Monday

A cool touch on his forehead jolted Draco out of the nightmare he was having making him lash out at the source in panic. Someone grabbed a hold of his hands before he could connect the hit, however, a soft hushing sound could be heard from above him. Opening his eyes they met the chocolate brown ones of Auror Blackmoore which were filled with a slight worry but even so, the witch was smiling reassuringly at him.

"Good morning, sleepyhead." Hearing her voice calmed him down more than he liked to admit as the images of the nightmare he had passed in front of his eyes. It had been the same one he had all week, a perfect re-enacting of the Auror coming into the potion shop and falling bleeding to the floor but no matter what he did in the dream he could not save her.

Sitting up in bed he watched as the witch walked around looking at the different books that lay strewn all over and for a minute he forgot what kind of books it was until she picked up the one about bonding rituals. She gave him a curious look before closing it and putting it on his desk as she flicked her wrist and the rest of the books followed the first. After a few seconds, the room was clean and the books were placed in a neat pile on his desk. The feeling of her magic roaming around his room sent shivers down his spine and he could feel his magical core hum in pleasure.

"Tell me, Draco. This is not homework is it?" Draco got out of the bed slightly alarmed and tried to walk over to the bathroom as casually as he could.

"We are doing an essay about the Glamour charm and I got a little carried away. I've clearly spent too much time with Granger." Hopefully, the little lie he told would stick he thought as he quickly closed the bathroom door. He quickly washed his face, brushed his teeth and changed into a fresh uniform before trying to leave the bathroom naturally. The witch was seated on the same chair she had slept on a week prior and looked lost in thought. The blond cleared his throat as he approached and her eyes quickly found his.

"I thought you were ordered to stay home for a week?" The witch smiled at him.

"I got bored. So if you are doing an essay about the Glamour charm why do you have books about bonding rituals? Don't tell me you have found a girlfriend in the time I was gone?" The smile turned almost scary at the end of the sentence and Draco knew he was in deep water. He was trying to think of an excuse but everything he thought of sounded more stupid than the next, thankfully luck was on his side that morning as someone knocked on his door loudly.

"Oi! Draco! Get up already!" The voice of Blaise could easily be heard from the other side and he hurried to open it.

"I'm already awake you menace, shut up." Blaise looked over his head and noticed Auror Blackmoore seated behind them and gave the witch a polite nod.

"Ah, well I'll be going ahead then." The taller wizard smirked at him as he walked down the hallway. Draco turned to face the Auror still quietly seated.

"We should leave, Auror Blackmoore, or we will be late for breakfast." The brunette simply nodded and got up from the chair brushing off invisible dust from her uniform robes. The blond went to get his book bag and whispered a quiet thank you to Salazar for helping him out of that situation. Soon they found themselves walking side by side out of the Slytherin dorm and the Auror was the first to break the silence.

"You filled out your papers with Auror Zouch yesterday, correct?"

"Yes." She snickered softly at him.

"I guess you didn't get out on taking the truth serum this time, hm?" Draco shuddered slightly as he remembered taking the potion in front of the most information-rich man in probably the whole country, thankfully he had the courtesy to Silencio him right afterwards so whatever he was saying was not heard.

"To be honest Auror Blackmoore, that wizard scares me." She laughed openly now which made the students closest to them stare at her with curious glances.

"Yes, he has that effect on people but I can assure you, you won't find a more loyal Slytherin. That man will keep a secret until his dying breath." The blond hoped she was telling the truth when he thought back to the interrogation the wizard had done to him a few days ago. It still made him wonder how he had just talked without thinking about it. It was clear the Auror had some tricks up his sleeve that made people talk.

~𓆗~

The Great Hall was buzzing with the usual chatter from students and Draco could feel hundreds of eyes in his direction. It took him a second but figured that it was the Auror they were looking at. The attack had of course not been a secret for long and mostly everyone knew about the witch's health situation but like they were alone in the room she walked to the Slytherin table and sat down next to Auror Thompson who to his surprise was seated there instead of the teachers' table. The blond took a peek up at the said table and soon found the ice-blue eyes of Auror Silver. He was not even hiding the fact that he was staring at the witch and Draco wondered if he knew that the witch had shown up at school this morning. He quickly seated himself opposite of the brunette next to Pansy who was in a full discussion with Auror Zabini about something the blond did not care to listen to. Instead, he focused on the pair in front of him. Auror Thompson was almost too happy this morning for the blond's liking as he fussed over the witch next to him.

"You sure you are healthy enough to be here?"

"I told you already, I am just going to walk around the apartment in circles and die of boredom if I stay at home. It's better to be here and do something useful." She was picking at her sandwich on her plate clearly not having much of an appetite.

"You better finish that sandwich then, before I shove it down your throat." Draco raised an eyebrow at the wizard as he tore off a piece of his scone, he was certainly getting bolder he thought to himself. The brunette scowled at him before picking up the innocent piece of food and biting into it with unnecessary force. The wizard only laughed at her while getting back to his own breakfast.

Their eyes met across the table and the other wizard's eyes reminded the blond of a whirlpool trying to suck him into the depth of the lake. The Auror started to stroke Auror Blackmoore's back without breaking eye contact with him, obviously a statement in itself. He was free to touch, while Draco was not. However, both of them focused on the witch when she started to cough this time though the blond was faster and gave her his glass of juice which she accepted.

"You OK there, Prince? Not gonna fall dead on us are you?" Auror Zabini with the ever horrible timing said from a little down the table. The brunette waved at him after putting down the glass.

"Not planning on it. I'm fine." Draco looked at her worried.

"Auror Blackmoore you should go back to your dorm and rest. I'm sure one of the others can take your shift, you were supposed to take it easy for a week." The auburn-haired Auror next to her nodded.

"I agree with Mr Malfoy. I'll look after him after I follow you to the office." Auror Blackmoore sent them both glares that could easily have killed them both on the spot.

"I don't agree with this, so I refuse." The blond was about to say something but got interrupted by Auror Thompson leaning over closer to her and whispering something in her ear. A faint blush grew on her cheeks and she got up quickly.

"Fine! I'll see you after lunch, Mr Malfoy." He looked to the wizard who got up and he gave him the same predator smile from that time they had met in the Aurors' bedroom. This time however it did not confuse him anymore and he knew the Auror thought he had won that round. Auror Zabini whistled loudly and then proceeded to laugh.

"Wow, he must have some dirt on Auror Blackmoore for her to actually listen." Draco bit his lip and hoped that was not the case.

~ཐིཋྀ~

The brunette was leaning against the wall looking at the students in front of her. Some were waiting patiently, others were almost tripping in place to get into the classroom to start the class. Artemis did not see the appeal as it was Burns that was the Professor but it seemed that some of the students seemed to like her, for reasons only Merlin could know. After some persuasion from Draco at the end of lunch, she had agreed to come to this class with him but had given him his wand a little while before they had arrived in the hallway just to be careful. She looked at him mingle with his friends and had to hide a grin when Potter was among them. The two boys stood side by side and talked to Weasley and Zabini like it was something they had been doing for years. From what she could hear they were discussing quidditch which was probably the few topics the boys could discuss without bringing up unnecessary hurt.

Moving her eyes off the boys she looked over to the group of girls that hurdled close next to them and again she had to hide a grin as Granger and Parkinson were deep in discussing something. Granger's eyebrows were knitted together in concentration and she was nodding along to what Parkinson was saying who in turn looked like she was telling someone a secret she had been forced to keep for too long. The week she had been gone a lot of weird friendships seemed to have sprouted. Artemis noticed the Professor coming walking down the hall then and straightened herself the students broke apart and formed a neat order to enter the class as they did before every class. Burns gave her a polite nod and a sweet smile which the brunette only returned with a frown. The blond Professor took a hold of the door then and pulled it open only to stop short in her tracks.

"My, my. It seems the castle has moved the classroom since last week, students." Curious, Artemis moved so she had a view inside the room and had to stop a laugh as she saw that instead of the usual Defence classroom, there was now a broom closet.

"What do we do now, Professor?" Millicent Bulstrode spoke up while looking at the witch in question with big eyes.

"Don't worry my dears, I have a solution for this. Step back please." The brunette raised her eyebrow at the other witch as she stepped back together with the students. Draco gave her a questioning look over his shoulder and she smirked at him in return. Whatever the so-called Professor was going to do it was not going to work as the castle did not care for wizarding magic. Burns closed the door before taking one step back and proceeded to point her wand at it.

"Reverte!" Artemis snorted and was excited to see what was going to appear on the other side of the door now, knowing the castle it was not the defence classroom that much was certain. The other witch smiled sweetly at everyone as she opened the door once more only to once again stop in her tracks. The closest students started to laugh as it now turned out that the broom closet had turned into a bathroom.

"Expertly done, Professor Burns." Artemis clapped at the other witch with a grin on her face. The green eyes that met hers were filled with spite as she calmly put her wand back into her robe.

"Well students, it seems like the castle is stubborn today and refuses to give us a classroom so today's class is cancelled. I will work on finding a classroom until next class." The gang of students spoke up both in protest and in cheers about the class cancellation. The one who shouted the loudest about it was Granger as she stood there with a determined look.

"But Professor! There are multiple classrooms in the castle that we can use, we can even ask the Headmistress if we can use the Transfiguration classroom. The N.E.W.Ts are too close for us to just skip a class like this." The girl's hair seemed to fizz at the ends as she spoke and the Ravenclaw Terry Boot nodded hard in agreement.

"Hermione is correct, Professor! This just puts us in a negative position no matter how you look at it. It is frankly irresponsible." For the first time since she had arrived at this school, she saw Burns's sugar-sweet mask slip for a second before she answered.

"Now now, students. It's not the end of the world if you miss one class. I will explain everything to the Headmistress now and we will get it sorted. I suggest that you use this time wisely and brush up on Defence in a theoretical manner instead. Good day to all of you." The Professor hastily made her way through the sea of students and all but sprinted down the hall to get away.

Hearing that they would have to study the very practical subject from books seemed the put all of the students on edge and Granger looked even madder now than earlier.

"Theoretical?! How insanely stupid!" Everyone looked at Granger in shock at her outburst and the girl blushed when she noticed everyone staring at her.

"Calm down, 'Mione. Let's just go to the library and study something else." Lovegood patted her friend on the shoulder and the girls smiled at each other.

Suddenly, Artemis could feel someone staring at her and quickly found Weasley's eyes on her.

"Guys, there is an Auror following us wherever we go these days." The wizard then proceeded to point at her and she raised her eyebrows at him.

"Correction Mr Weasley. I'm following Mr Malfoy wherever he goes. You just happened to be here as well." The redhead simply grinned at her in response before continuing.

"Sure, but you are a Senior Auror right?" Artemis looked at the rest of the group before she answered and noticed that most of them were now looking like they understood what Weasley was getting at.

"I am yes. Your point, Mr Weasley?" The tall wizard grinned even wider.

"You could teach us instead of Burns! I bet you know tons more than that witch anyway." Artemis looked at the group wide-eyed as they all burst into a cheer, all of them applauded Weasley for the good suggestion and now nineteen pairs of pleading eyes looked back at her.

"I am sorry but I am not qualified to teach anyone." Some of them looked defeated until Zabini took a step forward.

"That's a lie, miss! My older brother told me that you sometimes step in to teach junior Aurors. So you are more than qualified to teach us." The boy crossed his arms and smirked at her in victory. Thinking about it for a second she was not really against teaching them, maybe they would actually get to learn something that could help them and not just practice warding charms every week. Her wounds were more or less healed and maybe she could get out some frustration by shouting these young wizards and witches some orders.

"Fine, fine. I yield. You win. I'll take on the task of teaching you Defence, but for that I need help." Again the students started to cheer as she took out her wand and cast Expecto Patronum.

"Zabini, get your arse to the Room of Requirement and bring our duelling gear." The butterfly flew down the hallway in haste as she turned to the students.

"Before we go let me tell you that I will not go easy on any of you. You are all adults and I will treat you as such so this will be a taste of what Junior Auror training will be and since none of you is forced to be here I will excuse anyone who is not willing to be here. You are free to choose if you rather would use your time studying anything else." The brunette crossed her arms and waited for a minute, surprisingly, none of the students moved.

"Well then, you will now address me as Auror Blackmoore and you will follow my every order. Are we clear?"

"Yes, Auror Blackmoore!" Artemis looked to a grinning Potter who had stood at attention when he had yelled and she returned the grin.

"Two lines. Boys on the right, girls on the left. Now follow me. You are free to talk." The students hurried to form the lines and an exciting humming formed as she turned around and started to make her way towards the seventh floor hearing clear footsteps behind her.

Her body hummed in anticipation to teach again and to get her thoughts set on something else. The brunette's mind had been filled with what had happened over the last week and because of this, she had only managed to stay in her own apartment for one day before giving up and going back to Hogwarts. The other wizards had protested and insisted that she go and rest some more but she had refused. Even though this meant seeing Orion and Cyril scowling at each other every day.

The two men had obviously gotten some bad blood between them with what Orion had done with Burns but even though how many times Artemis twisted her head around that she still found it hard to believe that the blond wizard had been in that office for the things Cyril thought. What she did not like was that the wizard had lied to her when she had asked about it. Cyril, on the other hand, was growing bolder by the hour and touched her now more frequently and especially in front of Orion but at the moment Artemis did not mind the physical contact from the man. Him stroking her back at breakfast had been strangely reassuring and even if he had threatened to kiss her in front of the entire Great Hall if she didn't do as she was told she still didn't blame the man. The kiss the two had shared only two days prior still flashed in her mind from time to time anyway and it was something pleasant to think about. She hadn't really thought about going any further with him but didn't find herself opposing the idea either. Besides, he had been sweet but polite when he had followed her back to the office and made sure she had everything she needed before he left. She had ended up catching up on some paperwork and then sleeping for a couple of hours even though she still found that fascinating from practically being asleep for five days in a row.

As she stopped everyone to wait for those who were lagging behind because of the moving stairs at the beginning to the seventh-floor hall a German Shepard Patronus came bouncing excitedly down the hall. It did a lap around the group before sitting down in front of Artemis.

"I'm almost there!" Zacharias sounded a little winded which meant he was running to catch up to them. The younger Zabini looked at her with pleading eyes from behind Draco as the dog vanished.

"Did you have to invite my brother, Auror Blackmoore?" She grinned at him.

"As much as I hate to admit it Mr Zabini, your brother is one of the best duellers the Ministry has, there is none better to help me." Zabini let out a groan as he leaned his head on Draco's shoulder, which just made the blond wizard laugh at him.

Artemis waited for another minute before she did a headcount and seeing they were everyone she started her march towards the wall where the Room was located. The excited hum that had fallen over the students seemed to grow in volume as she walked back and forth in front of the wall to the Room of Requirement and soon a door started to form gracefully. Opening it she let the students in first and noticed that Zabini came running down the hall.

"Took you long enough, Queen." The wizard was slightly out of breath as he grinned at her.

"You caught me in the middle of patrolling the outskirts of the school but I say I got here right on time. So why the sudden urge to duel?" Artemis pointed to the students inside the classroom.

"Castle moved Burns's classroom so instead of bothering to find somewhere else to have the class she simply cancelled it and your brother together with Weasley is a persuasive combo." The dark Auror laughed at her as he took a look inside but suddenly the laughter died in his throat and he looked slightly out of comfort.

"Sorry, but seems like the castle is pulling our legs here…" Artemis frowned at him in confusion before studying the room in question and froze in place. It was the same Defence classroom where they had seen her true self for the first time back in seventh year. The only difference was that the furniture was placed neatly where it was supposed to be and the windows were still intact. Zacharias leaned down to her and whispered in her ear.

"Look at the stage." She didn't want to but her eyes got drawn to it automatically and there it was the chair that she had been sitting in, bound and bleeding. The students had already taken their seats and were waiting for the two Aurors to start the lesson so they had no choice but to go with it. The brunette swallowed and shook her head furiously before taking a deep breath.

"It's just a room, Queen." She whispered back at him and their eyes met for a quick second before the both of them moved to the front of the classroom and got up on stage.

~ཐིཋྀ~

Zacharias took the chair and placed it on the floor without saying anything and Artemis took a peek at the stage floor and shuddered. There was a slight discolouration where the chair had stood and she cursed the castle for playing such a cruel joke. She met the worried eyes of Draco who was seated on the first row next to the younger Zabini, it was clear he could somehow tell that something was wrong. The brunette gave him a slight smile before turning her attention to the rest of the class.

"Alright, now that everyone is here let's begin. Auror Zabini you remembered the duelling gear I hope?" The dark wizard grinned at her before pulling two small pieces of fabric out of his pocket as well as unsheathing his wand from its holster. He tapped the two pieces carefully and they quickly grew to their original sizes, he handed her the duelling cloak as he started to take off his own uniform robe.

"So, we showing these kids how it's done then?" His eyes were filled with challenge and she smirked at him while she unbuttoned her own uniform.

"Correct. Better to give a demonstration before we start don't you think?" He laughed as he flung his robe to the chair that was once on stage and put on the duelling cloak and Artemis quickly followed suit.

The duelling cloaks were not strictly necessary but if they were to go all-in it was best to be careful, these robes were made to take more rough spells head-on than their usual uniforms and it was easier to move in them. It had been a while since she had worn it so she took her time to stretch her arms to make sure it was suited correctly.

"Alright, Auror Zabini and I will show you how a duel is done in Junior Auror training. No need for you to take notes as it is better for you to pay attention to what is going on stage. If you have questions you can ask them after. You will then also get the chance to duel each other with our supervision. Ready, Auror Zabini?" The wizard bowed at her mockingly and some of the students snickered at him.

"Ready as ever!" Both of them walked to the middle of the stage facing each other wand in hand. Zacharias looked down at her with a grin.

"No cheating, and it's been a while so how about first to draw blood wins?" Artemis looked up at him with a similar grin as she twirled her wand between her fingers.

"I would never. You're on, Zabini." With a final laugh, they both turned around and walked to the end of the stage, the second they turned around Artemis flung the first spell:

"Oppungo!"

~⚡︎~

Harry watched with wide eyes as the chair that the Aurors had thrown their uniforms on flew towards Auror Zabini's face at a rapid speed. In the last second, the wizard shouted a "Reducto!" making it rain splinters over both of them. Both of them had the look of predators fighting for dominance and it sent shivers down his spine. They sent hexes towards each other without mercy and terrifying accuracy but every time it looked like one would connect the other managed to block in the last second.

As Harry watched he studied both of the Aurors as closely as he could, it was clear that Auror Blackmoore was more of an offensive dueller as she used the hexes that would do more damage but that did not mean she could not block a direct spell sent her way. On the other hand, Auror Zabini was more defensive and sent fewer hexes and focused more on blocking but when he first sent one in the witch's direction it would do some major damage if she was not quick enough to block.

The people around him had started to cheer for the one they hoped would win but it did not look like the Aurors were paying them any attention. Harry could even hear Hermione behind him cheering for Auror Blackmoore while Ron next to him was surprisingly rooting for Auror Zabini. It was like watching a complicated dance that only the dancers knew about as they used the whole stage to their advantage which was bigger than the one he had duelled Malfoy on back in his second year he noticed.

Finally, Auror Zabini got a spell to connect and Auror Blackmoore flew backwards and landed on the floor of the classroom. The room was silent for several seconds as Harry looked at Auror Zabini. He was calm and was just waiting patiently for the witch to get up, proof that he knew exactly how much of a beating the woman could handle before she called it quits. The brunette got to her feet quickly brushed off her robes and climbed back onto the stage calmly, a smirk on her face.

"Lucky shot, Zabini. No blood yet I'm afraid."

"What a shame. Gotta try harder next time then. Incendio Tria!" A huge breath of fire came out of the wizard's wand and seemed to connect to its target but suddenly Auror Blackmoore's voice could clearly be heard inside the fiery inferno.

"Really, Zabini? Incendio tria? Impedimenta!" The dark Auror immediately floated backwards in slow motion and the brunette walked out of the flames surrounded by a shielding charm and pushed him over the stage's edge making him fall on his back slowly. Seconds before he hit the ground however she broke the spell and he hit the floor in full force making him grunt out in pain. The witch stood on stage and laughed at him.

"Payback." The wizard was quick on his feet and back on the stage as he snickered.

"This is why you never trust a Gryffindor, people!"

It amazed Harry how the two of them could look like sworn enemies to best friends in a matter of seconds and he wondered if he and Malfoy would get this friendship eventually. He took a peek at the blond wizard who had his eyes glued to the stage mumbling something to himself. Probably a silent cheer for Auror Blackmoore to win he reasoned.

It had been weird seeing him in a state between sorrow and agony for the entire week only to return to his old snarky self at breakfast on Sunday morning. The ravenhead had breathed a sigh of relief when he had heard that Auror Blackmoore had woken up and was OK but he had to admit that he was also glad to have the old Malfoy back. He felt like he was straight back in sixth year again when Auror Silver came to him and asked if he could keep an eye on Malfoy for him since the other Aurors were too busy with other things. The ravenhead liked to think that it was thanks to him that they had managed to figure out so fast that something was wrong when he had not found Malfoy inside Hogwarts that Monday afternoon and had decided to report it to one of the Aurors. What he was most thankful for was that they all had taken him seriously and immediately started to investigate where they could have gone instead of brushing him off as being paranoid.

The fascinating dance had started again and Harry found himself once again glued to the stage in awe. It seemed like hours passed before anything happened next but finally, Auror Zabini got the final blow. He managed to sneak in a cutting hex in between two shielding charms which took Auror Blackmoore by surprise and a small cut appeared on her cheek showing a small amount of blood. Immediately both of them lowered their wands and they both bowed to each other before turning and bowing to their audience. With his friends, he stood up from his chair and applauded loudly, to him it didn't matter who won. It had been incredible to watch.

Both of the Aurors stood on stage to get their breaths back and come down from the adrenaline high the both of them most likely had right now before Auror Blackmoore raised her hand to quiet them. The room fell quiet and they all sat down again.

"I hope that was to your liking, everyone. As you saw from the spells we used this was exactly how a duel goes during training. If someone is out to hurt you, you need to be prepared for anything. This is why we duel with high-level spells and hexes. It goes without saying but Unforgivables are of course still not allowed to be used unless it is absolutely necessary in the field." As she talked Auror Zabini pointed his wand at her cheek and mumbled a healing spell which made the cut disappear entirely. Harry could tell that Hermione had raised her hand behind him without even looking and was not surprised when Auror Zabini called her name.

"Have any of you ever used one in the field?"

"Yes." They answered in unison and silence fell over the room before Auror Zabini grinned at them.

"Any more questions? Or do we have some volunteers to give this a go, eh?"

A couple of people raised their hands and Auror Blackmoore pointed to Neville first. The boy looked up at the two Aurors on stage nervously before asking his question.

"Are we going to have to duel to first blood too, Auror Blackmoore?" The brunette smiled reassuringly at him.

"No, Mr Longbottom you will be given a time limit of three minutes no matter if there is a victor or not." Harry had to grin at Neville as the boy breathed a sigh of relief.

"Yes, Miss Bulstrode?" Auror Zabini pointed at Bulstrode who was sitting in the back row.

"Are we allowed to use physical violence?" Everyone turned to look at the girl but she simply shrugged as the dark Auror cleared his throat.

"No, that will not be allowed. Only magic is permitted in a duel but if you ever find yourself alone without a wand of course you would have to use every option available. The little one next to me here can really pack a punch if she is in danger and yes, I speak from experience." The class laughed as Auror Blackmoore hit him on the shoulder presumably hard as he winced before laughing himself. The brunette huffed as she pointed to Terry Boot who was sitting on the first middle row next to Anthony Goldstein.

"Yes, Mr Boot?"

"Can't we just Accio the opponent's wand into our own hands and win that way?" The witch grinned at him.

"Well you are free to try but usually you would use Expelliarmus for that. Alright, one more question then we move on, Mr Macmillian?" The boy looked over at Harry sheepishly.

"Can we use wandless magic?" The ravenhead looked at the other boy surprised and thought if he had ever used wandless magic in a duel, knowing himself he probably did it without thinking about it. Zacharias Smith elbowed his friend as he snickered at him.

"Can you even use wandless magic?" Ernie grinned again as he shrugged.

"Well, some of you can, I believe it is a fair question." Auror Zabini clapped his hand to get everyone's attention and waited to answer until all eyes were on him.

"If that is something you can do then you are allowed. Now! Who wants to go first?" Harry was quick to raise his hand as his body was almost vibrating from the waiting. Auror Zabini pointed at him to get on stage and he hurriedly got up from his seat and easy enough climbed up to stand next to him. Auror Blackmoore took off her duelling robe and gave it to him.

"Put this on Mr Potter, I'll charm it to fit." For once Harry was fast to follow orders and in a matter of a minute, he stood there in the brunette's robe perfectly fitted to his body. A rush of adrenaline was already starting to go through him in excitement.

"Now who wants to duel Mr Potter?" The classroom was silent for a long time before Auror Blackmoore pointed to Malfoy.

"Mr Malfoy. On stage please." Malfoy sighed dramatically before he did as he was told. The witch sent him a mischievous grin as he walked passed her to grab Auror Zabini's duelling robe and put it on. The room filled with excited noise again as the two of them got ready and they soon found themselves face to face again.

"Just like second-year huh, Malfoy?" The blond smirked down at him with a glint of humour in his eyes.

"Scared, Potter?" Harry snorted loudly.

"You wish, Malfoy." The two Aurors stepped down from the stage to make room for them and both of them looked at Auror Blackmoore for instructions.

"Right gentlemen, as both of you can use wandless magic you are free to do so but I want most use with your wands. You have three minutes to beat each other up but if it goes too far I will step in and stop you. Are you ready?" Harry looked at Malfoy for a second before he nodded, the blond smirked at him in return and a whistle could be heard loud and clear.

They both did the gracious bow and walked to each end of the stage as Auror Blackmoore had done before him. Malfoy sent off a spell the moment he turned around making Harry the first one to block. This dance went on for a while before the ravenhead decided to switch it up and peppered the blond with offensive spells making him almost connect a couple. He found himself laughing as this was the most fun thing he had done since returning to school.

The ravenhead had decided to start his relationship with Malfoy all over again but before the Aurors had come to school all they had done was give each other polite nods in the hallways. He felt he knew the other man better now and understood more of the reasons why he did the things he did during the war. If Harry were, to be honest with himself he would probably do the same things himself to keep his family alive. Malfoy was also the only one who had ever talked to him straight, never given him stupid excuses or treated him like a Saviour. In a fight, they both had fought dirty and made mistakes but somehow it all made sense.

The blond was grinning at him in return probably feeling the rush himself now as he showed Harry no mercy in the spells he was sending his way. Way too soon a loud whistle could be heard in the room and both of the boys stopped dead in their tracks. It was like returning from a dream as the ravenhead looked down at his classmates and he found himself breathing hard and his shirt was sticky on his back from sweat. All of them cheered loudly at them and the Aurors applauded them.

"Good show, you two!" Auror Zabini grinned at them both as he climbed back on stage. A swell of pride rose in Harry's chest at the compliment and he looked at Malfoy and saw a similar expression on his face.

"Very good yes but a few pointers to you both. Mr Potter, you need to be quicker with your shields as they are cutting too short sometimes and you need to practise your aim while you send off more than one spell at a time. Multiple of them went more to the left of Mr Malfoy's head which made it easier for him to dodge. Mr Malfoy, you need to think more about your opponent's height. You are a tall wizard but that does not mean your opponent is so you need to aim further down." Harry took the information to heart and was going to remember this for next time, it was a good pointer to know and he nodded seriously at the brunette.

"Yes, Auror Blackmoore." Auror Zabini patted both of them on the back as he grinned widely.

"You guys should join us on the force! It's been a while since I've seen that kind of show and you both would crush some Aurors I know in a duel." The ravenhead smiled widely in return as Ron shouted.

"Harry is the strongest wizard there is! He would mop the floor with them!" Harry blushed at his friend's outburst and the discussion that erupted in the room. Auror Blackmoore had at one point gotten up on stage again and was helping Malfoy out of his robes and the ravenhead grinned at him when a soft blush coloured his usually pale skin.

~ཐིཋྀ~

Artemis helped Draco out of the uniform and charmed it into the proper size before handing it back to Zacharias. The two boys had shown incredible prowess in duelling and it had genuinely impressed her. That was the aftermath of fighting for their lives during a war she reasoned. The blond's eyes were like a thunderstorm and he was still slightly out of breath from the adrenaline rushing through his body and from what she could tell Potter was dealing with the same. However, both of them looked like they would happily do it again if they were allowed to do so. The brunette turned her attention to the classroom and held up a hand for them to be quiet when the silence did not follow, however, she cleared her throat.

"Silence!" Everyone jumped at the sudden volume coming from the witch and she smirked at them all.

"Thank you. Now take your seats Mr Malfoy, Mr Potter." She watched as the boys did as they were told and took a moment to check the time, it showed that it was thirty minutes left until dinner.

"Seems like we are out of time so you are all free to go to dinner. Let's hope Burns has found a classroom for all of you for her next class." The brunette was surprised by the protest that started in the room and she looked over to Zacharias who raised his eyebrow at her.

"I refuse to attend any more of her classes after what happened today. She showed no professionalism at all!" The young Zabini spoke up now at the same time as he stood up.

"I've learned more this class alone than the entire year's worth of classes from that 'Professor'." Zacharias bowed deeply at his little brother.

"What an honour to hear those words coming from you my dear little brother!" Artemis rolled her eyes at her friend and crossed her arms.

"I'm sorry Mr Zabini but we are not teachers, sadly, she is so she is the one that is supposed to teach you." The protests grew even louder now and the dark Auror next to her flung an arm around her shoulders.

"Listen, Prince. What if we teach them behind Burns's back? Then they might actually pass their N.E.W.Ts you know? I've been with Malfoy for some of his classes and Merlin's beard she is genuinely awful at her job." Artemis gave the wizard a hard look.

"That is not our job Queen and you know it. If McGonagall finds out we are dead in the water!" She said between gritted teeth. The wizard smirked his standard Slytherin smile when he was really up to something.

"First of all, Prince. You called me Queen, so you are not really mad. Second, when did you ever follow McGonagall's rules? Third, you hate Burns, they hate Burns so win-win." The brunette was thinking hard about what he was suggesting as she looked over the classroom. Everyone was looking at the two Aurors in excitement waiting patiently for what they were talking about. In the end, she sighed loudly.

"Fine, but this needs to be planned before we do anything. Got it?" Zacharias turned toward the students with a wicked grin on his face.

"Well class, you have two new teachers but this needs to be kept on the down-low. McGonagall can't know about this or she will have all of our heads and give us all detention in the Forbidden Forest."

"We won't say anything and if anyone snitches I will personally hex their shoes to the ceiling, understand?" Parkinson was the one who stood up and threatened the entire room at which everyone nodded in agreement. Artemis smiled at the witch and motioned her to sit again.

"I want all of you to think about what you need to work on the most, it can be anything, from the simplest shielding spell to more complex duelling, we will make sure you learn everything you need to know. Now run off to dinner before anyone suspects you all of being kidnapped." Everyone was quick to pick up their school bags, only the Slytherins seemed to take their time.

Zacharias looked at Artemis confused but she sent him after the rest of the students as him not showing up for dinner would be weirder than her missing it. She said nothing as she sat down on the edge of the stage taking a deep breath.

"Are you alright Auror Blackmoore?" She met the eyes of Theodore Nott who was standing in front of her with his book bag slung over his shoulder. The boy had been quiet the entire class but he had been paying attention to everything that had been done.

"Yes, nothing to worry about Mr Nott." All of the Slytherins behaved strangely and were reluctant to leave.

"There is nobody here but us now so out with it, what do you want to ask?" The little group exchanged looks before Parkinson stepped forward nervousness clear on her face.

"When you said that we could ask about anything did you mean that?" Artemis's face turned to that of surprise as she nodded.

"Yes, of course." The young witch fiddled with the hem of her robe before she gathered the courage to ask the question right out.

"Can you teach us how to use Expecto Patronum?" The Auror's eyes softened as she studied the five Slytherins before her. She understood now why they had waited for the others to leave as it might spark negative reactions between the houses. All of them had found themselves on the wrong side of the battle and not by their own choice. The brunette met Draco's eyes and she knew what her answer was going to be.

"Alright, I will teach you but it requires a lot of work from all of you as well. That is not an easy charm to master and it takes time and patience. One thing you need to find for yourself is the happiest memory you can think of, no matter how small, no matter how simple we will try them all until it works." Parkinson threw herself at Artemis and hugged her tight in the spur of the moment while the poor witch started to sob.

"T… Thank you, Auror Blackmoore." Zabini started to blush at his friend's behaviour and pried her off.

"Come on Pans', don't embarrass us further." Artemis laughed at them as they all relaxed their poses.

"I understand that you guys don't really have a good image of us Aurors after the war but I'll assure you that I will help with anything I can. Let's go to dinner, hm?" She hopped down from the stage and took the lead to leave the room hearing eager footsteps behind her. As she closed the door behind them she swore she felt a cold breeze with a sweet smell of blood blow past her face making the demon inside her thrash in rage. Artemis closed her eyes and took a deep breath to calm down before following the Slytherins. It was easy to tell that a pair of stormy grey eyes were following her every move.