Chapter Seven
Dark Wizards
Harry awoke Monday feeling slightly uneasy. He got dressed and headed to the Great hall for breakfast. He arrived just as class schedules were being handed out. As he sat down and helped himself to some porridge, Katie Bell, his only remaining teammate from his first year, approached.
"Hi, Harry, have a good summer? I've been named Captain this year."
Harry grinned at her.
"Good job, you've earned it."
"Listen, you're back on the team, right?" Harry nodded. "Good. Ginny's a fine Seeker, but she just isn't you, even on a Firebolt. Now, I'm going to hold tryouts on Thursday evening. I think we're going to need a couple Chasers, and a couple of Beaters. Sloper and Kirke were temporary because of that foul Umbridge. D'you think Ron will still be all right at Keeper?"
"Yeah, as long as he's not showing off." He nodded to Ron, who was sitting next to Hermione holding her hand while they ate.
"Men," muttered Katie.
"Oh Katie, you'll need to find a substitute Chaser for the first match. Ginny'll need to play Seeker. I won't be able to play."
"Why? What's going on?"
"I've been suspended for one match."
"WHAT? What did you do?"
"It's personal. Look, I'll lend Ginny my Firebolt for the match."
"Well, I've looked at the schedule and we're playing Hufflepuff. With Ginny on your Firebolt they won't stand a chance. Don't get yourself into any more trouble. We had a hell of a time last year thanks to Umbridge and I don't want a repeat."
"I'll try, Katie," Harry grinned.
As Katie walked off, Harry received his schedule. He moved next to Ron to compare.
"Looks like you have Binns first thing, Ron. I guess I get to sleep in," Harry teased.
"Not bloody fair, this is," said Ron
"At least you get the afternoon off. We have double Potions." Ron looked much happier after that.
"Ooh, we have our first Defense lesson this morning," said Hermione. "I've been talking to the other girls, and everyone is so curious about him."
Just then Dumbledore stood up and called for silence.
"Before you all go to class, I have a brief announcement. First through Fifth years, you will notice that one of your Defense Against the Dark Arts lessons is marked 'To Be Determined' on your schedules. This is because Professor Windrider will be assisted in those lessons by Mr. Harry Potter, who has shown himself to be an exceptional teacher of the subject, and the lessons will be arranged around his schedule."
There was thunderous applause from the Gryffindor table. Every single member of the DA was also on his or her feet cheering. In fact, the only table not cheering was the Slytherin table, which was silent in shock. Harry saw Malfoy talking to a number of other Slytherins, and wondered when he would see him in a class.
With that announcement everyone started leaving for their first class. Ron and Hermione left for History of Magic while Harry finished his breakfast, ignoring all the stares and comments directed his way. He was used to stares and comments anyway, although lately they had nothing to do with fame and more to do with fear. The year before, the Ministry was attempting to discredit him, and they had the Daily Prophet publish stories about how he was an attention-seeking nutter. Today, however, the looks were, especially from the first and second years, looks of awe. Finally Harry got up and left for Hagrid's. He was looking forward to a talk with Hagrid, though not necessarily forward to his class. Hagrid had an annoying habit of choosing what most normal wizards would label as "dangerous man-eating beasts" for study.
As he approached Hagrid's cabin, he became aware of a terrible cacophony. He passed a large paddock, which seemed to have some long poles attached to it. This was covered, and not the source of the disturbance. Harry assumed this was a first lesson "surprise". Harry slowly peered behind Hagrid's cabin and gasped in shock. A hippogriff seemed to be locked in a life or death struggle with Fang, Hagrid's boarhound. Panicking, Harry pounded on Hagrid's door.
"Hagrid! HAGRID! Buckbeak is killing Fang!"
Hagrid opened his door.
"Oh hello, Harry. Wha's that you said?"
"Buckbeak is killing Fang! Come quick!"
Hagrid followed Harry around his cabin. He took a look at the scene and laughed.
"That? Theh're jus' playin', Harry. Nothing to worry about. Here, Fang!"
Fang came bounding over and proceeded to drool all over Harry. Harry pushed him aside as Buckbeak came to investigate. Harry looked Buckbeak in the eye and bowed. After a moment, Buckbeak bowed back, and Harry went to pat his beak and stroke his feathers.
"Beaky was in a righ' state after Sirius, yeh know. Dumbledore sent him to me. He's got a place just inside the forest, an' he knows to go there when students are here. Although I have to lock him in," Hagrid added glumly. "Can't have him attackin' any more Slytherins, yeh know. But, he gets out and is able to stretch his wings at least once a day. He's still a bit sad, yeh know. Hippogriffs don't make friends easily, but they make 'em for life." Hagrid sniffed a little and blew his nose into a tablecloth-sized handkerchief.
"Now. How 'bout you--a teacher an' all. Who would have thought it?" Hagrid was positively beaming now. "Put some of those Slytherins in shock that did. Now they have teh be nice teh you or else they won' pass their tests."
Harry didn't quite share this view of the Slytherin reaction.
"So, how's Grawp?" Grawp was Hagrid's half-brother. Hagrid found him last summer on his mission to the giants with Madame Maxime, Headmistress of Beauxbatons Academy and another half-giant. Hagrid "rescued" him and brought him back to live in the Forbidden Forest.
"Grawpie's doin' great...his English is much better, an' he's much be'er behaved." Harry looked closely at Hagrid. The cuts and bruises were gone. "In fact, Grawpie's been askin' for 'Hermy' all summer."
"I'll bet she'd love to hear that," said Harry, grinning. "Anyway, what's under that?" Harry pointed to the covered paddock.
Hagrid beamed. "Got a special treat for this year. Dumbledore got some personally. Foreign they are. Dunno all that much abou' 'em, they're kinda rare. Look, here come the others. Wait near the paddock while I get Beaky all set."
Harry went in front of the paddock while Hagrid took Buckbeak to his hiding place. Soon Ron and Hermione joined him.
"Hey, Harry. Binns was boring as usual. Where's Hagrid?" asked Ron.
Harry looked around to make sure no one was listening. "Buckbeak's here. Hagrid's taking him to a hiding place. He can't stay out during classes."
Ron and Hermione beamed. "Ooh, I can't wait to see him again," said Hermione.
"Yeah, me too. How's Grawp?"
Harry grinned. "He misses 'Hermy'. Hagrid says he's been asking about you all summer."
Hermione looked slightly faint. "Oh, dear" she said weakly.
By then the rest of the class had arrived and Hagrid was making his way towards them.
"Got a special treat for you all this year. If you'll all gather round the paddock here--"
Knowing Hagrid as they did, the class reluctantly gathered near the paddock. Hagrid threw off the covering. The entire class gasped and a few "Ooh" of delight were uttered by the girls. Four large snakes, between ten and twelve feet long took off into the air in flight. Their skin was covered in feathers in deep iridescent colors--blues, reds, and greens, which shone in the sunlight. Their wings were also feathered in the same colors.
"Occamies!" cried Hagrid proudly. "Brought righ' from India. There's been not a lot of research done on 'em, so I reckoned we could study 'em and maybe publish the results."
The entire class, even what Slytherins there were, looked transported by the sight of the winged snakes flying around in their caged paddock. Suddenly Lavender Brown pointed down to the floor of the paddock.
"Look! A nest! I've heard Occamy eggs are really valuable."
Hagrid nodded. "We have two mated pairs. They haven't laid any eggs yet, but building a nest is a good sign. I want to try summat. Harry, can you come over here?"
Harry went to where Hagrid indicated, right up along the edge of the paddock.
"Harry, try talking to them in Parseltongue. No one's ever tried it before."
Harry looked at them closely. Although they resembled mostly a cross between peacocks and dragons, Harry looked at their eyes--the eyes of snakes. He opened his mouth.
"Hello", he hissed. The rest of the class drew a little closer as one of the Occamies halted its flight and hovered a couple of feet from Harry.
"Hello. Who are you?"
"My name is Harry Potter."
"Harry Potter. You may call me Rama."
Harry turned to Hagrid. "He says his name is Rama."
Hagrid, Ron, and Hermione beamed at Harry. The rest of the class, while intensely interested in the Occamies, began muttering slightly. Harry caught a couple of the remarks.
"--I mean Harry's all right, but--"
"--never comfortable about Parselmouths--"
"--sign of Dark Wizards--"
Harry sighed and ignored them as Hagrid continued the lesson, the class taking notes on the habitats of Occamies, and the observed diet, and the like. Finally the class was came to an end.
"I think we'll be able to make this a great project, especially that Harry can talk to 'em, find out what they like, an' all that. But mind you, we won't do that too often. That'll be like cheatin'. We'll all be gettin our hands dirty, so to speak, as we learn about 'em."
The class greeted this prospect with slightly less enthusiasm. With that the class came to an end. Most of the class headed back to the school fairly rapidly, as they all were intensely curious about Professor Windrider, and double Defense against the Dark Arts was next.
They arrived in the classroom a few minutes early. Harry, Ron, and Hermione took seats up front. To Harry's disgust, Malfoy walked in a few seconds later, sneered at them, and sat down in the front row also. he leaned over to Harry.
"Nothing you learn in here is going to save you. If I don't kill you and your Muggle-loving Mudblood friends myself, the Dark Lord will."
Ron bristled, but Harry merely turned to Malfoy and replied in a cool voice.
"There's nothing you can say that will make me scared of you, so give it up. And as for your precious Voldemort--"
"Good morning, Class."
All heads turned to the doorway. There was a collective gasp of horror and a few short screams from the girls. In walked a tall man dressed in black, leaning on an elaborately carved cane. He was wearing a loose shirt and pants of faintly Oriental appearance, and he was barefoot. His face was brown and lined, and his hair was as silver as unicorn blood. But this wasn't what made the class shrink back in horror from his approach. His face was disfigured by two horrible tattoos. The first, on his left cheek, was of a curious double spiral done in black and white. The second, in the middle of his forehead, was of an eye so lifelike the class couldn't tear their eyes off of it, as much as they wanted to. Harry gave a gasp as he realized that this was the eye that was troubling his dreams last night.
He limped into the silent classroom and leaned on the edge of his desk. All eyes were on him.
"My name is Jeremiah Windrider. I will be teaching you Defense against the Dark Arts this year. What you have done in your previous five years in this class is now meaningless twaddle. We will be exploring the very heart and meaning of the Dark Arts. I warn you. You will not like what we find, for the Darkness lies within each one of you. You have a question?" Dean Thomas had raised his hand.
"Erm--Sir--"
"Yes, Mr.--?"
"Dean Thomas, Sir. Um, sir, don't we learn more advanced protective spells, like Patronuses in N.E.W.T. classes?"
"You do. However, it is not my job to teach them to you. You will have Wizards to teach you those."
"What do you mean--?"
"He means he's nothing but a filthy Muggle, Thomas, are you deaf?"
Windrider turned to the source of the interruption.
"Ah, you must be Lucius' boy. Tell, me, how is he doing these days? Pity he's locked up, we have so much to catch up on."
"He'll be out soon, and when I tell him you're still alive--"
Windrider slammed his cane down on Malfoy's desk.
"Let him come," he hissed. "If he's not too scared to. Now be quiet before you receive detention. In case you haven't noticed, we are in class and it's my job to teach you.
"As Mr. Malfoy here so quaintly put it, yes, I am a Muggle. However, no one except Dumbledore knows more about the Dark Arts and how to defeat Dark Wizards than I do, as many Dark Wizards have found out to their great dismay. To defeat the Dark Arts, one must understand the Dark Arts. The first step in understanding the Dark Arts is understanding the greatest weapon Dark Wizards use. Can anyone venture a guess what it is?"
Harry sat there racking his brain, thinking of every dark spell and curse he could. He glanced around and saw even Hermione thinking hard. After almost a minute, Windrider spoke, almost as if to himself.
"Voldemort."
The entire class flinched and shuddered. Harry saw an amused glint in Windrider's eyes.
"Vvvvvvooooolllllllddddeeeemmmmooorrrttt." he said again, stretching out each syllable. "Don't you think that's a funny sounding name? Volie-Volie-Vlodemort. Moldie-Oldie-Voldie-mort. It's rather silly, once you think about it. You all don't find it as amusing?"
The entire class was cringing every time he mentioned Voldemort, even more so when he started making fun of his name.
"You're not scared, are you? After all, it's only sounds, a name. While a spell can kill, a name cannot. And now you see the greatest weapon of the Dark Arts. Why does no one stand up to the bully? Why is the boggart, a weak and easy to defeat creature, considered a Dark Creature? Why does a made-up name cause you all to cringe, flinch and shudder whenever someone mentions it? Fear. Fear is what allows Dark Wizards to win. Is Voldemort a dangerous wizard? Yes. Should you be scared if you met him in a dark alley? Of course. But you should not let that fear rule every minute of your lives, for that isn't life or living. Once that happens, he has already won. This is the most important thing you will learn in this class. To master and overcome your fear so you will be able to act when the time comes. You." He pointed at Hermione. "Miss--"
"H-h-hermione Granger, sir."
"Well, Miss Granger, do you have any special causes in your heart?" Ron sniggered quietly.
Hermione nodded. "I-I'm interested in-in elf rights."
"Very good. Are you willing to fight for it?"
She nodded "Yes" she said firmly.
"Are you willing to suffer great humiliation for it?"
She nodded, a little less certainly this time.
"Are you willing to face anything for the house-elves?"
Hermione nodded again.
"Are you willing to die to liberate the house-elves?" Windrider asked softly.
Hermione looked stricken. "I-I-don't know..." She buried her face in her hands.
Windrider bent low to Hermione and patted her on the shoulder. He spoke so softly Harry barely heard him.
"It's all right, sorry for putting you on the spot like that."
He stood back up and addressed the class.
The first step in mastering fear is to have a reason. Be it a person, an idea, or a cause, you must have something you are willing to fight for, a reason to go on. 'Yea though I walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death, I will fear no Evil'. Please clear the desks to the side, turn down the lights, and stand at the far end of the classroom."
As the class complied, Windrider went to the other and of the room and stood in front of them in the darkened room.
"We will now have a little exercise in mastering fear. First, place your wands in your bags."
Very reluctantly the class did this.
"Second, think of something you believe in. It doesn't matter what, as long as you believe in it strongly. Third, look into my eyes. When I tell you, simply walk across the room to me. Does everyone have something to believe in? Something to fight for? Then begin."
Harry thought of the defeat of Voldemort and his followers and took one step forward. All the light in the room vanished. Windrider's eye tattoo seemed to be glowing as he took another step forward. All of a sudden he shuddered and felt an icy hand clutching at his heart. There was Death here, lurking just ahead. Harry suddenly felt afraid, afraid like he had never felt before. Each step became an eternity, terrified that Death would strike him down as easily as Voldemort killed Cedric. He wanted to run back, to cower under a desk and hide. He heard Windrider's voice from far away.
"Hold to what you believe in. How much are you willing to fight?"
Harry focused on the defeat of Voldemort. He wanted him defeated more than anything so he could have a normal life. The thought grew in him--'If I can make it across the room, he will be defeated'. Each step was a titanic struggle against the fear mounting in him with each step. Finally he could go no further. His resolve began to waver. Death was drawing nearer. Harry's hands went up, covering his head against the blow that was sure to come any second.
"Lights. You may stop now, class."
Harry's fear vanished as the lights came back on in the classroom. Harry came to himself and found he was on the floor curled into a ball. He got up quickly and looked around, shaken by the experience. He was halfway to where Windrider was standing. He had made it the farthest of the class. Surprisingly, Neville was only a couple of steps away, but he looked much worse than Harry. The rest of the class was only a step or two away from where they started. Malfoy was pressed up against the wall, his eyes blank and staring. Windrider spoke again, moving among them, handing the class bars of Honeyduke's chocolate.
"Breathe deep. You are safe now. Nothing will hurt you here. Be at peace."
His voice was now soothing, mellow, and peaceful. It went through Harry almost like phoenix song. As Harry and the others ate, they all grew calmer. Finally they were all sitting on the floor. Windrider was sitting on the floor in front of them.
"What you experienced was the fear that lives within each one of you. Without form, such as the boggart can assume, without memory such as the dementors use, fear in its purest form can paralyze you, drive you mad, and even kill you. Before you leave this class at the end of the year, You will all make this journey again, and I won't hold back the next time. I will expect every one of you to make it to me."
"But if it will be worse next time, How will we even manage one step?" asked Susan Bones.
"I see you're already afraid of the next time. See how insidious fear is? you know that it's just an exercise, and you're already afraid to do it again. Now gather closer. Here is the secret to mastering fear."
The class all gathered around Windrider. He smiled gently and lowered his voice to a whisper.
"Fear is an illusion. It is NOT external. It comes from you. It IS you. When you try to fight fear, you are fighting yourself, and that is a fight you will never win. Mastery involves accepting that you are afraid and making that fear a part of the whole of you. When you master yourself, you cannot be conquered. You may die, for that is what happens to all of us, but you die whole. This is something Dark Wizards have never and will never understand. They use fear as a weapon because they themselves are fearful. When their weapon does not work, their own fear masters them."
He rose to his feet soundlessly. "Homework. Read the first chapter in your book and submit an essay describing three ways in which you would use fear to defeat an opponent. Potter, I would like a quick word. The rest of you are dismissed."
The class left muttering and still looking shaken. Harry gathered his things and waited by Windrider's desk.
"Harry, I would like you to see me tonight after your Occlumency lesson to arrange the lessons for the younger students. I know you have Potions after lunch. Remember, other emotions besides fear can have the same hold on you, and Professor Snape is a master at using one's emotions as a weapon. Remember what we have discussed in today's class."
Harry spoke up hesitantly.
"Erm...you said you were a Muggle....so..."
"Why am I here? A fair question. As you know, most Muggles do not see the wizarding world because they refuse to believe in it. Their minds refuse to process what they see. And Those few who do see are quickly dealt with by the use of Memory Charms. I have, however, actively looked for magic and have spent many years training my mind to be immune to Memory Charms and the like. I am half Native American and half Native Australian. In these cultures, the magical world is known and accepted. The Muggles in those cultures who wish to be shamans--what wizards in those cultures are called in the Muggle world--are trained alongside those with magical abilities. The training is a bit different--mostly mental in nature, but it gives us skills should we wish to travel in the wizarding world. While I can't cast a Stunning Spell, for instance, I can, to an extent, defend myself against most hexes, jinxes, and curses. As to what I did in class, part of the skill of the shaman is to travel the inner mind, into the dream world. I just took you along within yourselves and showed you what was there."
"But-if that's within us--"
"We are all capable of becoming Dark Wizards, Harry. Very much capable. What I am teaching in this class is how to avoid that path. What I have talked about today will help you. As for why I am your teacher, well, I fought with Dumbledore last time. After Voldemort's fall, I knew he would be back. I had studied enough of the Dark Arts to know he would be. I went to Tibet to strengthen myself and only returned this summer. And it's now time for you to go to lunch. Remember what you learned in class, and I will see you this evening."
As Harry turned and was leaving, he went on, half to himself.
"It's a risky gamble Dumbledore's taking, having me teach you. Who knows how many of you will lose yourselves to the lure of Power that the Dark Arts have?"
Harry stopped.
"I won't, Professor. I will never go to the Dark." Harry left. Windrider watched him go with a sad smile on his face.
"We'll see, Harry Potter, we'll see."
Dark Wizards
Harry awoke Monday feeling slightly uneasy. He got dressed and headed to the Great hall for breakfast. He arrived just as class schedules were being handed out. As he sat down and helped himself to some porridge, Katie Bell, his only remaining teammate from his first year, approached.
"Hi, Harry, have a good summer? I've been named Captain this year."
Harry grinned at her.
"Good job, you've earned it."
"Listen, you're back on the team, right?" Harry nodded. "Good. Ginny's a fine Seeker, but she just isn't you, even on a Firebolt. Now, I'm going to hold tryouts on Thursday evening. I think we're going to need a couple Chasers, and a couple of Beaters. Sloper and Kirke were temporary because of that foul Umbridge. D'you think Ron will still be all right at Keeper?"
"Yeah, as long as he's not showing off." He nodded to Ron, who was sitting next to Hermione holding her hand while they ate.
"Men," muttered Katie.
"Oh Katie, you'll need to find a substitute Chaser for the first match. Ginny'll need to play Seeker. I won't be able to play."
"Why? What's going on?"
"I've been suspended for one match."
"WHAT? What did you do?"
"It's personal. Look, I'll lend Ginny my Firebolt for the match."
"Well, I've looked at the schedule and we're playing Hufflepuff. With Ginny on your Firebolt they won't stand a chance. Don't get yourself into any more trouble. We had a hell of a time last year thanks to Umbridge and I don't want a repeat."
"I'll try, Katie," Harry grinned.
As Katie walked off, Harry received his schedule. He moved next to Ron to compare.
"Looks like you have Binns first thing, Ron. I guess I get to sleep in," Harry teased.
"Not bloody fair, this is," said Ron
"At least you get the afternoon off. We have double Potions." Ron looked much happier after that.
"Ooh, we have our first Defense lesson this morning," said Hermione. "I've been talking to the other girls, and everyone is so curious about him."
Just then Dumbledore stood up and called for silence.
"Before you all go to class, I have a brief announcement. First through Fifth years, you will notice that one of your Defense Against the Dark Arts lessons is marked 'To Be Determined' on your schedules. This is because Professor Windrider will be assisted in those lessons by Mr. Harry Potter, who has shown himself to be an exceptional teacher of the subject, and the lessons will be arranged around his schedule."
There was thunderous applause from the Gryffindor table. Every single member of the DA was also on his or her feet cheering. In fact, the only table not cheering was the Slytherin table, which was silent in shock. Harry saw Malfoy talking to a number of other Slytherins, and wondered when he would see him in a class.
With that announcement everyone started leaving for their first class. Ron and Hermione left for History of Magic while Harry finished his breakfast, ignoring all the stares and comments directed his way. He was used to stares and comments anyway, although lately they had nothing to do with fame and more to do with fear. The year before, the Ministry was attempting to discredit him, and they had the Daily Prophet publish stories about how he was an attention-seeking nutter. Today, however, the looks were, especially from the first and second years, looks of awe. Finally Harry got up and left for Hagrid's. He was looking forward to a talk with Hagrid, though not necessarily forward to his class. Hagrid had an annoying habit of choosing what most normal wizards would label as "dangerous man-eating beasts" for study.
As he approached Hagrid's cabin, he became aware of a terrible cacophony. He passed a large paddock, which seemed to have some long poles attached to it. This was covered, and not the source of the disturbance. Harry assumed this was a first lesson "surprise". Harry slowly peered behind Hagrid's cabin and gasped in shock. A hippogriff seemed to be locked in a life or death struggle with Fang, Hagrid's boarhound. Panicking, Harry pounded on Hagrid's door.
"Hagrid! HAGRID! Buckbeak is killing Fang!"
Hagrid opened his door.
"Oh hello, Harry. Wha's that you said?"
"Buckbeak is killing Fang! Come quick!"
Hagrid followed Harry around his cabin. He took a look at the scene and laughed.
"That? Theh're jus' playin', Harry. Nothing to worry about. Here, Fang!"
Fang came bounding over and proceeded to drool all over Harry. Harry pushed him aside as Buckbeak came to investigate. Harry looked Buckbeak in the eye and bowed. After a moment, Buckbeak bowed back, and Harry went to pat his beak and stroke his feathers.
"Beaky was in a righ' state after Sirius, yeh know. Dumbledore sent him to me. He's got a place just inside the forest, an' he knows to go there when students are here. Although I have to lock him in," Hagrid added glumly. "Can't have him attackin' any more Slytherins, yeh know. But, he gets out and is able to stretch his wings at least once a day. He's still a bit sad, yeh know. Hippogriffs don't make friends easily, but they make 'em for life." Hagrid sniffed a little and blew his nose into a tablecloth-sized handkerchief.
"Now. How 'bout you--a teacher an' all. Who would have thought it?" Hagrid was positively beaming now. "Put some of those Slytherins in shock that did. Now they have teh be nice teh you or else they won' pass their tests."
Harry didn't quite share this view of the Slytherin reaction.
"So, how's Grawp?" Grawp was Hagrid's half-brother. Hagrid found him last summer on his mission to the giants with Madame Maxime, Headmistress of Beauxbatons Academy and another half-giant. Hagrid "rescued" him and brought him back to live in the Forbidden Forest.
"Grawpie's doin' great...his English is much better, an' he's much be'er behaved." Harry looked closely at Hagrid. The cuts and bruises were gone. "In fact, Grawpie's been askin' for 'Hermy' all summer."
"I'll bet she'd love to hear that," said Harry, grinning. "Anyway, what's under that?" Harry pointed to the covered paddock.
Hagrid beamed. "Got a special treat for this year. Dumbledore got some personally. Foreign they are. Dunno all that much abou' 'em, they're kinda rare. Look, here come the others. Wait near the paddock while I get Beaky all set."
Harry went in front of the paddock while Hagrid took Buckbeak to his hiding place. Soon Ron and Hermione joined him.
"Hey, Harry. Binns was boring as usual. Where's Hagrid?" asked Ron.
Harry looked around to make sure no one was listening. "Buckbeak's here. Hagrid's taking him to a hiding place. He can't stay out during classes."
Ron and Hermione beamed. "Ooh, I can't wait to see him again," said Hermione.
"Yeah, me too. How's Grawp?"
Harry grinned. "He misses 'Hermy'. Hagrid says he's been asking about you all summer."
Hermione looked slightly faint. "Oh, dear" she said weakly.
By then the rest of the class had arrived and Hagrid was making his way towards them.
"Got a special treat for you all this year. If you'll all gather round the paddock here--"
Knowing Hagrid as they did, the class reluctantly gathered near the paddock. Hagrid threw off the covering. The entire class gasped and a few "Ooh" of delight were uttered by the girls. Four large snakes, between ten and twelve feet long took off into the air in flight. Their skin was covered in feathers in deep iridescent colors--blues, reds, and greens, which shone in the sunlight. Their wings were also feathered in the same colors.
"Occamies!" cried Hagrid proudly. "Brought righ' from India. There's been not a lot of research done on 'em, so I reckoned we could study 'em and maybe publish the results."
The entire class, even what Slytherins there were, looked transported by the sight of the winged snakes flying around in their caged paddock. Suddenly Lavender Brown pointed down to the floor of the paddock.
"Look! A nest! I've heard Occamy eggs are really valuable."
Hagrid nodded. "We have two mated pairs. They haven't laid any eggs yet, but building a nest is a good sign. I want to try summat. Harry, can you come over here?"
Harry went to where Hagrid indicated, right up along the edge of the paddock.
"Harry, try talking to them in Parseltongue. No one's ever tried it before."
Harry looked at them closely. Although they resembled mostly a cross between peacocks and dragons, Harry looked at their eyes--the eyes of snakes. He opened his mouth.
"Hello", he hissed. The rest of the class drew a little closer as one of the Occamies halted its flight and hovered a couple of feet from Harry.
"Hello. Who are you?"
"My name is Harry Potter."
"Harry Potter. You may call me Rama."
Harry turned to Hagrid. "He says his name is Rama."
Hagrid, Ron, and Hermione beamed at Harry. The rest of the class, while intensely interested in the Occamies, began muttering slightly. Harry caught a couple of the remarks.
"--I mean Harry's all right, but--"
"--never comfortable about Parselmouths--"
"--sign of Dark Wizards--"
Harry sighed and ignored them as Hagrid continued the lesson, the class taking notes on the habitats of Occamies, and the observed diet, and the like. Finally the class was came to an end.
"I think we'll be able to make this a great project, especially that Harry can talk to 'em, find out what they like, an' all that. But mind you, we won't do that too often. That'll be like cheatin'. We'll all be gettin our hands dirty, so to speak, as we learn about 'em."
The class greeted this prospect with slightly less enthusiasm. With that the class came to an end. Most of the class headed back to the school fairly rapidly, as they all were intensely curious about Professor Windrider, and double Defense against the Dark Arts was next.
They arrived in the classroom a few minutes early. Harry, Ron, and Hermione took seats up front. To Harry's disgust, Malfoy walked in a few seconds later, sneered at them, and sat down in the front row also. he leaned over to Harry.
"Nothing you learn in here is going to save you. If I don't kill you and your Muggle-loving Mudblood friends myself, the Dark Lord will."
Ron bristled, but Harry merely turned to Malfoy and replied in a cool voice.
"There's nothing you can say that will make me scared of you, so give it up. And as for your precious Voldemort--"
"Good morning, Class."
All heads turned to the doorway. There was a collective gasp of horror and a few short screams from the girls. In walked a tall man dressed in black, leaning on an elaborately carved cane. He was wearing a loose shirt and pants of faintly Oriental appearance, and he was barefoot. His face was brown and lined, and his hair was as silver as unicorn blood. But this wasn't what made the class shrink back in horror from his approach. His face was disfigured by two horrible tattoos. The first, on his left cheek, was of a curious double spiral done in black and white. The second, in the middle of his forehead, was of an eye so lifelike the class couldn't tear their eyes off of it, as much as they wanted to. Harry gave a gasp as he realized that this was the eye that was troubling his dreams last night.
He limped into the silent classroom and leaned on the edge of his desk. All eyes were on him.
"My name is Jeremiah Windrider. I will be teaching you Defense against the Dark Arts this year. What you have done in your previous five years in this class is now meaningless twaddle. We will be exploring the very heart and meaning of the Dark Arts. I warn you. You will not like what we find, for the Darkness lies within each one of you. You have a question?" Dean Thomas had raised his hand.
"Erm--Sir--"
"Yes, Mr.--?"
"Dean Thomas, Sir. Um, sir, don't we learn more advanced protective spells, like Patronuses in N.E.W.T. classes?"
"You do. However, it is not my job to teach them to you. You will have Wizards to teach you those."
"What do you mean--?"
"He means he's nothing but a filthy Muggle, Thomas, are you deaf?"
Windrider turned to the source of the interruption.
"Ah, you must be Lucius' boy. Tell, me, how is he doing these days? Pity he's locked up, we have so much to catch up on."
"He'll be out soon, and when I tell him you're still alive--"
Windrider slammed his cane down on Malfoy's desk.
"Let him come," he hissed. "If he's not too scared to. Now be quiet before you receive detention. In case you haven't noticed, we are in class and it's my job to teach you.
"As Mr. Malfoy here so quaintly put it, yes, I am a Muggle. However, no one except Dumbledore knows more about the Dark Arts and how to defeat Dark Wizards than I do, as many Dark Wizards have found out to their great dismay. To defeat the Dark Arts, one must understand the Dark Arts. The first step in understanding the Dark Arts is understanding the greatest weapon Dark Wizards use. Can anyone venture a guess what it is?"
Harry sat there racking his brain, thinking of every dark spell and curse he could. He glanced around and saw even Hermione thinking hard. After almost a minute, Windrider spoke, almost as if to himself.
"Voldemort."
The entire class flinched and shuddered. Harry saw an amused glint in Windrider's eyes.
"Vvvvvvooooolllllllddddeeeemmmmooorrrttt." he said again, stretching out each syllable. "Don't you think that's a funny sounding name? Volie-Volie-Vlodemort. Moldie-Oldie-Voldie-mort. It's rather silly, once you think about it. You all don't find it as amusing?"
The entire class was cringing every time he mentioned Voldemort, even more so when he started making fun of his name.
"You're not scared, are you? After all, it's only sounds, a name. While a spell can kill, a name cannot. And now you see the greatest weapon of the Dark Arts. Why does no one stand up to the bully? Why is the boggart, a weak and easy to defeat creature, considered a Dark Creature? Why does a made-up name cause you all to cringe, flinch and shudder whenever someone mentions it? Fear. Fear is what allows Dark Wizards to win. Is Voldemort a dangerous wizard? Yes. Should you be scared if you met him in a dark alley? Of course. But you should not let that fear rule every minute of your lives, for that isn't life or living. Once that happens, he has already won. This is the most important thing you will learn in this class. To master and overcome your fear so you will be able to act when the time comes. You." He pointed at Hermione. "Miss--"
"H-h-hermione Granger, sir."
"Well, Miss Granger, do you have any special causes in your heart?" Ron sniggered quietly.
Hermione nodded. "I-I'm interested in-in elf rights."
"Very good. Are you willing to fight for it?"
She nodded "Yes" she said firmly.
"Are you willing to suffer great humiliation for it?"
She nodded, a little less certainly this time.
"Are you willing to face anything for the house-elves?"
Hermione nodded again.
"Are you willing to die to liberate the house-elves?" Windrider asked softly.
Hermione looked stricken. "I-I-don't know..." She buried her face in her hands.
Windrider bent low to Hermione and patted her on the shoulder. He spoke so softly Harry barely heard him.
"It's all right, sorry for putting you on the spot like that."
He stood back up and addressed the class.
The first step in mastering fear is to have a reason. Be it a person, an idea, or a cause, you must have something you are willing to fight for, a reason to go on. 'Yea though I walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death, I will fear no Evil'. Please clear the desks to the side, turn down the lights, and stand at the far end of the classroom."
As the class complied, Windrider went to the other and of the room and stood in front of them in the darkened room.
"We will now have a little exercise in mastering fear. First, place your wands in your bags."
Very reluctantly the class did this.
"Second, think of something you believe in. It doesn't matter what, as long as you believe in it strongly. Third, look into my eyes. When I tell you, simply walk across the room to me. Does everyone have something to believe in? Something to fight for? Then begin."
Harry thought of the defeat of Voldemort and his followers and took one step forward. All the light in the room vanished. Windrider's eye tattoo seemed to be glowing as he took another step forward. All of a sudden he shuddered and felt an icy hand clutching at his heart. There was Death here, lurking just ahead. Harry suddenly felt afraid, afraid like he had never felt before. Each step became an eternity, terrified that Death would strike him down as easily as Voldemort killed Cedric. He wanted to run back, to cower under a desk and hide. He heard Windrider's voice from far away.
"Hold to what you believe in. How much are you willing to fight?"
Harry focused on the defeat of Voldemort. He wanted him defeated more than anything so he could have a normal life. The thought grew in him--'If I can make it across the room, he will be defeated'. Each step was a titanic struggle against the fear mounting in him with each step. Finally he could go no further. His resolve began to waver. Death was drawing nearer. Harry's hands went up, covering his head against the blow that was sure to come any second.
"Lights. You may stop now, class."
Harry's fear vanished as the lights came back on in the classroom. Harry came to himself and found he was on the floor curled into a ball. He got up quickly and looked around, shaken by the experience. He was halfway to where Windrider was standing. He had made it the farthest of the class. Surprisingly, Neville was only a couple of steps away, but he looked much worse than Harry. The rest of the class was only a step or two away from where they started. Malfoy was pressed up against the wall, his eyes blank and staring. Windrider spoke again, moving among them, handing the class bars of Honeyduke's chocolate.
"Breathe deep. You are safe now. Nothing will hurt you here. Be at peace."
His voice was now soothing, mellow, and peaceful. It went through Harry almost like phoenix song. As Harry and the others ate, they all grew calmer. Finally they were all sitting on the floor. Windrider was sitting on the floor in front of them.
"What you experienced was the fear that lives within each one of you. Without form, such as the boggart can assume, without memory such as the dementors use, fear in its purest form can paralyze you, drive you mad, and even kill you. Before you leave this class at the end of the year, You will all make this journey again, and I won't hold back the next time. I will expect every one of you to make it to me."
"But if it will be worse next time, How will we even manage one step?" asked Susan Bones.
"I see you're already afraid of the next time. See how insidious fear is? you know that it's just an exercise, and you're already afraid to do it again. Now gather closer. Here is the secret to mastering fear."
The class all gathered around Windrider. He smiled gently and lowered his voice to a whisper.
"Fear is an illusion. It is NOT external. It comes from you. It IS you. When you try to fight fear, you are fighting yourself, and that is a fight you will never win. Mastery involves accepting that you are afraid and making that fear a part of the whole of you. When you master yourself, you cannot be conquered. You may die, for that is what happens to all of us, but you die whole. This is something Dark Wizards have never and will never understand. They use fear as a weapon because they themselves are fearful. When their weapon does not work, their own fear masters them."
He rose to his feet soundlessly. "Homework. Read the first chapter in your book and submit an essay describing three ways in which you would use fear to defeat an opponent. Potter, I would like a quick word. The rest of you are dismissed."
The class left muttering and still looking shaken. Harry gathered his things and waited by Windrider's desk.
"Harry, I would like you to see me tonight after your Occlumency lesson to arrange the lessons for the younger students. I know you have Potions after lunch. Remember, other emotions besides fear can have the same hold on you, and Professor Snape is a master at using one's emotions as a weapon. Remember what we have discussed in today's class."
Harry spoke up hesitantly.
"Erm...you said you were a Muggle....so..."
"Why am I here? A fair question. As you know, most Muggles do not see the wizarding world because they refuse to believe in it. Their minds refuse to process what they see. And Those few who do see are quickly dealt with by the use of Memory Charms. I have, however, actively looked for magic and have spent many years training my mind to be immune to Memory Charms and the like. I am half Native American and half Native Australian. In these cultures, the magical world is known and accepted. The Muggles in those cultures who wish to be shamans--what wizards in those cultures are called in the Muggle world--are trained alongside those with magical abilities. The training is a bit different--mostly mental in nature, but it gives us skills should we wish to travel in the wizarding world. While I can't cast a Stunning Spell, for instance, I can, to an extent, defend myself against most hexes, jinxes, and curses. As to what I did in class, part of the skill of the shaman is to travel the inner mind, into the dream world. I just took you along within yourselves and showed you what was there."
"But-if that's within us--"
"We are all capable of becoming Dark Wizards, Harry. Very much capable. What I am teaching in this class is how to avoid that path. What I have talked about today will help you. As for why I am your teacher, well, I fought with Dumbledore last time. After Voldemort's fall, I knew he would be back. I had studied enough of the Dark Arts to know he would be. I went to Tibet to strengthen myself and only returned this summer. And it's now time for you to go to lunch. Remember what you learned in class, and I will see you this evening."
As Harry turned and was leaving, he went on, half to himself.
"It's a risky gamble Dumbledore's taking, having me teach you. Who knows how many of you will lose yourselves to the lure of Power that the Dark Arts have?"
Harry stopped.
"I won't, Professor. I will never go to the Dark." Harry left. Windrider watched him go with a sad smile on his face.
"We'll see, Harry Potter, we'll see."
