Harry Potter and the Great Struggle

Harry smiled to himself as Ron approached the large crowd. Since when had Ron developed style? Harry thought to himself, noticing Ron had arrived late to most likely raise suspense. There was quiet a crowd, many Gryffindors had shown up, either to try out, or to watch. There were also other eyes, both welcome and not. The Slytherins are probably checking out the competition mused Harry.

Ron smiled at everyone, while taking a mental note of the physical attributes the players showed. He knew that that wasn't the most vital of attributes, but Harry and Ron had already discussed what they wanted on the team, and they wanted nimble yet physically imposing players.

"Alright fellows, this is how it is going to happen," Ron began, and the crowd began shutting up, waiting eagerly for their captain's plans. "First, I want to know how many of you are trying out for the two chaser positions?" the captain asked of the players, checking out who would raise their hands.

Harry noticed that around six players were trying out, and after a quick mental analysis, he noted that of the six, the players that the positions would be fought over by would be Ginny, Dean, and Emanuel Davis, who was a third year. The others probably would not get anywhere close to the skill level of these three players, as Harry had already seen Ginny and Emanuel fly, and they were amazing. Dean himself could hurl the balls at amazing speeds, even though he claimed that he was more of a foot user, as he was obsessed with football.

Harry also noted that Kamaal was trying out for the position. The last first year to make the team had occurred six years ago, and that had happened almost a century after the player prior to that. The player who had made the team six years ago had been Harry himself, who had amazed Professor McGonagall with his natural flying ability.

"Alright, that's good. I want things to go this way. Two chasers will be matched up randomly, and I want you to work with Katie," Ron nodded to Katie, "and try to get the quaffles passed me. Don't worry if you don't do well, maybe you don't have the right chemistry. To fix this, I'll alternate the matches who will work Katie. I know that this may take a while, but I won't match all of you up today. During the lunch break I'll decide who makes the first cut, and then after lunch we'll finish up the tryouts with any matches that are needed." Ron looked the players over once again, "Any questions?"

No one said a word.

"Good, now, I'm assuming the rest of you are trying out for the beater position?" Ron asked of the remaining six players. Harry noted who they were and assessed how they would do. He noted the two muggle-born wizard twins, the Creevey brothers. Groaning inwardly at the two members of the "Harry Potter Fan Club", he moved forward to the other players. The less than imposing figure of the fifth year Elise Domitrovic stood next to Joe Price, a stunningly bulky third year. The boy was taller than Harry, who was average height for his age. He would probably end up taller than Ron. Then Harry had a shock, he saw Neville Longbottom standing by himself, awkwardly.

Jermaine, who was also trying out for the beater position, walked up to him and muttered a few words. Neville grinned with determination, and Harry noted that Jermaine was probably psyching Neville up. He wasn't a bad guy after all.

"Okay, I want you guys to go up there and do your job of stomping on the chasers trying out. Once again, you'll be sent up in matches, to see how you guys work together. Remember, chemistry is essential in this tryout, as the players who make the position will be the only beaters we have."

"If there are no questions, I would also just like to say that Harry will be observing you all in the game, and will handle the matches and switches," Ron grinned, "Okay then, let's go!" with that final statement Ron launched himself into the air, followed by the other players.

The tryouts wore on all through the morning, and the crowd had more or less dispersed, as they had other things to do. Harry had watched with rapt attention all throughout the tryouts and had made some keen observations. For one thing, he was completely blown away by Kamaal's skill. The boy was amazing in the sky. The only other person Harry had seen fly like that was Draco Malfoy, who in his own right was a great flyer, though always second to Harry. Ginny herself had improved somehow since the summer, and completed amazing maneuvers that most would not expect of a novice. Ginny was a shoe-in. The question was, who would get the other position?

Dean had performed below Harry‘s expectations. His flying was worse than Harry had earlier surmised, but he was able to force the quaffle in with his strength passed Ron once or twice. Harry had a nagging feeling that Ron wasn‘t trying as hard as he should, since he usually let very few quaffles passed him.

The seeker also noticed how the Beaters flew together. Harry already knew who would get the jobs; Neville and Jermaine performed stunningly, and worked together as if they had practiced together. Probably did too, he thought to himself. Colin Creevey was a horrible flyer, and he had wiped out after the first hour. Dennis, who was worried about his brother went down to take care of him, but was quickly ordered back up by Ron, saying that someone else would take care of Colin. In a few minutes, some spectators had come out and taken Colin to the infirmary. As far as Dennis's skill went, he was surprisingly good. He was swift and agile, and probably would have made the team if he was not severely outclassed by Jermaine.

The boy was easily the best player of the ones trying out. Harry easily saw that he could probably play as chaser as well as beater. Jermaine was quick and had great maneuverability. These attributes accompanied by his amazing strength made him a great player. He slammed the bludger with a ferocious force and dead set accuracy.

And then there was Neville, who moved not at the best speeds, made up for all his inadequacies with strength. Beneath the fat, apparently there was a whole lot of muscle. The way he forced the bludger into his opponents made everyone shudder, and later when Jermaine told Harry that Neville was holding back, Harry wondered what would happen to their opponents. Just as Harry thought about all this, he saw Dean perform a stunning move which left everyone shocked.

The quaffle went to Katie from Dean, who zoomed towards the goal. Katie passed the quaffle off to Kamaal, who corkscrewed towards the goal but was cut off by a bludger hurled at him by Joe Price. Kamaal evaded the bludger while sending the quaffle to Dean. Dean saw it coming a mile away and paused at the goal. He seemed to hesitate and then he stood up on his broom, leapt off and kicked the quaffle with his foot. After kicking it, he caught his broom with his right arm, and swung himself back up on the broom. Ron moved for the quaffle, but it had flown to fast and had gone in.

Everyone laughed and whooped with glee as Ron struggled to calm everyone down. Harry flew down to Dean and smiled at him, "I don't suppose you could do that again?"

Dean looked shaken and replied, "hell no, adrenaline rush!" Ron quickly resumed the game, laughing to himself at the amazing stunt. Even though it was tryouts, it was one of the most amazing things anyone in quidditch had ever seen.

By the time lunch had rolled around, they were all worn out, all except Ron. The Weasley would not let up! Ron was frantic, yelling at everyone to eat up, but not too much or they'd be too full for the next session of those who would make the cut. This finally got Ron off their backs, as he left to make the decision of who had been cut of the try outs. They had finally finished their lunch and waited patiently for Ron to post a bulletin on bulletin board. When Ron had finally put it up, Harry went up first, before anyone else, and checked the list.

He first looked at the chaser list and noticed that Ginny had made the cut. Not surprisingly, so had Kamaal the first year, and finally Dean and Emanuel had made the cut. If someone asked Harry, he would say it would end up between Kamaal, Ginny, and Emanuel. And he highly doubted that a first would get put on the team, seeing as how a first year had to be amazing to make it. Nonetheless, Kamaal had potential to be one of the best chasers in the entire school, even in all of Europe if he practiced enough.

Ron had also gone with the easiest choices for the beater positions, Jermaine and Neville. Still, he wanted to give Dennis Creevey and Elise Domitrovic a chance, even though they had no chance against Jermaine and Neville. Harry turned around and faced the expectant crowd, saying, "You all can look now."

They rushed by him to check the list.

Harry walked outside, feeling a little better now that he had eaten, and saw a large crowd gathering. Rumors were spreading, and everyone was already sure that Ginny, Jermaine, and Neville would make the team. The other players were not sure things, and they all wanted to see how it would turn out. The whole crowd quieted when Ron raised his hand, signaling he wanted to speak.

"Well, I just first want to say, I'm glad you all tried out, and you are the best of those who tried out. Now, I already have some people in mind who will make the team, but I want you all to try your best, to change any decisions I may have made. If you've been holding out people, it's now time to let it all out," Ron paused dramatically, before continuing. "Okay, this is how it's going to happen. I want a full blown scrimmage, Ginny and Dean, you two go with Jermaine and Neville. The rest of you are on the other team. Now, this scrimmage will have different rules, as there won't be a keeper and there won't be a seeker. The three of us," Ron nodded to Harry and Katie, "will be watching you, and will make our decisions on how you play."

"On to the rules. First, the first team to hundred wins, and a goal will count as only five points, until you reach eighty where it will go back to ten. I know it may seem like a lot, but remember, there are no keepers, so it should be easier to score. Second, Madame Hooch has gladly offered to referee the scrimmage and most of the other rules should be the same." Ron looked around, "any questions?" There were none.

"Then lets get this game on the road!"

Madame Hooch stepped onto the field as the players loaded their brooms and got ready for the whistle. The referee looked around at the players before blowing the whistle, and the eight players rose up together as the quaffle was dropped and the bludgers came roaring onto the field. Jermaine and Neville immediately took control of the situation by heading for the two bludgers, using their field position advantage to get the bludgers before Dennis and Elise. Ginny roared her broom towards the quaffle and grabbed it and went flying towards the goal, with the bludgers headed towards Kamaal and Dean. They avoided the bludgers, leaving a clear path for Ginny, who quickly scored.

Kamaal quickly grabbed the quaffle after it went through and Dennis flew alongside him, knocking any bludgers coming at Kamaal away. Jermaine and Neville decided to send them both at the same time, and Kamaal easily avoided it by passing it off to Emanuel who simply caught and through in less than a second, screaming, "ALLEY-HOOP!"

Ginny looked determined and went flying with the quaffle, quickly and efficiently maneuvering through the group of players, while Jermaine and Neville effectively kept the bludgers off her. She then noticed her path was blocked by the figure that was Dennis and she feinted a shot and quickly gave it to Dean, who knocked the ball into the ring, answering Emanuel with a "Hoop this mother--" Dean was cut off by Emanuel flying by him and scoring quickly, and then again after intercepting a pass from Ginny to Dean.

The game went on like this for a while, where the beaters all did their jobs effectively, except for Elise, who was just out of her league. The chasers were good too, but Dean couldn't compete with Emanuel and Kamaal's team-up, and Ginny couldn't score herself, though she did provide good competition for the other players.

The score was ninety to seventy, with Emanuel and the rest only three goals ahead. The problem was, they only needed one more too win. Kamaal had just gotten passed Dean and scored, which had made it ninety, which unleashed the Weasley temper. Ginny had gotten fed up with Dean's lack of skill, and started yelling at him to play some defense as they didn't have a keeper. Jermaine had to grab Ginny and pull her broom gently away from Dean, who sheepishly smiled at her, unsure of what to say. Dean knew that he didn't belong in this group, and knew that he was severely outclassed.

Ginny pushed her anger into the game, and quickly scored, making it seventy five for her team. Jermaine and Neville decided to unleash everything they had, which was when Harry realized they had been holding back all this time. Jermaine alley-hooped the bludgers to Neville, who used all his strength to knock Kamaal off balance. When they went by Kamaal, Jermaine had already sped over to meet the bludgers according to their trajectory. Upon doing so, he slammed the bludgers at Emanuel, who was just about to intercept Ginny. By this strategy, the beaters were able to effectively keep the players distracted while Ginny scored again.

Kamaal had decided that enough was enough. Emanuel seemed to compliment this anger with his own, and they quickly swooped down on the quaffle and headed for the goal...where they were met by two fast moving bludgers. Emanuel was knocked off his broom, and hurtled to the ground. He landed hard, probably breaking a few bones here and there. He writhed in pain while Kamaal kept on going and scored, winning the game. Looking around, Kamaal saw Emanuel lying on the ground, and flew downwards to his teammate. Ron, Harry, and Katie also ran to Emanuel and saw that it wasn't bad. Madame Pomfrey would have his bones healed in only a few hours.

Jermaine and Neville said sorry to Emanuel as they carried him off.

Harry sighed as he walked over to where Hermione, Lavender, and Parvati sat, accompanied by Pearl Patil. The young girl had followed Parvati everywhere, obviously she wasn't getting on well with the other female first year. Before Harry knew what he was doing, he kissed Lavender on the cheek. Everyone looked at Harry aghast, who realized what he had done, embarrassed.

"Lavender, why did Harry just kiss you?" asked Hermione. Then she looked at Harry, "Why did you just kiss Lavender?"

Harry quickly thought up a story and smiled, "Silly Hermione, I was only whispering something in her ear."

"Right."

"I'm serious," Harry leaned in to Lavender's ear and whispered, "I want to talk to you."

Harry pulled her aside leaving a baffled Hermione and Parvati aside. "When can we tell them, Lavender?"

"Not yet."

"Why does it have to be a secret? I hate lying to my best friends."

"I know you do, but I have my reasons. I'll tell you when the time is right."

"Hmph..."

"C'mon luv, don't be like that," Lavender said to Harry.

Harry glared at her, but quickly softened, unable to be angry with those sad brown eyes staring back at her, "Ugh, fine."

"Great. Meet me up in the Astronomy Tower tonight, I have a surprise for you."

Harry laughed and walked away.

Sunday night had been wonderful for Harry, and everyone in the dorm knew what Harry had been doing when he had come back late that night. His dorm-mates begged him for details, and were furious when Harry had not complied. The Boy-Who-Lived became the Boy-Who-Got-Some, and they could not believe it. Ron had asked Harry to at least tell him who it was, and Harry said he couldn't. Ron had glared at Ron, and said he bet Harry did not really have a girlfriend, and was probably playing some prank on Filch. Harry had just laughed and went to bed.

These high spirits kept with Harry the next morning, through breakfast and on throughout the morning, until they had Double Potions with the Slytherins. His emotional high immediately went to a low as he heard Snape walk into the classroom. Harry groaned inwardly, and Pansy noticed this.

"I hear you had quiet a bit of fun last night, Mr. Potter," she said.

Harry responded, "And I've heard you will never have that type of fun in your life."

Pansy shut up and Harry was glad. Harry heard a bit of rustling from a corner of the classroom, and noticed some students staring in that direction. He looked over and saw what had caught the attention of the students. Maria Malfoy was working diligently at the corner, and some of the Gryffindors sneered.

Snape spoke, "I want you students just to ignore Ms. Malfoy, she is doing some extra work for me."

Draco Malfoy spoke up from next to Ron, "Is it true that Maria might enter our class, since Durmstrang is so advanced."

Snape actually sneered at a Slytherin, "Yes, as the fools at Durmstrang force their students to learn the potions in a rush, they never truly understand what they are doing."

"So she will be in our class?"

"We shall see Mr. Malfoy."

Harry noticed Maria's face was red at Draco's praise, which caused Harry to notice that her nose scrunched up. Ugh! What am I thinking...she's a Malfoy! Harry yelled at himself. It was too late though, as Pansy had noticed what Harry was admiring.

"Oh well that's just beautiful!" she said, grinning from ear to ear.

"What are you on about?"

"I have just realized I am not the only one who lusts for a Malfoy," Pansy was still grinning. "Wipe that smile of your face, I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Oh I think you do, stupid Potter."

"Shut your trap Parkinson."

"Why, I do believe you can't blackmail me anymore, Potter. I'm not stupid, I mean, why else would you blush when I mentioned it to you."

Harry's eyes widened at this revelation and tried to stop himself from turning red. Damn that Slytherin he thought.

"I'm not a Slytherin for being stupid you know."

"Could have fooled me."

Pansy ignored him, "I think we're now on even footing, and I think it would do you good to not threaten me again."

"I already have a girlfriend Pansy."

"Some stupid Gryffindor girl, tell me Harry, who is it?"

"What gives you the idea that I would tell you, something I wouldn't even tell my best friends."

"That's beautiful, not even the Weasel knows."

"Face it Potter, a Slytherin is exotic to you, and you desire someone who doesn't just fall in your lap, like everything in your life."

Harry tried to ignore her and attempted to continue his work, but ended up thinking about Pansy's words anyway.

"So Potter, what's this about you having a girl now?"

"Shut up Malfoy." Ron spoke for Harry after class. The class had basically passed in silence, with Harry occasionally staring at Maria, and then stopping when nudged by a smiling Pansy. Harry had practically ran out of the uncomfortable yet comfortable class, and Ron had tried to follow him. They had been approached by Draco, which resulted in the present situation.

"Why, I heard you had a good snog up in the Tower last night," Draco said, laughing along with Crabbe and Goyle.

"It happens," was all Harry responded with. Draco came in close to Harry, where only Ron could hear, "So, that Brown girl must be something!"

"What?!" Harry moved backwards, as did Ron.

"That's rich! The Weasel doesn't even know what his best friend's up to!"

"Shut up Malfoy, you don't know what you're talking about." Dang, I'm saying that a lot, Harry thought. Ron ignored Malfoy for a moment, "Lavender, Harry?"

Harry grabbed Malfoy by the collar who just grinned, "It would do you good to keep your mouth shut, Malfoy."

"Are you threatening me, Potter, like you did on the train?" Malfoy said, still unfazed. It seemed like nothing fazed the boy, which angered Harry even more.

Crabbe and Goyle came to Malfoy's aid, and grabbed Harry by his arms and pulled him off of their friend slash master. Harry gave a cry and Ron, in a full blown rage from the fact that they were attacking his best friend and that Malfoy knew before him who Harry's girlfriend was, tackled Goyle, leaving Harry to contend with Crabbe and Malfoy.

"Figures you'd fight an uneven match!" Harry yelled angrily at Malfoy.

"Shut up Potter," came Crabbe's guttural voice.

"And don't fret Harry, it's not uneven," came Neville's voice. He had obviously seen the altercation waiting to happen, and came to his friend's aid. He slammed his fist into Crabbe's face, knocking him over, leaving Malfoy an opening to tackle Harry. Malfoy began pummeling Harry, who struggled to get Malfoy off of him. He finally managed to flip Malfoy over and began making up for the hits Malfoy had gotten in.

Meanwhile Ron's tall and athletic build struggled with the massive...well fat of Goyle. Goyle had a lot of muscle, coming from probably supporting all his weight around. Ron managed to get a few good punches in, but Goyle clearly had the upper-hand using his mass to slam Ron's body into the ground. He then came down on top of Ron, who rolled out of the way and flipped over and slammed his knee into Goyle's gut, knocking the air out of the fat boy.

Neville was fairing a lot better, knocking Crabbe into a bloody pulp; Crabbe was simply too slow to do anything. He finally was able to get Crabbe to stop fighting, and Neville calmed down from the rush of fighting. He glanced over at Harry and Ron, and decided to help Ron by sending a stupefy spell at Goyle. They both got up and looked at Malfoy, who was still fighting with Harry. Ron grabbed Malfoy and threw him off with the help of Neville.

"You're boys are beaten Malfoy, now scurry off," Ron demanded of Malfoy.

Malfoy took a quick look at his boys, and decided that a retreat was a good idea. "You'll pay for this Gryffindors."

"You alright Harry?" Neville asked Harry after Malfoy was gone. Neville was nearly unscratched, Ron would probably end up with a few bruises, but Harry most likely had a broken nose.

"Nope, not really. But trust me, Malfoy's worse off."

"Hehe," Ron laughed, "let's get you to the hospital wing."

"After I deduct ten points each from the three of you for fighting," Dumbledore's voice came.

Harry looked guiltily up at Dumbledore, "But they started it!"

The headmaster raised his hand, "thus the small number of points deducted. Malfoy and his friends shall have thirty points each deducted, and all of you shall serve detention every night for the remainder of this month."

Harry and Ron grudgingly nodded, while Neville looked at Dumbledore questionably, "Professor, if I may..." "Yes Neville?"

"Why didn't you stop the fight?"

"I felt that Ron and Harry needed to let off some steam," Dumbledore winked and he then walked away, letting Neville and Ron help Harry up the hospital wing.

During their lunch period, the three boys were questioned on how they lost their points, and how they had gotten their bruises...at least Ron and more noticeably, Harry. Everyone came up to them and congratulated them, but Hermione frowned, not only at the fact they could have got expelled, but another question was on her mind as well.

"Why didn't Madame Pomfrey heal your injuries?"

Harry smiled slightly, responding, "She felt that we needed these injuries to remind us of the fight."

"That blows you guys," Jermaine muttered to them.

Neville grinned, "It was great though, we got those losers good. Trust me, they look a lot worse than us."

Ron laughed and Lavender looked at Harry with a worried expression, which no one noticed. Harry smiled to let her know he would be okay, and she smiled back. Ron noticed the smile and looked to see who it was directed to. The boy could only grin, and then he remembered he was angry that Harry had not told him.

Harry became worried that Ron would say something that he shouldn't, like he always did. Luckily, Ron had learned some manners over the summer, and knew when to stay silent. Harry probably had a good reason for keeping the secret from his first and best friend.

Just as Harry exchanged looks with Lavender and then Ron, Draco and his goons came in, and lo and behold, they did in fact look worse than the Gryffindor boys. Seamus Finnegan and Dean Thomas came in and slapped the backs of the three boys, laughing in delight.

"Neville, you were right! They certainly do look worse than you!" chuckled Seamus.

Dean came in as well, "Those gits look horrible. I now worship you three!" Dean mocked a bow and everyone laughed.

Just then, Dennis Creevey came flying on the scene, and for once, he didn't go to Harry, but instead to Ron. "Ron! Do you have the new rosters yet?!" he practically yelled at the red-headed captain.

Ron looked uncomfortable at the unwanted attention, but Harry knew that Ron desired the spotlight for once. He was always known as Harry Potter's sidekick, but now he was the captain of a house team, and one of the best damn players on the quidditch pitch. He replied to Dennis, "no, not yet Dennis, but I do have a vague idea of who I want."

"Oh really? Who?" Jermaine asked of Ron.

"Uhm...I don't want to say yet, until all my decisions are final and I've discussed it with my team. Speaking of which, Harry, Katie, you to want to come chat after Defense Against the Dark Arts?"

Harry nodded and Katie smiled in affirmative.

"Hey Hermione, can I talk to you for a second?" Jermaine said, looking at Hermione.

"Yeah, sure." Hermione smiled at the boys and followed Jermaine out of the Great Hall, leaving a steaming Ron.

"Sorry mate," Harry said to his bruised friend, "you waited too long." Ron‘s raging face turned to sadness as he watched them walk out of the Hall.

Harry and his friends walked into the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, sans Hermione and Jermaine. Ron wistfully looked at the door behind them, waiting for them to come in. Harry sympathized for his friend, but could do nothing for him. He silently whispered to Ron as they took their seats.

"Who knows Ron, maybe it was something innocent like he needed last minute help on his Arithmancy homework."

Ron sadly looked at his friend, "No, I saw the look in Jermaine's eyes...he was going to ask her out or something like that."

"She may reject him," was all Harry could say to reply.

"Why would she, he's a tall, athletic, handsome bloke. Nice guy too, I suppose."

Harry grinned, "You could have been describing yourself their Ron."

"Nope, not handsome," and Harry's smile turned upside down at Ron's dejection and acceptance of what might have not happened.

Ron's fears were confirmed, however, when Hermione and Jermaine walked in, both smiling awkwardly, like they had been an uncomfortable situation but had gotten passed it and were happy. Ron moaned to himself as Hermione took a seat in between Ron and Jermaine, and Hermione looked at Harry as if to say, What's wrong with him?

Harry only shrugged, not wanting to tell her what Ron had failed to do. We can't all get who we want... he thought to himself, thinking of a specific dark haired beauty. He began picturing the beautiful curves, the perfection of her proportions, the raven colored hair which lapped her shoulders, and then he stopped thinking about it. He feared who the face would be. Has to be Lavender, he thought to himself. Harry looked over at Lavender, who smiled at him and winked, to which Harry blushed.

Yeah, definitely Lavender. Harry sighed in relief. After a moment's thought, he thought, then why am I so uncertain?

He shook himself of these thoughts, and watched the young Professor Rayne walk in.

She was blonde, tall, by no means ugly, but not the most attractive of women. Still, some boys were approving of her, how many boys had the fantasy of a beautiful teacher. Here was the closest they could get.

She smiled warmly at them, and raised her hand to quiet the class. Harry began studying her, trying to judge her character. He looked at her eyes, saw the wrinkles there, probably from laughing too much. Still, behind those eyes, there was a weariness, as if she had been through something harsh, and did not wish to experience it again.

Or it could just come with her being middle-aged.

Something was odd about her though, that Harry could not discern. Harry pushed yet more thoughts away, as Rayne began to speak.

"Good afternoon students, I am Professor Rachel Rayne, and as you know, I am your new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. I'm here to tell you now, the rumors which surround this job are false. It is not cursed, and I am here to stay. I shall enjoy working with you lot, and I hope the feeling is mutual."

"Now, lets begin by talking about what you lot learned last year. Anyone?"

Hermione, as well as Lavender and Seamus raised their hands.

"Yes..." Rayne looked down at her roll, "Ms. Brown?"

"The fake Professor Moody taught us how to resist curses, and the real Professor Moody expanded on that," answered Lavender.

"Hm...good, good," she smiled again, trying to apparently loosen her students up. "Tell me, how many know how to actually utilize dark curses?"

Not a person raised their hands as Rayne looked across the classroom for any hands.

"Hm...okay, how many of you have experience with dark curses," she asked.

Harry and Jermaine raised their hands, as did Neville. Rayne looked at the students, pausing briefly at Harry, looking at his scar, and moving on. "You..." she checked her roll sheet, "Mr. Longbottom, tell me about your experience."

"Uhm...I prefer not to go into it, it happened when I was very young."

Rayne paused and looked at him closely, "You are not by chance, Frank Longbottom's son?"

"Yes, yes I am," Neville replied.

"Oh, I was so sorry when it happened," she smiled again, warmly at him, "I'm sorry for bring that up."

"It's okay," Neville managed, looking worn.

Several students looked at him questionably, but none said anything, continuing to pay rapt attention to their new teacher. She looked at Jermaine, and then Harry. "Mr. Potter," Harry noticed she did not look at her roll, "tell me what experience do you have with dark curses?"

Harry paused, "I've experienced the Unforgivables."

"Oh, which one?"

"All three."

Rayne looked shocked, "Not just the killing curse?"

"No, and I don't remember that anyways."

"Oh, when did you experience the other ones?"

"Both in my fourth year. Barty Crouch put me...attempted to put me under the Imperius Curse."

Rayne didn't look surprise, "I heard about that, and the other?"

By now everyone was looking at Harry, wondering who had put him under the Cruciatus Curse, and when it had happened. This made Harry uncomfortable.

"End of fourth year, at the end of the Triwizard tournament," Harry closed his eyes, remembering that night, vividly. He would forever remember that night, "When we arrived...Cedric was hit by the killing curse."

"So I've heard, and who..."

"The Cruciatus Curse was put upon me shortly afterwards."

"Who put it on you. I believe you should tell me so I can contact the proper authorities and tell them who should be put on trial."

"Well...I doubt you can put him in jail," Harry was apprehensive of stating the man's identity, as he knew what the reaction would be.

"Oh honestly Harry, out with it."

"Voldemort."

Rayne stayed quiet for a moment, while the rest of the class looked shocked. Lavender looked at Harry, with worry in her eyes, unsure of how to react. Harry merely shook his head while Rayne spoke.

"Well, glad you could tell me that. Well, tell me how it felt."

"Pretty certain it hurt."

"Be descriptive."

"Well, it was quite possibly the most unbearable pain I have ever endured. It felt as if my insides were on fired, and my blood was pouring out of every orifice of my body...that times ten that is."

"Oh," was how Professor Rayne responded. She then went on to discuss what they would be doing in this class, while several students stole peaks at Harry.

"So we've established that you all have had practice with resisting dark curses, though that has not been fully explored. I am certain that at least a few of you will be able to hold down the cruciatus curse, maybe even ignore it. We will work on that throughout the school year."

"However, our focus shall be put upon learning dark curses, and learning how to use them," she let the words hang for a moment, and before anyone could interrupt, she continued, "Professor Dumbledore has already approved, and do not worry about what the ministry will think. The best way to defend yourself against dark curses is understanding them, and to understand them to the fullest, you must learn how to use them."

"Now, before we continue, I would like to be clear one more thing. Throughout this class period you have heard me refer to these spells as dark curses, but I would like to stop using that term now. These are just spells and charms. They are not dark, only the user is dark. How does the ministry define dark curses?"

"Dark curses are defined as spells or charms which inflict physical or mental harm upon another body, force actions which are not welcomed on a body, influence other actions to occur which cause in physical or mental harm, and spells or charms which extinguish life," she looked at her students, who were rapt with attention. "By this definition, the use of a Lumos spell is a dark curse if used in a certain fashion."

"How?" Parvati Patil blurted out.

"Imagine you are in a pitch black place, and you're survival depends on the dark. Someone uses a Lumos spell, which results in another to be blinded, and/or leads to you being discovered by whoever you are hiding from. That right there is two of the definitions of a dark curse."

"What about spells which are meant to harm?" Hermione asked.

"All spells meant for self defense," she looked at Hermione sadly, "yet they are often used in the wrong way...and their name has been corrupted into the form of being called a dark curse." Her expression turned serious again, "I believe I shall hand you lot you‘re first assignment. It‘s simple really. Come up with ten different spells or charms which seem harmless but can be used as a dark curse. I want this written in essay form, divide it how you will. Five decimeters in length."

Students groaned as they took out parchments to begin planning and writing their essays.

Late in the afternoon, the students found themselves walking down to Hagrid's hut for his class, with a bit of apprehension in each other them. Hagrid had promised them a special surprise for their class. That could never be anything good.

Harry hung back a bit to talk to Lavender, and reached out with his hand and squeezed hers. She smiled at him, "Hey Harry."

Harry tried to smile, "I have to tell my friends, Lavender. They‘re going to found out, and I‘d rather them finding out from me."

Lavender frowned, "No Harry, I'm sorr--"

"What? Why are you being so stub--" Harry was interrupted by Hagrid coming out of his hut and smiling at them. Next to him was Fang...Harry squinted. No, not Fang. Some sort of wolf.

A werewolf.

Harry quickly pulled out his wand while several students gasped. Several backed away but Hermione quickly said, "There's no moon! That can't be a werewolf!"

"Very good of ya' 'Mione," Hagrid grinned at Hermione, "5 points ter' Gryffindor."

"Well then Hagrid, what is it?" Neville asked of the half giant.

Hagrid just smiled and the werewolf leaped at Lavender.

"No!" Harry yelled and pushed Lavender out of the way and aimed his wand at the creature, "Stupefy!"

The spell arced shot towards the werewolf, straight at its belly. However, the spell kept going and Harry saw a butterfly land on Lavender's form on the ground. Several students looked at Harry, wondering why he had been so protective of Lavender.

The butterfly flew off her nose and spun around in the air and then in a blink, a tall pale man appeared in the butterfly's place. His dark black hair contrasted greatly with his pale skin, as did his sleeveless black shirt and navy colored baggy pants. Several girls looked at his face and arms appreciatively.

Hagrid moved forward and said to Harry, "5 points ter' Gryffindor for quick thinking." He turned to the class, "I would like you all to introduce you to Dirk, he's a Shirftah'."

Neville raised his hands, "I thought shirfters weren't real. Shapeshifters are a myth."

"Well as ya' can see Neville, they're as real as you and I."

As they moved away from the class, Harry wondered aloud, "I wonder why they brought a shapeshifter to Hogwarts. I really doubt its for just that class."

Ron looked at Harry like it was obvious, "To protect the students Harry. I figured it would be fairly obvious."

"Yeah, well, but from what? Who would attack this school while Dumbledore's here?" Harry asked of his mate.

They entered the castle and moved towards their History of Magic class, where they were met by Professor Parker, who introduced himself. He quickly launched into a lecture about what they would be covering in this first semester.

He explained that he had been told by the Headmaster that he should cover famous Dark wizards who had caused problems during the past of wizardry. They would start from the days or Ur and Mesopotamia to the most recent one, Voldemort. He would go into their histories and what they did, but he would be assigning them different dark wizards on who they were to do projects on to figure out what made these dark wizards tick.

He pulled out a goblet, which Harry noticed was very similar to the Goblet of Fire from his fourth year. Professor Parker would call out the student's name and the goblet would randomly shoot out a piece of parchment which would tell the student his or her dark wizard.

Hermione received an obscure wizard named Lucius Harris, while Ron received probably the most famous dark wizard of all time, Salazar Slytherin. Neville received a dark wizard named Alkarinshah. And to Harry's dismay, he received of course, Voldemort.

Professor Parker assured Harry that it was all random, and it had nothing to do with his relation with Voldemort.

"Look at it this way Harry, you won't have to think about You-Know-Who for a while. And we have the first Hogsmeade visit this weekend, so it'll all be okay! No thinking about such useless things as history," Ron grinned at his friend. The other Gryffindors had already left for the Common Room after dinner, but Ron had felt exceptionally hungry and continued to eat. Harry had decided to keep him company. They were finally moving out of the Hall and heading towards the Gryffindor Common Room.

"I suppose that's true," Harry managed to form a smile on his face, but his heart wasn't in it. Everything always came back to Voldemort. He couldn't escape the evil sorcerer.

Ron persisted, "I'll also be posting the new players on our Quidditch team when we get back."

"Jermaine and Nev, they're something aren't they?"

"Definitely, the chasers I'm not sure about. We'll have to figure out who to eliminate, since they are all so good."

"We'll figure something out."

Ron looked at Harry, "Let me ask you something Harry."

"Yes Ron?"

"Are you and Lavender, well, involved?"

Harry looked at his friend, "why do you ask?"

"The way you rushed to protect her. Something about it..." Ron trailed off.

Harry wasn't sure what to say; he wanted to tell his friend the truth, but Lavender had forbidden it, "I..um..no?" he told his friend unconvincingly.

Ron looked hurt, and Harry knew his friend knew he was lying. "Well, okay then." Ron obviously didn't want to press the matter.

The walked towards the Common room in silence.

It was finally the first Hogsmeade weekend, and all the students were excited. They all couldn't wait to get out of the castle. They moved down the stairs towards the entrance of the castle. As they passed the bulletin board, they noticed several students standing there, looking at it and laughing. Ron looked at Harry and Neville, who shrugged their shoulders.

"I'll find out what this is about," Hermione moved forward authority in her walk.

Harry felt it was his duty to follow and moved through the crowd, and could barely contain his laughter when he saw what it was.

Jermaine had posted the list!

"Who put this here?!" Hermione looked ferocious. Next to each name on the list were things that a guy would like to do to each girl. It was quite obscene.

Professor McGonagall approached and took on look at the list and muttered, "Incendio." The list burst into flames and disappeared into ashes. Harry looked around and saw Seamus and Dean approach, "Hey now! I liked that list!" Seamus spoke.

"Too true, who burned that list?" Dean looked around and saw McGonagall and gulped.

Hermione spoke up again, "who posted it?"

Several students looked around quietly, when a Ravenclaw seventh year spoke up, "I think I saw that new student post it. What's his name? He's in your house."

Malfoy stepped up and drawled, "I believe the monkey's name is Jermaine."

Several students were too shocked to say anything. Jermaine had just walked in when he heard Malfoy utter his statement. For a moment Jermaine lost himself and leapt on Malfoy, and started pummeling. Students started yelling, and Crabbe and Goyle leap to Draco's aid.

"ENOUGH!" The four boys' bodies were separated and thrown up against the wall. Professor Dumbledore stepped up and looked at the four boys. He turned the other students, "You should all go down to the village now. Don‘t want to waste your weekend here, now do we?" Dumbledore smiled.

Professor McGonagall shooed them off, but Harry and Hermione waited behind wanting to see what would happen.

"You four shall receive detention. I have never seen such a flagrant disregard for the rules since," Professor Dumbledore glanced at Harry and his friends and smiled, "Yes well, I think three detentions each shall suffice, and you shall miss the first Hogsmeade visit."

Malfoy began to protest but Dumbledore hushed him with a look.

Harry and Hermione decided it was time to head into Hogsmeade, and rushed to meet up with Ron, Neville, and Ginny.