Here's the second chapter! I didn't intend for this to be long by any means but it just sort of wrote itself into roughly 6 chapter
*Sighs* Well I hope you enjoy and as always it makes me delighted to see anyone favorite, follow, or review. Makes my day :)
"Look at this!" Ron cried indignantly, holding up his schedule.
"I know mate." Harry said glaring at the horrible piece of paper. "Binns, Snape, and Trelawney in the same day. That new professor better be good or I'll just skive off Mondays from now on."
"You should have taken ancient runes like me so you won't have to waste your time on Divination." Hermione said smugly gathering her school things. Harry and Ron could only glare at her as the day revealed itself to be as miserable as the two best friends predicted.
Binns droned in a monotone voice for two hours, Snape took every opportunity to exclaim to the entire Potions class how lamentable Harry's potion was, and Trelawney burst into tears when he walked into her class describing the terrible ways Harry was going to meet a premature end.
"You know!" Harry said, slamming his bag down as he took a seat next to Ron and Hermione in Defense Against the Dark Arts. "If Trelawney makes one more prediction about my death I just might start planning hers." It was a mark of how much Hermione hated divination and Trelawney that she didn't bother reprimanding Harry's grim pronouncement.
A hush fell over the class the clock struck two.
Heads turned towards the door as the blond professor strode in. The silence was broken by gasps and murmurs (and no short amount of giggles).
The professor was not wearing wizard robes, instead he was clad in a tunic of browns and greens with grassy leggings. His silky hair was pulled back and braided revealing elegantly pointed ears, wait, pointed ears?
Arriving at the desk in the front of the classroom the teacher raised his hand for silence.
"As you know I am your new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher; however I am not very familiar with your past instruction so I hope you will all assist me throughout the term." His voice was smooth and musical like the clear chime of bells.
"Professor Thranduilion." Hermione began raising her hand but the professor winced and interrupted.
"Please just call me Legolas. Professor sounds…wrong."
"Uhh Le…Legolas then." Hermione said clearly uncomfortable to be on a first name basis with the new teacher. "We have covered." But before Hermione could start Seamus Finnigan broke in.
"Your ears!" He said bluntly. "They're pointed!" Harry heard Ron snicker. Well he supposed someone had to ask.
Legolas sighed.
"I suppose it could not be avoided. Yes my ears are pointed as Mr…"
"Seamus Finnigan sir."
"As Mr. Finnigan so eloquently pointed out. That is because I am an elf." He seated himself comfortably in his chair as the class buzzed and whispered.
An elf? Harry felt equal parts shock and confusion. His impression of elves were closely associated with Dobby but this professor looked nothing like the small, submissive, and timid creatures he had come to associate with elves. Yet at the same time there was something about the teacher that made Harry believe he wasn't human either.
"You're not human then?" Harry asked. Legolas shook his head.
"No I am not Mr…." Harry frowned. Didn't he know who he was?
"Harry Potter sir."
"But you're not an elf! They're short, have huge heads, and wear pillow cases!" Ron protested. The new professor looked mildly horrified. Ron backtracked immediately "I mean you're not, I didn't mean." There was a moment of silence then Legolas burst out laughing. The pure, wholesome sound filled the classroom.
"Just think of that! Short elves? Elladan and Elrohir would be horrified. Oh and the look on Ada's face if he heard you say that." Ron was stunned into silence. Legolas gathered himself.
"I assure elves are not short, and we do not wear pillow cases as you can see."
"But." Ron shut up as Hermione slapped his hand.
"So you're not from around here then." Malfoy's voice sneered from the back of the class. Legolas's eyes narrowed slightly, the laughter gone.
"Not precisely no." He answered guardedly.
"Are you even old enough to teach us?" Another Slytherin challenged. At this the teacher laughed again although Harry didn't see what was funny.
"I can assure you no matter my appearance I am definitely old enough to teach you."
"Have you ever taught Defense Against the Dark Arts before?" Malfoy pushed. Legolas looked at him quizzically. "Draco Malfoy." The smug blond added. Harry noticed he left off the Sir.
"I've taught defense before but I don't have experience in your magical spells and enchantments."
"You mean you're not magical?" a girl from Gryffindor cried. Legolas shook his head.
"Where I come from there are many tales of the magic of elves but most stem from human misconceptions of my race. I do not personally practice sorcery." Malfoy snickered triumphantly.
"Then I don't see how you are going to teach us anything useful."
"Oh I assure you Mr. Malfoy." The professor's voice was now low and dangerous. Harry shuddered subconsciously. "There are many ways to defend yourself without magic and you would do well to learn them if you wish to survive." Malfoy snorted disbelievingly.
"Now." Legolas retuned his attention to the rest of the class which had fallen into an uncomfortable silence. "Shall we begin?" The rest of the class was reasonably unexciting as the new professor inquired to the class's past teachings and experience.
Legolas wasn't very impressed with the 5th year class. It seemed as though they relied completely on their spells and wands with little to no experience with hand to hand combat or dealing with fell creatures. Even Mithrandir who was an accomplished Istari wielded a sword with exceptional proficiency.
"Well Ron and I ran over some giant spiders with a car in our second year." The boy named Harry mumbled when Legolas asked if any of them had dealt with dark creatures before. He suspected the comment wasn't meant to be heard but his elvish ears picked up the boy's words just fine.
"There are giant spiders in the forest?" He asked.
"Yeah." Harry said, startled that he had been overheard.
Legolas frowned. He hoped the giant spiders of this world weren't as terrible as the ones that infested Greenwood and darkened his beloved forest's branches. He was about to question them further about the creatures in the forest when the bell rang and his students began to pack up.
The prince kept a wary eye on the blond boy in the back of the class who was glaring resentfully at him. Legolas guessed he wouldn't be receiving much cooperation from him.
Despite the concerning news of spiders Legolas was edging to venture into the Forbidden Forest of Hogwarts. However A new class was already beginning to shuffle in and he braced himself for the new uproar of questions regarding his race. Sure enough the first fifteen minutes of class was dedicated to roughly the same questions as all of Legolas's classes had asked.
"Why does it matter though? I mean what makes elves different from us?" A red haired boy asked.
Legolas turned his head towards the student. He was sitting next to another red haired boy, their features were mirror images of each other. Twins.
It was the first time anyone had asked Legolas that. Most of the students were more concerned with his lack of magic or that fact that he was foreign.
"In many ways we are very much the same, yet in other quite different."
"Well that clears everything up." One twin said.
"Could it be that one of the differences is that elves never give a straight answer whereas humans do Fred?" The other asked in mock contemplation.
"That might be it George!" The first twin exclaimed. Many of the student gave indulgent little chuckles as if their antics were a common classroom occurrence.
Legolas couldn't hide a faint smile. Perhaps it was the mischievous twinkle in their eyes, or the sly smile adoring their lips but the two humans reminded Legolas of some very dear friends.
"You two remind me of another set of twins I know." Legolas said.
"Oh but Legolas! We are unique!" They cried in unison. Another reason for Legolas to like the twins, they didn't have trouble dropping the 'professor'.
"Oh yes no one can pull the pranks we manage." The Silvan elf's eyes widened. Oh yes these two would get along splendidly with Elrond's twins.
"Really? Have you ever completely rearranged an entire library to anger a very orderly librarian who also happens to be the closest advisor to an Elven Lord?" Legolas asked thinking of Erestor's flabbergasted face when he had awoken to find the famous libraries of Imlandris in absolute disarray.
The twins exchanged a look before turning to Legolas.
"Professor we believe you have just provided us with our new term project."
"An elf! Can you believe it?" Ron asked for about the thousandths time.
"And he doesn't know magic." Harry added grabbing a chocolate frog before it could get away from him.
"But he seems like a really good teacher." Hermione said. "Like he said there are lots of ways to defend yourself without magic."
"Did you see the look on Malfoy's face when he found out Legolas wasn't human and didn't know magic?" Ron asked excitedly. Harry smirked.
"Yeah but I bet this professor isn't going to bow to Malfoy's attitude." Harry said gravely.
"I'm personally hoping for Malfoy to offend him somehow. Oh it's going to be brilliant." Ron hoped excitedly. Hermione didn't look particularly happy but opted to look out the window instead of argue with Harry and Ron. She squinted at the Hogwart's ground.
"Is that professor Legolas?" She asked. Harry got up to look. It did indeed seem as though the professor was walking swiftly across the ground towards the Forbidden forest.
"Is he going into the forest? After we told him there are giant spiders in there? He better not be a nutter like Hagrid who thinks monster's with fangs are adorable pets." Ron said incredulously, standing to get a better view. Harry grabbed the omnioculars he had bought last year to peer at the small green figure slowly disappearing into the forest's gloom. Harry noticed a long bow in the elf's hand and two delicately decorated knives on his back along with a quiver of white fletched arrows.
"He has a bow with him." Harry said. "And two white knives."
"A bow and knives?" Ron asked perplexed. "Fat lot of good those will do him if Aragog decides to eat him for lunch.
"Don't say that." Hermione looked distressed.
"Then again he could be totally fine." Ron amended.
Harry turned away from window to rejoin his friends to start on the monstrous mound of homework they had already been assigned pushing the odd elven professor out of his mind.
If Harry had stayed to watch for a moment longer he would have witnessed the trees of the forest quiver and dance without a breeze, eager branches extending to greet the prince of the great Woodland Realm.
