Yeah! Two chapters in one day, I hope you enjoy!
Harry had woken up from an apparent dreamless slumber in time for some breakfast before his classes of the day. He headed down to the Great Hall for his first breakfast since coming back to Hogwarts. Too many things had happened in one day, from realizing his once most hated teacher was back at Hogwarts and being told he actually survived. Yet, Harry thought he didn't receive all the answers he needed to hear and was hoping he would cross paths would Snape, if he wasn't spending most of his time in the dungeons.
The Great Hall was filled with students joyfully talking to one another as Harry sat down at the staff table. His movements always seemed to be followed by a certain amount of students which made Harry quite uncomfortable. He didn't even get a chance to realize that Snape was actually sitting right next to him, drinking a glass of pumpkin juice and stuffing a piece of toast into his mouth. Harry believed that this was the first time he actually saw Snape eat, not that he paid much attention to his eating habits as a student but it was a comforting feeling.
"You didn't eat anything yesterday night, no wonder I believed you to be a ghost or maybe a vampire." Harry inched closer to Snape, now smiling playfully.
Severus turned his head slightly acknowledging Harry's comment and put down his glass. "Don't be silly Potter, vampires don't exist, and they're merely a Muggle myth. Besides I didn't have much of an appetite knowing that you were back, especially for the fact that you are now the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."
"I'm actually quite surprised you didn't apply for my position again." Harry said, actually contemplating in his mind why Snape would want to come back and teach Potions.
"I find Potions more..." Severus looked back at Professor McGonagall who was buttering her toast, "...fitting." He concluded.
Professor McGonagall noticed Harry and set her toast on the golden plate in front of her. "Severus did you take the time to explain to Harry-"
"Of course, Minerva." Snape interjected. "I believe Harry has all the answers he needs to know."
"Actually..." Harry began, "I have more questions that I believe to be important but that we don't have to discuss right away if that's alright with you." Harry forked a sausage and stuffed it into his mouth like he hadn't eaten for days.
"Very well, Severus. I'm sure you can put a bit more effort into this situation." Professor McGonagall said peering at the two of them with a smile on her face.
Snape still had a disgusted look upon his face as he was watching Harry chew his food viciously. "Lovely," he had now turned his head towards the Headmistress, "why can't you give the boy the answers? You know everything."
Professor McGonagall peered at Snape from her spectacles with an all-knowing look. "I could have but it wouldn't be as genuine unless it came from you Severus. And Potter is no longer a boy, I believe at nineteen he can be considered an adult."
Harry smiled widely at Professor McGonagall, he was happy she understood how he felt. Harry had just had a brilliant idea come to him from thin air and it came across him randomly. "Uh, Professors?" he addressed Snape and McGonagall.
"Yes Harry?" Mcgonagall stared at him inquisitively, Snape merely raised an eyebrow and he noticed for a faint second his lip twitched.
"I was wondering about after class activities, and if we could have a duelling club, like in my second year, when Snape pummelled Lockhart." Harry beamed at Snape whose twitchy lip now up-curled into a slight smile remembering that demonstration.
"Oh! Brilliant idea Harry, if you want to start a duelling club all you need to do really is create a sign-in sheet in your office with the time and day you want to set it at. Don't forget to remind your students that you will start this activity, I'm sure many will be a part of this and enjoy it." Professor McGonagall slightly nudged Snape and smiled at him.
"Uh, Professor Snape, I was wondering if you would assist me for the demonstration as well if you're not too busy." Harry asked shyly, but why on earth would he choose Snape out of everyone else in the school, Flitwick was a master dueller himself, he thought.
"He'll do it!" Professor McGonagall answered for him, Snape now looking extremely annoyed and sighed into his golden plate of food.
"Why me, Potter?" Snape asked, now curious.
"Good question. I have no idea, I guess I could have asked Flitwick but for some reason I want to demonstrate a duel between you and I and hopefully I'll do better than Lockhart.
"Now you're giving me more incentive to assist, that I could now defeat the Boy-Who-Lived." Severus sneered.
"Severus, don't be silly, it's only a demonstration, and no harm will be put on students or staff." McGonagall severely said.
"Of course," Snape sarcastically said, "oh and Potter, I believe if you want to drop your student behaviour then I suggest you make it on time for your first class which starts in exactly five minutes."
Harry's eyes bulged and he jolted out of his seat to his classroom with a piece of toast smothered with jam shoved in his mouth, he bid the teachers a good day and hoped he would get to his class on time and thanked the Marauder's Map for giving him all the needed shortcuts. He had a minute left to spare and he barged into his classroom panting as he made his way to the front of the class where he heard the students whispering.
"That's the wizard who beat You-Know-Who" A tiny boy with black eyes whispered to a red-headed girl with wide ocean blue eyes. She looked slightly confused but didn't ask the boy any questions; instead she took the time to stare at her panting teacher, who looked like he couldn't even beat a clock.
"Welcome, first-years to your first Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson," Harry began as he straightened himself out, patting his unruly hair down and brushing off his robes, "my name is Harry Potter as some of you might know already." Harry smiled and realized how much of an arrogant toe-rag he sounded like and thought he should play it more low key. He shook his head to the constant whispers of the Slytherins in the back row. "Please pay attention back there." Harry demanded courteously and the Slytherins remained surprisingly quiet for the remaining of the class.
"In this class," Harry continued, "we will be focusing on defensive techniques to block spells, charms, curses, hexes and so forth. We will begin with slightly basic spells and we will gradually end up with more complex ones. I believe that the best way to learn something is not from a text-book but from a more hands-on approach. Yet, I have however asked you to buy the textbook as titled: The Dark Forces: A guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble. This book will be quite useful to read ahead or when I assign essays for you to hand in for me." Harry heard multiple groans from the Gryffindors, who were huddled together. "Yes, yes I know," he spoke mainly to the groaning students, "it will be useful, trust me. However, my main focus is for you to learn technical skills." Harry stopped in his thoughts as the red-headed girl raised her hand in interest and motioned for her to ask a question.
"Um, Professor, I was wondering...who is You-Know-Who?" She asked innocently, the Slytherin black-haired boy's eyes bulged and he coughed while nudging her to be quiet. The remaining students gasped in shock.
"Ow, that hurt." The red-headed girl said, rubbing her elbow.
Harry walked up to their table and bent over, now eye-level with the two students. "Your names, please?"
The black-eyed slytherin muttered something inaudible, too ashamed to speak.
"Sorry, I didn't catch that, can you repeat please?"
"S-Sebastian Prince, sir." The black-haired boy stuttered. A small pique of interest hit Harry, the boy seemed extremely shy.
"And you my dear?" He looked into the orb-like blue eyes of the little Gryffindor girl who seemed more confident than her friend.
"Lillian Edwards, sir." She smiled up at Harry, noticing his scar. He brushed a piece of hair away from it and she touched it with her slender, pale finger, tracing the outline of the lightning bolt.
Harry stood up to face the class once more, showing his scar to the students. "This scar, is the epitome of what exactly we are going to defend ourselves from." He announced. "This is the mark of the most deadly curse in the world, which I will not go into detail just yet. However the person who Miss Edwards is referring to," Harry peered over and smiled at the little red-head, "was the darkest, most powerful wizard in our existence, which most of you call You-Know-Who. I do not want to offend anyone in this classroom; therefore I will not call him by name, even though I do not myself hesitate to do so." Harry chuckled slightly at the winces from the Gryffindors. "Do not worry; there will not be any threats or any bouts of danger to any student or staff member in this school anymore. I'm sure many of you heard of the war that wagered almost two years ago and that is where I will leave that discussion for now as we have more fun things to learn and talk about." Harry had changed the subject and heard the bitter disagreements of the students who were on the edge of their seats waiting for the whole story.
Harry moved to the front of the class and beckoned the students to get up from their chairs and wait on one side of the room, excitement audible in their whispers. In one flick of the wrist the tables and chairs disappeared and left the whole classroom empty. "Most of our classes, will not require any tables," Harry beamed, "lesson number one will be very useful and it is quite basic magic yet we will be focusing on it for a few successive classes, it is called the Knockback jinx. It is simply as the name says, a way of knocking back your opponent, it doesn't cause much harm unless they're knocked into an object so do be careful when casting it."
Harry conjured a chair in front of him and pointed his wand. "Flippendo!" he uttered, Harry's wand emitted a blue light and the chair pushed back up against the wall breaking its two back legs. The students started clapping in amazement. "And that's just the first spell," Harry laughed, "obviously as you heard; the incantation of this spell is Flippendo, please remember to annunciate properly when you are aiming at an opponent. Now, I know I have gotten rid of the tables and chairs but that was just a demonstration for today, next class is when I want you students to have your wands at the ready and we will practise this spell together." Multiple disapproving mutters were heard and Harry ignored them. "You have also bought another textbook called the Standard Book of Spells, I require you to read chapter one for the beginning of next class and hand in a paragraph on how to cast and use this jinx. I will not accept any late work and I will know those of you who have not read and prepared for next class."
Harry looked at the watch Molly Weasley had given him on his seventeenth birthday which belonged to her brother Fabian, "I believe I will end class early, those of you with questions or concerns may come to me now, or visit me in my office up these stairs on your own time or even if you pass by me in the hallways." Harry said cheerfully, he felt pretty useful as students would look up to him for guidance. "One last thing before you leave," Harry said excitedly, "I will be hosting a Duelling Club for those students interested on working with me after classes; Professor Snape will be assisting me with this. For those who believe they want to learn more about duelling or practise and hone their skills or to just simply learn new spells may come sign their name on the parchment on my office door. The times and dates are not set in stone and will be posted up soon, so check my office regularly if you are interested. I`ll see you all in a few days, and hopefully, I`ll learn all your names by then." Harry laughed as the students joyfully left the classroom, talking amongst themselves at how amazing their classes would be.
Harry headed back into his office thinking of all the teachers he had during his time here and remembered one in particular that really changed his life, Remus Lupin. He hoped he would be able to make him proud and was taking on a more hands-on approach like he had done in his third-year. Harry didn't really have anything to worry about, the students didn't seem to be unruly or disrespectful, he didn't have to even be strict to keep the class quiet, it just came naturally that all the students were attentive. Suddenly, he heard a knock at the door. Harry quickly sped over to the door and noticed Sebastian's pale face hinted with a tinge of pink.
"Um, sir, I just came to say I really liked your class and I can't wait to learn new things from you. I've looked up to you since I was a little kid." Sebastian had lowered his head and started twiddling his thumbs, embarrassed that he was talking to such a powerful wizard. Harry was surprised that a Slytherin was looking up to him, a lot of things had changed after the war, and pleasant things had started to unfold.
"I believe you'll do great in my class then Mr. Prince," Harry bent over and ruffled his hair and motioned his head to the classroom door, "I believe your friend is waiting for you, by the way."
Sebastian turned around and Lillian, the red-haired Gryffindor was smiling widely at both of them, her books in her hand. "Hey Seb! We have Potions next with Professor Snape, we better hurry or we'll be late!" She called out.
Sebastian had then waved goodbye to Harry and jolted out the classroom being tagged along by Lillian and Harry could make out a few words that he was muttering down the corridor. "Oh no! Not Professor Snape..."
Professor Snape had already built up a demeaning reputation with first-years who hadn't even stepped foot in his class yet. Harry laughed silently and remembered he still needed to continue his talk with the Potions master and decided it was best to wait until the classes were done in the evening.
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