"This is mad," Harry says. "Who'd wanna be taught by me? I'm a nutter, remember?"
"Look on the bright side: you can't be any worse than Umbridge," Cedric says from where he was walking with Delilah tucked under his arm.
"Your brain is small Potter," Draco begins. "But at least you have one"
"Thanks, Draco," Harry says, sarcasm lacing his tone.
"I'm here for you, mate," Draco says, shooting Harry a thumbs up.
"Besides, they're being taught by two nutters," Stuart says. "D's also been smeared by the press remember?"
"Thank you Stuart for the reminder that Rita Skeeter told the entirety of the wizarding world that I was a whore," Delilah says.
"You're more than welcome D," Stuart says.
"Who's supposed to be meeting us, then?" Delilah asks.
"Just a couple of people," Hermione says, pushing open the door to the Hog's Head.
Delilah grimaces at the smell and the amount of dust in the bar.
"Lovely spot," The girl comments earning a glare from the bartender.
"Thought it would be safer off the beaten track," Hermione says.
They walk into the back room that was full of students from Gryffindor, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. Luna waves at Delilah who waves back.
"Hi," Hermione says. "So you all know why we're here. We need a teacher. Two proper teachers. Ones who've had experience defending themselves against the Dark Arts"
"Why?" Zachariah Smith asks.
"Why?" Ron repeats. "Because You-Know-Who's back, you tosspot"
"So they say."
"So Dumbledore says," Hermione says.
"So Dumbledore says because he says. The point is, where's the proof? If Potter or Diggory could tell us more about what happened- Or maybe she Potter could tell us about nearly being killed by Crouch Jr"
Cedric and Stuart stand up from their chairs as Delilah's hand gently ghosts over her throat where the thin line still showed across her throat.
"Leave it, he's not worth it," Delilah whispers.
"I should fucking kick-" Stuart begins.
"No," Delilah says. "Now sit down. Both of you"
The duo huff before sitting back down. Their weapon of choice had become silently glaring at the Hufflepuff boy.
"I'm not gonna talk about the night at the graveyard and my sister isn't going to talk about her near-death experience, so if that's why you're here, clear out now," Harry says before turning to Hermione. "Come on, Hermione. They're here because they think I'm some sort of freak."
"Is it true you can produce a Patronus Charm?" Luna asks.
"Yes. I've seen it."
"Blimey, Harry. I didn't know you could do that," Dean says.
"And he killed a basilisk, with the sword in Dumbledore's office," Neville pipes up.
"It's true," Ron says. "Third-year, he fought off about a hundred Dementors at once."
"Last year, he really did fight off You-Know-Who in the flesh," Hermione says.
"Wait," Harry says. "Look, it all sounds great when you say it like that but the truth is, most of that was just luck. I didn't know what I was doing half the time. I nearly always had help. Especially from D"
"He's just being modest,"
"No, Hermione, I'm not," Harry says. "Facing this stuff in real life is not like school. In school, if you make a mistake, you can just try again tomorrow. But out there... when you're a second away from being murdered or watching a friend die right before your eyes or watching your sister getting strangled and being powerless to stop it. You don't know what that's like."
"You're right, Harry, we don't," Hermione says. "That's why we need your and D's help. Because if we're going to have any chance at beating Voldemort this is what we need to do"
"So why is Malfoy here?" Smith asks. "His family are known to associate with Voldemort"
"We personally vouch for Draco," Delilah says. "Anyone who isn't happy with that is more than welcome to leave"
Delilah pulls out a piece of parchment and had everyone sign their names which she then proceeded to jinx.
"Right," Hermione says. "First we need to find a place to practice where Umbridge won't find out"
"The Shrieking Shack," Fred says.
"It's too small," Delilah says. "Forbidden Forest?"
"Not bloody likely," Ron scoffs.
"Harry, what happens if Umbridge does find out?" Ginny asks.
"Who cares?" All heads snap to face Hermione in shock. "I mean, it's sort of exciting, isn't it, breaking the rules?"
"Ah," Delilah sighs. "I taught her very well didn't I?"
"It's the best day when you see all your teachings reflect in your pupil," Fred nods in agreement.
"Anyway, at least we know one positive thing that came from today," Hermione says.
"What's that?" Harry asks.
"Cho couldn't take her eyes off you, could she?"
Delilah wraps a comforting arm around Ginny and the younger girl smiles up at her.
"He'll be over Cho soon," Delilah whispers. "Don't you worry"
"Potter's just blind to what's in front of him," Draco adds. "Soon he'll realise what he's missing out on"
"We've got to make sure, wherever it is, there's no chance she can find us,"
"We blind her," Delilah says and everyone stares at her horrified. "What? It was just a suggestion"
"I agree," Ginny comments.
"I wouldn't be upset," Cedric adds.
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