Chapter-7 Killing the DADA Professor
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. It belongs to J.K. Rowling and others.
8:00AM, 28th October 1994, Durmstrang Ship, Black Lake, Hogwarts, Scotland
Sofia sat on her bed meditating and rebuilding her mind defenses. It was a mess from yesterday's event and as such she was rebuilding her shields.
She opened her eyes and took a deep breath and stood up on slightly shaky legs and walked for a few minutes steadying herself. She hated feeling like this. Useless and weak.
She had complained about Hunt being weak but yesterday Hunt had lost control, from what she didn't know. If whatever she had seen he was not an ordinary person. She was determined to figure it out and she had no idea where to begin.
She was startled by a knock on the door. She quickly collected herself and said," Come in."
Hunt entered the room and threw her a bag with a note and came to stop a meter from her. She looked at him confused and then picked up the note and read it.
The dress for your meet and now the etiquette lessons.
She nodded and he nodded back. He raised his left hand and snapped his fingers.
She blinked in surprise and took a step back. Instead of a boy with hollow eyes stood the blonde boy with grey eyes who had asked to show her around. If she remembered correctly the name was Draco Malfoy.
She was surprised when she felt her body being moved. Hunt-Malfoy was setting her posture. A moment later, he stepped back and waved his hand and she saw her posture in the mirror. She then heard Hunt-Malfoy speak," Etiquette is an important part of the wizarding world and one of the major reason why the first generation or new-blood or muggleborn are hated by purebloods. The new-blood believe they understand this world but they don't. What they believe to be Halloween is actually Samhain and what they believe to be Christmas is actually Yule. As such the disregard for the wizarding culture make people hate the new-bloods. With me so far?"
Sofia nodded as she finished processing the data. Hunt-Malfoy continued," Now, basic greetings differ from a person's standing in society. Some are addressed as mister/miss, others lord/lady/heir/heiress and people in powerful positions with the name of their position. A new-blood would be addressed as 'Hello Mr. Durbin' and give a firm handshake with a slight bow depending as his position in society isn't high. With me so far?"
Sofia nodded and he continued again," Now if you are dealing with lord of…"
It would be another hour until the lesson seized.
XX
8:03AM, 28th October 1994, Gryffindor Tower, Hogwarts, Scotland
Emily sighed as she finished putting her hair in braids. She stood up, grabbed her transfiguration book and made her way towards the kitchen. Just as she exited the portrait she blinked in surprise.
She blinked again and said," Alex?"
The Black heiress smiled slightly and said quietly," Hey, Emily."
They stood there in awkward silence and Emily finally asked," Want to walk till we reach the Great hall?"
Alex nodded as the two walked together towards the hall together. They walked side by side in silence until Emily began speaking," What are you here to talk about?"
Alex walked next to her and she clutched the book tightly to her chest and said quietly," That aura…"
Emily grimaced as whatever trace of positive emotions she had went away. She didn't know what to say but what Alex said after did catch her off guard," I don't know what to think of it you know. It was terrifying but few seconds later it just disappeared, you know."
She looked confused as Alex continued explaining," It was still there as I looked around the hall as I saw everyone flinching but a few seconds later it disappeared for me, you know. I don't know what it was but…"
Emily looked at Alex and asked unsure and tentatively," But what?"
Alex clutched the book in her hand tighter and said in a whisper," It was so similar. So very similar to Harry. It comforted me just moments after I was struck. It was like his magic recognized me and protected me from that aura."
Emily froze but only for a moment but before she could speak Alex had interrupted her with a harsh laugh and said," I am so sorry to burden you with this crap. I mean you don't care about what happens to Harry or not. I mean he's your 'jealous and attention-seeking idiot'."
She flinched at that but before Alex could continue Emily quickly yelled," I fucked up!"
Luckily no one was around as Alex turned to face her with a stony face and Emily continued," It drove me mad, okay. Yes, I adored the fame and the recognition it brought me but it when I learnt that my grandfather and great grand aunt gave their lives to protect me and my brother and the fact that…I enjoyed the death of two members of my family had given me my fame made me sick to my core. When…Harry left I realized how spoiled and narrow minded I was. And learning that you're bound to kill the very person whom my family died protecting me and my brother for is life changing. I was in a bad mood and I snapped, okay? I said that because maybe because I believed he would return one day and all of this was a stupid sick joke."
She stopped and took a deep breath and said," I know what I said was wrong and mean and offending but I realize I was wrong-"
She couldn't speak more as Alex hugged her and the book in her hand dropped to the ground. Emily didn't speak as she hugged her sister, in all but blood, tightly. She sniffed slightly and she heard Alex speaking softly," I am sorry too, Emi."
They stayed like that for another minute until they broke the hug and Alex said," Let's get the group back together, kay?"
Emily nodded not trusting her voice and rubbing the tears out of her eyes. They walked in peaceful silence until Alex said," So, when you getting Diggory into a broom closet huh?"
Emily blushed slightly and teased back," Well I am not as brave to kiss someone in the middle of the Great Hall."
Alex blushed furiously and didn't retort back and Emily chuckled. It still baffled her how the daughter of a playboy and a highly desirable woman gave birth to a daughter shyer than herself.
Emily knew they were on shaky steps to rebuild their friendship but it was a start. She was back to friends with Alex but there were still three left.
She wanted her friends back and she would get them back even if she had to do stupid things.
Neither noticed someone picking up the forgotten book that laid on the ground.
XX
10:30AM, 28th October 1994, DADA Classroom, Hogwarts, Scotland
Chase sat bored as he the imposter Mad-eye, Crouch Junior, taught the students about the different types of dark curses. Honestly, he had known about those curses two weeks into his career as a mercenary and his mentor, if Giovanna Zabini can be called that, had been on the ropes because of them and the fact that she had chosen not to use her family curses or the darker curses.
He sighed and put his head on the table. He needed to get more strength and control over his mind if he wanted to control his hate pressure.
He tensed as he raised his hand and made a shield which shattered on impact with the curse launched by Mad-eye. He looked up to see all of the class looking at him including Mad-eye. The man looked at him and nodded, if he had blinked he would have missed.
The ex-auror turned his gaze away as he pocketed his wand and said," Take Mr. Hunt for example. Even though he wasn't paying attention to what I had to say his senses were ware which allowed him to block the spell. A perfect example of CONSTANT VIGILANCE!"
Many looked at the teacher weirdly as he yelled out the last two words but none of that had his or the other students attention. No, all the while speaking the teacher had made weird gestures which most students didn't understand but Chase did. He had spoken with most people through sign language and while the imposter's sign work was sloppy he got the message.
I recognize you, mercenary.
He sighed and massaged his temple. He was hired to take care of mercenaries, Nightmares and school bullies. Death eaters weren't part of the deal. He turned his gaze to his ward and sighed. Her behavior was different since yesterday which was no big brainer.
After what she had seen him do, he was sure the old him would have reacted the same.
He looked at the clock and groaned. There was still time before class ended and he was sure he didn't want to deal with problems like these.
After a long strenuous and torturous half hour the class ended and as he had known the imposter teacher called out," Mr. Hunt stay back for a minute."
He conjured parchment in his ward's hand and turned around towards the teacher. The man stood there a wand gripped tightly in hand and Chase signed to him.
I know who you're imposter.
Mad-eye signed right back.
Do you oh the new Infamous?
His right eye twitched. He hated that nickname. He was his own person and not the second coming of the world's best magical thief. He signed back to him.
I am The Ghost. I am not someone's second coming and most definitely not of a sloppy and cowardly fighter.
The death eater laughed and said," Well said boy. Well said. I'll not interfere with your business as long as you don't interfere with mine. Is that clear?"
Chase nodded and the imposter nodded and said," Just one last thing?"
The imposter's voice hardened as he said," Are you here for Potter?"
Chase looked unimpressed and shook his head. The imposter nodded and said," Now get out of here."
He rolled his eyes and went outside. He wasn't sure why the imposter even revealed himself-
His eyes widened as he ducked and rolled to the left as a memory charm flew away missing him by a hair's breadth. The imposter let out a bark of laughter," Looks like you have a little head between those hollow eyes."
He grunted irritated and instead vanished into the shadows.He appeared from the death eater's shadow and punched him in the back and snapped his neck immediately.
He took a deep shuddering breath of pleasure as he felt magic rushing towards his magical core. It was one of the side-effects of having Keres as one of his family totem.
The effects of poly-juice, recognized from personal experience, faded immediately. His ears picked up the voice of approaching footsteps. He quickly took out a deck of cards and shuffled through them and picked up the four of spades. He touched it with the death eater's body and then removed it after a few seconds.
He immediately vanished into the shadows and reappeared three classrooms away from the dead body of the death eater. He exited the room just as he bumped into someone.
He looked up only to freeze slightly as he looked towards the person he ran into. Grey eyes and platinum blonde hair with the face as bright as a star, Estella Malfoy.
He didn't pay attention to her as he saw who six feet behind her. His ward had noticed him too and was looking at him in surprise. He quickly discarded the thoughts of Estella Malfoy and made his way towards his ward.
He reached her and stood behind her. His ward groaned in annoyance and stood in front of Estella Malfoy. His ward/student bowed slightly and said," Heiress Malfoy. I believe we are still meeting at 6 tonight?"
She looked slightly surprised but quickly covered it and said" Ye-"
AH!
She was interrupted by a series of screams and yells and a boy of about 13 who said," Death eater in DADA class!"
Many gasps and shrieks entered Chase's eardrums. He groaned in annoyance at his rash decision, which became far more common since the fight with Ilene. He was sure he had cleaned the class from his signature but he still didn't like the decision he had made.
He grimaced as he realized that perhaps he had to make up with Ilene after what she had done. He so didn't look forward to it.
XX
12:00PM, 28th October 1994, Infirmary, Hogwarts, Scotland
Albus didn't believe his life could get worse and yet it had. Mad-eye Moody was being impersonated by the then believed dead but alive but now dead Barty Crouch Junior. If that wasn't enough Barty Crouch Senior was arrested for misuse of power and awaited trial in three hours.
Mad-eye Moody was malnourished and extremely magically exhausted but also the fact that the killer had left behind no proof behind. No magical signatures, residues, footprints or anything for that matter and the all too startlingly similar rotting corpse as back in 1967. He took a deep breath and saw a new wooden peg being attached to the man's leg and the eye being reattached to his empty socket.
The ex-auror saw him approaching and nodded to him and Albus nodded back to him.
The healer witch huffed irritated but left without complain. There was an awkward silence for a while.
Honestly, Albus didn't know how to proceed. He had been unable to identify a fake Alastor Moody, a man he claimed to be best friends with, but then again he hadn't found anything odd. At the end, he needn't have bothered as Moody spoke first," One year, Albus."
He looked at the retired auror who continued," He said they had studied my behavior for months and all of this had been in making for at least a year. It was foolproof until whatever happened inside that classroom."
He looked at him with a questioning glint and Albus grimaced," Nothing in there. No magical signatures or finger prints. Even then he was killed by snapping his neck physically and not magically. His wand had a memory charm and if that wasn't enough…"
He took a deep breath and said," His magic was drained similar to what we encountered January 3rd 1967."
Moody who looked at him with alarm and said," You're saying that-"
Albus nodded grimly and said," Yes. Someone taught by one of the three or all of them is here."
Before Moody could ask anything he continued," And I have a good idea who it is."
His thoughts wandered towards the Durmstrang headmaster, Igor Karkaroff.
XX
7:10PM, 28th October 1994, Third Floor Empty Classroom, Hogwarts, Scotland
He yawned and stood up straight as his ward exited the room along with Heiress Greengrass and Heiress Malfoy. He had stood guard for a little over an hour and all the fun he had was kicking the ass of a few 7th year students of Hogwarts.
He was pleased when his ward exited the classroom giving him the satisfaction of getting to sleep. His ward was dressed in casual robes while the heiresses were dressed in traditional robes.
His ward turned towards the two heiresses and curtsied and he felt pleased that his time teaching her hadn't been wasted. She then said," I believe this to be not a waste of my time. I'll inform you of my decision…"
She seemed to hesitate for a moment but it faded away giving rise to a relaxed confidence," When I am chosen as Durmstrang's champion."
He suppressed a grin at the slightly pink cheeks of the two heiress and he further suppressed a chuckle when Kaiser said," That is if I believe it to be my concern or my elf will take care of it."
With that Kaiser turned around and grabbed his hand. He waved towards them with a sheepish and fake but believable grin. After the two blonde heiress were away and he had all too subtly removed a listening charm from his ward's robe did she finally speak," How did I do?"
He conjured a parchment in her hand and which basically said great job. She smiled slightly only to frown and said," Why won't you speak to me?"
The parchment's writing changed and her eyes traveled there and her posture deflated slightly, noticeable to only him. He suppressed a frown not understanding why. He dismissed it as girl behavior. Girls were hard to understand and he wasn't wasting time thinking about something as useless as that.
He was however surprised to find his hand entwined with Kaiser still. He coughed slightly and Kaiser turned around. He gestured towards the entwined hands and something flashed in her eyes for just a moment but she smiled, a fake one in contrast to the one she had given before.
He was confused as to what was happening but shrugged it off. Girl behavior was beyond his understanding.
His two male mentors had engraved that in his mind and given who they were he was not inclined to argue.
After a 10 minute walk they reached Kaiser's room. She closed the door and he turned around to see a group of boys looking at him and he sighed in irritation as he raised his hand and his hand lit with green fire. The multiple hormone controlled boys scampered away. He rolled his eyes and stopped on Krum the only one who remained. His black charcoal eyes locked with his hollow ones. The jealousy and dislike for him was clear in the boy's eyes. He was amused but masked by his eyes but a smirk made a way to his lips and the boy's anger continued to increase.
Scheiße!
He was surprised by the yell coming from Kaiser's room and casted a silencing ward there. He frowned wondering the girl's odd behavior but shrugged it off again.
Girl behavior was beyond his understanding.
He looked back and was surprised to see Krum still there and smirking widely. It was obvious Chase was missing something which Krum definitely knew.
He shrugged and averted his eyes from Krum missing his indignant look from most likely being ignored. He stretched his muscles and leaned next to Kaiser's room.
After standing guard for a half hour did something actually happened. Namely, a 5 kilogram heavy basket being dumped on his head. He looked around and found no one. He picked up the basket and saw it filled with what looked like dragon fruits but purple in color. He recognized the uniqueness of the fruits in the basket. After all, only Fairies could grow the unique magical fruit: durast.
He looked up and wasn't surprised to meet Ilene's nervous flying body. He sighed as he realized that his talk with Ilene couldn't be postponed anymore.
XX
Author's Note: I have exams going on. I had free time and I uploaded.
Scheiße- German for Fuck as given by google translate.