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SIYE Time:12:29 on 29th March 2024
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Harry Potter and the Lord of Immortality
By Awakening5

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Category: Post-OotP, Alternate Universe
Characters:Albus Dumbledore, All, Remus Lupin, Ron Weasley, Severus Snape, Sirius Black
Genres: Action/Adventure, Humor, Romance
Warnings: Death, Disturbing Imagery, Mild Sexual Situations, Sexual Situations, Violence
Rating: PG-13
Reviews: 69
Summary: The war is beginning, and Voldemort seeks to cast fear into the hearts of the wizarding world as reality hits: he is immortal. Harry Potter struggles to accept his new role in the war and find a way to destroy the man who can't die. AU 6th year. Canon ships, especially HG.
Hitcount: Story Total: 49621; Chapter Total: 2951
Awards: View Trophy Room




Author's Notes:
Welcome back to Hogwarts! Given the war going on, this will be one of the few chapters that takes place entirely at Hogwarts. But it's an important setting to establish, to know what harry and co. are up to all year. Enjoy!




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Chapter 10: Hogwarts Is Where the Heart Is

“Can you tell?”

“He doesn’t appear to be angry anymore.”

“No, but he doesn’t look happy, either.”

“He’ll come to understand, Sirius.”

“Maybe he’s hoping the same thing about us.”

-0-0-0-

“Anothe r summer has come and gone
The school year fast upon us.
But listen close, and heed my song
Lest this year become a fuss

“For centuries, I’ve sorted well
Determining which house to choose.
Beware believing, I do tell,
The house determines you.

“Young Gryffindors are not destined
To be leaders of the light
Just as my cunning Slytherins
Must not against them fight.

“Ravenclaw, though neutral tend,
Above the rest, don’t flout.
And Hufflepuffs, my friends,
Need not take the easy route.

“This old hat merely sits and thinks and sorts
No intent to choose a path
Remember when faced with many ports
A choice, it is thou, who hath.

“And finally, I beg the rest
Who have decided which path to take
Don’t use a house to determine who’s best
For both your and their sake.”

As the applause drew to a close, and sorting began, Harry reflected on the sorting hat’s song. Harry liked the theme. He was as guilty as the next guy of judging a student by their house. All Slytherins were bad, that was what he always thought. But why? After all, Harry had nearly been sorted there. Would he have immediately been evil had he not begged the hat to send him elsewhere?

But Harry had considered this question previously. What inquiry the hat’s parting lines had actually left Harry with was not about Slytherins, but his own housemates. The hat had called him out as one who had already chosen his path–but then asked not to determine friends based on house alone. It may have been implied not to decide enemies simply by which house they lived in, but it was expressly said not to decide who is best based on house.

Harry shook his head disappointedly. If anyone should have understood this before the hat’s warning, it would be Harry. His mind flashed to Peter Pettigrew, betrayer of lifelong friends. And Harry wasn’t naïve enough to think that Peter had always been evil. No, he was a trusted friend. He had broken the law for a werewolf, had enjoyed Sirius’ humour, and stood behind James for years. But things can change, and the Marauders had chosen to be blind to it because the truth was too painful.

Harry hoped he wouldn’t make the same mistake–even though the very thought of any of his friends betraying him was terrifying, and not an idea he wanted to entertain.

Speaking of betrayal, Harry had yet to make eye contact with Sirius or Dumbledore, though he felt each of their eyes on him a few times. Harry knew in his heart of hearts he was already starting to understand them, but damn it, he was pissed at them. They may have been hoping to help him and boost his confidence–and a few months from now Harry might agree. But right now, he could still smell the burnt flesh and see the metallic blood of his victims from the night before.

Then again, maybe that was the goal, too. He had been training all summer to be a warrior, and yet taking a life had taken a profound toll on him. Perhaps Dumbledore knew he needed to experience it, and placed him in a situation where it might happen. In any case, Harry still wasn’t convinced it was Dumbledore’s decision to make.

Such thoughts plagued him for much of the sorting, earning him concerned glances from Hermione and Ginny. Ron merely stared at the empty table, occasionally griping about the time the first years were depriving him of eating. Down a few chairs, Harry heard Neville whispering to an uninterested Lavender Brown about his plant’s summer. Harry listened closely for the mention of the Pot-ifer’s bulbs, knowing that the sorting would end and Dumbledore would interrupt the boy before he could tell anyone of the bulb’s contents.

Sure enough, just as Neville asked Lavender the question, “And what do I find when the bulbs open up,” the hat sorted Neil Zilch into Slytherin, and Dumbledore stood up to address the students of Hogwarts.

“My dear students,” Dumbledore began. “I have a few announcements to make. First, I would like to welcome our newest teacher to the school–Professor Sirius Black!”

Immediate chatter filled the school as Sirius stood up and gave a short wave. His smile didn’t reach his eyes, and Harry felt an odd sort of contentment, knowing his godfather couldn’t enjoy this moment because of his action against Harry the previous day. But deep down, Harry felt bad for the man that he couldn’t experience this moment to its fullest. After all, the death glare that Snape was sending him would have been enough to send Sirius to cloud nine on any other day.

“I want to reassure everyone,” Dumbledore said with a slight smile, “That Professor Black is, in fact, innocent. He has fought and nearly died for the light, and will continue the fight by helping each of you learn to defend yourself.

“This brings us to our next news. Sirius Black has taken on an assistant professor who spent much of last year instructing in the Defense Against the Dark Arts. Harry Potter will continue his class beginning next week, and all students fourth year and above are permitted to attend.” The school began to buzz more excitedly than at Sirius’ announcement, and Dumbledore simply spoke over them, causing a hush to quickly arrive. No one wanted to miss this news. “Watch for announcements for the practical class, now termed the Defend and React Training, in your common rooms. The instruction period will be short, and as the name implies, the coached practice will train you to survive and respond to attacks.”

Dumbledore paused for a moment, allowing the students a short moment to talk excitedly or nervously about this news. Harry tried to keep his own emotions neutral, but was having an increasingly difficult time as Ginny tried to catch his attention. She seemed to be emulating many of the female reactions in the room, whispering loudly enough for him to hear about how excited she was to go just for the eye candy.

Dean looked at her, torn between amusement at her mocking teenage girls and worry that she might be one of those teenage girls. After she was done mocking, Ginny turned to Harry and said. “DART…nice acronym.”

“Yeah,” Harry said nodding sadly. “I actually wanted to go with Fight and React Training, but Dumbl…”

Ron snorted, Hermione tsked, but Harry was unable to finish his thought or see Ginny’s eye roll and smirk because Dumbledore began speaking again. His tone was serious and the students immediately silenced. “My last words will be few. And they are this: Hogwarts is to be a haven from the war going on outside this school. I will show little tolerance to those who wish to bring the war here with them.”

There was a tense silence in the air, and Harry looked shocked up at the professor. Harry had always thought of Dumbledore to be the merciful, forgiving type. He employed Severus Snape, after all. But Harry found himself with growing respect as the aged headmaster laid down the law and struck fear into the students. It certainly appeared as though his very first priority, above even saving the wicked, was saving the innocent.

Dumbledore’s face switched from stern to joyful in the blink of an eye, and said with glee, “Now eat up! We’ve a feast to take care of!”

The tension broke immediately as uneasy laughter shifted to excited chatter. The food appeared, Ron drooled, and the students obeyed their headmaster’s final command. Their obedience to his first command was yet to be tested.

The delicious feast eventually drew to a close as feasts are wont to do, and Harry was now faced with the moment he most dreaded. He gave Ginny a look that only she could understand, and she nodded her support. He smiled warmly back at her and told Ron and Hermione that he would meet them in the common room.

Hundreds of students were filing out of the Great Hall, but instead of following them, Harry made his way to the professors’ table. Dumbledore and Sirius watched him approach, Dumbledore’s face calculating and Sirius’ face concerned.

Harry walked right past Sirius, giving him little more that a brief nod, and reached Dumbledore. “Sir,” Harry said, keeping his voice impassive.

“Harry,” Dumbledore nodded, still looking at Harry as if he were a puzzle to figure out.

“We were attacked on the train earlier by an imperiused girl,” Harry said, getting right to the point. Dumbledore’s eyes widened in shock–Harry was no longer his first priority. “No one was hurt,” Harry added quickly, before relating exactly what had happened and the actions Harry had taken.

“…and this wand eventually came through the window,” Harry said, holding up the long, oak weapon. “I figured you could send someone to Ollivander’s to try to see who bought it, and if we’ve got a student who has already joined them.”

Dumbledore reached forward. “Thank you, Harry,” he said sincerely. “I fear to think what might have happened without your presence.”

Harry didn’t make the obvious comment that the attack likely wouldn’t have happened were it not for his presence. Then the thought came that if it were not for his training over the summer, something bad could have happened, indeed. Harry cursed this thought, because it meant showing gratitude to the two men whom he was currently very angry with.

“I’d like to have that talk that we cut short last night, Harry.”

Harry let out a sigh. Without looking back up, he mumbled his response. “Give me a couple more days, sir.”

Harry felt more than saw the aged man’s acquiescence. Harry turned quickly and left without even looking at Sirius. He didn’t want to deal with them right now. Instead he went for a short walk around the castle. Harry loved Hogwarts, and just feeling the stones under his feet, seeing the familiar tapestries and statues along the walls, listening to the gossiping chatter of the paintings, filled him with joy. It didn’t take long for Harry to have a smile come over his face. In time, he would heal from his experiences. He would have reason to trust his godfather again. He would because he was home, and Hogwarts brought out the best in him.

After a short while, Harry made his way to Griffindor tower only to find himself pacing in front of the Fat Lady’s portrait.

“Quidditch?”

“Nope.”

“You’re a beautiful woman, you know that?”

“Yes I do, thank you. But that is not the password.”

“Gah…something Latin then. Aperi?”

“Nice try.”

“Ignoro?”

“Cle arly…and no.”

“Pluribus…er…Anus?”

“Not even close.”

“What do you want from me, woman?”

“The password.”

Harry cursed his stupidity. How had he not asked Ron and Hermione for the password at some point? How did more people not run into this problem at the start of every term?

He heard a light chuckle surprise him from behind. Harry cringed. He wouldn’t hear the end of this for a while. Turning around slowly, Ginny came into Harry’s sight.

“How long?”

“The whole time,” Ginny responded with a positively glowing smile. She was truly beautiful when she smiled like that. Well, Harry thought to himself. She’s beautiful no matter what expression she’s got.

He shook his head of this thought before pouting. “And you just let me make a fool of myself for five minutes, why?”

“Because it’s just so much fun!” Ginny said happily. They grinned at each other for a moment before Ginny’s face grew more serious. “But as fun as watching this was, the real reason I was waiting for you was to see if you needed to talk.”

Harry felt his heart swell. All of his fears about what their friendship would be like back at Hogwarts departed his mind. On the very first day, Ginny had cared enough about him to leave her boyfriend and school friends she hadn’t seen all summer to see if he was alright.

He looked down at his hands and smiled softly. “I’m actually alright, Gin.” He looked up into her chocolate eyes and had to hold back a gasp at all the emotion they held. The way she looked at him made Harry feel like he was the only person in the enormous castle–that at that moment, nothing else mattered to her. “Thank you,” Harry managed.

They stared at each other for a long moment–neither breaking the powerful gaze that mesmerized them. She seemed to be looking into his eyes for an answer. He simply looked into hers to treasure the feelings they gave him. He was the most important thing in the world to her at that moment. Eventually, Harry knew he needed to answer the question Ginny was asking with her eyes. “Really,” he said sincerely while reaching out and taking her hands in his. “I’m home now…and everything is going to be okay.”

-0-0-0-

“My Lord,” Lucius Malfoy said, bowing before Voldemort. “My son has just reported that your servant’s attempt to gain information from Potter on the train today failed.”

Lucius looked up in time to see his Master’s eyes narrow slightly. He gave a curt nod, though. “This is not unexpected. And I think ‘backup plan’ is a more fitting title than servant,” the Dark Lord said.

Lucius refrained from rolling his eyes as he sensed a Voldemort monologue beginning. They were famous among the inner circle. No one dared say anything to the player, however.

“You see, Lucius, what separates me from previous dark wizards is my foresight. Many in our history have been strong and powerful–but none have been as prepared. What happened to me that night in Godric’s Hollow was a fluke, an aberration. But these things happen and have happened all throughout history. I have separated myself from past would-be leaders by being prepared for the aberration.”

Lucius nodded, suddenly very nervous now that the topic of Voldemort’s immortality had arisen. Lucius was the only person on earth aware of Voldemort’s ultimate backup plan thanks to a recently restored memory. But Voldemort wasn’t aware that Lucius knew.

“Always have a backup plan,” Voldemort continued. “That is the rule. So young Draco is the plan. That’s great, a fine plan. But a backup plan ensures success. In that old fool’s precious Order of the Phoenix–we have a backup plan. It may not be as sure as Severus, but the backup ensures success. And now, as the Ministry believes themselves to have caught our mole, we have a backup plan. And what does that do for us, Lucius?”

Doing everything in his power to keep the sarcasm out of his voice, Lucius responded. “It ensures success, my Lord.”

“That’s right, Lucius. It ensures success.”

-0-0-0-

“S irius!” Sarah said, surprised as he emerged from her fireplace. “I didn’t think you’d come by on your first day at Hogwarts.”

Sirius stepped out, and brushed his robes off. He wouldn’t look up at her as she approached to kiss him. He was guarding his emotions again. A sure sign that he was confused or depressed. He didn’t want her to feel all of that.

“Hey,” she said softly, and lifted his chin up to look her in the eyes. His face was sad, but he smiled softly at her anyway. “What’s wrong?”

He merely stood there, staring into her eyes. If the situation were right, Sarah would note to herself what a handsome man Sirius was. She would love to run her hands through his dark hair, comment on his well-built and healthy body. She would think about how gorgeous his grey eyes were. But instead, she was focused on the pain swirling in his eyes.

Sirius was normally a very jovial guy. He was one of the few people who could make her laugh no matter what the situation. He nearly always had a smile to brighten the room. Therefore, when his countenance was something other than happy, Sarah knew it was something serious.

“I’ve done something terrible, Sarah,” he began.

Sarah quietly led him to the couch where they sat and got comfortable. Sirius then told her of his last couple of days, including a horrifying tale of what happened in the Ministry the previous night. Sarah had been one of the reporters who had been trying to get a scoop on exactly what happened. She knew now that she couldn’t write about this story and expose what Harry had done and reveal the Order’s plans for keeping the Ministry safe.

By the end of the tale, Sirius had his head in his hands and he spoke miserably. “He was furious with us, Sarah. He killed someone! I mean, I know he would have killed someone at some point in this war…and maybe it’s best it happened now, like this. But he’s just a boy for Merlin’s sake!”

Sarah softly rubbed Sirius’ back as he talked. She wanted to let him get it all out before she spoke.

“And now…he wouldn’t even look at me today. I thought…” Sirius looked up at Sarah, heartbroken. “I thought I was done breaking people’s trust.”

Sarah felt his shame and fear once more–a rare feeling to come from Sirius these days. He had been so happy, ever since they started their relationship again. He had been bonding with his godson, finally doing the job that James and Lily had entrusted him, as he would say. And now this. She hugged him tightly.

“Does he understand your intentions?”

“Who the hell cares what my intentions were? What we did was wrong.”

“Maybe, maybe not. Time will reveal that to him. What doesn’t need time to be revealed is why you did it.”

Sirius sighed. “He said he wants a few days before we talk about it. I think he’s too angry to listen to us right now.”

Sarah nodded. “That’s understandable. But as soon as he’ll hear you out, you need to tell him why you tricked him. He’ll forgive you and trust you much more easily if he understands your intentions.”

There was a pause before Sirius spoke again. “You forgave me without knowing why I cheated.”

Sarah felt a pain constrict her chest as he brought up that dark night. “We’ve already talked about this…I forgave you.”

“I know,” Sirius said, straightening up and facing Sarah more squarely. “But I want you to know why I did it, if it will help.”

Sarah nodded slowly. She did want to understand, even if it would bring back a lot of pain that she had been avoiding for the past month.

“It’s inexcusable, and cliché, and stupid. But I was scared. Terrified, really.” Sirius looked into her eyes and his sincerity poured into her. “I had never, in all my life been so scared as when I was with you. You knew me completely, understood everything about me. James was a brother to me, and he didn’t know me a fraction of the way you did.

“And it wasn’t because of your gift, Sarah. It was because I had opened up to you, left myself as vulnerable as anyone has ever been. And it scared me to death.”

Sarah listened intently, unsure of what to think at the moment. “So I did what I’d always done–I ran. Just like I ran from all previous relationships, ran from my family, and just like I’d do a couple months later when I ran from my responsibility to you and Harry and chased down Peter.

“I spent twelve years in Azkaban, and the only thing that kept me sane was my innocence. But the thing that nearly drove me mad was those mistakes I’d made–especially yours. The Dementors, in their own miserable way, drove the point home that you had left yourself as vulnerable as I had. The only way I can possible understand the pain I must have put you through is from the guilt that I felt at having put you through it.”

Sarah felt her eyes well up with tears as Sirius choked up. She was about to speak, but Sirius cut her off with a wave of his hand. “I could have escaped sooner. Could have changed into a dog and swam away, but that pain was so paralyzing–and I felt like I deserved it, so I wanted to be there–to suffer as I made you suffer. I would ask for the paper whenever I could just so that I could see your name in print, and feel more pain. It wasn’t until I saw Wormtail in the paper that I was able to push past the pain and guilt, and take on a goal more worthy of my time.”

“Oh, Sirius!” Sarah said, pulling him into a hug. She was so grateful she had already forgiven him, now that she understood what he went through. Just as he had said, his actions were inexcusable. But it was safe to say he had paid for it. “You understand that I forgive you, right?”

He nodded into her shoulder. “And you know that Harry will, too!”

Sirius nodded again. “Yes. Like you, he is much better than I deserve.”

-0-0-0-

Du ring the summer, Harry Potter had gotten his eyes checked in Diagon Alley, courtesy of Sirius’ money, of course. He’d wished he’d bought new frames in addition to updated lenses. However, despite not having some nicer looking frames, Harry was shocked when his new pair of glasses made the world suddenly appear a little clearer. He could see blades of grass swaying in the wind, instead of simply seeing a patch of green on the ground. He could see the adorable individual freckles on Ginny’s creamy skin, instead of a duller skin tone. It was remarkable.

Following a couple of days of class, Harry realized that his glasses weren’t the only thing that received improved lenses over the summer. His very outlook on life and learning had shifted completely. Instead of merely enduring through class, Harry found himself alert and excited when his professors spoke. Whether his teachers were teaching better material, or his summer of training had given him a new purpose to learn, Harry wasn’t sure. But he finally understood why Hermione could so often be found in the library or with her nose in a book. His life had gotten a new prescription, and the vision before him was beautiful.

Charms class had been fascinating the previous day. They were learning about animating inanimate objects. Throughout the class, Harry recalled Dumbledore’s fight in the atrium where the statues leapt to life and defended him. He excitedly learned the theory, spell mechanics, and how the magic connected the animated object to the caster’s mind so they could better obey the wizard’s will. The lessons would continue for nearly four weeks, given the difficult nature of the spells. Harry vowed to be competent in two.

Potions class was unbearable, but enlightening. Having spent part of the summer drinking increasing doses of potions to increase his immunity to them, Harry recognized the power of potions. This revelation kept him engaged and anxious to learn despite Snape’s attempts at belittling him. In fact, earlier that morning, Harry had brewed the second best potion in class–behind Hermione of course. He was so confident that when Snape tried to get a rise out of him, daring him to drink his sense-heightening potion, Harry threw his head back and downed it.

The downside of doing so was that when Snape took away ten house points, it felt like he was yelling at Harry. The upside, however, was keenly seeing the oh-so-subtle twitch in the professor’s eye that showed his hatred of Harry’s improved ability. One less thing Snape could taunt him about.

The potion had all but worn off by the time Transfiguration rolled around, but Harry didn’t need it to hear Professor McGonagall. He was all ears as the professor launched into a very informative discussion on defense against the Unforgivables.

“I have spoken with Professor Black,” Professor McGonagall began. “And we believe it to be of utmost importance that you learn early in the term how to counter the Unforgivables.”

A hand shot in the air. The teacher called on Lavender Brown. “But I thought it was impossible to block them.”

“To a degree, that is true. Spells taught to you in Defense classes in the past will do nothing to stop the killing curse. There are shield spells that can help against the other two Unforgivables, however. Along with a couple of other tactics, that is what Professor Black will be instructing you on. However, we will go over transfiguration defense for the next few weeks in this class. Now, who can tell me one of the three types of summoning?”

Hermione raised her hand. After seemingly debating with herself as to which summoning spell to elaborate on, she spoke up. “The most obvious is summoning an object from one location to another. Such as calling that piece of chalk to me,” she concluded, pointing to the chalk on McGonagall’s desk.

“Precisely, Miss Granger. Five points to Gryffindor. That is the summoning charm, and we will do little practice on it in this class, given its simplicity. But know that it can be very useful in defending yourself against the Unforgivables. For example, Mr. Potter, please cast a simple stunning curse at me.”

Harry stood up slowly and pulled out his wand from its holster. Professor McGonagall stood fifteen feet away, holding her wand loosely in her hand. Harry raised his own wand and said, “Stupefy,” weakly. A red light burst from his wand and soared towards the professor.

She lazily waved her wand and an empty chair flew in front of her, intercepting the curse midair. The chair flew past the aged woman and crashed to the floor. “Thank you Mr. Potter,” McGonagall said as Harry sat down. “Now, had that been the killing curse, the chair would have been destroyed and you would have shrapnel to worry about, but at least you wouldn’t immediately die from the curse.”

McGonagall turned back to the class, imploring for the second type of summoning. She ignored Hermione’s hand until a Hufflepuff girl raised her hand. “Summoning a vanished object?”

McGonagall nodded, awarded points, and elaborated, matching each word with the action she described. “That’s right. I can take this chair here; I can levitate it near me, and then cast a vanishing charm. There are many theories as to where vanished objects go, but we know that living organisms cannot be vanished without some very serious magic–and then they never come back alive. Some say that, like a banishing charm carries an object through one of the three observable dimensions, a vanishing charm sends it through a fourth dimension–to a time where it is not disturbed until summoned back. I personally believe in a fifth dimension–magic. Magic takes the vanished object into its own realm and then brings it back when we summon it.

“This summoning spell is very useful against the Unforgivables if you have time to prepare. You can levitate many objects to follow you around in the different dimension, and then summon them as soon as a curse is approaching. This requires practice in knowing the limitations of summoning an object away from where it was vanished. You would hate to summon an object only to find it appears a few feet away. I do not want your last thoughts in life to be that you wished you had studied today’s lesson more.”

A third summoning type was asked for, and Harry raised his hand. “The third summoning is actually transfiguration,” Harry said. He had learned this lesson the hard way when he tried to summon a shield from nothing to block a spell from Sirius. “You transfigure the air, or space around you, into an object. The magical community simply calls it summoning because it appears to be summoned from nothing, or that other dimension you were talking about.”

“Excellent, Mr. Potter. Ten points to Gryffindor. This transfiguration is the third type of summoning that we will begin in depth lectures on after a couple weeks of the second summoning spell. The important thing to know about transfiguring is that it is difficult to transfigure magical properties.

“For example, if I transfigure the air in front of me to a chair,” she waved her wand and a hard backed chair appeared in front of her. “Mr. Potter’s stunning charm would go right through this chair. The physical properties of the air have changed to that of a chair’s, but not the magical properties. Therefore, a spell that can travel through air will go through this chair just as easily. I can sit in it, but its magic is not changed. That takes time and some very complex spells you won’t learn until next year. That is why you cannot transfigure something into food, because your body requires the magical properties of food, not just the physical ones.

“So, if you are going to use transfiguration, make sure you transfigure something with the correct magical properties. I can transfigure the chalk into a chair, and it will block the spell just fine–and the increased physical size of the chair will help block that spell easier. But if I try to transfigure air or liquid water into a chair, it will do me no good.”

Class continued as practicing began and homework on the second type of summoning was given. Harry was surprised to find how excited he was to learn the details of physical limitations of summoning, even if he dreaded writing eight inches on it.

But Harry did not have time to do his Transfiguration homework that night. He was busy teaching a class of his own.

Due to the enormity of the class that Harry was given leadership of, it was necessary the class be held in the Great Hall. With the help of many teachers, Harry had turned the Hall into a magnificent training room equipped for hundreds of students. Each class would begin with the students sitting in auditorium seating–sitting for their professor’s instruction. But that instruction would rarely last long, as Harry was much more interested in the students practicing than him talking at them.

Then, the auditorium would vanish, and depending on the activities of the day, different training facilities would appear for the day. Then it was time for the students to practice in a way that no other class allowed.

“You’re going to do great,” Harry heard a voice say behind him. He stood before the rapidly filling seats of the auditorium, off to the side of the podium that he would soon be speaking from. Harry had begun to feel some knots tie in his stomach, but allowed himself to be distracted from them when he turned to see Hermione and Ron smiling supportively at him.

“Thanks, Hermione,” Harry said earnestly. His two best friends, along with Neville, Luna and Ginny (and Dean) had arrived early to help him out and get seats at the front of the audience. Now, just before the class was to begin, they came to offer their support.

“Just like last year, mate,” Ron said, before smiling. He continued in a dry tone, “Except with a few hundred students instead of a dozen.”

Harry laughed lightly. It was quite the task Dumbledore had assigned him. But Harry was appreciative of the trust shown him. If only he could return the trust…

“Ronald!” Hermione admonished, shocked at what Ron considered to be supportive behavior. “You’ll do just fine, Harry.”

Harry feigned offence. “Fine? Just a moment ago you said I’d do great! Already losing your faith in me?”

“No, Harry!” Hermione started, before narrowing her eyes at Harry’s laughter. “Oh very funny. I hope you make a fool of yourself!”

Ron and Harry both laughed and Harry shooed them back to their seats, thanking them again for their kind words of encouragement. But as Harry took to the stand moments later and stood before hundreds of students, he felt no nerves. He smiled gratefully to Ron and Hermione, amazed at the power of his friendship with them.

Casting a silent charm to turn up the volume on his voice, Harry addressed the murmuring crowd. A silence fell immediately.

“I’d like to thank you all for coming. I see representatives from all houses, and look forward to getting to know each of you. Whatever your intent in coming here tonight, know that I intend to help you learn to defend yourself.”

Harry looked forward at the numerous clicks and groups among his peers and students. “Some of you are here simply because my name is Harry Potter. I hope your reasons change after today. Some of you have come to find fault with me and mock me. Don’t worry, you will find what you’re looking for.” There was light laughter as Harry added seriously. “But even if you aim to hurt me and what I stand for, I will still teach you. It’s up to you to learn, though.

“Most of you, I hope, are here because you are scared. Scared that there is a madman out there who has gathered his followers and all but declared war on society as we know it. You’re scared that he might hurt you, or worse…someone you care about. My ultimate goal for you this year isn’t to take away that fear–but to help you so that when that fear comes, it won’t be realized. When the Death Eaters come to your village, or stroll down Diagon Alley while you are shopping–you’ll be ready.”

Harry took a deep breath, letting the silence of the Hall wash over him. “I’d like to welcome our guests, the headmaster and the Heads of House, this evening. I say guests because that’s exactly who they are tonight. You are welcome any time,” Harry said, addressing the teachers. “But don’t expect to do any teaching here.”

A surprised chatter filled the Great Hall as the students expressed shock that the qualified teachers would not be aiding Harry. He wasn’t just the face of the club after all.

Harry smiled softly before continuing. “You may be wondering what makes me qualified to teach. I could list a couple of experiences I’ve had that bolster my résumé, but when all is said and done…I’m just a student like you. And that’s what is so beautiful about this class. When those Death Eaters come to your village, or appear in Diagon Alley unannounced; when they show up at your doorstep–Professor Dumbledore won’t be there to defeat them. It will be you. Maybe a friend or family member to help.

“This class will be the same way. It is up to you. I, and some of my friends with strong résumés, will be here to help you learn, but you will go at your own pace. You will get out of this experience what you put in. Showing up to class gets you no grade, and copying your friend’s work will benefit you nothing.

“Because when all is said and done, the only thing that will stand between a Death Eater and you is your own wand. So let’s learn how to use it, shall we?”

A few people shouted their excitement, and many others nodded their head. Others looked down at Harry with apprehension, while others still glared down at him. Harry spoke again, having ended his little speech, and addressed the format of the class.

Once a week, Harry would instruct them as a whole for a brief time. This instruction would generally include situational queries, asking students to think outside the box in order to get themselves out of hypothetical situations. Harry recalled the many mental exercises that Sirius and Dumbledore had put him through in order to improve his instinct and would try to emulate those with this large group.

Following this instruction, the students would disperse into ten groups, which would be assigned today by means of ten quick, non-injurious duels. Dumbledore had cast an ingenious randomly generated attractions spell on the occupants of the room, each being enchanted upon walking through the entrance doors. There would be ten rounds where each student duel the other student that they were pulled towards, before moving on to the next random student. Then, the students would total up their victories, and that number became their group number.

“Don’t bother trying to lie about which group you are in,” Harry added, knowing students would want to be in the more advanced groups for their pride’s sake. “It will only hinder your own growth and the growth of the group you would be in. And if you are concerned that you dueled only seventh year experts and therefore were in a group less advanced than you, you will be able to move up as you prove yourselves able. This also means you can move down if you slack off and your entire group progresses past you.”

Harry went on to explain that these groups would be organized with leaders and that Harry would personally oversee the groups’ progress. But this would just occur once a week. Beyond that, there were two more DART meetings per week that would be explained in more detail when they were held. Those would be the classes taught by Harry’s friends.

Without further ado, Harry explained the duels in more detail, and asked that the students leave the seating. After they were done filing out of the seating, Harry waved his hand. The large stand disappeared, and the room began transforming. The Hogwarts staff had done all the necessary pre-transfiguring for him per his request, so all he needed to do was activate the spell. All of the tables that generally sat in the hall moved from the sides where they were stacked and scattered across the room. They began shifting, growing tall and thin, and gaining a rough, wooden texture. The ground became littered with fallen foliage and twigs as the tables became trunks that grew to the enchanted ceiling–which joined with the trunks and gave off the appearance of leaves and branches, covering the sky above them.

The students were all gazing around in awe at the forest they now found themselves in. Harry again activated another charm, and each student began moving–against their will–towards another student. It was a bit comical, and Harry laughed to himself as his peers glided towards each other like magnets. Each student came to rest just inches from another student.

After the movement ceased, Harry spoke again. “You have found your first dueling partner. After I’ve finished speaking, the spell will be released and you will have five seconds to go where you want before a horn alerts you of the start of the duel. Remember, the duel is won when you disable a student–no more than a stunner and preferably just disarming. If you do serious injury, the duel will count as a loss and you will face punishment from me and the staff. My final words of advice: this is not a formal duel–this is a simulation of what you might experience in the war.”

Harry stopped speaking, the charm was released, and after a brief moment of shock, all hell broke loose. Harry had to smile to himself as students raced behind trees, or chased their terrified dueling partner. Then the horn blew and curses, magical and verbal, began to be thrown around.

Harry watched with interest as different strategies were employed. It seemed some students had absolutely no idea how to fight, and could merely put up shields in horror as they were quickly incapacitated. Others demonstrated decent instinct with no skill as they darted behind trees for cover, but could do little more than basic stunning curses or prank hexes. Then, Harry found others to be adept spell casters with absolutely no idea how to fight–casting brilliants spells, but being disarmed quickly because their opponent knew how to fight.

Many used their surroundings and the chaos to their advantage, hiding behind trees and in shadows, while others were completely overwhelmed by the dozens of students running around them and spells launching past them. Harry smiled contentedly, knowing that over the course of ten duels, students would win and lose battles for all of these different reasons. Therefore, when all was said and done, students with different strengths and weaknesses would be put in the same group together.

The remainder of the class went quickly. The forest morphed with each new duel, as it transformed to a busy street, then to an icy lakeside. Harry found that with each new situation, different students’ abilities flourished or diminished in importance to the given duel. He started to get a clear picture of certain defense tactics and spells that would be high on his list to instruct on.

Harry also noticed with a smirk when several girls would see him observing them and, in their embarrassed distraction, would lose duels while blushingly smiling at him. While somewhat flattering, Harry ultimately found it annoying that something as stupid as a famous boy could lose them a battle.

But after the seventh duel arena of a labyrinth-like building morphed into a serene field–pure wide open space–Harry saw a different sort of girl. She was a beautiful blonde girl–perhaps a year younger than Harry, he couldn’t quite tell. Her sparkling blue eyes met Harry’s green eyes, and while she did flash him a brilliant smile, it was not a shy, embarrassed, or girly smile. It was simply an acknowledging smile; as quickly as it had come, it was gone, for the horn had sounded, and the girl went into duel mode, concentrating on her new enemy.

Harry watched her with growing curiosity for the final three rounds, trying to be inconspicuous about it. She was talented, but not exceptionally so. She was a hard worker, but had a smile on her face every time she passed someone she knew.

Her final duel was against Ginny, coincidentally. And while she did lose after a short while, she grinned up at Ginny and they exchanged pleasantries–confirming to Harry that she must be in fifth year with Ginny.

Harry shook his head, reminding himself he had a class to teach. He waved his hand quickly, and the tropical beach setting melted away, and the Great Hall took shape once more. The numbers 0 through 10 appeared in the air, hovering around the Great Hall about fifteen feet in the air.

Harry reactivated the voice enhancing charm before addressing the class again. “Great job, everyone! I am grateful that there were no serious injuries beyond a little blood and bruising. Nothing a few charms and rest won’t take care of. You can expect a lot of that from this class, so if you don’t want it, then this class isn’t for you.

“Now, you see the numbers above us, zero to ten. If you will please go to the number that matches the number of duels you won, then you will find your new group and team members.” The students all began moving to their numbers.

“Together you will teach each other what you can, learn from each other, as I come to instruct and give assignments. Leaders will emerge, talents will be discovered. If you progress faster than your group, you will move up, and if the group progresses faster than you, you will move down.”

Harry watched as the groups 3 to 6 filled more completely than the others. No one had won all ten of their duels, as Harry expected would happen. There was just too much randomness in these battles. Therefore, ten groups were formed, numbers 0 to 9. Harry smiled when he noted Ron, Hermione, and Ginny all fell into the top group. It would seem their experience had helped them. Harry figured it was not just from the night at the Ministry, but from the countless hours they would have spent since then reliving the battles and wondering what they could have done better. In doing that exercise, they sharpened their instinct.

Harry also noted the pretty blonde girl he had been watching was in group six, a 5 hanging over her head. Harry nodded, thinking that that’s where he would have put her after watching her duel a few times.

When the students all stopped shifting around, Harry spoke a final time. “My goal for tonight was not just to put you into your new groups, but to open your eyes to the chaotic and random nature of battle. I would be lying if I didn’t credit some of my own escapes to luck. But I would also be wrong not to credit quick reacting and willingness to fight as the reason to my having survived Voldemort a few times.” Despite the scared murmur in the crowd from his mentioning Voldemort’s name, Harry continued on. “I hope as you all return to your common rooms tonight, you will think about these duels, replay them in your minds, and think of how you could improve. Then practice alone or with your friends those things you need to work on. The real work in this class will be done by you, not me.

“You are all free to go, though I recommend getting to know some of the people in your new group, as you will be helping each other a lot over the semester. Good work everyone!”

The next thirty minutes passed quickly for Harry as he walked among the groups, which slowly dispersed. He was thanked and congratulated by countless students for the class’s success. His brain was picked by numerous others who wanted early advice on things they needed to improve on. When Harry arrived at group six, he briefly engaged the blonde girl in discussion.

“Good work out there,” Harry said with a smile. “I saw that duel with Ginny–you put up a great fight.”

The girl smiled at the praise, and Harry was again relieved that she wasn’t blushing and stammering in his presence. It was refreshing. “Thanks,” she responded. “Ginny’s always been the best at Defense.” She looked thoughtful for a moment before continuing with a smile. “And charms, transfiguration, potions…” She let out a beautiful laugh and Harry couldn’t help but join in.

“Well, you did great, too…er…what was–“

Harry had been looking to ask her name, but was interrupted by an excited Neville–who had apparently also made it into the sixth group. Harry looked apologetically back at the girl who merely smiled at him before turning away with her friends. Harry followed her out of the Great Hall with his eyes while half-heartedly listening to Neville’s excitement about how much better he did than he expected.

Twenty minutes had passed before the hall had cleared out completely but for the Ministry Six. Neville happily chatted with Luna about the duels, while Ron and Hermione chatted excitedly about the first class. Ron still couldn’t let go of his one loss to a seventh year, while Hermione blamed the icy ground for her one loss. She had slipped early and left herself open.

This left Ginny alone with Harry as they sat, tired, in the nearly empty Great Hall.

“…and then I tried to transfigure the water into something I could use against him, but I was too late. The force of the splash pushed me back long enough for him to disarm me. It was stupid really…I should’ve just tried to block it.”

“No,” Harry said, impressed that she had won nine duels and tried such advanced dueling techniques. He had only just learned them this summer. “You tried something new. That’s how we’re going to improve.”

Ginny flashed him a brilliant smile. “Thanks, Harry. You know you did a great job today.”

Harry smiled warmly back at her. Then a thought occurred to him. “Hey, Gin, who was that girl you fought in the last duel?”

Ginny’s smile faltered slightly and her eyebrows furrowed. “Um…that was…Abigail. Abby. From Hufflepuff. She’s in my year.”

Harry nodded and looked off at the door leading out of the Great Hall. Harry smiled slightly.

“Why do you ask?” Harry turned back to look at Ginny, who had a sly grin plastered on her face.

“Oh…” Harry gave a short laugh. “I dunno. Something about her made me feel…comfortable? I guess…”

Harry had come to love Ginny’s smile–so carefree and beautiful. That was why he could tell that her current smile was fake. He wondered if she knew something about Abby that he might not like.

But instead, she said, “I’ll find out from the network what she thinks about you.” She hesitated for a moment before cheekily adding, “Though if every other girl is any indication, I think she might like you.”

Harry pushed Ginny playfully in the shoulder, unhappily recalling the many girls of Hogwarts who couldn’t behave normally in his presence. “Don’t remind me. This year is going to be hell…” He contemplated for a moment before adding, “But I think that’s why this girl stood out–she wasn’t like the other girls.”

Ginny merely nodded before asking, “So, what are your future plans for the class?” Before responding, Harry couldn’t help but wonder why she had changed the subject so quickly.

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