Chapter Six – The Shine
James, Sirius, and Pettigrew arrived to the Gryffindor Common Room. They had calculated some ten minutes before the next class. They checked their schedule and realized with horror that Defense Against the Dark Arts was next. They considered skiving, but they then remembered McGonagall sending them to class. Knowing her, she was likely to find out whether they had obeyed her or not.
Reluctantly, they walked to the room. Only Frank Longbottom was there.
"Hey, James," he said. "It's not usual you're early!"
Though he didn't dislike him as much as he disliked Snape, James didn't find Frank Longbottom as the most likeable person.
"Well, you know," he answered, "life needs variation once in a while."
Frank grinned. "Yes, I guess you're right. I might try skiving someday, then."
It was James's turn to grin, so he did it a little reluctantly.
"I miss the free hours, though," Frank continued. "I heard the new professor is as weird as Binns dancing in a party." He laughed.
And he has some sense of humor!, James thought.
"I heard he has this -er- usage of banning wands," commented Sirius matter-of-factly, before James shot him a "shut up" look.
"Erik Hipstriker, I guess," said Frank.
"I believe...," said James.
"Did someone say my name?" said a familiar voice behind James, and he thought he knew who it was. He turned around and, yes, he was Hipstriker.
"Seeing you again, Mr. Potter, though I cannot say it is a pleasure," said Hipstriker. "Sorry I'm late. I see I'm not the only one."
"Wait, Professor Hipstriker!" shouted a distant, yet approaching voice. Evans, McKinnon, and Grahams were running toward them.
Hipstriker started his class when everybody had arrived.
"Hello, class. My name, as some of you may already have heard, is Erik Hipstriker," he said. "Before choosing this job -if you could call it a job-, I dedicated my whole life to the protection of endangered ignored-by-the-Wizarding-community Magical Creatures".
"Professor?" Frank Longbottom raised his hand and talked with a certain mock on his voice. "Could you tell them exactly what you did to protect those creatures?" Evidently, Longbottom knew something about him, and so did almost every Wizard-born guy in the room.
"Well... erm... Certainly, Mr.-"
"-Longbottom, sir."
"Well... I believe you should know I was what you, common people, would call a striker. But, of course, my labor went ahead of common striking. I could even call myself Magical Creatures' Defender by Means of Civilian Resistance. My last movement, before coming to Hogwarts, was an outdoor slumber at the doors of the Department of Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures to protest against the massive murders of horklumps.
"Horklumps should stop being considered as pests and should start being treated as human beings they are".
"But, sir," Longbottom said again, "once, they infested our backyard and we had to call the Department. They were eating off my mother's flowers' fertilizer. Horklumps are pests".
"How dare you?" shouted Hipstriker, suddenly agitated. "The Department of Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures is only an evil institution in charge of the gorey murders of thousands of poor creatures as hurklumps, flobberworms, or chizpurfles. My job was to combat them and to stop the violence they generate".
James Potter was finding that class rather amusing. Dumbledore had somehow managed to find a completely mad professor. Hipstriker was even madder than Professor Vance, who hadn't seemed to control his temper with a first year's unexperience and ignorance.
"You may wonder now what I joined this staff so late this term. Dumbledore asked me to enter Hogwarts quite on time, but I thought it over. It was on the Daily Prophet how Professor Vance ended last term shouting hysterically, pursued by a pack of first and second years, who weren't able to resist her slight impatience any longer. I finally thought it was a good idea. At least, I did, until I found two rather rebellious students attempting to duel on this same school's campus". James knew Hipstriker was talking about him and Snape.
"I am totally against violence, which I will not tolerate while I am teaching in this school. If I discover anyone attempting any kind of violence, as dueling, hexing, cursing, Transfigurating, shouting, menacing, gesturing, frowning, or even thinking violently, I will see myself on the painful need of retrieving that person's wand. I have done it already. Please, stand up if your wand has been banned by me".
James flushed at the thought of standing before all his mates. But at the time as he did, so did almost everyone else.
"Mr. Longbottom, please stand up too and hand me your wand over," Hipstriker commanded suddenly.
Frank Longbottom felt a lump in his throat. "M - me, prof... professor?"
"Yes, Longbottom, you," answered Hipstriker.
"But, why?" asked Frank trying not to seem embarrassed.
"You questioned my love and the dedication of my life. Of course, you insulted those poor Magical Creatures".
Frank turned scarlet red and walked slowly forward.
"Stop!" Lily Evans had suddenly stood up. "You cannot do this, sir. Frank did not know your... habit of taking wands away. He was just saying what he thought..."
Hipstriker interrupted her. "Are you saying that what I do is wrong, Miss Evans?"
"No, sir, not at all..."
"You'll also give me that wand, Miss Evans!"
By the look on her face, James could see Evans was burning in humiliation. He couldn't stand it.
"You will not shout her like that!"
He, James, hadn't been the only one who had stood up. McKinnon and a confused Grahams had done it too.
"McKinnon! Grahams! Wands! Potter, you are under detention! THIS HAS TO BE OVER!"
A sudden quake quieted the whole room at once. Hipstriker's rageful face turned into a fearful one. Several girls (everyone except Evans, Grahams, and McKinnon) screamed in despair.
The quake lasted about ten seconds before it stopped. By then, the room -and others, by the sound of it- were in a complete havoc.
Quietude followed by a dreadful silence.
Everyone, especially Hipstriker and the screaming girls was breathing hard. Every Gryffindor fifth year was standing up, getting hold of something so they wouldn't lose balance and looking around in a paranoic way.
Hipstriker found his voice at last. "Please, ladies and gentlemen... settle down".
But before they did, a roaring noise came from somewhere below on the Castle. However, this time, no one shouted and no one lost control.They just waited expectantly. The noise grew bigger and bigger. And then, without previous warning, a blinding light shone through the window. It was a white light, but some colors could be seen every while. The witnesses had to put a hand over their eyes to be able to see it.
And suddenly, as it had come, it was gone.
The students were shocked. Some seconds passed before they noticed a bumping noise. Hipstriker had fainted. As Gryffindors they were, they had felt it was their duty to try to aid their professor. But with the latest experience, they just felt like running away and leaving him behind.
Frank, Evans, Grahams, and McKinnon hadn't had time to hand their wands over, so they just left the room with the others. James, on the other hand, knew he would still be on detention after Hipstriker awoke. James hoped Hipstriker had lost his memory.
The Gryffindors fifth years weren't the only ones running toward their Common Rooms. They had become part of a human stampede made by students of every house and every year.
When James, Sirius, and Peter passed by the Hospital Wing, they saw a furious Madam Pomfrey, and, sitting on a bed, a confused Remus.
"What could have happened?" asked Sirius in a confused voice when they had arrived to their Common Room.
"I dunno," answered James. "But whatever happened, it saved us all from Hipstriker's anger."
An incoming owl stopped the Marauders' conversation. Instead of landing near the receiver as owls usually did, the owl dropped the roll of parchment it was carrying on its beak randomly on the Room. After that, it flew off.
James picked it and read it. "Dumbledore wants us down at the Great Hall". He announced to every Gryffindor on the Room.