The morning sun pours into the Great Hall as Dean eats his breakfast. Parchment is laid out beside his plate as he writes quick letters to Bobby and Ellen. Bobby's ends up being pretty straightforward; it's just an update with how he was finding Hogwarts and that his classes were going fine. Ellen's was more difficult as he tried to sound dutifully apologetic to the letter. He clicks his pen thoughtfully. He had already used 'sorry.' Maybe he should try 'remorseful?' No, she would smell the ass-kissing from a mile away. Dean decides to just stick with 'sorry.'
It is with relief that Dean finally signs his name at the end of the letter. As an afterthought, he writes 'and Sam,' in brackets. 'He didn't suffer to write the letter, so he doesn't deserve to sign it,' Dean thinks bitterly.
Remembering Sam, Dean glances up, looking for his brother, or Dumbledore for that matter. Neither of them are in the hall, but Dean supposes that they might have already eaten. A glance at his watch tells Dean that he can't wait any longer for them to show up. Tucking the finished letters into his coat pocket he makes his way to his classroom. Chances are, Sam will show up before the class actually starts.
Dean comes to a realisation as he walks down the corridor which makes him stop humming a Hendrix song.
He's actually looking forward to meeting his third year class.
Admittedly, he had been sceptical about trying to teach school age kids how to do a hunter's job. But by focusing his classes on defensive magic and making the kids aware of what is out there, he thinks that maybe he can actually make a difference for them. And that brings him a warm feeling.
A startled squeak at the end of the hallway causes Dean to look up sharply, just in time to see something translucent slip down the hallway to the left. Dean curses under his breath and grabs his wand. Obviously there was a chance of ghosts in a building as old as Hogwarts. Dean quietly makes his way to the end of the hallway and leans his back against the wall, using a pocket mirror to view around the corner without giving his position away. No sense firing spells blindly, especially in a building full of students.
Dean's brow creases when he sees to semi-corporeal figures in the mirror. They are standing in the middle of the hallway, arguing with each other, but the students pay the ghosts no mind. Dean has never seen spirits do more than shriek and throw things, so he pauses to listen in.
"-eeves, you can't go that way! It is dangerous!" The one that looks like a monk is pleading to a figure with wild hair in a jester outfit.
"Is the Friar a liar, or just teasing Peevesy? Do you not know that Peeves don't tease easy?"
"Listen to me Peeves, for once in your afterlife! We need to stay away from those Winchesters. That's why Albus wouldn't let us go to the welcoming feast this year."
Dean doesn't know why Dumbledore would protect these ghosts, but he's going to get some answers. He steps around the corner and the ghosts pause almost comically to look at him and his wand which is levelled at them.
"Ooo, the Yankee looks angry! What's knotted in his panties?" The jester cackles as the monk looks mortified.
"I am terribly sorry, Mr. Winchester! We were just leaving. Don't mind Peeves. It's not you, it is just who he is as a spirit.
"That's terribly rude, Friar." Peeves says blowing a raspberry at the other ghost. Dean clears his throat, getting the attention of the two spirits.
"Why is Dumbledore trying to protect you guys?" Dean asks it in a way that shows he expects an answer, and he expects it fast.
"Well, b-b-because he, well,"
"He knew you'd try to do us in, of course!" Peeves cackles. In the blink of an eye, he flies right into Dean's personal space. Instinctively, Dean pops the lid off of the salt shaker in his pocket and tosses the contents at the ghost. With a shriek of surprise, Peeves disappears.
Dean notices that some students have stopped to watch the confrontation with some interest, and some had gasped when the spirit vanished.
The Friar's face has become a strange mix of anger and fright, but he holds his ground as Dean's wand is focused on him once more.
"The ghosts that reside in Hogwarts are not dangerous! Please put your wand away."
Dean almost laughs. "I think I've seen enough ghosts to be the judge of that. Though I gotta say, having a conversation with one is new." Dean prepares to cast a spell which will hopefully restrain the ghost.
"LET. ME. SPEAK." The Friar lets out a wave of energy causing Dean to fly into the wall, and his wand to fly across the hall. It says something about Dean's life that despite his eyes going slightly fuzzy, the attack hardly fazes him.
"You really aren't winning yourself any brownie points here." Dean growls as he staggers to his feet. His fingers twitching to grab the gun that is tucked into his belt. 'Only as a last resort,' he tells himself as he eyes the shocked students who could easily be caught in the crossfire.
"I'm not trying to win any 'brownie points' as you call them," the ghost bites out. "I think I know what ghosts you are used to encountering in America, but Hogwarts is different. There is more ambient magic in Europe which allows ghosts to maintain more of their sanity. Hogwarts has an especially high concentration of magic and as such, ghosts tend to flock here for refuge in the afterlife. We are not harmful."
"You just threw me into a wall." Dean deadpans.
"You were going to attack me first, and I believe I am within my rights to protect myself." The ghost sniffs indignantly. "Regardless, a hunter such as yourself must noticed that your American spirits are much more violent and mindless." Dean mulls over this information. The differences between his ghosts and this one is pretty obvious now that he thinks about it. He had never thought that a ghost would be able to interact with the present in a way that didn't involve violence, but there was a first for everything. Dean reluctantly lowers his wand.
The Friar's eyes suddenly widen, staring at something over Dean's shoulder. Before Dean can react, something hits the back of his head and drenches him in water. Whipping around, Dean sees Peeves grinning at him, his torso sticking out from the wall. He has several water balloons in his arms. Another balloon is lobbed at his face, but Dean drops to the floor, and the balloon sails over his head. Dean makes a run for his wand which was farther down the hall. Dean dives for it, and rolls over just in time to throw the next balloon off target. It flies into a portrait causing its occupants to shriek and move to their neighbours' frames.
"Let's say that I believe you about the ambient magic or whatever that's helping you keep your ghost marbles." Dean shouts at the monk. "But what the hell is up with this one?!"
"Peeves is a poltergeist, he is."
"Causes more trouble than he's worth,"
"But so do we,"
"If you ask our mum, anyways."
Dean glances up at two students. He almost thinks that he hit the wall harder than he thought, but he quickly realises that they are identical to each other.
"Morning Peeves!" The boys greet the ghost simultaneously. Peeves' grin shifts to one that makes him seem more delighted than maniacal.
"And good morning to you, Weasleys! How can I help you today?"
"We are glad that you asked." They say in unison.
"As you know, we are always up for a good prank,"
"And any other day, we would probably ask to join you in throwing those balloons at unsuspecting individuals."
"But we're going to need Professor Dean. Him being our prof and all. Never really thought we'd say this,"
"But we've heard some good reviews about his classes, and we'd like to experience them for ourselves."
Peeves looks like he's mulling over what the twins said before a smile splits his face again. "Alright, boys. I guess I can find another use for these." He turns and floats down the hallways, throwing balloons at the students who are now dissipating and heading to their classes causing them to shriek and run faster.
The Friar just apologizes for the trouble and floats down the hallway and out of sight.
Dean looks incredulously at the twins who are both grinning at him. "I don't know why he listened to you two, but thanks. I guess."
"No need to thank us, we helped you for purely selfish reasons."
"And don't even think about giving us points. It would ruin our reputation."
Dean heaves himself up off the floor with a grunt. "Alright. Let's get going…what are your names?"
"Fred and George." They say together.
"Fred and George." Dean says. "I don't think I can be late to my own class, but my brother will probably nag my ear off if I am." Dean casts a spell which dries his hair and robes.
"We can relate to that." The twins chime together. Dean is shocked by the family tree that they lay out for him. Three older brothers, one younger brother, and a sister.
"You had Ron in your class yesterday."
"Ginny would be in your first year class, whenever that is."
"Any Percy is a git, so he doesn't count."
Dean gives a huff of laughter. "What year is he in?"
"Sixth."
"He's Sam's problem, then," Dean smiles. The twins look delighted that Dean is willing to joke with them.
"So, what are learning today?" One of the twins asks.
"That's something you'll have to wait and see," Dean steps through the door and sees Sam sitting on the front desk looking relieved that he's shown up. Sam looks at him in a way that asks where he's been. "Later," Dean mouths back. He reaches the front of the room, and checks his watch. He's within a minute of the class starting, which is a relief.
"Alright, now that I'm finally here, welcome to Defence against the Dark Arts." Dean smiles at the class. Despite his rough start to the day, he has a feeling that it's going to get better from here.
-.-.-.-
AN: Edit: I removed a bit from chapter 4 which had already addressed the ghosts. Sorry for any confusion about that.
