Harry instinctively ducked for cover, under the table, and drew his wand from its holster. All around him people were screaming, scrambling out of the direct line of fire, hiding under the house tables. Even the teachers were not composed. They were not screaming, but there was a fair amount of scrambling that Harry could hear from that direction. Harry and Dumbledore were the only ones with some semblance of calm. Almost as one they lit their wands with the lumos spell and stood up to face their attacker.
They raised their wands till the green glow reached the doorway. There standing, calmly observing the chaos, easily leaning against the doorframe, was a man. A single man. Attacking Hogwarts. Today, on a day when there were hundreds of witches and wizards gathered in one place. From what Harry could see of him in the dim green light, he was dressed entirely in black. Black robes, black boots and even black hair. The exceptions were his eyes. They were a startling green in color, uncannily resembling Harry's own eyes. The man was not old, probably in his early twenty's. He was a handsome man, except his eyes. They never stayed in one place too long, darting here and there, taking in every detail in one glance, assessing the situation. They were also ice cold, like chips of green ice. They were the eyes of man who had seen and was used to death.
Harry took all of this in, in one glance. He assessed haw dangerous his enemy could be, and didn't like what he derived. He immediately knew something was wrong though. Dumbledore's wand had dropped out of his hand and he was staring in open-mouthed shock at the man in front of him. Harry would have found the situation funny if it hadn't been so serious. He had never seen Dumbledore so shocked. In fact he had never seen Dumbledore shocked.
'You're alive?' Dumbledore asked.
'Apparently,' the stranger said in dry voice.
'How? I don't understand,' Dumbledore said.
'And you hardly will, Albus,' the man said patiently. 'I need a job. And you need a Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. See the connection Albus?'
The man was smirking at Dumbledore's shock. The students, even though Harry could not see them, seemed to have settled, calm now that they knew that they weren't in any immediate danger. Dumbledore finally closed his mouth and motioned the man to come into the room. The man entered, his trunk floating behind him. He walked with a dangerous wolfish grace, squinting at the students.
'Why did you extinguish all the lights?' Dumbledore asked.
'The reaction of the students, I wanted to see how they would react if I was a real Death Eater,' the man said.
'Would you…… well?' Dumbledore said, pointing at the candles and the ceiling.
The man nodded and absently pointed his wand at the ceiling. Even his wand was black. The lights immediately came back on. Every single student and teacher was staring at the strange man as he headed towards the staff table. He sat down in the DADA teachers chair and calmly started eating, staring back at the students and teachers. The talk slowly resumed as the students turned back to their plates, though now it was hushed and in whispers. Harry sat back down, still trying to ponder who this stranger was. He wondered who the stranger was and what caused Dumbledore to be so shocked.
After the plates had been wiped clean by those who could still eat, Dumbledore got up. All traces of his previous shock had vanished. He was once again smiling as he welcomed them all back to Hogwarts and told them about the four hundred and forty two items that Filch had banned that year. He finally got to the new introductions in staff part.
'And now the new introductions in staff. Ahem, as we all know we were once again running short of a Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. I was planning to make some time in my own schedule to teach you all, but Professor Dylan Schofieldhas kindly agreed to take on this job for this year, good luck Professor.'
Professor Schofield acknowledged the nervous applause of the students by nodding his head, his cold green gaze sweeping across the Hall.
'Well as long as he's not a Mudblood, I don't care,' Malfoy said.
Apparently it was loud enough to reach the staff table because Professor Schofield's eyes blazed at the use of the filthy word and he seemed ready to curse Malfoy. Then he smiled, a chilling sort of thing, his eyes going flat. He produced a boat of gravy from nowhere and levitated it all the way to Malfoy. It stopped right above his head and slowly dripped gravy all over his perfect blond hair. The look on Malfoy's face was priceless. He angrily turned to face his attacker, only to find Professor Schofield in an animated conversation with Professor Sprout, talking to her with a perfectly straight face. Somehow all the teachers, except Snape, failed to notice this. Snape, red faced, and for the first time in Harry's experience visibly angry in front of so many people, turned to face Schofield. Schofield met his angry gaze with a perfectly innocent gaze of his own.
'Why Professor, is there something wrong?' he asked in a mockingly concerned voice.
Snape's nostrils were flaring and he turned on his heel, with a swish of his robes and left the staff table, heading towards the Slytherin table. He and Malfoy stalked out of the Great Hall. Schofield's lips formed a smirk and he wasn't the only one laughing. Dumbledore's eyes were twinkling madly and McGonagall's lips were twitching. All the Gryffindor students were laughing madly at the much hated Slytherin student. They looked up at their strange new professor with respect. Maybe he wouldn't be that bad after all. Maybe.
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Harry lay awake that night for a long time. He listened to his friends laughing at Malfoy, and then after they had gone to sleep, he listened to their snores. He thought of his mysterious new teacher. He felt almost as if he should know him. As if he was a long lost friend. He had the same feeling he had had when he first heard the name Tom Marvolo Riddle. The only difference was that he couldn't help trusting his new teacher, though he had no idea why.
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Harry woke late in the night, it was so late that it was early in the morning. The sky was still dark, with a pinkish glow in the east. Harry got up and sat in his bed, totally still, concentrating on everything and nothing. He closed his eyes and was introduced to a whole new world of sensations. He floated around a void inside his mind, emotionless. He could hear every tiny sound, a rat squeaking in a corner, the wind blowing through the trees in the Forbidden Forest. He explored his own mind and put everything into order. Feeling much calmer than he was before practicing his Occlumency, he got out of bed and went for his usual jog around the lake.
At breakfast he was joined by Ron and Hermione, who after a few days of training had given up on it. They were bickering as usual and as usual Harry was ignoring them.
'True, you should ignore the ignorant,' Godric said.
Harry just ignored him and continued picking at his food. He opened his mouth to tell Ron and Hermione to shut up, when someone tapped his shoulder lightly. It was McGonagall.
'Follow me,' she said crisply.
Harry was surprised, but he didn't let it show. He just nodded and followed her, lost in his own thoughts. Only when she stopped, did Harry realize where they were. They were standing outside Dumbledore's office. Apparently the Transfiguration Professor had already given the password as the gargoyle had moved aside and she had already started walking away. Harry stepped onto the revolving staircase and went up to the door leading to Dumbledore's office. He paused a second before knocking. He could hear loud voices from inside, arguing with each other. One was clearly Dumbledore, his voice agitated and the second was calmer, not raised but firm. Harry couldn't catch the words so he knocked and went in. The other voice belonged to Dylan.
He was calmly sitting in an armchair, green eyes staring into the fire. Dumbledore looked anything but calm, his tall hat was forgotten on the floor, his robes were a mess and he looked like he hadn't slept. He motioned Harry to seat himself. Harry just waited politely, waiting for either one of them to say something. Dylan continued to stare into the fire and Dumbledore looked at a loss for words. He truly looked like the old man that he was.
'Ah Harry,' he said. 'This is about the prophecy we discussed about during our last meeting.'
Harry glanced sharply at Dylan. He had not even blinked and was still staring into the fire. Harry was surprised but once again he did not let it show. He just nodded and gestured Professor Dumbledore to continue.
'As you know you have to fight Lord Voldemort, which is no easy task,' Dumbledore continued. 'He is not called the darkest wizard of all time for no reason Harry. It will not be easy facing him or his Death Eaters, especially for three teenage students. He will go to any lengths to kill you and your friends. You need to be prepared to face him and overcome him, and for that Dylan will train you and Mr. Weasly and Miss. Granger. You need to be ready Harry, you need to be ready or you will fail. You need all the training you can get, and Dylan is the perfect man for the job. To make room for your training you will be excused from all your lessons this year, and the next if it is needed.'
Harry was now openly staring at Dumbledore. He was in no way cheering Harry up. Harry had the irrational thought about how Hermione would react to missing all her lessons of the year. In the end he just nodded to Dumbledore.
'And Harry, you will have to quit the Gryffindor Quidditch team, of course, to make room for your training,' Dumbledore added.
Out of all the instructions given to him, the last one was the greatest blow to him and would be a great blow to Ron as well. Harry, having no other choice, just nodded again and turned to leave. Dylan finally looked away from the fire and got up to follow Harry out of the room.
'And Harry good luck,' Dumbledore said, with tears in his eyes.
Harry nodded and walked out of the room, with Dylan in he lead. They retraced Harry's steps to the Great Hall and Dylan stopped there.
'Get your friends and meet me in my office, immediately,' he said, his voice quiet and cold. With that he turned in his heel and headed back up the steps. Harry entered the Great Hall and headed to the Gryffindor table. He tapped Hermione and Ron on the shoulder and told them to come with him. They followed him out of the Great Hall and he stopped there. He pulled them into a corner and told them everything Dumbledore had told him. Surprisingly, Hermione only nodded when Harry told her that she would have to miss all the lessons of the year. Ron grimaced when Harry told him about them missing Quidditch.
'Had to be a price, I guess,' he said.
They walked up to the third floor and went to the Defence Against the Dark Arts Professors office. Harry knocked and was told to enter, in the same cold and emotionless voice Dylan had. They entered the office and were surprised. Harry had entered this same office five times in the past and each time it was different. This time the difference was very great. The office was filled with strange objects, reminiscent of Borgin and Burkes. Harry could see that the objects were all dark. There was an evil emanating from deep within them. Harry shuddered at the feeling of dread filling him. There were wands of all sizes and shapes, there were medieval torture implements and weapons of all kinds, swords, axes, aces, spears and weapons Harry could not even recognize. The most surprising object was a blinding light emanating from a long something floating in the middle of the room, in midair. It gave of a pure white light which made the eyes hurt if looked at. It was the only source of light in the room, which meant that the whole room was lit up quite well. Another surprising thing was the magic in the room. It could literally be felt. And Harry was guessing that the magic was centered around that blazing beacon in the middle of the room. The light from the object seemed to neutralize the evil of all the other objects.
'I see that you like my office,' Dylan said, his voice cold. 'They are objects that I picked up on my travels around the world.'
He motioned them to the other side of the office. This area was cleared of any objects. Harry realized that the office had been magically enlarged to make room for all the objects.
'You know why you are here, you know what lies ahead of you. For two of you it is out of friendship, for Harry it is out of need. Harry was born to fight Voldemort. It was decided, long before he was born, in fact long before the world was created. He is destined to do it. The outcome of this battle between the Light and Dark remains undecided and will remain undecided till Harry beats Voldemort or he defeats Harry. Harry will be defeated if he is not prepared, so will you both,' Dylan said, nodding at Ron and Hermione. 'You three will need to function as a unit, if you hope to win. Harry will surely lose without you both.'
He then turned to Harry and continued, 'To win you will have to follow instructions. You will train everyday with me. I vow to teach you everything I can, and everything you are capable of. Ron and Hermione will also train and you will learn to co-ordinate your movements and learn to be a team. This will be the toughest phase of your life, so be prepared. I will be accompanying you on your quest to destroy Voldemort. I know that you are the heir of Gryffindor, don't ask how, but I do know. It was prophesized that the three companions, me, Ron and Hermione, will help you find the secret chamber made by Godric Gryffindor. Apparently, the first step to victory is finding the chamber.'
Harry was shocked, to put it mildly. How could a man who had known Harry for twelve hours, know about his ancestor. Ron and Hermione were staring at Dylan in open mouthed shock. Godric was spluttering inside Harry's head, at a loss for words.
'It's impossible for him to know,' Godric said. 'How did he know about the chamber, or about your lineage?'
'Not impossible at all Godric,' Dylan said calmly, as if Godric was talking in his head and not Harry's. 'I don't think you saw the room properly. Take a look.'
Harry's head moved around the on its own accord. It came to rest, looking at the bright light in the suspended in midair. Harry's eyes widened, even though Harry did not widen them and Godric spoke directly to Dylan, through Harry.
'Its impossible, you're dead,' Godric said, surprise obvious in Harry's voice.
'I'm getting tired of that reaction, you know,' Dylan said. 'You should know by now that impossible means nothing to me.'
Godric just shook Harry's head and faded from his awareness. Harry regained control of his body and felt Gryffindor disappearing from his awareness. Ron and Hermione were speechless with shock. They were staring at Dylan with a new respect blazing in their eyes. Harry was right behind him. Harry now knew why Dumbledore trusted this man. You just couldn't help trusting him.
'We will begin training tomorrow,' Dylan said. 'Sleep while you can, because you don't know when you will be able to next.'
Only one thing bothered Harry, what was the mystery behind this mysterious teacher of his? Who was he?
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I am very, very sorry for the late update. Please review.