The following morning Harry felt slightly nervous. Waking in the strange room was slightly disorienting, almost like he was a first year once again. Making his to the great hall along the path Daphne had showed him he soon found in a nearly empty Great Hall. The only people were a few Ravenclaw students and a couple of professors. Harry decided to take a seat with the group, rather than sitting alone. Harry didn't recognize most of them, but he did see Anthony Goldstein, whom he remembered from last year. The group exchanged greetings, but most settled in to looking over notes and revising for the day. Harry took the moment to look at his schedule in a little more detail; Charms for two periods, Transfiguration for the following two, then Defense. Should be a fairly easy day. Harry was sure that he was further along than Hogwarts was due to their larger emphasis on theoretical, so he should be fine.
Eventually the rest of the school arrived, and Harry was happy to see Daphne come and sit with him. She was friends with a Sue Li and the two carried most of the conversation. Harry found that his schedule was a mix between the different houses schedules. He was with the Slytherins and Hufflepuffs for Charms, Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws for Transfiguration, and Slytherin and Gryffindor for Defense. Well the first two should be fine, hopefully Defense, well hopefully defense goes fine. The rest of breakfast was fine, though Harry did notice Henry try to approach near the end, though it seemed his friends dragged him away.
Charms was good, Professor Flitwick was great. He reminded Harry of how Professor Draganov taught, both were passionate and helpful. Harry was further ahead with the actual spellcasting, though he did find that some of the theoretical work was ahead of what he had covered. For the most part he sat with Daphne, Tracey, and Blaise. Draco had briefly chatted, but moved over to his own friends. Transfiguration was somewhat different in that he was without Daphne, so he ended up sitting next Susan Bones, whom he remembered from the dueling tournament the previous year. At first it was awkward, but he soon found Susan to be a pretty nice and outgoing girl. She introduced him to some of the other Hufflepuffs, who all seemed nice enough. The class itself was very similar to his old one at Durmstrang. Professor McGonagall was strict, but not overly so. She had received a letter for what Harry had covered and still needed to cover, so she had him working on slightly different things than the rest of the class.
Finally it came to Defense, once again Harry's nerves picked up. He had so far avoided talking with Henry, but he knew that his time was coming to an end. He would be forced to speak to his br- to Henry, but he was still unsure if he was ready for that. Making his way to the room, Harry thankfully found the Slytherin's there before the Gryffindors. Harry made his way to Daphne and sat down. He noticed that everyone had their textbooks out, and their wands away, which was odd. He knew theoretical was important, but surely if there was one class that the practical was more prominent it would be here. Soon the Gryffindors arrived and thankfully Henry seemed to be too focused to say anything to Harry. The tension in the room was almost tangible, which Harry wondered why. Soon enough the Professor came in.
"Wands away, books out." Harry had forgotten completely about what Daphne had said about the class, particularly about the professor.
"Excuse me, bu-"
"Hands!" Harry would have found it funny at the way the short pink woman snapped and jumped had it not been at him. "We have been over this!"
"Uh, I am sorry, but I am new to the class. My name is Hadrian Black, but what is the class doing?"
"Oh, yes our new guest." The way she said it made Harry's skin crawl, "Well we are reading from the text book today. Chapter Eight, I believe, though if you are behind you can read from the beginning dear."
"Well I have different textbooks. I have already read most of them. Did you not receive a letter from Professor Albu? I believe she was going to notify you of my progress."
"I did, but this Professor Albu had some ridiculous notions. I think it will be better that you just follow our curriculum." This little pink gremlin was calling his professor ridiculous? Harry took a breath to calm himself. Maybe with the translating something had gotten lost.
"What text are you reading? When do you do practical? Perhaps I should do that, for as I said I already finished several of my texts, like A Practical Defense, Munter's Principles of Attack, Perpetuuni mihi Temporum, Th-"
"No! Enough! No, we are not using any of those. We are reading Defensive Magical Theory and Dark Arts Defense: Basics for Beginners. It is good you are here, those other titles are quiet inappropriate! Why those last two are regulated by the Ministry. And, we do not do any practical work. There is no need to."
"Sorry no practical? Is this not an OWLs class?"
"Of course it is, dear." Harry had to look around at the others they all seemed to be looking at him with frustrated understanding.
"You are teaching an OWLs Defense class without casting any spells?"
"There is no need to for you to cast spells if you study the theoretical enough."
"Where did you receive your Defensive Masters from?" The question seemed to catch the pink woman off guard.
"Th-That is none of your business! Now sit down and get to work or it will be detention Mr. Black!" Harry shook his head and started grabbing his things and began to move to the door. "Mr. Black, where do you think you are going?" Harry opened the door and made his way out of the room. "Black get back here! Detention! Tonight!" Harry just ignored the woman as he made his way down the hall.
Harry first moved to the owlery, where he penned two letters, one to Professor Albu, and the second to his aunt. By the time he was finished it was almost the end of the period. Quickly wishing Hedwig speed, he made his way to the Headmasters office. Arriving at the stone gargoyle, Harry stopped, he had no clue as to how to get into the room.
"Uh….Hi, can you open up? I wish to speak to the headmaster?" Nothing, no movement, no indication of that having worked. It was odd, Durmstrang was the school known for its secrecy and they had less secret passages or hidden rooms then Hogwarts. Durmstrang focused hiding its secrecy from outsiders, but once you were a member of the Institute you were only hindered by your own skills or drive. Hogwarts on the other hand seemed to have secrets hidden from everyone; the teachers, students, even the headmaster. Odd. Harry thought perhaps it came from its founding. Hogwarts had four founders so maybe they had hidden things from each other, thus ensuring division since the beginning. Harry was caught thinking when a low voice startled him.
"Mr. Black. What are you doing here?" Harry quickly turned to find Professor Snape standing there, billowing black robes and all.
"Ah, Professor, I was hoping to speak with Headmaster Dumbledore. There were… changes to my schedule I wished to make, but I am unsure how to get to his office." Snape seemed to weigh Harry's statement, then turned and addressed the statue.
"Malteser" The gargoyle moved aside and Snape motioned for Harry to head up. As Harry made his way up, Snape followed him. At the door at the top of the stairs Harry was about to knock when Dumbledore's voice called out.
"Come in. Ah, Mr. Black, Severus, please have a seat. Now what can I do for you?"
"I have an issue with my schedule and will need to make a change." Dumbledore just raised an eyebrow inviting Harry to continue. "I feel that the Defense Against the Dark Arts class, will not meet my needs and it would be best removed from my schedule. Independent study would work much better."
Professor Dumbledore seemed to sit back, "Hmm... You want to study Defense alone?"
"Well sir, my Battle Magics class is different from this school's Defense course, and I… ah, think that I should be fine on my own. I am working on a modified curriculum and am much further along than my own classmates, not to mention the Defense course." Harry had to stop from mentioning that the Hogwarts Defense instructor was an idiot. It would not do well to insult the man's staff.
"One would think all the more reason for you to be supervised, since you are no doubt using some dangerous spells. The Durmstrang Battle Magics does tend to cover some of the more, shall we say, temperamental spells. If you are working beyond the normal curriculum, it would be dangerous for you not to have company in case of an emergency." Well bullocks. How was Harry supposed to argue against that? It was logical, and the chance of injury was always a factor in magic, but if something were to happen while Harry was alone, well that could be fatal. But, he was sure as hell not going back to that classroom. Surprisingly enough it was Snape that interceded on Harry's behalf.
"If Mr. Black is set to proceeding outside of Professor Umbridge's class, perhaps he would concede to studying under the supervision of myself, where he would be able to continue his studies." Harry was quite surprised. He always had the feeling that Professor Snape did not like him, and Dumbledore seemed just as surprised.
"Are you sure Severus? You normally don't take on students outside of class except for remedial potions, and you may soon need to take that up."
"I am sure I can handle it, and I am aware of some the spells that are covered in the Durmstrang curriculum. And, I know the counter curses to many of the darker spells that Professor Umbridge has not seen." The way Snape stressed professor Harry marked as odd. It was almost sarcastic, and yet at the same time not. Harry was unsure of what it meant. Dumbledore nodded, and looked to Harry.
"Would you consent to that. Mr. Black?"'
"Ah, yes! That works for me Headmaster."
"Excellent! I will write to the Board of Governors and Professor Albu about the decision. Anything else?"
"Ah… well sir, I, ah, I received detention from Professor Umbridge when I left class today." This caused both Dumbledore and Snape to frown.
"Professor Umbridge, as the High Inquisitor, has the authority to decide all punishments for Hogwarts students," What was a High Inquisitor, and why would one teacher have that power? "However, you are not a Hogwarts student, and it was agreed that you would remain a Durmstrang student, and thus are outside of Professor Umbridge's jurisdiction. I welcomed you to the castle as Headmaster and the Board agreed to the conditions set by Professor Albu, which I must say is quite rare. So, I will write to Professor Albu and she will decide your punishment." Well that was a load off. He was sure Professor Albu would accept his reasoning.
"Thank you!"
"It is almost time for dinner, why don't you head down for now Mr. Black, as I believe that Professor Snape wished to discuss something with me." Harry nodded to both and made his way out of the room. Just as he closed the door he thought he thought he heard.
"He believes he may be able to influence the boy, Albus, especially if the Pot-" As the door shut it cut off all sound from the room. From the sounds of it Harry thought it was best to leave anything involving the Potters alone. Making his way to the Great Hall, Harry saw Daphne sitting with Tracey. He made his way to the two and was immediately beset by questions are rebukes.
"Harry! Where did you go? You have to be careful around Umbridge!"
"Ya, she is super strict and creepy! I have heard her detentions are terrible! What are you going to do?"
"It's fine. I spoke to Professor Dumbledore, and he agreed that since I am not a Hogwarts student I, ah, am not subject to her punishments." The girls shared a look, which Harry could not read.
"That's good Harry, but, ah…" Daphne seemed to be almost more worried now.
"Umbridge is going to flip out! She had the minister pass a new educational decree just so she could be the only one to decide punishments! She is not going to like this."
"The minister passed a law? I thought that Hogwarts was separated from the ministry and governed by a board of governors."
Daphne answered this one, "Well It is, but the governors right now are going along with what Fudge and the Ministry are deciding as most of the public agrees with their point of view. What about the next class?"
"I am going to be doing Battle Magics on my own." That sparked another round of indignation from the two girls. Eventually the conversation moved on and they started talking about the clubs and such. Eventually the three retreated to the library where they worked on their homework.
The following morning Harry met with Daphne and the two went to breakfast together. They were met by Blaise and a few others. The meal was going well until about halfway through when Harry heard a high pitch, "Hem, hem." Turning he found Umbridge standing there looking at him. He had not realized how short the woman was, as though he was sitting she was only a few inches taller than his gaze. "Mr. Black, skipping detention is not allowed. I believe you will now serve detention for the rest of the month." She giggled with that statement, though her smile dimmed when Harry just raised an eyebrow in response.
"Ah, Dolores, my apologies I forgot to speak with you about that, but young Hadrian here was relieved of his detention yesterday." Dumbledore seemed to appear out of thin air. With his statement, Umbridge turned to him, and at first seemed to be angry, though her face soon took on a sickeningly sweet smile.
"You forget Dumbledore that as High Inquisi-"
"You have the final say on any Hogwarts students punishments, as of Educational Decree number 25, yes I recall. Though Hadrian here is not a Hogwarts student. He has been invited here by myself as Headmaster, to which the Board has agreed. To that effect, if you have an issue with him you must contact Professor Albu at Durmstrang. Which I did yesterday, and she did not agree with your decision." Umbridge's face had gone from smiling to down right furious.
"Cornelius will be hearing about this Dumbledore!"
"I am certain that he will, but that will be of little consequence. The governors are the only ones who can override a Headmaster's invitation to the castle, as declared in the charter. And, I think you will find that they are quite adamant in their welcoming of Hadrian, and the agreement with Durmstrang." This seemed to give the woman pause, but soon she turned on her heels and was out of the Hall. Harry hadn't noticed, but the hall had been silent with everyone watching the conversation. For a few second afterwards the quiet continued until Dumbledore smiled and walked away. The hall broke out into murmurs as soon Dumbledore was out of the hall.