Disclaimer Cont'd: I still own nothing that doesn't belong to me...or do I? - No I dont't, and I have loans to pay. Enjoy!
Monday
On Monday morning the first years learned a basic self-protection spell. The third years learned how to deflect basic elemental projections before noon. The time was ending the lunch period and Maylin sat behind her new desk fiddling with paper clips. She linked them together end by end and smiled at their simplicity. With a wave of her fingers she unhooked them all and placed them back into her desk organizer. Some Muggle things she refused to live without. Paper clips were top priority.
Maylin pushed back from her desk and stood. There were no windows. The walls were dark and the stale castle air was maddening. She understood the need for precaution. The last thing Hogwarts needed was for some Darks Arts experiment gone wrong to escape the building. But the thought of spending her tenure enclosed by four-foot thick stone still left something to be desired.
Maylin snapped her jacket into place and pulled her long auburn hair into a thick bun. She picked up her wand and stuck in her hair to hold it in place until the fifth years showed up. Their lesson today, "Phantasms: How to deal with the undead."
Maylin grabbed her book off the shelf and opened it to the appropriate chapter. She could feel the presence of her next class approach the room. She wanted to appear somewhat professional. She was certain that several students had done their research on her. Maylin wanted to look prepared.
The door opened and once again, gaggles of students, complete with parchment and robes filed into the room. They all sat, three to a table by house. Four rows quickly filled, Maylin watched them all.
"Afternoon all," Maylin called to the group.
"Good Afternoon, Professor," they all called back in unison. Maylin suppressed a laugh. She never remembered being that orderly when she was in school. Instead, she grinned and sat on top of her desk. A wave of her wand shut the door.
"I'd like to have all of your attention." The class lowered their voices. Recalling the festivities of the night before, she had their full attention.
"I'd like to properly introduce myself. My name is Maylin Hunter, and aside from making things explode, I happen to know a little something about defense."
The class chuckled, except for the Slytherin table whom all sat stone still visually dissecting her.
"I myself attended Hogwarts many years ago and I had the honor of living in the Slytherin House – I swear I'm a lot smarter than I look. I know what it's like to be a student here. I know it's a lot of work and that even as fifth years you have yet to even crack the ice of magical knowledge. I'll do my best to give you the skills to survive, but understand that it is your responsibility to do the work. I promise there will be a lot of work, but no more than you can handle. I did it, and so will all of you. You cannot afford to fall behind. In this class, knowing the material can draw the line between life and death. In my entire teaching career I've never lost a student and I do not intend to begin."
In the front of the room, a young female Griffyndor raised her hand.
"Yes, Miss..." she checked her registry, "...Granger?"
Hermoine looked surprised that the teacher knew her name.
"How long have you been a teacher?" she managed to ask.
Maylin smiled.
"Four hours, dear."
Again, the class laughed save the Slytherins.
One Slytherin however, spoke up.
"Four hours? What makes you think you're fit to keep us safe?"
Maylin turned toward the boy and stepped in front of his desk. She lowered her face to just inches away from his and spoke just loudly enough for the whole class to hear her warning.
"Mr. Malfoy," she hissed, she needed no registry to pick out the son of Lucius Malfoy. "Do yourself a favor. When you're in my class, and feel the need to say something…anything. Stop. In my class, you will not speak unless you are spoken too and even then most of the time a simple head jiggle will do. If you feel the need to express your opinion, just remind yourself of your personal insignificance, and shut the hell up."
Malfoy's face was a delicious cross between stunned and terrified. No teacher had ever spoken to him such a manner. Stupid bitch…
Maylin whirled around and glared at him dead into his eyes.
Don't even think about it…
Malfoy jumped back into his seat, his eyes wide with the sudden realization that she could hear his thoughts.
Maylin's glare extended itself to the full class.
This goes for all of you. Do not test me. I will see to it that you do not pass this or any of your other classes. I can be your greatest asset or your worst enemy. I promise that I make a better ally. Open your books to page six…Now.
For a moment they all sat there, jaws ajar before pulling out their books and turning to the correct page.
Maylin pulled the wand from her hair and let it drape down onto her shoulders. She would no doubt hear from Lucius Malfoy in the morning. She pointed at one of the Ravenclaws.
"Mr. Hallbary, please read the top of the page aloud."
James pulled the book to his chest and cleared his throat.
Maylin nodded. "Thank you, son," she said sweetly. The class was confused by her turn of mood, but at the same time thankful.
We might actually learn something this year, thought the boy with the scar on his forehead. Maylin threw him a look and a small smile and adjusted her jacket.
"I want to introduce you all to an old friend of my mine," Maylin tapped her desk with her wand three times.
"It seems that while this school is crawling with ghosts, they are not the sort that would attempt to steal your soul and feed your blood to a Dark Lord. Hmm, sounds fascinating."
The class's stunned look had now become a permanent fixture. Maylin's eyes darted left and right. She tapped the desk three more times.
"I once had an encounter," she continued, "with a man who was ordered to deliver certain wizards, no matter the circumstance, to the Dark Lord Voldemort." The class gasped.
"Get off it, kiddies. He has a name, and a history. Say his name and only fear his capabilities." The class did not argue aloud, most even refused to think.
Maylin continued to pace the classroom, her voice was low yet defined and clear.
"So, there I was. He had his order and I had mine," she paused. "I walked away, and he left a ghost. We have since become very good friends…after we met a second time." The class sat silently.
Maylin tapped the desk a last three times and muttered something in a language none of the students understood. The desk rumbled. Smoke seemed to seep from the floor and the room became bitterly cold. The rumble quickly erupted into a furious shake. Students covered their eyes as a screeching wail poured in from all sides of the room. A foul smell crept into their noses. It smelled like death.
"Dear god, Holden, would you please calm yourself and have a seat where the students can see you?" Maylin's voice hardened. The shriek died into subtle laughter as the apparition of a young man sat spinning in the Professor's chair.
He didn't look terrifying. In fact, the ghost Maylin called Holden looked to have been rather attractive in life. His hair had gone a bit wild but even in death his smile was wide and childlike. This was not the face of a devious killer.
"Don't trust his looks, he's actually quite the Bastard," Maylin taunted.
"You only say that because your bitter," the ghost shot back. He addressed the class in the most over smug manner a ghost could muster.
"I was going to make this woman dinner, I swear, and she tore my heart out, literally, before I even got to thank her for the night before."
The class stifled a laugh for fear that Maylin might do the same to them. Instead, however, Maylin whirled around and thrust her wand at the ghost.
"Nadimatus!"
Holden went to laugh at the scene but when he opened his mouth only dust escaped. Maylin walked to the desk and pretended to pat the ghost on the head before standing before the class.
"This children, is how you shut up a ghost. It is a simple spell not used nearly enough in today's world. You'll notice that Hogwart's own Peeves kept to himself last night - we had a slight run in, he'll be fine in a few days."
Maylin looked over her shoulder to the grimacing ghost behind her. She stuck her tongue out him playfully and pointed her wand. "Audibus."
Holden moved his mouth a bit and thanked Maylin for making an example out of him no matter how embarrassing the situation.
"That's what friends are for, dear."
Holden smiled, rose and floated to the front of the class. "So, they're going to learn how to defeat me, eh?"
"That's the plan, why don't you begin by telling these delightful youngster's about the second time we met. The floor is yours, Sir."
Maylin stepped back and sat on top of her desk, her wand in her hand, just in case.
Holden acknowledged that it was now his turn by rolling up his sleeves to show a series of unhealed gashes running up and down his arms. A sickening glow fell over the class.
"I came under the service of the Dark Lord You Know Who as you can tell at a very young age. I, like your professor, was a student of the Dark Arts, she was the quote "diplomat" i.e. quote "hired killer" and I studied with a focus in manipulation." Maylin smirked over his shoulder. Hired killer sounded so Hollywood. She let the ghost continue. "Mind manipulation, objects, you name it I changed it. I received an order from You Know Who himself to recruit several waning wizards for his forces, if they refused my order, I was to eliminate them from existence. However this meant I would have to somehow fight Ministry forces in order to reach the wizards I had in mind."
"The first time I lured these wizards to Hogsmeade, bit of a crowd – can't kill anyone in a crowd right? Well, Maylin and I had been classmates here at Hogwarts. Her husband and I were long time friends -" "Ahem!" interrupted the woman with the wand. She dragged her finger across her neck and shook her head, 'no.'
"Still touchy about that are you?" Maylin nodded. "You have no idea."
Holden obliged. "Anyway," he continued aloud. "I saw her that night at the bar I felt particularly pretentious and asked her to join up with the forces of evil. I mean Hell, she was a prime candidate and it seemed like a good idea at the time. However, I had no idea that one: she had just lost her husband to the Dark Lord and two: was the guardian sent to protect my prey. Long story short - she rejected my offer, cut me up and put a knife in my chest. I couldn't heal fast enough and so, I was left for dead."
"You make it sound like I had fun running you through."
"You didn't?"
Holden opened the top few buttons and showed the slash that ran from the bottom of his neck to his midriff. At the sight of cringes from the audience he closed his shirt and continued on.
"Well, needless to say, I had unfinished business and a soul that would not rest until she was dead. About four years ago rumors spread amongst dark circles about the possible return of the Dark Lord. Just the spread of his name raised my curiosity. I figured that the best way to receive You Know Who's blessing in the event of a return was to destroy my killer. This time I tried from the inside out. I tracked her down while in America and I literally stepped inside of her. I wanted to hurt her just as she had hurt me in my death. While inside her skin, I led her to self destruction. She slit her wrists without any control of herself what so ever."
Holden's face sat in stone as he told the story. This was his punishment and his redemption. Maylin joined Holden at the front of the class and removed her jacket. She too rolled up her sleeves and showed the wounds inflicted upon her. One of the students in the front almost cried at the sight of their identical scars.
"How did it end?" called out a student.
"I lost control," replied the apparition. "For only a moment, I forgot my purpose and May…Professor Hunter took care of me."
"Did you even know he was controlling you?" asked a Hufflepuff in the back of the room.
"I had no idea until he lost his concentration. That's how powerful apparitions are. They are only seen when they want to be seen. They're only heard when they want to be heard. And like any other creature, they are only friendly when they want to be friendly."
Holden agreed.
A round dark haired student raised his hand, "What did you do, Professor?"
"I did what any good wizard or witch would do, Mr. Longbottom. I fought back."
Maylin stood on the edge of the first row of desks. She out stretched her arms and lowered her head. She held her wand tightly. Holden floated in front of her and eased his way into her body. The class watched with enthralled curiosity.
Maylin's head rose. Her eyes had gone all white and her skin turned the color of snow. A voice spoke through her mouth but it was Holden's voice.
"First and foremost, remember your favorite basic protection spell." Maylin's arm raised and pointed the wand at her body.
"Havenada."
For a moment her color returned and went pale once more.
"Next, identify the kind of apparition that has made its way into your body. Individual examples I believe can be found in your textbook. Once you have identified the being, choose the best spell for casting it away. Because this is not an advanced class, it is not yet necessary for you to learn how to utterly destroy the ghost but bear in mind that those tactics do exist and can be quite useful."
The students took notes furiously as Holden guided them through the process. They could not determine who was really in charge of the class; however they were all too fascinated to raise their hands and find out.
"There are several excellent banishing spells for your level, each with a different level of severity. For a milder ghost try the ones found on page eight, for more difficult ones, page eleven will suit you well."
The class flipped back and forth between the two pages highlighting and making notes.
"Please place your writing utensils down for a moment and observe." Holden used Maylin's wand to place a protection spell over the class.
Students from all tables began to murmur about what was going to take place next. They placed their quills on the tables before them and gave the ghost full attention.
A dark shadow crept over Maylin's skin. Her face twisted and distorted. Her mouth opened with no sound. Her eyes turned from white to black, Holden had taken total control. Her body flailed upwards toward the ceiling. The students shuddered with confusion as Maylin's fingers curled and her whole self shook with unrestrained violence.
"No!" She cried aloud and in an instant the situation changed. Her eyes transformed into an icy blue. The fingers on her free hand pulled themselves straight. With fierce intention Maylin pointed the wand at her own body.
"Exitus Non Phantasa!"
Sparks like lightning flew from the wand into her body. The golden sparks created two hand-like manifestations that reached deep inside of her. The hands lifted her off the ground, her hands outstretched once again revealed past scars and future danger.
The screams of the ghost erupted out of Maylin's body. His outline escaped her body and exploded into a foul smoke. Maylin's body dropped to the floor.
The class jumped from their seats and leaned to see what had happened.
For only a moment or two, Maylin lay there catching her breath. With her wits about her, she slowly stood to face the class.
"That was Holden. I hope you paid attention."
The class chattered furiously about the event they had just witnessed. The smoke slowly dissipated and the smell followed. With all remnants of the ghost gone the class once again turned their attention to their teacher.
In the front of the class Hermoine Granger raised her hand.
"Yes, Miss Granger?"
"Pardon me ma'am, but how did you two ever become friends after what he did to you?" Everyone nodded with the same question.
Maylin reached for her jacket behind her and took her place on top of the desk.
She titled her head to one side and thought for a moment.
"It's simple really," she answered. "Holden returned to me not too long after the incident and apologized for what he had done."
"And that was it?"
"That was it," she replied. "Now, please open your books to page twelve and let's compare what you saw today with what is here in the book, shall we?"