For Professor Pierce's first name, it is pronounced like Angus but with a long A. (like how they pronounced Aang in that atrocity The Last Airbender)

Chapter 2: Professor Pierce

"Welcome to Defense Against the Dark Arts. My name is Professor Aonghus Pierce, simply Professor Pierce to you. At any time, something could happen. We could be plunged into another war. The Ministry could fall. I am here to teach you how to defend yourself against the many dark forces you could find in this cruel world. The last war was the Second Wizarding War, where Harry Potter, the man who read your names at your Sorting, was hunted down by Lord Voldemort, who was finally vanquished in May 1998. This castle was nearly destroyed, and was rebuilt between the years 1998 to 2000. You probably think another war is far-fetched and impossible. That's what everyone else thought 20 years ago, before the Second Wizarding War began in 1995. But it very well can happen, and you must be armed and ready. I highly disapprove of only learning the theory behind everything. I believe in getting down to the hands-on things. Sometime during your seven years here at Hogwarts, you will fight boggarts, round up Cornish Pixies, and many other things that can happen. You will learn about the Three Unforgiveable Curses. As first years, your material is very easy compared to what the second years do. The first things we will learn are defensive spells. First, the Disarming Spell. Does anyone know what the incantation for the Disarming Spell is? Yes, Mr.…?"

"O'Brian. The incantation is Expelliarmus," Arthur said.

"Good, Mr. O'Brian. Care to demonstrate?" Professor Pierce said.

"Sure," Arthur said, coming to the front.

"Disarm me," Professor Pierce said.

"Expelliarmus!" Arthur said, and the professor's wand flew out of his hand.

"Good job, Mr. O'Brian. That spell is able to win any wand that switches based on strength. The Elder Wand's allegiance, for example, was won from Albus Dumbledore when Draco Malfoy disarmed him before Severus Snape killed him, then was won from Draco Malfoy by Harry Potter using this spell," Professor Pierce said.


"I think Professor Pierce is up to something," Dana said.

"Why do you say that?" Arthur asked.

"He's just got an air about him that screams 'I'm up to something!'" Dana said.

"Dana, that's completely absurd," Arthur said.

"I think it's worth looking into," Harriet said.

"You have got to be kidding me," Arthur said, a hand to his forehead.


That evening, the trio snuck out of their beds and snuck around to find Professor Pierce's office. They found it, and they hid, spying on the professor.

"What are you doing here?" Professor Pierce said, noticing immediately that someone was there. The trio stayed silent, for they thought he wasn't talking to them.

"Not talking, eh? I know exactly where you are!" the professor said, going over to the trio's hiding spot and pulling them out by their arms.

"Detention on Saturday and ten points each from Gryffindor," Professor Pierce said. "Now get your butts back to bed!"


"Okay, he wasn't up to anything," Dana said.

"I told you. I knew we'd get in trouble!" Arthur said.

"And yet you came with us. Good thinking, Arthur," Harriet said.

"Shut up, Harriet."

"Shut don't go up, Arthur."


"Good morning, first years! Today, you will begin flying lessons. Very recently, we got new school brooms so treat them well," Professor Ellery, the Quidditch head, said to the first years of Slytherin and Gryffindor. "To get your broom up, hold your hand out and say 'up.'"

Several students did it, and almost every one succeeded, as the brooms didn't suck.

"Okay, to take off, you will get on the broom and kick off with your foot. Do this now," Professor Ellery said, and most everyone kicked off. One kid, Sammy, got into a confrontation with Wynter Petit, and fell off of his broom.

"Everyone land! I'm taking this boy to the hospital wing!" Professor Ellery said, helping Sammy up and escorting him out of the field.

"Look what I've got," Wynter said to her Slytherin friends, pulling out Sammy's Remembrall.

"Give that back!" Harriet said.

"Make me, Yankee," Wynter said, kicking off with her broom. Harriet got on her broom, only for Arthur to attempt to stop her, to no avail. Harriet kicked up and flew up to Wynter's level.

"Give me the Remembrall so I can give it back to Sammy Sawyer!" Harriet said.

"Catch it," Wynter said, then threw the Remembrall, causing Harriet to speed off to catch it. It flew towards Professor McGonagall's office window, and Harriet caught it right before impact. She came back to the field and handed it to Dana for safe keeping until they could give it back to Sammy. At that point, Professor McGonagall walked in.

"I need to see Harriet Smith for a few minutes," she said, and Harriet went with her.


"To my office, Harriet," Professor McGonagall said as they went to the teacher's office.

"Have a seat, I want to talk to you." Harriet took a seat.

"The scene I just witnessed out there mirrored the scene I saw twenty years ago when Harry Potter saved my window from being smashed by Neville Longbottom's Remembrall. You remind me so much of that boy it's not even funny. On the Gryffindor Quidditch team, we have a spot open for Seeker. Do you want it?" Professor McGonagall asked.

"Actually, I'd much like to wait until next year. While I'm familiar with the broom and the game, I'd rather wait," Harriet said.

"Are you sure, Miss Smith? It would be a wonderful opportunity this early in your school career."

"You know what? I'll think on it and tell you after Transfiguration tomorrow," Harriet said.

"Okay, I understand your choice. I know you will make the right decision for yourself," Professor McGonagall said.


"So, Harriet?" Professor McGonagall asked after Transfiguration that day.

"I decided to go ahead and join," Harriet said.

"Okay, I'll tell the captain," Professor McGonagall said. "He's in my class next, I'll tell him then."

"Thank you, Professor," Harriet said before catching up with Dana and Arthur.

"What was that about?" Dana asked.

"I'm on the Gryffindor Quidditch team," Harriet said.

"Quidditch? What's Quidditch?" Dana asked.

"Only the best sport in the entire wizarding world! Everyone follows it!" Arthur said.

"I need to get familiar with it, then," Dana said.

"I'll give you a crash course later, Dana," Arthur said.

"Okay, sounds like a plan," Dana said.


"Welcome to the first Quidditch game of the year! Gryffindor vs. Slytherin! Gryffindor just got a new Seeker, First Year Harriet Smith! Let's see how she does in her first game! And the balls are released!" the announcer said. Harriet went up above the pitch to search for the little golden ball with wings. After a few minutes, Harriet spotted it and sped off towards it, coming side by side with the Slytherin Seeker. The two chased the little winged ball for a few minutes, before Harriet leaned too far forward and fell. The Slytherin seeker thought he could catch it, but he noticed it was gone. All attention went to Harriet, who looked as if she was choking or about to lose her lunch. She spit something out, and it was the Snitch!

"And Gryffindor's Harriet Smith nearly swallows the Snitch, counting as a catch and winning the match for Gryffindor!" the announcer said.


It came around time for Halloween, and everyone was in the Great Hall for the Halloween feast, except for Dana, who was crying in the restroom because Wynter called her a Mudblood. The Charms Professor, Professor Fae Royal, ran in.

"There's a troll in the school, on the second floor!" she shouted.

"How did a troll get in here?" Arthur asked Harriet.

"Don't ask me."

"Prefects, lead your students back to the common rooms. Staff, come with me to fight the troll," Professor Rowntree said.

"Wait, the second floor? That's the restroom where Dana is crying! She doesn't know about the troll!" Harriet said.

"We have to go save her!" Arthur said, and the two detached from the group when nobody was looking, running to find Dana. The two heard a high-pitched scream and ran towards it, knowing it to be Dana's voice. They entered the bathroom and saw the troll.

"What do we do?" Arthur asked.

"I don't know, climb on its back?" Harriet said.

"I'm trying that," Arthur said, climbing up the wall with dips in it that could be used for footholds. He jumped onto the troll's back, his wand going into the troll's nose and the troll dropping its club. Harriet pointed her wand at the club.

"Wingardium Leviosa!" Harriet said, but it didn't work as she flattened her vowels out and harshened her consonants too much.

"You need to say it with more of a British accent!" Arthur shouted.

"Oh, okay… Wingardium Leviosa!" Harriet said, making her vowels more vertical and her consonants less harsh, causing the club to lift from the ground. Harriet moved the club so it would drop onto the troll's head when she let go.

"Let go!" Arthur said, and Harriet did so, causing the club to crash into the troll's head. The troll fell face first, and Arthur saved his wand before impact. He crawled off of the troll's neck.

"Ew, troll bogies!" Arthur said.

"What happened in here?!" Professor Longbottom exclaimed when he and the other teachers arrived.

"We-"

"I thought I could try conquer a troll, so I went to find it when it was announced it was in here. If it wasn't for Harriet and Arthur, I'd probably be dead," Dana spoke up.

"Professor McGonagall-"

"We're colleagues, call me Minerva."

"Minerva, do you mind if I handle this?" Professor Longbottom said.

"Of course not, go right ahead," Professor McGonagall said.

"Okay. Miss Keen, I'm deducting five points from Gryffindor for sneaking away when you weren't supposed to. But to Mr. O'Brian and Miss Smith, five points apiece to Gryffindor for sheer dumb luck," Professor Longbottom said.

"Thanks, Professor Longbottom," Harriet said.

"Miss Smith, your accent still confuses me," the Herbology teacher said before leaving.

"I'm just American!" Harriet said.


It came time for Christmas, and Arthur had opted to go home to visit his family while Dana and Harriet stayed at school. Harriet had just taught Dana how to play wizard's chess, and Dana introduced the Christmas crackers to Harriet, as her parents had sent her some Muggle ones. Sammy Sawyer walked up to the pair as they were pulling one.

"That's kinda lame. Dana, here, try these," Sammy said, and brandished a wizard cracker.

"How different are these?" Dana asked.

"Just pull!" Sammy said, and Dana grabbed and pulled. A loud bang happened and a wizard's chess set, a flowered bonnet, and a joke on a slip of paper popped out.

"You take those," Sammy said.

"Whoa. These are a lot better than the Muggle variety," Dana said.

"Sam-Sammy, let's pop one of the wizard ones," Harriet said, her mouth full of chocolate. She grabbed one and offered the other end to Sammy, who took it and pulled. Out popped a top hat, a grow-your-own-warts kit, and a joke on a slip of paper popped out. Sammy got to keep those.

"Why don't we have these in America?" Harriet said.

"You don't have Christmas crackers in America?!" Dana and Sammy said in almost perfect unison.

"No, we don't."

"You have lived a sad life," Dana said. "Do Americans have kinder eggs?"

"What is that?" Sammy asked.

"It's a hollow chocolate egg with a little plastic toy inside. It's a Muggle sweet."

"No."

"You have not lived! This summer, you and I are going to Muggle London and we're going to buy up a whole bunch of Muggle sweets for the both of us!" Dana said.

"Okay, sounds like a plan! For the record, my Muggle grandma sent me some American Muggle sweets, but we can have those tomorrow. Yes, you too, Sammy. And we're saving some for Arthur when he gets back from his parents' house."

"Anyways, let's pop the rest of these Muggle crackers," Dana said, and handed two to Harriet and one to Sammy, and the three popped them together. Inside the one Dana and Harriet popped was a pink paper hat, a little plastic rubber band gun with rubber bands, and a joke on a slip of paper. Inside the one Harriet and Sammy popped, the hat was green and the toy was a little plastic car. In the last one, which Dana and Sammy popped, the hat was blue, and the toy was another plastic rubber band gun with rubber bands. Harriet got the pink hat and rubber band gun, Dana got the blue hat and the other rubber band gun, and Sammy got the green hat and plastic car.

"I'm saving the rest of these for when Arthur gets back," Dana said.

"Sounds good. Let's pop some wizard crackers!" Harriet said.


Arthur returned from Christmas holiday and Harriet and Dana shared the Muggle crackers and American Muggle sweets with him in the Gryffindor common room, who appreciated that they'd include him in their festivities.