Mother Knows Best

Chapter 7

Visitors

Harry was sitting at the Gryffindor table, enjoying the Hogwarts' Annual Beginning of the Year Feast. The First-Year students had all been sorted into their respective houses, and Dumbledore had told them to eat first; he would give his speech after everyone was full, as usual. Harry suddenly realised that no signs of anything magically unusual had happened all summer, and he was starting to hope that he might have a (comparatively) uneventful year. This, of course, had yet to happen, and with Lord Voldemort at large and restored to his former strength, Harry was beginning to wonder what it was like to not fear for one's life at least once a year, and even, if he would ever go six months feeling safe and happy. He watched as one of Peeves' pranks came to pass at the Slytherin table. Fred and George had yet to be unseated as the prankster kings of Hogwarts, even though they were no longer at school. Peeves seemed to be doing his utmost to gain the unofficial title, and tried to make life as difficult as possible for all Hogwarts students (more so than usual). Things were about as normal as they ever got at Hogwarts', when suddenly, the doors of the Great Hall burst open, to admit a rather unlikely group of intruders.

There were five people -two men, three women, all dressed in Muggle fashions. They were mostly young, and they were carrying an assortment of medieval-looking weapons. They looked as surprised to see the dining students, as the students were to see them. The woman heading the group put her weapon at ease and marched straight up to Professor Dumbledore. Harry got a good look at the woman as she walked past. She was stunning: she was tall and voluptuous, but with a slender neck, wrists and ankles. Her waist was a mercifully natural size, unlike those ghastly girls' fashion dolls. And her eyes seemed to be incapable of deciding on which colour they wanted to be; they kept shifting between blue, green and grey.

"I came as quickly as I could, what's the trouble?" she asked breathlessly in an American accent. Most of the male teachers, as well as the older male students were eyeing her shyly; she was wearing cool, flattering clothes clearly meant for a much warmer climate. Her blouse was soaked and translucent; her bra was showing right through it.

Even Dumbledore looked a bit embarrassed to see her thusly attired. "Er, it seems you misunderstood the urgency of the situation, Lucy, I am dreadfully sorry to have made you rush here, with...reinforcements...on such short notice. That was not my intention."

"'Misunderstood the urgency of the situation?'" Lucy echoed in a disbelieving, irritated voice. "And that's Miss O'Grady to you."

"Ah, then you are once again going by your maiden name?" Dumbledore said casually.

She pulled out a piece of parchment and read from it "'I am writing to you in the desperate hope that you will come to our aid quickly, before it is too late. A great and old evil has once again risen to threaten us all with darkness. I am certain you have sensed to what I am referring, though I dare not give details for fear my letter is intercepted. Now is the time to put aside old differences, for if we are ever to overthrow the dark power that looms over us, we must do it united as one.'" She stopped, and gave Dumbledore a very perturbed look. "Did you know that I had returned to America to take up residence in California?"

"I was aware you had ended your pilgrimage in Tibet," Dumbledore avowed carefully.

"And do you know what else resides there?" Lucy didn't bother to wait for an answer "the Hellmouth, Dumbledore! That from which all unearthly evil has its origin! I ended my pilgrimage only because I had orders from On High!" she snapped, "Though the Hellmouth is now sealed, it still attracts demons, but on top of that, the newly-awakened slayers are also gravitating towards it. Over sixty percent of the world's Slayers currently reside in California, and they have all been endowed with preternatural powers, with no one to guide them; seeing as the Watchers are all but extinct. There's fighting everywhere! The demons are terrified (they're not all dangerous, but the new Slayers don't know that), the Slayers are confused, do you have any idea what kind of chaos that's causing?" She then dropped her voice to a menacing whisper, "frankly, I think it would even make that idiot Voldemort tremble."

The entire hall gasped at these words, and Lucy was struck with a sudden realisation. "Is that what this is all about? One stupid dark wizard?" Lucy's voice was growing ever louder, until it had reached a volume that hurt Harry's ears, one he hadn't thought human voices could attain, and kept getting louder. "You got me so worked up that I cast an anti- supernatural violence spell over most of North America, so that I could bring the Slayer herself-" Lucy jabbed her hand towards a small, unassuming young woman to her right- "FOR *ONE* *STUPID* *WIZARD*!!!???" By the time Lucy said this, everyone on the hall (newcomers included) had blocked their ears, to try and stop them from hurting, Lucy was shouting so loud. But she dropped her voice, and Harry unplugged his ears to hear "-God, man, I was even considering bringing my sire, but someone had to stay behind; California's become -to use William's words, 'A bloody schoolgirl's dorm,' we're stretched to our limit trying to keep the masses unawares."

"Has it really gotten so bad?" Dumbledore said, aghast.

"You must have gotten wind of something, at the very least when the Watchers' Council was all but destroyed?" a man who looked to be twice as old as the rest of the newcomers had stepped forward. He had removed his glasses and was cleaning them anxiously.

"Rupert," Dumbledore looked at the man in earnest. "I should've known you'd have escaped," He smiled at Rupert briefly, then shook his head. "No, we had no idea. The attackers used Muggle devices, and those we cannot trace. The Muggle authorities were, evidently, equally stumped. The Muggle community, however, did not seem to be very curious as to why a building without natural gas lines, and surrounded by electrical heating for miles, could have been so completely destroyed by a gas explosion. I am afraid that Lucy is correct, and we have been much too preoccupied with Lord Voldemort to give a thought to happenings overseas." He shook his head sadly, but then looked up. "But, if I am not mistaken, Miss O'Grady has indicated that she has removed that threat," he added hopefully.

Lucy again shook her head in irritation. "This is a world of balance, Dumbledore, Evil cannot be removed, or erased, any more than good. It can only be checked, which I have done. That says nothing about the would-be amazons popping up everywhere."

Dumbledore was openly relieved. "Then I will once again offer my apologies. I will send an owl to the Ministry, informing them of the situation. I am certain we will be able to scare up enough witches and wizards to manage the sudden explosion of Slayers. And, if you have nothing pressing to attend to, I would invite you all to join our feast."

Most of the newcomers looked instantly at one of their own, the woman Lucy had indicated earlier to be a Slayer. Lucy declined, and said "I'm afraid I don't see anything that adheres to my vegan diet. I will arrange for rooms at the Hogsmeade Inn for everyone." The Slayer moved to follow her, but Lucy turned. "No, Buffy, I think you should stay here, and eat." Buffy crossed her arms over her chest as if to make herself look bigger, she was very thin, and it looked as though Lucy thought she was too thin. Lucy gave Buffy a meaningful look, and the rest of the group ushered the diminutive Slayer towards a space being made for them at the Ravenclaw table.

"Well," Ron began, "they're certainly an odd lot. And what's all this talk about demons, slayers and such?"

"Oh, for heavens' sakes, don't you ever read your textbooks?" Hermione lectured him for what seemed the thousandth time.

"Please, Hermione, just tell us?" Harry was just as in the dark about all of this as Ron, and he was not in the mood for another one of Ron and Hermione's arguments.

Hermione shot Harry a disapproving look, but launched into an explanation without further comment. "It's all under Vampires in our Defence Against the Dark Arts text, sometimes vampires and other demons get really out of control, and start terrorising Muggles; and it's the Slayer's job to get rid of them when that happens. The Watchers keep an eye out to call in the Slayer when this happens, and they also train her. I imagine Mr. Rupert is her watcher. It looks as thought this 'Lucy' woman has been helping the Slayer out as well, though. But the legend in our book said 'In every generation there is a chosen one, she alone can stand against the vampires, demons and the forces of evil.' So there's only supposed to be one, as far as I know. I don't understand how there could be enough to cause a problem."

"That would explain the stakes," Harry commented, as a few of the group were wielding pointed wooden stakes as weapons.

"Looks like she could use all the help she can get; she's tiny! If I were her, I'd travel around with two great brutes like Malfoy does." Ron shot a suspicious gaze the slayer's way. "D'you think they're short of 'em in America? That's certainly a sorry lot she's got with her." Harry had to admit he agreed with Ron. The one other man besides Rupert had an eye patch, but didn't look very intimidating even with it, and he looked a bit nervous. The last member of their group was a red-headed woman who was acting rather shy. Rupert looked like he knew how to wield a weapon, but other than that, the unlikely group seemed totally incapable of fighting anything, let alone the darkest wizard still living.

"I'm surprised she needs any help at all; slayers are supposed to be very strong; they have to be in order to defeat vampires in single combat, as well as group ambushes. And she certainly looks as though she knows how to manage a weapon." Buffy had put down the battle axe she had been hefting, but still cradled it with her foot to ensure it didn't get moved or picked up by curious students, and she shot discouraging looks at anyone who tried.

"Oi, that Lucy woman certainly has a nice shape to her, doesn't she?" A seventh year next to Harry said, elbowing his friend. Ron nodded.

"Er." Harry wasn't sure what to say, Lucy certainly was shapely, but the venomous look Hermione was shooting the Seventh-year told Harry it was not a good topic for discussion.

"Really," Hermione said crossly, "Why are boys so fixated on looks?"

"Because they're easy to spot!" the seventh year's friend answered, laughing. Ron joined him, briefly, but his chuckles turned to coughs after receiving a scathing look from Hermione. He tried to change the subject. "So, I imagine one of those newcomers must be our new Defence against the Dark Arts teacher. Which do you suppose it is?"

They didn't have long to debate this point, as Dumbledore soon stood up for his Beginning of Term Speech. "My dear students, and professors, before I begin my speech, I have a few announcements. Mr. Filch has told me that on no uncertain terms will he allow any Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes products on or near school grounds. As always, there is a complete list of banned items on the door for Mr. Filch's office. Furthermore, the Forbidden Woods are off-limits to all students. As you may have noticed, we are yet without a new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher." Dumbledore indicated an empty chair at the end of the staff table, "But I expect the new teacher will be ready for the start of class tomorrow." This piqued everyone's interest, such that the conversation Ron had started was picked up by the rest of the Gryffindor students (and no doubt the rest of the houses as well) and debated in the common room until very late that night. Most people believed that Mr. Rupert would be the new teacher, even though he seemed to be a Muggle. Other people thought it would be the Buffy, as she almost certainly had lots of experience dealing with Vampires, Werewolves and such. Hermione took a different view, which somewhat surprised Harry: she thought it would be Lucy, as it was Lucy who had received the letter from Dumbledore.

It was nearly midnight when Harry finally went up to the sixth-year boys' room. It was only when Harry went to open his trunk that he remembered Grassleaf had been in there since the train had pulled in at Hogsmeade Station. Since Dean, Seamus ad Neville were all members of the DA, he told them about Grassleaf (he would be hard pressed to hide the snake from them anyway). They all seemed as sceptical as Ron about the little snake, but avowed they really didn't know that much about Parselmouths, so they were willing to give Grassleaf the benefit of the doubt. They insisted that Grassleaf stay in his cage unless Harry was watching him, though. Harry agreed somewhat reluctantly, and fell asleep pondering how he would keep Grassleaf fed.

Chapter 8

The New Teacher

The next morning, Harry watched for Hedwig when the owls flew in with the morning post, even though he wasn't expecting anything. She didn't come, of course, but Harry was still a bit disappointed. Harry had gotten so used to having regular correspondence from Sirius over the past two years, that it was a bit lonely now he was rarely getting post anymore.

"All right! we've got Defence against the Dark Arts first thing today!" Ron said excitedly as they got their new timetables.

"I hope it'll make up for double potions with Snape this afternoon," Harry replied glumly.

"What, you're still taking potions?" Ron looked at Harry, shocked.

"I have to if I want to become an Auror." But it hadn't occurred to Harry that Ron wouldn't be taking potions with him this year. He felt his stomach sink as a sudden realisation hit him. "Oh, no! I'm probably the only Gryffindor left in the class! And I'll be stuck with Snape and all the sixth-year Slytherins for a whole hour!" Harry groaned.

"Don't worry, Harry, I'm still taking potions," Hermione assured him, "and as unfairly as Professor Snape marks the Slytherins, you can bet Crabbe and Goyle didn't do well enough to continue this year. I'll be amazed if even half the Slytherin sixth-years are still in potions." Harry felt a bit better, but he was sure Malfoy would be taking potions. The thought of being stuck with Snape and Malfoy for a whole hour, being only one of two Gryffindor students to pick on, was still a horrible one.

* * * *

It turned out that Hermione was right about the new teacher. Harry was greeted by a less-than-thrilled-looking Miss O'Grady in his Defence Against the Dark Arts class. She stood up and sighed in a very put-upon manner. "Professor Dumbledore has talked me into teaching Defence Against the Dark Arts," she explained, "I will probably also be substituting for a few teachers who need to take time off. Not all at once, of course. And let me assure you, this is a temporary situation, as I have to return to America soon, to reverse the spell I cast." A slight groan of disappointment was heard from the male half of the class at these words. "Now, then, raise your had when I call out your name, and don't try to cover for someone else, or make up a name, because I will know."

And she did know, Seamus Finnigan tried it, and Lucy seemed especially incensed. "Did you really think I wouldn't recognise an Irishman??!!" she asked, and promptly gave him detention, which seemed to be horrible, as Seamus refused to speak about it after having it. Meanwhile, Harry was pleasantly surprised to see absolutely no reaction from her upon calling out his name.

"Now, then," she continued after finishing attendance, "while I am here, we will mostly be focusing on demonology. However, I'm going to get each of my companions to talk to you about their experiences over the Hellmouth, so you can get a real and clear idea of what it's like to be up close and personal with pure, unadulterated evil." Her voice took on an ominous tone for the last words. "Today, we will be starting with the basics: identification, categorisation, information and elimination.

"Identification means knowing what key features to look for in a demon to identify it quickly and easily. Categorisation means determining whether said demon is friend or foe (it's usually foe, which is why we tend to hack first, and ask questions later), and it also takes the information gained in point one, in an attempt to make a quick ID. For example, the vast majority of the demon threat in Sunnydale was Vampires. They existed in unheard-of proportions for such a small community. Fortunately, once they show their fangs, they are a dead give-away (if you'll pardon the pun). Buffy also noted large instances of what she likes to call 'the three S's; scaly, scabby or slimy. Their occurrences are also in that order. How closely the demon resembles human appearance is also useful.

"Information is the method used when the aforementioned steps one and two fail to identify the demon. This consists mostly of book research, although the Internet is used on occasion. Once this is done, we should now have a way to kill the demon, which brings us to the last step, elimination. Now, this doesn't always mean elimination of the beast itself; it could be something as simple as throwing it a can of baked beans to feed it and keep it from being grumpy. But this is usually the most dangerous step, and is often left to the Slayer alone, or her and any other who possess superhuman strength." All of this was spoken in a slow, easy pace that even Neville was able to keep up with, and was supplemented with Lucy putting some of her own notes in point-form on the board. Still, perplexed looks ruled in the class. She stooped as soon as she noticed. "Is there something wrong?" Hermione raised her hand obligingly. "Yes, Miss Granger?" Lucy asked encouragingly.

"I don't think very many students know what the Internet is, Professor," Hermione explained.

"OH!" said Lucy, as it dawned on her. "Of course! How silly of me! One would hope I would be more considerate when I, myself had no idea what the Internet, cell phones, or CD-ROMS were only a year ago." She then launched into a detailed explanation of the Internet, using descriptions Harry never would have though of, but which explained it perfectly to a young witch of wizard. "The internet is sort of the Muggle equivalent of a magic library that can be accessed from anywhere, provided you have an enchanted book that is tied to the library. The book is actually something called a computer, but I won't go into too much detail on that. The magic library is called a server, and there are actually thousands of them, all interconnected, so that while you gain entrance to the library through one server, you can access information from any server connected to the Internet This means that the 'Internet' does not physically exist. It is merely a concept used to describe a massive exchange of information that spans the globe. Now think back to that book I mentioned. You can keep your own notes on that book, but if you command it, it will go and access one of these libraries, where you can see almost anything you want. With this in mind, you must realise that because the Internet does not really exist, and because it is so vast, it is not regulated. So, there is a lot of junk, garbage, smut and otherwise totally uninformative content within this nexus of libraries which are called, incidentally, the worldwide web. You must also be very careful of any information you find on the web for this reason, because it is difficult to verify the source of any information you find.

Lucy concluded the class by assigning them all research on greater demon species that would have to be done in the library, as Lucy deemed none of their textbooks adequate for the task.

At lunch, Ron shared what he thought to be a brilliant idea with them. "Why don't you poison Snape? Then you could have Professor O'Grady for potions?"

"Not to mention detention with Snape for a month afterwards," Hermione said dismissedly.

"Only if he lives," Ron grumbled. However he went back to eating lunch, as they had Transfiguration afterwards, and Professor McGonagall was just as strict as Snape, only she was equally so to all students. She did not tolerate tardiness in her class, and had especially high expectations of Gryffindors, as she was the head of their house.

Harry had a rather amusing class in Transfiguration; they were turning cats into dogs. Neville only managed to make the front half of his cat into a dog, and it chased its back end like mad. Several of the students wanted to keep it as a pet, but Professor McGonagall not only refused, but forbade them to attempt making their own, as well.

Harry was feeling sort of ungrateful as he slowly made his way to potions: Professor McGonagall had kept her word, and was doing everything in her power to ensure that Harry got the proper education for an Auror. This, unfortunately, included convincing Snape to allow Harry to attend upper-year potions, which Harry really rather Professor McGonagall hadn't managed. Harry amused himself with the notion of poisoning Snape on the way to potions, in the hopes that it would keep up his spirits during whatever unpleasantries Snape was planning for him today. But when Harry got to Snape's dungeon classroom, he was greeted once again by Miss O'Grady. This time, she seemed to be arguing with Snape about something.

"Come now, Professor, your stock is the only one for miles that has the key ingredients I need for this potion. It will take me weeks to assemble the ingredients if I seek them elsewhere, and that is time I simply do not have."

"You tell me you must have these ingredients, but you refuse to tell me what for. Do you take me for a fool, Miss O'Grady? These ingredients are used for potions that blur the line between life and death! Mortality is not something to be toyed with!"

Lucy gave a dry laugh. "Professor Dumbledore is quite aware of what this potion is for, and I have his full support. It was HE who recommended that I get my ingredients from you."

"Well, Professor Dumbledore isn't the one you're asking for the ingredients, is he?" Snape responded snidely.

Lucy gave a frustrated sigh, then seemed to be struck with a sudden inspiration. She sat down on the corner of Snape's desk, revealing a large portion of her thigh. She was still wearing Muggle clothing, and her skirt -which was a perfectly acceptable length as far as Muggles were concerned, was very short by wizard standards. Snape had also noticed this (as had just about everyone else, if the whispering pervading the students was any indication), for his normally pale face was scarlet and sporting a very odd expression. Lucy smiled in a way a bit akin to Snape's sneer when he had caught Harry doing something worthy of expulsion. "Oh, come now, let's not quibble. Tell you what; if you give me those ingredients, I'll brew the potion right here, so you can watch my every move." Some of the Slytherin boys snickered at this, and Snape seemed to suddenly remember that a large body of students were witnessing this.

"TO YOUR SEATS!!" The students set a new record getting to their desks."Well, class, today you have a special assignment: Miss O'Grady is going to mix a potion, and you have to figure out what it's for."

Lucy shot Snape a disapproving look, but said "I take it you're going to provide the ingredients, then?"

Snape gave an obliging smile that was really more of a sneer. "Now pay attention, class, I will not repeat this;" Snape listed off the names of the ingredients as he conjured them from his personal stock. It was a very odd list, Harry thought, he was familiar with the properties of a lot of the ingredients, but he'd never heard of any of them being combined for anything. For some reason, the potion Lucy was brewing reminded Harry of the one Lord Voldemort had used to restore his body, except Harry didn't get the impression that Lucy had so ominous a use for it. In fact, judging by the expression of concerned urgency Lucy wore, it seemed to Harry that someone's well being, if not their life, depended on what she was brewing.

When Snape had finished handing over the ingredients, and Lucy finished adding them to her brew, she apparated a vial of green liquid. "This," Lucy said, "is the key ingredient. The rest of the potion is merely a catalyst, and is quite useless without this one substance -though I wouldn't recommend drinking it either." The class chuckled. Snape scowled disapprovingly at the casual way in which Lucy was carrying on with her instructions. Lucy carefully poured a measured amount of the mystery liquid into the potion. "And now," Lucy announced, "the final ingredient..." the class waited with bated breath, "ELBOW GREASE!" The class laughed as Lucy stirred the cauldron vigorously. "Unfortunately, this potion has a very specific use, and we do not have a proper test subject." Lucy gave a wave of her hand, and a number of small empty phials materialised in mid-air before her. She waved her hand again, and her newly-made potion emptied itself neatly into the phials. "But in light of this, I think it only fair that Professor Snape's homework be a bonus assignment, with five points going to the house of the student who guesses closest.

"Ten if it's a Slytherin student," Snape added.

Lucy shrugged. "You have a week to do whatever research you feel is necessary; write your guess on a piece of scroll with your name and house, and hand them in at the beginning of class next Monday. I will collect your guesses, then announce the winner and the end of your class." With that, Lucy smiled, gave a quick nod to Snape and left.

* * *

Later that day, Harry was going to Lucy's office to ask her some questions about the potion she'd made. As he approached, he noticed Malfoy looking nervously around, as if waiting for someone. Harry fell in behind a group of passing Hufflepuff students and followed them up closer to Malfoy, then slipped behind the statue of an ancient-looking witch. He peered out from behind it to watch Malfoy more closely. Malfoy's usually-tidy robes and hair were now immaculate. As Harry pondered this, who should appear but Lucy O'Grady herself? Malfoy suddenly sprang into action.

"Why, professor, fancy meeting you here," he said in a rather saccharine tone. "Oh, let me get that for you." Malfoy scrambled to open the office door for Lucy.

"But aren't you sweet," Lucy laughed and patted Malfoy on the head, messing up his perfect coif. However, far from seeming put out, Malfoy just blushed and stood there wearing the silliest grin Harry had ever seen.

"I, er, had some questions about your last class," Malfoy finally blurted out.

"Again? Well, all right, come in," Lucy beckoned Malfoy to walk with her to her office.

Harry hurried to catch up with the two of them. "Professor," he said, "I need to speak with you."

"Certainly. But Mr. Malfoy asked first, so you'll have to wait, I'm afraid." Malfoy shot Harry a nasty, taunting look.

"Oh, please, Miss O'Grady, call me Draco," Malfoy said in that same saccharine voice. Lucy chuckled and mussed his hair some more.

Harry had to wait outside Lucy's office for what seemed like forever. He overheard a few of Malfoy's questions, and they all sounded really stupid. Harry wondered why Lucy was being so patient with him. Finally, Malfoy stepped out. "Thank you, professor, I feel much more confident about all that now."

Harry had completely forgotten about taking to Lucy. Suspecting Malfoy might be trying to get on Lucy's good side, in the hopes of getting her to turn a blind eye to whatever his recent misdeeds were, Harry marched straight up to him to confront him about it. But Malfoy whirled around and said "how long have you been standing there?!" Malfoy suddenly seemed very embarrassed at being caught, and Harry was reminded of the time he'd found the 'Magic Made Easy' book he'd found in Filch's desk.

Harry decided not to confront Malfoy until he knew exactly what Malfoy was up to. "You're not on the Inquisitional Squad anymore, Malfoy; you can't bother students for walking in the halls," Harry retorted. Then, to goad Malfoy a bit, he added, "what d'you s'pose Professor O'Grady would think if she saw you snapping at students like this?" he looked over Malfoy's shoulder, as if spotting her, just for effect.

Malfoy scowled at Harry viciously. "Lucky for you, I have to get to Quidditch practise, but you'll get yours, Potter, just you wait!" he hissed, before running off.

* * *

When Harry related Malfoy's behaviour to Ron and Hermione that night, Ron laughed so hard he fell off his chair and rolled around on the ground. It took quite some time before there was a long enough pause between his guffaws to get out anything intelligible; "Malfoy...fancies Professor... O'Grady??!!" more laughter... "Oh, I can't wait... to take the Mickey...out...of... him... for this!" he managed to get out eventually.

Hermione's reaction was the most bizarre mix of confusion and disgust that Harry had ever seen. "Oh REALLY, she's a teacher!"

"Let's tell her right away!" Ron offered, "then watch her lecture him!"

"Oh, Ron! If Professor O'Grady doesn't know already, I'm sure she'll figure it out soon enough. Besides; we have more important things to worry about."

"Oh, you mean like homework?" Ron retorted snidely.

"Well, yes," Hermione answered, "and, Harry, have you considered reforming the DA?"

"Well, no. Professor O'Grady seems to be perfectly capable of teaching us, so I don't think we need to practise anymore."

"Harry!" Hermione scolded, "Voldemort is still out there! It certainly can't hurt to have extra practise. You should talk about it with Professor O'Grady, perhaps she could help out with practise," she suggested.

"Oh, well..." Feeling rather stupid, Harry returned to Lucy's office.

*

Lucy was, in fact, thrilled with the idea of the club. And she said as much, "Why, what a wonderful idea! Simply brilliant!" She exclaimed upon its suggestion. She pulled out a piece of parchment and began scribbling hastily. "Here's my availability, now, I'm sure you won't need me there for every meeting, so just let me know when you do need me, and feel free to ask me for help if you need any ideas for topics of study, or anything like that." She passed the parchment on to Harry. He looked at the hasty scribbles on the parchment; they were inscrutable at a glance. "Oh, I know, I have the most appalling hand, that's why I avoid teaching whenever I can; imagine my students failing because they couldn't read my writing! Gracious! You'll rarely catch me writing in class, I'll tell you that. Now William -you don't know him, but oh he has the most marvellous hand, if only he used his head more... but I digress. I'll be in my office all of those times; or if you need to see me sooner -or can't read anything there," she indicated the rolled-up scroll, "then you can see me after class." Harry nodded. "Good luck with your club!" Lucy said, waving him off. Harry left Professor O'Grady's office with his head still spinning from her rapid speech, and only narrowly avoided running into Malfoy on the way out. Malfoy sneered at him, but paid him no more notice.