To say Bethesda Nott was furious was an understatement. It seemed that Ophelia had locked herself inside Nott Manor, as she didn't answer the door at all when she came over knocking, despite Bethesda almost screaming her throat raw. She had tried unlocking the door, but to no avail. She Apparated into St Mungo's Hospital and strode angrily towards the ward her son was on.
She all but kicked the door open. Rohan, it transpired, was awake, sitting upright and propped up via his pillows. He had just finished what looked like a pot of porridge.
"Mummy!" He slightly rasped at her. She pulled a chair closer to his bedside.
"My dear boy," she said, but not in a kind tone.
"Have you visited me previously? I've been mostly asleep, so I'm sorry-"
"-Don't give me that," she slapped her son's hand, "Just why, Rohan? I have told you countless times the consequences of drinking too much. You almost sent me to hospital when I was eventually notified of you drinking yourself half to death, you insipid dunce!"
"Shhh, mumma, I'm prone to headaches." Rohan complained, rubbing his temples.
"You could have died!" She snapped, not even caring that there was another patient in the ward, they looked to be sleeping anyway, "Your father went this same way and it killed him off!"
"Mother, you're the one that smokes from that pipe about ten times a day." Rohan gestured.
"And as you can see, I am alive and well at my age!" She told him off. "Alcohol, though… That's a fast-track way to meet an early grave. I have seen my own brother succumb to drink. 'Oh, it's just two glasses a day, Beth, it won't do any harm', was what he would say every day, - and before you knew it two glasses would become three, then four, then five... and within ten years he was gone. You will be joining him if you're not more careful!" She jabbed at him.
Rohan let out a childish noise. "This is the first time it's gone too far, though, mumma, it was a one off."
"I doubt that very much," Bethesda said, before lowering her voice, "our Lord is holding a meeting on the fifth, do you think you'll be out by then?"
"I feel better by the day," Rohan said, "it's just a case of what the Healer's say."
"Bugger the Healer's," she said, "they're far too cautious. I think we should invest in more private healthcare in the future, rather than this public service malarkey."
Rohan ignored that. "Where is my wife?"
Bethesda clenched her fist angrily. "Have you not read the paper?"
Rohan turned his head. "No, why?"
"Your wife has gone and bloody filed for divorce behind your back!" She half-screeched.
Rohan flinched, then his face went dark. "What?!"
"The Prophet says it's on grounds of abuse, Rohan." She gritted. "I had to tell them it's a load of bollocks, but if it is true… If you were younger I'd tan your hide."
Rohan grimaced. "You must understand, mummy, I-I may have hit Ophelia upside the head a few times, but I was drunk…"
"I raised you to be aristocratic and respectful," she said, "I never approved of Ophelia, her family for starters, are blood-traitors, but you wouldn't have anyone else. I wish you chose a more fertile girl. You ought to know - Ophelia isn't answering the door either, she's locked herself in your house."
"That slut," he snarled, "were there any lights on?"
Come to think of it, Bethesda hadn't seen any sign of life. "No."
Rohan turned to fury. "Do you think she's ran away, mother?"
Bethesda took her son's hand in her own. "It seems likely, my boy."
"When I see that wench, and our son… They will regret ever leaving me." Rohan declared, almost ominously.
On the 1st of January, 1996, the New Year was welcomed with the news that Wizarding Britain had a new Minister for Magic - Amelia Bones.
The Daily Prophet article read: "Early last evening, Ex-Minister Cornelius Fudge was present at the ceremony to swear in our new Minister for Magic - the ex-Head of the Department for Magical Law Enforcement, Amelia Bones.
A large, moving photograph of Amelia Bones making a speech occupied most of the front page. The woman was dressed very lavishly - a two-piece light grey suit that made her look very professional yet stylish. Amelia Bones's speech had gone as follows:
"I am honoured that my fellow colleagues and Head's of the Pure-Blood families voted overwhelmingly for me as Minister for Magic of Great Britain. It still doesn't seem real, I've had to pinch myself numerous times.
I feel that there is a lot of change to come, and things to catch up on, since the previous administration was, let's just say, lacklustre. I personally believe that Lord Voldemort has returned to a human state, and that he is hiding in the shadows, waiting to strike hate crimes against members of our society. I'm sure there are still some out there that don't believe he is returned, but they will eat their words soon enough, I am sure.
As your Minister for Magic, I believe there is a lot to get done in a short amount of time. Regarding our young generation: I am sure parents will already know that the previous curriculum regarding Defence Against the Dark Art's was shambolic. It was reinstated following Dolores Umbridge's sacking, and students have been working extremely hard to catch up on where they ought to be at by now. I also believe that certain Ministry workers are sworn Death Eaters, and here is my message to them: We will root you all out."
The speech went on, but Amelia felt giddy at that last message - people like Lucius Malfoy were sure to be sacked, and that made her extremely happy. She didn't envy Madam Bones at all - there were tonnes of things needing to be ticked off regarding preparing for Voldemort's public return. She was sure that Susan was very proud; after all, the Bones family had suffered dearly during the First Wizarding War - Edgar Bones, murdered, along with half of his family.
On the morning of the third of January, they were up pretty early, as they were going back to Hogwarts by way of the train, whilst the Weasley's, Hermione and Remus were going via the Knight Bus - which confused them a bit, but put it down to Moody's probable paranoia. Harry smirked when an image of them rolling and falling all over the bus came into his head; it was by far the most uncomfortable way of wizard travel.
He looked forward to meeting with the DA again, and even though he still had to cover duels with them, he was sure they could take their time with that. With Remus now properly teaching them their OWL Defence Against the Dark Arts curriculum spells, it took quite a bit of teaching off Harry's shoulders. He was sure that by Easter, the Senior group meetings would become sessions where they could practise whatever they wanted. He did have a thought over Christmas break that he could up their meetings to two times a week… But ever since he agreed to do Healing lessons, was reinstated to the Quidditch team and now he had to learn Occlumency, he had no clue if he would have free time. Plus, their homework would likely be ramped up again. He had a feeling he was going to be using the time delay feature in the Room of Requirement quite a lot this term.
Ophelia elected to stay behind, so spent a good five minutes saying farewell to Theo in particular. "What are you going to do with us going back to school, mum?" Theo asked his mother.
"Well, I had applied to St Mungo's to work on the children's ward before, but your father found out and forbade me.. But with him out the picture now, I could maybe still do it. I might go and see them in person about it, once I find out he's discharged." Mrs Nott replied.
"That could be dangerous if he sees you there," Sirius pointed out, "I could go with you one day, if you want?"
Mrs Nott looked at him. "Oh, Sirius, would you? You're so kind. I'll have a think about it."
"It's no problem at all," Sirius said, glancing at the woman caringly. They definitely had to leave then, as it was almost half-past ten. They said goodbye to Mrs Nott only last time before Floo'ing to King's Cross Station.
When they arrived at school, they met up with Hermione and the Weasley's in the Entrance Hall, all of them looking a bit queasy. "That was the worst experience of my life," Ron said, puffing his cheeks out, "it didn't help we could hear a woman spewing upstairs…"
They all had to sit at their house tables that night, but Harry and co were soon surrounded by their DA friends. They all thanked and hugged one another for the Christmas presents they had each received, and were eager to learn when the first session back was. Harry told them this Saturday, and to have a read up on duelling, as that was what they were starting. The members seemed thrilled with that, and couldn't wait to get stuck in again.
He nudged Susan, who was sitting back-to-back with him at Hufflepuff table. "Well done on your aunt becoming Minister for Magic, by the way. I know that she'll be great."
Susan grinned widely. "Cheers, Harry! We're all still buzzing from it. Did you read her speech in the paper?"
He nodded. "It was very good, and I can't wait for her to root people like Malfoy Sr out of the Ministry. Do you know of anything else she's planning?"
Susan lowered her voice, and talked quickly, as Dumbledore was making his way to the podium to start his speech. "Nothing's confirmed, but she has an idea to totally shut down the Daily Prophet."
Harry could hardly believe it. "Gosh, really?"
"Mmm-hmm. She hates how much rubbish it's allowed to print, most of the time it's just pure gossip and smear campaigns. If she can't shut it down, she's going to at least totally sack Rita Skeeter and probably most of its other so-called 'journalists' and hire proper ones in their stead to report real news." Susan explained.
Harry had to face the front then, as Dumbledore was about to speak. He couldn't help but smirk smugly - he welcomed the idea of a totally new and proper Daily Prophet newspaper, and hoped the front page of the first new revamped edition included a picture of Rita Skeeter being escorted away from the headquarters, jobless and in tears.
"Welcome, welcome, everyone!" Dumbledore announced, his voice carrying around the room. "I hope you all had a wonderful few weeks off for Christmas holidays, and for those not celebrating I hope you had some nice down time. I won't speak for long, as classes resume tomorrow, but I would just like to remind those of you that signed up to Madam Pomfrey's extracurricular Healing lessons that they start tomorrow at seven in the Hospital Wing. Tomorrow's meeting will be a taster session, and after it you can easily drop out if you don't feel up to it. Being able to heal not only yourself, but others, is a very beneficial skill to have on your arsenal, even in these troubling times. Even if you do not wish to do it as a career, it is still time-saving being able to heal even the smallest break or cut. That is all."
Subjects resumed the next morning, and by the end of double History of Magic, his wrist was quite sore with the amount of notes he made regarding the Witch Hunts of the 14th Century, and when they were walking to Potions, he passed Cho in the corridor; he flushed, thinking about how he'd kissed her after the last DA session before Christmas, under the mistletoe. She smiled eagerly at him as they shuffled with the crowd of people on their way to their next classes.
Potions, it turned out, was hellish, as Professor Snape did nothing to dispel his trepidation regarding the fact that as of next week, he'd be learning Occlumency in private with the teacher. Snape was as unpleasant as ever, and seemed to get even more irate when he couldn't take points from Harry's near-perfect concoction. Theo, who was over at the Slytherin desk, smiled knowingly. More than once, Harry noticed his twin make eye contact with Theo across the room, and they seemed to be mouthing words to one another and smiling. He brushed off any concerns, though he had noticed those two become closer since before the end of last term…
Double Defence at the end of the day was vigorous, and Remus took them through the Hex-Deflection Spell, which proved very useful for them to learn. It took until the end of the double for even half the class to master it, and they all agreed they'd spend the rest of the week on it, for it was one of the tougher spells. Remus grinned at them as they left the class, and patted Harry, Amelia and Dorea sympathetically as they disembarked the class.
After dinner, the five of them made their way to the Hospital Wing, and when they got there, the Hufflepuff fifth year girls were already there. They waved enthusiastically at them as they lined up.
"I cannot wait to get started," Hannah had said, "I've been reading up over the holidays."
"Is Theodore coming, Amelia?" Megan asked quietly. The circle of girls grinned and giggled when Amelia's face turned beet red despite her best efforts.
"He's not really interested, though he might still decide to join." She replied, smiling at her girl friends.
Madam Pomfrey soon turned up and let them inside. When they entered, everyone seemed to notice that the Hospital Wing was at least three times its normal size - clearly, an expansion Charm of some sort had been placed on it to maximise space within the room.
The first session had attracted about fifty people. Pansy Parkinson and her friends had all signed up, to their chagrin, as to be a Healer you had to be friendly. Daphne soon found them and came wandering over, looking optimistic. Padma, Parvati, Lavender and Tracey were more girls in their year that had signed up. Cho Chang and a group of her sixth year friends had come along too, as had Katie Bell. Though the girls outnumbered the boys, some male students had come along too.
"Okay, now that we're all here, let's get started." Madam Pomfrey spoke up, and they all hushed down. The Hogwarts Matron explained mostly what the bulletin in their common rooms had talked about, though in slightly less vague detail. She also said that in order for them to gain practical experience, - ie, mend broken bones and such, that they would be practising on consenting seventh year students as they were of age. That sounded quite brutal, and Amelia didn't envy them in the slightest, having to constantly have their bones broken for a few seconds and then be mended again.
"So, for this session, we obviously aren't going to be mending broken bones - that's more reserved for later on in the course, for reasons that its quite advanced," Madam Pomfrey said, "so for today's first session, I think it appropriate to start off with learning how to heal small cuts. We will initially start off by healing ourselves, but I would like us to work with each other as well. What I would like us to do is to very lightly give ourselves a cut - somewhere on our hands, please, but keep away from veins. When that is done I will explain the process of how to heal it up."
Everyone managed to cut themselves safely, though in most cases it was just people pricking themselves. Once Madam Pomfrey was satisfied, she carried on. "Now, the incantation for the first Healing spell we'll learn is Vulnera Sanentur. Say it clearly, pronounced, and a simple circular wave of the wand will have it perfectly succeed."
As predicted, Hermione was among the first to cast it, though within minutes everyone else had managed it fine. She had them repeat that task for about ten minutes, and went around giving tips and advice regarding incantations and so forth. When everyone was confident, Madam Pomfrey went to the front. "Fantastic efforts, I am pleased with your first attempts. Before we move on to bruises, I would like us to all copy down some notes regarding the process to heal cuts and the spell we just used." A blackboard, which was previously occupying the corner furthest from the door, was wheeled beside Pomfrey and soon enough some writing appeared for them. The next five minutes or so was spent in almost complete silence, scratching their quills against the paper as they vigorously noted down the writing.
Once everyone had made notes, Pomfrey moved on. "Next thing we will cover is how to heal up bruises. Does anyone here know what can be particularly useful to heal up bruises?"
Harry's hand shot up in the air. Madam Pomfrey waited a few moments before nodding towards him. "Yes, Potter?"
"The Bruisewort Balm," he answered confidently.
"Good answer, five points to Gryffindor." Pomfrey grinned, "as Mr Potter rightly pointed out, the Bruisewort Balm is a potion that, as it says on the tin, can be used to heal up bruises we sustain. It is quite an easy potion, yet very easy to go wrong. It is very surprisingly not on the Hogwarts curriculum either, which is not very beneficial to us." At that, Harry, Dorea and Amelia all shared a smirk, for they had brewed it at Black Manor. "However, in the library there are plenty of potions books which feature its ingredients and recipe. For your 'homework' task, I want you all to find it and copy it down into your books, just so you know it."
Amelia made a note in her parchment notebook to do that task. Madam Pomfrey carried on. "As well as physically applying a substance to heal a bruise, there is also a spell which does it for you. It is a bit trickier to learn than the previous spell, but we will spend the rest of this session learning it, as there is no rush. The incantation is Sana Livore, and the wand movement is semi-circular, moving from left to right. In order to magically give yourself a bruise, the incantation is Pessima est Plaga Conjure. It doesn't have a particular wand movement, just point your wand wherever you want the bruise and it will appear."
The two incantations were soon written on the blackboard for all to see. Everyone soon internally agreed that magically giving yourself a bruise was far easier than magically getting rid of it; even the seventh years were having trouble initially. By the end of the first session, only a handful of people had managed to rid themselves of a bruise.
"Very good attempt, everyone!" Madam Pomfrey praised. "Feel free to practise it either on yourselves or on each other before our next meeting in a fortnight. Good day to you all!"
As they walked back to Gryffindor common room, they discussed the first Healing lesson with each other. "I quite like how it was neither too easy nor too difficult," Amelia commented.
The other four nodded. "I might come next session," Ron said, "though I don't know if I could actually see and stomach a broken bone…"
The fifth years had all been assigned homework that day, and the teachers showed them no mercy; some of their work was due as soon as their next lesson, so they all decided to stay and work together in the common room, all helping each other out. Amelia was sat with Neville and Dean, working through the Potions questions Snape had set that day.
When Neville got up to sharpen his quill, Dean leaned in close to her. "So, you and Theo…"
She looked right at him, shocked. "How do you know?"
He chuckled. "Relax, Amelia, he told me in private. He's my friend too, y'know."
"I hope you haven't told anyone else." Was all she said regarding it, eying Dean.
"Course not, and I intend to keep it a secret. It's not my business to snitch on you to your own twin brother anyway." He said honestly.
She sighed in relief. "Thank you, thank you, thank you."
He laughed, and they got back to their work when Neville returned from the bin. Amelia wanted to talk to Neville privately regarding when they seen him just days ago, on Christmas Day, visiting his parents, who it turned out were permanent residents due to the brain damage inflicted on them by Bellatrix Lestrange and others. Though Neville certainly looked happier now than he did on that day, you could tell he was still feeling awkward regarding it.
As it got closer to midnight, more and more people started going to their dorms (except the fifth years), so they gradually started talking louder amongst themselves. Ron had come back from the toilet when he had stopped at the bulletin board. "I didn't realise the next Hogsmeade weekend was on Valentine's Day!" He said loudly, causing them to turn around.
"Perfect day for you and Theodore," Dean whispered, causing her to stifle laughter.
"Yeah right, if Harry saw me and him on a date he'd flip. What about you? Planning to give anyone roses and take them to Madam Puddifoot's?" She half joked.
Dean fumbled a bit. "Erm, yeah, I have a plan to ask a special someone."
She glanced up at her friend. "Oooh, who? Ginny's broken up with Michael Corner, if you're interested."
Dean smiled. "Ginny's great and all, but it's not her." He had paused, as if unsure whether or not to say it.
"You can keep it to yourself if you want-"
"It's Seamus." Dean whispered to her.
She almost took a few seconds to comprehend. But then her heart burst. "Dean!" She quietly squealed, "That's adorable!"
He looked shocked, but relieved, "You don't think me d-disgraceful for being attracted to someone of the opposite sex?"
"Why would I?" She grinned at him, "I'm not bigoted in any way shape or form. Love is love, as they say."
Dean pulled her into a one-armed sideways hug. "Oh my gosh, I was so worried that…. That you would react badly."
"Nonsense," she brushed off that concern, then paused for a few moments before saying, "Do you think Seamus feels the same way?"
Dean glanced around at his inseparable acquaintance, who was across the room with Harry. "To be honest, I really don't know."
"Then there's no harm in finding out. He doesn't even seem like he'd be offended if you asked him." She said under her breath.
"When's a good time to ask him, do you think?"
"Well, when are you two usually alone, spending time together?" She asked him.
Dean had a thought. "Usually at morning intervals and that."
"Then that's perfect!" She guessed, "You could ask him to come to the bathroom with you, wait until nobody's in there, and ask him! Or just in an empty corridor?"
Dean lit up. "Amelia Potter, you are a genius!" He hugged her again. Neville looked confused but happy.
At half past midnight, they had finally done their homework due for that week, and let out small celebrations when they got up to gladly go to bed.
At breakfast the next morning, Harry and the others were a bit confused when Hermione's Daily Prophet arrived, for the second she laid it out flat on the table she gave out a little yelp.
"Christ, what's the matter with you?" Ron complained, as he'd been chewing on his bacon roll.
Their answer was found when they laid eyes upon the front page, as ten magical photographs of people were displayed. The headline caused them to feel ominous: "MASS BREAKOUT FROM AZKABAN PRISON"
The article, probably the most disturbing one they had come across so far, read:
"Late last night, the Ministry of Magic received reports that there has been a mass breakout from Azkaban prison.
Addressing the Wizengamot before the start of session this morning, Minister for Magic Amelia Bones expressed deep concern: "We can confirm that ten high-security prisoners escaped in the early hours of this morning. Muggle Prime Minister John Major has been informed of the dangerous nature of these particular individuals.
"We urge the magical community to stay alert and be cautious. On no account whatsoever should these individuals be approached - they can and will kill." Bones said.
A spokesperson for the Wizengamot suggested to us that the Ministry has an idea that former Death Eaters are being used as rallying points for these escapees and may be housing them. "We have to consider all possibilities, and if it means the Auror's have to storm homes and conduct thorough searches, then so be it."
The escaped Death Eater's in question are as follows:
Antonin Dolohov, convicted of the brutal murders of Fabian and Gideon Prewett.
Algernon 'Algie' Rookwood, convicted of leaking Ministry intel to He Who Must Not Be Named.
Rodolphus Lestrange, assisted in the torture of Frank and Alice Longbottom
His brother, Rabastan Lestrange, was convicted of the same crime.
Mulciber, convicted of torturing innocent muggles for no reason in Bristol and Cardiff on two separate occasions.
Augustus Rookwood, convicted of spying for the Death Eater's during the First Wizarding War.
Travers, guilty of the murder of Marlene McKinnon and her family
Jugson, guilty of assisting in the murder of Edgar Bones and half of his family.
Bellatrix Lestrange, convicted of the torture and permanent incapaciation of Frank and Alice Longbottom.
Harry's heart fell through the floor when he read the last name, for the mousy, round face with straggly hair staring back at him, he knew all too well.
Peter Pettigrew, convicted of framing Sirius Black for murder and killing twelve muggles. Largely suspected of being responsible for the deaths of James and Lily Potter, and bringing He Who Must Not Be Named back to a living form.
The five of them could hardly speak. Looking up at the staff table, neither Remus nor Sirius were down for breakfast yet. The Great Hall around them seemed to all be talking about the headline news, as a lot of people were looking very grim. McGonagall, Flitwick, Sprout and Dumbledore were in deep conversation, and soon enough Babbling and Vector had gone over to join them. When Remus and Sirius eventually appeared, Hagrid was showing them the article immediately, and Harry could pinpoint the exact moment they read Pettigrew's name, for their eyes widened and their jaws tightened. He had seen Sirius gasp and clamp his mouth when he read Traver's name as well; after all, that man had helped to kill Marlene, Dorea's mother, who Sirius was obviously quite fond of, they had been engaged before her untimely death.
Hermione had gasped again - she had skimmed a few pages ahead, and came upon another article it seemed. "What now?" Dorea asked.
Hermione pointed to a smaller but eye-catching article on page eight.
"TRAGIC DEATH OF MINISTRY WORKER
"We will investigate this," was the response from St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries last night, as it was found that a Ministry of Magic worker, Broderick Bode, 49, was discovered dead late last night, strangled by a plant. Healer's were rushed to the scene, but sadly it was all too late when they arrived; Bode had already passed.
Mr Bode had initially been transferred to the hospital after getting injured at his workplace two weeks prior.
The Healer who was personally in charge of Mr Bode's care at the time has been suspended on full pay and was unavailable for comment when we tried to speak to her. However, Head MediWizard for the ward Mr Bode was in, spoke to us.
"Mr Bode's death is very tragic, and his family have been informed. We have strict guidelines on what presents are allowed and not allowed, but it seemed the Healer overlooked the danger this seemingly innocent potted plant posed. It was placed on his bedside table and was supposedly a Christmas gift. On first glance, it seemed to be an unsuspecting Flitterbloom, but upon further investigation, it actually proved to be a Devil's Snare, which strangled Mr Bode when he touched it, causing his death."
"Hey, wasn't he on the same ward as Lockhart?" Amelia whispered.
"Oh, yeah, he was!" Hermione leaned in, "We saw that plant arrive as well!"
"Wait, we could have prevented Bode from dying… His family wouldn't be grieving right now if we had been more streetwise!" Harry said, suddenly feeling awful; if they had realised just who Broderick Bode was, and had a proper look at the plant that arrived for him, his loved ones wouldn't be crying their eyes out right now over the loss of a relative.
"I don't think it's our fault, Harry," Ron countered a tad sharply, "whoever sent it in the first place is to blame!"
"You can't deny that this was a murder, though - a clever one as well." Hermione said, a tad shakilly. "The plant arrived with no note, so how is anyone meant to get justice for Mr Bode if they have no clue who did it in the first place?!"
Harry soon had another awful reawakening, as he had met Bode before their hospital visit: back in the summer, at his Hearing, the man had got out on the same level as him and Mr Weasley, and had went into the room where that door was, down the end of the corridor… He suddenly felt very put off his cereal.
Classes on Tuesday morning were very initially boisterous, as everyone was talking about the Azkaban escapees. In Transfiguration, McGonagall had to raise her voice on a few occasions and threatened to not only take house points but to change the seating plan as well. Everyone soon shut up. In double Herbology at the end of the day, Susan was downtrodden that the man responsible for half of her family's deaths was now on the loose, and commented that she now knew what it felt like to be Harry. "Everyone was whispering anyway when my aunt became Minister, but now they're whispering because the man that killed the other half of my family is an escapee. I truly don't know how you handle it, Harry, it's awful." Dorea was another person who had been quiet that day, which was quite unusual for her.
At dinner, Alicia Spinnet, who had just been in Astronomy with Sirius, commented how the man wasn't his usual self during the class. Harry looked up at the staff table, and even though the man was listening to Remus saying something, his eyes looked elsewhere.
On Thursday, during Double Charms, Flitwick held Harry back at the end of class and said that he could return to his previous position in the club; as a referee. Harry pretended to be elated, and acted as though the DA hadn't actually been meeting in secret during Umbridge's ban of the club. He had to come up with a fib that he had told the DA the spells to revise the theory of whilst Umbridge had suspended its meetings, which Flitwick seemed to buy. The Charms professor back being a referee was a good thing though - he would have another helping hand, and everyone's query could be catered to now.
Saturday soon rolled around, and with it came the first DA session back. The Senior's all arrived early, eager to start learning about formal and informal duels.
"Duelling takes many forms - there's formal duels that have structure, informal ones that are random and often lethal, and of course there's one with odd or even numbers on each side. Duelling takes place in battles too, another form which I plan to cover with you all." Harry explained to the Senior's, Flitwick standing nearby. "Before we start duelling each other, does anyone want to volunteer to duel me, as an example?"
The Room was silent, as people kept looking amongst themselves. It was a bit silent, and Harry didn't particularly want to have to pick someone at random. However, Seamus soon offered. "You're on, Potter," the boy had grinned as he stepped forward.
"Okay, great," Harry smiled, "me and Seamus are going to duel formally - with Professor Flitwick obviously observing and making sure everythings fair and monitored. Now, a formal duel starts with the combatants facing and bowing," he paused, as he and Seamus demonstrated a bit gingerly, "and we each turn our backs on one another to walk about ten to twenty paces - for today, lets do fifteen."
Harry counted fifteen steps in his head before turning back around. Seamus looked to be quite far away, but was still within perfect striking distance. He spoke up again. "Now our referee will step between us and explain the rules briefly before counting down about five seconds before the duel begins. I've read that in duelling competitions, the person's surname who comes first alphabetically gets to send out the first spell." He looked at his Charm's teacher, who nodded, impressed. Flitwick was, after all, a Duelling champion who had won many trophies.
"That'll be me then," Seamus said, half the room chuckling. Harry smirked, and felt eager to get duelling as Flitwick explained the rules to them; which was basically - no Unforgivables or lethal spells that caused serious pain, and that the first person to be either disarmed, stunned, or injured would be the loser.
He stepped back, and counted down the five seconds. Seamus looked at Harry with a friendly grin, though Harry was prepared for the boy to be very quick at casting and dodging. He was right, for it seemed only a nanosecond passed before Seamus quickly sent out his first spell - a Tripping Jinx. Harry sidestepped it, not thinking it worthy of putting a protective shield up this early. In response, Harry sent out a Disarming Hex, which was sent out that quick Seamus was almost the loser, as he threw up a hasty Protego. It had done the job, but had immediately weakened.
Harry was very impressed with Seamus, and soon enough he ignored everyone else, for the boy was certainly keeping him on his toes and alert. After five minutes, though, Seamus was clearly tiring, as his incantations were starting to be spoken slower. Harry had the advantage of having access to Duelling chambers back at Black Manor, but didn't go that hard on him. The duel finished when Harry sent out not one but two Stunning Spells, sending Finnigan soaring through the air. Luckily, a Cushioning Charm had been placed on the solid floor beforehand, so Seamus wasn't knocked out. Harry went to offer a hand up whilst the others applauded.
"Where did you learn how to do that?" Seamus asked, in something akin to wonder as he got to his feet.
"My godfather used to be an Auror," he said, "he taught me a few things over the summer."
Seamus went back over to stand beside Dean and the other boys after Harry quickly gave him feedback.
When the clapping had died down, he spoke up again. "So, that was a formal duel. There's not quite enough room for all of us to space out and duel a partner at a suitable distance, so I have another idea," he paused as he brought forward the magical dummies, which could be brought somewhat to life. "These magical dummies can be used at any time. On their right-hand side, there are loads of different settings you can have them at in order to duel them. I'd highly recommend starting on them first before we pair off. There's one for everyone."
The rest of the session, everyone was glad of being able to go at their own pace. A lot of the Seniors were working their way through each settings to find out which particular one they were suited to - the seventh years mainly chose settings such as 'NEWT level student' or 'Training Auror', whilst the fifth and sixth years were content at 'OWL level student' or 'Aspiring Duellist' respectively.
He was very impressed, watching them all duel the dummies. Some people, such as Blaise, went for a more flamboyant approach and looked very stylish whilst doing so, whilst others treated it like any other ordinary battle. A good handful of people ended up being flung backwards or stunned, but they were relieved and revived in no time.
At the end of the session, the seniors were tired but satisfied. Some had even begun to sweat slightly; they had worked themselves that vigorously.
As he stayed slightly behind to put the dummies back in place, he was surprised to see that Cho was still standing around. "Hey, Harry," she had said.
"Oh, hi Cho. You were great at duelling the dummy." He said, trying not to stutter.
Cho Chang blushed. "Thanks. How was your Christmas?"
"Yeah, it wasn't bad," Harry replied.
Cho started to look rather flushed for some reason. "Erm… did you see there's a Hogsmeade weekend on the fourteenth of next month?"
"Oh, yeah, I heard someone mention it." Harry said, wheeling the last dummy back in place. He then realised that next month was February, and that the fourteenth of February was a certain day to do with romance… "I suppose you want to-"
"Only if you want." Cho cut in eagerly.
He stared at her, and felt his heart racing. He plucked up some courage. "D'you want to go to Hogsmeade with me on Valentine's Day?"
"Oooh, yes, I'd love to!" Was the girl's response, looking very giddy and beaming happily.
He smiled, relieved, "Right, well, that's that then."
Harry left the Room of Requirement, though he didn't actually remember walking back to Gryffindor Tower. He felt like he was floating, that his feet were simply not touching the ground at all. He was going on a date with Cho Chang, one of the most popular girls in the school?! How on earth had he gotten this lucky?
He had gone into the boy's bathroom shortly before bed, and had gotten a shock when he saw Theo in there - for the boy's face was slightly bruised and his lip was burst.
"Theo, what on earth happened? Were you attacked again?" Harry was on red alert.
"You could say that," a voice from one of the cubicles said, and Harry recognised it as another certain friend of his.
"Blaise, you're in here too?" He asked.
"Mm-hm." was the boy's response. He came out about thirty seconds later, trying to stem bleeding from a cut on his face.
"Right, what happened?" He demanded, as he got out his wand and used the cut healing spell on the wound. Blaise quickly thanked him..
"We got into a fight with Crabbe and Goyle." Theo admitted.
"Er, it was all you Theo, I just got involved as I tried to get them off each other." Blaise quickly added, chuckling.
He looked between the two of them. "Why? You've been friendly with them for years."
"I'll let Theodore take this one." Blaise muttered, and meandered over to the sink.
Theo sighed. "I overheard them talking crap about…"
"Who?"
"Your twin sister."
Harry's brows came together. "What on earth did they say? I would have done the same, but they're always talking bad about people?"
"Well, Harry, they said derogatory things regarding your mum at first, and then started spewing out some shite regarding Amelia - like calling her ugly and filthy, and, well… I just snapped." Theo explained, looking at him via the mirror.
"You started punching them?" Harry was a bit amazed.
"Nah, I warned them first. They kept retaliating, and then Goyle just shoved me. I took that as my cue to start teaching them a lesson; after all, Goyle laid a hand on me first, so I had a right to defend myself. I smacked him in the jaw - which must be made of steel, it was sore, and then Crabbe started screeching and hitting my arm, but that didn't even hurt. I don't remember much after that; we just went kind of round and round in a punching circle until Blaise stepped in. Vincent managed to accidentally smack him near the nose."
Harry processed it all. "Did Draco get involved?"
"He didn't quite know what to do at first, but after a few punches he elected to just egg us on." Theo said, rinsing his face.
"Well… Thanks for defending my sister's name. It was a nice thing to do - I'd stand up for my friends like that too, even if it means getting roughed around." Harry said earnestly.
Theo nodded, though Harry noticed the two Slytherin boys share a look. After Harry had washed his hands, a thought suddenly hit him. "Wait a minute, did you perhaps defend Amelia for other reasons, Theo?"
Theo Nott looked a bit comical with his eyes wide and almost frozen in place. Blaise looked unsure whether or not to speak on his best friends behalf. Theo was a stuttering mess. "Erm…"
"Theodore, are you dating my twin sister?"
"Er… Alright, yes, Harry, I am." Was Theo's response.
Hearing it from the boy himself, Harry still felt like he'd been glued to the floor.
A/N: Right, so for the bruise-healing spell, I was really basic with the incantation lmao.
Translation: Pessima est Plaga Conjure = Conjure bruise
I AM SO EVIL FOR LEAVING THE CHAPTER ON THAT LMAOOO it's fair to say Harry is SHOOK.
Also; yes I ship Dean and Seamus