Title: Harry Potter and the Ancient God King, Part 3
Author: Nopporn Wongrassamee aka The Evil Author
Summary: The new DADA teacher is something else. Harry and the gang want to know what.
Disclaimer: The characters and settings belong to whoever owns them. I'm just too lazy to look up who they are.
"Maybe she's going to wrestle a troll."
"No way. It's gonna be a dragon at least!"
Obviously, word had gotten around about Professor Burkle's class with the Third Years. Students were speculating like mad on just what she would be doing for the Sixth Years. Half were eager, half were afraid, and a tiny minority led by one Draco Malfoy was loudly skeptical about the whole thing.
In fact, they were still speculating even as they sat down for class. Sixth year DADA was a large class, including students from all Houses. Harry was secretly proud that three quarters of the class were members of his DA. The remainder...
"...whole thing was just a big trick," Draco was telling anyone who would listen. "They couldn't have been REAL vampires. In fact, I heard that she can't even really work magic. It shouldn't be surprising really. What kind of witch makes us read Muggle books? And the authors? Who in Merlin's name is Sun Achoo..."
"You have a problem with the reading material, Mr. Malfoy?"
Startled, the entire class went quiet and turned to the teacher. No one had noticed her arrive, but there she was standing right next to Malfoy. There was none of the bubbly cheer Professor Burkle normally displayed. She was stiff and staring at Malfoy with a gaze that could chip stone. Harry half-hoped and half-dreaded that she was going to punish Malfoy.
"Er, I was just saying that I don't see how this book is relevant to DADA," Malfoy said quickly.
"Elaborate."
"Well, the book talks about riding horses and swords," Malfoy continued, seeming to gain confidence. "I don't see how this is relevant to magic at all."
"Officers in Muggle armies no longer fight wars on horse back either," Professor Burkle said. "Yet, they still study Sun Tzu. Do you know why?" Her icy glare swept the room. "Does anyone?"
There was an uncomfortable shuffling around the room. Even Hermione, who had told Harry that she had read Sun Tzu before ever heard of Hogwarts, did not raise her hand.
"It is because Sun Tzu wrote about strategy," Professor Burkle said, her voice practically dripping with contempt and scorn that would have done Professor Snape proud. "During your first five years in this school, you learned about your enemies and you were given the tools to fight them. This year, you will learn how best to employ those tools to crush your foes."
"Oh, please," Malfoy said brazenly. Apparently, he felt that Professor Burkle's threatening demeanor was just all show. "What's there to know? Just use the right spell for the right creature."
"You believe I have nothing to teach you, Mr. Malfoy?" Professor Burkle asked.
"Well..."
"Oh goody!" Professor Burkle interrupted, her mannerism shifting back to friendly, albeit with a sinister edge. She drew her wand. "Then you won't mind taking the final exam now."
"What? No... wait..." Malfoy spluttered in surprise. He rallied to make a coherent protest. "That's not fair!"
"Fair?" Professor Burkle paused with wand raised, appearing to consider the novel idea. "Oh, right. It would be unfair not to include the rest of the class." A wide grin spread across her face. If anything, it made her look even more sinister. "Well, guess that means everyone gets to take the test!"
A storm of rising protest was cut off when Professor Burkle slashed her wand sideways. Her wand tip left a glowing line from which columns of luminescent green letters and numbers began to fall. Harry thought the effect looked a little like rain.
Then the world dissolved away.
It was raining. The class stood in what appeared to be a Muggle alley. It was night, but not dark. Meager lighting was being provided by a few light bulbs. Behind the class was a chain link fence. In front of them was Professor Burkle.
Maybe it was the lighting, but Harry thought that the DADA teacher was much paler now. Her hair was also darker and her eyes positively glowed. The most telling change though, was that that Professor Burkle was no longer wearing a robe, but some kind of skintight body suit.
"This is your final exam," Professor Burkle's voice boomed in all its forbidding glory. "Scoring is determined by how long you survive. Points will be awarded for every foe defeated. If you still live after every enemy has been defeated, you will have passed the class for the year."
"What? Are we supposed to fight each other?" someone asked.
Harry could have sworn that Malfoy had thrown him a calculating glance.
"No," Professor Burkle replied. Behind her, glowing white fog appeared to be rising from nowhere. Dimly, Harry could make out shadowy silhouettes in it. There seemed to be a lot of them. Most were on the ground, but there was a group of fliers as well. Professor pointed at them. "You must defeat them. And Mr. Malfoy?"
One of the airborne creatures in the fog appeared to dive toward the class. It grew alarmingly large alarmingly quick.
"The dragon is yours."