Bandit King
Chapter 16
Express King
"Good morning June-ee-pie!" Harry greeted June as she skipped into the kitchen with Gabrielle where Harry sat while Mrs. Weasley was plating up some delicious breakfast and Fleur was sitting the other end reading the paper and drinking from her coffee cup with Bill having returned and playing with a spoon in his tea while looking distracted, but he did look up and smile a little as the girls entered. "And this must be your delightful bestie?" Harry continued to ask while smiling and shaking the surprised blonde girl's hand as she was half hanging off June's arm.
Gabrielle started and looked him over. "I-it's nice to meet you, Professor!" she quickly said shyly. "And, thank you very much for rescuing my dear, June and bringing her home safely," she said while bowing her head in gratitude.
"That's a big brother's mission, to look out for his adorable sisters!" Harry said with a shrug. "Even when they've been naughty girls like these adorable red heads," Harry said gesturing Rose and Ginny as they entered the kitchen diner with blushes and sheepish grins before the four of them took their seats as a few more people started turning up to help with getting to the train station, not that they needed too.
"Harry, erm," Hermione started as she sat opposite him and fidgeted slightly with her food while Harry looked to her and Mrs. Weasley offered her a look of reprimand. "Well, I-I mean, Professor," she corrected while he shrugged as he wasn't too fussed over such silly details. "Well, can you sense people or something without someone projecting power?" she asked in embarrassment. "I mean sometimes… you just…?" she trailed off, unable to quite articulate what she wanted to say fully.
Harry laughed as he interrupted. "Can do," he agreed to their surprise. "Everyone's magic, or energy feels different if you think about it… it's like 'the scent'," he said baffling everyone but Gabrielle, as she was surprisingly nodding along in agreement.
"I do not know about sensing peoples magic," Gabrielle said smartly. "But I understand the scent of a person as my sense of smell is greater than a human… everyone smells differently. I don't mean they smell bad or anything," she said with a sheepish smile as she could see them all thinking it, "but even humans can pick up on it. Sometimes you'll take a disliking to someone based on scent alone and not realise it, even if they smell good, and the reverse of that can be true too."
"Well, somebody knows their stuff," Harry praised with a small smile. "But she is essentially correct when it comes to scents. Sensing magic and energy, is rather similar, and just like with your natural scent, you can only cover up the 'flavour' of your energy, but everyone is different – even twins – or animals – even the trees and flowers… apparently as I'm told you have to be something beyond special to be able to pull off recognising the flow of energy from one tree to the next. I can tell the difference between certain genres of plants like plants from harsh environments or those that live under water, but not down to the individual."
"Will you teach us things like that during class?" Rose asked while she was eating breakfast as Mrs. Weasley went around loading up plates, and surprisingly, Rose was looking ridiculously eager to learn, which was somewhat out of character.
Harry chuckled while shrugging as he finished the last of his food and waved off Mrs. Weasley with a polite smile as she offered seconds. "Yes and no… once you get a sense of your own energies during my class, you shall stumble across the power yourself… it's not something you can really be taught, but honed by putting in the effort. Some of you will be better at it than others and be able to pick it up fairly well, but be warned; many people learn to supress their power, for which you will never be able to sense their full strength unless they show you, and even then, many people can push their levels to further heights beyond their base level."
"Like you did in the hall upstairs?" Ginny asked eagerly.
Harry smiled and shook his head. "Such naivety," he said whimsically, which made the three girls who had felt it pale.
"Then what about Kairi?" Rose asked thoughtfully.
Harry just shrugged. "That was her being rather restrained," he said with another shrug as even Mrs. Weasley paused to show surprise and confusion before she carried on bustling around the kitchen, as she had no real interest.
"So, anyway, are you getting the train with us still?" asked Hermione to change the subject as people were listing in.
"I am," Harry agreed. "I informed McGonagall and Dumbledore at the meeting, about what I needed for my class, and gave them a catalogue so they said they'll get it all sorted for me, which was cool of them, but they wanted a few extra teachers on the train this year anyway. I did originally think I would just get everything I needed during the first couple of weeks, but they insisted they would get everything I need, and everything sorted for me before my first class since we have a whole spare day."
"That's good, then, you can sit with us," said Hermione. "You'll get to meet Draco Malfoy when he makes his annual stop at our compartment to annoy us."
"Draco Malfoy," Harry said rolling that name over his tongue. "Ah, you mean Bellatrix's nephew?" he asked and she nodded. "I see… I met him when I was putting that child attacking werewolf down. Saved him and his mum from a mysterious fire that got a little out of hand while trying to capture Bellatrix. I'm sure he'll be a good boy and behave himself now."
"I very much doubt that!" Mad-Eye Moody interrupted as he clumped over with a sneering grin and leaned against the wall behind them. "Arrogance that family has in abundance, but nothing a few slaps wouldn't cure – but since this isn't fifty years ago where that might have been the way things were done; if twerps don't stop being twerps, take away all of their twerp-time."
Ginny sniggered. "If that's the case then Harry… I mean Professor King," she corrected at her mums glare and rolled her eyes. "Professor King will be giving detentions constantly to Malfoy. I don't think he understands the meaning: 'stop being a stupid prat'."
Harry sighed sadly, "I've met plenty of idiots like that; no matter how many times they lose, get the crap beat out of them, get made to look foolish, et cetera., they still come back for more, still thinking they're great and a god's gift to everybody."
"That describes Malfoy's opinion of himself perfectly," said Rose while grinning as her empty plate was taken, and she took her brother's arm. "So, when are we getting to the station because if we don't hurry," she said thoughtfully looking at her watch. "I should go get my things," she quickly added and she wasn't the only one as Ginny, June, and Gabrielle charged out after her.
"I thought ahead," Hermione said sheepishly. "My trunks waiting in the Entrance Hall, but where are your things?"
Harry shrugged as a white light flicked from his right fingers and a pair of light sunglasses splashed into his hand before throwing them and everyone seemed to watch as they span through the air and splashed away into that same light.
"Pretty good trick, King," Moody appraised. "Pocket dimension," he said even surprising Harry and causing the old man to laugh. "Used to be taught at Hogwarts from what I know. I taught myself, but even I can't pull off tricks like that. But come on everyone who's travelling, we can wait for the others in the hall."
Soon everybody was in the Entrance Hall of Grimauld Place, and everyone's trunks had been shrunk and placed in their pockets where those 'underage' would be able to unshrink them once back on magical grounds, or Hogwarts since they wouldn't need anything until school anyway.
Harry smirked as he had June holding his left arm tight with Kir curled around her, and Gabrielle cuddling onto her. In Harry's other arm he had both Ginny and Rose while Rose had grabbed Hermione's hand and pulled her closer.
"Can you manage, five?" asked Mr. Weasley worriedly looking to Harry.
"Barely an inconvenience," Harry agreed with a chuckle as invisible lines of energy coursed and then they were gone in a soft swish. They appeared out of the way on platform nine and three quarters with fifteen minutes to spare, and out of the way of all the people rushing around luckily, as Harry tried to make sure he couldn't possibly end up between two fighting forces again like last time.
"You ladies, good?" Harry asked while they nodded.
"That was certainly more comfortable than anyone who has taken me before," Gabrielle said with a sigh as she and June pulled back and shared a grin.
"Are you okay?" Fleur appeared with them a moment later.
"Yes, we're fine!" Gabrielle replied while rolling her stunning blue eyes.
"You didn't wait for the countdown?" demanded Moody as the rest of their guard appeared with them.
"Countdown?" Harry asked while looking confused. "Did you tell me you wanted to do a countdown?"
"Oh?" Moody said while the others all looked exasperated, as that wasn't the first time for Moody to forget to clue people in, and most of them were pretty sure they only guessed he wanted to do a countdown, as Moody was rather predictable to those who had known him for quite some time. "Well, I guess not, but the guard are here to protect-."
"Anything getting through me…?" Harry asked while shrugging. "It isn't going to be stopped by a ragtag group of mages like you and company, is it?"
"Well, no, but still," Moody said with a sigh and muttered something about young people making him older.
Therefore, after that, they all found a compartment after some farewells from parents, and Sirius giving Harry some advice about kicking Slytherin arse.
"Even the cute girls?" Harry asked while cupping over his chest and Sirius burst out laughing while Ginny and Rose rolled their eyes and laughed while Hermione, June, and Gabrielle were blushing brightly as they also got the joke, but Gabrielle and June were trying to not be caught snickering at such a naughty joke.
"This is a bit nerve racking," Harry said as he slumped down in their compartment with a content sigh. "Though," he said thoughtfully looking around the compartment, "getting to hang out with five cute girls… four of which are off the table… so back to being nervous and having to fake supreme confidence."
"Fake it?" replied Ginny cheekily rolling her eyes. "You get to make everyone do what you want, 'Professor'."
Harry chuckled. "Be that as it may, Ginevra… you'll have to call me Professor more often to pique my ego."
"Oh, Professor King," Ginny retorted as she pushed herself up against him. "If your ego is piqued any further there will be no room for the rest of us in here," she said causing a round of laughter before she slumped back down next to him with Gabrielle and June the other side of her and Hermione and Rose sitting opposite.
"You may just have a point there," he replied while everyone laughed and began enjoying themselves, as the train began its voyage, so they started off with playing some boardgames Harry had within his pocket dimension.
"How much can you fit in there?" Rose asked curiously. "You seem to carry a lot of junk."
"Oh, well, it's different for everyone," Harry said shrugging. "I've heard of some people storing their whole houses inside their pocket dimensions… there are methods, items, and magics you can use to increase the size, but I never really needed too. Some people have small spaces, which would be like a cupboard, and some garage sized spaces, or even bigger. I think the average is probably somewhat smaller than this compartment, but not by much… the only down side is you can't put living things inside… or fresh food types… I think it's because the pocket dimensions likely can't take biological life – or biological things, possibly, but wood seems to be fine, and processed foods are good too, sweets, sure, teas, coffee… to be honest, I think the rules are a bit on the weird side, and a bit inconsistent, but according to Arctic… you'd love him Hermione, loves books, and likes to use his head – well, he says it makes sense, and tried to explain it to some of us dunderheads, but it went way over our heads, as expected, too sciencey."
However, neither Hermione, nor anyone else had the chance to reply, as in a sudden pull and slide the compartment door slid open, and a bleach blonde boy with pale narrowed face stood in the doorway with two huge ogre-like boys either side of him.
"So, Potter, too chicken to travel without a bodyguard!" the blonde boy sneered, but he was looking uncertain and showed fear, as he really didn't know how to react or be anymore, especially since he knew what this young man could do.
"Actually, allow me to introduce myself," Harry said as he stood, and he was quite a bit taller, and broader, and much more intimidating. "My name is Harry King, and I'm Rosette's long lost twin brother, and newly assigned Defence Teacher… so to you that's Professor King. I told you that you have choices before you do something stupid you cannot come back from. Don't choose wrong, Draco, now leave and think about what you have been doing, bothering people, trying to stake claim like a dog pissing on a tree… and if I catch you walking the halls of this train and bothering fellow students again, I will give you detention the first time. The second time I shall take five hundred House Points from Slytherin, from each of you once we get to Hogwarts, and I can only hope that those who want to do well at school understand why they were missing points before classes had even started. Understand?"
"Yes," Draco whimpered out as he felt just a trickle of Harry's power.
"Yes, what?" Harry demanded coolly.
"Yes… yes, Sir!" He answered a stepped out of the compartment as Harry shooed him away.
"Why'd you let him do that?" one of the thugs asked while the door fell closed. "Let's go find someone else," he finished as Draco began walking away.
"That was awesome," Rose declared under her breath. "I've never seen Malfoy looking so scared of a teacher other than McGonagall. That prat always gets away with everything because all but McGonagall go to Snape with complaints about him, and Snape either ignores them or lets him off."
"I am not that kind of teacher," Harry said while shrugging. "I have no care to hold favour of anyone, nor hold a grudge. As long as you don't act like a piece of shit and put people in danger, I don't care what you do."
"You going to punish me too, Professor?" Ginny asked with a cute purr to her voice as she was doing fairly well at stretching the professor angle.
"Only if you're naughty enough!" Harry agreed smugly.
"Please don't!" Hermione and Rose cried out together.
However, Harry surprised them as he stood with a sad smile. "Well if you'll excuse me? I have a threat to go through with," he said exiting the compartment.
"Malfoy," Ginny elaborated for June and Gabrielle as they looked for an answer.
Harry walked down the train, and spotted Malfoy standing with his wand held limply to his side as his two flunkies were with their wands out, and a small blonde girl was curled into a ball on the floor crying, and looked like she could possibly be in Ginny's year at the least.
Malfoy froze the moment it happened, and Harry walked past him and the flunkies stood still as Harry crouched down and gently scooped the girl into his arms. The three boys dropped their wands as the magical focuses were the force of Harry's ere, and heat up, and if they hadn't dropped them, they would have likely exploded.
"Ever, again!" Harry said in almost a whisper. "You will each be serving detention this weekend – all weekend, and if you dare to ever do something like this ever again, either one of you… you'll have every weekend of yours in detention for the rest of your Hogwarts careers, and I will take one thousand points from Slytherin, each! Do you understand?" Harry demanded the last.
The three boys nodded feverishly. "Yes, Sir!" they squeaked out, as they felt dread and terror flooding them just from being in Harry King's presence.
Harry smiled and the pressure they felt left as he turned and carried his prize away. The girl had moved a little and stared at Harry with some amazing sky-blue eyes with a dazed-far-away look that was captivating and sweet as she brushed away her tears.
"What happened," Ginny asked worriedly with Rose while Rose opened the door and let them in.
"Luna, are you alright?" Rose asked weakly as she sat back down with Harry carefully placing Luna into the space between her and Hermione where all the girls looked at her in concern.
Luna nodded gently. "It's just my ankle," she pointed to her right foot.
"Well, Madam Pomfrey will sort that out," interrupted Hermione quickly.
However, Harry ignored them, keeling he carefully pulled Luna's trainer and sock off, placing her foot in his lap. "Blessed be thy nature. Truest of life. Recover!" Harry muttered as his fingers were gentle on Luna's swollen ankle, and a soft green light flashed and span from Harry's fingers, and around Luna's foot and ankle before fading away leaving an angry red swell nowhere to be found as her ankle looked normal again.
"How does that feel?" Harry asked while smiling up at Luna.
Luna looked at Harry with her mouth hanging open as she wiggled her foot, "it's fixed," she said in shock, as she was so surprised that she could only watch Harry slipping her sock and shoe back onto her small foot, leaving her with deeply flushed cheeks.
"I'm glad," Harry replied while he slid up onto the seat opposite, between June and Ginny.
"What the hell was that?" demanded Hermione after a few more moments of quiet while staring at Luna's foot still. "I've seen you use a few weird magic's, but that was… that wasn't medical magic like we know it… that…?" Hermione was lost for words seeing something like that up close.
"Blessed magic is just simple stuff," Harry said shrugging. "I just called upon the spirits of nature, just forcing Luna's own body to recover straight away using my own magic as an energy source."
"Well, we point and wave our wands!" Rose said thoughtfully while the others nodded. "Then we kind of just say a word, or some words in Latin, and magic usually does some magic-y stuff."
"Exactly," agreed Hermione. "Well, kind of – there is more to it than that, but we don't just ask for some spirits to help us."
"Well, I don't use a wand, do I?" Harry retorted amusedly. "So… you don't channel through the spirits that you need?" he asked in curiosity as he wasn't that sure how their casting magic worked even though he could do a little here and there by accident without a wand. "So, you don't honestly think your magic is the only type of magic in all the world, and with all of our myths and legends; that are actually true – and then with other legends that may have been lost to time?"
"Well, now you're making me feel stupid thinking like that," agreed Hermione in surprise and embarrassment. "But… that kind of seems silly and I have read a few things about things like artes, but I've never seen anything go into too much detail on things like that, so maybe we just use this wand stuff because it can kind of do lots of things and it's easier?"
"So, none of you can even do this?" he asked as he clicked the fingers of his right hand and with a spark of red a fireball curled and curved burning within his palm. The girls all shook their heads. "Wow. I guess I have a lot of teaching to do if you can't even do something as simple as a fireball."
"Wow, so, is that what we'll be learning in your class," Rose asked excitedly as she tried not to think that she and her friends were supposed to already know things like that, or would have if they had been taught by different mage.
"Yeah, eventually, I guess I'll have too," he agreed with a smile as he snuffed the fireball out by closing his hand. "But there are all kinds of different magic's and abilities people can learn. I'll be concentrating on your physical needs first or you'll never be able to do much of it, as physical strength does translate into magic too."
"So – what other magic's might we learn?" Rose asked timidly as her head was spinning further than before as she had never thought she could really learn to do the things Harry could do.
"Well," he mumbled thoughtfully, "the pocket dimension is a very useful magic, and it seems the school stopped teaching it, so that will be tops as it's pretty easy. There's also tune magic, but useless unless you're good with music and wouldn't hurt if you can hold a tune with your voice too. There's crystal magic, which is about storing magic, spells, barriers, wards; that sort of thing in crystals. There's ritual magics, but it's very difficult and hard going to become a sage, and only those who are really devoted to the art become Grand Sage's, or get that far; it's all rune, candle, chanting stuff, real clever mages, but they make some pretty good magical items. The world is full of different things, magic or otherwise."
"A-are we… I mean witches and wizards-?"
"Casters?" Harry asked and interrupted Hermione. "Wizard in truth is normally only given to the wise old Dumbledore type of mage. Witch, is also normally given out to well… I think McGonagall would come closest. Strong willed, talented older woman, and normally wise enough to help out younger generations – I guess you could say it's the female equivalent to a wizard, probably why it stuck so much."
"You didn't mention this before?" Rose asked befuddled.
"They're only titles," Harry said while shrugging. "Nobody really cares, and I've heard plenty others who call you witches and wizards, and others who are a stickler for technicalities… but Casters don't have to stick to Casting Magic's like a Sage doesn't have to just stick to Sage Magic's. Sometimes you'll just stumble across a different branch of magic and think some of it is useful enough – or you'll come across an arte or technique that just sounds cool," he chuckled while shrugging. "Or maybe you'll make a contract with a god, or godly being, or whatever they really are, and regret it.
"My summon, or Eidolon, or Shōkanjū, or whatever you want to call them, Odin, isn't a regret thankfully," Harry said thoughtfully, "but he was named for the Norse God," he added while shrugging as their eyes widened. "But he was created… or brought into existence or whatever, by Thor, which is why all the thunder and lightning when I summon him."
"So… gods are a thing?" Hermione asked worriedly.
Harry laughed and shrugged. "There are powerful beings in the world, and I suppose they could be considered gods or godly, but I've never met anyone on Earth I would consider a god," he said while shrugging as it was technically true. "Normally when you meet the 'divine', shall we say? You pull their domain to you or you go to them, but who knows what these things really are, best to go with the flow sometimes? Anyway, before you ask, I couldn't say whether we have a maker so to speak… but none of the myths about the gods are completely accurate, mostly it's believed that they are truths twisted with time, and I… doubt they're all still alive, maybe some remnants of them, I couldn't say? Godly stuff isn't something I've cared too much to investigate, but I'm sure the Council and plenty other magical groups investigate stuff like this, as they sure love sticking their noses into things...-"
"So…" Hermione interrupted thoughtfully. "If… if this Mystics Council, Rose told me about has so many mage or mystics, or whatever, can't they help us with Voldemort and the Death Eaters?"
"Oh, they do," Harry nodded knowingly. "Whenever you hear of a Caster disappearing or being killed that was believed to be a Death Eater, it was likely the Mystics Council was involved, but as you no doubt know, it's not easy to catch up with those slippery bastards, as they don't stay put long enough, and the Death Eaters may be stupid enough to believe they're unflappable, Voldemort is in his position for a reason, and no doubt is the reason tracking their teleportation is difficult to non-existent."
"Actually, that makes sense," nodded Hermione thoughtfully. "There was a Death Eater attack on a small village a few months ago. Only a few innocent people died and when Aurors arrived they found twenty-four dead Death Eaters. From the reports it said they were massacred by unknown destructive magic. Though, Tonks, an Auror friend of ours, said they made it sound worse than it was."
"Exactly," Harry smirked. "Some heroic Bringers… I mean Law Bringers… cops… magical cops… Aurors. That's what the council calls them, Law Bringers, but most people just refer to them as police or cops anyway."
"I like it," Luna interrupted looking half lost but not seeming to mind. "Are you a hero too… you must be, right, erm?"
"Harry King," Harry introduced himself smilingly, even though she looked like she knew his name already, it was polite anyway.
"Professor Harry King," Ginny piped in smugly.
"I see, Professor King," Luna agreed with a soft smile.
"And I'm not a hero," Harry said while shrugging. "I just occasionally do some heroic things when no one else is around to do them instead. I'm often in the right place at the wrong time."
Ginny smirked. "A bit modest aren't you...?" she said smugly as he was the hero of four of the girls in the compartment so far.
Harry shrugged again. "'Hero is a label you cannot take for yourself…" he said looking thoughtful. "A hero goes above and beyond what should be expected of them. Heroes are selfless. I'm not that. You cannot take a job being a hero, and you cannot go out one day and say you're going to earn the title of 'hero', and I wouldn't want it if you could. I'm just a normal guy who's good with magic and ki, who just happened to save the day a few times here and there."
"A few?" hissed Kir poking his head from where he had been happily kipping around June's neck like a scarf. "What about last year? You saved the world from being torn apart by that stupid hunk of rock some idiot ancient beings left lying around?"
"You saved the world?" asked Rose in amazement as she Ginny and June had gasped in wide eyed shock.
"What are you talking about?" Gabrielle asked in confusion.
"Kir said that Harry saved the world from being blown up," piped in June helpfully. "What happened?"
Harry sighed and rolled his eyes like it was no big deal. "Err, well… to make a long story short, evil brood, powerful end of the world obelisk, and I banished him to another dimension, using the obelisks power before he could kill us all."
"What's a brood?" Hermione asked while shivering at the cool look Harry held.
"Dragonkin!" Harry answered.
"Oh," Hermione replied in surprise. "I didn't know they still existed," she said turning to the others as only Luna looked like she understood. "Dragonkin are like… dragons who can take human form."
"Whoa," Rose said in awe. "That must have been pretty scary."
Harry shrugged while looking unconcerned. "I guess it was at the time. But you do know, Sahara's a brood, don't you!?" he asked while watching his sisters' eyes widen, and found some humour in it.
"I would have never given it a thought," Rose said while thinking about that gorgeous girl.
"How bad was this dragonkin?" asked Luna interestedly.
Harry shrugged. "A lot worse than Voldemort on a scale of Voldemort wanting to conquer and him wanting to subjugate and destroy. He thought that he could use the obelisks power to force the worlds obedience… it's an impossible spell no matter how strong you are, and in the end, he was going to end up destroying the world. I almost lost," Harry said while looking lost in thought for a moment and the girls could only stare at him in shock. "He was a lot more powerful than me. He only lost by chance. I dared take the risk. I drained the obelisk of its magic into a spell of my own making, and created a dimensional prison to lock him away in an empty realm… it took me weeks to recover from that. I thought I was a gonna. I think I'm still reeling from the aftermath to be honest," he chuckled as he stretched a little.
"So, Voldemort isn't much to worry about in the grand scheme of things," said Hermione terrified.
"Exactly," agreed Harry. "Well, kind of… but still… could be worse. I doubt I would have much difficulty in an upfront fight just Voldemort and me, but he does have a dark army of arseholes, and given some of them have to be more than fodder, so, we shouldn't let our guard down."
"Ping!" Gabrielle said suddenly. "Title Achieved: Hero!"
"Casters play video games?" Harry asked while Gabrielle looked smug.
"No, but I like to read books," she corrected smugly. "And the muggles have the best fantasy and Sci-Fi books if you look around the bookstores," she said smirkingly.
"I'm lost," Rose said sheepishly while her little sister looked smug as she had obviously borrowed some recommended reading from her bestie.
It was sometime later that the train finally came to a stop, and Harry stood, giving his sisters a kiss on the cheek each and stealing one from Gabrielle and Luna too, before giving Ginny a kiss on the lips, and then he hurried out of the train and it was somewhat dark outside, so they didn't see how Harry slipped away but gone he was.
"Maybe he can fly?" Gabrielle suggested.
Rose, June, and Ginny shook their heads remembering a harrowing experience for which they wished he could fly.
"Welcome, " the old man, Albus Dumbledore chimed with a warm wizardly smile and arms open in welcome once the school was seated within the huge Great Hall of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Rose looked up at the high table where Dumbledore stood in front at a podium. She was sat with her friends, and even invited Luna to sit at the Gryffindor table with them since she was still being pampered to make her feel better after having to deal with Malfoy bullying her. Talking of which, Malfoy didn't look so big sitting at the Slytherin table anymore.
"I hope you all had a nice, enjoyable Christmas holiday?" Dumbledore continued as he let the students have a few moments, since they were still excited from the holiday, and with everything that happened the day before, so many were still a little hyper. "I have a few changes I would like to discuss before the feast… first, Defence against the Dark Arts will not be taught for the rest of the year."
Dumbledore paused as he allowed the angry shouts and hisses, before it died down at his gentle look of reprimand.
"Instead, we have a new class, which we have called Defensive Combat," Dumbledore paused again for them to digest what he told them, an amused smile on his face. Suddenly most of the hall erupted into excited murmurs and cheer.
"Yes," Dumbledore continued. "It is believed that… perhaps we should teach you to actually defend yourselves by learning to fight," he said and a lot of students nodded eagerly. "Also, your new Professor, the Defensive Combat Professor, or I suppose, DC Professor to not be such a mouthful, -" he paused for a few nervous giggles, "has asked that I rearrange some classes to make sure he has much more time in the days to teach you.
"Therefore, first years and second years will be one class for Defensive Combat, as well third and fourth years another, and fifth, sixth and seventh years the last class. I ask that you please give Professor King your full respect. I would rather not have him use you for the rest of the classes target practice. Madam Pomfrey has enough to deal with, with certain troublemakers prone to injuring themselves," he said to some laughs, while Rose pretended, she couldn't see Dumbledore's eyes flickering her way.
"Also," the old man continued amusedly. "Professor King is very young. In fact, he's younger than some sixth years. However, he is very talented, and I'm sure most of you will get along with him brilliantly…" he chuckled. "Well, please welcome to our school, Professor Harry King…"
Harry walked briskly from the Great Hall doors where he had been laughing, now however wore a straight face with his power and strength calmly radiating from his body, holding the attention of all. The girls all looked faint for reasons he always found amusing, especially using the trick he was. Harry walked slowly, but not too slow, but he shone confidence, and his footsteps went unheard within the quiet hall.
"Thank you, Professor," Harry said as he reached the front of the hall, and he smiled facing the students, he stood at Dumbledore's podium as the old man returned to his seat. "Well, anyway. I have a few things to say before we stuff our faces with food." Harry chuckled as a few boys looked at their plates as if to say, 'they were starving'.
"Well," Harry continued. "I can be your best friend or your worst enemy. I would rather it be the former though, as I've already had to give detentions to Mr. Malfoy and his two friends for bullying on the train," he said and paused for a moment as people searched out the boy. "I believe that they will not enjoy their Saturday and Sunday as they shall be scrubbing the grimiest corners of the school without the use of magic or anything 'special'; they will use rags, soap, and water, and maybe with it learn some humility.
"I gave them a warning before that for bothering students," Harry said coolly. "For the most part I don't care what you do as long as you are not bothering, harassing, or bullying someone else. Therefore, one warning, then your weekend; then I start punishing your whole house, by five hundred points minimum," he said while the students looked horrified. "If that doesn't teach bullies, maybe I'll have the gul to put your whole house in detention with you… I'm sure your house would be willing to share in your punishments."
Harry waited while the students looked around and eyes lingered on their most troublesome students, but not too many stayed for long, which meant troublemakers, not bullies, but Harry did make a mental note of those who might be up to a spot of bullying. Harry wondered whether they had the guts to try him, and kind of hoped they did.
"Okay, I'm glad that's cleared up," Harry said with a smile and the students all seemed to shudder relief. "Now, to just a few small rules for my class. There is to be no wands out in my class unless I say so, so until an event when that might happen, they are to be placed in your schoolbags, which will be kept in a locker. Anyone caught with a wand out in my class without permission will have fifty points removed from your house, a weekend's detention and their wand confiscated until they have properly apologised to their whole class." The students' gasped, but Harry only grinned in amusement. "My class is not just about spells or curses, it's about fighting, combat and strength. You will address me in class correctly, outside class I don't care. Also, during class I would hope that all the students in my class will show one another a modicum of respect, or maybe Dumbledore's target practice punishment will be fun… well, fun for everyone but you. You can hate each other all you want, but leave it outside my class."
The students stared at Harry in horror as he retreated to the teachers table, grinning smugly and sat next to a giant-sized man.
"Well, err, thank you, Professor King," said Dumbledore nervously from his seat at the table. Harry had told him he was going to be strict around two things. His class, and bullying. It was a unique chance to experiment with some new learning and discipline methods. "Well, let the feast begin," he said as he sat and the tables piled high with plates of delicious food of many varieties.
"Hi," said the giant man next to Harry happily as they begun to eat. "I'm Hagrid. I teach magical creatures."
"Well, it's nice to meet you," replied Harry grinning. "What kinds of creatures do you prefer? I think dragons are pretty cool myself, but then one of my best friends is a brood, so I kind of have too."
"I love dragons!" Hagrid said excitedly before frowning, confused. "Dragonkin are extinct," he said, surprising Harry that he knew about them, but then, Hagrid was a magical creature's teacher and seemed to be a dragon-fan.
"Nah," Harry said while shrugging. "They're probably just not big fans of Casters, you know, being half-giant, I'm sure you understand Casters can be a little, racist… heck; they're racist towards non-magical humans too."
"How'd ya know, I'm half-giant?" Hagrid asked in shock.
Harry looked around him as the small teacher he met earlier, Professor Flitwick was listening in while looking amused the other side of Hagrid. "Is he seriously asking me that?" Harry asked the tiny man. "Mother was goblin?" Harry said pointing to the man. "Father's human?"
"Okay, I'm impressed," Flitwick said. "The other way around we tend to be more generously proportioned, more Dwarf-like," he chuckled before looking up to Hagrid. "Young man knows his stuff, and you're ridiculously huge compared to all the humans in here, and I'm sure a man of combat can sense your wilder magical force."
"I'm actually surprised by how calm his magic is," Harry agreed while giving Hagrid a grin. "No worries man… I would try not to think about how your dad… with your giantess mum… I have no idea," he said while Flitwick snorted and Hagrid looked confused.
"How'd you know me dad was human?" Hagrid asked.
Harry shrugged. "It can't be done the other way around," he said before he chose to change the subject. "Anyway, I was thinking of inviting my dragonkin friend over for the weekend, as she would love to see the castle, so you'll get to meet her if she can make it," he said with a smile.
Hagrid smiled and looked excited to meet a dragon, but Harry guessed everyone had their quirks, and wondered whether he knew any older single ladies of dragon-blood who was bigger built.
However, all too soon, dinner was over, and Harry stood while stretching. "Well, I'll see you later. I see some of my friends are waiting," he said pointing out Ginny as she was with Luna, holding the sweet blondes hand. He didn't know where his sisters got to with Hermione and Gabrielle, but they probably went off to their dorms. Hagrid nodded as he watched him go, chuckling he could tell he would like that kid.
"Hey Harry," said Ginny, stopping herself from hugging him just about, she giggled. "I've got to remember, no hugging teachers."
Harry grinned impishly. "Well… you be a good girl then… but, you Luna, you can be naughty."
Luna smiled widely and took Harry's left hand with her free hand, and he chuckled as she started leading them from the hall as it was mostly empty as students hurried away to get to bed after a long night.
"So, where are we going?" Harry asked in confusion as they suddenly stopped down a corridor and the girls looked confused as they turned to him.
"To check out your new pad," Ginny said smirkingly. "Luna here, after I had a little chat with her has something she would like to… give you… us," she said craftily.
Harry rose his right eyebrow as he could read what went unsaid, and Ginny was amazing, and he just couldn't wait to see how amazing Luna could be too, as she looked so cute just waiting, and with that, Harry took over, leading them onto their destination.
to be continued…