Chapter 90

Sixth Year Begins

Note from J.M. Jackson: I want to take a moment here, and address all of our readers. First, I apologise for this long intro, but I felt it was important. When DodoDum (Formerly MysticDodo) and I created this story, it was because we wanted to tell a story the two of us were passionate about, showing everyone that the wizarding world could be a place of wonder, love, and acceptance, even if the Author of the original work hasn't shown that in her actions.

But this week made me disgusted when on one of the sites, Fan Fiction, I came across a review stating this story was disgusting, and that mental health should never be celebrated. They were referring to the Transgender Element.

The person who wrote this review didn't even have the courage to put their name on it, and were nothing but a cowardly troll who feels they have the right to bully and harass people for being who they are. To that person, and to anyone else like it, we, the authors, kindly invite you to go to hell.

We will never be beaten. Transgender people are not mentally ill, we are people worthy of love and acceptance like anyone else is. You can always choose to bully or to be a coward, but we will always choose to stand up against you.

We will not back down just because you think you're clever by putting up a review, and being too much of a coward to even tell anyone who you are. I am transgender, and I'm proud to be myself. I'm proud of my trans brothers and sisters, my non binary peeps, and of everyone who stands up against bigotry and bullying. Never be afraid to be yourself.

And to those bigots and bullies, your kind of attitude deserves to die out. You can continue to hate, but it will never get you anywhere. You will never win, and you will never silence us.

We will not back down, and we will not be defeated. Remember, Hate is always foolish and Love is always wise. Love is more powerful than hate, and history has shown this to be true. So don't think you'll stop us by posting anonymous reviews, especially since I can remove them in seconds.

No, we are here to stay, and if you don't like it, you have two options: Continue being a bigot and bully, and get nowhere with it since you will be defeated by kindness and love, or learn and grow, and be a better person.

I am so thankful to my readers who have supported this story, and I love each and every one of you. Never be afraid to be yourself, and please feel free to reply or message if you need someone to talk to. I will always be here to listen, and there are many wonderful groups here as well. You are not alone, and you will never be alone.

Love will always win. You can say what you like, but if you want to say "Oh, the bible is against this" well, the Bible says anyone working on a Sunday needs to be put to death, that it's okay to sell your children into slavery, and if you wear clothes made of two fabrics, as many of us do, you need to be burnt in a small, private family gathering.

Does any of that make sense? No? Of course not.

But the Bible does say "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself" and it also says "But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel."

The Bible says "Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you."

So really, who's in the wrong here? That's right, you are, for hating and being bigoted. So try loving each other.

Love will always prevail. I love all of you. Thank you for reading.

The holidays were over before too long, and once again, Lily was on the train to Hogwarts with her friends. They were sitting in a private carriage which had been clearly prepared for Slughorn, who had invited them for lunch. Lily, Ginny, Ron, Hermione, Neville, Lavender, Parvati, Padma and Luna were all there, around a table which was catering more of a dinner than a lunch.

"I must admit, from everything I've read and learnt, I'm looking forward to teaching all of you this year," Slughorn said. Everyone except Lily had one of their hands on the table, which Slughorn had applied his paste to heal the scars that Umbridge had caused them to have.

"We've heard a lot about you too, sir," Padma replied. "Everyone who was taught by you has said how wonderful your classes are."

"Oh, you're too kind," Slughorn gushed, obviously enjoying the compliment. "I wasn't sure about teaching again, but clearly, I'm needed. No offence to your former potions master, but the paste that's on your hands should be in the curriculum. Of course, too many people dismiss such potions as old school and not needed."

"Maybe this is why Professor Dumbledore wanted you back, sir," Lily suggested diplomatically. "You've got more experience with potions and magic many dismiss, and that's clearly a mistake. I'm already thankful to have met you, especially since my hand doesn't hurt anymore."

"I'm glad I could help, Lily, my dear," Slughorn smiled again. "I've been making sure the lessons will cover newer potions, and some older ones. After all, if the old ways still work, then they'll help, yes?"

"Yes, sir," Lily agreed. Under the table, she felt Ginny take her hand and a smile bloomed on her face.

"As for you, Miss Weasley, not only have you captured Lily's heart, but your magic is quite formidable," Slughorn praised, no doubt suspecting the physical connection was what made Lily go all smitten. "What I saw was most impressive."

"Crabbe and Goyle have teamed up with Blaise Zabini, and were trying to cause trouble, so I hit them all with a bat bogey hex," Ginny explained, a healthy pink to her cheeks.

"Whilst I shouldn't be encouraging that as a teacher, I'm not your teacher quite yet, and so I can say it was marvellous," Slughorn chuckled, eying her with appreciation. "I daresay anyone who bothers you this year will be for quite a surprise." He picked up a piece of braised pheasant with his fork, munching away happily. Lily still wasn't entirely sure what to make of him; he did seem to be a decent man. But what about him would be important for Dumbledore's lessons?

After a few moments, Slughorn turned his attention to Neville. "I understand you were at the battle in the Ministry? That was brave of you, lad."

"W…we…well," Neville stammered a bit from being put on the spot. Lily wanted to cover for him, but he quickly recovered. "I just did what I had to do."

"You were very brave, Neville," Lily complimented. "You embody the Gryffindor spirit."

"Absolutely right. I've already been told about all of you, how you work well as a team. I'm expecting great things from every one of you here," Slughorn addressed the group, a wide smile on his face. "I'm always here to help, however I can," he added before tucking into more food.

"Thank you, Professor," Neville said, with a bashful smile of his own. The conversation led on from there and whilst Lily wanted to join in, her mind was distracted by something Ginny had said.

If Crabbe and Goyle were running with Blaise Zabini now, what did that say about Malfoy? He was clearly still shaken, from what little Sirius had told her. He hadn't wanted to divulge too much, for Malfoy's privacy, which Lily understood.

It was a strange feeling for her, to pity Draco, but she knew his pain all too well. She had lost her parents to betrayal from someone who was practically family, and it wasn't a pleasant feeling. The anger, the shock, the way it made it hard to truly trust someone and their intentions... Lily suspected Draco would want some form of revenge. The problem was, she doubted she'd have many chances to speak to the Slytherin. From what Sirius had said, Draco was going to be in a dorm of his own, along with Pansy Parkinson. Given their frosty history, the likelihood that he would seek her out was next to none despite the few things that people could say that they had in common.

She, Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Lavender, and Parvati had already discussed it, and if they came across anyone starting trouble or attacking Draco, they'd put a stop to it.

Protecting Draco Malfoy was definitely not something Lily had ever considered, but now she felt almost obligated to do so. Even if that meant protecting Draco from himself and any ill-eased plot for revenge. More than anything, though, she believed in her heart of hearts that this would be a chance to help redeem Draco from the misdeeds he had previously committed. Whether it would be enough, Lily didn't know, but she was certainly going to try.


The start of the year feast was as magnificent as it had ever been, although there was a sombre mood despite the chatter in the Great Hall. Lily knew it was because the world finally knew the truth that Voldemort – or Mouldy Shorts as Sirius had taken to calling him – was back and terrorising the world. It wasn't like the tales of the evils Voldemort had committed were just stories anymore, like some sort of bogeyman. Some of his latest victims were relatives of some of Lily's friends at school. Susan Bones had been thankful to Lily; she had explained she knew that Lily was the reason that Barty Crouch Junior had turned against Voldemort, which led to her aunt, Madam Amelia Bones, still being alive.

Lily knew Junior was in the castle, under Dumbledore's watchful gaze. In her pocket was a note that she had discovered as she took her seat upon arriving; a quick glance told her it was from the Headmaster, Dumbledore asking her to meet him that evening when the feast was over. How Dumbledore had known which seat she'd have taken, Lily didn't know, but she also knew better than to question such things.

By the time the feast had ended, Lily was ready for bed. What was it about long journeys that made people feel so exhausted? Despite the siren call of her bed, she made her way to Dumbledore's office, with Ginny, Ron, and Hermione in tow. The others wanted to join them, but Lily had promised to explain everything tomorrow when they were all feeling a little more bright eyed and bushy tailed.

Entering Dumbledore's office, Lily was surprised to see Junior was sitting next to Dumbledore's desk. He was wearing a blue suit, and there was something different about him, almost brighter.

"Lily, thank you for coming," Dumbledore said, smiling at her, and then the group. "I suspected that you wouldn't come alone."

"The power of your friendship does you credit, Lily," Crouch said warmly. Lily couldn't believe that this had once been Voldemort's loyal supporter; now he sounded like a friend.

"Thank you," was all Lily could think to say as she and the group sat down.

"I know you must be wondering why I asked you all here. For this meeting, I'm going to be handing the reins, so to speak, to Barty Crouch Junior here," Dumbledore indicated to the man.

"Thank you, Albus," Crouch said, standing up. Lily couldn't hide the shock on her face; he was addressing Professor Dumbledore as though they were old friends, or even colleagues. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Ginny, at least, felt the same way she did.

Crouch chuckled softly, no doubt witnessing the surprise on the students' faces. "I can understand your reactions; this isn't exactly where I thought I'd be either. The fact is, I have you to thank, Lily, for helping to rid me of an… unacceptable and illogical hatred of muggles and people in general."

"Me?" Lily managed to squeak out.

Crouch nodded. "Remember what you were told about your Aura?" He asked. Lily nodded, so he continued. "The year I was here teaching under the guise of Professor Moody exposed me to your Aura. That, alongside the strengthening of your magical core with the link to Miss Weasley here, well, it broke through an inner darkness I had. I began to question everything about Voldemort, including why he was so obsessed with killing you. You're just a kid, and the more I learnt about you, the more impressed I became."

"I've only done what I could. I was lucky to have my friends with me," Lily told him.

"Maybe, but there is a light about you, Lily, and about the rest of you. It's a light the world sorely needs," Crouch replied sincerely. "As such, I'm here to help train you in certain styles of magic. What I'll be teaching is not something normally permitted, but times are darker than we'd all like."

"Will we be allowed to train as well?" Hermione asked, leaning forward with a poorly schooled expression of eagerness on her face.

"I doubt Voldemort himself would be able to keep you away, Miss Granger," Crouch smirked. "You have a thirst for knowledge that matches my own. It's inspiring, to say the least."

Lily had to hide a snort as she watched Hermione blush at the compliment.

"Knowledge is important; before I've done anything, I've planned it perfectly. When things have gone wrong, it has been because others have acted against my plans, despite following me. That, however, isn't important. What is important is the methodology of planning and preparing. What is going to come… planning will be difficult, so we have to prepare for every eventuality, including the possibility of you being put in a position where you will face death, with no help," Crouch continued, his expression turning serious.

"Which makes preparing for anything even more important," Lily concluded after a moment of silence.

"Exactly. So, to begin with, I'll be teaching all of you a lot of powerful defensive and offensive spells. Professor Snape is going to be teaching you some different potions," Crouch further explained. "Some of what we may teach you may make no sense but being overly prepared could mean the difference between life and death."

"The lessons you shall be having with me, Lily, will be important for you and Ginny, so that you can understand just how you must fight. You see, much of what I teach you will be things that I don't even know. We shall, together, be travelling into the unknown, to find out how to defeat Lord Voldemort," Dumbledore spoke up, his hands crossed under his chin. "This time, once and for all."

"We're ready, Professor," Lily said firmly.

"My lessons will be for Lily and Ginny alone, but they will be able to tell you everything afterwards," Dumbledore told the group.

"Now, the important thing you need to know is that this is not going to be easy. I'm going to push you harder than you've ever been pushed. Childhood is officially over, and everything you learn is going to be like nothing you'll have learnt before now. Even your families won't know some of what you're going to learn," Crouch said, looking at them each in turn. "The stakes couldn't be higher than this, and our situation is more deadly than anything we've ever faced. Even Grindelwald never made people this afraid."

"What are we going to learn first?" Hermione inquired. Her shoulders were squared and her jaw set. A quick glance told Lily that her companions were taking this seriously and she felt her heart swell with love and appreciation.

"Your first lesson is going to push your skills in physical health. Knowing magic is good, but if you can't run, fight without magic, or move nimbly, you're going to be defeated. Voldemort is one of the most powerful wizards known to ever exist, but he puts no faith in muggle defences, or actual exercises," Crouch said. "I always have, and it's why we won at the Ministry, despite the loss of Arthur Weasley. None of the Death Eaters were prepared for how you fought, because they were arrogant. They didn't understand what you were doing. Now we're going to push more on that."

"You saw what we did?" Lily asked.

"I did. I noticed everything, and that was some impressive moves you made," Crouch said. "And that's where we'll be starting. I know I've done a lot of bad things, but I'll be needing you to trust me if this is going to work."

"I do," Lily immediately answered. "I don't know how I know, but I can feel it. There's a determination within you. A light, almost."

"Is that part of Lily's Aura?" Ginny asked, looking at Dumbledore, who seemed pleased.

"If I was to guess, I would say so. Over the summer, you've been slowly growing in strength and power, and together, your power is going to become greater than we suspect. I believe in both of you, Lily, Ginny, and I know you are going to be amazing," Dumbledore praised.

"Thank you, Professor," Lily and Ginny said at the same time, blushing.

"Alright, you should get to your dorms, and enjoy your weekend," Crouch instructed. "I'm expecting a lot from all of you. I remember when I was teaching you whilst undercover. I was impressed then, and I'm still impressed now."

As the group began to make their way to the door, Dumbledore called out after them; "Make sure you listen to what Professor Crouch tells you, even if you believe it isn't necessary. Learn what he tells you to learn, hear what he advices you and believe in yourselves."

"Professor?" they heard Crouch repeat just before the door closed behind them with a small but firm noise.


As Draco looked around the living area where he and Pansy would be staying, he found it oddly… comfortable. It had several bedrooms, a living room, and a bathroom. There wasn't a kitchen, since the House Elves of Hogwarts handled all the food and drink requirements, but Dobby was there to bring them anything they needed.

"This feels… well, weird. I never knew there were places like this within Hogwarts," Pansy commented as she unpacked their belongings.

"Neither did I," Draco replied, kneeling beside her to assist. "It feels… different. I suppose this would usually be for a teacher or something?"

"Maybe," Pansy agreed. "I never really thought about where the teachers slept."

"Does anyone? I think there's likely one person who knew about this, who isn't a member of staff," Draco said. Pansy raised an eyebrow at him. "Granger. She knows… well, everything, I think."

"That's the first nice thing you've ever said about her," Pansy pointed out. "I'm not saying that as a criticism, just… as a fact."

"I've spent a lot of time thinking, Pansy, about Potter, and his…no, her friends," Draco confessed with a sigh. "I…well, it's strange to think this, but…Potter and her friends have something I don't think I ever understood. True friendship."

"How do you mean?" Pansy asked, leading Draco to the couch and sitting with him.

"For the last five years, Crabbe and Goyle were following me around because they knew who my father was. Their fathers are… were lower down the chain, so to speak, so they knew they had to respect me. But since the Ministry… I've not heard from them, and now they're following Zabini around, just like they followed me. I was stupid enough to think that those two were my friends, but they never were, and I never treated them like friends either. I treated them like they were… lackeys," Draco explained, an uncomfortable sensation burning his stomach.

"Draco, what you went through… that's something neither of us could have understood or expected. Your… Bellatrix really messed things up. You saw Professor Black's memories, Professor Dumbledore's, and even Potter's memories. Your father was being an honourable man, he was keeping to his word, and she ruined everything. You thought she loved you and your family, but she didn't care about anyone but herself," Pansy's voice was soft and gentle.

Draco knew she had harboured a crush on him for a while; they had even gone to the Yule Ball together, and though he'd never have admitted it before, he always enjoyed her company.

"Afterwards, it wasn't anyone I knew, other than you, that helped me. Those who offered their support were the people I'd attacked, berated, and treated like scum," Draco continued after a moment's hesitation. "So, I began to wonder, what was friendship? Then I realized that Potter had it all along. Look at his friends; all of them were willing to go to the Ministry with him, even knowing it was a trap, even knowing they could die. Weasley's dad… he sacrificed his own life to protect Potter. What's more, none of the Weasley family blame Potter, they love her and will still protect her. My mother… and my father, they would have done the same to protect me, but out of everyone who ever followed me or claimed to be my friend, only you've been here when I needed someone."

"I'm sorry, Draco," Pansy said, embracing him in a hug. "I want you to be happy, and now, I know I need to do whatever I can to help you, because..." she cleared her throat and pulled by from the embrace, hiding a part of her face behind her hair. "Well, because..."

"You have been there for me when everybody else decided I wasn't worth it. You've never judged me, or made me be someone I'm not," Draco said, with a sad smile. "You see the dark side of me; the ugliness, the jealously, the rage... and yet you remain." He also cleared his throat. "I feel… complete, at least, whenever you're around. I want to be your boyfriend, if you'll have me."

A few heartbeats passed, Pansy staring at Draco with an unreadable expression on her face before it morphed into delight. "Of course I'll have you. You stupid Slytherin, I've been waiting for this for far too long." A delicate blush painted her cheeks. "I've had a crush on you for ages. To hear you ask me that..." she shook her head, almost in disbelief, before her shock transformed into determination. "Can I kiss you?"

Draco could only blink. "I... yes. Of course."

Slowly, Pansy leaned forward him, and Draco toward her. He wasn't sure where to put his hands and, after a moment of hesitation, he lightly placed them on her waist. His heart was pounding. His mouth was dry. Pansy was inching closer and closer, and he barely had time to moisten his lips before he felt the warmth and softness of a kiss. It was a peck, nothing more, but fire exploded in his chest, his body enveloped in warmth and affection so strong it almost made him gasp. Wait, why was his eyes open? Pansy's were closed, her thick eyelashes fluttering as they kissed again, and again, getting used to the rhythm of each other and Draco felt his own eyes drift shut as he began to relax. Tension melted from his body, and it may have only been seconds or hours later when he felt Pansy begin to pull back. He followed her lead and forced open his eyes to see her blushing at him.

"That was… incredible," Draco told her, still feeling the sensation of her lips upon his. They were buzzing.

Pansy broke out into loud laughter, though it wasn't unkind or mocking. She tucked some of her hair behind her ear as she regained control of herself, unable to stop smiling. "You're telling me. To hell with the world, right now I want to stay here and cuddle up to you."

"I want that too," Draco agreed. As the two of them settled onto the couch in a comfortable silence, Draco knew this was going to be a difficult year. He had a lot of bridges he needed to mend, and he also knew it would be a challenge for him to change his way of thinking. He was grieving, and angry, and confused, and strangely hopeful despite it all. Feeling Pansy snuggle closer to his side, interlinking their fingers together made that warm feeling bloom in his chest again. Was this love love? If not, then it had to be close to it... Because, for the first time in his life, Draco felt like he had light in his life, and hope, and most of all, he had the thing that no one else but Pansy could give him.

A woman's companionship.