Harry: Day 1
Monday morning dawned bright and sunny; though if it were up to Harry, he would have preferred the weather to be gloomy and cloudy to match his mood. He trudged up to Professor Stalk's office and knocked.
"Come in." said a voice.
Harry pushed open the door and immediately wrinkled his nose. The air in the room smelled like the professor.
"Ah, Harry! My new protégé!" said Professor Stalk. He held out his hand to shake Harry's.
Harry reluctantly held out his hand and gave the professor a swift shake. Professor Stalk gave him a smile and turned around to get some papers on his desk. Harry immediately wiped his hand on his robes vigorously.
"Here you go, Harry." Professor Stalk said, handing Harry his lesson plan. "You're only going to teach first and second years this week. Would you like to stay here in my office while I'm teaching the other years or would you like to return to your dormitory?" he asked.
"I'd prefer returning to my dormitory, sir." Harry said, trying not to gag from the foul smell emanating from the professor.
"Very well." Professor stalk said. "I have a fifth year class in fifteen minutes and I still have to get ready. Study the lesson plan and be prepared to teach by ten o' clock! I'll be in the classroom."
Harry nodded, clutching the papers. He then turned on his heel and walked out of the office.
"Haaaah!" Harry gasped the moment he was outside in the corridors. He took in a deep gulp of fresh air and let it out slowly. He gingerly sniffed his robes and made a grimace. Some of the stench had stuck to him! He turned and made a dash for the common room.
The moment Harry reached the Gryffindor common room, he raced toward the trunk in his dormitory and pulled out the bottle of cologne Hermione had given him for Christmas the year before. He had never really used it but now he practically doused himself with the contents. The cologne might be a bit strong but Harry didn't care. Anything to get rid of the smell! As soon as he could smell no more trace of Professor Stalk, he headed back down to the common room and started preparing his lesson.
Five minutes before ten o' clock, Harry reached the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. He waited until all the fifth years had filed out, some of them giving him curious looks, and others wrinkling their nose when they got too near him. Harry panicked. Did he still smell? But then he realized that he must have gone a bit overboard with the cologne. Cursing himself with his stupidity, Harry went into the now empty classroom.
Soon, the first years he was supposed to teach entered the classroom. Harry noticed that none of them sat in the first two rows of the desk, obviously staying as far away from Professor Stalk as possible. Harry himself had put ten feet of space between him and the professor. As soon as everyone had sat down, and Professor Stalk had given a nod, Harry began his lesson.
Fifteen minutes into the class, while Harry was discussing the proper wand movement needed to disarm someone, Professor Stalk walked up to Harry.
"I need to go to the loo for a moment. You're doing fine!" he whispered to Harry.
Harry, who had taken a deep breath the moment he spotted the professor walking toward him, merely nodded. The professor left the room and Harry let out the breath he had been holding.
"Alright, does anyone of you have any questions?" Harry asked the class. He moved closer to the students to see if they had any problems with the spell.
"I have a question." Said a fat boy from the seat nearest him.
"Yes?" Harry asked.
"How come you're wearing so much cologne? It's irritating to the nose." The boy said with a slight sneer. A few of the students snickered.
Harry was reminded sorely of his cousin Dudley when he was their age.
"What's your name?" Harry asked.
"Stuart Peterson." The boy said.
"Well, Stuart, I'd prefer it if you ask questions related to the subject." Harry said, trying his best to sound polite, even though he was itching to give the kid a good smack on the head.
"Do you smell as bad as Professor Stalk so you need to mask it out with cologne?" Stuart asked mockingly.
Harry was starting to get really annoyed with the kid.
"Lay off him, Stuart." Said a blonde girl in pigtails a few seats back.
"Oooh, Sally has a crush on Professor Potter." Stuart said in a sing-song voice.
Sally blushed crimson and stared at her desk. Harry had just about had enough of Stuart Peterson.
"Look, Stuart, I don't have time to answer your stupid questions. Let's just get back to the lesson and you apologize to Sally." Harry said, clenching his fists.
"Oooh, do you like Sally?" Stuart said in the same sing-song voice.
Calm down, Harry thought. You can get through this.
"Harry and Sally sitting in a tree…" Stuart started.
"That's it!" Harry said angrily, pointing his wand at Stuart. Stuart stopped immediately and eyed the wand fearfully.
It was at that moment that Professor Stalk entered the room again.
"Mr. Potter!" Professor Stalk said scandalized.
Harry lowered his wand at once, but he could imagine what the scene looked like to Professor Stalk.
"Mr. Potter, I am afraid that I will have to deduct some points for this, not only from your house, but from your grade as well." Professor Stalk said hoarsely.
"But, Professor…!" Harry sputtered, trying to defend himself.
"Enough, Mr. Potter. You will continue teaching. I will have a word with you after the class." Professor Stalk said.
Harry took a deep breath and glared at Stuart. The kid stuck out his tongue and smirked. Harry couldn't wait until this whole nightmare was over.
A/N: Up next is Ron's first day!