Ice crystals stuck to the windows of the Prefects' bathroom the drizzling rain having turned to snow water as winter encroached on them. Inside the bathroom pleasant hot steam rose from the large pool as scented liquids poured into it.
"This is nice…" Claudia purred feeling the urge to melt into Felix's massaging hands. "Sooo very nice…"
"Mhm…" Felix replied with only a moan not wanting to speak or do anything that'd break the moment.
An hour later Claudia exited the Prefects' bathroom, backpack, and top robes in hand. Ten minutes later Felix came out the exit to see Professor Jordan standing there waiting for him.
"Pr-Professor, sir…" Felix stuttered awkwardly, top robes and backpack in hand, and shirt disheveled and sticking unorderly out of his pants.
"Follow me, please", Professor Jordan started walking without waiting for a reply.
Felix hopped left and right behind him trying to finish putting his shoes on, then tucking in his shirt and wearing his top robes. They left the fifth floor corridor and down the Grand Staircase to the third floor.
"I have an urgent matter to attend to, I've cleared it with Professor Binns, and you will be excused from History of Magic so you can cover my lesson for this class. The First years need to revise imps and get started on Verdimillous charm as well as Flipendo", Professor Jordan told him then turned around to leave.
"Shouldn't a Professor cover your class, sir?" Felix asked astounded and feeling completely taken aback.
"Indeed", Ives Jordan caught one hand with the other behind his back and left.
Felix was left standing there feeling lost. He entered the empty classroom and walked up to the Professor's desk unsure of what to do next. He was a student himself and yet his Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor was asking him to teach. This was one lesson he'd not spend in his usual seat.
"Uh…okay Felix you fought in a war. You can teach a bunch of First years…I think", he got behind the Professor's desk placing his backpack on it, running his fingers across its dark brown polished surface.
Students begun to enter the classroom alone or in groups chatting amongst themselves. When the class was full Felix waved his wand closing the door. "Professor Jordan had urgent matters to attend to, so I'll be covering for him. Open your textbooks to page forty-three, please", he told them with as much self-confidence and authority as he could muster.
"You are a student as well!" A Gryffindor boy uttered surprised, blushing at his surprise and energy behind the exclamation.
"He's also the Head boy, you git", a Ravenclaw girl told him causing some laughter.
"I also happen to be Felix Burton, now calm down and turn to page forty-three, please", he told them, this time with a strict tone of voice. He wasn't a Seventh year now, he was their Professor, even if only for the next two hours. The realization slowly dawning upon him.
He walked around from behind the desk, leaning on it then aimed his wand on one of the goblets on their desks turning it into a green-skinned imp.
Not an instant later the imp started jumping up and down from desk to desk throwing books about.
"Don't look at me, and don't expect to find answers in the textbook, those are good for theory. You have a problem before you, you should have enough knowledge to deal with it, so deal with it", he told them crossing one knee over the other and his hands in front of his torso with a pleased smile. "Imps have a slapstick sense of humour they are tricksters who can get way out of hand. Although they are generally harmless, they can cause damage and mayhem. Now who here knows how to deal with an imp before you lot have to mail your parents for new school supplies?"
A Slytherin girl drew her wand and with a quick motion she cast flipendo at it only to have the imp jump out of the spell's course with lightning speed.
The spell impacted a Hufflepuff boy right smack on his face dropping him out of his chair.
"Nimble and fast they are, and very fond of wizard crackers", Felix threw them a hint which they missed in all the chaos.
Student after student kept trying to flipendo it with it jumping all over the place avoiding their spells.
"Nimble they are and fast and they like wizard crackers", Felix repeated. "Anyone got any?"
A Ravenclaw rummaged through her bag placing one on the desk in front of her. The imp's reaction was instantaneous as it jumped on it trying to pull it apart with both of its tiny hands.
"Well, don't wait for it, flipendo it", Felix urged her when a Slytherin girl hit it with a flipendo dropping it unconscious.
"Hey!" The Ravenclaw girl whined.
"Too slow", the Slytherin girl hid away her wand with a triumphant look.
"Who can tell me why we study imps in this class since they're not evil by nature?" Felix asked them transfiguring the imp back to a goblet.
"Jokes and pranks can turn bad, sir?" Another Gryffindor boy asked hoping he had asked the right answer.
"Yes…and no. Anyone else?"
A timid Hufflepuff boy raised his hand.
"Yes?"
"Vigilance, sir?" He almost stuttered out trying awfully hard not to also blush.
"And if you combine that with Mr. Blackwell's answer?" Felix asked him wanting the kids to try and figure out the answer rather for him to outright tell them from the start.
The Hufflepuff boy thought for a moment scratching his cheek. "Imps are unpredictable and prank-loving creatures that can cause chaos and harm if left unchecked and we need to learn to anticipate and act with speed and vigilance, sir?"
"Ten points to Hufflepuff and five to Gryffindor, oh yes and ten to Slytherin, that was an excellent Flipendo cast, Mrs. Brooks", Felix nodded. "Now, the Verdimillous charm, anyone who can tell me its use?"
A boy and a girl Slytherin, twins, spoke at the same, rushed, time. "Reveals objects hidden by dark magic, sir!"
"Indeed, ten points to Slytherin…combined", Felix chuckled.
"Awww…" the twins elicited laughs.
"Right, I am going to dictate some notes for you to write down, and then you are going to practice the charm."
"But sir!" A Gryffindor girl exclaimed. "There aren't any objects hidden by dark magic in Hogwarts, are there?" She asked him genuinely perplexed.
"There aren't? Well, we can't have that, can we…" He moved his wand in an 'x' shape and their backpacks vanished. "Now, how about you write those notes so you can practice the charm and reveal your backpacks?"
They started writing on pieces of parchments with their quills, hunched over them in full concentration.
Twenty minutes later Felix finished dictating. "Now, the incantation is Vherdemillions, and a sharp V with your wands. You all have something you need back, yes?" Each First year took aim at where they had left their backpacks and bags and begun casting the charm, some managed it right away, most produced only orange sparks or mist the first few tries.
A few minutes later they had all revealed their backpacks, with Felix walking between them correcting hand motion and incantations.
"Good, looks like you've gotten the hang of it, please note that Professor Jordan will want you to all be able to perform the cast by next lesson. Now, this spell has an additional, offensive, use in dueling. If instead of a sharp V you reverse it you'll send an orb of green sparks that will eject your opponent backwards with quite a bit of force while blinding them for a few seconds. It may give you an advantage should you find yourselves having to fight for your lives. So, for the last portion of this class you are going to divide in pairs and try it out", Felix told them before he had them stand from their desks and move to the empty space behind them.
The First years split into pairs and proceeded to try out the offensive use of the charm laughing and screaming as they tried, in vain, to avoid getting hit.
A Ravenclaw girl took aim at Felix with a wicked grin. That wicked grin was lost from her lips when she found herself suspended midair upside down. "First rule of dueling; never overestimate your abilities. Second rule of dueling; never underestimate your opponent. You broke both, now pickup your wand, whatever vestiges of your pride remain and resume the exercise", Felix told her eliciting muffled snickers from those students nearest.
He allowed twenty more minutes for them to keep practicing, walking about giving advice on stance, wand motion and pronunciation of incantation until the bell rang.
"You will all receive owls with next week's homework from Professor Jordan, and additionally you have to read and summarize "Dueling etiquette and strategy: a treatise of dueling by Samuel Norbert Cobalt in your words in no more than three rolls of parchment", Felix started giving them next week's homework.
"Class dismissed", Professor Jordan's voice came from the classroom's entrance.
The students scrambled to leave the class, packing their stuff hurriedly so they could enjoy as much of the break as they could before next class.
"What did you think of this first foray into teaching?" Professor Jordan asked him when they were alone. A look of intense curiosity and care plastered on his features.
"That it won't be the last time, sir. Which sort of confuses things…" Felix replied looking as intensely intrigued and concerned by the development.
"How so?"
"I was thinking of travelling after Hogwarts. See the world, develop technomagy further, find more materials that can help mend broken wands, discover myself…but I really liked teaching right now…so, confusion", Felix explained stuffing his hands in his pockets.
"I see. Why would travelling and teaching collide?"
"It'd be a bit hard teaching here while I'm half across the world, sir"
"Wizarding folk live much longer than Muggle folk. Travel, see the world, experience all you must, live out your youth as you see fit then return to Hogwarts and apply for a position, there's no Headmaster or Headmistress that'd deny you when you are ready to take up the mantle", Professor Jordan spoke to him as a father would, and feeling the same kind of affection for his student.
"I guess so, sir", Felix made to leave.
"I am to guess that you've not informed certain members of your family of your future plans?" Professor Jordan set about readying the classroom for his next class.
"Oh, gods. No…sir. Or Claudia. I will…eventually."
"And what is this I hear about me having to owl homework to a few dozen students?"
"A repayment of my confusion, sir. At least you don't have to summarize a two thousand pages book in three rolls of parchment by next week, sir…although I guess you'll have to grade them", Felix told his Professor making him chock on his own saliva. "two days to first stage of dueling tournament, ten to our first Quidditch game. I likey", Felix thought to himself heading for his next class.
He was taking notes during Potions class when he felt someone trying yet again to invade his mind using legilimancy. "I see, our previous time was not enough of a lesson. Time to…" Someone outside the Potions Classroom gave a sharp, intense cry which vanished into the distance as its owner ascended the stairs.
Emerick, Claudia and Ethel looked at him questioningly.
"Person who betrayed Blakes' existence to Azrail fears I know who they are and tried to pry the information from me, twice now. There won't be a third time me thinks", Felix told them after class had ended.
"And do you? Know I mean", Emerick asked him, holding his overcoat robes around him tighter against the biting cold of the corridor as common rooms, dorm rooms and classrooms were all heated by charms and fireplaces and corridors were not.
"Oh, of course. Ever since our fifth year" Felix stated matter-of-factly.
"Then why…" Claudia asked for Emerick.
"There are infinitely worse punishments than death that do not get me thrown into Azkaban for the rest of my life."
"Why not tell a Professor? The Ministry?" Ethel picked up from the other two.
"Oh, no. They are mine."