CHAPTER NINE

The Defence Against the Dark Arts class room was the same as ever, Classroom 3C in the Great Tower. It was a place Harry knew and loved, despite the fact that almost every single Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher had been after her blood. The only exceptions had been Remus and Gilderoy Lockhart, but that was because the latter was so incompetent that even Voldemort must have drawn a line at recruiting that bungling idiot. Captain Cueball had many flaws, but at least he expected his followers to have actual talents and some degree of competence.

The group of seventh year Slytherins walked to class together, but in splinter groups. Nott and Rosier had obviously paired off together, Dolohov and Mulciber gravitated to each other, Malfoy naturally placed himself with Riddle, Lestrange and Avery quietly allied themselves to each other while Harry was flanked by Orion, Druella, Ophelia, Ygraine and Walburga. On the way, Orion and Ophelia were giving Harry the history of the subject and the infamous teacher. Professor Galatea Merrythought; the name was quite famous in Harry's time. Hermione had several books written by the woman.

Apparently Professor Merrythought could rival Professor McGonagall in sternness and the amount of homework she set her students. If Professor Merrythought believed that you were not doing your best, she would set you extra homework catered to your particular problem and character. Apparently, Walburga and Ygraine each had to do extra essays once – Walburga on the subject of the kind of magic spells used in the Age of Magic, also known as the Dark Ages, and Ygraine on the Dullahan.

"She will probably single you out immediately," Ophelia warned with a wry smile. "She hasn't had fresh blood in a long while. Don't look like that! She's not a damn vampire."

"I know. I met one before." Sanguini had been rather aloof and solitary at Slughorn's party but a good converser, nonetheless.

"You met a vampire?! And you didn't get bitten?" Walburga blanched. "My dear girl, you have no idea how lucky you were."

Harry scoffed. "Not really. He was invited to the same party I was … and my family. I am pretty sure that he wouldn't have been invited if there was a danger to him going into a bloodlust-filled frenzy."

"What was he like?" Orion asked eagerly.

"Gloomy," Harry answered truthfully. "Didn't talk much. But that isn't a bad thing. We did have a rather splendid conversation about the tedium of having to attend parties on another's request, which in turn led to a conversation about favourite past times."

Thankfully the topic was dropped as soon as the Slytherins filed into the room. Judging from the colour of the blazers and the skirts and dresses around the room, the Slytherins would be having their Defence Against the Dark Arts lessons with all the Houses together. Artemis, as soon as she saw Harry, broke into sunny smiles and skipped over to her and the group of Slytherins, followed closely by – to Harry's delight – the dotty Ravenclaw named Loreley Malfoy.

"Hey Harry! First Defence lesson; you ready?"

"As I'll ever be," Harry answered with a small smile.

Artemis grinned and turned to her Ravenclaw friend, who smiled Luna's serene smile at Harry. "Harry, I would like to formally introduce my friend Loreley Malfoy. Abraxas' twin sister, and the only decent thing to come from that venomous family."

"Why you-" Abraxas was about to launch into a tirade but Harry quickly put a sock in it.

"Nice to meet you, Miss Malfoy," Harry greeted, extending a hand to Luna's ancestor.

"Please address me as Loreley, my Lady," Loreley answered in that familiar daydreaming tone, curtseying to Harry. "It is an honour to finally meet you properly. I must say, you really know how to verbally obliterate someone when they get on your nerves! An admirable display."

Harry grinned, knowing fully well that Loreley was referring to her showdown with Binns. "Thank you kindly."

Loreley's eyes bore into Harry's as the young Malfoy began to study the strange witch in front of her more intently. "Yes, you really are an interesting one … very interesting … Dark and Light in perfect balance…Your Core seems to have expanded … Not a single Wackspurt in sight …"

"All right, Loreley, let's not freak her out," Artemis chided jokingly, but Harry could see the worry that was swimming in Artemis' strange topaz eyes. "We don't need her running from you just yet!"

Harry smiled warmly. "I am not going to run. I had a friend like Loreley – in fact, you remind me so much of her that you could almost be sisters. Her name was Luna, and she was dotty and strange but smart as a whip."

Loreley seemed to perk up at hearing this and Artemis breathed a sigh of relief. Harry invited Artemis and Loreley to sit with her, Orion and Druella; both girls accepted enthusiastically. Ophelia, Ygraine and Walburga politely made room for the two extra people on their side of the room. This didn't sit well with some of the other Slytherins, namely members of Riddle's little Dark magic cult.

"Goody, the Potter weirdo and Abraxas' witless sister," Harry heard Nott mutter. "Couldn't she have picked someone better to associate with?"

Rosier, Avery and Lestrange chuckled at this. Harry wasn't happy about this at all. She knew that these three boys were anything but angels, but it still shocked her that these usually well-mannered and mild boys were encouraging such offensive opinions. Then again, their influencers, namely Riddle, were not exactly healthy.

Unfortunately, Dolohov could not resist to take another unnecessary jab at Nott.

"Don't fret, Nott. Just because you lost to them in duels last year doesn't mean that you should be afraid of sitting near them!" Dolohov jeered.

It was a good thing that Rosier and Avery were on hand to restrain Nott, because the latter was about to attack Dolohov and give him a good arse kicking, the Muggle way. Orion just rolled his eyes at the display and Druella sighed like an exhausted mother. Ophelia, Ygraine and Walburga all tutted in unison. Artemis tried not to laugh while Loreley looked like she was telepathically communicating with fairies.

Harry, on the other hand, was not going to let Dolohov off that lightly. She promptly – wordlessly, wandlessly and carefully – sent some silver sparks flying at Dolohov, who winced and jumped about three feet into the air, in shock.

"DAAAAAAIIIIEEEE! Who the bloody hell just zapped me? Nott, you juvenile imbecile, I'll get you for that!"

Nott was shaking violently with rage with Avery and Rosier still restraining him. "Go drown yourself in the Black Lake, Dolohov! You mock me at every opportunity that I will never be able to cast wandless or wordless spells, so don't you bloody dare blame me for this!"

"Well, someone zapped me and I know it wasn't Rosier, Avery or Lestrange!" Dolohov seethed. "Mulciber wouldn't do it, nor Malfoy and Tom snaps at people instead of zapping them, so it has to be you!"

"As much as I want it to have been me, it wasn't!" Nott snapped back, trying to ply Avery's arms off him. "How about you actually think for once instead of assuming at the earliest opportune moment?"

"Gentlemen! Settle down!" Malfoy snapped, seeing the clear look of irritation that was growing on Riddle's countenance. Riddle was not the only one getting vexed; Druella, Ophelia, Walburga and Ygraine looked set to hex both boys into the next week. Orion had been watching the argument with unadulterated glee while Artemis and Loreley looked on in awe.

Nott, still seething himself, accidentally caught Harry's eye. She winked at him and shot a cheeky grin in silent admission. Nott flushed bright red but returned the grin with a smile of gratitude, feeling a whole lot better to know it had been done in his defence. Both of them had to bite onto their cheeks and turn to face the front to make sure that their little secret remained one from the others as Dolohov continued to grumble and complain.

Professor Galatea Merrythought swept into the room from her office above the classroom. Harry could not help but admire the middle-aged woman, who still looked eerily youthful. Her hair fell in copper curls that was cut suitably short for the time period, but preferred to dress in a more masculine manner; well-cut trousers, plain white shirt and an old-fashioned black blazer. There was a Celtic amulet around her neck – Harry had never seen the symbol before but she was determined to find out what it could mean. There was an expression similar to Professor McGonagall's on the young woman's face and that meant only one thing.

Professor Merrythought was not a woman to be messed with.

"Good afternoon, class. Let us not dilly or dally any longer than we need to. Today we will be focusing on duelling. We cannot have your skills sink or it may be the death of you," the Irish woman stated crisply. "I do hope everybody is present because I will not be repeating anything I say. We have very few lessons left before your exams in a few months and before you all are stepping into the dangerous world outside." She turned to face them. "Partner up; it doesn't matter what sex your partner is. Your opponent will not always be what you expect. All magics are permitted, yes even Dark magic because your opponent will not always be as honourable as you might like."

This was a shock to most of the students, but Harry simply chuckled lowly. She liked the Defence professor's ethos already. It reminded her of fake Moody's approach, which secretly had been her favourite.

"We will be focusing on non-verbals since-"

"-the enemy will not be expecting it!" the class chorused. The phrase was apparently very well practised.

"Very good, you have been paying attention! You may pick your partners, but please – choose from another House if you can. I don't care about any squabbles between Houses." Her eyes fell on the Gryffindors when she said this. Clearly the Gryffindors were the biggest offenders, not the Slytherins. Interesting. As the students were about to move, the professor seemed to have a change of mind. She shook her head and snapped her fingers. "On second thoughts, where is Hera Evans?"

Harry cursed quietly as several eyes gravitated automatically towards her and she was forced to raise her hand. Professor Merrythought caught onto her in an instant and smiled carefully at her. "Hello, Miss Evans. Stand up and join me please. Don't be shy."

Harry did as she was told and tried to ignore the stares fixed on her. It was actually quite easy, given that Professor Merrythought had hawk-like eyes that eyed her very closely.

"I was informed by Headmaster Dippet and Professor Dumbledore that you used to be home-schooled, Miss Evans. Is that correct?"

Harry didn't dare buckle under Merrythought's scrutinising gaze. "Yes, ma'am."

Merrythought nodded ponderingly. "I see. I wonder … How exactly were you taught Defence Against the Dark Arts?"

Harry frowned. "What do you mean? Do you mean teaching methods or topics, ma'am?"

"Both."

Harry sighed. "Well, I had a different one every year. My first one preferred to teach Dark creatures, the second was useless and barely taught anything so we had to teach ourselves the curriculum, my third teacher was my Uncle Remus who taught us about Dark creatures, Defensive spells – mostly practical. Counter curses, protective charms. My fourth tutor believed in an entirely practical approach, focusing on the Unforgivables-"

"Unforgivables?" Merrythought repeated. Whispers rippled around the room. "Did he or she use them on you?"

"He," Harry answered coolly. "Yes, he used them on all of us. He was obsessed with constant vigilance and making sure that we would be able to defend ourselves if we ever got into a spot of bother."

This caused even more whispers.

"All of you?" the shrewd woman repeated carefully.

Harry smiled sadly. "The other home-schooled children. We formed an unofficial school."

Professor Merrythought looked even more shocked. "And your parents knew?"

"Yes. They allowed him to get permission from the government." Damn Dumbledore for not knowing it was Barty Crouch Junior beforehand. But Barty had been a good teacher.

"I see," Professor Merrythought was quite pale by now. "How about duelling?"

Harry smiled quite brightly at this. "We had a duelling club, and we had plenty of practical experience."

"Did you?" Professor Merrythought tilted her head, as if examining Harry's face for any evidence of scars except the one on her forehead. "Seen many fights have you?"

"Too many to count," Harry responded candidly. "Grindelwald and his men care not for the age of their opponent, or gender. They see anyone who isn't them as an enemy."

Professor Merrythought looked taken aback. "So, Professor Dumbledore did not jest? You have seen battle, have you?"

Harry scoffed slightly, suppressing a mirthless laugh that would undoubtedly earn her detention. She had seen too many battles for anyone her age! "Actively since I was fourteen," Harry decided to settle on the age that she was when she participated in the Triwizard Tournament and fought against Voldemort when he came out of the cauldron. The start of the Second War.

More whispers ran around the room.

The unorthodox professor ignored them and gestured to Harry's forehead. "Is that how you got that intricate scar on your forehead, Miss Evans?"

"No, ma'am," Harry answered curtly.

The Defence professor raised her hands in mock surrender. "Sorry, just curious. I did not mean to offend you. I am just very curious to see how a home-schooled child such as yourself will duel. I have never met one, you see. With the club and your past, I imagine you are quite advanced."

Harry said nothing, but did not break eye contact with this unorthodox woman either.

Professor Merrythought started pacing. "I wonder, would you mind giving such a taste of what you can do in a duel?"

Harry closed her eyes, let out a fortifying breath and gave a wry smile. "It is your classroom, ma'am. If it will satisfy your curiosity, then I do not see why not."

Professor Merrythought chuckled. "Quite right." She turned to the class. "So which one of you will face Miss Evans?"

To Harry's horror, there was more than one hand in the air, including Riddle's.

"Hmm, well, well, this is a pleasant surprise," Professor Merrythought chuckled. "It is rare for you to volunteer to duel someone, Tom. I usually have to handpick you!"

"I am quite intrigued to see how a home-schooled child who has seen battle duels in comparison to one trained at Hogwarts," Riddle answered smoothly, clearly setting up the image of a knowledge-bound student who is merely curious.

Harry was going to enjoy putting him on his arse. She might be here to redeem him, but that didn't mean she couldn't give the baby Dark Lord a good old run for his money. Besides, this Voldemort may be talented but her Voldemort had been mad and deadly. Harry's chances were now a little better.

Professor Merrythought looked quite gleeful at this. "My best dueller versus the dark horse of Hogwarts. Yes, I quite like the sound of that."

"Dark horse of Hogwarts?" Harry repeated in shock, causing many students – including her friends – to chuckle at her surprise.

"Oh yes, you have quite the reputation about you already, Miss Evans," Professor Merrythought informed her with a kind smile. "I must say, you have yet to disappoint so far. I had thought reports were exaggerated. Apparently not."

Harry flushed in embarrassment. She let the strange Defence teacher place her in the centre of the classroom, with Tom standing a good two metres away from her, a dangerous glint dancing in those burgundy eyes. Eyes of someone who hated to lose and would try to win at all costs. It was in this moment images of the graveyard from when Harry was fourteen and had just watched Cedric being murdered in front of her flashed before her eyes. The madness in the snake-like countenance of her parents' murderer momentarily imposed on young Riddle's.

"The rules are simple," Professor Merrythought announced. "Disarm your opponent to win, which means you have to hold your own wand in one hand and your opponent's in the other. Do not seriously injury or kill each other, which goes without saying but I do want to have it said. If you still have not defeated each other after twenty minutes, I will call a draw. I want everyone to duel today. Verbal spells are allowed, but as this is an exercise on non-verbals, I strongly advise against them."

Harry and Tom were staring each other down the entire time she was talking. Professor Merrythought looked at both of them with a small, satisfied smirk; oh yes, this was going to be good! She stepped away from the centre, erecting a shield between the other students and herself, and the two about to duel.

"Bow, and you may begin."

It was from the very moment Merrythought said "begin" that Harry felt her instincts kick in. It didn't matter that there were stark differences between Tom and Voldemort – not the eyes or the age or the height or the different in the face. She knew her life was in danger and Harry was going to everything she could do survive. That was her advantage – Harry had battle experience, while this Tom Riddle did not.

Harry wasted no time in flinging her arms up and in an instant, a ring of purple fire formed around her – a non-verbal, wandless Protego diabolica. Riddle had flung a spell at her at the same time – white hot fire zoomed across the room but was batted aside by the purple flames of Harry's protection spell.

Harry's eyes flashed silver and the flames began curling away into the shape of two fiery Thestrals, with blue fire bathed in their eyes. Harry clicked her fingers, sending the two death steeds charging towards Riddle. She smirked when she saw a momentary flash of fear in those burgundy orbs. Riddle managed to extinguish the fire creatures with non-verbal Aqua Erecto that he sent towards Harry.

As quickly as she could, Harry cast a Disillusionment Charm and dodged just barely out of the way from the water. She became visible again as she sent a bolt of lightning, a fireball and a stream of ice at Riddle. The latter was forced to defend in quick succession, which he did very skilfully but wasn't quite quick enough to fully deflect the beam of ice. His non-wand arm became entirely encased in a gauntlet of ice. Riddle stared at his arm in disbelief, like he couldn't get his head round the fact she had made direct hit. Harry stifled a pang of smug satisfaction when she noticed Riddle inhaling and exhaling quite deeply. Clearly he never had to waste energy on an opponent before.

"Not bad, Harry," he commented in the tone Harry recognised as Voldemort's I-am-furious-but-trying-to-remain-calm tone.

"There's more where that came from, Riddle," Harry assured with a slight grin.

The two of them began circling each other like wolves fighting for the Alpha position. Riddle conjured fiery arrows and hurtled them towards her. Harry, who was by now in full battle mode, skilfully dodging each arrow with nimble and sometimes elegant movements. When Harry calculated she couldn't dodge an attack, she caught the rest with a Protego in the form of a bubble. When the bubble popped, harmless but pretty sparks rained down on them and the class. Might as well go for some stylish points!

Riddle, increasingly frustrated, next sent a barrage of Stunners at her. Harry defended by conjuring a silver shield in front of her that neutralised each spell as soon as they made contact with it. She had found the spell Voldemort had used against Dumbledore at the Ministry, one that she had wanted to learn herself, in one of her Peverell inherited books.

That is not going to work, as you will one day find out, she thought smugly.

Riddle was furious and when Harry's silver shield dissipated, his jaw clenched on his own. She had answer for everything he threw at her! He had never been once outmatched by anyone in anything! And yet this upstart, home-schooled girl was more than a match for him.

She has been hunted by Grindelwald all her life. Of course she would know to fight for her life! The Slytherin in him sneered. Direct attacks are not going to work! Think of something else.

With a quick flick of his wand, Tom conjured up three snakes and sent them at the unwitting witch. He could barely keep his countenance in delight; only Parselmouths would be able to stop his snakes.

Harry cursed internally when she saw the mamba, the cobra and the viper slithering towards her, all three hissing, "Fleeeeeesh!"

Great, was he trying to bait her or something? Harry knew she couldn't out herself as a Parselmouth. That would complicate matters too much. There had to be another way to fight them or control them … Then, an idea struck her. A spell she had been studying for the statue … it was perfect! It also wasn't too dangerous, and she had just the song that could work. Just getting rid of them – that was boring.

To everyone's surprise, Harry started singing; she had to force herself to keep speaking English though. #I know you, I walked with you once upon a dream, I know you, that look in your eyes is so familiar, a gleam.#

The snakes stopped abruptly in their tracks, lifting their heads up curiously. #And I know it's true that visions are seldom what they seem#The snakes began swaying to the melancholy, gentle tune, succumbing to Harry's spell. Harry grinned to herself. Thank you teacher who had allowed them to watch Disney that one time in Year 9!

Good. Now, go back to your master, she ordered them as she sang. #But if I know you, I know what you'll do. You'll love me at once, the way you did once upon a dream#

The snakes – under the influence of the spell – did exactly as they were told, much to the chagrin of Riddle. The snakes promptly turned tail and headed straight for their creator, hissing along to the melody. The fledgling Dark Lord, who had been stumped into inaction because of shock, gritted his teeth. Harry continued singing her favourite song from Sleeping Beauty.She could see the conflict in his eyes – apparently not everyone was aware of his special snake gift, and for him to be faced with a choice to reveal himself or destroy his own snakes was really rather funny. Unfortunately, Riddle opted for the latter.

With very little remorse left, Riddle fired with an Incendio Tria towards her while Harry answered with her own Glacius Tria, forming a protective dome around the spell and its caster in the shape of the petals of a lily – yes, Harry did have a macabre sense of humour. Before Harry was even done forming, Merrythought nulled both their spells.

"I think that was enough of that!" Professor Merrythought called out, coming towards the two purposefully. Both Riddle and Harry's heads snapped around to look at her.

"But the twenty minutes were not up yet," Tom frowned.

"No, but I think it is safe to say that if you had continued for twenty minutes, my classroom may have been destroyed." She beamed at both of them and turned to the class. "All right everyone, partner up. Write your names on the blackboard. Winner of each pair faces off against the winner of the pair written opposite theirs." Merrythought turned back to Riddle and Harry. "Excellent display, both of you. I am very impressed. Miss Evans, it is clear that you have more than enough experience duelling. In fact, I think you may be ahead of the rest in subjects. Your ability to think creatively and parry your opponent to almost perfection is uncanny. Plus, your voice is rather pleasant; you should consider joining the choir! Tom, stunning performance as usual, but it seems that you really struggle against Harry's unorthodox style."

"Yes," Riddle admitted through gritted teeth. "Harry is very skilled at adapting to situations."

Professor Merrythought gave them both a curt nod before setting off to chastise a Gryffindor for using a too strong Stunning spell on a Ravenclaw student without warning. Riddle almost immediately turned his gaze onto her.

"What core has your wand got?" Riddle asked her.

Harry shrugged. "Dragonheart string."

The burgundy eyes shone with something that made Harry swallow slightly. "What were those spells you used? The singing spell? The shield? How did you turn a protection spell into something physical?"

Harry smirked. "Believe it or not, you're to thank for the singing spell. The shield spell comes from grimoires on my Family Magic and as for turning a Protego into a bubble, I simply willed it to happen. Thought it was fun!"

Riddle regarded her for a moment with an unreadable expression; Harry looked away from this infuriating Adonis to look at Orion and Druella duelling. Both were in a fierce battle with each other – it was clear Bellatrix got the duelling talent from her mother because Druella deftly parried Orion's attacks while timing her own to perfection. But Orion was by no means a push-over, using Runic Magic in some very unorthodox ways to counter some of Druella's attacks or send them bouncing back.

"Did your tutor really use the Unforgivables on you?" Riddle eventually asked.

"Yes," Harry answered curtly, not looking away from watching the Slytherin group duel. "He didn't want any of us to fall under the control of the Imperius, so he made sure we were all immune to it by the end of the year."

"A little excessive, no?" Riddle asked coolly. "You could have been seriously injured."

Harry scoffed. Great, he was pretend to care again! "Excessive or not, it worked a treat. Much to the Dark Lord's chagrin."

Harry caught sight of Nott, Artemis, Loreley and Ophelia looking at her. When Harry made eye contact with them, they all gave her enthusiastic thumbs up. They were immediately drawn back into their duels by their opponents, however. Nott was facing Avery, Artemis was duelling Lestrange, Loreley had chosen her brother as her opponent and Ophelia was whipping Mulciber's butt. Dolohov was facing a familiar looking Gryffindor girl. They were all duelling in an energetic but complex fashion. They had been taught well. By Merrythought or Riddle, it was difficult to say.

Harry herself was soon dragged into a match by Walburga, who had just defeated Ygraine by a narrow margin. All the while, she was aware that Tom Riddle was keeping a very close eye on her and her duelling style, frowning in, what could be described as, envy and suspicion.

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Harry's first duel with Tom Riddle! Perhaps it was a little unfair on poor Tom, but I think we can all agree that the baby Dark Lord needed to be taken down a peg or two even before Harry accidentally came to the 40s! What repercussions could follow from this, though? I also want to add, the song that Harry sings is obviously property of Disney and I added it in because I thought it would be a funny idea to make Disney songs canon in Harry's world, given she did grow up with a Muggle family and I believe Sleeping Beauty came out in the 50s, so would have known it.

Stay tuned and find out what happens next!

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