DISCLAIMER: See
A/N: Originally, Harry did too much and got away with too much while Ron got the brunt of it. That's all been fixed.
As for the Gryffindor password... I decided to use it because I couldn't think of anything better.
IMPORTANT!!! DO NOT GIVE ANYTHING AWAY, ESPECIALLY IN REGARDS TO THE CODE!
WARNING: Mild buddy-bashing ahead.
CHAPTER 17: ASSISTANT PROFESSOR POTTER
Expertus scribo quod scribo. With experience, I write what I write. –Pliny, Epistulae (7.25.2)
Harry slept surprisingly well that night, given the circumstances.
Early the
next morning, he felt a tickling sensation in his nose. He blearily
opened his
eyes to find someone tickling his nose with a feather duster.
"Aw, look at the cute little kitty wake up," Lupin chuckled, "but
he looks so peaceful while he's asleep." Harry yawned (which sounded
like
a low roar), got up, and changed back into the sixteen-year-old boy he
was.
"Thanks for letting me stay here for the night, Remus," Harry said
gratefully.
"No problem, Harry, although being my 'assistant professor,' I'll allow
you to call me 'Remus,' in private," he pointed out.
"Of course. I should go back to
Lupin was waiting outside. "It's still early, and Hagrid will be up and
doing his gamekeeper duties right now. Care to visit him?"
"Sure," Harry said; he was hardly able to talk with Hagrid at all
last year. As they walked onto the grounds (it was still dawn and the
sun was
halfway over the horizon already), the two Animagi saw him carrying
some logs
to build a paddock for his Care of Magical Creatures class.
Seized with a sudden idea, he handed his bag to Lupin; "Please hold
this
for a moment," he said before he transformed into a lion and sneaked
across the grounds and behind Hagrid's hut. He let out a roar, and
Hagrid dropped
the logs he was carrying and exclaimed, "What's that!?" Hagrid's
footsteps were heard coming towards the side of the hut, and Harry
purred a
little. The half-giant came closer, and gasped at what he saw.
"Aw, what a cute little lion!" Hagrid said,
cooing. "Here, kitty, kitty. Aw, you're a handsome lion. Hey, what's
that
on your forehead?" Understanding then blazed in Hagrid's eyes.
"Harry?"
The boy transformed back and said, "Hi, Hagrid, it's great to see you
again."
"When did you become an Animagus?"
"Shh! Didn't Dumbledore tell you?" Hagrid shook his head. "I
registered over the summer. Please, keep it secret, though. Lupin also
became a
wolf Animagus. That's how he can keep his sanity during the full moon."
Lupin came up to them at this point. Giving Harry back his bag, Lupin
said,
"Allow me to demonstrate." The next moment, he was a wolf. Hagrid was
impressed.
"Anyway, it's nice to see you two again, especially after last term,"
Hagrid said. Harry understood immediately, but he seemed to be able to
cope
better after Sirius' death. After they talked for a few more minutes,
Lupin and
Harry went back up to the castle.
As Harry entered the Great Hall, there was some murmuring as people
pointed at
Harry. He did his best to ignore it though. He immediately went to the
nearest
seat, but as soon as he saw Ron there, he immediately veered off and
sat
himself a considerable distance down the table from him. A few minutes
later,
the owls came flying in. Hedwig landed it front of Harry, with an
envelope in its
beak, sealed with the Hogwarts crest. He stroked her feathers and fed
her some
toast before she flew off to the Owlery. Harry was about to open it
when a
torrent of sound filled the hall; it seemed that Mrs. Weasley had sent
a Howler
after all.
"RONALD WEASLEY, I AM ABSOLUTELY ASHAMED OF YOU! OF ALL THE
IMMATURE
AND DANGEROUS THINGS YOU HAVE DONE TO HARRY, THE STUNT YOU PULLED LAST
NIGHT
WAS BY FAR THE WORST! AT LEAST WITH THE FLYING CAR FIASCO, BOTH OF YOU
GOT OFF
WITH A FEW SCRATCHES! BUT NO, THIS TIME YOU DELIBERATELY WENT AND TRIED
TO
CRACK HIS SKULL OPEN! I DON'T KNOW WHAT IN BLAZES HAS GOTTEN INTO YOU!
YOU'VE
BEEN ACTING LIKE THAT ALL SUMMER!
"YOU'RE LUCKY THAT AMONG YOUR PUNISHMENTS WAS BEING FORCED TO SIT OUT
THE
FIRST QUIDDITCH GAME OF THE SEASON! IF IT WERE UP TO ME, I WOULD HAVE
SIMPLY
BROKEN THAT BROOMSTICK OF YOURS IN HALF AND HAVE FORBIDDEN YOU FROM
EVER
SETTING FOOT ON THAT QUIDDITCH PITCH AGAIN FOR ALL ETERNITY! I'M
SURPRISED
PROFESSOR MCGONAGALL EVEN LET YOU KEEP YOUR PREFECT'S BADGE!
PRACTICALLY THE
ONLY THING STOPPING HER FROM TAKING OFF POINTS FROM GRYFFINDOR WAS THE
FACT IT
WAS BEFORE THE START OF THE TERM! WHAT YOU DID WAS SO CRUEL AND
UNDERHANDED
THAT EVEN ON THEIR WORST DAY, YOUR TWIN BROTHERS WOULD HAVE NEVER TRIED
TO
INTENTIONALLY HURT SOMEONE, LET ALONE ONE OF THEIR FRIENDS! YOUR
ATROCITY WAS
SO MEAN AND DESPICABLE THAT I WOULD HAVE EXPECTED IT FROM THAT UMBRIDGE
WOMAN!
"CONSIDER THIS FAIR WARNING, RONALD! IF YOU EVER DO ANYTHING TO HARM
HARRY
EVER AGAIN, I'LL HAVE YOU TAKEN OUT OF HOGWARTS AND DE-GNOMING THE
GARDEN FOR
THE REST OF YOUR NATURAL LIFE!" (1)
Silence swept through the hall like a tsunami. While mainly Gryffindors
laughed
at Mrs. Weasley's threat, the rest of the hall looked puzzled, since
they had
no idea what happened the previous night. There was some muttering from
the
other tables though, since word had spread about Ron being forced to
sit out
the first game of the season. Harry stole a quick glance at the staff
table
just in time to see Professors McGonagall and Snape swap amused looks.
As they
all went back to their meals, Ron glowed like a bomb about to explode,
caught
somewhere between anger and embarrassment.
Sensing trouble, Harry decided to skip breakfast and get something to
eat from
the kitchens. After pocketing his letter, he walked towards the end of
the
Gryffindor and was almost out the door when a spell flew past his head.
He spun
around to find Ron out of his seat and charging at him with his wand
out. The
whole Hall was watching.
"Ron, didn't you hear that Howler just now?" Harry innocently
reminded him. Laughs rang throughout the hall. "I don't think attacking
me
would be in your best interests."
However, Ron seemed to be beyond reasoning by now. "You're not getting
away with this, Potter! Not after how you just humiliated me! Inretio!"
A net sprang out of his wand and entangled Harry, who toppled and fell
to the
ground. Incensed, Harry pulled out his penknife and sliced right
through it.
Getting up, he took a defensive stance. No one rushed to Harry's aid,
and even
the teachers watched, knowing that Harry wouldn't go over the top.
Taken aback by the prompt escape, Ron decided to take a leaf out of his
sister's book and he performed the Bat-Bogey Hex. A swarm of bat bogies
flew at
Harry, who was not the slightest bit worried.
"INCENDIO!" Instead of a streak of
fire, a whole torrent of fire shot from Harry's wand as though from a
Muggle
flame thrower. The people nearest to the duelers screamed and hastily
got out
of the way. It engulfed the bat bogies, and when the fire vanished, the
beasts'
remains dropped to the ground and scattered into ashes.
"Are you arachnophobic, Ron?" he asked in a surprisingly innocent
tone. Ron's eyes went wide. "The Spider-Bogey Hex!
MULTAE ARENAE!" A whole a swarm of spiders, at least twice as
big
as Ron's horde of bat bogies and each individual spider the size of a
Quaffle,
shot out of Harry's wand and scuttled across the floor at their
red-headed
prey. Girls shrieked and stood on their seats, and Ron gave a scream of
pure
terror and ran with the spiders rapidly gaining on him, making
unfriendly
hissing noises.
"All right, all right, I give!" Ron yelled, practically doing laps
around the hall to avoid the spiders. The Slytherins were howling with
laughter
as he ran along the side of their table, and the teachers were far too
amused
to do anything.
"Well, I'm not sure, Ron," Harry said calmly, as the swarm passed in
front of him in a blur of black hair and legs. "You did attack me first
out of pure rage only a minute after your mother's fair warning, and I
do have
a hall full of witnesses who can prove it."
"I know, just please get rid of them!" Ron begged as he completed his
second lap at the Gryffindor table, the spiders still bearing down
mercilessly
upon him.
Harry sighed. With a wave of his wand, they all vanished. Ron kneeled
over,
puffing from exhaustion. Dumbledore stood up and said, "An excellent
demonstration, Mr. Potter, but don't you remember that you could have
given him
detention instead?"
"I'm sorry, Professor, but I only found out last night that I even had
this job," Harry answered respectfully, "and I certainly wasn't
trying to harm him in any way."
"True," the Headmaster responded. He then addressed the rest of the
hall. "Sorry, everybody, but classes won't be canceled today due to
spider
infestations. Please continue eating, since well-fed students can
concentrate
better in classes."
Some people groaned while others laughed; Harry merely went down to the
kitchens to get some food. (2)
~*~*~*~
After tickling the pear in a giant painting and
opening it
up, Harry entered the kitchens. Dobby immediately sprang out of nowhere
and
hugged Harry around the midriff. "Hello, Harry Potter, sir!" the
loyal house-elf exclaimed. "What can Dobby do for you?"
"Do you have any scrambled eggs and orange juice left?" Harry asked.
Dobby responded, "Of course!" One elf carrying a platter of eggs with
a fork and another with a pitcher of juice and a glass appeared before
him and
set them down next to him at a table on the side.
"Thanks," he said, and they beamed and bowed before scurrying back
off to do their work. Remembering the letter, he opened it up to find
his
schedule. It was a lot like his schedule for his summer training back
at
He had a normal class right after breakfast, then the period before
lunch would
be a private Occlumency lesson with Dumbledore, as well as to review
material
for the O.S., and then he would teach his DADA classes in the
afternoons. On
Mondays he had Potions ('How predictable,' Harry thought); on Tuesdays
he had
Transfiguration; on Wednesdays he had Charms; on Thursdays he had Care
of
Magical Creatures; and on Fridays he had normal Defense Against the
Dark Arts.
Even more unusually arranged were the Defense classes he had to teach.
On
Mondays, he would have first year Slytherins for the period after
lunch, then
the second year Slytherins the period after that; on Tuesdays, he did
the same
thing with the Ravenclaws; on Wednesdays, he did the same thing with
the
Hufflepuffs; and on Thursdays, he did the same thing with the
Gryffindors. The
Friday afternoons looked rather weird: The first period after lunch, he
had the
third years from Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, and then the period after
that, he
would teach third years from Gryffindor and Slytherin. 'This must be
Dumbledore's idea of a joke,' Harry thought, 'arranging the classes
like
these.' (3)
~*~*~*~
After finishing his breakfast, he thanked Dobby
and walked
to the Potions classroom. The small group of students included familiar
faces,
and half of them were Slytherins. Draco Malfoy, Theodore Nott and Pansy
Parkinson were there, and they leered at Harry, although they couldn't
do much
else with Blaise and Nora standing right next to them. Harry noticed
that Nott
still used his arm carefully, even though his cast had been taken off
the
previous night. The class also included Padma Patil, Ernie Macmillan,
and
Anthony Goldstein. As Harry joined them, Hermione came running up to
them.
"Hi, Harry," she said, "I can't believe what you did at
breakfast earlier, that was amazing, even
though Ron
was such a jerk." Everyone else laughed.
"Thanks," Harry said, honestly not wanting to think about it. "So, only ten of us?"
"That's right," Padma said, "Not many people get the
grades necessary for these classes to begin with, and even some of
those who do
don't want to continue Potions."
"Whatever reasons those may be, Miss Patil, are not relevant right
now,"
a silky voice said from the other side of the door. It opened to reveal
Professor Snape, in all his dark glory. Not wanting to question the
Potions
Master, they all followed him inside.
Once they had all settled down, the Snape started his little speech for
them.
"Obviously, you have all gotten 'Outstandings' on your O.W.L. exams
last
June, and so you've decided to spend your remaining two years at
Hogwarts
continuing to study Potions. But be warned now: If you thought my
classes were
torturous even during the first five years, you'll be forced to
reconsider even
halfway through this year."
The class seemed to hold its collective breath. After letting the
silence
spiral horribly (something which reminded Harry of Voldemort addressing
the
Death Eaters on the night of his rebirth), Snape continued.
"Today, we will be working on a rare antidote called the Poison Eraser.
One drop alone will save you from most poisons even if they've bought
you
inches from death's door. It is extremely rare, owing to the fact it
requires
basilisk venom in order for it to work. Mr. Potter over here," he
gestured
to Harry and they all looked at him, "helped me acquire a gigantic load
of
basilisk fangs over the summer. Apparently, the remains of the basilisk
he
killed a few years ago in the Chamber of Secrets were still there."
Harry
nodded to confirm this story as their eyes went wide. "I was able to
bring
back over fifty teeth, each a feet long, with enough venom in each of
them to
kill a hundred people. For Potions Masters like myself, basilisk fangs
are like
super-rare diamonds; a very precious commodity that you don't want to
waste.
"Since the antidote is extremely powerful, there is no need to make a
lot
of it. Today, each of you will create three to four ounces of it. Two
people
can share a vial of basilisk venom. You have until the end of class to
complete
it. The instructions are on the blackboard, and the store cupboard is
in the
same place as it's always been. You may begin. Oh, and Potter," he
added
as Harry looked up, "True to my word, fifty points to Gryffindor for
helping me acquire the goods."
Everybody else's jaws dropped as Harry nodded and said, "Thank you,
sir," before he went to get the ingredients from the store cupboard.
Without a doubt, this was much harder than the potions he had learned
about
over the summer. What often separated N.E.W.T. level potions from their
easier
counterparts was the fact that the former had more than one stage in
the
process of being made, making them much more complex. Throughout the
entire
process of checking for just the right color, waiting just the right
amount of
time, and stirring in just the right pattern, Harry kept his cool and
just
continued working until the end, and he didn't even have to ask
Hermione for
help even once. Snape actually ended up having to deduct points from
Slytherin
when Malfoy nearly burned down the table his cauldron was set on.
At the end of class, everyone ladled some of their samples into flasks
and
marked them. Harry had gotten his to be just the right color, a sort of
silver
that seemed to shine. He was sure that if he bothered to test it, the
potion
could glow in the dark. Before carrying it over to Snape's desk, he
remembered
something and put an Unbreakable Charm on it.
For the only time that period, Snape asked something in a tone which
suggested
that points were going to be deducted because of Harry. "Why put an
Unbreakable Charm on the flask, Mr. Potter?"
Harry answered respectfully, "Because with such rare antidotes like
these," he gently tossed it up into the air, "you don't want anything
to happen to them," and he let it fall to the floor, where it landed
with
a dull thud but did not shatter.
Snape raised an eyebrow, and after Harry placed the flask on the
Professor's
desk, Snape said, "Excellent foresight, Potter. You've just earned
another
ten points to Gryffindor." Harry nodded while Malfoy's jaw nearly hit
the
floor. (4)
"For homework, I want you all to compile a list of ten poisons that
this
particular antidote will not work on, along with the reasons
why. Twelve inches of parchment." The bell
rang, and as soon
as they all exited, Harry and the other non-Slytherins, except for
Blaise and
Nora, congratulated Harry on his excellent work. Malfoy, Pansy and Nott
all
sulked back to their dormitories, wondering about Snape's sudden change
of
heart, so to speak (at Hogwarts, none of the students exactly thought
of Snape
as having a heart).
Snape sat at his desk for a moment, contemplating how well that went
overall.
'So a few of my own students will spread some half-baked rumors about
me,' he
thought sarcastically, 'I've put up with rumors over much more
important issues
in the past. And speaking of which. . ." He got up and took out a half
dozen vials of basilisk venom and took them to his office.
After securely locking the door behind him and casting a Silencing
Charm on the
room, he bent on his knee and tapped a paving stone on the side of his
desk
three times. The stone levitated out of its spot and hovered in place
at what
was normally Snape's eye level. The hole in the floor revealed the top
of a box
with the Dark Mark engraved on the lid. Opening it up, he dropped the
vials
into the box (they already had Unbreakable Charms placed on them). He
then
closed the lid, stood up, and tapped the stone three times, causing it
to sink
securely back into place. Finally, he left his office and went to
prepare for
his next class. No one would ever know. (5)
~*~*~*~
Harry went up to his dormitory to drop off his
books for the
time being, then went to Dumbledore's
office to wait
for him. He decided to pass the time by transforming into a lion; he
got a
complimenting whistle from Fawkes and several compliments from the
portraits on
the wall. He lied down on the floor and waited for Dumbledore to come, flipping his tail from one place to another
the same
way a person would tap his or her fingers. A few minutes later, the
Headmaster
walked in, and said, "Oh my, a lion has found his way into my office!
Hello, Harry!"
Harry transformed back and said "Hello, Professor."
"We won't be practicing in my office, Harry," Dumbledore explained.
"Instead, please lead me to this room you used for the D.A. last
year."
"Of course." Harry led the way up to the
landing with the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy being clubbed by failed
ballet
trolls. He pointed to the wall opposite the tapestry and explained,
"You
have to by this stretch of wall three times while concentrating on what
you're
looking for." Harry wandered around on the landing, thinking about
Occlumency,
and sure enough, the door to the room appeared. Harry opened it to find
several
books on the subject, a couple of a Pensieves, and other strange
objects he had
never seen before. Unless he was having flashbacks, he thought he saw
the
Mirror of Erised in one corner.
Dumbledore followed him inside, with a look of awe on his face.
"Amazing," he breathed.
"Before we begin, Harry, I found out why your scar always hurt worse
after
your Occlumency lessons with Professor Snape. It seems that he was a
little too
ruthless in his attempts to enter your mind. In addition to that, he
was always
calling forth your worse memories, and when someone is forced to relive
their
memories like that, they have the side effect of feeling worse
afterwards."
Harry nodded while Dumbledore continued. "While you seem to have done
an
excellent job by yourself over the summer without Professor Snape
digging
though your mind like a mole, you still have a long way to go until you
can
successfully resist Voldemort. You only achieved enough over the summer
to
prevent him from breaking into both your dreams and your conscious mind
via
your connection," and at this point Dumbledore's eyes briefly rested on
Harry's scar. "If we work like this towards the end of the year, you
just
might be able to resist him as though you were looking straight in the
eye."
Harry took a stance from Dumbledore, who said, "One, two, three, Legilimens!"
Harry was struck by the spell, although it felt very different from
when Snape
had done it. If his defense against his memories could be thought of as
a
padlocked door, then Dumbledore was trying to pick the lock, where as
Snape had
been trying to break down the door altogether.
Memories flashed in front of him. He was grabbing the golden egg from
the
dragon's nest... He was zooming through
'No,' he thought, 'that's definitely on my private list of memories! Out!'
He came back to reality, trying to keep his balance on his wobbly legs,
while
Dumbledore was standing to the side of a crater that had been blasted
into the
wall. "Er, sorry?" He was feeling a bit
nervous now, since he had nearly blasted off his Professor's head.
"No harm done, Harry, since I was able to deflect it," Dumbledore
replied calmly. "Besides, I wouldn't want to be forever known as the
Headless Headmaster."
Harry laughed and went back to his original stance. They continued
practicing
for the next hour, and Harry found himself able to repel Dumbledore
with his
mind rather than resort to his wand, although the process took at least
twice
as long.
"An excellent start, Harry," Dumbledore
said, smiling. "We'll pick up again tomorrow, and tonight, be sure to
read
the first chapter of your new book on Occlumency." The Headmaster
turned
to leave when he added, "Oh, and one other thing. You have the younger
Slytherin students today after lunch, as you know by now. You'll be
using the
classroom right next to Lupin's. I've also left a few books on your
desk with helpful
teaching strategies, as well as lesson plans for the whole year. I know
you'll
do an excellent job."
Harry asked, "Sir, exactly what will I be teaching them?"
"For the first years, you'll be doing small creatures like grindylows
and
hinkypunks. For the second years, you'll be doing creatures that are a
step up
from those, like boggarts and such. For the third years, you'll be
explaining
defense against creatures I wouldn't allow anywhere near my students,
such as
vampires and dementors, although for the first lesson for them, I want
you to
do boggarts as a warm-up exercise. I'll leave the curses and the other
things
to Professor Lupin," Dumbledore explained.
"Excuse me, but I remember Professor Lupin doing all sorts of creatures
like those in our third year."
"Well, he was mainly trying to give you practice so you could catch up.
I
assume you didn't obtain much knowledge from Quirrel or Lockhart."
Harry pulled a face at those two names. "Good point, and don't worry,
I'm
nothing like either of them."
"I know you're not," said his mentor with that twinkle in his eyes,
"You're like the anti-Lockhart. You've actually done all those things,
you
dislike the publicity and fame, you're camera-shy, you're polite and
not
self-centered, you haven't distributed books of lies, and you avoid
doing
autographs if you can help it."
Harry thought about this and said, "Er, right. Anyway, I'm off to
lunch.
Good-bye, Professor." He exited the room and heard Dumbledore's voice
behind him saying, "Goodness! I've just found a trunk full of socks and
lemon drops!"
~*~*~*~
Harry went to lunch, and this time, he set himself
as far
down the table as he could from Ron. He instead decided to strike up a
conversation with Neville. It turned out that Neville had just enjoyed
his
N.E.W.T. level Herbology class, and that Professor Sprout had pointed
out his
marvelous work with gaining the trust of the more dangerous plants.
There was a
great deal of muttering suddenly, and Ginny asked, "Is it true, Harry?
You
earned sixty points for Gryffindor on your first day in N.E.W.T. level
Potions?"
"Yeah," Harry replied, "Fifty for helping Snape get those
basilisk teeth over the summer, and ten for demonstrating the
Unbreakable Charm
on the flask holding my antidote."
Ginny's eyes went as wide as Luna's; there was also muttering from the
other
three House tables about Snape's sudden change of attitude. At this
point, the
Professor himself got up. "Enough!" he said, and everyone fell silent
at once. "No more with these rumors about me going
soft!
If these rumors persist, I'll take the students who started them and
have them
gut animals for ingredients in detention until they graduate!" he
finished
with his eyes glittering malevolently for effect. Silence
swept through the hall, and after he sat back down to resume his
conversation with Dumbledore. Everyone took the hint and went back to
eating.
Harry went to the classroom he had would use about ten minutes before
lunch
ended. The spaces near the walls were filled with tanks and cages
holding the
dark creatures he would be teaching the class about. There were also
anatomy
charts above each tank, which corresponded to the creature beneath it.
There
was a bookshelf full of tomes on Dark creatures and dueling methods. At
his
desk was the list of students' names, a few bottles of ink, a couple of
quills,
and rolls of parchment.
He spent his time reading the book on teaching strategies. Eventually,
the ten
first year Slytherins filed into the room; six of them were boys, while
the
remaining four were girls. After they all took their seats, Harry put
the book
on the side and got up to address the class.
As Harry collected himself, he remembered his vow of trying to work
with
anyone who was against Voldemort. He had never been a staunch
anti-Slytherin
person like Ron; he just avoided them altogether. During the summer,
Harry
developed a new reasoning: If he wanted to stay away from the
Slytherins
because of their "tendency" for Dark magic, and then there were
hardly if any Dark Slytherins to worry about, wouldn't it then be safe
around
them? It was all just a question of cause and effect.
"Hello, and welcome to Defense Against the
Dark
Arts. I only found out last night that Dumbledore planned to have me
teach
third years and below, so I'm just going to go along with this the best
I
can."
After taking the roll call, Harry went on. "We'll be covering the less
dangerous Dark creatures, such as grindylows and hinkypunks. Any
questions
before we start?"
A tall brunette named Jennifer Smith raised her hand. "Yes, Miss
Smith?"
"Do we call you Assistant Professor Potter?"
Harry paused. "No, it's fine if you call me Harry. Anyway," he went
on, "Can anyone tell me what defines a Dark creature?"
A boy named Jack Bletchley raised his hand. "Yes, there are creatures
that
often prey upon the well-being of sentient species such as humans,
centaurs,
and goblins." (6)
"Good job, Jack. Five points to Slytherin." The boy smiled. "By
the way, are you Miles Bletchley's younger brother by any chance?"
"Yes, sir."
"Just wondering. Anyway, today, we'll be studying Kappas. Can
anyone else tell me what they are?"
A black-haired girl named Michelle Perry raised her hand this time.
"Yes,
Michelle?"
"They are Japanese water demons that look like scaly little monkeys.
They
often try to terrorize sailors and anyone else out in the water, hoping
to
steal their food and shiny valuables."
"An excellent description, another five points to Slytherin." The
girl looked pleased with herself.
Harry went over to the counter and levitated the Kappa tank onto his
desk. The
chimpanzee-sized creature gazed curiously at the class. "Notice the
calculating look in its eyes," he explained to the class. He basically
taught them what he remembered from Lupin's days. After he explained
how to defend
yourself if one of them attacked you, he had them come up, one by one,
and
learn how to wrestle them off. They basically had to tickle the Kappa
somewhere
under its chin, which was its weak spot. After that, it was easy to
disarm it.
The last student was Mark Evans. It took him a bit longer to tackle it.
However, it seemed that his Slytherin ambition was getting in the way
of him
doing it correctly. The Kappa sensed sudden weakness at one point and
would
have scratched Mark's face if Harry hadn't intervened to Stun
it.
Harry picked up the Kappa and dumped it back in its tank, and levitated
its
tank back to its spot. While wiping the Kappa slime off his hands, he
said,
"Nice job, everybody. Five points for everyone who was able to wrestle
it
off. Homework for next week, ten inches on how
Kappas hide,
and how to counter their strategies. Have a nice day."
All the students went to get their things, Mark simply looked downcast.
Jack
was saying, "Come on, let's go, Mark, we don't want to be late for
Professor McGonagall's first class. I've heard that she's very strict."
Harry smiled slightly and said, "It's all right, you go ahead, I'll
send
Mark with a pass."
As soon as the others left, Harry threw a cloth over the Kappa's tank
and bent
down to Mark's eye level. "Are you okay?" he asked kindly.
Mark looked up at him, his otherwise handsome young face distorted with
sadness. He had a thin face with dark brown hair, and very dark eyes
like chips
of obsidian. There something familiar about those eyes.
"Yeah, I'm fine," he said. "I can't believe I couldn't do
it."
"It's okay," Harry reassured him. Harry could tell that he was
ambitious and hoping to achieve a lot within his first year alone. One
of the
useful tips from the books Dumbledore had left him was that he could
see how
certain students thought and worked.
"You know," Mark said, "I had no idea this whole time about the
Wizarding world. My mom and I mostly live by ourselves. My dad is away
most of
the time on business trips. We see him sometimes during the summer, and
even
then, we rarely see him. And, I had no idea about you being famous and
everything," he added, glancing at Harry's scar.
"Oh, well," Harry responded, "and I had no idea that the closest
wizard or potential wizard near where I lived was a few blocks away
from me in
Little Whinging."
"Yeah, living with cousin of yours must of
been
horrible," Mark said.
"Well, he loosened up a little after last year's dementor attack, and
so
did my relatives," Harry replied honestly. "Anyway, I'd better write
you that pass."
As he wrote a quick note to Professor McGonagall, Harry asked, "Oh, and
Mark, can I trust you not say anything about my 'home life?'"
"Of course," Mark answered eagerly.
"Good. Oh, and come here later at five, and I'll give you another shot
at
the Kappa. Does that sound good?"
Mark's face finally split into a grin. "Sure, Harry." Taking the pass
from Harry, he added, "Maybe the problem was it looked kinda like
Harry snorted. "Yeah, it kinda does, doesn't it? Well, can't let that
stop
you. Have a nice day, Mark."
"You too, Harry." And with that, the young Slytherin left for
Transfiguration.
Harry relaxed for a few minutes before getting ready for his next
class, which
were the second year Slytherins.
After they came in and he did the role call, he showed them the poison
dart
toad. It was the magical equivalent of the poison dart frog from the
Amazon
rain forest, and about the size of a human hand, but it was capable of
spitting
out little darts of hardened poison that would pierce the skin and then
dissolve in the human bloodstream. To demonstrate, Harry took the model
of a
human hand and put it into the tank, bonking the toad in the face. The
toad
pushed it back, swelled up, and spat out several shards of hardened
poison that
sunk into the hand. However, since it was only the model of a hand, the
sharp
points stuck halfway out.
One of the students raised their hands. "Harry, if this thing lives in
the
Amazon, how is it a threat to us all the way over here?"
Harry sighed. He got the same kind of question last period about
Kappas, which
were indigenous to
"Even if we're halfway around the world from them, some Dark wizards
and
other criminals could still take these creatures and use them for their
own
ends. For example, a Dark wizard could assassinate a person by either
letting
one of these things into their home or something, or else by harvesting
the
poison and using it from there. Excellent question, though."
"Thank you, sir. By the way, do you name your 'pets?'"
This question caught Harry off guard. "No, why?"
"I was just thinking how 'Umbridge' would have been an
appropriate
name for this little critter."
Harry had to stifle a laugh. "Then again, it wouldn't be fair to the
toad."
"Good point."
As the bell rang, Harry said, "For next week, ten inches of parchment
on
how to avoid these creatures and defend yourself
against them."
After the class had left and Harry had put everything away, he went
down to see
Lupin in his, or rather, their office.
Lupin was sitting at his desk when Harry walked in. "Hello, Harry! How
were your students?"
"Very good, actually. I think I might like
doing
this," Harry answered.
"That's good to hear, actually. This might even look good for your
career
as an Auror."
"True. I mainly tried to do the sort of thing you would have done. You
were an excellent teacher. I can't wait for your classes this Friday."
Lupin blushed a little. "Thanks, Harry."
Harry pulled out his Potions homework and got to work while Lupin went
down to
the staff room. Harry was halfway finished with his essay when he
returned,
carrying a couple of bottles of butterbeer. "Here," he said, "I
smuggled these out of the staff room."
"Thanks." Harry took one, opened it, drank some of it, and got back
to work. By a quarter to five, he finished up his homework. He turned
to Lupin,
and said, "I'd better get going back to my own classroom. I promised
I'd
meet Mark Evans at five so he could try to perfect defeating a Kappa.
See you
afterwards."
Lupin bade his protégé farewell, and Harry made his way to find Mark
Evans
coming up the hall in the other direction. "Hey, Harry!"
"Hey, Mark," Harry responded. Harry unlocked the door, and they both
entered.
It took fifteen minutes, but eventually, with patience, Mark was able
to do it.
"Nice work, Mark."
"Thanks a lot for going out if the way to help me, Harry," Mark said
gratefully.
"That's my job, Mark. Oh, and five points to
Slytherin."
"Well, even for the first day, I have homework to do. So, see
you
next week," Mark finished.
"See you then."
~*~*~*~
After Harry retrieved his belongings from Lupin's
office, he
went back to
"I'll be teaching first and second years on Thursday, then
I have third years with the Slytherins on Friday." There were many
groans
between being taught so late in the week and having to work with the
Slytherins. "Hey, c'mon, people, I didn't ask for it to be that way!
Have
you guys even seen what my schedule looks like for teaching the younger
students? For a moment I seriously thought Dumbledore had lost his
mind!"
Katie Bell fought her way through the crowd and told Harry that
Quidditch
practice would be Friday night. Harry was really looking forward to
playing
again, and promised that he would make it this time. After depositing
his
things in his dormitory, he read ahead through the next couple of
Potions
lessons.
At dinner, Harry found Cho waiting for him in the doorway to the Great
Hall.
"So, Harry," she said, "When are we starting with the new
Defense group?"
"Third week of the term. So, how was your
first
day back?"
"Oh, fine, even with all the teachers saying how important our
N.E.W.T.s are for our future."
"I remember last year how they all said that with the O.W.L.s."
"Same idea. So, how was your first day? As a
teacher, I mean."
"I had the Slytherins today, but I'll have Ravenclaws tomorrow."
"Well then, I'll have to ask them how it was afterwards. See you later,
Harry."
"Yeah, bye."
There was more muttering as they separated, but Harry turned a deaf ear
towards
it. As he sat down, he thought Ron had sneered at him. Once again,
Harry sat
the farthest down the table as he possibly could. The advantage to
sitting at
this end was that he was in clear view of the teachers in case anything
happened.
Harry sighed. It was hard having to fight
with the
person you considered to be your best friend. It was like Dumbledore
said at
the end of his first year; it sometimes takes more bravery to stand up
to your
friends than it takes to stand up to your enemies.
Ginny and Hermione sat near Harry at dinner; their company certainly
cheered
him up, while they discussed how their first days were. Ginny was just
starting
to feel the strain that all fifth years feel, but Harry and Hermione
both
encouraged her that she would do well if she tried real hard.
Eventually, talk turned to Harry's first day, particularly with the
teaching.
Hermione nodded in approval of Harry's success, and was glad that Harry
wasn't
biased towards the Slytherins. Ginny said, "You know, we should see how
well you do with the rest of the week. I wonder what it would be like,
with
teaching all the different Houses."
Harry said, "Well, in that case, we'll resume this chat in a week."
After dinner, Harry went up to his dorm to read a few more chapters of
The
Hobbit. About an hour later, the other boys came in, all of them
discussing
their first day back. Neville put a small plant on his bedside cabinet.
It was
a potted Compass Rose; it had four big petals, one red and the rest
pink. Its
stem was extremely flexible, and it would constantly twist so its red
petal
would point north. The others also had them.
"Hello," Harry said, "What's with the plants?"
"Oh, Professor Sprout assigned each of us to care for these plants for
a
week," Neville responded cheerfully.
"How was everyone else's first day back?"
"Dean, Neville, Ron and I all had Transfiguration together. We all had
to Transfigure a chunk of rock into a
spider the same size. Ron
absolutely refused to do it, and when McGonagall threatened him, he
accidentally made his the size of a pillow and ran screaming from the
room," Seamus chuckled. Ron glared at him, while Harry had the good
grace
to hide his grin behind his book.
Neville added, "My new wand is really helping. Now I'm doing much
better
at Transfiguration. I wonder how well I'll do at Charms."
"I'm sure you'll do fine," Harry said encouragingly. "So, what
are normal N.E.W.T. classes like?"
"Oh, each class is longer and you have each subject twice a week,"
Dean explained. "Why, what does your schedule look like?"
Harry pulled it out and showed it to them. They all gathered around it.
Neville
said, "This is weird, Harry. What was Dumbledore thinking?"
"I don't know, but he obviously has his reasons."
"So, what sort of things do you teach them?" Dean asked.
"Dark creatures. Lupin handles all the
curses and
stuff."
"Dumbledore said last night that you were working hard over the summer.
Why's that?" Seamus asked him.
Harry explained how he wanted to become an Auror, and McGonagall's
promise to
help him. Dean whistled. "McGonagall about to kill
Umbridge, now that I had to
see."
"So, what sort of careers are you guys thinking about?" Harry
inquired.
"Anything involving Herbology," Neville said while feeding Trevor.
"I was thinking about being an artist or caricaturist," Dean
responded.
"Now that Care of Magical Creatures is going much better, I was
thinking
about something along those lines," Seamus contemplated.
"What about you, Ron? Anything having to do with
Quidditch?"
Ron, however, didn't speak to Harry the rest of night, and that was
fine with
him.
~*~*~*~
The rest of Harry's week went smoothly enough. In
Transfiguration, he successfully turned a violin into a piano, and even
played
the first two lines of "Ode to Joy," which he had often heard at Mrs.
Figg's house. Professor McGonagall gave him a rare smile that Hermione
often
recieved and even awarded twenty points to Gryffindor. The next day, he
had
charms, where Professor Flitwick taught them the Barrier Charm, a much
stronger
version of the Shield Charm, which only worked against minor jinxes and
hexes.
Harry's barrier was the strongest, while Hermione and Neville were tied
for the
place after that. For Care of Magical Creatures, they were doing
Sssazrias,
which looked like iguanas but hissed like snakes. They were often used
as pets
by wizards in
Harry also worked hard his DADA classes that he was teaching. He
repeated the
lessons with the Kappas and poison dart toads for the students from the
other
three Houses. While each student was Sorted differently based on
personality,
he noticed differences within each individual student by themselves.
Overall,
the Ravenclaws were great at memorizing detail; the Hufflepuffs
cooperated to
make sure nothing went wrong; at the Gryffindors, who had been looking
forward
to being taught by their famous classmate, bravely accepted the
challenges,
even if a couple of them were impulsive in their actions.
Harry now understood the pairings for his classes on Fridays; to try
and
establish some sort of Inter-House Unity. There was little competition
between
Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws, but Gryffindor and Slytherin were a
completely
different story. While Harry had been teaching them how to defend
themselves
against boggarts in preperation for their class the following week,
Dennis
Creevey was taunted by Graham Pritchard for getting the answer wrong
and was
called a Mudblood. This resulted in a brief fight where hexes struck
both boys
and they had to be accompanied to the Hospital Wing. Harry took ten
points from
both Houses afterwards, and everyone was determined not to cause any
more
trouble for the rest of the period.
When the bell rang, Harry assigned them to write ten inches on boggarts
and
defenses against them, and on a separate piece of parchment, their
biggest
fears and possible counterattacks again boggarts posing as those fears.
After
that, Harry was sitting down to calm his nerves when Hedwig soared in
through
the open window. "Hello, girl," he said while petting her. He had an
idea. He took some parchment and a quill.
To Professor Snape,
There was an incident today in class where one of your students, Graham
Pritchard, taunted Dennis Creevey and called him a Mudblood. I was
wondering
whether its your job to give Mr. Pritchard
detention,
since he's in your House, or whether I should do it, since it happened
in my
class. I'm not sure exactly what to do, since this was the first time I
had to
ever assign detention, thankfully.
If it is up to me to give him detention, then tell him to meet me in my
office
tonight at 8:00, and tell him to bring his dragon-hide gloves; he'll
have to
clean out the tanks.
Sincerely, 'Assistant Professor' Harry Potter
P.S. This has nothing to do with House favoritism, in case
you're
wondering now.
He then sealed it and gave it to Hedwig. "Please give this to Professor
Snape," he asked his owl. She hooted, took the note and flew off.
Harry went back up to
Harry explained the incident and reassured Colin that the Slytherin
student
would be sufficiently punished. Colin looked relieved, thanked Harry,
and went
off to the hospital wing to see Dennis.
Katie Bell came up to him and asked if Harry would still make it to
practice.
He replied "Yes, but I have to be back up at the castle at eight; as
you
may have already heard, I gave one of the Slytherin students detention."
Katie smiled. "Don't worry, it won't take that long."
Harry found Hermione, Neville and Ginny in a corner, and went over to
them.
Hermione said, "So, how was your week, Assistant Professor Potter?"
Harry smiled and said, "Slytherins are ambitious and determined,
although
they're patient enough. Ravenclaws are brilliant, no surprises there.
Hufflepuffs work together to make sure nothing goes wrong. Oh,
and please don't take this wrong, but while the Gryffindors are brave,
they can
be a bit impulsive every now and then."
Ginny and Neville nodded while Hermione looked approving like Professor
McGonagall. A voice jeered, "Oh, going against your own House now?"
It was Ron again. Ginny glared while Hermione switched to disapproving.
"No, really," he said, "Are you going to transfer to Slytherin
next?"
"Of course not, Ron," Harry said tensely. "I'm just describing
how my first week was."
Ron was about to say something else when Hermione got up and took him
by his
arm. "Ron," she said warningly, "Drop it. Dumbledore gave him
work to do, and he's doing it the best he can." Her eyes bore into his,
and he looked as though he'd just snapped out of a trance. Without
another
word, Ron went up to his dorm room.
"Thanks," Harry said wearily. "How is it you got him to calm
down like that?"
Ginny's eyes darted between them while Hermione gave a tiny smile.
"I've
been taking personal lessons from Professor McGonagall in how to tell
people
off," she said smugly. The others laughed.
"Harry," Ginny said after they calmed down, "Why DO you stick up
for Professor Snape?"
"That's a good question," Neville added. "He's cruel to you, so
why act like that? That night when Sirius' will was read, he said
something
about a Pensieve incident."
Harry looked very grave and said, "Promise you won't tell anyone,
not even Ron?" They all nodded vigorously. Harry explained about the
incident in Snape's memory in the Pensieve. Harry stressed the finer
points
that bothered him: the way James treated Snape for no good reason (or
no reason
at all) the same way Harry had been bullied as a kid; Remus, who had
been made
a prefect in order to exercise control, just sitting there and doing
nothing;
and what capped it all, Lily's hatred toward James for treating Snape
that way.
Out of respect for Snape, however, Harry omitted the details about the
underwear.
When he finished with Snape chasing Harry out of his office, they all
looked
shocked. "He's bitter?" Neville croaked out at last. "That's
what fuels him?"
Hermione gasped. "That's terrible," she said shakily. "Even
before I came to Hogwarts, I was bullied somewhat for being into books
a
lot."
"I've felt strain in a different way," Ginny contributed. "You
know, having six older brothers. Before I started going to Hogwarts,
they were
often acting to one extreme or the other; either being overprotective
of me one
moment or completely ignoring me the next, and even sometimes they
would tease
me."
Hermione suddenly looked stern again. "Why did you make up lies about
the
Occlumency, Harry?"
He was taken aback. "For one thing, it's his private business and I
said I
wouldn't tell anybody, and for another, no offense, Hermione, but it
was my
private business too. I saw my dad when he was a kid, and for once in
my life,
I was repulsed at being compared to him."
Hermione opened her mouth but words failed to come out. She closed it
and said,
"You're right, Harry, I'm sorry, I was a bit too nosy."
Harry sighed. "Look, it's alright," he assured her. She sat down and
hugged him. "Well, even if it's a bit late for that, thank you for
being
honest, Harry," she said. Harry hugged her, knowing she was a bit
sentimental about these things, and suddenly there was a strangled cry
from the
boys' staircase. Everyone in the common room went silent.
Harry whipped his head around to see Ron growing red in the face, his
blue eyes
radiating with fury. "HERMIONE!" he yelled. "So that's
why you sent stuck up for him! So you could be with him behind my
back!"
He charged up to them.
Harry stood up and said calmly, "Ron, it's not what you think, Hermione
was upset about something and tried to tell me -"
Crack!
Ron's fist collided with Harry's head, causing his glasses to fly off
his head
and across the common room. Hermione screamed while everyone else
gasped.
Beside himself with anger, Harry whipped his wand out of his robes and
performed a tricky Invisibility Charm, which caused all of the clothes
Ron was
wearing to disappear, leaving him (or so it seemed) standing in his
underwear.
Everyone in the common room laughed while Ron turned an interesting
shade of
red. Ginny was laughing like her twin brothers and Hermione was
giggling like
Cho was on Harry's birthday. Ron tried to conceal himself the best he
could.
Looking furious now, Harry roared, "Ron, I have absolutely had it with
you
trying to injure me whenever you get the chance! You are way too
judgmental,
quick to jump to conclusions and to fly off the handle! (7)
Either stop it NOW or I'll make the
underwear disappear too!" Everyone laughed even harder.
"POTTER!"
Everyone whipped their heads around. McGonagall stood in the portrait
hole, a
very angry expression on her face. "What is the meaning of this-" She
clapped a hand to her mouth when she saw Ron's embarrassment and Harry
without
his glasses but with a livid bruise on the side of his face.
Taking a deep breath, Harry explained, "Hermione was telling me
something,
Ron thought she and I were doing something behind his back, I tried to
explain
the situation to him, he punched me and ruined my glasses, and I used a
complex
Invisibility Charm on his robes so I could distract him."
There was silence, during which Harry restored Ron's clothes, got rid
of the
bruise on the side of his face, Summoned his glasses, repaired them,
and went
up to get his Firebolt. He could use the flying to cheer him up again.
As he
went back down, Harry heard McGonagall yelling at Ron for the second
time in a
week. Ignoring the scolding that was taking place several feet away
from him,
he pushed his way through the portrait hole and went down to the
Quidditch
field.
~*~*~*~
Harry returned to dinner after more than an hour
of
practice. He was able to return to his familiar skills after being
banned for several
months, and he constantly let the Snitch go farther to the opposite end
of the
field, pulling off the most amazing and dangerous moves in order to
catch it.
The other teams would have to watch their backs if they wanted to beat
Gryffindor this year!
"Hi, Harry!" a voice shouted out behind him. It was Cho, flying up to
him on her new Cleansweep 7.
"Hey, Cho," he called before doing an amazing dive on his Firebolt,
catching the Snitch just inches above the ground without even
scratching
himself. "What brings you out here?"
"Oh," she smiled, "I just wanted to tell you that the younger
Ravenclaws were impressed with the way you taught them."
"Thanks," Harry said, once again feeling that sensation of hearing
Cho praise him. "So, enjoying your new broom?"
"Yes, it's wonderful!" she exclaimed, doing a couple of loops in the
air. "The other team members nearly fell over when I told them that I
got
it from you!"
"Speaking of which, who's the new captain?"
Cho blushed. "Yours truly. Roger Davies
graduated
last year."
"Uh-oh, I'd better watch my back," Harry joked. At that point, the
Snitch shot in between them as though it was daring them to chase after
it.
They looked at each other, and they both went tearing after it.
The chase lasted ten minutes, the combination of skills and brooms
making them
an even match. They were constantly neck and neck, both flying after
the
devious Snitch. Cho was employing complicated tactics to confuse Harry
before
going after the Snitch herself, while Harry merely shot along after it,
trying
to grab it from an angle while cutting Cho off from it. At one point,
the
Snitch was flying upwards, and the two players were facing each other
from a
distance. Then, like two knights at a jousting tournament, they sped at
each
other, both of them with their hands reaching out for the tiny winged
golden
ball. Harry and Cho clasped onto the ball at the exact same time, and
they both
landed on the ground, panting from exhaustion.
"You certainly used that broom to its extent," Harry breathed.
"Of course, it's not just the broom," she gasped. "If I was
always looking for the best broomstick, I'd be spending more time doing
that
than playing the game."
"Excellent wisdom, Miss Chang," a voice said behind them. Dumbledore
was striding up to them. "You two might want to put your broomsticks
away;
dinner's in five minutes. I saw this from my office and I had to see
what was
happening."
"Thanks, sir," Harry said, "But I should put the Snitch away
first." As he walked off to put it away, Cho followed behind him.
"Harry," she said, "I was looking out a window in the Ravenclaw
common room and I saw you and Ron fighting in your common room. What
was all
that about?"
Harry explained what happened and Cho laughed at the part about most of
Ron's
clothes vanishing. "Promise you won't tell anyone about that fight,
though?" he asked her.
Cho grinned. "Sorry, but the 'Ravenclaw rumormongers,' as most people
like
to call them, are probably telling the rest of the school even as we
speak."
Harry sighed. "Oh well, not your fault."
"So he got mad because he thought you were with, Hermione?" Her smile
vanished a little, and Harry understood instantly.
"Yeah, but of course, she's only my friend, Cho," Harry reassured her
with such sincerity that her doubt vanished. "You can even question me
under Veritaserum, Cho, if it means I can prove to you that she only
loves me
in the sense of a friend." He looked her straight in the eye, and she
seemed relieved; Harry figured out by now that his brilliant green eyes
were
part of what made Cho attracted to him.
"Er, not to open an old wound or anything, but is
"Oh, she's fine," she told him, "But I don't know if she wants
to learn anymore defense."
"That's up to her, I won't say anything for or against it," Harry
said truthfully.
"Oh, Harry," she said lovingly, resting her head against his chest,
"You're such a gentleman."
Harry blushed a little. Thankfully, he was
able to
avoid the nervousness he had felt the past couple of years towards her.
"You know, we'd better get going," she said.
"Yeah, let me just put my broom away," he replied after finally
finding his voice. He walked out onto the pitch, mounted his broom, and
looked
for his dorm room in
"Hey Harry," he said, sticking his head out. "Why didn't you
come in the normal way?"
Harry climbed in and said, "I dunno. It just seemed like a waste to
walk
when I was on the Quidditch pitch. How come I couldn't get in?"
Neville explained, "I heard Hermione say once that according to
'Hogwarts,
A History,' the windows would be locked from the inside so no one could
circumvent the security."
Harry considered this and said, "That makes sense, I guess. Come on,
it's
time for dinner."
"Yeah, I know. I was just feeding Trevor and Boreas."
"Boreas?"
Neville shrugged. "It's Sprout's name for this plant. It was the name
for
the North Wind in mythology or something."
As they entered the hall, there was muttering once again, but some
laughing
mixed in this time. Harry knew only too
well that
rumors could spread through the castle like a bubonic plague. Just like
all
week, he sat himself as far down from Ron as possible.
After dinner, Harry was just leaving the hall when McGonagall came up
to him
and said, "I'd like a word if you please, Potter." Harry followed her
to an empty classroom and said, "Well, Potter, you might be interested
to
know that Mr. Weasley has been dealt with, again, but this
time, I'm
still figuring out how to punish him."
Harry was about to say something when Colin Creevey burst into the
room.
"I'm sorry, but I think I left one of my books here- Oh hello, Harry,
Professor! Take a look at this, Harry!" He shoved a photo into Harry's
hands of himself making Ron's clothes vanish. Harry had a sudden idea.
"Oh, I think I know what to do, Professor McGonagall," he said,
smiling mischievously. Turning to Colin, he asked, "Colin, may I please
have this copy?"
The mousy-haired boy smiled. "Of course, Harry."
At that point, Hedwig flew in with Snape's response.
To 'Assistant Professor' Potter,
It's still your job, since it happened in your class. Expect Mr.
Pritchard at
8:00 tonight with his dragon-hide gloves.
Professor Snape
Harry pocketed the note before turning to the other matter with Ron. He
told
Professor McGonagall that, hypothetically, if she gave it to Ron, he
might not
be so eager to do things, knowing that they might come back to haunt
him on
film.
The corners of his professor's mouth twitched a little with amusement,
but she
quickly regained control of her facial emotion. She then asked him,
"What
was that note your owl sent you?"
Harry explained the situation regarding Colin's brother and the
Slytherin
student earlier. She said approvingly, "That was very wise of you to
ask
for help, Potter."
"Thank you, Professor. Anyway, I have Quidditch practice tonight; I'll
deal
with Graham Pritchard afterwards."
~*~*~*~
Back up in his room, Harry found Ron reading a
book on his
bed, trying to ignore Harry's presence. After getting out his Firebolt,
Harry
broke the silence by saying, "Don't worry, Ron, Professor McGonagall
won't
do anything."
Ron looked relieved and raised his head. "Really?"
"Yeah, because frankly, she's running out of good punishments for
you."
Ron threw his book at Harry, which he avoided by leaping out the window
and
onto his Firebolt. He flew to the Quidditch pitch, where the rest of
the team
was waiting. In the end, Seamus and Ginny were the new Chasers, while
Geoffrey
Hooper volunteered to be Keeper, at least for the first game of the
season,
which Ron was forced to sit out. Katie muttered into Harry's ear, "Good
thing, too, because even if he's whining less, he still whines."
Harry nodded, and went back up to
He was just getting started when Graham Pritchard came in, carrying his
gloves.
Harry looked up, and trying to keep his voice even and patient and his
face
neutral (he was still angry at the student saying such a thing), he
told the
Slytherin, "You have to clean out each of the cages, and you may leave
as
soon as you're done. One other thing: Never call anyone that name in my
class ever
again."
The Slytherin nodded, though somewhat reluctantly, it seemed, and got
to work.
Graham cleaned out each of the cages while Harry did his homework for
Lupin.
Twenty minutes later, the student said, "I'm done, sir."
Harry looked up and examined each of the cages. "Nice job," he said, his face still neutral. "Good night."
After he left, Harry stayed there, finishing up his work. No sooner
than he had
completed it that Lupin came in, carrying an empty suitcase. "Harry,"
he said, "Come with me, I found a boggart lurking in a broom closet."
"Sure," he said, packing up his things, "Show the way."
A couple of floors up, he found Cho waiting outside the aforementioned
broom
closet. "Oh!" she exclaimed. "You're here! I was just making
sure the boggart didn't get away!"
"Hullo, Cho," Harry responded, smiling.
"Okay, here's the plan," Lupin explained. "Cho, you open the
door just enough to let it out. I'll be holding the suitcase up to it,
and
Harry, you'll make sure it doesn't get away."
Harry nodded. "It won't get away using the dementor trick on me."
After they all got into position, Lupin whispered, "One, two, three!"
Cho used a spell to open the door from a safe distance. A full moon
glided
towards Lupin, who was trying to entrap it in the suitcase, when
suddenly it
drifted over to Harry and transformed. Only it wasn't a dementor that
appeared.
Standing before him was the collapsing old archway with the ragged veil
with a
figure struggling to come out through it. It was Sirius. He looked as
menacing
as when Harry still believed him to be a murderer.
Cho and Lupin both gasped. Harry lowered his wand, surprised. "Sirius?"
"Harry," the boggart-Sirius moaned. "You're a traitor! I
spent twelve years in Azkaban and three years on the run, and for what?
To get hit by that bitch Bellatrix Lestranges's
spell and to fall
through this wretched thing, only to lose the damn prophecy anyway?
I
never even lived to see my name cleared! You're no godson of mine!
You're not
even worthy to be James' and Lily's son!"
"No," Harry whispered, sinking to the floor as he shook with grief,
"That's not true. That's not true at all!"
"RIDIKULUS!" Lupin intervened, turned
the boggart into a mouse, and performed a spell to send him into the
suitcase.
The suitcase thudded around, trying to break open, and then it stopped.
After
locking it securely, he went over to Harry and tried to help him. The
boy
seemed to be in a trance, staring blankly after seeing it happen.
"Harry?
Are you OK?"
He shook his head, feeling about ready to weep. "I'm sorry,
I didn't know it would change into that."
"Look, it's fine, if you want, I'll have
someone
else do the boggarts with the third years next Friday."
"I dunno, I'd better get going to
~*~*~*~
Harry immediately went straight up to his dorm
room, put his
stuff away, and resumed reading "The Hobbit." He continued reading
until his other roommates came up, satisfied that they had made it to
the end
of the week. Seamus was expressing how glad he was that he made it onto
the
Quidditch team, much to the consternation of Ron, who Harry could tell
was mad
at being forced to sit out the first match. It seemed that to add
insult to
injury, it would have been easier to play Slytherin since Montague
wouldn't be
able to play that game due to his broken arm. As Harry knew all too
well, Fate
wasn't always kind.
Harry dozed off after reading a few chapters, and his dreams quickly
became a
nightmare.
He was running through the Department of Mysteries again, but
instead of
going to the hallway of prophecies, he instead sped towards the room
with the
archway. He flew down the stairs and stopped in front of it. Sirius was
sticking out halfway through it, looking ready to kill. He said, "How
dare
you, Harry, how dare you make us die when you're not even worth dying
for!" He grabbed Harry by his robes and pulled him through. He was in a
terrifying plain, with moving gray figures in the distance. Sirius was
holding
Harry as though he was a prisoner, and other figures came up to him,
with looks
of utter disdain on their faces. His father glared at him ("You're no
son
of mine!"), his mother looked betrayed ("What was the point of
protecting you when Voldemort was smart enough to take away that
protection
anyway?"), and Cedric crossed his arms in front of his chest ("You
get me killed and then you come back as a hero to take my girlfriend?
You're
not noble at all!"). More victims came, some of whom Harry had
recognized
as late members of the original Order, and Harry was trying to escape... (9)
"NOOOOOOOOOO!"
Harry sat bolt upright, sweating fiercely. Ron was saying something,
but Harry
wasn't paying attention. That nightmare was so horrible. . .
"Harry! Are you even listening to me? Is someone being attacked? Is it
a
giant snake again?"
With tremendous effort, Harry answered Ron. "No, no snake, no attack,
just... a normal nightmare."
"Geez, mate, your Occlumency is supposed to be going so well this time,
and you still wake everyone up!"
Harry threw his pillow at Ron and said, "Just 'cause it's normal, that
doesn't mean it was harmless! Fortunately for you, Ron, you have no
idea what
that was all about!" Rolling up his
blanket, he
departed, saying, "I'm going to sleep downstairs in the common room."
Harry sprawled himself on a couch and stared into the dying embers,
hating Ron.
Five minutes later, Ron came down. With much remorse in his voice, the
red-haired boy said, "Look, Harry, I'm sorry. I really am."
Harry said nothing.
Ron pulled up a chair and looked Harry in the eye. "I mean it, Harry,
this
whole week I've been acting like a prat, worse and worse. Even now,
I've been
unhelpful. I admit I shouldn't have acted like that."
Harry stared back at him.
Ron sighed. "Here, let me try to help. Your nightmare, what was it
about,
anyway?"
Taking a deep breath, Harry said, "Sirius pulled me through the archway
and accused me of killing him. My own parents said I wasn't worth dying
for,
and Cedric accused me of killing him and stealing Cho from him. Then
before I
woke up, other victims of Voldemort were coming up to me."
Ron's eyes widened, while Harry's eyes seemed to burn now. "Ron, how
can
you even be jealous of me? I only got famous in the first place because
Voldemort-" Ron flinched "-couldn't kill me the same way he killed my
parents. I had to grow up with abusive relatives who hated me for being
a
wizard. And even now, I lost Sirius, the last closest link to my
parents, who I
wanted to live with. You, on the other hand, not only have your
parents, but
six other siblings who care for you. I'm sure even Percy cares, even if
he's
devoted to the wrong cause at the moment. Even when I first met you on
the
train five years ago, I was glad to have a friend for once in my life,
after
ten years of being suppressed by the Dursleys. Tell me, Ron, who has it
better
off overall, you or me?"
Ron was as guilty as he looked. Personally, he felt as though the guilt
he was
holding inside of him right now would tear him from the inside out. He
even
wanted to rip his own heart out if it would show Harry that he cared.
"Harry, I never thought of it that way, I'm so sorry-"
Harry, in the meantime, couldn't stand it any longer. For one of the
rare
moments in his life, he just broke down and cried. He cried a little
onto the
couch, utterly depressed that he was cursed like this. In between
harsh, ragged
breaths, he managed to choke out the next part he had to say.
"Voldemort wanted me dead before I was even born, Ron, and this problem
won't go away until I can stop him once and for all, before he finishes
the job
he started sixteen years ago. I'm sorry I'm falling apart like this,
but I can
only handle so much. I'm not invincible, Ron, physically or mentally;
I'm still
human. I can still bleed and I can still suffer under stress. I don't
know
what's worse, Ron: Having someone close to you killed, or one of your
friends
not helping you and only making things harder for you to cope with."
Ron felt as though a piece of his own heart had been ripped out
at this
point, seeing Harry like this and hearing him say that. It also
disturbed him
to see Harry handle all his feelings all these years, only to break
down like
this as a teenager. He buried his face in his hands as Harry continued
grieving
over his situation, his heart wracking sobs tearing at Ron's soul.
After a
minute, Ron bent over and hugged Harry in a brotherly way.
Ron knew he wasn't the most patient person in the world. But he was
fiercely
loyal and loving, even if he hid those emotions behind barriers to
prevent himself
from being weak. Most of the time, Harry was like the Boy Who Lived and
just
Ron's friend who could have been his own twin brother.
"It's alright, Harry," he said as Harry breathed into Ron's shoulder.
"I'm here for you, mate, I'm sorry."
Harry let go so he could clean the tears off his glasses. "Thank you,
Ron," he said, looking his friend straight in the eye, "It's nice to
talk to you like this again. I wasn't even enjoying it, having to
defend myself
against my own friend this whole week."
Ron looked ashamed, then asked, "What I
don't
understand is why you would stick up for Snape. Could you at least
explain that
to me, Harry? Please?"
Harry paused for a moment, then said, "The incident in the Pensieve. . . I saw one of his worst memories. He
was
bullied as a kid, both before and during his time at Hogwarts. What
really
bothered me was seeing my own father, who everyone says was a
great person, tormenting an innocent, undeserving Snape for his
own
amusement. My father bullied him like I was bullied before Hogwarts.
Just
please don't tell anyone."
Ron looked shocked, but he silently nodded anyway. Harry sniffed, and
said,
"C'mon, let's go back upstairs. See you in the morning, Ron."
"Yeah," he said, getting up and clapping his friend on the shoulder.
"G'nite, Harry."
~*~*~*~
Harry slept much better after that, almost
soundlessly.
Brimming with happiness that he had a successful first week and that he
had
made amends with Ron, he got dressed and went down to breakfast later
that most
people on a Saturday morning.
Harry flew around outside most of the day or caught up on his reading.
Otherwise, he worked in his office, creating tests for his students. At
one
point during the day, Snape came in.
"Hello, Potter," he said in his oily voice. "I heard rumors
about what you did to Mr. Weasley back in your common room. Did you
take that
leaf out of your father's book? I certainly hope not."
Harry could see where this was going. "No, sir, it was just the first
thing that came to mind."
Snape sneered. "Good. Be warned Potter – what's that Muggle expression?
–
'the walls have ears,'" he finished, rather cryptically.
Harry got the drift. "I can promise you, sir, I will not turn out like
him. Who do I look like, my-" for the second time in two months, he
caught
himself from saying the word "father." As
Snape sneered even more, Harry said, "Never mind, you know what I
mean."
"Good day, Potter. See you on Monday." And with that, the Potions
Master departed in his usual manner, his black robes billowing behind
him.
~*~*~*~
On Monday, Harry handed in his homework in Potions
and was
even prepared for a pop quiz. He got nine out of ten, and when they got
their
homework back, it had a spiky "E" scribled onto it. The next day,
Harry was just about able to turn any given musical instrument into
another,
regardless of differences (often, it was easier to transfigure musical
instruments when they were in the same family, like strings, wood,
etc.). The
day after that, Harry's Barrier Charm was able to deflect almost any
spell that
any of his classmates threw at him. In Care of Magical Creatures the
following
day, Harry took a test of the Sssazrias (the tests in this class were
half-written and half-practical). On Friday, Harry employed his
practical
skills by correctly identifying and disabling Dark objects.
Occlumency progressed, but now, Dumbledore was dividing the time
between
Occlumency and fencing. They wouldn't use actual swords, although
Dumbledore
did mention that Gryffindor's sword was about the same size and weight.
Harry soon realized he had had it easy for the first week of school.
Now, he
also had homework to correct, and eventually, he would also have tests
to
correct as well. Fortunately, Lupin gave him a few pointers from time
to time,
and Harry managed the task of correcting others' homework as well as
doing his
own. For the second week, Harry reviewed his students' work and they
tried the
creatures again, making sure they defeated the creatures properly this
time. In
the end, he was able to maintain a balance between those things and
Quidditch
practice.
It was also a big improvement to have Ron on his side again. Hermione
and Ginny
were happy too, and being friends again, he even helped them out with
some
their homework. Harry also wrote a note to Mrs. Weasley to tell her
that
everything had been settled, just to make sure that no other problems
would
arise.
After lunch, Harry walked to his classroom, getting worried. How would
he
defeat the boggart after seeing how it changed into something other
than a
dementor, particularly an angry Sirius? He opened the door to find
Dumbledore
standing beside his desk.
"Hello, Harry," he said gently. "Professor Lupin and Miss Chang
told me about the dementor you all captured last week."
Harry nodded, a lump rising in his throat.
"Tell me, Harry, have you had any nightmares lately regarding that?"
'That man doesn't miss a trick, other than the occasional Death Eater
in
disguise,' Harry thought. "Yes, as a matter of fact, I had one that
night."
Dumbledore revealed his Pensieve. "This can also be used to show
dreams,
Harry. Hold your wand up to your temple, and concentrate on your
memory. If all
goes well, you should be able to siphon it off. I'll go into it first,
and
you'll be able to distinguish visitors in the Pensieve from the
characters in
the memories. You'll see what I mean."
Harry followed his Headmaster's instructions, and a moment later, the his temple felt strange, as though there was
some sort
of goo on it. It had worked! He placed it into the Pensieve, and tapped
its
contents with his wand. It swirled into the passageway in the
Department of
Mysteries.
"Excellent work, Harry," Dumbledore said as he placed his hand into
it and got sucked in. Harry looked in; Dumbledore had a silver-gold
aura around
him, indicating that he wasn't part of the actual memory. Harry dived
in after
him.
Harry went through the entire dream again, watching himself being held
captive
by Sirius. When the dream ended, leaving the two of them standing in
pitch
black space, Dumbledore said to his pupil, "Hold onto me, and
concentrate
on getting out of here."
He concentrated, and he felt the familiar sensation that told him that
they
were leaving. When they returned, they found the Hufflepuff and
Ravenclaw
students waiting for them. They gasped, and a Ravenclaw boy, whose name
was
Stewart Ackerly, said, "Nice entrance!"
Dumbledore smiled and said, "Harry was just showing me something,"
while Harry himself was returning the dream memory to his mind.
Dumbledore
returned the Pensieve to one of the places within his own robes, and
went over
to stand in a corner of the room. "I'll just watch for today in case
anything goes wrong, Harry," he said with that familiar twinkle in his
eye.
Harry understood right away and nodded. After putting the old suitcase
on the
desk, he then turned to the class and said, "Okay, everyone, today
we'll
tackle the boggart. As we reviewed last time, they are shape shifters
who try
to scare people. Did everyone bring in a list of how counter what their
worst
fear is?" All the students nodded. "Who would like to come up
first?"
A Hufflepuff named Robert Badge raised his hand, and came up to the
front. He
whispered in Harry's ear, "I'm scared of Umbridge, especially after
that
quill she made me use last year. Could you please help me come up with
something?"
Harry grinned devilishly and whispered something back to him. The boy
grinned
and nodded. "Ok, everyone come up. Ready?" They all nodded. After
moving to stand near Dumbledore, Harry opened the suitcase with his
wand.
Madam Umbridge sprang out with a quill dripping blood in her hand.
Robert
squeaked, "Ridikulus!"
Boggart-Umbridge stopped where she was with a worried look on her face.
Slowly,
she began to swell and rise like a giant
balloon. The
quill dropped out of her hand and pierced her foot, causing her to fly
around
the classroom and land where she originally stood, all deflated. With a
great
shout of laughter, the next student went up. (10)
At the end of class, Harry told them to study boggarts for a test the
next time
they met. Dumbledore whispered in Harry's ear, "So far so good, Harry.
I'm
glad I hired the right person." Harry grinned.
During the next class, however, the boggart turned on Harry at one
point. He
caught a glimpse of an angry Sirius before Dumbledore stepped in to
combat it.
Afterwards, a Gryffindor asked Harry, "How come you couldn't defeat
it?"
Pausing for a moment, Harry said, "It didn't turn into what I thought
it
would. Anyway," he continued, changing the subject, "Test next time,
so study hard. Have a nice weekend."
After they all left, Harry sat down and put his head in his hands.
Dumbledore
said, "It's alright, Harry, even my best DADA teachers have had
difficulties from time to time."
Harry looked up and nodded as Dumbledore left. He got out his homework
on Dark
objects and was working on it when Lupin found him sometime later.
"Harry?" he asked. "Are you okay? Dumbledore told me what
happened."
He looked up at his mentor, his eyes full of sadness. "Remus," he
started, "Do you hate me for Sirius dying?"
The werewolf looked taken aback. After sitting down, he answered, "No,
Harry, I don't hate you or blame you for what happened. It just
happened."
Harry sighed. "I thought I was getting over the grief, and now the
boggart
gets in the way. First dementors and now this. I hate boggarts."
Lupin paused for a moment, and said, "Harry, it's a full moon tonight.
Want to go for a walk?"
Harry looked up and nodded, smiling a little. He could do with a
nighttime
stroll.
"Good," Lupin said, "Meet me outside at 11:30 after everyone has
fallen asleep. I'll be down by the lake."
"Okay. See you then, Moony."
"'Til then... uh-oh, I think we need to come up with a name for you. Oh
well, we'll figure it out later."
Lupin left, leaving Harry feeling somewhat better than before.
~*~*~*~
Harry seemed back to normal at dinner, and even
struck up a
discussion of Quidditch with Ron about the Chudley Cannon's chances in
the
upcoming season. After dinner, he spent an enjoyable evening in the
Gryffindor
common room, and everyone was glad to see that he was fine again. He
even
passed the time by helping some of his own students with their homework.
By 11:15, all four of Harry's roommates had drifted off to sleep.
Quickly and
quietly, Harry donned his invisibility cloak (which had been hidden
under his
robes), and snuck towards the DADA office. He left the cloak on the
desk,
transformed into a lion, and stealthy slunk out of the castle. Lupin,
in the
form of a wolf, was there waiting for him.
Wolf and lion marauded around the grounds and out towards the forest.
Both of
them knew the paths well from their various experiences, and new to
avoid the
centaurs, the acromantulas, and Hagrid's giant half- brother, Grawp.
Howling
and roaring, both of them passed the night, employing their canine and
feline
muscles to jump over branches and bumps and to dart around trees. After
twenty
years, a couple of Animagi roamed the night at Hogwarts grounds once
again,
having some of the best experiences of their lives.
(End of Chapter 17.)
A/N: Okay, it seems that in the end, if I did away with too much of the Ron-bashing, it would have greatly ruined quite a few things, so sorry everyone! I promise he'll get his chances to shine later.
But then again, you know what? If Harry could go through his entire fifth year with all the humiliation and such, I'm sure Ron can last a week. At least I ditched the letter to Mrs. Weasley with the picture of Ron... that works quite well, actually...
(1) This wasn't too cruel and/or OOC, was it?
(2) I'm not trying to make Harry too Malfoy-ish; this scene was meant to be funny anyway (especially with Dumbledore’s comment about spider infestations).
(3) I have no idea how the students' schedules at Hogwarts work, so I'm doing it like this for the sake of simplicity.
(4) This is, of course, an
allusion to when Snape does that to one of Harry's potions samples in
OotP.
(5) You should definitely remember this for later, folks.
(6) That's at least my definition, anyway.
(7) That's about accurate, right?
I'm sorry, I can't help it with the dose of Ron-bashing in this chapter. At least I don't kill him off like some other authors do every now and then (although that's still their choice to do so, of course).
(8) As you can see, Harry's grief over Sirius' death is coming back to haunt him every now and then.
(9) Is this good for a dream/nightmare sequence?
(10) Of course, I originally got
the idea for this from the incident with Aunt Marge in PoA; I just took
it one
step (or two) further, haha!