Bab 8: DA
The rest of the school week was uneventful, aside from the complements in his school work, both the practical and theoretical portions.
It was Friday now, all the classes over, and he was on his way to the Room of Requirement to meet a certain blonde Slytherin.
Getting to the Seventh floor, cloak on to conceal himself, he saw a faint outline in the corner.
Disillusionment. He thought to himself, flicking his wand to silence his footsteps.
He walked towards the outline and got within two feet of it, knowing it was Daphne based on the soft scent of vanilla.
To be a wanker, or not to be, that is the question. He thought to himself, grinning as he made his decision.
He got close to her, still invisible, and whispered right next to her ear.
"You smell different when you're awake."
Daphne almost shrieked and swung at him blindly, falling backwards from jumping in shock.
"Potter!" She scowled, the Disillusionment no longer active.
Harry snickered and took the cloak off and stuffed it into his robes.
Daphne was glaring daggers at him, wincing as she pushed herself back off the ground.
"Can you not greet me like a normal person?" She asked, her tone exasperated.
"I was taught to be truthful," Harry said with false naivety, "I was always told to complement girls to be a gentleman."
Daphne shook her head at him pushing her buttons, not rising to the bait.
"Where is this room you were talking about?" She cut straight to the point.
Harry glanced towards the portrait of dancing trolls and walked towards the empty expanse of wall, pacing back and forth.
Daphne looked at him like he was mad, but her eyes widened like saucers when a door appeared out of the wall.
Harry stopped pacing and reached for the door handle.
"Well," He raised a brow, smirking at her still gawking, "Shall we?"
Daphne blinked and managed to regain her composure, walking slowly to the door.
Harry went first, opening the door and pushing forward, entering the room.
Daphne followed him and she gasped audibly.
The room had shifted to Harry's needs and had several rows of defense books on shelves, with multiple training dummies at the end of the room.
"Where did you get this stuff?" Daphne asked, looking around at everything.
Harry thought up needing two chairs and two materialized in front of them.
Daphne looked at the chairs, then at him, then back to the chairs.
"This is called the Room of Requirement," Harry explained, "The things in here have been stored for years. The room reveals them when someone needs them."
Daphne's eyes seemed to glow in excitement, almost shaking at the implications.
"How do you make it work?" She almost demanded, a wide smile on her face.
"Just think of what you want, and it will appear." Harry replied, seeing her gaze seem to stop looking at him.
A moment later, a table appeared, Daphne walking towards it and touching it to make sure it was real.
She looked at Harry and started pacing like she did when she was thinking of something.
"I won't insult your intelligence by asking you if you realize what you've done," She muttered, before she seemed to reconsider, "Oh, sod it. Do you realize what you've shared with me?"
Harry knew how Daphne thought, that tended to happen when you're engaged to a young woman that acts and thinks like her younger counterpart in front of you.
"I've told you I'm interested in cooperating," Harry answered simply, "This is a gesture of goodwill to show how much I'm willing to put my trust in your word."
Daphne was silent, giving him a speculative look.
"You could have offered something less valuable to make that point," Daphne said, narrowing her eyes, "A secret room that answers to your whims is a very beneficial thing."
"What makes you think this is my biggest secret?" Harry asked, keeping his tone intentionally relaxed.
Daphne scoffed at his reply.
"What can be more of a secret than a room that can give you what you want with just a thought?"
"A secret one." Harry replied cryptically, noting the narrowing of Daphne's eyes.
"Care to give me a hint?" She batted her eyes, giving a barely concealed predatory look.
Harry shrugged and stepped a little closer to her.
"You have such precious looking sapphires for eyes." He hissed in Parseltongue, not breaking eye contact.
She shivered slightly at the sound that came from his mouth, before she clued in to what he was meaning
"It is called the Chamber of 'Secrets' for a reason." Harry smiled.
Daphne's eyes had a glint of excitement in them, eying him in a very familiar way.
"I think this alliance will be very beneficial to the both of us." Daphne grinned, walking towards the nearest chair and sitting down.
Harry followed suit and sat in the other chair, leanings back and relaxing.
"Aside from discussions on how a proper alliance between our Houses will be ironed out, what else do you want to speak about?" Daphne asked, tilting her head slightly, "Any more depth will need to be paced properly, especially since it is a rather game changing agreement."
"Well," Harry drawled, giving a look of deep thought, "I'd like to know more about you. Not Heiress Greengrass, but you, Daphne."
Daphne was silent for a moment after he said that.
"I would like to know more about you as well," She said with a look of genuine interest, "Who is it behind the moniker of The Boy-who-lived? Who is Harry?"
Harry smiled, this was what he wanted. He wanted talk with her so she could learn to know him as much as he knew her.
"Who should start?" Harry asked, still smiling.
Daphne returned the smile, no edge to it.
"I think I will. May I call you Harry?" She asked, "It seems so formal to call you Potter constantly, especially if we wish to learn more about each other."
Harry hid the smirk at what her angle was, setting the pace for a greater familiarity.
"I would like that very much, Daphne."
The conversation was a balm for Harry's soul, even if he knew much of what Daphne had told him.
Her parents were named Cyrus and Roxanne, she had a younger sister by two years named Astoria, and she enjoyed potions and Ancient Runes.
It had been late in the evening when they eventually left, Daphne being the first with a Disillusionment charm to cover her, while Harry put on his Cloak and had the Map to scope out to make sure no one was near.
He made his way back to Gryffindor tower and went straight to Hermione, who was finishing up an assignment from yesterday so she could be free on the weekends.
He sat down heavily next to her, causing her to jump slightly.
"Sorry." He muttered, not meaning to startle her. She gave him a look of understanding and went back to what she was doing.
She used a drying spell on the fresh ink to make sure it didn't smear and placed the parchment beside her, fixing Harry with a questioning look.
"You don't interrupt me doing something unless you have a question," Hermione remarked with a hint of suspicion, "What is it?"
"Have you had a look at what I'm planning to cover for the study group tomorrow?" Harry asked simply, not wanting to beat around the bush.
Hermione shook her head.
"I- er, forgot?" She said almost questioningly, looking slightly embarrassed.
"Did you get lost in another book?" Harry asked with a deadpanned tone, peering over his glasses for effect.
Hermione huffed, but didn't dispute what he said.
"Yes, but in my defense, it was an excellent book." She said, reaching in her bag to show him the book.
Harry placed his hand on her bag, shaking his head.
"I believe you," He said, "I'll get the plans out of my bag." He then left to go to his dormitory, going to his trunk and retrieving them.
He went back to Hermione and handed them to her, watching the girl begin reading through them.
After several minutes, Hermione looked up towards him, surprise etched in her expression.
"These are very good. It looks like everything for OWLs are on here, even some-" She paused, looking back at the notes, "NEWT level things."
Harry leaned back into the plushy seat and nodded his affirmative.
"You know this will be difficult, right?" Hermione asked, giving him a look of concern, "You don't have to do this."
"Hermione," Harry said with a slight sternness in his tone so she would listen, "Umbridge is not a teacher. Nobody can afford to lose another year of preparing for Voldemort." He glanced around to make sure no one was listening.
"This is to teach people to defend themselves against what's coming," Harry said fiercely, looking straight into the eyes of one of his closest friends, "Death Eaters will target you because you're smart, a muggleborn, and my friend. They're going to have to step over my corpse to get to you, Hermione."
Harry saw Hermione shudder slightly, her eyes shining slightly.
"You really mean that?" She asked, her tone impossibly soft.
Harry leaned towards her and wrapped his arms around her in a hug.
"You're one of my best friends," He whispered, hearing her sniffle slightly, "You helped me in ways you will never know."
She, and she alone, was there for him as he gazed at the spot where his parents lay buried for the first time. She was with him as they freed Sirius. She was there when nearly the entire school turned against him.
Harry eventually let her go and saw how she had shed a few tears, wiping her eyes.
"Thank you, Harry," She said quietly, "I understand now."
What he said over the summer may not have sunk in at the time, but Harry knew it did now.
"It's for both making sure people pass their OWLS and so they can survive," Harry said, standing up to walk away, "I'm going to lay down, I'm tired."
As he walked away, he thought he heard her mumble the word 'Greengrass' to herself.
He paid it no heed and went to his bed to relax after the hours long talk with Daphne, knowing he'd see her tomorrow.
///////////////////////
Saturday was today and Harry arrived at the unused classroom that was designated for the study group, several notes that he had copied were bound together for distribution.
He opened the door and saw Snape in there already, a neutral look on his face.
"Potter." He intoned, his tone completely devoid of emotion.
"Professor." Harry acknowledged the man simply, lazily pulling out his wand and levitating the notes to a desk to the right.
Snape raised a brow minutely.
"No incantation?" He asked unnecessarily, not needing confirmation of the lack of sound.
"Getting tortured by the killer of your parents after seeing a friend die tends to be a good motivator for excellence." Harry replied coldly, glancing at Snape's arm.
Snape's lip curled into a displeased look, glancing behind him towards the door.
"Professor Dumbledore has seen fit for me to test you on your practical ability in dueling, Black and Lupin have given nothing but praise."
Harry hid any surprise he had with practiced ease, noting how Snape seemed almost resigned to wasting his time.
"Careful, Professor," Harry warned with a faux seriousness, "Some fools might think you may have a touch of arrogance."
"A Potter commenting on arrogance, hmnn, I can't say I would have thought such a thing possible." Snape drawled, looking unimpressed.
Harry ignored the comment and went back to what Snape had said before.
"When will this 'test' be for my dueling capabilities?" Harry asked, looking skeptical, "I doubt it will be much of a secret if a member of staff and a student disappear when neither have any love lost between them."
People will ask questions, questions that a notoriously private man like Severus Snape wasn't willing to answer.
"Your juvenile outburst in potions class will suffice as an excuse," Snape replied without hesitation, probably having it planned out already, "Detentions every Sunday for the next few weeks will be ample time for me to gauge your supposed ability."
"That's utter bollocks and we both know it," Harry said stiffly, not looking forward to spending time with Snape all over again, "I don't want give up part of my weekend."
"And I don't enjoy having to babysit a fifteen year old that wants to play soldier," Snape countered with an icy tone, "The Headmaster requested my assistance, and I accepted it, the fact that neither Black or Lupin's judgement are trusted is not of any importance to me."
Harry scowled internally and made a decision on what he was going to do.
"Would it be too difficult to 'test' me after this session instead of tomorrow during my detention?" Harry offered, seeing Snape adopt a look of contemplation, "Less time spent around each other is a fair trade off."
Snape was quiet for several moments, thinking of the offer.
"I will consider it during the study group," Snape replied, walking towards the corner of the room, "I will be monitoring the practical portion, but none of the theoretical. No student has been killed or injured from an imprecise quill." He then flicked his wand towards his head, silenced his footsteps, the Disillusionment charm he cast on his head taking hold as he got to the corner.
Harry realized that Snape probably had a detection charm outside the room, because he heard a knock on the door.
He flicked his own wand out and pulled the door open with a spell, spotting Hermione, Ron, Neville, and a couple other Gryffindors in his year, with Ginny and the twins as well.
Harry greeted them, Hermione moving next to him as she would be handling a portion of the theoretical parts to free him up for the practical.
Over the next 20 minutes, several Hufflepuffs, including Susan Bones, Hannah Abbot, Justin Finch-Fletchley, and Ernie Macmillan arrived. The Ravenclaws that got there included Cho Chang, Zacharias Smith, Luna, and not anyone else.
Daphne and Tracey were the only two Slytherins that were there.
Lee Jordan came rushing in a minute before the group was to begin, Harry closing the door seconds later.
"Good afternoon everyone and welcome to the first study group for DADA," Harry said to the gathered group, who had all sat down in chairs that had been placed earlier, "I'm sure the notes placed on your common room bulletins didn't fill you in on all the questions you have, so I can answer a few questions about what you want to know."
Before anyone could ask, he added on one more thing.
"If any of the questions are about what happened last year with Cedric, they will be ignored."
A couple people looked aggravated with that, individuals that he couldn't care less about.
"Now, any productive questions?" He asked, looking towards the gathering of students.
Luna was the first to raise her hand.
"Yes, Luna?" Harry smiled towards her, noting that Cho looked slightly taken aback.
"Will the study group only be covering OWLs and NEWTs?" She asked, eyes fixed on his.
Harry shook his head. "No, much of it will, but things for fourth years is also included," He pointed at the collection of notes on the desk, "Those are free copies of notes to help along with the theoretical part of the curriculum, much of this will still be the practical portion though."
Everyone was paying rapt attention to him, listening to every word he said.
"All of us are aware of how it's difficult to follow different teaching styles because of a new teacher each year," Harry explained, looking left to right, his gaze catching Daphne's for a moment, "Hopefully, this study group will last past this year and help students in their studies."
Harry continued on with his explanation on what the main focus was for the group, mainly practical use of spells and when to use them.
After he finished, he pulled out his wand and held it lazily in his hand.
"Everyone stand up and grab your wands," He said, pointing towards each side of the room, "Pair up with someone and we will be working on the disarming spell as a little refresher for most of you."
"Disarming?" Zacharias Smith scoffed, "I thought you were going to help teach us something useful, not a simple little spell we learn in second year."
"Useful?" Harry raised a brow, "I dare say it will be a tall order for you to find anyone that isn't named Albus Dumbledore, Gellert Grindelwald, or Lord Voldemort that can cast a lethal spell without the use of a wand." He then flicked his hand and pulled Zacharias' chair forward with a weak summoning charm, causing the boy's legs to almost buckle.
It was lost on very few people what Harry had just done. He mentioned the three most powerful wizards in the last 100 years being the few capable of wandless magic, and then did so himself, even if it wasn't something lethal.
"If you think better, then we can have little student teacher example right now," Harry said, pointing towards the center of the room, "Disarming spells and shielding only, and if you can disarm me, I'll teach everyone the Patronus charm."
Zacharias wasn't the only one that perked up at that, everyone knowing that he could use the Patronus because of the very heavily covered events over the summer.
In a display of arrogance, or just plain stupidity, Zacharias went towards the center of the room, wand in hand.
"If everyone would grab a chair and move them to the left hand corner, it would be appreciated." Harry said, wanting the room to have maximum free space.
Everyone pitched in and grabbed a chair, Fred, George, and Lee banishing theirs to the corner with a clatter.
"You break it, you buy it." Harry warned them, not wanting Snape to have a reason to appear and hijack what he wanted done.
The three looked at him sheepishly, understanding his no nonsense tone.
After the chairs were put up, Harry gave Zacharias a lazy grin, twirling his wand between his fingers.
"Ready?" Harry asked sweetly, seeing a look of irritation on the boy's face.
The two of them were in the center of the room, both with their wands out.
Harry let Zacharias make the first move, the Ravenclaw's body language screaming inexperience.
"Expelliarmus!" He shouted, waving his wand slightly.
A jet of red light came towards Harry, who simply shifted to his left to avoid it, giving a sigh of resignation.
"You flourish your wand too much and you shouted it, instead of being quiet about it." Harry shook his head, a chastising tone used, "You sure you learned this spell properly?"
Zacharias growled and cast another one, Harry dodging it as he did before.
Zacharias repeatedly did so, each one missing.
Getting tired of having to move around, Harry raised his wand and muttered "Protego," a shield forming in front of him.
The shield didn't even waver slightly at the impact, Harry dropping the shield and casting a silent disarming spell.
Zacharias didn't see his wand even move.
Harry put more power in the spell to get a point across, seeing the red light strike the boy and send him flying back a few feet, with his wand flying away.
Harry flicked his wand and summoned the wand that was currently in midair, catching it without issue.
Everyone was gawking at the ease in which he disarmed Smith, only casting two spells to take him down.
"This simple little spell has robbed you of the means of being a threat to me," Harry stated, tossing the wand back to its owner after said teen pulled himself to his feet, "Without it, you're as dangerous as an ant is to a boot. A simple cutting charm would kill you." Harry then turned to the group.
"You don't need powerful spells to win or survive an encounter with a dangerous adversary. You only need this," He tapped the side of his head with his index, "Willpower guides our magic, but it's nearly worthless if you lack the intellect to use it properly."
Harry smiled at how they were focused on him.
"Practical use of magic is one half knowing when to use spells, and one half having the mental ability to do so without choking, whether that be during an exam or when you are under threat from another wizard or magical creature." His voice then shifted to a colder tone, "Most of you will remember the feeling that dementors cause from two years ago, it's far worse when you are being held by one as it tries to kiss you. If I hadn't had the mindset to react, it wouldn't have mattered that I could use a Patronus." He finished softly, hearing no sound from the students.
Every witch and wizard knew what dementors do if they weren't stopped from having their meal, explaining the feeling of coldness that seemed to emanate from the room.
"But anyway," Harry said brightly, ignoring the previous feeling, "This study group will hopefully rectify that somewhat, and hopefully, no one here has to experience anything more nerve wracking than performance issues during exams." He added the last part with a subtle grin.
Fred, George, and Lee clued in to the subtle statement and stifled their snickers, covering their mouths.
"So, let's see what everyone's made of," Harry said, stepping back some, "Everybody, partner up with someone and face each other about 15 meters away." He instructed, imitating some of the tone used by the Auror instructor in the academy.
He couldn't exactly use the same...'Motivators' that were used, they were only teenagers, after all.
After they all paired up, Harry noticed Neville didn't have a partner, his friend looking almost lost at the fact.
"Oi, Nev," He looked at Neville, "you'll be my partner, alright?" He signaled for him to stand opposite of him.
After Neville shuffled towards him with his head down, which Harry frowned at, Harry addressed the rest of the group.
"Begin casting the disarming spell on your partner, it's best to gauge where everyone is at on casting ability. The side on the left will cast first."
At Harry's command, the sound of several voices proclaiming Expelliarmus rang out in the room, the students on the other side having their wands sent flying.
At Harry gesturing for Neville to have a go, the round faced boy gulped visibly and swished his wand unenthusiastically.
"Expelliarmus." Neville cried, a pale red spell coming towards Harry.
The spell hardly worked, his wand only twitching slightly in his hand.
Harry looked towards Hermione for assistance.
"Hermione," Harry called to his friend who was paired up with Ron, "Help some of them with advice right now, I'll be a moment." He walked towards Neville, his stride brisk.
Neville seemed to shrink into himself as Harry got close to him.
"I'm useless." He muttered, not looking Harry in the eye.
"You always look like you're struggling to get the spell to work in class, Neville," Harry looked at him with sympathy, knowing how much it ate him up about not being able to do some basic spells, "Have you ever checked if your wand is damaged? It looks a little worn." He gestured at the object clutched in Neville's right hand.
Neville widened his eyes and looked at his father's wand, looking for any damage frantically.
"It's my Dad's wand, I hope I didn't break it." He whispered, his fingers starting to tremble slightly.
"Neville," Harry said firmly, catching the boy's attention, "You said that was your dad's wand?" He asked, putting a shocked look on his face, "No wonder you're struggling with spells."
At Neville's look of confusion, Harry went to explain some of the intricacies of wands.
"My mum or dad's wands won't work as well for me as this," He lifted his own wand to eye level as an example, "Let me show you," He offered his own wand to Neville, which the teen took after several seconds of looking at it blankly.
"Now, I want you to hit me with a random spell, anything is fine." Harry said, backing up and throwing his arms out.
Neville looked worried, but did so, muttering the incantation for a leg locker.
Harry couldn't hide the grin on his face when Neville's expression changed to a shocked one when the spell could be visibly seen as it struck its target.
Harry felt his leg completely lock up and he let himself fall to the ground, using his arms to stop most of the impact.
Neville rushed to him and tried to apologise, his words being barely understandable as he stammered repeatedly.
"Neville," Harry cut him off, pointing to his holly wand still in the grip of his friend, "How'd it feel casting the spell?" He kept his voice hushed at the end as several people were watching them since the supposed near-squib hit him with a spell.
Turning to them, he channeled some of Moody's personality.
"Keep casting!" He barked, most of them listening based on the renewed sound of spell incantations.
He turned back to Neville and repeated the question.
"It," Neville began, looking at the wand with a speculative look, "It was a little easier." He then handed it to Harry, who flicked it at his legs to free himself from the effects of the spell.
"You overpowered it," Harry explained, getting up with a little help from Neville by reaching for his hand to hoist him up, "Every wand is unique, Neville, and every wizard is unique. You're not poor, so why are you using your dad's wand?"
Neville shrunk away from Harry's question, but managed to answer without mumbling. "My dad was an Auror, a good one too. My gran wanted me to be like him more."
"That's stupid," Harry scowled, fixing Neville with a sharp look, magnified by his eyes almost glowing with intensity, "That wand is a bad fit for you, and it's because you're not your father." Harry held up his hand to stop Neville from interrupting him, "You're just as much influenced by your mother as you are your father. Her wand would probably not be a good match either."
"How am I supposed to explain that to my gran though?" Neville asked, looking a little agitated, "I'm not brave enough too."
"You're a Gryffindor, Neville, act like it," Harry remarked flatly, clapping him on the shoulder, "Talk with Professor McGonagall about it and she'll talk to her. It sounds like she needs it."
Augusta Longbottom was difficult on the best of days, while impossible to speak with on the worst. McGonagall would be able to talk sense into her, being cut from the same cloth.
"You're obviously not an idiot," Harry went on, "Or weak. You just need a proper fitting wand and you'll be good."
Harry planned on Neville understanding he wasn't useless in practical magic much earlier than he initially was, seeing it as necessary. Bellatrix and all the other Death Eaters in Azkaban might be staying there a little longer because Sirius wouldn't be a scapegoat on how Azkaban was broken into, so Neville needed something else to light a fire under his arse.
Neville seemed to almost glow at Harry's trust in him, his posture looking straighter and his face lit up.
"Thanks, Harry." Neville said, giving him an appreciative smile.
Harry returned the smile and begged off to inspect the other students, going towards Luna, who was paired up with Ginny.
Harry looked at how her stance was, correcting it slightly so she wasn't as unbalanced. After she thanked him, she and Ginny resumed their back and forth.
It wasn't as bad as he expected, but it could be better. The next 15 or 20 minutes of his time was spent going from student to student, correcting what needed to be. Getting to Daphne and Tracey, he noticed a small error in Daphne's stance.
Walking up to her, she stopped mid wave of her wand, looking at him questioningly.
"Potter," She breathed, blowing some of her hair out of her face, part of it having come loose from the plait she put it in.
Trying not to stare, Harry got closer to her to point out the issues he noticed.
"You're leaning too much." He mimed how she stood when casting, giving her an example, "You're also a little too squared up, you need to be somewhat to the side to be a smaller target." He then shifted his stance so his side was facing Tracey to give a further example.
Daphne shifted her posture to mimic his, adjusting her stance.
"No. No," Harry shook his head, moving to within a foot of her, "You're doing it wrong. Here," He thought nothing of it when he got behind her and gently grabbed her forearm, shifting her to the stance he was talking about.
"Knees bent slightly," He whispered in her ear, guiding her to an ideal position.
He went to have her turn to present her right side to Tracey, but heard her gasp softly, the sound waking him up to what he'd just done.
He'd placed his hand on her hip, trying to help, but that was more personal than mere acquaintances.
After he had Daphne in a proper stance, he let her go, trying to ignore the shudder he felt from her as they broke contact.
"Sorry." He said sheepishly, glancing to make sure that no one noticed what had just happened between the two of them.
It felt so natural to get close to her and use his own body to guide her, just as he had done in the future.
"S'okay." She managed to say, her face pink and voice faint.
Daphne seemed to recover first in an admittedly impressive time, clearing her throat and giving him an appreciative nod.
In that moment, he wasn't in an abandoned classroom, teaching teenagers how to properly protect themselves, nor was he even in 1995.
He was in hi- no, their home. The home he chose, the home they would have built a family in.
It all happened in about a half a second, but it felt like an eternity, and he forced himself to look away from the same eyes that gazed upon him with unparalleled love, but now only had a polite feel to them.
He felt his face clench as he turned away and forcefully slammed his Occlumency shields in place, his emotions slowing to a trickle compared to the rushing tide that it had been.
He distanced himself from Daphne for most of the remaining time, opting to help the others out some more.
Once time was up on the time, Harry cast a sizable crack sound from his wand for time to be up.
"Alright, the first gathering is over for today. Next week, we'll cover some of the other hexes and jinxes we have coming up in our OWLs, fifth years." He then turned to the NEWT students, only Fred, George, and Lee being the current ones, "Talk with me whenever, I've studied ahead on some of the stuff needed. Hermione will have some notes that will help."
He then gestured towards the organized stack of notes. "Everyone, notes on what needs covered for your respective years are on the desk. Anyone that needs help can come to me when it suits the both of us, I'd be a bad Prefect and organizer for this little group if I couldn't offer some assistance. The notes were done in part by me and Hermione, give her the credit for it being coherent." He looked towards Hermione and smiled, the girl preening some at the praise.
Overall, it was a productive session, most of them getting the hang of it by the end, with a couple outliers unfortunately.
"Dismissed." Harry declared with a tone matching Snape's.
"Wasn't Snape supposed to be overseeing this?" Zacharias Smith asked, looking confused.
"That would be Professor Snape, Mr. Smith, and of course he was tasked with overseeing this," Harry answered with a grin that turned predatory moments later, "But what on Earth makes you think he wasn't always here?" He then flicked his hand slightly behind his back to cause a chair to shift like someone was sitting in it.
Several of the students, especially the Gryffindors, looked at the chair anxiously, thinking Snape was invisible.
"He is unseen and unheard," Harry warned in a dramatic voice, waving his hands dramatically, "You will not know he is upon you until it is too late!"
Harry didn't care if the theatrics pissed Snape off or not. In fact, he'd prefer it did.
Almost all the students cleared out quickly after the show, grabbing a copy of notes and bolting out the door. Hermione knew better and sighed as she grabbed ahold of the notes that were her own personal one's, leaving with everyone else.
"Potter." Daphne stayed behind and walked towards him, her expression flat.
"Yes?" He asked, trying to refrain from using an overly familiar tone as Snape was still in the corner.
Daphne kept her eyes on his own, her nose turned up some.
"I request assistance with DADA. In turn, I'll offer my expertise in potions." She mouthed the word 'Friday' with a questioning look.
Daphne knew he wasn't joking about Snape being in the room, so she was trying to be discreet about their meetings.
"I'll think about it." Harry replied with a relaxed tone, inwardly willing the blonde in front of him to understand, "Now if you'll excuse me, I'll need to clean up here. Kind of a deal for your Head of House helping out."
Daphne seemed to understand and nodded stiffly, turning on her heel and leaving, the soft clack of her soles becoming distant as the door closed.
After several seconds had passed, Snape materialised in the corner, his wand flicking towards the door to lock it.
"So," Harry dragged out the word intentionally, looking at the dark eyes of the older man, "What level of disappointment do you rate the experience at, Professor?"
Snape scoffed and tilted his head a marginal amount like he were examining a peculiar specimen.
"That remains to be seen." He drawled, looking at the stacked chairs, "A rudimentary spell such as the one used today leaves little room to break anything. I'd be impressed if Longbottom managed to cause an explosion, but not entirely surprised."
"The wand he uses is his father's," Harry remarked, giving Snape an annoyed look, "I doubt either of us would succeed in higher end spell work with each other's wands. Hell, I could barely get Padfoot's to work for me."
That last part was an exaggeration, but it let him get the point across.
Snape's expression did not change an iota. "Even if I were not a potions master, I could still point out that crafting a potion requires no wand, let alone a properly matched one. Whatever reason you have to help Longbottom, it will not improve his lacklustre ability in my class."
Harry maintained the annoyed look on his face, shrugging eventually.
"Have you come to a decision on the lesson, Professor?" Harry asked, referencing the earlier conversation.
Snape raised a brow, a nearly imperceptive smile ghosting across his face.
"It is...acceptable." He turned and cast a silencing charm on the door to ensure no sound escaped, adding another locking spell to the door for good measure.
Harry had his wand in his hand and his body tensed and ready to move, grinning at the prospect of being able to hurt Snape.
Even with him being against Voldemort, Snape was still a bastard that needed knocked off his damned perch, the spawn of James Potter doing so just made it all the more sweet.
Snape stalked in a circle, eying Harry like a dangerous target, meaning he wasn't an idiot on top of being a bastard.
"Let us see if Black was being a braggart as he usually was." Snape said with a disparaging tone, flicking his wand and sending a silent cutting curse at Harry.
Harry sidestepped the curse and cast a silent stunner, the spell being batted aside lazily by Snape.
Snape paused for a fraction of a second at the use of a nonverbal spell, before his expression shifted to a predatory smirk.
The dark haired man released a flurry of curses and hexes, each one capable of causing severe pain if they made contact.
Harry slashed his wand from the top of his shoulder to his hip and muttered an incantation under his breath, a purple shield appearing.
The shield would hold for several seconds without pumping more magic into it, giving Harry the opportunity to levitate a desk to his right and send it flying towards Snape.
Harry could see through the shield after the spells stopped coming at it as Snape jabbed his wand at the desk to stop its movement, the man turning back to him and sending a piercing hex at him.
Harry made a show of muttering an incantation, making a small shield around his wand hand and batting the curse to his right, the floor getting damaged by the redirected spell.
Harry let Snape set the pace for the next exchange, the man probing his defenses with less than lethal, but still dangerous, spells.
Harry grew impatient and swerved to the side, casting a high powered blasting curse at Snape, followed by an offshoot version of a bone breaker.
The blasting curse made a respectable boom as it collided with Snape's shield, while the nearly scarlet coloured bone breaker was ducked by Snape, having been aimed at his collar bone.
Snape's face betrayed his anger, his eyes almost burning with hatred.
Harry didn't have time to gloat because Snape fired off a severing curse that was designed to cut flesh straight at his chest, a curse that a Protego wasn't strong enough to stop.
Harry overpowered a different shield charm and banished another desk at Snape, flicking his wand to cast a blasting curse at the desk as it sailed towards Snape.
The former Death Eater casually stopped the desk, but didn't expect the curse to be aimed at the desk, which exploded into fragments.
Harry then whipped his wand upward to levitate the fragments, sending them at Snape with no regard for how fast they were going.
Snape threw up a light silver shield to stop the fragments, a spell Harry recognized as vulnerable to magic since it was designed to stop physical attacks.
An overpowered shield breaker shattered the shield, a follow-up bludgeoner slipped in, clipping Snape's left arm, the gritting of his teeth almost audible from the spell striking his elbow.
Snape raised his wand in a ready position, but didn't cast anything, signaling for Harry to stop.
Snape inspected his arm, pulling up his sleeve. Unsurprisingly, a sizable impact mark was noticable on the otherwise pale flesh.
Muttering the incantation of a healing spell softly, Snape's wand glowed a subtle light blue, the beginning of a bruise disappearing almost completely.
Pulling his sleeve back down, Snape's expression was different from any he had seen.
"The headmaster will not be disappointed." He stated formally, swishing his wand at the shattered remnants of the desk, the fragments coming back together to reform back into its previous state. "This past summer seems to have finally suppressed your father's aspects in you to an escapable level."
"My father may have been an arrogant bastard at times," Harry admitted, keeping his wand in hand in case Snape decided to do something foolish at what he was going to say, "But Lily Evans still found something loveable in him that was absent with you."
Snape's normally pale complexion, which was flushed somewhat from the duel ending moments prior, seemed to turn to a ghostly white, his eyes widening slightly.
An accomplished Occlumens like Snape showing this much of a reaction meant it rattled the older man greatly, having likely not expected it.
"Did Black inform you of my friendship with your mother?" He said tightly, his hand gripping his wand so tightly that his knuckles were white.
"No," Harry replied truthfully, "Petunia did. Imagine my surprise when 'that boy' that her little sister was friends with that was a 'fiend' turned out to be none other than my potions teacher, not James Potter. She hates the both of you for stealing away her sister by the way."
Snape's lip curled into a sneer, but didn't respond. The man just stared at him for several seconds, before turning to leave the classroom.
"You will know whether more dueling lessons will occur tomorrow." He said eventually, storming out of the room, slamming the door shut with a jerky twitch of his wand.
Sighing in irritation, Harry thought over the little 'Lesson' as he exited the room and made his way towards Gryffindor tower.
It was borderline painful to hold back on the depth of spells he had, every spell he used having a better alternative that was available to him. But he couldn't be bothered with trying to explain how he could cast certain spells with a practiced ease that rivalled Sirius and Remus, let alone an above average fifth year.
Any disguise or hiding of ability ends if he was fighting any Death Eaters, no questions asked.
But a quote 'Teaching lesson' didn't warrant turning Snape into a red paste, even if the man would put up a far greater fight than any of the bastards he killed before he got here, even Selwyn wouldn't have been able to surpass Snape convincingly.
He only had second hand accounts of Snape's dueling capabilities, mostly from Draco, but it painted a picture that Bellatrix and Dolohov were head and shoulders above all the other Inner Circle, while Snape was at the top of the level that included Malfoy, Selwyn, Rookwood, the Lestranges, and Nott Sr, those men being the best of their generation in dueling.
The fact that a half blood that had to forge his own way through the snake pit that was Slytherin house during a civil war managed to match, if not surpass, those that had the best foundation for greatness because of the wealth of their families, was a commendable thing, but it didn't change that Snape was a bastard that enjoyed the power he had in tormenting students.
But I guess that happens when you're caught between two Titans like Dumbledore and Voldemort. Harry thought. Do something to maintain a semblance of control in your life, or at least the illusion of it. He added cynically.
Severus Snape was an opportunist, plain and simple. If he thought Voldemort couldn't lose, he'd cut his losses and side with the man. But because there was a chance that the man who killed the one thing he cherished was killable, he'd be on Dumbledore's, and by extension his, side.
Getting to the tower, he said the password and entered, wanting to crash for the evening.
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Daphne tried to complete a couple of her assignments, especially her charms paper, but she just couldn't focus.
Potter had unnerved her with how disarming his little smile had been, the soft twinkling of amusement in his emerald green eyes tempting her to get lost in staring at them.
He'd tried to fix how she stood, but she didn't expect him to actually press himself up to her to guide how she needed to move. But it was the complete lack of hesitation in him doing so that was the most confusing.
Only after she'd reacted did he back away, his face being more expressive than she'd ever seen. His eyes practically glowed with emotion, whether it was a positive or negative emotion, she didn't know. But her close proximity to him was obviously the catalyst.
She set her partially completed assignment down and thought of how Potter's hand had felt on her hip, the feeling of complete and total safety overwhelm her in that moment.
To be honest with herself, she wouldn't have minded if he didn't let go for a little longer.
Groaning at not being able to think straight, she decided to try and muscle through the charms work and hopefully get it done, even if it needed some fine tuning tomorrow.
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End Chapter:
And that's a wrap for this chapter. Harry has a little bit of fun with Snape and the first session of D.A. the part about Snape: I've always seen him as more of an intelligent duelist, instead of a hard hitter like Bellatrix. Dolohov canonically killed Gideon and Fabian, who were mentioned as some of the more powerful Order members, whether that means skilled, raw power, or both is up for personal interpretation of different authors. He also killed Remus in canon, which warrants a painful death in my opinion. So that's why I had him and Bellatrix in the top bracket of Inner Circle, while the second group is what Snape is in.
Anyway, here's I new chapter that I hope you all enjoy.
Raging.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone