And here's the forty sixth chapter of "A Year Too Soon"! Enjoy!
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griffin blackwood, Luiz4200, Urgazhi, DarkRavie, Yaw613, orion0905, Majerus, Blue Luver5000, Uday Sra, tumshie, McLoggernaut, BMS, EP (guest), 00 (guest), Jostanos, Dorothy from KS, SomeOuterWriter, thank you for your reviews, folks!
Clavyus, the current plan is that it will be aborted before anything big happens. Also, no will be kidnapped from the maze.
FicTIuNFaN, maybe a bit later - at the moment he's more useful to Peter and Junior alive. Once he has served his purpose, which will probably happen around the Quidditch World Cup, though, Senior might meet an early (earlier?) end.
TheGreatBubbaJ, I felt like Moody would be better for what I have in store for this year. Though, yeah, it does put me into a somewhat tight spot with the next year since Moody likely won't return as a Professor the next year - even if the 'Curse' is gone.
magitech, as you might've noticed, Peter had exploited another vulnerability of wards: he hitched a ride on someone who is in control of the wards making them thing that he was an allowed guest. This is somewhat similar to what has happened in the seventh book after the Ministry infiltration.
mwinter1, if by 'others' you mean the primary cast of the books, then yes.
Greatazuredragon, hm... Can we agree that being under Imperious Curse for a decade had a slightly different effect on his psychic here?
ARega1s, I try to write this Dumbledore as a good-ish guy. So while he might used the 'disappointed grandfather' approach to guide others along the paths he had chosen for them, emotional manipulation like what you suggest is not something he's willing to do. He does have some human decency left in him yet.
sd74, I don't see why he'd be allowed to go to Azkaban given how he's working in the Department of Magical Games and Sports now and had no reatives in the prison to visit. Him using whatever influence he still has in the DMLE to get a prisoner or two to the Ministry's holding cells for re-trials or something and then secretly help them break free, on the other hand, is something that might be within his abilities.
Darkscythe Drake, "Power of Eclipse" is not completely abandoned (as you might already know by now) and with the Hogwarts first year arc nearly over, writing that story might actually start coming easier since I'll be bringing more -fun- Nanoha-verse elements in.
* AN: This chapter has not been beta-read.
Disclaimer: I DO NOT own "Harry Potter" franchise. No profit is being made. Same goes for any books, video games, anime or manga I may or may not use for ideas.
"speaking"
"parseltongue"
'thinking'
written text
spells
A Year Too Soon
Chapter XLVI: Classes Resume
While their experience with Professor Lockhart the previous had somewhat restrained the students' interest in learning from renowned people, pretty much everyone was still looking forward to their classes with Professor Moody. After all he was a living legend, arguably one of the best Aurors to ever serve the DMLE, and definitely had much to teach.
And it just happened so that Harry's year was among the first to have a class with the man. In fact, that was their first lesson on Friday morning. So, after breakfast, the fourth year Slytherins made a quick stop at their dormitories to retrieve their textbook before heading for the DADA classroom. Alas, Gryffindors had arrived there first and had claimed the best seats in the classroom for themselves. That was quite annoying, but nothing they could do anything about.
As Harry, Flora and Hestia took a seat, they couldn't help but notice the difference in the classroom decorations. Whereas Professor Lockhart had his own portraits everywhere, Professor Moody opted for spell diagrams and a few rather gruesome pictures of people affected by various Curses instead. And, speaking of Professor Moody himself, people were wondering whether he intended to do some dramatic entrance seeing how he wasn't in the classroom yet.
Those ideas were quickly proven wrong when the retired Auror didn't enter the classroom once the bell rang. For a minute or two everyone just sat quietly, wondering why the man was late. Then conversation started breaking out all around the classroom.
To the young Potter, though, was having some reservation about this whole situation. While he obviously had never spoken a single word to the man, Professor Moody had quite a reputation. And being late without a really good reason wasn't something he was known for… Of course, it was entirely possible that the retired Auror just got delayed somewhere, but that was rather unlikely. So where was he? Perhaps, he was actually hiding somewhere in the classroom, evaluating his students stealthily? Now, that was something a man whose personal motto was 'Constant Vigilance' would do.
Having come to that conclusion, Harry started looking around, trying to figure out where their Professor might be 'hiding'. And a dark corner opposite of the entrance into the DADA Professor's personal office looked like a good spot. Unfortunately, the green-eyed wizard couldn't actually see anything out of ordinary there, either because there was nothing there or because Alastor Moody was quite good with Magical disguises. It turned out to be the latter when the man finally decided to stop playing hide-and-seek another couple of minutes later.
"Good morning!" Professor Moody called loudly as he dropped his disillusionment Charm and stepped out of the shadow. His sudden appearance startled most of the students and a few actually jumped in their seats in surprise. "Most of you have failed my little vigilance test and such carelessness might cost you your life one day."
"Sir?" One of the Gryffindors called.
"While big and powerful spells certainly exist and have their place, they aren't often the most dangerous one. A much simpler spell can be just as deadly if you don't see it coming. Similarly, ambush predators among the beasts - both Mundane and Magical - exist precisely because attacking an unaware target is easier. Being vigilant is important for one's safety. Never forget that." The old Auror said. "Those few of you who have suspected that I was lurking in the shadows rather than simply being late - you have earned one point for your House each." Here, he made a pause, before continuing: "Anyhow, I've reviewed your lessons over the past three years, and I dare say you're rather behind on pretty much everything."
Quite a few students grumbled in disagreement with such assessment, but Professor Moody ignored them.
"You have been taught well by Professor Armstrong during your first year here and while you've had several teachers throughout your second year, you have covered most the things you were supposed to learn. It's the previous year that saw you falling behind. Professor Lockhart taught you very little about dealing with Curses and even his lessons about tackling Dark creatures were rather questionable in my opinion." A few people rose to Professor Lockhart's defense, saying that they had learned quite a few things from him about surviving dangerous Magical creatures. The retired Auror, however, wasn't swayed. "While knowing how to handle yourself around a banshee or a yeti might indeed save your life one day, Professor Lockhart had foolishly neglected to teach you how to deal with much more common Dark creatures such as boggarts or red caps. And those can be a danger to an unprepared wizard too."
That was an argument no one could really argue against. Indeed, while banshees were native to Ireland and, thus, one could theoretically find one in Scotland or maybe even England, there were no reports of yetis living outside of Tibet.
"With all that in mind, my plans for you this year will be the following: we will start with reviewing defensive Charms and various counter-Curses and counter-Hexes you should already know. Afterwards, I will be teaching you detection spells, more defensive Magics and some nonlethal offensive spells. And if time allows, we will also take a look at dealing with Dark creatures." Professor Moody announced before waving his wand to create a large empty space in the front of the classroom. "Now then, let's not waste any more of our time. Books away and wands out. Form a single line there." He then ordered, pointing at the spot a few feet away from the 'dueling pit'. It took the students a couple of seconds to start moving, but before long the line was formed with Cormac McLaggen at its head.
And so he became the first student tested by Professor Moody. And even though the retired Auror didn't use anything above the third-year spells, the overconfident Gryffindor couldn't last more than half a minute against him, quickly falling under the barrage of hexes and jinxes thrown at him.
Having witnessed Cormac's quick, almost vicious, defeat, the other students drew conclusions and started taking this exercise much more seriously. Alas, that wasn't quite enough and Professor Moody still tore through their defenses with overwhelming power and lightning-fast, silent casting.
Before long, it was Harry's turn to step into the makeshift dueling ring.
"Ready, Potter?" The DADA Professor asked. The said boy gave him a stiff nod of confirmation and immediately summoned a Magical shield in front of himself, surprising a fair few of his classmates: this wasn't a spell they had been taught in the class. Indeed, it was something that he, Flora and Hestia had learned on their own during the previous year while Professor Lockhart was still doing nothing but reenactments of the most thrilling scenes from his books.
For a moment Professor Moody just stood there, eyeing the Magical shield in front of him with a critical eye. Then he sent an overpowered tripping jinx at it, immediately followed by half a dozen colorful spells of which Harry, much to his shame, could recognize only the tickling hex and the stinging jinx. And thinking too much about the spells he didn't recognize proved to be a big mistake for Harry as it waned his concentration, allowing the next spell barrage from Professor Moody to bring his shield down. His attention snapped back to here and now, the young Potter quickly jumped to his left, barely avoiding a Disarming Charm.
"Protego!" Harry tried to re-summon his shield, but before the Magical barrier could manifest fully, several overpowered hexes slammed into it, canceling it and allowing a Jelly-Legs jinx that followed to get through and connect with the green-eyed teen. 'Mad-Eye' Moody let out a ferocious grin and sent a powerful stinging hex at him. The Potter heir wasn't going down that easily though and, using the extra limberness the jinx inflicted on him to his advantage, dodged the incoming spell.
He then canceled the Jelly-Legs jinx with a quick Finite, but that left him wide open for Professor Moody and the retired Auror used this opportunity to hit him with a Disarming Charm, ripping Harry's wand out of his arms. And without his wand, Harry couldn't continue this 'fight'.
"Yield." The retired Auror commanded.
"I yield… Sir." The younger wizard replied. With a nod, the DADA Professor returned him his wand. And once Harry was back to his feet, the man ordered him to move out of the ring and asked the next student - Hestia - to step in.
Alas, the green-eyed teen was still catching his breath and didn't see much of his girlfriend's performance. He was even completely sure how long it took Professor Moody to defeat her. The look on her face, however, told him that she was rather dissatisfied with whatever she had managed to achieve. Flora was next up and did her best to protect herself with a Protego shield. But, just like Harry and her sister, she couldn't last long under Professor Moody's spell-fire: it took the peg-legged teacher only maybe thirty seconds to break through her defenses and disarm her.
Harry didn't have much interest in the rest of the 'duels', but there still were a few moments that caught his attention. Like when one of the Gryffindor girls - Leanne - decided to forgo counter-spells and tried to dance around the hexes the retired Auror was throwing at her instead. She didn't last for very long, even compared to her classmates, but it was a very different approach compared to what others were attempting.
Once he finished testing all of his students, Professor Moody had everyone return to their seats. They still had a few minutes before the bell and the man wanted to sum up the results of the lesson:
"I'm rather pleased to say that most of you have a passable grasp on counter-spells. A few of you even know the Shielding Charm already. Once you have those mastered, you might actually be able to defend yourselves against a Dark wizard or witch that set their sights on you." He said. "That said, I'm rather disappointed that barely any of you had thought to complement your defensive Magics with dodging. After all, if a spell can't hit you, it can't hurt you. That has to change. So expect to practice dodging spells a lot throughout this year."
There were some groans coming from all around the classroom, mostly from the Slytherin students as a lot of them considered 'unnecessary' physical exertions to be troublesome and beneath their stature. Professor Moody wasn't done yet, though:
"I'm also rather disappointed that absolutely none of you have even thought about trying to return fire. Not giving your opponent a chance to attack you is a good defense too." He made another short pause before adding: "Finally, none of you, especially those who went in later on, had thought of using Anti-Jinxes. I've told you which spells I will be using to test you and you didn't do any preparations to make your task easier." He then let out a rather scary grin. "But don't worry. You all can improve, and I'll make sure you do."
"Wooo…" Hestia breathed out as they stepped out of the DADA classroom. "That was intense."
"Indeed." Her sister agreed. "Professor Moody certainly didn't go easy on us, and it was just the first class with him. But I'm certain he'll teach us a lot." She then turned her attention to Harry: "So, what do you think? Still afraid that he won't be able to teach us well?" She asked then.
"Nah, while it might be too early to tell for certain, it does appear that I've been worried for nothing." The Potter scion replied. "At least, Professor Moody has a plan for what he is going to teach us. And it looked like he didn't forget that we're just starting our fourth year and set his demands accordingly. So, yeah, he might turn out to be a great teacher."
"Told you so."
~/ *** \~
Since the school had just started, the remaining classes that day - Transfiguration, with Charms and Ancient Runes after lunch - were merely a recap of what they had learned at the end of the previous semester. And once those classes were over, Harry was free till the end of the week.
Unfortunately, no matter how much he would love to spend more time with his girlfriends, he had much less fun plans for the afternoon. Instead, he would be cleaning the unused classroom he had claimed as his personal hideout back during his first year. Apparently, it had been neglected throughout the summer and got quite dusty as a result. Some spiders also decided to leave their webs all over the place, making it look even more dilapidated.
Clearing it all up would take a couple of hours, even with Magic. And Harry had to do it if he wanted to keep using the room. Especially if it was for the more ...private pastimes with Flora and Hestia.
At least, once he was done with this and did what little homework they've been assigned already, he'll have the entire rest of the weekend free…
~/ *** \~
After breakfast on Monday morning, Harry, Flora and Hestia, along with the others in their year who had chosen this elective, set off towards Hagrid's hut for their first Care for Magical Creatures class this year. The weather unfortunately wasn't especially nice as the skies were still covered in heavy gray clouds and there still was some Scottish mist occasionally. But, at least, it wasn't actually raining like it did the previous night.
Hagrid was waiting for them in front of his hut, though since the only creature anyone could see nearby was the gamekeeper's boarhound, it looked like the class would take place elsewhere. And, indeed, the man announced that he had something very special prepared for the class before telling his students to follow him. He then led them along the edge of the Forbidden Forest towards something like a paddock. There was nothing in there at the moment, however.
"Everyone gather 'round the fence here! Make sure yeh all can see." Hagrid called. Once the students dispersed into a semicircle around him, the demi-giant man continued: "Before we begin, open yer books on page twenty."
"How can we do that, Professor?" Someone to Harry's right asked. "These books won't let us touch them." Hagrid looked confused for a moment.
"Ah… I was sure teh include 'andling instructions for these books… Did you not get'em?" Most of the class shook their heads. Apparently, whatever note that Hagrid wanted to attach to the list of the books got misplaced when the Hogwarts letters were made this summer… "Anyone knows 'ow teh open the book?" The gamekeeper asked after a brief pause.
"You'd want to treat this book like a creature. Stroke or pet it and it will open for you." Harry pronounced, recalling the note the man had sent him along with a copy of The Monster Book of Monsters.
"Indeed." Hagrid confirmed. This was followed by a multitude of rustling sounds as students were ripping off whatever means to keep the books shut they had employed in order to test this advice out. And, much to their relief, the books indeed allowed themselves to be opened once stroked along their spines. "Now that yeh've got yer books, it's time for teh Magical Creatures." Hagrid continued. "I'll go an' get 'em. Wait a moment 'ere." And with that he disappeared into the forest.
He came back a couple of minutes later, his return preceded by several rather-strange creatures entering the paddock. They had the hind halves of horses and the front legs, wings, and heads of giant eagles, complete with giant steel-colored beaks and large orange eyes.
"Hippogriffs." One of the Ravenclaws recognized them.
"Beau'iful, aren' they?" Hagrid said as stepped in front of the class. And, indeed, the hippogriffs had a certain beauty to them. After giving his students some time to appreciate the beasts, he continued: "Now, firs' thing yeh gotta know abou' hippogriffs is, they're proud and easily offended. Don't ever insult one, 'cause it might be the last thing yeh do." With that warning out of the way, the gamekeeper proceeded to talk about where the hippogriffs live and how, what they could do and other interesting facts about the creatures - sometimes in more details than some would've liked. And as the lesson approached its end, Hagrid decided to let his students interact with hippogriffs a little: "Anyone would like to pet 'em?" He asked. Understandable, no one was especially eager to approach a powerful, easily-offended predator. "No one?" Hagrid said with a pleading look.
"I'll try." Harry volunteered after a few tense moments. Approaching a hippogriff was rather nerve-wracking, especially when he had to bow before it, but apparently he was doing just fine as the steely-gray creature bowed back after a few seconds. From there Harry closed in slowly and reached out toward the hippogriff, patting it on the beak several times, which made the beast close its eyes lazily. Apparently it was enjoying this.
His success gave other students some courage and soon enough they spread around the edge of the paddock, petting whichever hippogriff that was willing to indulge them. Flora and Hestia didn't seek one for themselves and, instead went to join Harry in giving Buckbeak - that was this hippogriff's name - some attention.
Overall, the class went pretty well, the green-eyed teen thought later as he and the twins walked back to the castle. Hippogriffs might have not been the creatures he'd choose to start the course with, but there was no denying that they were interesting and Hagrid certainly knew a lot of interesting things about them.
After something like that, double History of Magic in the afternoon felt dreadfully boring - far more so than usual - and Harry couldn't wait for the class to end. Alas, it looked like Professor Binns had learned how to manipulate time over the holidays as the double period just dragged on and on and on. The fact that the weather had cleared up since morning only made it all worse...
Eventually, though, the bell rang, saving everyone from the ghostly Professor's dreadfully-boring and seemingly-endless lectures about the Goblin rebellions.
"Would you like to go for a walk? Around the lake perhaps?" Harry asked Flora and Hestia as the three of them walked out of the History of Magic classroom. The twins nodded.
"Certainly." They said together.
Upon returning to the Slytherin dungeon, Harry quickly changed out of his school robes before heading back to the common room where he waited for his girlfriends to join him.
Suddenly, the door leading into the common room was kicked open and an angry Malfoy scion stomped in, followed closely by Crabbe and Goyle and muttering darkly about dirty beasts that needed to be put down and stupid oafs that had no place teaching. Furthermore, the back of Draco's robes was covered in ineptly spelled-away dirt.
"I take it you've had your first class with Hagrid just now." He asked Daphne, once the Greengrass heiress arrived with the rest of Slytherins that had taken Care for Magical Creatures as an elective.
"Yes." She replied. "It was actually pretty cool. He showed us some hippogriffs."
"Huh? We had them today as well." Harry said. "So, what did happen to the Malfoy heir there?"
"Well, Ha-... Professor Hagrid began the class by explaining how to handle that textbook he had assigned - apparently, we should've received the instructions with our Hogwarts letters, but there was some clerical error that got in the way." Harry nodded as Daphne recounted her Care for Magical Creatures class. "Then he brought us to the paddock with hippogriffs. It all went rather well until near the end when we were offered to pet the hippogriffs."
"Let me guess, Draco said something stupid and insulting?" The young Potter asked.
"Yeah. He asked why he would want to touch a stupid, ugly beast." Daphne confirmed his guess. "And one of the hippogriffs heard him. It reared up and tried to break out of the paddock. That was so scary, but Ha-... Professor Hagrid managed to curb it before it could really do something. Well, aside from hurting Draco's dignity - but that doesn't count."
"Is that why there was dirt on his robes?" Harry asked and the Greengrass heiress nodded in confirmation.
"He tripped over and fell on his posterior while backing away from the hippogriff." There was a short pause before she added: "He must have managed to at least dry himself up properly - the grass was all wet and so were his robes when he first got back to his feet."
"I see…" Was all that Harry could say to this.
"Of course, he declared that this all was Hagrid's and the hippogriff's fault, even when he did exactly the thing he was warned against." Daphne continued. "And started threatening with his father. That's just so…"
"Immature?" Harry supplied helpfully.
"Yes." Daphne agreed. There was a bit of a pause, before she added: "And, honestly, I don't even know what he is trying to accomplish. He clearly broke the instructions given by the teacher - everyone will confirm that - and the hippogriff didn't hurt anyone… I doubt that Lord Malfoy would want to step in into this." The young Potter hummed in agreement.
That was when Flora and Hestia emerged from the girls' side of the dormitories. The twins then walked up to Harry and joined hands with him. Reading the situation, the Greengrass heiress made her bow and disappeared towards her dormitory room.
"Shall we?" Harry said then.
That's all, folks!
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