Book One of the Heritage Series:
Harry Potter and the Return of Heritage
Chapter Ten
The False Professor
The following morning was slightly awkward in the fifth year boys' dormitory. Seamus was dressed and out of the door before Harry had managed to put on a pair of socks.
"What does he think will happen if he stays in here whilst I am getting into my school robes?" Harry asked loudly "think I will turn him into a dark wizard? Or has he realised that he was lucky to leave the dormitory without being hexed for his comments about my godmother!"
"Don't worry about it Harry" Dean muttered as he finished packing his schoolbag and swinging it over his shoulder. "He knows he was out of line with his comments, he's just..."
He didn't finish the sentence, and a small silence lingered. And he followed his friend out of the dormitory. Harry didn't mind Dean leaving to follow his friend, he was loyal, something which Harry could not fault him for and he was more reasonable his hot headed Irish friend.
Five minutes later they met Hermione in the common room as they headed down for breakfast. "I had to have words with Lavender last night." She said in a light voice trying to tread lightly around Harry, "she went into a great fit after your confrontation of the entire house, she thought you were trying turn us all evil, I finally got to knock her from her perch" Hermione added the last part with a slight smug tone.
"I had words with Seamus too" Ron admitted to Harry, "Bill and Tonks were talking about Neville's parents one night and I asked them about it, what she did was horrific, but Seamus should never had mentioned it, Neville never has."
"Did he really think he would get support by bringing them up?" Hermione asked, "I had often wondered why he was raised – oh that better no be what I think it is!" She then stormed over to the common-room notice board where a bright orange new sign had been pinned that flashed with a multi-coloured advert.
GALLONS OF GALLEONS.
Pocket money failing to keep pace with your outgoings?
Like to earn a little extra gold?
Contact Fred and George Weasley, Gryffindor common room,
for simple, part-time, virtually painless jobs.
(We regret that all work is undertaken at applicant's own risk.)
"How can they think that they could advertise like this!" she exclaimed and she ripped the paper from the notice board. "We're going to have to speak to them Ron."
Ron looked both wary and alarmed.
"Why?"
"We are prefects Ronald!" said Hermione as they climbed out of the portrait hole. "It is a prefect's duty to stop these sort of things."
Ron didn't say anything. Harry felt sorry for his friend, he was being asked to confront his two elder twin brothers, who wouldn't even listen and only tease him. Harry didn't envy the choice at all, either face humiliation from the twins or face the ire of Hermione.
They made their way through the seventh floor to the grand staircase where they met with a long line of Ravenclaw students who were coming from the Ravenclaw tower.
"You seemed pleased about your talk with Lavender" Harry pointed out.
"She has been irritating me for years." She said with a satisfied smile "she will now think twice before mentioning any of the drivel from the prophet in my hearing again."
They walked into the Great Hall and they automatically looked for Hagrid, none of them commented but they all noticed he was missing. Harry directed them to an empty portion of the Gryffindor table, he was getting a lot of looks from the Gryffindors and they began to talk quietly to each other. He looked up at the enchanted ceiling and it was heavy with black rain clouds which soured Harry's mood slightly. He was just grabbing some eggs and sausages when a tall black girl with braided hair marched over and sat opposite him.
"Hey Angelina"
"I am going to get to the point Harry" She said briskly "I've been made Gryffindor Quidditch Captain"
"Ah nice one." He told her happily, but he hoped that he would no longer be subject to weekend practices at five in the morning or extremely long and boring pep talks.
"Thanks, but you know that we need a new keeper now Ollie has left. Try-outs are on Friday at five o'clock I want the entire team there to show support. Alright?"
"Sounds ok to me" Harry told her.
She then smiled and went off in search of the other team members further up the table.
"I had forgotten Wood's last year was Third year." Hermione said as she served herself some toast and marmalade. "I would imagine that it will mean quite a change for the team."
"It will." Harry said after a mouth of food. "Wood was a great Keeper, and a good captain, but it's the same with all the teams so it should be about even."
"Still can't hurt to have some new blood on the team." Ron said. Harry wondered if Ron would try out as he got a new broom, but he hadn't mentioned it so he decided to let Ron tell him in his own time.
With a great whoosh and a large amount of hooting, hundreds of owls arrived soaring over the students' heads bringing the morning post. Harry was surprised to see Hedwig fly down to him, he had let her make her own way to Hogwarts this year rather than carry the cage so she had no post for him. Harry fed her a piece of sausage and she nipped his finger and then she flew off. He smiled at her, in her own way she was telling him that she had made it.
Hermione also had an owl land in front of her, a common brown barn owl which carried a sodden copy of the Daily Prophet, which she cast a drying charm on and started to flip through.
"Anything worth hearing?" Harry asked he had no interest in reading it even if he did own a stake in the company.
"They mention that Sirius will be making his first appearance in the Wizengamot this month" Hermione said "but other than that nothing of interest."
Professor McGonagall made her way down the table handing out the timetables. She handed Ron and Hermione hers with no comments, she then found Harry's
"Mr Black-Potter, I see that you have dropped Divination" she said looking at her list, "you will have a free period when others will have one of the elective classes, I have arranged for you to have access to the classroom next to my own for your independent study. But you will still have an hour lesson before dinner every Tuesday and Thursday night with Professor Babbling."
Harry nodded and took his timetable, "thank you Professor."
"Whilst it is not unusual to drop an elective and pick a new one, you have done so later than most, I do not want to hear from Professor Babbling that you are not keeping up." She said with a stern glare.
"Of course not Professor." Harry said, and she walked away
"Do we have to go to classes today?" Ron groaned reading his timetable, "History of Magic, double potions, Divination on my own and then double Defense. I wouldn't mind having one those Snackboxes the Twins developed over the summer today of all days."
"Do my ears deceive me?" Said Fred as he had George joined them at the table "Does my Prefect brother have a redeeming quality and wants to skive lesson?"
"Have you seen a worse day?" Ron said with a huff, passing over his timetable. "Mondays for the entire year are going to awful, even perfect prefect Percy would have wanted to skive Mondays!"
"You do have a point little brother." Said Fred after looking it over, "and you might be right about the Git, but we are holding off on the distribution, but tell you what for three knuts you can have a Nosebleed Nougat."
Ron narrowed his eyes at him "why would you offer a sample of your new product that you're not distributing?"
"Well, there is a slight flaw with them that we haven't been able to rectify just yet. Your nose will not stop bleeding and if you do not get to a nurse you will die of blood loss." George explained as if it wasn't dangerous.
"I think I will pass then" Ron said, "better to be moody than dead."
"Speaking of your products," Hermione said whilst giving the Twins a very determined look "you cannot advertise for testers in the Gryffindor common room! And you also cannot test potentially dangerous products on students."
"They are not dangerous" George said, "and who says we cannot, there is not a single rule that says that products cannot be tested on students."
"There is a rule about endangering fellow students and taking advantage of vulnerable students, and I say you can't," said Hermione, "so does Ron."
"Don't get me involved." Ron said hastily only to have Hermione spin and glare at him angrily. "I am sure they wouldn't hurt anyone permanently."
The Twins sniggered at their brothers backtrack which only annoyed Hermione more.
"You will be begging us for a snack box in the next few months." Fred said helping himself to breakfast and ignoring Hermione indigent look, "OWL's are coming, with that comes stress and pressure."
"So?" Hermione snapped
"The teachers push you so hard you are swamped in homework, research and revision." George said with a glum remembrance. "Many of our year has breakdowns."
"That is why we did not care what we got in our OWLS." Fred continued "We did not see why we should take them seriously; we don't need them for our plans to run a joke shop. We were even considering dropping out this year."
"Yeah as we now have everything we need to get ourselves up and running." George said, he saw Harry's look and hastily added, "With our OWLS we have some qualifications, we have our target market here with us to review some of our products and we can also research what Hogwarts students need."
"Yes, but you will need start-up capital." Hermione stated "where are you going to get the gold needed to get a business off the ground. The Goblins wouldn't lend you any because you have nothing to offset the loan with as insurance."
"Have you learnt nothing about us Hermione..." Fred said
"… We never give away all of use secrets" George finished and he took a gulp of his cup of tea as his twin finished his breakfast and they hurried out of the hall.
"I think they already have the money." Ron said looking at his brothers retreating backs. "They bought me new dress robes during the summer, and they seemed to have developed more products over the entire summer than they did over the years previously."
"But where would they have got the gold?" said Hermione looking between Ron and Harry.
"I don't know, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was Sirius." Ron said. Harry subtly breathed out a sigh of relief, he was actually sure that Sirius would have given them the gold had they asked.
Harry decided to direct the conversation away from the topic of the Twins mysterious influx of gold. "Have either of you decided what you want to do when we leave Hogwarts?"
"Not really, it all depends on what results we get on our OWL's and then what NEWTs we take." Hermione said, "Have you had any ideas?"
Harry led them out of the Great Hall towards the staircases, "I was thinking of being an Auror, I spoke about it with Tonks over the summer and I want to give it a shot."
"Same" said Ron, "Aurors are pretty cool, but they are the elite in the DMLE. What about you Hermione?"
"I was thinking of taking SPEW further."
Both Harry and Ron exchanged looks, whilst Hermione understood more about elves in general she still wanted to help them.
"You should look into the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures," Ron told her, "I am not too sure if they have a department in there for elves but you should look into it."
They got to History of Magic which proved to be as mind dumbing as always, their teacher named Professor Binns, who was a ghost. He had died in the staff room years ago but continued on to haunt the students under the guise of History of Magic lessons, with his boring, droning voice
Binns never actually knew who his students were; he would just lecture openly without any interaction. The only reason Harry and Ron had passed the subject was because they read through Hermione's notes before the exams.
As they left Hermione lectured them on the need to pay attention in the lesson, threatening them with withholding her notes, she seemed somewhat mollified when Ron mentioned that she was just pointing out she was more clever than him. They quickly made their way to the dungeon and Harry made sure to use the secret passages to avoid the school population but he was also trying to avoid meeting Cho Chang again, he noticed that she kept looking at him at dinner and breakfast and he wasn't sure why.
They arrived to Snape's dungeon when the bell sounded and joined the queue lining up outside Snape's class room. They were only waiting a moment when the door to the classroom swung open and they made their way to their usual bench at the back of the class as far away from Snape as possible.
"Settle down" said Snape coldly, slamming the door with a flick of his wand. "Before the beginning of the lesson today I think it is appropriate to remind you all as undoubtedly you have all forgotten that at the end of this school year you will be sitting your OWL's. You will have to prove that you have a theoretical understanding of this subject as well as the methods of brewing magical potions. I expect all of you to scrape an "Acceptable" in your OWL, if not you will suffer my displeasure, I do not allow students I teach to fail this class."
He gaze lingered on both Harry and Neville.
"After this year, many of you will cease your studies of Potion making." Snape continued "I only accept the very best into my NEWT class, and if you do not get an 'Outstanding' we will certainly be saying a happy farewell at long last"
This time he looked directly at Harry and he gave him a look of contempt. Harry stared back but his face showed no emotion. He would not rise to Snape, he would not give him the satisfaction and he knew that he would need potions to become and Auror so he would push himself.
"Unfortunately there is a year before I am rid of you." Snape sighed, "So whether or not you are intending to continue with the study of Potions after your OWLS, I will be marking all of your work at OWL standard. "
"Today we will be mixing a potion that will often come up at Ordinary Wizarding Level: the Draught of Peace, a potion to calm anxiety and soothe agitation. If you over brew or are heavy-handed with the ingredients you will brew a potion that will put the drinker into an irreversible sleep, if you overheat the potion, the vapours will place you into irreversible slumber. You will need to be precise and diligent in your application of brewing techniques. Your ingredients and instructions are on the blackboard and you can get everything you need from the store cupboard, you have an hour and a half. Begin!"
Harry was smiling, he had read about this potion in his mother journal, whilst it was predictably a difficult, and fiddly potion. His mother has showed three ways of brewing the potion, but Harry also knew of his own method. He quickly copied down the instructions from the board with a flick of his wand, he then sat writing his own plan of what he needed to do for the next three minutes whilst the other students raced to the storage cupboard to get everything they needed.
The potion was tricky because the ingredients had to be added in the correct order in precise amounts, and then stirred correctly, however it was the final stage that required the most attention, you had to rapidly heat the potion but prevent it from bubbling whilst stirring anti-clockwise.
Once he had written his own plan and method for his potions he hurried into the stores to get the necessary ingredients and began to prepare the potion. He saw that Hermione looked at him concerned when he hadn't moved the moment they were told to, but now he was so fixated on making the potion as best he could he missed the odd looks he was getting.
Eventually the potion was ready to be rapidly heated and he cut up bark of the Vielda tree. It was a tree that grew in the volcanic soil of Pompeii. It was an ingredient that he had looked up himself after reading his mother's notes on the potion, its properties allowed potions to heat quicker and prevented bubbling.
As he added the strips of bark and turned up the heat the potion immediately turned a light creamy colour and he started to stir it as instructed which produced the light silver vapour that was described in the instructions.
"If brewed correctly you potion should have a light silver vapour rising from it." Snape called when they had ten minutes left.
Harry was relieved that he had managed to brew the potion perfectly in less time than everyone else, he looked at Hermione's which was giving of a silver vapour only. Harry knew that she had over heated it slightly; it was however unfixable now that it had cooled off. Ron's however was spitting green sparks, which Harry believed was because Ron had been overzealous with many of the ingredients. Snape swept the dungeon once he called a halt to all brewing, passing comments occasionally; he swept past Hermione's with a dirty look as he couldn't criticise it.
At Harry's cauldron, however, Snape stopped, a look of loathing appeared on his face.
"Black-Potter" he spat out the name like something disgusting "Did you think that I would not realise that you have cheated on your potion?"
The entire Slytherin section of the room looked up eagerly; this was their favourite part of the lesson.
"Professor I did not cheat."
"Then tell me how you managed to brew this potion." Snape said with his lip curling smirk.
"In the last stage of the potion I added the bark of the Vielda tree, allowing for the rapid heating of the potion and preventing it from bubbling. The use of the bark does not have any adverse effects on the potion at all due to many of them being countered by the potion itself. The remainder of the potion I brewed according to your instructions." Harry explained calmly and kept his face unreadable to prevent the Professor from thinking him arrogant.
Snape looked at him directly in the eyes, it looked like he was looking for a trace of untruth. He assumed he found none as Snape swooped forwards and looked at the potion critically and stirred it, but his gaze found the sheets of parchment on the bench which Harry had written his plan on. A strange expression crossed his face but it was gone almost immediately.
"Well it would seem that Mr Black-Potter has actually bothered to pick up a book of the holidays."
"Those of you have a workable sample to submit please bottle it and place it my desk, label it clearly with your name," said Snape "Homework: twelve inches of parchment on the properties of moonstone and its uses in potion-making to be handed in on Thursday."
Everyone started to fill their flagons with their completed potion. Harry bottled two of his; His mother noted that it was always a good precaution just in case something happened to the first. He placed one on Snape's desk and packed his things away once done they all left the dungeon.
"That was unfair." Hermione said as they sat back at the Gryffindor table for lunch, she grabbed some shepherd's pie from the table for her plate. "He shouldn't accuse you of cheating because you brewed the potion perfectly."
"When has Snape ever been fair though?" Ron said with a mouth full of food.
"I thought he may have improved this year." Hermione said in a low voice "what with the Order and everything."
"That would be more suspicious" Harry pointed out, "if he was suddenly being civil towards me after four years of hating me it would draw attention to him."
"You mean his so-called status of double agent?" Ron said with a whisper "I still don't think he is on our side"
"Well Dumbledore trusts him, and that should be enough for you." Hermione snapped her annoyance from the morning still tangible. "But where did you learn how to brew like that Harry?"
"You know I spent time studying over the summer, Potions was one of the subjects that I was looking at, I learnt that you can add an ingredient that would complement the potion if you know their properties."
"But I though…" Hermione said but her eyes went over Harry's head. "Professor Babbling is there something wrong?"
Professor Babbling was a short woman, with long brown hair. She was middle-aged and had pale green eyes. "No Miss Granger, I just wanted to speak to Mr Black-Potter" she turned to him, "I will be testing your abilities tonight, so use your next period to study.
"Yes professor." Harry replied, he then excused himself and made his way to the classroom McGonagall set aside for him, he the spent the next hour and fifteen minutes being taught runes by Sirius through the mirror but also recapping what he had already learnt. He had come to realise over the summer than he should have taken runes in third year. He found it fascinating and he found that he was able to learn it rapidly. The bell rang and Harry said a hurried goodbye to Sirius and ran to the third floor as he didn't want to be late.
He met Hermione on the way to the classroom, and they were soon joined by Ron who was complaining about the homework they had been set. The entered the classroom and saw that Umbridge was already seated at the front behind her own desk. They took the seats at the back, they did not want to be anywhere near her. She sat observing them like a frog would a group of flies.
The students all sat quietly, they did not know what the professor was like. None of the students knew that the woman they were looking at was about to become the strictest disciplinarian that they would ever meet.
"Good afternoon class!" she said when everyone was here.
Nobody said a word, she said it with her awful girlish high pitch tone, which grated on the ears.
"Tut, tut," Said Professor Umbridge, "No that will not do at all. When I greet you I expect you to reply "Good afternoon Professor Umbridge" Now good afternoon class!"
"Good afternoon Professor Umbridge" they chanted back in a disbelieving voice.
"Good, it wasn't hard was it?" She said sweetly. "Now wands away please, and books and quills out."
The class knew that this lesson was going to be torture, those words always meant a lesson with no magic at all and it was always a lecture.
She then pulled out her own wand and words appeared on the blackboard.
A Return to the Basic Principles Of
Defence against the Dark Arts
"I have been reviewing your previous instruction in this classroom." Professor Umbridge stated. "You have had four teachers over the last four years; and with the constant change you have not had the education that you should have had. We shall be following a learning course that has been devised by the Ministries Department for British Magical Education and Schooling Practices."
"You will be pleased to know that this course will address the severe lack of structure and make sure that you are ready for your OWL's. Now please copy down the course aims:" and with a flick of her wand the aims appeared under the previous note
1. Understanding the principles underlying defensive magic.
2. Learning to recognise situations in which defensive magic can legally be used.
3. Placing the use of defensive magic in a context for practical use.
Whilst Harry was writing it down it occurred to him that again there was a definite emphasis on theory and none on practical.
"Has everybody got a copy of Defensive Magical Theory by Wilbert Slinkhard?" she asked
The class all nodded, but Umbridge smiled at them, "No my dears we will have to try that again. When I ask you a question I expect to answer with 'Yes Professor Umbridge' Or 'No, Professor Umbridge' So I will ask again; has everybody got a copy of Defensive Magical Theory by Wilbert Slinkhard?"
"Yes, Professor Umbridge" rang through the class with undisguised disgust.
"Good now for this lesson you will need to turn to page five and you are required to read chapter one. There is no need to talk." She finished and sat down and observed them over the desk.
Harry turned to page five of his copy of Defensive Magical Theory and started to read.
This was a book he had not looked at over the summer and within the first paragraph he realised that it was an incredibly dull and would be as useful as liquorice wand in a duel. He spent the next few minutes thinking over the moonstones essay Snape has set, and reviewing what he already knew about them. He was pulled out of his train of thought; he was quite surprised by what it was. Hermione had not even opened her copy of Defensive Magical Theory. She was staring intently at Professor Umbridge with her hand raised,
"What are you doing?" he asked in a very low whisper
She subtly shook her head and he watched as Umbridge seemed to be ignoring her. He looked around the room and saw that he wasn't the only one who noticed Hermione and Umbridge's battle of patience.
After a further ten minutes and the entire class had now stopped reading their books in favour of the more entertaining battle that was on going.
Eventually Umbridge gave up ignoring Hermione
"Did you wish to ask a question about the chapter?" she asked
"No not about the chapter." Hermione said with a small look of victory.
"Well, we're reading." Umbridge said baring her small teeth, "so any queries you have can wait until the end of the class and everyone has gone."
"I have a question on your course aims." Said Hermione quickly
"And what is your name dear?"
"Hermione Granger" said Hermione.
"Well, Miss Granger, If you read them carefully I am sure even you will be able to understand them, they are quite simple," said Professor Umbridge in a voice of determined sweetness.
"Well, I don't," said Hermione bluntly, Harry had to smirk, Umbridge had insinuated that either Hermione was stupid or had pointed out her being a muggleborn. "There's nothing written up there about using defensive spells."
There was a short silence in which many members of the class turned their heads to frown at the three course aims still written on the blackboard. Many of them had not even given them a second thought.
"Using defensive spells?" Professor Umbridge repeated with a little laugh. "Oh my poor dear, why would you need to learn defensive magic, why would you feel the need to use it within my classroom? I will not hurt you dear; you surely aren't expecting to be attacked during class?"
"You are not going to teach us any magic?" Ron exclaimed loudly. "For the entire year?!"
"Students raise their hands when they wish to speak in my class, Mr. -?"
"Weasley," said Ron.
Professor Umbridge, smiling more widely, turned her back on him. Harry and Hermione immediately raised their hands too. Professor Umbridge's eyes lingered on Harry for a moment with triumph before she addressed Hermione.
"Yes, Miss Granger? You have a further query?"
"Yes," said Hermione. "I was wondering how this class can be called Defence Against the Dark Arts, if we are only learning what is in this book, it is theory, but theory that relates to the use of magic, Surely the whole point of Defence against the Dark Arts is to practice defensive spells so that we can defence again the dark arts?"
"You are a student Miss Granger, you are not a professor, and therefore you do not question the course that cleverer wizards than you have created." She replied in her sickly false sweet voice. "I am a ministry-trained educational expert; you should trust that I know what I am speaking about."
Harry had now had enough of this, he hand in the air "excuse me Professor?"
"Yes Mr Potter?" she said with a small smile but her eyes glinted.
"My name is Black-Potter professor." Harry said, "I was wondering when you qualified to be an educational expert; I believe only a few weeks ago that you were a Senior Undersecretary to the Minister, an important sounding title, but meaning you are merely a secretary."
"It is not your place to question the ministry…." She started, but she saw Harry smirk at the direction her sentence was going and knew that she was walking into a trap. "I do not have to explain myself to you Mr Pot …. Black-Potter, but I have been given the qualification by the Department for British Magical Education and Schooling Practices."
"I do not wish to criticise the way things are run in this school." She turned away from his gaze before Harry could speak again and said, "You have been exposed to dangerous and highly inappropriate teachers. You have also experienced magic that is not appropriate for your fragile ages, and not to mention your exposer to a delusional ex Auror and a dangerous half-breed."
"If you mean Professor Lupin," Parvati piped in defensively, "he was the best teacher we have ever – "
"Hand!" Umbridge exclaimed "you will not speak unless I allow you to! As I was saying you have been frightened into believing that there are dark forced lurking in every corner. The only teacher that followed a ministry approved course was professor Quirell. It is a shame that he was forced to leave the school." She said he eyes then flicked to Harry, "You were also told that a certain dark wizard in alive, this is a lie."
Harry knew she was baiting him, and he would not rise to her, so he raised his hand.
"Yes Mr Black-Potter? Do you have something to say on the subject?"
"Oh no Professor, I think you have made your own opinion and the opinion the ministry clear. If the Ministry doesn't want you teaching us magic, how will we be able to complete our OWL's, both the theoretical and practical?" Harry asked and saw that many people were nodding in agreement.
"The Ministry believes that if you have a studied the theory hard enough, but there is no reason that you cannot perform the spells that are required in your exams." She replied with a sweet voice. He raised his hand again and she raised her eyebrow allowing him to ask a question again.
"Will the Ministry be waiving the grades needed to apply for positions in the DMLE?" Harry stated, "Students will not have the necessary or understanding of the magic needed to get the grades that the DMLE requires, meaning that no students could pursue a career in that department. I find myself wondering if you have the backing of the entire ministry and if this has been sanctioned by the Wizengamot, or perhaps you have another agenda."
"My teaching course has the full backing of the Ministry, as the Department for British Magical Education and Schooling Practices created it and it was sanctioned by the Wizengamot." Umbridge said in a cold voice.
Harry nodded, he knew she was lying, the Wizengamot would never agree to this. But it was Neville who caught his attention as he raised his hand scowling.
"Yes dear?" she said to him sweetly
"I am Neville Longbottom, my grandmother is a member of the Wizengamot and is also on the board of Governors of Hogwarts." He said and her face fell at the sound of his name. "This teaching course was never sanctioned, and the department you are speaking of only regulates the four other schools of the British Isles, they were founded by the Ministry and cater to those who cannot afford the education of Hogwarts."
She gave him a smile that made Harrys hair on the back of his neck stand on end. "You are misinformed; the department regulates the ministry approved schools of this country, of which Hogwarts is one." Harry wondered how true her comment was, but it did sound like a loophole in the law. "Now please get back to reading the chapter"
For the rest of the lesson the students pretended to read from the book and couldn't wait for the double period to end. Harry sat thinking, he would have to mirror call Remus to see what he should be learning and he would have to learn for himself. He passed a note to both Hermione and Ron and they both agreed that this lesson would not be teaching them how to defend themselves or how to pass OWLS.
At the end of the lesson, Harry, Hermione, Ron and Neville began the accent up to the Gryffindor tower.
"Can you believe that woman?" Hermione said once they were out of earshot.
"She was trying to bait me." Harry said "but how can anyone learn anything from that book? It is even assigned to the seventh years, how can that book help NEWT students?"
"She is also wrong about the Wizengamot, my gran would have told me about her appointment here. She would also be furious, Gran despises her. I will write to her and see if she can help." Neville said, "I will see you at dinner," and he took off towards the owlery.
"I am going to speak to Remus after dinner." Harry said "I want to know what we should be learning, I think that we may have to teach ourselves."
"You have it better than I do Harry." Ron said "you are well ahead of me in DADA and you are ahead of Hermione in the practical side."
"He is right Harry." Hermione said "I have looked at some of the theory but I cannot do the entire practical side and you are ahead on some of the theory. You are the best at the subject in the year."
"I have to be." Harry said modestly, "and you two both helped me last year with the tournament."
"Well I want to go to the library before dinner so will see you both there." Hermione said and left quickly.
"What has she got to do so quickly?" Harry asked
"I don't know, but I hope she won't come back with another box of badges!" Ron said, and they both started laughing. "I think I might go for a ride on my broom; do you want to come?"
"No, I have Runes in an hour." Harry said apologetically. "I will just do a little reading, next time I will though."
Ron went up and changed into something a little warmer and then came back with his broom over his shoulder and with a wave he left the tower. Harry took his favourite seat in front of the fire; he then pulled out his books on potions and began Snape's essay on moonstones. He finished a draft of his essay then packed his things away and set off for the Ancient Runes classroom.
He knocked on the door to the classroom.
"Enter."
He walked in, the room was not unlike any other room, apart from the walls were covered in painted murals depicting different periods of time and they were full of runes.
"Ah Mr Black-Potter take a seat." Said Professor Babbling
Harry took the seat in front of her desk and took out his quill.
"Now I am aware that you are teaching yourself with the help of your father, but I need to see where you are up to," she said. She lay a parchment in front of him "you have an hour, just try your best and we will see what we need to work on."
He found the test quite challenging but he managed to answer all but the last question, which he only managed to partially answer. He handed the test back and waited for her to mark it. After fifteen minutes she put it down and looked at him.
"Well it seems that congratulations are in order. I made that test earlier today; it covers the third year syllabus and fourth year syllabus. The last question you stumbled on because the Runes are not taught until the end of fourth year and the rune circle that it included you actually managed to decipher very well, it was your translations that stopped you from getting one hundred per cent."
"Thank you professor, Sirius taught me a lot over the summer and I spent some time trying to catch up as well."
"Do not sell yourself short, you have learnt a great deal." She said with a smile "you have learnt enough to be able to decipher OWL runes, we just need to work on your definitions, and the distinguishing between Norse and Celtic runes."
"It's a shame you didn't take runes in third year, you would have been able to learn a lot more." She said, "now I think it is time that we went to dinner."
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