Ethereal

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The Order of The Phoenix

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It was nearly two am when Sadie left Umbridge's office that night, her hand now bleeding so severely that it was staining the scarf she had wrapped around it. Harry left a few hours earlier and Sadie expected the common room to be empty when she returned, but Harry, Ron and Hermione had sat up waiting for her. She was pleased to see them, especially as Hermione was disposed to be sympathetic rather than critical.

"Here," she said anxiously, pushing a small bowl of yellow liquid towards her, "soak your hand in that, it's a solution of strained and pickled Murtlap tentacles, it should help." Cassie saw Harry already had his hand in one.

Sadie placed her bleeding, aching hand into the bowl and experienced a wonderful feeling of relief. Crookshanks curled around her legs, purring loudly, then leapt into her lap and settled down.

"Thanks," she said gratefully, scratching behind Crookshanks's ears with her right hand. "Harry," Sadie said as she looked at him, "I've been thinking."

"What about?"

"Well, I was thinking that maybe the time's come when we should just do it ourselves."

"Do what ourselves?" said Harry suspiciously, still floating his hand in the essence of Murtlap tentacles.

"Well, learn Defence Against the Dark Arts ourselves," Sadie said, "It's about preparing ourselves, like Harry said in Umbridge's first lesson, for what's waiting for us out there. It's about making sure we really can defend ourselves. If we don't learn anything for a whole year then we're going to not be prepared. We've gone past the stage where we can just learn things out of books. We need a teacher, a proper one, who can show us how to use the spells and correct us if we're going wrong. And I have one in mind."

"If you're talking about Lupin. . . ." Harry began.

"No, no, I'm not talking about Lupin," said Sadie. "He's too busy with the Order and, anyway, the most we could see him is during Hogsmeade weekends and that's not nearly often enough."

"Who, then?" said Harry, frowning at her.

"You," Sadie said. "You can teach us Defence Against the Dark Arts."

Harry stared at her. Then he turned to Ron but to Harry's consternation, however, Ron did not look exasperated, neither did Hermione.

Ron was frowning slightly, apparently thinking. Then he said, "That's an idea."

"What's an idea?" said Harry.

"You," said Ron. "Teaching us to do it."

"But. . . ." Harry was grinning in disbelief.  "But I'm not a teacher, I can't. . . . Harper, you're the best student in every subject in the year."

"I know," Sadie said dismissing it, "but think what you've done!"

"How d'you mean?"

"You know what, I'm not sure I want someone this stupid teaching me"' Ron said to Sadie and Hermione, smirking slightly. 

"Look," Sadie said, "first year you saved the Philosopher's Stone from You-Know-Who. Second year, you killed the Basilisk and destroyed Riddle and saved Ginny.  Third year, you fought off about a hundred dementors at once and last year you saw You-know-Who again and survived, yet again."

"Listen to me!" said Harry, almost angrily, because Sadie, Ron and Hermione were all smirking now. "Just listen to me, all right? It sounds great when you say it like that, but all that stuff was luck. I didn't know what I was doing half the time, I didn't plan any of it, I just did whatever I could think of, and I nearly always had help. . . ."