An American At Hogwarts: Book Three

Chapter Twenty-One

I woke up earlier than usual Wednesday morning, feeling rested and calm for one of the first times since I'd gotten to Hogwarts.

So much for a relaxing senior year.

I wandered downstairs, thinking I might finally beat Jackson to the entrance hall for one of our runs, but I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw Harry sitting on the couch, looking like he might pass out at any minute.

"Harry? Are you okay?" I asked, rushing over to him as soon as I saw him. He shot out of his seat at the sound of my voice, turning to me with wide eyes.

"Alexa! I was waiting for you!"

"What? Harry, please don't tell me you've been down here all night..."

"No, no! I woke up early, because I know you do your runs..." He trailed off, a little out of it since he wasn't used to being up this early. I stared at him, and was about to ask if he was okay again when he seemed to remember what he was doing. "Listen, Hermione and Ron had this idea last night, and it seemed like the perfect thing for you."

"...Alright. Let's sit down and you can tell me about it."

Harry nodded, plopping back into the place where I'd found him. I sat next to him, searching his face for any signs that something was seriously wrong. He seemed to be okay, if a little stressed and tired.

That I could relate to.

"So, Hermione came up with this idea, since we're not learning anything from Umbridge in Defense Against the Dark Arts," he started. "She thought I could teach her and Ron Defense Against the Dark Arts. But I just thought of it as I was falling asleep last night, after they mentioned it- why don't you teach us?"

"What?"

"Yeah! I don't know what I'm doing, I've only really survived off of luck so far, but you-"

"Harry, I've gotta stop you there. What are you talking about? You're fantastic at Defense Against the Dark Arts!"

"No! That's what Ron and Hermione tried to say too, but they don't understand! It's just luck that I've managed to survive all these years, it's just luck! Every time Voldemort's tried to kill me, I had no idea what I was doing. I only got out alive because... because... well, I don't even know why! Or how!"

I waited as Harry shook his head and took a few deep breaths. Then, once I was sure he was done, I spoke.

"I know it feels like luck, but it wasn't."

"Yes, it was!"

"Dude, I listened to your whole rant. Give me... a minute. And if you still think I'm not getting it after that, you can start shouting again until we wake the Prefects. Deal?"

Harry nodded his head reluctantly.

"Great. As I was saying, I know it feels like it was luck, but it wasn't. Now, that doesn't mean luck wasn't involved. Every successful hero's gotta have a good dose of luck on their side, for sure. But Harry, from what I've heard and what I've seen first-hand, every year you've gone up against Voldemort you've been brave enough to stand up to him, keep fighting, and find a way to survive. Even when you're knocked down and things look hopeless, your friends look dead, or it seems like there's no way out, you've never once given up. That's not luck, Harry. That's determination, courage, and a really impressive ability to keep going when your entire body is screaming at you to shut down, curl up into a ball, or freeze completely."

I paused, since that was about a minute, and Harry and I had a deal. Harry didn't say anything for a few beats. He stared past me, looking thoughtful, and then he met my eyes again with a furrowed brow.