Chapter 5: Professor?
The next morning Harry woke up and went down to breakfast with Draco and Pansy. He was half expecting them to be constantly checking to make sure he was okay, but they didn't show any signs of remembering what had happened the previous day. He decided to follow their lead, and not mention it either.
He saw Ron and Ginny from across the hall, but he didn't think to walk over and speak with them, let alone even look at them for too long. They were quite malicious looking - a bona fide smirk placed firmly on their perfect faces. There was always a large group of kids around them. Harry guessed it was probably because the Weasley family was a legacy in Slytherin, and all of the other kids wanted a piece of it.
After finishing his breakfast, Harry excused himself from the Gryffindor table to go speak with Professor Snape about the quidditch pitch. At first it felt awkward for him to be walking to Snape's office... but he shook that feeling off as soon as he got to the door. He knocked politely, and opened the door when he heard the faint voice of Professor Snape say "Enter,"
"Good morning Professor," Harry said, sidling over to Snape's desk.
"Morning Potter. How can I help you?" Snape asked, shuffling away some parchment and looking up at him.
"Well... I was wondering about the quidditch pitch. I was hoping for evenings on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays for practice time. Is that possible?" Harry asked. Snape tapped his chin, and then quickly summoned a piece of parchment from out of nowhere. He began to read it, and then glanced up at Harry.
"Well it looks as if the Slytherin Quidditch team has already booked the pitch those days from six to eight, and the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw teams have Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday taken. As you know Saturdays are free days," Snape said, glancing up at Harry.
"So that means all that's left is eight to ten on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday," \Harry pondered this for a moment. He knew his team wouldn't be happy about having to practice so late, especially since the majority of them were in their seventh and final year. But since there were no other times, he knew he had to take this one. "All right, I'll take that time," Harry said. Snape waved his wand at the parchment, and Harry could see something being written on it.
"Anything else Potter?" Snape asked, when he saw Harry hadn't left yet.
"Yes... could I also have the pitch from 12 to 2 this Saturday? It's for try-outs... we need two new people on the team," Harry said. Snape glanced over the list again.
"I see no problem with that," Snape waved his wand again, and a few seconds later the parchment disappeared completely.
"Thanks Professor, that's all I needed," Harry said, nodding his head. "See you later," Harry turned and quickly walked out of the room. As he hurrried down the hall to Defense Against the Dark Arts class, Harry couldn't help feeling uneasy. Professor Snape had been his head of house for going on seven years now, but he still felt really odd around him.
Harry shook the thoughts away as he entered his DADA classroom. He quickly slid into a desk next to Draco and Pansy who already had their wands and textbooks out.
"Hey Harry, you're just in time," Pansy muttered, glancing over at the classroom door. But before Harry could reply the door opened, and in stepped their teacher. He was tall, skinny, and very handsome. He had dark brown hair, piercing eyes, and a smile that seemed a bit... odd. Harry thought it looked somewhat more like a friendly smirk.
"Good morning class!" the teacher said brightly.
"Good morning Professor Riddle!" everyone answered merrily. Harry froze. He felt shivers crawl up and down his spine, as if someone had just dropped some ice cold water down his back. The name Riddle sounded familiar, but Harry couldn't place where he knew it. He figured it was just another side effect of the previous day's events, so he just shrugged it off and tried to concentrate on Professor Riddle's lesson.
"Today we'll be continuing on Unforgivable Curses. Last Thursday we established the various curses and their effects. Today I'll be demonstrating for you the effects of the Cruciatous curse on this ordinary street rat," Riddle said, holding up a clear box with a rather disgusting looking rat inside. "Your N.E.W.T.S. might ask for you to describe the effects of this curse, and I thought it might be easier for you to remember them if you could see them for yourself!" Professor Riddle said, a faint spark in his eyes. An excited murmur passed through the classroom.
"Well isn't this bloody brilliant," Draco said glumly. Harry thought Draco might have been somewhat excited by this demonstration, but he apparently wasn't.
"Oh Draco, come on! They save this sort of thing for our final year, because now we're old enough to handle it! It's wonderful," Pansy said smiling, resting her chin on her hands and staring somewhat dreamily at Riddle. Draco just crossed his arms and slouched further down in his chair.
"Now if you are all ready," Riddle said from the front of the class. Everyone nodded vigorously, and Riddle laughed cooly at the student's excitment. "All right then..." Riddle set the clear box down on his desk and removed the lid. The rat scuffled around in the box, not suspecting a thing. Harry saw Riddle's lips curl into a twisted smile. "Crucio!" He shouted. The class was filled with scattered shrieks as the rat began to wither in pain. Harry saw Pansy cover her mouth with one hand and let out a small gasp. Draco just rolled his eyes and stared gloomily at the rat. After a few moments Riddle undid the curse, and the rat lay still. There was a looming silence in the class for a few moments.
"Is it dead?" Blaise Zabini asked from across the classroom.
"No, it's not dead," Riddle said, the friendly smirk returning to his face. "It's in shock. Most likely it will never recover from what I just did. As you know, most humans hit with this curse for too long will either die from the pain or be forever changed," Riddle paused for a moment before speaking again. "Now will you please open your textbooks to page twenty-seven..."
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"Wasn't that lesson brilliant?" Pansy said, her eyes bright. "Professor Riddle is SUCH an amazing teacher! And he's only 24 years old, the youngest teacher to ever teach here at Hogwarts!" Harry, Draco, and Pansy were sitting in the library on their break trying to work on some homework, but of course they had strayed from their work and began talking.
"Yeah, it's brilliant if you're a crazy fangirl..." Draco muttered.
"What do you mean 'crazy fangirl'?" Pansy asked, frowning slightly.
"Oh, you know, just the fact that every girl in the school is madly in love with Riddle. I think he qualifies to having his own fan club," Draco said.
"I'm not madly in love with Professor Riddle! He's just a really excellent teacher!" Pansy said crossing her arms.
"Oh, and the fact that he's 'totally gorgeous' has nothing to do with it?" Draco said rolling his eyes.
"Draco, get off it. I'm not in love with Professor Riddle, I just think he's an excellent teacher, especially for being so young," Pansy said in an annoyed tone.
"Whatever you say," Draco said numbly, turning back to his schoolwork. Pansy let out an exasperated sigh, and began to gather her schoolwork.
"You know, I think I have somewhere I have to be. See you guys later," Pansy quickly picked up her bag and left the library before Harry even had a chance to say good-bye.
"Bet she's off to go hit on Riddle..." Draco snorted.
"Draco, come on. So what if she thinks Riddle's a good teacher?" Harry said.
"A good teacher? Come on, every girl in the school is in love with him. He could be teaching us how to jump rope with a doxie, and she'd still like him..." Draco said frowning. Harry raised his eyebrows. Did he detect jealousy in his friends' voice?
"You're not jealous... are you?" Harry questioned. Draco looked up, somewhat stunned.
"JEALOUS? Of WHAT? Why would I possibly be jealous of Riddle," Draco said, sounding out Riddle like it was infected.
"Well, I don't know, you're just going on and on about how terrible he is, when he isn't even that bad of a teacher," Harry said, ignoring the fact that he couldn't remember Riddle at all before today.
"Not you TOO Harry," Draco said sighing. "Don't go fangirl on me..."
"I'm not. You just have to lighten up a little. What, do you think Pansy is going to run off and marry him or something?" Harry asked.
"What? No! No way, he's not really her type," Draco muttered. Harry raised an eyebrow.
"Then what is?" Harry smirked. Draco looked at Harry oddly, opened his mouth as if to speak, and then closed it again.
"You know what... I gotta go. See you later Harry," Draco said, gathering his schoolwork and hurrying out of the library faster than Pansy had.
"See you..." Harry muttered after Draco had already gone. Harry shook his head and smiled, tapping his quill against the library table. Sighing, he gathered up his schoolwork. There was no point in trying to do his schoolwork now that he couldn't concentrate anymore. As he left the library, Harry hoped this sort of thing wouldn't happen again. But knowing his friends... it was bound to happen again soon.
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Thanks for all the reviews and keep them coming! The chappies will get longer when the "plot thickens", and I have a few more characters to throw into play pretty soon here. There will be some romance, and for all you Ron and Hermione fans: they WILL come back sometime in this fic, so never fear! Oh and to Drays Girl: Yes they (Harry, Draco, Pansy, etc.) are all in their seventh and final year at Hogwarts in this fic. Anyway, glad you're all likin the fic! Plz R&R! Thankies!