Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Chapter Two - New teacher"Students", intoned the quiet voice of Albus Dumbledore, who had risen from his seat, "your attention please."
The excited chatter in the great hall died down almost immediately.
"As you all know, professor Twiddledee most unfortunately had to leave us last week. I am afraid that she won't be able to rejoin us any time soon. We were therefore obliged to find another teacher for Defense against the Dark Arts. I am most happy, however, to introduce to you a new teacher who will take over this post at least until the end of this year. I would like to introduce to you professor Serenus Caldus."
Polite applause sounded as Dumbledore ended his speech and the new professor rose and nodded at the students.
Suppressed muttering followed immediately after. Professor Twiddledee hadn't been the best-liked teacher ever. But she hadn't been that bad either. Just forgetful. Prone to drop her cup of tea at the worst times. And a very unpractical fear of spiders. But not bad. She had apparently never noticed it when you finished a potions essay during her lessons. And she always believed it when you said that your wrist was sprained during an extra quidditch session. She hardly ever took points off for not having finished essays on time.
Well, Hermione would have it that you didn't learn a thing in her lessons, but that was considered a minor disadvantage. You could always study by yourself, in the spare hours, couldn't you, or so Ron argued. Hermione wasn't convinced, but then, she had always been an overachiever. And besides – with Voldemort beaten, there was hardly a thing left to do. No – upon the whole, professor Twiddledee hadn't been that impopular. Too bad she got stuck in the Devil's Snare, one moonlit and harmless evening. Apparently it had taken a long time for anybody to save her. Well, perhaps those strange turns in her arms and nose weren't permanent. Mediwizardry was up to amazing things these days. It might take a while to learn to walk as well. And her voice had changed into such a strange squeak. Very unpractical for teaching. So perhaps it was for the best. It was a pity, though.
Harry, Ron and Hermione looked at the new teacher. He seemed already to be on the best of terms with Professor McGonagall, their Head of House. He was a man in his late thirties, with a pleasant face.
"Well, perhaps we'll learn something from this one," Hermione muttered.
"Herm, you know very well that you don't need a teacher to learn anymore in that subject. You finished the curriculum five months ago. And Twiddledee wasn't that bad. She was just dumb. Which is practical."
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Sure. I'm here to learn. Not just to pass the exams."
Harry and Ron exchanged looks.
"Sure, Herm."
Of course, Defense against the Dark Arts was the first subject they had the next morning. The seventh years Gryffindors entered the classroom with mixed emotions. They still had to pass their exams, and a good teacher would be welcome. On the other hand, their workload was already considerable and they weren't waiting for any more. And their past experience with Defense teachers was varied. To say the least.
Professor Caldus was already there, standing at the door, greeting them friendly as they took their seats. The class sat down quietly, waiting for what was coming.
"Good morning," he finally said. "I went through the notes of my predecessor, but I found it very hard to make sense of them. Perhaps Professor Twiddledee's way of noting things is beyond me."
A hint of a smile went through the class. Perhaps it was Professor Twiddledee's lack of organisation.
Professor Caldus didn't show whether he noticed it or not. "I will therefore go through the demands of the newt exams together with you and see what area's you will still need to work up on. As you all know, there are five main area's that are relevant for Defense against the Dark Arts. Which area's are those?"
Many students raised their hands. It was an easy question.
"Mr.?"
"Finnigan, sir," Seamus said and answered the question. "Defense against dangerous magical animals, curses, potions, objects and abuse, sir."
"Correct. But what do you mean with abuse?"
"In itself harmless spells that are used for a wrong purpose, sir."
"Correct again. 5 points to Gryffindor."
"There are two fundamentally different approaches to this subjects. Which?"
The Gryffindors looked at each other. Nobody said anything. They had no idea what Caldus meant.
Hermione hesitatingly raised her hands. "Uhm, the difference between objects and living things, sir?"
"No, I'm afraid that is not what I meant. Anybody? Let me rephrase the question. If you were to enter a potentially dangerous situation what would you rather have? A blunt object or a textbook?"
They stared at each other. Apparently the question was meant seriously.
At last Harry said, "I'd rather have the blunt object, sir. You might not have the time to study the textbook first."
His teacher nodded at him.
"You make my point, Mr. Potter. There are two different approaches that I want you to concentrate on. The first is of course the flawless execution of all kinds of curses and disarming spells. And a very thorough theoretical knowledge of magical animals, potions and curses.
The second is that you learn to react adequately at a time when you don't know what is coming for you. In real life there is no note saying that you need to fight a boggart. You just know that something very scary is going on. And most people don't warn you before they throw a deadly hex at you. But you will have to react in a split second and with a dead accuracy."
The class looked at each other. Hm. This could be promising.
"We will therefore split up our time. In one half of the lessons, you will study theory, hone your skills on separate spells, curses and the like. In the other half, you will learn to react in dangerous situations. You will not know what to expect beforehand."
"Before we start, however, I would like you to do the following test to the best of your ability. I would like to know how far you are at present."
A slight sigh went through the group. A test. Well, the beginning of the lesson had been promising.
Out of habit, Ron turned in Hermione's direction while answering the questions. He hoped she would write a bit more clearly than last time.
A slight cough made him look up. "I'm afraid you will have to do it by yourself, Mr...?"
"Weasley," Ron said automatically.
"You see, I want to know what you know yourself."
Flustered, Ron bent his head. And did the test himself. Oh well, It had been a while after all.
The rest of the class snickered as they wrote.
Not that the test wasn't bloody hard.