Chapter 25
The new teachers
The sorting had gone well and Gryffindor had added a few good names to their ranks.
'Welcome to Hogwarts.' Dumbledore said making the chatter die down. 'For our old students, welcome back. I have a few changes to announce this year. First off, our old Care for magical Creatures professor, Mr. Kettleburn has retired. In his stead has come Professor Titus Scamander, the renowned magi-zoologist from America.'
Harry clapped alongside the Gryffindors as he turned to see Antony grinning at Terry at the Ravenclaw table.
'Second, History of Magic will no longer be taught just by Professor Binns. The ghost will continue to reside in his old room and will be more than glad to share his wisdom with you once a month during special lectures. Helping him will be Professor Remus Lupin your new History of Magic Professor.'
A shabby looking man, slightly on the skinny side and wearing dusty old robes stood up and bowed nervously at them. The man didn't look very healthy. The applauses for Lupin were less prominent than those for Scamander.
'Third, it is with great sadness that I tell you, the DADA class has been officially removed from the Hogwarts curriculum.'
Gasps could be heard all around the hall as people started discussing this news. Dumbledore raised his hand and they quieted down.
'But it is with great joy that I tell you two new classes have been created in its stead. The Duelling class and the Theory of Defence class will cover the former DADA curriculum and beyond. Both classes will be under the direct supervision of Madam Bones of the DMLE and will be taught in rotation by Aurors and guest speakers. For those of you in your NEWT years this will translate into Advanced Duelling techniques and Advanced Defence Theory.'
'That's it for the new news, as for old news. First years please note that the forest around Hogwarts is forbidden to everyone, curfew is 10 o'clock for all students: first to fourth year and 11 o'clock for the upper classes and last but not least, Mr. Filch has asked me to inform you that the list of prohibited items has been extended with 12 new entries. The full list can be consulted on Mr. Filch's office door. Now, tuck in.'
The tables became filled with food as the students finally started talking animatedly about the changes in the staff.
'Did Aries tell you about the DADA?' asked Hermione
'He said it was all taken care of, I didn't think it meant DADA would be replaced.'
'Well, it's one way of beating the curse.' Said George
'Curse?' asked Neville
'Yeah, it is said there was this curse on the DADA post since like forever. Bill said it was the same when he was in school.' Explained Fred.
'Could this beat the curse? I mean, Theory of Defence and Duelling class? They seem like DADA only split in two.' Said Hermione
'Curses like this would have to have been very specific to last so long. So yeah, it could work.' Said Fred
'We could ask Bill about it.' Suggested Ron
'Harry, we will have practice tomorrow after class.' Wood said from two seats further down from the twins.
'Come on Oliver, we've just arrived at Hogwarts.' Angelina protested.
'Precisely, this is a big year for us. We must win the Quiddich cup. And training is the key.'
'Oliver we don't even know our timetables yet.' Protested Alicia.
'Fine, the day after tomorrow then, but no excuses. And you can book Saturday mornings for Quiddich practice too.'
'Er, Oliver, I have extra lessons between nine and eleven every Saturday.' Harry said.
'What extra lessons? Who authorised them?'
'Er, it's my guardian, I have to learn Gobbledygook and French and-'
'Well then it's settled. Practice on Saturday will start after 11 o'clock.' Alicia said
'Besides, Oliver' Angelina added 'You don't want to anger Lord Black after he gave Harry a Firebolt.'
'Well, if you put it that way…'
'Perfect. We all need our beauty sleep after all.' Added Alicia. Harry grinned as the chaser winked at Harry.
With the Quiddich practice crisis averted Harry enjoyed the rest of the evening laughing and eating until it was time to go to bed.
When he arrived at breakfast the next morning he was met with a very upset Hermione and his time schedule.
'Good morning.' Said Harry.
'It's not good at all.' Hermione said almost crying.
'Hermione, did something happen?'
'McGonagall just told me, I can't take all the classes I wanted to take.'
'Er, but didn't she send you your book list during the holiday?'
'She did, I just thought she forgot about my request. Turns out the School Governors refused the request to grant me a time turner.'
'Er, but isn't that dangerous Hermione?' asked Neville 'I mean, you could seriously get hurt using a time turner.'
'I am capable of handling it.' Hermione said stubbornly. 'Harry, Aries is on the Board of Governors, is he not? Can't he talk with them to give me permission?'
'Hermione, I don't think.'
'Just write to him, please…'
'Ok, I'll write to him tonight. But I can't promise you anything.'
'It's OK, I know he can help.'
Harry sighed as he looked at his schedule. He hoped Hermione's hopes wouldn't be disappointed.
Monday
9:00-10:30 Charms (with Slytherin)
11:00-12:30 History of Magic
Lunch break
14:00-15:00 Arithmancy (with Ravenclaw)
15:30-16:30 Transfigurations
Tuesday
9:00-10:30 Potions (with Hufflepuff)
11:00-12:30 Care for magical Creatures (with Slytherin)
Lunch break
14:00-15:00 Runes (with Hufflepuff)
15:30-17:00 Theory of Defence (all 3rd Year)
Wednesday
9:00-10:30 Transfigurations
11:00-12:30 Arithmancy (with Ravenclaw)
Lunch break
14:00-15:00 Herbology (With Ravenclaw)
Free period
21:00-22:00 Astronomy (night class, curfew extended with 30 minutes)
Thursday
9:00-10:30 Duelling (all 3rd year)
11:00-12:30 Runes (with Hufflepuff)
Lunch break
14:00-15:00 Charms (with Slytherin)
15:30-16:30 History of Magic
Friday
9:00-10:30 Herbology (with Ravenclaw)
Free period
Lunch break
14:00-15:00 Care for magical creatures (with Slytherin)
15:30-16:30 Potions (with Hufflepuff)
20:30-22:00 Astronomy (night class, curfew extended with 30 minutes)
'They really mixed the classes up this year.' Said Neville
'We no longer have Potions with Slytherin.' Said Hermione
'That can only be an improvement.' Said Dean as he, Seamus and finally Ron came down for breakfast.
'Thanks for not waiting for me, Harry.' Ron said sitting opposite Neville.
'I tried to wake you up 10 times and then you took forever in the bathroom.' Harry defended himself 'Besides I wanted to find out my schedule.'
'Yeah, and look, we have Divination today.' Ron said 'Oh wait, it's only me and Hermione.'
'Actually Ron, I couldn't take both Divination and Arithmancy. Not yet anyway. I have Arithmancy today, like Harry.'
That made Ron frown and ignore both of them during breakfast and all the way through Charms with the Slytherin. But it was better than Potions with Slytherin since Flitwick was impartial and the Slytherin couldn't try any funny business.
History of Magic was next and they were looking forward to seeing how the new teacher faired in comparison to Bins but Harry didn't hold too much hope.
'Good morning everyone.' Said Lupin smiling benignly at them from where he leaned on the teacher's desk. 'My name is Remus Lupin and I will be teaching you History of Magic from now on.' The man then marked attendance before looking back at them.
'I am sure you've had a great time with Professor Bins in your first two years.' An almost silent groan from everyone present. 'But I hope I can fill in those big shoes, just not quite yet, you know with dying and all.' Some people chuckled. 'Now, I'm sure you've covered some of the medieval times and we will return to them and the Witch hunts a bit later in the year, but let's start with something a bit further away in time and space. Ancient times.' He tapped his wand on a weird looking box at the back of the class where he wandered as he spoke and something like a 3D hologram appeared around them. That got everyone's attention as they saw the Egyptian Pyramids being built.
'Ancient Egypt is the classic example of Muggle and Wizard society working harmoniously together. It was with the help of Wizards that the great Pyramids, Temples and Cities around the Nile were built.'
'Excuse me sir, but weren't the pyramids built by slaves?' asked Dean
'That was the official Muggle version after the segregation of the Magical and Muggle world in 237 AD, but in truth, there were no slaves used, just very skilled wizards.'
'If so, why were the Pyramids of Giza never finished?' Dean pressed on.
'But they were finished. The Pyramids of Giza were not designed to be tombs for a pharaoh who couldn't finish the job in time for his death. The small chambers inside the Pyramids that the Muggles can visit today are just there to confuse Muggles. The structures are in fact filled with chambers that are used by the oldest publishing house in the world. Which is?' there was a long pause when Hermione tried to find the answer in the book before Harry finally raised his hand.
'The Papyrus Gemini Priesthood.'
'Correct, Harry.' Lupin smiled at him 'The Priesthood was the first to write down history not just in order to record events but to spread the knowledge further. They are still operational to this day, making it one of the oldest institutions in the Magical world and one that is under oath to always publish the truth.'
'But sir, why don't we have any books publish by it here is England?' asked Hermione.
'Well Hermione, it's because they are mostly written in ancient Egyptian, ancient Latin, ancient Greek or in Ancient Runes making them not very appealing for the general public. There are translations available, but they are not sanctioned by the Priesthood since it believes that modern languages do not have the complexity to reveal the whole truth. However there are two books in the restricted section of the Hogwarts library one in Latin the other in Runes the former about ancient curses and the latter about the reign of Seqenere Tao of which you will learn only in your 6th year.'
'Now in those Ancient time when Wizards and Muggles lived in relative harmony there was a hunt for getting the best Wizards to help in either protecting the kingdom or help expand it.' Lupin tapped the projection box and the hologram changed.
'One of these sought after wizards was a man that we know today as Epaphus or Apis and he would be the one who, together with his wife Memphis, would unite Magical and Muggle Africa for the very first time.'
It was like seeing a movie and by the time the one and a half hour was finished no student was sleeping, instead they listened completely captivated to the stories Remus Lupin told.
'I can't believe I didn't fall asleep in History of Magic.' Said Seamus as they settled at the Gryffindor table for lunch.
'So?' Terry and Antony came to Harry and Neville 'How was the first lesson with Lupin?'
'Definitely better than Bins.' Said Harry
'Yeah, Harry even got 10 points for knowing something no one knew.' Added Neville
'I'm sure I wasn't the only one who knew…' said Harry
'Those extra lessons with Aries are showing.' Grinned Antony
'Anyway, we'll have Arithmancy next. So see you there. I heard Professor Vector is strict on punctuality so don't be late.' Added Terry.
Septima Vector reminded Harry of McGonagall. She had the air of a person who didn't accept nonsense and her approach to Arithmancy was logical and clear. Harry took notes but for a first lesson almost all of the things explained he had already discussed with Aries earning him 30 points after answering three questions correctly.
'Mr. Potter. Stay after class.' The stern teacher said.
Harry was confused as Terry petted his back whispering something about teacher's favourite and Hermione looking yearningly at the teacher.
'Did I do anything wrong, Professor?' Harry asked when he was alone with Vector.
'You seem to be very knowledgeable about Arithmancy.'
'My guardian tutored me during summer. I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to take Arithmancy on top of Care for magical Creatures and Ancient Runes.'
'Your Guardian being Lord Black.'
'Yes, how did you know?'
'He is the head of the governors' board. We talked during summer about the Arithmancy curriculum. He seemed to want to take it to practical levels sooner than the NEWT years.'
'He has been giving me homework related to finances. To prepare me for when I have to administer my vault at Gringotts.'
'Interesting. I take it you've already covered the basics with him.'
'Yes.'
'Then it might not be wise for you to stay in this class Mr. Potter.'
'But I don't want to take another extra hour on Saturday, please professor, Oliver would go crazy if he had to reschedule Quiddich for me again.'
Septima smiled. 'Don't worry Mr. Potter. I wasn't thinking of forcing you out of Arithmancy. On the contrary, I was thinking of putting you in with the fourth years. But for that to happen I need to see your level.'
'Oh. You mean skip a year?'
'Yes, you could also take your OWL sooner making it easier for you in your fifth year.'
'Can I really do that?'
'Yes, but let's not get carried away. I will give you until next week Wednesday to revise what you know and I will test you on your knowledge. If you pass, I will see which 4th year class passes well with your schedule.'
'Wow, OK. Thank you.'
'Now off you go, Professor McGonagall doesn't like tardiness either.'
Harry managed to get to Transfiguration just in time taking the free space between Ron and Hermione he was so out of breath that he didn't feel the anxiousness in the air.
'What did Vector want with you Harry?' asked Hermione
'She-'
'Quite class!' McGonagall entered just as Harry wanted to explain to Hermione what happened so he just mouthed later. 'You are now third years and therefore we will be starting more complex magic switching from Transfigurations for Beginners to Intermediate transfiguration.' McGonagall started.
'We will delve into complex inanimate to animate spells and spells that will change specific aspects of objects and we will take a first look on the theory of human transfiguration.' Saying this Harry saw McGonagall turn from herself to a cat and then back again. Obviously Harry knew McGonagall could do that because the teacher liked to observe them in her cat form during exams.
'Honestly, what is up with you today? This is the first time my Animagus transformation wasn't met with applause, not that I care about that.'
'We're sorry professor, we had Divination before.' Said Seamus
'Ah, I see, well who will die this year?' The class turned to look towards where he and his two best friends were sitting.
'Me.' Ron said dejectedly.
'Hm, well, let me tell you something Mr. Weasley. Professor Trelawney has been predicting a student's death every time she gets a new class. It's her way of greeting you. That being said no one has died in the 13 years she has been teaching here.' Ron tried a faint smile.
'Don't worry Mr. Weasley, if you do die, you will not have to turn in your Transfigurations homework.' This made Ron chuckle slightly and the class relaxed.
'Now, back to Human transfigurations, what you have just seen is the Animagus transformation. It is the highest level of human transfiguration anyone can achieve and is extremely dangerous that is why the Ministry monitors the ones attempting it closely.'
'Yes Mr. Potter?'
'Can a 15 year old achieve the transfiguration?' McGonagall blinked twice, was she having a Deja vu? No, James Potter had asked a question somewhere along those lines too. 'Anyone who wants to become an Animagus has to be of age.' Harry nodded. He knew the stories in that red book were just that stories, but he had to ask.
Even with McGonagall making fun of Divination and Harry saying that Divination was a very inexact subject, Ron was very quiet for the rest of the day. On the other hand Hermione kept asking Harry what books Aries used for teaching him Arithmancy and if she could also take the test for fourth year and insisted Harry write about the Time Turner to Aries.
Tuesday started off as awful as it sounded with Snape being particularly nasty towards everyone but oddly enough no longer specifically towards Harry and Neville. The Hufflepuff with whom they shared the class now looked a bit taken aback by Snape's attitude change. Ernie who was sharing a desk with Neville right behind Harry and Ron explained that though Snape had been tough, he had never been this critical of their work before.
Care for Magical Creatures took them outside on a perfect September day as Professor Scamander showed them Bowtruckles for the first time. To their surprise Scamander used Hagrid as an assistant as the Game Keeper knew where the closest colonies of Bowtruckles could be found on Hogwarts ground.
They fed the little creatures woodlice and had to sketch their bodies. Harry, Ron and Hermione followed by Neville found two specimens near where Hagrid was standing.
'Hello Professor.' Harry said grinning at the giant as Hagrid blushed.
'I'm no Professor, 'Arry. Titus nearly gave me a heart attack when he asked me to be his assistant. Good man Titus, he takes care of a lot of creatures ye know. Back in America o' course.'
'We've met him, he came with Antony from Ravenclaw at my birthday party.' Said Harry
'Heard you had a party. Minerva said you organized it at the ol' Potter estate.'
'Yeah, I've been cleaning the place all summer with two elves.'
'He's done a good job, especially with the garden.' Neville added.
'Maybe next holiday you can come visit.' Harry added
'Oh, I don' know. Your guardian might not want me around.'
'I'm sure Aries won't mind. Neville, Ron and Hermione have already been there, as has McGonagall.'
'Yes Harry, but they are all normal.'
'Normal? What do you mean? You're normal too.' Hagrid looked away from Harry
'I don't think Lord Black likes me very much.'
'Why wouldn't he?' asked Hermione
'We got into a fight about Aragog and his nest.'
'Aragog?'
'He was my friend and the Aurors killed him and all the other spiders. Even though they'd done nothing wrong.'
'The Aurors killed some spiders for Aries?' asked Ron bewildered and slightly apprehensive.
'They were not quite spiders, they were acromantula.'
'Giant spiders?' Ron almost squeaked
'They hadn't hurt nobody.'
'All right you four.' Titus had come around to where they were talking instead of drawing. 'Why am I not seeing beautiful drawings of Mr. Bowtruckle here?'
'Sorry Professor, we were just catching up but we were talking about magical creatures.' Said Harry.
'Oh, which ones?'
'Acromantulas.'
'Well, I see the benign Bowtruckle doesn't cut it for the brave Gryffindors. Acromantulas are in the highest danger class of magical creatures.'
'They are just misunderstood creatures.' Hagrid said.
'Oh yes, very misunderstood.' Titus said sarcastically 'Don't get me wrong, I've interacted with them on several occasions, none very favourable. Unless you have one from an egg and gain its trust you're better off observing from afar. Now, let's leave the king of spiders for later and return to our lesson.'
After lunch Harry Neville and Hermione headed for their first Runes lesson. They met up with the Hufflepuff in a classroom which had runes carved on each stone in the walls.
'Welcome to Runes where you will learn that aside from birth and death, stories are everything.' A petite woman in her mid to late thirties dressed in shades of purple came in. 'My name is Bathsheba Babbling and no, that wasn't me babbling platitudes, it was the translation of the runes you see written on the middle arch in front of you.' She pointed at the arched window where the runes could be seen.
'Stories. That is what you will discover in this class. By learning to read and translate runic texts you will see the world through the eyes of our ancestors. And no, it's not just an old forgotten alphabet, or, for that matter, many forgotten alphabets. It is a different way of seeing the world and interacting with it. Translating it is just the beginning. The end…well the end is not important, what is important is the journey, the story, your story can become more beautiful with the aid of Runes.'
She pointed at the black board and drew symbols in a circle. When she finished the circle it seemed like the symbols were coming to life, dancing, spiralling.
'That, was a runic sequence that brings out joy through dance. You will learn such sequences if you follow the advanced class after your OWLs. Now, who here can tell me the name of a runic alphabet?'
Hermione's hand shot up.
'Miss…'
'Granger. Futhark, the Futhark alphabet.'
'Which one?'
'What?'
'There is more than one Futhark alphabet. Which one?'
'Er…'
'The Elder and the Younger.' Harry answered.
'Very good Mr. Potter. And what is the difference between them?'
'Er, well one is older, the other one newer.'
Bathseba smiled. 'Obviously, though it could have been put a bit more eloquently. They were used in different time periods, the Younger being a simplified version of the Elder. Any other alphabets?'
'The Anglo-Saxon runes.' Harry added.
'Yes, though that one too is a deviation from Elder Futhark, it is also called Futhork. In fact most runic alphabets are related to Elder Futhark, which is why, we will begin learning it first. For your information, there are at least 300 runic alphabets most have been forgotten, only a dozen or so are still used by Magicals mostly for apotropaic magic. Can anyone tell me what that is?'
Hermione didn't have her hand raised, instead she was looking through the book. So Harry found himself answering.
'It's for warding, protective magic.'
'Right again Mr. Potter. And you take 10 points for Gryffindor. Apotropaic, the word coming from Greek and literally means to turn away. That is one of the most pragmatic part of Runes but to be able to truly create wards one needs a deep understanding of Runes, without it the runes would turn out too weak or too common and anyone with an ounce of knowledge could break through your protection. So, without wasting any more time, the Elder Futhark alphabet.'
Babbling wrote the symbols on the black board and began explaining them, occasionally asking questions which Hermione and Harry answered earning Gryffindor another 20 points together. Babbling however didn't offer Harry to skip a year since Harry's knowledge in Runes was not as structured as Arithmancy, coming mostly from the red notebook. She did however give him extra homework on the subject of House wards which Harry wasn't sure he was happy with since his homework amount seemed to grow considerably.
The most entertaining class by far that day was Theory of Defence. It was held in a room Harry had never been in before called the Healing Amphitheatre and everyone from third year was present. Harry, Neville and Hermione arrived from Runes together with Susan and Hannah and found seats right behind Antony and Terry saving a seat for Ron.
'I'd never thought we'd see Rowena's Healing Amphitheatre used in our generation.' Said Antony.
'Is this really her amphitheatre? And why is it called Healing?' asked Harry.
'Rowena taught 3 major subjects in her time: Charms, Healing and the Mind Arts. And since she taught them for everyone in the school, she needed big classrooms. So she created the two small amphitheatres, for Healing and the Mind Arts and the Charms Arena, the biggest one in the school.'
'Why aren't they used anymore?' asked Neville
'The number of students is too small. Even now when we are all here, this place is barely half full.' Explained Terry
As the last students came in the doors closed and Madame Bones came in.
'Good afternoon third year. My name is Amelia Bones and I am going to be your first lecturer in this new class. Because mostly everyone lecturing you has a job outside of Hogwarts, the traditional small classes will no longer be used. The traditional grading via essays will also be discarded and attendance will not be marked for either course.'
This got everyone to whisper, did this mean they could skip?
'Yes, you may skip classes.' Amelia said loudly making them quiet down. 'But you will do so at the risk of failing this class.'
'Excuse me Professor.' Hermione shot her hand up.
'Yes Miss Granger.'
'Then how will we be graded?'
'You will have two written tests one at the end of January and one at the end of the school year which will be graded anonymously. The Duelling class will have continuous grading. You will duel every class, you are marked every class. But your first duelling instructors: auror Kingsley Shacklebolt and trainee auror Nymphadora Tonks will explain those rules to you on Thursday morning. '
'Now, you will all think this is going to be easy. Think again. The lectures are one part of this course, and they do not follow one written book that you can lean on. At the end, each of the two test will be composed of questions from every lecturer that walked through these walls. You miss a lecture, you will be forced to ask your peers for their notes. Will these notes be reliable enough? Will your class mates want to share? You skip at your own risk. Also, the books, we will refer you to, are going to help you both prepare for a lecture and understand one that has just passed. You miss the list of references and you won't be prepared next time. And I advise you to prepare and have questions ready if you do not understand something. That being said, let's start your first lesson.'
She turned towards the huge screen behind her and pointed her wand. The words Theory of Defence appeared.
'The name of this course is somewhat misleading. Theory of Defence can easily be labelled Theory of Offence since the best defence is in fact the attack. However attacking without being provoked is not Defence, but a crime.'
Madame Bones continued to lecture and show them situations where Defence and Offence could or could not be used. Various cases from Auror files, as well as Defence against dangerous magical creatures and even against destructive natural or magical phenomenon. Harry took notes as did the others but none took notes more than Hermione. The lecture ended with Sue's aunt listing several books and treaties for them to read until next month when she would lecture again.
To Harry's surprise, at the end of the lesson most everyone decided to check out the references the head of the DMLE had given them. So much so that it got Hermione annoyed she couldn't find all of them on the rafters in the library.
A/N: He, he, Harry is getting noticed in class and Ron has become the target for Trelawney. Am I testing and prodding Ron too much? Will Aries help Hermione get a time turner? What do you guys think? Until next time, still waiting for snow.