Chapter 62

The next morning Dumbledore was eating normally. He like many of his age could go some nights without sleep and was used to pulling all nighters. He was slightly amused and envious at the fact that Hermione and Xander seemed like they had a good and full night sleep. Considering they only needed between 2-4 hour sleep they most likely did get a full night's sleep... those bastards.

From the look on it they told Harry the good news. The Zero would be able to remove the Horcrux without any danger to his life. That was great news. It was also a shame for him. One of the many reasons Harry's blood protection needed to be strong was to make sure the boy could resist the Horcrux and another reason he had approved of was the abuse Petunia forced Harry to suffer through. He hoped that the boy would have strength enough to survive until Voldemort's dark curse could remove it or permanently kill Harry. He hoped Harry would live and now most if not all of the reasons he had for the blood protection was rendered useless.

Sirius had already gained custody of the boy. So that was good and he no longer needed to fight Sirius or try to force poor Harry back to Petunia. He just had to live with the shame that if he just had looked outside his own little world he could have saved Harry years of living in an abusive family. As they said there is no fool like an old fool.

He had cherished his reason for forcing Harry to live there. Both Hermione and Xander, knowing the reasons, had to agree it was not a completely bad idea, just risky. Harry could have turned to dark magic like Tom did.

Both of them wonder what his plan to do would have been then. He didn't need to answer them they knew. If it had been a dark and evil Harry he would have died. But Harry's ability to love had survived years of abuse and he wouldn't turn to the darkness of that Albus was sure. So he had done all that he could to make the boy survive. First year had been a test, one all of them managed to go through with surprising skill.

He hoped that Harry would one day be able to forgive him. Because he knew that he would never be able to forgive himself.

His recalling of past events was interrupted as a flock of owls enter through the bird windows. The news arriving held once again a scandal at Hogwarts. The champion rage against the second task, complete with the threat of retribution.

Looking at his own pile of mail he saw the Daily Prophet and the Quibbler were there and four books as well

Author: Herald of High-magic.

First one was -Wiccan, spirit magic, priest magic. The many names. - A book about Wicca magic, seen from the eyes of a non user. An introduction and explanation of its nature also an interview with some real Witches on how he and she used it. On top of all pages was written. A Wicca is a witch regardless of gender.

Last was a small spell you could cast to see if you had the ability to learn.

Albus looked up at the young man that waved his hand and then he turned back to the next book.

-High-magic what is it-

Also an introduction book to make it easy for beginners to understand and even some small tricks you could use to see if you where a High-magic potential. On top of all pages was written in small print. A High-wizard is always a Wizard regardless of gender, unless he is a mage.

Albus looked at the last two.

-Sorcery. Wand magic.-

It was also presented so that new beginners could easily understand its potential. It also mentioned how Sorcery needed a focus and that focus was often a wand the most effective way to be discovered as of now, but a description on how to make a focus crystal was inside of it as well. It also contained a way on how to discover if you where a Sorcerer.

The last book was the thickest and the most interesting looking book. -The Three sisters. About the magic.-

That one was more of a comparison book about the ups and downs off all other magic types. How a spell that was almost impossible for a Wicca to cast herself could be easy to cast for a Wand-user. Like teleportation and reverse. It had dragon-magic in the end presented as the younger adopted sister. Potions and alchemy were the older stepsisters.

Albus looked around and saw that chosen groups around the school had gotten free examples. All of Xander group of course, but also students in Slytherin, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff.

As a surprise Viktor Krum was now sitting next to Cedric, Fleur and Harry.

It was a silent breakfast as all the students spend time reading either the news or argue about the new books.

Hermione was completely silent as she read the four books page to page. She found them well written and well thought trough and she found that these books should be combined with the introduction pamphlet all students had to buy, at least the first three.

At the professors table all were reading as well, even Snape who managed to escape arrest thanks to Dumbledore protection and to his own reputation. Thanks to the teachings of Snape the numbers of Potions Master had increased in never before seen numbers. Potions masters create the most difficult and hardest potions in the world and they also invent new potions, but thanks to Snape the number of graduated potion brewers was as lower than ever. Potion brewers created the more common potions most shops sold, but the Ministry of Magic only saw the fact that Snape created Potions Master after Potion Master and not that he destroyed most of the potential potion brewers.

Hermione had mixed feelings about this. Just to be able to nurse a potential genius into a true Potion Master was difficult and normally it was one in five years, but Snape regularly created one each year. The pure talent needed to do that was mind boggling and she quickly started to write down an idea on a paper.

As the door opened she could see Bagman and Madam Bones walk inside. Behind them the Wicca representative followed them in. He looked like a boring Muggle who waved his hand at Xander.

They did not look happy and Madam Bones even glared at Susan Bones.

"Cool. G-man... Hi," Xander yelled.

Hermione looked amused. "So you know him?"

It didn't take long before Amelia Bone spoke. "The second challenge will here by be changed. We will create a number of challenges involving magic duels against Aurors and flying through a racing track on your broom's hunted by summoned beast all the way to the finish." She glared at the students. "While I'm proud of you dedication to your friends this test will be harder and put you own life in greater danger."

All four champions cheered and the whole group joined them.

Amelia smiled. They were such good children who would rather see themselves in danger then putting others in it. "The test will be in six days on February the 28."

The moment the overflow of joy left them Xander, Harry and Hermione all stood up and started to walk to the head table only to stop and look at each other.

"Wanted to find out about Ron," Harry said and turned to his right side where both Xander and Hermione were.

"If I don't find out what Albus feels about my book my head is going to explode and I want to talk to Giles," Xander said.

"With the Wicca representative and the head of the Ministry here I'm going to ask about something I've been thinking about and to ask about Ron." The boys shrugged and they continued to walk up to the table.

Bones looked a bit reprehensive at the High-wizard. In her opinion he was a loose cannon, but she was relived as he ignored her and continued to the head table, but then she was right back to being reprehensive when Harry and Hermione ganged up on her.

"Excuse me Madam Bones. My former friend Ron Weasley was arrested and I would like to know what happened to him," Harry said. "I also would like to know," Hermione added.

"That is strictly between the Ministry and his family. Rest assured young Ron's age is going to be a great factor in judging him. His punishment is going to be more mental healing than jail," Madam Bones replied and then continued. "They had also removed him from the source of his anger and the focus of his envy. He would start to study in one of the Irish schools of magic after a year mental care from the Wiccans."

The two teens looked relived even if Ron had tried to kill Xander. He did it because he was saving them from what he considered the darkest wizard of them all and not all of Xander's titles were good in the Wizarding world like the one he earned here in Hogwarts, -The one you should not anger.- It was right up there with -You know who.-

"I have a question I need you and Mr. Giles to see about," Hermione said, showing her the list of information she had read in the official graduation records of the past fourteen years.

"By Merlin and Morgana, are these real?" Madame Bones said.

Hermione nodded.

"I don't know If I should be ashamed of their stupidly that they did nothing or impressed by their brilliance in doing nothing, perhaps a little of both," Madame Bones said while shaking her head.

"Let me see," Giles said. "God good," he muttered after reading the information. "Is this correct? Then this man is an absolute Genius in nursing out brilliant students and also perhaps the worst teacher I've ever come across."

Hermione simply nodded again.

"What is it?" Dumbledore wondered.

Giles turned over the paper to him and said in a calm tone. "Here read it."

Dumbledore nodded and then after a moment said, "I know this. One of many reasons I allow Professor Snape his eccentricities. "

"Eccentricities or not, something should be done," Madame Bones said.

Giles nodded. "A normal Professor creates one Potion Master every five years. Professor Snape has in the past fourteen years created one sometimes two each year," he said loudly and the whole Great Hall fell silent. The Slytherins applauded, being proud of their Head of House.

Giles continued. "There are usually around 40 students that take their OWL's in potions. Snape has in the past fourteen years created around fifteen up to twenty each year. Only fifteen to twenty, normally there should be around 30 graduating Potion brewers each year with NEWT level skills. Professor Snape has in the past fourteen years produced only around seven to nine each year with NEWTs in Potions. Only seven to nine that can become Potion brewers and not the normal of up to 30 future brewers."

Bones did not like to take this up. "Potion Masters are valued. They have the instinct, the talent and the pure understanding to create new potions. So normally it is considered one each five years is great and one each year is more than most magic schools are able to teach. Snape managed to teach one each year."

Giles nodded. "That makes Snape the best teacher I have ever seen and at the same time the worst I have ever seen."

The hall was silent in confusion.

Hermione cleared her voice. "Professor Snape is clearly too valuable as a teacher for us to lose. His talent is incredible, but his talent seems only to include those that have a natural born ability. What about the rest of the students? Potion masters create new wealth and status by inventing new potions, potions that can heal and cure the sick. They also make the incredible hard and almost impossible potions on command, but 70 % of all potions are brewed by simple potions brewer and they are people that have NEWT level skills."

Dumbledore nodded. "England has been importing potion brewers. Any idea on how to fix this problem, Professor Snape?" It was a question he had asked Snape many times.

The man sneered. "I have no talent to teach thunder head idiots that can't even understand the most basic of potions. What Miss. Granger said is true. She and Malfoy are the only two students of that year group that have the talent to become Potion Masters. Malfoy has the interested to dedicate himself. Granger has too many other foolish interested that distract her from the real magic of potions. It's a pity. She could become great and still can if she just ignores the foolish wand waving and focus on real magic potions."

There was silence in the hall again.

Giles cleaned his glasses. An idea was cooking inside him. "Mr. Snape, like young Miss Granger said. Your talent in training those geniuses is incredible, but it's also limited to those that have like you a talent for potions. What instead of having you as the main potion professor we rearrange it so that you are the Hogwarts Potion Master instead. Responsible for making the difficult potions Hogwarts need and teaching the more advanced students. You will be able to inspect each year group and seek out those special students and catch them without having the thunderheads in your way."

Snape listened interested and so Giles continued. "Solutions like this have been done in Muggle universities. Many geniuses find it difficult to teach those who aren't a genius themselves. We would of course need to sponsor a regular potions professor and you Mr. Snape. But you would be able to earn the extra by selling and making difficult potions. Hogwarts would gain part of the profits of those potions as to replace ingredients and time lost. You would be honor bond to hold lesson for students that you feel can handle it."

"I do it. If you can arrange the contract I do it," Professor Snape jumped at the idea. "Never again to see the likes of Longbottom or Potter," he sneered and then turned to Granger. "Miss Granger I thank you for doing this, Mr. Giles I also thank you. This is the greatest opportunity I ever had. I love to teach those that are able to learn, but I hate teaching to idiots that never can see the beauty or the purity of a potion. Thundering imbeciles or as you would say normal students." With a dramatic, but joy filled walk the man glided out of the room.

"Professor 'Vampire envy' sure looked happy," Xander said. The lessons he had with Snape were awful. The man was a dictator, a bastard, an asshole and a bully. The worse you were as a student the worse Snape would treat you. Only the best were pampered, encourage and challenged by Snape. The rest was left to swim with an anchor at their feet.

Hermione herself had discovered that, even as the man insulted her he had more than once secretly challenged her and teased her intelligence. Made her fight to learn more, it was only recently that she had understood that he did it to force her to learn more, but for people like Neville whose talent was not potions or like Harry who did not find it fascinating he had no urge or ability to help them. Snape was by all definition a bully and a genius.

Knowing that in order to earn the Death Mark you had to rape, torture and murder. Not always in that order. Xander had told her that Snape loved to play with red haired female Muggle and witches and to torture and murder black haired young men. No Snape was a person that should be in jail for his former actions. No question about it, but Albus did say he was trying to redeem himself. Xander, Harry, Neville didn't believed that. They believed Snape was only fooling Albus, but Hermione was not so sure about that. Researching his past performance and the record of those graduated almost confirmed what Xander and company believed. Then she found out about the number of Potion Masters he trained.

In her eyes he looked like a man that actually had changed his ways and also a man that was a true genius with the ability to help young genius evolve their ability and skills. A man trapped in a world that didn't speak his language of potions or could see the potential in a substance, a man that lived in a world surrounded by half-wits.

No Hermione felt pity for him. Once she had felt the same way. Going to school smarter than the other students and then there being something different about her, something that scared away the other children wasn't easy for her. Luckily she was saved by her Hogwarts letter on her eleventh birthday. If that had been Snape's life from childhood to adult life, no wonder he turned to evil.

Smiling slightly she walked back. If she was correct Snape's attitude would change slightly once he did no longer be forced to teach idiots.

Xander on the other hand walked up to Giles. "Hi G-man want to hang out with me, Janna and Willow?" he asked.

Giles smiled. "I would love to Xander," he said, putting his hand on his shoulder in a quick man to man one hand shoulder hug. "Do you have any free time?"

"It's Saturday. So yeah my time is a bit short," Xander answered, frowning a bit. "It's all those lesson I'm giving to others. Harry come here," he yelled.

Harry rushed quickly over to them. "What?" he asked.

"Could you please take over the class today? I want to spend time with Giles and the Scooby Gang. You get nine cookies and for the rest of the day the cookie jar is yours," Xander said.

Harry eyes turned greedy. "Not the rest of the day, we're talking 24 hours. Tomorrow this time I return it. Not an hour, minute or second earlier."

"Alright, but first... Giles a cookie?" Xander asked, giving the older man a pile of cookies.

"What?" Giles asked. "Are these real Vanilla crumpets?" He started to eat. "They are real. No, almost real, but quite good." Giles looked pleased with the taste.

Xander grinned. "Here you go," he said, giving the cookie jar to Harry. "24 hours, starting now."

Harry grabbed it. "Muahauhaha. Cookies, I got the power," he yelled and rushed away.

Xander turned to Giles and Albus and explained. "I give them lessons, but I have not the right to give house points. So I made an enchanted cookie jar. Cookie?" he asked, holding out a cookie from his spare cookie jar.

As often as one of the girls wanted to borrow it he needed an extra.

"Why not?" Albus said. "Sugar lemon cream cookie?" he frowned "Never had one of those before. I take it that's an enchanted cookie jar?"

Xander nodded and quickly explained the 'Fools banquette' spell to them like hid so many times before. To demonstrate he turned to one of the tables and said, "Banquette." And in front of them was a magnificent dinner roasted boar and a huge ball with steaming hot soup. On the side cookies and brownies were seen everywhere. Bottles of wine and cogs of beer ready to taste stood on it as well.

"And that's a small test on what the Fools Banquet can do. If you live only on food like this you would starve to death. But once in a while it's harmless." Xander explained.

From the side a girl screamed. "And if you want to lose weight."

They were interrupted by a loud noise. Xander looked down and everybody followed his eyes. Beside him was a small army of worried House elves and one was holding his pants looking up at him with tears in their eyes.

"Ogie says please do not do that. Kitchen elves will do better... we are promising. Please not take work away. We promise to make fest better," it cried.

Xander blinked and knelt down. "Um. I'm sorry if I offended you. I will not replace you in any way. This was just a show of a fake food spell. Understand? A fake food spell."

The kitchen elf looked up. "Wu are really say so. Ogie cooks good. Cooking is good for Ogie"

Xander nodded. "Can you test food for me? See if it's good." The kitchen elf nodded and Xander removed a piece of the boar. "Now say, what is this food?" he said giving it on a fork to the house elf.

The house elf sniffed. It smelled fine to him, but something was off. He liked it, it was almost perfect. It tasted it and found it good, not perfect but good. Then its eyes turned big. As it threw the fork away it said, "Ugly food. Fake. Bad food only drinking. Food is to be good for body. This water bad joke."

Xander nodded. "See I said I was showing of a fake food spell."

Ogie nodded. "No taking our work?"

"I'm not going to take your work. But can I show the fake food spell for all students, not only the professors," Xander said.

Ogie seemed to consider it. "Ogie yes say. Eaten real they have. Fake away."

Then with a 'plop' all the elves vanished again.

Xander shock his head and said, "The poor things." He then looked at the professors. "Well eat, why don't you? It's harmless. If you don't eat it, it turns into water after four hours."

One by one they started to eat, even Bones and Giles.

Xander walked around and cast the same spell on each of the tables creating a fest dinner for each table. It didn't take long before the students started to eat like starved and crazed wolfs. Even the girls that tried to lose weight decided they could bulk down this food. He even could see one or more House elves trying some.

"Ogie," he said and the kitchen elf plopped forward. "If I create a copy of a dish I have tasted in an restaurant using this fake food could you copy it with real food?"

"Near perfect. Why ask you Ogie?" the house elf asked.

"Fake food never tastes as good as the real food does. It's always close, but not exactly as the real food is in taste. So if you are going to copy it, try to use your skills in making it better, even if it's not exactly the way I did it," Xander said.

Ogie seemed to think about it and then nodded. "Ogie understands," he said with pride.

Xander waved his hand as he cast the spell again. "This is some Thai food I like, but Hogwarts doesn't serve." He waved again. "This is Chinese food. I also like but don't have Texas steak and I love Buffalo wings some days."

Ogie the kitchen house elf looked around "Ogie needs help," it said and other kitchen elves rushed in to investigate how to make real food out of this. "Today at dinner Ogie makes new food," he said and plopped away.

Viktor looked at Harry and said, "I like this friend of you. He makes good food."

Harry nodded. "That he does. Here a cookie."

Viktor blinked and thought, 'What the...'

The rest of the gang laughed and explained the point reward system and Xander's cookie reward system.

Viktor liked Xander system better. The cookie tasted like a whip cream cookie to him. All students wanted a cookie rewards system instead of the house points now, but the professors ignored them.