Chapter 8: First Class
Harry sat talking with Dumbledore at the Head table, carefully observing his surroundings and the other teachers. He had changed his looks before him coming down from Dumbledore's office, to be at least similar in some features to the old headmaster.
It would do him no good with the green eyes and messy black hair, since he would be nowhere near a relative of Dumbledore and recognizable as Harry Potter.
He changed his eyes to a shade of blue similar to the headmaster's, and changed his hair to short auburn, since he was not a head of his 'fake' family. He had also changed Blaise's appearance a little, making her hair a brown, which fell to her waist and forest green eyes. She was sitting at the head table in the chair next to him, eating quietly but Harry could feel her nervousness radiating off of her.
Harry's thoughts took him to the mystery of Snape's situation. He wondered where the body of Severus Snape was, since Voldemort loved to send dead bodies to the families of the victim.
Harry was sure there was something else about Snape's death; otherwise, Voldemort would have flaunted the body by now to warn any of his followers of betraying him. It was the subject of Snape, which brought Harry's train of thought to the potions teaching position.
"Who will teach the potions subject, Headmaster?" asked Simon curiously. Dumbledore's eyes twinkled and he replied, "You will meet her in a few moments, Simon."
Harry shrugged and continued eating, chatting mentally with Hogwarts, and checking the wards around the school. Hogwarts herself held most of the wards, the rest were being held by the current headmaster of Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore.
Harry had also detected some foreign wards, which were not working well with the existing ones, with the magical signature of Dumbledore emanating from them. Harry knew why the wards Dumbledore applied would not coexist with the older ones, being an expert in that field.
Being the less powerful, Dumbledore's wards were negated to the point where they were disturbing the other older wards. To apply a less powerful ward to a very powerful and older one cast by two mages and three high sorcerers, the wizard must weave the less powerful wards slowly into the more powerful one, as if he was tying the loose ends of the wards with another.
Apparently, Dumbledore tied the wards to himself to anchor and maintain balance of the wards. It was another way to apply a ward, but since Dumbledore had no idea what the wards applied on Hogwarts were, he could not know how to weave his own wards in them without creating a disturbance in all the protection wards and defenses of the castle.
Also being a wizard who believed most blood magic to be evil, Dumbledore would not be able to weave his own wards into blood wards, without the risk of killing himself.
Suddenly, Harry's senses alerted him to a foreign intruder making him finger his wand carefully. He looked around for the possible threat, until he noticed a flicker in the shadows. The other teachers were surprised when the new Defense teacher jumped up, pointing his wand at the shadows on the wall and yell an incantation.
"Constringo subnecto funis."
Ropes flew from the end of Harry's wand like a blur and wrapped themselves around the intruder. Before Dumbledore could even move or take out his wand, Harry's hand and wand were on the person's throat.
"Who are you?" asked Harry, gritting his teeth. Before the person could reply, Dumbledore rested a hand on Harry's shoulder.
"I believe that you caught our Potions mistress, Simon," Dumbledore said, amused. Harry glared at the older man as a scent reached his nose. He was very familiar with this particular scent and loathed with all his being, even though they had taught him their magic.
He motioned to Dumbledore and they entered the room behind the head table, leaving a confused crowd as to why their new DADA teacher had strongly attacked their Potions teacher. As they entered the room and warded the door, Harry's eyes narrowed in anger and fury.
"Are you insane, Dumbledore?" Harry yelled angrily. "A Vampire teaching at Hogwarts?" Dumbledore's eye widened when Harry finished talking.
There were powerful charms applied on his new Potions mistress so that she would appear as a normal human being. It was next to impossible to detect her and he was mystified as to how Harry knew about her the moment he met her.
"How did you know that she was a vampire? I've applied the most powerful charms to hide her."
"Her scent, Dumbledore, is highly active since it is Halloween. Since they are near dead creatures, there scent flare when a day where the dead are near our realm. I had supposed that you would know that," Harry explained angrily.
He hated dealing with vampires, as they would betray you and drink your blood the moment they feel hungry, something that had happened with him and Salazar during their journey.
"She is the princess of the Romnov clan and a half vampire. Voldemort wanted to learn their blood magic so he tried to kidnap the daughter of their king to force them to teach him. She is a talented Potion mistress, much like Severus was and she seeks protection here. We don't want the vampires to side with Voldemort, Harry," replied Dumbledore.
Harry nodded his head and replied tiredly, rubbing his temple, "Just so you know, I don't trust her," He said before walking out the door with Dumbledore following him. The woman sat on the table, her face showing a little hint of fear.
Dumbledore approached her smiling kindly. He could sense her fear of Harry from where he was standing and tried his best to look reassuring. He approached the table slowly trying to give her a sense of security as Harry followed behind him.
"I don't believe you've met my grandson, Natasha," said Dumbledore cheerfully.
"Natasha, this is my grandson Simon Dumbledore. Simon, this is Natasha Romenenko, our Potions mistress."
The look of fear on the woman's face made Harry a little bit guilty, but training with the assassins taught him that everyone, even your own family is a potential attacker
"I'm sorry for earlier," apologized Harry, though it was not fully sincere. 'It's Dumbledore's fault for not warning me before hand," Harry thought. "It has been a long day and my senses are on high alert." The woman nodded her head and smiled weakly in return.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Simon Dumbledore," said Natasha nodding her head. Harry nodded to her and excused himself, heading towards his room with his new apprentice following him. They were given adjacent rooms and Harry excused himself and went to his room. He changed and was asleep as his head hit the pillow.
It was in the middle of the night, when Harry felt a shift on his bed. In an instant, his wand was in his hand as he had the person by the throat. A terrified yelp identified the person to be his new apprentice, Blaise Zabini, on his bed with a revealing nightgown.
"Blaise? Are you out of your mind? I could have killed you," exclaimed Harry, trying to calm down. Blaise was pale in the face and was shaking, making Harry notice immediately.
"What happened?" asked Harry, gently this time. He took her in his arms when he noticed the tears and shaking increase, trying to calm her down and understand.
"Eeee...vvery tttimee I close… my…eeyeess I see him, his rrreedd eeyees glaringgg bb...ack… at... me, I-I… amm sorryyy," Blaise stuttered, as she explained to Harry, who until he had learned Occlumency, had the same problem.
He hugged her and replied softly. "Don't worry, you are safe now," he said, rubbing her back soothingly. She cried herself to sleep in Harry's arms, and with a wave of his wand, he applied privacy wards and went back to sleep.
Harry woke up the next day to a warm body next to his. He was about to reach for his wand when he remembered what happened the previous night. He looked down to the content and peaceful face of Blaise, snuggled into his chest. He looked at the clock and found that it was six in the morning, so he decided to skim through his teaching curriculum since he would be teaching in a few hours.
He untangled himself from Blaise and walked into the study outside his bedroom. He found his lesson plans and sat down, going over some things and adding new spells to teach.
He looked at the schedule that Dumbledore had given him the night before and groaned, when he realized that his first class would be 6th years Defense class. He sat skimming through the lesson plans until Blaise woke up.
"Good Morning," said Blaise, entering the study and stretching her arms.
"Good Morning, Blaise," Harry replied, turning around to face her. "You will be joining my first class, which would be a 6th year class. You will attend the advanced classes I teach with the students of Hogwarts and I will each you other branches of magic when I have free time or at night."
"Are you sure it is wise that I attend with my former classmates? Someone is bound to find out about me and it will get back to the Dark lord," asked Blaise fearfully, shuddering at the thought of being back in the dungeons.
"Don't worry, Blaise. No one will be able to recognize you, so you have nothing to fear," replied Harry gently. "The first thing you will need to learn is Occlumency. Although the apprenticeship bond prevents anyone from breaking your mind, since there is a risk of someone finding a master's secret through his apprentice, but you must learn Occlumency for me to teach you other things and for your own protection." Blaise nodded her head and Harry smiled.
"I will be having breakfast with Dumbledore in his office. I need you to have breakfast in the Great Hall on your own," said Harry, making Blaise pale.
"You have to have confidence in yourself and your abilities, Blaise. No one will harm you in the Great hall or out of it. Hogwarts will protect you if it comes to any harm," said Harry mysteriously. He had already informed Hogwarts mentally to protect Blaise and Bella from any harm if he was not there.
Blaise was confused by the 'Hogwarts' comment but did not question the matter further. Harry wore his battle clothes under an expensive looking black robe trimmed with silver and headed to the headmaster's office, while Blaise headed for the Great hall in her apprentice robes, which had Harry's personal crest on the back.
Harry reached the headmaster's office and checked the corridor for anyone observing. Seeing none, he looked back to the gargoyle, which bowed its head and opened to way to Dumbledore's office for Harry. He entered to find Dumbledore sitting and drinking his coffee, with a table full of food in front of him.
"Good morning, my dear boy," said Dumbledore cheerfully. Harry groaned at the cheerfulness of his old headmaster and sat down on an empty chair, pouring coffee for himself.
"Good morning, headmaster," replied Harry, sipping slowly from his cup of coffee. He knew that the cheerful attitude would disappear as soon as they begin the conversation about Harry's disappearance. They ate in silence for a few minutes until Dumbledore decided to begin the interrogation, as Harry liked to call it.
"Where have you been, Harry?" asked Dumbledore "the order looked everywhere for you until we lost hope of you being alive."
"Do you know of the explosion in surrey?"
"Do you mean the one which was rumored to be caused by a mad Muggle scientist? Yes, I know about that explosion. We thought that Voldemort attacked surrey at first but Severus had confirmed that Tom was in Russia, trying to force the vampires to teach him blood magic," replied Dumbledore, raising an eyebrow at the reference to the explosion.
"He was not a mad scientist. There was just a missing link in his invention, one which he never would have discovered, since he was a Muggle," said Harry.
"Magic"
"Exactly," Harry replied. "I had met him in the park near private drive. We talked for a while and I went back home." Dumbledore listened with rapt attention as Harry continued.
"One day when I was walking past his house, he invited me in to have a look at his invention," Harry said, omitting the fact that he was running away from his house.
"He could have been a Death Eater in disguise, Harry," said Dumbledore in a disappointed tone.
"Spare me, old man. I was inside the wards on private drive which was, according to your beliefs, would not allow anyone with negative thoughts towards me to enter beyond it," snapped Harry.
"Please continue, Harry," said Dumbledore calmly.
"It was, when I was looking at the invention that Voldemort decided to send me a bit of his anger through the connection we share. Some of my magic leaked and touched the Muggle invention, causing the explosion and my disappearance," continued Harry.
"What was that invention, Harry," said Dumbledore anxiously.
"A Time Machine," was Harry's reply. Dumbledore's jaw dropped, his eyes widened, and the food in front of him lay forgotten.
"You traveled through time? Where?" breathed Dumbledore.
"I will tell you when the time is right, headmaster. All you have to know is that I trained for my inevitable battle with Voldemort," said Harry mysteriously, making Dumbledore visibly irritated.
"You have to tell me where in time you landed, Harry. You could have changed something in history," Dumbledore inquired firmly.
"I don't have to tell you anything, Dumbledore," hissed Harry. "I am merely satisfying your curiosity and I'm not obligated to tell you anything and I could have left you in the dark about my actions. I have already passed N.E.W.T exams and I am a lord and head of powerful families. I can do whatever I bloody hell wish to do." Dumbledore sighed and rubbed his temple.
"You've changed, Harry."
"You don't expect me to be a kid when I'm expected by a goddamn prophecy to be a man, and to kill a monster," snapped Harry.
"How much did you spend in whatever time you landed in, then?" asked Dumbledore "You look a lot older than James when he was still alive."
"I'm twenty five," said Harry quietly. Again, Dumbledore was shocked that Harry spent a decade in a different time, with different people.
"You came to your full magical power then, I assume," stated Dumbledore. Harry nodded his head and Dumbledore could not help but feel proud at the young man in front of him. Fate threw her worst at him and he survived every time.
"What's your power level and control?" asked Dumbledore curiously.
"For the power level, let's just say I'm powerful enough. As for control, I'm still improving," replied Harry and Dumbledore nodded in understanding.
"Very well, Harry. I believe you have thirty minutes until your first lesson with 6th year Gryffindors and Slytherins," Dumbledore said smiling kindly.
"You did it on purpose," groaned Harry in frustration. Dumbledore chuckled and replied. "Of you go then, my boy."
Harry exited the headmaster's office, muttering and cursing the old headmaster for everything that happened wrong. He headed for the Great Hall to fetch Blaise, taking shortcuts until he arrived. He found a fuming Blaise with her wand out in front of a smirking Draco Malfoy with his goons. A quick Legilimency on one of the students told Harry what happened between the two students in front of him.
"I will teach you how to treat your superiors, mudblood," said Draco Malfoy pointing his wand at Blaise and beginning a spell, not aware of the new teacher watching them.
"Expelliarmus."
Malfoy's wand flew to his hand, making the younger boy look at him and sneer.
"I would appreciate it if you do not raise your wand on my apprentice again, Mr. Malfoy or it will be the last thing you would ever do with that hand," warned Harry calmly. Malfoy sneered but nodded and Harry motioned for Blaise to come near him.
"And ten points from Slytherin for insulting me behind my back, Mr. Malfoy. If I hear another insult towards myself, my apprentice or any of the staff members, there will be consequences and you will not like them. Am I understood?" The Slytherin trio nodded their heads scornfully.
"Yes professor."
Harry and Blaise went to the classroom, awaiting the sixth year's class. Harry turned towards his apprentice and motioned for her to stand in front of him.
"Take out your wand, Blaise," said Harry. Blaise took out her wand, waiting for Harry's instructions.
"You will first learn to disarm skillfully and rapidly," said Harry "We will draw our wands and disarm. I want you to do so as fast as you can." Blaise nodded her head and got ready. The first time, Blaise was struggling with getting her wand out of her pocket.
"Wear this, I have spare so I won't be using it," Harry said, giving her his holster. They proceeded to practice until the class began to fill in with Gryffindors and Slytherins. Blaise improved until she was at least able to have her wand out and begin the incantation before she was disarmed. It was a definite improvement since Harry's hand was a blur with his wand.
"Good Morning, My name is Simon Nicholas Dumbledore. You may call me Professor Nicholas or Professor Simon to avoid confusion," said Simon cheerfully. He called the names of the students pausing less than a second on the names Weasley and Granger. He banished the chairs and desks and enlarged the room.
"This year, we are going to cover dueling, Counter curses and hexes and Advanced Dark creatures and how to protect yourself against them," said Simon to the surprisingly attentive 6th years. "We will start with Dark Creatures, specifically, the werewolves. Can anyone tell me the strengths and weaknesses of the werewolves?" Several students raised their hands, including Hermione.
"Miss Granger?"
"The werewolves have extremely high physical powers and senses. Their magic is also most powerful around the full moon, though the overall magic increases when a person is cursed with lycanthropy. The silver is fatal to werewolves," answered Hermione beaming.
"Correct, Miss Granger, 10 points to Gryffindor. Although silver is fatal to werewolves, it is not their only weakness. There is an artifact, when played, can be fatal to werewolves. It is called the Exitialis Lupus flute," explained Harry. He continued to talk about characteristics of the werewolves and the spells lethal to them
"The incantation of the spell to use against a werewolf is Argentum spiculum. The wand movements is a circle with a jab in the middle of the circle," explained Harry. They practiced on a wall until the end of the lesson, Harry's eyes avoiding his two best friends, waiting for them to be informed of his survival by Dumbledore first.
Dumbledore summoned Hermione and Ron to his office in the afternoon, since both of them had no other lessons. McGonagall, who had no clue as to why the teenagers were summoned, was confused. Those two stayed out of trouble after Harry's death, which hit them hard. They sat down waiting for their headmaster to begin.
"Hello Ron, Hermione," greeted Dumbledore softly. Both teenagers raised an eyebrow at their headmaster's greetings. It must be something very important for the headmaster to call them by their first name, as he usually called only Harry and the adults by their first name.
"Good afternoon, headmaster. We are not in trouble, are we?" asked Hermione nervously. It was the first time that she was summoned to the headmaster's office, after Harry's funeral and it was making her very nervous.
"I have good news which certainly will lift your spirits," paused Dumbledore, then continued, "Harry is alive."
The news took a while to sink in, but when it did, Hermione burst into tears and grinned joyfully while Ron fell down from his chair, expressionless for a few moments before what the headmaster said dawned on him, and then grinned fully.
"Where is he, Professor? Is he alright?" asked Hermione and Ron in unison.
"Harry is alright. He had an accident, which made him unable to contact anyone until today morning," said Dumbledore smiling kindly. Hermione hoped that nothing bad had happened from the accident. She had missed her best friend and had spent four months thinking that he was dead.
"When is he coming to Hogwarts professor? Can we see him?" asked Ron grinning.
"Unfortunately, you won't be seeing Harry for a while" said Dumbledore, making the smiles fall from their faces. "Harry is training with Aurors and hit wizards, so he would be able to fulfill his destiny."
"His destiny?" asked Hermione.
"Harry will play an important role in this war, so he must be trained to fight and unfortunately, he won't finish his training for a while. But rest assured that you will see him soon," replied Dumbledore gently. He dismissed them and returned to his thoughts, wondering what Harry was keeping secret and what the coming events will hold.
