Welcoming Ceremony
Harriet walked through the platform towards the place where the students were gathering, and her face lightened with a broad smile when she saw who was there.
It was Hagrid, the groundskeeper of Hogwarts. The man's face was covered by a dense matt of black hair that grew from a very bushy beard and the top of his head. He looked almost like Santa Claus except for the colour of his hair.
He was bigger than any person Harry had met in her life and even as an adult, Hagrid was a good two heads taller than her. He wore a set of clothes that consisted of a pair of pants and a coat that protected him from the winter's cold embrace. Finally, on his feet, the half-giant wore a pair of black boots that allowed him to traverse through the snow and helped him move during the harsher of storms.
"'Arry!" The man called her name and she rushed to meet him "It's so good to see ya'!".
The two hugged and she felt the softness and gentleness the man had always showed her since she was little.
"Hagrid! Nice to see you too!" Harriet greeted him.
The two separated, and the woman noticed the children around them looked in surprise at their actions. She coughed and they turned their heads away. Harry rolled her eyes and decided to ignore them.
"I can' beliv' ho' much you've grown! You're a lookin' like a propa' lady I say!" He complimented her while patting her back with enthusiasm and a jolly smile.
"Thanks Hagrid! How's Grawp?" She asked him.
"Fine he is! The lad is now alm'st as big as Hogw'rts!".
Grawp was Hagrid's half-brother. The man had presented him to Harry and her friends when they were still students. Apparently the two men shared mother and had reunited when Hagrid went to a colony of giants with the headmistress of another magical school.
"I mus' go, lass! Hav' to get them to the castle. Wil' be gettin' 'em by boat like always!".
Harry nodded and began moving her luggage once more.
"Of course, Hagrid. I also have to go. Can't have Headmistress McGonagall waiting for me".
"See ya' Harry!" He turned around and began making gestures to the students around them "Fir's years wit' me! Come on, every'body!".
Harry watched as the half-giant departed and waved her hand in a goodbye gesture. The students went towards the barracks that lead to the boats and the famous Black Lake and she watched them carry lanterns to help them walk to their destination.
The students of second to last year on the other hand went towards enormous black carts that were being pulled by invisible magical creatures called Thestrals that started moving once they were filled.
They looked like strange and emaciated black pegassi, with a body of the deepest black and a body that resembled a mummified corpse, they possessed leathery wings similar to those found in bats and a muzzle full of fangs.
Harry remembered the first time she saw them and feared she had become crazy. Apparently she only could see them after she experienced the death of someone first hand and came to understand its concept.
The death of her godfather was a heavy blow on her conscience, since Harriet understood that he had died because the witch had been extremely reckless.
The famous witch entered one of the carts and closed the door behind her. The journey didn't last long and once at the entrance of the castle Harry exited her transport.
She looked at the ancient and majestic castle. The sensation of enormity and wonder brought back memories of her time inside and the various adventures she and her friends had experienced.
The castle had been around since many decades ago and was situated on an island that communicated with the main land by a small bridge of stone that crossed the aforementioned Black Lake and was next to the dreaded Forbidden Forest. The dark stone bricks that formed the building's surface were covered in moss and vines, with various towers that very capped by tiled roofs. It had colourful tinted-glass windows that depicted heroic acts and grand events of magical renown.
The castle's entrance had stone statues of armoured warriors that could be animated to use as protectors in case the inhabitants were in danger, and the currently open gates were made from a dark brown wood and grey metal decorations in the form of flowers.
The light of the interior of the castle illuminated the stone stairs leading inside and standing there was an elderly woman waiting for Harry and the students.
She was a tall and statuesque woman of advanced age dressed in pale green robes and a pointed hat atop her head. She had her grey hair pulled into a bun and glasses with a square frame that were positioned a little bit down her nose. Her lips were closed in a firm gesture of professionalism and her hands were tightly closed in front of her one atop the other.
Harriet looked nervously at the headmistress and was surprised when the elderly woman hugged her. The Scottish accent of McGonagall accentuated her words and brought her a feeling of care.
"Miss Potter, is so good to see you!" Minerva put her face between her hands and smiled, the wrinkles on her face softening. Her eyes darted around Harriet's face and nodded "You look beautiful and healthy. Good! Glad to see they haven't abused your good will by working you to death. You still have your whole life ahead of you!".
"Thank you Professor Mc-".
"Please, call me Minerva" The woman interrupted her "We are now colleagues, no need for formalities. You're already an adult. Come, come inside. Leave your luggage here, the House Elves will bring it to your room. We must prepare for the welcoming ceremony; you've must be starving…".
Minerva draped an arm to her back and guided Harry towards the Great Hall. The young woman felt her hearth skip a beat at the headmistress' attitude and wondered if that's what everybody felt when their grandparents doted on them.
Being back at Hogwarts was shaping up to be the best time in her life.
XXX
The Great Hall was an enormous chamber where the ceiling had an enchantment that simulated the night sky, with floating candles that made them look like the firmament. The entrance of the hall consisted of an enormous gate with a pair of ornated wooden doors. Enormous wooden tables and benches, divided in four lines that corresponded with the Houses were the students would be sorted, stretched from the entrance to almost the end of the room. There, all the students except those of first year sat and waited for the ceremony to begin.
Harriet and Minerva went towards the table were the teachers sat during their eating hours and the famous woman noticed the presence of her current colleagues. They were a group of men and women that would teach the children at Hogwarts during the year about the various subjects.
There was a man with a beard that stopped talking with another with glasses the moment they saw her. Hagrid also sat in a corner of the table with a rubicund smile on his face. Pomona Sprout, an elderly woman with a broch of flowers on her heart that was in charge of Herbology, was another face she recognised in the multitude. There was also Sybill Trelawnay, a woman with enormous round glasses that made her eyes wider than they really were and that was in-charge of Divination, that had also maintained her post for many years.
The rest were a trio of two witches and a wizard Harry didn't recognise. The women possessed red and blond hair, they looked to be in their thirties or forties, while the man had a receding hairline, with a pronounced pot belly and an aquiline nose.
Potter stopped herself from grimacing when she saw the people in the Great Hall whispering and pointing at her. McGonagall sent her an understanding glance and she smiled in gratitude.
"Look, it's Harriet Potter!" "Damn, she is pretty!" "It's true she battled the three Dark Lords at the same time with a hand tied to her back?" "Why is she here?" "Look at that ass!".
She grit her teeth at that last statement being said by one of the older students, but abstained from reacting. McGonagall also heard the rude comment and mentally remembered the face of the offender. Harriet put her hand in her pocket and twirled the wand between her fingers to try and calm herself down.
The two women seated near each other, with McGonagall at the centre of the table. Once there, the gates opened, and the first years entered the Great Hall forming a line. Harriet was surprised to find Argus Filch leading them.
The man was a caretaker in charge of the cleaning duties of the school premises. His face was always contorted in a grimace of dissatisfaction and his bald head seemed to have lost all the hair in the years she hadn't seen him.
Harriet remembered his attitude while the woman was a student and wondered what had happened to him to make the man so angry all the time. When she was young, the famous witch didn't dwell on it, but now found herself pitting him. Being always miserable couldn't be a good thing and bowed to ask him about it when she had time.
The witch snapped to attention when she noticed the Headmistress had gotten up from her seat and was now standing behind the podium that was always used to make announcements to the school.
"Welcome everybody to another year here at Hogwarts. Today we will begin the sorting ceremony for those of you that had entered Our Esteemed School for the first time!" She began "This year is special for one reason all of you have already noticed. Harriet Lily Potter, the hero of Magical Britain has come to join Our School as one of the Staff!".
Harry took a deep breath and got up from her seat. The famous woman waved her hand around, and her smile strained when the whispers spread through the Great Hall. The excited voices of the students that had stopped talking before, resumed with an increase of volume at the Headmistress' words.
BAM!BAM!
The sound of her clapping hands stopped them and silenced the echoing Great Hall once more.
"As such, she will be imparting the Class for Defence Against the Dark Arts! I ask you to give her a warm welcome and to show her the same kind of respect you will show to your other teachers".
Harry sat back on her seat and sweep her eyes across the room. She found Astrid and Emilia seated on their House and discovered they were in Hufflepuff. They wore the uniform of the school that consisted of a shirt, a skirt that reached their knees and a tie of a yellow colour. Atop the uniform, they had like other students a robe with the emblem of the House they belonged to engraved in it.
"Before we feast, the alumni that begin their first year will be sorted in one of Our Four Stemmed Houses. Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw." The woman pointed at the four tables with her gaze and the new students shifted in place due to nervousness.
Harry watched as Filch grabbed a stool and a piece of cloth from it and brough it to the centre of the room and in front of the Headmistress. The witch recognized the piece of cloth instantly.
It was a ragged old, pointy hat made of leather. Argus Filch put the hat atop the stool and walked away from it towards one corner of the room and close to one of the side doors that exited the Great Hall.
The people assembled watched as the hat moved on its own and some of the first years gasped in surprise. The surface of the leather moulded itself until it resembled a human face and began singing.
It was a welcoming letter to the new faces that visited the school and a presentation card of the Four Houses.
Brave Gryffindor. Cunning Slytherin. Wise Ravenclaw. Loyal Hufflepuff.
Harry had joined Gryffindor, but had been reassured by the enchanted object that she would do well in Slytherin. It was meeting Draco Malfoy that made her reject joining such a House, even if some of the people there had helped the orphaned girl with her studies.
Harriet chuckled at the sons and daughters of non-magical parents and their surprise. She remembered feeling the same kind of marvellous wonder at the display they were witnessing and hoped they had fun during their stay at Hogwarts.
While the hat sang, Harry watched as Minerva grabbed a roll of parchment that the famous witch assumed contained the names of every one of the new students and saw her walk towards the singing magical hat.
Once finished with the strange song, the Headmistress cleared her throat and resumed with her presentation.
"Now, I will call your name. I want you to come and sit in the stool, where you will wear the Sorting Hat and he will tell which House you will go for the reminder of your stay at Hogwarts. Once the process is finished, I want you to go towards the table that corresponds with your House".
After finishing her speech, McGonagall began calling the names of the new students and Harry watched as each hesitant child went to discover if he or she had gotten what they came for.
XXX
When the last of the new students was finally sorted in one of the four Houses, the formerly empty plates and glasses put on the large tables filled with both food and drinks of all kinds at McGonagall's gesture. A feat easily archivable thanks to magic.
The children and teenagers launched themselves at their dinner and began feasting. The sound of utensils being used and people starting conversations filled the chamber with life and Harry sighed contentedly.
The woman was about to begin eating when one of the other teachers began speaking to her.
"Hello Miss Potter. I believe we haven't been introduced to each other; my name is Anthony Hoffman. I'm the professor for Charms" The bearded man introduced himself.
"Hello, Mister Hoffman, nice to meet you too" She greeted him with a smile.
"I believe I speak for everyone on this table when I say we are delighted to have you here with us" He said with a cheerful voice.
"But…".
The man smiled in embarrassment when caught on his apparent dissatisfaction.
"Well, I… I'm sorry to say that we are all very confused I'm afraid. You see, we can't think of why a woman of such renown would trade her job as an auror to come here at Hogwarts-Our Great and Wonderful school- and teach these young and excitable boys and girls. I can't imagine why leave a life full of excitement and adventure for one so calm…".
Harry mentally sighed. This was why she had so much trouble interacting with people. They assumed that her fame meant she should be ecstatic about it, but it only reminded her of the suffering she, her family and her friends had endured.
The Girl-Who-Lived had been orphaned due to a stupid prophecy that an evil wizard had taken too seriously. Growing not knowing why her parents died had made her angry when she learnt the truth. During her stay at Hogwarts her life had been plagued with mistrust, envy, misplaced admiration, and hate. Harriet had made friends, but always had put them in danger due to being associated with her.
After a year of running away, being framed, and targeted by a crazy wizard supremacist she had fought one last battle and emerged victorious. Her heroic act had made her fame increase tenfold, with all the repercussions that had.
"I have always liked teaching others. And I'm tired of fighting for my life" Harry said with a tone of sadness in her voice. She looked at her colleagues apologetically and continued talking "I'm afraid I can't tell you anything else. I would like to have the matter of my personal life not discussed if you don't mind. My apologies for the inconvenience".
The men and women on the table made faces of dissatisfaction at her answer. Before Anthony could ask anything else, the voice of the Headmistress came to the rescue.
"Well, I for once hope that being a responsible adult means you will avoid getting in trouble now that Miss Granger and Mister Weasley are no longer in Hogwarts" McGonagall said with a smile, trying to alleviate the tension.
The woman's face reddened at the Headmistress words. She watcher the other professors looking with amusement at her and Harriet began speaking, trying to save face with all the dignity she could muster.
"I'll have you know I never go looking for trouble, usually trouble finds me. But if you're so concerned Minerva, I don't plan on doing anything reckless ever again".
Hagrid chuckled at her words. The other teachers seeing they would not get anything more from her returned to their previous conversations.
Pomona scooted herself closer to Harry and began reassuring the woman with a scar shaped like a lightning bolt.
"Don't worry Dear. They are a bunch of noisy housewives in need of juicy pieces of information from other people because their lives are so boring" Her tone of voice was gentle and with a bit of jest.
"Thank you Pomona".
The woman smiled at her and resumed eating the pieces of fruits and fish from her plate. Harry felt her stomach rumbling and decided to dig in. Her plate was filled with a salad, lemon, and fish.
She pinched with her fork a piece of the fish and brough it to her mouth. The woman began chewing and the taste of warm food reached her tongue. Harry hummed in satisfaction and drank a little of the water on her vase. The food and drinks were as delicious as she remembered.
The sound of conversations and cutlery moving filled her ears and echoed through the Great Hall. The voices of old students greeting new ones made the place become lively and joyous.
After an hour dedicated to eating and finishing their desserts, the Great Hall became silent once more. Feeling satiated, Harry watched as Minerva got up from her seat once more and delivered the last speech for the night.
"Before we depart, I would like to tell you all the rules that must be followed in order to guarantee your safety during your stay on Hogwarts" The Headmistress said "First of all, to old and new students, in case any of you have problem of any kind or seek help of any type, don't doubt on going to one of the Prefects or the Professors. We will help you with all the capacity we have".
They nodded to indicate their comprehension.
"The second rule. The entrance of the students of any of the years on the Forbidden Forest is prohibited! No matter the circumstance, you will never go inside it. Doing so will be punishable as the Professor that discovers you sees fit" She continued "This rule also includes the Black Lake. This two places are extremely dangerous".
There were sounds of groans and complains of the older students. Harry understood why they complained, after all it made for an excellent show of bravery for them and made them seem 'cool' for the younger ones.
"Third and final rule. You will not, and I repeat not, stay outside your House's Common Room after midnight unless extreme circumstances. Violation of such a rule will be punishable. Should caretaker Filch or any of the Professor's find you, there will also be punishment for the perpetrator".
The elderly woman looked around her and waited a few seconds to be certain everyone had listened to her. Satisfied, Minerva resumed talking.
"Understood? Good. Prefects accompany the students of each of your respective Houses to their rooms. Have a good night, everyone".
The sound of the students getting up from their seats echoed in the chamber. Harry and the rest of the Professors got up too and marched to the exit at each side of the table.
McGonagall walked towards her and gestured the young woman to follow her.
"Come, Harriet. I will take you to your room".
Not paying any mind to the people that still stole glances at Harry, the two went on their way and to Harry's new resting habitat.
XXX
The two women walked a little while through the castle many hallways and staircases until they reached one of the many towers that sat at the top of Hogwarts.
Harry opened the door to her room and her eyes widened. McGonagall smiled at her surprise and began talking
"Here we are. Your room for the reminder of your stay at Hogwarts. As you can see, the founders didn't waste any kind of time in making sure the teachers here could feel welcomed".
It was a room befitting royalty and of a size that dwarfed anyone she had been before. Its red walls were decorated with a flowery motif of golden flowers. At one side of the room, there was a door that she correctly assumed lead to her own private bathroom, and at the centre of it her queen-size bed had sheets of a pure white and with curtains that could hid her body while she slept. There was also a bedside table with a pair of shelves and a carpet that depicted various mermaids and centaurs in fierce battle.
She turned around and hugged Minerva.
"Thank you Minerva, you don't know how much I needed this" Harry's eyes teared up and the two remained hugging for a little while longer.
They separated and McGonagall walked towards the door. She stopped at the doorframe and turned around.
"I'm glad to see you back again too, Dear. Have a nice night of sleep. See you tomorrow"
"Goodnight to you too".
The Headmistress closed the door behind her, and Harry was left alone in her new room. She took off her clothes and went to take a shower. The feeling of warm water covering her body felt exquisite and she lost herself in the moment. Harriet washed her body and felt the softness of the sponge on her skin. The woman cleaned herself form all the dirt and sweat accumulated during the day. The woman used her fingers to untangle the knots on her long black hair and washed herself thoroughly with shampoo.
Harriet exited the bathroom, dried her hair with a spell, and changed into her comfortable pyjamas. Sliding inside the bed, she sighed and relaxed her tired body. It felt like heaven on Earth and found herself convinced that what she had said to the Headmistress will remain true for the rest of her life.
Voldemort was dead and she had quit her job as an auror. There was nothing that would ever break her calm and the peace that now existed in her life after years of suffering.
If Harriet Lily Potter ever knew that her statement to McGonagall would never come true, she would have surely regretted saying those words.
XXX
The next morning, she awoke well rested and giddy to start teaching someone again. Harry had done it years ago to her fellow students when Hermione decided she needed to give them lessons with the objective of preparing them for their fight against Voldemort and his lackeys.
Today she had dressed in a buttoned-up grey shirt that hid her chest almost completely and black skirt that hugged her legs that had marked muscle on them due to her years playing a magical sport called Quidditch and fighting rogue mages, warlocks, and witches. She also wore a pair of heel shoes that gave her a small increase in height.
Harriet walked through the hallways of the castle in the direction of her first class, and tried not to feel embarrassed at the looks of admiration from some of the students.
The Headmistress had provided her with directions to the room where she would impart her lessons and tried to familiarize herself with the path she was going through.
After a couple of rounds through hallways she had never seen before when the woman and her friends were students, Harry finally arrived at her destination.
She opened the door of the room and found that all the students had already arrived before her. Their conversations stopped when she entered, and they looked at her in silence.
The classroom consisted of a row of chairs and tables in front of a blackboard and a podium from where the Professor in charge of the class would impart the lessons. At the sides of the walls of the chamber there were various rows of shelves where dusty books and various jars with dissected magical creatures accumulated.
The alumni that she was going to start teaching now seemed to be the first years of Gryffindor due to recognising the red and gold coat of arms on their robes.
"My apologies everyone. Hope I didn't have you waiting for too long" She said to the class.
Before she could ever react, one of the boys in the class jumped from his seat and yelled nervously his request.
"Nice to meet you, Ma'am! Can you sign me an autograph?!" She blinked a couple of times at his action and his face paled at her reaction "ImsorryforgetIsaidanything!".
Thew boy sat down and his face reddened in embarrassment. The class erupted in laughter, and she moved her hands up and down to tell them to quiet down.
"Calm down, please…" Harriet began and directed a question at the boy "What's your name?".
"T-Theodore Stephenson" He stammered.
She nodded and winked at him with a teasing smile.
"Maybe later, when the time is more appropriate" Harriet clapped her hands and continued talking "As Mister Stephenson has correctly stated when asking for my signature, I'm Harriet Potter. Famous in all Britain".
Harry drew her wand from its holster with a flourish and began writing in the slate nailed to the wall by conjuring a piece of chalkboard. She wrote her own name and continued the presentation now with a more confident tone of voice.
"But I want you to do me a favour before explaining what I'm going to teach you for the reminder of the year. Everybody is listening?".
She waited for a couple of seconds and saw all of them nodding with intrigue.
"Forget everything you've heard about me. All the stories, the tales, the newspaper articles, the rumours. Even your uncle's true story of how he shook hands with Harry after she saved him from a bunch of centaurs that were going to kill him. I assure you all of them are false or heavily modified to make them more incredible and interesting. Can you do this?".
The stunning declaration made their mouths open in a futile attempt to refute her speech. But they only flapped their lips like fish out of water. She send them a stern look of challenge and they nodded in resignation and with a tiny veil of morbid curiosity for her side of the stories.
"Good" Harriet nodded "With that out of the way, I would like to start again from the beginning".
She took a deep breath and resumed talking.
"Hello and good morning everyone. My name is Harriet Lily Potter and I'm going to be your teacher for Defence Against the Dark Arts. I will dedicate this year to teach you theory about the different magical creatures that you could find on your daily lives and some of the most basic spells you could use to defend yourself from them".
Her words were accompanied by the movement of the chalk through the board. The different subjects of that year's curriculum appeared as a series of points on a list one after the other.
"Now, I will give you a more detailed version of this list later" She stopped the chalk from continuing its movement and put away her wand "For the moment, how about we listen to each one of you present yourself in front of the others and tell me something about you if you want it".
She pointed at a blond boy with a crocked nose that had most likely been bent during a fight, and he got up from his seat.
"Nice to meet you Ma'am. I'm Peter Ferdows. I really like Quidditch and football" He said to Harriet.
"Hello Mr. Ferdows. Nice to meet you too" She greeted him back. He sat down and she pointed at another student "Next".
At the end of that class, Harry had heard every one of the students in the classroom say their names, and some of them even their hobbies.
"Thank you everyone for coming today. Next class we start the curriculum. Have a nice day!" She announced to the departing students and watched them say goodbye to her.
When the class was empty, she exited the room and closed the door. Once outside, Harry oriented herself and went on her way to the next place were she would impart her classes.
On her way, the famous woman looked at the clear skies and smiled. The witch had found herself enjoying the experience more than she thought. She couldn't wait for what else Harry would find pleasantly surprising.
Harry was so busy lost in thought, that she didn't noticed the small shape of a green body scurrying outside through the canopy of the Forbidden Forest.