Disclamer: I do not own Harry Potter, or any of J.K.Rowlings work, storylines, etc.
Chapter 1: The New Professor
The next day Harry, Hermione, and Ron are the first to enter the class, "G'afternoon, Beriath." Hermione says as she enters the room. Ron and Harry just mutter their hellos, clearly in no mood for class.
"Oh? Hey, guys." Is my lack-luster reply as I barely glance up from my quote-unquote work. I am sitting at my desk, which has two new additions: A large TV, 32" plasma flat-screen; and a Playstation 3. I am rapt in playing Resistance: Fall of Man.
"Hey Beriath, what is that?" Ron asks, pointing to the TV and Playstation 3.
"What the TV," I begin by pointing to the large box-like object, "or the PS3?" I finish as I point to the smaller of the objects.
"Both." Is his surprisingly simple response.
Pointing to the smaller object, "That, Ron, is a Playstation 3, PS3 for short, and it is a muggle invention that rivals the importance of the wheel and fire."
"It's that important, huh?"
"Indeed."
"And the other thing?"
"A television, a.k.a. a TV. Which I suppose is the most important invention in the history of mankind. Which is really kind of surprising, since what is shown on TV is now pretty much all shit, but without it, the PS3 is totally useless." By this point the rest of the class has begun to arrive. Glancing down at my wristwatch, "Well, I suppose we should begin." I say as I stand. "Okay class, Since we only have half an hour, there will be absolutely no lecture and if we are lucky we may have enough time for one challenge, should any of you be so inclined. I do want to tell you three things. One: as of this moment you all have ten phantom points. Phantom points are points that will be added to your house total at the end of the year. You can use these for wagering on a challenge, be you spectator or challenger. The second thing is that there are three stipulations to the use of the phantom points: A; you must meet the wager of your opponent. B; you must have at least one point before the final exam. C; If you run out of points at any time, you fail the class, and thereby, the year. Finally: you will now be given your weapons, we will be going in order by last name. Depending on how you choose your weapon, not what weapon you choose, you can earn up to fifteen house points. First are Balthazar and Black." Balthazar ("Call me Bal") chose a no dachi, Black chose a polearm. "Crabbe, Goyle." Crabbe chose a battleaxe, Goyle chose a broadsword. "Granger and ... Hellsing? You wouldn't happen to be related to Sir Integra Hellsing would you?"
"I am." A boy who is clearly in his mid-teens says as he stands. He has mid-length black hair that is some-what spiky. He is pale and has crimson eyes. He clearly takes after his father. "I am the product of Integra and that freak Alucard."
"Is that so?" I ask as he grabs a rapier from the table. Hermione has yet to choose a weapon. "How much has your mother told you about Alucard?"
"Nothing aside from why both he and I are abominations."
"I think that we should talk, your father and I go way back. Meet me here after dinner,
would you?"
"Sure." he says as Hermione finally decides upon a set of daggers and a whip, which earn her a few well intentioned catcalls and hoots.
"Shuddap, y'all. If anyone in here is going be making catcalls in this class it's going to be me. Jacobs, Lazcolz." A somewhat scandalized Jacobs chose a falchion, Lazcolz chose a spear. "Longbottom, Malfoy..." Neville chose a pair of clawed gauntlets, similar to the ones I have. While Neville was choosing his weapon, "Oh, dear, Malfoy's absent... fifty points from Slytherin." I say with a vindictive grin.
"WHAT!?" The three Slytherins cry in unison. Lazcolz takes it a step further, "He wouldn't have been absent if you hadn't broken his mind! It's not fair!"
"Really? Would you like to join your friend in the hospital wing? Life is far from fair, Lazcolz. You'd best remember that." He shuts his mouth, which was gaping like that of a fish out of water, with an audible snap. He just stares at me indignantly. I return the gesture with a grin that would have done a wolf justice. "Potter, Ruddige." Harry chose a set of bladed numchucks, which earned a questioning glance from me, and Ruddige chose a sword similar to the sword I gave Harry. "Spinnet, Weasley." Alicia chose a set of sais, Ron chose a staff. "Finally, Xandaar and Zalcon." Xandaar chose a chain flail, and Zalcon chose a standard katana.
"Okay, now that every one has their weapons, it is time to give out house points... and I must say that I am disappointed in each and every one of you. There is only one exception, Hermione. Ten points to Gryffindor. Now, I will give one of you a chance to redeem yourself and earn five house points. Can any of you tell me what she did differently?"
"She did like all high-school muggles and gave teacher a blow-job." Lazcolz shouts.
"Okay. One; if that were the case, it would get her a shit-load more than ten points. I'm not that cheap. Two; next fifty points for Slytherin are void. And detention with Filch, after you get out of the hospital wing. Oh, yes, dear child, don't think that you can do anything you want simply because you are screwed for the house cup this year. You see right now you are at negative seventy seven points... and you will continue to lose points and be screwed for the house cup until your debt be paid. Now where was I? Ah, yes, I was about to destroy your life." I say as I dash over to him, lift him by the throat and mutter, "Jigokuhi no Zenmetsu. (Annihilating Hellfire)" In less than a second, Lazcolz is bathed in green flame and falls to the floor as a formless lump of flesh. Just as he begins to scream, he disappears in a blinding flash of light. "For the insult, Hermione, you may determine his final punishment."
"Okay." She mutters barely audibly, but putting up a strong front nonetheless.
"Now, can anyone give me an answer that won't land them in the hospital wing?"
"She took her time selecting a weapon."
"Correct Ruddige. Five to Ravenclaw. One thing you must all learn is that all weapons are equal. Let's compare swords and sais, for example. Swords have greater reach, strength, and blocking range; whereas sais have more agility, accuracy, and can block easier than swords. There is only one weapon that is better than all the rest, and that is yourself. The problem is that in order for your body to become the perfect weapon, it requires centuries of training, if you're obscenely lucky and talented. Millions, if your lucky. Typically, it takes billions of years. Now, we do have a few minutes left, so does anyone wish to make a challenge?"
"Goyle and I want to challenge Granger." Crabbe says as he stands.
"Is that so?"
"Yes."
"I see. You will have an advantage then. By rights Hermione can select a partner in
battle, will you accept? Bear in mind that once a partner has been selected, the challenge will be considered issued and it will be too late to back down. Do you realize that?"
"Yes."
"Okay, how many points will you wager?"
"Three."
"Fair enough. I offer to act as Hermione's second in this battle. Now, most importantly, will you accept their challenge Hermione?"
With a grin that seems unsuited to her normally mild nature, "I will."
"Good." I say as I stand and with blinding speed throw a needle into Goyle's throat. "The rest is up to you Hermione."
Hermione stands and moves to center of the room and waits there for Crabbe. Crabbe after a few moments of hesitation moves to stand in front of her. With a gesture of the hand, she indicates that he can proceed to the battle arena first. After a slight frown, Crabbe does so, and ends up with a slit throat. "No honor, remember Crabbe?"
A stale applause is all that breaks the silence and shock caused by Hermione's unexpected ruthlessness. "Congratulations, Hermione, you are up to sixteen phantom points, which will hereafter be called PP. Crabbe and Goyle are both down to seven. I must say, that I am surprised though."
"Well, you did say that there was no such thing as honor in combat, and Crabbe is one of the people that I would expect to stab me in the back."
"Very good, and very true." I say as I walk over and place my and over the gaping wound in Crabbe's throat, and heal it. After a few moments he regains consciousness. I then go and remove the needle in Goyle's throat, and say to the apparently, but obviously not dead body, "The needle penetrated your spine, thus paralyzing you. You will heal within an hour or so. Now, then, class dismissed." As the class was leaving, "...'Mione?"
"Yes?"
"Can I speak with you for a moment?"
"Sure." She says as she walks up to my desk, Harry and Ron are not far behind. "Hermione, not you two."
"It's okay, guys, thanks though."
After Harry and Ron are out of the room, "You are strong. Stronger than you appear."
"What makes you say that?"
"You should know that you cannot hide your true emotions from a demon. I can smell, hear, even see and taste your rage. You are more pissed than you let on, you are excused from your potions class. Snape will certainly not help your situation."
"Can I at least get my assignments?"
"If you wish. I'll drop by and have Harry pick them up for you. You need stress relief. Relax. I will take care of everything. I can't believe that you want your assignments, though."
"I don't want to fall behind."
"Very well. However, I'll see to it that this assignment will not be held against you should you decide not to do it."
"You do realize that you are speaking for another professor, right?"
"Certainly, I do. Also, you may determine his final punishment. I'll come up to the common room sometime tonight. I'll bring dinner."
"Okay. Thanks, Beriath."
"No problem."
/
As it was, Hermione got over the slur shockingly quickly. By the time dinner rolled around, she was almost completely back to normal. She had also decided that Lazcolz's punishment would be to permanently rob him of all magical ability and send him home... for good. That is, once he was able to move again. As such, since Mione was the root of that which eliminated him as a student, all of his PP went to her. Later that evening, my thoughts are interrupted by two firm knocks on the door. The acoustics of the room are shocking, "Enter."
"You wished to see me, Beriath?"
"Ah, Tepes. I know that Integra would try to keep you from meeting your father, what I want to know is; has she been successful, thus far?"
"She tries, but no. I speak to my father almost every night."
"Good... or bad. How dark is your soul?"
"Pardon?"
"Your soul's color. I for example am primarily black but have a little crimson and blue in there as well. Close your eyes, and see yourself, if you look close enough, you will see a figure standing over you. That figure will have the shape of and color of your soul. Now, what do you see?"
"I see something amorphous. The head though looks like a malformed dog."
"And the color?"
"Red and black in about 50-50, but there's a touch of violet in there too."
"I see. Then you probably don't see Alucard as the abomination your mother claims he is, correct?"
"How'd you know?"
"Because when you become powerful enough, you will be able to see another's soul on your own. Do you know what the colors mean?"
"No."
"Well first, let me give you my specific specs. I am 65 black, 20 crimson, and 15 blue. Now each color means a different thing, and certain combinations can lead you to make certain assumptions about people without much chance for being wrong. Oh, by the way, you are 48 black, 44 crimson, and 8 violet. Now then, black is general darkness. It doesn't signify anything specifically, it signifies an augmentation of some of the other colors, in one direction or the other. Those that are high in the black element, are usually very powerful and maintain control over all else. Typically. Crimson is blood-thirst. The more red, the more violent the person. Usually, people have less than 5 crimson. Just to throw things into perspective. Also, black gives a certain degree of control over the blood thirst, and also serves to turn the crimson in a person into physical ability. Violet is control, black augments it. As a side note, if crimson is the most abundant color in one's soul, that soul would be insane and must be destroyed. Blue is intelligence. Cold calculation. Being able to manipulate... being able to do what is considered to be evil with little or no guilt, again, black augments it. In the typical human, blue is maybe 2 or 3 percent... Of course, humans have perhaps a tenth of the soul that you or I would. White serves as the opposite of black. And it does the same thing. Yellow signifies cowardice, and although that sounds bad, it ensures that the person will live longer. In battle they are weak, and would just as soon run like hell, but they are almost always accompanied by a high intelligence factor. As such, they make most excellent generals and politicians. White augments yellow, and in this case blue as well. Green is jealousy, they are normally accompanied by a smidgeon of crimson.
For some reason, white serves to augment green. Humans, especially, most always have a little green in them. So what can you tell me about me?"
"You said that you are 65-20-15 black, crimson, blue, right?"
"Yes."
"You are violent, but you are very controlled. You release it when you need it and no more. You are deceptively intelligent. You have the intelligence to call on should you need it, but you prefer to fight on instinct."
"You see? It's actually quite easy. All you need is to know the specs of a soul and have a little deductive reasoning. Let me show you: You are very violent, but you have exceptional control over your rage. You feel like killing a person for a minor insult, but you are always able to squelch it and act accordingly. You are strong, physically. You can pick up an ant without hurting it, or you could put your fist through a bank vault. You have surgical precision when it comes to your obscene strength. The violet in you serves to allow you to regain control after going into a rage. Which is rare, I'll bet. So?"
"Correct, on all counts."
"Well, as far as your mother is concerned, just don't let her get to you. She's just being a bitch because vampirism is against God, quote-unquote. I can tell you for a fact that that is impossible. The one the mortals called God, was killed about seven centuries ago... by me. Also, as a vamp-human hybrid, you have latent abilities that should be awakened. Now, if you want that, I could have a vampire by the name of Incognito come down and teach you how to awaken, use, and control those abilities. Do you want that?"
"...Sure."
"Good. I'll arrange for Incognito to come down immediately."
"Why does that name sound so familiar?"
"It was your father's greatest challenge. It was the only battle that forced him to fully unleash his power. I would arrange for him to come himself, but I think that would arouse Integra's suspicions. So, I am forced to go with the next best option. I'll arrange with Dumbledore some allocated time for building up your latent abilities. Let's see, dinner is from 6:30 to 7:30... how long do you normally take to eat?"
"Half hour, at most."
"Okay so how does 7:15 to 8 o'clock sound, in here?"
"That's fine."
"Good. However, I would not go so far as to say that he'll grant you that, so let's say 4 o'clock to 8 o'clock on Saturday and Sunday as an alternative?"
"That's fine also, but what about dinner?"
"Oh, I can see to it that that's provided."
"Thanks, Beriath."
"No problem. I-" I begin, but am cut off by a sharp knocking on my door. "Now who the hell could that be?" I ask myself before shouting, "Enter!"
"Ah, Beriath, here you are. I've been looking for you."
"I can imagine. What do you want Dumbledore?"
"I would like to introduce you to your replacement."
"REPLACEMENT!?" Tepes shouts, "They're going to replace you?"
"Hmph!" I grunt, "They wish to try."
"Why?"
"Malfoy. Well, where is he Dumbledore?"
"He's outside."
"Well? Send him in."
"I would have, however the one condition for taking the job was that he wanted to meet you before the challenge. He said that he wanted to quote: '...confirm my suspicions. If he is who I suspect, then I will try for the job simply for the opportunity to challenge him.' end quote. He also said that if I do not prepare you, then you'd be likely to try and kill him here and now. I am to get your word of honor that you'll not attack him before a time is decided upon."
"I see. He will have my word provided he does the same."
"Okay, I'll be back in just a moment."
Dumbledore returns in less than a minute, with a man at his back. The man is tall. About six-five. Although, his spiked red hair adds about an inch to his total height. He is wearing a black armored vest under a, of all things, green leather trench-coat. He is wearing black loose-fitting leather pants, tucked into black boots. "Kain. I had expected as much. I take it that Dumbledore has told you of my... stipulation?"
"About the challenge?"
"Yes."
"Yes."
"Good."
"Good."
"Yes... well, perhaps we should save the use of monosyllabic expressions of arrogance until one of us has one won, hmm?"
"Yes, I suppose so."
"Excellent. Tomorrow at noon, here. Dumbledore, I suppose it's not too much to ask to delay lunch half-an hour?"
"Not at all."
"Good."
"Until tomorrow, Kain."
"And you as well, Ca-"
"STOP! Please, do not say my name. I am trying to remain incognito. You know well what'll happen if my name is said aloud, correct?"
"Certainly. What is your alias for the time being, then?"
"Beriath."
"Well enough then... Beriath." Kain says as he turns and walks out the door.
"You know him?"
"Yes."
"You seem like friends, I'm sorry for making this awkward for you."
"Ha! Friends? No, Dumbledore, we are not friends. He is a demon hunter. He is nigh solely responsible for the extinction of my kind."
"You do not seem to hate him though."
"Indeed, I do not. He started hunting demons as a mortal, and he won. He managed to kill many of us as little more than a human. I hold him in high regard. Also, we've worked together before. He has been the source of my victory on more than one occasion. As such, I can hold no real contempt for him anymore. I respect him, but do not like him."
"I see." Is all Dumbledore says as he leaves the room.
"What can you tell me about Kain, Tepes?"
"It's wrong."
"Be that as it may, tell me."
"40 crimson, 30 dark, 24 violet, and 6 blue. But that's impossible. Crimson is the most powerful element in him. He should be mad, totally uncontrollable... Shouldn't he?"
"In this instance, no. Remember that dark augments violet; control."
"But you also said that it augments crimson, doesn't it?"
"Perceptive of you... Yes, but in a different way. Dark and crimson increases physical ability, not the blood-thirst. Dark and violet increases the control. You were correct. However, with the combinations that lie within him, you could just as accurately say that he is 40-54-36 crimson, violet, blue. Just as you could say that I am 85-80 crimson, blue."
"Well, that explains that, but-"
"You saw a shadow of his other souls, didn't you?"
"What?"
"Kain is... special. He has four souls, not one. The form you saw is his demon soul, which he gained by surviving one of my more powerful techniques. The soul of a werewolf. Not one of the gay stick-figure werewolves like professor Lupin is. He is one of the original werewolves, he is one of the elders. Then there is his efreet, fire-elemental, form. Which is his own creation by using the demon-fire of the demon soul. And finally, there is his dragon soul. I have no info on that. He's had that for as long as I've known him, but I've no clue how he came about it. Nor, for that matter, it's abilities. Well... I suppose that that's enough for tonight. Perhaps, you'd better head back to the dorm."
"Of course."
"G'night."
"G'night, Beriath."
/
Early the next morning.
"Right, now, no time for dilly-dallying." a middle-aged to old man say as he drags a large trunk through the door. His hair is thin and grizzled, his face is a roadmap of lines and a few scars, at least one of his legs is prosthetic, and his left eye is a prosthetic as well.
"Need a hand, Alastor?"
"Ca-... Beriath? What do you want?"
"I've no classes to teach this morning and I'd like to see what the other professors are teaching. Have you any problems with that?"
"None. No, I don't need a hand."
"Well enough then."
"Now, then," Moody begins as he drops the trunk unceremoniously once reaching the back of the room, "in that trunk is a Boggart. I'm sure that anyone who was in Lupin's class a few years ago will be quite familiar with them."
"Uh, professor, why are we doing this again?" Harry asks.
"Because, Harry, Lupin merely told you how to neutralize a Boggart. Unless you run into a Boggart alone, it can feed off another's fear and still attack. I will teach you to kill it. As it is, I am glad that Dumbledore finally started a NMC class. I've been petitioning him to do so for nearly twenty years. You see the Boggart is highly resistant to magic. Even the killing curse will not effect it. In spite of their spectral nature, only physical attacks, or physically based magic will affect it. Unfortunately, European magic has very little in the way of physical spells. You'd be better off using Asian magic. Asian magic is more balanced between the mystical and the
physical, and is, in the long run, far more practical to learn. American magic is relatively undeveloped, but what magic they do have is primarily physical. The best way to kill a Boggart is with Shoushu no Eien, Eterenity's Call. Shoushu no Eien is basically the Asian version of the killing curse, until recently the ministry could not detect Asian, or for that matter, American, magic. As such, it was not an unforgivable curse... it still isn't."
"There are, however, certain restrictions. If used against anything other than a Boggart, it'll still land you a one-way ticket to Azkaban. Where you will spend the rest of your lives living in solitary confinement. Because you see, Asian magic does not rely on a wand. The wand only serves to magnify magic. As such Shoushu no Eien can be used effectively against dementors as well. Although, it is not as effective as a sufficiently powerful patronus." I put in.
"True. So, Beriath, you are proficient with Asian magic, would you demonstrate the Shoushu no Eien?"
"Sure." I say as the all too familiar pike comes out of my prosthetic hand. "Whenever you are ready, Moody."
Without a word, Moody, just points his wand at the trunk, which shoots open and a being steps out. It has the general shape of a man, but is covered in flames.
I give it no time to react, I merely charge and drive the metal spike under the chin. "Shoushu no Eien." I mutter as two blades come out of the spike, rotate, and cut the Boggart's head off at the mouth and at the top of the skull. "You see, Shoushu no Eien works by making the Boggart a ... mortal, for lack of a better term. It also works by reading the mind of the caster and kills in a way that he or she would find most effective. The problem is that to cast Shoushu no Eien, one must use a weapon as a medium."
/
Noon, my classroom...
"Good day, everyone." I say as I enter my classroom. "I expect that you shall learn quite a bit about combat, which is why we are having a combined NMC class today. Feel free to make bets on the match today. Money or PP, makes no difference to me." Turning to Kain, "Since this is Non-Magical Combat Kain, I would suggest that neither of us use magic. Only physical abilities."
"You would be giving me a major advantage then, also, there are no restrictions in real combat."
"You are right Kain... especially since I will be teaching how to integrate magic into combat. Very well, I will use one spell... and only one. You may as well, Kain."
"Fair enough."
"Then let it begin." I say as Kain charges me. Shifting to his wolf form in the process. Just as his claws sweep around to slice my mid-drift I flip over him and grab the underside of his muzzle, forcing him to land on his backside. He is on his feet again before I even land. Just as my feet are about to touch the ground Kain gets me with a flying tackle, the sheer momentum of which sends us both flying into the southern wall. "You are faster than I remember Kain. It wasn't that long ago that making you land flat on your back in wolf form would have led to a kill blow."
"Just as you have gotten stronger. Your spine would have been shattered by a hit like this a few years back."
"Indeed." I say as an all too familiar spike comes out of my right hand and I impale Kain through the side, right where his heart should be.
"I- I don't remember that." Kain says, spitting up blood.
"As well you shouldn't-" I begin as Kain's right hand digs into the side of my chest, just below the ribs, "Ungh... It is a new addition, less than a decade old."
"Indeed? Well, I suppose it is irrelevant now."
"I suppose so. You've not won yet though. Kagami Sugata." I mutter as Kain crushes my heart. "Hmph. You may have incapacitated me, Kain, but unless your regenerative capabilities have increased dramatically, you are doomed to death. Kagami Sugata, mirror image, you just crushed your heart as well as my own." I say as I black out.
/
When I regain consciousness, I am lying in a bed with white sheets. To my left is Malfoy, either asleep or unconscious. I would say the latter, but I don't think Lucius would stop howling a Madame Pomfrey if that were the case. To my right are windows, through which the late afternoon sun is streaming. With a groan, I toss the sheets aside and get up. Looking out the window, I notice Hagrid holding another class with his Hippogriffs. After a few moments he turns and waves at me. I merely nod and turn to what initially attracted me to the site. Kain, lying in bed, and still unconscious. With a scowl, I remove a needle hidden in my prosthetic forearm, "Bakuhatsubutsu Hari. At least you will die with honor Kain. Explosive Needle." I say as I swing my arm in a arc about to let fly with the needle, when-
"STOP!"
"Madame Pomefrey. Why did you stop me? As a demon, I am within my rights to kill a challenger."
"That's true-" She begins, and I pull my arm back again for another throw, "-BUT, you are a Hogwarts professor first."
"Hmph. You'd like to believe that, wouldn't you?" I say as I place the needle back in its sheathe in my arm, in spite of my tone, "However, I will spare him..."
"You should. You swore you would." Dumbledore says quietly as he enters the room.
"I swore that if the challenger was an actual challenge, I would take him on as an assistant. I did not have to reclaim my real name, that means I won with less than forty percent of my power."
"True, but you also swore that if the person was strong, you'd spare them and just exile them."
With a sigh, "Damn your observational skills Dumbledore. How long have I been out, anyway?"
"A little over a week. Soon after you and Kain went out of commission, a man showed up claiming to be your apprentice, Nagatsu. His skills seemed good enough so I let him take over until you recovered."
"I see. Well, once I get some food in me, I'll be quite ready to resume teaching."
"I'm afraid that won't be necessary. I've decided to cancel the class for the remainder of the semester. Since there was no clear winner-"
"There would have been had you and Pomfrey not stopped me a few seconds ago!"
"Be that as it may; The class will be cancelled."
"What is the meaning of this, Albus Dumbledore!? If you have a problem with my teaching methods, you should not have hired me in the first place. Just because I gave that Malfoy bastard a lesson well deserved, you are trying to strip away my rights and status. To try such with a demon is a death sentence and you know it."
"There was no clear winner. We doubted either of you would survive."
"Oh, bullshit. Know what, fine, if you feel that way and want to get rid of me, then I will call upon your honor debt to me."
"That debt was paid when I hired you, Beriath. Besides, you swore an oath that you'd not kill any professors or students."
"Oh, so now you try to screw me out of a debt that is to be paid. You spent nearly thirty years studying the demonic, you should know that refusing to pay a debt will nullify any and every oath sworn by a demon. If you will not pay what I am owed then I will take what is owed in the blood of your students!"
"Oh, very well. I'll not cancel the class, but you'd best not set another toe out of line, because I'll not rush to your defense. And if you do again to another student what you did to Lazcolz or Malfoy, you can be certain that the Ministry will hear of it."
"Hmph! Two things, Dumbledore: One, you should know well the first and most important rule of dealing with demons; 'Never threaten a demon. The result of doing so will... not be pleasant. Two; I do not need you to 'protect' me from the ministry. I am quite capable of taking care of myself."
/
About three hours later...
"What are you three doing here?" Madame Pomfrey asks as she enters the room.
Harry, Hermione, and Ron are all standing around an empty bed, all with a look of concern and/or consternation on their faces. "Oh," Hermione begins with a startled gasp. "We were wondering if we could see Beriath."
"Oh, he's no longer with us." Pomfrey say in an unusually chipper tone.
"You mean... he... left?" Harry asks quietly.
"Yup. About three hours ago."
"Oh... We- we understand." Harry mutters as Hermione walks stiffly out the door, tears streaming down her cheeks. Harry and Ron follow shortly after, with subdued expressions.
"What's wrong with them?" Pomfrey asks herself, "With the way they reacted, you'd think I just told them that Snape would be teaching all of their classes for the rest of their semester. ... Oh, well. Whatever."