Chapter 3, Teaching and a Theory Proven
"So I'm the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher now...so...so...now what?" Harry thought. When he had awoken in a large bed in a blue room, he had been a bit startled. After a moment though, he knew where he was and why he was there. He hadn't brought his things into his room, so he opened the door into his office and dragged his bags in before he was able to get dressed. It was rather eerie having such a big room to himself. In his flat with Ron, they had been sharing a room smaller than this one. With a sigh, Harry realized that he didn't have anything in his classroom, and would need to prepare it a bit before his class with the Hufflepuffs. Never mind trying to get a bite of breakfast. By the time he had gotten to his classroom and dropped off some rudimentary teaching supplies he only had a few minutes left for breakfast. He jogged there, then slowed down as some first-years eyed him as if he were mad. He walked across the Great Hall, ignoring the staring that came with being himself, and sat down next to Hermione.
"You made it," she said. She was looking brighter than usual and very excited. Harry decided that this must be a bit of a treat for her. He helped himself to some bacon.
"Yep," Harry said, wolfing down a bit of toast. "Classroom wasn't ready."
Hermione started, then relaxed. "I keep forgetting that McGonagall's still the main teacher. She'll have 30 years worth of preparation down for our room...Big shoes to fill."
Harry scarfed down some eggs and they stood up to leave. "Best to get there before the student's, I'd think," Hermione said cheerily. Despite Hermione's words, there were still about seven students in Harry's room, waiting for him. He strolled as calmly as possible to his desk and sat down. He reached inside his drawer and pulled out some notes he had written down. He had made a page of teaching suggestions for each individual year. Luckily, third year was one of the few that he actually had a clue about. The bell had rang and many more students had begun to file into his classroom. There weren't too many students in all, and Harry was grateful for it. When all had settled down Harry stood up and wrote his name on the board.
"Good morning everyone and welcome to your third year," he said. "To start off, I'd like to get to know all of your names." This had been a plan of Harry's to help himself to relax as well as buy him some time. "Okay, what I want you to do is to all stand up and form two lines. We're going to make this into a game. The head of each line will tell me their name, and then I'm going to ask each a question to see where you are."
A hand shot into the air. It was a girl with blond hair in two braids.
"Er, yes?" Harry asked, pointing to her.
"Are you really Harry Potter?"
"Um, yes," Harry said. These were third years, they had gone to school with him for two years, so he thought they'd be a bit brighter than that. The girl didn't say anything more but got into line with the others. There were two boys at the head of either of the lines. Harry pointed two each of them. They were named John and Lou.
"What would you say if you wanted to stun someone?" Harry asked John.
"I'd say that I'm in love with their mum," the boy said. Clearly, Harry had just found a class clown. Harry shook his head and asked Lou the same question.
"I'd hit them over the head with an oversized mallet." The pig-tailed girl shot her hand in the air.
"Yes?" he asked her. To Harry's horror she pulled out her wand and pointed it at both the boys shouting, "Stupify! Stupify!" She looked downright pleased with herself. Harry quickly got out his wand and said "ennervate" to each. "What in the world was that about?" Harry asked her.
"They aren't named after toilets," she said, "they're Warren and Barry. They knew perfectly well what the answer was. They just don't like you."
"Just the same," Harry said, sternly, "I'm taking fifteen points from Hufflepuff. Now would somebody take these two to the hospital wing? Oh, and you," he pointed to the blond girl, "what's your name anyway?"
"It's Betty," she said, "Betty Brown. I think you know my cousin, Lavender."
Harry nodded and turned to the next person in line. This was a girl named Ginger who knew what a redcap was. The class dragged by and the bell finally rang. He warned Betty that if she were to pull something like that again, it would mean a detention. It was break now and Hermione came into Harry's classroom, looking slightly upset.
"I just had the most horrid experience!" she said. "I was helping teach a class of 5th year Slytherins and it was going fine up until McGonagall left the room for a few minutes. You know what one of the little darlings did? He asked me out! Then when I said no, he started reciting a poem in which he compared me to a horny toad with flobber worms sticking out of its head! I had to give him four detentions and take away fifty points before he stopped. Then he still kept winking at me from across the room. McGonagall even asked him if he had something in his eye." Hermione was still fuming. Harry told her about the experience he'd had with Lavender's cousin.
"She stunned them?" she asked. "That's strange."
"Yeah, I know." They headed over to the teachers lounge, but didn't stay long, noticing a very irritable looking Snape looming by the coffee table. Harry went back to his classroom and waited for the N.E.W.T. students to arrive. His classroom ended up being very full. Defense Against the Dark Arts was a popular subject, though there wasn't a single slytherin in sight. This class had all seventh years in it.
"Good morning," Harry greeted them. There were many familiar faces in this group. He got out the role sheet and made sure they were all there. The last to be called was Ginny, who had taken a seat near the front next to her newest beau. "Alright," Harry said, "this is going to be a hard class. Keep your wits about you, do your homework, and most of all try to study, and you should be fine. First we'll be starting out with an overview, so everyone, get out your wands and we'll practice the..." Harry had been about to say the shield charm, but a knock came at the door.
"Come in," Harry said, straightening himself, and in walked Snape. "Potter, the headmaster wishes to see you, and I shall be taking over for you here for the remainder of the class." Snape looked almost as if he had just been given a sort of treat, and this gave Harry a chill down his back.
"Very well," Harry turned to the class. "While I'm gone, I want you to..."
"I'd get going if I were you, Potter."
"...practice the shield charm, the stun charm, and the..."
"I can take over from here."
"...disarming charm." Harry winked at the students and left toward Dumbledore's office. "Cotton candy," he muttered to the gargoyles before climbing the staircase to the circular office above. He rapped lightly on the door and went in.
"Aw, Harry! Good to see you," Dumbledore said. He was looking very tired lately, but his eyes still sparkled behind his half-moon spectacles.
"You wanted to see me sir?"
"Yes Harry. Have a seat." Harry did as he was told. "I just received some very odd news from Professor Sprout. She said that one of her third year Hufflepuffs was crying, apparently because of you."
Harry blinked. "Do you mean Betty Brown?"
Dumbledore nodded. "Professor Sprout couldn't get a good account of the story from the girl."
"Well, I'm still a little confused too," Harry admitted. He told Dumbledore what had happened throughout the lesson. "I didn't know she would cry. In fact, I don't know what I could have done to make her cry."
Dumbledore surveyed Harry. "It seems to me," he said, "that she had been trying to impress you by her show of knowledge of the stunning charm. You then proceeded to take points away, a thing that might have led her to feel like she had been misbehaving when she had only been trying to show herself as superior to those two boys. I don't disagree with what you did though, Harry.
"Any matter, this is not the only reason why I've called you to my office. I wanted to ask how you've been feeling lately. Voldemort's downfall is still recent, and I see that your scar has nearly vanished now."
Dumbledore was right. Since his defeat of Voldemort, his scar had slowly been dissolving back into ordinary flesh. "I feel fine," Harry admitted. This was the truth. Now that it was all over, it was as if a great weight had been lifted from him.
"I have a little experiment I would like to conduct, if you don't mind, Harry." Dumbledore stood and walked over to a small cage in the corner that Harry had not noticed. He brought it over. "Ask this snake a question," Dumbledore said calmly, as if this were a normal thing to do.
Harry looked at the snake and screwed up his eyes. "What breed are you?" The snake said nothing.
"I'm afraid, Harry, that that was in perfect English."
Harry looked at the snake again. "Where were you born?" The snake did nothing. It could not hear him.
"English again. This seems to prove my theory. Harry, you are now as you were the day you were born. With the demise of Voldemort, you are now free of all things the two of you shared."
Harry didn't know what to say. He stood up and shook Dumbledore's hand and left again for his class. Snape seemed reluctant to stop his reign of terror on Harry's class, but left again for his dungeon. The rest of the day passed without interest.
A.N. I haven't read any other fics like this, but if you search for, say, Harry DADA teacher, or something like that, you might find something. Also, I've started to get a little unsure of where to go from here, so any ideas would be appreciated. Thanks again for R/R'ing. Be sure to check out my other fics, too.
"So I'm the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher now...so...so...now what?" Harry thought. When he had awoken in a large bed in a blue room, he had been a bit startled. After a moment though, he knew where he was and why he was there. He hadn't brought his things into his room, so he opened the door into his office and dragged his bags in before he was able to get dressed. It was rather eerie having such a big room to himself. In his flat with Ron, they had been sharing a room smaller than this one. With a sigh, Harry realized that he didn't have anything in his classroom, and would need to prepare it a bit before his class with the Hufflepuffs. Never mind trying to get a bite of breakfast. By the time he had gotten to his classroom and dropped off some rudimentary teaching supplies he only had a few minutes left for breakfast. He jogged there, then slowed down as some first-years eyed him as if he were mad. He walked across the Great Hall, ignoring the staring that came with being himself, and sat down next to Hermione.
"You made it," she said. She was looking brighter than usual and very excited. Harry decided that this must be a bit of a treat for her. He helped himself to some bacon.
"Yep," Harry said, wolfing down a bit of toast. "Classroom wasn't ready."
Hermione started, then relaxed. "I keep forgetting that McGonagall's still the main teacher. She'll have 30 years worth of preparation down for our room...Big shoes to fill."
Harry scarfed down some eggs and they stood up to leave. "Best to get there before the student's, I'd think," Hermione said cheerily. Despite Hermione's words, there were still about seven students in Harry's room, waiting for him. He strolled as calmly as possible to his desk and sat down. He reached inside his drawer and pulled out some notes he had written down. He had made a page of teaching suggestions for each individual year. Luckily, third year was one of the few that he actually had a clue about. The bell had rang and many more students had begun to file into his classroom. There weren't too many students in all, and Harry was grateful for it. When all had settled down Harry stood up and wrote his name on the board.
"Good morning everyone and welcome to your third year," he said. "To start off, I'd like to get to know all of your names." This had been a plan of Harry's to help himself to relax as well as buy him some time. "Okay, what I want you to do is to all stand up and form two lines. We're going to make this into a game. The head of each line will tell me their name, and then I'm going to ask each a question to see where you are."
A hand shot into the air. It was a girl with blond hair in two braids.
"Er, yes?" Harry asked, pointing to her.
"Are you really Harry Potter?"
"Um, yes," Harry said. These were third years, they had gone to school with him for two years, so he thought they'd be a bit brighter than that. The girl didn't say anything more but got into line with the others. There were two boys at the head of either of the lines. Harry pointed two each of them. They were named John and Lou.
"What would you say if you wanted to stun someone?" Harry asked John.
"I'd say that I'm in love with their mum," the boy said. Clearly, Harry had just found a class clown. Harry shook his head and asked Lou the same question.
"I'd hit them over the head with an oversized mallet." The pig-tailed girl shot her hand in the air.
"Yes?" he asked her. To Harry's horror she pulled out her wand and pointed it at both the boys shouting, "Stupify! Stupify!" She looked downright pleased with herself. Harry quickly got out his wand and said "ennervate" to each. "What in the world was that about?" Harry asked her.
"They aren't named after toilets," she said, "they're Warren and Barry. They knew perfectly well what the answer was. They just don't like you."
"Just the same," Harry said, sternly, "I'm taking fifteen points from Hufflepuff. Now would somebody take these two to the hospital wing? Oh, and you," he pointed to the blond girl, "what's your name anyway?"
"It's Betty," she said, "Betty Brown. I think you know my cousin, Lavender."
Harry nodded and turned to the next person in line. This was a girl named Ginger who knew what a redcap was. The class dragged by and the bell finally rang. He warned Betty that if she were to pull something like that again, it would mean a detention. It was break now and Hermione came into Harry's classroom, looking slightly upset.
"I just had the most horrid experience!" she said. "I was helping teach a class of 5th year Slytherins and it was going fine up until McGonagall left the room for a few minutes. You know what one of the little darlings did? He asked me out! Then when I said no, he started reciting a poem in which he compared me to a horny toad with flobber worms sticking out of its head! I had to give him four detentions and take away fifty points before he stopped. Then he still kept winking at me from across the room. McGonagall even asked him if he had something in his eye." Hermione was still fuming. Harry told her about the experience he'd had with Lavender's cousin.
"She stunned them?" she asked. "That's strange."
"Yeah, I know." They headed over to the teachers lounge, but didn't stay long, noticing a very irritable looking Snape looming by the coffee table. Harry went back to his classroom and waited for the N.E.W.T. students to arrive. His classroom ended up being very full. Defense Against the Dark Arts was a popular subject, though there wasn't a single slytherin in sight. This class had all seventh years in it.
"Good morning," Harry greeted them. There were many familiar faces in this group. He got out the role sheet and made sure they were all there. The last to be called was Ginny, who had taken a seat near the front next to her newest beau. "Alright," Harry said, "this is going to be a hard class. Keep your wits about you, do your homework, and most of all try to study, and you should be fine. First we'll be starting out with an overview, so everyone, get out your wands and we'll practice the..." Harry had been about to say the shield charm, but a knock came at the door.
"Come in," Harry said, straightening himself, and in walked Snape. "Potter, the headmaster wishes to see you, and I shall be taking over for you here for the remainder of the class." Snape looked almost as if he had just been given a sort of treat, and this gave Harry a chill down his back.
"Very well," Harry turned to the class. "While I'm gone, I want you to..."
"I'd get going if I were you, Potter."
"...practice the shield charm, the stun charm, and the..."
"I can take over from here."
"...disarming charm." Harry winked at the students and left toward Dumbledore's office. "Cotton candy," he muttered to the gargoyles before climbing the staircase to the circular office above. He rapped lightly on the door and went in.
"Aw, Harry! Good to see you," Dumbledore said. He was looking very tired lately, but his eyes still sparkled behind his half-moon spectacles.
"You wanted to see me sir?"
"Yes Harry. Have a seat." Harry did as he was told. "I just received some very odd news from Professor Sprout. She said that one of her third year Hufflepuffs was crying, apparently because of you."
Harry blinked. "Do you mean Betty Brown?"
Dumbledore nodded. "Professor Sprout couldn't get a good account of the story from the girl."
"Well, I'm still a little confused too," Harry admitted. He told Dumbledore what had happened throughout the lesson. "I didn't know she would cry. In fact, I don't know what I could have done to make her cry."
Dumbledore surveyed Harry. "It seems to me," he said, "that she had been trying to impress you by her show of knowledge of the stunning charm. You then proceeded to take points away, a thing that might have led her to feel like she had been misbehaving when she had only been trying to show herself as superior to those two boys. I don't disagree with what you did though, Harry.
"Any matter, this is not the only reason why I've called you to my office. I wanted to ask how you've been feeling lately. Voldemort's downfall is still recent, and I see that your scar has nearly vanished now."
Dumbledore was right. Since his defeat of Voldemort, his scar had slowly been dissolving back into ordinary flesh. "I feel fine," Harry admitted. This was the truth. Now that it was all over, it was as if a great weight had been lifted from him.
"I have a little experiment I would like to conduct, if you don't mind, Harry." Dumbledore stood and walked over to a small cage in the corner that Harry had not noticed. He brought it over. "Ask this snake a question," Dumbledore said calmly, as if this were a normal thing to do.
Harry looked at the snake and screwed up his eyes. "What breed are you?" The snake said nothing.
"I'm afraid, Harry, that that was in perfect English."
Harry looked at the snake again. "Where were you born?" The snake did nothing. It could not hear him.
"English again. This seems to prove my theory. Harry, you are now as you were the day you were born. With the demise of Voldemort, you are now free of all things the two of you shared."
Harry didn't know what to say. He stood up and shook Dumbledore's hand and left again for his class. Snape seemed reluctant to stop his reign of terror on Harry's class, but left again for his dungeon. The rest of the day passed without interest.
A.N. I haven't read any other fics like this, but if you search for, say, Harry DADA teacher, or something like that, you might find something. Also, I've started to get a little unsure of where to go from here, so any ideas would be appreciated. Thanks again for R/R'ing. Be sure to check out my other fics, too.