The weeks passed by quickly and soon Harry could hear the dull sounds of the students coming through the Entrance door. With a loud heavy creak the Great Hall's doorway was swung open and he was present with a mass of black cloth and various happy pink faces.
After everyone was seated and the noise of chattering students magnified to an almost unbearable level, professor McGonagall marched in and announced the first years. The sorting hat belted out its song and Harry watched as each student was sorted. He remembered reverently the day he had been sorted. It seemed so long ago yet only the other day. Nervous, quiet and not understanding anything around him he must have been a sight.
"Now before he begin the feast, I have a few start of term notices!" Dumbledore's voice rang through the hall and everyone watched him expectantly. "First, I would like to introduce our newest addition to Hogwarts. Professor Scyth!" Several people clapped uncertainly but most everyone stared. Harry had long become accustomed to the scars marring his face but to anyone else, he might understand how they would be a bit of a shock. "Also, our care taker, Mr. Filch would like to impress upon you the list of hallway conduct posted just out side the door. The Forbidden Forest is, as always, forbidden! Now, let us eat!"
Harry watched as the empty golden dishes suddenly bloomed with food and quickly filled his plate.
Dinner was, as usual, a noisy affair with much laughter as the students caught up on each other's lives. Professor Sinestra, who sat on his right, engaged him in conversation about the comet that would pass in several days.
"Mr. Weasley! If I have to tell you one more time not to set of that fire work in my class you will be faced with more than just a month of detentions…" Harry's voice dropped dramatically low and his murky green eyes drilled holes in the red head before him
The fourth year boy blushed scarlet at being caught again and surreptitiously put the offendingly bright object back into his bag.
"Now as I was saying; the werewolf, while dangerous in it's Lunar form, is perfectly harmless as a human. True or false?"
A boy with a dark complexion in the second row raised his hand.
"Yes, Mr. Thomas?"
"True?"
"No," said Harry.
Jacob Thomas looked confused, "But sir, he doesn't have the ability to transfer his disease to anyone in his human form."
"True." Harry conceded with a slight nod of his head.
While Jacob tried to puzzle out the riddle his professor had given him Harry turned to the rest of class. "Can anyone tell me why a werewolf in his natural, human, form is still dangerous?"
"Because they still hold some of the werewolf's traits? Like sense of smell and hearing?" A girl with curly brown hair suggested.
"Very good, but not quite, three points to Ravenclaw. What else?"
The class remained silent and Harry with a wave of his wand created two images. Both were human and about the same height and were dressed in wizarding robes.
"Clue number one. Any takers? No? OK then, clue number two." Harry waved his wand again and one of the figures turned into a werewolf. With another wave of his wand the wolf was replaced with the man again."
"You can't tell which one is the werewolf by looking at their human form?" A boy with glasses and perfectly cut hair said with half raised hand.
"No. Give up?"
The class stared at the two beings hard in concentration eventually all meeting his gaze in defeat.
"There is no human on earth, or off, that is perfectly harmless. Every human may grow up in a well balanced home, and live the perfect life and Tuesday morning they go to work, pick up the groceries, kill a random person on the street, and go home. Why?"
"Bad day at the office?" Several students snickered.
"Perhaps. Or perhaps because he is human. A human is one, if not the most, dangerous creature we know of. He is able to think, feel emotions, judge, and make choices. He is a freethinking individual that is allowed to walk the streets without consideration. Professor Lupin, for example. A known werewolf that has substituted many times. I'm sure you are all familiar with his infection?" the students nodded. "Yet he is a perfectly calm, and quiet individual who has a peaceful nature and quick thinking mind. Then, we have people like Hitler, Stalin, or…Voldermorte, who are not werewolves yet each had a price on his head at one time or another. They, while lacking in the werewolf department, showed an affinity for violence, and brutal hatred.
"That is not to say that werewolves are all wonderful people. You are, I trust, familiar with the man Hugo Canis? He is a werewolf and a very dangerous man at that. He, while not quite at the level of Voldermorte, is a violent man not prone to take the segregation of the wizarding world lightly. Just last full moon, he and his supporters organised and executed an assassination attempt on several key officials in the Ministry. Luckily, they failed and several key supporters were arrested.
"Segregation is powerful thing in the world you know of today. It affects many things that you wouldn't normally think it would. A man may be the best of something but because of his disease, blood, race, or political orientation, he is denied a job where he might have proven invaluable.
"Pureblood wizards, wealthy ones in particular, are also keen on the idea of segregation, truly believing that one is not perfect if they do not hold the right name, or genes. Stemmed from this is a disregard for the rules in diplomacy, decency, and discretion. Anyone who supports the belief that one is better than another based on one's title, name or rank concerning purity of blood is a tactless fool.
"Your assignment will be a two foot essay on Segregation, and how any human, despite blood, is as dangerous if not more so than the next. Included references to muggles will be awarded with an extra three points."
"Merlin, what was I thinking?" he said to himself after his fourth year drifted out the door. Becoming a professor was probably one of several of his more idiotic ideas. It was the end of class and after staring at the pile of essays that had mounted on top of his desk he scowled and dipped his quill in ink.
Four or maybe it was five hours later Harry finished the last essay and rubbed his tired eyes. It really wasn't at all logical for the wizarding world to use candles as their only source of lighting. Perhaps he could smuggle in a few electrical appliances, preferably light bulbs or torches. At any length, he couldn't last this way.
Harry had long ago done away with his spectacles, preferring the freedom of not having to worry about breaking them or fixing them. Toying with the fringe of hair that covered his scar he let his eyes relax on the shadows playing on the walls. In many ways it distinguished him from the boy he had once been. While he still resembled James Potter with his nose and chin, many of his other features were considerable dulled by age and Lily's bone structure. Without the glasses he hardly resembled the boy he had been years before. Still, looking in a mirror or catching his reflection was slightly odd for the first several days. From the first couple days of his arrival on the living plane, he had come to appreciate the amount of time that had gone by.
This was another thing. Time. How many years had gone by on this plane? Seven? He ran a hand recklessly though his long hair and sighed. Harry Potter had simply vanished of the face of the earth and no one had a clue as to where. His old classmates, friends who had stood by him through many hazards, were now well into their lives. The hope that the boy-who-lived still lived was scarce if in existence at all. Harry realised with amusement that Albus Dumbledore now had no champion with which to match against Voldermorte.
And therein lay another problem. The Dark Lord himself still resided in the world at large. He and his supporters were still out wrecking havoc and still fighting to gain control of the world as far as he knew. The Daily Prophet confirmed his belief that the Ministry had finally recognised the threat for what it was. Fudge, in his all his glory, was rallying for morale and bloating every victory to be had no matter how minimal.
Harry had mixed opinions on his. Firstly the Minister was an idiot for treating this volatile situations with slander and seemingly lack of tact. Secondly, he was keeping the masses calm and satisfied that they were well enough out of the way of the war. While it was good to not have hordes of screaming people stampeding the Ministry and a general panic amongst the citizens, it was not good to treat these people as delicate children. The people had to know that it wasn't going to go away. But at least they now knew Voldermorte was out there.
Septimus Scyth mused over what Albus' Order might be doing, and if Severus still held his place as its spy. The role of spy was never easy, Harry knew this from his training and marvelled at how the older man was still sane as well as alive. Salazar had been intensely interested in the dour Potion Master and even more so when he learned of the role he played.
"Are you sure?" the dark wizard had queried with surprise and suspicion. "This is a Snape we are speaking of?"
Harry remembered explaining that the man had saved his life on many occasions though he made it clear that he detested him. They would spend hours puzzling over every detail that Harry had observed in his time with the living. The questions and ideas behind each word, look, and thought were disturbing and before long Harry began to realise he had more in common with the man than he would have originally suspected. And that had certainly been something to think over.
But the snarky wizard hadn't been the only one to be the centre of attention of such scrutiny. One of the more important lessons that Salazar had taught him was the importance of knowing everyone around him inside out. And thus the enigma of Albus Dumbledore was probed and prodded. Salazar suggested the old man was an empath or some sort powerful dark wizard. Harry had nearly fallen off his chair at the idea of the dotty old coot wielding dark magic but as their discussions continued the idea seemed much more likely than Harry was comfortable with.
Reviews!
Tweetyiscool, jordan, Hermione Green, LadyPhoenixSlytherin, athenakitty, JadedAngel8, ckat44,meamz, slimpun, HecatDeMort, Sarah R Potter, Snake Dynasty, sab, cmn, jeangab057
SlytherinDamian- Scyth, I picked it cause it sounded like a hiss
ByProductofEvil- Truth Serum (veritserum)
Anora- well the point is that he tried to shut off emotion and he thought he was, but in truth he was just in a state of shock you could say. But it was subdued and at the same time incredibly intense if that makes any sense at all.
Padawan Jan-AQ- Well if it isn't my favorite review. Oops my bad wink It does indeed
henriett- lol, your questions will be answered in due time- sorry no slash
eavening- yes that occurred to me as well but I think that Albus is a moron what can I say?