Chapter Nine

The New Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor

Harry woke up and dressed and left the room to eat breakfast. He left the tower and made his way down the stairs that always moved, ever-changing, causing him and others to take different routes to their destinations. He made his way down the staircase into the Entrance Hall. He saw some students who have got up early too (the bewitched ceiling was showing the dawn sky), and sat down at the Gryffindor Table. He began to eat a bowl of porridge just as Hermione came in and sat down beside him.

"Morning," she said.

"Morning," he replied

"Do you know who the new professor is for Defense Against the Dark Arts yet, Harry?"

"No I don't Hermione."

Ron had arrived as the Great Hall was slowly being filled with students. Professor McGonagall went down the tables handing out the class schedules

Ron looked at his, "Triple Defense Against the Dark Arts and with the Slytherins first."

"They must be trying to prepare us for any danger," Hermione said and Ron looked again at his schedule to double check.

After finishing breakfast, Harry, Ron, and Hermione left the Great Hall and made their way up the grand staircase toward their first class. They made their way toward the Defense Against the Dark Arts corridor and into the classroom to get good seats up front. The room was bigger than any of their previous classes on the same subject. The desks were situated in a circle around an area of about ten feet across. The class filed in slowly as the time for their class started.

Malfoy had crossed Harry's line of vision, "Why don't you move to another seat Potter. Unlike you I am a prefect, and I can tell you what to do," he sneered with his cronies behind him guffawing.

"You are misusing your position as a prefect Malfoy," Hermione snapped.

"Nobody asked you; you filthy little Mudblood," Malfoy snapped back.

"Ahem!" someone called.

Everyone looked toward the sound and there was someone standing at the door. It was a young woman with amber hair; oval shaped glasses; and dressed in ocean-blue robes. She walked down the row of desks passing Malfoy and set her bag on the desk before approaching Malfoy to face him with a look that he had done something bad.

"You are Lucius Malfoy's son, are you?" she asked.

"Yes," Malfoy said trying to sound as innocent as he can.

"I knew your father before he left Hogwarts, and he had a very strong dislike toward Muggle-born," she might have been a head shorter than he was but Malfoy didn't say anything. "I am giving you a fair warning. If I hear you or the rest of the House you belong to call any more Muggle-born 'dirty-blood' since I hate saying that word. You will receive detention every time I heard you say that word. Now apologize to her." Everyone in the entire class stood transfixed where they stood or sat at the scene between Malfoy and the woman.

"You can't do that," he said.

"Don't say what I can or not do. If you don't apologize; you will get detention and have to apologize to everyone you ever called them that word anyways," Her anger rising. "I also have an excellent memory too. You will also have to mean it too, Mr. Malfoy!" Malfoy stood there lost at what had transpired.

Harry knew that he would rather take detention over apologizing any day, but to apologize after his detention was a spear to what he was brought up to do.

"I'm sorry," Malfoy said rather hastily to Hermione with his hands behind his back and Harry guessed that he had his fingers crossed.

"I don't like that tone, Mr. Malfoy, and that almost sounds like sarcasm. You will have three weeks detention; one for calling a Muggle-born a foul name, two for using sarcasm in your apology, and lastly for lying. Everyone take a seat and we shall begin," she said to Malfoy and waving her wand at the door; shutting it. Everyone (even Malfoy sat down) found a seat.

She took out a piece of parchment and began to call roll. "I am Professor Pierce, and I am here to teach you how to defend against the most foul creatures that ever existed. Now is a time of great horror and the Ministry insist that I teach you how to defend yourself from any danger," she spoke keeping the whole class quiet.

"I am going to teach you a charm that is used to repel dementors. Can anyone tell me what the charm is and the incantation?" she asked.

Harry raised his hand and along with the majority of the class (excluding the Slytherins). Professor Pierce pointed at Harry.

"It is called the Patronus Charm and the incantation is 'expecto patronum'," Harry said.

"Correct, Mr. Potter, ten points to Gryffindor. Can you also tell me what a patronus looks like?" she asked.

"Each patronus is unique to each witch or wizard," Harry answered ignoring Malfoy's reproach.

"Correct five points to Gryffindor. Now I am going to teach you how to cast it; you must concentrate on a single moment that brought extreme happiness to you. This charm is easy to cast without facing a dementor, and is much harder to cast with one or even hundreds of dementors advancing on you. Now I am going to have each one of you come forward and try to cast a patronus. I will not expect you to successfully cast it on your first attempt; unless you were taught by another source, this will be an ongoing project throughout the year until everyone can cast it successfully," she looked at Harry when she said this and Harry guessed that she already knew about the secret D.A. meetings last year.

"Mr. Malfoy would you so kind to go first," Professor Pierce asked.

Malfoy went to the center of the circle clearly in a foul mood since he was given detention. "Remember, Mr. Malfoy, think of a happy thought and say the incantation 'expecto patronum'," Professor Pierce reminded Malfoy. Malfoy did as he was told but failed on the first attempt. After several attempts he only produced a very faint silver mist. "Nice try Mr. Malfoy, have a seat," Malfoy took his seat clearly with the expression that Harry could tell that he was humiliated. "Now remember that you may not succeed on your first attempt," Professor Pierce reminded the class. As Professor Pierce called student upon student to try to conjure a patronus, only the Gryffindors succeeded awarding each of them five points each. "Very good all of you, and remember to practice for the next class for another attempt," Professor Pierce said.

This was one of the best Defense Against the Dark Arts classes Harry had attended. After the first hour, they went on to practice disarming, stunning, shielding, and reflecting spells. Harry was one of the best, reflecting Malfoy's stunning spell back at him knocking him into the desks behind him. The only thing that was injured was Malfoy's pride. The last hour was spent learning more about the dementors, and they were given a lot of homework. A twelve inch summary on the chapter on dementors, to practice conjuring a patronus, and to practice the wand movements on the spells they learned during the second hour. The Gryffindors went down the corridors for lunch before they went off to their afternoon classes but were blocked off by the Slytherins from the previous class with Malfoy in the front.

"So you think you are better than the rest of us, Potter," Malfoy sneered.

"I never said that Malfoy," Harry replied calmly.

"Everything in this school was better with Umbridge was headmistress and professor."

"Really, for someone who prevented us from learning defensive spells," Hermione answered before Harry could.

"Shut up Mudblood!"

"Mr. Malfoy!" it was Professor Pierce making her way to the Great Hall. "That will be another week of detention, now apologize."

Malfoy turned away and made his way through the knot of Slytherins ignoring Professor Pierce's voice, until she stopped him, and took him back toward her office. Ron's face cracked with a smile, "I can't believe it! I hope he gets detention for the rest of the term."

"Ron, Malfoy would want revenge since she is forcing him to apologize every time he calls someone 'Mudblood,'" Hermione answered as they entered the Great Hall.

"Come off it Hermione, it is about time somebody shut Malfoy up," as they went through the doors of the Great Hall.

"Malfoy is still going to get back at us over what we did this past summer."

"Don't bicker Ron," Harry said stopping Ron from arguing back as he ate some lunch. "What's next?" he asked drinking some of his pumpkin juice.

"It's Double Charms next in an hour," Hermione answered.

The argument between Malfoy and Professor Pierce spread throughout the school and several of the students in the other houses except Slytherin were glad that they had a professor who has a strict rule against anyone calling a Muggle-born 'Mudblood.'

After they had finished lunch, they made their way toward Charms. Professor Flitwick, a very short professor who had to stand on a pile of books, reviewed them on several charms they had learned over the past years. During their second hour they learned the Hover Charm, similar to the Levitation Charm, but they had more control over the object they were hovering (in this case, some cushions). Hermione succeeded only after a few tries earning Gryffindor ten points. Harry succeeded in using the Hover Charm the cushion and placing it on top of Hermione's that was in a box also earning him ten points to Gryffindor. Harry could see that Malfoy was having trouble getting his to hover since Harry could tell that his mind was elsewhere. Ron on the other hand couldn't make his cushion hover earning him homework to practice the charm along with the rest of the class (excluding Harry and Hermione).

After class Harry and his friends went along the Entrance Hall and out of the doors to the grounds for their Care of Magical Creatures class. Harry was not the only one who would continue taking the class. Several of the Gryffindors continued and Harry could see as he made his way toward Hagrid's hut that Malfoy was not there.

"Okay you lot, tell me what is in this cage," Hagrid said holding up a small square-shaped cage containing what appeared a bird the size of a walnut flapping its wings extremely quickly trying to escape its cage.

"Hagrid, is that a Golden Snidget?" Ron asked.

"Right you are Ron, five points to Gryffindor. As Ron said, a Golden Snidget and currently their numbers are very low and if you killed one, you would have to pay a heavy fine."

"Can anyone tell me why their numbers are low?"

Ron was the first to raise his hand.

"They were once used in a game of Quidditch before the creation of the Golden Snitch."

"Correct five points to Gryffindor, and they were also hunted."

They learned the habits of the Snidget and learned the proper way to hold a model of a Snidget so as to not crush the real one since from what Hagrid said that they are very fragile. The class ended without hazard since Malfoy and his cronies were not there to disrupt the class. Their homework was to make a sketch of the Snidget and to write an essay on the feeding habits of the Snidget. They made their way back toward the Gryffindor tower, but Hermione would meet them later in the Great Hall since she had Arithmancy.

Ron left the Gryffindor tower after he dropped off his books and asked Harry if he wanted to walk on the grounds but he declined. Harry's mind was elsewhere: one Malfoy had gotten several weeks of detention, and second he has to content with the threat of Lord Voldemort. He spent much of his time practicing empting his mind until it was time for dinner. Harry fell asleep.

In his dream he was walking through the corridors what he guessed was Hogwarts. In one of the corridors he heard voices behind a closed door when just about as he reached the doorknob.

"Harry," Harry woke up to see Hermione facing him. "You fell asleep and I woke you up for dinner.

"Thanks," Harry replied getting up and following Hermione out of the portrait door and toward the Great Hall.

They took seats next to each other and Ron jointed them a few minutes opposite Harry. Ginny took a seat next to Hermione particularly exhausted.

"Ginny are you okay?" Hermione asked.

"I ran into Malfoy and he was in a very foul mood."

"He is in a foul mood because of Professor Pierce."

"Yes, I've heard that he had gotten two months worth of detention from what I have heard and he took his anger on several of the other students, but mainly on the Gryffindors."

"Ginny, I didn't know that you were a Prefect," Hermione said noticing her Prefect badge.

"I got the badge before you arrived, Hermione."

"Who is the second Gryffindor Prefect?" Harry asked Ginny.

"It's Colin Creevey," Ginny answered.

Harry finished the last of his dinner and left with Hermione following just after him.

"Harry, are you okay?" Hermione asked.

"I'm fine," Harry replied.

They didn't speak to each other until they made their way through the portrait hole. Hermione sat near the empty fireplace and started on her homework and Harry followed suit lying on his stomach starting his essay on dementors. Ron entered through the portrait hole a half an hour later with Ginny. He sat in a chair near the fire and Ginny took the last chair by the fire and started on her homework.

"Harry it's the beginning of the term, why are you doing your homework?" Ron asked.

"I'd rather keep my mind busy until Quidditch practices start," Harry told Ron before Hermione could answer.

Harry continued to do his work much to Ron's dismay until Ron left through the portrait door. Harry finished his essay and Hermione offered to check it since she had finished before him.

"Very good Harry, but reword this paragraph," she said circling one paragraph to redo.

Ron returned an hour later, just as Harry finished redoing his essay after Hermione confirmed that it was correct and went to take his school books up to the boy's dormitory as Harry and Hermione were practicing their wand movements for Professor Pierce, and Ginny had just finished her Potions essay for Professor Snape.

After Harry had finished his sketch and essay of the Golden Snidget he bid Hermione and Ginny 'good night' and went off to bed as Hermione started on her Arithmancy homework. He entered the dormitory to find that Ron was already asleep. He changed into his pajamas and emptied his mind just as he was instructed to and fell into a dreamless sleep.