I don't own Harry Potter, Hogwarts, etc, blah blah, but I do own the original characters (now isn't that funny?) Don't flame, because flaming is immature and will just make me think you're not worth listening to. Do review, because it will make me happy, and hopefully will be useful in improving the story.
"Well, at least he's fair." Hermione said hopefully, in a doomed attempt to raise the spirits of Harry and Ron. Their first Basic Magecraft class head been quite frustrating, owing mostly to the fact that not a single student was able to successfully summon a light. On the other hand, Professor Sinavre wasn't mean; he seemed nice enough despite his exacting standards, and he had offered a lot of encouragement.
"I suppose that counts for something. He's better than Snape." Harry snorted in reply to Ron's comment.
"Who wouldn't be?"
"I don't think either of you are being particularly fair; we were told outright that it would be hard. Besides, you didn't sign up for it because you thought it would be easy did you?" Harry and Ron exchanged guilty glances following Hermione's comment. From the discontented muttering issuing from many of the other students, it sounded as though no small number were feeling deprived of an easy class. As the last of the students left the room, Kiora waved the door shut and retreated to the adjacent office.
He drummed his fingers on the desk while he though. Kiora needed to find a better way of teaching the class. The fact that none of them were able to conjure even a simple light without a wand was both disappointing and frightening. Was it possible that they had not even been taught to sense the flow of magic? Had wizardry actually digressed to the point of complete wand dependence? Did most wizards even know how a wand actually worked? Perhaps it would be necessary to show them their own ability to sense magic, so see the mana that powered their spells. The only way to do that would be for Kiora to direct their minds appropriately (with his own), an action that he doubted would be approved of. Kiora resolved to ask Dumbledore and any others who could see and sense mana for ideas. Kiora glanced longingly at the coronet on one of his shelves. It would so simplify things to use it and show the students directly. But it would be rather….unethical to do so, especially without the consent of the students- or even with it for that matter. They could hardly know what they were getting themselves into. Kiora drew his fingers away from their caress of the onyx filigree of the coronet. He walked out of his office and the door closed behind him.
As he traversed the twisting hallways of the school with no true aim in mind, he couldn't help but noticing a door that seemed to open into- a forest. Curious, he let himself in. The grass felt surprisingly real under his feet, and the room felt relatively devoid of magic for what ought to be an extremely complicated spell. Kiora knelt down and tugged at a bit of the grass. It came up easily in his hand, exposing real soil beneath. He carefully returned the grass to its former position. "Real. Amazing." Kiora spoke absently to himself.
"Nothing else would do." Kiora whirled to face the voice behind him, ending crouched and ready to fight or flee, hands before him. He almost did a double take as he stared at a palomino centaur. Bringing himself under control he spoke.
"I would not have expected to find a centaur here. I am Professor Sinavre. You are….?"
"Firenze. And I would not have expected your kind here. Dumbledore had informed me of a new professor and protector- you are he?"
"Indeed. I imagine Dumbledore told no one. It is not a fact I wish to be well known."
"I would not betray your secret."
"My thanks." Kiora relaxed further, and was soon engaged in a lively conversation with the centaur. Eventually he managed to maneuver the topic around to how to teach his students to sense mana, and teach them to use it. It turned out the Firenze had some rather interesting ideas.
Harry and Ron, no separated from Hermione (as she had dropped her divination class) were on their way to the lesson with Firenze. Dumbledore had decided to have Firenze and Trelawney teach the class jointly. The reached the door and were about to enter, but they heard their teacher conversing with someone.
"-and this is not a violation?"
"Actually no, the Covenant of Maelith'Ra is not specific enough about that to make my current duties illegal- merely questionable. But the Covenant was, by design, drafted so that this sort of thing would be possible, if not obviously in the spirit of the covenant. The Council only has the authority to enforce the law, not interpret it."
"Intriguing. So when- "
"I hate to interrupt, but I do believe your students are beginning to arrive. We most certainly must speak further."
"May the stars guide you." Harry and Ron backed away from the half open door at the sound of approaching footsteps. The door was opened quickly and a tall robed figure whisked past them.
"Was that that new professor?" Ron asked.
"Sinavre. Yeah. Something off about him."
"Oh come on Harry, he seems perfectly normal." Ron hustled Harry into the classroom as the Potter's eyes followed the dwindling burnt umber and silver robes.
Kiora was happily preparing the next day's lesson in his office when he felt his skin ripple- that was an entirely new sensation for Kiora, one that he had no idea how to interpret. He had frozen, quill half-raised, when the feeling had passed over him, and he remained that way for several more moments, before he was ready to dismiss it as nothing important. Kiora returned to his lesson plan.
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"Good morning class. I realized that yesterday was doubtlessly extremely frustrating for all of you, and that I'm sorry about. Today we're going to try something a little different. I don't want you to actually try to perform a spell. We will devote this class period to merely attempting to sense mana. The funny thing about sensing mana is that not everyone interprets what they're sensing the same way. Some people say that its like a smell, a few can see it, and other taste it, feel it, even hear it. And a very, very few conceptualize it in several or all of these ways." Kiora paused for a bit to allow the torrent of information to sink in, and continued walking back and forth at the front of the class. "I want everyone to begin by closing their eyes and attempting to clear your mind of everything. And I want you to tell me where my magical object that I have just cast….now…is. I will be moving it about the room."
The entire class appeared to have their eyes closed, and most were concentrating, though Kiora suspected that Draco was peaking. Not that it would matter of course; the magic Kiora was using wasn't visible to the normal eye. Kiora swept the ball across the room, and floated it slowly past Potter and Granger, then Ron. He saw an expression flicker across Neville Longbottom's face. He moved it closer, and then made his blob of mana hover over Longbottom's head.
"I…its….Professor! It's right above my head isn't it!?"
"Yes! Yes it is! Tell me, how do you know?"
"I can sort of see it….its very faint….kind of yellowish white. And I can hear it too! It's….thrumming." Neville was ecstatic. It was quite possibly the first time he had been the one to figure something out before the rest of the class.
"Now I want you to open your eyes, very slowly, maintaining your concentration. Good. Can you still sense it?"
"Yes…but not as well."
"Excellent. That will change with practice. Keep at it." Kiora moved the mana blob away from Neville, whose eyes continued to track it. "Anyone else sense it?" A Hufflepuff girl raised her hand timidly.
"I think I can taste it. Its….a row in front of me?"
"Indeed. This is very good. I did not expect this exercise to work so well. But then, Hogwarts only takes the best." The rest of the class period continued in the same manner, and by then end of it nearly a quarter of the class had been successful in somehow spotting the mana. Kiora was extremely pleased. A few more days of the same exercise and he could have them at a level to perhaps begin casting simple spells. An excellent class indeed. Kiora would have to thank Firenze for that most effective drill. Apparently it was used with young centaurs. Kiora whistled to himself as his class filed out. It was going to be a good year.
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