Harry's first day of his fifth year. Similar to canon, yet very different.

HARRY XXXIX

Harry joined the applauses of his comrades as Dumbledore announced that his mother would be their new professor of Defence Against the Dark Arts. He felt gazes upon him all around, as people realized that her son was their classmate. She sat down and Dumbledore continued with his announcements.

"Tryouts for the house Quidditch teams will take place on the first week of the term. Please contact your team's captain to know the details and precise date. I remind you that first-years cannot join a team and cannot own a broom either."

Dumbledore went on with his announcements, while Harry kept staring at his mother. He had been thunderstruck when he found her at the staff table sitting next to McGonagall. He had feared the worst when he saw there was no other new teacher apart from Grubbly-Plank, and Dumbledore just confirmed it. It wasn't only the prospect of having his friends and classmates mock him for having a mother teacher. What worried him the most was the fate of all those who occupied the position before. One of them even died.

Harry looked at the small piece of enchanted parchment she sent him during dessert.

I know this must come as a shock. I promise I will explain everything to you. Come and see me at my office tomorrow, seven a.m.

Harry supposed that her office was the same Moody occupied last year, and the same Remus occupied back when he was teaching them.

"On this, I wish you all a very good night," Dumbledore announced. "We all need a good night's rest before the term begins tomorrow."

People stood up from their seats, taking the direction of their respective common rooms.

"Ron, we're supposed to show the first-years where to go!" Hermione almost shouted to him.

"Oh yeah," Ron said, obviously realizing what he forgot, though he didn't seem entirely as panicked as Hermione was. "Hey, hey you lot! Midgets!" he screamed while hailing in the direction of where the first-years were sitting.

"Ron!" Hermione berated him, scandalized.

"Well, they are… They're titchy…" He tried to explain awkwardly.

"I know, but you can't call them midgets! First-years, this way, please," she called them on a more appropriate tone.

Ron and Hermione were bickering from the very beginning of the year. There was no doubt, this was real. Harry was not dreaming the whole scene about his mother being at the welcoming feast. He was truly back to Hogwarts.

He watched the staff table from where his mother had stood up, following Professor McGonagall, heading towards the antechamber. He looked at the word she sent him once more. Harry supposed that he wouldn't get the chance to speak with her tonight.

He looked at the small group of first-years who gathered in front of Hermione and Ron. Harry had to admit that he thought Ron was right. He never had the impression of being so small at this age. And that told something, considering how small Harry was back then. He knew he grew up since, and that he was more in the average height of boys his age, though obviously not as tall as Ron was. But still, he was sure that the children gathering next to the Gryffindor table were way smaller than he was at the same age.

One of the boys saw him, and from his expression, Harry guessed that he saw the scar on his face. The boy elbowed Euan Abercrombie in front of him. Though instead of being intrigued or impressed like people usually were at seeing Harry's scar, the children looked terrified. Or so he thought. He wondered why. Was it because of the articles of the Daily Prophet? Or because they knew he was the son of one of their teachers and they could end up having problems if they didn't behave around him?

Harry said goodbye to Ron and Hermione who had to lead the first-years. In this moment, seeing how they looked at him, he didn't regret not being made prefect. He walked alone towards the Gryffindor Tower, using as many passageways and shortcuts to avoid the frightened and worried gazes of other students. As a result, he was probably one of the first to reach the portrait of the Fat Lady. Without the password. Surprisingly enough, it was Neville who saved him by saying the password. It was the name of his new plant.

When Harry and Neville arrived in their dormitory, Dean and Seamus were already there. They stopped talking the moment he walked in, giving Harry the impression that they might have been discussing him or something he might not like. He said hello, and Dean returned it, asking at the same time how his summer was.

"Not bad," Harry replied, not wanting to really detail how his summer truly went. "You?"

"Yeah, it was okay. Better than Seamus's, anyway. He was just telling me," Dean said, making a move of head towards his best friend.

"Why, what happened, Seamus?" Neville asked as he placed his plant next to his bed.

Seamus took his time to answer as he placed his poster of his favourite Quidditch team. "My mother didn't want me to come back."

"What?" Harry asked, unbelieving.

"She didn't want me to come back to Hogwarts."

Harry was flabbergasted. He knew that Susan's parents thought about sending her to another school, but Seamus' parents? That looked like a stretch. "Why? Don't tell me she was so afraid of Voldemort that she wanted to send you studying in another country as well."

Harry's question was welcomed by an uncomfortable and eerie silence, accompanied by the usual reaction to the mention of the name he just uttered. Everyone stared at him with various expression. But it was Seamus' that marked him the most. He looked at Harry as if he saw him for the first time. "So you really believe that? That You-Know-Who is back?" Seamus asked.

He didn't seem to believe what Harry just said. And then it dawned on Harry.

"You and your mother believe what the Daily Prophet has been saying?" His question remained unanswered for a long time. "You believe I'm a liar and Dumbledore is an old fool?"

Again, a long silence followed. Dean looked worryingly at his best friend.

"Well…" Seamus began. "You know… Nobody was there the night Cedric died…"

"I was there!" Harry snapped. "And I already told you what happened that night. If your mother prefers to believe the Daily Prophet, it's her problem, not mine."

"Don't you dare speak about my mother this way," Seamus warned.

"I'll talk however I want about anyone who calls me a liar!"

"Don't talk to me like that."

"If you have a problem with that, go and ask McGonagall if you can be moved. That will stop your mummy worrying…"

"Leave my mother out of this, Potter!"

"What's going on?" Ron just arrived, and he didn't seem to understand what the shouting was about.

"He's having a go at my mother!" Seamus yelled.

"What? Harry wouldn't do that. We met your mother. We liked her."

"That's before she started believing every word the stinking Daily Prophet writes about me," Harry retorted.

Confusion left Ron's face all of a sudden. "Oh. Right."

"You know what?" Seamus said, still outraged. "You're right," he shouted at Harry. "I don't want to share a dormitory with you anymore." He looked at everyone else. "He's mad."

"That's out of order, Seamus," Ron warned him.

"Out of order, am I? You believe all the rubbish he's come out with You-Know-Who, do you? You reckon he's telling the truth?"

"Yes, I do," Ron replied angrily.

"Then you're mad, too," Seamus declared.

"Yeah? Well, unfortunately for you, pal, the mad guy is also prefect. So unless you want detention, watch your mouth!"

For a moment, Seamus seemed to debate with himself, but he finally turned his back on all of them and rushed to his bed.

"Anyone else's parents got a problem with Harry?" Ron asked around.

"My parents are Muggles, mate," Dean replied. "They don't know nothing about no deaths at Hogwarts, because I'm not stupid enough to tell them."

"You don't know my mother," Seamus shouted. "She would weasel anything out of anyone! Anyway, your parents don't get the Daily Prophet. They don't know our Headmaster has been sacked from the Wizengamot and the International Confederation of Wizards because he's losing his mind. Or that his mother…" he continued, pointing Harry, "was sacked of the Aurors because she was doing a pitiful job…"

"Take back what you just said!" Harry warned Seamus.

"Or what? You believe that because she's a professor now, you're untouchable!"

"No," Ron said firmly, stopping Harry from advancing on Seamus with his arm. "But she is a professor, and I am a prefect. If you lack respect for her and I report you, expect consequences."

Seamus looked even more furious. He turned to Harry again. "Dumbledore must really have lost his marbles for making your mother a teacher."

"My grandmother says that the Ministry and the Daily Prophet are the ones who lost their minds," Neville said all of a sudden. "She's cancelled our subscription to the newspaper, and she doesn't believe a single word the Ministry is saying now. We believe Harry. My grandmother always said You-Know-Who would come back one day. She says if Dumbledore says he's back, he's back."

Harry didn't remember feeling that grateful to Neville in his life. He sent a thankful gaze at Neville, who returned it as he took place in his own bed. Nobody said anything more, and Seamus turned his back on them in his bed as well. Harry went to sleep, a sleep that proved to be not as restful as he might have hoped.

Harry had set his morning clock at an early hour next morning, to be able to visit his mother like she asked him to. So he woke up much earlier than the others and headed for her new office. When he arrived in front of the door, he hesitated before knocking. After his dispute with Seamus yesterday, the thoughts about his mother becoming an actual professor disappeared in the back of his mind as it was entirely occupied with thoughts concerning the smearing campaign of the Ministry and how many people at Hogwarts would consider Harry to be a liar today. Now that he had to think about his mother being a professor once again… He still didn't know how to feel about it. But in comparison to how people believed the lies of the Daily Prophet, it looked like a small problem he would have to personally deal with. He wondered though how problematic it would be for her.

Sighing, Harry finally knocked on the door. His mother replied from the other side, inviting him inside. He opened the door.

Harry was welcomed by a scene he had not witnessed in years. All around the office, books and papers were scattered, on the desk, which was the only furniture in the room, on the floor, and even against the walls. The last time he saw such a mess was back when his mother studied to become Auror. His mother herself was standing in a corner, reading something, but she let it fall on her desk the moment Harry walked in.

"Hi, my dear. I'm so happy to see you."

She came to hug him. Harry returned it, and she ruffled his hair once again. This gesture began to bother him sometimes.

"Take a seat. I guess you have many questions," she told him.

"Yes. Mom… What happened?"

He didn't think he needed to develop further. The subject of his question looked very clear to him. They sat down face to face, in front of her desk. His mother sighed, then began explaining herself. "A few days ago, Dumbledore came to see me while you were all sleeping." Dumbledore had come to the headquarters? And he didn't ask to see Harry? "After I was forced to resign by the Ministry and after your hearing, he offered me to become professor. He suggested that I could teach Defence Against the Dark Arts this year."

"And you accepted?" Harry asked, unbelieving.

"No. Not right away. I needed time to think about it. With everything that's happening in the outside, the work for the Order, I wasn't sure it was the best thing to do for me. And… Well, I didn't want you to have further problems with your friends or your classmates if I was to teach you and all of them."

Harry sighed. "Well, I already have some."

"I'm sorry. Look, I should have told you, but… The truth is, I only accepted Dumbledore's offer after you climbed on the Hogwarts Express."

Harry looked at her. "You accepted yesterday?"

"Yes, only a few hours before you arrived at the school. If I had accepted sooner, I swear, I would have told you. It wasn't in my plans to have you surprised to see me in the Great Hall at your arrival."

"But… Why? Dumbledore couldn't find someone else?"

She sighed and nodded negatively. "No, he couldn't. As you must suspect already, Dumbledore struggles every year to find a professor for this subject. Why do you think he hired people like Gilderoy Lockhart in the past?" Indeed, that made sense, if only fools like Lockhart were ready to take the position. Did that make his mother a fool? Or suicidal? "But this year, with the accusations thrown by the Ministry, it's been even more difficult. Very fewer people want to be associated with Dumbledore. And we even suspect that the Ministry acted behind the curtains to further discourage anyone from accepting the position."

"So Fudge could name the professor himself," Harry concluded, remembering all of a sudden the discussion he had with Susan and the others aboard the Hogwarts Express.

"Yes. I see you know about that decree he adopted."

"Yes. Susan told me about it on the train."

His mother nodded. "Well, you'll never guess who Fudge wanted to nominate." No, Harry didn't know. "Dolores Jane Umbridge."

Harry almost jumped at the revelation. "What? That woman?"

"Yes. And believe me, neither I nor Dumbledore was eager to see this woman teach anymore than you are."

"She was there at my trial. She voted for me to be declared guilty!"

"She is one of Fudge's closest advisors and supporters. And from what we know of her, believe me, you wouldn't have liked to have her as a teacher."

Indeed not. Harry once discussed about this woman with Remus. He hated her. She adopted legislation preventing him from finding a job. She had the reputation of despising everyone who wasn't a normal wizard. Harry didn't dare to imagine what she would have thought of Hagrid, considering he was a half-giant.

"Why would Fudge want to place such a woman as professor?" he asked, disgusted.

"To get a pair of eyes on everything Dumbledore would do. To have a spy inside Hogwarts. So I thought about it for days, and finally… I made my decision. At the last minute. I barely made it in time to prevent Umbridge from settling in this office."

Well, Harry supposed that now his mother's decision made more sense.

"Look, my dear, I know you already have a lot to deal with this year, and I'm sorry to add this on top of that. But believe me, this is way better than to have a professor who wouldn't have taught you a single counter-curse of the whole year."

"What?"

"Recent intelligence seems to suggest that Fudge is afraid that Dumbledore might want to turn his students into his personal army."

"But that's ridiculous."

"It is. That shows you how Fudge doesn't think anymore. He is so paranoid and so desperate to not believe Dumbledore's warnings that he is ready to think anything else. Including that Dumbledore is planning a coup against him. And given what is truly happening outside these walls, this is not the moment for you and your comrades to have a professor telling you that any use of spells is dangerous and useless. So… That's mostly how I ended up at the staff table yesterday."

Now, Harry better understood why his mother became a professor. Though he wished she could have told him before. And he wished he wasn't worried for her due to her acceptance.

"But… Are you sure that… I mean, being professor of Defence Against the Dark Arts… Moody ended up stuck in his trunk last year. And Quirrell…"

He didn't dare to say the word out loud. His mother smiled fondly. "I will only stay for a year. I'll leave after that. And Dumbledore will try to find someone else in the meantime. And look, not all former teachers in this subject ended harmed or dead. Remus only resigned and Lockhart flew away when he was asked to risk his life."

"With a ruined reputation." Although for Lockhart it was well deserved. "And Remus' secret was revealed to everybody."

"It wasn't that big of a deal. Don't worry, Harry. I don't intend to stay long enough for any potential curse on the position to cause me major problems."

She smirked. Harry tried to return it, but he wasn't sure if he succeeded.

"Now, look, Harry. We will have to be careful in the way we interact when other students or professors are around. I will have to behave with you exactly the same way as I will with the other students. No treatment of favour. You understand."

"Yes. Of course," Harry nodded. He didn't really think about asking favours to his mother anyway. He was so surprised to discover she would teach them this year.

"It might be best to avoid answering questions when I ask them in class. All your comrades will eventually know who I am for the few who still don't, but it is better to not give them any reason to complain or identify you as my son."

"Believe me, everyone who knows me is already aware. The family name thing doesn't work very well anymore."

"I expected as much, but… Well, all that to say, while I'm here at Hogwarts, I am your professor, and you are my student. To all other students, it must look like it."

"But… What if I need to talk with you?"

"You come to my office. We will find a way if you need a serious discussion. But like I say, I will not be able to treat you any differently than any other student, at least while others are around." She smiled. "Don't worry. Things will go alright. And who knows? Maybe you will find it funny to have your own mother as a teacher. You and your friends will get the chance to complain about the homework I'll give you."

They both laughed at this. When Harry left his mother's office, he felt a little better. The year might not be as terrible as yesterday suggested. When he reached the Great Hall, it was to smell the good scent of breakfast waiting for him. He spotted Susan at the Hufflepuff table, meeting her gaze and smiling at her, which she returned. He had to head to the Gryffindor table, but he hoped to find time for her later today. He joined Ron and Hermione, and the two stopped talking the moment he arrived. Again, he felt that they were discussing him before he arrived.

"Hi, Harry," Hermione said. "So, you had a good night?"

"Yes, it was okay," he replied, smiling a little. The Seamus matter was still inside his throat, but he bothered about it a little less right now.

"Oh, good then. Ron told me about… what happened with Seamus."

He sighed. "Yes. I guess… I suppose it was to be expected that some students would… But I didn't think Seamus would be among them."

"Yes, I see what you mean," Hermione replied, sounding compassionate. "Lavender thinks so too."

"Fantastic!" Harry said in a theatrically exasperated way.

"Time before bed was not very joyful. Parvati and I had a go at her."

"You and Parvati?" Harry asked, unbelieving for a moment.

"Yes. Well, Parvati was not as vocal as I was, of course, but… She does believe you, Harry. There are more people to believe you than you might think. And Parvati clearly disapproved of Lavender's opinion."

Harry was surprised. Given his history with Parvati, their breakup, how he arranged for her to accompany Ron to a disastrous date to the Yule Ball, he wouldn't have expected his former girlfriend to take his defence. She had been quite cold towards him after the Yule Ball for the Ron thing, and he had avoided her for most of the summer at the Abandoned Tower, not wanting to cross her path while he spent time with Susan. That gave him hope. If Parvati herself was ready to believe him when he said that Voldemort was back…

"Anyway, you couldn't expect much better from Lavender," Ron shrugged. "Since you dumped her best friend, she's been at best disdainful at you. We can't help it with her." Ron's words lifted Harry's mood a little further. Indeed, there were people he couldn't hope to persuade, probably. His gaze wandered to the Slytherin table as he ate his eggs. "Anyway, where have you been? You were gone when we all got up, and you weren't there when we arrived in the Great Hall."

"Oh." He hadn't told them about the message his mother sent him, so busy they had been with the first-years and Seamus last evening. "I went to see my mother."

He looked at the staff table. She wasn't there. He thought, not without a hint of humor, that she might have lost herself in her own office, given how full of stuff it was.

"And… How is she? Is she really going to teach us this year, or was this some kind of joke from Dumbledore?" Ron further asked.

"This is no joke. She's going to teach us. Dumbledore offered her the position a few days ago, and she accepted yesterday. After we climbed on the train, and before the welcoming feast."

"So, that's why you didn't know about it?" Hermione asked, as if the mystery was solved. Harry nodded.

"Well, that's going to be… odd. Maybe fun too. What kind of teacher your mother is?" Ron asked.

Harry was unsure what to answer. He had no idea himself.

"I'm sure she will be very good," Hermione said. "She was an Auror, and… She must know so many things. Of course, Harry, you must not expect her to give you any favor treatment."

"Why shouldn't he?" Ron asked, as if Hermione said something stupid. "She's his mother."

"But she is our professor now, Ron. And as a professor, she must be impartial and treat all the students the same way, even Harry."

Ron made a particular sound with his mouth and lips. "Come on, Hermione. Do you really believe that she will give a detention to Harry if he doesn't attend his lessons?"

"She might well do."

"Hermione… I think you're confusing her with my own mother."

Harry almost found their bickering funny as it went down further. They didn't know that his mother warned him she would treat him the very same way as the other students, and Harry decided to not tell them. Not right away. Harry didn't think his mother was lying. And truth be told, even if it wasn't the truth, he didn't want to bring problems to his mother if he didn't behave correctly around her. He didn't intend to exploit his situation. It was at this moment that Angelina Johnson, one of his Quidditch teammates, almost ran at him.

"Harry."

"Hi, Angelina."

"Good summer? Listen, I've been made Gryffindor Quidditch Captain."

"Nice one. Congratulations," he complimented her.

"Yeah, well, we need a new Keeper now that Oliver left. Tryouts are on Friday at five o'clock and I want the whole team there, all right? Then we can see how the new person will fit in."

"Okay," Harry agreed. And Angelina left without another word, like that.

"I had forgotten Wood had left," Hermione said. "I suppose that will make quite a difference for the team."

"I suppose. He was a good Keeper."

"Still, it will not hurt to have some new blood, will it?" Ron said.

They continued to take their breakfast. The owls arrived while they ate, including Hermione's edition of the Daily Prophet to remain aware of what was happening. But there was nothing concerning Harry or Dumbledore today. McGonagall then distributed their timetables.

"Look at today!" Ron groaned. "History of Magic and double Potions this morning. Then Divination, and finally double Defence Against the Dark Arts. Binns, Snape and Trelawney in a row…" He looked at Harry. "In your interest, I hope your mother is a cool teacher."

"She should be," Harry assured, though he absolutely had no idea. After all, teaching was probably very different from chasing dark wizards.

But this looked like the only answer he could provide, with Ron looking in such a bad mood. It was true that he had quite an agenda before the last lesson. Harry also got a terrible morning, with the same lessons, but he had Ancient Runes instead of Divination at the beginning of the afternoon. So if his morning promised to be terrible, the afternoon was more promising. Maybe it was better to get rid of the most horrible from the beginning.

"I hope Fred and George hurry up with their snackboxes…"

"Do my ears deceive me?" Fred said at this time, having heard Ron while he arrived. "Hogwarts prefects surely don't wish to skive off lessons?"

What followed was an exercise from Fred and George to tease the three of them, but especially Ron, about the horrible time that awaited them with their O.W.L.s this year, while Hermione tried to warn them about not testing their products on students. The twins finally left, claiming they would try to sell some Extendable Ears before their first lesson.

Despite this, Harry generally felt good as the three of them headed for their class of History of Magic. His good mood quickly fell though as Binns, the only professor who was also a ghost in the school, spent an entire hour telling them about the giant wars. Harry always did his best to follow the boring recital, but it was impossible to hold more than ten minutes in a row. He always missed parts of the lesson that Hermione filled him on later, while Ron missed almost the whole class after abandoning for good after only five minutes. This caused Hermione to be furious at him and to remind them both that they would fail their O.W.L.s without her, later when they left the classroom.

The three of them ended up in the courtyard, discussing their upcoming Potions lesson.

"Maybe Snape will behave better now that he's on our side?" Hermione suggested, though she did not look convincing at all.

"Snape? Behaving better? For who do you take us, Hermione? We've all stopped believing in Santa Claus a long time ago," Ron retorted.

"I doubt he will behave any better," Harry muttered.

"Though… Who knows? Your mother is his colleague. Maybe he will be spare us a little to not make her angry," Ron hypothesized.

"Did he treat us better while Remus was teaching us?"

This reminder that Harry served was enough to convince the two others. They finally agreed that whatever they studied today would be particularly hard. They just reached this agreement when someone walked towards them.

"Hello, Harry."

Cho Chang was standing in front of him, and most surprisingly, she was alone. Harry was surprised. She was always with a group of friends. He remembered how difficult it had been to invite her to the Yule Ball last year. If she had been easier to talk to alone, maybe… He chased the idea from his mind and felt guilty about thinking this even for a moment.

"Hi, Cho," he said as normally as he could.

"You got that stuff off, then?" she asked him, a little timid and embarrassed smile on her lips.

"Yeah," he replied, a little embarrassed as well.

Yesterday, Cho had seen him along with Neville, Luna and Ginny covered with the stinking self-defence substance of the Mimbulus mimbletonia. She had not addressed them any word, she simply saw them in passing while walking along the train, after Susan opened the compartment to ask them what happened. Harry thought she refrained to laugh back then.

"So… Did you have… a good s… morning so far?" He corrected himself at the last instant. He didn't think it was wise to ask Cho how her summer went, after she saw Harry coming back from the third task of the Triwizard Tournament with the dead body of her boyfriend.

"Yes. It was good. In fact… I just attended my first lesson of Defence Against the Dark Arts." That caught Harry's attention. "Your mother… She seems like a good teacher."

"Oh yeah? Well, good then."

"My father told me…"

"Is that a Tornados badge?" Ron suddenly asked, pointing at Cho's robes where the badge of the team indeed appeared. Harry remembered this was Cho's favourite team. She told him a while ago, during one of the common practices their teams held together. "You don't support them, do you?"

"Yeah, I do," Cho answered, frowning.

"Have you always supported them, or just since they started winning the league?"

Harry found Ron's accusing tone quite misplaced and useless. Especially considering that Cho had indeed supported the team long before they started to become champions.

"I've supported them since I was six," Cho replied quite coldly, not without reason. "Anyway. See you, Harry."

And she left. Harry felt guilty, and he wasn't entirely sure why.

"You are so tactless!" Hermione snapped at Ron once Cho was far away enough.

"What? I only asked her…" he said on an innocent tone.

"Ron, she already supported the Tornados two years ago, when we faced each other for the first time," Harry informed him, not without blame in his voice. "She showed me her badge before I played against Slytherin that year. And it was before the Tornados started winning everything."

"Ah. Well, I didn't know," Ron shrugged, as if it didn't matter. Harry found it odd, considering how Ron himself got defensive when it came to the Chudley Cannons.

"Even then, you could have avoided attacking her Quidditch team," Hermione reproached to him.

"Attacking? I wasn't attacking her. I was only…"

"Who cares if she supports the Tornados?"

This time, their bickering continued all the way as they walked to the Potions classroom, and Harry didn't find it as funny as during breakfast.

He regretted that Ron was hard like that with Cho on such a subject. Harry still felt guilty for Cedric's death, and now his friend managed to hurt Cho. Though, something also troubled Harry. Why had Cho come to talk to him? Cedric had been her boyfriend. It was hard for Harry to forget how the two of them looked in love whenever he crossed their path last year. She could have hated Harry for surviving while Cedric came out dead of the Triwizard Tournament. He wouldn't have blamed her if she did. In fact, he almost convinced himself during the summer that she must hate him. And yet, she came to see him, to talk to him, on a totally friendly tone, not like she hated him. She didn't behave like she believed he was a liar or mad. It lifted his spirits, made him feel better. He even felt…

Harry shook his head as they walked into the dungeons where Snape gave his lessons. Ron's and Hermione's continued bickering reminded him of how this subject was painful to follow. And whatever faint hopes Harry held that Snape's behavior might have improved from last year were crushed by today's lesson.

The only fleeting moment of happiness to mark this Potions lesson was when Snape declared at the very beginning that he didn't expect much of them to follow his lessons next year after their O.W.L.s, which filled Harry with hopes of no longer being forced to suffer Snape in class. This faint episode of levity ended as soon as it began when Snape gave them instructions to prepare a Draught of Peace within the next hour and a half. When Harry was done, he was sweating from the heat in the class and the exertion of preparing such a complicated potion, like the rest of the classroom. And although his potion was not far from the desired result, being grey instead of silvery color, Snape pointed out his mistake to the whole class and made his potion disappear, earning him a zero.

Ron and Hermione told him how unfair Snape had been, probably in the hope to lift his mood, but despite their efforts, they failed. Probably because their attempts resulted in them bickering again on Dumbledore's sanity over his decision to keep Snape as professor. Harry let them argue over the whole lunch, leaving after finishing his in about twenty minutes. He felt like he needed some time alone.

But fate wouldn't let him alone, it seems. "Harry." Susan came from the Hufflepuff table exactly while Harry was leaving Gryffindor's.

"Hi, Susan," he replied, forcing himself to smile.

"Oh. Bad morning?" she asked, looking worried.

"Binns and Snape, is that enough for an explanation?"

"Oh. I see," her face lighting with understanding. "You want to take a walk outside?"

"Yes, why not." Maybe this would really make him feel better.

Despite the very grey clouds and rainy atmosphere on the outside, rain wasn't falling when he and Susan wandered through the park. He noticed that Susan had tied her hair into a plait today.

"Just so you know, I had Binns this morning me too, right before lunch," she told him as they left the Entrance Hall.

"My condolences."

She sighed. "I have to admit, it was even worse than in my memories last year. Did he talk to you about the giant wars as well?"

"Yes. I wonder if the subject is really that boring of if Binns made it boring on purpose this time. Though it was a ballad in the park when compared to Potions."

"I get that Snape is as detestable as before?"

"I would say he's even worse than before."

"What did he do this time?" she asked on a tired voice. Harry didn't blame her for sounding tired, not after Binns' lesson and Susan's own resentment towards Snape.

Harry spent the next five minutes explaining her how the ordeal in Potions went. When he was done, she didn't look surprised.

"Snape has not gotten better then," she declared, stating the evidence.

"I don't pretend that my potion was perfect, but still, it was supposed to be of a silver color, and it was grey. It was better than Goyle's. It shattered his flagon and set his robes on fire."

"Since when has Snape ever been fair?" Susan asked, echoing his thoughts. "Anyway, see the bright side of things. You're ridden of him for a few days. And we have Ancient Runes and Defence Against the Dark Arts this afternoon. It should be better."

"Yes, true," Harry acknowledged, trying to see things this way.

He realized that he had instinctively taken Susan's hand into his. They had spent so much time together during summer that it became an automatism, and it started all over again now that they were back at Hogwarts. And alone once more. When Harry thought about this, it was the first time he really spent alone with Susan since the Dementors' attack, except for the few minutes during which he accompanied her to her compartment in the Hogwarts Express. He missed those moments of the month of July. It was a time when he almost had the impression to have a normal life. He smiled to Susan, who returned it to him. He then realized they had arrived near Hagrid's house. Susan's eyes followed his.

"Do you know why Hagrid is not here?" Susan asked.

"No, not precisely. I think… he might be on some kind of mission. I don't know what mission. Dumbledore didn't say when he would be back yesterday."

"Now that I think about it, it was odd to not hear his voice calling for the first-years yesterday. I always found him very kind."

Harry nodded. Susan wasn't as close to Hagrid as Harry, Ron and Hermione were. She wasn't even part of the students following lessons of Care of Magical Creatures. But it was good to hear she liked him.

"Do you remember last year when he let us experiment on the golden egg in his cabin?" he asked her, smiling.

Susan emitted one of those very short laughs Harry loved so much about her. "He shouldn't have. He's lucky we didn't set fire to his house."

"Or blasted it," he added, joining her laughter. He was glad to see her laugh again. He still felt guilty for the Dementors. Susan would never have been attacked if she hadn't been with him when they decided to assault him. They didn't even have time to discuss after the trial.

"Well, who could have known that all we had to do was to plunge it into a bath."

The mention of this trick brought Harry's mind back to Cedric. He had been the one to tell him how to solve the egg, although in an imprecise way. How could Harry have suspected back then that he would be dead a few months later?

"Speaking of teachers, you didn't tell me your mother would be teaching us this year," Susan told him.

"I didn't know. I found out at the same time as you. Apparently, Dumbledore offered her the position, and she accepted it after we climbed on the Hogwarts Express," he said, feeling it wasn't the first time he gave that explanation.

"Oh. Well, she should be a good teacher. She's been an Auror, after all. And I guess she will not force us to throw spells at each other like Professor Moody did."

"Though it wasn't entirely Moody. At least, not in the end."

"True," Susan acknowledged, her expression turning worried all of a sudden. "I still can't believe we had… a Death Eater for a professor. Not a former Death Eater, but an actual one."

"Yeah. I know."

"Well, at least, we can feel safe with your mother."

He smiled. "Yes, I guess. I doubt it is someone who impersonated her."

"You won't feel a little strange, having your own mother teach you?"

"Well, I don't know. I guess we will find out this afternoon."

"Yes, I guess. I'm a little scared me too."

"You are?" Harry asked, puzzled.

"Your new professor of Defence Against the Dark Arts may be your mother, Harry. But for me, she is the mother of my boyfriend."

Harry realized all of a sudden what she meant. He tried to imagine himself following lessons from Susan's mother or father. He would certainly feel quite intimidated. His mother and Susan didn't really have a chance to get to know each other during summer.

"You'll see. This is going to be alright. My mother is cool," he tried to reassure her as they walked away from Hagrid's home.

"Are you sure about it? You saw her teaching before?" Susan asked him on an uncertain tone.

"No," he admitted. "But Cho… told me this morning that she followed her first lesson, and she said my mother was a good teacher."

"Oh. Okay, then. I suppose it will be alright."

Harry didn't say a word for some time afterwards. He felt strange, having mentioned his discussion with Cho from this morning to Susan. He tried to come up with another topic of conversation but failed. They eventually made their way back to the Entrance Hall without another word, still holding hands.

"I must go back to my common room. I left my bag there. We see each other in Ancient Runes?" she asked as they approached the doors giving on the Entrance Hall.

"Yes," he replied.

Without warning, she kissed him as they were in a relatively isolated corner of the courtyard. After a moment, Harry let himself be carried and kissed her back. It had been so long since he could do that, simply kissing his girlfriend for a time longer than a peck on the lips. He felt shivers going through his body as he felt her hot breath against his. They ended it too soon for his taste. He would have liked to continue. He still managed to plant another kiss on Susan's forehead, breathing in her red hair before they resumed their path and separated in the Entrance Hall, both with large smiles on their faces.

Harry tagged along Hermione to go in Ancient Runes. There, he sat down next to Susan while Hermione took place with Hannah behind them. Harry wasn't planning to spend the lesson talking in ushed voices with his girlfriend, although he admitted he wouldn't mind doing that, but he knew Susan would never agree. Still, being next to her during an entire hour after a very laborious morning was soothing.

Although Ancient Runes had never been an easy subject, involving intensive note taking, it was way more enjoyable than the tedious, numbing lessons of Binns. Professor Babbling put intonations in her voice, gave them examples, asked them questions during her lessons. Although Harry's hand was a little tired at the end of the hour, he felt alive again. He even got the chance to exchange a few gazes with Susan during the lesson, although they never spoke. There were ways to communicate that didn't involve words, after all. At the end of the class, Harry was relieved when he heard the bell ringing, but he felt way happier than after Potions.

"If you don't mind, Harry," Susan told him as they made their way to the classroom of Defence Against the Dark Arts, "I would not sit next to you for your mother's lesson."

"Why?"

"Well… It's just… For her first lesson, I would rather not want her to see me like the girl who's sitting next to you."

"Okay," he said, a little disappointed. "If you want. But my mother is really fine, believe me."

"I believe you, of course. It's just… Only for the first lesson. I'll feel less under stress this way."

"Fine."

"Thank you. I guess it's too much to hope that Snape gave you no homework."

Hermione scoffed. She accompanied them to the next lesson. "Snape gave us twelve inches of parchment on the properties of moonstone. To be given in three days. Binns and Babbling also gave us long homework."

"So did Flitwick for us this morning," Susan completed. "I'm afraid this is going to be a constant this year. No offense meant, Hermione, but I'm glad you got the badge and not I."

"No offense taken," Hermione replied.

Soon they arrived. Some students were already taking place at the tables. Harry looked around, searching for his mother, but she was nowhere to be seen. He wondered if she was so buried under work that she was late. Harry took place at a table alone while Susan and Hermione took another one farther from him. Ron showed up in the classroom not long after. He was one of the last to arrive, and the place next to Harry was one of the few available. Harry had the distinct impression that very few people were interested in sitting next to him.

"If this new teacher gives homework too, I swear, I kill her," Ron muttered to Harry. He looked at Ron, who after a moment seemed to realize how Harry was staring at him. And to also realize he had been talking about his mother. "Uh… I mean… I'm sorry, mate."

"I get that Trelawney behaved like Snape and Binns," Harry concluded, not taking Ron's declarations too seriously.

"A dream diary for the entire month," his friend almost spat.

"Just so you know, Babbling gave us several inches of homework too."

"Hooray! This year is barely a day old, and we're already crushed with homework."

"Well, this is only a dream diary. It shouldn't take that long to make."

"You obviously don't have Trelawney as a teacher. You're as helpful as Hermione is in that domain." Ron then looked behind. "Oh, by the way, Hermione and I, we kept arguing after you left at lunch. And… Well, she told me that she thinks Cho wanted to talk with you alone this morning. You know, when she came to see you."

Harry felt a strange impression in his ribcage. "Oh. So?" He tried not only to sound disinterested, but also to be disinterested.

"Well, I thought you better know. I mean, if your girlfriend ever learns that Cho is after you…"

"Ron, speak lower!" Harry angrily pressed him in whispers, casting a glance towards Hermione and Susan who didn't seem to have heard them, by chance.

"Sorry, mate. I just wanted to warn you. Well, I don't know if Hermione is right, she may be wrong, but she understands girls way better than me. Still, I would find it odd that this girl decides to go after you, considering what happened to…"

"Good afternoon, everybody."

Ron was interrupted by a voice Harry knew only too well. He heard it on an almost daily basis since his birth. His mother just walked into the classroom, a satchel under her arm. The entire class turned completely silent on her arrival. Harry supposed they didn't know what to expect of his mother in terms of discipline. Harry wasn't sure himself. But he decided that he better behave perfectly, to avoid any potential problem, especially in the first lesson. His mother put her satchel on the professor's desk in front of the classroom, leaning her back against it. Harry had the odd impression that she was a little winded.

"I am the Professor Lily Evans, and I'm going to teach you Defence Against the Dark Arts for this year. First, before the lesson begins, I'm going to take your names. When I call yours, you raise your hand and say present." His mother took a parchment that had to be the register.

"Hannah Abbott," she called.

"Present," Hannah replied, raising her hand. His mother looked quickly at her and crossed a name on her list.

"Susan Bones."

"Present." His mother didn't even look up and crossed the name without glancing at Susan.

"Lavender Brown."

"Present." This time, she took a longer look before crossing the name.

"Kevin Entwhistle."

"Present."

"Justin Finch-Fletchley."

"Present."

"Seamus Finnigan."

"Present." Harry noticed Seamus' lack of enthusiasm as he confirmed his attending.

"Hermione Granger."

"Present."

"Wayne Hopkins."

"Present."

"Megan Jones."

"Present."

"Neville Longbottom."

"Present."

"Ernie Macmillan."

"Present."

"Roger Malone."

"Present."

"Lily Moon."

"Present."

"Parvati Patil."

"Present."

"Sally-Anne Perks."

"Present," Sally said very shyly.

"Harry Potter."

"Present," he replied in a hoarse voice. His mother didn't even look at him. Well, she told him she wouldn't treat him differently than other students.

"Sophie Roper."

"Present."

"Angela Runcorn."

"Present."

"Dean Thomas."

"Present."

"Ronald Weasley."

"Present."

"Good." She put away the register. "You're all here. Unless I forgot to mention someone. Did I?"

No one answered, of course, because indeed everyone was called for. Harry began to feel butterflies in his stomach. He was beginning to be worried about any direction this lesson would take.

"Very well. Let's begin."

Sorry for the cliffhanger. You'll have to wait the next chapter to see Lily's first lesson.

Please review.

Next chapter: another POV