14

Chapter 14

"I welcome you all to another year at Hogwarts." Dumbledore's voice was full and powerful as it rolled over the Great Hall in a way that Harry had never heard before. The sorting had gone well enough. Or, at least he hoped it had.

Harry slowly looked out over the Great Hall and studied the faces of the students he found there.

Sirius Black, James Potter and Lily Evans had gone into Gryffindor as expected. He'd seen both Pettigrew and Remus join the house as well and figured everything was going to work out well enough. Then Snape had apparently decided to throw a curve ball when he'd ended up in Ravenclaw instead of Slytherin.

Still, it was something at least. Hopefully Ravenclaw would help him focus more on his love of research and development.

Dumbledore's voice continued unabated as he addressed the students. "As many of you are aware, we have had a most… troubling summer. There were multiple events that saw unsettling things revealed.

"As the Prophet reported, multiple individuals have vanished without a trace. And it was discovered a hidden campaign of assault against the muggles. Something that had graduated into things that have taken a step beyond unforgivable."

He realized once more just how much Dumbledore had lost over the years, how they had weighed on him by the time he had met the old man. Still, it would be interesting to see the man who he'd been. Even if there was a bit too much arrogance in him for his own preferences.

"Sadly, Professor Tolmann has decided to not return. As such, may I introduce the new professor of Defense against the Dark Arts, Professor Harry Potter!"

Harry nodded his head as he glanced around the Great Hall with a cool look.

"With the recent acts of… wanton aggression by the group known as the Knights of Walpurgis, Professor Potter volunteered his services in order to make sure that people will be… properly prepared to defend themselves."

Dumbledore then turned his face towards him and tilted his head towards the assembled students.

Sighing, Harry nodded his head back to the Headmaster before slowly standing up and gave his robes a negligent brush. Canting his head back, he took a moment to glance out over the various individuals assembled in front of him, taking in the mixture of faces. Some looked at him in confusion. Others had looks of worried apprehension. He made a note to mentally mark down the ones glowering back at him.

"As Professor Dumbledore said, my name is Harry Potter. Few of you will have heard of me. By that name at least," he stated, the words calmly and simply as he looked at them. "Unfortunately, due to an unfortunate series of events that shaped my life, I acquired a very specific set of skills."

He paused a moment as he let the first small amount of disapproval seep into several of the other professor's faces before he continued. "Skills that will, for the most part, not be taught in my classes. I will instead give you knowledge."

Another pause. "For those of you who choose to learn, at least."

There was a bit of silence at that and he shrugged a bit. "I would, however, like to thank House Black. Specifically, I would like to thank Andromeda Black for her volunteering to be my assistant for the practical demonstrations, no matter how uncomfortable, painful and/or humiliating they might be…"

Andromeda was glaring at him with an intensity that reminded him of the Bellatrix of his time. Sirius was slumping down in his seat, trying desperately to hide. It didn't save him.

"I would, in addition, like to thank Sirius Black for agreeing to assisting me with class room duties and helping to clean up the classrooms at the end of the day."

Sirius stared at him with a look of pure betrayal on his face.

"In addition…" He paused a moment, tilting his head to the side thoughtfully. "I look forward to having a very… educational year."

He smiled at them all with a bland, placid smile before settling himself down into his seat and turning his attention to his meal.

"Ah, yes…" Dumbledore struggled a moment to decide on exactly how he would respond to Harry's statements. "As Professor Potter stated, let us try to have an educational year. Now, let us all tuck in."

As students returned to their meals to digest that bit of information, a much younger Minerva McGonagall affixed Harry with a disapproving look. "Showing such favoritism so blatantly, Mr. Potter?"

"Minerva, my dear girl, if you think that was favoritism, well…!" Horace Slughorn was chortling a bit, his mustache almost vibrating. "Oh, no, that was most assuredly not favoritism."

"What would you call it then, Horace?" Minerva demanded with a prim huff and a glare.

"Punishment," Slughorn stated cheerfully. "I must say, what on earth did they do to get on your bad side so quickly, my boy?"

Slughorn had that gleam in his eyes again, one Harry recognized so very well, collecting once more. Though he had already probably realized that he would best be careful with Harry already. "A punishment they can't really squirm out of after that declaration. One without needing to resort to detentions or deducting points."

"Then why ever did you do so?" McGonagall's tone was slightly mollified as she curiously echoed Slughorn's question.

"I believe I might have an inkling," Dumbledore asked with a light twinkle in his eye. "Would this have anything to do with the young Bellatrix's visit to your quarters earlier this summer?"

McGonagall looked scandalized. Slughorn looked like the rooster that had just gotten the juiciest worm of the day. The other teachers showed a variety of expressions in between.

"You mean the visit from the young woman who seems to want to throw herself at the man that almost killed her?" Harry asked dryly back at Dumbledore. "Whom was promptly told to take her rather improper and ill thought out seduction attempt and leave?"

"Yes, that," Dumbledore agreed, though he hadn't known the fact that Harry had almost killed the girl in question. The fact that he wasn't being hunted by the Blacks and that she was apparently making romantic gestures towards the man was… He wasn't sure he really wanted to contemplate what might have been going through the Black's mind in regards to her.

"No, in fact, young Sirius managed to earn his… position by declaring me to be 'The Storm Chaser' to every single person he could." Harry responded with a shake of his head and a look of distaste on his face. "Andromeda earned hers by alluding to her sister's inappropriate attempts and thoughts. Best to nip that little problem in the bud before it can grow any further."

They blinked, well, except for Slughorn, who was apparently the only one who actually knew who he was. Then they blinked again. Dumbledore nodded his head in understanding. "True enough. It is always best to defuse those situations quickly."

"… The Storm Chaser?" McGonagall asked faintly, staring at Harry in surprise.

"You didn't tell them?" Harry asked Dumbledore.

"And deny them the thrill of personal discovery? Never, Mr. Potter."

Harry sighed in irritation. "I see. Yes, I'm the one who was daft enough to give himself such a silly moniker. It was in the heat of the moment and I wanted to make an impression."

"Oh, I daresay you've made quite the impression, my boy!" Slughorn pointed out with a gleeful laugh.

"I'm sorry, I simply… you are not what I was expecting." McGonagall noted as she took another moment to look Harry over curiously. "I was honestly expecting someone…"

"Older?" Harry asked with a droll tone of voice.

"More visibly seasoned," she corrected as she straightened her back and looked back at him with her chin raised proudly.

"Sounds like older to me." Harry stated as he turned his attention back to his food.

"Quite right, my boy, quite right!" Slughorn agreed with a happy smile that refused to be turned by McGonagall's sour look. "Now, really, Minerva, I can still recall how much of a cute little firstie you were. Do you really think such a sour look will work on me?"

"I had hoped it would prompt you to remember your manners, Horace." she responded primly.

Harry sighed and shook his head as he instead focused on his meal. It was so very… odd to see them so light hearted. Another sign of how much the war had changed things.

He recognized Fillius Flitwick at the table, though most of the other teachers were new as far as he could tell. Or, more precisely, old. People he had never met, who were retired or even had passed by the time he'd arrived at Hogwarts himself.

It was an interesting experience to see things as they once were.

His eyes involuntarily looked towards Snape, who was, while somewhat isolated, appeared to be hesitantly joining in the various discussions around him. Well, somewhat at least. He made a mental note to see about having someone look into the boy's home life.

If that was even possible.

He understood it was distracting him. Seeing the people that could be his parents and their closest friends as children was… He wasn't sure what to call it.

However, he did know he didn't like it. For whatever they were, the people he knew they were not. Based on the changes that he'd already seen, they might never be.

Which meant everything he knew was well and truly gone. It was a bitter pill to swallow as he mechanically continued to eat his food. Still, there was the chance to end Voldemort before he truly became an unstoppable menace.

He had never much cared for revenge. He'd learned that lesson bitterly early enough. It just wasn't in his nature to hate, not like others did.

It didn't mean, however, he couldn't deal with a clear and present danger.

As Voldemort had shown himself to be. A part of him wondered what it meant that he couldn't even muster up any hatred towards this younger version of the man who had killed his parents. There was no doubt that the man had already completed the path to becoming a monster.

But all he felt when he looked at him was anger and pity.

Sighing, he paused in his meal to stare out over the Great Hall before abruptly standing up. Nodding his head slightly to the other teachers he spoke quietly. "Headmaster, professors. I'm afraid I have to retire. I have to be ready for the morning's classes."

"Surely, Professor Potter, you can afford us a few more moments until the end of the meal?" Dumbledore asked him, looking at him pointedly with a frown.

"I normally would, but I just came up with an idea for my first lesson and I believe I'll need those moments to finish preparation and still get enough sleep." With that he bowed his head slightly then turned and walked away.

"That… is not what I was expecting." Slughorn noted with an almost pout as he fell back in his seat. "I had hoped to have more time to get to know the young man."

"I was expecting him to be better mannered." McGonagall stated with a huff.

One of the other teachers simply looked at her. "Minerva, m'dear, he is a Potter. If you were expecting manners and good behavior from a Potter, you have obviously never met one."

"Too true!" Slughorn agreed with a laugh. "But, they're never boring!"

"As much you might wish they were."

There was a general consensus of agreement at that. Potters were not boring. And sometimes, you really wished they were.

-o-o-o-

The morning sun was still rising when the next morning brought the first class of the new Defense Against the Dark Arts not to their class room, but to an open field near the lake with their teacher standing there, waiting patiently.

"Welcome to Defense against the Dark Arts." Harry Potter found himself looking over the various eyes affixed upon him with a mix of wide eyed awe and angry suspicion. Dismissing the discomfort it caused, he gestured around them. "I'm sure you're wondering why we're having our first class here instead of in the typical classroom."

The class of Seventh years, Gryffindor and Slytherin, of course, all wore expressions that mirrored the truth of his statement. He was going to have to request that they stop trying to schedule the two infamously antagonistic houses together. It was going to make his practicals difficult to say the least.

He gestured with his wand and suddenly the earth around them shifted and changed; walls grew up and figures formed.

Their sudden shouts of surprise almost made him smile as his concentration strained against his humor, though he managed to keep it in check. "We are here because I don't believe it would be appreciated for me to do this in the castle."

Creatures rose up, formed of earth and stone as they began to stalk around the students, who found themselves uncomfortably boxed in.

"I told you in the Great Hall that I am here to teach those who are willing to learn. Beyond potentially teaching you the Patronus spell, your spell list will match your classic spell list."

He noted the looks of disappointment on a number of students' faces, along with the fear and envy on others as they watched his constructs.

"The knowledge I promised for those that wish to learn is a step beyond your typical classroom assignments." He paused then turned his head towards Andromeda. "Ms. Black, step forward."

Warily, Andromeda did just that as she watched him as if he was a snake ready to strike. "Yes, Professor?"

Harry summarily ignored her as he looked at the rest of the class, at least at first. "Ms. Black is one of the three survivors of the infamous incident that occurred in London this summer. Tell me, Ms. Black, what did you attempt to do when you realized something dangerous was occurring?"

"Stay safe and get away as soon as possible," she stated flatly.

"Precisely," he agreed with a nod of his head, making the entire class blink in surprise. "Unless you have a duty otherwise, that should always be your first priority in a dangerous situation."

"You don't!" someone blurted out from the Gyffindor side, getting a number of glares and snide sneers from the Slytherins.

"No, I don't," he agreed with a nod of his head before cutting off the moment of satisfaction as he continued. "I don't because I had a duty to not for so many years I know how to respond. There are rules you need to know and understand. Once you do, you still have to have the training and the experience to know when and how to work with them and when to disregard them.

"I will be teaching you those rules. I will be showing you why they should be followed and I will be giving you the opportunity to exercise them."

Then he nodded his head to Andromeda. "Ms. Black will be assisting me with this. And we will start out with a demonstration."

The earth shifted again and the students let out alarmed cries as they suddenly found themselves rising into the air as the ground under them turned into something resembling bleachers.

"The rest of you will be watching," he stated simply as he gestured with his wand and Andromeda found herself in a rough approximation of a familiar building. The boutique. "I'm afraid, Ms. Black, that I will not be able to supply you with your previous ammunition. I trust you can make up for the lack?"

Andromeda decided then and there that she hated Harry Potter. "I will make do."

Harry simply smiled at her. "I'm sure."

And suddenly she found herself facing not a singular creature as she had before, but three earthen wyrms, snapping at her between herself and the exit.

"First thing you need to understand when you find yourself in a situation like this is your goal. In this case, Ms. Black's goal is to escape. A rather broad objective, but…"

Suddenly one of the wyrms was lunging at Andromeda, who cursed and flinched back as she reflexively tried to banish the construct away from her.

"What's a challenge without an actual challenge?" he asked as he calmly directed another wyrm towards her as she quickly brought up her wand in response.

There was still an edge of panic in her eyes but she wasn't letting it run wild. She had already started transfiguring rocks into spears when the wyrm reached her. Instead of launching them, she had lodged them into the ground, angled towards the wyrm as its momentum skewered it onto her defense.

Moving quickly, she started casting again, only to find the skewered wyrm's tail smacking out and slapping her across the chest. She barely had the time to note that the impact was cushioned and didn't hurt as she was thrown back. As she struggled to get back to her feet, she found the first wyrm she had banished had returned and clamped down on the voluminous fabric of her robes and was spinning her around by them.

She started to scream as Harry turned his attention back to the class. "Now, as you can see, she kept her cool and did not hesitate in her actions. Which is a key in a dangerous situation: Hesitation will get you killed."

He flicked his wand and a slab of earth rose up, blocking him from the vomit that Andromeda had finally begun to release as she continued to spin. "She even had decent responses to the initial assaults. Where she failed, however, was another key point you'll be learning over the course of this year."

Andromeda finally stopped spinning and was hung by her robes.

"Situational awareness. You need to know what's going on around you and keep track of it." He paused there, letting the words sink in as Andromeda was carried to a nice soft patch of grass by the wyrm and lain down. "Now, who's next?"

Slytherins pointed at Gryffindors and Gryffindors pointed at Slytherins.

"Ah, dealers choice then?" Harry asked cheerfully before randomly pointing to a Gryffindor. "I think… we'll start with you."

The student was not happy, at all.

Harry just smiled. By the end of the lesson, they would hardly be the only one.

-o-o-o-

After the class had ended, Harry found himself in his office, going over the results of his lesson, going over the notes he'd made for each of the student's performances and suggestions to make going forward. They had, almost to a fault frozen when the creatures had attacked. That was to be expected.

That was part of the reason he'd stuck to rather terrifyingly realistic constructs resembling monsters. It took time and effort to overcome the ingrained response they would have to their first encounter with such creatures. But, hopefully once he was done, they wouldn't hesitate if they had the unfortunate chance to encounter such a thing in the real world.

"What, exactly did you think you were doing?!" Minerva McGonagall was absolutely livid as she forced her way into his office, her voice raised to a screaming yell, only to find herself suddenly facing the edge of what looked to be a spear formed out of… newspaper pressed to her throat.

"I think, Professor McGonagall, that you should take more care in how you choose to approach someone." Harry Potter's voice reprimanded calmly before he gestured with his wand and the newspaper seemed to unfold itself and then refold itself into a neat stack back on his desk. "Not all of react with the same civility to violent intrusions."

Taking a slow, deep breath to calm down her suddenly hammering heart, she swallowed the thick surge of fear in her throat as she reminded herself that this man was not someone to be so casually angry towards. "… You put school children against monsters!"

"No," he corrected her. "I put school children against animated constructs completely under my control and lined with cushioning charms to prevent any real damage in order for it to be revealed how they react to such situations."

McGonagall worked her jaw and stared at him in absolute disbelief. "This was not the curriculum you submitted!"

"As I stated last night, it was a last minute change that I had to implement for Seventh year students. I will be doing the same with my Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff classes." Harry responded easily enough.

"You will not!" she declared with an angry hiss.

"Oh? And why not?" he asked honestly as he tilted his head to the side.

"It's barbaric!" she stated with a glare. "You will not be putting those students in danger!"

"I'm not," he responded without even an ounce of hesitation. "I am simulating a dangerous encounter in controlled circumstances so that they have less chance of freezing up should they actually find themselves in a dangerous situation. That is what the class is for, is it not? Defense Against the Dark Arts?"

"You cannot possibly be trying to justify this kind of…!"

"I explained myself to you," Harry corrected. "They are NEWT students. I intend to do my job and teach them how to keep their heads in a dangerous situation and find a way to escape. Two of them have already been through more than the vast majority of the wizards in Britain and, through some quick thinking, are still here.

"With everything going on, I am going to do my job and teach them to the best of my ability to make sure that they survive." He gave her a cold hard look as he stood up and glared back at her. "I do not call into question your lessons in transfiguration; I ask you to extend that same courtesy towards my teaching of Defense."

"You're not teaching them anything! You're abusing both them and your position!" she responded vehemently.

"I'm sorry you feel that way. Now, you've stated your opinion, so, there's the door. Good day," Harry stated in response as he bit down his more vitriolic responses in favor of at least attempting a civilized response.

"You are NOT just dismissing me! I will not…!" she started before suddenly feeling her entire body freezing up.

"And I said good day," he repeated softly as he calmly gestured with his wand again, and she found herself levitated out of his office and set into the hallway.

A moment later she was able to move again as she watched the door slam shut on her. "THIS IS NOT OVER!"

No, Harry imagined on the other side of the door, it wasn't. But he really didn't want to have to deal with it right now when he had evaluations of his students to finish before his next class started.

-o-o-o-

Bellatrix Black sighed a bit as she listlessly walked through the streets of muggle London, walking past the still cordoned off area where she had found herself both tested and wanting. It made her pause as she run her fingers against the film, plastic, she remembered vaguely how her sister had given her a rundown of the things that muggles had developed. Things that wizards and witches, for the most part, had no clue about.

"Terrible shame isn't it?" A man, a... policeman? Yes, that was it, a policeman. He was standing there, arms behind his back, following her gaze towards where construction workers were working to repair the street. "Nasty bit of business. Gas explosions, who knew they could be so hot! Saw the asphalt melted down a bit. Someone had knocked out most of it by the time I got to see it, but, my word, it was impressive."

"Ah…?" She shifted slightly, looking at the man who had all of his attention on the scene.

"Not to worry, though. Give them a few more weeks and everything will be back, right as rain all the way," the policeman stated with a nod of his head. "Right down to that little boutique that sadly got demolished."

"It was a nice boutique." Bellatrix stated neutrally as she looked back at the street.

"I don't believe I've seen you about before, ma'am?" the police officer asked politely as he looked back at Bellatrix a bit more carefully this time.

"My sister took me there, once," Bellatrix stated as she blushed just a bit at the memory. "I… am the oldest sister and my mother insisted on a very… traditional upbringing. I had no idea half the kind of things that my sister likes to wear when she's away from my family."

"Ah." The man nodded his head, his face softening in sympathy. "Well, you seem to have since adapted."

"I… I'm trying to," she admitted as she looked away back at the reconstruction. "Just… I don't know. There's so much I don't know. And it makes me realize how much of what I used to know I really didn't. It makes me feel… I don't know, small."

"Then, you're growing up." the officer stated with a knowing smile. "Finding out what you don't know is the first step towards figuring out what you should know."

"I…" Bellatrix paused a she slowly let those words roll around in her mind. "Because you now know where to look to find out for it?"

"Or at least you know it's something for you to work on," the officer agreed with a cheery smile. "I'll admit, knowing what you don't know doesn't automatically tell you where to find it, but it does mean you're going to be on the lookout for it, I imagine."

She nodded her head wordlessly as she kept her attention on the construction. It was all so… A wizard would have just gestured a bit, either casting a repair or conjuring, or transfiguring things. The muggles though, they built from the ground up, putting things together with materials she wasn't familiar with, in ways that she had never even known about.

Before she would've looked down at them for having to take so long to do what a witch or a wizard could in mere moments with a barest fraction of the effort. Now, though, she had to admit there was more to it than that. A wizard would have conjured what they knew, mortared stone walls, cobbled streets, a pane of glass here and there.

All of it tied together with magic that would eventually revert unless made permanent. And permanent was so much harder to do than it appeared, to the point that most people never bothered to, just making sure their spells were kept refreshed here or there. It was why several old family homes would, on occasion, simply vanish. For whatever reason the spells holding them together hadn't been renewed and resulted in everything returning to its original state.

With muggles, though, while they took longer to build everything, they simply weren't restricted like most wizarding houses.

Then a sudden, terrible realization hit her mind. The Black family homes had matched their surrounding muggle homes flawlessly, and didn't as far as she could remember, require the typical maintenance to keep up. She had assumed it to be because of superior family magics, but…

What if it was because they were made the muggle way?

She was so lost in thought that she never saw the officer giving her a small, knowing smile and walking off, whistling a faint, cheerful tune.

When she at last forced herself back into the waking world, she considered things for a long moment before nodding to herself. She hadn't really thought much of muggles, other than what Harry Potter had said about clothing, and it showed how little she actually knew about them.

She had grasped onto the part about clothes, thinking that had been all it was really about. But, was that really the case?

How much did she actually understand about muggles, beyond the clothes her sister had taken her to get? How much did she know about her own family's history? How much of everything that she thought she'd known, did she really?

It was more troubling than she cared to admit.

And the most important question she had to face: Where did that leave her?

-o-o-o-

"Albus." Slughorn had arrived at the headmaster's office with a slight frown on his face, almost uncertain about how exactly he was to handle his most recent news. "I would like to speak to you about Professor Potter."

Dumbledore sighed softly as he leaned back in his seat. "What is it, Horace?"

"As you might know, his first class was the NEWT class with my Snakes and Minerva's Lions." Slughorn was more deliberate about his word choice than he normally was. "After speaking to several of my students, I wanted to bring their concerns to your attention."

"What are their concerns, exactly, Horace?" Dumbledore could already feel a pit of worry growing in his stomach.

"It would seem that Professor Potter's lesson consisted of having them all attempt to escape from some form of constructs he created in a relatively enclosed space. Creatures that apparently terrified them." Slughorn stated with a slight frown on his face.

Dumbledore digested this information before slowly nodding his head a bit. "Was anyone hurt?"

"No. Which is why I'm only voicing their concerns and reserving my personal judgement," Slughorn stated simply as his mustache twitched. "In fact, they all were rather sheepish when they realized that after everything occurred, none of them had so much as a bruise. Not even Ms. Black, though she had the worst of it."

"Likely because he expected the most from her," Dumbledore noted with a sigh. "She acquitted herself quite well in London."

"I'm aware, I was quite proud of her when I heard the news." Slughorn agreed with a nod of his head and a faint smile beneath his mustache. "As this is a NEWT class, I am prepared to reserve judgement. Especially in light of the current… atmosphere of the wizarding world."

"Quite," Dumbledore agreed with a sigh. "I find myself… uncertain on how to handle Mr. Potter, to be honest. I rather made a mess of our first meeting and have had some difficulty in interacting with the man."

"Oh? I find that surprising, I've always found you to be quite the personable individual, Albus." Horace noted with a chuckle.

"Yes, well, Mr. Potter has made a point of reminding me that I am a teacher at my core. That it is in fact the sum and pinnacle of who I am. And how, while that grants me a great deal of insight on somethings, it leaves me with… deficiencies in others." Dumbledore stated with a wince. "At least in his opinion."

"The great Albus Dumbledore, deficient?" Slughorn asked, amusement in his voice. "Perish the thought."

"Quite," Dumbledore stated in agreement, smiling faintly behind his beard. "However, Mr. Potter has assure me that he will simply be teaching his students how to survive. If they want to come for him for more… well, it will be their choice. I have told him that I don't believe that they should be involved in the potential… mess that is to come."

"And Mr. Potter?"

"Believes that they will be involved no matter what, and that I am merely trying to hope for the best when I should not be."

"Ah," Slughorn nodded his head in thought. "… As the Head of Slytherin House… unfortunately, I have to agree with Mr. Potter. Based on what I've had the misfortune of hearing."

"I had hoped…"

"ALBUS!" Minerva McGonagall's voice pierced through the air. "HOW DARE YOU LET THAT BARBARIC MENACE ANYWHERE NEAR OUR STUDENTS!?"

"… I believe we will have to table this discussion for the time, Horace."

"Oh, dear." Slughorn noted. "She sound a smidge upset."

"Indeed."

-o-o-o-

"So, how was it?" Ted asked curiously as he settled in next to Andromeda, ignoring the scowling glares he was levelled from his presence at the Slytherin table.

"I hate him," Andromeda stated with a flat, growling voice as she turned her head and glared venomously at the seventh year student about to reach towards their wand. "And while I might not be able to do much of anything to Professor Potter, the rest of you don't represent even a fraction of what I would deem a threat."

They flinched slightly, and all around the table, figures shifted uncomfortably as wands were slowly and reluctantly sheathed or put back down.

"Now, Rommie, you're acting like you'd be all alone in that," Ted noted dryly as he shook his head. "I can't let you go and take all the fun, now could I?"

"Say that after you've had your turn with Potter's class," she said with another dark growl burning from the back of her throat.

"Well, I think he actually likes me," he said with a faint grin. "I, unlike a certain beautiful lady, didn't try to set him up with my sister."

"So I'm being reminded, repeatedly." Andromeda stated as she let her shoulders slump down. "Honestly, I just want Bella to stop being so… so…"

"Bellatrix-ish?" a voice piped up helpfully as Narcissa appeared and took the seat in front of Andromeda. "Andromeda."

"Narcissa," Andromeda greeted with an inclined head. "I was more hoping she would calm down and become more grounded."

"If you say so, sister," Narcissa agreed with a nod of her head, before squinting her eyes at Ted. "Barely acceptable male suitor."

"Ickle brat," Ted responded with a slight smirk on his face. "How're you?"

"Tolerable, despite the pallor my sister's engagement to you has cast," Narcissa said with a sniff. "She could do much better."

Andromeda groaned softly as she slowly began to massage against her temples. Ted however, just grinned back at Narcissa. "Well, of course she could, she's Rommie. She just has to snap her fingers and these blokes would be on their hands and knees to cater to her every whim."

Many glowers all around them protested that statement while Narcissa imperiously nodded her head. "As it should be if they know what's best for them."

"Me, on the other hand? I'm a challenge," Ted stated with a smug grin on his face. "I'm an ill-mannered muggleborn brute that defies her, denies her and makes her actually work for what she wants from me."

Andromeda's face turned a bloody scarlet as she tried desperately to vanish herself into her seat.

Narcissa blinked a moment, blinked again as she processed that statement, before slowly nodding her head. "I suppose I could see the appeal. Merlin knows I'm getting sick of the sycophants. I don't want to turn into another Aunt Walburga."

"Heaven forbid," Ted agreed with a nod of agreement and a sly grin. "I heard she had quite the habit of being entirely intolerable."

"She was scary," Narcissa stated with a shiver. "If Great Uncle Charlus hadn't made her stop…"

"Did cousin Charlus do something?" a new voice popped up from directly behind Ted, causing everyone to start slightly and turn to find James Potter standing there in Gryffindor colors, eyes blinking curiously.

As some of the elder Slytherins opened up their mouths, they fell silent to a stern, childish voice. "I would hope that no one would be silly enough to try and say something about allied families having to avoid each other because of something as silly as their House."

Sirius Black stood next to James Potter looking more severe than any 11 year old had right to be, his arms crossed about his chest as he sent them all a look. "Especially when he was accompanying me to visit my cousins."

"Heir Black," Andromeda intoned formally as she reminded the rest of the table exactly who they were dealing with. "Heir Potter."

"Sirius," Narcissa agreed, nodding her head, before affixing her gaze pointedly upon James with a kind of speculative gleam in her eyes. "Who is this?"

"This is James," Sirius stated simply as he nodded to his new friend. "Apparently I have to keep him out of trouble. It's horrible."

"Oh, come on, you know you liked it!" James stated with a wild grin on his face. "And they totally had it coming!"

"Yes, but still, you want to have him catch us?" Sirius reminded him with a shudder. "Do you want to know what he'll do to us if he catches us?"

"That just means we have to be more careful!" James stated cheerfully before waving back at Narcissa. "Lo there! Nice to meet you lot."

He paused, making note of all the scowling faces and then grinned deviously at them. "I look forward to pranking most of you into oblivion."

"… See what I have to put up with?" Sirius whined softly as he palmed his face. "He's even more incorrigible than I am!"

"Lovely," Andromeda stated with a sarcastic hiss of breath. "Just absolutely lovely."

"Looks like you have your work cut out for you then, squirt," Ted agreed with a nod of his head and a bemused grin, before looking at where Narcissa had her eyes locked on James. "Maybe you could drag the ickle brat with you and loosen her up."

Narcissa started at that before levelling a glare at Ted. "I have no need of…!"

"Eh, I don't know, she seems a bit stuck up," James stated warily. "Plus, she's a girl. And a really girly looking one at that."

Watching the fire lighting up in Narcissa's eyes, Sirius glared at Ted. "… I will get you for this. I will totally get you for this."

"Get him for what?" James asked in confusion.

Sirius looked at the glare Narcissa sent him and then shivered. "I'd tell you, but things would be even worse if I did."

"Huh?" James looked thoroughly confused.

"You'll see soon enough, kid, you'll see soon enough," Ted stated with a kind of smug smirk on his lips as he looped an arm around Andromeda's shoulder then beamed at the glares that earned him.

Andromeda simply looked at the whole situation and felt a great deal of confusion as she struggled to figure out if she should feel outraged or resigned. Either way, her boyfriend had certainly made her life even more interesting. Something she would make sure he paid for.

Once it caused enough backlash for her to no longer find it amusing in spite of the irritations it would cause.

-o-o-o-

"My lord? I believe we have an opportunity to potentially harass, or even possibly remove the Storm Chaser from Hogwarts." Walburga stated with a cold, sharp smirk on her lips.

"Oh? Do tell," Voldemort asked as he leaned back in his seat.

"All thanks to that foolish blood traitor McGonagall…"