Warning for implied harm to minors, threats, slurs, and fear exercises
Chapter Six - Drained Dry
Monday was almost forgettable aside from everyone talking about Moody. But even that was a dull murmur. The first and third years had had their other mysterious classes by now and even they weren't spilling the beans on what happened there. All that happened was the Creevey brothers skittering about like excitable puppy dogs and most of the first years feeling positively buoyant.
"I can do something in this class!" Dennis had announced, exhausted but happy. "The professor showed me that I have something I can do!"
The sound of a student in academic danger instantly made Hermione turn from her SPEW tirade (that was already being ignored) to be concerned.
Yet Dennis Creevey did not waver against the tempest that was Hermione being concerned. He merely said, "You'll see tomorrow!"
And so after a quick lunch the next day, the fourth years made their way to the east wing of the school. The Hufflepuffs made their way after and soon the Ravenclaws. Slytherin slouched behind, looking at one another with varying expressions of distaste and fear.
"How the bloody hell is she going to teach all of us at once?" Ron muttered. He glared back at the Slytherins, Malfoy in particular. Malfoy only sneered back. It wasn't much good, considering how pale he was. All Harry could think of was Care of Magical Creatures last year.
Hermione made a face. "Probably going to threaten us to behave. Or expects us all to drop out so she'll have to teach basically no one."
"Geez, 'Mione," Seamus teased. "Never heard you so down and out about a teacher before."
"She should still be in school," Hermione retorted, dark cheeks flushing. It was true. They'd never heard her doubt a teacher, not even Binns to his face, or Lockhart. Even the suspicious looks on Shape were after he'd done plenty beforehand. She thought better of teachers than she did herself. "And that speech…"
Harry said nothing. He thought of Yuki, who he hadn't mentioned talking to anyone yet, and how Sayo'd given her sister a scolding. He thought of how everyone seemed excited and tired. It was probably a higher stakes gym class.
He reached the door of the required classroom first. His lips quirked. It really was almost like Care of Magical Creatures all over again. He knocked.
The door opened and Professor Tsukino appraised them for a moment. Then a small smile passed over her lips. "Come in, take a seat on the ground. Leave your book bags by the door, wands in the box to your left. Outer robes can be sat upon if you so choose."
She turned away to walk back inside and Terry Boot (or Harry thought that was him) shouted. "We have to give up our wands?"
The professor didn't turn back. "Aye. That or you run the risk of breaking them. If you feel it's beneath you, you can take a D now and not come back. And carry that D for the rest of your years here."
They all looked at each other. Then, Harry took a deep breath and did as he was told.
The first thing Harry noticed as he stepped further into the room was that there were no desks or chairs. Not even the professor had a desk. She was already seating herself on the ground sans her outer robe, on a hillier patch of earth. Everything was covered in light greenery and Harry found he couldn't see where the classroom ended. A soft breeze blew inside and there seemed to be some facsimile of sunlight.
"Don't try to hide your wand in your sleeve, by the way, it's going to fall out by the time you're done today and you will step on it." She pulled out her wand and flicked it twice. Parchment formed from nowhere and glowed, quill floating in front of it. She flicked her wand a few more times as more fourth years filed in. Harry decided to sit closer to her, settling on his robes. His old Dudley castoffs felt all the more obvious now, tied tight and still drooping.
"What are you wearing, Potter?" Malfoy guffawed. "Elephant skin?"
"Better than ferret ears," he shot back without looking, face flushing a little. Malfoy colored.
"Wand away," Professor Tsukino reminded him before they could continue, expression still that same inscrutable look. Malfoy scowled at her but did as he was told.
What was she looking at? Harry turned to follow her eyes, watching the four houses clump together in their groups. A few, like the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws, bled over into friends in other houses. Almost all of the Slytherins sat near the door. Blaise Zabini, shutting the door behind him, strode to the front after leaving behind his wand and sat firmly on Hermione's other side without a word. He didn't even react to Hermione's aghast, surprised look and merely looked at the teacher expectantly.
Professor Tsukino rose to her feet then, her diminutive height barely enough to break over their heads even now. "Thank you," she said and stepped back. Something began to form before their eyes just to her left
"A… television set?" Harry said, staring outright. Many of the purebloods looked utterly baffled.
The professor smiled again. "No, but close." She regarded the room. "My name is Tsukino Sayo. I ask, for the sake of my eardrums that you call me professor or my given name as the weeks go on. It's easier to pronounce. Welcome to fourth-year Self-Defense. Officially, that is all you will be learning. Unofficially, you could consider it a supplement to Care of Magical Creatures, though such would be offensive to those you may meet."
The class erupted into sound until she raised her hand. "I will answer your questions after we get started. You need to be aware of your first three class periods here. Remember this is a double period and pace yourself accordingly for example."
She paused and the strange screen began to fill with small, crisp writing. Then a second piece of parchment began to pass over the students. "Write your name on the sheet please. I will do this for the first four weeks."
She straightened. "The course aims for this class are the following: to expand your horizons for post-education, to diversify your opportunities to learn, and to ensure your survival. This means you need to learn the ideologies of your peers, and not just what you think they are. This means you will learn more ways to fight rather than just to wave a piece of wood. This means you will have to do things you are not prepared for and don't like. First and foremost will be breaking your adherence to your wands and on just magic."
"What, are you suggesting we use our fists?" Malfoy didn't even raise his hand.
"Misters Crabbe and Goyle seem fond of that by your name, Mister Malfoy according to student records," Professor Tsukino replied. She actually shrugged her shoulders. "But surviving to live another day is not pretty or elegant or for those who are weak-hearted." She didn't sound proud. She sounded… disinterested. Like this was just repeating something she had done a thousand times before.
Someone looked like they wanted to laugh but fell silent. Malfoy sat back, glaring at her.
The professor nodded and continued. "For these next two weeks, as required by Madam Pomfrey, you will be getting a health assessment. Today's will be a physical. I am to determine your limits in regards to exercise, flexibility, stamina, weight, et cetera, as well as your eating habits, sleeping habits, blood type, current physical condition as a whole, the strength of your five senses, and the like. Next week will be a mental assessment, reflecting on body language, emotional state, stresses, traumas, goals and dreams and so on. The third week you will get your results back with goals and possibilities for you to consider over the course of the year. The third week will also be the first part of the supplementary lesson. At the end of that lesson, you will be allowed to quit the class if you so desire."
Hermione raised her hand before the class could explode. "Why?"
Tsukino raised an eyebrow and then looked at them all. "Why what, Miss Granger?"
Someone gave her the list of the problem kids, Harry couldn't help but think.
"Why would we be given express permission to drop the class? And why does this class require a physical compared to others?"
"Never thought I'd agree with the mudblood," muttered someone in the back. Hermione winced and Ron's ears began to turn pink.
"Mudblood?" Tsukino repeated, expression thoughtful. "What use is there in calling her that when you agree with her?" She looked at Hermione, whose face was twisting with hurt. "Who spoke that word?"
A reedy looking boy raised his hand. Tsukino gestured for him to step forward. He did, hands in carefully sewn pockets.
"Name?"
"Theodore Nott." He tried to look down at her. Physically, it was possible.
Tsukino sighed. "I see." She twirled her wand. "Go get your wand from the box, Mister Nott."
Nott glanced behind him. "For what, Professor?"
Tsukino smiled. "I want you to try and stun me. Use the skills you already have. I won't use my wand." She, to prove it, set it dangerously behind her ear.
The weedy boy looked at her askance, but turned to obey. They all watched him walk over to the box she had kept by the door.
And then the class watched him get knocked into the grass with a yelp. Their professor had her knee on his back, his wand arm twisted at a painful angle. Her other hand pressed his face into the dirt.
"Yield?" Tsukino offered. Nott nodded furiously and she got off of him. She turned back to them, holding him up by the arm and then drawing him right in front of her. "I have a shield," she declared. "Pure blood, an only child based on current records, likely a pretty penny of money as a hostage if worth it to the family. None of you have your wands. And if you did you would risk a student's life without decent aim. What will you do in this situation?"
The entire class started to shout and mutter amongst themselves.
"You won't do anything," Parkinson tried. "You're a teacher!" Her voice was trembling and Nott didn't look much better. He was shaking, face gone pasty.
Tsukino smiled to the side of Nott's head. "I can break his arms and legs," she continued, as if Pansy hadn't spoken. "I can bash his head into the floor and kill him. It's hard, but not too hard. Now, what would you do?"
"Rush you," Harry threw out, thinking quickly. "There are more of us than you. We all could manage to get him free and you incapacitated. Or cause a distraction while some people go for wands."
"Call a teacher," Ernie McMillan added. "Get help."
Tsukino didn't react, not until Ron spoke up thoughtfully. "Nothing."
Everyone looked at him, even Hermione, horrified.
Ron, however, was looking right at the teacher. "There's nothing we can do. We don't know how strong you are or if the door is open. We don't know if we're fast enough to grab you before you hurt him. We don't… we don't like each other enough to work outside of our groups. Most of us don't have a reason to help a Slytherin, especially someone who called the smartest witch in our year the M-word."
Harry saw Nott's face turn chalk white and cold dread filled his stomach.
Ron was getting into it now, nodding like he did when he was winning at chess and it was actually hard. "There's too many people, we'd trip over each other. Most of us haven't fought for our lives before. Seeing someone in danger will cause us as a group to freeze or snap or panic. And turn on each other. The only one who could do something is maybe Harry, Mione, or me and if the teacher's strong enough and fast enough to get to Nott while his back is turned, pin him down, and pull him up, there's no way Harry by himself would be quick enough to stop her. It'd be the same even if we have our wands." He paused, ears turning pink. "Did I… Did I get that right, Professor?"
Tsukino remained blank faced. Then she smiled at him and let Nott go from her grip, patting him down and making sure of no bruising. "There you go," she told him. "Sorry about all that. You left the opportunity open, I'm afraid. Back to your seat."
Nott bolted, eyes seemingly frozen wide.
"Sit," Tsukino ordered. The few students who had jumped to their feet when Theo had been grabbed sat. The room was silent.
The inscrutable look on her face was now narrow eyes, a thin mouth. She pulled out her wand.
"Five points to Slytherin for handling a stressful situation with remarkable poise for your age," she said, voice dry. "And five points to Gryffindor for recognizing reality." She exhaled. "This room has nothing to do with blood purity, not with Houses or scores or wealth. In this room, we deal with life and death and surviving and falling. Why I told you on the first night that these slurs were forbidden was for this exact reason. You all have become your own enemy. No Slytherin will be able to work with any others, not even the most optimistic, and the Slytherins hate the idea of working with them in turn. You all are your own weaknesses as a group. Why would any of you save anyone who called you names and insulted your accomplishments? Why would any of you save the life of someone who mocked everything that mattered to you just because it doesn't matter to them? And that doesn't go for Slytherin alone. All of you have that flaw."
A lump swelled up in Harry's throat.
Tsukino nodded and continued. "Furthermore, Mister Weasley is correct. He and his friends have faced dangers, Mister Potter more directly. But his form would not be strong enough to handle me in combat. With a wand, the chances would increase just enough to balance out the difficulty of aiming around a squirming hostage. Furthermore, it took too long for you to get to your feet. You wouldn't be able to stop me from doing what I liked until you got up and were armed. I could have been gone by then. And who would have believed you if you managed to escape the room, who would you have gotten to in time. I'm smaller than most of you and, as Miss Parkinson said, a teacher. Why would I harm you?"
The room was dead silent. They all looked at each other.
Tsukino exhaled. "The real world doesn't care how pure your blood is. That is a human concern. No more, no less. It will do you no good in this classroom, and one of your dark curses will work on you just the same. That is why you are here to learn self-defense. Because if you all know a spell to disarm someone from the age of twelve, how useful will you all be in a scenario where that can happen often and easily done by the making of your own curriculum?"
"Hence why, once you see your limitations, if you do not feel you can handle it based on them, you may drop the course. There is no use in teaching the unwilling."
Tsukino looked at Hermione. "Does that answer your questions, Miss Granger? And do you wish for an apology from Mister Nott?"
Hermione chewed on her lip. Harry could almost hear the gears in her head turning furiously. "No, ma'am," she said, taking a deep breath. "He's fine. And thank you, that… that explanation was satisfying."
Tsukino bowed. Then she waved her wand and started to read. "Now… to business."
Harry Potter left that class two hours later with a churning stomach and an exhaustion he hadn't felt since Dudley chased him onto the roof of his elementary school.
He wasn't sure how he felt about it.
A/N: Note for future, past, and current readers, if you think Sayo made a mistake there, well, you're right! That was not a very teacher appropriate action. This, however, is also the school where Umbridge made people write in blood, you were allowed to put seventeen-year-olds in a death tournament, some idiot locked a giant snake under the school, and people get curses cast on them and an eleven-year-old murders a professor. In the grand scheme of things, this is a very minor issue. Will it become major? Mayyybeee.
Anyway, please drop a comment it always helps me out!