AN: I do reference Brightspace/D2L in this chapter. If you are unaware of what that is, it's basically a webpage a school logs into, with separate access for every enrolled student, so they can access their classes, their grades, see the general outline of the class, access slide notes, video lessons, and extra references and resources for the class, and the textbook online (if the teacher uploads it). You can also contact teachers through the program and email them. It's very helpful. Also, some real people, places, and events, and some totally made up events and places, will be used in this chapter. Just a brief warning.

Sunday. He'd had such a nice chat with his grandmother the night before, which had exponentially calmed him down and lifted his mood. So, he was perfectly able to ignore his treacherous roommates. He had no clue what to do with Ronald and Hermione. His temper has always gotten the best of him, and it was no different in this case. Now that he's had time to totally cool off, he needs to see the situation in a new light. Should he try and get their perspective on this? Ask them why they'd stolen from him? If he confronted Ronald, he'd blow up big time. And everything he was trying to keep low about the upcoming court cases against them and the Dursleys would be blown wide open too soon. But could he try and approach Hermione? Yeah, she's shot him some dirty looks, but to be fair to her, he's given them the cold shoulder out of a bout of fury. Which she likely assumed was resumed aggression and aggravation at being kept in the dark over the summer. And, another question that was entirely important to him. Was Hermione entirely in control of her own actions, or had she been spelled and potioned as he had been? How would he even test that?

He then got an idea, the library would surely have healing texts. Specifically in the potions range. He'd been given a basic potions flush, according to his medical record. If he did it in front of Madam Pomfrey or even Snape, they'd recognize the effects of the potions flush immediately. He could just slip it into Hermione's food, if that was safe. He'd need to search it up. He best get in her good graces anyways, erase her suspicions of his actions. Act like he'd just had a bit of a petty revenge back at his friends because of the summer. "Morning 'Mione."

"Harry, I'm surprised you've finally deigned to speak with me."

"Yeah, about that. I kinda wanted to give you two a taste of your own medicine."

"Oh-we apologized for that!"

"And now I'm apologizing for my cold shoulder. You now know how it feels to be ignored by your best friend." Harry crosses his arm, annoyance seeping into his tone.

She glares at him. "Oh? You're so petty, Harry."

"You stopped writing me purely on the Headmaster's orders! Where does he have the right to interfere with the private lives of students!?"

"He's your magical guardian!"

"I'm emancipated now Hermione! I'm my own guardian!"

"He is still responsible for you!"

"No he's not. And he never should have been. See, I've been doing some reading lately, aren't you proud I've listened to you and picked up a book? Magical Guardians are supposed to live with the child they are looking after, not dump them on the doorstep of the house of their muggle relatives. You know what? Let's pick this up later." His temper was getting the better of him again.

"You are acting like such a child Harry! The world doesn't revolve around you!"

"Oh I am well aware of that Hermione. Our community is so small and insignificant and I am well aware of that! 7.9 Billion Muggles on Earth, and only around one million wizards and witches. We are hilariously outclassed by them."

"Outclassed by muggles? Are you mad? They'll never find us Harry."

"I wouldn't say that Hermione. Take a look at the technology Professor Redgrave showed us! Cameras, cameras and technology like that is everywhere in the muggle world. And while the usual technology isn't magic proof, magic from a distance won't cause the technology to short out! Eventually, someone is going to screw up so badly we get exposed. I'd like to know my enemy thanks."

"Oh please. Like they could ever stand up to us."

"Do you know how you sound right now Hermione? Have you so entirely forgotten the weapons muggles have developed in the absence of magic?"

"Bullets can be stopped by shield charms, Harry."

"I wasn't talking about bullets Hermione. There are chemical and biological agents that could easily be used against us, we are defenseless in the fact of certain explosives they have created."

"We are perfectly safe. The Ministry and our DMLE will keep us all perfectly safe from muggles."

Harry couldn't believe her. He hoped, for her sake, that this was really just potions and spells, and not how she'd truly turned out after Halloween in their first year set them on the path of friendship that hadn't stayed true for so long. "Whatever Hermione. I'll see you in the hall at lunch for the demonstration."

"Demonstration? Oh, you mean Redgrave's."

"Yeah, aren't you excited. All your notes could be colour coded now!"

"Don't you mock me Harry James."

"Ha. Mock you? I was trying to make more conversation topics, but if you want to be that way, so be it. I'm hitting the gym, don't follow me."

He stalks from the tower without letting her get another word in. He's practically fuming as he walks, not noticing how everyone gave him a wide berth once he stalked by. His dark glare terrifying them. Harry Potter could wear annoyed expressions, but never had he ever looked so dangerously furious before. Unlike what he told Hermione, his first stop was actually the library. He picked up any book that seemed like it would have what he needed, and when he did finally find it, he lit up and copied down the recipe and instructions. Then he realized he had none of the proper ingredients. He noted down the book, and checked three others to confirm he had the right potion. He'd have to steal from Snape's stores...or Owl order the potion from the apothecary. Potion flushes were used for numerous reasons, mostly to clear out the drowsiness of certain sleeping potions. So it wouldn't seem off if he ordered it anonymously, and paid for it out of the trust vault. He found the owl order catalogues he'd picked up in the alley, placed his order, and posted it with a common Hogwarts Owl. He had a more important job for Hedwig. He wrote a letter to Sirius, explaining the new changes Dante was bringing to the school, but not mentioning his new demonic relative.

She proudly took off, and he hit the gym for a good two hours of cardio. He wasn't ready for weights yet, he knew he wasn't. So he stuck to using his own body as the weight with some pull ups, push ups, and cooled off with some yoga and a run. He'd learned a bit, and knew he could be doing better. But it was a start. His inheritance had pushed some old influences from his body, but that didn't mean he was strong or fast like Dante most likely was. The way he moved...like a tiger waiting to pounce. Showering and changing, dropping his dirtied clothes in the clothes basket, the tight outfit he'd chosen had a loose jacket thrown over top. Only to the hips in length, but liked with a warm wool. It was warmer than any cloak he'd ever used in the early fall weather, so he didn't pay any attention to the stares he got for it. He was used to stares, even the creepy lustful ones. "Harry! You look great, when did you get that outfit?" Ginny Weasley sidled up to him, he gave her a neutral expression.

"Ginny, dear sister, I got this in Diagon Alley. Raya's Fashion, new store. Awesome clothing." Harry smirks, her face falls at him calling her sister.

"Am I like a sister to you?"

"Well, yeah. I consider the twins and Ron as my brothers, it would just be downright mean if I didn't consider you family to." Harry smiles.

Her face is turning red. And not out of embarrassment either. She was pissed. "Just a sister huh! Just a sister! You know how I feel about you, can't you consider that!?"

"Why don't you consider my feelings Ginny? I can't change the fact I can only love you as a sister figure. I'm not ready to date anyone anyways. My last crush was terribly awkward, I didn't even realize who was the real crush..."

"What? Who?"

"I thought I liked Cho, and she is very beautiful. But her bullying habits are just appalling, her personality worth nothing to me. Cedric though...I find it in myself to have liked him as well. Kind and brave, it's hard not to love him a little. Jealousy and societal norms got in my way I suppose. You're my sister, so I can confide in you with this right? I find myself not caring if someone is a guy or a girl, so long as they can love. A loveless relationship is worth nothing, don't you agree? Why don't you walk to the hall with me? Lunch will be starting soon, and oh, Quidditch tryouts are after Professor Redgrave's demonstration is up. We're looking for reserves and a new keeper, think you'll try out?"

She glared at him. "Maybe. I'm going to walk with the girls."

The girls? Oh, her year mates. At least he'd driven her off. She'd smelled greatly of sex, and it was just disturbing to smell so many scents on her. Not even three days in and already sleeping around, was she trying to get pregnant? Whatever, that was her choice if she did. The Great Hall was filling with chattering students, the noise was becoming a deafening hum as conversations blended together. The ceiling reflected the beautiful sunny weather outside today, clear blue skies and bright illumination of natural light through the windows. He thought it was an excellent day to hold their tryouts, the difficult weather training could come after they'd gotten back into the swing of things on the pitch. And then everyone who made the team could finish their forms and hand them in. He sat with the twins, interested in whatever their latest prank scheme was. "Do me a favour? Prank Ron for me, make it loud, bright, and colourful. And maybe toss in some spiders."

"Ah, he being" "A right" "Git today?"

"More than ever. I don't know what's gotten into Ron, Hermione, and Ginny. But they've all been acting strange since we got back to school." Harry quiets down, seeing as the very objects of their talk had entered the Hall.

"Don't worry Harry." "It'll be." "Fantastic." The twins were grinning rather deviously at the trio that entered.

They turned the subject to that afternoon's quidditch try outs. "Calinthe's been out there all day yesterday practicing with his buddies."

"Oh? He any good?" Harry asks the twin that spoke.

"With a little work, he may even be better that Wood." The other twin notes.

"Daniel Calinthe won't be getting that Keeper position, I will." Ron declares from behind Harry.

"You've miraculously convinced Angelina that you can keep your grades up?" Harry asks.

Ron begins to turn red. "What? You think I'm not good enough for the team!?"

"You've got the skills, Ron, but not the grades. You should aim for reserve, your grades don't matter much then." Harry sighs, why does this brat have to take everything like it's some personal spite?

"I'm going for your position, Harry." Ginny announces, he gives her a challenging look.

"Oh? I look forward to the challenge."

Ginerva was a good seeker, but nowhere near his level. And that was a purely factual assessment. She had no clue what kind of training he did under Wood's insane training program. Training she didn't have. Dante walked in, pushing the cart of boxes once more, with his projector being set up by house elves on the high table. He enlarged the screen behind the table, and began to place the boxes on the table. "What's he doing?" A first year asks.

"Professor Redgrave is doing the full demonstration workshop for our new tablets." Harry answers her, she stares wide eyed at him for a whole minute before nodding and turning away.

"Am I so scary?" Harry jokingly asks.

"No no Harrikins." "Just very handsome." "Though not as handsome." "As we are."

Harry snorts. "Alright, I'll take your answer for what it is." He chuckles.

Lunch, though no one noticed, was already plated for him. Seems those loyal little elves were doing their job as he'd requested, and kept potions out of his food and drink. He tucked into the cut of baked salmon, it wasn't served often, but it was a favourite of his when it was. He did take a stronger notice of how everyone's blood smelled though, he blamed Nevan. She said she'd take him on his first hunt. He assumed she meant when he'd fully awakened as a half-devil, and not this half-awakened state he was in. The gradual coming in of his strength and senses was actually kind of nice, he'd have been overwhelmed entirely if this had all come in at him at once. Even as they were now, just how superior was a half-devil's senses and reactions to a human's? He'd have to ask Redgrave the next time he could visit him alone. Probably over the next weekend, maybe after classes he could slip the quick question in. He hoped it was a quick one to answer, anyways. He wasn't looking for a demonic biology lesson just yet. Though he'd probably get one anyways very soon.

After the food had been cleared away, Dante began to give each student two boxes and a booklet of papers. The other teachers helped him hand everything out, but with how numerous the student body was, it did take a short while to ensure everyone had a tablet. There were a few extras, school copies, in case anything was damaged because accidents do happen. The booklet was instructions on creating their emails and how to set up their devices. This was the first step, setting up the tablets. Each was fully charged thanks to the magic in the air, so they could just hop right into setting up their tablets. I-Pads, according to the brand mark. The stylus pen was easy to use, and getting their apple accounts all set up was easy as making a cake from a box mix.

He got notes ready and was fully engrossed in figuring out everything the tablet could do. The papers were a care guide and a contract. He'd paid for it in his school fees at a heavily discounted price. Depending on how many EE and O scores he got on his exams, he'd not have to return the tablet to the school. The requirements were at least four O grades, or six EE grades. He was sure most students could pull that off. There were 7 main subjects that everyone first to fifth year had to take, and five possible elective options. Harry was aiming to take all of the 7 main subjects, and 4 of the electives. He knew he could do it, he wasn't stupid, and he knew he'd ace any magical practical exam. He knew that history, divination, and astronomy were likely to be EE grades, Potions was a toss up depending on his effort put into it. But he was extremely determined to ace his exams and get into the NEWT courses he wanted. He would drop his useless courses, namely History of Magic and Divination. The first, because he'd learned from older students that Binns never changed what he taught, Divination because he just didn't have the gift. Runes and Arithmancy would take their place. As for Astronomy, he'd likely drop it as well and use that period as a work period for everything else he had on his plate.

He should have considered these things better in third year. They just shouldn't offer Divination as a course at all. Yes, it was an easy O, but only if you bothered to look up past Divination textbooks and read through those, ignoring Trelawney as he was planning to do. He looked over at Hermione, she was hesitantly touching the tablet, and Ron had fallen asleep halfway through Dante's lecture. Harry was setting up his schedule on his tablet, planning when he'd put in study time for his extra subjects (including lessons with Nevan on the weekends) and OWL review work. It was packed, and until he was sure he knew the past four years of study in and out, he'd have little to no free time. He'd free time up closer to Christmas. If, over the Easter break, the Arithmancy and Runes teachers said he was on track to take the OWLs, he'd keep the schedule. If he wouldn't be ready, he'd stop those, not register, and focus on the subjects he could take on normally. Then he'd work on the other two during the summer, and perhaps take the OWLs at the end of the summer for a fee, or for free at the end of his sixth year. It was complicated, but he'd get through it.

In fact, he was starting on third year Runes that afternoon. He headed back to the library to begin, staying until dinner was beginning. Then he headed to the Kitchen and continued to work through the first week worth of third year Runes material. He'd have to study it over and over again, but it was truly basic information.

Hermione had watched Harry closely since his attitude change. After he saw Madame Bones, he changed completely in appearance and personality. Professor Dumbledore had said it was just Harry hitting a rebellious phase, that their enchantments were still keeping up. Inheritances were notoriously hard to tamp down and control forever, he'd expected the monster's blood would break through eventually. Harry was a half-demon, the Professor had told her in her first year soon after she'd been befriended by the monster. He warned her that they needed to keep him under control, sealed into a human form, or he'd slaughter the school in mindless bloodlust. She had, of course, agreed to help keep an eye on him, and slip him the potions the Headmaster provided to ensure Harry stayed largely docile and malleable to what they wanted of him.

Ronald had known long before she had, and so had Ginny. Ginny knew she would have to bear the child of a monster so as to continue the Potter line. It would be the job of Hermione's or Ronald's children to tame the children that Ginny would have to give birth to. She lamented the poor girl's fate, money was little compensation for dealing with such dark creatures as Professor Dumbledore had described Harry as. And Harry had shown signs of being far darker than before as his blood began to push through. His eyes and movements had become predatory, he seemed to linger on certain attractive people far too long with hungry looks, he got along with those Death Eater children in Professor Redgrave's unconventional and wrong group placements. He should have put their trio in a group with Neville or Lavender, at least that way they could use the idiocy of the other two lions to distract Harry while they made sure the beast couldn't make a future for himself.

Oooh. She was doing it again. Referring to the beast by its assumed name, by a gender pronoun. She shouldn't do that. It was just a beast, a beast that possessed the baby corpse of the real Harry James Potter, who definitely died the night He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named attacked the Potters, eating the poor babe's soul. They just saw a beast wearing his shell now. Professor Dumbledore had told them the scar was the sign of its possession. While hidden now by this bodily change caused by the blood of the body and the power of the beast, it had once proven the very existence of the darkness within it. She never doubted the Headmaster, he was a good man. A very good man, he could do no wrong. The Headmaster had a plan to save them all from the approaching darkness, and it needed to be followed to the letter in order to work. If it wasn't, they'd all fall into darkness. So she had to get Harry back under control before he ruined everything, becoming the end of them all as the Professor said he planned to do. He was becoming more than a mindless weapon to throw back at the dark, they had to bring him to heel quickly.

She saw her opportunity on Wednesday, catching Harry before lunch began. Offering him a box of cookies she'd made herself with the necessary potions as an apology for being so stuck up to him over the weekend. But, he just put them off to the side without even trying them. Did he not trust her as he should with the compulsion web? Or was he just full after eating a sizeable serving of chicken and salad? He did take the cookies with him, so that was a plus. They headed down to Hagrid's class together, they were going over thestrals to start off the year with, so they would have assignments on thestrals no doubt. She'd already pulled multiple library books to read through and use in her essay. Hagrid would assign one. He had to. It was their OWL year after all, it was important that he give them work to review with. She tried to keep an eye on Harry during the lesson. But he'd headed into the herd of Thestrals very quickly, listening to Hagrid and following his instructions while taking notes. Why was he so horribly relaxed around creatures you could only see if you saw and understood death!?

He was one of the few who could actually see the Thestrals. He even tried taking a picture of one, and found that the camera effect negated the magic the thestrals had on their actual body. Everyone crowded around him to see what those horrid creatures actually looked like. She found herself looking purely for academics, finding herself disgusted by what she saw. Skeletal horses with large bat-like wings and horns! And it's long tail! Ugh, a monstrosity. It matched that half-devil so well. She couldn't look at him. Not even after they'd left the grounds to head into Professor Redgrave's classroom.

"I still can't believe that stupid second year got my spot!" Ronald grouches, spotting Daniel Calinthe chattering to his friends, likely about the tryouts on Sunday.

The second years were on their way to Herbology. "He did better than you in a fair face off against the Gryffindor chasers Ronald, twice."

"I bet that animal cursed me at the table."

"Ronald, the monster didn't curse you. He was far too busy defending his position as seeker."

"Did you see how he cheated though? He always found the snitch the twins released long before Ginny ever had a chance to spot it!"

"That beast has better eyes and reaction times than us humans Ron. And you are forgetting the conditions Oliver had them practicing in five days a week every week during his Quidditch career as Captain. He's been trained to play that game like a professional. Ginny did take the reserve seeker position, if we can get that animal in enough trouble to suspend or ban him from quidditch, Ginny can take the seeker spot permanently."

"Oh! Ron! Hermione! Hold up a second!"

It was the beast himself, and he looked rather happy. "Hey. You stormed off before Angelina could give you the good news. I've been hard pressed to catch you and Angelina's been busy planning out our practice schedule."

"I'm the Keeper after all?"

"No, you're the reserve. But just because you're a reserve doesn't mean you won't be getting practice times this year. If you see Ginny, pass on the news. You and her are expected to report to the Pitch this afternoon after classes. I've got to catch Dean about him being the reserve Chaser, talk to you after class." Harry races off to catch Dean before he can enter the classroom.

Ron stood frozen. "Did I just hear that right? Reserves are getting practice time with the actual team this year?"

"That's right. If you practice long enough, you might just push Calinthe down to reserve and take first string. But remember, you do need to keep your grades up to."

"Right. You'll help me right?"

"Of course. I'll just send this memo to Ginny."

Up ahead, Dean looked just about as excited as Seamus did at the good news. "Oh, we're having uniform fittings to. And a team picture, since Angelina wants one. If you have a broom, bring it. You to Ron!"

Harry enters the classroom. Hermione is surprised to see the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws in the classroom as well. Then she remembers Redgrave saying they may have the entire year in the classroom sometimes. Redgrave was nowhere to be seen, but class wasn't due to start for another few minutes. Everyone was just settled in when Redgrave exited his office. He wasn't wearing his signature red jacket, but the skintight black shirt had some of the girls swooning, Hermione can admit she admired the clearly muscular body of the devil hunting mercenary as well. "Welcome back. I hope you all reviewed what I told you to. Today's class will be a test. This test has not only a mock OWL, but also questions from the last four years of your school career. Theory essay questions are expected to be answered in paragraph form only. Make sure your name is at the top or you get half marks for your test. It's alright if you don't remember or know it all, this test isn't actually worth much of your final grade, it's just so I can see where the class is at. What we need to work on, or what only needs a bit of review before we move onto the good stuff. A strong basis is crucial. Don't flip your tests over until I say so. If I catch you cheating, you'll have detention with me on the weekend to write a similar, but different test. Are we understood?"

"Yes sir/Yes Professor." Came from the class.

Professor Redgrave nodded, then began to hand out the rather thick booklet of papers. He stood at the front with his watch, and waited for a minute. "Your time starts...now. You may begin."

Oh, he waited for class to officially begin. She turned her paper over, eager to start. Immediately putting her name up top first. The first questions were easy. What is this spell? What does it do? How can you use it? Then the first essay question hit. Could you use a first year spell to kill someone? This could be from any subject. She paused. Could they? No. No you couldn't. They were all harmless. But it was an essay question, she had to write something...oh, the levitation charm! You could levitate something heavy, like with the Troll club, and drop it on someone. That would surely at least injure them.

Moving on. Second year level questions now. Very simple once more. Then, the second year essay question. 'In theory, could the Tickling Charm be used to kill someone?'

The answer to that was a definitive no. She wrote that the spell did not last long enough to be used in such a manner. Third year's question was even more disturbing. 'If you had to kill someone using a third year level spell, which would you use and why?' Why would he ask such a question!? He must be reported to the Headmaster at once! But...she was not going to fail this test! She supposes using a full body bind, and then using the levitation charm to drop something heavy on them is how she would do it. Keeping her distance. The fourth year questions added some more difficulty and simplicity all the same. 'Can you cast the Patronus Charm?' No. 'What is the Patronus Charm incantation, and what is it used for?' Expecto Patronum, it is used to banish lethifolds and Dementors.

'How would you use the Patronus Charm in a battle?' To drive off Dementors, if any were present. Why ask such a silly question?

The fifth year questions...many she didn't know. The final essay question was given its own page entirely. 'If faced with Death Eaters here and now, invading the school, what would you do?'

How does she answer this!?

Dante watched the faces of the students as they handed in his test, seems the lot of them didn't know how to react to him. "There is half an hour left of class, I plan to have these back to you by tomorrow. As for now, talk amongst yourself, discuss your answers and get peer reviews." Dante orders.

He'd purposefully stopped them. He picks up the first paper and begins to grade the easy questions with his answer key. The essay questions are what is going to take the longest. He tallies it all up at the side for later, and then starts in on the essay questions. His red pen circling things, writing comments, and explaining missed concepts. He also goes back on all the papers to reference the Compendium page number the kids can find the correct answers on. He gets through five full papers before the class ends. The kids leave as the bell rings, while he continues to mark. He's gotten pretty much all the years tested like this now. Fifth year was the second last one to write. Seventh years still had to write tomorrow morning, a NEWT level test. So far, he wasn't very impressed with these kids. He started back on Granger's essay questions. Well, wasn't she narrow minded? No creativity in that one. Her final answer was to run away and wait for the professors. Like death eaters would let her run, she's a muggleborn. He rolls his eyes. He knew the kids would struggle with his essay questions, the morality of such questions was questionable after all. He was impressed with a few students though. He can see why Potter is called a DADA prodigy, and the Greengrass girl could go far in strategical planning of raids and battles. Those two were definitely the top of the class to start off with. Some of the students were steadfast on the question of how you would kill a person with third year spells. Potter had interestingly chosen Duro, but that spell was probably the most efficient. Though it was illegal to transfigure the blood of someone, in a pinch, it was a quick death for your opponent. And an easy one to cast, to boot.

He was also interesting in his last essay response. He was someone who thought on his feet, and he prioritized the lives of the innocent over giving criminals second chances like Dumbledore. He wouldn't hesitate to kill if it was between a Death Eater and a young first year kid. He was surprised with the Weasley boy, despite not doing too well with actual theoretical knowledge, he wasn't so dense as to not know how to use what he did know. He wasn't as creative as his twin brothers, those two were incredible in what they could think of. A jack in the box charmed to explode upon touch after it pops out? Not only would it keep the attention of attackers even if out of pure incredulity, it would lower the guard of unsuspecting victims. Those two knew their way around pranks, and where the line needed to be drawn. He was glad they knew that, it meant he wouldn't have to teach them much more than how to cross the line when it became necessary to do so.

Terry Boot had an interesting response on the Patronus question. You could use the Patronus charm to deliver messages, he'd use it to warn others of the threat. Potter would use it as a distraction, his corporeal patronus gave him an advantage he wasn't afraid to use. He was the only one of his year, and the only student in year six and below who could cast it. He had a feeling the best a seventh year could cast was, at most, the mist. Which was good against a single Dementor. But against a crowd? They were a sitting duck unless they had a full one. So far though, it looked like he didn't need to touch on much from their first year. He had some misconceptions about vampires and werewolves to correct, and a few things about using said spells effectively. Second year needed total overhaul and third year needed minimal review, fourth year needed no work at all. Despite being a Death Eater disguised as Moody, he'd taught properly. Remus Lupin should never have withdrawn, but he would have been kicked out by the ministry anyways for being a Werewolf, sadly. Moody, fake or not, could have continued on as an excellent professor of DADA. But here he was, teaching DADA and Demonology essentially in one class. He hadn't asked anything about Demons, not yet. He'd assign at least reading the first chapter of Entia ad Inferos before testing them on what they've heard, what they know from the first chapter, and what they think they know in general. Physical tests needed to be done all around before he got on with actual teaching. He needed to plan his program around where the weakest in the class were, not the strongest.

He could scratch off quite a bit of review from his lesson plans though, which was great. OWL stuff wouldn't take very long at all. He finished marking just before dinner, tallied up all the scores, recorded that in his lessons book on a tabbed page meant to keep all the scores for review assignments, and updated their grades on their student grades page of the link he sent them. Nico set it up for him, a Brightspace/D2L page* and app for Hogwarts. She called it the Hogwarts Student Book, HSB for short. He knew not all students would use it, but it was there as a resource for the students. He left for the Great Hall once he'd updated the last of the gradebooks, tapping away on his tablet as he adjusted the lesson plans he'd made to factor in the shorter review time necessary. Students on their tablets in the Great Hall were already discussing their scores addressed to them through their emails. "WHAT!? How did you!?"

He turned his attention to the Gryffindor table. Potter was sitting with his two keepers, both giving the one of three students to ace his test with extra points an incredulous look. "Umm...DADA prodigy here? This test was a breeze."

"But we haven't even gone over OWL curriculum yet!"

"And I studied obsessively to survive the tournament last year, remember?"

The bushy haired witch goes red, embarrassed she'd forgotten about the Triwizard tournament fiasco. "I'm not a large fan of all these changes you've made, Professor Redgrave. This technology draws far too much attention from the students." Minerva McGonagall states.

"Well, I did just send them their test scores from the mock exam I just gave them." Dante points out.

"Oh? How did the students do?"

"Overall, not bad. I tested by each year level, progressing to fifth in the latest test. First year had its ups and downs, but it doesn't need to be touched on. Second year was horribly neglected. Third year was perfectly fine, just a couple students need to touch on some review there. Fourth year had no problems at all. Fifth year, I didn't expect them to know anything on that subject matter, but a few students surprised me. That's just the fifth year test. Though that pattern of years applies to the other students as well, care to explain?"

"Oh. Well, in 2017 the professor was Quirinus Quirrell, he had a horrible stutter. Barely anyone could understand him through it. In 2018, the Professor was Gilderoy Lockhart."

"Ooh. No need to explain for that narcissistic fraud." Dante put a hand up.

Minerva almost quirked a smile there! "2019's Professor was Remus Lupin. Wonderful man, cursed with an affliction for which there is no cure." Minerva sighs.

"That half-breed never should have been allowed in the school!"

"Ignoring the bigot, I heard the rumors about Moody actually being a disguised death eater last year, any truth to it?"

"Sadly so, Anthony. Bartemius Crouch Junior used Polyjuice potion to disguise himself as Alastor last year." Dumbledore sighs.

"Oh, a new teacher every year. Must be that so called curse on the position huh? Scared, toady?" Dante shoots a look at Umbridge.

"I am perfectly safe."

"Sure. I'll let you believe that. Curses like this one, if you don't get out...you wind up dead or worse." Dante warns her.

Curses aren't something to play around with, if the DADA position really is cursed, Umbridge won't like what June will have in store for her. He'd have to watch for any energy build up that causes extreme misfortune or worse before the year is up. The minute he senses something coming, he'll be on it before anyone can get hurt. He's seen curses like this expand as they grow in power..."How long has this DADA curse been in place?" He asks the existing staff.

"I do believe it came into true effect in 1984." Dumbledore sighs.

The curse has been active since 1984? That makes 37 years now right? "Has the curse become more malicious over time?"

"Why so curious Anthony?"

"Just answer and I'll tell you my concerns."

"It has. At first, it was just coincidental circumstances which caused the professors to leave after a year or so. Then it just seemed like the teachers were compelled to leave. In the turn of the 1990s, we started getting major accidents and towards in end of the 90s, we almost saw a death. Things just became worse over time. In 2004, a Professor did die. Of a heart attack that never should have happened, she was so young and healthy, to make it worse, she was a muggle born who was fit as a fiddle and no prior medical record. In 2009, another death occurred during a seventh year DADA class, the teacher was hit by coincidental stray spells during a Hufflepuff-Slytherin class, which we did fully determine was an accident. The two spells reacting together caused the professor's lungs to collapse. We didn't get to him in time. From there, the serious accidents and deaths began to escalate. 2017, Professor Quirrell died from a spiritual possession. 2018, Professor Lockhart attempted to oblivate two students with a broken wand, he is now in the Janus Thickney ward with permanent total amnesia. In 2019, Professor Lupin withdrew before anything could happen to him, perhaps for the best. Last year, Crouch Junior was kissed by Dementors, perhaps a fate worse than death." Minerva answers him.

His fears confirmed. "Did you determine if the curse was on the subject matter or the name of the class?"

"The name. It is certainly on the name." Dumbledore answers.

"Curses like this build up energy over time. They get stronger and stronger as time moves on, going from simple misfortune to, as you've seen, permanent damage if one doesn't get out in time. To be safe, change the name of DADA to Defense or something of the like, but don't call it anything similar to DADA officially. Next, change the classroom. It's been covered in the curse for so long, that as soon as the curse builds up again to lash out, that classroom becomes a danger zone for anyone who steps inside. Soon, it won't just target the teachers, but also the students. Curses like this can build up to the point they lash out at anybody associated with the class." He warns.

The teachers pale slightly. "You mean, if we can't break this curse soon, it could spread to harm the students?"

He nods. "It'll start off small, like way back in 1984. Say, in ten years or so, it'll escalate on the students as it has on the teachers."

"Hah! As if I will believe your lies. I refuse to conform to this American's lies." Umbridge stupidly refuses.

"You'll start feeling the effects soon enough Umbridge. But I'll give you some advice. Whatever you do, don't spill any blood unnaturally through intentionally caused wounds. That'll just feed the curse."

"Why only unnatural wounds?"

"Because that blood is still alive, technically, and carries negative energy with it. Whereas accidental wounds in magicals is already being reacted to be positive magic to help speed up the healing process instinctually. As for menstrual blood, that blood is dead in every sense of the word. It's a used up, magicless uterine lining. That being purged every month does absolutely nothing for curses. Though you could still use that blood in certain fertility rituals and potions once prepared properly." Dante answers.

"Blood rituals are banned."

"I'm not saying they are being done, Umbridge. I'm saying it could be done. Difference in words, you do know English, right?" He mocks.

She puffs up like the angry little toad she is. "Anthony, could you remove the curse?"

"Not without knowing the source. Usually, the curse is tied to an object, a person, or a landmark. Take Native American and Ancient Civilization curses for example. Their sacred grounds and burial sites are brimming with magical power. There is a reason MACUSA tries to seal off every important and magically rich centre, but they can't get to all of them. Take Mystery Hill, in New Hampshire, Salem to be specific. That old site is partly natural and partly manmade, and ancient dark magic effects all who dare to disturb the spirits which rest there. Especially around the Summer solstice. It's called America's Stonehenge for a reason, no one truly knows how it came to be, or why. But we are aware human and animal sacrifices were carried out there, blood magic is powerful, even when cast by muggles." Dante points out.

"Is it truly so serious?"

"Why do you think America is so renowned for its wild magic? The land is literally steeped in ancient magic used by the ancient peoples of the land. Going back to Mystery Hill, the sacrificial table still stands. And certain points all line up with certain astronomical events. The Summer Solstice is the worst time of year to be there. I went there some years ago to see if an old demon was perhaps haunting the grounds. What I found was worse. Anyone who trespasses in that area is being watched, and if they aren't extremely careful, the spirits will hurt them. It's powerful, the curses and spirits have been there since days before the native American tribes could record. Heck, Hans Holzer never wanted his family up on that hill. That alone should tell you something." Dante huffs.

"Hans Holzer?"

"You're kidding right? The father of paranormal investigation? The original Ghost Hunter? He did a lot of good in his time with those psychics of his, more so than he could imagine." Dante states.

"But ghosts are clearly visible, their little ghost shows are all hoaxes."

"You forget that magical ghosts need to have magic to form. Muggle and Squib ghosts don't have that magical reserve to be transferred into minor telekinetic abilities and visibility. Muggle ghosts need mediums to communicate, and expend quite a bit of energy just to make themselves known. Yeah, there's a ton of hoaxes out there. Hans Holzer was not one of them." Dante states sternly.

"So there is credibility to investigation of muggle caused paranormal activity?" Bethesda asks, intrigued.

"Oh yeah. Some of the technology they've come up with is certainly helpful, but is a long way away from being truly effective. A lot is up to interpretation, true mediums connecting with the spirits, and instinct at this point." Dante shrugs.

"So you became familiar with curses through up close study?"

"Unfortunately. I got called to a private school up in the Great Lakes region about four years ago, the Chairwoman of the school needed some serious help. Over the course of a year, worse and worse accidents began to happen. It started benignly, since the curse was so fresh. She called around after an explosion in the chemistry lab almost killed a class, two students and the teacher with them did die from fourth degree burns a day after they were taken to the nearest hospital. The thing about this explosion, was that no flames or chemicals were actually being used. Nothing should have caused the table top Bunsen burner to explode as it had. Local fire and arson authorities did a thorough investigation. Before it exploded, that burner hadn't been leaking gas, pressure wasn't building up, heck, there wasn't even gas flowing in the room at all. The valves were shut off and tanks disconnected from the circuit for safety procedures the school had in place. Something ignited inside, and it wasn't from natural causes. This is when the Chairwoman became desperate, and was pointed by a few old authorities who knew of me to DMC. Morrison got me in touch with her. Being a Catholic woman, she asked me if it could potentially be demons or spirits causing the accidents that had just turned horribly lethal. I decided to investigate, and she brought me on as a security guard as a cover for the students."

"Why tell us this?"

"That accident was an important turning point as to the progression of the curse. My investigation turned up the previous accidents and their locations. I mapped them out, finding out that all the accidents had been in the Science Building and the Arts building right next door. It hadn't spread farther than that. This told me that whatever it was, as at the time I'd made no conclusions as to the cause, only worked in that area. As a safe guard, I warded the other buildings against demons, I can't ward against a spiritual curse, it's just not possible. The accident progression started with minor trips and falls, things that could just be attributed to students being clumsy. They were growing still after all, being young teenagers."

Poppy nods. "That is quite easily dismissed, even in Numerous amounts. The amount of minor accidents due to the change in balance is quite common even here at Hogwarts. Even the most graceful have their problems with rapid growth."

"Exactly. Now, the next thing that started happening was equipment and technology failures. This gave me the clue I needed to determine that this was a spirit thing. Which meant I had to dig up the history of the school. I learned that the school had only been standing for 15 years, and that strange occurrences were not new. But never had it actually affected people physically. Cold spots, flickering lights, knocking sounds. I dismissed it as a minor poltergeist level activity. With that in mind, I set about banishing it. Poltergeists, especially the psychic ones, can cause minor explosions. With so many moody teenagers, I wouldn't doubt that they'd created something unintentionally if a few happened to be the rare few who could tap into other energies besides magic. Banishing a poltergeist is actually rather easy, it just requires some old ancient spells your ministry has banned, otherwise I'd get rid of Peeves for you. You do know he could turn malicious anytime now, right? He's what, around 1000 years old? Magic can't keep him sane for more than 2000." Dante warns.

"I will see about banishing Peeves with the Ministry before he can become a problem...But it wasn't a poltergeist, was it?" Dumbledore brushes off his concerns easily.

"No. It wasn't. When another accident happened, this time a staircase collapsed in the middle of the night, it exposed the original basement level. Which had been entirely sealed off. Rickety, made of wood, and carrying something I hadn't expected. The collapse had also exposed human bones. So I headed into town to speak with the police and to check their old records. While they sent a forensics team and other authorities out to cordon off the area to inspect it, I was given access to the property records and any existing casefiles from those acres. Closed case or Cold case. There were a few murders on the property back in the early 1900s, those were solved and put to rest correctly. But the cold case is what caught my attention the most. Eight Native American women had been kidnapped from the closest reserve, and killed on the property. While evidence of their deaths was found inside the old farmhouse that used to stand over the area the two mentioned buildings were, it seems they hadn't realized there was a cellar since it went so far down. There was a layer of earth between this cellar and the actual house foundation. I believe it was meant to help keep the cellar cold, to store things like milk, produce, and eggs for sale. It was under the old barn which connected to the old main house, which was directly where the science building was. The murderer was caught, tried, and convicted. But the bodies weren't found until the collapse exposed the skeletons. But as they excavated under the building, they found far older bones. And from the artifacts found, it was determined to be a native burial site, about as old as Peeves." Dante tells.

"What happened from there?"

"With the bones disturbed further, things got much worse. The blood of those women, their pain, gave the curse the energy it needed to activate over the grounds. The curse grew in power as no one acknowledged the deaths to bring justice to those women, ignoring their plight. The curse spread to the rest of the school, its energy was horrible. And it lashed out. Classes still resumed after building inspectors made sure no other building was going to collapse, to help keep the minds of the students off of things. But this curse had made its connection with fire in the Chemistry lab accident. The kitchens had a cooking class outside over barbeques, it was late spring, and end of year celebrations were starting. Even with the heavy atmosphere of the accidents. The open flames of the propane, that's a compressed flammable gas used in gas burning barbeques, gave the curse what it needed to cause as much damage as possible. Two tanks exploded and caught flame, killing ten students and two teachers in the initial blast, I'd been at the science building at the time trying to get a feel for how I could possibly dispel the curse when the explosions hit. We all raced over there, but the fire was spreading quickly with the dry conditions, curse warm dry weather and its poor timing. With the firemen already there, they were luckily able to control the fire quickly. But many students were injured, and I couldn't expose myself by using magic to heal the injured students and staff still alive. Four more students died while waiting for ambulances to arrive. They were pronounced dead on arrival, DOA for short. Five more died en route to the hospital, two died in hospital, eight are permanently disfigured for life. The school was shut down."

"Does it just stand abandoned now?"

"Oh hell no. I met with anyone who owned and funded the school, and the local authorities. I figured out how to make the curse stop. Tear down the school, and build a cemetery instead. The deaths of those eight women were the catalyst for the flames, their souls weren't at rest. They were angry, so it was time to put them to rest. The families agreed to restoring the ancient burial ground of their people, the reserve took over the planning project. The disturbed graves were fully restored with their artifacts in place, and the eight women became the first new tenants of the land. For good measure, I made sure to read the court records to their graves about their murderer. As a safety precaution, anything flammable, including cigarettes, are banned from the cemetery. Only the machines used to dig the graves are allowed in. The mausoleum built nearby a year later is warmed by steam. But, when I revisited last year for a checkup, it seems the blood curse was removed. So long as the cemetery remains there, it should be fine. And those eight graves are never to be disturbed or defaced. Gods help them if they are." Dante concluded.

"How horrible. Is that why you are so worried about this current curse?"

"Yeah. I doubt it will get so strong as to damage Hogwarts itself, the magic here isn't as wild and easily taken advantage of. But this is also a magically set curse as much as it is spiritual. While the type of curse will escalate as its category demands, there was hopefully no blood spillage in the setting of the curse. Blood is extremely powerful as a medium for magic." Dante reminds them.

"Have you had many curse cases you couldn't break?"

"A few. Mostly native curses. They're just too old and established to properly break. You can only appease them at that point. Some areas have been magically hidden at my behest by MACUSA, no muggles or magicals are allowed in those zones for very important reasons. Knowledge of the area is carefully wiped from any muggle records from paper to electronically."

"Wild Magic truly must be taken seriously?" Pomona worries.

"It's called the most dangerous type for a reason." Dante points out.

"Do you have many long investigations?"

"Not really. They usually only take at most two days. Some can run longer depending on the kind of problem I'm hired for." Dante sighs.

"I believe you are lying."

"Toady, if something or someone doesn't conform with your narrow, bigoted worldview, you call it lies. Newsflash. The world doesn't work the way you want it to. It's left you behind." Dante snorts.

"Wow, he sure is pissing Umbridge off. I wonder what's making the professors so worried though?" Harry points out.

"Hmm, maybe something has happened already that has made them all worried?" Hermione suggests, she thinks that Harry really shouldn't be this observant.

Or able to beat her in a test score. He got 130%, she only got 85%. How did that happen? How did it score perfect while she didn't!? And this percentage chart he'd given out for comparison of how he graded things! Who'd ever heard of such a system!? And the amount of different assignments he was giving out all year! They'd never have enough time to complete them all! This man was insane, immoral!

DARK!

The Professor must know. As soon as she gets her paper back, she's taking it straight to the Headmaster!