Black and Potter | H. Potter

54 ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆ new light.

☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ:✧*⋆.*:･ﾟ✧.: ⋆*･ﾟ: .⋆ ☾

| NEW LIGHT |
song: I found by amber run.

☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ:✧*⋆.*:･ﾟ✧.: ⋆*･ﾟ: .⋆ ☾

HERMIONE MADE NO MENTION OF HARRY AND ARA giving Defence Against the Dark Arts lessons for two whole weeks after her original suggestion, though Harry found himself only thinking about his sudden patronus change. He still hadn't told anyone, he wanted to figure out what it meant first, he almost went to ask Ara but decided against it, his instincts telling him to not tell her, for once, he decided to listen to his gut feeling.

Ara and Harry's detentions with Umbridge were finally over, Ron had had four more Quidditch practices and not been shouted at during the last two; and all four of them had managed to vanish their mice in Transfiguration (Hermione and Ara had actually progressed to vanishing kittens), before the subject was broached again, on a wild, blustery evening at the end of September, when the four of them were sitting in the library, looking up potion ingredients for Snape.

"I was wondering," Hermione said suddenly, "whether you two'd thought any more about Defence Against the Dark Arts, Harry, Ara."

" 'Course we have," said Harry grumpily. "Can't forget it, can we, with that hag teaching us —"

"I meant the idea Ron and I had" — Ron cast her an alarmed, threatening kind of look; she frowned at him — "oh, all right, the idea I had, then — about you two teaching us."

Harry did not answer at once. He pretended to be perusing a page of Asiatic Anti-Venoms, because he did not want to say what was in his mind.

"Well. . ." Ara started, staring at Harry for his opinion, he simply avoided her gaze. "yeah, we've talked about it, and. . . ."

"And?" said Hermione eagerly.

"We dunno," said Harry, playing for time.

"I thought it was a good idea from the start," said Ron, who seemed keener to join in this conversation now that he was sure that Harry and Ara were not going to argue.

Harry shifted uncomfortably in his chair. Ara saw how he squirmed with unease and she suppressed a sigh. She was on board with this idea, but she would never want to push Harry into something he didn't want to do.

"You did listen to what I said about a load of it being luck, didn't you?" said Harry.

"Yes, Harry," said Hermione gently, "but all the same, there's no point pretending that you and Ara are not good at Defence Against the Dark Arts, because you both are. You two were the only people last year who could throw off the Imperius Curse completely, you two can produce a Patronus," —Harry tensed a bit, though nobody noticed— "you two can do all sorts of stuff that full-grown wizards can't, Viktor always said —"

Ron looked around at her so fast he appeared to crick his neck; rubbing it, he said, "Yeah? What did Vicky say?"

"Ho ho," said Hermione in a bored voice. "He said Harry knew how to do stuff even though he didn't, and he was in the final year at Durmstrang."

Ron was looking at Hermione suspiciously.

"You're not still in contact with him, are you?"

"So what if I am?" said Hermione coolly, though her face was a little pink. "I can have a pen pal if I —"

"He didn't only want to be your pen pal," said Ron accusingly.

Hermione shook her head exasperatedly and, ignoring Ron, who was continuing to watch her, said to Harry and Ara, "Well, what do you think? Will you both teach us?"