Chapter 3: The Professor of Muggle Studies.

A day had passed and the students were starting their classes. Breakfast was served early and Samuel insisted on eating with the students at least for breakfast. A few of the other teachers followed suite and sat down at the student tables. Most teachers sat at the tables of their former houses when they were in school. Samuel sat at the Gryffindor table that morning. This gave the students ask a few questions of their professors before heading to class. The professors left early to prepare for their first classes, and Professor McGonagall showed Samuel to his office.

"I trust you have everything you need?" asked McGonagall.

"I do, is it alright if I change curriculum? These books are outdated and leave out details." Said Samuel.

"Every professor decides his or her own curriculum here." Said McGonagall. "You may do whatever you like, just get approval from Dumbledore first." McGonagall turned to leave.

"Ma'am I have another question. Is there anyway to put a spell on the classroom so that Muggle things will function correctly inside it?" asked Samuel.

McGonagall hesitated for a moment. "I'm sure Professor Flitwick could. You'd have to get approval from Dumbledore and possibly the school board."

Samuel nodded. "I'll just use what I have shielded to start with then."

"Your presence is causing waves." Said McGonagall. "Don't stir the waters too much."

McGonagall nodded and walked out. Samuel shook his head and placed a briefcase on his desk and sat down for a moment. He looked at his watch and stood right back up and headed towards his classroom down the hall. The classroom was empty, except for a few rows of chairs and a desk at the front of the room. Samuel set his briefcase down on the desk and pushed in the mechanism and it opened. Inside was a book on muggle studies and a mechanical pencil as well as a few other items he needed. The door to the classroom opened and a single student slipped in, trying not to be noticed. Samuel didn't look up from his briefcase.

"A little early miss…" he said, still staring into his briefcase.

The student stumbled slightly and almost dropped her books.

"Jenkins." The girl said. "Mary Jenkins, professor. Do I need to leave?" She stammered.

Samuel looked up from his briefcase and smiled. "Call me Samuel, no it's just odd to see a student in class this early. New to Hogwarts?" he asked.

"No I'm a second year." She said timidly.

"None of your Gryffindor friends are taking muggle studies?" asked Samuel.

"It's not a popular class, and I really don't know anyone." She replied.

Samuel walked around in front of his desk and sat on it's edge. Mary quietly placed her books on one of the desks and sat down and stared at the cover of one of them. After a few moments the girl looked up from her book and stared at Samuel then blushed.

"What?" asked Samuel.

"Nothing, it's just that, well some people are saying you're a muggle." Said Mary slowly.

Samuel laughed. "They did?"

"Yes." She stammered. "It's stupid I know."

Samuel walked slowly up to Mary and bent over her desk, supporting himself with his arms. "They're absolutely right." He said. Mary looked around nervously and smiled faintly. "Don't worry I'm sure everyone knows about me. I doubt they know about you though." He said in a hushed tone.

"You know?" asked Mary quietly. Mary gently reached up and turned Samuel's earlobe up to see a small black dot tattooed on it. She gasped and let go of his ear.

"Yes, we'll talk later." Samuel said, then turned and walked back to his desk and sat down. A few more students filed in at that point, followed by several more a few moments later. Soon all but a few chairs were filled up. Samuel counted the students and stood.

"Well it looks like you're all here. This is Muggle Studies, section number one. Is everyone in the right class?" Samuel asked, looking over the students. "Good. If you aren't in the right class you're welcome to sit in on this session and we'll take care of it with your professor later." He said, after taking a few steps towards the class. "My name is Samuel Green, I don't want to hear the word 'professor' in this class. I am not a professor, you may call me Samuel, Mr. Green or if you're feeling especially lucky or stupid 'Sam'."

A few of the students chuckled, and Samuel walked across the room a few steps towards the window. After gazing out the window a few moments he turned back to the class.

"There are rumours flying around that I'm a muggle. I would like to clear this in your minds once and for all. I am a muggle, and my parents before me, and theirs before them. There are no wizards in my direct family line as far back as I was able to trace." Said Samuel. The class whispered amongst themselves. "I also would like to say that the books you are using this year for this class, or were using I might say are rubbish. I need to clear this with the headmaster but we won't be using them one way or another. If any of you can still get a refund on your books, please do so."

A Ravenclaw student in large round glasses raised his hand. Samuel pointed to him and nodded.

"Sir, what will we be studying?"

"A good question. I've broken the class down into four parts. You are here to learn about muggles, facts about muggles and not fairy tales these books would have you believe. I'll be teaching you to use several muggle devices during the course of this class. The four parts are, and write this down please. The sections are: Communication, Technology, Music, and Practical Studies. These are a few things which I specialize in, in the muggle world." Samuel replied. "We'll start with Communication, and I have some practical study included in it. Any other questions? Please don't hesitate, anything at all. This is the first day and we're just here to get to know each other." He said, as he sat down on his desk.

The class went on for a little less then an hour and after that class was dismissed, another set of students filed in. The classes grew smaller with each hour, until the last three classes only had 3 or 4 students each. Finally the end of the school day came. Samuel returned to his office and filed a few papers that the students had given him. Mary Jenkins shyly entered his office before he was finished filing.

"Mary, how are you? Classes go alright?" he asked.

"How do you do that?" asked Mary.

"Do what?"

"Know who it is without looking?"

"Your footstep pattern. Everyone's is different, boys and girls have different patterns even." Samuel said as he tapped a disk on his filing cabinet. "I didn't know there was a Observer here. You pull the shy act off very well. I didn't know they trained your kind so young."

"I'm not a very outgoing person anyway. I guess that's why I was picked." Said Mary. "I didn't know there were wizard slayers as young as you, not fully trained ones anyway. Why are you here?"

Samuel chuckled. "To find a spy apparently."

"A spy? For who?"

"They think Voldemort has a follower here, probably a student." Said Samuel. "Possibly a child of one of his followers."

"Can I be any help?" Mary asked. "You know I have to."

"Perform your duties, whatever they are. Keep an eye out, that's what you're good at right?" asked Samuel.

"I suppose." Mary said, as she stood. "Well, sir wizard slayer I have a class to get to."

"Classes are over for the day." Said Samuel. "I make you nervous. It's ok, I make some of the other teachers a bit nervous too."

Mary smiled weakly exited the room. He shook his head as Harry, Ron, and Hermione filed in, followed closely by a nervous Ginny.

"Harry and Ron said you wanted to talk to us?" asked Hermione as she sat down, and adjusted her robes. The other three sat down in front of the desk as well.

"Yes." Said Samuel. "Your headmaster has put me in an awkward position."

"How?" asked Hermione.

"He's given me four children to help me in a potentially dangerous situation." Said Samuel.

"Knowing these two, they'd be in the middle of it pretty fast and getting in your way." Hermione said, glancing at Ron and Harry.

"I see." Samuel said. "Well then I suppose I'll have to tell you about myself. I am not just some muggle who happened to catch his cousin using magic, and managed to resist a memory charm." said Samuel.

"Muggles can't resist things like that!" said Hermione.

"Hermione, I believe you are an extremely intelligent young woman, and probably know a lot about magical things. I bet you know all the spells in the Basic Book of Spells don't you?" Samuel asked.

Hermione nodded.

"She has them memorized alphabetically, backwards and forwards." Ron commented.

"You have all that knowledge, probably a lot more then most, yet you've barely even started to scratch the surface about what goes on in the muggle and magical worlds and how they interact with each other." Said Samuel. "There are so many things that aren't taught in books. Many more that aren't talked of period."

"What do you mean?" asked Hermione.

"There are those of us muggles that are naturally resistant to the effects of spells, even those cast by the mightiest wizards. There are a rare few that are almost completely immune." Said Samuel. "I doubt that even Merlin himself could have used a memory charm on me and succeed. Just as some people have the ability to use magic, there are some that have the ability to deflect magic as it were. You have the ability to use magic, that ability isn't the only gift nature gives."

"That makes sense." Said Harry.

"I'll have to go to the library when we're done." Said Hermione.

"Me too, perhaps you can show me where the restricted section is later? I have full access and I'm told the books I need are in there."  Samuel said.

"Oh brother, I sense another crush." Said Ron as he rolled his eyes.

Ginny elbowed Ron and then squeaked with embarrassment and tilted her head down. Samuel grinned at Ron.

"I do know a way you can help me though, be observant. If you see anyone acting overly casual or know of people that sneak out a lot at night, be wary." Said Samuel.

"Well these two sneak out more then anyone." Said Hermione.

Samuel chuckled, "Well at any rate, I need to talk to Dumbledore and Flitwick. First I need to look at the library. Hermione, Ron would you mind showing me there?" asked Samuel.

Ron stared at Samuel coldly and stood up as did Hermione. The two looked at each other standoffishly and Hermione gestured for Samuel to follow. Samuel winked at Harry as they went out the door. Harry and Ginny stood up and followed a ways behind Samuel. Hermione and Ron stared at each other the whole was down the corridors and hallways. Ron looked back after a few moments to see that Samuel wasn't there, and Harry and Ginny were no where in sight. Ron grabbed Hermione by the robe as she kept walking, talking to something behind her about how great the library was. Hermione stopped with a grunt and stared at Ron with the coldest, most plant withering stare she could muster.

"What may I ask was that for?" Hermione asked.

"They're gone." Said Ron.

Hermione glanced back down the hall and shook her head. "Of all the nerve!" she said, folding her arms across her chest.

"It's your fault!" said Ron.

"How is it my fault? You're the one glaring at him all the time."

"If you hadn't been flirting with him so much he wouldn't have left!" said Ron almost in a shout.

"I was not flirting!" said Hermione

"I saw how you did when he kissed your hand on the train. How you looked at him when he asked you to show him to the library." Said Ron

"I was being nice, he was being a gentleman. He's well educated, smart, and has good manners." asked Hermione. "What do you care anyway?"

Ron flushed and turned his back for a second then turned back around. "I'm sorry for snapping at you. It's not your fault. It's mine, and I know what it's about too. Can you forgive me?"

Hermione's mouth dropped open and she stared at Ron for a long moment then nodded. "I'm s-sorry too. I shouldn't have yelled." Hermione said.

The two looked into each other's eyes for a long moment then started walking down the hall slowly, gazing down at their shoes. Samuel quietly walked up behind them and patted Ron's shoulder quickly. Ron was so startled he almost jumped into a wall.

"Bloody!" said Ron whipping around to see Samuel. "Oh it's you. What happened?"

"Sorry, one of my students pulled me aside. Took longer then I thought." Said Samuel.

"It's alright." Said Hermione. "Shall we go?"

Samuel nodded and followed the two down the halls to the library. When they arrived Hermione pointed Samuel to the restricted section of the library. An old librarian smiled at Samuel and allowed him in. After about a half an hour Samuel walked out with two thick books and a thin one.  He looked around in the library and saw Hermione and Ron sitting at one of the tables talking to each other. Hermione saw Samuel and waved to him. He started towards the table and sat with the two, and set his books down.

"Is that all?" asked Hermione.

"Well the other two books I wanted tried to attack me." Said Samuel. "I had to chase it down. Apparently it's mating season." Samuel chuckled and looked at Hermione and Ron who weren't laughing and shook his head. "Tough crowd.". Hermione looked over the books Samuel had selected and scratched her head.

"Ancient History of Wizards, Theories of Psychic Powers and Divination, and The Ancient Ways? I've never heard of these." She said. "What are they? Divination is mostly rubbish."

"I got an A in Divination, thank you." Said Ron.

"Only because you made up predictions about death." Said Hermione dryly.

"A little reading, I'm trying to get a grasp of something." Said Samuel.

"The old magic ways were unpredictable and chaotic." Said Hermione. "If you're trying to learn a little magic, it's better to go with more modern techniques."

"The old wizards were a lot more powerful then we are, though. I've heard stories about what the wizards using the old ways could do." Said Ron.

"I'm not trying to learn magic." Said Samuel. "Quite the opposite, I'm trying to figure out how to ward it off."

"You said you were resistant to magic." Said Hermione in a hushed voice.

"I am, to some forms, like memory or mind altering charms. I can shake other things off too." whispered Samuel. "I need to know how to protect myself against other kinds. Like transfiguration, other charms, and well, curses."

"Why?" asked Ron. "If the aah person is a student they can't be strong enough to do much." Whispered Ron. "We can help you. Hermione can cast almost any spell and make any potion there is. Harry is really strong for his age too, don't tell him I said that."

"You aren't bad yourself." Said Hermione. "He's right though, we can help. So can the professors."

"I know, I know. What if one of you isn't around? What if your spells fail? What if the person has been really well trained in the dark arts. Then what? No I need to know how to do it myself too." Said Samuel. "These books with any luck will point me in the right direction to understanding it."

"How are you going to ward off magic without magic?" asked Hermione.

"I have a hunch that the old ways weren't completely magic. My cousin told me once that all modern magic is, is extensions and improvements on the old ways. Much of the 'old magic' has been forgotten, and isn't used anymore." Said Samuel. "Probably because it's chaotic, and hard to control, and I have a theory why."

"Why?" asked Hermione, leaning forward.

Samuel glanced around and stood up. "I'll tell you when I'm sure." He whispered and walked out of the library.

"What was that all about?" asked Ron.

"I don't know." Said Hermione with a thoughtful look on her face.