The Unicorn and the Wolf
by Jennifer Allen
"First Day Blues"
Her muggle alarm clock went off at a quarter to seven. She resisted the urge to blast it across the room with her wand. She felt well rested, but surprisingly unfulfilled. Having a dreamless sleep could do that to a person. At least she didn't have the nightmares. Anything was better than having one of those and then not being able to sleep for the rest of the night.
She stumbled into the staff bathroom and took a long warm shower to wake herself up. She let the water pelt her face as the last traces of sleep left her. She cast a drying spell and dressed in her teaching robes. Breakfast had already begun and classes started in less than an hour.
Artemis grabbed her supplies and hurried down to the great hall for breakfast. Students and teachers were already eating. Remus and Minerva were having a discussion while Severus muttered something under his breath every time they laughed. She found a seat and quickly began scooping some eggs onto her plate. As she began eating, she started to think about what she was going to teach. She didn't even have time to prepare for the first day. How in the world was she going to teach her fifth year students when she had nothing? She wondered if Hagrid had anything in his hut that she could use. He was known as an avid lover of strange and unusual creatures. He even had a big wolfhound. 'Wolfhound? Oh no, I forgot about Fang!'
Not touching the rest of her food, she hurried out of the great hall and down towards Hagrid's hut. Not too long after her leaving the table, a horrified shriek echoed in everyone's ears and when some people went to investigate, they had quite a sight. An over-enthusiastic Fang was dragging Artemis across the grounds.
Harry Potter and his two best friends, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, made their way to Hagrid's hut for class. Care of Magical Creatures was one of the most interesting classes they had. It was also one of the two classes they shared with Malfoy and the other Slytherins. He missed Hagrid already and wondered if Professor Southerby would be a good instructor or not.
"I bet she's as flaky as she looks," smirked Draco Malfoy. "This school is going through teachers faster than it goes through toilet paper. At least we don't have to deal with that blubbering git Hagrid."
Hermione noticed the look in Harry's eyes and placed herself between him and Draco.
"It's not worth it, Harry. Please, it's not worth it."
Harry calmed a little and took Hermione's advice. If it weren't for her level-headedness, both he and Ron would be in detention more times than George and Fred Weasley put together. All because of one slimy, no-good Malfoy.
"Welcome! Welcome! I hope you all had a good summer!"
Draco snorted.
Harry stared at his new teacher. She was just a head taller than he was and seemed too young to teach. There was something about her eyes, though. Her eyes held a lot of wisdom and pain in them. She met Harry's gaze for a second and continued to beacon everyone towards Hagrid's home.
"I've heard so many interesting things from the Headmaster about what Hagrid has been teaching you!"
"Yes, and just about every one of them almost killed us," sneered Draco.
"Only because you don't know how to listen," muttered Ron.
Professor Southerby proceeded to lead the students around Hagrid's hut and towards the open field. Some of the girls let out a tiny cry of surprise when they noticed what she had waiting for them.
"It's a unicorn," cried Lavender.
Sure enough, a male unicorn stood in the field waiting for the class.
"How ever did you find him, Professor Southerby" asked Dean.
"Fang took me on a long trip through the Forbidden Forest. I met him on my way back."
"He's fabulous!"
"We already saw the unicorn," complained Draco.
The unicorn snorted and pawed the ground, obviously angered by Draco's attitude.
"Neville Longbottom, come with me."
Neville stammered and stared at her in shock. "I can't. Unicorns don't like boys."
The unicorn seemed to find that amusing and turned its head towards Neville. He bobbed his head and strode confidently towards Neville and Professor Southerby. Neville clutched at Artemis' robes and stared in shock as the unicorn lowered his head at Neville.
"Go on. He wants you to touch his horn."
Neville gingerly reached out.
"Careful! Longbottom has a nasty habit of breaking things," screamed Draco.
Professor Southerby glared at Draco. "Mr. Malfoy, I would kindly appreciate it if you would keep your nasty comments to yourself. Go on, Neville."
Neville gently touched the unicorn's horn. A small smile spread across Neville's face as he let his fingers glide across the circular grooves of the horn.
"It's amazing, Professor. I never," he beamed, "never touched a unicorn before."
She smiled and motioned for the other students to come forward and meet with the unicorn. Harry, Hermione, and Ron each stared at the creature in wonder. Harry let his fingers slide down the unicorn's silvery mane. The unicorn, however, refused to allow Draco and his goons near him. Ron murmured something about 'unicorns knowing evil when they see it.'
Professor Southerby assigned the class a short report on the magical qualities of the unicorn and sent them on their way.
"Professor Southerby?"
"Hmmm?" Harry, Ron, Hermione and Neville were all standing in front of her. Neville seemed extremely nervous and shy.
"Professor, we were wondering why the unicorn let Neville and the rest of the guys to touch him," asked Hermione. "I always thought unicorns only let women touch them."
"Oh, they do prefer women, Miss Granger. However," she smiled at Neville, "unicorns have a knack for telling who has a good heart."
Neville blushed a bright red and stared down at his feet. He shuffled his feet and looked at the professor, who was gently stroking the unicorn's muzzle.
"Anything else, Mr. Longbottom?"
"N-no. Thank you."
Harry and his friends turned to leave. As they were, Harry turned back and stared at her for a second. She was stroking the unicorn's muzzle. He wondered why she kept looking at him strangely. He was often told that he was famous for causing the downfall of Voldemort, but it seemed like more. She never asked him who he was and didn't make a fuss about 'Harry Potter'. She treated him just as she had treated everyone else. But there was something in her eyes. Sadness? He didn't know.
She watched Harry leave and felt a twinge of hurt deep inside. Her mind flashed back to the day that Lily and James were buried.
It starting to rain as their coffin was lowered. It seemed fitting that Lily and James be buried in the same coffin, side-by-side. It was the same size as a normal coffin but when opened, was a lot roomier. James' hand covered Lily's. So many people were present to bid farewell to the Potters. There were, of course, all the professors from Hogwarts, Severus Snape had made a brief appearance, the Weasleys with their six children, and the Ministry was there along with so many others. Remus stood next to her, holding a large black umbrella. They didn't say a word to each other...nothing. Word spread that Sirius Black had betrayed the Potters...that he was their Secret Keeper. It didn't seem right, to her. He would never...he couldn't...if it weren't for him and James, she'd be...she'd be...She collapsed onto her knees as the first handful of dirt was tossed onto the coffin.
"It's all my fault! I should be the one in there! ME!"
"Artemis," she heard someone say.
"It's my fault they died!"
She could feel several eyes on her. Tears streamed down her face. Remus was now looking at her. She couldn't stand it. She had to get out of there. She shakily stood and began to run, pushing her way past several mourners. Dumbledore, McGonagall, Remus, everyone watched her race away from the funeral. She vowed never to return to England again.
But some promises can never be kept. The day the owl from Dumbledore arrived triggered the events of her return to England. The unicorn nudged her hand, reminding her that he was still present. Artemis smiled and led the unicorn towards Hagrid's hut.
"We still have four more classes. I'm sorry to keep you so."
The unicorn whinnied and bobbed its head.
Harry's next class was one of his favorites: Defense Against the Dark Arts with a one Professor R.J. Lupin. Professor Lupin was a friend of James Potter, Harry's father. Remus Lupin, Moony his friends, was not an ordinary man. He was something much more dangerous, though, unlike others in his position, he tried to control it. He was a night creature...a werewolf. Every full moon, the wizard would transform into the wolf-like beast. Before coming to Hogwarts two years ago, very few people knew of Lupin's problem, but thanks to Professor Snape, everyone knew his secret. And the majority didn't care. They loved Lupin and welcomed him back, much to Snape's dismay.
"Welcome to back, students. I trust you all had a good summer?"
Everyone smiled and watched Professor Lupin eagerly. He smiled warmly and waved his wand. Writing began to form on the chalkboard:
Darkness shrouds them...
Blood feeds them...
Eternally searching...
Will you fall prey?
Several 'oohs' and 'aahs' erupted from the students. Vampires had never been taught in DADA before and this was a real treat.
"It's a known fact that vampires appear nightly. They primarily consume human blood but have been known to attack other animals."
The lights in the room dimmed, causing some students to gasp.
"They shroud themselves in darkness..."
Remus slipped into the shadows, causing murmurs from the students.
"They wait for an unsuspecting person..."
Professor Lupin disappeared from sight.
"Waiting...waiting..."
His voice was almost soft and some students could barely hear him.
"Then they," he grabbed Ron's shoulders, "POUNCE!"
Ron screamed at the top of his lungs and the lights brightened. Several other students screamed along with Ron. Professor Lupin smiled widely and made his way back towards the front of the room. Neville was gasping for breath as were several others.
"How does one know who is a vampire or not?"
Hermione's hand shot up and the usual 'knowing twinkle' appeared in her eyes. Professor Lupin smiled.
"Yes, Miss Granger?"
"A vampire is extremely pale ("Like Malfoy," sniggered Ron.) and has fangs instead of canine teeth. They tend to look just like you and I but retreat from such objects as crosses and garlic."
"Very good, 5 points to Gryffindor."
Professor Lupin began explaining the many other ways of identifying vampires and how to deal with them. Everyone was paying close attention to Lupin's words and took notes. By the end of class, the students' heads were swimming with information and by the end of the day everyone just wanted to crawl to their rooms and sleep.
by Jennifer Allen
"First Day Blues"
Her muggle alarm clock went off at a quarter to seven. She resisted the urge to blast it across the room with her wand. She felt well rested, but surprisingly unfulfilled. Having a dreamless sleep could do that to a person. At least she didn't have the nightmares. Anything was better than having one of those and then not being able to sleep for the rest of the night.
She stumbled into the staff bathroom and took a long warm shower to wake herself up. She let the water pelt her face as the last traces of sleep left her. She cast a drying spell and dressed in her teaching robes. Breakfast had already begun and classes started in less than an hour.
Artemis grabbed her supplies and hurried down to the great hall for breakfast. Students and teachers were already eating. Remus and Minerva were having a discussion while Severus muttered something under his breath every time they laughed. She found a seat and quickly began scooping some eggs onto her plate. As she began eating, she started to think about what she was going to teach. She didn't even have time to prepare for the first day. How in the world was she going to teach her fifth year students when she had nothing? She wondered if Hagrid had anything in his hut that she could use. He was known as an avid lover of strange and unusual creatures. He even had a big wolfhound. 'Wolfhound? Oh no, I forgot about Fang!'
Not touching the rest of her food, she hurried out of the great hall and down towards Hagrid's hut. Not too long after her leaving the table, a horrified shriek echoed in everyone's ears and when some people went to investigate, they had quite a sight. An over-enthusiastic Fang was dragging Artemis across the grounds.
Harry Potter and his two best friends, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, made their way to Hagrid's hut for class. Care of Magical Creatures was one of the most interesting classes they had. It was also one of the two classes they shared with Malfoy and the other Slytherins. He missed Hagrid already and wondered if Professor Southerby would be a good instructor or not.
"I bet she's as flaky as she looks," smirked Draco Malfoy. "This school is going through teachers faster than it goes through toilet paper. At least we don't have to deal with that blubbering git Hagrid."
Hermione noticed the look in Harry's eyes and placed herself between him and Draco.
"It's not worth it, Harry. Please, it's not worth it."
Harry calmed a little and took Hermione's advice. If it weren't for her level-headedness, both he and Ron would be in detention more times than George and Fred Weasley put together. All because of one slimy, no-good Malfoy.
"Welcome! Welcome! I hope you all had a good summer!"
Draco snorted.
Harry stared at his new teacher. She was just a head taller than he was and seemed too young to teach. There was something about her eyes, though. Her eyes held a lot of wisdom and pain in them. She met Harry's gaze for a second and continued to beacon everyone towards Hagrid's home.
"I've heard so many interesting things from the Headmaster about what Hagrid has been teaching you!"
"Yes, and just about every one of them almost killed us," sneered Draco.
"Only because you don't know how to listen," muttered Ron.
Professor Southerby proceeded to lead the students around Hagrid's hut and towards the open field. Some of the girls let out a tiny cry of surprise when they noticed what she had waiting for them.
"It's a unicorn," cried Lavender.
Sure enough, a male unicorn stood in the field waiting for the class.
"How ever did you find him, Professor Southerby" asked Dean.
"Fang took me on a long trip through the Forbidden Forest. I met him on my way back."
"He's fabulous!"
"We already saw the unicorn," complained Draco.
The unicorn snorted and pawed the ground, obviously angered by Draco's attitude.
"Neville Longbottom, come with me."
Neville stammered and stared at her in shock. "I can't. Unicorns don't like boys."
The unicorn seemed to find that amusing and turned its head towards Neville. He bobbed his head and strode confidently towards Neville and Professor Southerby. Neville clutched at Artemis' robes and stared in shock as the unicorn lowered his head at Neville.
"Go on. He wants you to touch his horn."
Neville gingerly reached out.
"Careful! Longbottom has a nasty habit of breaking things," screamed Draco.
Professor Southerby glared at Draco. "Mr. Malfoy, I would kindly appreciate it if you would keep your nasty comments to yourself. Go on, Neville."
Neville gently touched the unicorn's horn. A small smile spread across Neville's face as he let his fingers glide across the circular grooves of the horn.
"It's amazing, Professor. I never," he beamed, "never touched a unicorn before."
She smiled and motioned for the other students to come forward and meet with the unicorn. Harry, Hermione, and Ron each stared at the creature in wonder. Harry let his fingers slide down the unicorn's silvery mane. The unicorn, however, refused to allow Draco and his goons near him. Ron murmured something about 'unicorns knowing evil when they see it.'
Professor Southerby assigned the class a short report on the magical qualities of the unicorn and sent them on their way.
"Professor Southerby?"
"Hmmm?" Harry, Ron, Hermione and Neville were all standing in front of her. Neville seemed extremely nervous and shy.
"Professor, we were wondering why the unicorn let Neville and the rest of the guys to touch him," asked Hermione. "I always thought unicorns only let women touch them."
"Oh, they do prefer women, Miss Granger. However," she smiled at Neville, "unicorns have a knack for telling who has a good heart."
Neville blushed a bright red and stared down at his feet. He shuffled his feet and looked at the professor, who was gently stroking the unicorn's muzzle.
"Anything else, Mr. Longbottom?"
"N-no. Thank you."
Harry and his friends turned to leave. As they were, Harry turned back and stared at her for a second. She was stroking the unicorn's muzzle. He wondered why she kept looking at him strangely. He was often told that he was famous for causing the downfall of Voldemort, but it seemed like more. She never asked him who he was and didn't make a fuss about 'Harry Potter'. She treated him just as she had treated everyone else. But there was something in her eyes. Sadness? He didn't know.
She watched Harry leave and felt a twinge of hurt deep inside. Her mind flashed back to the day that Lily and James were buried.
It starting to rain as their coffin was lowered. It seemed fitting that Lily and James be buried in the same coffin, side-by-side. It was the same size as a normal coffin but when opened, was a lot roomier. James' hand covered Lily's. So many people were present to bid farewell to the Potters. There were, of course, all the professors from Hogwarts, Severus Snape had made a brief appearance, the Weasleys with their six children, and the Ministry was there along with so many others. Remus stood next to her, holding a large black umbrella. They didn't say a word to each other...nothing. Word spread that Sirius Black had betrayed the Potters...that he was their Secret Keeper. It didn't seem right, to her. He would never...he couldn't...if it weren't for him and James, she'd be...she'd be...She collapsed onto her knees as the first handful of dirt was tossed onto the coffin.
"It's all my fault! I should be the one in there! ME!"
"Artemis," she heard someone say.
"It's my fault they died!"
She could feel several eyes on her. Tears streamed down her face. Remus was now looking at her. She couldn't stand it. She had to get out of there. She shakily stood and began to run, pushing her way past several mourners. Dumbledore, McGonagall, Remus, everyone watched her race away from the funeral. She vowed never to return to England again.
But some promises can never be kept. The day the owl from Dumbledore arrived triggered the events of her return to England. The unicorn nudged her hand, reminding her that he was still present. Artemis smiled and led the unicorn towards Hagrid's hut.
"We still have four more classes. I'm sorry to keep you so."
The unicorn whinnied and bobbed its head.
Harry's next class was one of his favorites: Defense Against the Dark Arts with a one Professor R.J. Lupin. Professor Lupin was a friend of James Potter, Harry's father. Remus Lupin, Moony his friends, was not an ordinary man. He was something much more dangerous, though, unlike others in his position, he tried to control it. He was a night creature...a werewolf. Every full moon, the wizard would transform into the wolf-like beast. Before coming to Hogwarts two years ago, very few people knew of Lupin's problem, but thanks to Professor Snape, everyone knew his secret. And the majority didn't care. They loved Lupin and welcomed him back, much to Snape's dismay.
"Welcome to back, students. I trust you all had a good summer?"
Everyone smiled and watched Professor Lupin eagerly. He smiled warmly and waved his wand. Writing began to form on the chalkboard:
Darkness shrouds them...
Blood feeds them...
Eternally searching...
Will you fall prey?
Several 'oohs' and 'aahs' erupted from the students. Vampires had never been taught in DADA before and this was a real treat.
"It's a known fact that vampires appear nightly. They primarily consume human blood but have been known to attack other animals."
The lights in the room dimmed, causing some students to gasp.
"They shroud themselves in darkness..."
Remus slipped into the shadows, causing murmurs from the students.
"They wait for an unsuspecting person..."
Professor Lupin disappeared from sight.
"Waiting...waiting..."
His voice was almost soft and some students could barely hear him.
"Then they," he grabbed Ron's shoulders, "POUNCE!"
Ron screamed at the top of his lungs and the lights brightened. Several other students screamed along with Ron. Professor Lupin smiled widely and made his way back towards the front of the room. Neville was gasping for breath as were several others.
"How does one know who is a vampire or not?"
Hermione's hand shot up and the usual 'knowing twinkle' appeared in her eyes. Professor Lupin smiled.
"Yes, Miss Granger?"
"A vampire is extremely pale ("Like Malfoy," sniggered Ron.) and has fangs instead of canine teeth. They tend to look just like you and I but retreat from such objects as crosses and garlic."
"Very good, 5 points to Gryffindor."
Professor Lupin began explaining the many other ways of identifying vampires and how to deal with them. Everyone was paying close attention to Lupin's words and took notes. By the end of class, the students' heads were swimming with information and by the end of the day everyone just wanted to crawl to their rooms and sleep.