Chapter 11
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REMUS FOLDED HARRY'S LETTER. "They've gone and made that Umbridge woman 'High Inquisitor', it seems."

Sirius was frowning, reading his own letter which no doubt informed him of the same matter.

"It was on the news, he wrote," said Remus.

"Quibbler?"

"No, the Prophet, apparently."

"I don't read that shit, Moony."

Neither did Remus since they blocked the papers from being mailed to Grimmauld over the summer.

"The Ministry really isn't relenting," commented Remus. "They really want to have full control over the school."

Sirius put the letter down. "Fudge is afraid of Dumbledore having more influence than him. He wants to snuff it out from the source."

And if that wasn't the truth. Even with the title of Minister, the man's thirst for power wasn't quenched. He seemed to want to do anything to maintain his seat, even if it meant potentially putting the people of magical Britain in danger.

"Harry's been getting detention, McGonagall informed me. There's no mention about them in his letters, though."

"You think something is up?" asked Remus.

"He's never shied away from mentioning when he was in trouble, even when he was afraid we'd kick him out."

Harry was afraid of the news reaching them from another source, which would have been worse in his opinion. It was going to take them a lot of conversations to unlearn all that, but Remus believed they were getting there. The boy was starting to trust them bit by bit, but recovery was never a straight line.

Adhara, on the other hand, may require a different approach, and maybe, even more time.

"Anything about Adhara?"

Unlike Harry, who's news reached them despite the boy's reluctance to tell them much because of Sirius and Remus' close correspondence with McGonagall, keeping tabs on Adhara was more difficult.

Just like her brother, Adhara didn't say much. Only owling when she wrote in the Quibbler. And Sirius was never in Snape's good favour. They were still surprised that the man even agreed to continue with Remus' monthly potions.

Expectedly, Sirius shook his head. "Though, Quidditch should start next month. Suppose we can go watch their match."

Remus never thought of it. However, he rarely ever went to a match when he was at Hogwarts, so it wasn't something that ever crossed his mind. Sirius, however, attended every single one of James' games.

There was one thing though...

"Toss a coin to decide who wears the Slytherin jumper?"

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"Yeah, Quirrel was a great teacher. There was just that minor drawback of him having Lord Voldemort sticking out of the back of his fucking head!"

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Adhara was lying in the sun, eyes closed when she heard someone throw their books on the ground near her head, grumbling under their breath.

She could ask what happened, but Hermione would tell her anyway.

"Harry got detention again."

Adhara mouth pursed as she sat up.

The grounds weren't as windy today. A rare sunny day was bestowed on them, and Adhara decided she wanted to be outside even if it was slightly chilly.

Millie was in the Hospital Wing that evening, and the boys were doing Merlin knew what, perhaps keeping each other company as Harry moped about Umbridge.

"Didn't he just finish his first ones?"

Hermione nodded. "He's still not speaking to you?"

"He's not not talking to me. Just being very vague and strange."

It wasn't like their usual fight. Harry probably wasn't actually angry with Adhara. He was angry in general. Besides, Harry had been acting strange since June. Adhara thought it had to do with Cedric. After all, watching someone die was bound to leave lasting scars. And now, with people believing Harry to be a liar, a notion only reinforced by that stupid woman, Adhara wasn't too surprised with Harry's bouts of anger.

She just wished he could keep it at bay at times.

Adhara didn't like Umbridge, either. Putting aside the fact that she was obviously here to act as Fudge's guard dog, her teaching skills were nonexistent. Simply reading the textbook and expecting the students to perform well on the practical was stupid to say the least. It was painfully obvious that Umbridge had no teaching training, and the Ministry was putting whoever they wanted to keep an eye on Dumbledore.

But yelling at her, showing her exactly why the Ministry thought she needed to be here was not the solution. Getting in trouble, making noise and getting detention was not how one won a fight. Why take risks to try and prove a point?

"He - he didn't say anything?"

Adhara eyed Hermione. Her tone of voice, shaking pupils and the bottom lip pulled between her teeth were clear indications of nervousness. She was hiding something.

"Tell me what?"

"N - nothing!"

Terrible liar, she was. But no matter, Adhara was bound to find out.

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"Have you thought about it even once?"

Surprisingly, the Shrieking Shack was a much better spot than expected. Of course, Harry and Adhara had practically no expectation whatsoever, considering the state they left it in back in third year. The one thing that attracted them to the house was the privacy it would provide for them and their friends, seeing as no one else knew about the secret passageway. Though, after some quick cleaning spells they learned over the summer, the place wasn't so bad.

Hermione tidied it up even more, transfiguring some objects into pillows and cushions and a carpet. The bed was there, too, but Harry much preferred the floor and everyone else naturally followed.

"What are you talking about?" inquired Millie. She was able to steal a large chocolate cake - in reality Adhara had asked Winky, who was quite fond of the girl, to bake it for them.

Adhara was lying on her stomach, chin on a pillow. Harry was lying with his head on her back.

"We were talking- "

"She. She was talking. I haven't agreed to anything, yet."

Hermione continued as though she wasn't interrupted. "With Professor Umbridge's- "

"You don't need to call her Professor every time 'Ermione." Ron was lying down on his back, eyes closed and hands on top of his stomach. He looked at bliss, making Harry laugh.

Hermione had chocolate on the side of her mouth, but Harry didn't think she had noticed. Thus, the glare she threw at the redhead didn't have its usual impact.

"As I was saying. With Umbridge's appalling teaching methods-"

"Absolutely horrifying."

Hermione glared at Adhara. Harry couldn't see her expression with his position, but if Millie's laugh was anything to go by, he assumed Adhara was looking back at their friend all innocently.

"I thought it'd be a good idea to have Harry teach, since he's much better."

Harry still didn't think that was a good idea. After all, he was...well he was just Harry. How was he meant to teach students his own age Defence? Why would they want to learn from someone who they believed to be a liar?

He could feel Adhara move from underneath his head, so he sat up. Adhara followed.

"It's this what you were talking about the other day? When you mentioned if Harry had spoken to me, yet?" she asked Hermione.

The girl in question froze with all eyes on her.

"The other day? Hermione only-"

Hermione smacked Ron, stopping him mid-sentence.

"Yes. Of course. Totally."

Millie and Adhara exchanged a look.

Hermione had only mentioned the idea last night, so that definitely wasn't what Adhara was talking about. Though, the topic seemed to be about him, so Harry let it go.

Adhara turned to him. "Do you want to?"

Harry pulled his legs up, squirming in his spot. "I don't know...should I?"

"Up to you," she said, shrugging. "You would be much better than Umbridge."

"Absolutely," agreed Millie, "the woman clearly has no formal training in teaching. And to say it's our O.W.L year. I need to get into N.E.W.T level Defence class next year if I want to be a healer, and that definitely is not happening with that toad as a professor!"

They definitely wouldn't. With her new position, Umbridge seemed much more interested in passing new decrees left and right, reinforcing the Ministry's control over Hogwarts.

Millie looked at Harry expectedly, similar to how Hermione was eyeing him yesterday. It made Harry squirm even more.

"And more important than O.W.Ls or N.E.W.Ts, You-Know-Who is out there!" exclaimed Ron. "Let's face it, we don't even know if we'll get to sit our exams, not with the madman lurking about! And the woman isn't teaching us anything to properly fight!"

Harry still wasn't very sure. Everyone expected him to be such a terrific wizard, with all these skills that he apparently has had since he was born. They all think Harry somehow had the ability to face Voldemort and come back out alive, again. They don't seem to understand that it was all just luck.

He looked at Adhara, who didn't look like she expected anything from him at all, and somehow, that appeased his worries.

"You don't have to if you don't want to," reassured Adhara. "This really isn't your responsibility." Swiftly, she glared at Ron.

And Harry knew exactly what his sister's opinion was about fighting the war, but he didn't comment.

"But if you're hesitating because you think you lack the skills, then remember that you cannot be worse than Umbridge."

Because they did have to fight, somewhere in the near future, that part was certain. And they definitely needed to be prepared for when it happened. Harry may be hesitant to be the one to prepare them, but it didn't change that someone had to. That someone had to tell them, not just Adhara, Ron, Hermione and Millie, but to everyone inside the castle they needed to be ready. Because Umbridge certainly wasn't going to, because the Minister cared more about his own power.

Because Voldemort wasn't going to go easy on them just because they were children.

Harry leaned against the wall, overcome with the strangest desire that it swallowed him up, making himself disappear. Making him not exist. But that couldn't be.

Harry nodded. "We'll see."

Perhaps it wouldn't be so bad if it was just them.

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Harry rolled over, shoving his head underneath his pillow, hoping the cold sheets would soothe his aching scar. He's been dreaming about the locked door since summer, but they were getting more and more frequent. Harry wondered what they meant.

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If there was one lesson Adhara learned over and over again every year, it was never to underestimate Hermione Granger.

Adhara watched as the twenty something Hogwarts students filled in the Hog's Head. She sat on a stool, right next to Harry as Hermione explained to them all what they were all doing here. The fact that she even managed to get them all here without telling them anything was amazing in itself. Adhara wondered what Hermione had told them.

She watched as they all agreed that they required better training in Defence. She watched as they all screamed when Hermione said Voldemort's name out loud.

She could sense Harry wasn't happy with the situation. And, though impressed with Hermione's persuasiveness, Adhara couldn't say that she was either. She already didn't believe Harry needed to involve himself in a war that wasn't his fault, and the fact that he was taking on such a big responsibility on his shoulder only made matters worse.

Flashes of Mrs. Weasley's boggart ran through her mind. Adhara only wished Harry would learn to stay out of it.

She often remembered what Remus had told her. The very words that pushed Adhara to stand in court against Matron, but she didn't think the logic applied to Harry. Because the boy wasn't fighting to protect, he was fighting simply because it was the right thing to do.

It wasn't the same.

A boy - Hufflepuff, Smith - got defensive, not believing that Voldemort had returned. Adhara wasn't too surprised. With all the bullshit the Prophet has been spewing, it was expected to have people doubt Harry's words, even though Adhara found them ridiculous to fall for such obvious propaganda.

Though, not her circus, so.

"What makes me say You-Know-Who's back?" said Harry, facing Smith directly. "I saw him. But Dumbledore told the whole school what happened last year, and if you didn't believe him, you won't believe me, and I'm not wasting an afternoon trying to convince anyone."

Secretly, Adhara smirked. Harry needed to watch his temper around Umbridge, but anyone else, it was fine if he decided to be snarky with them.

Admonished, Smith didn't say another word, and the rest started to list every one of Harry's accomplishments, or as how Adhara liked to think of them, his brushes with death. From his fight with the basilisk, to the one with the dragon. From his broom skills, to his ability to produce a patronus, something one of the Weasley twins had brought up and the exclamations that followed had made her brother's neck turn red.

"A corporal one?"

"I - well -"

Zacharias Smith wasn't impressed. "Are you trying to weasel out of showing us any of this stuff?"

Adhara genuinely wanted to throttle him. His voice was starting to annoy her.

Not my monkeys, she chanted in her head.

"Here's an idea," Ron exclaimed. "Why don't you shut the fuck up?"

Smith looked put upon. "Well, we've all turned up to learn from him and now he's telling us he can't really do any of it."

"That's not what he said," snarled one of the twins.

The other one pulled something out of his bag. "Would you like us to clean out your ears for you?"

Smith shuddered.

"Or any part of your body, really, we're not fussy where we stick this."

Hermione was quick to diffuse the tension. They had all agreed somehow to take lessons from Harry. The next point was to decide when, and more importantly, where they were going to hold these lessons.

"I really don't think there's any point in meeting less than once a week-"

"Hang on," said Johnson, Gryffindor captain, "We need to make sure this doesn't dash with our Quidditch practice."

"No," said Chang, "nor with ours!"

"Nor ours," added Smith.

And Adhara was inclined to agree. "Nor ours."

She saw some of the students in the first row flinch, when she spoke. Millie and Adhara hadn't said anything, yet. But they weren't blind. It wasn't so much as a surprise to see some of their guests eye them suspiciously.

Smith was practically glaring at them. "Another thing. What are Slytherins doing here?"

The boy had said Slytherin with such venom that he could've passed for a snake himself.

"What do you mean?" said Harry, dangerously.

"Well, if we're learning how to fight You-know-Who, then-"

"We're not learning to fight against him," interrupted Adhara. "Harry's going to teach us defence spells. What you decide to do with them is none of our business."

Silence hung over them. Adhara could feel her friends' gaze on her, making her suddenly realise that she hasn't voiced her opinion on the matter in front of them, yet.

Harry, in particular, wasn't happy.

Smith scoffed. He stood up, gesturing at Adhara with his palms up."See? She doesn't even want to fight. Such a Slytherin. You wouldn't care unless it benefitted you, somehow, so you?"

Not her circus, not her monkeys. Not her circus, not her-

He turned back to her. "What else can we expect from a bloodpurist?"

-fuck it.

"A bloodpurist with a muggle mother? Yes, it makes complete sense, doesn't it?"

Though that was also the case with Tom Riddle, Adhara did not mention that.

Smith's smile fell. "Muggle-"

And here she thought that was common knowledge at this point. She looked at Smith judgmentally.

Millie came to her rescue. "Duh. Why else do you think people call her a 'Taint to the Black name'?"

"I - I." He paused, huffing in. "You're still Slytherin! You-Know-Who was also in-"

"So was Merlin," jumped in Ron, "are you afraid of him, too?"

Smith bristled.

"Not to mention," said Harry. He still looked like he wanted to punch the Hufflepuff. "The man who betrayed my parents to Voldemort was a Gryffindor. Though, you do not look that afraid of me?"

On the contrary, Adhara thought Smith looked like he was going to piss his pants.

Hermione, who was trying to remain diplomatic, addressed everyone in the crowd, though she kept glancing back at Smith.

"Let's keep our...uhm...outdated opinions about Houses to ourselves, shall we? Umbridge is a problem to us all."

"And if you still don't like the situation," continued Harry, "you could easily leave. We aren't holding you captive here."

Smith didn't move. "I could easily go and tell Unbridge-"

"You won't," said Adhara, "otherwise, you wouldn't have come here. Though, if you do decide to go on with your plan, it would be easy to make you forget this meeting ever happened."

Smith seemed to understand the threat for what it was. He kept his mouth shut for the rest of the meeting.

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"Did you really have to say that?"

Adhara didn't react, proving that she knew exactly what he was talking about.

Everyone had left, leaving him, Adhara, Millie, Hermione and Ron at the Hog's Head. The bartender was there, too, but he was cleaning glasses, pretending like he couldn't hear their conversation, as he had done so the entire meeting.

Their friends remained quiet.

"Adz."

She didn't react.

"You - you don't want to fight, Adhara?" asked Hermione, quietly.

Adhara turned to her, eyes wide. "Voldemort is after him. Tell me how it makes sense for him to run head on into battle? He should stay in hiding."

Harry could feel his anger slowly rise."I want to fight!"

"Why?" she whipped around, facing Harry. "The Order is there for a reason. Let them fight! You didn't start this war! It isn't your mess to clean up!"

Harry didn't back down. He stood up, looking over his sister, but that only made Adhara follow suit, her stool toppling over.

He looked Adhara right in the eye, arms flailing, throat and chest heavy. It was one thing to have the world stand against him when he was literally fighting to save it, it was another to have his sister do the same.

"You think that'll stop Voldemort from coming after me? He's done it four times already. You fought your fight with Matron, so why shouldn't I-"

"That isn't the same thing-"

"How?"

"Testifying against Matron wasn't going to kill me! Fighting Voldemort just might-"

She stopped, wide eyes stuck on his hands. Following her gaze, Harry stumbled back, but not before Adhara snatched his hand.

"Adz-"

She yanked his sleeves, and froze.

He heard someone gasp, someone calling Harry's name, but his ears had started to ring. Adhara's anger, his friends' expectation, all the rumours and the whispers, Voldemort, Cedric, that odd dream about the door - it was all suddenly too much. His vision went white.

When he came back to himself, Harry was sitting on the floor, someone was rubbing a hand on his back - Millie - and Adhara was still standing, watching him. Her fists were shaking.

Ron and Hermione were there, too, but Harry kept his eyes on Adhara.

"I thought you were only writing lines. What - what was she-"

"Bloodquills," supplied Ron. "She had him use bloodquills. They carve the lines onto him. "

The hand on his back paused briefly, before starting back up.

Adhara looked murderous. "You didn't tell me."

"I didn't want to worry you."

She scoffed.

"You told me to be careful with my temper, and I didn't. What was I supposed to say?"

Adhara stared at him for a couple of more seconds, before rushing out the door.

"Adhi!" Hermione ran after her.

Millie stayed. Ron kneeled down next to him.

"Alright, Har?"

The boy nodded. Out of nowhere, the barman, a rather tall man with an impressive white beard, handed him a glass of water.

Gratefully, Harry took it. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it."

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A/N Surprise! Happy September 1st! I thought it would be nice to publish a bonus chapter today, since it's a pretty significant day in the HP universe. And I do mean bonus, since there will still be a chapter going up tomorrow as usual.