Chapter 4: Feasting and First Classes
As soon as Arthur had gotten off of the Hogwarts Express, he and Remus had made a beeline for the carriages. With some of the looks the students were giving, they had no idea why the carriages were being pulled by themselves. It was a relatively simple creature, just a rare one that people never really got to see.
Thestrals.
Horses with leathery skin and blackish-purple skin, that is what people most likely describe them as. Arthur had yet to tame one, although he would be rather proud of himself if he managed to find one on the manor grounds. He could see the delicate creatures wait for Remus and himself to climb inside the carriage, and they did so quickly before they ended up having to walk all the way to ancient castle.
Arthur did not really agree with the Scottish weather, especially considering that the heavy rain was ruining his clean clothing that he had put on that morning. It did not bother him too much, he had other clothes. Arthur quickly threw off his waistcoat and cast a drying charm on it. His hair had begun to drip downwards onto his foreheard, but Arthur began to slick it back into it's normal place.
"Why are you so fussy about how you look?" Remus asked. "Even on the expeditions you had to look as if you wasted hundreds of galleons on clothes."
"Well, allow me to explain." Arthur said with a mock posh accent. "Appearances are everything. You'll never see Lucius Malfoy go around wearing something that he just scavenged out of a bin. No, he prances around in the best robes, acting all high and mighty. I usually take it upon myself to make myself look even better, and then beat him down with my wealth."
"This is why you have no friends." Remus stated with a smirk.
"Why? Because I do what Malfoy does, but even better?"
"Because you flaunt it."
"I've got nobody to flaunt it to, Remus."
Remus just stared at him, as if the answer to his question was obvious enough that Arthur would soon reach it. "Why did we go to the Leaky Cauldron?"
"So I could get a drink before I go tee-total for teaching." Arthur replied.
"No, you're a terrible liar." Remus began. "You did it so you could flaunt those fancy clothes in front of everyone."
Arthur scowled, he never really looked at himself that way. Did people really think of him like that? The rich and privileged and pampered child that wandered around in dad's shadow? Arthur did not want to be known as Edric Urien's son, he wanted to be his own man. He would be his own man. Arthur had always thought that people enjoyed his company or his patronage, no matter if he was rich or poor, if he dressed nice or not. He thought of himself as a decent person at least.
"Remus?" Arthur muttered. "You don't think of me like that do you?"
Remus smiled slightly. "Of course not, Arthur. I'm your friend, I have no reason to think of you like that."
The answer had instilled some sense of confidence in Arthur once more, but the doubts and questions still lingered in his head like a bad smell. Was he actually thought of as a prissy and stuck-up child with a lot of money? He hoped not. He may have been a little arrogant with some of the other pure-blooded families, but he had to be. He was the only one who could put them in their places.
That, and it was hilarious to see Lucius Malfoy squirm when Arthur had threatened to pull his business away from Malfoy. The look of horror upon the arrogant highbrow's face was one he could take a photo of. If he could, Arthur would have done it every day.
Soon, the carriages all stopped, and the occupants knew that they had finally reached their destination. Arthur threw his suit jacket over his head, and ran inside with Remus following closely behind him. The pair did not worry about their trunks, they'd be placed in their offices and bedrooms by the time the Start-of-Year Feast had finished. The two professors ran into the massive main hall of Hogwarts and took their seats at the head table. The congregation of professors watched as the masses of students, march into the hall and take a seat at their house tables. Arthur had noticed that the clan of red-headed children had all made their way to the Gryffindor table, and that Harry Potter and Hermione Granger had joined them too. Arthur also noticed that all of the Slytherins had some rather large scowls on their faces, as if the very moment they had walked into the castle had been the moment their souls had left them forever.
An old Scottish woman had made her way to the front of the hall, and had began to shout out the names of the first-years that would start learning how to control their magic. Arthur soon began to remember when he was at the school, just instead of being a teacher, he was the student. A lot of the teachers he had at the time had now gone, replaced with people had never seen in his entire life. He obviously knew Dumbledore was still the headmaster, it would have been stupid to assume that he wasn't. If anything, Arthur was still surprised that he had not tried becoming the Minister for Magic.
He'd definitely be better than having a bloke named Fudge.
Professor Filius Flitwick had assembled his choir (and their toads) and had began to sing somehting completely unintelligible for Arthur's ears. He almost wanted to stuff his ears full of fire-whiskey so he never had to hear a toad again. As soon as the choir had finished, and Professor Flitwick had taken his seat, Dumbledore stood up and began to speak.
"Welcome, welcome to another year at Hogwarts! I'd like to say a few words before we all become befuddled by our excellent feast. Firstly, I'd like to welcome our two new teachers for our Defence Against the Dark Arts post: Professors RJ Lupin and AN Urien. They have both kindly consented to fulfilling the teaching post. We wish you luck, professors."
There was a great applause for the two new teachers as they stood up and gave a quick bow before they sat down again. There were a few mutters from some of the Ravenclaws and the Gryffindors about having two teachers for Defence, but they were soon gone. Arthur could see skinny little blonde boy who appeared to be on the Slytherin table try and mock Harry, but Hermione and Ron kept him from acknowledging the snake.
"Now, we must announce that we will also have a new Care of Magical Creatures professor, and it is none other than our own, Rubeus Hagrid! Congratulations."
The humongous man stood up, and the table on the left side of the room was pushed forward a few inches by Hagrid's massive frame. He waved a little bit before the elderly Scottish woman forced him to sit down before Dumbledore began to speak again.
"Finally, on a more describing note because of a request directly from the Ministry of Magic. Hogwarts will now play host to the Dementors of Azkaban. Until such a time where Sirius Black his recaptured, the Dementors will be stationed at every entrance on the grounds, and whilst I have been assured their presence will not disrupt our day to day activities. A word of caution, Dementors are vicious creatures, and they will not distinguish between the one they hunt, and the one that gets in there way. Therefore I must warn each and every one of you to give them no reason to harm you. It is not in the nature of a Dementor to be forgiving. But you know, happiness can be found in the darkest of places, if one only remembers to turn on the light."
As if to exemplify his meaning, Dumbledore began to play with the candles that were placed upon the eagle-shaped podium. He toyed with one turning it off, before with a wave of his hand, turning it back on again.
With a wide smile, he outstretched his arms. "Let the feast begin!"
X-X-X
Harry had enjoyed seeing every else again for another year. After his incident on the train, it was even better to know that Daphne and him still got along, even though Ron seemed a bit too shocked to even comprehend that a Slytherin and Gryffindor could have a decent conversation, even though the conversation itself seemed to be peppered with undertones and hidden insults.
"Harry, I'm still trying to see how you can talk to one of those bloody snakes." Ron began.
Harry sighed. Did it worry Ron that much? "I had an epiphany over the summer, Ron. Think about it, have we talked to any Slytherins other than Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle or Parkinson?"
Ron was quiet, chewing on a chicken leg as he contemplated an answer. "No, but they might as well all be the same. Honestly, Harry, they are all the same. Can't you see it?"
"Ron, has Davis or Greengrass actually even said anything to you?"
Again, Ron's idiocy had been muted. Harry could not blame Ron for his feelings on the house of Salazar Slytherin. Almost every experience Ron had with a Slytherin had ended terribly. Harry was almost of the same mind, but Greengrass had told him that not everyone in Slytherin had immediately agreed with his 'takeover' of sorts. Daphne and Tracey had also told Harry that he wasn't like the other Gryffindors, which he took as a quarter-compliment.
As always the feast was spectacular, the only bad thing was that Ron just could not keep his mouth shut when he had food in his gob. Hermione tried to educate him on basic table etiquette but it did not seem to click, instead it went in one ear and out of the other.
"Why do you reckon we've got two Defence teachers?" Seamus asked.
"Dunno." Ron chewed on the chicken leg. "Dean, you got any idea?"
"Nothing, the Ravenclaws probably know, they're meant to be smart." Dean replied before he went back to reading his Quidditch magazine.
"Maybe Dumbledore just wants to help us get some more notes in for Defence, we haven't really had the best teachers for the subject, have we?" Hermione interjected.
Harry was not going to get involved. He wanted a quiet year, just like he wanted a quiet year for his first and second year, however he had a feeling that he would not get that in his third year either. Harry thought that in general that he just would never get a quiet year at Hogwarts. His first year he stopped Voldemort/Quirrel from retrieving the Philosopher's Stone, second year he fought the Basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets, and now for his third year he would possibly have an encounter with the mass murderer Sirius Black.
Could I just have a quiet year for once, please? Pretty please?
Somehow he doubted that it would ever have one.
Harry quickly finished off his food and quickly went up to the Gryffindor common room before he went to bed. Somehow, Seamus had managed to smuggle in some special sweets. He handed one to Neville and somehow Longbottom had turned into an elephant, or at least sounded like it. Seamus took one and then sounded like he was chimpanzee, and he played the part rather well too. Ron nicked one too and then turned into a Bengal tiger. Harry then followed the crowd and took one from the little box of sweets.
Harry threw the sweet in the air, and it landed perfectly in his mouth. With a laugh, Ron had breifly warned him to not take the one that he had taken, but it was too late. Harry could feel something boil in his head, and soon he felt a smokey vapour evacuate his eardrums. The group of Gryffindors had began to mess around for an hour until they went to sleep, ready for their third year at Hogwarts.
X-X-X
Slytherin Dormitories
Obviously, the dormitories were slightly different. The first-year Slytherins had yet to recognise why they had been placed in the house of great Salazar Slytherin, but they soon would. They would have to be ambitious, intelligent, cunning, because those were the traits that Salazar Slytherin had claimed for his house.
As soon as Daphne and Tracey had entered, the first years had all paired up or grouped together with the people that they had met on the train. Daphne had to stifle a laugh, when they got older, they'd all turn on each other. The house they were placed basically set that in stone. They'd all be turned into idiotic goons by Draco, forced into hating the other houses because Draco's father had a lot of money.
Daphne despised Draco, he was the worst of the worst, and she had not even believed that he could have been placed into the House of Slytherin. He was a weasel, an overly arrogant and utter coward, and Daphne had to wonder if Lucius had to pay someone for Draco to even stand a chance to get into Slytherin.
Speaking of Malfoy, the snake.
The ponce had marched over towards Daphne and Tracey, with Crabbe and Goyle following behind him, his 'faithful' bodyguards. It looked like the pair had gained a little weight since Daphne had last seen them, and they definitely looked larger.
"Welcome, Lady Greengrass." Draco said quietly.
"What do you want, Malfoy?"
Draco had a scowl on his face. "You know, Father is still trying to talk to Lord Greengrass about a contract between the two of us, all you have to do is say yes. Think about it, you could be my Lady Malfoy. I could give you anything you ever wanted."
"I'd rather be married to Longbottom, that is how much you disgust me, Malfoy."
Malfoy almost looked as if he were going to melt on the spot. Daphne had a reputation to uphold, she was the Ice Queen of Slytherin, and she would not even risk being caught dead on Malfoy's arm. She had better taste than to even consider going out with Draco bloody Malfoy. Malfoy annoyed, irked, vexed, maddened, irritated and even infuriated her. He had the nerve to try and make a marriage contract with her? Did he even know what year it was? She doubted that, considering how mind-numbingly thick-headed Malfoy was.
"Are you sure about that, Greengrass? Longbottom, and I you said you had taste." Draco mocked.
"Draco, if you can't please Parkinson, you can't possibly please me with your tool." Daphne shot back, and soon Draco turned beet red.
"How dare you! Do you know who my father is?"
"Do I look like I care?" Daphne uttered before marching off to the girl's dorms with Tracy at her side.
Daphne began to fold some of her clothe into her own drawers and began to get ready for bed. The first lesson she would have would be Arithmancy, but somehow she was one of the few Slytherins in the house to have chosen the elective. Some of them like Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle had decided to pick idiotic lessons like Care of Medical Creatures and Divination. Sometimes she wished she hadn't been placed in Slytherin, but Ravenclaw.
The door to her room opened, and Tracey had entered, already dressed in her nightgown. "Shot him down well enough, didn't you Daph?"
"Well, he deserved it."
"That's true." Said Tracey. "How are you feeling? Better hopefully?"
"Yeah, I think we might actually have some decent teachers for Defence this year. Why do you think Dumbledore got two of them this year?" Daphne asked.
"Probably just in case one of them ends up dead half way through the year, probably no thanks to Potter."
"Tracey, you know he actually isn't that bad."
"He's Gryffindor. He's bullish and overconfident in his own abilities."
If anything, Daphne had thought that Tracey had misread Harry for a moment. He seemed to be exactly the opposite of a Gryffindor. She doubted he had a place in Slytherin, otherwise there would have been a fight between the two of them every day of the week, and Daphne had doubted that Professor Snape would have been able to keep his patience with Potter any longer than a week. He was quiet, and he kept to himself, almost to an unnatural extent. Daphne had to work with him in Potions, and he was not as bad as Snape had made it out to be. If anything, he was more pleasant to work with because he knew that she knew more about Potions than he did.
"You do realise he isn't a Weasley, don't you?" Daphne asked her best friend.
"He might as well be, he hangs around with them all the time." Tracey replied.
"He only hangs around with Ron. Besides, the twins are funny, usually."
Tracey scoffed. "Are you complimenting the Gryffindors, Daphne Greengrass?"
"No, I'm complimenting the Weasley twins on their humour."
"Yes, I'm sure you are."
Daphne scowled at her best friend, and crawled into her bed. "Tracey, have you actually talked to any of the Gryffindors? They're not all bad."
"Not really, I think I prefer you, Nott and Zabini than Longbottom or the Weasleys."
"Has anyone ever told you that you're really close-minded?"
"Mother did occasionally, but not any more."
Daphne sighed and began to make herself comfortable in her new bed. Tracey had always been a little temperamental with her, especially when it came to the Gryffindors. Tracey was one of the few people she could trust, and there weren't many that could do that. The people that she could trust consisted of four people.
Her father.
Her mother.
Astoria.
Tracey.
It didn't really bother Daphne that she could count the people she could trust on one hand and still have fingers left over. Trust was a valuable commodity, and she didn't give it out, she was not a charity. No, she needed people, people that could be valuable to her, and to her family. Eventually she would end up married to somebody, whether it was through a contract or if she ever found The One. It didn't really matter to Daphne, she'd already come to terms with the facts that women were treated like chattel in Magical Britain.
Even in school, some of the boys thought they were entitled to a few special services, but Daphen didn't receive the Ice Queen for no reason. Anyone that tried anything with her had been harshly rebuffed, sometimes with a stinging hex. Sometimes there was no other way to tell the boys that she wasn't interested was to send a hex near their private parts, then the message was generally received.
Malfoy was the latest one of the boys to be entranced with her looks. Daphne knew he wouldn't be the last one, and there was still four more years at Hogwarts to go through. Still, the Ice Queen would not crumble. Daphne would not let that little facade come crashing down.
Never in a million years.
Daphne went to sleep thinking of what the coming year would bring, and whatever the hell Harry Potter would end up getting himself into somewhere in the year.
X-X-X
Arthur had woken up early, and was dismayed when he realised that Remus had awoken an hour before him. He didn't blame him, but Arthur had a tendency to want to do the best in everything he did. It had been instilled in him by his father that being second-place didn't mean anything. His father never told him anything like 'it's alright, you'll do better next time. I'm proud of you.' No, every time Arthur had failed to impress, he was scolded, belittled, disparaged and denigrated by his father.
He hated it, but Arthur had the last laugh. He wasn't dead.
Arthur made his way to the classroom, and before long the fifth years had made themselves known. Remus and Arthur were busy teaching the Hufflepuffs and the Ravenclaws. One student stood out to the pair of professors however.
Cedric Diggory.
The Diggory boy was very intelligent, miles apart from even his classmates that were in Ravenclaw. He had made an attempt to answer every question, and seemed to be the first to finish all of his work, drawing some slight ire from the Ravenclaws, who prided themselves on their intelligence. Arthur and Remus could tell he would do well in O. , it definitely seemed like he would do well in the Defence exam anyway. After the class had ended, and most of them had wandered off to their next class.
Arthur spoke first. "You think the first lesson went well?"
"The Diggory boy definitely got on well, I think even the Ravenclaws were a little jealous of him." Remus gave a little laugh, before he began to place some of the paperwork on his desk for him to mark.
"When is the next lesson?" Arthur asked.
"We have a free class now, but the third lesson we have second-year Slytherins and Hufflepuffs. Go on, I know you want to explore the grounds. Be free."
"Since when did you become the headmaster?" Arthur asked again, smirking.
"Since I know that you're clearly not the marking paper type of person. Go on, just get here before the third lesson starts." Remus waved him off and Arthur soon began to explore the grounds around Hogwarts.
His first destination was to see the Care of Magical Creatures professor. Hagrid seemed nice enough, if not a bit larger than himself. From what he had heard, apparently the man had been expelled from Hogwarts during his third year for harbouring an Acromantula, yet Dumbledore still allowed him on the grounds as he looked after the animals that wandered and roamed about Hogwarts. Arthur had an inkling that the story might have been wrong, as Hagrid seemed a bit too kind and soft-hearted to do such a thing, at least from what Arthur had seen, but the old editions of The Daily Prophet said otherwise.
The cold Scottish winds had not been as bad as the night before, and it was no longer raining, so Arthur was made infinitely more happier than he was when he arrived. In fact, the weather seemed nice enough, considering that the sun was shining, with no clouds visible. Arthur almost felt like singing as he made his way to Hagrid's hut.
As he made his way down the hill, he noticed a small congregation of students that were standing around outside the small hut, with Hagrid beckoning anyone that he could see coming down the hill toward him. Arthur soon made his way to the hut, softly pushing past some of the students.
"Oh, 'ello professor!" Hagrid boomed. "What you doin' all the way out 'ere?"
"I have a soft spot for creatures, magical and otherwise. Thought I might observe, if that's alright."
"Course it is, professor!" Hagrid said with a smile. He grabbed a rope with some pheasants attached and marched out. "We've got the Gryffindors and the Slytherins today, professor."
"Oh, goody." Arthur muttered.
"Come now, professor. I've got a surprise for 'em today. I think you might enjoy it yourself."
Arthur's suspicions were confirmed when he first began to speak with Hagrid. He definitely doubted what The Daily Prophet had said about the gentle giant. The Gryiffindors followed him, carrying their oversized books. The books looked as if they would end up eating somebody alive. His prediction soon came to pass, as Neville Longbottom was taken to the floor by his book, his robes almost completely shredded.
The blonde ponce behind Arthur began to speak. "How are we even meant to open it?" He complained.
"Well, Malfoy, you stroke the spine of course!" Hagrid grunted as he lead the class further into the brush.
So, that's Lucius Malfoy's son. The blonde ponce…
As soon as they reached the stone wall that circled a specific area, Neville had reached them again, regrouping with his fellow Gryffindors. Ron looked at him with sympathy.
"You were meant to stroke the spine, Nev." He whispered, as the Slytherins tried to quietly cackle at the poor Longbottom's bad luck.
"I think they're funny." Hermione muttered to Harry and Ron.
"Oh yes, terribly funny." Malfoy mocked. "God, this place has gone to the dogs. Just wait until my father hears about this, that Dumbledore has this oaf teaching classes."
Arthur was beginning to have a headache because of Malfoy's whining. "Are you Draco Malfoy?" Arthur asked.
"Yes, I am. You look like someone reputable around here. You know my father?" Draco asked.
"Lucius? Oh yes, my father has done business with him loads of times. Dropped him for better business too, I told him of plenty other families he could do business with. I'd take Cyrus Greengrass over Lucius Malfoy any day."
"How dare you! Do you have any idea who my father is?"
"Yes, Malfoy, I do." Arthur smirked. "Cry all you want, your father isn't here. Oh, and tell him next time you see him that Arthur Noctis Urien doesn't need his business any more."
God, that felt good to shut him up.
The Gryffindors looked as if they were going to burst out laughing, and the Slytherins looked like their bubble was about to burst at any moment. Draco looked horrified when he had heard the name, which meant people still new the power behind the name of Urien. Then again, if Arthur had told that to Lucius' face, he would not have looked like he would have been about to cry.
The class heard Hagrid clear his throat and made a sound that sounded like a royal trumpet. He motioned his hands behind him and before them was a majestic hippogriff.
"This is Buckbeak. He's a hippogriff. Isn't he beautiful? First thing you need to know about a hippogriff is that they're are very proud creatures. You do not want to insult a hippogriff." Hagrid paused for a moment. "It may just be the last thing you ever do."
"Now! Who'd like to say hello?"
The entire class collectively backed away, all of them except Harry Potter. He had not moved a muscle, and had kept his eyes straight on the hippogriff. Hagrid turned and it appeared that Harry had been the only one to step forward.
"Well done, Harry. Come on!"
Harry turned and noticed that the class had all moved backwards, and he sighed before reluctantly moving forward. He moved slowly, and so Ron pushed him forward slightly. Hagrid began to explain some basic rules about hippogriffs. Harry went to bow first, and in a way he was asking permission to come closer to the majestic beast.
Buckbeak did not see it like that, and began to caw and flap it's wings directly at Harry. "Back off, Harry! Back off!" Hagrid implored, and Harry slowly moved backwards.
As soon as he took one step backwards, he stepped onto a twig, which snapped and made everyone else behind him twitch or jump slightly. Harry stayed in the bowing position, only making slight moving motions with his head so he could see where Buckbeak was. Soon, the hippogriff stopped flapping and bowed it's head to Harry. There was a massive sigh of relief from the Gryffindors, and Hagrid soon encouraged Harry to stroke the great beast. "Don't be shy. Just go nice and slow." Arthur had noticed Malfoy push through the crowd, watching gleefully as Harry began to stroke Buckbeak, and then there was a scowl on Malfoy's face.
Hagrid wore a massive smile on his face, and soon lumbered towards Harry, grabbing him by the waste and hauling him atop Buckbeak. Harry tried to protest, but Hagrid threw on Buckbeak warning Harry not to pluck any feathers. Hagrid slapped Buckbeak's rump and soon the wonderful hippogriff raced off into the sky, carrying a screaming Harry on it's back as it flew regally through the air.
Arthur had to clap at the way Hagrid had handled the hippogriff, and it lead to the rest of the Gryffindors clapping too, which made Hagrid shed a single tear.
"Well done, Hagrid." Arthur congratulated him. "Very well done."