Shines A Light
Chapter Seven: First Day Back
Harry woke the next morning feeling, on a whole, rather excited about being back at Hogwarts. He headed down to the Great Hall early, and found Tatsu and Neko both awake and sitting at the staff table, drinking green tea.
"Good morning," Harry said brightly.
"Ohayo goziamushita," Neko said sleepily. Harry knew that this meant 'good morning' in Japanese. Tatsu added, "Ohayo," which simply meant 'morning'.
"Tired?" Harry asked.
"Nervous," Neko replied. "I've never taught someone who wasn't a Modifier as well as, in every case but yours, Japanese. Most of those I taught also knew something about what they were doing, which no one here will."
Harry smiled sympathetically, "Teaching sounds almost as hard as learning," he remarked. "I don't think I'd want to be a teacher."
"You already are – you teach DA, do you not?" Tatsu pointed out.
"That's different," Harry argued. "I lead DA, and I have help with all the teaching stuff from Hermione. I know all the spells, and most of the spells are one's that my 'student's' are familiar with. You're proposing to teach them something that they aren't in the least bit familiar with, it'll be a lot harder."
Tatsu shrugged slightly. "Have you done your exercises this morning?" he asked, changing the subject. Harry let him, figuring that his friends hardly needed to be reminded of what was facing them.
"No," Harry replied.
"Well, what are you waiting for?" Tatsu demanded, smiling slightly.
Harry sighed, and began his exercises beside the staff table, continuing his conversation with his guardian without pause. When the older students, who were used to waking up early, came in, they were obviously surprised to see Harry there, and the exercises seemed to surprise them as well, until they remembered Harry's broken back.
They avoided his eyes, as if trying to pretend that they didn't feel pity for him. Harry ignored them, just talking with Tatsu and Neko as he finished his exercises. The rest of the teachers arrived not long before he finished, but all of them had seen Harry in the holidays, doing his exercises at Grimmauld Place.
Once he'd finished, Harry went to the Gryffindor table and sat, waiting for his friends to turn up. Hermione came down not long after, and sat beside Harry, eating quickly, already reading a book on Transfiguration.
Ron didn't come down until just before classes were due to start, and earned himself a very stern glance from Hermione. Harry wasn't particularly surprised – Ron had been sleeping in until almost eleven most mornings by the end of the holidays. Coupled with last night's rather late ending, Harry was almost surprised to see Ron in time for breakfast at all.
They were given their time tables, and Harry was happy to discover they had Defence Against the Dark Arts first. "Great," Ron muttered sullenly as they walked, carrying a bun that he'd been able to grab before Harry and Hermione dragged him off to class. "A subject were we'll probably have to do something."
"You'll have to do something in all of your subjects," Hermione remarked, sounding a little put out by Ron's lack of enthusiasm – he usually enjoyed Defence Against the Dark Arts.
"I mean, like, move around and stuff," Ron said. "I wouldn't mind writing, I don't have to think too much, and I don't have to move. It's too early to be thinking about moving."
Harry rolled his eyes, while Hermione said, "I told you that you should have gotten used to getting up early in the last week of the holidays."
"Leave me alone," Ron muttered as they reached their classroom and Tonks swung the door open cheerfully.
"Morning!" she said brightly to the gathered class, and turned to walk back into the room, tripping over a chair let and hopping in a rather ungainly fashion to keep her balance.
Used to this from the year before, the class didn't comment on her lack of balance. They all knew she could balance just fine when it came down to important things, namely fighting.
Tonks began the class with calling the register, then looked around at everyone, "Well, I hope you've all been practicing over the Summer, since you could actually use magic."
Harry and Hermione had done a lot of practice with all of the magic that they would need this year at school, but Ron had pretty much only joined them for duelling practice, especially after being made Quidditch captain – he'd had the excuse that he had to go and make plans for the season.
Ron had been more irresponsible than he usually was that summer, and no one was quite sure why. He'd spent most of his time flying, almost as if he was forcing home the point that Harry couldn't fly anymore, though Harry didn't think that it was on purpose. He also spent a lot of time with Fred and George, often going to visit them in their shop.
Tonks dragged Harry up to the front of the class and had a duel with him, to remind people exactly how these things worked. Harry didn't give the duel his all, because he didn't think it would be a good idea to beat Tonks on the first day back at school, and the match ended with a stalemate.
That done, the class separated into pairs and duelled with each other, showing off what spells they knew. Tonks cut the duels short about halfway into the lesson and sat everyone down, bringing Harry up the front again to demonstrate a new shield charm, and a couple of new curses, which everyone was then requested to practice.
It was an exhausting lesson, and by the end of it, Harry had to agree that it probably wasn't the best thing to be hit with on the first morning after the holidays. It didn't make it any easier, for him at least, that he had Potions next.
"Are they trying to kill us?" he wondered aloud as he and Hermione walked down to the Potions classroom.
Hermione gave him a slightly disapproving look.
"I don't mind the classes, I'm just saying that they aren't necessarily arranged in an easy order today," Harry told her. "Ron does have a point – after three months of relaxation, coming into Tonks and Snape's classes will be a shock to the system."
"You're right, I guess," she agreed, "But I'm enjoying myself!"
"I know you are," Harry sighed, Hermione thrived on lessons, the harder the better. He didn't know how she did it – he didn't mind them, sure, but he was always happy to have some free time.
They walked together into the Potions classroom, where Snape and several of their classmates, though far from all, were already seated. "Sit," the Potions Master instructed coolly the moment they entered the room. Harry and Hermione did so quickly. It was not a good idea to upset Snape on the first day of school.
Slowly the rest of the class arrived and took their seats. Snape just barked a page number and the name of a potion at them, informing them that they would have to work out the entire Potion from what the book gave them, which was only just enough.
Harry was, once again, very glad for the help that Michael McGonagall, who had relieved Snape was Potions Master last year and this year had taken up the post of Transfiguration, which his aunt had given up to become Head Mistress. Michael had come to Harry the previous summer and offered to help him learn Potions – Sirius had been helping too, in Harry's dreams.
Isn't this being a little hard on them? It's their first day back from the summer holidays and you expect them to just pick up on everything they need? (1) Remus Lupin remarked to Severus Snape as the students got their things out and started work.
This is advanced potions, Severus pointed out coolly, if they can't make a potion on their own, without me standing over their shoulders, they don't deserve to be in this class. First day or not, they are capable students.
Even Harry? Remus asked, pleasantly surprised at the praise that Severus was awarding his students. He knew that Severus's attitude toward Harry had been lightening recently, but he wondered how far it would go.
Even Potter, Severus said, sounding a little annoyed at the admission. He still hadn't completely accepted Harry as a different person. He was willing to treat the boy with a little more fairness than he once had, but that did not mean it was an easy transaction for him to make.
Severus, keeping one eye on his class in case of accidents, started working through a pile of essays that he had received from his third year class of Gryffindor's and Ravenclaw's. This particular one from a Gryffindor, one Natalie MacDonald. Marking work is a lot harder with you around, Severus remarked to Remus as he read through the essay.
Why? Because you have to think, instead of just awarding Slytherin's A, or B, Ravenclaw's B or B, Hufflepuff's D, D or C, and Gryffindor's D? Remus enquired.
Just that, Severus replied.
This Natalie seems to have a fairly good idea of what she's talking about. She has all the information and it's presented fairly well, Remus said, thinking over the essay that Severus was currently reading through.
She rambles, Severus pointed out.
They all ramble, even your Slytherin's, Lupin reminded him, if you are going to ask for that many rolls of parchment, on something as mundane as this, you can expect nothing less.
Severus muttered rebelliously, mostly along the lines of it's not mundane, and three isn't that many rolls to request, as he scrawled a B on Natalie's paper.
At the end of the period, Severus gestured to everyone to bring their work up to his desk and then dismissed them. Everyone had done a good job at their potions, and he would really be force to award all of them in the range of A-B.
When everyone else had left, Draco Malfoy and Blaise Zabini remained in the room. "Can I help you?" Severus enquired. He had expected Draco, but Blaise was another matter entirely, as she was just one of the Slytherin girls. Severus knew that Draco had dumped Pansy, and that Blaise had seemed to have taken her place, but he wasn't sure if that was just because Draco didn't like Pansy, or if there was something more between him and Blaise ... he knew that Blaise's parents had died the previous school year, victims of the Dark Lord.
"Could we speak in your office?" Draco requested politely. Severus had told Draco before that his office was warded against eavesdroppers, magical or otherwise, and that it would be a safe place for them to talk.
Severus calmly collected his marking and stood up, "Of course," he replied calmly, while his mind raced, trying to decide what Draco wanted to talk to him about. Clearly something that involved Blaise, and probably something he wanted no one else finding out about, otherwise he would not have asked to speak in Severus's office.
Inside his office, Severus sat behind his desk and gestured for the two Slytherin's to sit in front of it, which they did. Draco got straight to the heart of matters, which was unusual for him, "Sir, Blaise want's to be like us."
"A Death Eater spy, that is," Blaise said eagerly, "Reporting back to Harry, or whoever it is that Harry reports to now that Dumbledore is dead."
"She knows?" Severus was surprised by this breach of silence from Draco – it was not what he expected of the boy, but then again, he had always thought that Draco would follow his father to the Dark Lord's service.
"Of course she does," Draco replied, "It was Blaise that took me to Harry in the first place, and him who, as you know, brought me to you. I trust Blaise with my life."
Severus nodded, but he was thinking will that be the price you pay for your trust? But he did not say that aloud. "Is there any reason for this request, Draco? It is ... most unusual," he said, pushing for more information before he actually said anything in favour or against.
To his surprise, both blushed slightly, "We're ... interested in each other, Professor," Blaise said delicately, "And Lucius was hardly happy with Draco dumping his Pure-blooded chosen consort, a girl who came from a 'respectable' Death Eater family, for me. While I'm a pureblood, the Dark Lord recently killed my parents, so Lucius hardly approves of ... us."
"If Blaise joined the Dark Lord's ranks and made every appearance of a willing servant, however, my father would have no problems," Draco finished, smiling slightly at Blaise, who smiled slightly back.
Severus sighed, why were teenagers suddenly becoming so complicated? "Blaise, I don't think you know what you are asking for," he remarked.
"I know that it will be painful, and that I will have to do things that I won't like at all, but I love Draco, and I'm prepared to do that for him. Besides, I'd be helping the light as well, wouldn't I? I could play an active part in this war, and an important one."
Severus sighed, "Very well ... I will begin to teach you Occlumency, which you will have to learn before you could even consider going near to the Dark Lord, and until you learn it, you can reflect on your chosen course of action. I will show you some of my memories from Death Eater attacks – you will not chose to join the Death Eaters unless you know exactly what that entails on your behalf."
Draco and Blaise nodded solemnly, "I hardly need stress that word of our meetings being any more than something normal would be a very bad thing. To those Slytherin's who ask and are in favour of the Dark Lord, I am teaching you knew curses with which you will be able to better serve the Dark Lord. To those against him, you are learning some more advanced Potions than what I can teach the rest of the class, you are both good enough at Potions not to make the idea ludicrous."
Both of them nodded, "Thank you very much, Professor," Draco said softly, before he and Blaise left the room, closing the door behind them. Severus rubbed his temples before going back to marking the third year essays. He would have to get on top of his marking as quickly as possible, after all, he had asked for summer essays from every one of his classes, and they would take him some time to get through.
Well, a Malfoy finding love. There's a thought I hadn't thought to see any time soon, Lupin remarked.
He has changed enough for me to believe that his feelings are sincere, though I am a little surprised to see her going to such lengths for him. And in his own way, he for her.
(1) – for those of you who don't remember from In Every Darkness, Snape-Lupin conversations, written in bold (for Severus) and italics (for Lupin) are silent transactions and no one can actually hear what they say.
Well, exams are over and while I still have to go to school, much less pressure now. Hopefully there will be more updates soon! Thank you to all reviewers!
WolfMoon