"So much for a new teacher," Hermione mumbled in a vexed tone. The new teacher they were supposed to have didn't show up, and the class period was already half over with. "This guy could have at least called in a substitute so we weren't sitting around, wasting our time," she added, placing her elbow on the desk, and her head in her hand.
"Well I'm not complaining. I don't mind taking a little time off in class," Ron replied to Hermione, "Maybe something came up suddenly and there wasn't any time to call a substitute." He shrugged and stretched out his arms while leaning back in his chair. He had to get used to getting up a little earlier than normal.
Harry was in a daze at the moment, and was going to make a crude remark about the teacher, since he already made up his mind that he wasn't going to like who ever it was, but stopped before he could speak to the sound of the door being slammed open unexpectedly. It was like a repeat of last night, only in a different room. Everyone in the classroom immediately shut up and whirled around in their seats to see a woman standing in the doorway.
The woman paused before she entered. She arched her eyebrow and her eyes darted across the room. She sighed and mumbled something so low that no one, not even the ones seven feet from her, could hear what she said. Finally she proceeded down the pathway between the row of desks and to the front of the room. As she walked past the students, especially the boys, studied her closely.
She was looked to be about the average height for a woman, around 5'3 or maybe 5'4, the students couldn't tell for certain. As she walked her shoulder length curly black hair bounced slightly with each step. The students could see that her eyes were a beautiful shade of jade; at least they were sure that her right eye was. Her left eye was covered by her bangs that were pushed all to the left side, and they could only vaguely see the green through all the black. She wore a tight green tank top, almost the same color of her eyes, and black baggy Capri's along with black slip on shoes.
She was very beautiful, and most of the boys couldn't stop staring at her, and their mouths almost touched the ground. Harry leaned close to Ron and whispered in his ear, "Do you think that's our new teacher?"
Ron didn't take his eyes away from the woman, who was now rustling through some papers on the front desk, but answered Harry, "I don't know, but I sure do hope so."
After the woman was done fiddling with the sprawled out papers on the desk, she turned to face the class and did another quick overview of everyone. She hopped up and took a seat on the top of her desk and crossed her left leg over the right. The class was silent, almost afraid to make a sound. It was awkward for them; some shifted uneasily in their seats waiting for her to say something.
"Hmm." She raised her hand to her chin and stared out at everyone. "So, this is the future generation of witches and wizards, huh?" she said, finally breaking the horrible silence. She then shook her head in disapproval and added in a muffled voice, "Sad looking bunch if you ask me."
Hermione seemed to be the one that took the most offence to her comment, and stood up to protest. As soon as she opened her mouth to speak, the woman silenced her. "Hermione, take a seat. I'm not in the mood to argue with any of you."
Hermione hesitated, wanting to say something, but wised up quickly and sat back down.
The woman watched Hermione and a crooked smile spread over her face. "Good choice," she said bluntly. She rose up from her place on the desk, clasping her hands together behind her back, slowly striding over to the window located next to her desk. She gazed down to the courtyard that could be seen from the window, and began to speak, not turning back to the students, "You're probably wondering who I am. My name's Jade. Don't worry about my last name because you will not be addressing me by it."
Jade pressed her hand against the cold window and pushed lightly on it, opening it halfway. "Oh, and don't use 'Miss' in front of my name or anything like that, not even professor. Never liked the sound of it in front of anyone's name," she stated in a softer tone.
Hermione watched her very closely. When it seemed as though she was finished speaking for the time being, she raised her hand up high so that she might let her speak now.
Jade never took her gaze away from the window, but saw her hand out of the corner of her eye. "Yes, Hermione?" she asked.
Hermione smirked and retracted her hand. "Regarding your earlier comment, I'd like to know what right do you have to judge us just by glancing at us," she said firmly. Ron and Harry both sighed and wished Hermione's pride wasn't so big sometimes.
The comment was enough to break Jade's gaze from the window. She turned and her eyes locked on Hermione. "You think I just came in, looked at you, and judged you?" She raised her hand to her mouth and let out a deep chuckle while shaking her head. "I judged you after I saw that you had failed your first test," she confessed.
Confusion swept across the room. Students turned to one another whispering things like 'What test is she talking about,' and 'I don't remember taking a test, do you?'. Hermione cocked her head to the side and asked Jade, "What are you talking about?"
"I was testing your dedication," Jade replied simply, shrugging her shoulders. "I wanted to know if there were any of you that were so dedicated that you'd open up your books regardless of the fact that you didn't know what we were studying, and try teach yourself. No one did that. Not even you, Hermione, which surprised me."
An icy wind blew in from the open window. Jade shuddered and reached back and pulled the window tightly shut, then leaned back against the stone wall. "Back when I was in school," she began, "We had this teacher that had a lot of personal problems, and it interfered with her teaching schedule, so she was often late for class. That didn't stop my classmates and me though. We'd just start without her every day, and hold discussions about the section we chose for that day, and teach ourselves about it. We didn't need a teacher to make us do the work. We had enough love for magic to learn it on our own.
"There are a few exceptional students in here that do have a passion for practicing magic, but not enough." Her expression was solemn, as was her tone. She raised her left arm so that her forearm was facing the class. "In case you're still in denial, I'd like to let you know that Lord Voldemort is back. I've seen what he can do up close. He is vile and merciless, and if any one of you were to face him now, you'd die within minutes. Maybe a few would last a good fifteen to twenty with him, but your fate would be the same." Jade lowered her arm. "The wizards and witches of my generation have failed to bring Voldemort down on many occasions, so it's up to you students and the rest of your generation to take him down. I suggest you get serious about your studies."
There was a long silence throughout the classroom. No one leaned over to whisper anything to any one, and no one shifted in his or her seats in any way so that the room was completely dead silent. Jade glanced at the clock and said in a low voice, "Have a good day."
The bell rang, and it seemed louder than it had ever. None of their classes had ever been this silent when it rang. They were used to the sound of the bell being drowned and muffled by the sound of their own voices as they chatted with those around them. Barely anyone moved even after the bell had rung. Jade's words were sinking in, and it made them think about the future. It made them think, 'what if Voldemort wasn't stopped? Would he grow so powerful that he takes over England possibly? What will it be like if he gains too much power?'
All the different possibilities ran through their minds at that moment. Hermione was the first one to stand up, and the rest of the students followed after her. She seemed to be thinking of other things. She understood what she was saying, but she still didn't like the woman. The dark mark on her arm that she so freely showed the whole class made her stomach churn. Why would Hogwarts hire an ex-death eater to be the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher? It just seemed strange to her.
After thinking of it a little more, she didn't think it was to strange since there were many that changed sides. You can't change what you did in the past; just repent for the evil you have committed. Maybe Occumency teacher, or something else, but Defense Against the Dark Arts? What if it brought back that desire to practice black magic to her? What would they do if she turned on them?
Hermione was to caught up in her thoughts to hear Ron and Harry calling for her from behind. She had walked on ahead without them, and had not said a word. They were afraid she might be upset about something, so they both rushed to catch up to her.