𝗷𝗮𝗻𝗲, harry potter

˗ˋ 98

CHAPTER NINETY EIGHT
✧
-: fifth year :-

── IN WHICH JANE STICKS 
UP FOR HIM

. . .

"A couple of people?" Harry repeated hoarsely to Hermione. "A couple of people?"

"Yes, well, the idea seemed quite popular." Hermione happily, practically clapping her hands in glee. "Ron, do you want to pull up some more chairs?"

Harry turned to Jane as Fred began ordering Butterbeers for everyone, eyes wide. "This is good." The girl quickly told him, finding his hands and holding them tight. "A lot of people believe you... or think they do anyway. From what I've heard - and remember I know literally nothing here - but you being able to teach even a small group of people is one of the better things that could happen this year."

"Do you think?"

"I think you need to have more confidence in yourself, Harry." She said it oh-so gently despite the clamour of the others who had just joined them and it shot the Potter right back into the middle of summertime, when everything was perfect and warm and sunny and she was by his side every day. "You can cast spells that a lot of others can't, and you've seen it all, you've had nightmares and your scar hurting and meeting Voldemort in the flesh. You've seen it Harry, you've seen it and you can only tell other people so."

"Yeah, I have." Harry nodded, watching as she smiled at him again and the nerves in his stomach began to float away with him. "Okay. I think I'll be fine... maybe."

"You will be." Jane repeated. "Hermione - you can speak first, right? Just get the ball rolling and everything?"

"Yeah, I've got this." Hermione said, still looking rather pleased with herself as the group she had gathered recieved thier own dusty bottles of Butterbeer. "This is a good turnout, better than I was expecting. Yeah - Harry, you don't have to do anything yet."

"Hi Harry." A voice broke through and they looked up to see who Jane believed to be Neville stood in front of them, beaming. His eyes landed on Jane and he leaned forward across the table. "I'm Neville Longbottom."

"Yeah - Harry's told me about you." Jane grinned back at him, shaking his hand. "Jane Everleigh." She added, just in case he didn't know. Neville paused for a moment, his eyes alight with recognition before sitting down across the table from them, pulling a dazed Luna next to him before she began wandering towards another table.

Eventually, everyone was settled in twos or threes around them, filling in the table and all facing the four sat around the wall-side of another, their chatter dying out. Hermione stood first. "Er," she said, her voice slightly higher than usual out of nerves. "Well - er - hi." She began, and the group focused its attention on her instead, though eyes continued to dart back regularly to Harry and sometimes over to Jane, for reasons she couldn't explain other than pure curiosity.

"Well... erm... well, you know why you're here. Erm... well, Harry here had the idea - I mean" - Harry had thrown her a sharp look - "I had the idea - that it might be good if people who wanted to study Defense Against the Dark Arts - and I mean, really study it, you know, not the rubbish that Umbridge is doing with us." With that, Hermione's voice became suddenly much stronger and more confident, aware of the attention paid to her and her words. "Because nobody could call that Defense Against the Dark Arts"