." Altair replied, sounding mildly interested. Then he jabbed his wand at the snail, like it offended him somehow and whispered the words. And voila, the snail vanished...

"Guess it works..." remarked Harry, slightly amused tone creeping in his voice.

"Guess so," agreed Altair.

When the class ended, Harry and Altair decided to wait for Ron and Hermione, which proved to be a bad move, as they were arguing – again.

"It's not my fault that you never pay attention!" snapped the girl.

"So now I can't even ask you a question? I mean, you should be happy about it, it means I'm at least trying to work things out!" Ron replied in equally annoyed tone.

"Let's go," Harry whispered to Altair and the two went ahead in order to try and avoid being pulled into the conversation.

Walking through the corridors towards the defense classroom, Harry couldn't help but ask: "Do you think you could teach me how to eliminate the wand movement or at least make it more efficient?"

Altair thought about it for a while. It would give him an excuse to spend time with the other boy. On the other hand, he didn't want to seem like he was a show-off. It wouldn't go well with his chosen proffesion. Still, his curiosity and interest in the boy were stronger than anything at the moment. That decided, he turned to Harry.

"I'll try, but I'm not making any promises, okay?"

"Thanks," Harry smiled earnestly. "I'll do my best." And he ment it.

"Ready for the toad?" Altair suddenly changed the topic.

Harry looked up and saw they were almost to the defense classroom.

"No, I'm not ready, but there's nothing I can do, it's not like I can drop the class..."

"With the way teachers keep getting changed for this possition, I don't think it's the best idea..." mused Altair as they entered the classroom.

They were some of the first ones there, so there were plenty of seats left.

"I suggest somwhere in the last row?" Altair asked.

"Good idea, I don't think I can stand being anywhere near the woman..." agreed Harry and they moved to get the seats near the window.

"What about your friends Ron and Hermione?" Altair asked when they took their seats.

"If they could just stop arguing... At least about pointless things..." sighed the younger.

"I ment about their seats. Should we keep some for them?"

"The two seats in front of us?" suggested Harry.

"Okay," nodded Altair and they lapsed into comfortable silence.

It was another five minutes before Ron and Hermione appeared. They were obviously not speaking to each other, but they did take the seats Harry and Altair were keeping for them.

Another three minutes and Umbridge walked into the classroom and stood next to her desk.

"Good morning, children," she smiled her sickly sweet smile.

Harry kept quiet and Altair was doing the same. Hermione said a soft "morning" while Ron said something incomprehensible. Most of the rest of the class just made some noncomittal sound.

"Tut, tut, that just won't do." Umbridge shook her head, the smile still plastered on her face. "When I say 'good morning, children', I expect you to reply respectfully, preferably along the lines of 'good morning, professor Umbridge'. So let's try it again – Good morning, children."

"Good morning, proffesor Umbridge," most of the class intoned in an emotionless voice. Except for Altair, who remained silent.

It's not like there was any need for him to speak, he was nearly invisible anyway, as long as he didn't draw attention to himself, he knew nobody would look twice at him.

"Now that's better," simpered Umbridge before continuing.

She tapped her wand, which was short and stubby, against the blackboard and the words OWL appeared on it.

"This year is your OWL year and from what I heard, you had very inconsistent teachers of questionable characters, with maybe the exception of your last year's instructor. Do not worry however, as the ministry deviced a course, that will have you prepared for your exams in a perfectly safe way."

She tapped the board again and beneath OWL appeared course aims and under that three bullet points. She read them aloud.

"Understanding the principles underlying defensive magic," she made a short pause before continuing. "Learning to recognise situations in which defensive magic can legally be used and lastly placing the use of defensive magic in a context for practical use."

Umbridge looked around the class, not noticing the blank expressions on most gryffindor faces and even on some of the slytherins who shared the class with them.

"Bull," whispered Altair next to Harry and said boy nearly jumped. He too forgot that the older male was still there.

"Now, I want you to open your books and read the first chapter," Umbridge said. Obviously, she didn't hear Altair's coment.

Altair took his book and opened it on the first page of the first chapter, but not really intending to read it. From what he observed about the woman, it was obvious she wouldn't let them read anything that posed the thread of actually teaching them something.

So instead of reading, he looked around the class, noticing that Hermione raised her hand and was trying to catch Umbridge's attention.

A/N: Meep! ...don't kill me?