Unofficial Portkey Archive

A/N: Well here we are, Chapter 9. I'd like to clear up a few things before we start.

I'd like to thank my beta, ro10tom8os for the excellent job on betaing and very quick turn around on the chapter. . Now on to the story.

Chapter 9: Felix Felicis

The next morning Ron and Dean dressed without so much as looking at one another; Ron was out the door before Harry even had his shirt on. Harry glanced at Neville, who gave him a look that said he didn't understand either, and finished dressing.

By the time Harry descended the stairs to the common room it was already bustling with students getting ready for breakfast and their first classes of the term. Harry spotted Ron in a corner hunched over a parchment.

"Why'd you take off like that?" Harry asked as he approached the frantic red-head. Ron looked up momentarily before scribbling some more on his parchment.

"Had to touch up my homework. Couldn't finish it on the train 'cause of the sodding prefect duties." Harry gave Ron a look of disbelief that the preoccupied boy missed.

"You weren't avoiding Dean?" Harry ventured, figuring that if he was going to be in the dorm with both of them, he better figure this out at the beginning of the school year. Ron stopped and looked up at him again.

"Dean? What gave you that impression?" Ron seemed to dismiss the notion entirely and returned to his parchment. "There," he said, minting his last few scribbles. "That'll have to do." Ron quickly stored the homework, glancing up at the entrance to the girls' dorms, and just as he finished, Hermione popped into the room, ready to leave. Ron stood quickly and waved her over. Harry thought it a little more believable now that Ron had simply wanted to get down to finish his homework. Hermione eyed Ron suspiciously before speaking.

"Let's go to breakfast," she concluded. "We don't want to be late for Potions, Harry." He agreed entirely and the trio made their way toward the Great Hall.

"So who do you reckon the new Dark Arts professor is?" Ron said in a hushed voice. Hermione looked at him thoughtfully for a moment before glancing back at the floor.

"I'm not sure," she said. "I've never seen or heard of him before." Harry nodded.

"Dumbledore said he was from out of the country. I wonder where he's from?" Harry got a sudden vision of a Bulgarian speaking professor dressed in a parka.

"Well he looked normal enough, didn't he?" Ron asked as they rounded a corner and started down the stairs. "Actually... almost odd don't you think?" Harry nodded in agreement.

"He looked a bit too normal if you ask me," Harry interjected. "Almost would have thought he was a Muggle." Hermione let out a sigh.

"Honestly, you two." She looked between them for a moment, as if deciding exactly what they were. "It doesn't matter who someone is. You two always assume the worst." She looked away from them, a dignified expression on her face. "He's probably just American or something of the sort."

They reached the bottom of the stairs and headed towards the entrance to the Great Hall. Harry suddenly remembered something however, and he quickly grabbed Ron and Hermione pulling them to the side. They looked at him questioningly.

"I almost forgot to tell you guys," he started. "The night before we left on the train I had a dream." Ron looked at him expectantly, but Hermione looked him with worry.

"Harry, you know you're not supposed to be having those dreams any more!" she scolded him in a hushed voice. "What if it wasn't real?" Harry shook his head confidently.

"No, this was real," he told them. Harry explained the dream to them, telling them about seeing Wormtail, and the cloaked figure. He finished with how he had woken up seeing through the cloaked figure's eyes. Hermione and Ron passed a look to each other like they were each asking the other how to respond, then both turned back to Harry.

"Are you sure it wasn't, you know, just a normal dream?" Hermione asked tentatively. Harry looked at her disparagingly.

"Of course I'm sure!" Harry told her. Ron looked at Harry with a touch of disbelief, and he suddenly felt withdrawn like he had earlier during the summer, his mind drifting back to the prophecy.

"We believe you mate. It's just..." Ron trailed off. "It doesn't make sense, you know? You think maybe You-Know-Who was possessing him? I mean, that's how you've saw through the snake." Harry shook his head again.

"No," Harry told him firmly. "I don't know how, but I know that Voldemort wasn't possessing him. There was something else." Harry ended the thought vaguely. He knew that it was something else, but what was an entirely different matter.

"You should tell Dumbledore," Hermione said worried. Harry felt an instant resentment rise up from inside him.

"No," Harry said with such confidence and finality that neither Ron nor Hermione argued the point. "We'll just have to see if anything else happens. I'm not telling Dumbledore."

If he can keep secrets from me, Harry thought spitefully, I can do the same to him.

Harry started walking again, entering the Great Hall with Hermione and Ron close behind. Breakfast was nearly over already, so Harry and Hermione grabbed some fruit as they left for the dungeons. He could hear Ron talking about his fortune at not having Potions as he left the Great Hall with a wistful look back at the Gryffindor table.

"You'll have to tell him eventually," Hermione told him guardedly, drawing his attention back to her as they approached the Potions classroom. "You can't hide it from him, Harry, it's wrong."

This however just made Harry think angrily about how wrong keeping the prophecy secret had seemed to him, and for a moment he shot Hermione a venomous look that he was quite glad she had not seen. The momentary misplaced anger made him quite guilty about his two best friends and how he still hadn't told them about Dumbledore's shocking revelation at the end of last term. They were just trying to help after all.

Hermione and Harry walked into the Potions classroom with only a few minutes to spare and quickly grabbed two seats next to each other, looking around the classroom. Harry noticed Hannah Abbot across the room next to Ernie Macmillan and let out a sigh of relief. They would be in Potions with Hufflepuff it appeared. That is, until Michael Corner walked in a took a seat.

Harry looked around the room again and realized that he saw students from all four houses in their year. He turned to Hermione to question her, but almost as if on cue, she volunteered an answer to his unasked question.

"Some of the N.E.W.T. classes get so few students in them that they combine all of the students in the houses into a single class." She paused for a moment before continuing a little more softly. "Particularly Potions." She brought out her Potions book and turned to the page listed on the board at the front.

Harry looked around the room in a small bit of wonder. Well, at least he didn't see one face in the classroom.

"Sweet Merlin!" Harry's head snapped to the door, as did many of the other students in the classroom. "Potter! How did you get in to N.E.W.T. Potions?" Malfoy strode over and took the seat directly behind them, an look of immense amusement on his face.

"I can't imagine that Professor Snape would have wanted such a worthless student!" Harry rounded on Malfoy to rattle off a response.

"Face forward!" Snape's voice called out from the door as he walked briskly into the classroom. "I'll have none of your usual antics, Mr. Potter. It's by the grace of the Headmaster that I didn't re-administer your O.W.L. myself, Potter, to ensure its... accuracy." Malfoy snickered behind them as Harry turned back to the front of the classroom.

"We shall be wasting no time in this class," Snape continued as if he hadn't been talking to Harry at all. "N.E.W.T. level Potions is both difficult beyond anything you have ever done and requires a certain amount of finesse. You cannot simply push your way through this class on sheer determination." Snape's eyes settled squarely on Harry before he continued.

"Just as well, the first potion we will be studying in this class is called an Elixir of Fortitude. This concoction, like most potions learned in this class, can be extremely useful to one who uses it properly, but very dangerous to those with little restraint." Snape turned to the board and waved his wand briefly, words appearing at a dizzying pace.

"There are many Elixirs of Fortitude, and the all manifest very little magic themselves, and thus many doubt their effects. However, if you have all completed the reading that was assigned, you would know why its effects vary so much. Anyone?" Hermione's hand predictably shot up, and predictably Snape looked for another person to answer. "Corner?"

"The potion works off of the will and determination of the person using it, Professor." Snape got a nasty grin on his face.

"Correct. Five points to Ravenclaw." He pointed briefly at one of the sentences on the board. "The potion turns the power of sheer will into something tangible, giving the user a bit of whatever they need to complete their task, depending on how determined they are. Things such as strength or imperviousness to injury. Why is this its biggest danger?" Again Hermione's hand shot up. It seemed however that no one else was willing to volunteer the information. "Granger?" Snape almost spat out.

"An Elixir of Fortitude can cause the person using it to become overconfident and reckless due to its feeding on their determination. Animusentia, the strongest Elixir of Fortitude known, is said to have harrowing effects if used by someone who is already too confident. The people who can gain the most effect from it are also most likely to be injured by it, Professor." Snape waived his hand dismissively and a new set of words appeared on the second half of the board.

"Correct." He walked out from behind his desk, heading for the door to his office. "Follow the instructions on the board for a mild Elixir of Fortitude. Due to the nature of its effect, you will work in pairs to ensure that no one," Snape paused for a moment, looking directly at Harry again. "Becomes too confident." Snape disappeared into his office, but Harry didn't believe for a moment that he wouldn't be back soon, and got right to work getting out his potion supplies.

"It's quite simple," Hermione told Harry. He turned to her for a moment, thinking about how he wished he had a bit of the potion at the moment so he could be as sure as Hermione seemed to be. "Just follow my lead," she told him, already preparing her frog spawn.

"Oh, that's how you got into N.E.W.T. Potions," Malfoy said, his voice dripping with insinuation. Harry rounded on him, the knife out for his ingredients still in his hand.

"Shut it, Malfoy, before I send you to join your dear old dad." Harry watched with satisfaction as his retort seemed to get under the Slytherin's skin like it had two times before.

"Potter!" Harry heard Snape's voice ring out from the other side of the room. He quickly turned back to his preparations. "Do not threaten students in my classroom, I don't care if you think you're Merlin himself. Ten points from Gryffindor!" Harry was about to stutter a retort when he felt a tug at his robes.

"It's not worth it," he heard Hermione whisper. "Just do the work and we'll go to our next class."

Harry grudgingly resigned himself and before too long had a pot of simmering light blue liquid in front of him. Hermione had been right, the potion had been quite simple.

The only thing that made it difficult was how as the potion become more and more complete, the fumes seemed to have preliminary effects on the maker, causing them to be more and more confident in their ability to simply make the potion, which in turn did tend to cause you to simmer for a few too many seconds, or stir a few too many times. The only thing that made it possible to complete, Harry reasoned, was that you were fully confident in yourself, meaning that you were sure to tell your partner what they were doing wrong.

Hermione and Harry left the dungeons still feeling the residual effects of the potion as they headed to their Defense Against the Dark Arts class. When they got to the class they were both pleased to see that Ron was already there, saving them seats in the class which they apparently had with Ravenclaw this time.

"Has the new Professor been in yet?" Harry asked. Ron looked between Hermione and Harry, as if asking a question, then answered.

"No, he hasn't." Ron paused for a moment. "How did potions go?" Harry felt a pang of guilt. Ron might be happy that he didn't have to deal with Snape, but Harry could tell that a part of the boy hurt that he didn't get to spend the time with his two best friends.

"It was horrible," Harry said, trying to brighten Ron's mood. "Slimy git was the same as always. Took ten points from me for telling Malfoy to keep his mouth shut." Ron snorted a response.

"Yeah, don't suspect that he was very happy that you were there." Ron smiled mischievously. Hermione looked as if she were about to add something when a sweeping sound came from the door.

"Welcome to N.E.W.T. level Defense," the voice rang out, and Harry turned to get a proper look at their new professor.

His initial assessment had been pretty spot on, Harry decided. The man was mostly average, with a rounded nose, green eyes and no blemishes on his face.

"My name, as you should all know by now, is Felix Felicis. You may all address me as Professor, Professor Felicis, or Sir, whichever you take a liking to." A hand to Harry's left rose slowly, and Felicis turned to face the new student. "You may ask your question after telling me your name."

"Anthony Goldstein, Sir. I was just wondering." He paused for a moment, apparently not sure of his question. "Professor Dumbledore said you were from out of the country but you don't have a foreign accent."

As soon as he had mentioned it, Harry noticed it as well, wondering how he could have missed something so obvious. Harry blamed it on the last of the Elixir's effects, and paid close attention for an answer.

"Ah, well spotted Goldstein. Yes, I think that deserves five points for Ravenclaw. Paying attention to details, that's one of the most important parts of Defense." Felicis smiled before continuing. "I was actually born and raised here on the Islands," the Professor started. "However, after graduating from Hogwarts some time ago, I decided to broaden my horizons and traveled a bit. After a short while in Egypt and the Himalayas, I finally decided to stay in the Americas, and have been there for years now." The Professor picked up a Sneakoscope thoughtfully before setting it back on his desk.

"I couldn't stay away from home forever though, and when Dumbledore offered to let me teach for the year, I couldn't refuse. Especially when I seemed to be the only person that him and the Ministry could agree upon." Professor Felicis paused for a moment, as if recalling something, then turned purposefully to the front of the classroom.

"Now," he began. "It seems that overall your Defense education has been pretty well rounded, though it seems each year has been a little, er, one sided." He glanced down at a sheet of paper sitting on his desk. "Seeing as you all seem to have covered enough theory last year, I thought it would be helpful to take a complete look at Defense." He turned to the board and words began to appear as he waved his wand effortlessly. Turning back to the class an expectant look crept on to his face.

"Well? Is anyone going to take notes?" There was a great rustle of paper and quill as everyone rushed to retrieve the items from their bags. "Now, today we shall look at how creative you are in difficult situations. Please follow the instructions on the board and raise your hand once you are finished."

By the time the class ended, it was lunch, and everyone was ready for a good meal. Hermione jogged to catch up to Ron and Harry who had left promptly once the class had ended.

"That was a splendid class!" Hermione said. Harry turned to look at her. "We learned so much about what to do in so many different situations." Harry didn't quite agree.

"Well, yes, but what good is knowing what to do if you don't know how to do it?" He looked at her for a sign of reproachfulness. "I mean, he's loads better than Umbridge, but still, all we did was talk about what we'd all do in different situations, then discuss it. I mean, we could have done that in the common room."

"Well give him time," Hermione bristled. "We can't just jump right into it on the first day, you know. We have to do it properly." Harry turned away ruefully.

I don't have time to do it properly, he thought to himself.

Walking into the Great Hall, Harry was immediately pulled aside by Professor McGonagall. Harry waved Ron and Hermione forward, telling them that he would join them shortly.

"Glad to be back, Mr. Potter?" Harry nodded his head enthusiastically.

"Yes, Professor."

"How was your Potions class?" Harry's face contorted as he was immediately conflicted. The class had not been especially bad, but Harry hated Snape.

"Er, alright I suppose."

"Well perhaps this will cheer you up," she said. "It seems that your lifetime ban for Quidditch was much shorter than expected. The Ministry has informed us that you are now free to play once more." Harry perked up instantly at the news. He was itching to get back on the field and ride his Firebolt. "And on that note, I was wondering if I could ask you a question." Harry nodded emphatically.

"Certainly, Professor."

"The lifting of your ban was contingent on one thing." She paused for a moment, studying Harry. "The condition was that you did not play as Gryffindor Captain." Harry drooped noticeably at the requirement. "I was wondering who you thought would make a good replacement." Harry blinked. Who would make a good replacement? But the answer came almost as quick as the question.

"Ron." Harry smiled, realizing just what his answer meant. "Ron would be an excellent Team Captain. He's brilliant at chess and strategy, and he knows Quidditch back to front." McGonagall nodded tersely.

"I hope he's good. I'd much like to keep the cup in my office." She offered a faint smile before turning to go pull Ron aside. No small feat, Harry thought, since he'd already started eating.

Harry walked over to seat himself next to where Hermione was, and just as he was sitting down he heard a voice ring out across the entire Great Hall.

"ME!?" Harry looked to see Ron standing next to Professor McGonagall in complete disbelief. Their conversation didn't last much longer, and when he came back to sit with Harry and Hermione, there was a smile on his face so big Harry wondered if it would even be affected by Dementors. Harry noticed something flashing in Ron's hand as he sat down next to them.

"She made me Quidditch Captain!" Ron exclaimed, perhaps a little louder than was necessary to tell Harry and Hermione. Harry smiled but noticed a reserved look on Hermione's face.

"That's great, Ron. I'm sure you'll be brilliant at it." Ron got serious and turned to Harry.

"I'll need to hold tryouts for new players, and schedule practices, not to mention making some plays for us to go over." Harry laughed at his friend. Ron seemed lost in his own world.

"Well don't forget about your prefect duties, Ron," Hermione reminded him. "I don't want to have to do all of them by myself." Ron nodded dismissively.

They ate lunch promptly, and by the time they had returned to the common room at the end of the day they were burdened with several essays that were due by the end of the week. Hermione was adamant about finishing their homework as soon as possible, and after the relaxation Harry had felt during the summer with his homework completed, he was inclined to agree. The draw of a game of wizard's chess with Ron however had been too great, and so Hermione could be seen in the corner scribbling away while the two friends played a game that Ron was handily winning.

Harry was considering a move he suspected Ron wouldn't think of, (mostly due to it being particularly suicidal), when Neville approached them looking a bit nervous.

"Hey guys," he stuttered. "I was wondering... What did you think of Defense?" Harry and Ron both looked at each other.

"It was alright, I guess," Harry said unenthusiastically. Harry noticed Neville pick up hopefully.

"Are... are we still doing the D.A.? I mean, I know Umbridge isn't here anymore, but still..." Neville trailed off apprehensively. "It... it really helped... all of us who were in it, you know?"

Harry hadn't given it too much thought, to be honest. They'd formed the group out of frustration at the teaching of Defense last year, but considering it more, Harry had to admit that the group had proven most helpful to everyone... especially during their trip to the Ministry. Harry's eyes fell briefly on Hermione who was still furiously writing what he could only assume was an important essay for one of their classes.

"Let's give the new Professor some time," Harry told Neville, remembering his early discussion with Ron and Hermione. "It's been one day, let's see how he does first." Neville drooped noticeably.

"Well, alright I guess." Harry reached out and grabbed Neville's arm reassuringly.

"Hey, if how you did at the Ministry is any indication, I reckon you don't have anything to be worried about," Harry told him honestly. "Besides, you said it yourself. Things are easier with your new wand, right?" Neville perked up at the words of encouragement.

"Yeah, I suppose you're right," Neville told them, a smile creeping over his face.

"And you can always ask for help if that's what you need," Harry told him. Neville brightened considerably.

"Thanks, Harry." They both watched as Neville walked off confidently towards the dorms.

"What're you on about?" Ron asked quickly. "If you tell Neville that we'll help him any time we'll be answering questions all the time." Harry looked back at Ron. "I mean, don't get me wrong, Neville is alright, but still, we'll never get any time away from school work." Harry shook his head.

"You didn't see him," Harry told Ron definitively. "At the Ministry Neville was completely different. He can do it on his own, he just needs someone to tell him so." Harry didn't know why, but he felt an odd comfort knowing that he could help Neville. Ron muttered an acknowledgment. Harry knew that Ron didn't necessarily agree with him, but that he couldn't find a counter-argument, which was nearly the same thing as agreement coming from Ron.

Harry turned back to the game of chess, moving his piece as he had considered earlier. Ron let out an amused laugh.

"That's suicide mate."

The rest of the week passed slowly, and despite the fact that Harry was doing well enough in Potions to impress himself, Snape still berated him for all of his mistakes. Ron had begun creating plays for the Quidditch team to go over that Harry thought rivaled anything Wood came up with, and was trying to schedule tryouts as soon as possible.

One thing about his new classes did not get past Harry however. Every other Defense teacher he'd had so far had taken at least a moment to comment on teaching the Harry Potter. Professor Felicis however seemed interested only in teaching his material, and for once Harry was thankful for such dedication from a teacher. That's why he was surprised when Professor Felicis asked him to stay after class later the next week.

"Yes Professor," Harry said diffidently.

"I was wondering about your thoughts on my class so far," the Professor said, sitting down at his desk. Professor Felicis kept the classroom devoid of much anything, and his desk looked like you might expect a businessman's office desk to look. Neatly organized and partitioned, with whatever he was currently working on carefully placed in the middle. Felicis grabbed a quill and began to work on the parchment, waiting for an answer.

"Er, well, not bad really," Harry said unconvincingly.

"Well the fact that you tried to lie to me at least reassures me that you aren't comfortable with your dislike of the class so far." Professor Felicis looked up at Harry and for a moment he saw a twinkle in his green eyes much like Harry had seen in Dumbledore's many times before. "What do you find lacking, Harry?"

"Well," Harry hesitated. The expression on his Professor's face however exuded sincerity, and so Harry decided to go ahead. "It's just a bit slow, Professor. I mean, I know most students would probably want to kill me for saying this, being in N.E.W.T. classes and all, but we only just got to applying some of our essays this class." Harry stared into his Professor's eyes for a few more moments before steeling his resolve and finishing the thought. "From all of my experience, it's the hands on reaction training that gets you through the tough spots. Knowing what to do doesn't help you at all if you freeze the first time you need to do it."

Professor Felicis looked down at his parchment for another moment and went back to writing. The expression on his face showed neither displeasure nor understanding, and Harry dangerously thought for a moment that perhaps the notion Harry proposed had never crossed Felicis' mind before.

"Yes, well, unfortunately I can't treat the class as if someone may be pushed into an actual scenario at any time, no matter how true that may be for some." He looked back up at Harry. "I'm teaching this class so that it will be of the most benefit to everyone when it's done, not as a crash course to someone with... unique, circumstances." Harry felt a bit ambushed at the retort. It's not as if the Professor hadn't asked for Harry's opinion. The Dark Arts teacher went back to his parchment.

"I'm sorry Professor, I wasn't questioning your teaching, I was just..." Harry trailed off, trying to figure out what he had been doing. "I was just explaining what I thought about the class from my point of view."

"How bad is your vision, Harry?" The question dumbfounded Harry for a moment. The first reaction Harry had was absolute rage that a Professor would make such a snide comment after Harry describing his "point of view". He was sure he'd heard the Professor wrong.

"I'm sorry?"

"I asked how bad your vision was," the Professor got a look on his face that told Harry he didn't like repeating himself. "You wear glasses, how bad is your vision?" Harry paused for a moment, trying to figure out why the teacher could possibly want to know such a thing. Professor Felicis sighed.

"Harry, it doesn't matter why I want to know, it's a fairly mundane question. I'm just curious." Harry studied the Professor for a moment. He didn't know what the reason had been, but Harry was sure that the question had not simply popped into his Professor's head.

"It's pretty bad," Harry said. "I can still see fine with my glasses on, but it's difficult without them." Professor Felicis nodded, as if understanding something.

"I see." He turned back to the parchment. He'd said it with such finality that Harry was sure their conversation was over, but he waited a minute before moving. Slowly gathering his things he headed for the door.

"If your vision... changes at all, come talk to me about it," the Professor told him. Harry turned and saw that the man was quite earnest, and nodded his response before heading out the door to find Hermione and Ron.

When he got to the Great Hall, he found them eating lunch at the Gryffindor table, and when they saw him approaching they knew he had something to tell them. All three quickly finished their food so that they could find somewhere a little more secluded.

"What's up, mate?" Ron started as soon as they were alone. "You look a little flustered."

"The new Dark Arts Professor, Felicis, he kept me after class, right?" Ron and Hermione nodded. "Well, at first it seemed like he kept me after for no reason at all. He was just asking about what I thought of the class." Hermione looked worried.

"What did you tell him?" she demanded. Harry scoffed.

"I told him exactly what I told you. It's a nice class, but it's moving too slow." Ron and Hermione both looked at Harry as if he'd told them Snape would be going home with them for Christmas.

"Faster?!" Ron started. "What, are you trying to fail everyone else in the class?" Hermione shot Ron a nasty look before handing out her own reprimand.

"He's teaching the whole subject, Harry. Everyone is going to learn the subject for once." Harry was a bit incensed that they were jumping on him like this.

"Yeah, everyone learned from Lupin and Moody." He shook his head. "It doesn't matter anyway. He told me that he wasn't teaching the class for students with 'special circumstances', and said that he was going to keep teaching the way he had been." Ron looked relieved but Hermione looked upset as before.

"He told you he wasn't going to help you?" She looked at Harry with a disapproving look. "Not that you're really down at a sixth-year N.E.W.T. level, but still. He shouldn't be dismissing you." Harry smiled at her sudden change of heart.

"Well, no, he more said he wasn't going to teach specifically me." Harry shook his head. "But that isn't what was interesting. Right as I was ready to go, he asked me how bad my vision was." Hermione and Ron looked at him disbelieving.

"Your vision?" they exclaimed simultaneously.

"Yeah, that was my reaction." Harry nodded. "But he asked again and when I told him, he asked me to come talk to him if my vision ever changed." He rounded on Hermione. "Have you ever come across something about bad vision meaning anything?"

Hermione looked startled at being put on the spot, but quickly regained her composure.

"No, I've never heard anything of the sort." They looked between each other meaningfully, and the halls began to fill with students.

"I guess lunch is over," Harry said.

"Yeah," Ron added dully.

"Let's do a little bit of research once we're out of classes," Hermione offered. "See if we can turn anything up on bad vision." Ron rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, just what we need, more work to make our vision worse."