Thank you again for all the reviews! This is the end of the story for now, but I wouldn't be opposed to writing a sequel sometime in the future.

Part Three

"I want in."

Harry turned around warily. This was yet another voice he didn't know, accosting him on his way to the Room of Requirement, and even though things had worked out with Flint and Zabini so far, he was alone right now.

He was also doing his best not to just draw his wand when there was a threat, because that was apparently the kind of thing Lupin had spoken to the other professors about. McGonagall had shaken her head the other day when Harry and Ron and Hermione got into a confrontation with Malfoy, and advised Harry sternly that magic wasn't allowed in the corridors.

They worry more about me than for me.

But none of that had much to do with the boy standing behind him. Harry hesitated, recognizing him as a Hufflepuff in their year, but not his name.

"Zacharias Smith," the boy said, with a smile that didn't come near reaching his eyes. "Not that you would know that, Potter."

"What do you want?"

"I want in to your Defense group."

"There's not a—"

"I know there is." Smith leaned towards him insistently. "I overheard Weasley and Granger arguing in the library about how they wanted to introduce more Runes and Arithmancy theory to your Defense group."

Harry grimaced. Well, at least they didn't have to deal with something like Flint or Zabini betraying them. "It's not the kind of thing we invite just anyone to."

"What are the standards? I am sure that I can meet them."

"Being able to get along with people. Not being a blood purist. Not being the sort of student who's going to run to the professors to snitch. And wanting to really study Defensive magic outside class."

Smith smiled, a colder and sharper thing than most of the Slytherins' expressions. "I'm sure that I qualify, yes."

"How do I know that?"

"Take a chance on me. If what Weasley and Granger were saying is right, I'm sure that you can make me regret it if I betray you."

Harry spent a few seconds eyeing Smith, but Smith just stood there and smiled some more. Harry's curiosity got the better of him. "What reason do you have to really want to study Defensive magic?"

"I don't know how much you know about my family?" Harry shook his head, and Smith continued, "I have cousins in every country on the Continent, and there are always people who are doing better than I am, who are more impressive, who have more money, who are smarter. If I want to stand out among them, then I need powerful magic and more control of my spells."

It wasn't a motive that Harry would have thought he'd have himself—he would have cherished a large family if he'd had one—but he nodded. "All right. Welcome to our group. But I will make you regret it if you betray us."

"I'd expect nothing less."

"Expecto Patronum!"

Harry gasped as he watched the silvery light from Flint's wand form into a shifting, shining animal. A panther, Harry thought, although he only saw it for a moment before it vanished into mist again. "That was great, Flint!"

Flint lowered his wand. He rarely smiled, but he was today, and Harry also thought it was the first time he'd ever seen the smile go all the way to the Slytherin's eyes. "Yeah."

"Can you help me, Flint? I th-think I'm on the verge of getting it, but mine keeps breaking apart…"

Harry wasn't the only one who turned to stare at Neville. Flint seemed pretty stunned Neville was asking. But he nodded a second later and stepped up behind him. "Show me your wand movements."

Harry looked happily around the Room. Today it was back in the odd five-sided shape that it had been when he and Ron and Hermione had first found it. There were little stone walls everywhere, though, that would grow into dueling wards when two people were practicing, so no spells could get out. Ginny and Luna were practicing in one of them right now, Ron and Hermione in another. Zabini stood in a third, casting hexes at the stone wall and frowning when they didn't evidently return the result he wanted. Fred and George were talking with Smith about something apparently related to people Smith wanted them to prank.

My life is weird sometimes, but it's brilliant, too.

"Harry! Come here and show Neville your Patronus."

Harry took a moment to adjust to the fact that Flint apparently called both him and Neville by their first names, now, but then ran over to the walled area, drawing his wand as he went. He liked any chance to show off his dragon.

And besides, the more he practiced, the more likely he was to survive the next time the Dementors invaded the grounds.

"Pathetic, Longbottom."

Harry sped up when he heard the words. That sounded like Malfoy's voice, and he'd left the library about the same time Neville had. It was absolutely possible that he was bullying Neville.

Harry came around the corner in time to see Malfoy laughing, with Crabbe and Goyle at his shoulders. Neville stood in front of them, but he didn't look shivery and beaten-down the way he would most of the time in class when someone made a remark about him not being able to get a spell right away.

"Expecto Patronum!" Neville yelled.

Apparently Neville was motivated. An enormous silver cloud puffed into being, and Harry gaped as he made out the heavy horns on the front of it. Was that a buffalo?

The Patronus charged Malfoy and the others, who scattered, yelping. It broke apart a second later, but Neville lowered his wand with satisfaction and surveyed the Slytherins.

"Let's see you do that, Malfoy."

"I don't think we should encourage him to try it," Harry said, smiling as he stepped around the corner and saw Malfoy's hand reaching for his robe pocket. "After all, magic is forbidden in the corridors, isn't it?"

"It certainly is."

That was Lupin's voice. Harry sighed a little as the professor swooped down on them, but he continued to smile at Malfoy. It had been fun while it lasted.

"What is going on here?"

"I was just offering to help Longbottom in class, Professor Lupin," Malfoy said quickly. "And then he drew his wand and attacked me for no reason!"

Harry snorted, and Lupin turned around to look at him quickly. "You shouldn't laugh, Harry. After the amount of trouble your father caused…"

"Yeah, now you sound like Snape."

"Professor Snape." Lupin rubbed his forehead. "Harry, Mr. Longbottom, both of you come with me. Mr. Malfoy, you're dismissed."

Malfoy stuck out his tongue at Harry and Neville as they trailed behind Lupin towards his office. Harry rolled his eyes. That just said a lot about Malfoy's childishness, he thought, and nothing about the way that Harry and Neville had reacted.

"You cannot cast spells outside of class. You need to practice in the classroom."

"Why, professor? Malfoy was drawing his wand, too. He would have hexed me if I hadn't already had my wand drawn."

Harry stood back as Neville spoke to Lupin. Neville was still standing taller and straighter after his successful Patronus, which made Harry totally unable to regret what had happened. Maybe Neville shouldn't have done the spell in the middle of the corridor, but maybe he should.

Meanwhile, Harry watched Lupin's face, and thought of what he'd said about Harry's father. Some pieces were falling into place for him.

"It's not something that you need to do. Being involved in violence like that—"

"Just casting the Patronus is violent, sir? Why?"

Lupin winced as if he didn't like the sight of Neville's earnestness. "Having the habit of turning to spells instead of words could be a problem, yes. What if you cast a spell at someone who is trying to help you, and injure them?"

Neville gave Lupin a completely skeptical look. Harry barely managed to hold back his chuckle. Lupin should have come up with stronger arguments if he didn't want Neville to doubt him. "You're not the only one who can teach us spells, though, sir."

"What do you mean by that, Mr. Longbottom?"

Neville's eyes widened with panic, and he turned and looked at Harry. Harry wanted to groan. Neville had betrayed the existence of their group without meaning to, and he'd also betrayed that Harry was leading it.

But in the meantime, Harry could step forwards and say, "Well, we learned spells from the other Defense professors that we had, didn't we? Well, from Quirrell. I don't think Lockhart taught us anything except maybe charms to take care of our hair."

Lupin didn't even smile. "Harry, I must insist that you not practice spells outside of class. You could get into all sorts of trouble—"

"The kind of trouble that you and my father got into, sir?"

It was just a guess, but Lupin was even worse than Neville about hiding his reactions, it seemed. He flinched and nearly leaped backwards. "What?"

"You said that you were a friend of my parents, sir," Harry said, watching him. "And you said something about all the trouble my father got into earlier, when we were in front of Malfoy. You think that I'm going to be a troublemaker because my father was, right? But I don't think that he got into trouble alone."

"I—Harry, that is no way to speak to your professor."

"Then you shouldn't be calling me by my first name, either. Sir."

Lupin swallowed and turned away to rest one hand on the wall beneath a picture of a vampire clawing at the air. "All right, then, Mr.—Mr. Potter. But yes. I did know something about the pranks and jokes your father played, and times he turned to violence when he shouldn't have. I don't want you to try and emulate him."

Harry shook his head. "I'm not my father, sir. I knew nothing about him until I came to Hogwarts, really. You can stop worrying."

"You could still turn into him."

"Yeah, you really have been talking to Snape."

Lupin gave Harry a painful look, so full of earnestness and worry that Harry wanted to shut his eyes and turn away. Where had that look been when he'd needed it? When he was living with the Dursleys? "I just want to see you safe and happy, Harry. And that means that you have to stop running headlong into danger. What you told me about what happened the other years, when I wasn't here—training too much in dueling spells is going to make you think that you can do something like that again, and survive. I wouldn't be surprised if you went out and tested your Patronus against a Dementor."

Harry stared at him with his mouth open. Then he said, "Of course I wouldn't do that!"

"Then why go after the Philosopher's Stone? Or the possessed student and the basilisk? The Headmaster told me the details of that story." Lupin shuddered. "Most of all, I worry that you might go after Sirius Black. It's the sort of thing your father might have done."

"I am not my bloody father, all right!"

Neville and Lupin both stared at Harry with round eyes. Harry closed his own and told himself sternly that he wasn't supposed to swear at a professor. But he had, and he wasn't all that sorry.

"Harry—"

"I'm not going to go after Sirius Black," Harry said, his voice clipped. "I'm not going to run after the Dementors. I'll protect myself if Black breaks into the school or the Dementors come onto the grounds again, okay? And I went after the Philosopher's Stone because someone had to, and all the professors were ignoring me or gone, and I went after the basilisk because it was going to kill someone. That's not the same as just running into trouble!"

"I just want you to be safe, Harry."

"Well, you're ten years too late. Where were you when Black betrayed my parents, if you're one of my dad's friends? Why did you never check up on me? Why didn't I grow up with you?"

"There are—reasons."

"What are they?"

Lupin lowered his eyes. Harry just shook his head. There probably were reasons, but the biggest ones were Lupin's fear and guilt. If he'd been part of the pranks Harry's dad played, maybe he'd been afraid that he would turn Harry into a prankster if he spent time with him.

"I just want to go away, okay? I just want to go away and have you stop talking to me about this, professor."

Lupin said nothing for long moments. Then he gave a ragged sigh and whispered, "Maybe you are right. Maybe I am too late."

Harry just nodded, although he thought it had less impact since Lupin wasn't looking at him, and faced Neville with a comforting smile. "Come on, want to go and practice our Patronuses again? See if we can find a motivation other than spite?"

He saw Lupin flinch out of the corner of his eye. Good.

"Yeah, sure," said Neville, who was looking a little dazed now. Well, a lot had happened to him at once. Harry led him towards the door of Lupin's classroom, although he paused when the professor called after him.

"Harry, may I see your Patronus?"

Harry twisted around and lifted his wand. It took almost no effort to call the Patronus now, with the joy over what Neville had achieved thrumming through him. "Expecto Patronum!" he shouted, and the silver dragon reared in front of him.

Lupin started back, his eyes wide. Then he swallowed and nodded. "It suits you."

"Thank you, Professor," Harry said, deciding that he could be gracious about this since Lupin was presumably going to leave him alone now, and departed with a nod, and Neville right behind him.

"Look," Ron said, leaning over the table that the Room had conjured for him while he gestured with one hand, "all I'm saying is that Runes take a long time to draw. Why concentrate on them when we're practicing for battle and we should be prioritizing spells that will defend us quickly?"

"I had no idea that you had a head for strategy, Weasley."

"Answer the question, Zabini."

Zabini uttered a sigh that seemed to take half the air in the room, and then leaned over and slapped his hand on the table. A piece of parchment appeared, and Harry watched in interest as he began scribbling runes on it. "You prepare it in advance and take it with you, Weasley. It's easy enough to…"

Harry listened wistfully. He was beginning to wish he had taken Ancient Runes instead of Divination. Arithmancy, at least as Hermione and Zabini explained it, wasn't that interesting, but Runes were.

"Never too late to start."

Harry jumped. Hermione was by his side, but he hadn't heard her walk up, and he hadn't realized that she would be able to interpret what he was thinking just from the way he was watching Ron and Zabini. "What?"

"This is a study group, isn't it? And we might have started out focused on Defense, but we didn't stay there." Hermione nodded across the Room where Smith and Neville were bent over a cauldron, frowning. "You could study Runes, too."

"I mean, not everyone can cast a Patronus yet…"

"No reason we can't work on both at the same time."

"Oh, okay. All right. Um. And you'd be willing to teach me?"

Hermione stared at him with her mouth a little open. Harry stared back. So far, Hermione had contributed a lot to the group, but she'd been mainly interested in learning spells that she didn't know yet, not in teaching other people things.

"Yes," Hermione said. "I'd love to teach you, Harry! I think that the way Professor Babbling teaches Ancient Runes is very confusing, honestly. If you'd like to look at my book and see what we should do next…"

"Expecto Patronum!"

Harry spun around and clapped as he watched a silvery fox prance in the air around Ginny. Ginny grinned at him and bowed. Her face was flushed with joy, and she looked a lot better than she had at the end of last year.

Voldemort can't possess her forever. The Dementors can't win. Sirius Black won't win, either.

It would take a lot of time and training to be able to make sure everyone was protected, Harry knew. They needed to bring more people in and decide on more things to learn, and they needed ones who could teach all kinds of different things, like Hermione with Runes. Lupin was politely leaving him alone now, but there would probably be another Defense professor next year, and maybe that one would be worse.

Or better.

But the best part, Harry thought as Hermione towed him towards a podium that was popping up from the floor and already bristling with what looked like thick Ancient Runes books, was that they had done something that made the world better.

In a world where things seemed to get worse the more Harry heard about them, that was no small achievement.

The End.