Chapter 3 - - - Classes
The next morning at breakfast, the students received their class schedules. Ron, Hermione, Harry, and Michelle mostly had the same schedules. Hermione was still taking Arthimancy and Ancient Runes while the others had Divination.
"What do we have first?" Ron asked through a mouthful of food.
"Divination," Harry replied looking at his schedule.
"Why do we still have to take that class?" Ron complained.
"Divination is very helpful to Aurors, if they are taught correctly of course," Michelle answered.
"But Hermione doesn't have to take it," Ron was still complaining.
They just looked at Ron and continued eating.
"So is Trelawney teaching it again or is it Firenze?" Harry asked no one in particular.
"I think that they will switch off. You know Firenze teaching us about the planets for half of the year and Trelawney teaching us the other half," answered Michelle.
They finished eating and headed off to their classes. Harry, Ron, and Michelle headed up to the Divination tower. The fire burned and the room still maintained its stuffy atmosphere.
"How can she stand this all of the time?" Ron whispered to Harry.
"She must've gotten used to it," Harry shrugged.
"I don't think I'd ever get used to it," Ron said.
"You'd be surprised what a person can get used to," Michelle remarked.
"She's right. I got used to living under the stairs for eleven years," Harry told them.
"Class will start with a review of all the forms of Divination you have learned," Professor Trelawney began. "I will split you into pairs and will assign each of you a different task."
She paired Ron with Neville, Harry with Michelle, and the rest of the class was also split similarly. Ron and Neville were given teacups and tealeaves. Professor Trelawney handed Harry and Michelle crystal balls. She gave a sad look towards Harry.
"Be careful," she said. "I was looking in my crystal ball earlier and it showed me danger in your life. This is not a good year for you Harry Potter. You may not make it through the year."
"Well then, it's just the same old, same old," Harry said sarcastically.
"You have been warned," she said then moved off to another pair.
"She always does that," Harry began. "It's not a complete year if she doesn't predict my death."
"I've noticed," Michelle laughed.
Harry gave her a questioning glance then shrugged it off. Michelle looked into the crystal ball.
"I see danger in your future," Michelle said sounding like Trelawney.
Harry laughed, "Really?"
"Yes, there is death. You may step on an ant and kill it."
"Ok your turn," Harry took the crystal ball. "I see darkness, a mask of some sorts."
Harry saw Michelle squirm in her seat.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
She looked away, "Nothing."
The class ended and Ron joined Harry and Michelle.
"If I ever see tea again, I'll go mad! I didn't remember how bad reading the leaves can be. And Trelawney was hovering over us the whole time," Ron complained.
Michelle was in a thoughtful mindset. She did not hear anything Ron had said. She seemed like she was in some sort of trance.
"Do you believe in this Divination stuff?" Michelle asked them.
"Huh?" Ron said. "Well I think that Trelawney is a phony. She's a fake and what she teaches is a waste of our time."
"How about you Harry?" Michelle asked.
"Trelawney may be a fake, but that doesn't mean that all of Divination is."
Harry thought about the two real prophecies she had made. Both of them had to do with Voldemort. They also seemed to revolve around him. The first one said he would have the power to defeat Voldemort. The second one was said in his presence. No one knew of the first prophecy except Voldemort, Dumbledore, and himself.
Michelle shrugged and continued to their next class, Defense Against the Dark Arts.
"Good Morning Class. I am Professor Tobias White. I will be your Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher for the year. Now I will . . ."
"You're only staying a year," Lavender said.
"Yes, I'm afraid. I'm doing this as a favor to the Headmaster. Now as I was saying, I will be teaching you about the defenses of the mind. You have had training in defense against creatures and curses, but the mind is a vulnerable thing. If someone gets into your mind they can make you believe anything, do anything, be anything. You lose all control of yourself. You can lose your identity."
The room was deathly silent. No one said anything.
"You know that the Imperious Curse causes you to be subject to the will of its caster. Well there are more ways then that to control a mind. Can anyone name a way?"
Hermione raised her hand.
"Yes Miss Granger?"
"Legilimency."
"Yes, the ability to extract feelings and memories from someone's mind and how does one defend against that?"
Again Hermione raised her hand. She looked at Harry and said, "Occlumency."
"Right. It's an obscure branch of magic. It is, however, very useful if you can manage the focus to pull it off. It protects your mind against external penetration. We will not practice this in class with spells; instead we will work at clearing the mind. It may not sound difficult, but it can be."
"Wow!" Ron exclaimed.
"That was an interesting class. We covered so much," Hermione said.
"Harry, you should do great this year, since you learned all this last year," Ron remarked to them.
"Well Snape didn't go into much detail about it," Harry laughed.
"I don't imagine he would," Ron smiled.
Michelle joined them a few minutes later.
"Where did you go?" Hermione asked.
"I just got held up after class," she replied. "So what did you think of Professor White?"
"He's a million times better than Umbridge was, even though we don't get to actually practice the counter curses," Ron said.
"It's not an easy thing to do," Harry told him.
"He's a nice teacher," Hermione began. "He really knows what he's teaching."
"And he doesn't give much homework! Only two inches on Legilimency! He may be my favorite teacher this year," Ron exclaimed.
"How about you Michelle?" Harry asked.
"I think he'll make this year interesting."
They headed to the Great Hall. They were hungry and it was lunchtime. When they entered the Great Hall they saw Professors Dumbledore and White talking at the head table.
"Did you notice how much alike those two look," Harry stated more than asked.
"Well they do look similar," Hermione said looking at the two professors carefully.
"Now that you mention it," Ron said thoughtfully. "They do resemble each other."
"Hmmmm," Michelle commented.
The four of them went to their table and sat down. Michelle was lost in her thoughts as Ron and Harry discussed Quidditch and Hermione read a book. Harry had started to talk more. It seemed as if he was finally moving on. He still had a sad look in his eyes though. If you looked close enough, you could see it. However, he was beginning to heal and it was a big step that he was taking.
AN: Sorry it took longer than I thought. I haven't been home for a week and I got a job. Hopefully though I will have the next chapter within the week. It's all mapped out, I just have to actually write it. Anyways, please review and let me know what you think.
KoKo Belle
The next morning at breakfast, the students received their class schedules. Ron, Hermione, Harry, and Michelle mostly had the same schedules. Hermione was still taking Arthimancy and Ancient Runes while the others had Divination.
"What do we have first?" Ron asked through a mouthful of food.
"Divination," Harry replied looking at his schedule.
"Why do we still have to take that class?" Ron complained.
"Divination is very helpful to Aurors, if they are taught correctly of course," Michelle answered.
"But Hermione doesn't have to take it," Ron was still complaining.
They just looked at Ron and continued eating.
"So is Trelawney teaching it again or is it Firenze?" Harry asked no one in particular.
"I think that they will switch off. You know Firenze teaching us about the planets for half of the year and Trelawney teaching us the other half," answered Michelle.
They finished eating and headed off to their classes. Harry, Ron, and Michelle headed up to the Divination tower. The fire burned and the room still maintained its stuffy atmosphere.
"How can she stand this all of the time?" Ron whispered to Harry.
"She must've gotten used to it," Harry shrugged.
"I don't think I'd ever get used to it," Ron said.
"You'd be surprised what a person can get used to," Michelle remarked.
"She's right. I got used to living under the stairs for eleven years," Harry told them.
"Class will start with a review of all the forms of Divination you have learned," Professor Trelawney began. "I will split you into pairs and will assign each of you a different task."
She paired Ron with Neville, Harry with Michelle, and the rest of the class was also split similarly. Ron and Neville were given teacups and tealeaves. Professor Trelawney handed Harry and Michelle crystal balls. She gave a sad look towards Harry.
"Be careful," she said. "I was looking in my crystal ball earlier and it showed me danger in your life. This is not a good year for you Harry Potter. You may not make it through the year."
"Well then, it's just the same old, same old," Harry said sarcastically.
"You have been warned," she said then moved off to another pair.
"She always does that," Harry began. "It's not a complete year if she doesn't predict my death."
"I've noticed," Michelle laughed.
Harry gave her a questioning glance then shrugged it off. Michelle looked into the crystal ball.
"I see danger in your future," Michelle said sounding like Trelawney.
Harry laughed, "Really?"
"Yes, there is death. You may step on an ant and kill it."
"Ok your turn," Harry took the crystal ball. "I see darkness, a mask of some sorts."
Harry saw Michelle squirm in her seat.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
She looked away, "Nothing."
The class ended and Ron joined Harry and Michelle.
"If I ever see tea again, I'll go mad! I didn't remember how bad reading the leaves can be. And Trelawney was hovering over us the whole time," Ron complained.
Michelle was in a thoughtful mindset. She did not hear anything Ron had said. She seemed like she was in some sort of trance.
"Do you believe in this Divination stuff?" Michelle asked them.
"Huh?" Ron said. "Well I think that Trelawney is a phony. She's a fake and what she teaches is a waste of our time."
"How about you Harry?" Michelle asked.
"Trelawney may be a fake, but that doesn't mean that all of Divination is."
Harry thought about the two real prophecies she had made. Both of them had to do with Voldemort. They also seemed to revolve around him. The first one said he would have the power to defeat Voldemort. The second one was said in his presence. No one knew of the first prophecy except Voldemort, Dumbledore, and himself.
Michelle shrugged and continued to their next class, Defense Against the Dark Arts.
"Good Morning Class. I am Professor Tobias White. I will be your Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher for the year. Now I will . . ."
"You're only staying a year," Lavender said.
"Yes, I'm afraid. I'm doing this as a favor to the Headmaster. Now as I was saying, I will be teaching you about the defenses of the mind. You have had training in defense against creatures and curses, but the mind is a vulnerable thing. If someone gets into your mind they can make you believe anything, do anything, be anything. You lose all control of yourself. You can lose your identity."
The room was deathly silent. No one said anything.
"You know that the Imperious Curse causes you to be subject to the will of its caster. Well there are more ways then that to control a mind. Can anyone name a way?"
Hermione raised her hand.
"Yes Miss Granger?"
"Legilimency."
"Yes, the ability to extract feelings and memories from someone's mind and how does one defend against that?"
Again Hermione raised her hand. She looked at Harry and said, "Occlumency."
"Right. It's an obscure branch of magic. It is, however, very useful if you can manage the focus to pull it off. It protects your mind against external penetration. We will not practice this in class with spells; instead we will work at clearing the mind. It may not sound difficult, but it can be."
"Wow!" Ron exclaimed.
"That was an interesting class. We covered so much," Hermione said.
"Harry, you should do great this year, since you learned all this last year," Ron remarked to them.
"Well Snape didn't go into much detail about it," Harry laughed.
"I don't imagine he would," Ron smiled.
Michelle joined them a few minutes later.
"Where did you go?" Hermione asked.
"I just got held up after class," she replied. "So what did you think of Professor White?"
"He's a million times better than Umbridge was, even though we don't get to actually practice the counter curses," Ron said.
"It's not an easy thing to do," Harry told him.
"He's a nice teacher," Hermione began. "He really knows what he's teaching."
"And he doesn't give much homework! Only two inches on Legilimency! He may be my favorite teacher this year," Ron exclaimed.
"How about you Michelle?" Harry asked.
"I think he'll make this year interesting."
They headed to the Great Hall. They were hungry and it was lunchtime. When they entered the Great Hall they saw Professors Dumbledore and White talking at the head table.
"Did you notice how much alike those two look," Harry stated more than asked.
"Well they do look similar," Hermione said looking at the two professors carefully.
"Now that you mention it," Ron said thoughtfully. "They do resemble each other."
"Hmmmm," Michelle commented.
The four of them went to their table and sat down. Michelle was lost in her thoughts as Ron and Harry discussed Quidditch and Hermione read a book. Harry had started to talk more. It seemed as if he was finally moving on. He still had a sad look in his eyes though. If you looked close enough, you could see it. However, he was beginning to heal and it was a big step that he was taking.
AN: Sorry it took longer than I thought. I haven't been home for a week and I got a job. Hopefully though I will have the next chapter within the week. It's all mapped out, I just have to actually write it. Anyways, please review and let me know what you think.
KoKo Belle