Author's Note: Sorry it took so long to update with this chapter! I can't believe I was gone for a week! But I had other stuff going on like money stuff and family stuff and also COVID and I got a Nintendo Switch! :) So I just kind of was way too busy to focus on writing! But I'm back now to it!
End of AN!
To the GUEST who reviewed Chapters 13 and 27, your reviews are based on severe misunderstandings, and I'd advise you to reread the story closely: "if it's so easy to come back from the dead the damn harry potter universe would be overrun with dark lords"
No one came back from the dead - Nagini was just able to use Voldemort's human body restoration ritual to her advantage to alter her form from a serpent's to a human's again. It was extremely powerful, dark magic in canon, and if it can restore Voldemort to a proper body from a homoculus, I figured it was capable of changing a snake back into a human.
"i call bull siruis's house is no where near the ally so they would have had to left a trail of death and destruction from londen all the way thru the city just to get to where the house is. so muggles would see it there fore the wizarding world would be at war on 2 fronts and both of them has no problem killing."
In this fic, Sirius was living in Diagon Alley after being proclaimed innocent! He wasn't at Grimmauld Place. He never wanted to return there in canon, and in my fic he chose not to go there at all and to instead get his own place in the Alley.
Reread the story and pay more attention before making reviews, please.
With the final few weeks of September passing by quickly, and October being no different, Nagini felt as if being a teacher was something she had a good enough handle on by now.
Though, being a Head of House was a different matter. Especially for a House full of many children who had family currently waging a terrorist war against the country - some confirmed openly and publicly by the Ministry, and others confirmed only privately to Nagini by the likes of Dumbledore and Sirius (Order of the Phoenix members).
Nagini had very little confidence in herself to actually help any of these children. Keep them from following their families and joining with Voldemort. She had failed before to stop two dear friends from joining another dark wizard, in another war and era. And there had been a few more after them, during the course of the war. Whether it was out of fear, blackmail, hostage-keeping, personal ties, or just desperation...
And then there was what she considered to be a major conflict of interest when it came to her new role and responsibilities: the history she had with one Draco Malfoy. A boy whose parents had kidnapped her and her son before - a boy whose parents Nagini had killed for it. The boy hated her as much as he was afraid of her, that was plain to see every single day, in every class Nagini had with Slytherins and Gryffindors.
Even if the boy had been making some personal ethical progress the past few years while living with Andromeda Tonks - and festering a close enough relationship to Auror Nymphadora Tonks (who was, coincidentally, present in the castle with the rest of Auror security) - none of that progress was going to erase Draco's feelings toward Nagini...or toward Harry.
Up until recently, the two boys had been made to leave each other be - ignore one another - and Nagini and Draco had never had reason to be near each other either. But now, with Nagini being Draco's Head of House...with her teaching classes with him daily...
Nagini was unsure of how to even handle Draco; did it do either of them good to ignore the violent, tangible history they had? She had opted to just remain as professional and kind as she could be - the same as she was with any other student. Draco, on the other hand...
While it was fully expected - Draco's feelings were his own, real and true - it still couldn't be tolerated. Having feelings, and acting on those feelings, were two different things. And lately, Draco had been choosing to seriously act on them. Which only resulted in their having to spend even more time together, during detentions Nagini was forced to give him for his behavior.
She felt like something had to change there - it had to be addressed. Sometime, some way...
But not today.
"It's going to be an exciting day, isn't it?"
Nagini glanced up, finding Leia Thorn hovering beside her chair. She set her coffee down on the sleek surface of the High Table, and did her best to smile, after recalling just what was going to make today especially exciting. "Yes, that's a word you could use for it," she said lightly, trying for humor.
"I don't know how I'll keep everyone on track in my lessons when they're all going to be wanting to get to what comes after," Thorn went on, waving an airy hand as she took her seat. She snatched up a glass of thick red liquid and took a long gulp from it.
"I'm sure you'll manage," Nagini responded.
"Thank you!" Thorn leaned back on the legs of her chair - far, far back, to the point that she was nearly going to fall right over - and then she let herself slam forward again.
The noise echoed through the Great Hall: up and down the House tables, the students looked to the High Table; and down the length of the High Table, several teachers turned to give Thorn scathing looks and intense glares.
Thorn resumed draining her glass, absently kicking her legs underneath the table as she did.
Nagini focused on her breakfast, shaking her head and withholding a snort; she was so used to the antics of the likes of Albus Dumbledore and Sirius Black that this woman's didn't really faze her - not after nearly two months of getting well used to it.
Of course, Nagini was still trying to sort out just which oddities and quirks had their origins in what Thorn was, versus who she was; she thought it likely to all be a mixture of both. Just like her own.
"Are you still going to help me out this evening?" Thorn spoke again, peering at Nagini with earnest blue eyes, blinking with pretty little lashes...
"I haven't reconsidered," Nagini stated warmly.
"Phew. Great!" Thorn stretched her arms high and arched her back in her chair, letting out a noise of relief.
Nagini nodded; she offered another smile and refocused on her meal.
It wasn't only today that was going to be a busy one - the Triwizard Tournament loomed, as did the student bodies of the other two, great magical schools.
It was hardly two weeks away, now.
Things were going to become so much more...crowded around the castle.
The very thought caused a flutter of anxiety in Nagini's stomach.
A flutter not at all similar to the one that she had found herself experiencing around one Leila Thorn these past weeks now.
Nagini focused ever more intently on breakfast; she was, she reflected with some amusement, too old for this kind of thing. And she had her hands full with being a teacher, and- and- she needed to keep her focus on being Harry's parent. Nagini couldn't afford to let herself be sidetracked, distracted, by feelings like these (even if it was very clear to her that Leila Thorn had no such compunctions about letting herself become distracted by her feelings).
They were co-workers, and things had to stay professional.
Friendly was allowable - but still professional.
Professionally friendly, as Harry would have put it, in all his cheekiness (that which adored and infuriated Nagini, depending on the situation).
Harry went through the day feeling more excited than he had in a while now.
Tonight was the night the dueling club began!
He had signed up for it - as had Evelyn (probably in a bid to stay close to him; Harry didn't mind that, so he hadn't said anything about it, and had just told her he was glad she was joining too).
Both of them had tried convincing Tamara to join too, but she had expressed a firm desire to be nowhere near any dangerous flying curses and hexes, on account of the events of this past summer, at the World Cup.
When Harry had asked Susan about joining the club, she had told him - quite rudely - that she didn't want to put herself in front of the end of Evelyn's wand. Harry had decided not to tell Evelyn about Susan's reason for refusing to join the dueling club.
Harry's own reasons were that, in the end, he really didn't want to disappoint his mother! In fact, he wanted to impress her, make her proud of him. He wanted to see her face when he won, hear her praise, feel the warmth of her hugs and the tenderness of her kisses on his cheek. How she would cheer for him, dote on him with every win! For weeks he had been thinking about it, fantasizing, really. Almost like joining the Triwizard Tournament, if he were older...
But he would settle for a dueling club.
He had done his best the last few weeks to improve in potions lessons - in all his lessons, really (get things back on track as a whole, with this distance and boundaries put up between himself and Evelyn like his mother had wanted) - and he had earned plenty of praise and encouragement from his mother for it...but he still wanted more. He could never get enough from her, really! He just loved it so much. He loved her so much!
So, he was going to duel.
And win.
He was confident he could do it; he had two years of personal training from his mother! And while he conceded that it wasn't enough to help him much against Death Eaters or Voldemort (he was still terrified by witnessing Voldemort's duel with his mother, and admiring of his mother for holding her ground against him so incredibly), it had to be enough to put him above most of the other students at Hogwarts, right?
Harry was sure of it. He just had to remember his mother's lessons, and...well, her style seemed to work out pretty well for her, didn't it? Why not copy her completely, use her style as his own?
So sure was Harry of his victory that when evening came, Harry proceeded to the Great Hall (with Evelyn in tow) with little real nervousness or anxiety. All he felt was a burning confidence, a glowing flame that couldn't be extinguished.
He could do this. He would do this.
And his mother would love him for it.
Harry entered the Great Hall, and he stared.
"Shit..." Evelyn murmured, dropping her head and clenching the arms of her chair.
Harry had to agree - it was packed. It looked like nearly the whole student body of Hogwarts had signed on for the dueling club! And then there were the professors scattered around the Hall, as well as the current rotation of Auror security teams. He even recognized several people wearing the robes of Healers from St. Mungo's.
There were high stands on both sides of the Hall, as well as on the far side, where the High Table usually was.
In the center of the Great Hall's empty space, there was a large dome of a shimmering magical barrier, light blue in color.
Considering current events, Harry supposed this really should have been expected - not just the war overall, but the personal terror that was the fact that Voldemort had broken into the castle and attacked the Potions classroom. Killed Professor Snape, killed two students...before escaping into thin air.
It didn't seem like anyone in the castle wanted to be caught out like that again. Everyone wanted to be able to at least defend themselves if they could.
Because they knew it wasn't safe here, even.
Maybe that had been Voldemort's intent that day - his message to the school.
Wrong message, Harry thought. All Voldemort seemed to have done was spurred on the students to learn how to fight him if he ever showed up a second time.
Harry's eyes roamed the Great Hall as he stepped further into it, crossing its empty stone length. He found his mother pretty quick - she was on the far left, crouched down and speaking to what looked like a gaggle of first years. One of them was a girl Harry recognized from his own House: it was the girl with the cane, from the Sorting. Her name had been...Eleanor. Eleanor Branstone.
The girl had been among the first years his mother had been teaching when Voldemort had attacked. Had been in that classroom, in all its frenzied combat and terrifying sights and sounds.
Harry still couldn't stand to think about that day, that event; he thought it had to be a thousand times worse for a new first year kid to have to experience. It had to be some of the worst luck in the world, to come to Hogwarts in the middle of a war, and to have to be faced with Voldemort himself not even a week into the year...
Harry watched his mother touch Branstone's arm - then, give the girl a quick hug. He felt a sudden surge of something hot in his chest, and he looked away. He gazed into the spacious arena, trying to remember his Occlumency lessons again. He needed to be focused and smart if he was going to win in there; his mother was always telling him that was one of his major flaws, his impulsiveness and strong emotions. Though, his mother had also praised him on the other side of that coin for having fast reflexes, and being good at thinking on his feet.
Harry just had to keep a cool head, not let his emotions run away with him here.
His mother's style, he reminded himself firmly. Duel like she does, and he would win! He had to win.
Nagini straightened up and stepped away from Branstone, her gaze sweeping right to left as she turned around. Her gaze met his - she smiled and waved - and then she had turned her eyes to Albus Dumbledore. He gave her a nod, and she moved for the center of the Great Hall. Toward that shimmering dome of an arena.
Professor Thorn also moved for it, almost in the same moment as Nagini (and she was a lot more peppy about it, skipping and hopping her way across the stone with her bare feet).
The pair of professors stepped into the arena, passing through the barrier and causing it to ripple.
Professor Thorn put her wand to her lips, giving a little tap.
"If everyone could find a seat, that would be great," Professor Thorn spoke, in a voice that echoed through the Great Hall for everyone to hear. "Thank you!"
"C'mon." Harry tugged on Evelyn's sleeve, striding for the stands to their left.
He sat down on the first row, right at the edge of the bench; Evelyn parked her chair beside him in the open space.
As the crowds began to move around them, Harry glanced at Evelyn from the corner of his eye.
The last few weeks had been...a lot better for her, as much as for him. Oh, not at first - there had been an incident in the girls' dormitory bathroom that had resulted in a lot of other girls screaming, and one being covered in blood as she had run to fetch a Prefect - and Evelyn had been in and out of the hospital wing a dozen times or so...but after all of that and a box of potion vials, Evelyn was doing a lot better now!
She was aware and trying in her classes, she smiled and was more outgoing than she had been in weeks now, and she herself had even admitted to Harry just a few days ago that "it was all really helping her - like back at the hospital." Though, she was still peeved about the boundaries thing; Harry did his best to stay firm on a few key points, after talking to his mother again about what he was and wasn't comfortable with in regards to Evelyn (some of them, things he hadn't really realized before - but then, that was why they had those talks, his mother had reminded: so that he could figure it out).
The biggest thing Harry noticed was that Evelyn was actually taking care of herself, though: doing her hair, bathing, getting dressed - and sometimes dressed up, outside of classroom hours, with her hairpin and everything. Not to mention the most important thing of all: eating properly at mealtimes.
Harry had been doing his best to compliment her on it, praise her for it (take a page out of his mother's book in that area). He hoped it would help Evelyn stick to it, stay being...better. He liked seeing her be better. That was all he ever wanted for her.
"Attention, please!" Professor Thorn's voice rang out again. "Now that everyone's settled in, let's get right down to it: welcome to the Dueling Club! You're all here to do what it says on the tin - learn to duel. To defend yourselves, and your friends and family, from the people in the world who want to hurt and kill you and your family and friends. I know that we're already doing this in my actual classes, but out here...we're going to be giving you all the chance to go beyond the curriculum. It's a chance everyone deserves - no, needs."
Professor Thorn strode right, then left, then did a little hop and twirled in place - now she faced the opposite stands from Harry's, her back to him.
"Two months ago, we lost two lives. Two young, innocent lives," Thorn continued, her voice thick with emotion. "Two of our first years: Lucy Linnen, of Hufflepuff, and Graham Pritchard, of Slytherin! And we lost them to the man leading these terrorist attacks on our country - on our homes, and our families!" Thorn about-faced on a swift heel, looking to Nagini. "Lucy and Graham lost their lives - but more lives weren't lost that day because there were people there willing and able to defend the rest. Professor Siahaan, and myself, and Professors Flitwick and McGonagall, were there to do our best, together, to protect you all. That's what we can promise you'll get out of these sessions. That's...all we can promise you. It might not be enough to not lose more lives, it might not be enough to protect everybody, or even yourselves, but when the time comes, if you can stand up, if you can fight, if you can protect, and if you all do it together, then maybe...maybe you can survive, and maybe you can save even one person - or two, or three. Or, if you're strong, and lucky, everyone that you hope to! It's not guaranteed, it's not perfect - not even we're perfect, and it kills us inside to even have to think about how we failed Lucy and Graham - but it's what we can do. And we all need to do it together."
"Now..." Thorn cleared her throat and gave her head a shake, her blonde curls fluttering about. "How this is all going to work is something like a tournament itself. We're going to take the first hour to teach and instruct you in combat magic, and then for the next two, we're going to have you test yourselves against one another in this arena here. Because the best way to know if someone can stay at your side in a fight, is knowing that they can hold their own in front of you. You need to know each other - how you fight and defend, how you move, how you react in dangerous situations, and how you think - to know how how you'll do together against an enemy."
"As most of you all know by now - because of the events of two months ago, and the war happening out there - when someone wants to hurt you, or kill you, they won't care what year you're in, or what you have or haven't learned in the classroom," Thorn spoke, clear and even. But Harry heard a bit of a high note in there. "Given that, and that no one is going to be using lethal spells here, the professors have all decided that in these sessions, we're not going to be putting any restrictions on who can go up against who in the arena; from first year to seventh year, any one of you can be picked to go up against anyone else. But we're going to teach you all the things you need to defend yourselves, no matter what your age or your year - against people with more skill and more knowledge than yourselves. You might not win - you probably won't - but we will make sure you can either stand your ground or make a retreat. Because magic itself doesn't care how old you are; if you practice, and if you're strong, you can do even the most powerful forms of magic that seasoned adult mages use in their duels."
"It'll be hard, it'll take time, but we'll make sure you can all do it," Thorn concluded, brushing her hair from her eyes as she took up pacing again. "But before we get into that, we want to show you a little of what you might find yourselves up against - the kind of magic that might be used against you. The things that the worst Death Eaters, and Voldemort himself are capable of."
A wave of whispering and chattering went through the stands on all sides.
It didn't sound happy or encouraged.
"These things that they can do," Thorn spoke again, voice ringing. "The things we want you to see...they're also the things that we can do! Myself, Professor Siahaan, Flitwick and McGonagall, and Albus Dumbledore! These are the same things that you can all do, with time, and practice, and determination! I promise you that! So let's get to it," she finished quietly, with a toss of her head and a look toward Nagini.
Nagini nodded, and began to walk away from Thorn, putting a good twenty feet of distance between them in the spacious arena. She turned back to face Thorn across the distance, and she waved her wand in front of herself - up her figure. Her robes transformed, becoming a sporty bra and a simple pair of shorts. Her shoes vanished. Her hair tied itself back into a ponytail; a black hair band popped into existence to hold it tight in place.
Thorn tapped her wand to her chest, transfiguring her own robes: she now was clad in a sleeveless tunic and tight pants. She flourished her wand about, settling flat onto her feet. Then, after a moment's hesitation, she pointed her wand at herself a second time, and she changed. Her pale skin became chalk white, her blue eyes became red, her veins darkened to jet black, and her fingernails grew to become claws.
Gasps and whispers and all kinds of noises went out across the hall, voices murmuring to one another.
Some of the watching Aurors shifted - gripped their wands a little tighter. One even started forward, but another stopped them with a firm hand on a shoulder.
Harry noted that even some of the other Professors, like McGonagall and Sinestra, couldn't keep their faces from showing how they felt about Professor Thorn's change of appearance. Her real appearance, not changed and hidden away by transfiguration magic.
Harry himself was uncomfortably reminded of Voldemort, seeing those red eyes and pale skin. But he felt an immediate sense of shame, as well; Thorn couldn't help how she looked naturally, and she shouldn't have to cover it up! She was more than her appearance, wasn't she? Harry could still see in her face her openness, her kindness - a gentleness to her glistening ruby eyes that never would have been present in the eyes of Voldemort. He could also see her nervousness, but also her determination.
Professor Thorn raised her wand, slowly, exaggerated, and then she fired off the first spell - a Stunning Spell - with a vocal cry of the incantation (for the sake of those watching).
Harry's mother flashed her wand up, yelling out with, "Protego!"; her shield appeared in the air before her, hovering and curved around her body, to take the Stunner easily.
It wasn't anywhere near as fast as Harry knew his mother could be. Or as dangerous and deadly.
The two women worked their way up to that level - or at least close to it - as their exhibition match continued over the next few minutes. Growing in speed, intensity, complexity. But they were still limited by having to call the spells out - words could never beat the speed of thought.
It was still a real impressive sight to behold; Harry felt nothing but pride and admiration for his mother - that everyone else in his year, his House, were getting to see her skill and power too. The whole school!
Nagini and Thorn were twisting and twirling, apparating and disapparating (Harry thought Dumbledore must have made it possible only within the arena's barrier), ducking and weaving, pulling up the stone from the floor to form cover and conjuring up animals to send at each other. Constantly maneuvering around one another, getting behind and out of sight of the other! Seeking some edge, some weak or blind spot, always. And always trying to put the other off balance, off guard, physically and mentally.
Three minutes in, and Thorn decided to change things up.
She blocked and ducked under Nagini's hexes, then slung her wand and cast out several large spheres of light, like miniature suns. One flew out to Nagini's right, one to her left, and the other, right in front of her face. They were so bright that Harry could barely see what was going on inside the arena, squinting hard at the moving shapes.
Thorn ran full out, straight forward, and leaped at Nagini with her vampire claws extended!
Nagini waved her wand and conjured a shield - a quick word and the surface of the shield pulsed with a blue glow, which rippled outward to destroy Thorn's light spheres. Thorn herself slammed against the barrier, her claws sinking in. She curled her fingers, a wispy blood red sphere appeared in her palm, and then she tore her hand down and carved a gash in the shield! In the very same moment, she had jabbed her wand forward and cast a point blank spell at Nagini through the growing opening, catching her in the stomach.
A split second's look of surprise crossed Nagini's features before she succumbed to the Stunning Spell.
Her barrier dissipated completely, and her wand fell from her grasp.
Thorn flicked her wand instantly, slowing Nagini's fall and catching her in her arms. She took Nagini's wand in hand, placing it back in her palm before tapping her on the chest with her own to awaken her.
Nagini's eyes fluttered, and she jerked upright again. An immediate look down to her wand, then, a glance at Thorn's face. A small smile formed on her lips, almost sheepish. "I didn't account for vampiric magicks..."
"And I was really expecting to have to account for your other form," Thorn responded, in a playful sort of way. "Why didn't you use it?"
"It isn't as useful as you might think in an open area," Nagini replied, shaking her head as she climbed to her feet. "Even with the cover I was constructing, and the distractions I was able to employ against you, with a single opponent in a place like this...I would have only gotten myself Stunned sooner," she added ruefully.
"That'd be it," Thorn nodded. She gave a silly grin as she looked up at Nagini. She windmilled her arms and gave a little hop. Wiped at her forehead despite there being no sweat at all there - in contrast to Nagini, who was showing signs of exertion. She drew a breath and turned to look around the hall, seeming to Harry as if she had suddenly just remembered she had an audience. Her scarlet eyes vanished amidst flickering pale eyelids, and standing out on those cheeks of hers was a light pink tinge. "Well there you all have it! Why don't we get down to business and get you all started on it, eh?"
Harry stood up from the stands excitedly, eager to get started - and he wasn't the only one.
It was a far cry from the looks and mutterings of only a few minutes ago, when it came to Professor Thorn.
For the next few hours, Thorn wouldn't reapply her transfiguration work to her body, and would remain au naturel.
Most students seemed to not notice - or else they didn't care quite so much as before, anymore.