Disclaimer: Don't own Harry Potter in any way, shape or form.
AN: Thank you to BrennaM as always; hope your internet is fixed up. We (the 'Get BrennaM' fan club) expect a new chapter soon! Sporks have been prepared for your torture should you fail to comply!
Thanks also to Raspberri13 and Rane2920072 for your reviews, they mean a lot to me. I hope you continue to enjoy the story.
Defense Against the Dark Arts had slowly become a position that the Headmaster of Hogwarts dreaded even thinking about as the years went on. Since the arrival of one Boy-Who-Lived, he was having the most difficult time retaining a competent Professor in that role. He was to the point of nearly admitting that the post was indeed as cursed as the students believed, save that he had no recollection of such a thing occurring before. Cursed rooms and buildings, yes, cursed people, frequently, cursed items, certainly, but a curse being attached to something as intangible as the title of a school professor, unheard of. Never the less, it had fallen to him, over the summer, to select yet another hapless soul for the position, and pray, once again, that this one would last at least the year, if not longer.
Albus Dumbledore had searched through a swarm of applications that had survived screening by the Ministry of Magic and the Board of Governors to find this latest installment to the Defense position. The person he settled on, Professor Eugina Pinderton, was by all accounts sufficiently qualified to teach the class, and looked as though she might be the first teacher in several years to maintain it for the duration.
Her appearance was average, not tall, nor short. Thin, without being wiry, and methodical in dress without giving off an air of obsessive compulsiveness or eccentricity. Her robes were a similar version of he student uniform, minus house affiliation, and worn daily, without fail. Her hair was always twisted into a sleek knot, making it difficult to discern if her hair was dark blonde or light brown. One often had the same difficulty in describing her eyes, round, open and honest, but were they blue, or were they green? Eugina was simply one of those people that could disappear in a crowd without a trace, being that unremarkable in appearance and manner.
She had immaculate references from her prior position at the Portland Wizarding Institute in the United States where she had taught defensive magics for the past twelve years. Indeed, Dumbledore remembered her as a steadfast Hufflepuff when she had been a student at Hogwarts. He had been sorry to lose her as a student when her family transferred across the Atlantic, but he was always a little regretful when his students moved on during the school year. A thorough background check by the Board had revealed no ties with Dark Arts or connection to Voldemort and his followers, which was a relief. His own interview with her was comfortable and he sensed no hidden secrets that would be detrimental to her employment and affiliation with the school. She was a pleasant witch, fit in seamlessly with the majority of the staff, and barring any students wishing to follow in the mischievous footsteps of the Weasley twins, she would be able to handle anything her classes could throw at her.
Why this position had seemed like a good idea was beyond her comprehension at times. In all honesty, she had felt nostalgic for the land of her birth, never quite losing her British accent in all the years in America. And then there was the fact that the youth were increasingly more disturbing in the 'New World', the lines between witches and wizards mingling with the muggle world until robes were eschewed in favor of the tighter, shorter, more revealing form of muggle dress. The language those students used was horrid. Yes, she was grateful to receive an offer from Hogwarts, to move back to a place where people were more reserved, and a teacher did not have to worry as much about the violent nature of students increasing in the school.
It had been like coming home, to see girls who wore pleated skirts down to the knee, proper socks covering calves or tights in the cooler weather, boys wearing slacks with shined dress shoes, or unobtrusive trainers, both genders wearing oxford shirts buttoned properly, ties, and the shrouding layer of school robes. Here, compact disk players were not in evidence during classes, nor were pagers the latest fad. Here, students were isolated in order to study, to learn and absorb knowledge. Perhaps that made her old fashioned and behind the times, but she preferred to consider it a sign of her civilized upbringing.
It had come as a different sort of shock to find that some of her classes were dreadfully behind the mark. Not nearly so bad as the American heathens she had taught, but not up to the standard that she would have expected from Hogwarts. All told, she could understand the deficiency, pinpointing the cause to the employment of one Gilderoy Lockhart and one Dolores Umbridge. Near as she could tell, both Professors preferred to focus on theory through book learning and lectures, but offered very little hands-on application, which meant that many students would not have the proper wand movements or pronunciation internalized should they actually need to protect themselves. Hopefully they would never need to use such measures, but for the few who desired employment in magical enforcement, she had her job cut out for her. But she felt she was up for the task, and she was never one to shirk unanticipated difficulty.
Eugina surveyed her current class with a mixture of frustration and dismay. Of all the years she had worked with over the past two months, it was the sixth years that perplexed her the most. For this block of time, she was attempting to teach a mid-level shielding spell to her mixed class of Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors. The spell was simple enough, 'strepho', which ought to have dissipated whatever minor hex or jinx hit the shield. She had lectured on its ability to withstand several attacks before collapsing, when properly cast.
For the most part, this was the case, as half the students would cast the charm to block their partner's jinx. She circled the room, correcting a few students in the requisite wand snap, countering a hex that had not been blocked in time, complementing others in the successful casting of not only the shield charm, but well executed hexes. But there was one grouping, consisting of Potter, Granger and Weasley, seemed to be ignoring the lesson for the day. It appeared, from her vantage from across the room, that they had employed a different charm, and were ricocheting a jinx back and forth between the three of them. Rather than create a scene by deducting house points, she'd chosen to split them up, pairing Potter with Macmillan, Weasley with Finch-Fletchley, and Granger with Longbottom, reminding them that it was the 'strepho' shield that they were to be practicing.
She ignored the rolled eyes and silent 'we know' that Miss Granger mouthed, staying long enough to watch Ron cast a leg locker jinx for Justin to block before turning to observe the other students in the room. Before she'd managed to walk ten steps away, she heard a "Professor?" and turned to find Longbottom on the ground, petrified, and watched as Harry cast a tarantallegra that should have been absorbed by Ernie's shield, but instead shattered it and hit the unsuspecting boy, causing him to tap dance until Hermione cast a quick 'finite incantatum.'
She watched Granger repeat the spell on her partner, helping Neville off the floor laughing at his sheepish remark that he hadn't expected to suffer that particular hex from her hand ever again. Again, she watched the group, witnessing Neville's own hex as he cast it in Hermione's direction. The girl flicked her wand, almost carelessly, enunciating the word in an exact manner. Eugina waited expectantly for the spell to become absorbed, and was surprised when it bounced off, narrowly missing the boy as he dodged.
Eugina Pinderton fought with her irritation, recognizing it as an unprofessional emotion to indulge in during class time. This was a clear illustration of why the sixth years were so difficult for her to educate. There were three distinct levels of students within the year. First were the students that only had the reading and theory memorized, most of the Slytherin house fell under this category, as well as many of the Ravenclaws and a few Hufflepuffs. Second were those who had some skill with the wand movements, and typically managed to pick up the new lessons fairly quickly, the Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs along with a handful of Ravenclaws comprised this grouping. And then there was the last group, which comprised of three students-Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley.
For the other two groups, it was a matter of ensuring that they learned enough over the course of this current year and next year in order to be prepared to take their NEWTs if not pass them. But this last group was a challenge. Her vexation this day stemmed by the knowledge that 'strepho' in it's strongest form was originally intended to bounce spells away from the target, a fact that Hermione was likely aware of. She hadn't expected them to display enough power to invoke that particular quality of the spell. What was worse, today's lesson was not the first that odd occurrences cropped up in, which indicated that she should have been expecting such an event. She remembered other instances, spells more powerful than a 16 year old should be able to cast, effects that did not fade within the proscribed times, material that seemed as though it were merely a matter of revision instead of new knowledge. Unfortunately, the Headmaster had been closemouthed on any extenuating circumstances that would have resulted in such abilities.
She sighed, and regrouped the trio again, recognizing that the three outstripped their peers in skill and power, and were only challenged by working with and against each other. She noted that the other students tended to give the group a wide berth, wary of being hit by an errant spell should one of them ricochet outside of their control. Eugina turned back to her class while musing on the headache the three presented, almost wishing that she didn't have to teach them at all.
As an educator, she would be foolish not to realize that they all exhibited some form of power that set them apart from their peers. With Harry, it was hardly unexpected, he obviously was a powerful wizard if half the stories told by staff and students alike were true. And that was in addition to the notoriety of being the Boy-Who-Lived. But for the fame and power, he struck her as a fairly subdued and unassuming boy, no matter what Professor Snape said. Ron, she was sure, had the gift of strategy. She had observed him waiting for the most opportune moment before striking many times during class, but he lacked the desire to apply himself unless he was keeping up with his friends. Luckily his friends were definitely above par, which kept him motivated.
Which left Hermione Granger. She could not help but wonder if the sorting hat had made a mistake on the day Hermione was sorted. Hermione was definitely a candidate for Ravenclaw. Hermione Granger was to her what Harry Potter was to her colleague, Severus Snape. Eugina tried to be fair with but could not help but be annoyed by the young woman. The girl had all the answers, a veritable prodigy, which was a blow to Pinderton's pride at times, and asked questions that the older witch was not prepared to respond to. By mid-September, she'd pulled the girl aside and attempted to explain, in polite terms, that as a Professor, she did not have time to deviate from her lesson plan in order to address the questions that would be part of the next year's curriculum. She'd hoped that this would stem the flood of questions during class, but it resulted in Hermione seeking her out after hours, still eager to know things outside of the structured lessons for her year.
In truth, there was nothing wrong with the girl's desire to learn, but Hermione's mannerisms reminded her of her sister, a person Eugina was not fond of in the least. Still, she managed to separate the two in her mind, and did acknowledge that Hermione, as well as the two boys would likely be better suited for the seventh year classes, and in some cases were advanced beyond what she was teaching all together, but again, her goal was to ensure that they, as a collective group, were prepared for end of term exams and NEWTs in the following year. She had enough on her plate without the added stress of researching and preparing a special class solely for a select handful of students. The needs of the many outweighed the boredom of the few.
The trio resumed practicing the shielding charm as directed by Professor Pinderton. It was simple enough, one that they had reviewed in fifth year for potential DA use before choosing to practice the stronger 'Protego' charm instead. It posed little enough challenge, requiring less focus and intensity than the defense spell they used during the encounter at the Ministry in their previous year. As had been occurring lately, the spell worked better than they anticipated, resulting in the ricochet of a spell as they bounced it around between them. They made it a sort of a game while they waited for their fellow students to master the charm, erecting the barrier at the last possible moment then banishing it when it's purpose was served. The exercise served to improve their reflexes and speed, or that was the intension at least.
They had discussed the situation before in their common room, and agreed that the latest incarnation of the Defense teacher was loads better than the likes of Umbridge; at least they got to use their wands. Unfortunately, she lacked the perception to realize that she was not engaging all her students with the current lesson plan. In Harry's opinion, she lacked the enthusiasm and flexibility that had made DADA class such an enjoyable part of the day when Lupin had been teaching. Hermione missed the emphatic lectures and shocking demonstrations that Barty Crouch Jr., masquerading as Mad-Eye Moody, had provided to drive the message home, almost to the point of missing the sound of 'Constant Vigilance!' ringing in her ears. And ironically, while Ron was pleased with knowing most of the spell work being imparted, even he was missing the stimulation of something new.
There was a level of frustration that they shared, knowing what was out there, and what was to come in the future. They wanted to be prepared, knowing that Voldemort would make his move again. Harry had shared to prophesy with them, and the theory that it would come down to him verses He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Both Hermione and Ron steadfastly vowed that they would be by his side, supporting him so that he would not be alone in that battle. But in order to be ready, they needed to be learning more than basic, rudimentary skills.
It was one of the many things that Hermione had rolling around in her head. She knew they needed access to more advanced hexes and curses, to have a mentor who would be able to prepare them adequately for the types of tricks one would expect from a death eater. They needed information on how best to survive encounters with the Dark Arts, beyond what was currently being taught. Ideally, Professor Snape would be perfect, having the inside view of death eater machinations, but he would be as likely to kill Harry as to train him, rendering it an unfeasible avenue for knowledge. In short, Hermione wanted to speak with Dumbledore to seek out other options, but was afraid it was a bit presumptuous, even for her.
AN: I'm a bit nervous about this particular chapter since I've introduced the new DADA Professor, but bear with me… Also, I'm not trying to bash American society or anything of the sort, just remember that the good professor is a bit stuffy, and anything short of finishing school propriety is a bit shocking to her. Sorry that this chapter was short, but they should start getting longer soon. So…er…yeah, review if you want.