Yes, I'm aware that it's been almost a year, but I have not abandoned this or my other story. RL has had a vice grip on me, and therefore I decided to work on these without posting for a while, so when I did post, it wouldn't be left so long. I haven't completed this yet, but I can guarantee that it won't be left like it was. I apologize for the wait.
Chapter Fourteen - The Lessons Of
The shuffle of students was noisy as they all went to follow the professor's instruction. Harry had to smirk at the bemused expressions most wore. Though he projected a vaguely disinterested attitude, Harry was careful to watch how they interacted with one another, and to see which students were likely to be of concern. He could tell the trustful students from those more weary, as the latter found more secure areas to place their belongings.
Finally, all of the class of fifteen had sat themselves at the large oak table, and were looking at Harry curiously. He took his time making his way toward them, letting his cape swing impressively. He had to stop himself shaking his head when he noticed a couple girls sighing. Suddenly a vision of that professor he'd had- Lockhart- was sparked in his mind.
Forcing himself to ignore the fact that he was acting disturbingly like the old fraud, Harry reminded himself that at least he had something to teach the students. Now, all he had to do was figure out how to do so all year without giving too much away. He suddenly wished he was training the Praesidium, because at least he knew how to handle them. Even the Vampyrs, who were a rather vicious species to begin with. Teenagers were just another matter entirely. Especially as he couldn't challenge them to a duel if they didn't listen. Or just curse them into behaving. Sighing inwardly, he stepped up to the bench the students sat on.
"All right!" Harry exclaimed, coming around to side of the table nearest the window. "What a day, what a day! Now, if you could budge up just a bit? Great."
Harry sat on the bench at the spot they had made for him, smiling winsomely. Placing his hands flat on the table, he looked around.
"Okay, is everyone here, then?"
The students glanced at each other. A few nods and shakes of the head were given to him, as well as a couple of confused shrugs.
"Well, shouldn't you know?"
A small girl with a mane of blond hair hesitated, then raised her hand. "Isn't it your job to know?"
Harry shook his head with a smile. "No, my job is to teach those who are here. It's everyone else's job to make sure you and everyone else shows up.
"Next time, remember that," Harry said. "On to business. Names?" He looked to the student beside him.
After a moment, the boy said, "Harvey Joh–"
"No last names, silly boy!" Harry admonished. "I'm not here to be introduced to your family!"
"Er . . . right," replied Harvey, his voice showing some baffled hesitation.
"Next!" Harry called.
"Hypermestra Mi . . . er, Hypermestra."
"Heraelle."
"Ramnes."
Names were said around the table, some quickly, others more slowly, as though the students were trying to figure out what was going on. Harry nodded congenially to each person, inwardly cataloguing how each responded. He hoped it would make it easier to teach them.
Once done, Harry grinned. "Excellent. Now, according to Hogwarts rules, I am to be addressed as Professor, as pedestrian as that sounds. But, what can you do? Also, in this room there are no House points, only marks, which will be part of your final grade. Understood? Great. Enough of that, let's get on with it."
Harry clapped his hands abruptly, making several students jump. There was a quick flash in the middle of the table, and atop it a large pile of puzzle pieces appeared. The class murmured, then quieted as Harry waved his wand, spreading the pieces across the wood.
"Your task this class period is to complete this puzzle, without magic. Together," Harry added, noticing the eager faces of the Ravenclaws and the affronted faces of the rest. "Have fun."
Harry stepped out from his position on the bench, ignoring the varying looks being shot his way. It seemed that he had at least confused them enough that no one was questioning him outright, but that could only last so long. Giving them another grin, Harry quickly escaped into his office. Safely contained, he muttered a subtle monitoring charm, creating a one-way mirror out of his door. It had the added bonus of allowing sound through quite clearly.
The students began muttering to one another, darting glances around the room, as though searching for the trick. Harry distinctly caught the phases 'what the hell' and 'is he bloody for real'. Chuckling, he sat on the edge of his desk and propped his feet on the visitor's chair, settling in.
In the room, the class was getting edgy. A couple of them had touched parts of the puzzle, only to have the pieces glow briefly, before they dropped them. Looking around, two sets of the students took out their wands, four on either side of the table. It was fairly apparent they were suspicious of both the puzzle task and each other, and by the glares that covered their faces when they looked at one another, it was obvious which houses claimed their loyalties.
Though one of the witches, a dark-haired girl Harry remembered had said her name was Heraelle, was one of the students who pulled her wand, she rolled her eyes at the others' animosity.
"You know we won't get anything done by cursing each other," she admonished, an exasperated look on her pale face. "And the professor said no magic."
"As if you care about rules, you filthy Slytherin," scathed one of the boys opposite the table, Marco, he'd said. "What are you– Teacher's little pet?"
As several of her peers snickered, Heraelle shook her head. "Is that the best you can come up with, Gryffindor? Very witty. And anyway, if I remember the facts right, the professor was a Gryffindor when he was a student, so it'd be more likely that you'd be the pet."
It was almost funny how all of the Gryffindors narrowed their eyes at the same time. Harry hoped he hadn't been as idiotic as those students when he was in school, but unfortunately knew the truth.
Marco sneered, "Why, I oughtta–"
"Learn how to speak proper English?" Heraelle responded sweetly, a smirk twitching her lips. "I know it must be hard for a person of your rather impaired intelligence."
Marco was a somewhat burly, tall young man, and it was amusing to see him try to push out from the table and bench in a hurry, his blond hair flying wildly with his jerky attempts. Finally pulling free, he stood, one hand holding his wand, and the other straightening his robes. Turning, he sent a glare toward Heraelle, only to find she and the other Slytherins had left their seats.
"I certainly hope," said Heraelle loudly, as she walked to the classroom door, "that you don't think I'm staying here to get in a fight in a class even the professor walked out of."
It was clear that she meant for Harry to hear it in his office, even without any charm, and he watched as she summoned her robe and tie, and slipped out the door. The band of Slytherins following grabbed their items and walked out behind her. Harry let them go, a floating quill behind his back placing a mark beside their names on the roster.
The remaining students looked at each other for a moment. Quietly, Marco reclaimed his seat, and the others spread out on the Slytherins' bench area, taking that as a plan to stay.
"So," began a dark-skinned boy, Ethan, from next to Marco. "What should we do? Should we try this puzzle?"
"But it's cursed," another wizard stated apprehensively.
"Maybe it's a charm?" asked another.
"The professor wouldn't leave something that would harm us," a witch chimed in. "Would he?"
"Maybe that's the test, to un-curse it," Ethan said eagerly.
"Yeah, right," answered Marco. "That pomp of a teacher probably doesn't know how to curse things, the great Man-Who-Vanquished-Voldemort or not. Anything on this stupid puzzle is just for show. Come on, let's do this and leave."
The rest of the class glanced nervously around at the boy's words, but when no angry professor appeared, they nodded and set to work. For several minutes, the class concentrated on the puzzle, but it was clear that only the apparent Ravenclaws were enjoying it, the others were just hoping to get out of class early.
Near the end of the hour, with about half the puzzle done, Harry stepped out of his office, but stayed out of sight. The students were still working, and several looked annoyed and bored. Just as they managed to complete the entire outside of the puzzle, it glowed red and suddenly the pieces all jumped apart. The shocked students stared for a moment.
Before they could say anything, Harry strode up to the table. "Well, now, how is it going?" he asked, startling the young men and women further. "Tut, tut, have you not done anything?"
"Of course we have!" Marco exclaimed, glaring toward Harry. "This thing just came apart."
"And why would it do that?" asked Harry, raising an eyebrow.
"I don't know! It's cursed or something!" answered Marco.
"Really?" Harry said, leaning over it and shaking his head. "And I had thought the only curse I put on it was just for show."
Marco shut his mouth rapidly, looking nervously at his professor. Harry merely shook his head at the puzzle once more, then looked over the students with a calm expression. They all seemed anxious.
"All right, the class is about over," Harry said mildly. "Collect your belongings, and you may go."
It took a moment for the class to follow his directions, and as they did, they were quiet and shot him strange looks. Harry stood watching them, his expression never changing until all were out the door. A small Hufflepuff clutching her robe and sending him an apologetic look was the last to leave. After the young witch, Harry waved the door shut and glanced down at the table.
"That certainly was less . . . chaotic than it could have been," he muttered. "On to the next."
The rest of Harry's day didn't vary overly much, other than a small, fierce fight that erupted in the third year Gryffindor and Slytherin class. That he mostly blamed on himself, as he had forgotten just how unruly that age could get. He had given the puzzle to every one of his classes, and none yet had figured out how to do it without it coming apart, though at least the fifth year Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs made an effort to guess why.
Though he also made every class remove their House colours, Harry still could distinctly see what they were. None of the Houses could work perfectly well together, nor did they try. And until they learned, the puzzle couldn't be solved.
All in all, Harry's favourite class was the free period that would later be taken by the first years. Even though all he did was paperwork, at least he didn't have to endure babysitting feisty teenagers or hearing them bad-mouth him from the other room. It was frustrating not being able to get back at the little cretins. He was starting to gain a whole new appreciation of McGonagall's stern attitude and Snape's methods of terror. Harry knew better than to think he could change the children in one day, but he certainly hoped they'd learn fast, now that he had somewhat of an idea on how best to teach them.
He hadn't bothered going to lunch, so he was looking forward to dinner. Just before he was due in the Great Hall, Harry flooed to his quarters and changed his robes. The set he put on were in an overly cheery peach, similar to the colour the sun gained just before it set, and just when if you looked too long, you'd get a headache. With a grimace, Harry vowed not to look down, and grabbed the feathered cap that matched.
He made it to the Hall surprisingly early and went to his seat, blithely ignoring the sneers on both Snape's and Malfoy's faces. Sitting down at his place beside the Potions master, Harry greeted the headmaster and McGonagall, and watched the other teachers as they arrived. Hagrid gave him a wave, which Harry returned in kind as he reminded himself to go visit his old friend.
Ron and Hermione were the last to rush in, Hermione practically dragging Ron by the sleeve of his robe and hissing at him about making her late. While somewhat red in the face, Ron wisely kept his silence. Harry snickered to himself, even if he was surprised that Ron was almost late to a meal. Some things do change, he thought, watching the two reach their seats, and Hermione straighten Ron's robe before sitting down. But not too much, I see.
The Hall doors swung open, admitting the students who appeared in clumps of their various years and Houses. As soon as most were seated, the small first years came in, ushered by a couple of Aurors, who took their places near the door as they had yesterday. Harry noticed that there was a fewer amount than the day before, and assumed the others were patrolling the grounds, or something similar. He realized that he would need to familiarize himself with them and their movements quickly.
All eyes turned to the headmaster as he stood. "Good evening, everyone," Albus said, his eyes as bright as ever. "I'm sure that you are all anxious to begin the meal, but there is the business of our delayed Sorting to deal with first. I ask that you all bear with me."
There were a couple of half-hearted groans at this announcement, but it seemed that most of the students were as interested in the Sorting as the nervous first years, who had remained standing in the middle of the hall. Dumbledore waved them forward, and with the Aurors' help, arranged them before the Head Table, facing the professors.
"Now," continued Albus, "we have not yet been able to persuade the Hat to return to its job, so therefore your Heads of Houses and myself have determined another method in which to Sort you. It is a spell that hasn't been used since Godric Gryffindor first surrendered his hat, so it is quite a treat to use it now."
Turning to McGonagall, he nodded and the deputy headmistress stood beside him, removing her wand. He glanced at the other Heads, and all stood, pulling their own wands. Harry noticed several of the first years glancing up with worried expressions, and those that were looking at Snape looked just plain terrified.
As the Potions master shifted, his robe brushed Harry's arm, and Harry jerked away quickly. Snape raised an eyebrow, then narrowed his eyes, but wasn't in a position to comment, as Dumbledore lifted his wand, muttering quietly.
A swirling cloud of indiscriminate colour issued from the headmaster's wand and condensed above the first years, all of whom watched it, awe-struck. The entire Hall was attentive, and Harry was no exception. He'd read about this in Hogwarts: A History, which Hermione had finally made him read in Seventh Year, but hadn't really thought about it since.
Dumbledore fell silent, nodding to McGonagall.
"De nobilis fortitudo," Minerva stated calmly, flicking her wand upwards. A shot of light burst from the tip of her wand and flew into the cloud.
Madam Sprout spoke next, adding her light to the cloud. "De nundinae operae."
"De intellegentis ingenium," said Professor Flitwick, following suit.
"De astutus ambitio," Snape smoothly finished, a small smirk on his lips.
As the last wand light hit the cloud, it began twisting. Harry watched as all of the House colours became visible within it, mixing with one another and then separating. With a last twist and a bright flash, the cloud flew apart, settling above each of the first years according to colour.
Approximately one-fourth of the students were highlighted in a spiral of red and gold. The rest of the children were distributed fairly evenly between the other houses, though Harry noticed with surprise that Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff had all received the same number, while Slytherin gained two more than the rest.
It was obvious that not all of the newest students were happy with their placements, having gotten other than what they had assumed, but overall, the majority were where expected. Dumbledore smiled and gestured for the Aurors to usher them to their seats. Harry realized as the Aurors did so and headed for their posts, that they must be a part of the Order for their willingness to follow the headmaster's directions so easily.
Once everyone was settled, Albus gave another smile. "Please make our newest additions welcome. Now it is time to eat. Tuck in!"
Three days later, most of Harry's classes were no further to completing the puzzle, though surprisingly the first year Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws actually got the edges together without it jumping apart, even if they didn't understand why. Of the older years, the NEWT level Slytherins stopped being bothered to show up altogether, and the other students were getting increasingly edgy. Deciding they were prime for a change, Harry swept into the classroom the next day with a smirk on his face.
"Morning!" Harry chirped brightly, in sharp contrast to the students' glazed over expressions. "Fine day, isn't it? It's almost as if it was planned. I have something exciting arranged."
Several students glanced with amazement at one another around their circular table. The rain outside beat the windows, and the temperature was several degrees colder than it should be. Harry heard a mixture of exasperated sighs and distinctly saw quite a few eye rolls.
"Are we going to play with blocks today, Professor?" Marco questioned, a sickly-sweet smile on his face. Looking at Harry's clothes, he added, "Or do we get to sit around and braid each other's hair? That would be brilliant."
Clenching his jaw through his grin, Harry stepped up to table, smoothing his pink over-robe on his thigh as he placed a foot up on the bench, and tipped back his matching wizard's cap. It was clear the students were becoming overly bold, and that Harry was not currently considered an authority figure. The sniggers that the Gryffindor's statement brought forth died down as Harry merely bent slightly over, placing his elbow on his knee, and fixed his gaze on the cocky Marco.
"As much as I'm sure you'd love to run your fingers through your friends' hair, my dear boy," Harry answered with the same tone, "I'm afraid you'll just have to do that on your own time. I really don't want to hear about your proclivities."
Several of the students giggled in surprise as Marco blustered angrily, his tanned skin colouring red. His smirk returning, Harry pushed away from the bench and strode over to the door.
"I'll ask you to take your sarcasm outside. Now." At the boy's stunned look, Harry nodded. "Yes, out of the classroom. Everyone, in fact. Get up. We're going on a little outing."
As he walked out the door, a Ravenclaw spoke up. "You're not kicking us out? You're taking us somewhere?"
"Obviously," Harry replied, stepping out to the hall. Over his shoulder, he added, "Leave your cloaks and ties, and come on."
Without looking back, Harry started down the passageway with a quick stride, listening to the noise behind him as the students rushed after him. Ignoring their mutterings, he continued along, down several flights of stairs, reaching the lower levels of the castle. He noticed that some of the students faltered as they entered Slytherin territory, but his pace kept them from questioning it.
Reaching an expanse of bare wall, Harry stopped abruptly, smirking when the students ran into one another alongside him. Muttering under his breath, the stone door concealing the Slytherin common room entrance slid open. Harry glanced back at the openmouthed students as he started in, gesturing for them to follow. It was clearly against their better judgements, but they did so.
"What is this!" The group slowed to a halt as an angry voice called out in the echoing underground room. "Potter, why am I not surprised?"
Crossing his arms, Harry watched Malfoy stride over. "Is there a problem, Professor Malfoy?"
"I should say so," Malfoy answered, his eyes narrowed. "What made you think it was all right to bring students from other houses, not to mention yourself, in here?"
Glancing back, Harry concealed a snicker at the gaping students. "What made you so certain, so quickly, that these weren't of your noble house?"
Malfoy sneered. "I know my own students, Potter, not to mention that no Slytherins would go anywhere with those sickening expressions of stupefaction on their faces."
"No, you do prefer haughty snobbery," Harry answered, hearing the angry mutterings of his class, "but I digress. We are hear to retrieve some long-lost fellows. As a matter of fact, there they are. Excellent. Heraelle, Antony, there you are. Malfoy, you probably have class, I'll let you go."
Walking blithely past the steaming blond, Harry bid his students to him. With a last sneer of 'this better not take long,' Malfoy swept out of the entrance hole, most likely bound to complain to Slytherin's head of house. Imagining that confrontation, Harry bit back a smile. The students had seen quite enough animosity between their professors for one day, no need to treat them to any more.
"Antony, I'll ask you to gather Ramnes and Dolon, immediately," Harry ordered, the slightest bite to his voice that only the ever watchful Slytherins could hear. As soon as the others had joined them, Harry continued, "I believe that as this is my class period, you four are supposed to be with this class. Dispose of your cloaks and ties. Now, all of you follow me."
With that, Harry strode calmly out of the Slytherin common room, completely ignoring all of the few other Slytherins watching the entire commotion. Stopping at a set of stairs, Harry saw with satisfaction that his entire class had followed, including the wayward ones. With a nod, Harry turned and walked up the stairs, then down a passageway to an outer door.
Harry stopped in the doorway, looking out, and waved his wand. Immediately, each of the students held a plain black robe, marked with only the Hogwarts crest on the front.
"Come now," Harry ordered, then walked straight out into the rain. "Hurry up, and follow me, no talking. This will affect your grade."
The pounding of the rain quickly wilted Harry's wizard cap, and he distinctly hoped it was beyond saving. The students behind him were definitely not as amiable to the driving water, but it was loud enough that Harry barely caught any of their mutterings and after a while they fell silent as they struggled to keep pace with their professor over the slippery grounds.
As the class neared the gates, they swung open soundlessly without any visible prompting. Harry didn't hesitate to walk through them and down the path towards Hogsmeade, waving forward the wary students. They followed, angrily pushing back increasingly wet hair and brushing rain out of their eyes.
Reaching the edge of the wizarding village, Harry turned and skirted the edge instead of following the main street. As he left the village proper, the mutterings from his shadows renewed, though it wasn't until it was clear where he was headed that they made themselves heard.
"Professor, what are you doing?" Marco yelled above the rain, a thoroughly disgruntled look on his face.
"Heading to the Shrieking Shack, Marco, as you can see," Harry answered over his shoulder, continuing onwards with a smug smile. "Come along."
Quickening his pace, Harry managed to outrace the rest of the students' exclamations, and they had nothing for it but to follow after him. Pulling up to the edge of the stairs, Harry motioned the teenagers to stop.
"Now, wait here a moment, I'll just run inside and make sure the floor is sound. I couldn't have anything happen to you, now could I?" Harry stated loudly, watching worried expressions cross the students' faces. Slightly quieter, as though to himself, he said, "The headmaster wouldn't be too happy. I suppose I probably should have cleared this through him. Oh, well, too late now."
With a smile, Harry turned quickly and walked up the creaking stairs. As he stepped into through a doorway with its door hanging halfway off its hinges, Harry saw the students' wide-eyed looks. Allowing a quick snicker, Harry walked fully into what would have been a large parlour, had half of the far wall not been smashed across the floor. Turning back to the door, completely out of view of the teenagers, Harry screamed.
Outside, the students' heads jerked toward the shack, several gasping at the yell from inside the building. Yanking out their wands, some ran forward, only to be stopped by others.
"What the hell are you doing!" Heraella yelled, jerking both Marco and Ethan back from the front door. "Wait til you know what's in there! Shut up!" she continued when they would have argued. "Dolon, run back to the school, get someone, preferably Professor Snape. The rest of you wait here. Even you, Gryffindors. Lumos."
Elbowing past the large Marco, who was glaring at her, Heraella peeked around the doorframe, only to jump at a yell from behind. Wheeling around, the three students on the stairs watched as a line of fire around the perimeter of the grounds came directly towards the group, preventing any from going any way but up toward the building. The rest of the students ran up the stairs as the fire continued on, circling the building and continuing toward them.
"And just what do you suggest now, eh!" Marco demanded in a rough voice, as they backed into the wall of the house, watching the flames leap onto the porch.
A/N: I'll say now that probably wasn't worth a year's wait, but hopefully it won't matter once the story is updated regularly. Any flames as to the wait will be nonconductive to anything, though I suppose that flames, by definition, are nonconductive in general. At any rate, if anyone was interested as to the whys and wherefores of my delay and my life, check out my livejournal, which is set as my homepage.
Now, I hope that some of you did at least enjoy this and are eager to see it play through. I give my thanks for your patience and my welcome to any new readers. I'm glad to be back.
Best Regards and Pleasure Reading,
Zenn
Rough translations:
De nobilis fortitudo - Of noble bravery
De nundinae operae - Of fair labor
De intellegentis ingenium - Of intelligent wit
De astutus ambitio - Of cunning ambition