Part 4.
A/N: PG13 for discrimination. And HAPPY BIRTHDAY NAOMI!!!!! Just so everyone knows, this chapter is dedicated to her.
Early the next morning Harry and Ron met Hermione in the Gryffindor common room before they went down to breakfast.
Even at the early hour the Great Hall was full of people. As they sat down, talking all of the time, Professor McGonagall approached them, giving the three of them their timetables.
"Double Potions on Thursday afternoons." Harry groaned as Professor McGonagall walked away.
"But we have double Defense Against the Dark Arts on Friday afternoons." Hermione pointed out, glancing at each of their timetables.
"I have Mythology first up this morning." Harry spoke up again.
"Mmm, us too." Ron told him. "I wonder if it will be a big class?"
"I don't know." Hermione told him, "Now finish your breakfast so that we can go and get our books."
As Neville and Ginny sat down, talking with Dean and Lavender, Harry Ron and Hermione all stood up, telling Ginny where they were going before they walked upstairs.
In the boys dormitoryHarry and Ron had to search high and low for Ron's already misplaced copy of 'World Mythology, by Artemis Odgen.'
Hermione impatiently went up to help them search, finding the book behind one of the window curtains, making them all late for class.
"Good morning." Came Professor Said's gentle voice at the three of them bolted inside and sat down. "I'm sorry we're late Professor." Harry apoligised as he pulled his books out of his bag, laying them on the desk.
"That's quite all right." She answered looking up towards the back corner of the room where Draco Malfoy and several of his friends were sitting, laughing like hyenas. "Mr. Malfoy, would you mind? This is a Mythology class, not a circus." Strangely affected by her voice, Malfoy sat silently. "Welcome to Mythology everyone. My name is Professor Said."
Pansy Parkinson, sitting in the back of the room raised her hand. "Professor, what will we be doing in this class?"
"In this classroom, you will be introduced to the world of Mythology, the legends and tales of long ago, and the gods and goddesses of nations around the world. We will begin with Egyptian Mythology, then progress to Greek and Roman, Norse, Hindu and finish with Celtic, the mythology of Great Britain. Now open your textbooks please."
Harry opened his textbook to the first page., where a family tree was drawn. At once he thought of the time Sirius had shown him the Black family tree, listing some of Voldemort's biggest supporters.
"According to Egyptian mythology, before the gods came into existence, there was only a dark watery abyss, called the Nun, which held the chaotic energies that contained the potential form of all living things." Professor Said spoke so reverently about the Egyptian creation story that by the time she had finished, no one would, speak, move or even breathe loudly.
She smiled. "So can anyone tell me what happened after creation?"
"The Ogdoad came into existence didn't they?" Hermione asked without raising her hand.
"Well done, five points for Gryffindor." She replied. "Can anyone tell me anything at all about the Ogdoad?"
Looking down at his page Harry scanned for the vaguely familiar word. He raised his hand. "Yes Harry?"
"There was always eight included, even if gods and goddesses were different."
"Good, five points. Now does anyone know anything about the Egyptian gods and goddesses?"
The rest of the morning passed swiftly, until Professor Said dismissed them.
"That was great." Hermione told them as they walked out of the room.
"I never expected it to be so interesting." Dean Thomas agreed as he walked alongside them.
"I wasn't surprised, but the Professor is a good teacher." Hermoine said.
"Figures, only a filthy little Mudblood would find that interesting." Malfoy sneered., surrounded by his friends.
"Take that back!" Ron snarled.
"Take what back? The truth?" Malfoy asked.
"Take it back." Harry said, his voice oddly calm, even to his own ears.
"She's a Mudblood, can't you see that Potter? Sorry, I forgot you're a Mudblood too!" Malfoy snapped. "That is quite enough." Professor Said spoke quietly. "Mr. Malfoy, come here please."
Still with a half smirk on his face, Malfoy crossed to her, coming to a halt in front of her.
"Are you aware what the word means, Mr. Malfoy?"
"Yes." A smirk was still evident on his features.
"Yes what?"
"Yes Professor." He answered grudgingly.
"Would you mind telling me where you got such a foul mouth?" Professor Said's voice was calm and almost detached.
Malfoy looked sullenly at her, but said nothing.
"Very well, forty points from Slytherin. Twenty for using such a foul mouth, and twenty for insubordination. Come to my office tomorrow evening at six o'clock for your detention. Now move."
"Bet she's a mudblood too." Malfoy said quietly to Pansy Parkinson. Not quietly enough though. Everyone standing in the hall heard him.
"Mr. Malfoy, here please." Her voice was firm, leaving no room for argument.
Eyes fixed on the floor Malfoy walked back to her.
"Do you have anything else to say?"
He continued to stare at the floor. "My family line can be traced back for over five thousand years, back to the time when Egypt was young. You would do well to check you facts before speaking. Words such as that are not uttered in my presence, nor in the halls or grounds of this school."
"What are you going to do about it?" Malfoy sneered, regaining his voice.
"Make no mistake, Mr. Malfoy, I am not another student you can intimidate. I have been around for a very long time, since your own mother went to Hogwarts. Ask her if she remembers me."
Malfoy turned to leave. "Another forty points from Slytherin, and a week's worth of detentions, starting tomorrow night. Now meet me here at twelve o'clock." She requested.
"Where are we going?" His voice held a small quiver.
"To see Professor Snape, you are going to explain to him why you are in so much trouble."
Professor Said watched Malfoy sulk as he stomped down the corridor. Then she turned to Harry and Ron who were both trying to comfort Hermione.
"Come into my office, the three of you."
In her office, Professor Said conjured up several more chairs.
"Hermione? Are you all right?" She asked gently, offering her a clean handkerchief.
"I'm just being silly." She sobbed. "I shouldn't let him upset me."
"You aren't being silly, you are just as much, if not more worthwhile to teach that Mr. Malfoy, or any other pure blood in this school."
"She's right," Harry told her, "Malfoy's just a waste of space."
"I wouldn't say that Harry." Professor Said began. "Mr. Malfoy is someone you will just have to learn to deal with."
As she began to place teacups in front of them, Professor Snape knocked lightly on the door frame. "Jaina, a word please?"
Professor Said put down the last teacup, and placed the teapot gently down on the heat mat. "I'm in the middle of something Severus. Is it important?"
Snape eyed Harry, Hermione and Ron, fixing his contemptuous stare on Harry. "I was asked to tell you that there is a meeting this evening."
"Thank you, Severus. I'll be there." She told him.
He nodded sharply, then left.
Professor Said turned back to her three students, to find Harry looking at her, or past her, she wasn't sure, with a curious expression on his face.
She sat down before speaking, pouring each of them some tea. "Harry, I believe you want to ask me something."
"I just... if Professor Snape hates my dad so much, why does he like you?"
"I don't know." She answered. "He seems to enjoy my company."
They sat in silnce for a few moments, drinking their tea.
"What did you do before you came to Hogwarts?" Hermione asked, her tears dried up.
"I was working in Egypt before Professor Dumbledore approached me, working as a Mythology and Ancient Civilisations lecturer in a Muggle University." Professor Said explained to them.
Once they had finished their tea, the three of them thanked Professor Said, and moved to leave.
As they walked down the hall, Harry stopped. "You two go on ahead, I just want to ask Professor Said something."
"We'll tell Professor Sprout where you are." Hermione promised.
"Thanks." Harry turned and walked back to Professor Said's office, knocking lightly on the door. "Harry! What are you doing back here?" She asked, startled.
"I wanted to..." He began, then changed what he was going to say. "Professor Dumbledore told me that you knew my mum and dad. I have photographs, and Sirius used to talk a lot about my dad, Remus does sometimes, and so does Dumbledore, but no one really talks about my mum."
"You wonder if we can talk about Lily then?" She asked gently.
He nodded slowly. "I don't know very much, barely anything about her. Just her name, what she looked like."
"That she loved you." Professor Said told him.
"I know." Harry lowered his gaze. "Why?"
"Because a mother's love for her child transcends all else. For Lily, there was only you and James, the two people she loved above all else in this world."
"What was she like?" Harry asked.
"Lily was always full of life, full of light. She had very strong ideas of what was right, and she lived by them." Professor Said told him quietly, as though she was lost in reflection.
"Did you know Sirius?"
"Know him? I loved him, Harry. Then I got called home to Thebes. While I was away I missed your birth, then came back to England , but was called home before your Christening. Your parents named Sirius your godfather, with the stipulation that should anything happen to them, you would be safe with either Sirius or myself. The next time I was in England was just after your parents were killed. I'd been talking with your mother by fire the night she was killed. I begged Dumbledore to let me take you, but he insisted that you go to your Aunt and Uncle., he told me your life depended on it. So Sirius and I tried to track down Peter. I don't know if you have been told, but Peter was your parent's Secret-Keeper. I wasn't with Sirius when he found Peter, that's when all of those Muggles died, where Peter was supposed to have been killed."
Harry nodded. "He escaped, after betraying my parents, Sirius, Dumbledore, and finally me."
"Sirius was sent to Azkaban without trial. I visited a few times, but he always sent me away. In the end I couldn't bear to see him like that. I should never have stopped visiting. Maybe then he would have come to me when he escaped."
They were both silent for a few moments.
"Harry, you should be in class now. I'll right a note to your teacher, what class do you have?"
"Herbology with Professor Sprout." Harry said quietly, watching as she wrote a short note on a piece of parchment.
"Here you go." She handed him the parchment. "You can always come and talk to me Harry." She told him as he walked out of the room.
"Thank you." With that he walked slowly out of the room, downstairs towards the greenhouses.
"Sorry I'm late Professor Sprout." He said walking up beside her. "I was with Professor Said." Harry handed her the parchment.
She read what was written there and nodded. "Today we are re-potting our Venomous Tentacula seedlings. You can work at Table Four. Wear your dragon hide gloves, these seem to be very snappy."
Harry nodded and took his place between Ron and Ernie, letting Hermione fill him in on how they were supposed to re-pot the seedlings without being mauled.
Until the end of the lesson Harry remained silent, almost withdrawn.
Walking to the Great Hall for lunch, Hermione and Ron spoke to him, worried about his unexpected silence.
"Dumbledore told me that Professor Said was friends with my mum. I asked about her. I don't really know much about mum. Most people talk about dad. Professor Said knew Sirius too." He said quietly.
"Oh Harry, I'm sorry." Hermione squeezed his arm.
"It's all right." Harry told her. "I like talking to her. She's a really good person."
"It's hard, isn't it?" Ron asked. "Not having him around."
Harry nodded. "I'd be okay with everything that's going on if he was still here."
Neville walked alongside them. "I used to tell myself that about my parents. If they were still themselves, I'd be okay. It doesn't work."
"What does?" Harry asked.
"You still have other people who care about you. You'll be okay because they care." Neville answered. In spite of himself Harry smiled. "When did you figure that out?"
"Ages ago. I didn't start believing it until recently."
"I just keep wondering when all of this will end. When everything will stop and..." Harry trailed off, unsure of how to put his feelings into words. But as he looked at his friends faces, he knew that it didn't matter, they all knew what he was trying to say.
A/N: PG13 for discrimination. And HAPPY BIRTHDAY NAOMI!!!!! Just so everyone knows, this chapter is dedicated to her.
Early the next morning Harry and Ron met Hermione in the Gryffindor common room before they went down to breakfast.
Even at the early hour the Great Hall was full of people. As they sat down, talking all of the time, Professor McGonagall approached them, giving the three of them their timetables.
"Double Potions on Thursday afternoons." Harry groaned as Professor McGonagall walked away.
"But we have double Defense Against the Dark Arts on Friday afternoons." Hermione pointed out, glancing at each of their timetables.
"I have Mythology first up this morning." Harry spoke up again.
"Mmm, us too." Ron told him. "I wonder if it will be a big class?"
"I don't know." Hermione told him, "Now finish your breakfast so that we can go and get our books."
As Neville and Ginny sat down, talking with Dean and Lavender, Harry Ron and Hermione all stood up, telling Ginny where they were going before they walked upstairs.
In the boys dormitoryHarry and Ron had to search high and low for Ron's already misplaced copy of 'World Mythology, by Artemis Odgen.'
Hermione impatiently went up to help them search, finding the book behind one of the window curtains, making them all late for class.
"Good morning." Came Professor Said's gentle voice at the three of them bolted inside and sat down. "I'm sorry we're late Professor." Harry apoligised as he pulled his books out of his bag, laying them on the desk.
"That's quite all right." She answered looking up towards the back corner of the room where Draco Malfoy and several of his friends were sitting, laughing like hyenas. "Mr. Malfoy, would you mind? This is a Mythology class, not a circus." Strangely affected by her voice, Malfoy sat silently. "Welcome to Mythology everyone. My name is Professor Said."
Pansy Parkinson, sitting in the back of the room raised her hand. "Professor, what will we be doing in this class?"
"In this classroom, you will be introduced to the world of Mythology, the legends and tales of long ago, and the gods and goddesses of nations around the world. We will begin with Egyptian Mythology, then progress to Greek and Roman, Norse, Hindu and finish with Celtic, the mythology of Great Britain. Now open your textbooks please."
Harry opened his textbook to the first page., where a family tree was drawn. At once he thought of the time Sirius had shown him the Black family tree, listing some of Voldemort's biggest supporters.
"According to Egyptian mythology, before the gods came into existence, there was only a dark watery abyss, called the Nun, which held the chaotic energies that contained the potential form of all living things." Professor Said spoke so reverently about the Egyptian creation story that by the time she had finished, no one would, speak, move or even breathe loudly.
She smiled. "So can anyone tell me what happened after creation?"
"The Ogdoad came into existence didn't they?" Hermione asked without raising her hand.
"Well done, five points for Gryffindor." She replied. "Can anyone tell me anything at all about the Ogdoad?"
Looking down at his page Harry scanned for the vaguely familiar word. He raised his hand. "Yes Harry?"
"There was always eight included, even if gods and goddesses were different."
"Good, five points. Now does anyone know anything about the Egyptian gods and goddesses?"
The rest of the morning passed swiftly, until Professor Said dismissed them.
"That was great." Hermione told them as they walked out of the room.
"I never expected it to be so interesting." Dean Thomas agreed as he walked alongside them.
"I wasn't surprised, but the Professor is a good teacher." Hermoine said.
"Figures, only a filthy little Mudblood would find that interesting." Malfoy sneered., surrounded by his friends.
"Take that back!" Ron snarled.
"Take what back? The truth?" Malfoy asked.
"Take it back." Harry said, his voice oddly calm, even to his own ears.
"She's a Mudblood, can't you see that Potter? Sorry, I forgot you're a Mudblood too!" Malfoy snapped. "That is quite enough." Professor Said spoke quietly. "Mr. Malfoy, come here please."
Still with a half smirk on his face, Malfoy crossed to her, coming to a halt in front of her.
"Are you aware what the word means, Mr. Malfoy?"
"Yes." A smirk was still evident on his features.
"Yes what?"
"Yes Professor." He answered grudgingly.
"Would you mind telling me where you got such a foul mouth?" Professor Said's voice was calm and almost detached.
Malfoy looked sullenly at her, but said nothing.
"Very well, forty points from Slytherin. Twenty for using such a foul mouth, and twenty for insubordination. Come to my office tomorrow evening at six o'clock for your detention. Now move."
"Bet she's a mudblood too." Malfoy said quietly to Pansy Parkinson. Not quietly enough though. Everyone standing in the hall heard him.
"Mr. Malfoy, here please." Her voice was firm, leaving no room for argument.
Eyes fixed on the floor Malfoy walked back to her.
"Do you have anything else to say?"
He continued to stare at the floor. "My family line can be traced back for over five thousand years, back to the time when Egypt was young. You would do well to check you facts before speaking. Words such as that are not uttered in my presence, nor in the halls or grounds of this school."
"What are you going to do about it?" Malfoy sneered, regaining his voice.
"Make no mistake, Mr. Malfoy, I am not another student you can intimidate. I have been around for a very long time, since your own mother went to Hogwarts. Ask her if she remembers me."
Malfoy turned to leave. "Another forty points from Slytherin, and a week's worth of detentions, starting tomorrow night. Now meet me here at twelve o'clock." She requested.
"Where are we going?" His voice held a small quiver.
"To see Professor Snape, you are going to explain to him why you are in so much trouble."
Professor Said watched Malfoy sulk as he stomped down the corridor. Then she turned to Harry and Ron who were both trying to comfort Hermione.
"Come into my office, the three of you."
In her office, Professor Said conjured up several more chairs.
"Hermione? Are you all right?" She asked gently, offering her a clean handkerchief.
"I'm just being silly." She sobbed. "I shouldn't let him upset me."
"You aren't being silly, you are just as much, if not more worthwhile to teach that Mr. Malfoy, or any other pure blood in this school."
"She's right," Harry told her, "Malfoy's just a waste of space."
"I wouldn't say that Harry." Professor Said began. "Mr. Malfoy is someone you will just have to learn to deal with."
As she began to place teacups in front of them, Professor Snape knocked lightly on the door frame. "Jaina, a word please?"
Professor Said put down the last teacup, and placed the teapot gently down on the heat mat. "I'm in the middle of something Severus. Is it important?"
Snape eyed Harry, Hermione and Ron, fixing his contemptuous stare on Harry. "I was asked to tell you that there is a meeting this evening."
"Thank you, Severus. I'll be there." She told him.
He nodded sharply, then left.
Professor Said turned back to her three students, to find Harry looking at her, or past her, she wasn't sure, with a curious expression on his face.
She sat down before speaking, pouring each of them some tea. "Harry, I believe you want to ask me something."
"I just... if Professor Snape hates my dad so much, why does he like you?"
"I don't know." She answered. "He seems to enjoy my company."
They sat in silnce for a few moments, drinking their tea.
"What did you do before you came to Hogwarts?" Hermione asked, her tears dried up.
"I was working in Egypt before Professor Dumbledore approached me, working as a Mythology and Ancient Civilisations lecturer in a Muggle University." Professor Said explained to them.
Once they had finished their tea, the three of them thanked Professor Said, and moved to leave.
As they walked down the hall, Harry stopped. "You two go on ahead, I just want to ask Professor Said something."
"We'll tell Professor Sprout where you are." Hermione promised.
"Thanks." Harry turned and walked back to Professor Said's office, knocking lightly on the door. "Harry! What are you doing back here?" She asked, startled.
"I wanted to..." He began, then changed what he was going to say. "Professor Dumbledore told me that you knew my mum and dad. I have photographs, and Sirius used to talk a lot about my dad, Remus does sometimes, and so does Dumbledore, but no one really talks about my mum."
"You wonder if we can talk about Lily then?" She asked gently.
He nodded slowly. "I don't know very much, barely anything about her. Just her name, what she looked like."
"That she loved you." Professor Said told him.
"I know." Harry lowered his gaze. "Why?"
"Because a mother's love for her child transcends all else. For Lily, there was only you and James, the two people she loved above all else in this world."
"What was she like?" Harry asked.
"Lily was always full of life, full of light. She had very strong ideas of what was right, and she lived by them." Professor Said told him quietly, as though she was lost in reflection.
"Did you know Sirius?"
"Know him? I loved him, Harry. Then I got called home to Thebes. While I was away I missed your birth, then came back to England , but was called home before your Christening. Your parents named Sirius your godfather, with the stipulation that should anything happen to them, you would be safe with either Sirius or myself. The next time I was in England was just after your parents were killed. I'd been talking with your mother by fire the night she was killed. I begged Dumbledore to let me take you, but he insisted that you go to your Aunt and Uncle., he told me your life depended on it. So Sirius and I tried to track down Peter. I don't know if you have been told, but Peter was your parent's Secret-Keeper. I wasn't with Sirius when he found Peter, that's when all of those Muggles died, where Peter was supposed to have been killed."
Harry nodded. "He escaped, after betraying my parents, Sirius, Dumbledore, and finally me."
"Sirius was sent to Azkaban without trial. I visited a few times, but he always sent me away. In the end I couldn't bear to see him like that. I should never have stopped visiting. Maybe then he would have come to me when he escaped."
They were both silent for a few moments.
"Harry, you should be in class now. I'll right a note to your teacher, what class do you have?"
"Herbology with Professor Sprout." Harry said quietly, watching as she wrote a short note on a piece of parchment.
"Here you go." She handed him the parchment. "You can always come and talk to me Harry." She told him as he walked out of the room.
"Thank you." With that he walked slowly out of the room, downstairs towards the greenhouses.
"Sorry I'm late Professor Sprout." He said walking up beside her. "I was with Professor Said." Harry handed her the parchment.
She read what was written there and nodded. "Today we are re-potting our Venomous Tentacula seedlings. You can work at Table Four. Wear your dragon hide gloves, these seem to be very snappy."
Harry nodded and took his place between Ron and Ernie, letting Hermione fill him in on how they were supposed to re-pot the seedlings without being mauled.
Until the end of the lesson Harry remained silent, almost withdrawn.
Walking to the Great Hall for lunch, Hermione and Ron spoke to him, worried about his unexpected silence.
"Dumbledore told me that Professor Said was friends with my mum. I asked about her. I don't really know much about mum. Most people talk about dad. Professor Said knew Sirius too." He said quietly.
"Oh Harry, I'm sorry." Hermione squeezed his arm.
"It's all right." Harry told her. "I like talking to her. She's a really good person."
"It's hard, isn't it?" Ron asked. "Not having him around."
Harry nodded. "I'd be okay with everything that's going on if he was still here."
Neville walked alongside them. "I used to tell myself that about my parents. If they were still themselves, I'd be okay. It doesn't work."
"What does?" Harry asked.
"You still have other people who care about you. You'll be okay because they care." Neville answered. In spite of himself Harry smiled. "When did you figure that out?"
"Ages ago. I didn't start believing it until recently."
"I just keep wondering when all of this will end. When everything will stop and..." Harry trailed off, unsure of how to put his feelings into words. But as he looked at his friends faces, he knew that it didn't matter, they all knew what he was trying to say.