Disclaimer: Characters, except Charley, are not mine. It all belongs to the almighty woman: J.K. Rowling. PLEASE REVIEW! I want to keep going, but I need to know if people like it.
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Charley's first classes went by fairly well. She did seem to make an impression on them. Now, she sat at the table finishing her lunch and watched the students. The gray-eyed boy had just shoved the red haired boy causing him to trip slightly. Miss. Granger placed her hand on his shoulder, anger on her face and pity in her eyes looking at Mr. Malfoy. Harry watched from behind, just watching.
"Interesting," she mumbled to herself.
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The three Gryffindors sat down at the table. Hermione still sat next to Ron, and Harry took his usual seat across from them. There was someone missing.
"I really dislike Malfoy," Ron growled.
"Take it easy, Tiger." Hermione said with a laugh. "WE dislike him." Harry just sat and began to munch on little bits of food placed in front of him. He knew he should say something, but what good would it do? Anything of the sorts would have his head chopped off, or be sent to St. Mungo's Hospital. He thought for a minute, maybe he was insane.
"I think Snape has sunk to a new low," said Ron. "Maybe it has to do with Professor Gallucci. He just doesn't seem his usual cheerful self. He's even more horrifying than usual." Hermione shrugged at this comment.
Just then Ginny walked up, slightly out of breath. "Sorry I'm late. I had to take all my books to my room first."
"We've had only two classes so far. How can you have too many books?" Harry asked.
"Professor Charley." She nodded to the new teacher as she sat down. Professor Gallucci was sitting by herself reading a book.
"Charley?"
"Yes, she told us to call her that." Ginny giggled at the strange look Harry gave her.
"What does she have to do with your books? There's only one book for that class."
"You'll see."
"So I take it you liked her class?" Hermione asked. Ginny's happiness seemed to spread like a flame. The whole table was all laughing and joking with each other.
"Yea. You'll love it."
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A few minutes later the bell rang and the kids were off. Charley made her was down to Hagrid's Hut. It had been forever since she last visited it. She remembered the last time like it was yesterday, and just as quickly pushed those events back where they were hidden. She knocked and the large man answered the door with a pot of tea in his hands.
"Hey there," she greeted.
"Come on in," he offered and stepped out of her way.
She often pitied the way he lived, but also was happy for him, for how he's managed to live his life. His house was like a one room hotel suite. There was a bed in one corner, table in another, kitchen in the third, and a fireplace along a wall.
"Ahh...the infamous bachelor pad," she said sweetly to Hagrid. She noticed the fresh flowers on the table. He had wanted to make her feel cheerful on this hectic day. She smiled at the fact he remembered her favorite flowers: snap dragons.
"Oh well..." he blushed again as he poured the tea in their cups.
"So, how have you been Hagrid? How's life been treating you?"
"It has its ups and downs. I won't bore ya with the depressing parts."
"Spoil me. Give me both."
"Alright. If yer want them."
The two talked about how much has gone on during her time away from Hogwarts. They talked about the death of young Cedric Diggory two years ago and about the cursed teaching position of Defense Against the Dark Arts. They talked about Hagrid's latest creature and his favorites Buckbeak and Norbert; and about Mr. Potter, Miss Granger, and Mr. Weasley being an important thing in his life, especially when his loyal dog Fang died last year.
"They visit all the time. At first it was just 'Arry coming, then Ron and him became good friends, so those two visited me. Of course there is sweet 'ittle 'Ermione."
"Everyone talks about those three, but there is this red headed girl with them all the time. Ginny, I believe her name is."
"Ya, Ron's sister. This is actually a new thing. Everyone knows she was sort of friends with the group, but the three never really included her. Most professors think this could possibly be because of the death of a good friend of Ginny's last year." Hagrid sniffled. "Another murder by You-Know-Who."
"That's awful."
"Ain't it?" Hagrid pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket.
"So, not to change the subject abruptly, how are you liking teaching? I heard the kids really enjoy your class."
Hagrid smiled through his teary face and replied. "Oh, I love it." He was positively beaming. "I like being with the kids and teaching 'em something I love. What about you, how have yer first classes been?"
"Really just great. I honestly didn't think I would end up as a teacher."
"I didn't think you would either, especially here," Hagrid said the last bit slowly, waiting for her reaction. Dumbledore had warned the other teachers never to approach the subject, but since he knew of everything he figured it couldn't hurt to try and talk about it. Dumbledore had said that Charley would just change the subject. She needed time to cope and to heal.
"You know," she laughed slightly, "I have gotten so many questions about my clothes today." The statement Hagrid had said, forgotten.
"It's not everyday they see a witch or wizard wear these clothes. It's just not a usual thing. The students were just taken aback by it. This morning was rather interesting."
"Practically all the guys were staring at me. It was weird. It was almost as if they had never seen a woman before!"
"Actually, some of them had never seen a grown witch wear anything...like that."
"I still find that strange." Charley took a sip of her tea.
"Well, its been great talking with you, but I do have a class to get to," he said getting up.
"I do believe I have one too." The two left the hut together and parted ways.
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Ron walked down the hall at practically a run. Hermione laughed and Harry tried to desperately catch up with his tall friend.
"No fair! You have longer legs and bigger feet than I do," Harry joked breathlessly. The three made it to the door and looked in. They were the first ones there.
"Well, you know what they say about guys that have big feet!" Ron boated.
"Yea, they're feet are big," Hermione retorted.
"Hermione." Ron gave her a mock-stern look. She flashed an innocent smile and walked into the quickly filling classroom.
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Charley sat at her desk looking over some last minute notes she made from the previous classes. Minerva had told her that it was a good idea, that way she can improve herself with each class.
"Well, look here. It's the Three Musketeers: Scar face, the sidekick, and Mudblood," the gray eyed boy snarled as the three passed by him, simply ignoring his remarks.
"What's the matter Mudblood?" he asked slightly louder this time. "Finally got your boyfriends' whipped? Look at me when I'm talking to you Mudblood!"
There was the sound of a slamming of a book. The whole room looked at the now maddened teacher. Her glasses were at the edge of her nose and her eyes pierced over them. Her gaze set directly on one specific student.
"That is enough Mr. Malfoy!" she said with strained anger in her voice. "I really don't think it was very smart of you to tick off your teacher on the first day. It gives the person a horrible impression of you. Twenty points from Slytherin. I will not have prejudice in my classroom." She kept her voice level, though it sounded like she was struggling.
The class remained silent, half angry, half thrilled. All the Gryffindors looked as if Christmas had come early.
"Please take a seat. There is no assigned seating so sit anywhere and get comfy." She finally stood up. Again, she wasn't wearing robes. She was dressed in knee high black socks, a plaid, pleated skirt, and a black sweater that hid no curve.
"To start the class off, I'm going to give you information about me. Since I do have your attention, why not allow myself to delve into being self-centered? I do feel like talking about me for a few minutes." She took a deep breath. "My name is Charley Rose Gallucci, but you are to call me Professor Charley. I like to be called my real name." A few people smiled. "Out of school, I left and traveled the world, indulging in the many cultures of the Muggles." There was a snort from a Slytherin and a faint rude comment. "Ten more points from Slytherin. My favorite place was actually America, but nothing beats my home in Ireland.
Before anyone asks, I just love Muggle clothing. I do wear robes on occasion. It will be a special day when I wear mine. Keep that in mind. I'm a Gemini and my favorite color is purple, though lately I've started liking pink. Now for the most important fact: I don't talk about my past, so there are to be no questions. I'm not going to lie. Something happened to me, so I don't elaborate, even with Professor Dumbledore. I repeat what I said: no questions period."
Miss Granger sat and listened intently as well as the rest of the class, including the Slytherins.
"Now, about this class. As I mentioned before, and I thank Mr. Malfoy for acting this out, I will take no rude comments to anyone. When you walk through these doors, you are to hold each other, myself included, with deep respect. Each one of you have magic in your blood. It's a powerful tool for both good and bad. I believe you all have the ability to do great in life and use that power wisely, but if you cannot learn respect, then you have no right to hold these powers. You are not worthy of the responsibility." The students were now watching her closely.
"This is a new course called Muggle Arts. We will learn about the different forms of art and how the Muggles express the magic they have inside them. The major subjects we will approach will be art (paintings, sculptures, photography, and architecture), music past and present (vocal and instrumental), creative writing, and dance." There were a few groans from the guys. "Yes, I'm sorry to say, but dance is an art form, and a beautiful one at that. I promise all the guys it will be very painless."
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"Let's hope," Harry whispered to Hermione. She simply rolled her eyes.
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"My real passion is for music and writing. In these subjects, you will be told to compose something. Unfortunately there is lots we need to cover, so you will need to do lots of additional reading in other books." There was a silent cheer from Miss Granger. "I was able to borrow these from a friend of mine. You are going to be able to use these throughout the year. If they are not returned, there will be a harsh punishment. You will have detention with Professor Trelwany for a month." A good portion of her class shuddered and let out mock shrieks of horror.
Charley mumbled a spell and flicked her wrist holding her wand. A box appeared in front of each kid. Then, with a flash, they were full of around fifteen books.
"You have to be kidding me!" Mr. Longbottom yelled as he examined the stack in front of him. "This is worse than Lockhart!"
"I kid you not. I'll assign a reading assignment every night. The next day, you will expect a quiz on it. You fail the quiz, you are to come in this classroom at the end of the day and we will go over it. You will then take a different quiz. You are in this class to learn, not to obey the rules (though that is a requirement). The point of everyone taking this class is because there have been studies made proving that the arts have improved the thinking abilities and the creative abilities in people, Muggle and Magical. I do hope you enjoy my class. See you next time," she said and the bell rang. The day had ended.
All the kids pilled out of the class slowly. No one wanted to leave. They left feeling more excited about the next time they were to have this class.
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Charley strolled into Dumbledore's office with the Professor himself. They were smiling and talking about how the day had gone.
"I heard from little birds that you were slightly hard on Draco today." Charley looked up to see if the old man was mad or not. He, as always, was smiling through his eyes.
"Well, Mr. Malfoy deserved to have those points taken away. I will have no tolerance for those who are narrow-minded."
"I wish other people would agree with you." He paused, "You are the first teacher to actually do something about it. We'll need to teach them these things if we are to get through what lies ahead."
Charley sat down in a chair next to Dumbledore, waiting for the other teachers. She looked around at the office. When she was younger she had been taken here so many times, she has lost count. Everything looked the same.
"Ah, yes. You were in this office many times. Most of it because you beat up your own house members for making fun of the Muggle-born students." Charley tried to smile at his comment, but something kept her from responding. When she was younger, she did like to have at least one fight a week, but things have changed. She just ignored the comments.
"Give it time," he said placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "The wounds will heal."
"I can only hope," she said quietly as the door opened.
When everyone was seated, Dumbledore began.
"Thank you all for being here on time. We are expecting two guests in about an hour. Until then, we'll carry on with some other orders of business.
I congratulate the two new teachers on their first day. I hope you enjoyed it." Professor Spelling groaned and Charley just smiled, avoiding the glare she felt upon her.
"You know Severus," Dumbledore said looking at him, "that nasty snarl does not flatter you at all." The teachers, including Charley, laughed. She could hear Minerva chuckle off to the side.
"Now, back to business. Let me prep you for what is expected, and for the new teachers, what has happened. Last year, Mr. Potter faced The Dark Lord again. The ministry still denies his return, but no one believes them. During the course of last year, there was an attack on three people. One was a young student here by the name of Genevieve O'Rourke, daughter of Marc and Jade O'Rourke, both Muggles. Our pre-cautions last year were not enough to keep our children safe, so this year we must up our defenses."
The teachers watched him as he explained what had been prepared last year and how Voldemort slipped by.
"Hagrid," Dumbledore nodded in his direction, "has done a wonderful thing and made alliances with the giants. We are grateful for that in many ways. I have also made special arrangements for some protection, and the two guests joining us in a few minutes are going to be very helpful this year. Voldemort"- There was a shudder from Professor Spelling.
"I'm sorry, Alice, but those who don't speak his name show their fear. He loves that. In order to defeat him, we must at least learn to speak his name. Show no fear everyone."
There was a knock at the door and then it slowly opened. There was an old lady with feline eyes, and a young muscular man with shoulder length black hair. They were both looking around the room at the staring teachers.
Charley gasped as she saw the man. His black eyes focused on her, and a tiny smile crept up on his face. He looked as primal as he used to.
"Ah...Mrs. Figg, Mr. Black, come in and take a seat. We'll then get started." Dumbledore waved them in. He then conjured up two new chairs next to him separating himself and Charley. She looked at Dumbledore giving him a look that told him she knew what he was up to. He saw it, and ignored it with a cheeky smile.
The young man sat next to her, still smiling. Suddenly, he looked at Severus and wiped the happiness off his face.
The previous year, Siruis' name had been cleared when Mr. Potter had turned in Peter "Wormtail" Pettigrew last year. People still didn't quite accept the fact that Sirius was truly innoscent, causing him to continue to hide. He was still guilty in the eyes of the people for betraying the Potters.
"Arabella will roam around the grounds as an animagus, as well as Sirius. Will you two please change so we may see your form?"
Mrs. Figg stood up and changed into an old gray cat that matched the color of her hair. Her tail, however, had a black tip.
Sirius changed into the form of a beautiful black dog. His coat was shinny and clean, and his eyes were sparkling with life.
"These will be an addition to the Hogwarts Staff. No one will know of their identity except for us, and of course Harry, Hermione, and Ron," Dumbledore stated. There was nodding between the teachers as the two changed back to human form. "Professor Flitwick will be in charge of Mrs. Figg if anyone asks. Sirius will be under the ownership of Professor Snape." Dumbledore gave a little laugh after he said that.
"Next, I need to inform you about the two contacts we have in the circle of Voldemort's ring of Death Eaters. Severus here is one and Draco is the other. We are the only ones to even speak of this. The Three Musketeers and Draco know of Snape, but none of them know of Draco. No one is to know of him.
"Draco has chosen with his own free will to keep us informed of his father's instructions from Voldemort. He came to me at the end of the year after the death of the young girl. He has agreed to remain the same as he used to be to keep himself from being known. His fathers have kids in the school spying on Draco for him. Its not safe for him to be exposed." Dumbledore turned to Charley. "Treat him no differently." He looked at the others, then back to her. "Just like today." He smiled at her.
Snape suddenly became focused on the ground. They were going to discuss him next. 'She doesn't know about me,' he thought. 'How will she react?'
"Now to inform the newcomers about our fellow staff member."
Sirius looked with worry between Snape and Charley. He silently wised them the best.
"For the past twenty years, Severus has been a go-between for our side. Regretting the sign of the Dark Mark forced upon him, he turned to me for help. Now, here he is, still loyal. Again, you are to treat him no differently and you are not to bring up anything about this with him. I cannot stress enough on the secrecy of all of this." Dumbledore stood up and asked for questions. No one spoke. "Now you may go back to your rooms. We need everyone to be well rested. Could Severus please stay here, and Charley and Sirius wait outside. I'll be with you in a moment."
The teachers filed out and went their separate ways. Sirius and Charley stood along the wall outside the closed doors of the office. 'Oh Severus. You are such a twit,' Charley thought to herself. 'What in Merlin's sake made you go and do this?'
"You've changed," Sirius said, avoiding eye contact. Charley absentmindedly played with her thin-rimmed glasses. "The purple streaks in your hair are very nice." He smiled weakly. She only grunted a reply. "I heard you traveled after"- He stopped. When they both looked up at each other, she had a smile on her face. Suddenly, they were embraced in a huge friendly hug.
"It's great to see you again Sirius," she said and backed away.
"You too."
"I take it, you have no idea how to talk to me?"
"You could say that. It's been years, but I still stand by what I said."
"About the streaks? Oh, I figured I wanted more color and I still loved purple."
Sirius rolled his eyes. "No, well yes, but mostly about the fact that you've changed." He smiled as he looked her over. Even in the dark quarters of the tower, he could still look a woman over and not miss any detail. He claimed it was a gift from the gods. "What's with the odd fixation with Muggle clothing?"
"I really don't know. When I go undercover as a Muggle to study them, I've just made their clothes a part of me. Don't tell me you don't like them?"
"Oh! Damn no!" he said breathlessly. She just smiled. He could see her every curve with these clothes on. Something he didn't mind at all. In fact, he was kind of wishing he were those clothes.
"You were always the womanizer."
"Ah...but now that I've spent 13 years in prison, I've got a lot of pent up energy and a lot of practice to do." He grinned at her.
"The only change in you is the fact that you've turned your baby fat into muscle."
Sirius flexed one arm and felt the muscle with his hand. She laughed.
"Now I'm even stud-lier than before. Come on, you know you can't resist me." Charley rolled her eyes again.
"You know, if I keep doing this, I'm not going to be able to stop."
"Sorry," he said in a sing-song voice, mocking all attempts at an apology of sorts.
*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*
Charley's first classes went by fairly well. She did seem to make an impression on them. Now, she sat at the table finishing her lunch and watched the students. The gray-eyed boy had just shoved the red haired boy causing him to trip slightly. Miss. Granger placed her hand on his shoulder, anger on her face and pity in her eyes looking at Mr. Malfoy. Harry watched from behind, just watching.
"Interesting," she mumbled to herself.
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The three Gryffindors sat down at the table. Hermione still sat next to Ron, and Harry took his usual seat across from them. There was someone missing.
"I really dislike Malfoy," Ron growled.
"Take it easy, Tiger." Hermione said with a laugh. "WE dislike him." Harry just sat and began to munch on little bits of food placed in front of him. He knew he should say something, but what good would it do? Anything of the sorts would have his head chopped off, or be sent to St. Mungo's Hospital. He thought for a minute, maybe he was insane.
"I think Snape has sunk to a new low," said Ron. "Maybe it has to do with Professor Gallucci. He just doesn't seem his usual cheerful self. He's even more horrifying than usual." Hermione shrugged at this comment.
Just then Ginny walked up, slightly out of breath. "Sorry I'm late. I had to take all my books to my room first."
"We've had only two classes so far. How can you have too many books?" Harry asked.
"Professor Charley." She nodded to the new teacher as she sat down. Professor Gallucci was sitting by herself reading a book.
"Charley?"
"Yes, she told us to call her that." Ginny giggled at the strange look Harry gave her.
"What does she have to do with your books? There's only one book for that class."
"You'll see."
"So I take it you liked her class?" Hermione asked. Ginny's happiness seemed to spread like a flame. The whole table was all laughing and joking with each other.
"Yea. You'll love it."
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A few minutes later the bell rang and the kids were off. Charley made her was down to Hagrid's Hut. It had been forever since she last visited it. She remembered the last time like it was yesterday, and just as quickly pushed those events back where they were hidden. She knocked and the large man answered the door with a pot of tea in his hands.
"Hey there," she greeted.
"Come on in," he offered and stepped out of her way.
She often pitied the way he lived, but also was happy for him, for how he's managed to live his life. His house was like a one room hotel suite. There was a bed in one corner, table in another, kitchen in the third, and a fireplace along a wall.
"Ahh...the infamous bachelor pad," she said sweetly to Hagrid. She noticed the fresh flowers on the table. He had wanted to make her feel cheerful on this hectic day. She smiled at the fact he remembered her favorite flowers: snap dragons.
"Oh well..." he blushed again as he poured the tea in their cups.
"So, how have you been Hagrid? How's life been treating you?"
"It has its ups and downs. I won't bore ya with the depressing parts."
"Spoil me. Give me both."
"Alright. If yer want them."
The two talked about how much has gone on during her time away from Hogwarts. They talked about the death of young Cedric Diggory two years ago and about the cursed teaching position of Defense Against the Dark Arts. They talked about Hagrid's latest creature and his favorites Buckbeak and Norbert; and about Mr. Potter, Miss Granger, and Mr. Weasley being an important thing in his life, especially when his loyal dog Fang died last year.
"They visit all the time. At first it was just 'Arry coming, then Ron and him became good friends, so those two visited me. Of course there is sweet 'ittle 'Ermione."
"Everyone talks about those three, but there is this red headed girl with them all the time. Ginny, I believe her name is."
"Ya, Ron's sister. This is actually a new thing. Everyone knows she was sort of friends with the group, but the three never really included her. Most professors think this could possibly be because of the death of a good friend of Ginny's last year." Hagrid sniffled. "Another murder by You-Know-Who."
"That's awful."
"Ain't it?" Hagrid pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket.
"So, not to change the subject abruptly, how are you liking teaching? I heard the kids really enjoy your class."
Hagrid smiled through his teary face and replied. "Oh, I love it." He was positively beaming. "I like being with the kids and teaching 'em something I love. What about you, how have yer first classes been?"
"Really just great. I honestly didn't think I would end up as a teacher."
"I didn't think you would either, especially here," Hagrid said the last bit slowly, waiting for her reaction. Dumbledore had warned the other teachers never to approach the subject, but since he knew of everything he figured it couldn't hurt to try and talk about it. Dumbledore had said that Charley would just change the subject. She needed time to cope and to heal.
"You know," she laughed slightly, "I have gotten so many questions about my clothes today." The statement Hagrid had said, forgotten.
"It's not everyday they see a witch or wizard wear these clothes. It's just not a usual thing. The students were just taken aback by it. This morning was rather interesting."
"Practically all the guys were staring at me. It was weird. It was almost as if they had never seen a woman before!"
"Actually, some of them had never seen a grown witch wear anything...like that."
"I still find that strange." Charley took a sip of her tea.
"Well, its been great talking with you, but I do have a class to get to," he said getting up.
"I do believe I have one too." The two left the hut together and parted ways.
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Ron walked down the hall at practically a run. Hermione laughed and Harry tried to desperately catch up with his tall friend.
"No fair! You have longer legs and bigger feet than I do," Harry joked breathlessly. The three made it to the door and looked in. They were the first ones there.
"Well, you know what they say about guys that have big feet!" Ron boated.
"Yea, they're feet are big," Hermione retorted.
"Hermione." Ron gave her a mock-stern look. She flashed an innocent smile and walked into the quickly filling classroom.
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Charley sat at her desk looking over some last minute notes she made from the previous classes. Minerva had told her that it was a good idea, that way she can improve herself with each class.
"Well, look here. It's the Three Musketeers: Scar face, the sidekick, and Mudblood," the gray eyed boy snarled as the three passed by him, simply ignoring his remarks.
"What's the matter Mudblood?" he asked slightly louder this time. "Finally got your boyfriends' whipped? Look at me when I'm talking to you Mudblood!"
There was the sound of a slamming of a book. The whole room looked at the now maddened teacher. Her glasses were at the edge of her nose and her eyes pierced over them. Her gaze set directly on one specific student.
"That is enough Mr. Malfoy!" she said with strained anger in her voice. "I really don't think it was very smart of you to tick off your teacher on the first day. It gives the person a horrible impression of you. Twenty points from Slytherin. I will not have prejudice in my classroom." She kept her voice level, though it sounded like she was struggling.
The class remained silent, half angry, half thrilled. All the Gryffindors looked as if Christmas had come early.
"Please take a seat. There is no assigned seating so sit anywhere and get comfy." She finally stood up. Again, she wasn't wearing robes. She was dressed in knee high black socks, a plaid, pleated skirt, and a black sweater that hid no curve.
"To start the class off, I'm going to give you information about me. Since I do have your attention, why not allow myself to delve into being self-centered? I do feel like talking about me for a few minutes." She took a deep breath. "My name is Charley Rose Gallucci, but you are to call me Professor Charley. I like to be called my real name." A few people smiled. "Out of school, I left and traveled the world, indulging in the many cultures of the Muggles." There was a snort from a Slytherin and a faint rude comment. "Ten more points from Slytherin. My favorite place was actually America, but nothing beats my home in Ireland.
Before anyone asks, I just love Muggle clothing. I do wear robes on occasion. It will be a special day when I wear mine. Keep that in mind. I'm a Gemini and my favorite color is purple, though lately I've started liking pink. Now for the most important fact: I don't talk about my past, so there are to be no questions. I'm not going to lie. Something happened to me, so I don't elaborate, even with Professor Dumbledore. I repeat what I said: no questions period."
Miss Granger sat and listened intently as well as the rest of the class, including the Slytherins.
"Now, about this class. As I mentioned before, and I thank Mr. Malfoy for acting this out, I will take no rude comments to anyone. When you walk through these doors, you are to hold each other, myself included, with deep respect. Each one of you have magic in your blood. It's a powerful tool for both good and bad. I believe you all have the ability to do great in life and use that power wisely, but if you cannot learn respect, then you have no right to hold these powers. You are not worthy of the responsibility." The students were now watching her closely.
"This is a new course called Muggle Arts. We will learn about the different forms of art and how the Muggles express the magic they have inside them. The major subjects we will approach will be art (paintings, sculptures, photography, and architecture), music past and present (vocal and instrumental), creative writing, and dance." There were a few groans from the guys. "Yes, I'm sorry to say, but dance is an art form, and a beautiful one at that. I promise all the guys it will be very painless."
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"Let's hope," Harry whispered to Hermione. She simply rolled her eyes.
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"My real passion is for music and writing. In these subjects, you will be told to compose something. Unfortunately there is lots we need to cover, so you will need to do lots of additional reading in other books." There was a silent cheer from Miss Granger. "I was able to borrow these from a friend of mine. You are going to be able to use these throughout the year. If they are not returned, there will be a harsh punishment. You will have detention with Professor Trelwany for a month." A good portion of her class shuddered and let out mock shrieks of horror.
Charley mumbled a spell and flicked her wrist holding her wand. A box appeared in front of each kid. Then, with a flash, they were full of around fifteen books.
"You have to be kidding me!" Mr. Longbottom yelled as he examined the stack in front of him. "This is worse than Lockhart!"
"I kid you not. I'll assign a reading assignment every night. The next day, you will expect a quiz on it. You fail the quiz, you are to come in this classroom at the end of the day and we will go over it. You will then take a different quiz. You are in this class to learn, not to obey the rules (though that is a requirement). The point of everyone taking this class is because there have been studies made proving that the arts have improved the thinking abilities and the creative abilities in people, Muggle and Magical. I do hope you enjoy my class. See you next time," she said and the bell rang. The day had ended.
All the kids pilled out of the class slowly. No one wanted to leave. They left feeling more excited about the next time they were to have this class.
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Charley strolled into Dumbledore's office with the Professor himself. They were smiling and talking about how the day had gone.
"I heard from little birds that you were slightly hard on Draco today." Charley looked up to see if the old man was mad or not. He, as always, was smiling through his eyes.
"Well, Mr. Malfoy deserved to have those points taken away. I will have no tolerance for those who are narrow-minded."
"I wish other people would agree with you." He paused, "You are the first teacher to actually do something about it. We'll need to teach them these things if we are to get through what lies ahead."
Charley sat down in a chair next to Dumbledore, waiting for the other teachers. She looked around at the office. When she was younger she had been taken here so many times, she has lost count. Everything looked the same.
"Ah, yes. You were in this office many times. Most of it because you beat up your own house members for making fun of the Muggle-born students." Charley tried to smile at his comment, but something kept her from responding. When she was younger, she did like to have at least one fight a week, but things have changed. She just ignored the comments.
"Give it time," he said placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "The wounds will heal."
"I can only hope," she said quietly as the door opened.
When everyone was seated, Dumbledore began.
"Thank you all for being here on time. We are expecting two guests in about an hour. Until then, we'll carry on with some other orders of business.
I congratulate the two new teachers on their first day. I hope you enjoyed it." Professor Spelling groaned and Charley just smiled, avoiding the glare she felt upon her.
"You know Severus," Dumbledore said looking at him, "that nasty snarl does not flatter you at all." The teachers, including Charley, laughed. She could hear Minerva chuckle off to the side.
"Now, back to business. Let me prep you for what is expected, and for the new teachers, what has happened. Last year, Mr. Potter faced The Dark Lord again. The ministry still denies his return, but no one believes them. During the course of last year, there was an attack on three people. One was a young student here by the name of Genevieve O'Rourke, daughter of Marc and Jade O'Rourke, both Muggles. Our pre-cautions last year were not enough to keep our children safe, so this year we must up our defenses."
The teachers watched him as he explained what had been prepared last year and how Voldemort slipped by.
"Hagrid," Dumbledore nodded in his direction, "has done a wonderful thing and made alliances with the giants. We are grateful for that in many ways. I have also made special arrangements for some protection, and the two guests joining us in a few minutes are going to be very helpful this year. Voldemort"- There was a shudder from Professor Spelling.
"I'm sorry, Alice, but those who don't speak his name show their fear. He loves that. In order to defeat him, we must at least learn to speak his name. Show no fear everyone."
There was a knock at the door and then it slowly opened. There was an old lady with feline eyes, and a young muscular man with shoulder length black hair. They were both looking around the room at the staring teachers.
Charley gasped as she saw the man. His black eyes focused on her, and a tiny smile crept up on his face. He looked as primal as he used to.
"Ah...Mrs. Figg, Mr. Black, come in and take a seat. We'll then get started." Dumbledore waved them in. He then conjured up two new chairs next to him separating himself and Charley. She looked at Dumbledore giving him a look that told him she knew what he was up to. He saw it, and ignored it with a cheeky smile.
The young man sat next to her, still smiling. Suddenly, he looked at Severus and wiped the happiness off his face.
The previous year, Siruis' name had been cleared when Mr. Potter had turned in Peter "Wormtail" Pettigrew last year. People still didn't quite accept the fact that Sirius was truly innoscent, causing him to continue to hide. He was still guilty in the eyes of the people for betraying the Potters.
"Arabella will roam around the grounds as an animagus, as well as Sirius. Will you two please change so we may see your form?"
Mrs. Figg stood up and changed into an old gray cat that matched the color of her hair. Her tail, however, had a black tip.
Sirius changed into the form of a beautiful black dog. His coat was shinny and clean, and his eyes were sparkling with life.
"These will be an addition to the Hogwarts Staff. No one will know of their identity except for us, and of course Harry, Hermione, and Ron," Dumbledore stated. There was nodding between the teachers as the two changed back to human form. "Professor Flitwick will be in charge of Mrs. Figg if anyone asks. Sirius will be under the ownership of Professor Snape." Dumbledore gave a little laugh after he said that.
"Next, I need to inform you about the two contacts we have in the circle of Voldemort's ring of Death Eaters. Severus here is one and Draco is the other. We are the only ones to even speak of this. The Three Musketeers and Draco know of Snape, but none of them know of Draco. No one is to know of him.
"Draco has chosen with his own free will to keep us informed of his father's instructions from Voldemort. He came to me at the end of the year after the death of the young girl. He has agreed to remain the same as he used to be to keep himself from being known. His fathers have kids in the school spying on Draco for him. Its not safe for him to be exposed." Dumbledore turned to Charley. "Treat him no differently." He looked at the others, then back to her. "Just like today." He smiled at her.
Snape suddenly became focused on the ground. They were going to discuss him next. 'She doesn't know about me,' he thought. 'How will she react?'
"Now to inform the newcomers about our fellow staff member."
Sirius looked with worry between Snape and Charley. He silently wised them the best.
"For the past twenty years, Severus has been a go-between for our side. Regretting the sign of the Dark Mark forced upon him, he turned to me for help. Now, here he is, still loyal. Again, you are to treat him no differently and you are not to bring up anything about this with him. I cannot stress enough on the secrecy of all of this." Dumbledore stood up and asked for questions. No one spoke. "Now you may go back to your rooms. We need everyone to be well rested. Could Severus please stay here, and Charley and Sirius wait outside. I'll be with you in a moment."
The teachers filed out and went their separate ways. Sirius and Charley stood along the wall outside the closed doors of the office. 'Oh Severus. You are such a twit,' Charley thought to herself. 'What in Merlin's sake made you go and do this?'
"You've changed," Sirius said, avoiding eye contact. Charley absentmindedly played with her thin-rimmed glasses. "The purple streaks in your hair are very nice." He smiled weakly. She only grunted a reply. "I heard you traveled after"- He stopped. When they both looked up at each other, she had a smile on her face. Suddenly, they were embraced in a huge friendly hug.
"It's great to see you again Sirius," she said and backed away.
"You too."
"I take it, you have no idea how to talk to me?"
"You could say that. It's been years, but I still stand by what I said."
"About the streaks? Oh, I figured I wanted more color and I still loved purple."
Sirius rolled his eyes. "No, well yes, but mostly about the fact that you've changed." He smiled as he looked her over. Even in the dark quarters of the tower, he could still look a woman over and not miss any detail. He claimed it was a gift from the gods. "What's with the odd fixation with Muggle clothing?"
"I really don't know. When I go undercover as a Muggle to study them, I've just made their clothes a part of me. Don't tell me you don't like them?"
"Oh! Damn no!" he said breathlessly. She just smiled. He could see her every curve with these clothes on. Something he didn't mind at all. In fact, he was kind of wishing he were those clothes.
"You were always the womanizer."
"Ah...but now that I've spent 13 years in prison, I've got a lot of pent up energy and a lot of practice to do." He grinned at her.
"The only change in you is the fact that you've turned your baby fat into muscle."
Sirius flexed one arm and felt the muscle with his hand. She laughed.
"Now I'm even stud-lier than before. Come on, you know you can't resist me." Charley rolled her eyes again.
"You know, if I keep doing this, I'm not going to be able to stop."
"Sorry," he said in a sing-song voice, mocking all attempts at an apology of sorts.
