At the beginning of October, Hermione approached Hari in the library with Parvati and Padma in tow.
"Hello," Hari greeted, suspiciously eyeing the scene in front of her.
"Hari," Hermione said, taking the seat across from Hari. "We've got to do something."
"About what?" Hari asked and the twin girls sat down on either side of Hermione. It was a strange sight; she didn't think she'd ever seen Hermione and Parvati interact outside of the dorm.
"Defense! It's a joke, Hari," Hermione said.
"We'll never pass our O.W.L.s like this," Padma said.
"And that book is useless," Parvati added, which was not something Hari ever expected to hear from the girl she'd shared a dorm room with for four years.
"So, what? You want to do an interhouse study group or something?"
"Actually," Hermione paused a got a little more serious. "I was thinking more like a club. To practice."
"We're not allowed to practice," Hari countered. She, personally, didn't give a shit about that rule, but Hermione usually did care about rules. To an extent, at least.
"Exactly," she said with her smile reaching all the way up to her eyes. She leaned in a whispered, "A secret club. Think about it Hari, Tom is out there gaining power and we're in here losing it. We need someone to teach us."
"Who are we going to get to teach us, Hermione?" Hari asked, setting down her quill and pushing her transfiguration essay to the side.
Hermione smiled wider and said, "You."
"That's-," Hari was going to protest, but then she thought about it, "That's fucking brilliant. I've got every lesson from the Ilvermorny crowd in my head, plus my lessons with Snape."
"You're taking lessons with Snape?" Padma asked. "Oh right, I heard about 'remedial potions.'"
"It's not as horrible as I thought it would be," Hari admitted. "Okay so… just us? Or are there others?"
"A majority of ravens in our year would be up for it. A lot of them think your batty, but I'm sure they'll overlook that," Padma said. "I don't think you're batty," she said quickly, "but you know…"
"Don't worry about it, Padma. Can I call you Padma? Sorry, I should have asked first."
"Padma is fine," she smiled warmly at Hari.
"Well then, call me Hari. Who else? I'm sure there are others."
"Do I have the okay to spread the word?" Hermione asked greedily. "You'd really do it?"
"As long as it's open to all houses and grades, yes. It's not just the fifth years who will fall behind. And… I'll need help," she admitted. "I'm not entirely convinced that I'll be a great teacher, even though I have a lot of… practical experience."
"Done," Hermione said, and she ran off without a goodbye.
"You're working on transfiguration?" Padma asked.
"Yeah, I've only got four inches so far," Hari replied.
"Mind if I stay, too?" Parvati asked, looking hopeful and overwhelmed at the idea of McGonagall's fourteen-inch paper.
"Be my guest," Hari replied. "Theory isn't my strong suit, just to warn you."
"It isn't mine either," Parvati laughed, and her twin put an arm around her sister's shoulder with loving pity.
On the first Hogsmeade weekend, Hari, Fred, and George planned to go to Gringotts on Sunday, as Hermione had already planned the defense club meeting for Saturday.
"The Hog's Head, Mione? Really?" Hari asked.
"It's always empty," she said.
"That's the problem!" Hari laughed as they made their way into the village. "We'll be overheard."
"Oh," Hermione said, putting one hand over her mouth and looking apologetic. "I didn't think about that."
"It's okay, we can tell everyone we pass to meet at the Three Broomsticks and word will get around," Cedric said. "Honeydukes, first?"
"Yes! I'm low on chocolate," Hari said, adding a spring to her step.
"I thought you might be," he smiled.
At two p.m. Hari, Hermione and Cedric got the big booth in the corner and waited for people to show up. Luna was one of the first, followed by Cedric's friends from Hufflepuff. Parvati and Padma came in together with an odd assortment of ravens and lions behind them. Hari was glad to see all the boys in her year, even Ron, and Lavender had come too. The entire Ravenclaw quidditch team showed up together, even though most of them were sixth and seventh years. Hari knew that Cedric was friends with Cho, but she didn't like the way Cho looked at him. And she knew the girl had asked him to the ball. It was the Slytherins that were the biggest surprise. Zabini and Draco came in with Crabbe, Goyle, Nott, and both Greengrass sisters.
"Should we start, then?" Hermione said nervously, sitting up a little straighter. "Well, we're all here because we want to learn, right? Since we can't do that, we thought we should do it anyway! In secret of course."
Hari put a hand on Hermione's arm. The poor girl was not good at speaking to her peers. "Some of you are here because you want to learn, and some of you are here because you have questions," Hari looked over the crowd slowly and crossed her arms over her chest. "I will not be answering questions today," she said definitively. "But I can teach you defense. Last year, while I was training for the death tournament, the Ilvermorny students got me through the fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-year curriculums for defense and charms. I also received dueling lessons from them."
"We all saw," the younger Greengrass girl said. She had long blonde hair, just like her sister, but her face was less… pointy. "You did some of it on the yard and… it was impressive."
Hari basked in the glory of the young girl's praise. She wasn't sure why she loved it so much; she had always hated compliments. But the girl's eyes were wide with wonder. "Well, thank you…"
"Astoria," the girl said.
"Thank you, Astoria. That means a lot to me," Hari said honestly.
"How would we keep it a secret?" someone in the back asked.
"Today is just to make sure there's enough interest," Hermione said. "We'll figure out the details later."
"I know of two possible locations if that eases everyone fears," Hari said.
"What about your arm?" Zacharias Smith asked with a sneer. "How can you teach us with a handicap?"
"I fought Tom with this handicap," Hari replied, and Cedric moved his hand so it rested on her leg. Being physically connected to him was grounding for her. Both emotionally and magically.
"Who's Tom?" Smith asked, wearing a why-should-I-care face.
"Tom Marvolo Riddle," Hari said slowly. "He was a student here, in the forties. Then he disappeared. And when he returned, he called himself by a new name. Can anyone guess what it is?" She looked out over the crowd again. The purebloods knew immediately, but a lot of people were confused.
"Voldemort," Zabini said quietly, and everyone flinched.
"Exactly," Hari said. "But I like to call him Tom. It pisses him off," she said with a shrug and a smirk. "Now, Smith, if you'd like a demonstration, I'm happy to duel you." She was wearing a face that Cedric had taught her. The face that looks innocent, but whispers threats. The innocence was in the smile, and the threats were in the eyes. Smith paled and shrunk back into the crowd.
"Regardless of your feelings about Hari's… mental state," Hermione said, looking apologetically towards Hari, "we're all going to fall behind in defense this year. Hopefully the curse eliminates Umbridge for us, and next year we're back to business as usual."
"We've got a sign-up parchment for anyone who wants to join. But be warned, signing your name means you agree to the consequences of breaking your word. None of the adults can know about this," Hari said.
"What are the consequences?" Hopkins, the Hufflepuff fifth year prefect, asked.
"It depends on how much you spill," Hari said. "Hopefully whatever gets you first will convince you to shut up."
There were a few grim looks amongst the crowd, but people started stepping forward to sign their names. The Creevy brothers were first, followed by Draco and the rest of the Slytherins. Even Smith signed, in the end. Hari counted the day successful as they went back to the castle.
Umbridge's anti-club decree went up on Monday, which shouldn't have surprised anyone.
"If someone talked, we would know," Hermione said nervously.
"There were a lot of other people there," Hari said, trying to reassure her friend. "I still can't believe we got forty-two people to sign."
"You're popular," Hermione said.
"No," Hari corrected her, "I'm just not as bad as Umbridge."
"I don't ever want to hear you compare yourself to her again," Cedric said, coming up behind her.
"Hey, Ced," she said with a goofy grin.
"I was hoping I could steal you away?" he asked.
"Yes, please," she replied and bid farewell to Hermione.
Cedric led her to an empty classroom and warded them in before kissing her deeply. Hari's bag fell from her hand as she reached up to cup his cheek. His arms were around her back and he walked the two of them over to the teacher's desk. He picked her up and sat her down on the desk without ever parting their lips. Her arm was around his neck, and he pulled her closer to him and he teased her bottom lip with his tongue. She opened her mouth slightly, and did the same to him, earning a low moan from the older boy. Hari smirked against his lips and he moved one hand to her hip as punishment. Glorious revenge that made her whole body warm. She wrapped her legs around him, pulling them even closer as he began trailing kisses down her jaw and neck. Her one good hand had found its way under both his cloak and shirt, the skin-on-skin contact sending shivers down both their spines.
Cedric pulled away briefly and brought his forehead to hers, "I miss you," he whispered.
"I miss you too," she whispered with closed eyes.
They stayed there, wrapped around each other while their heartbeats slowed and the bulge in Cedric's pants deflated.
"We should do that more," Cedric said.
"I agree," Hari laughed. "That was nice."
"I miss sleeping in the same bed," he admitted. By the last weeks of summer, he had spent almost every night in her room. Both kids were plagued by nightmares, and the best comfort was each other. Hari dreamt of Cedric's death, and Cedric dreamt of Hari's death. Both of them dreamt of Tom.
"I feel like I haven't gotten a good night's rest all term," Hari said.
"Me too," Cedric sighed and sat next to her. "I have a new one," he whispered.
"What is it?" she asked softly.
He looked away from her and out the windows. Eye contact often made Cedric uncomfortable, especially if he was going to be vulnerable. Hari was the same way.
"It's still your death but… Dumbledore is the one to do it," he said. "And it isn't just… him killing you. It's him killing you while you're beating Tom in battle."
"That wouldn't be a good time to die," Hari commented.
"No," Cedric laughed, finally turning to face her again, "it wouldn't." He leaned in and kissed her temple.
"I have a new one too," she said quietly. "It's the graveyard, but you stand in for me and I stand in for Tom. And I kill you."
"It would be an honor to die by your hand," Cedric said, trying to lighten the mood, but Hari smacked him lightly on the shoulder.
"It's not funny," she said, laughing a little through her downturned face.
"It's a little funny," Cedric said. "You're not going to dark, love."
She looked back at him with confusion. "That's not-,"
"Yes, it is," he insisted, and she frowned even though she knew he was right. "You could never turn into him. You'd never do what he's done."
"We're so alike, Ced," Hari whispered, feeling the beginnings of tears form in her eyes.
"What do you mean?" he asked, cupping her face with one hand.
"The memories Snape's been showing me are all about his childhood. He was… abused… too," she said. She had a hard time saying that word, and she wasn't sure why. "He grew up in a shit, muggle orphanage during World War II. Hogwarts was his first home, just like it was mine."
"Your actions were different from his though. You'd never split your soul apart."
"I think… I think the biggest difference between us is that he fears death and I…" Hari looked away and let a few tears fall while she took a deep breath. "I longed for it," she whispered. "I prayed for it."
Cedric was quiet for a moment, but he didn't withdraw.
"I wanted it so bad, Ced," she said, turning to him.
He brushed a thumb over her cheek and brought her forward for a short kiss. "You know it's okay to still feel like that sometimes, right?"
Hari pulled back in surprise.
"It's normal, is what I mean," he said. "Your body hasn't processed the fact that you aren't in danger anymore."
"I'm always in danger," she said with her brows furrowed.
"But not from them," he said.
"You've been reading Mione's self-help books, haven't you?" she accused lightly.
"Yes," he admitted with a laugh. "But they're actually really helpful. And I may not understand how it feels to… want to die, but I know what it's like to want your pain to end. And I won't ever judge you for thinking death would be your only release."
Hari pulled him in for a hug. "It feels so wrong," she said before they parted. "I'm so happy now, it feels… like I'm betraying you when I feel that way… It's the only option I've ever seen, so it's like… my default emotion. Things get bad and I wish for death," she let out a self-deprecating laugh.
Cedric wasn't sure how to respond so he leaned forward and kissed her forehead. He trailed kisses down her face and jaw, finally landing on her neck.
"I can think of several ways to make you feel better," he said, keeping his voice low. She felt his warm breath on her neck and shivered.
"Can you?" she asked rhetorically.
"Mhm," he bit down on her neck lightly.
"Oooh~," she said and leaned into his touch.
"Like that?" he asked, his voice still low and suggestive.
"Mhm," she replied lazily. He pulled away and she whined.
"I have to leave you wanting more, right?" he smirked.
"You're so mean," she pouted. Cedric laughed and kissed her forehead again, then walked her back to Gryffindor.