Everything was going well for the new students that first week until Thursday. None of them showed up in the common room at the agreed upon time. After waiting for fifteen minutes Harry and Hermione decided that they had to keep to their end of the bargain they had made. Since the first years hadn't gotten up on time, the two fifth years headed down to the Great Hall to have breakfast. On the way down Harry and Hermione discussed possible reasons the kids could have been late. Their best guess was that they had had Astronomy the night before and were having a lie in. When there was a little more than half an hour left before breakfast ended both Harry and Hermione were starting to get worried.
"Harry, I think we should go check on them. The fact that literally all of them are missing worries me." Hermione said as her teeth bit into her bottom lip. Harry nodded his agreement and stood up from the table holding out his hand to help Hermione to her feet. They said goodbye to Luna and hurried up to the tower to make sure that the entire year hadn't simply overslept. When they got back to the common room there was still no sign of the first years anywhere.
"You check the girls' dorm and I'll check the boys'?" Harry offered. Hermione gave a determined nod and headed up the stairs to the girls' dorms while Harry did the same on the boys' side. It didn't take Harry long to discover what the problem was. Stretched across the doorway of the first year boys' door was a translucent, pink membrane. On the other side he could clearly see the six eleven year-olds in a panic. When they saw him they started waving and their mouths were moving like they were yelling. Harry tried the basic Disspelling Charm first. The only result was that he could now hear the boys screams for help.
"Quiet down, guys. I can't hear myself think." He called into the noise. The boys abruptly stopped yelling in surprise.
"You can hear us?" asked Billy Cobb. Harry nodded.
"I'm pretty sure I just Disspelled a Silencing Charm. I'm going to try to get rid of the rest of this now but I need to be able to concentrate, okay?" The first years just nodded in response, keeping their lips tightly shut. Since it was a physical barrier Harry tried a Vanishing Charm and barely managed to dive to the side when it ricocheted back at him. Right, this needs a different approach. Getting closer to the barrier he studied it carefully. He conjured a stick and poked the barrier. It flexed under the pressure but didn't break. The more Harry thought about it the more he was reminded of chewing gum. It's worth a try at this point, knowing the wizarding world's penchant for trick sweets he thought to himself. He took a step back to give himself room to react if his spell came back at him again.
"Seccare." Harry dived to the side again, just in case, but when he looked up he saw that the barrier had changed from glossy and translucent to cracked, opaque and, unless Harry missed his guess, brittle.
"Stand clear, everyone!" Harry called before once again levelling his wand at the barrier. "Depulso." The barrier cracked and shattered inward under the force of the Banishing Charm. Stepping into the dorm Harry vanished the debris before looking around at the open mouths of the boys.
"Well? You'd best get a move on or you'll be late for breakfast." he told them. It was Euan who responded dejectedly.
"Why bother? We'll never make it in time anyway."
"Yes we will. I know a few shortcuts. Everyone grab your schoolbags and meet me downstairs ASAP. I need to go tell Hermione how to get the girls out if she hasn't done so already." With that Harry turned and ran down the staircase. Standing at the foot of the girls' stairs he called up.
"Hermione! Use a Desiccation Charm followed by a Banishing Charm to get rid of the barrier!" Several moments later he heard cheers from the first year girls. "Everyone grab your bags and get down here! We're going to be making it down to the Great Hall in record time today!" It took maybe ninety seconds for everyone to assemble.
"Okay, let's go. You'll only have time to grab a sandwich and you'll have to eat on the go but you'll at least be able to eat something." Harry told them before striding out of the portrait hole and in the opposite direction to the one they usually took. When they came to a tapestry of a lion taking down an antelope Harry pulled it aside and ducked into the space provided, ignoring the stairs that spiralled down. When everyone was gathered around him he spoke up again.
"This is a very special secret passage developed for Gryffindors. I need you all to pay attention now." Harry walked over to the wall and touched his wand to the only red stone. "Fortune favours the bold." he said in a clear voice. There was a grinding noise as the stairs turned into a slide with high sides. Grinning at the astonished faces he told them "Let's go!" before jumping down the slide with a loud whoop. The ride was pretty long as the stairs went all the way down to the ground floor, one corridor over from the Entrance Hall. When Harry landed on the Cushioning Charm at the bottom he hopped up as fast as he could and got ready. Every time a first year landed Harry grabbed them and hauled them out of the way of the next one. In some cases it was a close call or someone would have gotten flattened. The last one down was Hermione.
Harry led the way out from behind a statue of a warrior wizard and towards the Great Hall at a brisk pace. In the Great Hall itself the first years ran up to the table and quickly made a few sandwiches without sitting down and reported back to the two fifth years within minutes. Harry and Hermione got them to the Transfiguration classroom with time to spare and said a quick goodbye as the had to hurry themselves to get to Potions; Snape was never in a forgiving mood when Gryffindors were late.
The couple arrived just in time to join their classmates filing into the dungeon and were penalized five points each for being late. Neither Gryffindor reacted to the blatant abuse of power having seen much worse in their time here. As they worked Harry was just happy that he wasn't trembling anymore and that his twitches managed to confine themselves to moments when they couldn't do any damage. He may have only had one year of actual instruction in Potions but he noticed that even that was an enormous help. Well, that and his studying in the Room of Requirement.
Class passed as any class with Snape usually did and when it ended the Gryffindors all breathed sighs of relief. As they headed to Arithmancy, Harry and Hermione discussed the prank that they had undone that morning.
"Harry, I think we need to talk to the twins." Hermione said after they had reviewed what they knew. Harry grimaced. The relation between the couple and the twins had been strained ever since Fred and George had found out about the love potions. "If they did it we need to talk to them about limits and if they didn't they may know who did."
"You're right. This is just going to be unbearably awkward." Harry gave in. Arithmancy turned out to be closer to where they had been in their personal studies but the subject matter just didn't grip Harry the way Runes had. Still immensely preferable to Divination though he thought to himself. He and Hermione worked together until the bell rang for lunch. As they left for the Great Hall, Harry grinned at Hermione.
"What are the odds the kids spent their entire free period in the Great Hall waiting for lunch to start?" he asked her.
"Well some of them do take after you." Hermione huffed playfully once she had looked around in an effort to make sure they wouldn't be overheard. "I'd still like to think that some of them used their study period to get started on their homework." She shoved him lightly with her shoulder as she retorted. Harry grabbed her arm and tugged her to one side.
"Come on, I know a shortcut." He said pulling her through a door and closing it behind them.
"Harry! This is a broom cupboard." Hermione scolded him with a smile once her eyes adjusted to the darkness around her.
"Whoops." Harry said in husky voice with no hint of remorse in it as he lowered his lips to hers. They were late to lunch that day but judging by the grins on their faces the shortcut had been worth it. They headed over to the Gryffindor table and sat down closer together than would be considered practical for eating a meal. The resulting frequent 'accidental' touches made sure they both kept their smiles firmly on their faces. Towards the end of the meal they were interrupted by Professor McGonagall.
"Mr. Potter. Ms. Granger." came the stern voice from behind them. Both Harry and Hermione did their best to not look guilty.
"Yes, Professor?" Hermione responded for the both of them trying to ignore the examining look the Deputy Headmistress was levelling at them.
"I heard what you did for your underclassmen this morning. In fact, I don't believe they've stopped talking about it yet." The two teens followed Professor McGonagall's sardonic gaze down the table to where several first years were excitedly talking to some second years. "Fifteen points to Gryffindor each, for your exemplary actions in helping younger students." Giving them one last look the Head of Gryffindor left the Hall. Hermione was beaming at Harry in pleasure at having earned thirty points for Gryffindor. Harry beamed back in relief at having escaped a reprimand.
That evening Hermione approached the Weasley twins carefully. She and Harry had planned this out as much as possible and both were confident that their predictions would never survive contact with the unpredictability that was Fred and George Weasley.
"Good evening, boys. May I have word?" she asked more confidently than she felt. The twins looked at her with that polite, neutral look they had been using for Harry and her for a week now. It was honestly a little unsettling. When they didn't tell her to get lost she pushed on. "Harry and I were wondering what you knew about the prank that was played on the first years this morning."
"Why would we know anything, Hermione? We weren't responsible. We're actually working on something else." One of the twins responded. She never could tell them apart.
"Because if a prank happens in Gryffindor tower the two of you usually know something, Fred." came Harry's voice from behind them. The twins whirled around in surprise and looked up at Harry who had quietly made his way over to stand behind them. This was the basis of the strategy the couple had developed: keep the twins off guard and they might reveal something. Neither teen thought this was the pranksters' work but they might know who did it and, in the worst case scenario, pass on a warning that Harry and Hermione were unamused which they hoped would be enough to keep a repeat occurrence from happening; both teens were well aware that they had a reputation for coming down hard on bullies after befriending Luna last year. "Now, what does a translucent barrier that strongly resembles chewing gum mean to you?"
"Someone used Captive-Keeping Chewing Gum?" the twin that had to be George asked dumbfounded and before his brain had caught up with his mouth judging by the look of chagrin that flashed across his face a moment later. Harry's eyes lit up and predatory grin spread across his face.
"That certainly sounds like it could be the stuff we're talking about. I don't remember seeing it in Zonko's, so shall I just assume that it's one of your creations?" he asked them. Fred and George shared a look before their expressions changed and became more serious than blank.
"Yeah, it's one of ours. It's also one we're still trying to work some kinks out of. We can't seem to Disspell it except for letting it shrivel up over time and we don't sell something we can't undo. This stuff kept us locked in our room for a day and a half. We're pretty sure that the problem comes from the fact that it bounces back any attempt to vanish or transfigure it at the caster's clothes." Fred told them. His twin sat up straighter as something occurred to him.
"You two were able to Disspell it though, weren't you?" Both twins were looking eager now and Hermione took over.
"We used Desiccation Charms to dry out the gum and then a Banishing Charm to shatter the result." George pulled out a small notebook and started scribbling away in it. "I'm glad we could help you develop your product. We're a little more interested in who used it though. Especially since both the boys and the girls were hit." While George continued scribbling, Fred scrunched up his brow in thought.
"We didn't think anyone except Lee knew about most of our products, but we have them fairly clearly labelled for safety reasons. Anyone with half a brain and access to our dorm would be able to get at it and use it. George, take a note that we need to increase security to keep possible spies out." George nodded and turned a few pages before he continued writing.
"Thank you, boys. If you happen to find out who took your things, we would like to have a quick word with them on appropriate timing and choice of victims when pranking." Hermione said, thinking that the conversation was over now that the twins had something else to focus on.
"Actually speaking of inappropriate pranks, you two said that the potions you gave Ron and Ginny would wear off but we saw them coming out of a broom cupboard yesterday. That doesn't seem like it's wearing off to us." Fred said with an edge to his voice.
"People are starting to notice; and talk." George added, sounding pained.
"Like we told you before: that wasn't a prank, but revenge for what they did to us. The potions will wear off, but it can take up to two weeks." Harry told them. As the twins turned around again to look at him Hermione was thankful that they had come up with this pincer strategy. It was something the twins usually did to keep others off balance and it was gratifying to see it used against them.
"Besides, we also told you how Harry got the potions out of my system and you haven't bothered to apply that, so I'm not sure either of you has a reason to complain." Hermione said and the twins' heads turned back to her. "I would imagine that Madam Pomfrey or Professor Snape will have a Purging Potion already brewed. If they don't it takes two days."
"I would think we've made it clear we don't have any interest in helping the people who tried to rape us, but you haven't even tried." Harry finished up. "It doesn't matter to us either way when they come to their senses, but if it's really bothering you that much you know what to do." With that he stepped around the couch the twins were sitting on and he and Hermione walked away leaving the redheads to their plotting.
The next morning at breakfast Ron and Ginny were looking rather ill and pushing their food around their plates rather than actually eating. It drew a lot of attention from the rest of the student body as for the first time any of them could remember Ron Weasley's legendary appetite had been stopped in its tracks. The siblings turned an especially interesting shade of green whenever they caught sight of the other. Harry and Hermione were seen smirking throughout breakfast, though they refused to answer the questions of the first years they were showing around as to why that was.
:-:-:-:-:
Saturday morning most students took the chance to sleep in and eat a late breakfast. This meant that it was lunch time before the entire castle knew that the wizarding world had been turned on its head. The morning's Daily Prophet announced it in banner headlines:
Fudge Dismissed Over Torture Scandal
Bones Gets Top Job
The paper went on to reveal that Fudge had placed his lackey at Hogwarts and that she had tortured a student with an illegal dark artefact and an Unforgivable. The student remained unnamed and for once Harry was grateful for the rag's bias, but the news was brought in such a way that any parent was sure to be outraged and demanding reassurances from their offspring. The newspaper also lauded the actions of the brave aurors who had brought this psychopath to justice.
Harry was particularly pleased with the news and what it meant for Sirius' chances to become a free man once more. He also couldn't help but feel some grim satisfaction that there was apparently no way the rag could get around reporting this news, even if they had turned it into their usual scandal-mongoring. It was also noted that many of the Slytherins were not nearly as happy with this change of regime.
On top of the good news in the Prophet, Harry was overjoyed that he didn't need to miss the Quidditch try-outs like he had last time through. After lunch Harry put on his Quidditch robes, grabbed his Firebolt and headed out to the pitch accompanied by Hermione and Luna, who were coming to watch as Hermione often had before, and a gaggle of excited first and second years. At the pitch Harry gave Hermione a kiss and headed for the Gryffindor dressing room. Hermione and Luna headed up into the stands still surrounded by the younger students.
The first years who had been raised in the magical world were busily trying to explain Quidditch to those who weren't. Hermione could empathise with the lost looks that occasionally appeared on the faces of those receiving the explanation when those doing the explaining went off on a tangent about games they had seen or how some rule tied into the tactics of the game before they finished their explanation. She even stepped in a few times to complete an explanation when the conversation veered to far off topic into the confusing and her knowledge on the subject would probably have surprised some of her classmates. They never considered that she might have remembered the information in Quidditch Throught the Ages as assiduously as any of her text books, but it had been the only book she had been able to study before her flying class in first year. By and large though, she kept quiet she kept quiet and let the people who actually wanted to discuss the subject ad nauseum get on with it.
When the current members of the Gryffindor team flew out there was a loud cheer from the younger students and the second years were talking over the first years as they told the story of how Harry had out flown a dragon. Despite the fact that Hermione was sure that they had heard the story before, the first years listened breathlessly. When the story reached the part where the dragon hit the ground there was a lot of loud whooping and cheering. Hermione hid a smile as the players looked over at the stands in surprise.
Hermione could see that there were five hopefuls for the open Keeper position and that nobody had felt up to challenging the current starters in any of the other positions. To be honest she couldn't imagine who could outplay their current squad either but was willing to admit that she didn't know enough about the sport to be sure. The only player trying out that she could recognize at this distance was Weasley, his shock of red hair standing out among the others. Hermione could see Angelina was busily talking to the current team members and was surprised to see one of the twins, Katie and Alicia take off and head towards one set of hoops. They were soon followed by a boy Hermione thought was in the year above them who took position in front of the hoops. The other twin, Angelina and Harry flew up with another hopeful and Hermione realised that her boyfriend was about to play Chaser.
Sure enough Harry and Angelina started taking runs at the goals and trying to score. Hermione was surprised Harry did as well as he did considering that one of his greatest assets as a Seeker, 'flying like a madman', was not a skill she associated with what Chasers usually did. There were none of his usual aerobatics though, much to her relief. The best part of Harry's participation as far as she was concerned was that it allowed the team to work through the applicants twice as fast. After each candidate had had a chance to make five saves they were sent out to fly laps around the pitch while the team deliberated. Hermione was curious who they would pick as she certainly hadn't seen an exceptional candidate.
Down on the pitch Harry was being questioned by Angelina.
"Do you think you could be on a team with Ron? I know you two don't get along since last year." She asked him seriously. Harry heaved a sigh.
"Angie, you know what he did to Hemione." Angelina looked uncomfortable at that reminder. Harry let her squirm for a moment before adding, "Aren't you getting a little ahead of yourself, though? I didn't see him fly, but if someone else is better this discussion doesn't even need to happen."
"That's a good point I suppose. Fred, Katie, Alicia? Who was the best of your lot?" Angelina asked the half of the team that had tested the Keepers at the other end of the pitch.
"I would say it was a toss-up between Ron and McClaggen, Angie." Alicia answered for the group with Katie and Fred nodding in agreement. Harry felt a twinge of unease at that. He didn't want either of those two anywhere near himself and especially not anywhere near Hermione.
"George, Harry? What were your observations on our side?" she asked next.
"That third year did alright didn't he? What's-his-face." George said.
"Derek Nordstrom. I agree, he'll need to practice a bit to get up to snuff but I think we may have been spoiled by how good Ollie was." Harry added his opinion. Angelina just nodded thoughtfully and turned her eyes to the flying would-be Keepers. Her eyes narrowed as she saw McClaggen and Weasley out in front jostling each other roughly enough for it to be considered a foul in an actual match, in an effort to take the lead.
"We'll let them fly another five minutes or so then bring them in and let the three we just mentioned take a crack at defending the hoops from all three Chasers. Fred, George you'll observe from either side. Harry, you stay behind and below. I'm also going to ask you to catch the Quaffle if the Keeper doesn't. Five runs each and then we'll send them off and make our final choice." The team voiced their understanding of their captain's instructions and waited for the agreed upon five minutes to elapse.
When Angelina blew on her whistle and waved at the Keeper hopefuls to come back down Harry began to get an idea of what she was planning. McClaggen and Weasley raced in until they almost crashed and landed hard, both of them out of breath and glaring at each other. Derek was the third one in, but his landing was a lot smoother and he wasn't breathing hard at all. Angelina thanked the last two candidates and sent them up to the stands. The other three were told the plan and Angelina decided that they would be going from oldest to youngest. McClaggen was smirking at a fuming Ron as he mounted his broom to take his place in front of the hoops. The current team members took their positions and the third phase of the try-outs began.
McClaggen was a competent flyer and Keeper like Harry remembered, but with all the aggressive flying he had just done he was knackered and his focus was on his feud with Ron more than the Quaffle. He only managed to save three attempts. Ron was the same, despite the additional rest he had gotten, and also managed three saves. When Derek took to the hoops Harry thought that he at least looked more focused than the other two. It paid off as the youngest applicant saved four shots on goal, though Harry wasn't sure that even Oliver would have done any better with the fifth shot. The results were clear but when they landed Angelina told the remaining three candidates that they could hit the showers while the team talked it over. As they walked off Harry could clearly hear Weasley and McClaggen arguing over which of them Angelina would choose.
"I don't think I really need to ask, but I'll do it anyway. Who gets your vote?" Angelina asked looking the group over. Alicia and Katie were quick to nominate Derek and Harry quietly added his vote to theirs. The twins took a little longer but in the end they too agreed that the third year had put in the best performance. "It's unanimous then. I'll give the kid the good news tonight. Keep it under your hats 'til then. Dismissed!"
Just like that the try-outs ended. Harry was curious why they had ended so differently from the other timeline, but not having experienced the try-outs last time through he couldn't be sure whether it was just his opinion of Weasley that had changed things. His experience with Umbridge had drilled it painfully into his mind that he couldn't afford to overlook things, although he quietly admitted to himself that the composition of the Gryffindor Quidditch Team might not be on the same level of importance as getting a new Minister for Magic. He took a detour past Hermione and Luna on his way to the dressing room and told them that he was going to take a quick shower and that he would meet up with them after. The girls waved at him as he flew away along with the younger students, many of whom were disappointed that they hadn't gotten to see one of Harry Potter's signature dives.
:-:-:-:-:
The second week of the year passed without notable incident. The first years were finding their way on their own though they still occasionally asked Harry and Hermione for help with classwork or about the castle; the couple was always happy to help. They made sure they were in the common room at least an hour before curfew so that anyone who needed help could get it. Ron and Ginny still became physically ill any time they saw each other, much to Harry and Hermione's satisfaction. Most of the couple's free time was still spent with Luna in the Room of Requirements and quite a bit of their free time was spent in the Room without Luna, since it was vastly preferable to the common room or a broom cupboard for certain activities. Harry also had Quidditch practice three times a week which Hermione frequently used as reading time. Neither minded that they took the time to pursue their own interests and especially since they each found their hobby to be a calming influence. The calm could not last, however, and it was Hermione who broke it.
"This is completely unacceptable!" the brunette exploded on a weekend evening in the common room while the pair was reading on a couch. Harry looked up in surprise trying to find the thing that had drawn his girlfriend's ire. She was holding her book away from her like it was contagious and looking at it in disgust. This was unusual enough that Harry took a closer look at the book which turned out to be Slinkhard's Defensive Magical Theory. He breathed deeply to dispel the tension that had accumulated in his body at Hermione's outburst.
"I quite agree, Mi, but why are you reading that garbage in the first place? You know Umbridge never meant to teach us anything." Harry said. He got a glare in return.
"This is our O.W.L. year, Harry. If we don't get some instruction soon, we'll never pass our Defence O.W.L.." She snapped. Harry just cocked an eyebrow at the ridiculous notion that Hermione could possibly fail an O.W.L..
"Then we'll self-study. We're basically already doing that for History and Potions. One more subject should be quite doable." Harry tried to reassure Hermione. Unfortunately his girlfriend took his response in a slightly different way than he intended.
"You could teach me!" She exclaimed with a gleam in her eye that had Harry a bit worried. "You tutored Luna and me last year. You'll do it again, won't you? Please?" By the end of her request she was almost sitting in his lap and putting on her best puppy-eyes. Harry gave a low chuckle.
"Of course I'll help you, Mi." he told her, sneaking a quick kiss. His answer got him a squeal and a deeper kiss in return. Harry felt inordinately proud of himself when they finally came up for air and he could see how happy he had made Hermione.
"Oi, Harry. If we kiss you like that will you teach us too?" Harry's good feeling went down the drain as he looked over his shoulder at the twins who had just spoken up.
"Excuse me?" he asked.
"We're just wondering what we'd have to do to get you to teach us Defence." Fred reiterated.
"Or not do, as the case may be." George added, believing this to be relevant information. Harry was just trying to come to grips with the idea of Fred and George actually going so far as to ask anyone for classes.
"I'd give you a snog in return for classes, Harry!" Katie Bell called out from a few tables over getting loud agreement from her fellow chasers. Harry could practically feel Hermione's indignation growing next to him.
"Okay, hold on. I'm not exchanging snogs for tutoring with anyone other than Hermione." Harry was a little shocked to see that he had the attention of the entire common room and that several girls were pouting at his declaration. "I'm sure Dumbledore will find us a new instructor soon, but if you want to form a study group in the meantime, that sounds like a pretty good idea." He was desperately trying play down everyone's expectations.
"Are you going to be leading this study group?" Alicia wanted to know. Harry closed his eyes for a moment. He really had enough to be doing, trying not to screw up his destiny and what not. On the other hand he had enjoyed teaching the DA last time and it had helped dispel some of the myths about him. His weighing of the pros and cons of doing this was rudely interrupted by a finger in his ribs. Harry opened his eyes to see Hermione looking determinedly up at him.
"You have to help them, Harry. You're the only one in the school who can." She said quietly but with complete conviction. Harry felt a calm settle over him and made his decision. He should have known that Hermione would once again be the driving force behind the DA.
"Alright." He said still looking in her eyes but the loud cheering around him was too distracting to keep that up for long. "Whoa! Calm down you lot. We'll meet in the Defence classroom tomorrow evening at six so we can get an idea of how many people want to join in and what we'll need to get started." If Harry thought this announcement would bring people back to earth he was sadly mistaken as the cheering resumed the moment he had finished. He would have had more of a problem with it if Hermione hadn't grabbed his head and started the most insistent display of public affection the couple had ever shared. The only thing she said when she paused for a quick breath before continuing was "You as a Professor may be the hottest thing I've ever heard of." Harry made sure to file that away for future reference.
:-:-:-:-:
Sunday evening in the Defence classroom Harry was having trouble keeping his jaw off of the floor. He, Hermione and Luna had arrived early and moved the desks to the walls to create a less formal atmosphere similar to what Harry remembered from the Room last time. When the blond Ravenclaw had heard that Hermione had convinced Harry to tutor them in Defence she had let out a squeal that Harry found eerily similar to the one he had heard from Hermione last night before grabbing him in a massive hug and repeatedly thanking him. Harry had gently hugged her back but it had been the cue for the Weasley twins to also grab him in a hug and thank him profusely while kissing him on the cheeks until Hermione dragged them off by their ears. The whole thing was apparently immensely funny to people who weren't in the middle of it. Throughout the rest of the day he hadn't heard anyone talking about Defence Against the Dark Arts though and had put it from his mind. That was until people started arriving for the meeting.
The Gryffindor Quidditch Team had been expected. The Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw teams had been less so. The first years from all four Houses had been eye opening. After that people had kept coming in and there did not seem to be an end to them. Right now the classroom was absolutely packed and Harry could see through the doorway that the hallway outside was also filled with a throng of people who had given up on trying to get in and were now shushing each other and trying to catch any word of what was said inside. Harry decided he needed to say something at least, even if this was far more than the old DA he had been expecting.
"Everyone, may I have your attention please?" He called out and was almost terrified by how promptly even the Slytherins complied. "Right, thank you all for coming. This meeting was meant to determine how many people wanted tutoring in Defence. It looks like just about all years and Houses are represented among you. It's a good thing that you are all motivated enough to work on this even though Hogwarts is neglecting our education in this field. I have to admit that this is a few more people than I was expecting, but now that we know you're interested we can start working on a study schedule for everyone." Harry paused and looked around. He didn't see anyone who looked ready to lynch him yet and counted that as a good thing.
"Are there any questions or requests at this point?" he asked the crowd.
"Will you be working around the Quidditch practices?" called out one of the Hufflepuff Chasers.
"We will certainly be doing our best." Harry replied. When nobody else called out a question he continued. "As there are so many of us I think it would be easiest if I let you know when we have a schedule by posting it in your common rooms. If the Quidditch captains and the prefects would please stay we can work out exactly how we're going to do that. The rest of you, thank you for coming and be sure we'll set something up as soon as possible. If you have any particular times that you would like us to take into consideration please speak to a prefect on your way out and we'll do our best." There was less grumbling than Harry had expected as the classroom emptied and he was left facing three captains, including Cedric, twenty prefects and the Head Girl.
"Right then, if you'll all write down the times when you know people will absolutely not be able to attend, Hermione, Luna and I will work out who goes when." Harry told them as the girls handed out parchment and quills. It took roughly twenty minutes for everyone to finish writing all the times when people would not be able to attend although the captains of the Quidditch teams were quick to say that they would move their practices if they had to. There were a lot of grateful handshakes as they left and everyone there thanked Harry at least once for what he was doing. When the door closed behind the last of them Harry collapsed into what would normally be the professor's chair.
"This is a nightmare. I can't possibly teach this many people. I don't have the time." he said as he closed his eyes and ran a hand through his hair. He felt a small hand grab his wrist and move it away before his fingers were replaced by that same pair of hands as they raked their nails deliciously across his scalp.
"Well, I agree that you wouldn't be able to assign them homework and correct it. That would take up too much time; but I think you could actually tutor everyone here today." came Hermione's soft voice from somewhere above him.
"I think you're underestimating the time it would take to prepare each lesson, Mi. There's a reason teaching seven years' worth of students is a full time job." he sighed out, relaxing under Hermione's ministrations. "I think our best bet is to find out what each year would need to know and then leave them to study it on their own." Hermione was quiet for a long moment before she spoke again.
"I think it's like what we were discussing last week about Runes. Studying by yourself can only get you so far before you need someone who knows what they're doing. When it comes to Defence not even the Professors know as much as you do. You have more practical experience than anyone else, except maybe Professor Dumbledore but he's the one who's dithering on getting us a new teacher. That experience is why everyone was so willing to listen to you tonight. They know you are their best chance at, not only passing their exams, but surviving the war that is on the brink of raging outside of these walls." And damn it, that last argument actually made sense. Harry might not want to spend all his free time teaching a bunch of sheep, but could he really face himself in the mirror if he didn't do everything he could to prepare the innocent? Especially since his plan for the third task had failed so spectacularly? "At least send Professor Lupin an owl and ask him if he still has his lesson plans from two years ago? Please?"
"Alright. I suppose we need that information anyway." Harry admitted. He could practically feel Hermione smiling victoriously above him and rolled his eyes behind his eyelids. He still had his misgivings about the whole undertaking.
Later that night Hedwig left the Owlery with a letter for Remus Lupin attached to her leg.