Dawn Rivera

In the Hog's Head

Hermione and I make no mention of Harry and Danny giving Defence Against the Dark Arts lessons for two whole weeks after our original suggestion. Harry's and Danny's detentions with Umbridge are finally over; Ron has had four more Quidditch practices and was apparently not shouted at during the last two; and all five of us have managed to Vanish our mice in Transfiguration, before the subject is broached again, when the five of us are sitting in the library, looking up potion ingredients for Snape.

"We were wondering," Hermione says suddenly, "whether you'd thought anymore about Defence Against the Dark Arts, Harry and Danny."

"Course we have," says Danny grumpily, "can't forget it, can we, with that hag teaching us -"

"She meant the idea we and Ron had -" Ron casts me an alarmed, threatening kind of look. I frown at him, " - Oh, all right, the idea Hermione and I had, then - about you teaching us."

Harry and Danny do not answer at once. They pursue a page of Asiatic Anti-Venoms.

"Well," Harry says slowly, when he can no longer pretend to find Asiatic Anti-Venoms interesting, "yeah, we - we've thought about it a bit."

"And?" says Hermione eagerly.

"We dunno," says Danny, playing for time. He looks up at Ron.

"I thought it was a good idea from the start," says Ron, who seems keener to join in this conversation now that he is sure Harry and Danny aren't going to start shouting again.

Harry and Danny shift uncomfortably in their chairs.

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

"Yes, Harry," I say gently, "but all the same, there's no point pretending you're not good at Defence Against the Dark Arts, because you are. You were the one of the only people last year who could throw off the Imperius Curse completely, you can produce Patronuses, you can do all sorts of stuff that full-grown wizards can't, Viktor always said -"

Ron looks around at me so fast he appears to crick his neck. Rubbing it, he says, "Yeah? What did Vicky say?"

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

Ron is looking at Hermione suspiciously.

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

"So what if she is?" I say coolly, though I can feel my face going a little pink. "She can have a pen-pal if she -"

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

Hermione shakes her head exasperatedly and, ignoring Ron, who is continuing to watch her, says to Harry and Danny, "Well, what do you think? Will you teach us?"

"Just you, Dawn and Ron, yeah?" Danny says.

"Well," I say, feeling a mite anxious again. "Well...now, don't fly off he handle again, Harry and Danny, please...but I really think you ought to teach anyone who wants to learn. I mean, we're talking about defending ourselves against V-Voldemort. Oh, don't be pathetic, Ron. It doesn't seem fair if we don't offer the chance to other people."

Harry seems to consider this for a moment, then says, "Yeah, but I doubt anyone except you three would want to be taught by us. We're nutters remember?"

"Well, I think you might be surprised how many people would be interested in hearing what you've got to say," says Hermione seriously. "Look," she leans towards them - Ron, who is still watching her with a frozen look on his face, leans forwards to listen too - "you know the first weekend in October's a Hogsmeade weekend? How would it be if we tell anyone who's interested to meet us in the village and talk it over?"