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Harry Potter and the Wanderer by The Shadows
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Harry Potter and the Wanderer

The Shadows

I think it only fair to give plenty of warning. I am not adverse to leaving cliffhangers. Big ones. This chapter does not contain any. In fact, neither does the next chapter, really. If you don't like cliffhangers, though, I would wait to read Chapter fourteen until Chapter fifteen goes up as well.

Just a warning.

Without further ado, please enjoy this chapter, too. Feel free to ask anything or leave comments in reviews - or you could email me. I will always take the time to reply to all reviews.

Enjoy!

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Chapter Twelve: The Date and the Resurrection of the DA

The deep breath Harry took when he woke up quickly turned into a large yawn. Only when it was over did he think the air felt a little strange. It was crisp and clear... more so than usual, and held a bit of moisture that he certainly wasn't used to.

When he finally found his glasses and put them on, he pulled back the curtains on his four poster bed and found that one of the windows in the dorm was wide open, and it was still very early. That explained the taste in the air, and he sighed softly as he sat back down on his bed. He was really getting far too paranoid.

Looking back to his nightstand, he frowned when he didn't see his wand. He checked his bed quickly to see if he had taken it with him by mistake, but it didn't appear to be there, either.

As quietly as he could, he ducked down to the floor and looked under his bed, but it was far too dark to see anything under there. That was probably just as well anyway, given that he wasn't entirely sure something didn't live under the beds in the castle. If not, it was one of the only things that hadn't turned out like he had imagined a world like this one could have been like when he was much younger.

"Lumos..." he whispered. His wand often responded to the spell even when he wasn't holding it, so it was worth a shot. No bright light flooded out from under his bed, though. "Alright... Accio Wand!"

He could only stare in amazement when his wand flew into his hand from behind him. It must have rolled off his nightstand and under Ron's bed instead. He sighed again as he sat down on his bed once more. It didn't really matter, he supposed. As he was about to grab his robes so he could get dressed, he stopped when the early morning sun caught the gold of his bracelet.

The bracelet that Hermione had given him. But it was so much more than that, too. It was a promise... a promise from him to her that he would always protect her. He knew it wasn't exactly what she wanted, and if he was honest with himself, it wasn't quite how he felt, either.

That thought was forced from his mind quickly as he pulled off his pyjamas and pulled on his robes. Once he was dressed, he took a quick look around the room to make sure no one else was up, and then snuck as quietly as possible from the dorm to go to the common room. He knew he wasn't going to be able to get back to sleep. Just before he left the dorm, he remembered to check his pockets.

Satisfied when he found both the teleportation stone that Talisien had given him, as well as the old two way mirror, he turned again and started down the stairs.

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With a disgruntled sigh, Hermione finally decided to open her eyes. She had been trying to get back to sleep before dawn had crested, but had been unable to. Although she had slept peacefully during the night - once she had finally gotten to sleep, anyway, with all that was on her mind - she still didn't want to get up quite so early.

Knowing it was pointless to fight it any longer didn't help matters, but she still sat up in her bed and let out a long, slow breath to orient herself. She ran a hand through her long, bushy hair to try and get a few of the knots that had developed overnight out, but that, too, was a lost cause.

She reached over to her nightstand for her hairbrush, and started to work out the kinks as gently as she could. She didn't want to have to muffle anything as she worked, so she knew she would have to work carefully.

When she was finally done, she set her brush aside and sighed, pushing the thin strap to her nightgown back up to her shoulder without a second thought. As she did so, her brown eyes fell onto the golden bracelet that was on her wrist. That was on her mind more than anything else last night.

The magical bracelet that Harry had given her yesterday. Oh, she knew it was actually magical, but in her head, it was magic because Harry had given it to her... telling her that he was ready to try, if she still wanted to. And she did.

Although part of her wanted to look at the runes on the inside of the bracelet to try to translate them and understand what magics were at work, a larger, more reckless part of her didn't want to take it off. She didn't know when this side really started to take over... maybe it was last year when she agreed to help Harry on his rescue mission. Or maybe it was before that. All she really knew was that Harry had given her the bracelet, and she would abide by what it meant. She would protect him however she could.

Not that she wouldn't have before...

It was on that thought that she started to get dressed. It wasn't like she was going to be able to get back to sleep anyway. Aside from thoughts of Harry going through her mind, she was also thinking about the Wanderer, and how he was doing.

When she had her robes on, she picked up the old mirror that was on her nightstand and looked at it carefully. She knew how it worked, but she hadn't heard Harry's voice in it for quite some time. He must not have been talking to Sirius about her anymore. She felt really guilty for having it and not telling him, but she wasn't sure how to go about it.

She pocketed the mirror and she left the dormitory. Harry had said that they would go somewhere private for a time today, so she would tell him then. She ignored Crookshanks as he shot out of the dorm ahead of her and padded downstairs.

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"Well, hello Crookshanks," Harry mumbled from his seat in front of the fireplace. The orange cat sauntered over to him slowly, and he held a hand down for him to sniff. Apparently satisfied, he gave a long, low purr that sounded almost like the grumbling of the ground during an earthquake, and then sat up and started rubbing against Harry's leg. "Affectionate this morning, aren't you?"

"Crookshanks?" Harry looked up quickly at Hermione's voice, and saw her standing in the staircase to the girls' dorms. "Harry? What are you doing up so early?"

Harry shrugged. "I could ask you the same thing, I suppose." She sat down across from him and he met her eye. He held her gaze for a moment before breaking away again. "Couldn't sleep."

"Why not?" Hermione asked. "Still worried about Talisien?"

Harry looked back to her quickly. "I guess," he admitted. "Among other things."

"Oh."

"I was also wondering what Lavender found out about my broom."

"That's understandable," Hermione said logically. She then frowned. "Oh, but Harry, she never came back to the dorm last night." Seeing Harry's worried look, she went on quickly. "I'm sure Flitwick will be able to figure it out. Maybe Lavender just stayed so she could learn what to watch for."

"Maybe." He then looked away from her and back to the fire. "I'm sorry, 'Mione."

"What for?"

"I broke my promise to you," he explained sadly.

"W... What promise?" Hermione was surprised by the crack in her voice, and fought to hold back her emotions. She could practically feel the tears starting to build already. "What promise did you break, Harry?"

Crookshanks hissed at this, baring his claws and digging them into the rug. Both looked to the kneazle in surprise, and then the orange creature sat back and rubbed against Harry's hanging hand again.

"I... I told you I wouldn't do anything stupid in the game yesterday," Harry whispered, looking at Crookshanks rather than at Hermione.

"That?" Hermione asked in a much softer, gentler tone. She had to resist the urge of holding a hand to try and still her rapid heart rate. "Oh, don't worry about that," she said quickly. "I'll never really understand why, but I know winning at Quidditch is important to you. At least you weren't killed."

"But the Wanderer could have been," Harry sighed.

Deciding she didn't like where the conversation was going, Hermione stood up rather suddenly. "So, Harry, where are we going today, anyway?"

"Going?"

"You offered to take me somewhere, just the two of us, remember?"

Harry blinked in surprise, and Hermione didn't even notice that she was staring into his emerald eyes again. She could easily get lost in those eyes. "Well, how would you like to go to Hogsmeade?" he suggested. "I mean, it wouldn't be by the rules, I guess, but I can tell you that it would be fun!"

"How would we get there, though? I don't really fancy going through a witch's bottom and coming out in Honeyduke's cellar, you know?" Hermione was thinking fast. She knew that he had a portkey from Tonks that would lead to Hogsmeade, but she couldn't let on she knew. She'd tell him that she had the mirror, but she wasn't about to tell him that she had heard anything.

Harry explained the gift he had received from Tonks, and Hermione shook her head almost at once. "Harry, that's a portkey! You could use it like that stone Talisien gave you to get out of trouble, couldn't you?"

"Well, unless there are charms in place to prevent it, I guess I could," he admitted. "But I guess it needs two people to activate. She wasn't really clear on the way to use it."

"Honestly, Harry, weren't you paying attention in Charms on Friday?" she asked. "Professor Flitwick explained about time delayed portkeys, remember? He said that it was very difficult to do, but once it was active, but delayed, it could be activated again by the touch of a wand..."

"Uh... right," Harry said quickly. "So, how about it?"

She bit her lower lip, thinking for a minute before answering. "I'd love to, Harry, but I'd rather you keep it with that stone, so you can use it in case you need to." She held up her left hand before he could complain and pulled down her robes to expose her bracelet. "Mine means I'll protect you, too, remember? This is one way that I can help..."

Harry sighed and nodded. "Alright," he said, standing and causing Crookshanks to fall backwards in surprise before getting up with a hiss and returning to Hermione. "Where would you suggest, then, fair maiden?"

"Fair maiden, am I?" she asked with a giggle. "Oh, I don't know, how about some breakfast, and then we head somewhere where we can just sit and talk. The astronomy tower, maybe?"

"Hermione Ann Granger, are you trying to seduce me?"

"What?"

Harry grinned at her. "I know that you know what most couples use that tower for, don't you, 'Mione?"

Hermione reddened almost instantly, going from pale to tomato in about two seconds. "I... I didn't mean... I just wanted to..."

She was silenced by a finger against her lips. "I know, 'Mione, don't worry. I was just teasing you. Come on. Let's get something to eat."

It was only after promising the house elf Dobby that he would return before too long that Harry and Hermione were able to slip out of the secret passage that lead to the kitchens. Breakfast wasn't being served in the Great Hall yet, so they had had to resort to tickling the pear to get something to eat - and Dobby was, of course, please to serve them.

Neither spoke at all as they walked through the halls, their footsteps almost deafeningly loud in the empty corridors. Harry looked to Hermione a few times - more times than he would admit, anyway - and whenever he met her gaze, it was clear. There was no real need to talk. They were comfortable in the empty silence, just the two of them.

After climbing the steps to the Astrology tower, Harry held the door open for Hermione, and bowed. She laughed at his antics and waltzed in, sitting down in one of the large, comfortable chairs that the professor often sat in while the students looked through the telescopes.

If either Harry or Hermione were surprised by Crookshanks padding into the room before Harry could shut the door, neither said so. When Harry sat down on the floor in from of Hermione, she looked a little confused by the distance. As he looked into her chocolate eyes, he knew there were some things that couldn't be portrayed with words.

"'Mione?"

"Yes, Harry?"

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why me?" Harry asked. She smiled softly to him, and then slid onto the ground in front of him, so they were at the same level. "And when? I mean, all of last year I was horrible to both you and Ron, and it's not like we really saw much of each other over the summer, right?"

As Harry was speaking, he barely even realised that he was petting Crookshanks until he felt her hand on top of his. "You weren't always horrible, Harry. Not really, anyway. When it counted, you always seemed to seek me out to talk to, before anyone else. That really made me feel... different. I... I don't know, really, Harry." She trailed off despite her fast start. She looked thoughtful for a moment, biting at her lower lip in the way that Harry had taken to thinking was rather endearing. "I mean, that's not really a fair question, is it? Asking when I started to fall for my best friend?"

"Maybe not, but I'm sure you've answered your fair share of difficult questions, right?"

She smiled and nodded at that. "True, but don't forget about you, Harry. You've answered your own difficulties."

"Only with help from you."

"Alright," she said after a moment, squeezing his hand lightly before pulling back. They were sitting close to each other, but despite how close their legs were together, there was no actual contact anymore. "I'll tell you, but you've got to tell me, too."

"What?"

"Oh honestly, Harry... do I have to spell this sort of thing out for you? You're the great Harry Potter! You could probably have any girl you really wanted... at least, any girl worth the time... but you chose me. Why?"

"Oh. That."

Hermione giggled, and Crookshanks chose that exact moment to leapt from the ground into her lap. She said nothing as she let her kneazle/cat get comfortable, and then looked back to Harry. "Well, I guess it was around either fourth or fifth year... but I'm not sure when. I can't really pinpoint it, you know?"

"Anything close?"

"Well... you'll think I'm horrible for this I just know it!" she said after a moment, shaking her head.

"'Mione... I'd never think you were horrible."

"It was when Ron wasn't talking to you during the Tri-Wizard Tournament!" she blurted out. "I really enjoyed spending time with you, Harry, and not having to fight with Ron all the time. I realised that I liked spending time with you... even though you brood all the time and let every little thing get to you!"

"That long?"

"Well, sort of. That might be when it started, anyway, but I was really worried during the summer of that year. No one was willing to tell you anything, and I knew that something awful was going to happen and figured that you might even do something really stupid like you did before third year and - "

Harry's snort cut her off. "Stupid? I doubt it. I can barely ever do anything stupid if given time to think about it. I keep hearing your voice in my head, ordering me not to break the rules."

"You hear my voice?"

"I guess. I think it's my conscience, really, but it sounds just like you when you turn all preachy about things."

"That's nice... in a creepy sort of way, I guess," Hermione said, a grin on her face. She looked like she might break into giggles at any moment at the mere idea, though. That look vanished from her face when Crookshanks turned towards her again and seemed to try to climb up her front. All this really accomplished - given that he stopped after putting two paws on her - was pressing the mirror into her side, reminding her of its presence. "Harry... I've got a confession to make," she said slowly. "But I don't know if you want to hear it or not."

He looked into her eyes for a moment, and could see the doubt layered there as plainly as though he felt it himself. Somehow, he was reassured anyway. He knew that it wasn't about her feelings for him - though he couldn't say how he knew for the life of him. Rather than trust his voice, he simply nodded.

Hermione took a deep breath and looked down at Crookshanks, who happened to be covering her pocket so she couldn't get at the mirror. The orange kneazle looked up to her for a moment before getting up and leaping into Harry's lap, which caught him so off guard he fell backwards. Hermione giggled almost right away, which meant he got no help from her to right himself, and Crookshanks just made himself comfortable while Harry struggled.

Once he was up again, she reached into her pocket and closed her eyes as she pulled the mirror out slowly and held it out to Harry. When he didn't say anything, she cracked one eye open to look at him, and was surprised to find him holding out his half of the two way mirrors.

"You... you aren't mad, are you?"

Harry shrugged and turned his mirror over. The note from Sirius had long been removed, but he still looked at the back carefully. "Have you been listening to me talking to Sirius?" He looked up slowly, and met her eyes again.

"No, Harry, I wouldn't do that to you!" Hermione said instantly, though she felt bad for lying right away. As she looked back into his soft, gentle, emerald eyes, she saw a darkness creep into them slowly at her words. She bit her lip hard, not wanting to say anything else right away.

Harry looked away slowly and sighed. "Why would you lie to me, Hermione?" His use of her full name did not go unnoticed by her. "I can see it in your eyes... you lied to me."

"I..." Hermione closed her eyes tightly, willing away the hurt that she felt at his dejected voice. "Harry, I didn't mean to listen in, honestly! It just... I mean, I had the mirror, and suddenly I started to hear your voice coming from it, and... oh Harry, I'm sorry!"

"What did you hear?"

Hermione winced - she should have seen the question coming, but that didn't make it any easier to answer. "Just after your birthday... mostly stuff about how you were afraid to get close to anyone, because you thought they'd die. You said some other things, but I was crying too hard to listen."

She felt his eyes on her then, and looked up to meet his gaze. She didn't know what he was doing, but she trusted him... and knew that she wanted him to trust her. After a moment, he nodded. "It's okay, 'Mione." She sighed at the sound of his nickname for her, but he was still talking. "I mean, if things were different... he'd probably have given you the other mirror anyway."

"Sirius?" As soon as the name escaped her lips, she wished she could have stuck her foot in her mouth. It was the equivalent of what she had just done anyway. The life seemed to drain out of Harry as he looked down to his mirror again, and she reached out to clasp one of his hands, to offer support, but he pulled away. "Harry..."

"It's not my fault, I know," he whispered. "But I miss him, 'Mione. I barely knew him, but I miss him. He could have been a father to me, but now I'll never know. Everyone I love... dies. Or is injured, or targeted, and can never really feel safe again."

"Harry James Potter, look at me." The tone in Hermione's voice made it impossible for Harry not to look up, and he saw that there were tears in her eyes. "I thought we went over this. I know the risks. Your friends all know the risks. But we want to be with you anyway. I want to be with you almost more than I want to breathe - it hurts me more when I can't be. When I thought you died over the summer... I felt like part of me died with you!"

Harry sighed and looked down to Crookshanks, who let out a long purr and got out of his lap to start wandering around the room. "Funny, I felt the same way when I thought you were killed at the Ministry. Sad thing is that I know it would have been my fault."

"I chose to come, Harry. Don't forget that. I even went with you to Umbridge's fire, remember?"

"And I never thanked you. Or apologized. You were right."

"I don't care." Harry blinked in surprise to that. "I don't." She stopped then, though it looked like she had more to say. She shook her head suddenly, and Harry had the sudden urge to touch her hair... smooth it out, feel the warmth of being close to her. "Look, I don't think you wanted to take me somewhere so we could get all depressed, did you?"

Harry sighed. "No. But I seem to be good at getting people down."

"I'm always happier when I'm with you." There was a pause, and then she got up and sat back down in the chair, scrunching over to one side and patting the rest of the cushion. It took Harry a moment to decide whether or not he was going to join her, but when he wrapped an arm around her and the two leaned against each other, he was glad he had. "Are you still planning on becoming an Auror, Harry?"

"Yeah," Harry replied. "Of course. You know that, 'Mione." He then paused and looked more closely at her. "What do you plan on doing? You never really told anyone, did you?"

"Promise you won't laugh?" Harry just looked at her in a what-do-you-take-me-for kind of way, and she smiled. "I... I want to be a Healer."

Harry smiled broadly at this, his emerald eyes twinkling in the sun that was rising above them slowly. "That's perfect, 'Mione. I'd actually take the potions and rest properly if you were the one telling me to do it."

"Don't make fun of me!"

"I wasn't." Something in his voice told her, without question, that he was being serious, and to that, she simply held him a little tighter.

"Well, I figured that I'd like to be able to Heal injuries. Since I know all sorts of protection charms - not to mention the jinxes, hexes, and curses that I've picked up - I could go to the field... go with Aurors, I mean."

"I'd like that."

Hermione smiled and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before going on. "I've learn a lot of things from talking to Madame Pomfrey and reading through a few books on it, but Talisien said that I could focus on it in Defense Against the Dark Arts, and I've even been reading up on potions that would be used. Talisien also said that he could try to teach me some of the elven healing methods."

Her voice faded as she looked at Harry. It wasn't hard to figure out what was on his mind, either. Mentioning the Wanderer had set her mind in motion again, too. "Kailyn seemed really upbeat about the whole thing," Harry said softly. "I wish I could take her view."

There was a lot of things going through Hermione's mind. She picked through them quickly and carefully, and finally decided on what might actually help take his mind off the problem. "Look, Harry, how would you like to see about getting the DA up and running again? We could look for the members today and let them know, and we could even meet tonight to talk about the year..."

"Talisien'll be back soon, 'Mione."

"But you were planning on doing it anyway, remember? You worked so hard over the summer on the plans..."

Harry smiled and rested his head against hers carefully. "I know." After a moment, he sat back up. "You know what? I think I will. Everyone seemed to enjoy it last year." He looked to her and smiled. "Do you want to do that today, though? This was the day I promised to you..."

"Are you saying that this is the only day I'll ever get to spend some alone time with you, Mr. Potter?" Hermione asked in a scathing voice. Her eyes, though, were practically laughing at him.

Harry sighed. "I guess we could do this again... I mean, if you're going to insist and all..." He got up half dejectedly, and then chanced a glance to Hermione out of the corner of his eye. When their eyes met, he couldn't keep up the charade, and neither could she, and both collapsed into a fit of laughter.

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It was almost an hour later that Harry finally shouted down the staircase to Hermione in the Gryffindor common room. He had been searching through his trunk for the leading gold galleon that she had enchanted, but hadn't had much luck finding it. He knew that, although he couldn't have helped her look in the girls' dorms, she could come up the guys' side.

As she pushed open the door to join him, he had just pushed everything to one side of his trunk, and the galleon was sitting right there. "Ah... never mind," he said, picking it up. "Guess I found it."

She looked at him with an odd look on her face for a moment. "Are you sure you weren't just trying to get me alone in your room?" At the shocked look on his face, she laughed and went on quickly. "Oh, honestly, Harry, you are going to have to learn when I'm teasing and when I'm not..."

"I still think you should write a book on understanding girls." As he rubbed the coin in between two fingers, he stood up and wrapped his arms around her. "Thank you, 'Mione."

Although she held him in return, it was only after a moment's hesitation. "For what?"

"Everything," he replied as he released her. To her surprise, he leaned in and gave her a kiss on the nose before turning to the exit of the dorm. "So, tonight you reckon? After supper, we all meet outside the room?"

"Sure," but if you think you're getting away that easily..." she said, catching his arm as he started to leave. He turned at her touch, and found his lips against hers as she pressed into him. It took just a second for him to return the kiss, wrapping his arms around her again as he did so.

It had only really lasted a couple of seconds before a startled yelp from downstairs startled them out of it and, with one quick look into each other's eyes, they both tore down to see what was going on.

Neville was searching through his pockets excitedly, and Ginny was holding up her gold galleon proudly, looking at the inscription that would usually have held the date. Pavarti and Lavender were both looking to the staircase as though waiting for Harry to come down again. Once they all saw him, they were all on their feet facing him.

"So, you're doing it this year again?"

"You expected otherwise, Pavarti?"

"Tonight, then," Ginny interrupted the two. "Any idea who's coming back?"

"Fred and George both told me over the summer at..." he paused for a moment. "Home... that their only regret about not coming back was not being a part of the DA anymore. But I'm not sure who else will be coming."

"I know one who isn't," Neville said fiercely, surprising the others. "That girl from last year... the one who ratted us out - Mariet or something."

"Marietta Edgecomb," Hermione supplied. "And you're right, she's not. Mind you, from what Harry told me, I doubt she even remembers much about it in the first place..."

"Any of you mind checking to make sure the others know, just in case they don't have their coins with them?"

"The only ones interested this year would have them, Harry, don't worry," Ginny said. "But we can go check."

Lavender was the only one who didn't leave, and she took a step closer to Harry. "I was hoping to speak to you for a moment, Harry," she said softly. He nodded, and then saw her eyes flit to Hermione for a brief second before returning to him.

"Anything you have to say to me can be said to Hermione, too," Harry reassured her. "I'd probably tell her later anyway."

"So..." she started, looking at him very carefully. Harry swallowed hard, closed his eyes, and finally nodded subtly. Lavender's squeal made him open his eyes again quickly. "I knew it!" she said happily. "You two will be perfect together! Oh, don't worry, I won't tell a soul, but the way you two are glowing... there's no question!"

"Harry?"

He turned to Hermione and gave a weak smile. "She made me promise to tell her if... we ever decided to get closer - or at least, if we were going to try."

"So, you're alright with this?" Hermione asked quietly. When he nodded again, she gave him a quick, gentle kiss on the lips, and smiled. This only resulted in Lavender giving an Oooing sound, and both looked to her sharply.

Blushing, she looked away. "Sorry, just a little overexcited, that's all. I thought I saw this coming in the crystal earlier," she explained. "But that's besides the point, isn't it? Look, Harry, I really wanted to talk to you about your broom."

The light feeling in Harry's heart from the morning suddenly came crashing down, and he was sure that it was suddenly resting in the soles of his feet instead of in his chest. "What about it?"

"Well, Flitwick wasn't sure how, but it looks like someone enchanted both it and the snitch, so your broom would freeze whenever it got close to the snitch. He tried disenchanting it, or even making a more powerful charm to override it, but he hasn't been able to, yet. I left it with him a little while ago - he said he'd do whatever he could. McGonagall joined us just before I left, and they were both hard at work with it then."

Harry sighed and looked over to the fireplace slowly. That only served to remind him just where the broom had come from in the first place as he recalled seeing Sirius's head pop into those flames last year. "At least... at least we don't have another game until November."

"Actually, McGonagall said something like that too, only she said our next game wasn't until December, or even January."

"Did she say why? Or why we started so early this year?"

"I asked, but she insisted that it was for a good reason."

..............

When Harry arrived outside the Room of Requirement and started pacing, Hermione appeared next to him after three passes, just as the door itself opened. "I've got the galleons from Katie, Angelina, and Alicia," she said excitedly, holding out her hand to give them to him. "They were carrying them, too, and felt them go off, and they all decided to owl them back to me so I could pass them out again. They all wanted to be here again, though."

Before Harry could reply, the room was suddenly getting quite full as people started pouring in. Ron and Luna were the first to enter after he and Hermione, and he noticed at once that this time they were holding hands. Dean entered next, followed closely by Neville, Lavender, Pavarti, her twin Padma, Ginny, and Colin. Colin's brother Denis entered a few minutes later with Hannah Abbot, Susan Bones, and Cho Chang. Ernie Macmillian, Justin Finch-Fletchley, Anthony Goldstein, and Terry Boot were next, and then the door swung shut slowly behind them.

Harry found that he had suddenly lost the ability to speak as he looked at the crowd of students who had returned, despite everything that had happened. He looked out to each of them, meeting all of their eyes in turn, and found them watching expectantly.

He swallowed hard and turned away from the crowd. Hermione, he noticed, had gone to sit with Ron and Luna, and was also watching him. He placed his hands against the desk that was there and squeezed his eyes closed tightly. "You... you actually all came back..."

"Of course we did, Harry," Neville said at once.

"We're behind you all the way, mate!" Dean called.

"The DA!"

Harry turned back to them with a weak smile on his face. "I know. I just... I don't know, I just didn't expect to see this many people coming back when we have a very competent teacher this year anyway."

"But we wanted to learn from you, Harry," Cho said softly. He looked down and found her sitting near the front, looking up to him. The butterfly feeling in his stomach that had often accompanied such things last year was gone, though.

"We'd follow you anywhere," Ginny offered.

Harry closed his eyes at that statement, knowing the truth behind it. Even if he tried to fight it, some of the people in the room would follow him into danger willingly, at a total disregard for their own safety. Everyone in the room thought there was something worth fighting for.

"Is nineteen, including me, enough, or do we want a few more?" Harry asked the room.

"A few more wouldn't hurt, but this works, too," Hermione piped up.

Harry nodded and looked around again. The foeglass in the back of the room had murky shapes moving about, and he vowed then and there to always check it at least a couple of times each class. "Right. If anyone knows of a couple of people who they think would be good in here, see Hermione. She has a couple of old galleons lying around..." he trailed off at the chuckling. "So, to start things off this year, I was thinking we could divide into groups of like-minded people. I made a list of my own, but I want to see where you all think you should end up."

"What kind of like-minded people do you mean?"

"Well, would you be more likely to curse an enemy, or protect an ally? Or would you be more likely to utter a counter-curse to really mess up an attack, or stay in the sidelines to try to fix the damages? Or would you charm objects to use as weapons or shields?" After a moment, he went on. "Mind you, the protection and healing sort of go together, don't they? Alright, four different groups, then."

He stepped back and said nothing as they group all stood and started talking amongst themselves, figuring out where each group would go, and which group they would be a part of. It came as no surprise, especially after talking to her earlier, that Hermione was at the lead of the protection/healing group. Joining her were Lavender, Dean, and Hannah.

Ginny was at the head of the cursing group, which also came as no real surprise. He had expected Ron to be there as well, but instead found Neville, Pavarti, Justin, and Colin.

In the counter-curse group was where he found Ron, together with Luna, as well as Susan, Anthony, and Ernie. The last group - charms - consisted of Padma, Cho, Denis, and Terry.

Looking down at the list in his hand that he had taken from his lesson planner, he found he had only mixed up a couple of people - otherwise, they were right where he thought they would be.

"Alright, this year we are going to be focusing on things in groups, as well as on a whole. Somethings everyone will learn together, but other things, we'll focus. Natural ability plays into these things, too." When everyone agreed, he went on. "Right, well, I wasn't really planning on teaching anything today, just finding out who would show up and what groups we would have. So... I guess that's it for today, alright?"

"Same time next week?" Neville asked right away.

"Or can we do it sooner?" Ernie suggested.

Harry shrugged. "I think for now, we can meet next week, but pay attention to your coins. That's what Hermione made them for, after all."

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Until the sun sets upon a broken world...

The Shadows

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