*In the process of revision*
"Professor Demeter?" a student in the back raised her hand. The student had a rather exuberant look about her, with her sandy blonde hair in her a braid, her robe slightly lopsided, and her hand waving wildly in the air.
The imposing brunette that was the professor stopped scraping her chalk on the blackboard, and turned to face the students she was teaching, pausing in mid-sentence. "Is there something you wanted, Miss Finnigan?" Her tone was icy and precise, enunciating each syllable over-carefully.
"My older brother Seamus dormed with Harry Potter," Daisy Finnigan said, half-bragging, trying to be as tactful as she could. "He told me a bit about You-, I mean, Voldemort's defeat, but refused to tell me much. He said I would learn about it. But Professor, we've skipped entirely over Voldemort's reign in our lessons. Are we to learn about it at all?"
Professor Demeter frowned. "First of all, I am the primary decision-maker on what material is taught in this class. I hope you are not presuming that you are better-suited to teach this class than me. Second of all, this class covers Magical Society and Modern Magical History. If I were to teach you about every historical event that occurred in recent years, I'm afraid that I would never have time to teach you about Magical Society. And lastly, the School Board has almost unanimously agreed that teaching about such an atrocity so soon after its occurrence will offend your sensibilities, as well as bring up many unpleasant memories. I hope that answers your question, and any future questions will relate to the lesson." She turned back to write on the board. "By the way," Professor Demeter added, "ten points from Gryffindor for asking a question not pertinent to the lesson."
Professor Demeter was known to be a strict teacher, of course, but the class was infected with the giddiness that the name "Harry Potter" always brought with it, and were too busy to pay attention to her lecturing.
"I heard that Harry Potter is coming back this year for his Five-Year Reunion," a loud hiss was heard in the back. The hisser was none other than Belladonna Burkes, Daisy Finnigan's best friend and fellow conspirator.
"Everyone knows that. Everyone comes to his or her Five-Year Reunion. I heard it's the jolliest thing alive," Daisy whispered back, rolling her eyes dramatically.
"Jolly?" Belladonna teased her friend. "Nobody says 'jolly' but you, Daisy."
Both girls hushed immediately when Professor Demeter turned around. "There will be silence or fifty points will be taken off both Gryffindor and Slytherin for inattention during class," Professor Demeter said coldly. Immediate silence fell. She turned around and continued lecturing on the debate between beast and being and its reflections upon the views and prejudices of magical society.
*
As multitudes of twenty-two year-olds swarmed into the Great Hall, much chattering was heard. It was the Five-Year Reunion. Five years after a student graduated, he or she was invited back to Hogwarts to spend the summer there reliving their days as an innocent child, although the innocence of the child varied. Most Hogwarts alumni viewed as an excellent opportunity to catch up with old friends, have some fun, and give their bosses a legitimate excuse for taking off on vacation. Those with spouses and/or significant others who did not attend Hogwarts found themselves doing their best to convince the aforementioned significant others that the Five-Year Reunion was very important.
Walking through the doors now, as fashionably late as ever, were three, distinctly ruffled-looking boys. They had just flown in on broomstick, soaring above the Hogwarts Express and whooping with joy as they greeted their classmates that were seated inside. All three were swaggering, and emanated an aura that generally had girls swooning in their paths.
One had pale blonde hair and silvery eyes. He was perhaps the shortest of the trio, but not by much. His once-shifty face now had a jagged scar running from underneath his left ear, along part of his jawline, curving across his cheek, and ending there. It was angry and red, and obviously an old scar, but all in all lent him a sense of danger that he found was very appealing to girls.
One had red-brown hair. Instead of the flaming color it once was, it had toned down to auburn with various streaks of red. It fell over his brown eyes and gave him a to-die-for mysterious look. Of course it did-after all, he had specially combed it that way just before he walked in through the halls. He was extremely tall, and he also had a battle scar. A bit smaller, it was hidden underneath his red, fuzzy mustache that he had forgotten to shave.
The last one had dark black hair and emerald green eyes. He walked with surety, not much taller than the first one, and acted as if he knew he was handsome. His glasses had gone; his eyesight had been magically healed by an Oculist, a mediwizard specializing in diseases and/or problems of the eye. His forehead still bore an ugly, yet interesting lightning bolt scar that intrigued and startled all wizards and witches who laid eyes on it. Hidden beneath his robes, a longer, wickeder-looking scar ran across his arm.
"As late as ever," an icy voice said behind them. The voice was unfamiliar, and yet familiar. "Five points off each from your houses. Tsk, tsk, tsk. School hasn't even started properly, and Gryffindor and Slytherin points have already entered the negatives."
They turned around and saw a new Professor they had never seen before. She had bushy brown hair put up into a strict bun. She looked young, but she had a stern look around her. In fact, she looked much like a miniature Professor McGonagall. The only difference was that there was something distinctly un-McGonagall about her, something that belied her brusque appearance and seemed to convey a sense of humor to everything. Harry could have sworn he saw a twinkle in her eyes, but it was gone before he could make sure.
"I'm Professor Demeter McGonagall," she said briskly. That was strange. She looked nothing like McGonagall. Her hair, for one, always seemed ready to escape the bun, unlike the Headmistress's, whose hair would probably have stayed in a bun had she taken the charm off.
Which was why Ron posed his next question. "Are you related to Professor McGonagall?" Ron asked. He ignored Draco's stomp on his foot. He didn't care if his insolence made Gryffindor's points go even further in the negatives; after all, it wasn't like this was really school again.
"Well, that depends," she said, something distinctly smug about her. "But yes, I am the Headmistress's niece." She still acted as though she was telling a half-truth, and that she knew they knew she was telling a half- truth, and did not care.
"How old are you?" Draco inquired. His eyes were narrowed. She looked familiar from somewhere . she had Hermione's hair, as a matter of fact, but that was about all. The similarities ended at the eyebrows down to the chin, yet those features were still vaguely recognizable as belonging to somebody he knew . as long as he could figure out who.
"None of your business," Professor Demeter retorted. "Now hadn't you better go to your tables?"
*
There was silence throughout the Great Hall as everyone instinctively waited for Professor Dumbledore to come out of wherever he was and give the speech. Instead, Professor McGonagall stood up. That was when half of the school remembered (vaguely) that Dumbledore had retired a couple of years ago and was now happily spending the remainder of his life in Majorca (or Atlantis, depending on which rumors you believed).
"Most of you know the rules of the Five-Year Reunion, but for those of you who don't . You will spend the summer doing homework, taking tests, going from class to class as if you were back in school. You will keep House points, and you will have Finals to see how much you've learned. You will get to re-choose your classes however. Let me introduce the teachers you did not encounter in your time here. In case you didn't know, I no longer teach Transfiguration. I am the Headmistress of Hogwarts, as Professor Dumbledore has retired."
A silver-haired witch with enchanting blue eyes, a great figure, and almost certainly some veela ancestry stood up. "I am Professor Delacour. Some of you may remember my cousin Fleur, who was, I believe, a Triwizard champion for Beauxbatons. My extension of the family does not live in France, and I was delighted when I was invited to teach the Transfiguration class and the Magical Ancestry class."
"Delacour," Ron said dazedly. Harry and Draco rolled their eyes. Of the three, Draco was immune to veela charms, being part-veela himself. Harry could stand it. Ron, on the other hand, was very susceptible to the fluttering eyelashes of the bird-women.
"And to all you busybodies out there," Professor Delacour continued. "I am part-veela. My grandmother on my mother's side was a full-blooded veela, which makes me quarter-veela. I doubt you've seen me around, as my parents hired me a private tutor rather than send me to Hogwarts, which was too far from home to be convenient. And incidentally, my first name is Diana, if you care to know after you have discontinued being my students, however temporarily." Diana winked before sitting down, and Ron let out a lovelorn sigh.
"I am Demeter McGonagall," spoke the professor who had just recently taken points off of Harry, Draco, and Ron. "I will tolerate no foolishness. I will tolerate no malicious gossip, and I don't like nosy busybodies. I will be teaching Magical Society and Modern Magical History, which is a new class I am hoping to see most of you in. Because this is the Five-Year- Reunion, you can take it instead of History of Magic, still taught by the late Professor Binns. I also teach the Charms class." Her mouth twisted wryly. "You may call me Professor Demeter as otherwise; you might confuse me with my adopted aunt, Headmistress McGonagall. Oh, and I am the new Head of Gryffindor House."
The introductions went on and on, as most teachers had been replaced, and many new classes had been introduced to the curriculum, like Fencing and Magical Weaponry.
"What are you going to take?" Ron wanted to know. He sat by Harry and across from Draco, as the Great Hall was now filled with one large table rather than four tables. This was because only one-seventh the number of students who usually ate in the Great Hall was there, and many of the one- seventh had deceased during the War.
"I'm definitely taking Magical Society and Modern Magical History instead of Divination," Harry said.
"Me, too," Ron said. "The new Poisons and Antidotes class sounds interesting, as well."
"It would have been better had Snape taught it," Draco said tightly. Professor Snape had been his surrogate father, and he had been crushed when the Potions Master died.
All three men-for they were men now, no longer boys-exchanged weary glances even as they began on their food, for the teachers had finished introducing themselves (some of them even Year-mates). Some memories of the War were too recent-too fresh to ignore. The Weasleys had suffered. Ginny and Bill were no longer in this world, and Percy and Charlie would spend the rest of their lives in St. Mungo's. Hermione's mother, father, and older brother had died in an assault from the Death Eaters. Hagrid was almost as good as new, but he now had a wooden leg, which didn't diminish his height any. Mad-Eye Moody was dead. Wormtail would spend the rest of his life in the new prison (Azkaban was banned after the Dementors turned on them). Remus and Sirius survived the War. So did Dumbledore. Snape had died, as well as Professor Sprout. The changes to the teachers at Hogwarts were immense, and sad.
Many of their fellow students were gone as well. Parvati and Padma Patil were on the Missing Persons list. Dean Thomas was dead. Neville had joined his mother and father at St. Mungo's. And more. Yes, the effects of the War were large, and swiped through the generations. Now, five years after it, people still saw the changes. Even Mr. Ollivander had died. His son took over the shop and continued his ancestors' legacy.
After the War, many witches and wizards had gone into depression . including Hermione. Her family dead, it took all of the people alive to pull her out of it. She had left after recovering, promising to meet them at the Five-Year Reunion. Yes, the tables at the Great Hall and the dorm rooms weren't even close to being as filled as they once were. Many students were now orphans, and barely a family had passed through it unscathed.
Harry and Ron turned their gaze on Malfoy. Draco Malfoy had perhaps changed the most during the War. He had abandoned his father and run away with his mother, for both refused to go over to Voldemort. Wormtail had murdered his mother, but he had the pleasure of personally being there and helping to destroy Voldemort. That had only been a small consolation, however.
Harry had moved in with Sirius after the war. Remus had been busy with Ministry work. Sirius was cleared of course, but he preferred being secluded, where no one would flinch if they saw him. Ron had returned to his much subdued family. They had pretty much led separate lives for the last five years, but now, they were reunited, and as the Prowlers, as they liked calling themselves, they were prepared to make this summer the best of their lives.
But Hermione had kept out of touch with them. Yes, they received letters from her on their birthdays and their owls were always able to find her and give her birthday presents and such. She sent little tidbits and snippets she found interesting in the Daily Prophet, but nothing about her life. They imagined that she probably spent her life as a Muggle, or as some obscure witch doing backbreaking research in some secluded section of the world. They hadn't seen here for the two years after the wall, although she had promised them she would be there to greet them at the Five-Year Reunion.
And here they were, back at good old Hogwarts . but Hogwarts was no longer the place it once was. Over half of the teachers were gone, either dead or retired. Dumbledore was residing peacefully in Atlantis (or Majorca), spending the last of his days on that peaceful underwater island (or . actually, Harry wasn't sure exactly what Majorca was). And they had new classes, too-much more than they used to have.
Not only were there the usual Muggle classes and Arithmancy and History of Magic and Divination, there were classes specializing in the Merlin Age, or the defeat of Grindelwald, and even Voldemort.
There were classes discussing similarities between Muggle fairy tales and what really happened, as well as classes on Magical Cooking, Magical Cleaning, Magical Sewing, Magical Housewifery, the best way to Research Magically . the list went on and on.
There were classes specializing in certain areas of Astrology, of Arithmancy, or Ancient Runes, and even classes specializing in the importance of the stability of Time. Ever since Mr. Fudge had retired from being Ministry of Magic, Hogwarts had got a larger budget, and was allowed to evolve how they liked, instead of being contained in a rubric stated by the Minister of Magic. In fact, the current Minster of Magic was Lee Jordan, who had sobered up after the war. Lee still loved Hogwarts, and was a jovial Minister of Magic. Mr. Weasley had been asked, of course, but he had refused, for health reasons as well as for the fact that he simply didn't want to.
Oh, yes, Hogwarts was very different.
*
"Our first class of Magical Society and Modern Magical History is going to be spent previewing the curriculum," Professor Demeter said. "I shall be handing out books."
Harry, Ron, and Draco were sitting together in the corner, and looked casually down at their books. The Secrets of Magical Society by Hermione Granger and Modern Magical History by Hermione Granger.
"These are written by Hermione," Ron whispered. He had a look of shock upon his face, although he had always suspected Hermione would write textbooks one day.
"As you can see already," Professor Demeter said. "The author of both books is one and the same. Hermione Granger is an author of several textbooks, but she seems to specialize in the subject I teach, so on research projects, I suggest you refer to her books. There are few books that go into detail as hers or even approach this subject.
"Another good author would be Lilia Phaeton, who writes books on wide subjects, and is currently writing a biography of one Harry Potter," this was said amusedly, to the horror of Harry. "She writes many books in the What you didn't know. series, such as What you didn't know about the Ministry of Magic, and such, where she talks about things you didn't know: good and bad. Any questions so far?"
No one raised his or her hand.
"All right," Professor Demeter continued. "During the first trimester (less than month, really), we shall be talking about the Magical Society, and natural and unnatural prejudices. We shall talk about how these prejudices originated, and we shall talk about other things in the Magical Society we normally take for granted. In the second trimester, we shall be learning about History, covering the Rise and Fall of Grindelwald, the Sorcerer's Stone, and the Origins of Atlantis, to begin with. The last part of the summer shall be spent on a research project that is 50% of your grade."
"Professor Demeter," Ron raised his hand.
"Yes?"
"Do you know where Hermione is? I know she registered for the Five-Year Reunion."
"Oh, yes. Hermione is very busy with her job currently, and cannot attend the Five-Year Reunion. However, I do send the lessons to her (as her Head of House), and she does the homework and takes the quizzes, and she assures you that she shall be here for the End-of-Summer Ball."
"Ball?" Murmurs went throughout the classroom.
Professor Demeter stared around her with surprise. "Why, do you not know of the End-of-Summer Ball? Surely one of your brothers or sisters will have . I mean, didn't Headmistress McGonagall tell you?" She skillfully skirted the fact that most of their brothers and sisters were probably dead, or did not have a Five-Year-Reunion because of the War.
And so the first-no, second day ended at Hogwarts. (At least, for now.)
To be continued .
"Professor Demeter?" a student in the back raised her hand. The student had a rather exuberant look about her, with her sandy blonde hair in her a braid, her robe slightly lopsided, and her hand waving wildly in the air.
The imposing brunette that was the professor stopped scraping her chalk on the blackboard, and turned to face the students she was teaching, pausing in mid-sentence. "Is there something you wanted, Miss Finnigan?" Her tone was icy and precise, enunciating each syllable over-carefully.
"My older brother Seamus dormed with Harry Potter," Daisy Finnigan said, half-bragging, trying to be as tactful as she could. "He told me a bit about You-, I mean, Voldemort's defeat, but refused to tell me much. He said I would learn about it. But Professor, we've skipped entirely over Voldemort's reign in our lessons. Are we to learn about it at all?"
Professor Demeter frowned. "First of all, I am the primary decision-maker on what material is taught in this class. I hope you are not presuming that you are better-suited to teach this class than me. Second of all, this class covers Magical Society and Modern Magical History. If I were to teach you about every historical event that occurred in recent years, I'm afraid that I would never have time to teach you about Magical Society. And lastly, the School Board has almost unanimously agreed that teaching about such an atrocity so soon after its occurrence will offend your sensibilities, as well as bring up many unpleasant memories. I hope that answers your question, and any future questions will relate to the lesson." She turned back to write on the board. "By the way," Professor Demeter added, "ten points from Gryffindor for asking a question not pertinent to the lesson."
Professor Demeter was known to be a strict teacher, of course, but the class was infected with the giddiness that the name "Harry Potter" always brought with it, and were too busy to pay attention to her lecturing.
"I heard that Harry Potter is coming back this year for his Five-Year Reunion," a loud hiss was heard in the back. The hisser was none other than Belladonna Burkes, Daisy Finnigan's best friend and fellow conspirator.
"Everyone knows that. Everyone comes to his or her Five-Year Reunion. I heard it's the jolliest thing alive," Daisy whispered back, rolling her eyes dramatically.
"Jolly?" Belladonna teased her friend. "Nobody says 'jolly' but you, Daisy."
Both girls hushed immediately when Professor Demeter turned around. "There will be silence or fifty points will be taken off both Gryffindor and Slytherin for inattention during class," Professor Demeter said coldly. Immediate silence fell. She turned around and continued lecturing on the debate between beast and being and its reflections upon the views and prejudices of magical society.
*
As multitudes of twenty-two year-olds swarmed into the Great Hall, much chattering was heard. It was the Five-Year Reunion. Five years after a student graduated, he or she was invited back to Hogwarts to spend the summer there reliving their days as an innocent child, although the innocence of the child varied. Most Hogwarts alumni viewed as an excellent opportunity to catch up with old friends, have some fun, and give their bosses a legitimate excuse for taking off on vacation. Those with spouses and/or significant others who did not attend Hogwarts found themselves doing their best to convince the aforementioned significant others that the Five-Year Reunion was very important.
Walking through the doors now, as fashionably late as ever, were three, distinctly ruffled-looking boys. They had just flown in on broomstick, soaring above the Hogwarts Express and whooping with joy as they greeted their classmates that were seated inside. All three were swaggering, and emanated an aura that generally had girls swooning in their paths.
One had pale blonde hair and silvery eyes. He was perhaps the shortest of the trio, but not by much. His once-shifty face now had a jagged scar running from underneath his left ear, along part of his jawline, curving across his cheek, and ending there. It was angry and red, and obviously an old scar, but all in all lent him a sense of danger that he found was very appealing to girls.
One had red-brown hair. Instead of the flaming color it once was, it had toned down to auburn with various streaks of red. It fell over his brown eyes and gave him a to-die-for mysterious look. Of course it did-after all, he had specially combed it that way just before he walked in through the halls. He was extremely tall, and he also had a battle scar. A bit smaller, it was hidden underneath his red, fuzzy mustache that he had forgotten to shave.
The last one had dark black hair and emerald green eyes. He walked with surety, not much taller than the first one, and acted as if he knew he was handsome. His glasses had gone; his eyesight had been magically healed by an Oculist, a mediwizard specializing in diseases and/or problems of the eye. His forehead still bore an ugly, yet interesting lightning bolt scar that intrigued and startled all wizards and witches who laid eyes on it. Hidden beneath his robes, a longer, wickeder-looking scar ran across his arm.
"As late as ever," an icy voice said behind them. The voice was unfamiliar, and yet familiar. "Five points off each from your houses. Tsk, tsk, tsk. School hasn't even started properly, and Gryffindor and Slytherin points have already entered the negatives."
They turned around and saw a new Professor they had never seen before. She had bushy brown hair put up into a strict bun. She looked young, but she had a stern look around her. In fact, she looked much like a miniature Professor McGonagall. The only difference was that there was something distinctly un-McGonagall about her, something that belied her brusque appearance and seemed to convey a sense of humor to everything. Harry could have sworn he saw a twinkle in her eyes, but it was gone before he could make sure.
"I'm Professor Demeter McGonagall," she said briskly. That was strange. She looked nothing like McGonagall. Her hair, for one, always seemed ready to escape the bun, unlike the Headmistress's, whose hair would probably have stayed in a bun had she taken the charm off.
Which was why Ron posed his next question. "Are you related to Professor McGonagall?" Ron asked. He ignored Draco's stomp on his foot. He didn't care if his insolence made Gryffindor's points go even further in the negatives; after all, it wasn't like this was really school again.
"Well, that depends," she said, something distinctly smug about her. "But yes, I am the Headmistress's niece." She still acted as though she was telling a half-truth, and that she knew they knew she was telling a half- truth, and did not care.
"How old are you?" Draco inquired. His eyes were narrowed. She looked familiar from somewhere . she had Hermione's hair, as a matter of fact, but that was about all. The similarities ended at the eyebrows down to the chin, yet those features were still vaguely recognizable as belonging to somebody he knew . as long as he could figure out who.
"None of your business," Professor Demeter retorted. "Now hadn't you better go to your tables?"
*
There was silence throughout the Great Hall as everyone instinctively waited for Professor Dumbledore to come out of wherever he was and give the speech. Instead, Professor McGonagall stood up. That was when half of the school remembered (vaguely) that Dumbledore had retired a couple of years ago and was now happily spending the remainder of his life in Majorca (or Atlantis, depending on which rumors you believed).
"Most of you know the rules of the Five-Year Reunion, but for those of you who don't . You will spend the summer doing homework, taking tests, going from class to class as if you were back in school. You will keep House points, and you will have Finals to see how much you've learned. You will get to re-choose your classes however. Let me introduce the teachers you did not encounter in your time here. In case you didn't know, I no longer teach Transfiguration. I am the Headmistress of Hogwarts, as Professor Dumbledore has retired."
A silver-haired witch with enchanting blue eyes, a great figure, and almost certainly some veela ancestry stood up. "I am Professor Delacour. Some of you may remember my cousin Fleur, who was, I believe, a Triwizard champion for Beauxbatons. My extension of the family does not live in France, and I was delighted when I was invited to teach the Transfiguration class and the Magical Ancestry class."
"Delacour," Ron said dazedly. Harry and Draco rolled their eyes. Of the three, Draco was immune to veela charms, being part-veela himself. Harry could stand it. Ron, on the other hand, was very susceptible to the fluttering eyelashes of the bird-women.
"And to all you busybodies out there," Professor Delacour continued. "I am part-veela. My grandmother on my mother's side was a full-blooded veela, which makes me quarter-veela. I doubt you've seen me around, as my parents hired me a private tutor rather than send me to Hogwarts, which was too far from home to be convenient. And incidentally, my first name is Diana, if you care to know after you have discontinued being my students, however temporarily." Diana winked before sitting down, and Ron let out a lovelorn sigh.
"I am Demeter McGonagall," spoke the professor who had just recently taken points off of Harry, Draco, and Ron. "I will tolerate no foolishness. I will tolerate no malicious gossip, and I don't like nosy busybodies. I will be teaching Magical Society and Modern Magical History, which is a new class I am hoping to see most of you in. Because this is the Five-Year- Reunion, you can take it instead of History of Magic, still taught by the late Professor Binns. I also teach the Charms class." Her mouth twisted wryly. "You may call me Professor Demeter as otherwise; you might confuse me with my adopted aunt, Headmistress McGonagall. Oh, and I am the new Head of Gryffindor House."
The introductions went on and on, as most teachers had been replaced, and many new classes had been introduced to the curriculum, like Fencing and Magical Weaponry.
"What are you going to take?" Ron wanted to know. He sat by Harry and across from Draco, as the Great Hall was now filled with one large table rather than four tables. This was because only one-seventh the number of students who usually ate in the Great Hall was there, and many of the one- seventh had deceased during the War.
"I'm definitely taking Magical Society and Modern Magical History instead of Divination," Harry said.
"Me, too," Ron said. "The new Poisons and Antidotes class sounds interesting, as well."
"It would have been better had Snape taught it," Draco said tightly. Professor Snape had been his surrogate father, and he had been crushed when the Potions Master died.
All three men-for they were men now, no longer boys-exchanged weary glances even as they began on their food, for the teachers had finished introducing themselves (some of them even Year-mates). Some memories of the War were too recent-too fresh to ignore. The Weasleys had suffered. Ginny and Bill were no longer in this world, and Percy and Charlie would spend the rest of their lives in St. Mungo's. Hermione's mother, father, and older brother had died in an assault from the Death Eaters. Hagrid was almost as good as new, but he now had a wooden leg, which didn't diminish his height any. Mad-Eye Moody was dead. Wormtail would spend the rest of his life in the new prison (Azkaban was banned after the Dementors turned on them). Remus and Sirius survived the War. So did Dumbledore. Snape had died, as well as Professor Sprout. The changes to the teachers at Hogwarts were immense, and sad.
Many of their fellow students were gone as well. Parvati and Padma Patil were on the Missing Persons list. Dean Thomas was dead. Neville had joined his mother and father at St. Mungo's. And more. Yes, the effects of the War were large, and swiped through the generations. Now, five years after it, people still saw the changes. Even Mr. Ollivander had died. His son took over the shop and continued his ancestors' legacy.
After the War, many witches and wizards had gone into depression . including Hermione. Her family dead, it took all of the people alive to pull her out of it. She had left after recovering, promising to meet them at the Five-Year Reunion. Yes, the tables at the Great Hall and the dorm rooms weren't even close to being as filled as they once were. Many students were now orphans, and barely a family had passed through it unscathed.
Harry and Ron turned their gaze on Malfoy. Draco Malfoy had perhaps changed the most during the War. He had abandoned his father and run away with his mother, for both refused to go over to Voldemort. Wormtail had murdered his mother, but he had the pleasure of personally being there and helping to destroy Voldemort. That had only been a small consolation, however.
Harry had moved in with Sirius after the war. Remus had been busy with Ministry work. Sirius was cleared of course, but he preferred being secluded, where no one would flinch if they saw him. Ron had returned to his much subdued family. They had pretty much led separate lives for the last five years, but now, they were reunited, and as the Prowlers, as they liked calling themselves, they were prepared to make this summer the best of their lives.
But Hermione had kept out of touch with them. Yes, they received letters from her on their birthdays and their owls were always able to find her and give her birthday presents and such. She sent little tidbits and snippets she found interesting in the Daily Prophet, but nothing about her life. They imagined that she probably spent her life as a Muggle, or as some obscure witch doing backbreaking research in some secluded section of the world. They hadn't seen here for the two years after the wall, although she had promised them she would be there to greet them at the Five-Year Reunion.
And here they were, back at good old Hogwarts . but Hogwarts was no longer the place it once was. Over half of the teachers were gone, either dead or retired. Dumbledore was residing peacefully in Atlantis (or Majorca), spending the last of his days on that peaceful underwater island (or . actually, Harry wasn't sure exactly what Majorca was). And they had new classes, too-much more than they used to have.
Not only were there the usual Muggle classes and Arithmancy and History of Magic and Divination, there were classes specializing in the Merlin Age, or the defeat of Grindelwald, and even Voldemort.
There were classes discussing similarities between Muggle fairy tales and what really happened, as well as classes on Magical Cooking, Magical Cleaning, Magical Sewing, Magical Housewifery, the best way to Research Magically . the list went on and on.
There were classes specializing in certain areas of Astrology, of Arithmancy, or Ancient Runes, and even classes specializing in the importance of the stability of Time. Ever since Mr. Fudge had retired from being Ministry of Magic, Hogwarts had got a larger budget, and was allowed to evolve how they liked, instead of being contained in a rubric stated by the Minister of Magic. In fact, the current Minster of Magic was Lee Jordan, who had sobered up after the war. Lee still loved Hogwarts, and was a jovial Minister of Magic. Mr. Weasley had been asked, of course, but he had refused, for health reasons as well as for the fact that he simply didn't want to.
Oh, yes, Hogwarts was very different.
*
"Our first class of Magical Society and Modern Magical History is going to be spent previewing the curriculum," Professor Demeter said. "I shall be handing out books."
Harry, Ron, and Draco were sitting together in the corner, and looked casually down at their books. The Secrets of Magical Society by Hermione Granger and Modern Magical History by Hermione Granger.
"These are written by Hermione," Ron whispered. He had a look of shock upon his face, although he had always suspected Hermione would write textbooks one day.
"As you can see already," Professor Demeter said. "The author of both books is one and the same. Hermione Granger is an author of several textbooks, but she seems to specialize in the subject I teach, so on research projects, I suggest you refer to her books. There are few books that go into detail as hers or even approach this subject.
"Another good author would be Lilia Phaeton, who writes books on wide subjects, and is currently writing a biography of one Harry Potter," this was said amusedly, to the horror of Harry. "She writes many books in the What you didn't know. series, such as What you didn't know about the Ministry of Magic, and such, where she talks about things you didn't know: good and bad. Any questions so far?"
No one raised his or her hand.
"All right," Professor Demeter continued. "During the first trimester (less than month, really), we shall be talking about the Magical Society, and natural and unnatural prejudices. We shall talk about how these prejudices originated, and we shall talk about other things in the Magical Society we normally take for granted. In the second trimester, we shall be learning about History, covering the Rise and Fall of Grindelwald, the Sorcerer's Stone, and the Origins of Atlantis, to begin with. The last part of the summer shall be spent on a research project that is 50% of your grade."
"Professor Demeter," Ron raised his hand.
"Yes?"
"Do you know where Hermione is? I know she registered for the Five-Year Reunion."
"Oh, yes. Hermione is very busy with her job currently, and cannot attend the Five-Year Reunion. However, I do send the lessons to her (as her Head of House), and she does the homework and takes the quizzes, and she assures you that she shall be here for the End-of-Summer Ball."
"Ball?" Murmurs went throughout the classroom.
Professor Demeter stared around her with surprise. "Why, do you not know of the End-of-Summer Ball? Surely one of your brothers or sisters will have . I mean, didn't Headmistress McGonagall tell you?" She skillfully skirted the fact that most of their brothers and sisters were probably dead, or did not have a Five-Year-Reunion because of the War.
And so the first-no, second day ended at Hogwarts. (At least, for now.)
To be continued .
