Chapter Seven

Potter's War.

For the next few day's Jenny Will and Cleo could talk of nothing but what Evandrus and Bole could be up to. Their suggestions started rather wildly, with Cleo suggesting that they were planning on resurrecting Lord Voldemort. It was only when Will said that no one could come back from the dead did he drop the idea. Still, something was going on between the, Bole had spoke of a 'serious danger into the school,' and considering the fact that moving staircases, things that would be considered dangerous in the muggle world were perfectly normal in the wizarding world meant that whatever it was would be beyond any of their perceptions.

Besides wondering what on earth the Potions Master was up to, they still had many new lessons to go to. On Tuesday, Jenny and Cleo went to their first Magical Studies class taught by Professor Snow, a friendly witch with pale white hair, matching her name almost perfectly. They, and other students who had grown up in muggle households were given an introduction into the wizarding world. They would learn how the Ministry of Magic worked, basic magical concepts and phrases. Meanwhile, Will and other people who had grown up in wizarding households were taught all about the muggle world and how it worked. Will returned from the class desperate to know what a tellyvision was.

The class everyone had been looking forward to was Defence Against the Dark Arts. In fact, Jenny, Will and Cleo were so excited for the class they headed to the third floor classroom a quarter of an hour before the class actually began.

Professor Shepherd was a rather youthful looking man, though Hugo was adamant he was older than his own father. Light brown hair fell in front of his emerald eyes, while his thin, rather jagged face was topped off by a light smattering of hair on his chin.

Fortunately, their assumptions that his class would be interesting was absolutely spot on. They spent the lesson learning about a history of the dark arts and Professor Shepherd enthralled them with a tale of how he had captured a dark wizard in Mexico only three years ago.

After their break however it was time for Potions again. Fortunately, this lesson was much more interesting than the first one had been. They were set to work on making a simple boil cure Potion and, while Jenny would have liked to have used a bit of time studying Evandrus, the potion really required all of their attention. From the two brief looks she did get however, nothing he was doing was out of place or particularly malevolent, at least yet.

On Friday evening they returned to the Gryffindor common room to find a sign posted up on the notice board.

FIRST YEARS

Flying lessons will begin next Wednesday at half past four. Please be on the training lawns promptly.

Professor N. Longbottom.

Jenny gave an audible groan. She was not looking forward to flying. At all. Cleo on the other hand looked positively enthralled.

'What kind of brooms do they let us fly with?'

Will gave an unassuming shrug. 'No idea... I bet it's something old like a Firebolt...'

Will, who had grown up flying his father's Hippogriff's didn't seem particularly bothered about learning how to fly, but he and Jenny seemed to be in the minority. Over the weekend, the talk amongst the first years was on one thing entirely. Flying.

Lily, whose mother had played Quidditch for the Holyhead Harpies kept telling anyone who'd listen about the time when she was three and stole her mother's broom and flew off, being rescued shortly after by her father. Meanwhile Cody Vasco kept reciting scores of all the Kenmare Kestrels' games he'd been to. It wasn't solely among the Gryffindors either. Quidditch seemed to be a rather prominent topic amongst other houses as well. There was a clear divide between Gryffindor and Slytherin, especially in Quidditch, all from the time, according to Will, when Harry Potter was at Hogwarts. Gryffindor had beaten Slytherin in every game back then. These day's however, the barrier wasn't so wide.

Wednesday arrived, and most of the Gryffindors were eagerly awaiting the afternoon when they head out onto the grounds to begin their flying lesson. Luckily for Jenny however, the day seemed to drag by, double charms in particular was considerably more lengthy than usual.

However, at half past four the bell rang and the Gryffindors eagerly made their way down to the training lawns were it appeared a group was already waiting for them.

As it transpired, they were taking their flying lessons with the Slytherins. Eighteen brooms were arranged in a circle whilst in the middle stood a young witch with blonde hair tied into a ponytail.

'Good afternoon everyone. My name is Madam Robins I'll be teaching you flying this year. Now. Would everyone like to stand next to a broom please.

Jenny dropped her bag into a pile with the other Gryffindors and stood next a rotted broom with twigs sticking out all over it. Looking up she saw that she was stood opposite Evandrus. He wasn't focused on the brooms however, his eyes were instead focused on a small green book he was holding however as soon as Madam Robins passed him he put it back into his pocket where it remained for the rest of the lesson.

'I would like each of you to place a hand over your broom. Do not pick it up, just place it over the broom. Then when I blow my whistle, I'd like you to say 'Up'. Do you understand?'

There was a general murmur of agreement. 'Very good. three two one.'

The whistle blew and all around the circle came the sound of people saying 'Up.'

Jenny looked down at her broom and sighed. 'Up.' she said.

Nothing happened.

'Up...' she repeated.

The broom lay motionless. Annoyed, she turned to Cleo who's broom seemed to have jumped into his hands the first time.

'What's wrong?' he asked.

'I-' Jenny began but was cut off by a shrill laugh from the other side of the circle.

She turned to see a hard faced Slytherin girl with long dark hair sneering at her.

'Look at that can't even pick up a broom.'

Jenny wasn't particularly sure it really mattered. She was hardly the only one who wasn't currently holding their broom. Daisy Patterson's broom was still motionless as was a Slytherin Jenny recognised as William Benson.

Ignoring the girl. Jenny put her hand over her broom again and said 'UP!' with force.

The broom fell to the side ever so slightly but otherwise remained still. The Slytherin girl laughed again.

Madam Robins told everyone to pick up their brooms and mount them. Then she went around the circle double checking the grip.

'When I blow my whistle I would like each of you to kick off from the ground hard, rise a few feet then touch back down. Ready.'

Jenny kicked off but she wasn't expecting much to happen. However much to her surprise the broom rose a foot into the air and hovered for a second before Jenny lost control altogether and collapsed onto the hard ground.

They Slytherin girl laughed again harder. Furious, Jenny clambered to her feet, glaring at the girl.

'What's your problem?' she snarled.

'You think you're even a witch Abel? Can't fly a broom, from what I've heard can't even turn a needle into a matchstick. I reckon they must have made a mistake when you got your letter.'

'Who do you think you are? You think you're better than anyone just because you can fly a broom?'

The girl's mouth twisted into her own snarl 'My name is Mandy Parkinson Abel, and if I were you I'd watch your tongue unless you want it to be used in next week's double Potions.'

Jenny's hand curled into a fist, but before she could do anything Madam Robins had called to them.

'Abel, Parkinson, are you paying attention?'

Jenny turned to Madam Robins ignoring the laughs from Parkinson. Ten minutes later, she angrily picked up her bag and followed Will and Cleo, who were excitedly talking about the lesson ignorant of Jenny's bad mood.

She knew the flying lesson was going to be a disaster but to that level, she hadn't expected at all. Still, she wasn't the only one who had made no headway with their flying, Daisy was rather upset about the whole lesson, but from what she had gleamed from their excitement before the lesson, she had wanted to learn to fly when Jenny hadn't.

Jenny hurried to the common room, pushing past Cleo and Will, eager to start her Transfiguration homework and push the entire thing out of her mind. She was already a quarter way through her homework by the time Will and Cleo arrived.

'You alright?' Cleo asked dropping into a seat next to her.'

'I'm fine Cleo...'

'You sure...'

Jenny twisted her head and glared menacingly at her brother. He knew that look told him to back away. She returned to her homework but had only managed to write another sentence before Will spoke up.

'Don't worry about it Jenny.'

'I'm trying to work.'

'I mean it... a lot of people put stock in being able to fly, but it's not the be all and end all... there are other ways of getting around. Like... apparating... you know...uh, teleportation... we don't learn that until our sixth year though.'

Jenny gave a raspy sigh. Placing her quill down on the table she looked outside the window where she could see Hagrid teaching a class.

'I don't know... I just assumed... I mean I'm doing well in all my other subjects... I just assumed I'd be good at flying as well.'

'Everyone has to have a crutch... it's what makes us human.' Cleo said.

Jenny was rather shocked to hear this wisdom coming from Cleo, but she appreciated it all the same. As the evening continued her mood steadily increased. By the time she went to bed, Aurora scratching at her feet, she was content. So what if she couldn't fly. She'd be good at everything else. That'd show everyone, especially that Mandy Parkinson. With those warm thoughts drifting through her head she fell into a deep slumber.

The next day passed mostly without incident. Thursday's double Potions lesson would have been nightmarish without Will and Cleo easing Jenny's temper not to turn around and punch Parkinson in her stupid face. The Slytherin girl was adamant that she'd ridicule Jenny for not being able to fly but she was the only one who really cared. At the end of the lesson, after it appeared that she had not had much effect, she was the first to storm out of the classroom and down into the Slytherin common room.

Friday was an exciting day for multiple reasons. Firstly James Potter introduced Chelsea Norris as the new Gryffindor seeker. From what Jenny knew about Quidditch (which admittedly wasn't much), she would be a perfect seeker. Small, light and agile. In fact she was so diminutive she would often get lost amongst the armchairs in the Gryffindor common room.

The second exciting thing came after lunch as the Gryffindors headed down to Defence Against the Dark Arts. There were two people standing outside the classroom today. One of them as usual, was Professor Shepherd. The other man had a head of messy black hair, glasses, and what looked like a scar shaped like a lightning bolt.

'Oh no...' Lily groaned.

'Good afternoon class.' Professor Shepherd said 'As you can see we have a guest today. I'm sure you're all excited so let's not waste any time and get in there and introduce him.'

The class hurried inside. Jenny Will and Cleo took seats near the back of the classroom and as Professor Shepherd took the register, Jenny took a closer look at the famous Harry Potter.

By the way some people spoke about him, Jenny would have expected him to be radiating a golden glow. However his skin seemed pretty pale, there was a scar on his left hand that looked as though it dug pretty deep and the five o'clock shadow around his jaw made him look as if he hadn't got any sleep in days.

'So, I'm sure you all know our guest... but if you don't... well I'll let him introduce himself.'

Harry cleared his throat.

'Uh... yeah... Good afternoon everyone. My name is Harry Potter, I'm the head of the Auror department in the Ministry of Magic. I'm here to give a demonstration of duelling and just give a talk about how it all works.'

He looked rather nervous. Professor Shepherd moved in front of the class and said 'So, we'll get started. Now normally we don't do duelling until you're in your second year... and we won't be doing it after this either so...make the most of it. Why don't Harry and I give you all a demonstration of how a duel works first? Then we can try splitting you into pairs and give you some basic tips?'

The class looked excitedly on as Professor Shepherd and Harry face each other at the front of the classroom.

'In professional duelling, it's always courteous to bow to your opponent before the duel begins. Show's respect and show's you're not going to kill them.'

Harry and Professor Shepherd both bowed. Then they positioned themselves, wands raised pointing.

'Now... neither myself or Harry will be aiming to kill the other person, so don't threat there. Of course when in a proper duel with dark wizards...well... anyway would someone like to count us in?'

'Three, two, one, GO!'

Cleo's countdown was soon marred by the bang that came out of Professor Shepherd's wand. Harry dodged the oncoming spell and threw one back.

Admittedly Jenny had seen very little magic compared to many other people. In the two short weeks she had been at Hogwarts she had seen nothing at all like this. The movements, the rapidness of which Professor Shepherd and Harry attacked each other. At times neither of them even spoke an incantation but moved their wands with such speed their hands became a blur as spell after spell left them.

With a final shout of 'EXPELLIARMUS!' Professor Shepherd's wand flew up into the air and was caught easily by Harry.

The class applauded. Professor Shepherd took a bow and pocketed his wand as Harry handed it back looking rather embarrassed about the whole situation.

'Very good. Though I think Harry was a little too tough on me. A cutting hex... really? Anyway, I think it's time we split you all up and teach you a very simple spell to help with duelling. Okay... let's see...Miss Patterson would you like to partner Mr Denton. Mr Abel can go with Miss Potter and... Miss Abel if you'd like to go with Mr Vasco. And... Miss Riggs if you and Mr Douglas would like to go together please... oh and Mr Weasley if you'd like to join them.'

Jenny stood and walked over to Cody who was sat at the front of the class looking admirably up at Harry. As the others grouped together Professor Shepherd gave a flick of his wand and vanished all the seats and desks creating a clear and empty space to work in.

'Now, the spell we're going to be teaching you today is very simple. It's called the knockback jinx and essentially does exactly what it say's on the tin. Harry if you'd be so kind.'

Harry raised his wand and pointed it at Professor Shepherd. 'Flipendo!' he cried.

A jolt of white magic shot out of Harry's wand, hit Professor Shepherd in the chest and pushed him back several feet.

'Thank You. Though it is not a powerful spell, it's important for you to learn, even the basic of spells so you can get a good understanding of how defensive magic works. Now... I want you to all try. Take it in turns to cast the knock back jinx on each other. Myself and Harry will be around to give pointers. Off you go.'

Jenny turned to face Cody who grinned sheepishly at her. He raised his wand crying 'Flipendo!' but the only thing that seemed to happen was Jenny lost her balance for a brief second and almost fell over.

In turn, Jenny didn't do much to Cody either. Though she was proud to say that her spell at least caused him to fall over. As they took turns Professor Shepherd and Harry were walking around the class advising each person how best to use the spell.

'Flipendo!' Jenny cried throwing the spell towards Cody who toppled over face first onto the ground.

'Oh... I'm sorry are you alright?'

Cody stood up. His face looked rather red and he grunted, taking a step back to cast another spell at Jenny. This spell hit her square in the chest and just like Professor Shepherd, she was pushed back several feet.

'Not bad...how are you finding it?'

The voice belonged to Harry Potter. He approached the pair, though his question seemed to be directed firmly towards Jenny.

'I... haven't really got a hang of it yet.'

'No problem. It's pretty simple just keep your hand stiff. Don't wave it around like a conductors baton. Do you mind?'

Cody shrugged and Jenny raised her wand for another try.

'Flipendo!'

The white spell shot out of Jenny's wand and like his had done, hit him straight in the chest. Admittedly he didn't get pushed all the way back, but it was at least half a foot. Harry gave her a quick nod then walked over to talk to Hugo.

Forty minutes later, the bell rang and the class gave a disgruntled moan. It had been their best Defence against the Dark Arts class so far. In fact, in the two weeks they had been at Hogwarts, their best lesson so far full stop.

Lily and Hugo hurried up to the front of the class as the rest of the students filed out. Jenny, Will and Cleo all wishing the lesson had gone on for just a little bit longer.

'I do hope you're alright sleeping on the spare bed Harry?'

Hannah hurried into the living area, holding a set of blankets in her hands. The space, she and her husband occupied was rather packed, mostly with plants, books and various newspaper cuttings. A giant old toad sat locked in a large tank in the corner.

'I'll be fine thanks Hannah. Don't you worry... Ginny's off for the weekend and Ron and Hermione are busy so it'd either be sleeping here or sleeping alone at home.'

'Did they enjoy it today?' Neville asked, looking up from a copy of the Evening Prophet.

'I think so... well... you know Tiberius... he's an old friend of Bill's... but I think they enjoyed themselves.'

Neville gave a hearty laugh 'Imagine if we had the teachers these kids have got?'

'Oh because you're the best Herbology teacher ever are you?' Hannah said. She began to lay down the quilt onto the spare bed, then with a flick of her wand, two comfy looking pillows appeared and landed softly at the end of the bed.

'Well... I...'

'She's got you there Neville.' Harry said with a laugh.

Neville narrowed his eyes forcing both Hannah and Harry to laugh again.

'What did you want to talk about Harry?' Neville said trying, it seemed, to redirect the conversation.

'Ah yes... uh... Hannah do you mind giving us a moment?'

Hannah nodded. 'Sure... I need to go and check on some potions of mine anyway.'

Once Hannah had left, Harry took sip of tea then looked into the crackling fire. Memories came crawling back to him of his own time at Hogwarts and though he had been back since the war... this time felt much more real for some reason.

'Draco.'

Neville looked up from his paper. 'Malfoy? What's he been up to?'

'That's the thing... I don't know.' Harry gave a sigh and took another sip of his tea, wishing it was something stronger.

'He's been slipping up. He was supposed to come into the ministry for a check the other week but he didn't. His wife... well... god knows what she thinks. You'd have thought his stint in Azkaban would have been warning enough.'

'You don't think he's planning something... dangerous.'

'No.' Harry said quite flatly and Neville jumped, 'I've spoken to him plenty of times since the war ended... he's not about to launch us into the next war...'

Neville eyes met Harry's. Neville blinked. It was clear he didn't feel one hundred per cent convicted of Draco Malfoys innocence as Harry did.