𝗟𝗢𝗡𝗗𝗢𝗡 𝗕𝗢𝗬

ACT ONE, CHAPTER THREE
the first day.

HERMIONE HAD POLITELY offered to show Venus around the castle and to some of the classes they shared. After discovering they shared the same dormitory (of course they did, they were both fifth year Gryffindors), the two of them had bonded over kindly telling Lavender Brown, one of their roommates, to shut up when she was saying how Harry was lying about what happened last year. Seriously, how stupid could some people be?

Venus stood in the common room with Hermione, twirling her wand around in her fingers absentmindedly. Butterflies rushed up in her stomach at the thought of seeing Harry again — God, she was such a school girl — and hearing his stupid British accent. She doesn't know, there was just something about his that sounded different from anyone else's.

She also wanted to meet up with Charlotte and Elijah again. Venus wanted to thank them for being so welcoming to allow her in their compartment and start being friends with her on her very first day. It was nice of them. Most people wouldn't do that, especially on the train to Ilvermorny. People tended to be quite cliquey.

"What's the matter?" Hermione suddenly asked. Venus looked up to see Harry and Ron walking towards them, but Harry looked terribly angry. "You look absolutely — oh for heaven's sake."

She was staring straight at the common room notice board. Venus followed her gaze to see her looking at a very large sign.

GALLONS OF GALLEONS!
Pocket money failing to keep pace with your outgoings?
Like to earn a little extra gold?
>━━━━━━━✫━━━━━━━<
Contact Fred and George Weasley,
Gryffindor common room,
for simple, part-time, virtually painless jobs
(WE REGRET THAT ALL WORK IS UNDERTAKEN AT APPLICANT'S OWN RISK)

"Fred and George?" Venus questioned. She looked over to Harry. "Oh, are those the twins we saw last night?"

Harry didn't say anything. He just gave a singular curt nod. She made a mental note that he obviously didn't want to talk right now. It wouldn't be good if she tried to push him.

"They are the limit," Hermione stated grimly. She took down the sign, which had been pinned over a poster saying the date of the first Hogsmeade (what?) weekend in October. "We'll have to talk to them, Ron."

Ron seemed very alarmed at that. "Why?"

"Because we're Prefects!" Hermione insisted as they all climbed out through the portrait hole. "It's up to us to stop this kind of thing!" Ron didn't respond, so Hermione continued on. "Anyway, what's up, Harry? You look really angry about something."

Meanwhile, they walked down a flight of stairs lined with portraits of old witches and wizards. Venus stared at them in amazement and wonder — okay, yeah, they had portraits at Ilvermorny, but these were just as magical — as all of the portraits engaged in their own conversations.

"Seamus reckons Harry's lying about You-Know-Who," Ron answered. Venus' eyebrows knit in confusion at the name — who was Seamus? He then noticed her expression. "Gryffindor in our year. He shares a dormitory with me and Harry."

Venus nodded. "Thanks. Sorry you have to keep explaining."

Ron waved her off. "Don't worry about it."

Hermione then sighed. "Yes, Lavender thinks so too."

"Been having a nice little chat with her about whether or not I'm a lying, attention-seeking prat, have you?" Harry asked loudly.

Venus blinked. "Prat?"

"No," Hermione responded calmly, this time no one responding to Venus' confusion about British terms. "Venus and I told her to keep her big fat mouth shut about you, actually. And it would be quite nice if you stopped jumping down Ron's and my throats, Harry, because if you haven't noticed, we're on your side. So is Venus. It's definitely not fair to her, she's new."

There was a short pause.

"Sorry," Harry apologized in a low voice. He then looked over to Venus. "Uh, sorry, Venus. Just a little . . . annoyed right now."

Venus offered him a reassuring smile. "It's okay, Harry. Don't worry about it."

Hermione shook her head. "Don't you remember what Dumbledore said at the end-of-term feast last year?" Harry and Ron both looked at her blankly — so did Venus, but she wasn't actually there — making Hermione sigh again. "About You-Know-Who. He said, his gift for spreading discord and enmity is very great. We can fight it only by showing an equally strong bond of friendship and trust—"

"How do you remember stuff like that?" Ron questioned, looking at Hermione in admiration.

"I listen, Ron."

"So do I, but I still couldn't tell you exactly what—"

"The point is that this sort of thing is exactly what Dumbledore was talking about. You-Know-Who's only been back two months, and we've started fighting among ourselves. And the Sorting Hat's warning was the same — stand together, be united—"

"And Harry said it last night," Ron countered. "If that means we're supposed to get matey with the Slytherins, fat chance."

"Well, I think it's a pity we're not trying for a bit of inter-House unity," Hermione admitted. "Plus we're all kind of friendly with Penelope, so that's a step in the right direction. Venus, was there ever this sort of problem at Ilvermorny?"

Venus shrugged. "I mean, you had your rivalries here and there, but nothing as extreme as this."

Finally, they had reached the foot of the marble staircase. A line of fourth year Ravenclaws with two familiar people — Charlotte and Elijah — were crossing the entrance hall. The fourth years caught sight of Harry and hurried to form a tighter group like they were afraid he was about to attack them. Venus frowned at them.

"Yeah, we really ought to be trying to make friends with people like that," Harry voiced sarcastically.

"Real mature," Elijah commented to the fourth years as the Ravenclaws scurried into the Great Hall. "Sorry, Harry. They won't listen to me when I try to defend you."

Charlotte rolled her eyes. "Even the Slytherins are believing you, so why won't anyone else?"

"I don't know," Harry replied.

Venus approached the two with a smile. "Good morning."

"Hey, America," Charlotte greeted, throwing an arm around Venus and Elijah's shoulders as they entered the Great Hall. "You ready for your first day of classes?"

"I guess so. Little nervous, but I'll push through."

"I'm already behind," Elijah fretted. "Look, Flitwick's already handing out schedules. Oh God, I have to start studying for O.W.L.'s."

Charlotte sighed at his nervousness. "Elijah, it's the first day. O.W.L.'s aren't until, like, June. You've got time. Plus, you're an O student. If anyone should be worrying about O.W.L.'s, it's me."

"Lottie, I really do not need that right now. My parents—"

"Are idiots for making you work that hard."

"Okay," Venus interrupted as Elijah went to respond. "Maybe we should all sit down and have some breakfast. It'll probably help."

Charlotte removed her arms and pointed to them both. "We'll meet up again at lunch, yeah? Elijah, calm down, you're fine, and Venus, good luck on your classes."

The three of them went their separate ways. Venus spotted Harry, Ron, and Hermione a little ways down at the Gryffindor table. She walked up and took her seat next to Harry, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear as she took a plate of buttered toast.

"Elijah worrying about his grades again?" Ron guessed.

Venus laughed slightly. "Yeah, you could say that. He thinks he has to start studying for O.W.L.'s, which I'm guessing is the equivalent of E.A.G.L.E.'s at Ilvermorny."

Suddenly, there was a whoosh and a clatter. Venus looked up to see hundreds of owls soaring into the Great Hall through the upper windows. They descended over the House tables to deliver letters and packages to their owners. Meanwhile, they also brought droplets of water with them — it was clearly pouring rain outside.

Venus kept her eyes open for her beautiful owl. Sure enough, Aria was flying down towards the Gryffindor table. She moved her plate of toast out of the way so Aria could land. Aria landed on the table, and Venus removed the letter from her beak before stroking her owl's feathers.

Hermione apparently also had a visitor. A large barn owl carrying a sodden Daily Prophet in its beak landed in front of her. Venus' eyebrows knit in confusion as she continued to pet Aria.

"What are you still getting that for?" Harry inquired irritably as Hermione placed a small bronze coin (Venus thinks its a Knut . . . see, in America, they used the Dragot and Sprink, and she had to convert all of that into English wizarding currency, but she still doesn't really understand it) into the leather pouch on owl's leg, making it take off. "I'm not bothering . . . load of rubbish."

"It's best to know what the enemy are saying," Hermione answered darkly before opening the newspaper and disappearing behind it.

Venus looked down at the letter in her hand. She grinned to herself at the familiar handwriting that belonged to her mother on the envelope.

"I'll send a letter back soon, okay?" Venus told her owl. "You can go, Aria. Thank you."

Aria took off. Venus opened her letter and read it quickly. Basically, it was her mother asking her what House she was in, telling her some secrets about the castle, and explaining that they were so proud of her and grateful for moving from America to England. She made a mental note to not forget about responding and put the letter into her bag.

"Nothing," Hermione then announced, rolling up the newspaper and setting it down by her plate. "Nothing about you or Dumbledore or anything."

Professor McGonagall was now handing out schedules, moving up and down the Gryffindor table. She then stopped by the group of four.

"Venus, is it?" Professor McGonagall asked, making Venus nod. "How are you adjusting to Hogwarts so far?"

"It's . . . different," Venus responded. "Of course it is. But I'm sure I'll get used to it."

"Look at today!" Ron complained once McGonagall left. "History of Magic, double Potions, Divination, and double Defense Against the Dark Arts . . . Binns, Snape, Trelawney, and that Umbridge woman all in one day! I wish Fred and George'd hurry up and get those Skiving Snackboxes sorted. . . ."

"Do mine ears deceive me?" a voice suddenly asked. Venus turned to see the two red-haired twins approaching them and sitting right next to Venus. "Hogwarts Prefects surely don't wish to skive off lessons?" The same one who asked the question then looked to Venus. "And I'm guessing you're the American everyone's talking about?"

She held out her hand to them. "Venus Black."

He shook it before the other one did as well. "I'm Fred and he's George, Ron's older brothers."

Venus smiled. "Nice to meet you."

"Look what we've got today," Ron said grumpily, offering up his schedule to the twin that introduced himself as Fred. "That's the worst Monday I've ever seen."

Fred looked at it. "Fair point, little bro. You can have a bit of Nosebleed Nougat cheap if you like."

"Why's it cheap?"

"Because you'll keep bleeding till you shrivel up, we haven't got an antidote yet," the other twin, George, answered, as he got a fish for breakfast (what?.)

"Cheers, but I think I'll take the lessons," Ron replied.

"And speaking of your Skiving Snackboxes," Hermione added, eyeing the twins. "You can't advertise for testers on the Gryffindor notice board."

"Says who?" George asked, obviously astonished.

"Says me. And Ron."

"Leave me out of it," Ron told her hastily.

Hermione glared at him. Fred and George snickered at that. Venus shook her head and looked back down at her breakfast.

"You'll be singing a different tune soon enough, Hermione," Fred revealed while buttering something that was unfamiliar to Venus. "You're starting your fifth year, you'll be begging us for a Snackbox before long."

"And why would starting fifth year mean I want a Skiving Snackbox?" Hermione demanded.

"Fifth year's O.W.L. year," George announced.

"So?"

"So you've got your exams coming up, haven't you?" Fred continued. "They'll be keeping your noses so hard to that grindstone they'll be rubbed raw."

"Half our year had minor breakdowns coming up to O.W.L.'s," George explained happily. "Tears and tantrums . . . Patricia Stimpson kept coming over faint . . ."

"Kenneth Towler came out in boils, d'you remember?"

"That's 'cause you put Bulbadox Powder in his pajamas."

Fred grinned. "Oh yeah. I'd forgotten . . . hard to keep track sometimes, isn't it?"

"Anyway, it's a nightmare of a year, the fifth," George stated. "If you care about exam results anyway. Fred and I managed to keep our spirits up somehow."

"Sounds exciting," Venus muttered to herself, but she heard Harry chuckle from next to her.

"Yeah . . . you got, what was it, three O.W.L.'s each?" Ron inquired.

"Yep," Fred responded unconcernedly. "But we feel our futures lie outside the world of academic achievement."

"We seriously debated whether we were going to bother coming back for our seventh year, now that we've got—" George broke off for a moment for some reason before continuing "—now that we've got our O.W.L.'s. I mean, do we really need N.E.W.T.'s? But we didn't think Mum could take us leaving school early, not on top of Percy turning out to be the world's biggest prat."

"We're not going to waste our last year here, though," Fred voiced as he looked around the Great Hall. "We're going to use it to do a bit of market research, find out exactly what the average Hogwarts student requires from his joke shop, carefully evaluate the results of our research, and then produce the products to fit the demand."

"But where are you going to get the gold to start a joke shop?" Hermione asked skeptically. "You're going to need all the ingredients and materials — and premises too, I suppose . . ."

Harry suddenly dropped his fork. Venus looked over as he dived down under the table to retrieve it. Her eyebrows knit in thought before looking back to the twins.

"Ask us no questions and we'll tell you no lies, Hermione," Fred told her. "C'mon, George, if we get there early we might be able to sell a few Extendable Ears before Herbology. Nice to meet you, Venus."

Fred and George walked away from the table, each of them carrying a stack of toast. Venus watched after them curiously. They certainly were interesting characters.

"What did that mean?" Hermione inquired, looking around at the three of them. "Ask us no questions . . . does that mean they've already got some gold to start a joke shop?"

"You know, I've been wondering about that," Ron agreed. "They bought me a new set of dress robes this summer, and I couldn't understand where they got the Galleons . . ."

Harry obviously decided to move past that conversation. "D'you reckon it's true this year's going to be really tough? Because of the exams?"

"Oh yeah. Bound to be, isn't it? O.W.L.'s are really important, affect the jobs you can apply for and everything. We get career advice too, later this year, Bill told me. So you can choose what N.E.W.T.'s you want to do next year."

They then decided it would be best to start heading towards History of Magic. Venus stood on the outside of the three of them, glancing around at the walls as she tried to memorize which way they were going.

"D'you know what you want to do after Hogwarts?" Harry asked them as they walked through the halls.

"Not really," Ron answered slowly. "Except . . . well . . ."

"What?"

"Well, it'd be cool to be an Auror."

"Yeah, it would."

"But they're, like, the elite. You've got to be really good. What about you, Hermione?"

"I don't know," Hermione admitted. "I think I'd really like to do something worthwhile."

"An Auror's worthwhile!" Harry argued.

"Yes, it is, but it's not the only worthwhile thing. I mean, if I could take S.P.E.W. further . . . Venus, what about you?"

Venus shrugged. "Uh, not sure. An Auror sounds cool."

History of Magic was honestly the most boring subject ever. Venus sat by Ron, Hermione, and Harry, her chin resting in the palm of her hand. She tried to pay attention, she really did, but his voice was just droning on. Her parchment was scribbled with some notes that she managed to catch. It was more than Ron and Harry but definitely not as much as Hermione.

"How would it be if I refused to lend you my notes this year?" Hermione questioned as they left the classroom for a break — also known as Professor Binns' ghost drifting away through the blackboard.

"We'd fail our O.W.L.'s," Ron admitted. "If you want that on your conscience, Hermione . . ."

"Well, you'd deserve it. You don't even try to listen to him, do you?"

"We do try. We just haven't got your brains or your memory or your concentration — you're just cleverer than we are — is it nice to rub it in?"

"Oh, don't give me that rubbish. At least Venus tried to pay attention, she's written down more notes today than you've had the past five years."

Venus smiled. "I mean, I try. It's definitely a bit of an adjustment to having a ghost for a teacher here than actual humans at Ilvermorny . . ."

They huddled into a secluded corner under a heavily dripping balcony. Harry, Ron, and Hermione began to talk about what Professor Snape (Head of Slytherin House, potions Professor, the one Charlotte warned her about . . . got it) in the chilly September air. They had potions with the Slytherins next, and Venus was glad that she got to see Charlotte again.

"Hello, Harry!" a voice suddenly called.

Venus turned. It was that same girl from the train that had appeared when the compartment wads covered in Stinksap. Her stomach twisted uncomfortably as both her and Harry's face turned red. She instantly scolded herself. No, Venus. You met Harry yesterday. You should not be getting jealous right now.

"Hi," Harry replied.

"You got that stuff off, then?" the girl inquired.

"Yeah, thanks to Venus."

Venus suddenly felt very awkward at the mention of her name. "Oh, uh . . . just a simple cleaning charm, nothing too crazy."

The girl blinked at her before holding out her hand. "Cho Chang. You're the transfer student, right?"

Venus shook her hand. "That's me."

Harry jumped back into the conversation. "So did you . . . er. . . have a good summer?"

"Oh, it was all right, you know . . ." Cho trailed off.

"Is that a Tornadoes badge?" Ron suddenly demanded as he pointed to a sky blue badge emblazoned with a double gold T that was pinned to Cho's robes. "You don't support them, do you?"

"Yeah, I do."

"Have you always supported them, or just since they started winning the league?"

"I've supported them since I was six. Anyway . . . see you, Harry. Nice meeting you, Venus."

She walked away.

"You are so tactless!" Hermione scolded Ron when Cho was halfway across the courtyard.

"What?" Ron responded in surprise. "I only asked her if—"

"Couldn't you tell she wanted to talk to Harry on her own?"

"So? She could've done, I wasn't stopping—"

"What on Earth were you attacking her about her Quidditch team for?"

"Attacking? I wasn't attacking her, I was only—"

"Who cares if she supports the Tornadoes?"

"Oh, come on, half the people you see wearing those badges only bought them last season—"

"But what does it matter?"

"It means they're not real fans, they're just jumping on the bandwagon—"

"That's the bell," Harry announced over Ron and Hermione's bickering.

They did not stop their fighting as they walked down to the dungeons. Venus and Harry shared an exasperated look before deciding to ignore them altogether. They finally reached the dungeons and saw the queue lining up outside a classroom door. Venus instantly spotted the familiar Slytherin girl and smiled. She walked up to Charlotte, Harry following her to escape Ron and Hermione's bickering.

"Hey," Venus greeted.

Charlotte's face instantly broke out into a large grin. "Thank God you're in this class." She glanced behind them. "They're fighting again?"

"They're always fighting, Charlie," Harry insisted.

"Fair enough. Hey, how'd your first lesson go? Was it all right?"

"It was fine," Venus voiced. "Nothing too crazy. I have a feeling this one might be a little interesting, though."

Charlotte raised an eyebrow. "With Snape, anything can happen. Just you wait."

As if on cue, the sound of the door creaking open rang throughout the hallway. Everyone filed into the classroom. Harry, Ron, and Hermione went towards the table in the back, which Charlotte and Venus opted to sit at the table next to it with Neville (who looked terribly frightened.)

"Settle down," Professor Snape ordered, walking to the front of the room.

Venus stared at him for a second as he walked to the front of the classroom, the class instantly going silent. He had greasy black hair (uh . . . ew), a hooked nose, and a permanent sneer. His gaze landed on Venus. He scowled at her, but Venus merely raised an eyebrow.

"Before we begin today's lesson, I think it appropriate to remind you that next June you will be sitting an important examination, during which you will prove how much you have learned about the composition and use of magical potions. Moronic though some of this class undoubtedly are, I expect you to scrape an Acceptable in your O.W.L., or suffer my . . . displeasure." He looked to Neville, who gulped. "After this year, of course, many of you will cease studying with me. I take only the very best into my N.E.W.T. potions class, which means that some of us will certainly be saying goodbye. But we have another year to go before that happy moment of farewell, so whether you are intending to attempt N.E.W.T. or not, I advise all of you to concentrate your efforts upon maintaining the high-pass level I have come to expect from my O.W.L. students. Today we will be mixing a potion that often comes up at Ordinary Wizarding Level: the Draught of Peace, a potion to calm anxiety and soothe agitation. Be warned: If you are too heavy-handed with the ingredients you will put the drinker into a heavy and sometimes irreversible sleep, so you will need to pay close attention to what you are doing."

Charlotte scoffed quietly next to Venus. "Of course, he comes up with the most difficult potion for the first day."

"The ingredients and method—" Snape flicked his wand "—are on the blackboard—" the ingredients and directions appeared there "—you will find everything you need—" he flicked his wand again "—in the store cupboard—" the cupboard swung open "—you have an hour and a half . . . start."

Charlotte was right. The potion was extremely difficult. All of the ingredients had to be added to the cauldron in precisely the right order and quantities, the mixture had to be stirred in the exact amount of times — first clockwise then counterclockwise, and the heat of the flame it was simmering on had to be lowered to exactly the right level for a specific number of minutes before the final ingredient could be added.

"A light silver vapor should now be rising from your potion," Professor Snape instructed when there were ten minutes left.

Venus, who had hastily tied her hair back, looked down at her potion. Sure enough, the surface of her potion was a shimmering mist of silver vapor. She let out a breath of relief. Somehow, she had always been kind of good at potions.

Charlotte looked down at her own potion, which was also emitting silver vapor. "Look at us go, V. The potions dream team."

Venus high-fived her. "Oh, you know it."

"Potter, what is this supposed to be?" Snape suddenly questioned.

The two looked over. He was standing over Harry — who looked terribly annoyed — and his potion, which was emitting dark gray steam. All of the Slytherins at the front of the class looked up eagerly.

"Oh, here we go," Charlotte complained bitterly. "Another day of Snape making sure Harry's life is a living hell. God, give him a break."

"The Draught of Peace," Harry replied tensely.

"Tell me, Potter, can you read?" Snape inquired softly.

Draco Malfoy laughed. Venus rolled her eyes.

"Yes, I can," Harry responded.

"Read the third line of the instructions for me, Potter," Snape demanded.

Harry squinted at the blackboard. "Add powdered moonstone, stir three times counterclockwise, allow to simmer for seven minutes, then add two drops of syrup of hellebore."

"Did you do everything on the third line, Potter?"

"No," Harry said very quietly.

"I beg your pardon?" Snape urged.

"No," Harry repeated louder. "I forgot the hellebore . . ."

"I know you did, Potter, which means that this mess is utterly worthless. Evanesco." The contents of Harry's potion vanished. "Those of you who have managed to read the instructions, fill one flagon with a sample of your potion, label it clearly with your name, and bring it up to my desk for testing. Homework: twelve inches of parchment on the properties of moonstone and its uses in potion-making, to be handed in on Thursday."

Venus looked guiltily to Harry, who was packing up his things. His potion wasn't nearly as bad as some of the others in the room. Nevertheless, she took her own flagon and filled it with her Draught of Peace. She wrote her name on the label and walked up to Snape's desk with Charlotte. They placed it there once the bell rang, but when they turned back around, Harry was gone. Venus sighed and went to retrieve her bag.

"What's up with Harry and Snape?" Venus inquired to Charlotte as they walked towards the Great Hall for lunch. "Things seem very . . . tense."

"He's had it out for him since first year because him and Harry's father used to be enemies," Charlotte explained.

Venus frowned. "It's horrible that he's taking it out on Harry. That's definitely not fair to him."

As they were walking into the Great Hall, Harry was walking out. Venus opened her mouth but she soon noticed the angry expression on his face. Apparently Harry also noticed she was about to say something, so he spoke up.

"And you should stop trying to infiltrate in my business," Harry told her bitterly, making Venus' heart sink. "We just met yesterday, it's annoying."

Charlotte stared at him incredulously. "Harry—"

"No, it's fine," Venus interrupted, masking her hurt with a stone-cold look. "Well, I'm sorry that I'm trying to make new friends at this new school and let you know that you have another ally. But if you want me to leave you alone, then so be it."

She brushed past him and walked into the Great Hall. Venus spotted Elijah at the end of the Ravenclaw table and and approached him. She sat down across from him with a huff and put her chin in the palm of her hand. The sky in the ceiling now reflected Venus' mood — rainy and dark.

"That was uncalled for," Charlotte stated as she sat down next to Elijah. "You okay, V?"

Elijah's eyebrows knit in confusion as he looked up from his book. "What happened?"

"Harry called her annoying."

"He's in one of those moods again?"

"Yeah. You think I should sign him up for a therapist?"

"Guys," Venus interjected, making them stop. "It's okay. I'm fine."

"You don't seem fine," Elijah voiced.

Venus shook her head and put a turkey sandwich and some chips on her plate. "Don't worry about it."

The rest of lunch consisted of Elijah stressing about O.W.L.'s and Charlotte trying to tell him he would be fine until it was their next class. Venus shared Arithmancy with Elijah, so she followed him off to that while Charlotte went to Ancient Runes. Arithmancy went okay, but then it was time for double Defense Against the Dark Arts with Umbridge. Apparently, all of the Houses were shoved into one class, so Elijah and Venus met up with Charlotte outside of the classroom.

They entered. All of the seats seemed to be taken except a table with two seats in the back of the classroom and an empty seat next to Harry. Professor Umbridge was already at the teacher's desk, wearing that God-awful pink cardigan and a black velvet bow on top of her head. Seriously, she needed some new clothes.

"You two sit together," Venus announced. "I'll sit next to Harry, it's fine."

Charlotte raised an eyebrow. "You mean the same boy who just snapped at you?"

"Just go sit, Charlie. I'll see you both after class."

Charlotte and Elijah begrudgingly sat at the table. Venus let out a deep breath before walking up to the table that Harry was at.

"Mind if I sit here?" Venus asked.

Harry looked up and gestured to the seat. "No, go ahead."

She sat down. Venus pulled her book out of her bag and placed her wand gently next to her.

"Um . . . I just wanted to apologize for what I said earlier," Harry admitted, making Venus turn to look at him. "You're not annoying, Star. Snape and Ron and Hermione's bickering was getting to my head . . . and I just happened to take my anger out on you. You don't deserve that. So, I'm sorry."

Venus offered him a small smile. "It's okay. Thank you for apologizing." She then paused for a second. "And Star?"

Harry's cheeks turned a light shade of red. "Uh, the planet Venus is often mistaken for a star because it shines so bright — at least that's what Hermione said. I — uh, I thought it would be a cool nickname for you . . . y'know, as even more of an apology."

Venus nodded, her face suddenly feeling very hot and her heart fluttering. "No one's ever called me that before. I like it."

"Well, good afternoon!" Professor Umbridge began once the whole class had sat down. A couple people mumbled back good afternoon, but apparently that wasn't satisfactory enough. "Tut, tut. That won't do, now, will it? I should like you, please, to reply Good afternoon, Professor Umbridge. One more time, please. Good afternoon, class!"

"Good afternoon, Professor Umbridge," they all chanted back to her.

"There, now. That wasn't too difficult, was it? Wands away and quills out, please."

Venus sighed to herself. She tucked her wand inside of her bag and pulled out her quill, ink, and parchment. Professor Umbridge opened her handbag and extracted her own wand — which was incredibly short, might Venus add — and tapped the blackboard sharply with it. Words then appeared on the board at once.

Defense Against the Dark Arts
A Return to Basic Principles

"Well now, your teaching in this subject has been rather disrupted and fragmented, hasn't it?" Umbridge continued, turning to face the class with her hands clasped in front of her. "The constant changing of teachers, many of whom do not seem to have followed any Ministry-approved curriculum, has unfortunately resulted in your being far below the standard we would expect to see in your O.W.L. year. You will be pleased to know, however, that these problems are now to be rectified. We will be following a carefully structured, theory centered, Ministry-approved course of defensive magic this year. Copy down the following, please."

She tapped the blackboard again. The first message then changed into a list.

Course Aims
1. Understanding the principles underlying defensive magic.
2. Learning to recognize situations in which defensive magic can legally be used.
3. Placing the use of defensive magic in a context for practical use.

Venus began to copy down what it said. The room was filled with the sound of scratching quills on parchment. Soon, everyone finished writing down the three course aims.

"Has everybody got a copy of Defensive Magical Theory by Wilbert Slinkhard?" Umbridge asked. There was a dull murmur of assent throughout the class. "I think we'll try that again. When I ask you a question, I should like you to reply Yes, Professor Umbridge, or No, Professor Umbridge. So, has everyone got a copy of Defensive Magical Theory by Wilbert Slinkhard?"

"This is ridiculous," Venus said very quietly, making Harry nod in agreement.

"Yes, Professor Umbridge," everyone chorused.

"Good," Umbridge approved. "I should like you to turn to page five and read chapter one, Basics for Beginners. There will be no need to talk."

Umbridge left the blackboard and sat in the chair behind the teacher's desk, observing them all. Venus shook her head and opened her book to the first chapter.

Venus tried to read, she really did, but the reading was horribly dull. She loved to read, but this . . . this was just torture. Venus opted to start drawing little hearts and flowers in the corners of her parchment, and soon, it turned into a match of hangman with Harry. She was just in the middle of writing down all of the i's in the sentence she chose — which was do you think I should give her some fashion tips — before Harry suddenly looked up. He elbowed her, and Venus followed his gaze to see him staring at Hermione.

She didn't know Hermione very well yet, but what she did know was that the girl had a knack for learning and reading. However, she hadn't even opened her copy of Defensive Magical Theory and was instead staring at Umbridge with her hand in the air. Venus and Harry shared a questioning look. What was she doing?

Several minutes passed. Pretty much the whole class was staring at Hermione now instead of reading what they were instructed to. Umbridge apparently took this as a sign to not ignore the situation any longer.

"Did you want to ask something about the chapter, dear?" Umbridge questioned, as though she had just only noticed Hermione.

"Not about the chapter, no," Hermione answered.

"Well, we're reading just now. If you have other queries we can deal withthem at the end of class."

"I've got a query about your course aims."

Umbridge raised her eyebrows. "And your name is—?"

"Hermione Granger," Hermione replied.

"Well, Miss Granger, I think the course aims are perfectly clear if you read them through carefully."

"Well, I don't. There's nothing written up there about using defensive spells."

There was a short silence. Many members of the class looked back at the three claims on the board. Hermione was right.

"Using defensive spells?" Umbridge repeated while laughing slightly. "Why, I can't imagine any situation arising in my classroom that would require you to use a defensive spell, Miss Granger. You surely aren't expecting to be attacked during class?"

"We're not going to use magic?" Ron inquired loudly.

"Students raise their hands when they wish to speak in my class, Mr.—?"

"Weasley," Ron finished, thrusting his air into the air.

Umbridge smiled and turned her back on him. Harry and Hermione instantly raised their hands as well.

"Yes, Miss Granger?" Umbridge continued. "You wanted to ask something else?"

"Yes," Hermione stated. "Surely the whole point of Defense Against the Dark Arts is to practice defensive spells?"

"Are you a Ministry-trained educational expert, Miss Granger?"

"No, but—"

"Well then, I'm afraid you are not qualified to decide what the whole point of any class is. Wizards much older and cleverer than you have devised our new program of study. You will be learning about defensive spells in a secure, risk-free way—"

"What use is that?" Harry asked loudly. "If we're going to be attacked it won't be in a—"

"Hand, Mr. Potter!" Umbridge told him.

Harry raised his hand. Umbridge turned away from him again, but now several other people had their hands up too.

"And your name is?" Umbridge encouraged to another student. 

"Dean Thomas," he answered.

"Well, Mr. Thomas?"

"Well, it's like Harry said, isn't it? If we're going to be attacked, it won't be risk-free—"

"I repeat, do you expect to be attacked during my classes?" Umbridge questioned with an irritating smile.

"No, but—"

Umbridge talked over him. "I do not wish to criticize the way things have been run in this school, but you have been exposed to some very irresponsible wizards in this class, very irresponsible indeed — not to mention extremely dangerous half-breeds."

"If you mean Professor Lupin, he was the best we ever—" Dean began angrily.

"Hand, Mr. Thomas! As I was saying — you have been introduced to spells that have been complex, inappropriate to your age group, and potentially lethal. You have been frightened into believing that you are likely to meet Dark attacks every other day—"

"No we haven't," Hermione cut in. "We just—"

"Your hand is not up, Miss Granger!" Hermione put her hand up, but Umbridge turned away from her to ignore her. "It is my understanding that my predecessor not only performed illegal curses in front of you, he actually performed them on you—"

"Well, he turned out to be a maniac, didn't he?" Dean inquired hotly. "Mind you, we still learned loads—"

"Your hand is not up, Mr. Thomas! Now, it is the view of the Ministry that a theoretical knowledge will be more than sufficient to get you through your examination, which, after all, is what school is all about. And your name is?"

She was staring at a girl named Parvati, one of the people Venus was sharing a dormitory with.

"Parvati Patil, and isn't there a practical bit in our Defense Against the Dark Arts O.W.L.?" Parvati asked. "Aren't we supposed to show that we can actually do the counter curses and things?"

"As long as you have studied the theory hard enough, there is no reason why you should not be able to perform the spells under carefully controlled examination conditions," Umbridge replied dismissively.

"Without ever practicing them before? Are you telling us that the first time we'll get to do the spells will be during our exam?"

"I repeat, as long as you have studied the theory hard enough—"

A girl in Slytherin robes raised her hand. "I have a problem with that, Professor."

"Your name?" Umbridge urged.

"Penelope Lestrange." Venus made a mental note of her — Slytherin Prefect, nice girl, the one Ron blushes over. "Don't know if you noticed, but Bellatrix Lestrange — my crazy mother — could literally break out of Azkaban any day now. I'm not going to just sit around and wait for that to happen, only to have no practical skills to defend myself. Respectfully, a theory is going to do nothing for me."

"And what good's theory going to be in the real world?" Harry added onto Penelope Lestrange's comment loudly, his hand still in the air.

Umbridge looked up at him. "This is school, Mr. Potter and Miss Lestrange, not the real world."

"So we're not supposed to be prepared for what's waiting out there?"

"There is nothing waiting out there, Mr. Potter."

"Oh yeah?"

Venus' eyes widened as she stared at him. She could tell that his temper had been rising all day — and if Umbridge kept pressing him like this, she knew the outcome wouldn't be good. At all.

"Who do you imagine wants to attack children like yourselves?" Umbridge inquired in a horribly honeyed voice.

"Harry," Venus protested quietly.

"Hmm, let's think . . ." Harry trailed off in a mock thoughtful voice. "Maybe Lord Voldemort?"

Venus closed her eyes. There it was. The rest of the class had pretty much the same reaction to that name — Ron gasped, Lavender Brown screamed a little, and Neville slipped sideways off of his stool. Umbridge, however, did not flinch and stared at Harry with a grimly satisfied expression on her face.

"Ten points from Gryffindor, Mr. Potter," Umbridge told him. The classroom was silent. "Now, let me make a few things quite plain. You have been told that a certain Dark wizard has returned from the dead—"

"He wasn't dead," Harry insisted angrily. "But yeah, he's returned!"

"Mr.-Potter-you-have-already-lost-your-House-ten-points-do-notmake-matters-worse-for-yourself," Umbridge said in one breath without looking at him. "As I was saying, you have been informed that a certain Dark wizard is at large once again. This is a lie."

"It is NOT a lie! I saw him, I fought him!"

"Detention, Mr. Potter!" Umbridge decided triumphantly. "Tomorrow evening. Five o'clock. My office. I repeat, this is a lie. The Ministry of Magic guarantees that you are not in danger from any Dark wizard. If you are still worried, by all means come and see me outside class hours. If someone is alarming you with fibs about reborn Dark wizards, I would like to hear about it. I am here to help. I am your friend. And now, you will kindly continue your reading. Page five, Basics for Beginners."

Umbridge sat down behind her desk again. Meanwhile, Harry stood up. Venus' eyes widened even further as she looked up at him.

"Harry, wait," Venus stated.

"Not right now, Star." Harry raised his voice. "So, according to you, Cedric Diggory dropped dead of his own accord, did he?"

The classroom went dead silent.

"Cedric Diggory's death was a tragic accident," Umbridge reassured coldly.

"It was murder," Harry insisted, and Venus could see him trembling. "Voldemort killed him, and you know it."

Umbridge's face was blank for a moment. "Come here, Mr. Potter, dear."

He kicked his chair aside, strode around Venus, and walked up to the teacher's desk. Umbridge pulled out a small roll of pink parchment and began to scribble on it with her quill. Nobody spoke as she did so. After a minute or so she rolled up the parchment and tapped on it with her wand, making it seal itself.

Umbridge held the note out to him. "Take this to Professor McGonagall, dear."

Harry took it from her. He strode down the classroom. On the way, his pretty green eyes locked with Venus'. He looked away before leaving the classroom, slamming the door shut behind him. Venus looked down at her desk to contemplate for a moment. However, the overwhelming urge to speak on his behalf powered over the consequences in her mind.

Venus hesitantly raised her hand. Umbridge seemed to want to ignore her, but she ultimately decided to let her say something.

"Yes, Miss—?" Umbridge began.

"Black," Venus finished. "Venus Black. I'm just a little confused. Why would you believe Harry was lying? I mean, something that huge, that dangerous . . . it's bound to be the truth. He wouldn't just make it up."

Umbridge stared at her curiously. "Miss Black, you are merely a transfer student."

"But you think I don't know what I'm talking about? My parents work for the Ministry, and it seems like I know more than you." Venus raised an eyebrow. "Harry's telling the truth. You're just too scared to admit that."

"If you believe that, then you will be joining Mr. Potter tomorrow at detention," Umbridge told her, making Venus blink in surprise. "Now, return to your reading."

Venus cast her gaze down on her book. The first day, and she was already granted detention, which she had never had before ever at Ilvermorny? Great.

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this is kind of a long chapter ???? uh . . . sorry

anyways venus and harry's song is very much as long as you love me by justin bieber no I will not be taking any criticism

also I'm making a ron weasley fic that  connects with this fic so keep ur eyes open for that ,,,, I actually had to update chapter one of this fic to correct something so that plot could work and there's some easter eggs of her in here hehehehe :))

+ y'all . . . it was 95 degrees (fahrenheit, mind you) in new jersey yesterday and then saturday it's supposed to be 70 ???? WHAT IS GOING ON NJ MAKE UP UR MIND