The start of October saw Harry's plan coming into effect: he would send the decoy into his Defence class while controlling it from afar, attempting to annoy the "Professor ".
The fake version of Harry walked along with his friends, none of whom were any the wiser, and he sat down.
Dudley was already wondering just how Harry would cause problems in this lesson. He sat down next to his brother and five minutes into class the door locked and the lesson began.
"Today we will be covering how to combat magical coercion, including the Imperius Curse, as well as being trapped by a curse on a letter that guarantees your correspondence. Such curses have been used to arrange such things as marriages or assassinations. In fact, some magical historians speculate that the First Muggle World War was caused by an enchanted letter, leading to the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, but that is neither confirmed nor fully relevant." Professor Gaunt paused there, levitating a letter to the front of the classroom.
"The main thing you should know is once you touch the letter with your bare skin, it is often too late to counter it alone. This is why in a time long passed, most of our society would only open letters wearing gloves in the company of a trusted advisor or spouse. The Ministry of Magic once used such methods to conscript all of the seventh years in Hogwarts, which is why any letters sent to Hogwarts by the Ministry have to be checked over by House-elves whose job it is to guarantee nothing malicious or hostile is sent to a student. It was the grandfather of one of our own who is responsible for that safety act, one Abraxas Malfoy." He paused again to look at Draco, as did some of the class.
"The first trick to keeping yourself safe from these despicable curses is to levitate them, keeping them beyond arm's reach. Then you must cast a series of identification charms; some wizards cast no fewer than fifty of them per letter, while others settle for only a few. In this lesson, and possibly the one following, I shall be teaching you the bare minimum of spells you should cast on a letter of questionable origin. After that, I will assign an optional project on some of the less commonly used charms, with bonus marks for anyone who includes some of the more obscure identification charms. This will be due in for Christmas, after which we shall begin another optional project."
After his introduction to the lesson, Professor Gaunt began by handing out several letters, all with different compulsion curses on them, and tasked the class to use the charms he had taught them in order to identify and disspell them.
It was at this point when Harry wished he was inside the classroom, for the opportunity it provided to receive a fairly useful lesson, but also to protect his classmates from the clearly insidious curses on the letters. Not wanting to expose his deception so early, Harry raised the hand of his decoy and requested permission to head to the loo, which was granted with no more than a raised eyebrow.
After deactivating the decoy, and waiting a few minutes to make his toilet trip believable, Harry returned to the lesson, sat down next to Dudley, and levitated the letter in front of him, beginning the series of identification charms to find out what curses were on the seemingly innocuous letter.
All in all, it was an actually enjoyable lesson, with nothing to indicate that the darkest wizard of their age was now their professor, something so baffling that Harry still couldn't rationalise it in his head.
Once the class had all finished identifying and removing the curses on the letters, they left them floating in front of them or had let them fall to the desk. Only a few students bothered to try handling the letters, with Crabbe and Goyle being among them. Unfortunately for those who risked it, the charms they had learned today didn't cover all of the curses.
"Ah, I wondered if I would be able to demonstrate how to help a friend who is suffering under one of these curses. There are a few different techniques that are employed, with a common first step being to stun the affected individual. Once they have been contained you must either figure out what their directives are and convince them that they have managed to complete them, or you must systematically dismantle each and every one of the enchantments on them. Herein lies the issue, as some people will layer their compulsions curses with spells meant to trigger a recasting of the initial curse, meaning you have to undo the spells in a very specific order or risk your efforts being undone." The Professor raised his wand and began calling out different incantations with the end goal of returning the duo of dunderheads to themselves.
"We still have five minutes left until the bell rings and yet I have nothing left to teach, you may leave early and make your way to your next lesson," Professor Gaunt said to the class, heading into his office once he had finished his address.
"I thought nobody could compare to Moody's teaching, it turns out that I was wrong," Harry heard Lavender Brown saying to one of her friends as they left.
"I'm actually quite confused by just how well put together that lesson was. I expected him to sabotage our education from the start, I'm worried that will come later," Harry began, his tone calculating.
"What are you suggesting?" Draco chimed in.
"I'm not suggesting anything, I think it is very clear that I'm proposing we teach ourselves, maybe we can find a suitable instructor in one of the sixth years," Harry suggested, a determined look overtaking his features.
/_-^_^_-_/
"Helena, how was your summer?" Elias asked the ghost as he and Harry made to sit down at the top of the highest tower of Hogwarts, in the same room Dudley would meet Rowena in his dreams.
"Vastly underwhelming, as it has been for many hundreds of years, and as it will continue to be for countless hundreds more."
"Oh… well…" Elias stuttered, not knowing how to respond to the melancholic tone of the ghost, thankfully Harry knew exactly how to reply.
"Would hearing about our summer make you feel better?"
"No, sorry, nothing will, not since that bastard returned to the school. How dare he defile this sanctuary of learning," she shouted back, lowering the temperature of the room a small bit.
"Do you mean Professor Gaunt?" Elias asked the ghost.
"That may be the name he uses now, but let me tell you this, he is Voldemort and simply cannot be trusted around so many children."
"Did you know him, while he was a student here I mean?" Harry asked the Grey Lady, who turned to stare piercingly in his eyes.
"When you first started talking to me, I suspected you to have the same intentions as he did. He corrupted my mother's Diadem and hid it within the school not far from here. It only makes sense that he has come back to reclaim it."
"We can help you find it and remove it, or destroy it if you want. You're our friend, and the only mother I knew in my first year." Harry whispered the last bit, which caused a tear to fall down the ghost's cheek.
"I may ask that of you, but for now let us talk. How did your summer go?"
"Well for one, my other brother found your mother's Font of Knowledge, it turns out that your mother resides within, and that she misses you."
"That's impossible. I took the Diadem away before she could use its knowledge to finish that project."
"From what Dudley has told me she had to use her soul and all of her magic to create it. She left a letter for you in her bedroom, not knowing you were never to return in the flesh. She said the letter sits there to this day still on-"
"The dresser by the window, with no seal but that of a kiss. I know the letter well."
"Did you ever read it?"
"I haven't read it, no. It appears that it can only be retrieved by a living person. You two are the only people alive, and your other brother I suppose, are the only people alive who know about it."
"Do you want us-" Elias began, falling silent when Helena raised her hand to request it.
"I do not wish to ever read it, if you were to retrieve it I would ask you not to reveal the contents to me."
"It wouldn't feel right reading a letter that was meant for you, and only you, without telling you what was inside."
"That's sweet, though you should keep in mind the fact that I'm dead. Death equals stagnation, or at least returning as a ghost is. Take it from someone who cannot pass on: don't come back for anyone."
The three spent the next hour talking about the summer, with Helena asking to talk to Dudley in the near future.
/_-_^-^_-_/
Professor McGonagall began their transfiguration lesson without wasting any time, as she had done since the start of the year. "Today, class, we shall be learning the Gemino Charm, also known as the Duplication Charm. If cast correctly, it will create a perfect replica of an item, however, be aware that there are protections that can be placed to prevent this. The Goblins of Gringotts forge each coin with protective enchantments, while on the flip side, they also use the Gemino Charm as a defence mechanism against theft."
After she had told them how to do it, the students began to make duplicates of the miscellaneous items around them, with each unique item earning the student five house points.
Dudley came out on top, having duplicated twenty-three unique items, with the closest second being Daphne, who managed sixteen items.
"Before the lesson fully comes to an end, does anyone wish to ask any questions?"
A few hands rose throughout the classroom and Seamus Finnegan was the first to be selected.
"How long do these duplicates last?"
"That is entirely dependent on the situation. Some could last minutes, others could last years."
"Does it work on animals?" was the question from Theo.
"It is illegal to do so on a person, as to do so poorly would be extremely painful for the duplicate. Even if done properly it would have horrendous consequences."
"Could it work on potion ingredients?"
"Now that is a question you shall have to take to Professor Snape, as he is the expert on all things potions." Almost the same second as McGonagall finished answering the question, the bell rang, indicating the end of the day's lessons. Everyone filed out, everyone but Dudley.
"Mr Dursley, is there something you need?"
"Something is off at Hogwarts this year, I can hear it in the voices of the staff, and in the whispers of the portraits. Do you know why?"
"Surely I don't know what you're talking ab- actually to hell with these rules. The Headmaster wouldn't want me to talk about this, while I understand the thought behind that idea, I find it to be an excuse to not do anything more than a worthwhile plan. Getting to my point-"
"Professor Gaunt is Lord Voldemort," Dudley interrupted, causing McGonagall's mouth to fall open in shock.
"I was going to tell you that the Ministry is trying to take over… this is much worse than I thought. Professor Gaunt was placed here by the Minister to spy on the daily occurrences at the school. Knowing who he truly is… I have to talk to Albus about this. Thank you for bringing this to my attention, Mr Dursley, you may leave unless you have something else to say."
"No Professor, I don't," Dudley said as he left, his brothers waiting for him the next corridor over to go to the common room to await dinner.
