The Daughter of Sirius Black

Chapter 68

"This is mad! Who would want to be taught by me? I'm a nutter, remember?" Harry said as he, Ron, Hermione, Leona and the twins made their way to the Hog's Head.

"And I'm the daughter of a supposed mass murderer. Doesn't exactly inspire confidence," Leona added as she walked with her handheld by Fred's, all of them bundled up in winter gear.

"Look on the bright side," Ron said. "You can't really be worse than old toad face."

Harry scoffed while Leona just glared at the back of his redhead.

"Always a way with words huh, Ronny boy?" George said sarcastically.

"Who's supposed to be meeting us then?" Harry asked as they approached the door.

"Just a couple of people," Hermione answered as they pushed open the door to the run-down bar.

"Lovely spot," Ron cringed.

"Thought it would be safer somewhere off the beaten track," Hermione said.

"Smart," Leona praised, the younger girl giving a small smile as they walked in.

Over the next fifteen minutes or so, around 20 people, mostly Gryffindor's and a few Ravenclaw's, found their way into the Hog's head, all of them pulling up chairs as they faced Harry, Leona, Hermione, Ron and the twins.

"Uh, hi," Hermione started as she stood. "So, you all know why we're here. We need a teacher, a proper teacher. One who's had real experience defending themselves against the Dark Arts."

"Why?" asked a boy from Ginny's year.

"Why? Because You-Know-Who's back you toss-pot!" Ron fired.

"So he says," the boy said nodding at Harry.

"So Dumbledore says," Hermione defended.

"So Dumbledore says because he says, but where's the proof?"

The room was silent.

"Potter could tell us more about how Diggory got killed," another spoke up.

"That won't be happening," Leona said as she stood. "I know most of you, if not all, don't trust me and my godbrother at all. And I don't blame you. But we are doing this for your benefit. Believe us or not, but Voldemort is back and we're out here, freezing our arses off, offering to teach you nimrods how to defend yourselves for your own good. We're not doing this for us. Now you can stand here and call us crazy that's fine, but when Voldemort does come for all of us, you're going to be the ones defenceless."

Silence washed over the room as Leona's frustration filled words sank in, Harry squeezing her hand in thanks.

"He's really back?" asked the small boy, Nigel, who broke the silence.

"Yeah, he is," Harry spoke.

"What could you possibly teach us?" someone spoke up.

"Sign up and swear to keep quiet about all this and you tossers will find out," Fred exclaimed as he slammed a piece of paper down on a table, George slamming a pencil down next to it.

And one by one, under the names of the six of them, people wrote their names down.

And for that one moment, things were looking up.