“And that is new because?” Lily snorted.

“Maybe it’s some new way they managed to interfere. Like having their spy at Hogwarts isn’t enough,” Sirius growled.

James nodded and looked at Sirius strangely.

“Padfoot, what are you doing?”

Sirius was crumbling pieces of parchment and putting them together in what looked to be a little doll.

“A little Umbridge Voodoo doll,” Sirius answered happily.

“And by any chance do you know the rituals?” Remus asked raising an eyebrow.

“There are rituals? It’s not just sticking pins on the doll?” Sirius cried waving the little parchment doll around.

“Of course it’s not you dolt!” Lily chuckled and Sirius threw the doll in the paper bin scowling.

Distant voices slowly pulled Harry out of his dreamless sleep. He was warm and content where he was in a soft bed that he had slept in a few times before. Opening his eyes, Harry immediately recognized the duvet and knew that he was in Professor Dumbledore’s guest quarters. He was lying on his right side, facing the dark wall with the voices behind him. Reflexively, Harry rolled onto his back and turned his head towards the voices that seemed to stop the moment he moved. He blinked a few times and saw two blurry figures, one that was slowly approaching. After a moment he recognized the overabundance of white as Professor Dumbledore but couldn’t make out who the other person was that remained in the doorway.

“Good morning, Harry,” Professor Dumbledore said pleasantly as he sat down on the edge of the bed. “You just missed Madam Pomfrey. You should be happy to hear that everything is still healing nicely. There are no signs that last night caused any further damage. Madam Pomfrey also left your potion behind so you won’t need to visit the hospital wing today. I would also like to thank you for what you did last night, Harry. You pushed aside your own ailments in order to warn me, something that not many would do.”

Harry stared at Dumbledore for a moment before rubbing the tiredness out of his eyes. “I just thought you should know, sir,” he said as he sat up. “Voldemort was really angry when he found out about the attack on the train. He knows I’m responsible for his coma and he wants to find out how I did it because…” Harry’s gaze fell as he remembered what Voldemort said. It had been the second time Voldemort had mentioned Dumbledore being afraid of Harry. Was it true? Was Dumbledore afraid of these outbursts?

“Of course he is!” Lily and Remus cried together.

“What?” Lily asked defensively as the black-haired marauders scowled at her. “He is. The outbursts hurt Harry. They are all afraid of that not of Harry.”

“Oh, yeah,” James shrugged.

“Because?” Professor Dumbledore prodded gently.

Harry returned his gaze to the somewhat blurry figure of Dumbledore with a worried look on his face. “Because you’re afraid of it,” he admitted in a quiet, fearful voice. “He said the same thing at the graveyard when he found out about the necklace you made me wear. You’re not afraid of me, are you, Professor?”

Dumbledore gave Harry’s shoulder a reassuring squeeze. “Of course not, Harry,” he said pleasantly. “Voldemort doesn’t realize these are outbursts of magic, not a steady flow. If it were a steady flow then I may be a little unsettled. No one would be able to handle so much magic constantly. Remember what happened to your body after you returned from the graveyard. Your body could not handle the strain; no mortal body would be able to handle it, Voldemort included.”

Lily raised her eyebrow.

“Okay, fine, you’re right,” Sirius grunted. “No need to rub it in.”

Harry shuddered at the memory of the three powerful outbursts that had nearly killed him that night. It had felt like he was going to explode.

“But that is not the only reason, Harry,” Professor Dumbledore added in the same gentle voice. “I’m not afraid of you because I know you. I know you would never hurt anyone unless you had no other choice. You have a conscience, Harry, and a heart that pushes you to succeed when others fail. I could never be afraid of someone as caring as you, remember that.”

Harry couldn’t help but feel relieved. Professor Dumbledore wasn’t afraid of him. Voldemort was wrong about that but that didn’t mean the outbursts themselves weren’t dangerous. This simply knowledge fueled Harry’s determination to learn how to control them. This had been the first powerful outburst in a long time and it had taken him by surprise, something Harry wasn’t going to let happen again.

“I spoke with Remus and Sirius, Harry,” Dumbledore said after a moment of silence. “They are worried that the more powerful outbursts are returning too soon for you but want to leave the decision of giving you another suppression necklace up to you. I realize that this is only delaying a matter that needs to be dealt with but we fear this is just another thing you would have to worry about.”

Harry looked at Dumbledore nervously. He really didn’t know what to do. He wanted to learn how to deal with it but Professor Dumbledore had a point. He did have a lot to worry about already. “What would you do, sir?” he asked softly.

“Well, I would probably take the necklace just to be safe,” Professor Dumbledore said pleasantly then leaned closer to Harry and smiled. “Just because I have it does not mean I have to use it all the time. Only you can know how much you can handle. I am not going to force it on you, Harry. If you don’t want it, you don’t have to take it. This also is not a one time offer. The entire staff—well, those who know of this—are here to help if you need us. If I am not available, you need to know you can trust someone who can pass the information on to me.”

“Yes sir,” Harry said with a nod. Out of all of the teachers Harry really only felt comfortable with Professor McGonagall when it came to anything personal. Other than being his Head of House, McGonagall had looked out for him over the past few years. She also had spent time at the Black Manor over the summer talking with Harry whenever she could. Professor McGonagall had been one of the selected few to see Harry’s memory of the graveyard and had taken what she had seen rather hard.

“Under that tough armor she’s a softy,” James said fondly.

“Yeah, even when she is yelling at us you can see that deep down she loves us deeply and we are her favorite students,” Sirius smiled.

“I wouldn’t go that far Padfoot,” Remus chuckled.

“Maybe not James and Sirius. God knows how hard it is to love them. But you are definitely McGonagall’s favorite Remus,” Lily said and Remus blushed. “She’s always going on about how those two should be more like you.”

“Teacher’s pet,” James coughed.

Dumbledore gave Harry’s shoulder another gentle squeeze before standing up. “Dobby took the liberty of bringing a change of clothes for you,” he said pleasantly. “I believe breakfast will be starting soon so unless you have any questions, we will leave you to change.”

“What happens now?” Harry asked.

Professor Dumbledore moved to the bedside table, picked up Harry’s glasses and handed them over. “You see, Harry, we are in a slight predicament with the presence of Professor Umbridge,” he said honestly as Harry put his glasses on.

“Understatement of the year,” Lily snorted.

“If something like this happens again, I must suggest you tell Professor McGonagall immediately. She will pass it on to me. As much as it pains me, Harry, we can’t appear to be any more than Headmaster and student to Professor Umbridge. I don’t want her to use you to get to me.”

Harry finally realized that it was Professor McGonagall standing in the doorway. Her normal stern gaze was absent from her face as she looked at Harry sympathetically. Returning his gaze to Dumbledore, Harry noticed that there was no twinkle in his blue eyes. “What if I contact Sirius and Remus?” Harry asked. “They could pass on the message too? No offense, Professor McGonagall, but couldn’t you get in trouble with this arrangement?”

“I am your Head of House, Harry,” Professor McGonagall said with a smirk. “I’m supposed to look out for you. We can work something out, don’t worry.”

“Why Minnie, how Slytherin of you,” Sirius smirked.

“Say that to her Sirius and we will never find your body parts,” Lily said knowingly.

Harry still felt nervous of involving Professor McGonagall but he nodded in understanding. Once Dumbledore and McGonagall left, Harry quickly changed into his uniform and took his potion before leaving for the Gryffindor Tower to grab his school bag, biding goodbye to Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall as he ran past them. It was still early but unlike previous mornings students were already awake and in the halls.

Reaching the Fat Lady portrait, Harry waited impatiently for it to open after he gave the password and nearly ran into Ron and Hermione in his haste. Without a word, Harry pulled them to follow as he ran up to his dorm room and immediately checked to make sure they were alone. He couldn’t chance anyone overhearing anything now.

“Harry, what’s wrong?” Hermione asked instantly as Harry closed the door. “Did something happen this morning?”

Harry looked at his best friends and let out a deep breath. There was no other way to do this other than to just say it. “I had a vision last night,” he said in a quiet but urgent voice. “Voldemort’s awake and he knows everything that’s happened.” Harry turned away and started pacing, the reality of everything finally hitting him. Now he had the Ministry, Death Eaters and Voldemort to worry about. “My scar was hurting! It hasn’t hurt since that nightmare I had. Why now? I don’t need this!”

It had been so easy not to think of Voldemort when he had been in a coma but that wasn’t the case anymore. The Death Eaters now had their leader back and wouldn’t be hiding anymore. Voldemort wanted answers about what happened but how was he going to get them? It wasn’t like there was a book written about the magical outbursts of Harry Potter and where to join. The only way anyone was going to get information on this was to get it from the source or someone close to the source.

Sirius and Remus.

“Harry James Potter,” Remus said sternly. “Don’t worry about me and Padfoot we are responsible adults. Scratch that, we are adults and I am responsible and we can take care of ourselves.”

“See, hear that James?” Lily said rubbing James’ back. “They can take care of themselves.” James shrugged but he was looking worried and biting his nails.

“You’re sure he’s awake?” Ron asked in an uneasy voice. “You-Know-Who? The—the thing that tried to kill you in June?”

Harry stopped pacing and looked at Ron with a raised eyebrow. “No Ron, it’s the other Dark Lord named Voldemort who wants me dead,” he said sarcastically as he sat down on the nearest bed. Burying his face in his hands, Harry knew he needed to calm down. It didn’t pay to start a fight with his friends. “Sorry,” Harry said to Ron. “I just feel like my head’s going to explode. He’s out there and all I can do is wait for his move.”

“So there’s no point in worrying about it now,” Hermione said matter-of-factly. “Let’s just concentrate on getting through the day, Harry. Don’t think about You-Know-Who. He can’t get to you here, Dumbledore wouldn’t let it happen; we wouldn’t let it happen. We have your back, Harry, remember that.”

Harry nodded as he let out a breath. Hermione was right. He had a long day ahead of him and worrying about what Voldemort may be up to would only make it longer. Realistically Harry knew there was no way he was going to forget about this and made a mental note to talk to Professor McGonagall as soon as possible about Sirius and Remus’ safety or perhaps talk to Sirius and Remus directly. He didn’t know what he would do if something happened to them.

“Nothing is going to happen,” Sirius said confidently.

Once Harry collected his school bag and everything he would need, he followed Ron and Hermione to the Great Hall for a quick breakfast. The moment they sat down Ginny handed over the latest edition of the ‘Daily Prophet’ and on the front page was a picture of Professor Umbridge underneath the large headline that read:

MINISTRY SEEKS EDUCATIONAL REFORM

DOLORES UMBRIDGE APPOINTED

FIRST EVER HIGH INQUISITOR

“High what now?” Lily asked worried.

They read the article in a shocked silence to learn that the Ministry was taking their desire to control what happens at Hogwarts a step further by creating laws and positions. It was stated that Fudge had created a rule stating if Dumbledore couldn’t find someone for a position, the Ministry shall do it for him. That explained how someone as unqualified as Umbridge became a teacher. The article also stated that Umbridge had been keeping in contact with Fudge about matters to keep the Ministry up-to-date.

“Like we didn’t know she would,” James grunted.

As if this wasn’t enough, the article continued on stating that Fudge had passed Educational Decree Number Twenty-three to create the position of Hogwarts High Inquisitor which allows someone to inspect the teachers at Hogwarts to make sure they’re teaching at the Ministry’s standards which was almost hilarious. The one teacher who wasn’t actually teaching anything has to power to evaluate the entire teaching staff.

“That’s just their way of controlling the staff. Unless they think like Fudge they’ll be sacked,” Remus growled angrily.

What wasn’t hilarious was the fact that Lucius Mafloy was quoted in the article, supporting the motion or the bit that was written about Remus, Hagrid and Mad-Eye Moody being unstable teachers.

“Hey! Moony isn’t unstable!” Lily cried angry. And James and Sirius growled in agreement.

Remus, Hagrid and Mad-Eye were three of the best people Harry knew. Remus was a wonderful teacher and Mad-Eye had brought his first hand experience to the classroom when he finally got the chance to teach. Hagrid certainly had a unique perspective to things but he understood the dangers of the forest like no one else Harry knew.

With as late as they were running, Harry, Ron and Hermione didn’t have a chance to protest the latest news before hurrying off to History of Magic. The dull class passed by without an appearance from Professor Umbridge. She didn’t show up in Potions either. The moonstone essays were handed back. Ron hid his instantly while Harry could only let out a sigh when he saw a large ‘A’ written in the upper right-hand corner. He had read about the OWL grading system during the summer to know that an ‘A’ meant Acceptable. Harry had honestly thought he had done better than Acceptable.

“I bet you did Harry but Snivellus was just being mean and completely unfair,” Sirius said scowling.

“You all will find that your grades are what you would have received if this had been in your OWL,” Snape said coldly as he returned to his desk. “I am disgusted with the majority of the assignments that I received. Most of you would have failed! I am expecting to see a drastic improvement for this week’s essay on the various varieties of venom antidotes. If there is not an improvement, I may have to start giving detentions for those dunderheads who receive a ‘D’.”

Harry kept his eyes on Professor Snape but noticed Hermione glancing over to see what he had received. Her sigh of relief was an obvious sign that she saw Harry wasn’t one of the many who had failed the essay. After Snape’s speech, the class had to brew a Strengthening Solution which Harry had been determined to complete correctly. When he was finished, Harry had to admit that it looked like it was supposed to. The clear substance had a turquoise shade to it and looking over at Hermione’s; he saw that hers looked similar. At the end of class, Harry handed in a flask of his potion then hurried out of the classroom with Ron and Hermione following.

“Well, I must say that at least he’s preparing us,” Hermione said as they walked up the stairs to the Entrance Hall. “Everyone says the OWLs are hard. I just wish Professor Snape would give us pointers to help us improve. Passing is okay now but what about when the test comes? If Professor Snape only takes the top scores we need to know what we can do to obtain them.”

“Since when does Snape do anything like that?” Harry asked as they walked through the Entrance Hall and into the Great Hall. “If we want to do better, we will obviously have to do it ourselves. From what I’ve read about the OWLs Snape has nothing to do with the examinations. It’s a standardized test that Snape will never see, only our scores.”

“You know, I don’t think Snape is a very good teacher,” Lily said wincing.

“Just figuring that one now?” James asked.

“No,” she huffed, “But Hermione is right. A teacher should tell them how to improve not just undermine their self-esteem.”

Ron looked at Harry horrified as they sat down at the Gryffindor table. “You’ve read about the OWLs?” he asked in shock. “Why?”

Harry shrugged his shoulders as he started to fill his plate. “Remember what I told you how I was at the beginning of the summer,” he said. “Remus kept talking about the OWLs so I figured that since I was bored it didn’t hurt to know a little more about them, at least the grading system.”

“Figures Moony would talk about the OWLs,” Sirius rolled his eyes and shook his head at his friends.

“Yeah, he was nagging in our ears about OWLs since about first year,” James chuckled. “We are actually surprised he hasn’t yet come up with a study plan for our NEWTs yet.”

“Actually-” Remus started but was cut off by identical moans of:

“NO!”

“It certainly is different from the way Muggles grade,” Hermione added as Fred, George and Lee Jordan (a tall boy with dreadlocks who was a good friend with the Weasley twins and the commentator for the Quidditch matches) arrived as sat down across the table from them. “The top grade for OWLs is ‘O’ for ‘Outstanding’ then ‘A’—”

“There’s ‘E’ before ‘A’, Hermione,” George corrected as he started to fill his plate. “Let’s see, ‘E’ is for ‘Exceeds Expectations’, then there’s ‘A’ for Acceptable, ‘P’ for ‘Poor’ and ‘D’ for ‘Dreadful’, Snape gives that one a lot.”

“Obviously,” James drawled.

“Don’t forget ‘T’,” added Fred, “for ‘Troll’. We can think of quite a few Slytherins who would be happy with that grade.” Hermione rolled her eyes at the comment regardless of how true it may be. “So, have you had any inspected lessons yet?”

“No, we haven’t,” Hermione said as she leaned closer, eager for information. “Have you?”

Fred, George and Lee nodded as they rolled their eyes in annoyance. “Charms,” said George. “I don’t know how Flitwick could stand her lurking in the corner and making notes. Sometimes that guy’s too cheery for his own good. Umbridge did ask Alicia a few questions but nothing other than that.”

“Professor Flitwick is very nice. He always has a kind word for everyone,” Lily said happily.

“Teacher’s pet,” Sirius coughed and Lily scowled at him.

Remus on the other hand was grimacing, “I think Flitwick has goblin blood somewhere in his line, and that isn’t going to set well with Umbridge if she is so against none-humans. He’ll be on her watch list no matter how good and polite he is.”

“But she wouldn’t dare sack him. He’s a Hogwarts institution. He’s always been there. It’s like getting rid of McGonagall, Dumbledore or Hagrid. There’s no Hogwarts without them!” James cried.

“Believe me, Umbridge would be quite happy to get rid of all three of them,” Lily said grimly.

“This entire Inquisitor thing is completely pointless,” said Lee in a hushed voice. “What are they going to do? Fire everyone who can teach us anything and hire more flakes like Umbridge?”

“Probably,” Lily scowled.

“I’ll elect for home schooling if that happens,” Harry muttered. He really didn’t think he could handle any more people watching him, waiting for him to make a stupid mistake. “Sirius and Remus are better teachers than anyone the Ministry could assign.”

“We sure are,” Sirius said proudly.

“We’ll only let you if we can join you,” Fred said with a grin. “After all, who better to teach us then the Marauders?”

For Harry and Ron, they didn’t have to wait long for an inspected class. Just as they were pulling out their dream journals in Divination, the trap door opened and Professor Umbridge emerged with a flowery bag draped over her shoulder. Harry suppressed a groan as he accepted The Dream Oracle from Professor Trelawney. Two classes in a row with Umbridge. Could this day get any worse?

“Good afternoon, Professor,” Umbridge said with a smile. “I trust that you received my notice of your inspection?”

Professor Trelawney nodded before returning to handing out books but now with a nervous hand. Umbridge must have noticed because her smile widened before she moved an armchair to the front of the class, slightly behind Professor Trelawney’s chair.

“She’s just plain nasty,” Lily said disgusted.

Once she sat down, Professor Umbridge reached into her bag and pulled out a clipboard before looking up at Professor Trelawney as if she were silently saying: ‘I’m ready, you may start now.’

“Today, we shall continue studying prophetic dreams,” Trelawney began with a slight waver to her voice. “Break off into pairs and interpret each other’s latest dreams with The Dream Oracle as your guide.”

Harry opened The Dream Oracle as he tried desperately to ignore Professor Umbridge’s presence. He was glad he was sitting in the back of the room, far away from the toad-like woman. Umbridge didn’t remain in her seat for long. It was only a few minutes before she stood up and started following Professor Trelawney around, asking questions whenever she felt like it.

“Should we use the vision you had last night?” Ron whispered. “I’d love to see what Umbridge after hearing something like that.”

“She’d probably give us detention for disrupting the class,” Harry muttered. “Besides we can’t have everyone knowing that I have dreams about Voldemort. Can you imagine what the Ministry would do once they found that out?” Harry let out a sigh as he flipped through his dream journal. “The rest of my dreams don’t make any sense. Colors, voices and feelings. That’s all I remember.”

Ron started flipping through The Dream Oracle. “Er—well, what were the feelings?” he asked.

Harry shrugged his shoulders. “It’s hard to explain,” he said honestly. “It was like a strong sense of wanting to protect something, something important. There was also fear but it wasn’t as strong…Why?”

Ron cleared his throat and looked closer at the page he was reading in the book. “Well, it could something as simple as a forgotten task,” he offered the started flipping through the pages. “Or maybe you are serving as a conduit for someone else. Weird. I hope it’s the first one. How can people make predictions when it could mean completely different things?”

“Hence why this topic isn’t usually taken seriously,” Harry said with a grin.

“So true Harry, so true,” James grinned.

Professors Trelawney and Umbridge were only a table away. Harry silently hoped that they wouldn’t approach. The last thing he needed was for Trelawney to predict his death with Umbridge right there. Although it looked like Professor Trelawney was becoming more and more agitated as more time passed. She obviously didn’t like that someone was watching her like this.

“Professor,” Umbridge said at last, “how long exactly have you been at this post?”

“Almost sixteen years,” Trelawney answered cautiously.

Umbridge made a note on her clipboard. “I see,” she said. “Professor Dumbledore hired you, correct?” Professor Trelawney nodded then watched as Professor Umbridge made another note. “I believe you are the great-great-granddaughter of the celebrated Seer Cassandra Trelawney is that correct?”

“Yes, that’s right,” Professor Trelawney answered proudly.

“And you are the first in your family since Cassandra to be possessed of Second Sight,” Umbridge asked as she made another note. “The first in four generations, is that right?” She made yet another note. “I see. Well, could you possibly predict something for me then?”

“Even if she was a real Seer, which I quite doubt, that’s not how a prediction works,” Remus said annoyed. “You can’t just decide to have one. That’s why the whole fortune telling thing is such bogus.”

“Excuse me?” asked Professor Trelawney as if she had been slapped. “The Inner Eye does not See upon command! Anyone with an ounce of knowledge in this area knows that! Forcing the Eye to See could be dangerous for any Seer!”

“Hmm, so you say,” Professor Umbridge said in a sweet and soft voice as she wrote down a few more notes. “This has been extremely, enlightening, Professor. Thank you.” Without another word Umbridge walked back over to her chair and sat down where she continued writing down notes, not saying another word for the remainder of the class.

“You know, I hate Trewlaney but I have to admit I’m kind of sorry for her now,” James said and the others nodded.

Umbridge was the first to leave the moment the bell rang and was waiting for everyone in the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom when everyone arrived ten minutes later. She looked extremely pleased with herself which made Harry’s stomach churn. If she was that way with Professor Trelawney, Harry was glad that Hagrid wasn’t back yet. He didn’t want to think what Umbridge would do to him.

“That’s going to be horrible,” Lily fretted.

“And Hagrid doesn’t do well under pressure. I just hope he doesn’t show them any dangerous creature,” Sirius said worried.

“Wands away everyone,” Professor Umbridge said with a smile as class began and waited for everyone to comply. “Now, since we finished Chapter One in the last lesson, please turn to page nineteen and begin reading Chapter Two: Common Defensive Theories and their Derivation. There is no reason for talking so I expect silence. Begin.”

Harry let out a sigh as he opened his book to the correct page. Great. Just what Harry needed to take his mind off of things was to read an extremely boring book written by someone who clearly had no firsthand experience on the topic. He was starting to wonder if Umbridge would notice if he charmed a more interesting book to resemble his text book. Then at least he could learn something during these boring classes.

The sound of Umbridge pushing her chair back snapped Harry out of his thoughts as he looked up and noticed that Hermione’s hand was in the air. Glancing at the short teacher, Harry saw her walking around the front row of desks until she was face to face with Hermione. “What is it, Miss Granger?” Professor Umbridge whispered as she leaned closer to Hermione.

“I’ve read Chapter Two already,” Hermione said, her voice carrying throughout the room. “I’ve read the entire book.”

That certainly wasn’t what Umbridge had been expecting. She blinked a few times before a skeptical look appeared on her face. “If that is the case then you would be about to tell me what Mr. Slinkhard says concerning counter-jinxes in Chapter Fifteen.”

Hermione smiled. “He says that counter-jinxes are improperly named,” she said immediately. “He says ‘counter-jinx’ is a name people give actual jinxes to make them sound more acceptable but I disagree with that. It’s obvious that Mr. Slinkhard doesn’t like jinxes but they can be very useful when used in a defensive matter.”

“Is that so?” Professor Umbridge asked, her eyes narrowing for a moment before she straightened herself and fought to keep her face neutral. “Unfortunately, Miss Granger, it is Mr. Slinkhard’s opinion what matters in this classroom. Not yours—” Her gaze shifted to Harry for a moment before it returned to Hermione, “and not anyone else’s. Is that clear?”

“Hey, Harry didn’t say anything!” Sirius cried.

“Yeah! Don’t go looking at him!” James growled.

Remus shook his head and sighed, “Hermione is just playing into Umbridge’s  game. She’s going to either end up in trouble or get Harry into trouble.”

Hermione didn’t agree. “But—”

“That is quite enough, Miss Granger,” Professor Umbridge said firmly then walked back to her desk and sat down. “I’m afraid I will have to take five points from Gryffindor house for pointlessly disrupting my class. Interrupt again and I will have to assign detention. I’m here to teach the Ministry-approved method, not indulge in children’s fantasies. Now, back to Chapter Two everyone.”

“See,” Remus said sadly.

“I bet she  would love Hermione to interrupt so she can make an example of her,” Lily scowled.

No one spoke for the remainder of the class. The moment class was over everyone hurried out of the room, not wanting to spend anymore time with Umbridge than what was absolutely necessary. Hermione was completely silent during dinner and throughout the night. Harry and Ron didn’t know what to do and ended up working on as much homework as they could before calling it a night.

---

The next morning Harry awoke with a start, feeling more exhausted than he had in a while. He had a strange dream about a long dark corridor, finishing in a dead end with a locked door. The dull ache he felt from his scar didn’t help matters either. With great reluctance, Harry pulled himself out of bed, cleaned up and changed before leaving the Gryffindor Tower for the hospital wing to receive his potion. Once that was done, Harry ended up in the Great Hall, writing his dream down in his dream journal.

As he put his dream journal away, Harry suddenly remembered the first thing that happened yesterday morning and realized that with everything going on he had forgotten to talk to Sirius and Remus about Voldemort. After eating a quick breakfast, Harry hurried back to the Gryffindor Tower and pulled out his mirror from his trunk. It was still early so Harry cast a few silencing charms and closed his hangings before calling Sirius’ name. It was still early but he didn’t want to put off contacting his guardians any longer than he had.

It wasn’t long before the face of Remus appeared in the mirror. “Good morning, cub,” Remus said with a smile. “To what do I owe this honor?”

Harry wasn’t able to return the smile. Seeing Remus’ face brought all of Harry’s fears concerning his guardians to the surface. “Remus, I know I’m going to sound paranoid but I need you to promise me that you and Sirius will be careful,” he said urgently. “Don’t let Sirius go off on his own and make sure he keeps his temper under control, please?”

“You know Harry? I should be offended by this. I don’t see you telling Moony to not go off on his own or keep his temper,” Sirius sniffed.

“That’s because he knows you Paddy,” James chuckled.

Remus’ smile had completely vanished and was replaced by a look of concern. “Harry, what’s going on?” he asked cautiously. “Did something happen? Did you have another vision last night? Is your scar hurting?”

“A little but I’ll live,” Harry said quickly. “How much did Professor Dumbledore tell you about my vision two nights ago?”

Remus shrugged. “Not much; just that you had dreamed about Voldemort waking up and calling his Death Eaters. Dumbledore also told us you had an outburst that was more powerful than what you could handle afterwards. Why?”

Harry rubbed his eyes underneath his glasses. “Because Voldemort is determined to find out about these outbursts,” he admitted. “He’s going to go after the two of you, I know it. Please, please be careful!”

“Harry’s concern would be so cute if it weren’t tragic,” Lily sighed.

“Back at you, cub,” Remus said sincerely. “I’ll let Padfoot know and I promise that we’ll be careful, okay?” He waited for Harry to nod in acceptance. “Now, how’s everything going? Is Umbridge abusing her position yet?”

“YES!” four voices cried.

“Do you really need me to answer that?” Harry asked rhetorically. “It’s been hard not to say anything in class, especially when Umbridge starts going off on her ‘Ministry’s right, you’re wrong, they’re smart and you’re dumb’ speeches. I don’t understand how the Ministry could do this with as many complaints they’ve gotten about her.”

“You’re not the only one,” Remus said honestly. “I know this is hard for you, Harry, especially with everything that’s happened in the last few days. As difficult as it may be, try not to think of Voldemort. He certainly won’t attack Hogwarts having just woken up from a coma. Remember your calming techniques. Focus on what you can control. Sirius and I are protected here so don’t worry about us, all right?”

James put the book down and walked to the bed. He bent over and his face was almost touching Remus’. Remus eyes were wide and he was a little uncomfortable, “Are you sure that you are protected Moony?”

“I must be,” Remus said weakly. James nodded and went back to his spot and the book.

Harry nodded, starting to feel his anxiety leaving. Remus was right. It didn’t pay to worry about matters that he had no control over. He had done what he could in warning Remus about the possibility of Voldemort targeting the Marauders. He just hoped that Sirius would listen to the warning. Ever since he escaped Azkaban, Sirius had hated being confined. He loved his freedom and always made the most of it.

“What else is on your mind, cub?” Remus asked after a moment of silence.

“Nothing that I can’t handle,” Harry said with a soft smile hoping to reassure the man. “I was just worried about the two of you. I’ll contact you if anything comes up, okay?”

“Fair enough,” Remus said with a nod. “You know we’ll do the same. Take care of yourself, Harry, and try to have a little fun. You look like you need it.”

Harry bid farewell to Remus then hid the mirror in his trunk. He noticed that Ron’s bed was empty along with Neville’s while Dean and Seamus were tying desperately to cling on to a few more moments of rest. Grabbing his school bag, Harry headed to the Great Hall where he noticed that Ron and Hermione were talking quietly to each other as they ate. This struck Harry as odd. Usually whenever Ron and Hermione talked they fought about something petty. Now it almost looked as if they were up to something.

Suspicions only increased when Harry approached his friends and they instantly silenced, turning to Harry with large smiles on their faces. Oh yeah, this definitely isn’t a good thing. They are up to something. “Good morning,” Harry said cautiously as he sat down. “What’s going on?”

“Ron, Hermione,” Sirius shook his head. “You need lessons in stealth. You can’t give yourselves away like that. I must teach you the ways.”

“Just talking about Umbridge,” Ron said with a shrug. “I think this is the first morning I was up before you, huh Harry?”

Harry smiled. “Nice try,” he said, aware that Ron was trying to change the topic. “I was talking to Remus. I put silencing charms around my bed so I didn’t wake anyone up. You two aren’t going to do anything that will get us in trouble with Umbridge are you?”

Hermione looked at Harry innocently. “Not at all,” she said with a smile. “Come on, we need to get to Charms. We don’t want to be late.”

“Yep, they are up to something big!” Lily said looking sternly at James and Sirius.

“Lily, you do know Moony is the brains of our operations don’t you?” James said pointing at Remus and she scowled at him. Remus gave her a shy, innocent smile and her scowl vanished.

Harry followed Ron and Hermione out of the Great Hall and to the Charms classroom. He really didn’t like this. Ron and Hermione were clearly up to something by why were they keeping it a secret from him? Perhaps they know I won’t help them with it. That was certainly a possibility. Harry had made himself clear when it came to the matter of Professor Umbridge. He needed to stay in the shadows in her class and when she was around. He didn’t have any other choice.

Entering the Transfiguration classroom for the second class of the day, Harry had to bite his tongue when he noticed Professor Umbridge sitting in the corner with her clipboard in hand. This was certainly going to be an interesting class. Everyone knew that the Deputy Headmistress was faithful to the Headmaster. Even if she didn’t agree with Dumbledore’s decisions, Professor McGonagall went along with them. Right now, that sort of thinking made McGonagall an enemy to the Ministry and Umbridge.

Harry, Ron and Hermione took their usual seats as Professor McGonagall entered the room, walking past Umbridge without any sort of acknowledgement of the woman’s presence. Silence fell as McGonagall reached her desk and turned around to face the class. “Mr. Finnigan, please come up here and hand back the homework,” she said. “Miss Brown, take this box of mice—” McGonagall let out a sigh let Lavender let out a soft shriek, “—oh that is quite enough. They can’t hurt you. Hand one out to each student.”

“Hem, hem,” Professor Umbridge said, apparently faking a cough but her attempt to attract attention was ignored.

Seamus handed back the essays quickly. Receiving his, Harry couldn’t help smiling when he saw an ‘E’ on it before putting it in his school bag. Ron was also smiling, having received an ‘A’ on his assignment. One look at Hermione’s large smile told them that she did well on her homework too. Each of them were handed a mouse by Lavender who seemed to be completely disgusted with her job. Holding onto their mouse carefully, Harry and Ron returned their attention to Professor McGonagall for instruction.

“Listen closely everyone,” Professor McGonagall announced. “Most of you have vanished your snails successfully and those who have not managed to vanish enough to get the overall idea of the spell. Today, we shall be—”

“Hem, hem,” Umbridge interrupted again.

“Yes, Professor?” Professor McGonagall asked as she looked directly at Umbridge.

“I was curious, Professor, if you had received my note concerning the date and time of your inspection—”

“I obviously did or I would have inquired to what you are doing in my classroom,” McGonagall said sternly then turned away from Umbridge and to the class. “Now, today we shall be practicing the altogether more difficult Vanishment of mice. The Vanishing Spell becomes more—”

“Hem, hem.”

“You know. Umbridge is just setting herself for the fall,” Sirius said grinning eagerly.

Professor McGonagall let out a sigh, her patience clearly wearing thin. “Professor Umbridge, you are here to observe how I instruct my class,” she said sternly. “Being a teacher yourself I would think you would understand not to interrupt with pointless matters.”

“Oh, dear, dear Minnie,” James sighed contently. “We can always count on you.”

Professor Umbridge eyes widened at the statement before she started scribbling on her clipboard while Professor McGoangall returned her attention to the class. “As I was saying, the Vanishing Spell becomes more difficult when the complexity of the animal increases. You need absolute concentration. Let’s see you all try.”

For the remainder of the class, Professor Umbridge remained in the corner furiously taking notes. Harry did his best to ignore her and concentrated on vanishing his mouse. He was slowly making progress. McGonagall was right. It required a lot of concentration. So far he had managed to vanish the front half of the mouse.

“That’s a disturbing image,” Lily shivered.

Professor McGonagall monitored everyone’s progress, offering words of advice when she felt it was necessary. She finally approached Harry’s desk and gave him a soft smile of reassurance before leaning closer. “See me after class, Harry,” McGonagall whispered before moving on to the next desk.

“Why?” Sirius whispered.

“Don’t know,” James answered in a whisper.

“Why are you two whispering?” Remus asked in the same way.

“Dunno, why are you?” Sirius asked and Remus fell back on the bed shaking his head.

Once class was finally over, Harry stayed back as everyone else filtered out of the room after placing the mice back in the box. Professor McGonagall had retreated to her desk and was reaching in her desk drawer for something. Hoping that he hadn’t done any wrong, Harry walked up to McGonagall with a nervous look on his face. His mind was quickly running through everything in the past few days but he couldn’t find anything that he had done wrong.

Professor McGonagall gave Harry another reassuring smile. “Professor Dumbledore wanted me to give this to you, Harry, if you wanted it,” she said softly as he handed over a wood case and waited for Harry to open it and see a necklace of square black, glasslike beads. It was the suppression necklace. The middle bead was slightly larger than the others. “Professor Dumbledore has charmed the necklace for you to basically turn it on and off as you please. To turn it on, touch the middle bead and say ‘Activate’. To turn it off, touch the bead and say ‘Deactivate’.”

“This way Harry can use it only when he can’t control the outburst,” Lily said pleased. “That’s good.”

“What’s the difference?” James asked.

“This way, Harry will learn to control them, because he can decide when it’s too big an outburst for him or not. Eventually he won’t need it anymore. It’s like the small training wheels parents put on children’s bicycles to help them learn. After a while you are not actually using them anymore but they are still there in case you need them. It gives them confidence,” Lily explained.

“What small wheels?” Sirius asked.

“Didn’t you use them when you learned to ride a bicycle?” she asked.

“I learned to ride brooms,” he said firmly, “And there were no wheels there.”

Harry closed the case and looked at Professor McGonagall with a soft smile on his face. He had completely forgotten about Dumbledore’s offer. “Thanks, Professor,” Harry said and discreetly put the case in his school bag. “Please thank Professor Dumbledore for me.”

Professor McGonagall nodded as she stood up. “Very well, Mr. Potter,” she said sternly. “On your way.”

Harry nodded and let the classroom, noticing Professor Umbridge was waiting with an impatient look on her face. She cast a suspicious glare at Harry before turning her attention to Professor McGonagall. This could be an interesting conversation to overhear but Harry didn’t think he could take the chance considering the looks Umbridge had been giving him.

As if Transfiguration hadn’t been enough, Umbridge was also present for Care of Magical Creatures. She was already there questioning Professor Grubbly-Plank when Harry, Ron and Hermione arrived for class. Harry made a point to stand far away from Professor Umbridge, something Ron and Hermione were all too happy to oblige along with the rest of the Gryffindors. None of them were fond of the new teacher.

As class began, Professor Umbridge started wandering through the grouping of students, questioning some and walking past others. Harry did what he could to ignore her distracting actions and focus on Professor Grubbly-Plank who was talking Porlocks and Kneazles. Umbridge didn’t stay much longer. After asking a few students questions about Hagrid, Professor Umbridge notified Grubbly-Plank that she would receive results of the inspection within ten days and left for the castle. Thankfully Harry didn’t see Umbridge for the remainder of the day.

“Good, she is a very unpleasant sight,” Remus muttered darkly.

That night Harry quickly buried himself in his homework. It had been another long day and Harry couldn’t wait to call it a night but he was determined to finish his homework first. His scar had been aching all day and was really starting to get irritating. Without even realizing it, Harry was continuously rubbing his scar with his left hand while writing with his right. It didn’t make the pain away but it wasn’t making it any worse either.

“Are you okay Harry?” Hermione asked softly, breaking the silence.

Harry nodded. He really didn’t want to start talking about his scar and Voldemort now. “It’s just a headache,” he said offhandedly.

Hermione glanced at Ron before inhaling deeply and turning back to Harry. “Look, I think it’s clear that we’re noting going to learn any sort of actual Defense from Professor Umbridge this year,” she said in one breath.

“Good thing they have Hermione or they would never have figured that one by themselves,” James said sarcastically.

“Oh, shush James. Let’s see what she has to say,” Lily scolded.

 “I—er—well—I think we should start teaching ourselves.” Harry looked at Hermione with a raised eyebrow. “You know we have to, Harry. None of us will be ready for our OWL practical exam if we don’t but that’s not the only reason. With V—Voldemort back, we need to be prepared. We need to be able to defend ourselves.”

“She is right there,” Remus said. “But there is just so much you can learn from books. Some spells have to be demonstrated or you’ll never understand the instructions. A book can’t show you how slow or fast you have to swish for instance.”

Sirius raised an eyebrow  and said, “And you call yourself smart,” he snorted. “Haven’t you figured out what she’s doing?”

“What?” James asked.

Sirius shook his head hiding his face in his hand, “So naïve.”

“How do you expect to do that?” Harry asked in confusion. He didn’t miss that Hermione had actually said Voldemort’s name and from the partial flinch, neither did Ron. “I spent four years learning in the classroom and none of it made any difference at that graveyard or even that night on the grounds when I was attacked trying to protect Mr. Crouch. Sirius spent an entire summer running through survival scenarios with me and it still wasn’t enough. It just isn’t as easy as you’re making it out to be.”

“I know it’s not easy,” Lily said. “But it did help you survive so don’t belittle it like that Harry James Potter!” she scolded.

“I’m not saying it’ll be easy,” Hermione corrected. “I know it will be hard work and I also know that this isn’t something that can be accomplished in a normal classroom environment. We would also need a teacher with more knowledge than the majority of us and the ability to make the subject interesting.”

“You’re asking for a miracle,” Harry muttered then returned to his essay. “Trying to accomplish something like this without letting Umbridge knowing is risky since it goes against ‘the Ministry’s regulations’.”

“Yeah, if she finds out she’ll arrest them all for treachery or something,” James said grimly.

“So we make sure no one finds out,” Hermione offered. “We can use the Room of Requirement. The room will change to whatever we need and could provide us with so many materials, don’t you agree?”

Harry thought for a moment. Hermione was basically saying what he had originally planned on doing by himself. “It’s feasible,” Harry said carefully as he set his quill down. “The only problem I can think of is a teacher. Professor Flitwick would be a good choice but involving any teacher would mean having them risk their career for us. I wouldn’t want to put anyone in that position.”

“Harry, Harry, Harry,” Sirius sighed shaking his head. “Naïve just like your parents.”

“I’m not thinking of an actual adult to teach us,” Hermione said cautiously as she shot a quick glance at Ron who nodded for her to continue. “I was thinking more of a student that would be able to pass on his knowledge of personal experience.”

“NO!” Lily said incredulously.

Harry looked at Hermione in confusion for a moment before realization dawned on him of who she was referring to. She wanted him to teach! Him—Harry Potter—a kid who attracts trouble like a magnet and one of the people that the Ministry is currently watching like a hawk! Confident that she was out of her mind, Harry looked at Ron for help but saw that he was eagerly awaiting an answer. Ron agreed with her!

“Told you!” Sirius said.

“She can’t be serious!” Remus cried. “Umbridge is just waiting to catch Harry on something and she wants him to go out and start an illegal study group or something.”

“It’s not illegal,” James offered.

“You can bet your broomstick James that Umbridge will make it illegal,” Lily said.

“You’re nutter,” Harry said at last. “You know that, right? I’m not a teacher. I don’t know how to teach. If anyone should do it, it should be you, Hermione. You’ve beaten me in every test—”

“—only the tests that were based on book knowledge,” Hermione interrupted. “You beat me in the obstacle course Remus set up in our third year. I couldn’t defeat my Boggart. Sirius and Remus have been teaching you Defense for what—three summers now? That doesn’t include the Patronus lessons Remus gave you through your third year. It’s not only that, Harry. Think of what you’ve done.”

“Don’t think we want to, thanks Hermione,” James said darkly.

Harry instantly paled as he inhaled sharply. That was the last thing he wanted to do. “Let’s not, okay?” he said softly. “I don’t want to think about watching a good friend die. I don’t want to think about seeing Cedric and my parents appear out of Voldemort’s wand urging me to hang on when I wanted nothing more than to give up. I can’t think about what was running through my head when that Death Eater pulled me out of the train, ready to take me to wherever Voldemort was kept. Must I remind you that the person you are ready to put so much faith into couldn’t stand up to his Muggle uncle? Must I remind you how many times those little escapades that you’re so ready to brag about nearly cost me my life?”

Hermione and Ron’s gazes fell as they looked slightly ashamed of bringing up such a sensitive topic.

“To right you should,” Lily said crossing her arms.

“We didn’t mean…sorry Harry,” Ron said softly then looked up at Harry in confusion. “What do you mean Diggory and your parents came out of Voldemort’s wand?”

Harry inhaled deeply, trying to remain calm. He couldn’t believe he let that slip. Letting out a slow breath, Harry shook his head and started putting his homework away. “If you want to learn, fine,” he said evenly. “I understand that you want to prepare yourselves. I can give you advice if you need it but I won’t teach. You two don’t realize that most of what I survived was complete and utter luck. I made it up as I went along to survive. On the train, I wasn’t trying to impress the entire school. I was fighting for my life and the chance to see Sirius and Remus again.”

Standing up, Harry grabbed his school bag and looked directly at his best friends with a passive look on his face, trying to hide the hurt he felt deep inside, his memories of that night still fresh in his mind. “I thought my friends would understand that,” he said softly. “I guess I was wrong.”

The four kids winced.

“Ouch, that one was straight in the gut,” James said.

Not waiting for a feeble apology, Harry retreated to his dorm room. He couldn’t believe that Ron and Hermione had gotten caught up with the hype that Harry Potter was a hero. He wasn’t a hero. He was just a kid who had a knack for surviving. Unfortunately everyone around him didn’t have the same luck. His parents had died because Voldemort was after him for some reason. Cedric died because Voldemort wanted him for the ritual.

Harry could feel his eyes burning as he crashed onto his bed and buried his face in his pillow. He had tried to be strong for so long. No one knew how much Harry looked up to Cedric. Cedric Diggory had every right to hate Harry for being in the Tournament but instead, Cedric looked out for the youngest champion. Cedric had protected Harry from Rita Skeeter and had given him friendship when most would turn their backs. There was no denying that Harry missed Cedric. Cedric treated him like a normal person, like an equal. It didn’t matter that Cedric was three years older. It didn’t matter that Harry was the-boy-who-lived.

Silent tears escaped Harry eyes, only to be absorbed into his pillow. Sirius and Remus had insisted that Cedric’s death wasn’t Harry’s fault but Harry still felt guilty that, because of Voldemort’s obsession with him, a good person had lost their life. How many more good people would lose their lives because of Voldemort? How many more families would Voldemort destroy? Remus had told Harry to focus on what he could control but Harry couldn’t help it. The things in his life that he couldn’t control were too overwhelming to ignore.

“Harry James Potter! You listen to Moony! It’s a rule; everyone has to listen to Moony!” Sirius scolded.

“Since when?” Remus asked.

“Since ever,” James said.

“You two don’t,” Remus pointed out.

“Of course we do. You just don’t realize it because we know how to interpret what  you really mean,” Sirius said. “Like when you say ‘don’t prank Snivellus’ we know you really mean ‘don’t prank Snivellus in a way you’ll get caught.’”

James nodded and Remus and Lily rolled their eyes.