A/N: Two chapters in a day - if I'm feeling ambitious, I might even get a third up after dinner. Also, can I say that Ginny is so much fun to write? Like always, the only thing I own is the plot. Please R&R, & enjoy! :)
Hermione woke up the next morning in a very good mood. After all the waiting, she was finally back! Eager to start the day, she showered quickly and donned her uniform, the slight alterations not going unnoticed - the Hogwarts crest had replaced that of Gryffindor on her robes, her sweater vest was trimmed in white instead of red, and her tie was a deep shade of purple. She slipped on her shoes and headed into the common room, which was deserted - most of the others were still asleep, although she could hear water running in the boys' bathroom.
She found their timetables pinned neatly to the notice board near the common room's entrance - Tuesday seemed a bit full, but otherwise her schedule looked reasonable enough. After grabbing her things for Arithmancy and Herbology, Hermione headed down to the Great Hall, where she propped her book against a ketchup bottle and helped herself to some toast.
"Hitting the books already, hmm?" a familiar voice asked.
"Ginny!" Hermione laughed. "Good morning!"
"Same to you," Ginny replied as she reached for the bacon. "How's your schedule looking?"
"Not bad, really. Double History of Magic will be torture as always, but otherwise, I think I'll be alright."
"I hate that we're required to continue with that class now," Ginny muttered. "I know they're not making us take the exam if we don't want to, but still. Binns is awful."
"Probably because of the war," said Hermione. "There's a well-known Muggle saying, 'Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it' - not that we'll be forgetting recent events anytime soon, but I think the general idea is that being familiar with history is more important than we tend to think."
"Alright, so that does make sense," Ginny agreed. "Doesn't change the fact that Binns is about as interesting as a flobberworm." The two girls giggled and discussed Defense Against the Dark Arts, the first block of which would be Friday afternoon, for the rest of breakfast before Hermione headed off to Arithmancy.
The first few days passed in a blur as the eighth years struggled to settle into a routine they hadn't had to follow in over a year. Each professor spent the first ten minutes or so of class on review, then dove right into new material - the eighth years found themselves reading late into the night as they hurriedly tried to refresh memories of their sixth year's work while tackling large amounts of homework. The seven students tended to spend most evenings in their common room, heading to the library only when necessary - while it wasn't far, the walk to the library still wasted valuable time, and several of them had already been accosted by groups of curious students from the younger years. Draco and Hermione in particular had found themselves cornered on several occasions, both separately and together, and they'd decided that avoiding the rest of the school was probably best for the time being.
Too soon for Hermione's liking, they were sitting down to Friday lunch. She, Ginny, Neville, and Luna had gone over their plan for the afternoon's Defense lesson, but she was still a little nervous. Aside from History of Magic, Defense Against the Dark Arts was the only class every N.E.W.T. student was required to take due to its extreme importance, and she could only hope they'd be able to do it justice. Unfortunately, their Auror assistants wouldn't be coming until next week at the earliest, so they were on their own for the first go-around.
At one o'clock, the seventh and eighth years made their way to a spacious classroom on the second floor. Hermione, Ginny, Neville, and Luna had left lunch early to set up the large cushions covering most of the floor. Their classmates entered in small groups and sat in a large circle, and once Ginny had double-counted to ensure everyone was there, Hermione cleared her throat to get their attention.
"Um...hi everyone," she said. "Welcome to Defense Against the Dark Arts."
"No need to be so nervous, Hermione," Justin chided. "It's just us." Hermione laughed.
"True - teaching you all is a bit weird though," she admitted. "Anyway, I'm sure most of you were either in or have heard of Dumbledore's Army, the defense organization Harry and I started back in our fifth year - Ginny, Neville, Luna and I are the remaining senior members of that group, and we're - hopefully - going to teach you a useful thing or two. Some things we do will be easier than others-"
"Oh, please," someone interrupted. "Don't tell me you're giving us that Expelliarmus crap again." Hermione knew instantly who had spoken, but Ginny beat her to a response.
"Yes, Zacharias," she hissed, her voice dripping with contempt, "we are indeed giving you 'that Expelliarmus crap'." She paused and raked her gaze around the circle, making eye contact with everyone in the room. "Listen up, you lot. Advanced spells are all well and good, but they're useless if you can't execute them properly. In the heat of battle, it's even harder to think straight, and you tend to only have time to use the first spells you think of. The more simple spells you have at your disposal, the better off you'll be." Quick as lightning, she turned her wand on Zacharias. "Expelliarmus!" His wand shot out of his hand straight into hers.
"Anyone who wants to deny that you're at an advantage if your opponent loses his wand is a fool," she said bluntly, "as is anyone who thinks discounting particular spells is a good idea. I fought in the Battle of Hogwarts, and I saw everything from Patronus charms to Transfigured suits of armor charging down the stairs. When your opponent is quick, you have to be quicker; if he's clever, you have to be more so. Don't limit yourself - and always keep a firm grip on your wand," she finished, tossing Zacharias' back across the circle.
"Need I also remind you," Hermione added, "that a Disarming charm finished off Voldemort for good. Those of you who were there know what happened - for those of you who don't, Harry's Disarming charm collided with Voldemort's Killing Curse, which then rebounded and hit him."
"But then it was the Killing Curse that did him in," Zacharias countered snidely.
"Smith, you dolt, were you not listening just then?" Ginny asked sharply. "Yes, the Killing Curse killed Voldemort - but that's not what Harry cast. He used a Disarming charm, nothing more." Her eyes glittered dangerously as she stared him down. "And I believe, unless I'm very much mistaken, that you were one of the first to evacuate the castle before the battle even started - in which case, I'd ask you very kindly to keep your mouth shut unless you know what you're talking about." Zacharias' face was bright red and he looked livid, but he didn't say anything further.
"The point is," said Neville, "that you never know what might be helpful. The Dark Arts know no bounds, so you can't constrict yourself when fighting them. You can't study advanced topics in Charms or Transfiguration without covering the basics first, and we're not going to give you any advanced stuff in here until we know what you're capable of. Pair up, and we want to see your Disarming spells."
There was a lot of shuffling as the students hastened to do as he asked. For the next several minutes, cries of "Expelliarmus!" filled the room. The four leaders meandered through the room and watched, taking careful note of who performed the spell easily and who had some trouble. After they were certain they'd seen enough, they called everyone to attention with a blast like a gunshot from Hermione's wand.
"Right then," she said, "well done. Most of you did pretty well, but some of you could use some work. Between now and next Friday, take ten minutes to practice with someone – with the separate class year common rooms, that shouldn't be too difficult. Practice with a few different people so you get to know different styles - not everyone duels the same way, so it'd be foolish of us to always let you pair off with the same person. No blocking spells until we say so - like Neville said, we need to make sure you all know the basics like the back of your hand.
"The other spell we want to see today is Stupefy, the Stunning spell. It's another basic charm that's incredibly useful, as it puts your opponent out of commission until they can be revived. Pick a different partner, and get to it."
Again, the students complied; again, Hermione closely observed her classmates. The Stunning spell exercise had mixed results - those who'd fought in the battle were much better at it than those who hadn't, and far less people had a fully effective charm.
"Enough!" she finally called after a while. "I think that's good for today. Like I said, take a little time to practice between now and next week. It doesn't have to be long - a split second's all you need to make a difference - but it'll be obvious if you haven't done so." She picked up her bag and several others copied her. "Have a good weekend, everyone!"
Once she got back to the common room, Hermione flopped unceremoniously onto the sofa.
"Merlin, that was stressful!" she said. Ginny, whom they'd all agreed was welcome to visit their quarters, laughed and sprawled on the rug at her feet.
"A bit," she agreed, "but getting to knock Smith down a peg or two was so much fun."
"THANK you," Susan said, having just entered the room. "Nobody can stand that prat, he's so bloody annoying!" She dropped her bag on the floor with a loud thunk and turned to the message board.
"Hey, look at this!" she cried suddenly. "It's the Quidditch notice!"
"Quidditch?" Ginny exclaimed. Eager to read the missive, she launched herself across the room and tore it from the board, Hermione and Neville laughing at her obvious delight.
"Well go on, read it aloud then!" Blaise prodded. He, Draco, Justin, and Lisa joined the others around the fire, and Ginny turned to face the group, her eyes rapidly scanning the message. She cleared her throat and read aloud:
We are pleased to announce that Quidditch is returning to Hogwarts! Please take note of the following changes:
1. In lieu of House teams, four new teams will be created for this year's tournament. All students from second year through eighth are eligible to play.
2. Current Quidditch Captains (or those who would have been chosen for the position this term, if the most recent Captain has already left school) will have first choice at retaining their Captaincy – in the event that any current Captains decline, all interested parties may submit their names to Madam Hooch, who will then draw names to fill the open slot(s).
3. An open tryout session will take place next Saturday afternoon - all students wishing to play MUST attend, no exceptions.
4. Captains will select their starting teams, as well as reserves for each position, from the pool of players by Sunday evening. Players will have one week to accept or decline offers, and the pitch will be open for practice starting the weekend after tryouts. Please note that students may only compete for one team regardless of selection status.
Good luck!
"So it's like a draft – that actually sounds kind of cool," Lisa said. "Any idea who the current Captains are?"
"Well, Malfoy's one of them, obviously," Ginny replied. When he shot her a surprised look, she tossed him a second piece of parchment that had been tacked below the Quidditch notice. "Did you forget you were Captain the last time any of us played?" she asked.
"I hadn't really thought about it, to be honest," he admitted as he read the note.
"So?" Lisa asked again, "does it say who the other Captains are?"
"Smith, unfortunately. Someone called Steve Livingston – I assume he's from Ravenclaw, since the fourth is Little Red here."
"'Little Red'?" Ginny asked with a smirk.
"Yes, 'Little Red'," Draco replied. "We're certainly not on a first-name basis, and 'Weasel' just gets confusing, there are too many of you."
"Fair enough," Ginny conceded. "I kinda like it."
"I like how you're more focused on Draco's interesting nickname than the fact that you're a Quidditch Captain," Blaise said, his tone almost teasing.
"Oh, well…that's pretty cool too, obviously. I guess Gryffindor would need a new Captain, since Harry didn't come back, and I sort of was Captain already for a bit when he was banned. Anyways, I'm definitely going to accept – think you will, Malfoy?" Draco snorted.
"No," he said curtly. "Let's be honest here – how many people, knowing what they know – or, I guess more accurately, don't know – would want to play under me? I'd rather not put myself through that, thanks."
"You will play though?" Ginny asked sharply. When he merely raised his eyebrows at her, she said, "Don't be an idiot, Malfoy. You're a damn good Seeker – unless the next Harry Potter has arrived and we just don't know it, you're the best we've got, and I for one would be a fool not to take you if you tried out. I intend to win that Quidditch Cup, and that means I need the best of the best." She gathered her things and prepared to head out. "I'd better see you on that pitch next weekend – I'll send Hermione to forcibly drag you out there if I don't," she warned. After bidding them all goodnight, Ginny left.
"Merlin, Drake, I don't think she's kidding," Blaise laughed once Ginny had gone.
"No, she's definitely not," Draco agreed. "And if there's one thing I've learned, it's that crossing her is never a good idea."
"So you'll try out then?" Blaise asked. Draco shrugged.
"I'll consider it." Blaise chuckled and went back to his book. For now, that would have to do.