Title: And They Yell Wolf
Part Three of the Silent Song Series
Date: May 22, 2003
Author: P.L.S
Summery: Response to a challenge on HarryXSnapeML- Alternate Timeline/ Albus didn't stop Grindelwald, he joined him. How has that impacted the Wizarding world and how do Harry and Severus Snape interact now?
Quote of the Section: The weirder you're going to behave, the more normal you should look. It works in reverse, too. When I see a kid with three or four rings in his nose, I know there is absolutely nothing extraordinary about that person. -- P. J. O'Rourke
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Professor Hermione Granger was probably the luckiest person on the face of the planet. She was doing what she loved; her colleges respected her and her contemporaries looked up to her for guidance in the difficult field of history. She was happy, her students adored her and loved to come to class, and nothing had gone wrong in her plans. In school, her classmates had respected her, even if she was a bit alienated from her peers. Now as a historian and professor of history of magic at Hogwarts, she really didn't have to worry about the lack of a social life, her former professors, now colleges understood her need for very few friends and even less romance. She was now waiting as her first class of the year, Gryffindor and Hufflepuff seventh years, streamed into the classroom. They sat down and most were exchanging the rumors about the two newest professors.
"I heard both are the top assassins, Chang said that Snape is Snake Fang, the inventor of the twenty untraceable poisons." Said one Gryffindor boy. Hermione rolled her eyes. The Hogwarts rumor mill was just as active as ever.
"Okay class, settle down. As much as we all want to know about the two new professors I will not let your rumors enter in to the classroom. Please save them for the halls, common rooms, and the meal times. Okay?" she asked. The students all said something of agreement and the talking stilled. "Great. Now over the summer I had every one do an open ended essay. Who wants to start the annual exchange of information?" asked Hermione. A Gryffindor girl, a prefect named Lillian Rayburn, raised her hand. "Okay, Miss Rayburn." The girl stood up and smiled.
"I did the history of Weasley Wizard Wheezys." Her classmates laughed and even the normally controlled professor giggled.
"Go on. I think you must have done a bit of research." Said Hermione as she sat down on the top of her desk. Lillian nodded.
"Okay, I talked with the proprietors, Fred and George Weasley, they claim they owe a great deal to our beloved History of Magic Professor. Oh Prof, Fred said to tell you he is still madly in love with you and will come to force you to elope. I asked him to come the day before exams. Fred and George are two mad men, and absolutely fun. They grew up in Ottery St. Catchpole and went to Hogwarts. They graduated in 1996, with a few NEWTS and a handful of gold. They then went to London straight away and then got odd jobs around town.
"They are some of the few pureblood wizards that can live as Muggles successfully. After a few years an old school friend, Hermione Granger, escaped school and roomed with them for a while. She helped the two to set up a working business model and scrape together the gold needed to open a small stall at the various magical conventions and events. She helped them out for a year them got a job at Hogwarts, Fred never really forgave her for turning traitor. But she had helped them so much that it was a simple thing to open a shop in London, and now in Hogsmeade this year. They also franchise, and there are shops in Dublin, New York, Los Angeles, Singapore, and Tokyo. The Tokyo store is the largest of the seven and the founders are on the Japanese list of Most Desirable Wizards at number four and four and a half for this year." Lillian grinned, "That's about it, any questions?" she asked. Hermione sighed; the girl had done her research well, and thoroughly trashed her reputation as straight-laced.
"Um, okay." Said Lillian as no one asked anything, she sat down. Hermione stood once more and asked for more volunteers. The class went smoothly as always, and ended with the class telling her what they wanted to study this year. The seventh years that she taught were given the choice of what focus they wanted to study and how they wanted to study.
Choice was what made her stand out; she let her students choose how they wanted to do things. In her time she found wizards had no grasp on psychology, and the modern Muggle teaching methods all said the more input the student has the more they will want to learn. She used Muggle psychology whenever she could in the classroom and the results were clear. Instead of teaching about laws, rulers, and goblin rebellions, she focused on the history of different aspects of modern life and her students found it easer to relate. She loved teaching and often found herself teaching about how Muggle and Magical history impacted each other.
She kept that part off the syllabus that she gave to Minerva each year, if she dared to let the public she what she taught she would be pegged as a follower of Grindelwald and Dumbledore and an enemy of the state. That would ruin her image, throw away the respect she had worked hard to get, and damage all of her students. She was tempted to stop the way she taught and revert to the accepted syllabus but to do so would be dishonorable and really would cause more damage than help. She watched as her next class came in, Slytherin and Hufflepuff second years. The Slytherins were telling the Hufflepuffs all about the new potions professor.
"He was a Slytherin, I even looked in the yearbooks. He vanished for three years and then he started to submit papers in to the medical and potion journals. Most were on poisons and methods of curing victims. He did one or two on the various methods of killing and how to tell the Silent Death from Advera Kedavera. Dad wrote me and sent me a bunch of good information this morning." Said Jim Davids, the Slytherin with the biggest mouth. His words spawned a tidal wave of comments from all the students. Hermione sighed it was going to be a long day.
"Okay, settle down class!" Yes, it was going to be a very long day.
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Hermione was sitting in a large overstuffed chair in the staff room after her classes were done with. The day had been long and one rumor filled class after another. She was glad that her classes listened so well, but honestly! They knew better than to talk about their professors like that.
The door slammed open and allowed two men entry, one ranting, and one laughing.
" I hate teaching! Don't you dare laugh!" yelled the taller man with long black hair and a very mean looking face. Hermione knew that she had no wish to get on his bad side, but the shorter laughing man apparently had no worries about his health.
"Oh, Sev, it's not that bad. Sure they are immature and rather annoying, but are they that awful?" Harry threw himself into a large couch as Snape carefully took a wingback chair across from the other man. Harry smiled and nodded at Hermione in acknowledgement of the history professor.
"Not that bad? Oh, Harry, I assure you they are worse than the Columbian Wizards. The second years don't even have the faintest idea as to why they use pewter number two cauldrons for brewing household potions. The seventh years are lucky to still be alive, the majority hasn't a clue how to cure basic food poisoning caused by poorly cooked foods or bacteria and viruses."
"Okay I admit it, they are clueless. If it makes you feel better all they ask me about is how I know Uncle Tom and Aunt Mina, a topic that isn't even related to combat by a long shot. But they figured out who you are."
"I know. This is the most atrocious profession." Said Snape as he started to massage his forehead. Hermione wanted to defend her job, but the conversation seemed closed to her.
"Sev, don't be like that. You can't say this isn't better than doing the King Snake's bidding." Said Harry.
"I wouldn't know, I only work for those who have no self-respect what so ever, like those drug lords in the Americas." Quipped Snape with a smirk.
"Filed away for future damage to be done." Responded Harry, "I don't know why you give me all this material." Snape lashed out as quick as lightening. Hermione didn't even see the two move, but Harry was ducking, Snape's arm was thrust out, and a large knife was embedded in the wall behind where Harry's head used to be.
"I think that gives me leverage in this deal." Said Snape with a wicked smirk. Harry grinned.
"Yup, you have won this round." Said the insane man as he sat back up. "Come on, let's go see if we can find something to do outside." Snape grunted and both stood and left. Hermione sighed.
"Good God, they are more nuts than Riddle."
End of this section. . . don't worry more will come.
