Chapter 12: I'm A Better Professor
by ataraxis

Emma met with the other two students in the following days, but didn't have as much luck with them as she had with Mr. Turner. She met with Albus on Thursday evening to discuss Albus' success in convincing Mr. Turner to spy for them, to talk about Emma's future retirement, and the possibility of Harry Potter stepping into her vacated shoes.

Albus grinned at Emma's request, and replied, "I don't see a problem with that. Harry has all the qualifications for the job except for one, and seeing as how you didn't have that qualification either, I doubt the Board will put up a fuss. Besides, having Mr. Potter here to teach would only increase the standing of Hogwarts in the wizarding world. If Mr. Potter does take the Charms position and holds it until next year, I can guarantee that there will be an increase in attendance at the school."

Emma grinned foolishly at the respect and admiration Albus had imbued into his voice as he had talked. "I'll be sure to pass your sentiments on to Harry. I'm sure he'll be very thrilled to know you think so highly of him and his skills.

"But enough about Harry Potter and his future career. Should Severus and I both attempt to train Mr. Turner privately in extra defense lessons and spying techniques, under the guise of additional tuition and tutelage for Charms or Potions?"

Albus sat back in his chair and stroked his beard as he contemplated the suggestion. Harry couldn't tell what was going in that man's mind, but whatever it was, it pleased the old wizard greatly, for the twinkle in those blue eyes was positively brilliant. Harry wished he could cast Legilimens on the wizard without being detected; he really wanted a look into the thoughts of that crazy old meddler. Harry knew Albus was up to something and it definitely involved Severus and himself.

Emma took a sip of her cooling tea and nibbled at her Tim Tam, while she waited for a response.

"You would only have just over a week to train Mr. Turner in some of the basics he would need to know, that is if Mr. Turner is correct in telling us that the next meeting will be the following Saturday in Hogsmeade. Therefore you have little time. Mr. Turner has yet to go before the new Dark Lord, and has only been to meetings with the students. He did mention however that the next meeting would be his first before the new leader. I am not sure if we can assume the new Dark Lord is a skilled Occlumens or not. If you are right in assuming that it is Draco Malfoy, perhaps you should discuss the matter with Severus. See if we can train Mr. Turner to keep his fears and concerns to himself before going into that meeting."

Emma nodded in understanding, and finished off her tea and biscuit while they continued to discuss how Emma's classes were going.

- - - - - hpsshpsshpsshpss - - - - - -

Severus met again with Emma after her meeting with Albus to discuss the training the two would need to do with Michael Turner. With the possibility that the Dark Lord could be Draco Malfoy, Severus suggested that he concentrate on teaching Mr. Turner the basics of Occlumency. "If it were anyone else, my concerns would not be so strong and I would suggest a strong defense position."

Emma quickly nixed that idea. "Harry told me all about his Occlumency lessons with you, Severus. It was not a picnic in the park. We have little time as it is, and you would just traumatize him before the meeting and we can't have that happening. I have some understanding of Occlumency, let me handle that. You teach him in Defense."

Severus smirked and asked in detail what Harry had told her about his lessons.

"That you didn't teach him anything, especially in his fifth year. You constantly attacked him without instructing him on what he should do. During the summer, his friend Hermione found a book for him that explained everything in a clear, understandable manner. Casting Legilimens and expecting him to repel your attack without understanding the fundamental principles behind what was happening was not the proper way to teach someone who disliked you and did not want to be there.

"I've heard you employ similar methods in your Potions classroom. You expect students to read and comprehend, without actually teaching them anything. You never demonstrate your lessons, you hang over their shoulders and therefore they feel threatened. Potions can be volatile if not prepared properly, I understand this, but if you make them scared, they will cower, not question. And students should always question, if they wish to learn. Plus, house prejudice stood in the way. It made all your other 'non-Slytherin' students furious. None of the other teachers were like that in their classrooms. Not McGonagall, Flitwick, or Sprout. They treated each student as if they had a right to learn and belonged in their classroom," Harry vented through Emma about his treatment under the Potions Master.

Severus sat in stunned silence as he heard just what Harry thought of him. None of the other professors had ever really questioned his methods. Of course, he never really gave them the chance. He had given no one the opportunity, not even Albus. He always either walked away before they started in, or exploded at them and told the other professors that his students were all imbeciles who couldn't tell Mandrake root from ginger.

Severus reigned in his initial impulse to blast 'Emma' to pieces; he knew he had an anger management issue. Albus had told him repeatedly that he needed to learn to control his negative emotions. Severus had been working on finding other outlets for his rage.

"My word. Harry Potter has certainly been very forthcoming about his history here at Hogwarts. Especially for someone who values his privacy, as he has for the last four years. What makes you so important to him that he would share all of this with you?"

Emma blinked in astonishment. He had expected to be told off and hexed nine ways to Sunday, and instead, Severus had done no such thing.

Harry was so in shock that he hadn't heard Severus' question. "Huh? Excuse me?" Emma asked, her voice slipping for a moment from Emma's husky tone into Harry's normal register.

"It's not important. I agree that you may teach Mr. Turner Occlumency, and I will strengthen his Defense skills. We should begin tomorrow evening as we have so short of time.

"Now that that is settled, we should talk more about Mr. Potter and what he thought of my teaching. You're a teacher yourself, perhaps you could give me tips for improvement."

Severus watched as Emma's jaw dropped. He wanted to cackle with glee; he thought it was so much fun to watch as he rattled Emma's cage. Revenge was so sweet, even if it was fairly tame.

"I... I'm not sure what I could say without sounding like a pompous, conceited ass," Emma said as demurely as possible. "From watching my own students, and from sitting in on other teachers, for mentoring purposes, I have found that a visual demonstration by the teacher followed by a hands-on demonstration works best. Students learn by seeing and doing. Mimicry if you will. That's how a child learns their initial vocabulary and societal behavior as they grow. Patience is the other key that a teacher needs, and a firm authoritative voice that can be kind when needed, but stern as well.

"I will admit there will be students who can't learn with that method, but I have found them to be very much in the minority."

Severus lifted an eyebrow and then smirked again, he was going to relish this next bit of his revenge. "Perhaps you could give a sample demonstration of your method. I'll be the student and you the teacher. We could do this in my classroom, and you'll show me how you would teach in that environment."

Harry realized that a challenge had been issued and nodded Emma's head in agreement, then set the time for their own lesson. "All right, say tomorrow after dinner, before your Defense lesson with Mr. Turner?"

"Agreed, tomorrow. I'll leave it to you to pick the potion I, as the student, will brew." Severus finished his tea and slice of chocolate pound cake and they fell once more into a comfortable discussion about the events recently published in the Daily Prophet.

A/N: Another round of thanks to the lovely Magdelena for her excellent beta reading once again. Any errors that remain belong to me. I want to thank all of those who reviewed for chapters 10 and 11, I enjoyed each one.