Harry Potter and the Protectors of Hogwarts

xviii. of back to hogwarts

"You all did very well down in the Chamber," Moody's voice boomed across the classroom.

Harry and the other Sixth Years were sitting in the Defence classroom, wands away, quills and parchments out ready to take notes.

Harry shifted a little uncomfortably as his chest twinged as he leaned over the desk, quill ready. He still felt as if he couldn't breathe sometimes, and he knew if he showed the slightest sign of discomfort, his friends would whip him off to the Infirmary before he could open to his mouth to ward off their concern.

He knew they were looking out for him and he appreciated their protectiveness, never having experienced anything like that at the Dursleys. It did feel stifling sometimes, as he knew that as well as his friends (whose concerns he could take) he was being watched by most of the Professors who'd been a part if the Order meeting.

Harry ignored them as best he could. It was only his second day back at school and he felt eyes on his every move. Harry kept a professional outlook, ignoring any overtures from McGonagall and the like regarding anything personal. Harry constantly felt Dumbledore's eyes on him in the Great Hall, and he swore he could feel other people watching in the corridors. He knew they were all concerned. After deliberately throwing his wand at Dumbledore's feet, he found it the next morning on his bedside cabinet. He'd promptly packed it away at the bottom of his trunk, ignoring his friend's silent protests. They knew he was proving a point and he knew they disagreed with his methods. However, they reluctantly supported him.

Harry was nudged out of his thoughts by a painful elbow to the ribs and an apologetic look from Ron. He looked quickly across to Moody who gave him a look and bent down to copy the notes from the blackboard about the different techniques they could have used in the Chamber.

Harry concentrated on the rest of Moody's lecture, ending with copious amount of notes; before Moody invited the rest of the class to participate in a debate of what they thought they'd done best. Despite their initial indignation at being tricked, once they got down to it, everyone contributed enthusiastically the debate.

The class ended half an hour later; Moody nodding meaningfully at Harry as he walked out. Moody himself was protective in his own way, but he knew when to back away, understanding Harry's need to be independent.

Harry went through the rest of the day mechanically, being careful not to let himself getting jostled too much in the rush of the corridors.

***

Neville stood in the shadows watching Harry. Neville often stood in the shadows; it was the best place to watch many harebrained happenings everyone had come up with. He watched many people from the shadows. He was unnoticed and ignored. No one paid any attention to poor, pathetic, bumbling Neville Longbottom. He knew he'd changed a lot of the last year or so, especially after the news of the LeStranges escaping from Azkaban. Previous to that event he'd spent the majority of his Hogwarts years just passing through, keeping his head down and trying to keep his grades up. Cedric's death after the Triwizard Tournament had woken him up somewhat, and the news of Voldemort being back sent a shiver down his spine. The first war brought back many bad memories for his Gran, and he knew she didn't like to talk about that time that took away her son and daughter-in-law.

Harry had been battling Voldemort in one form or another since his first year at Hogwarts, and now Neville understood the drive that motivated Harry. The needs to do something, instead of sitting back letting things happen, he needed to do something but others around him wouldn't let him.