Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and characters related to it. Harry Potter and its characters are the intellectual property of the talented J.K. Rowling, Warner Bros. Scholastic, Raincoast, and Bloomsbury books. Storyline and plot have been developed partially based on the plots, characters, and storylines of the first 5 installments of Harry Potter, The Sorcerer's Stone, The Chamber of Secrets, The Prisoner of Azkaban, The Goblet of Fire, and The Order of the Phoenix.
Author's note: Thank you again for the reviews and comments. I seem to have made a habit of stating a few things before all my chapters. This chapter is no different =Þ. I just want to say that I hope I can continue to meet the expectations of the readers. Furthermore, I can't promise that this story will be hundreds of pages long and that it will be updated as frequently and quickly in the near future. I still have a relatively light workload since I'm just starting my course again. However, I cannot promise this consistency in the future. I just hope I can finish most of the story till then. One other thing, I still haven't figured out how to write Luna Lovegood into the story yet. I'm sure she will also play a substantial role in the next book. After all, she had a whole chapter named after her. Oh yeah note to David, if J.K Rowling mentioned Dumbledore's age in an interview, its no wonder I never heard of it. I'll take your word for it. And as for the last testament thing……..ah well…….I'll just have to apologize, can't make everyone happy. Thanks for your input though, I'll keep it in mind.
Chapter 12
Defence Against the Dark Arts was probably the most anticipated class for the 6th year students taking the subject for N.E.W.Ts. Harry, Ron, Hermione and Neville were not excluded from the anticipation of their first Defence class with Professor Abe. The prospect of learning from Professor Dumbledore's own brother (albeit his very weird looking brother) was giving the students a wild sense of curiosity as rumours about Professor Abe were spreading amongst the Gryffindor 6th years who would be taking the classes.
"I heard that Professor Abe took on 10 death eaters single handed and managed to hold them off long enough for Aurors to come and take them all in," said Seamus excitedly over breakfast.
"I heard that Professor Abe actually faced You-Know-Who and got away more than once," exclaimed Dean when Seamus had mentioned his piece of news over the breakfast table.
"Where did you hear all of this from?" asked Hermione curiously.
"It's in the paper," said Seamus as he motioned towards a copy of The Daily Prophet which was a few days old, lying on the space next to him on the bench.
"Oh," snorted Hermione as she exchanged knowing looks with Harry, Ron and Neville who grinned in agreement. They all knew that The Daily Prophet was not a very good source of information. True, they had been very supportive of Harry since the announcement of Voldemort's return and had praised him and Dumbledore for their foresight and conviction. The paper however, was still quick to criticise some of Dumbledore's decisions in running Hogwarts, and the reliability of some of their published works was still as doubtful as ever. Harry however, was a little anxious over the classes. No doubt that Harry didn't have any problems trusting Professor Dumbledore's brother, he was still a little wary of the new Defence Professor. After all, his last two professors had tried to kill him (technically) and get him expelled respectively. He knew that he didn't have to worry about Professor Abe, seeing that he was Professor Dumbledore's brother, but still he decided to take a cue from Mad-Eye Moody's book.
"Constant Vigilance," he thought as they approached the classroom which was to be used for Defence Against the Dark Arts.
The students were rather surprised when they stepped into Professor Abe's classroom. Their new professor seemed to have conjured a large and comfortable armchair in front of his desk, and was sitting with his back facing them.
"Come on in and take your seats please," sounded a voice from behind the armchair. Harry thought that Professor Abe's voice sounded a lot like a cowboy's voice from old muggle movies.
The class obliged and quickly took their seats. Harry noticed that there were quite a number of students in Defence Against the Dark Arts, and that they were not just comprised of Gryffindors. There were 6th year students from the other houses as well, as he saw a few DA members in the class as well, Hannah Abbot, Susan Bones, Ernie MacMillan and Justin Finch-Fletchley from Hufflepuff as well as Padma Patil and some of her friends from Ravenclaw were in the class as well. Parvati and Lavender it seemed, did not want to take Defence Against the Dark Arts for their N.E.W.Ts. There were almost 20 students in the classroom.
"Welcome, to your first Defence Against the Dark Arts class with me, Professor Abe," said the grizzly bearded professor as he turned around to face them. Professor Abe was definitely a very weird character. He seemed to be wearing his colour-changing robes over what had seemed to Harry as a Scottish Kilt only that the patchwork was made of a very clashing yellow and purple material. Hermione could only manage some muffled giggles as she saw the professor's outfit, something which she was not prone to doing, especially in classes.
"Professor Dumbledore has notified me of your progress in this class. I have to say that despite the recent events, and the quality of teaching last year.." he had said that last part with a tone of distaste, "that some of the students in this class are actually quite adept when it comes to fighting the Dark Arts," he said as his eyes wandered towards Harry, Ron, Hermione and Neville who grinned slightly when he had said that.
"Remus Lupin," he continued, "has informed me that you have already covered most aspects of facing Dark Creatures, and from what I have heard, you have already had extensive coverage of some illegal curses."
Professor Abe had said this all very dreamily and his voice seemed to change into pitches of high and low, sometimes sounding a little like Hagrid, and at other times his voice vaguely resembled Professor Dumbledore's. "So…..what else is there to learn? You might ask yourselves," he said as he proceeded to walk to the front of the class when he seemingly tripped over his own robes and fell face first onto the floor.
The class was overcome with some muffled laughter, most of the students staring at disbelief that this was their Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, the school headmaster's brother.
"Wouldja be kind enurf to help me up please," he beckoned to his students, still lying face first on the floor, as Seamus stood up to help the "Nutty" Professor.
In what had seemed like an instant, as Seamus bent down to help the "Nutty" professor up, the class was suddenly taken aback as Seamus had been grabbed in an arm lock by Professor Abe, just as he was being helped up, and had his wand pointed at Seamus's neck.
"Easily tricked though, this class seems," said Professor Abe.
Harry, as well as everyone else in class was visibly stunned by what they had just seen. Professor Abe had said that last sentence in a very steady and stern voice, and his expression no longer remained dreamy, nor did his mind seem to be wandering around the room. The dreamy, dazed looking professor suddenly disappeared as though he had never existed, and in place of that person, was a very stern looking old man, with a steely gaze that set everyone sitting upright in their seats, paying full attention to every word the man had to say.
"This is the first and FOREMOST thing you must remember about fighting the Dark Arts," he said to them as he let go of Seamus and asked him to return to his seat. "NEVER, NEVER let your guard down, no matter who it is, no matter how it seems," he said to them. "Even though Mad-Eye Moody was never really your Defence teacher during his time here, his impostor did do one thing right. He told you to always be on your guard at all times," he told them sternly.
The classroom was now silent, and every student sitting down in the class at that very moment began to pay absolute attention as they would in Professor McGonogall or Professor Snape's class. Professor Abe's initial appearance was no where near what his true character was seemingly like.
"I have seen, in my lifetime," he began to tell them in a more mellow tone, "Many a witch or wizard that lost their lives due to carelessness, or underestimating their opponents," he said, as the tone of his voice saddened slightly which made Harry believe that Professor Abe had witnessed such events during the course of his life. "I can teach you all that you need to know about the Dark Arts. I can teach you every technique that is known to counter Dark spells and curses of every sort. But if you are ever careless, if you ever think that the battle has been won before it is over, all the knowledge in the world will not help you," he said to the class. "Bear this in mind, NOTHING is ever what it seems to be," he said to them finally.
"Now that we have been properly introduced, I shall want to know what each and every student in this class has already learnt, and is capable of," he said to the class.
The students obliged by telling him (in turns) the spells that they already knew. "Hmmm," he went after the class had finished telling him about the various spells that they knew of and were capable of casting. "It seems to me that some of the students in this class know more than the others," he said as he looked inquisitively at the class.
"Would this have anything to do with a certain secret society that was formed last year?" he asked as he was replied by silent nods by about half the classroom.
"Well then, first things first, how many of you know what the Patronus charm is?" he asked as the entire classroom put up their hands. "Good, good, and how many of you can create a corporeal Patronus?" he asked again and most of the class dropped their hands. All save Harry, Hermione, and Ron although Ron and Hermione were rather reluctant to keep their hands up as a soft murmur was heard through the class.
"Only three of you," said Professor Abe. "And between the three of you, have you ever managed to conjure a corporeal Patronus in front of a real Dementor?" he asked, as Hermione and Ron instantly put their hands down at the question, leaving Harry as the only person with his hand up. He was feeling rather awkward but he wasn't receiving the attention he normally would have from the rest of the class. Most of them had known since the previous year that Harry was probably the only student able to conjure a corporeal Patronus.
"Hmmmmm……….," went Professor Abe as he motioned for Harry to put his hand down. "You probably would have already heard of this, Voldemort…," the class shivered uncomfortably as Professor Abe said the name, "has already managed to gain the support of the Dementors. Contrary to what you are being told, or what you believe, I assure you that the threat of facing Dementors is very real and very likely in the near future," he said as he paced up and down the classroom.
"Dementors are the foulest creatures to walk the land, and I'm sure you have all felt first hand, the effects that a Dementor can have on you," he said as he was answered again with silent nods. "It is difficult, for a wizard to focus on what he or she has to do when in the presence of a Dementor. I could teach you how to conjure a Patronus in this very classroom, but it will be very different when you face a real one," he said as Hermione and Ron nodded in agreement, knowing all too well what Professor Abe had meant.
"How did you learn how to conjure a Patronus Harry?" he asked, looking at Harry.
"Err…Professor Lupin taught me in my third year, we used a boggart," he said.
"And the boggart turns into a Dementor when it sees you?" he asked again. Harry nodded. "Impressive. A man who fears fear above all, very impressive," said Professor Abe again.
There was a soft murmur around the class at what Professor Abe had just said, and Harry blushed slightly when Professor Abe said that. He had heard it before from Remus back in his third year, but it seemed different when he was commended in front of a whole classroom. He was equally impressed that Professor Abe had referred to him as a man.
"Well then, I don't want to go around the castle looking for a boggart, and I certainly don't want to have a real Dementor in a classroom, even if it is just a boggart," he said to the class.
"However, I am able to replicate the environment which a Dementor creates with a spell that I came across in my younger days," he said. "Prepare yourselves," he motioned to them as he raised his wand and uttered some words softly that no one in the class could quite make out.
All of a sudden, the temperature in the room dropped, and the classroom suddenly became engulfed in partial darkness. Harry could feel the hairs on the back of his hand stand up, and prickling feelings at the back of his neck. The feeling of depression and sadness were suddenly working their way into him before Professor Abe stopped the incantation and the classroom returned to normal. Harry looked around to see that everyone in class was shivering slightly, and they didn't look all too happy. The effects of the spell Professor Abe had just used did resemble the effects that a Dementor produced when it was near a person, only it did not seem to be as strong as Harry remembered.
"For those of you who have not felt the effects of a Dementor before, that spell just simulated the effects quite closely, unless I am mistaken?" he asked the class as he was replied by uncomfortable nodding heads. "I can use this spell when you are attempting to conjure a Patronus. I will not cast it again until every single one of you is able to produce a corporeal Patronus," said Professor Abe as he broke off a large slab of chocolate and handed pieces to everyone in class.
"The effects of this spell are not quite as strong as the effects produced by a real Dementor, even if I held back on the spell quite abit," he said. "I will only ask the class to attempt the Patronus charm in that environment when everyone has successfully demonstrated that they are capable of conjuring a Patronus in a normal environment. Besides, it'll cost too much for me to bring chocolate to class all the time," he said in a grizzly tone.
"Now, I will start teaching you the Patronus charm next week. Before then, I want each of you to read what you can about the charm, as well as the concepts and aspects of casting the spell. I want an essay written about Dementors and the Patronus charm. Due next week," he said, dropping back into a dreamy tone. "I for one do not believe that reading books will help you fight the Dark arts, but this is a school after all, not an Auror camp. It will help you to understand the spell better if you did some reading before the class," he told them as he dismissed the class.
"Harry, stay a moment," he beckoned to Harry just as the rest of the students shuffled out of the class.
"I'll see you guys at lunch," Harry told Ron, Hermione and Neville as he stayed to oblige Professor Abe.
"How are you going in those extra classes of yours?" he asked, as he sat down on his large armchair which he did not remove throughout the whole class.
"Erm…they're going fine. It's difficult but I think I'm doing okay," said Harry.
"You will not be having 'extra' classes with me just yet, Harry," said Professor Abe. "Before you start classes with me, you're going to have to learn what you can from Professors Flitwick and McGonogall. There are some preparations that Albus and I have to attend to first. Anyway, if you are curious, I will be teaching you about the Dark Arts in your extra classes," he said.
"The Defence classes," he continued, seeing Harry's inquisitive look, "will not cover certain aspects of the Dark Arts as it is not within the school syllabus. No doubt that some of the things I will teach you will receive a lot of heat from parents and the ministry alike if they were being taught to all the students. Albus and I believe however, that you MUST learn about them. You need to know everything there is to know about fighting the Dark Arts," he explained.
"Why would parents be upset about what you have to teach me?" asked Harry. "After all, they can't blame the school for wanting to teach students to protect themselves now that Voldemort is back."
"Because what I am going to teach you is very dangerous Harry. You will need to know about various forms of Dark Magic before you can actually fight them," he answered.
Harry didn't have anything to say to this. He had thought that he had been fairly prepared to face the Dark Arts throughout his years of facing the dangers he had already faced. What Professor Abe was telling him now meant that what he had faced before was nothing compared to what he had to face in the future. He was still trying to take in this new information when Professor Abe spoke again.
"This must be tough for someone your age. Even older wizards have not been through as much. I won't try and comfort you Harry. I won't try and give you assurances that I cannot guarantee. I may not have known you for a very long time, but I have heard about you from my brother. Albus has never spoken of anyone the way he speaks about you. If fate has it to choose a saviour, then it is a good thing that fate chose you," he said to Harry in a voice that Harry thought, really sounded like a younger version of Professor Dumbledore.
"You'd best be off, don't want to miss lunch now would you," said Professor Abe as he dismissed Harry.
Harry was still thinking about what Professor Abe had just told him as he left the classroom. He didn't feel like a saviour. He didn't want to be the saviour of the wizarding world. He didn't need more constant attention being thrown at him. He didn't want to have so much hope being put on him, when he wasn't sure if he could deliver upon that hope. There was that part that Professor Abe mentioned about it being a good thing that fate had chose him. Could fate have chosen someone better? Or couldn't it have chosen someone worse? He was still thinking about this when he shoved those questions and feelings aside.
"I may not like it. I may not want to do it. But I'm going to put an end to this, one way or another," he thought as he remembered his friends, his surrogate family, and all those he held dear. "And I will have my vengeance," went a small voice in Harry's head as he walked into the great hall for lunch.
Note: This chapter might not be very creative. The last part will probably have some of you wondering. Won't explain it here, but maybe you've already had a clue about where this is heading. To the Loony Lovegood fans, I'm really sorry but I still haven't found a way to work her into the story. I will soon I promise.