"Wake up Harry." I heard Draco say. I opened my eyes and jumped back.
"What the hell?"
"It's time for breakfast. You do want breakfast don't you?" I was in the Slytherin Dorm. I got up and dressed before heading out after him.
Breakfast went by sooner than I hoped, as I ate slowly, hoping that time would pass just as slow, but Draco was dragging me away before I even finished my food. "Come on, our next class is starting and the Dark Lord won't be happy if you miss it."
"Don't you get it Draco? I don't care!"
"Well you might not care about your hide, but I care about mine." I rolled my eyes.
"As if he would hurt you-" … Actually that sounds just like something Tom would do. "… Fine, you win this time. What is it anyway?" My answer came only when the door up the stairs in the classroom opened and Rowle and Avery, from Herbology, came out. This time I was having class with my friends who'd been put in Slytherin, obviously, and those who were put in Hufflepuff. That means Colin, Dennis, Kevin, Hermione, and Justin.
"Students, I am Professor Rowle, and this is Professor Avery. I will begin today's lesson and you will pull out parchment and quill. Today will mostly be an introduction into the fine element that is Dark Arts. Note that we will be going over both Dark Arts and how to defend against it. I have asked the Minister of Magic himself for permission for today's lesson. You will notice that there is someone here who doesn't belong. Can you guess where he is?"
I immediately began to look but Hermione raised her hand, as she always did. "Yes Ms…" Avery said, skimming through sheets of paper. "… Granger?" He looked up again.
"Sir, they are in the front of the class, behind the furnace." Avery smiled.
"Correct. Professor Avery, if you will. Five points to Hufflepuff." Rowle said, smirking. "For spotting today's prey. Of course, you are all Seventh Years. I was only given permission to do it in my Seventh Year classes. That means only once. So you will all pay attention!" There was some rustling in the back as students stopped to pay attention.
He came down the stairs as Avery began to speak. "This is a Muggle. He will be helping us with our little demonstration today. Now that that is out of the way, it's time to start taking notes." Rowle began to walk up and down the aisles of the desks, speaking as we began to write down notes.
"Some fools would have you believe that there is such a thing as 'Dark magic' and 'Light magic'. This is a lie! You few who believe this lie have been tricked by old fools and hag's tales. Though, granted, you are all only children. Children tend to make mistakes. This is why adults teach children about the world. I will explain this. For now, I will quote a known traitor among our kind. The traitor will be unnamed, because the Supreme Headmaster wishes it so. 'The Dark Arts are many, varied, ever changing, and eternal. Fighting them is like fighting a many headed monster, which, each time a neck is severed, sprouts a head even fiercer and cleverer than before. You are fighting that which is unfixed, mutating, indestructible.' The quote ends there. Remember how I said that there are those who believe in dark and light magic? How there is no such thing? This is because a spell is a spell, they do not have emotions, they do not have wills. You all received your wand from Olivanders didn't you? Well I'm going to quote him. 'The wand chooses the wizard'. And a wizard chooses which spell he wants to use, for whatever reason he wants to use it for. Two clear examples are the Imperius Curse and the Knockback Jinx, though I could just as easily use the Severing Charm, Summoning Charm, or even the Patronus Charm. For a moment, let's consider one situation for each spell. The Knockback Jinx. Flipendo. I could easily use this charm for good, or I could use it to plummet someone to their death. The Imperius… someone wants to murder your friend, so instead you cast the Imperius to make them change their mind."
"Professor Rowle, why don't you use an example for the other three as well? I believe it would make it easier on the students."
"Very well Professor Avery. The Severing Charm… I could use it to slit someone's throat. The Summoning Charm… I could use that to remove a vital organ such as the heart or brain. The Patronus Charm… I could save a convicted murderer with it and save their life from a Dementor. Those are just some of the examples that spells can be used for good or bad intentions. Another theory is that Dark Arts means to harm or control another… but this theory says that every single one of you sitting in this classroom has committed a crime. A simple Slug hex for instance. Don't worry, neither of these theories are acceptable. You can all rest easy knowing you haven't broken any laws as a child. The Dark Arts themselves are not inherently evil or extreme, and it does not always take a wholly wicked person to perform an excellent dark spell or brew a powerful dark potion. Many brilliant and good witches and wizards excelled at dark magic. There is only one thing that separates the so called 'evil' magic. This is the fact that it is not enough to simply wave your wand around and say the word, you must mean it, want it, desire it. One example of a skilled wizard at this is the You-Know-Who himself, though it seems he is the only exception to this rule. For you beginner wizards and witches, there has to be emotional and psychological investment into the casting of the spell. An easy example for you students is the Cruciatus. You must have a deep and personal desire to cause pain and harm for its own sake. The stronger the desire is, the more effective the spell will be. Any questions before we move on?" When he didn't call on any, Avery began.
"Injuries caused by dark magic may never fully heal. Sometimes this is because the injuries are deeply psychological. For example, someone who has been under the Imperius curse for a long time would be very psychologically damaged. The precise reason why physical wounds inflicted by dark magic do not properly heal is currently unknown, however. There is, however, one type of magic (or power from the soul) which is strong enough to offer substantial protection against magic: love. Our greatest evidence for the power of love to protect against is, of course, Harry Potter. Mr. Potter, please stand up." I stood quietly and he told me to sit a minute later, just to make sure everyone got a 'good look' at me. "His Mudblood mother, Lily Potter, sacrificed her life to protect Harry's, and as such, Harry Potter survived a killing curse with just one rather small scar on his forehead, in the shape of the killing curse's wand movement. While fascinating, the nuances of sacrificial protection are a bit outside our intended topics; I'm sure many of you have learned about it, or will learn about it. Any questions?" Everyone was silent, just staring at the Death Eaters. Rowle continued.
"As I mentioned before, dark magic is not inherently evil or bad. People, from children to magical law enforcement alike, practice forms of dark magic; children in the form of minor jinxes and hexes, and law enforcement like Aurors may cast the killing curse or other more severe jinxes and hexes from time to time. Likewise, there are many types of magic that are not considered dark, but which could also cause serious harm; the severing charm could seriously injure or even kill a person if the caster wanted, as could fire-creating spells. One might cast the Disarming Charm on their opponent with the intention of making them utterly defenseless from further attack, rather than mainly attempting to cease a fight. You might heal someone only in hopes of them owing you. There are no laws in place for the majority of dark arts. For homework, I want a 500 word essay on why Dark magic and Light magic do not exist. Class dismissed."
I stood up and walked out as quickly as I could without running. I can already tell this class sucks! Not to mention I now have more homework! I refuse to do the essay. I'll just work on Tom's. I'll do the 600 word essay on Muggles trying to adapt to the world.
First I listed out the items he mentioned, then wrote why they were invented and how they were used and how they are used to day, then writing it all into an essay. I was half way done when I felt a nudge. I looked up to see Draco.
"Hungry?"
"Yeah, actually." I packed my stuff up and headed to the Great Hall with Draco before finding something to eat. I didn't waste any of my time, I ate until I was actually full, seeing as I didn't get an actual breakfast, still a bit curious about when I got to see Tom again. I still don't know what he wanted for the open ended essay… how long does it have to be?
This time Malfoy led me to the dungeons and into the Potions classroom. I was having class with the Ravenclaws now. Seamus, Anthony, Dean, and Michael. The teachers this time around were actually some that I liked. Slughorn and Snape.
"Good afternoon class." Slughorn called.
"Good afternoon Professor!" We called. Slughorn smiled.
"You will see that before each of you sits a copper cauldron. This month, September, we will be brewing a special little potion called Polyjuice Potion. Can anyone tell me what the Polyjuice potion does?" A few students raised their hands. "Yes Ms. Pail?"
"It's Patil sir. The Polyjuice potion turns you into another person, using it to transform into an animal, or if a non-human or half human, the potion will not reverse properly."
"Quite right Ms. Patti. Ten points to Slytherin. Can anyone tell me what it looks like before the final ingredient is added?" Again Padma shot her hand up. "Yes Ms. Pattie?" This time she did not correct him.
"It is thick and mud like, the surface bubbles slowly."
"Quite right again Ms. Patile. Ten more points to Slytherin. And what of after the final ingredient is added? Yes Mr. Goldstain?"
"It changes to match whatever person you are turning into."
"Correct Mr. Goldstein. Ten points to Ravenclaw. Now, since you students are Seventh Years, and the Polyjuice potion takes so long to make, we'll be learning about the Polyjuice while me make another potion, this time it will be the Draught of Living Death, next week it will be a simple love potion. Then we'll get down to business with the Polyjuice potion. As you've heard before, I'm sure, the Polyjuice is actually quite a difficult potion to make, even for adult wizards. Now go ahead and collect the ingredients needed for today's potion and begin. The one who finishes last today will be our tester for the love potion. Don't worry, I'll have plenty of antidote."
I quickly got up and collected my ingredients, not wanting to be the last one to finish. I used my potion book to help me, and tried to remember from last year. By the time class was finished, the one to finish last was Seamus. Professor Slughorn went about checking our potions, and Snape helped.
"Class dismissed." Slughorn called. I collected my things and headed out to go work on my next essay.