Whelp! Here is my next chapter! It came out a bit slower than I thought it would, as I already had it about... half written by the time I posted Chapter one? Either way, I hope you enjoy it!
Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or FMA: Brotherhood. Nuff said.
Chapter 2: The First Lesson or Alchemy is a Science
The young Alchemist stared from her sitting position in the very plush armchair, stunned, at the man in front of her.
Maes Hughes stared back from his position, standing at the entrance to the room. His spectacled, hazel eyes focused in shock on the molten gold pool in her own eye socket.
Neither could believe their situation. Juna was stunned that Maes was alive in the first place, and Maes was surprised that Juna was teaching at a magic school, emphasis on magic.
"...How?" was the first word that left Juna's mouth as she kept her eye fixed on the sight in front of her.
Hughes looked... well... like a man who had escaped death by the skin of his teeth. He was standing a little awkwardly with the assistance of a pair of crutches, but she didn't see a cast, or him shifting weight off one leg, so it wasn't a leg problem. She could barely make out some bandages poking out from over the top of the hospital garb he was wearing. Apparently "his room" was actually translated as "his bed in the hospital wing" from what she could see. And overall, Hughes looked exhausted.
"Dumbledore found me. Apparently, he was taking a vacation and took some time to take a late night stroll to take in the night-life. If he'd found me a few minutes later I'd be a goner, but he brought me here, gave me a muggle-warding repellent charm and got me healed up; though, I wouldn't be able to tell you this without asking Dumbledore because I'd blacked out at that point. I've been comatose, just woke up about two weeks ago, and I've been recovering ever since."
"I see." That means Hughes was comatose for about a month, and two weeks later Dumbledore came to the military for with a request for an alliance. Either that was coincidence or planned. The edge of Juna's lips turned up slightly and her visible eye softened slightly, "Good to have you back, alive."
"Good to be alive." He grinned back. She saw a hint of relief on his face, though she couldn't understand why. Was it because he had a fellow soldier here? Because now he had hope to see his family again? Because he wasn't laying dead and bloody in a random phone booth?
"Could someone explain what's going on?" demanded a gruff, suspicious voice. The younger of the Amestrians turned and met the swiveling eye of Professor Moody. Maes didn't have to turn since he was already facing the man, but he directed his attention to the scarred man.
"What do you mean, Professor Moody?" Juna asked. Her head tilted curiously, "You will have to be more specific."
"Well," Snape drawled, "For one, I don't think anyone here can understand German."
"That wasn't German, boy." Moody growled, "The accent's the same, but the words aren't. What language was that?" he barked.
The duo exchange glances, realizing for the first time that in their shock they had naturally switched back to speaking their native tongue when they saw each other, "Amestrian." Juna responds.
Hughes piped up before the paranoid man could bark out anything else, "I don't think I've met all of you, yet."
His English was more heavily accented than Juna's but he seemed to be managing well enough with the language despite having less time to learn it than Juna had. It's not like he had much to do in the Hospital Wing, anyway. Juna, unfortunately from experience, knows there is very little to do in a hospital as a patient but lay in bed, bored to death, so she understood how it was possible. He continued, "I'm Maes Hughes, the new Muggle Studies Professor. A pleasure to meet you all."
Hughes gave his signature smile and lifted one hand in acknowledgment as high as he dared before quickly returning it to the crutches. He seemed a little unsteady on his feet, and Juna, noticing this, walked over and helped him to a nearby seat. They exchanged a significant look that practically screamed, "We'll catch up later."
He gave her a nod of thanks when he was situated.
Dumbledore smiled, eyes twinkly as ever, "Now that we are all present, I believe it is time for the meeting to begin. Shall we?"
They talked about the usual things teachers discussed: their class syllabus and if there were any students to keep an eye on, good or bad, that sort of stuff. The newer teachers also received some advice from the more experienced teachers, too.
Snape and McGonagall, despite their rather obvious distaste for each other, seemed able to agree on two, simple things, "Keep an eye on the Weasley twins. They're huge pranksters." and "Harry Potter and his friends Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley seemed to, somehow, get themselves into trouble annually, intentionally or not."
Flitwick had also mentioned Granger but mentioned that she was the top of her year three years in a row, and was very bright for her age. He was quite impressed with the Weasley Twins and their pranks as they were usually splendid works of magic, even if he wished they'd put in more effort in their classes.
There wasn't much beyond that, so the teachers were dismissed rather quickly.
But before they left, Moody said something that caught the other teachers off guard, "Nice eye, Elric."
Juna stiffened. She was certain he wasn't talking about her visible eye, not that most of the other teachers realized this as her visible eye was literally the color of molten gold, but she kept her composure and responded, "Thank you, Professor Moody. Yours is also quite... interesting."
She left together with Hughes after that little encounter, Moody's electric-blue swivel eye followed her until the door closed.
She accompanied him to his classroom. It was, thankfully, on the same floor as the teacher's lounge so there was no need to help him down the hazardous moving staircases. Apparently, he'd just been released from the Hospital Wing that day, so he was finally able to check his office out today for the first time ever.
Juna learned that Hughes wasn't using a textbook for the class, but there were a bunch of boxes in his classroom full of random gadgets. Since he couldn't move them around while on crutches, she helped move them where he wanted them to be.
At the front of the classroom, there was a long wall of shelves, and she helped Hughes sort through the boxes and place the items on the shelves in an organized, methodical system.
It took them a few hours since Juna needed to constantly move a chair around to put things on higher shelves, curse her lack of height, and Hughes had very limited movement at the moment, so even if he could lift the heavier objects, he couldn't move them very far.
However, these few hours had let Juna catch up with the man.
"They promoted you to Brigadier General." she commented as she placed a radio on the shelf directly between a small, old-fashioned, Telly, and a Telephone, "Also, Mustang didn't take your supposed death well. I think that's the first time I saw him cry. "It's a horrible day for rain," he said, but the sky was clear and sunny. It certainly didn't fit the mood."
Hughes was silent for a moment as he dug through Muggle school supplies like pencils, paper, and pens. Then, "I see. How is he? How are Gracia and Elicia?"
"Mustang is burying himself in his work, for once. Gracia is trying to keep Elicia occupied, and I have yet to see that woman since the funeral without puffy eyes. The poor kid, too. She keeps having nightmares. I've crashed at your place a few times, and she sometimes would sneak into the guest room, waking me up, telling me she dreamed about the soldiers "pouring dirt on daddy". I never told her they buried an empty coffin. I just couldn't tell her that her daddy wasn't really there. Gracia knows, though. I told her I would inform her if they found a body. Guess I stumbled upon more than just a body, eh?"
Juna had a wry smile on her face at the last sentence. The whole thing wasn't pleasant to talk about. Hopefully, the dry humor could lighten the load. She hoped it did, at least. She had no clue how to talk to people.
She took a deep breath to compose herself and looked to her fellow soldier. He kneeled in place, frozen. His head was down, there were tears streaming down his face, falling onto his weakened legs
"I'm sorry," he whispered. It was likely he was not saying it to her, though, but to his wife and daughter who he was unable to return to at the moment.
Juna didn't know much about comforting people. She could barely do so to her own brothers, and Ed made it apparent by describing her as, she quotes, "that one completely socially awkward person at a party that tries to become one with the wall."
If it wasn't so accurate, she probably would have felt indignant. She had once spent hours shopping for a dress that matched the ballroom walls in color in an attempt to be less noticeable during a required social event the stupid Colonel had made her go to. Ed had spent the next hour and a half laughing at the lengths his sister would go to prevent social interaction. After all, if his sister would willingly go out to buy new clothes, either she was desperate, or the world was ending.
She had not been amused.
Beyond her utter lack of social skills, Juna was also just too blunt to be able to provide any form of comfort. However, Hughes needed someone, and she was the only one here that he really knew, so she walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder, feeling a little weird about doing something so out of character.
She took a breath, here goes nothing, "They'll be glad to know you're alive."
His head snapped up in shock, not realizing she had moved, "What?"
"They'll be glad to know you're alive." Juna repeated a little more clearly, "Though when you tell them is your choice."
He stared at her for a moment, "... I can't tell them right now."
She tilted her head, motioning for him to continue. It wasn't like Hughes to deny seeing his family.
"I will recover first." he said resolutely, "I don't want them to worry more than they probably already are. I can't stand the idea of them crying tears of pain if they see me like this."
She understood where he was coming from. He didn't want to appear weak or hurt, especially to Elicia, who, as a child, saw her parents as people who could do anything. He didn't want those he loved to worry more by seeing him injured, even if it took time.
Juna nods in resignation, "If that is your choice, I will respect it. When will you be fully recovered?"
Hughes removed his glasses to wipe his eyes, "I'll be able to walk without assistance in a few weeks. After that, I'll be working on getting my strength back. So far I can only lift small or light objects. Being comatose leaves you pretty weakened. Madame Pomfrey is helping me with Physical Therapy. Apparently, she'd studied "Muggle Medicine" when she was younger, so when I woke up she has been helping me get back on my feet, both figuratively and literally. She was actually the one who recommended I take the position of Muggle Studies Professor after the old Professor had retired since I told her I grew up in the "Muggle World" as they call it." Hughes smiled in amusement at the term, "I got lucky in a way. They don't know how to remove bullets, so thankfully the bullet went all the way through."
"I wouldn't say "thankfully"." Juna murmured, "Double the holes means double the blood loss."
"That's true... Hey, could you help me with this box?"
The two continued the unpacking in silence, though Juna would often notice Hughes struggling, his face screwed into a mix of frustration and determination. She would help him, not saying a word to the man's new-found vulnerability. The only other thing she asked was, "Where'd you get the new clothes?"
"Dumbledore took me to the Muggle World to do some shopping after converting my Cenz to Pounds, the Muggle Currency in the UK."
"I see. Could I see your class schedule? I want to compare."
She'd noted her schedule and Hughes didn't share any times in common, so she offered to help him with getting things until he was fit enough to do it himself. He'd agreed, but it was obvious it was because he'd rather share his moment of weakness with a friend than with a stranger.
"Will you be down at breakfast tomorrow?" she asked. Hogwarts was a pain to get around without crutches, she just hoped one of the extensive secret passageways would be of use to the man.
"Madame Pomfrey said she'll help me down the stairs if needed. I hope I can, the Hospital Wing was boring~!"
Juna gave one of her rare smiles, "That's good to know." she removed a small item from her coat pocket and tossed it to Hughes. He caught it on instinct and found himself staring at the booklet of photos of his wife and daughter he had always gone around showing anyone who he could catch, usually Mustang or the Elrics.
He had to fight back the second round of tears, taking a deep breath to compose himself, "I've been wondering where this was."
"It was found where your body was supposed to be." Juna explained, "It must have fallen out of your pockets and Dumbledore never noticed. Gracia told me to keep it for the time being. It brings her too much pain right now."
Hughes grimaced. Juna does so inwardly, as well. She's trying to cheer him up! Happy thoughts!
She continues, "Elica and I sometimes look through it when she asks. She's a sweet kid, Hughes. A little angel like you said... Fifty-two times a day."
The Alchemist notices the twitch of the man's lips. That was an improvement.
She looked to the clocktower that was easily seen outside the window. It was getting late, "I should be returning to my room, good night Hughes." Juna said, deciding she was nowhere near socially adept enough to comfort him beyond this point. She turned, waving to him over her shoulder as she walked out the door.
"Good night." came the soft mutter from the injured man. A slight pause was the only sign that Juna heard and acknowledged the words, but it was enough. Juna left for her rooms, a soft clanking sound the only noise in the hall other than the snoring portraits.
Hughes was now completely alone in his new classroom. For a while he just sat in the same place, not moving, just staring into the dark shadows made by the night.
The room was now full of trinkets on the shelves, and desks, and chairs, and chalk, but no life. The air was heavy with silence and stillness. The man stood with the help of his crutches, tired from their exercises and walking around, and hobbled towards the side door that leads to his office and living quarters.
His rooms were easy to access, so he thankfully didn't need assistance getting to them, but the feeling of silence and loneliness permeated the air around him, familiar but oh so terrifying, and nobody was around to hear as he clutched the pictures to his chest and let out a sob of grief, and a whispered, "Gracia... Elicia... Wait for me... Just remember... Papa loves you..." coming from the man who wanted nothing more than to see his loved ones again.
...
The next day came quickly, striking the young students with blinding rays of light in their eyes and causing groans and grumbles of annoyance all around as the kids rolled out of bed and began their morning routines preparing for the first day of classes.
One of the said kids was Harry Potter, fourteen years of age, Boy-Who-Lived, fourth year at Hogwarts, and average in nearly every way besides his scar, his horrendous luck, and tragic backstory worthy of an emo protagonist.
He was also among the group that signed up for the new Alchemy class. There were surprisingly few that did, at least in his House. It was just him, Hermione, Neville, to the surprise of many, Fred, George, Angelina, two others he never got acquainted with, and the Creevys for Gryffindor. Ron had opted out since Divination was known as the easy O for a reason, something Hermione lectured him for constantly.
Due to the fact the class was an elective with not a very large number of participants, all the Houses were grouped together at the same time for two class periods a week, except for the sixth and seventh years who had a double period once a week instead, according to the twins.
Also, true to Dumbledore's words yesterday, the new Muggle Studies Professor was at the table that morning.
Professor Hughes was a tall, dark-haired man with hazel eyes behind rectangular glasses. He wore a white dress shirt and black pants and combat boots. Had Harry run into him in the halls, he would have thought he was a misplaced muggle. The only really remarkable thing about the man was the crutches leaning against the table beside him and the small booklet in his hand that he was showing to Professor Elric, effectively trapping her with an arm around her shoulder.
That was another thing. He seemed to be getting along with Professor Elric very well. They were talking rather animatedly if his exaggerated hand gestures and her slightly exasperated-yet-fond expression were anything to go by. That look was one Hermione constantly seemed to aim in his and Ron's direction, so those two were definitely close.
Hermione was the only one of them who was taking Muggle Studies, for reasons nobody knew since she herself was muggle born. She had it first thing in the morning with the Slytherins and would join her friends again for Alchemy two periods later, as she had dropped Care of Magical Creatures for Muggle Studies, and had Runes during what would normally be her free period.
Harry had dropped Divination for Alchemy; he preferred to keep the death visions to a minimum, but he continued taking Care, if only for Hagrid.
Ron, meanwhile, had not signed up for Alchemy, something that upset both of his friends, but they didn't comment any further. He wouldn't have heard with his head so far into his food.
"So, what do you think of the new Professor?" Hermione asked.
Harry examined the man, he was chuckling at something Professor Elric had said, and he had yet to put the booklet down, "He seems nice, and he appears very... genuine?" He wasn't sure how to describe it.
The girl looked the man up and down, "You could say that. He certainly looks the part of someone teaching about muggles. And he also seems genuinely kind unlike... that one professor from our second year..."
Harry, if only to save her dignity, refrained from commenting that she had been absolutely infatuated with "that one professor from their second year". Instead, he looked back up to the Head Table, "He also seems to be getting along with Professor Elric."
"Yes, you're right, Harry." Hermione nodded, "Getting along a little too well if you ask me. It's like they knew each other beforehand."
"That's hardly suspicious, 'Mione." Harry commented, "It's not impossible for two teachers that know each other to be teaching at the same school."
"I know, but it's still not very likely. I can't help but wonder where they know each other from. They look like complete opposites."
"And you and Ron aren't?"
He got a slap on the arm for that comment.
They didn't have a chance to continue the conversation, though; they had to get to class, so Harry went off to Care with Ron, and Hermione headed to Muggle Studies.
She walked in, a little unsure what to expect from the new teacher. The professors all had their own systems of organization and teaching, and she was undoubtedly a little curious about how the cheery man would work out.
Professor Hughes was sitting at his desk, watching the door, with, to Hermione's surprise, Professor Elric leaning on the wall next to him doing the same thing.
Hermione wasn't sure why the Alchemy Professor was here, as her classroom, while on the same floor, was on the other side of the school.
The two were both quick to fix their eyes, and eye, on her when she arrived. She was the first to enter, so she looked for a place she wanted to sit.
"Take a card off my desk, then sit down in the seat that has the same card on it. Just take the top one, please." Professor Hughes said with a smile, gesturing to a stack of cards right beside him.
She walked up a little nervously, hoping she got a good seat and picked the number 3. She looked at the cards on the desk and noticed the numbers seemed shuffled.
She ended up in a seat in the second row, right next to a corkboard pinned full of muggle-style photographs and newspaper clippings from the last century or so.
Soon, the other students also began filing in, and Professor Hughes gave them the same instructions. Hermione had nearly fallen out of her chair when she noticed Draco Malfoy walk in. Since when did he take an interest in Muggle Studies? Weird.
It was a coincidence that landed them next to each other, and they spent the rest of the time until the bell rang staring at each other in shock and... was that resignation on Malfoy's face? She was sure it should have been disgust considering what he thought of Muggleborns.
When the bell finally rang and the last student to arrive took the last card off the desk, the Professor stood from his desk with the help of his crutches and walked to the front of the room with Professor Elric following behind him, a clipboard and pen in hand. Hermione was surprised to see her using a pen at first, then realized this was Muggle Studies, so acting like muggles would help the students learn.
"Good morning, class!" Professor Hughes exclaimed, giving a friendly smile and a quick wave, "My name is Maes Hughes, you will refer to me as Professor Hughes while in this class. To my left is Juna Elric, Professor Elric for anyone taking Alchemy. She will be my assistant until I am able to walk without these." He used his head to gesture to the crutches, "So you will be seeing a lot of her for the next few weeks at least."
Professor Elric, lifted a hand in acknowledgment, staring at the class with her seemingly signature bland look.
"Now, these seats are the seats you will have until the winter holidays. You will get new seats afterward, but I'd recommend getting to know your seatmates since you two will be doing a lot of group projects together."
People who ended up with someone they didn't like groaned and Hermione heaved a resigned sigh. Malfoy was surprisingly silent but looked as resigned as she did.
"I will let you know that in life, you will have to work with people you don't particularly like. It will happen no matter where you live after school or what occupation you choose. There will be people you want to strangle, but you can't because that would land you a sentence in prison."
Some students chuckled nervously.
"However, since you are in a learning facility, we'll make this a learning experience." Hughes nodded to his fellow coworker, and she turned the chalkboard around to expose some prewritten, semi-neat handwriting.
PARTNERSHIP TALLY SYSTEM
1st- 50 pt
2nd- 40 pt
3rd- 30 pt
4th- 20 pt
5th- 10 pt
6th and lower- 1 pt
NOTICE- IF YOU DON'T HAVE ANY TALLIES WHEN POINTS ARE GIVEN, THEN NO POINTS WILL BE GIVEN! TIEBREAKS IN THE TOP FIVE WILL BE DECIDED BY THE PROFESSOR!
"It's a rather simple system." Hughes explained, "If I or Professor Elric see you and your partner cooperating when told to, you get a tally. If you are not, you don't get a tally, and if you are trying to kill each other, you lose a tally. As you can probably guess I'm giving a lot of leeway between losing and not getting a tally, so I sincerely hope nobody loses one." his friendly gaze turns stern for a moment, "There will be a ranking done right before Christmas Break, and another done before the end of the year, and you can see how many points you'll earn. They are the only House Points I will give out, so work hard. 1st place will get fifty points each and so on as seen on the board. Am I clear?"
Everyone nodded, others muttered, some more reluctantly than others, Fay Dunbar and Theodore Nott, who ended up next to each other, were currently giving each other side glares, but they nodded, too.
"Alright, now that that's settled, would you mind getting the papers, Juna, while I do a roll call?"
She took some packets off his desk and began to hand them out face down while Professor Hughes sat down in his chair, picked up the list of students, and began to call out names, the person raised their hands, and he gave them a single look of acknowledgment before checking them off with a smile.
"What you have in front of you is a pop quiz." he explained once roll call was finished, "It's a series of pictures. You have to identify what the object is, and what is its purpose. This is not for a grade, consider it a preview of what we will learn in the unit. If you don't know something, leave it blank. This will show me what you already know so I can teach without boring you. You will get one of these weekly, and they will be taken individually, so no talking. You have until the end of class. If you finish early, you may work on the homework, one paragraph explaining the similarities and differences between parchment and paper, and another paragraph explaining the same thing about quills and pens. Begin."
The students flipped their quizzes over and started looking through the horrid thing, Hermione noted the two professors were keeping a close eye on them. It was likely to make sure nobody cheated.
She looked at the paper and saw the first two pictures were a pencil, a pen, and an eraser. She filled those in with ease, then moved on to the radio, telly, computer, and telephone.
She breezed through the quiz easily, and when she finished, she placed her quill down and stood. She saw Professor Elric gesture towards the desk, "On the desk please, Miss Granger, if you are finished."
Some students looked up at the sound of an unfamiliar voice. They had yet to hear Professor Elric speak until that point, so they were caught off guard. Her voice was not very high pitched. In fact, it was rather neutral, and she spoke in a very blunt and stern tone that complimented the minor, German-like accent in her voice.
She pointed a blank stare to the people that looked up, "Continue working. I am not your pop quiz."
They hurriedly look back to their parchment. Her stare was unnerving.
Hermione returned to her seat after placing the quiz on the desk as instructed. She noted that Malfoy was about two thirds through the quiz when the second person finished writing. It was the last of the three Slytherin students in the class: Blaise Zabini. She had worked with him on some projects in Ancient Runes when they were partnered. He was civil enough, and he was smart. She actually studied with him a few times when exam season came around, but they never really interacted beyond that.
After Blaise was Hannah Abbot, then Malfoy, to Hermione's surprise, and then a Ravenclaw named Terry Boot.
One by one the quizzes were turned in, and once the final quiz fell onto the desk, Professor Hughes gave them a friendly smile, "Now that all the quizzes are in, you are expected to be working on the homework assignment. This will happen at the end of every class period if time permits. You all need to participate and work hard, though, or these privileges will go away. I am likely one of the few Professors that you ever came across that will allow you to work on your homework in class, but you need to use this time wisely."
He leans forward and pierces the class with a serious stare, "You have this time to come see me if you have any questions. Professor Elric is also valid for answering any questions you have on the subject if I'm already occupied. You can work with your classmates, as well, but no plagiarizing, or your grade goes to an automatic T. Got it?"
There was a chorus of, "Yes Professor" from the class, and the students set to work.
Hermione was quick to prepare a roll of parchment and began to write. Paper and Parchment, while similar in the fact they are thin, flat sheets that can be written and drawn on using writing utensils, are actually quite different. Paper is much thinner and more flimsy, and it is made from trees. Meanwhile, parchment is much thicker and is made from the skin of animals like calves, goats, and sheep...
She was quick to finish the first paragraph and started the second paragraph. She was halfway through when she heard a voice.
"Granger."
Hermione started, almost knocking over her ink, and turned to see Malfoy looking at her. It took her a moment to process the fact he called her "Granger" instead of "Mudblood" before she realized she probably was appearing rude by not responding. "Yes, Malfoy?" she asked a little warily.
The Malfoy heir was looking a little uncomfortable, but it was quickly replaced with a blank expression, "Could you proofread my first paragraph?"
That caused her to stare for a moment. She wondered for a moment if those sci-fi novels she read as a child were real and Malfoy was abducted by aliens, who left behind a clone to infiltrate the school. Then, she realized that was highly unlikely and nodded, still a little wary at the odd, but not unpleasant, change in behavior.
She carefully took the piece of parchment and skimmed through the paragraph. It was actually well written if a little on the short side. She was surprised how much he knew, actually, "It looks good, Malfoy; it's very to-the-point. Though, you misspelled "pencil" a few times. There's only supposed to be one "L" at the end."
Hermione handed the sheet back to the platinum blond, who simply nodded, and fixed his spelling errors before moving on to the next paragraph.
She returned to her own work, now in a slight state of detachedness. That was a very strange interaction.
Just as she punctuated her final sentence, the bell rang. She packed her things up and headed to her next class, waving her homework around slightly in order to let it dry completely.
She now had Runes, and she and Zabini walked there together since they were heading in the same direction anyway.
They entered and split in silence, and prepared for the challenging hour of note-taking that always came with not taking.
Poor Ron and Harry were left to deal with the Blast-Ended Skrewts first thing in the morning while Hermione just wrote down words on parchment, and the boys sincerely hoped they did not have to repeat this sort of thing next year. They would be traumatized.
Anyway, the next class passed rather quickly, with nothing eventful to mention beyond Harry losing to Ron for the nth time in Wizards Chess during their free period.
Anyway, it was now their third class of the day: Alchemy for Harry and Hermione, and Divination for Ron. Harry wished his friend luck before parting ways to get to class on time. He wondered how this class would go.
He met up with Hermione in front of the classroom. "Hey, 'Mione." he smiled.
"Hello, Harry!" she responded. Harry wondered why she looked contemplative but chose to stay quiet for the moment as they walked into the classroom together.
They weren't the first here, but they were far from the last, so there were still plenty of seats open for choosing. Hermione quickly grabbed Harry's hand and dragged him to a desk in the third row with a nice view of the front of the class.
Professor Elric was already in the front of the room, leaning against her desk casually while fixing the students with a blank, even stare that already had Neville shifting nervously in his seat in the fourth row.
The bell finally rang a few minutes later, and Professor Elric pushed off her desk into a straighter standing position. Not that it did much, as she was very short, but it's the thought that counted.
"I will take roll call now, class. Please state your presence when your name is heard."
She began to call out names in the same monotone Hermione remembered her using back in Muggle Studies, and the student called would obediently raise their name and say, "Here!"
It was unnerving. Nobody was doing anything except for watching the teacher with rapt attention. It was not something Hermione was used to. Usually, there would be one or two people at least fidgeting with a quill. Hermione vaguely wondered how this was possible, but she was also busy paying attention to the teacher.
Finally, roll call was done, and Professor Elric placed the list carefully on the desk, her eyes never straying from the students, "I suppose some introductions are in order. I am Juna Elric, but you will refer to me as Professor Elric unless otherwise instructed. If you had Muggle Studies this morning, I have already met you briefly, if you didn't, It's a pleasure to meet you."
She clapped. It was a sudden, loud, sharp sound that made the students jump in their seats, "Now, onto the topic we came here for, Alchemy. On my desk, there is a pile of books. Please take one and put your name on it. It will be your textbook for the year. I warn you, if you lose this one, you are out of luck, because I personally translated these books from my native tongue and had them copied into just enough for all the signed up students to each get one. I do not have any extras, so please take good care of these books. Come up and pick them up, then return to your seats and open the cover only."
Everyone was quick to do as instructed. Hermione was still trying to place what had everyone straightening their spines and doing as instructed as she opened the cover to find something she never expected to see in the magical world.
It was the Periodic Table of Elements, an essential tool of chemistry. Harry right next to her also raised an eyebrow when he recognized it. He recognized it from having to do Dudley's homework. Another time their science teacher made a game of how far one memorized the elements, and the winner got a prize. Harry only could list as far as Calcium with certainty, though.
There were more gasps of recognition from the muggleborns and muggle-raised.
Professor Elric scanned the crowd, "Some of you know what you are looking at, or at least recognize it. That's good. For those that remain oblivious, this is the Periodic Table of Elements, an essential tool in Chemistry, a muggle science. It is also essential knowledge in the art of Alchemy. Chemistry and Alchemy are very closely related, and knowing Chemistry will improve your understanding of Alchemy. Thus, memorizing the Periodic Table will not only make your life easier, but it will also improve your chances of a successful transmutation. I recommend you do so. There will be a test on it next week."
That caused a chorus of groans, but the Professor continued, "Now, can anybody tell me what Alchemy is?"
Her eyes once again scanned the crowd. Three hands raised up, "Miss Granger."
"Alchemy is considered lost magic that focused on turning lead into gold. One of its greatest practitioners was Nicholas Flamel, the only known maker of the Philosophers Stone, known to many Witches and Wizards as the Sorcerer's Stone."
Professor Elric frowned, "A fascinating answer. Wrong. Alchemy is not magic, it's a science, and while turning lead into gold is possible, it is also illegal as doing so would ruin the economy. Nicholas Flamel did make the Philosopher's Stone, but that is also a rather sick creation because of exactly how the stone works. That will be explained at a later date."
The blonde woman was pacing now in a slow, controlled stride with her hands clasped behind her back. When she began her lecture, she seemed a bit more... passionate? eager to talk? either way, she became slightly different when she began talking about her craft, "Alchemy is the science of deconstructing and reconstructing matter." she rights that on the board as she speaks, "Alchemists do that through transmutation." She rights that word under the definition, "Transmutation is the act of changing one thing to another, and it is done through three steps."
She lists the numbers underneath "Transmutation", and turns back to the students. She scans the crowd with her unnerving golden eye, "Considering what you have already learned, can any of you guess what they are?"
There was silence, some were tense under her gaze.
"Each person gets to guess at one of the steps, if you are correct you get points. Mr. Malfoy, would you kindly start? We will continue from there."
Hermione and Harry started. When did Malfoy get here? He was in the far corner of the fourth row. Five seats down from Neville, who was a bit on the right.
"Reconstruction?" the blond boy responded.
"Are you asking me or telling me, Mr. Malfoy?"
The boy flushed slightly, "... Telling."
"You are correct. Five points to Slytherin." Professor Elric said as she wrote down "Reconstruction" in the third slot.
The guesses continued. The third person, a Ravenclaw, guessed "Deconstruction", and Ravenclaw got five points. Neville was shaking and stuttering, and got the final term wrong, but the Professor mentioned he was on the right track, but too far in the process when he said, "Getting materials".
People guessed and guessed, but they couldn't figure out what it was. Some just gave up and passed. Harry was next, and Hermione after him. He knew Hermione probably knew the answer, but he also had a guess.
The Professor mentioned chemistry earlier, and while Harry was no chemist, he knew that chemistry was the science of understanding matter.
It was the best guess he had, "Umm... Knowing what the material is made of..."
Professor Elric had her gaze directly on him, "That was rather hesitant. Are you using that as your final guess?"
Harry nodded.
The Professor, for the first time in around fifteen guesses, turned to the board, "Five points for Gryffindor. That was the definition." she said as she wrote down "Understanding".
There was a mutter from a Ravenclaw girl that sounded something like, "How the hell did Potter get that?"
Professor Elric heard it though, "Mr. Potter. Would you like to explain your reasoning to the class?"
Harry flushed at the sudden attention, "Um... Well, Professor, you mentioned Chemistry was an important part of Alchemy earlier, so I thought that since Chemistry is the science of understanding matter, umm... it made me think knowing what the matter is would be important to be able to take it apart and put it together again..."
The professor gives a nod of approval, "That is sound reasoning, Mr. Potter. You are correct."
She starts to pace again, "Alchemy is Chemistry taken to the next level. If you don't learn Chemistry, then you are going to have a hard time in this class. We will be taking the first two months to get a good grasp on Chemistry, then I will begin getting into the more Alchemical part of the class. However, since two months is not a lot of time to learn an entire branch of science, I will be holding study sessions on the weekends in my room for any who have questions. The times can be found on the classroom door."
She then erased the board, confident everyone had gotten the notes down by then. She proceeded right into Chemistry, explaining important terminology they would be learning and the difference between covalent and ionic bonds, along with some examples of each.
"You see, ions are atoms that have either gained or lost an electron, a negatively charged particle. If the atom loses an electron, it becomes positive, so it becomes a cation. Gaining an electron makes a negatively charged ion or an anion. These ions bond to each other to form an ionic compound. One example of an ionic compound would be table salt, sodium chloride. Sodium, as a metal, is very prone to losing electrons, so it becomes the cation. Chlorine is very good at gaining electrons, so it is the anion. together they form sodium chloride, which flavors just about any dish you can think of. Yes, Miss Patil?"
"What dish can you think of that doesn't have salt?"
"A fruit salad. Do you have a relevant question?"
"No."
"Very well. As I was saying..."
By the end of the class period, the students were rubbing their sore wrists and groaning at the fact they'd have to memorize that entire table of information in a week. Seems this professor wasn't going to let them get away with not studying.
Hermione was still looking contemplative when she left the class.
"What's on your mind, 'Mione?" Harry asked.
"There was something about Professor Elric that seems... off? It's not in a bad way. I just can't place it. I didn't notice it earlier, but I had a similar feeling in Professor Hughes's class, just to a more minor degree. Is it something in their way of speech? Is it their mannerisms? I just am not sure, and it's bugging me!"
The Boy-Who-Lived looked at his friend a little uncomfortable, "Umm... I'm sure you'll figure it out eventually... anyway, did you see the Professor's coat?"
Indeed, when Professor Elric had turned around to write on the board, she gave the class the view of a symbol carefully embroidered on the upper back of the trench coat in inky black. It was a winged serpent wrapped around a cross with a crown on top.
"Yes." Hermione nodded, "The symbol looks familiar. I'll look it up in the library later."
Harry sighed. Of course, she would. He just hoped he wasn't dragged along for once.
"So..." Hughes began as he leaned back in his chair, "How'd your first class of the day go?"
"Uneventful," Juna responded. She had claimed a corner of the desk and sat on it, letting her feet wrap around the table leg to keep her steady. "There were definitely kids with potential. I predict thirty percent of the students will drop out by the end of the week. They don't teach science or maths here, so they have to learn a complex science like chemistry in two to three months depending on how fast we go."
Huges winced, "Ouch. Sounds painful. I wouldn't want to be in your shoes."
"The kids will likely hate me for the first few weeks." she commented airily as if she was mentioning the weather, "However, those that stick to it will get results, though, and that's what matters."
"True to that." Hughes smiled, "Hey, Juna. When was the last time you visited them?"
Juna raises an eyebrow, "A day before I left for here. I wanted to make sure they were alright before I left."
The man barked out a laugh, "You're practically adopted already."
Her head tilts in confusion and he elaborates, "You stay at our place, you watch Elicia when we ask, you help Gracia out, and you never fail to visit to check on them. I might as well call you my kid and get it over with. Your brothers, too."
Juna stares. She's not quite sure what to think of that, "I suppose I have developed a familial attachment to you guys. I won't be calling you "dad" anytime soon, though."
"It was just a thought."
"I see."
They spend the next few minutes just talking and mentioning some highlights of their day so far, waiting for Hughes's next class.
It was pleasant, Juna thought, like talking to her dad about her day, her worries, and general things. Hughes was right, she was basically family now.
She could get used to it.
And that's a wrap! I had so much trouble writing interactive dialogue in this chapter and I have no clue why! I tried to make Juna seem a little blunt and less socially inclined, but I might have just made her seem robotic. Whoops.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Please tell me what you think in the reviews! Feel free to add constructive criticism, and I'll see what I can do.
Have a great day, everyone!