I was reading, just reading, when my first batch of students filed in. I looked up from my book. I recognized a few of the students (although they looked different than what I'd imagined). There was Hermione Granger right up front, looking sort of smug for some reason. Please Hermione, I like you, don't make me hurt you. Then there was... NEVILLE!!!! Awwwww, I love Neville... I'll try and make sure he gets an A. He looked so shy and unsure that I wanted to give him a hug, but I didn't. I just made eye contact with him and gave him a reassuring smile; he blushed but smiled in return. Then there was... shit... Draco Malfoy and his cronies Crabbe and Goyle. What was their last name again? Oh wait... those were their last names right? Poor things, poor awful, ugly little things. They really were ugly in real life, poor, poor dears. If I didn't dislike them I'd feel genuinely sorry for them but since their so nasty I can't help but think its just karma. Draco made eye contact with me and winked. I gave him a look that had made better men than him pee in their pants and slammed my book shut with one hand, he jumped a little. After everyone had come in I stood up and said, "My name is Professor Tingstrom and this is Philosophy. Just so you know I will have no bullying, pranking, insulting, biggotry or any other form of malice in my classroom. I assure you, I have no tolerance for that sort of thing and it will put you firmly on my bad side." I glared, "And you do not want to be on my bad side." I looked around and once I was satisfied that I had made my point I brightened up just enough for it to be scary as I said, "But other than that, I hope that we can have fun in this class. This class is not about me telling you what to think, it's about me telling you how to think for yourself. This world is a harsh, cruel place and you must be armed with a steel will and know exactly where you stand or else you might just get eaten up by it. We are defined by the choices that we make, and I am going to try and help you learn how to make the right choices. Is this all understood?"

"Yes Professor..." The class chimed.

I smiled, "Good." I brought out a box that I had prepared earlier. Out of the box I pulled a beautiful, just about perfect, red rose. I held it up for everyone to see, "I assume that everyone knows what this is?" Everyone nodded. "Good. Now, you would probably define this rose as beautiful, romantic, elegant, so on and so forth I imagine."

The class nodded and one girl smiled and said, "Roses are my favorite! I have a garden of them at home!"

I smiled, "That's very nice miss...?"

She grinned, "Ashby! Lilac Ashby!"

I nodded, "Well Miss Ashby, it would be safe to assume that you feel somewhat dedicated to roses then? They hold a deeper meaning to you than just a flower?"

"Oh yes, I love them!" She practically sang.

"That's lovely." I smiled. Then I turned and threw it into the fire.

Lilac squealed just a little, and then held it back.

I turned and raised an eyebrow, "What? You're going to just sit there? I just threw one of your beloved roses into the fire and you're going to just sit there?"

She blushed and looked down.

"No, don't look down while I'm talking to you!"

She looked back up at me, crying a little.

"That's better." I walked over to the box again. I brought out a book, "What about this? It's Romeo and Juliet, a beautiful old love story. I assume that some of you have read it?"

A great deal of girls looked at me wide eyed as they nodded.

"Yes a great love story, telling about the power of love. What lies, right? I mean, true love and all that is just a bunch of fairy tales. Don't you think so? I mean, why on earth would you buy into that?"

A great deal of people narrowed their eyes at me.

"Yes, so basically... this is just trash? I think I'll treat it that way..." I threw it into the fire.

Someone stood up.

I smirked, "Was there something you wanted to say?"

They sat back down.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, how disappointing." I walked over to a box and brought out a kitten. "Isn't she cute?"

Hermione stood up and screamed, "YOU CAN'T DO THAT!!!"

I smiled, "Really? Why not Miss Granger?"

She gulped, "It's wrong! That's a living thing?"

"So?"

"So... it's wrong to kill."

I smiled, "Very good Miss Granger." I handed her the kitten. I turned and went to my desk, sitting on it. I looked around, "Now, what did you learn?" Nobody made any kind of movement. "Was that to show my level of cynicism? To show my sadism? To tell you that what I destroyed was garbage? What was the lesson?"

"To... see when we'd stop you?" Neville stuttered out shyly.

I grinned, "Very good Mr. Longbottom. I picked out things that were beautiful, things that I knew someone would cherish, and threatened to or did destroy them. Why? Not to show how horrible I was, but to see how horrible things would get before you said something. And isn't it sad? I destroyed beauty and love before any one of you was even brave enough to stand up. Nobody has the right to destroy the things that you love, nobody. There is not a person that can make you do something without your permission. The only way that anyone can make you do something is if you let them. Only you can decide what is worth fighting for, worth living for... worth dying for. If you just stand around, silent, as someone does something that you believe is wrong then you are no better than them. In fact, you might just be worse. If we remain silent in the face of evil then what does that make us? Evil? Maybe not. But it doesn't make us good either. If someone is trying to make you do something that you don't want to, I don't care who it is, you have the right and duty to yourself to say no and walk away. It might make things a little uneasy for you for a while, but in the end you were true to yourself and that's what matters. Life is not some string of individual choices, what you stand for, or don't stand for today effects your tomorrow. And if you've made a bad choice yesterday, then you need to fix it today. Life is all about chances. It's all about change. We must be the change we want to see in the world, and to stay silent in the face of something we disagree with is not good enough." I looked at the clock. "And it's time for your next class." I sat down behind my desk.

The students were sitting there, spellbound.

I smiled, "Well, go on then."

The students seemed to wake from their dream and gathered up their things.

After everyone else had left Hermione walked up to my desk and handed me the kitten. Then she just looked at me.

I smiled at her, "What is it?"

"Would you have really hurt the kitten?"

I chuckled, "What do you think?"

She smiled, "I don't think you would have."

I shook my head, "Well, thanks to you... we'll never find out. Will we?"

She smiled and left my classroom.

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I was walking in the halls when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around and smiled at the person, it was Remus.

He smiled at me, "I hear you gave an interesting performance in class today... something about a kitten?"

I chuckled, "Just making a point."

He nodded, "And what was that? That they should stand up against a professor?"

"No, that they need to stand up for what they believe in. Even if it is a professor." I said firmly.

He smiled and nodded, "Well, from what I hear... the point was taken. I've had to give out several detentions due to children in your classroom standing up to bullies to the point of hexing."

I blushed a little, "Well, I didn't specifically tell them to hex people."

"Well, maybe you should be a little more specific next time?" He was smiling still so I imagine he wasn't too angry with me.

"I'll certainly take it into consideration." I chuckled a little.

He just looked at me fondly for a moment.

I blushed, "What?"

"Just wondering where you were when I was a student at Hogwarts."

I smirked, "Well, from what I hear... I wasn't born for a lot of it."

He laughed, "Oh! That was low!"

I laughed and said, "Just a little bit."

He smiled at me and he touched my hand.

I blushed.

"What's all this then?" I heard a familiar voice say from behind us.

I turned around and blushed. I stifled the urge to explain to him that we were just talking. But frankly... it wasn't any of his business was it?

Professor Snape glared at us, "You two look like a couple of children, carrying on the way you are."

I raised an eyebrow, "Honestly, if that is what you consider 'carrying on' then you've been out of the real world for much too long Professor Snape."

He frowned at me, "Well, you would know. You're not much more than a child yourself are you Professor Tingstrom?"

I glared at him, "I am not a child. And frankly, even if we were doing something childish it wouldn't be any of your business. Now, if that was all you had to say to Professor Lupin and I, we'll go back to the conversation that you so rudely interrupted." I turned back to Remus, who looked surprised but pleased.

"By the way Professor Tingstrom... you wouldn't by chance know what got into Miss Granger in class today? I was reproving Mr. Longbottom on his potion skills and she told me to stop and called me an 'ugly old git'."

I turned around, hand on hip, eyebrow raised, definitely giving him the look. "Well, maybe it's a sign that your reproving skills need a little editing?"

He huffed, "I'm a Professor, and I don't need to cater to their feelings. My job is to teach them."

"And what are you teaching them precisely? That they shouldn't trust themselves? That mistakes aren't something to learn from, they're something to be ashamed of? That they can't trust you to guide them, just to tell them what to do right before you throw them away? What exactly are your goals for teaching Professor?"

He glared at me.

"If you had a good answer, you would say it instead of just glaring at me." I said truthfully. Then I turned and went back to walking with Remus.

-------------------------------------

The next day in class I had more students. The ones I recognized most were Ronald Weasley, Harry Potter, Fred Weasley, George Weasley, Seamus Finnegan, and Ginny Weasley.

I smiled at the class, "Well, I've heard some interesting stories from yesterday and today. It seems that a great deal of you listened to what I said somewhat."

"We listened to everything!" Lilac said excitedly.

I sighed, "Well, obviously, I didn't point out that it's not enough just to stand up for what you believe in. You must also learn to pick your battles, and how to fight those you engage in. Yes, you must stand up for what you believe in. But there are ways to do it, and you can't fight every battle. Such as, a Professor is being rude... as much as you want to, you shouldn't just go insulting them right back. Not only will it merely get you detention, you've sunken to their level. There is a way to fight that battle. For instance, say a professor is insulting yours or someone else's intelligence. The best way to fight that is to make yourself or your friend become so very good at what they're teaching that it's like a spit in the face to them. Or you could even go so far as to show support for yourself or that person. Such as, "Well, I may not have done it right this time. But next time I try this I'll be the best in the class." Although, if you say that, you really have to practice what you preach." The class laughed and I smiled, "And you can't go bullying bullies. That's not the answer. Again, sinking to their level. You know what was so great about Miss Granger standing up to me yesterday? She didn't use violence, she didn't overreact, she just said 'Stop, you can't do this'. That was all that was necessary. If you see a friend getting bullied, or you are getting bullied, you say what you need to get them to stop and/or you just get away from the situation. The only reason you should ever have to resort to violence is if there is no other way. Otherwise there is just no excuse for it." I gave them a serious look, "None."

-----------------------------------

"Well, whatever you said to them worked. I haven't had to give anyone detention today." Remus said, sitting on my desk as I made a homework assignment for the next day.

I smiled up at him, "That's good. I'm sorry that I made yesterday so awful for everyone."

He shook his head, "There is no need to apologize. You did a good thing and I'm very pleased that you've been able to make a difference so far."

I frowned, "Hopefully it will stick with them."

He sighed and patted my hand, "I hope so too. There's so much ugliness in the world, it would be nice to stop at least some of it."

I nodded.

Someone ran through the hall and then backed up and looked into the room and smiled. It was Harry Potter. He smiled at us as he walked in and said, "Uhm, Professor Lupin? Can I talk with you?"

He smiled, "Certainly Harry, what do you need?"

Harry blushed, looking at me, "In private please."

I smiled at him, then at Remus, "It's alright Remus. I'll talk to you over supper."

"Are you sure?" He asked sweetly.

I smiled and nodded, "Of course, Mr. Potter obviously has something vital to speak about with you."

Remus smiled and said, "Alright then, I'll talk to you tonight."

I nodded.

Harry smiled and waved to me as he walked away.

I smiled and waved back.

After I was done with my work I decided to take a walk by the lake. While I was out Hagrid spotted me and waved to me like a madman, "Professor Tingstrom!"

I smiled and walked toward him, "Yes Hagrid?"

He smiled, "What are you doin out ere at this time o day? And alone?"

I shrugged, "Just walking. I like walking alone, it helps me think."

He shook his head, "Nobody ahs pretty ahs you should be walkin around alone. Come on into me hut, I've just made tea."

I had heard stories about Hagrid's cooking... but I didn't care. I smiled and said, "That sounds lovely."

Inside his hut Hagrid made me a quick cup of tea. "Ere you go Katrin, a nice cup o tea!"

I smiled and took a sip. I'd had worse. Fang laid his head on my lap and I smiled, scratching his head. "Aren't you just adorable?" I scratched him behind the ears.

Hagrid grinned, "He likes you!"

I nodded, "Animals and very small children have a tendency to adore me. It's people my age that I have trouble with."

He frowned, "I can understand tha. I have a similar problem meself. But I wouldn't ha suspected it of you."

I chuckled, "Oh no, I'm very odd. Where I come from I had two friends to my name. One I barely saw and one I only wrote too. That's about all anyone could stand from me I suppose."

He frowned, "Now, don't say things like tha."

I chuckled, "It's not self-hatred, it's just true. And I'm ok with that. I don't need other people's approval to find my own worth, and I certainly don't need you to give me that look of pity either."

He sighed, "Well, I can stand ya if it makes ya feel any better?"

I laughed, "Certainly Hagrid. I've actually made more friends here than I've ever had. Let's see... you, Remus, and Dumbledore."

He smiled, "Well, if you don mind me sayin so... there are worse friends to have then tha."

I smiled, "Oh I know. And don't think I'm not grateful for what I have." I took another sip of tea.

He smiled at me.

I looked at him for a moment then said, "Hagrid... if I tell you something... will you promise never to mention that I said it to you and to never ask why I'm saying it to you?"

He frowned, "What do you mean?"

I shook my head, "Just trust me. Please, promise me? It's very important."

He nodded, "Alright, I give you my word."

I nodded, "Now, you must do this. When you teach about the Hippogriff... send Mr. Malfoy, Mr. Crabbe, and Mr. Goyle away on an errand or something. Something that will take a very long time, possibly the entire class. Can you do that?"

"Yes, but... oh." He said, finally understanding. "It's important you say?"

I nodded solemnly, "More important than you'll hopefully ever realize."

He smiled then, "Then I'll do what you say. And, I suppose... thank you."

I smiled and nodded, "You're welcome."

--------------------------------

The next day in class Ron walked in holding "Scabbers". I looked at the dirty stinking rat. "Mr. Weasley, mind if I see your rat for a moment?"

He smiled and said, "Of course!" He handed it to me.

I'd asked Remus the other day how to turn an animangus human again. I waved my wand and said the spell, making the rat turn into Peter Pettigrew. He looked around frantically and then tried to run, I grabbed his neck and hissed, "You're not going anywhere." I looked up at Neville, "Mr. Longbottom, would you be a dear and go get the headmaster for me?"

He nodded and then ran off to the headmaster's office.

"Please, let me go!" Peter whined. Ugh! He was so ugly. And his breath stank very, very bad too.

Ron looked horrified, "Scabbers?"

I looked at Ron sympathetically, "I'll get you a new pet Ronald, I promise. One that won't turn back into a human."

He looked at me helplessly.

Dumbledore came storming in, "What is this all about... Peter Pettigrew?"

Pettigrew looked horrified, as he should.

"Can you please take this off my hands? I'm afraid I might catch something." I said snottily, not caring if that was rude.

Albus nodded and did a spell that made Pettigrew freeze, then he called some other professors to come haul him out.

I looked around the class and saw a bunch of really confused students, "Uhm... today's lesson... never judge a book by it's cover. Class dismissed."

They all ran out of the classroom. I shook my head.

--------------------------------------------

"Well, it seems that you've had a busy day... again." I heard Severus say from next to me.

I looked up at him with red eyes; I couldn't help feeling a bit scared. I had just drastically changed the story I knew. What was going to happen now? He wasn't necessarily frowning at me, just looking at me... as if he saw me. Suddenly, I realized that he was the only one I wanted around at the moment. I jumped up and hugged him, nuzzling into his chest.

I could feel him tense, but he surprisingly just wrapped his arms around me and held me close.

I smelled his scent... I recognized it. I looked up at him, "It was you... you were the one that found me."

He sighed and then nodded, looking away from me.

I took his chin in my hand and made him look at me. I smiled at him, "Thank you. You don't know how much you helped me. Not only by taking me to the hospital wing, but by staying with me. Why did you stop coming to me?"

He looked at me, seemingly looking for words, "I didn't think you'd want to know that it was me."

I smiled and nuzzled back into him, "I'm glad it was you."

He smiled and petted my hair, "You've been very busy these last few days."

I sighed, "I don't know how I get into these things."

"Into what things?"

"Complicated situations."

"Ah... from what I've seen, you dive into them headfirst."

I shook my head, "That's just it. I generally try to avoid them. It's just that they throw themselves at me so I have no choice but to defend myself."

"And... your way of defending yourself against a complicated situation is to reveal a man that was thought dead?"

I groaned, "I know, I know, not a very effective strategy. I just... couldn't let him get away with what he was doing."

He was silent for a long time, "So... to you... a sinner deserves to be punished?"

I looked up at him and cupped his cheek, "I believe in justice. But I also believe in redemption, and second chances. I don't consider you a horrible sinner Severus."

He seemed surprised.

I smiled at him, "I have faith in you."

He frowned at me, "You don't even know me."

I gave him a knowing smile, "Yes I do."

He frowned at me. He let me go, turned, and left the room.

I just looked after him and shook my head. Then I went back to my desk.