Title: Harry Potter and the Ancient God King

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.

Part 10 – Tis the Season

There was something in the air. A sense of anticipation and excitement was in the air. Joy and laughter rang through the halls of Hogwarts, unspoiled by the humbugs Snape and Filch.

Was it Christmas? It couldn't be because that was still a couple months away.

No, it was Quiddich season! The first match of the season was coming and all the House teams were training hard, even stealing training time on the field from each other. Everyone was getting into the spirit. Even Professor Burkle was seen grilling Madame Hootch on all things Quiddich.

Still, it was a surprise for everyone when Professor Burkle announced today's topic.

"Hi, kids," Professor Burkle said cheerily. "Today, we're going to be talking about a topic near and dear to all your hearts: Quiddich!"

A hand went up.

"Yes, Miss Granger?"

"What does Quiddich have to do with DADA?" Hermione asked.

"I'm so glad you asked," Professor Burkle replied excitedly.

Hermione gulped. Harry thought that she might be afraid that she had just "volunteered" for something.

Luckily, Professor Burkle just waved her wand and a miniature Quiddich stadium appeared in front of the class, complete with a team on each side. One team was red, the other blue.

"Quiddich is a sport," Professor Burkle lectured, walking through the illusory stadium like a ghost through a solid wall. She stopped behind the teams and faced. "And like any sport, Quiddich can be viewed as a kind of combat. There are two opposing sides." First the red team and then the blue brightened and dimmed in sequence. "You have offense," the chasers lit up, "defense," the beaters and keepers lit up, "and even an element of random chance," the seekers lit up, "that could make the difference between victory and defeat. And to win, both teams must use tactics and strategy, which is what we're covering."

A buzz of conversation rippled through the room.

"Now," Professor Burkle continued after a moment, "I don't expect the Quiddich team members in this class to discuss their plans here. Instead, we're going to discuss the past performance of your teams and we're going to analyze them for their strengths and weaknesses. So, who wants to go first?"

The room was immediately silent. It was so silent that Harry imagined that he could hear Professor Snape ranting at some poor student down in his dungeon.

"Hmm, okay…" Professor Burkle said, nonplussed by the lack of volunteers. Her voice deepened slightly. "Harry Potter. Draco Malfoy. Here." She pointed her wand at her feet. "Now."

Reluctantly, both boys made their way to the front of the class. Professor Burkle put them behind each of the teams. Oddly, Harry got the blue team while Malfoy got the red.

"Okay, boys," Professor Burkle continued in her cheery voice. "Why don't you both give me a quick summary of each other's team tactics?"

They both spoke at once.

"He's a cheating git!"

"He's a lucky bastard!"

"Oh, yes." Professor Burkle said dryly, eyeing them both. "Very analytical."

Harry flushed in embarrassment. So did Malfoy.

"Harry, tell us about one example of Draco Malfoy cheating," Professor Burkle said.

"Well, one time Malfoy grabbed a hold of my broom to keep me from getting the snitch," Harry said.

"And did he get away with it?" Professor Burkle asked.

"No, his team got penalized," Harry said.

"Is this true, Draco?"

Malfoy gave a reluctant, grudging nod.

"But that was not cheating. That was merely a foul," Professor Burkle pointed out. "Cheating would be if he or someone on his team had charmed one of the balls to behave in their favor, or sabotaging the other team in advance. Try to come up with a better example, Harry." Out of Professor Burkle's view, Malfoy stuck his tongue out at Harry. "We'll get back to you later." Professor Burkle turned to Malfoy, and Malfoy was suddenly the picture of innocence. "Now, Draco, give an example of Harry being lucky."

"Well, uh, there was the time he caught the snitch before I had even seen it," Malfoy said. "He charged at me, pretended to attack me!"

"Sounds like an excellent use of a deception strategy," Professor Burkle said.

Harry frowned. When had he… "Wait a minute," Harry broke in. "Was that the time the snitch was right next to your head and you didn't see it?"

Malfoy ground his teeth, but gave the barest of nods.

"Hmph," Professor Burkle said. "Now it sounds less like luck and more like a lack of awareness on your part Malfoy."

A spate of laughter rang though the class.

From there, Harry and Malfoy continued listing examples of each other's actions on the Quiddich field, and Professor Burkle continued to analyze them. She even had the illusory Quiddich teams reproduce a few plays. Eventually, the other students began chiming in. Before Harry realized it, Professor Burkle had them discussing the advantages and disadvantages of their teams.

"So in summary," Professor Burkle said near the end of class. "The Gryffindors are skilled at the actual game. The Slytherins, while not as skilled, attempt to make up the difference using distraction and physical force to offset the Gryffindors' advantage. Draco."

"Yes, Professor?" Draco replied sullenly. The discussion had left him in a foul mood.

"How successful is your team?" Professor Burkle asked.

"Not successful enough."

"So if your tactics and strategy aren't working for you to your satisfaction," Professor Burkle continued, "as team captain, you should maybe develop new, more effective ones."

"Why should…" Malfoy began, and then stopped as his face grew more thoughtful. "Yes, Professor, I will…" Malfoy glanced at Harry with a calculating expression. "I mean, I have it all worked out already."

"Good," Professor Burkle said, smiling at Draco. "I look forward to seeing it."

Harry felt a sudden chill. The first match was between Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. The game between Griffindor and Slytherin, the first game of the season for both, was still a month away. That was plenty of time for Malfoy to come up with a new plan and have the Slytherin team well practiced in it.