There was a moment's silence. A light night breeze rattled the windowpanes behind Ron and the fire guttered.
"About me what?" said Harry. "I'm talking about you teaching us Defense Against the Dark Arts." Harry stared at her, then at Ron, then at me, as though we'd all lost our minds. I can't say I expected anything else.
"That's an idea." said Ron, keeping up the image of having not previously discussed this.
"What's an idea?" said Harry.
"You," said Ron. "Teaching us to do it."
"But . . . But I'm not a teacher, I can't —"
"Harry, you're the best in the year at Defense Against the Dark Arts," said Hermione.
"Me?" said Harry, now grinning more broadly than ever. "No I'm not, you've beaten me in every test —"
"Actually, I haven't," said Hermione coolly. "You beat me in our third year — the only year we both sat the test and had a teacher who actually knew the subject. But I'm not talking about test results, Harry. Look what you've done!"
How d'you mean?"
I laughed and exchanged a glance with Ron.
"Harry, if you're being thick on purpose to try and dissuade us, it's not going to work" I said
"No, genuinely, what do you mean?"
"You know what, I'm not sure I want someone this stupid teaching me," Ron said to Hermione and I, smirking slightly. He turned to Harry. "Let's think," he said, pulling a face like Goyle concentrating. "Uh . . . first year — you saved the Stone from You-Know-Who."
"But that was luck," said Harry, "that wasn't skill-"
"Second year," Ron interrupted, "you killed the basilisk and destroyed Riddle."
"And saved me!" I added
"Yeah, but if Fawkes hadn't turned up I —"
"Third year," said Ron, louder still, "you fought off about a hundred dementors at once —"
"You know that was a fluke, if the Time-Turner hadn't —"
"Last year," Ron said, almost shouting now, "you fought off You Know-Who again —"
"Listen to me!" said Harry, almost angrily, because Ron, Hermione and I were all smirking now.
"Just listen to me, all right? It sounds great when you say it like that, but all that stuff was luck — I didn't know what I was doing half the time, I didn't plan any of it, I just did whatever I could think of, and I nearly always had help —"
"Always the modest one" I said "It's one of the reasons I love you so much"
"It's the truth!" Harry snapped "don't sit there grinning like you know better than I do, I was there, wasn't I?" he said heatedly. "I know what went on, all right? And I didn't get through any of that because I was brilliant at Defense Against the Dark Arts, I got through it all because — because help came at the right time, or because I guessed right — but I just blundered through it all, I didn't have a clue what I was doing — STOP LAUGHING!"
We were laughing now, Ron, Hermione and I. Harry trying to downplay his achievements really cracked us up.
"You don't know what it's like! You — none of you — you've never had to face him, have you? You think it's just memorizing a bunch of spells and throwing them at him, like you're in class or something?
"I've faced him!" I said, "I was possessed by him for a whole year!"
"That's different, I'm not saying you didn't go through a lot, cause you did, but that was a memory, I'm talking about the real, physical guy! The whole time you know there's nothing between you and dying except your own — your own brain or guts or whatever — like you can think straight when you know you're about a second from being murdered, or tortured, or watching your friends die — they've never taught us that in their classes, what it's like to deal with things like that — and you two sit there acting like I'm a clever little boy to be standing here, alive, like Diggory was stupid, like he messed up — you just don't get it, that could just as easily have been me, it would have been if Voldemort hadn't needed me —"
"We weren't saying anything like that, mate," said Ron, looking aghast. "We weren't having a go at Diggory, we didn't — you've got the wrong end of the —"
"We're just saying that out of everyone we know, you're the one who's seen and done it all, and without a proper teacher, you're the next best thing" I said
"Harry," said Hermione timidly, "don't you see? This . . . this is exactly why we need you. . . . We need to know what it's r-really like . . . facing him . . .
"Well . . . think about it," said Hermione quietly. "Please?"
To our great relief, Harry nodded.
Hermione stood up. "Well, I'm off to bed," she said in a voice that was clearly as natural as she could make it.
"Erm . . . 'night." Ron had gotten to his feet too. "Coming?" he said awkwardly to Harry and I.
"Yeah," said Harry. "In . . . in a minute. I'll just clear this up." He indicated the smashed bowl on the floor. Ron nodded and left.
"Reparo," Harry muttered, pointing his wand at the broken pieces of china. They flew back together, good as new, but there was no returning the murtlap essence to the bowl.
"You're really gonna think about it?" I asked "Harry, we really meant what we said. You've done it all. You're the best chance we've got at actually learning something" I stood up and walked up close to him. "Please tell me you didn't just nod to get us to shut up, please tell me you're-"
"Ginny" he interrupted, closing his eyes and holding up a hand. "Don't worry, I'm serious. I just want to go to bed"
I flung myself around him
"You're the best!" I said, my voice muffled against his chest
