Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter nor am I attempting to make any personal gain from this story.

Harry Slithers-in; Prisoner of Azkaban: Chapter 4: New Subjects

When they entered the hospital wing Harry was relieved to find he wasn't the only student present. A boy, second year he guessed, was already there. Madam Pomfrey was giving the boy a measure of some potion, probably a calming draught. She turned to Snape and said, "Another one?"

"Apparently," Snape replied as he directed Harry onto the bed next to the boy. Having done that Snape went to leave but was called back

"Wait a moment Severus. If those Dementors are going to be here for the full year I am going to need a large supply of calming draughts and similar potions." Madam Pomfrey turned her attention to Harry. "Firstly, Potter, drink this." She gave him a measure of calming draught then offered him some chocolate.

"Professor Lupin already gave me some chocolate," Harry replied.

"Well, I'm glad to see we finally have a DADA teacher who knows his remedies,' Madam Pomfrey said, sounding happy.

"I'm sure he does," Snape said. "If that is all?"

"Of course. Could you please escort both Mr. Wilson and Mr. Potter back to the hall for me, Severus? It looks as if I will have much work to do tonight."

"I will make those potions as soon as I can," Snape said. "Come along you two, I do not wish to be late for the feast."

After entering the Great hall and sitting at the Slytherin table Harry looked around and realised he had missed the sorting ceremony. Professor Flitwick was carrying the sorting hat and its stool from the hall. He wondered where professor McGonagall was but before he could ask she entered the Hall with Hermione Granger. Harry noted Granger looked very pleased about something.

After Professor Dumbledore's speech, which included mention of the Dementors and how students could avoid running afoul of them, he introduced not one but two new teachers. Professor Lupin would be teaching DADA and Hagrid had been promoted to Care of Magical Creatures teacher.

Hagrid's new job caught many off guard and Harry distinctly heard Draco Malfoy complaining loudly about it. Harry was happy for Hagrid, however but, remembering the new text book for the subject, thought he had made the right decision about his extra subjects.

After the feast Harry joined his fellow Slytherins in returning to the Common Room. Unlike the previous year he decided to go straight up to bed. His earlier encounter with the Dementor had left him feeling tired. Most of his fellow third years did the same although Theo stayed behind. When he did come to bed he said the prefects had given the same speech as the last two years.

Classes started the next day and one of their first lessons was Arithmancy. Harry had a look around the class and noted the only Gryffindor present was Hermione Granger. The other students were all Slytherin and Ravenclaw. There were no Hufflepuffs. When Harry commented on this Theo said he doubted any Hufflepuffs were smart enough to cope with it. Harry doubted this but said nothing.

Professor Vector used the class to give a general overview of the subject before assigning them homework, to be completed before their next lesson.

Ancient Runes was the subject Harry was most looking forward to. The first problem they encountered, however, was how to enter the classroom. Professor Babbling had placed a runic code on the door which they had to solve before they could enter. It took the students several minutes to figure it out but eventually managed it. Once inside Professor Babbling told them this was a simple message and if they had trouble with that then perhaps they had chosen the wrong class.

As Harry looked around the room he noticed that once again Hermione Granger was the only Gryffindor present. This time, however, there were two Hufflepuffs. Justin Finch-Fletchly and Susan Bones sat together near Hermione who was seated with a dark haired Ravenclaw girl. Harry thought for a moment before finally remembering her name was Morag McDougall.

After classes the Slytherins compared notes on their new subjects. Apparently Draco had been injured during the Care of Magical Creatures lesson when a Hippogriff they were learning about had attacked him. Draco claimed the beast had gored him without provocation and that he was going to tell his father which Harry thought was rather childish.

Nonetheless, Harry was concerned over this. Firstly the book for that class tried to bite anyone who touched it. Apparently there was a trick to opening the book but nobody had mastered it and Hagrid had been forced to show them. Secondly Hippogriffs were hardly a suitable creature for a beginner's class since they were regarded as dangerous. Harry decided to ask around.

"Theo? What really happened in care of Magical Creatures today?"

"Hagrid is an idiot," Theo began. "We go out to that cabin he calls his home and the he leads us to a paddock. When we arrive there is nothing there but he tells us to open our books. Of course nobody knows how to so the oaf shows us. Draco says how silly we are. Clearly he is being sarcastic but anyway. Once we finally do get our books open Hagrid proceeds to make a fool of himself by forgetting what he was saying. Eventually he remembers and goes off to get the creatures we are studying."

"Okay, so what happened with Malfoy?" Harry asked.

"Hagrid tells us how to approach the Hippogriffs. He then drags out Weasley who manages to get it right. Then everyone else has a go. Suddenly, with no warning, the Hippogriff Malfoy is with rears up and attacks. It rips open Malfoys' arm and Hagrid has to carry him to the hospital wing."

"So the Hippogriff just attacked?" Tracey asked.

"That's right," Pansy intervened. "And poor, innocent Draco suffers a life threatening injury. Hagrid should he sacked right now. He's a menace."

"He is certainly unfit to teach," Theo said. Nearby Crabbe and Goyle nodded in agreement.

"Draco will probably never fully recover," Pansy simpered.

Harry doubted the truth of that statement. Madam Pomfrey was a great healer and Harry doubted there was anything that could happen at Hogwarts she wasn't capable of putting right.

Next day during potions the class was hard at work making the required potion when, halfway through the lesson, Draco walked in. Without so much a cursory glance at him Snape tells the class to settle down. Harry knew that if he walked into class late like that Snape would have given him a detention regardless of the reason.

So far Harry had only heard the Slytherin's version of events during Care of Magical Creatures and he was determined to hear both sides of the story. Theo had mentioned Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger were in the class so he decided to ask them about it as soon as possible.

That opportunity came up later that evening. Harry was in the library with Tracey when he saw Hermione and Ron sitting together. Hermione was clearly trying to help Ron with his homework but Ron didn't seem interested.

"Excuse me, Hermione," he said as he approached their table.

"May I help you?" she replied.

"I would like to know what really happened yesterday during Care of Magical Creatures. So far I've heard what Pansy and co. are saying but I want to know the full story."

"Malfoy wasn't paying attention," Hermione said. "What happened to him is his own fault. If he had been paying attention he would have known not to insult the Hippogriff."

"That is basically what I expected to hear," Harry said.

"I suppose Malfoy is going to tell his father?" Ron said scathingly.

"Probably," Harry replied. "Undoubtedly most of the Slytherins will back him up, too. I won't be, however."

"At least there are some Slytherins who care about the truth," Hermione said.

Harry noticed the book in front of the Gryffindors was a Divination textbook. "Why are you studying Divination? Aren't those classes on at the same time as Ancient Runes?"

"They are," Hermione said. "I'm coping with it, though."

"Why are you asking?" Ron asked. "Hermione was in Divination with me yesterday."

"That's not possible," Harry said. "She was in Arithmancy with me at that time."

"Don't be silly," Hermione said. "I can't be in two places at once. Come on, Ron, let's go back to the common room. There will be less distractions there." Quickly, Hermione packed up her books and hurried away. Ron grabbed his things and headed off after her.

"How could Granger be in two places at once?" Tracey asked.

"I don't know, but somehow she was," Harry replied before they left for the Slytherin Common Room.

Harry had more important things to worry about than Hermione Granger's timetable, however. He had his own subjects to worry about and he was finding Ancient Runes to be especially challenging. Draco had been right when he had said it was like learning a new language and a new form of magic at the same time. He decided to treat it as such, concentrating on the language aspect first. This meant breaking down each runic symbol and learning its meaning before putting it into a longer word.

"So what you are doing is learning it phonetically," Robert Davis said when Harry and Tracey asked him for advice. "Sensible and probably the easiest way to learn it. You will need to remember, however, that some runes have a different meaning when combined with others."

"I guess there will be a lot of trial and error as we go forward, then?" Tracey asked.

"Yes," Robert replied. "But as long as you take it steadily and don't try to rush ahead in leaps and bounds you should do ok. The most important thing is keep calm, especially when it comes to exams."

Fortunately Harry's other subjects were coming along well. Even Arithmancy, which at first glance looked complicated, was turning out to be easier than expected.

Thursday morning saw the Slytherins preparing for their first DADA class. They had heard from the Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs that their first lesson concerned facing a Boggart, a strange creature that could apparently read minds and could use what it learnt to turn into their worst fears.

"This should be interesting," Draco said. "I am looking forward to seeing what it is frightens people the most."

"You do realise that we will all learn what your greatest fear is too, Malfoy, or have you forgotten that detail?" Theo asked.

"That's easy. I'll just stay at the back of the class and let everyone else make fools of themselves," Draco said.

Immediately several students began plotting ways to trick Malfoy into going to the front of the class so he would have to face the Boggart first.

As they assembled outside the classroom several students settled towards the back of the group. Harry was going to join them when Blaise called him aside. "We've got a plan all worked out, Potter. I have already spoken to some older students who had DADA this morning and they have agreed with our idea about getting at Malfoy," he whispered to Harry.

"Okay. Are you going to tell me what it is?"

"Wait and see," Blaise replied.

At this point Professor Lupin arrived. "Good afternoon. If you will follow me please, we are working down here today." Lupin led them to a disused classroom on the ground floor. Inside was a large wardrobe. "Now I daresay you have been talking to your fellow students and yes, there is a boggart in that wardrobe."

Lupin then asked a few questions about boggart before telling them to line up. "Mr. Malfoy? Perhaps you would like to have first crack at it?"

Everybody turned to look at Draco hiding near the back of the class. He looked less than happy with this turn of events.

As Malfoy made his way to the front Blaise whispered in Harry's ear, "Amazing what you can achieve with a simple bribe, isn't it?"