A/N: Hi all. I think I've managed to spell everything right. If not, sorry. Now some people have said I should use a beater. I want to run a poll to see whether the majority think so. Just bear in mind that I write every day and I don't know how long the beater would take to check through my work, so it may be once every two or three days that you get an update. Anyhow, let me know and I'll base my decision on the result.
Harry and Hermione woke up early the next morning, to make sure that Hermione was not caught in the boy's dormitory. After kissing Harry goodbye, Hermione donned the invisibility cloak and slipped out of the door and up to her own dormitory. Harry sat on the edge of his bed, scratching his head and trying to wake up. He rose and walked into the bathroom and took a long, hot shower.
After waking up sufficiently, he turned off the shower and got dressed, just as Ron was stirring under the bed clothes. Harry came downstairs, to find Hermione waiting for him. They kissed, holding each other and sat in front of the fire, waiting for when Ron came down, Hermione sitting in Harry's lap, her head against his chest and their fingers intertwined. Ginny was the first of the group downstairs and she greeted the pair cheerfully, sitting next to them. They smiled at her and chatted with her until Neville and then eventually Ron joined them. They all walked down to the great hall together and were greeted by members of the DA as they walked in. Harry and Hermione sat together and the others sat all about them and began eating. Professor McGonagall appeared halfway through breakfast and handed out the timetables to the students. She gave Harry and Hermione a warm smile as she passed them, handing them their timetables and they smiled back. Ron whooped, getting everyone's attention. He pointed at his timetable, saying "Double defence against the dark arts this afternoon! We'll find out who our new teacher is!"
Harry looked at his own timetable and found that this was true. Harry also noticed that their first lesson was arithmency. Hermione looked at him and smiled, seeing that he saw as well what they first had. He squeezed her hand and rising, they said goodbye to Ron and headed off to their first class.
Harry found that he enjoyed the class and liked Professor Vector, a teacher he had only seen in passing and never actually spoken to before. He took Harry and Hermione aside before the class began and asked them how their studying had gone throughout the holidays. Hermione responded, telling the professor how far they had gone through Hermione's notes and how easily Harry seemed to grasp the concepts. Professor Vector was obviously impressed with their progress and welcomed Harry to the class, hoping he found it as challenging and interesting as his other subjects. Harry responded that he was sure he would. He found through the first lesson, that his assumption that the subject was like physics was not exactly true, it was more like mathematics, but it did have practical applications in the wizarding world. He did find the new lessons difficult as he did not have three years of grounding, but Hermione helped him and by the end of the lesson, he felt satisfied that he would get through it ok, with Hermione's help.
The pair then found that they had a free period after their class, so they went to the library and did some revision study, continuing Harry's catch up in arithmency. Hermione kept telling Harry how proud of him she was and how well he was doing with their study and in the class. Harry blushed and looked down at his parchment not sure what to say. Hermione kissed him, whispering "Don't be embarrassed, love. I'm just so thrilled at how you've developed academically."
Harry smiled and kissed Hermione on the cheek before resuming his study. They met with Ron for lunch and he told them how his divination had gone; apparently Professor Trelawney hadn't yet found someone else to predict the death of. Harry and Hermione shared a look and rolled their eyes at each other and laughed that they were thinking exactly the same thing. Ron snorted as well, but was too consumed with stuffing his face to speak. The rest of the group sat around them, chatting about their first lessons and Harry looking at all of them, thought for the first time about forming an inner group of the DA, made up of those who had come with him to the department of mysteries, as they were the most loyal. He filed this thought away to discuss with Hermione later and listened as everyone talked, adding in his own occasional comment.
All the sixth years rose as one toward the end of lunch and made their way to the defence against the dark arts classroom. They waited outside for a little while, then, realising that it was past the time for their lesson to start, Harry went forward and opened the door slightly, to see if the teacher was inside. He could remember the room from last year, the walls covered in plates with kittens playing in them, a lot of doilies and lace about and vases of dried flowers. This however was a different room entirely. It had been magically enlarged and there were a number of stone pillars around the room, big enough for two people to hide behind. The room was also dark, with only a few candles lit and the windows completely covered by thick, heavy drapes. Harry, with his hand still on Hermione's leaned back and whispered to her "I think we are going to be tested. Follow me and be on your guard, ok?"
Hermione nodded and quickly relayed the message of the contents of the room. Harry and Hermione opened the door, fully and crept inside. As soon as they were both completely inside, two stunning spells shot towards them from the darkness. Harry seeing them pulled Hermione with him as he dove to the floor. He caught himself and rolled behind one of the pillars, Hermione right beside him. They peeked cautiously around either side of the stone, but could not see where the attack had come from. Harry thought about this and realised that the person must be somehow invisible. Harry quickly saw that Hermione thought this as well, as she raised her wand muttering an incantation. A large globe of light appeared over the area where the attack had come from and Harry saw the shadow just as the person moved. He shot a stunner towards them and they dived out of the way, only to be caught by the full body bind jinx that Hermione used on them. Their arms and legs snapped together and they tumbled to the floor, motionless. Harry and Hermione quickly moved over to them and Harry realised that whoever it was, they were disillusioned. Harry performed the finite incantatum charm and the person slowly appeared. Harry found himself staring at Mad Eye Moody. He grinned and Harry smiled back, holding his hand out to him, helping him to his feet.
"Not bad Potter, Granger." He grunted.
Hermione and Harry grinned as the others slowly made their way into the room. Moody turned to them and gestured towards the pair. "There you see a perfect example of constant vigilance. Potter surveyed the situation and even though he new it was a trap; he came in and managed through co operation to defeat me. 20 points to Gryffindor!"
He then began to tell the class about the disillusionment charm that he had performed to hide himself from them and explained how it was useful as an offensive and defensive tool. He complimented Hermione on using the magical light charm, which illuminated his shadow thus being able to identify where he was. He then taught them the incantation to use and the action to correctly perform the charm. He put them into groups of three and Ron joined Harry and Hermione. They all by the end of the lesson were able to disillusion each other and themselves. Moody told them to practice and to write a foot of parchment about the advantages and disadvantages of using the charm with examples, and then dismissed them, saying for next lesson to be as prepared as Harry and Hermione had been.
As they walked out of the class, everyone congratulated Harry and Hermione on being able to work out where Moody was and then managing to defeat him. People looked at them with awe and respect. Harry rolled his eyes at Ron who grinned and shrugged, saying "Well you do deserve the attention this time Harry. Not many people can put a fast one over Moody and live to tell the tale."
Both Harry and Hermione agreed with this and they all moved downstairs to dinner. Over dinner, Harry discussed the idea that he had had earlier about forming an elite group within the DA made up of the people who were with them at the department last year. He explained that while the others in the Da were trustworthy, the ones who were with them last year, really proved their loyalty beyond a doubt. Both Ron and Hermione agreed with this and they began to formulate how they would communicate with just that group. Hermione took on responsibility for working that part of it out, which Harry readily agreed to, since her idea of the fake Galleons last year was brilliant. After a moment, Ron asked
"So, what are you going to call this group then?"
Harry thought about it for a moment and then said with a grin "I thought in honour of Sirius that we would call them the marauders!"
Ron whooped and clapped his hands appreciatively and Hermione smiled at him, obviously approving as well. Katie Bell then came up to them just as they were finishing dinner with a smile on her face and said "Hey guys, guess what? I've been made Quiditch captain this year. I'm going to set up trials next week to fill the positions that have been left open after Angelina and Alicia have left. You guys will be available right?"
Harry and Ron both enthusiastically agreed and congratulated Katie on making captain. She grinned and walked off to let the rest of the team know. Harry turned to Hermione and asked "Will you come and watch, 'Mione?"
Hermione looked up and smiled, looking into Harry's eyes and said softly "You know I will. I want to make sure you stay in one piece Potter."
Harry smiled in return and kissed Hermione softly, Ron pretending to gag on his food. They ignored him for the moment and just gazed at each other.
They finished dinner shortly after and made their way back up to Gryffindor tower. Harry and Hermione took out their defence against the dark arts books and began to do their homework. Ron just gaped at them open-mouthed until Harry, looking up asked him what was wrong. Ron shook his head saying "Mate, it's the first day of lessons and both of you are studying and doing homework."
Harry looked at Ron for a moment and then explained "Ron, the last thing I want to do this year is to get behind in any subject and spend the rest of the year trying to catch up. I have a lot on my plate with arithmency, since I have to learn the previous three year's worth of work as well as study it at NEWT level. I just want to make sure I get the best marks possible. You know they only accept the best for Auror training. Besides, Moody was serious about being prepared you know. Not only that but if I am going to teach the DA again this year I have to make sure I am the best at what I teach."
Ron nodded and sat down too, resigned, taking out his own homework. Hermione gave Harry's hand a light squeeze and looking up, he saw her beaming at him in admiration. He smiled back and bent back to his work. They were all finished by eleven o'clock and Ron went off to bed first, sensing that both Harry and Hermione wanted to be alone. They sat in their favourite position, in front of the fire on the couch, Hermione sitting on Harry's lap, her head resting against his chest. Harry traced his finger down Hermione's jaw line and she smiled at him, kissing the tip of his finger. He replaced his finger with his own lips and they kissed deeply, Hermione's hands bunching in Harry's robes as she tried to pull his body closer to hers. She moved her legs to either side of Harry's lap and slowly ground herself against him as she continued kissing him, Her tongue sliding into Harry's mouth, meeting with his and playing with it. She let go of his robes and ran her fingers through his hair, loving the feel of it running through her fingers. Harry ran his hands over her body and Hermione whimpered into his mouth, wanting more from him. He slid one hand beneath her robes and slid his hand up the back of her thigh, to cup her backside in his hand and squeezed softly. Hermione responded by griding her hips harder into Harry's lap, to which he groaned and lifted Hermione in his arms, made his way up to the dormitory. He quickly performed the spell on Hermione to disillusion her as they reached the top and led her to his bed. Once the hangings were closed and the silencing and sealing charms were performed, he performed the counter jinx on Hermione and devoured her mouth in his. Their clothes flew off in a tangle as their passion exploded from within them. Soon they were both naked and fell onto the bed their bodies still locked in a passionate embrace. Harry slid down Hermione's body kissing and sucking, until he reached her centre. He plunged his tongue deep within her, tasting her. Hermione cried out despite herself and gripped Harry's head, pulling his head closer to her. He responded by beginning to lick her in long deliberate strokes, driving Hermione wild. He took her clit between his lips and began to suck and lick it, biting softly and Hermione cried out in pleasure and suddenly screamed as her orgasm overwhelmed her and she held Harry's head close to her as he drank her juices.
Harry slid up beside Hermione and she straddled him, kissing him deeply, her passion firing up again. Harry moaned as Hermione bit his earlobe and started kissing his neck. She suckled on his nipples for a moment, eliciting gasps from Harry, before quickly moving down to her goal and taking Harry deep into her mouth. She gripped him with one hand while bobbing up and down on him, stroking him and cupping his balls in her other hand. Harry couldn't see or think. All he could do was feel the enormous pleasure he was feeling from Hermione's efforts. He knew he wasn't going to last long at this rate and it only took a few minutes of it before He groaned "'Mione, I'm going to cum!"
Hermione, instead of stopping, went faster and with a groan, Harry arched his back, his orgasm overwhelming him and as his cum shot out, Hermione swallowed as much of it as she could, tasting Harry for the first time and not finding it too bad. Harry finally slumped back on the bed, not believing what happened and what Hermione had just done. Hermione slid back up the bed, grinning like the cat that had gotten the cream. Harry supposed she had as he drew her to him and kissed her, unable to speak. He pulled the sheets and blankets around them and they snuggled together, basking in the glow of their love. Harry played with a strand of Hermione's hair that lay against her skin, twirling it between his fingers, wondering at how curly it was. Hermione smiled at his fascination and knew she had the same fascination with his messy hair, loving to run her fingers through it. They talked for a little while before falling asleep.
Their week continued along that line until their first potions lesson. Snape with his usual sneer came in, closing the door behind him and the room quieted at once. There were a lot few people in this class than had been before and it was a combination of all four houses. Snape looked them all over, his face twitching slightly when he saw Harry and Hermione in his class.
"Well, welcome to advanced potions. I am surprised to see some of you here; however, as you have managed an outstanding in this subject in your OWLS, I will be expecting extremely high levels of accuracy and devotion to this subject. If you do not follow this course of action, expect not to last very long in this class as I will get rid of anyone who is dangerously incompetent."
Hermione and Harry shared a look, both knowing that this was directed right at Harry. Harry decided to ignore Snape as much as possible, which was quite easy to do since he was working with Hermione. Snape waved his wand at the board and snapped "Begin!"
By the end of the session, Harry and Hermione had concocted the potion to the specifications and it was the correct colour that Snape described. They corked two bottles, just in case and Harry took them one up to the front and Hermione placed the other in her back with a clear label, stating the date and time of their lesson and the potion. Snape just sneered at Harry, glancing at the potion and quickly turning away. Harry walked back to his desk, and cleaned up and headed out the door with Hermione when the bell rang. They walked down the corridor hand in hand. Hermione suddenly grabbed hi, pulling him into a broom closet, kissing him passionately, her hands running through his messy hair, her hips grinding into his. He was stunned momentarily, but responded back, squeezing her breasts lightly through her clothes and grinding back against Hermione, his tongue meeting with hers. After a few minutes, they tidied themselves up and quickly walked out of the closet and towards the great hall.
Harry sat down, the grin plastered on his face, Hermione sitting demurely next to him. Ron noticed the look on Harry's face and asked "What re you so happy about?"
Harry jus shrugged, saying "Just glad to have gotten through Snape's class without losing a limb."
He then began ladling stew into his bowl, ignoring Ron's continued looks at him. He did, however, feel the hand that slid onto his inner thigh, giving him a light squeeze. He nearly spilled stew in his lap at the touch, but quickly controlled himself. He shot a glance over to Hermione who was smiling slightly and quickly thought. He put the lade back into the stew and took his spoon I his right hand, letting his left hand fall to his lap. He then slid his hand over onto Hermione's leg and began to bunch her skirt up her legs slowly. Hermione looked surprise, but her face became quickly unemotional as she felt his hand gathering up her skirt, not sure what he was about to do. Harry kept eating, half his mind on what he was putting in his mouth, the other half concentrating on the task at hand, so to speak. Finally, he could feel Hermione's bare leg and he slowly drew his hand up her inner thigh, tracing his fingers around in little patterns, making Hermione jump lightly. Harry smiled slightly and continued, until he reached her panties, then began to rub up and down between her legs. Hermione's breathing became laboured and quickened as she felt the waves of pleasure coming from Harry's hand. He quickened his pace and Hermione moaned deep in her throat. Ron looked at her concerned, and asked if she was alright. Hermione didn't trust herself to speak and so she nodded slightly and looked down at her plate, biting her lip. Harry moved aside her panties and slipped two fingers into her, his thumb rubbing her clit. Hermione gasped softly and her hips moved involuntarily as she could feel the beginnings of her orgasm. He quickened his pace and Hermione put her head on the table, panting in order to stop herself from crying out. Harry slipped his fingers out from her and pulled her panties back into place. He took his fingers and pretending to dip them into his plate, put them in his mouth, saying
"Mmmm, this stew tastes good."
Hermione looked over, still panting with a wicked smile on her face and she whispered close to his ear "You can have that stew anytime you like Potter, but wait till I get you alone later."
Harry shivered slightly and whispered back "Can't wait."
This suddenly reminded him of something he had been meaning to do and he rose quickly, kissing Hermione lightly, whispering "Be back in a moment."
She nodded, slightly confused and he walked out of the great hall and downstairs and down the corridor with all the pictures of different dishes of food. He stopped in front of the bowl of fruit and reaching up, tickled the pear. The pear giggled and squirmed and then turned into a door handle. He turned the handle, opening the door and stepped inside the kitchens. He was hit full force in the stomach by an odd looking being, who he realised was Dobby, with his hats all stacked on top of one another. He was squeaking happily "Harry Potter sir, you came to see Dobby! Oh Harry Potter is so kind!"
Harry patted him on the back reassuringly, grinning and carefully disentangling himself from the house elf. He squatted down on his haunches and looked Dobby in the eyes, saying "Ok Dobby I need a favour from you. I need you to do it in secret as well."
Dobby nodded excitedly, saying "Anything Harry Potter, sir. Anything at all."
Harry started explaining his plan and Dobby listened intently.
Twenty minutes later, Harry walked back into the great hall, slipping beside Hermione, giving her leg a squeeze and helped himself to a piece of trifle. Hermione looked at him questioningly, but Harry just shook his head, smiling and eating. Hermione shrugged to herself and planned how she would get the information from him later.