Supported & Torn (HP) {Book 3 of the Wild & Free Series}

12. In the Hog's Head

Hermione made no mention of Harry and me giving Defense Against the Dark Arts lessons for two whole weeks after her original suggestion. Harry's and my detentions with Umbridge were finally over (I doubted whether the words now etched on the back of our hands would ever fade entirely); Ron had had four more Quidditch practices and not been shouted at during the last two; and all five of us had managed to vanish our mice in Transfiguration (Hermione had actually progressed to vanishing kittens), before the subject was broached again, on a wild, blustery evening at the end of September, when the five of us were sitting in the library, looking up potion ingredients for Professor Snape.

"I was wondering," Hermione said suddenly, "whether you'd thought any more about Defense Against the Dark Arts, Harry and Liana."

"'Course we have," said Harry grumpily. "Can't forget it, can we, with that hag teaching us —"

"I meant the idea Ron, Rowan and I had" — Ron and Rowan cast her an alarmed, threatening kind of look; she frowned at them — "oh, all right, the idea I had, then — about you two teaching us."

Harry and I did not answer at once. I pretended to be perusing a page of Asiatic Anti-Venoms, because I did not want to say what was in my mind.

The fact was that I had given the matter a great deal of thought over the past fortnight. Sometimes it seemed an insane idea, just as it had on the night Hermione had proposed it, but at others, I had found myself thinking about the spells that had served me best in our various encounters with Dark creatures and Death Eaters — found myself, in fact, subconsciously planning lessons...

"Well," I said slowly, when I could not pretend to find Asiatic anti-venoms interesting much longer, "yeah, we — we've thought about it a bit." I had also talked to Harry about it.

"And?" said Hermione eagerly.

"I dunno," said Harry. He looked up at Ron.

"I thought it was a good idea from the start," said Ron, who seemed keener to join in this conversation now that he was sure that Harry and I were not going to start shouting again.
Harry and I shifted uncomfortably in our chairs.

"You did listen to what we said about a load of it being luck, didn't you?"

"Yes, Harry and Liana," said Hermione gently, "but all the same, there's no point pretending that you're not good at Defense Against the Dark Arts, because you both are. You were the only two persons last year who could throw off the Imperius Curse completely, you can produce a Patronus, you can do all sorts of stuff that full-grown wizards can't, Viktor always said —"

Ron looked around at her so fast he appeared to crick his neck; rubbing it, he said, "Yeah? What did Vicky say?"

"Ho ho," said Hermione in a bored voice. "He said Harry and Liana knew how to do stuff even he didn't, and he was in the final year at Durmstrang." Ron was looking at Hermione suspiciously.

"You're not still in contact with him, are you?"

"So what if I am?" said Hermione coolly, though her face was a little pink. "I can have a pen pal if I —"

"He didn't only want to be your pen pal," said Ron accusingly. Hermione shook her head exasperatedly and, ignoring Ron, who was continuing to watch her, said to Harry and me, "Well, what do you think? Will you teach us?"

"Just you, Ron, Rowan and maybe Lucy, yeah?" I asked.

"Well," said Hermione, now looking a mite anxious again. "Well... now, don't fly off the handle again, Harry, Liana, please... But I really think you ought to teach anyone who wants to learn. I mean, we're talking about defending ourselves against V-Voldemort — oh, don't be pathetic, Ron and Rowan — it doesn't seem fair if we don't offer the chance to other people."