Chapter 5

At the crack of dawn, Harry woke up in his allotted chamber in the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Today was September 1st which meant that the first impressions will be made today. Not only would he be able to see the potential wizards and witches that would be studying under him, but he would also be able to measure them up and start his plans. He had two major things on his agenda for today. The first was the talk with Dumbledore that he had postponed yesterday while the other was the lunch with Miss Tonks.

Previous evening, after the duel

Dumbledore smiled benignly and said," You have most certainly demonstrated your knowledge and competence to hold this position, Mr. Potter. On the behalf of the staff of Hogwarts, I formally welcome you as a member of the staff. Now if you don't mind, I would like to hold a staff meeting with the rest of our staff including you. We have much to discuss."

While most people would not have been able to decline the Great Albus Dumbledore, Harry was not most people, as he said politely," Do you mind if we postpone the staff meeting for tomorrow?"

Before Dumbledore could reply, Severus Snape butted in," Just like your father; do you think you are so special that we would postpone an important meeting just because a child asked us to."

While Harry gave no indication of taking offence to the crass tone, the shadows in the room darkened a bit. Taking a deep breath, Harry replied," You must be Severus Snape. You were mentioned in the potion magazines here as the youngest Potion Master. Now see here Severus, I hope you don't mind me calling you that since we are colleagues now."

Before Snape could protest by saying that he most certainly minded being called Severus by a fifteen year old, Harry continued," Unlike you, who most certainly spend your day in a dark, dank space as evidenced by your complexion, I had a long day with a lot of activity. While we can still hold the meeting now, I would not be able to give a better input because of some tiredness. Besides, I believe that important meetings should be attended with an active body and fresh mind. Evenings and night are bad times for such important meetings because this is a time of relaxation. That is why I suggested that the meeting should be postponed for the morning."

Dumbledore dispelled the slight tension in the air by beaming and saying," Mr. Potter is quite right. It is already late and we would be unable to plan for the year accordingly if we are drowsy. However, the meeting would commence in the morning right after breakfast. So my friends let us retire for the night. I would show Harry his chambers."

Present

Walking through the halls of Hogwarts he contemplated on what his life would have been if he had studied here, lived with his parents in a loving or at least tolerant environment. Within a second, he could ascertain that he would have been either a good student or a mediocre one. He would not have been the legend that he became after his education in Japan. Furthermore, he might have been narrow-minded like many of the people here. While he could not forgive them for the first years of his life, his later life was an epic dream filled with wonder. He had not only learned from a prestigious and great school, but his open-mindedness compelled him to seek knowledge around the world. The treasure trove he had received paled the charm of any magical school but his school thought him as much as his experiences during his three years of travel.

Another thing that was on his mind was his family. The Potters were here, though he doubted that he could interact with them as casually as he interacted with anyone. The first four years of his life were horrible and he still bore slight emotional scars. However he could not blame the Potters completely for many people shared that blame. They may have thought that sending me away was for the best, but they could have at least checked on him from time to time. The only thing that he could firmly say was that he could not treat them like family but they were not his enemies. They were strangers who were not significant until he spent his time with them. Still, he was waiting for them to approach him for a little chat.

Concentrating a little, he was able to detect the magical energy of Dumbledore which shone like a beacon for his honed magical senses. Swiftly, he made his way to the Great Hall as he found the complete staff eating breakfast. Plastering a pleasant smile despite his inner turmoil, Harry greeted everyone cheerfully," Good morning everyone."

Albus and the rest of the staff turned towards the door to find Harry walking towards the staff table. Dumbledore beamed at Harry and ushered him to the table. With a measured gait, Harry took his seat between Filius Flitwick and Severus Snape. Turning to his right, Harry spoke cheerily," Good Morning Severus; how are you on this fine day?"

Snape's mood immediately soured as he heard the voice of the newest Potter to grace the halls. Till now, he may have not pulled a single prank but he was still irritating. Dumbledore addressed his newest staff member," I hope you had a good night's sleep, for we have much to discuss."

Harry smiled a little at that. Looking around the table, he was shocked at the food the people here ate. There was so much meat, sugar, oil and potato on the table that Harry wanted to puke. All through his life, he ate healthy food and while the food on the table might have been a junk food addict's dream, but to Harry, it was a culinary nightmare. Thankfully, he had a solution for this.

Harry called out," Nami." And in a pop, a young, small, female house elf stood by him. Bowing her head in respect, the tiny elf spoke in cultured English unlike the broken speech that the house elves spoke in Britain," Good morning master, do you require any assistance?"

Looking at the elf in fondness Harry said," Bring me my usual breakfast Nami-chan. I find the breakfast a little different from my tastes." Nodding her head, the elf popped away.

The staff members looked in curiosity at what he meant by the statement. The food served in Hogwarts was traditional and delicious. Soon enough, the elf popped back with some food and placed it in front of Harry before popping away. The staff saw that unlike the traditional English fare, Harry had some rice, beans, fish, boiled vegetable and freshly cut fruits on his plate. Flitwick asked the question," Is something wrong Mr. Potter?"

Harry directed a faint smile before replying," The meal is completely unbalanced. There is an over concentration of fat and carbohydrate while the vitamin and protein requirements are neglected. If the students keep eating this, they would not be able to handle the exercises I have planned for them. Also, I am not used to eating so much oily and greasy food."

Flitwick nodded with sympathy. When he came to teach at Hogwarts, he was not used to the food as the Goblin nation had different kind of food. However, he became used to it soon enough. Dumbledore looked at the incident critically before asking with curiosity," That was a fine house elf you have Mr. Potter. Do you mind me asking where you bought her from?"

Harry shook his head before replying," I received her when I was eight as a lesson. While I have learned about fighting, the ethics were taught differently in the school I attended."

Flashback

Harry sat in the advanced class for the gifted students. He had proven himself to be a great warrior and leader in the previous years. Only the best could be admitted to the class. However, he had heard that this class was taught by the Captain of Squad 13 who was known for his morality and kindness. Turning to his right he looked at Soi Fon, his senior in age and classmate and asked," What will be taught today Fon-san?"

Soi Fon answered," Ukitake-san is not just a great warrior, but also a great teacher. He is also known to be kind and understanding. He must have a good lesson planned for today."

Soon, Ukitake Jushiro, Captain of Squad 13 entered the class followed by tiny green figures with bat like ears and bulbous eyes. Facing the class he began his lecture," Students, I have decided on a project for you for this year. These beings behind me are called House Elves. They are a race of magical beings that live by the process of symbiosis with a magical human by leaching small bits of magic and perform services for the human with their abilities. The beings behind me however are not trained yet. They know the basics and learn really fast but even they need a teacher. All of you will have one of these as your pupil for the year. They are children who will need to be guided and taught so treat them as such. When you become a good teacher, only then you can be called a good student."

Flashback End

Harry continued," Nami was assigned to me and I trained her in household work, cooking and etiquette and languages. While most of the elves were sent away, I had become too attached to Nami just like she became attached to me. In the end, I asked to be her master and offered her the bond. Since then, she is my personal elf."

Dumbledore smiled and said," You must have been a great teacher for her. I will remind you that we have a staff meeting after breakfast."

Hogwarts, Headmaster's Office

Albus Dumbledore looked at the staff of Hogwarts who had gathered in his office for the first meeting of the year. His oldest colleagues Filius Flitwick and Minerva McGonagall the resident Charms Master and Transfiguration Mistress sat near him. After the two, sat Pomona Sprout, the Herbology Mistress and Poppy Pomfrey, the Matron of Hospital Wing. Away from all the teachers sat the Potions Master and teacher Severus Snape. The other teachers sat on the outer edges of the office while Harry Potter sat in front of Albus Dumbledore. All the other teachers were staring at Harry while Harry stared at the office with a scrutinizing look. Albus cleared his throat to get the attention but Harry was busy looking at the room with curious, or perhaps calculating eyes.

Snape got annoyed at the manner in which the boy was behaving and snarled," Stop looking around and attention brat."

Harry spoke in a dismissive tone," You should behave in a professional manner Severus. How would you feel if Minerva or Albus called you brat?"

McGonagall seemed amused by that while James Potter snickered a little. Snape however sputtered before speaking through gritted teeth," I did not become what I am today by being a fool or a coward boy. I deserve far more respect than you."

This time, Harry looked in the black eyes of Snape and said in a frigid tone," No Severus. You became what you are today by lies and deceit. What do you thing will happen when people find out that you are a Death Eater and the Death Eaters find out that you are a spy?"

Everyone froze as they looked at Harry. Snape's eyes widened before he sent out a Legilimency attack. As he approached the shield, which looked like a rudimentary bubble, he poured more power and the bubble vanished, giving him entry. However, the room where he entered was strange.

The entire background was completely white with a small disk floating in the middle like a table. As Snape wondered about the strange mindscape, the bubble closed around him and some kind of gas was released through vents that were previously not there. Soon, Snape began to feel sleepy and was promptly ejected.

Returning to his body, Snape felt dizzy and disoriented. Slouching on the chair, he felt himself yawn and sleepy. Soon enough, he was only half conscious.

Dumbledore and others saw this fiasco and could not believe how easily Snape began to get unconscious. Sighing a little, Dumbledore pulled out his wand and enervated Severus before looking at Harry sternly.

Dumbledore asked," How did you know about Severus and what did you do to him?"

Harry answered nonchalantly," I researched everything about the teachers before coming here and found the trial transcript of Igor Karkaroff. As for what happened to him, I do not appreciate Legilimency attacks."

Dumbledore sighed before replying," I will make sure that this does not happen again. Now, what are your teaching plans?"

Harry said," The class will be divided into a theoretical class and a practical class. The students will be taught about teamwork, dueling, physical fitness, weapons, magical theory, tactics and mental defense."

Dumbledore was confused, for there was no mention of defensive magic. Trying to comprehend the plan, Dumbledore asked," Harry my boy, you made no mention of defensive magic."

Harry nodded before replying," While many people think that Defense Against Dark Arts is a topic that deals with defensive magic, if you consider my own schooling, I would tell that defensive magic is not small field. While many spells and can protect us against most of the magical attacks and physical objects, defense in general is a far wider field which employs all forms of defense, not just the magical form to protect oneself. Given the predisposition of Death Eaters to use Killing Curse makes magical defense useless. So, I would only teach enough defensive magic that can help them against minor magical attacks. Once I am done with them, they would be able to fight their way through the most horrendous battles without any lasting damage. I know that this means little but trust me on this. I also plan to teach them mental defense or as you know as Occlumency."

Dumbledore was dumbfounded at that. While it was true that the Purebloods taught their children Occlumency but it was a difficult subject to teach and required individual attention. Dumbledore agreed that simply using defensive magic would not be enough as Death Eaters usually used spells that were considered unblock able by simple shield charms.

Dumbledore spoke in a sagely voice," I agree to all of your points. However, you have not said anything about your lesson plans."

Harry said," That's because I do not know the level of the students yet. In a class, different students learn by different methods at different speeds. My first job would be to evaluate and segregate the students on the basis of knowledge, fitness, magical power and control. Only then I can actually try to make a lesson plan."

Dumbledore nodded and announced," If that is the case, this meeting is over. Be sure to attend the evening feast."

Harry nodded before taking his leave. Snape sneered," That boy is arrogant to the core. He thinks that he is such a great teacher already that he does not need to plan for the future."

McGonagall spoke," I am worried that he does not know much about defensive magic."

Dumbledore turned to McGonagall and said," He reminds me of a more focused and less paranoid Alastor Moody. After he lost his eye on his first mission as an Auror, he became obsessed with varied forms of attack. He told me that on his mission, defensive magic was not enough. This was the reason he learned about magic and weapons for his further missions."

Lily Potter, the Muggle Studies professor looked at the door from where her younger son had left and wondered,' What did you face in your life to be this wise Harry?'

Hogwarts Express

Daniel Potter sat with his best friends Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley. The three had been friends from their first year. While they had a rocky start when Ron had insulted Hermione's intelligence, they were inseperable after the Halloween of their first year when the two boys had saved Hermione from a Mountain Troll.

Right now, Hermione was reading a book about runes as she watched her friends sitting on the other bench. Ron was trying to convince Daniel for a game of Exploding Snap but Daniel had no interest in it. He was still mulling over what he was told this morning.

Flashback

As Daniel waited near the Fireplace for his parents, he thought about the revelations he had this past year. Learning that his most famous deed was done by his brother, a brother who he did not even remember now, was shocking. He wanted to find Harry, no matter what it took. A simple mistake had ripped him from their family, and now, Daniel would try to mend the family back.

Looking around, he saw that his parents were approaching him, however, they had an anxious look on their face. Wondering about that, he turned to his mother and asked," Why do you look so nervous today, Mom?"

His mother sighed before telling him," Daniel, Harry would be at Hogwarts this year."

Both Daniel and James looked at her with surprise. James spoke in a nervous tone," You keep telling me to show some tact. Where is that tact now Lily? You cannot just tell him so suddenly."

Daniel however ignored that and asked," Forget about that, did you actually mean to say that Harry would be attending Hogwarts with us. I thought that he was missing."

Lily nodded," He was missing, but he turned up this summer. You will see him at the evening feast at Hogwarts. As for his attending, it is a complicated matter. You will have to seat the evening feast. Now, leave young man or you mill miss the Express."

Flashback End

Hermione suddenly asked," What happened Daniel?"

Daniel suddenly turned to her as if he had forgotten about her. Sighing a little, he answered," Mom said that my brother will be there at the school this year."

Ron interrupted," Wasn't your brother missing since he was four?"

Daniel nodded as Hermione asked," What did she say about him? How and where was he found?"

Daniel answered," My mother was cryptic about that. She kept saying that you would find out at the evening feast."

Suddenly, the compartment door opened and three eyesores stood in the doorway. There were two minor ones called Crabbe and Goyle and a major one who went by the name of Draco Malfoy.

Smirking in a traditional Slytherin fashion, Draco spoke in a sneering tone," Look here boys, we find the Golden Idiots. How was the year Potter? Did your wounds heal under your adoring fans gaze? Because right now, I don't think that you have a single fan left."

Ron yelled," Get lost you slimy snake. If you stay a moment longer the only one who would have wounds to heal would be you."

Draco sneered at Ron and said," Oh I did not see you Weasley, but your stench warned me of your presence. Still, if people keep reading The Daily Prophet, you will be ruined before you know it Potter. You are a sinking ship Potter, and you will take this blood-traitor and mudblood down with you."

Before either Hermione or Ron had a chance to say anything, a ray of light collided with the frame of the door, blasting it to pieces. All the other occupants looked at Daniel who had pointed his wand towards Draco and said," This time, I missed. However, I won't miss another time. So, if you value your limbs, leave Malfoy."

Malfoy paled as he stumbled out of the compartment and yelled," My father will hear of this. Soon you and your family would hang by your entrails in front of the Dark Lord."

As the compartment became peaceful again, Ron and Hermione asked Daniel," Are you okay Daniel?"

Daniel shrugged," As okay as I can be. I don't know how I would face my brother."

As the three thought about Harry Potter, said individual was heading towards the Leaky Cauldron. Waiting in the small pub was the person he had come to meet.

Harry greeted," Miss Tonks, I hope you have had a fine afternoon."

Tonks smiled before replying," As fine as one can have in these times. So where should we go for lunch?"

Harry smiled and said," There is a fine establishment nearby that serves great Italian food. I don't know about you but I am famished. So let's dine there."

Tonks smiled and said," Lead the way then."

The two ate and talked for hours until evening rolled by. As the two individuals departed, they could only marvel at the ease they felt around each other. However, Harry had another engagement tonight which he could not postpone or miss. After all, he had to evaluate the students. This was an opportunity he could not miss.

AN- Please review. Suggestions by PM only.

AN2- The next chapter will have the starting feast and the first lesson. Any questions about the story can be asked through review or PM. Sorry for the wait.