Natsu Dragneel and the Order of the Phoenix

In the Hogs Head

Lucy made no mention of Natsu giving Defense Against the Dark Arts lessons for two whole weeks after her original suggestion. Natsu's detentions with Eisenwald were finally over (he doubted whether the words now etched into the back of his hand would ever fade entirely); Gray had had four more Quidditch practices and not been shouted at during the last two; and all three of them had managed to Vanish their mice in Transfiguration (Lucy had actually progressed to Vanishing kittens), before the subject was broached again, on a wild, blustery evening at the end of September, when the three of them were sitting in the library, looking up potion ingredients for Redfox.

"I was wondering," Lucy said suddenly, "whether you'd thought any more about Defense Against the Dark Arts, Natsu."

"Course I have," said Natsu grumpily, "can't forget it, can we, with that bastard teaching us -"

"I meant the idea Gray and I had -" Gray cast her an alarmed, threatening kind of look. She frowned at him, "- Oh, all right, the idea I had then - about you teaching us."

Natsu 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. He had given the matter a great deal of thought over the past fortnight. Sometimes it seemed an insane idea, just as it had on the night Lucy had proposed it, but at others, he had found himself thinking about the spells that had served him best in his various encounters with Dark creatures and Death Eaters - found himself, in fact, subconsciously planning lessons...

"Well," he said slowly, when he could no longer pretend to find Asiatic Anti-Venoms interesting, "yeah, I - I've thought about it a bit."

"And?" said Lucy eagerly.

"I dunno," said Natsu, playing for time. He looked up at Gray.

"I thought it was a good idea from the start," said Gray, who seemed keener to join in this conversation now that he was sure Natsu was not going to start shouting again.

Natsu shifted uncomfortably in his chair.

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

"Yes, Natsu," said Lucy gently, "but all the same, there's no point pretending that you're not good at Defense Against the Dark Arts, because you are. You were the only person last year who could throw off the Imperius Curse completely, you can produce a Patronus, you can do all sorts of stuff that full-grown wizards can't. Well, what do you think? Will you teach us?"

"Just you and Gray, yeah?"

"Well," said Lucy, looking a mite anxious again. "Well... now, don't fly off the handle again, Natsu, please... but I really think you ought to teach anyone who wants to learn. I mean, we're talking about defending ourselves against A-Acnologia. Oh, don't be pathetic, Gray. It doesn't seem fair if we don't offer the chance to other people."

Natsu considered this for a moment, then said, "Yeah, but I doubt anyone except you two would want to be taught by me. I'm a nutter, remember?"

"Well, I think you might be surprised how many people would be interested in hearing what you've got to say" said Lucy seriously. "Look," she leaned towards him - Gray, who was still watching her with a frown on his face, leaned 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 we can talk it over?"

"Why do we have to do it outside school?" said Gray.

"Because," said Lucy, returning to the diagram of the Chinese Chomping Cabbage she was copying, "I don't think Eisenwald would be very happy if he found out what we were up to."