Chapter 3
O.W.L.'s
Two days later, the results of the O.W.L.'s arrived at the Burrow. Harry tore his open, and in the split second before he looked at the results, was nearly overcome with nerves. His Potions score would determine whether or not he would have a shot at becoming an auror. He looked down at the page.
Astronomy Poor
Care of Magical Creatures Outstanding
Charms ExceedsExpectations
Defense Against the Dark Arts Outstanding
Divination Dreadful
Herbology Acceptable
History of Magic Poor
Potions Acceptable
Transfiguration Exceeds Expectations
Well. That was it then. Acceptable was higher than he could have reasonably expected to have done, but it still was lower than was needed to continue in Potions and have a chance to pass his Potions N.E.W.T. at the end of his seventh year. Well, now there was no way for him to become an auror. The one thing that had kept Harry going this summer, that had kept him from completely falling into depression about Sirius Black's death was the fact that if he was an auror, he would be able to avenge Sirius' death by taking down a great number of Dark Wizards. But it now seemed as if that would be impossible. Harry looked up miserably, and remembered that there were other people in the room.
"How'd you guys do?" asked Harry in a would-be conversational tone.
"Well, let's trade," said Ron, and they exchanged papers. Ron had did about the same as Harry, except that he had scraped an 'Acceptable' in History of Magic and only an 'Acceptable' in Charms.
"Tough luck on the Potions, mate, I suppose neither of us will be able to be Aurors… then again, I was never quite sure that was the job for me anyway," said Ron. "What'd you get Hermione?"
At first, she looked rather embarrassed, and at first it seemed as if she wouldn't tell them, but finally she gave them the parchment. All of her grades were "Outstanding" except for runes and astronomy, in which she had only manage "Exceeds Expectations." Ron looked at her in a way that made it seem like she made him quite sick, and Harry could only shake his head with a facial expression somewhere between disgust and envy.
"Why, you could have any career you wanted," said Harry, a note of awe in his voice.
"Yes, and she'll probably just use her brains to try to further S.P.E.W.," said Ron, shaking his head again.
Shortly, Lupin popped his head in the room. "Well, how'd you guys do?" he asked. Rather than go to the lengths of reading out loud for him, each of them simply passed their results to Lupin in turn. "Well," said Lupin, after reviewing them all, "these are very good. Each of you got an "Outstanding in your Defense Against the Dark Arts too. Any Death Eaters who cross your paths will have quite a problem on their hands."
"Well, it's all because of Harry's teaching skills, not Umbridge's" said Hermione truthfully.
"Thanks," said Harry, still glum.
"What's wrong with you Harry?" asked Lupin, concerned.
"Well, my Potions results aren't good enough to allow me to take N.E.W.T. level Potions. That means that I won't be able to be an Auror like I wanted to be," said Harry sadly.
"Well, not everyone can be an Auror," said Lupin, pointing out what was, in Harry's opinion, too painfully obvious to warrant discussion. "But there are plenty of other ways that you can combat the Dark Arts in your career, Harry. For instance, it sounds like you'd make a great Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."
Harry was somewhat consoled by this, and there was still the added bonus of never having to have Snape in class again. Still, Harry was disappointed.
When he discussed his feelings with Ginny that night when they went for another walk (this had become a nightly occasion for them, leaving Ron and Hermione back at the Burrow), Ginny responded, "Well, maybe you could be a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. At the rate we're going, by the time your ready to get the job, there'll be an opening for it."
"True," agreed Harry, and thought that having a job at Hogwarts might not be too bad. It had been, after all, one of the places where he had most enjoyed being over the past couple of years.
For the next few weeks, the days passed, as days have a tendency to do. Near the end of August, when there were only 3 days left before the school year was to begin, an unexpected visitor showed up at the Burrow. Aside from Voldemort, this visitor was one of the worst types of visitors that could show up at the Burrow during the last few days of summer vacation: A professor.
The professor in question was Minerva McGonogall, and Harry was distressed to find out that she wanted to talk to him in private.
"What is it?" asked Harry, once all the others have left the dining room. Harry couldn't imagine what he could have possibly done wrong this time.
"Do you remember last year, when I told Umbridge that I would do anything within my power to make sure that you would become an Auror?"
"Yes," said Harry, who remembered the occasion quite well, "but that's highly irrelevant now isn't it?"
"No, not at all. I keep my word," said Professor McGonnogal. "And if you believe that Snape is the only teacher at the school who can teach Potions, you are much mistaken. You have proven many times on your Defense Against the Dark Arts tests, that it is not always necessary to have a competent teacher in a subject to test well in it. If I tutor you in Potions for the next 2 years, you will be quite prepared to take the Potions N.E.W.T. in 2 years."
Harry was stunned. He had not even considered this option.
"Really?" he asked.
"Well, yes. You must be prepared, however, to put forth the necessary effort in the class. I will be taking my own personal time to tutor you, and so I expect to see results. But I believe that you are quite capable of scraping a passing grade on the N.E.W.T. if you work hard. After all, your grade of "Acceptable" on the O.W.L. was a vast improvement from your usual grades in the class. Besides, you should be able to learn better without Professor Snape being so hard on you," she said, with a slight smile that signified that she really shouldn't be talking like this about her fellow professor.
"Wow," said Harry. "Thank you."
"Your welcome. And since I'm here, Dumbeldore asked me to deliver these letters personally," said Professor McGonogall, handing over a book/supplies list for each Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny. "If you'll give these to them, I'll be on my way. I still have to stop at Tonks' place and talk to her tonight. She will, by the way, be the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher for this coming year," revealed the Professor before she left.
With this new information, Harry had a new outlook on the possibilities of this next school year. They were actually going to have a decent Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, and Harry would be allowed to learn Potions without Snape. Things were looking up.
O.W.L.'s
Two days later, the results of the O.W.L.'s arrived at the Burrow. Harry tore his open, and in the split second before he looked at the results, was nearly overcome with nerves. His Potions score would determine whether or not he would have a shot at becoming an auror. He looked down at the page.
Astronomy Poor
Care of Magical Creatures Outstanding
Charms ExceedsExpectations
Defense Against the Dark Arts Outstanding
Divination Dreadful
Herbology Acceptable
History of Magic Poor
Potions Acceptable
Transfiguration Exceeds Expectations
Well. That was it then. Acceptable was higher than he could have reasonably expected to have done, but it still was lower than was needed to continue in Potions and have a chance to pass his Potions N.E.W.T. at the end of his seventh year. Well, now there was no way for him to become an auror. The one thing that had kept Harry going this summer, that had kept him from completely falling into depression about Sirius Black's death was the fact that if he was an auror, he would be able to avenge Sirius' death by taking down a great number of Dark Wizards. But it now seemed as if that would be impossible. Harry looked up miserably, and remembered that there were other people in the room.
"How'd you guys do?" asked Harry in a would-be conversational tone.
"Well, let's trade," said Ron, and they exchanged papers. Ron had did about the same as Harry, except that he had scraped an 'Acceptable' in History of Magic and only an 'Acceptable' in Charms.
"Tough luck on the Potions, mate, I suppose neither of us will be able to be Aurors… then again, I was never quite sure that was the job for me anyway," said Ron. "What'd you get Hermione?"
At first, she looked rather embarrassed, and at first it seemed as if she wouldn't tell them, but finally she gave them the parchment. All of her grades were "Outstanding" except for runes and astronomy, in which she had only manage "Exceeds Expectations." Ron looked at her in a way that made it seem like she made him quite sick, and Harry could only shake his head with a facial expression somewhere between disgust and envy.
"Why, you could have any career you wanted," said Harry, a note of awe in his voice.
"Yes, and she'll probably just use her brains to try to further S.P.E.W.," said Ron, shaking his head again.
Shortly, Lupin popped his head in the room. "Well, how'd you guys do?" he asked. Rather than go to the lengths of reading out loud for him, each of them simply passed their results to Lupin in turn. "Well," said Lupin, after reviewing them all, "these are very good. Each of you got an "Outstanding in your Defense Against the Dark Arts too. Any Death Eaters who cross your paths will have quite a problem on their hands."
"Well, it's all because of Harry's teaching skills, not Umbridge's" said Hermione truthfully.
"Thanks," said Harry, still glum.
"What's wrong with you Harry?" asked Lupin, concerned.
"Well, my Potions results aren't good enough to allow me to take N.E.W.T. level Potions. That means that I won't be able to be an Auror like I wanted to be," said Harry sadly.
"Well, not everyone can be an Auror," said Lupin, pointing out what was, in Harry's opinion, too painfully obvious to warrant discussion. "But there are plenty of other ways that you can combat the Dark Arts in your career, Harry. For instance, it sounds like you'd make a great Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."
Harry was somewhat consoled by this, and there was still the added bonus of never having to have Snape in class again. Still, Harry was disappointed.
When he discussed his feelings with Ginny that night when they went for another walk (this had become a nightly occasion for them, leaving Ron and Hermione back at the Burrow), Ginny responded, "Well, maybe you could be a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. At the rate we're going, by the time your ready to get the job, there'll be an opening for it."
"True," agreed Harry, and thought that having a job at Hogwarts might not be too bad. It had been, after all, one of the places where he had most enjoyed being over the past couple of years.
For the next few weeks, the days passed, as days have a tendency to do. Near the end of August, when there were only 3 days left before the school year was to begin, an unexpected visitor showed up at the Burrow. Aside from Voldemort, this visitor was one of the worst types of visitors that could show up at the Burrow during the last few days of summer vacation: A professor.
The professor in question was Minerva McGonogall, and Harry was distressed to find out that she wanted to talk to him in private.
"What is it?" asked Harry, once all the others have left the dining room. Harry couldn't imagine what he could have possibly done wrong this time.
"Do you remember last year, when I told Umbridge that I would do anything within my power to make sure that you would become an Auror?"
"Yes," said Harry, who remembered the occasion quite well, "but that's highly irrelevant now isn't it?"
"No, not at all. I keep my word," said Professor McGonnogal. "And if you believe that Snape is the only teacher at the school who can teach Potions, you are much mistaken. You have proven many times on your Defense Against the Dark Arts tests, that it is not always necessary to have a competent teacher in a subject to test well in it. If I tutor you in Potions for the next 2 years, you will be quite prepared to take the Potions N.E.W.T. in 2 years."
Harry was stunned. He had not even considered this option.
"Really?" he asked.
"Well, yes. You must be prepared, however, to put forth the necessary effort in the class. I will be taking my own personal time to tutor you, and so I expect to see results. But I believe that you are quite capable of scraping a passing grade on the N.E.W.T. if you work hard. After all, your grade of "Acceptable" on the O.W.L. was a vast improvement from your usual grades in the class. Besides, you should be able to learn better without Professor Snape being so hard on you," she said, with a slight smile that signified that she really shouldn't be talking like this about her fellow professor.
"Wow," said Harry. "Thank you."
"Your welcome. And since I'm here, Dumbeldore asked me to deliver these letters personally," said Professor McGonogall, handing over a book/supplies list for each Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny. "If you'll give these to them, I'll be on my way. I still have to stop at Tonks' place and talk to her tonight. She will, by the way, be the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher for this coming year," revealed the Professor before she left.
With this new information, Harry had a new outlook on the possibilities of this next school year. They were actually going to have a decent Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, and Harry would be allowed to learn Potions without Snape. Things were looking up.