Previously…
i "I'm a teacher. Teacher's aren't supposed to be nice."
"Oh, well, i finally /i one of you admits it! Tell me, is it true that the OWLs and NEWTs were specifically designed by the teachers as revenge on the students?" A mysterious grin was his only answer. "Trust me to befriend one of the more sadistic teachers," Harry muttered to himself. "The DADA position is cursed. Cursed!"
Brethany snorted her amusement. "So I've been told." She sighed regretfully. "Alright, I can't put it off any longer…Harry, would you do me a favor? I need to talk to my brothers, but I want you here as well…as a kind of buffer, you understand? I don't want to start yelling at them again, and I think if you're here, they'll hold back on a lot of their babying me." At his nod, she sighed again. "Let me go fire-call them, then." /i
And Now…
Brethany looked up from her desk as the sixth year Gryffindor-Slytherin class entered the classroom, chatting quietly. The group of teenagers quieted suddenly, and the young woman was gratified to see several students beaming.
"Good morning," she greeted them quietly. "You're a few minutes early, aren't you? It's only eight-fifteen."
"We just wanted to w-welcome you back," Neville Longbottom stuttered out, his face flushed in slight embarrassment. A murmur of agreement arose from the rest of the Gryffindors, and most of the Slytherins signified their own happiness with their expressions of subdued pleasure.
"Thank you," Brethany smiled, highly pleased with her welcome. "I hope I don't change that when I give you the test I had planned for today…" Groans filled the room, but they were good-natured for the most part. "No, I wouldn't do that to you guys on my first day back. I wouldn't do that to i me /i on my first day back," she added jokingly, and several students chuckled obligingly. "Well, we're going to have a special class today, mostly because I feel like getting out of this classroom." The teacher grinned at the instant interest.
"We're going to have a combined DADA and Magical Creatures class. Professor Hagrid has some very interesting creatures that are only for the two upper years to study, so we're going to go down towards the Forbidden Forest, by the thestrals' paddocks."
After much clattering and quiet chattering, the entire class made its way outside, Brethany in the lead. She permitted the mild chaos to continue as they walked down the path towards the forest, grinning to herself at the somewhat-friendly bickering between the two houses.
"We missed your teaching," Harry spoke quietly from behind her, and she turned her head to look at him. The teenager was flushed from having jogged up to her, and his eyes were bright from the coolness of the open air.
"Well, I knew i you /i missed me," the teacher teased him back, "But I was rather pleasantly surprised when the entire class seemed to be so relieved at my return." She cast him a laughing glance. "Were the combined efforts of the Headmaster and Professor Snape not good enough?"
"Between Professor Dumbledore's rather… i happy /i …lessons, and Professor Snape's rather /i grim /i lessons, we were never quite sure what to expect from DADA class," Harry admitted freely, shaking his head slightly in disgust. "Not that the lessons were bad," he hastened to add, "They just weren't all that great, compared to yours. Professor Dumbledore seemed slightly patronizing, and Professor Snape was…Snape."
"How very succinct, Potter," Draco Malfoy drawled, hurrying to catch up with them. "I'm sure my godfather would appreciate such a shoddy description of himself." He watched as the other teenager rolled his eyes, then smirked at Brethany. "Not to say that Potter is incorrect in his description of classes, of course. I have made it known to my father that it would be wise to keep you on staff for as long as you are amenable. It is quite time that we received a decent teacher in the Dark Arts."
"I rather think it's supposed to be 'Defense i Against /i ' Dark Arts, Malfoy," Harry spoke wryly, a small grin on his face.
Brethany finally spoke up. "I wouldn't be too sure of that, Mr. Potter." She grinned at the two boys. "I have been and will be teaching you quite a bit about the Dark Arts, as well as how to defend against them. You can't learn one without the other, after all. I should know, growing up as I did." The teenagers gave her wary looks. "Didn't you know? My father practices the Dark Arts rather frequently in his job, and there have been several times when someone tried to assassinate him in our home. I grew up around the Dark Arts, and picked it up rather quickly. How do you think I got so comfortable with the subject?" She smirked at their surprised expressions. "Ah, here we are."
The class halted in front of the large paddocks, some looking apprehensive, some bored, and others, excited. Rubeus Hagrid, Care of Magical Creatures Professor, Keeper of Keys and the grounds of Hogwarts, smilingly approached the class.
"'Ello, there, everybody!"
"Hello, Professor Hagrid!" several voices spoke up in answer, most especially the Gryffindor trio. "Hello, Hagrid," Brethany nodded, and hit the half-giant on the arm in greeting. "How are they today? Not too skittish, I hope?"
"Naw, Miss Brethany, they're doin' just fine," the big man answered with a grin. "Lookin' for'ard to it, I'm sure they are." His eyes surveyed the class. "A nice bunch o' students ye got there, I must say."
"And they're extremely well-behaved," Brethany cast a warning glance over the class. "There won't be any problems, especially considering that if anyone acts up, they could wind up missing an arm, or other, more important bits." She grinned wickedly at the reactions that remark garnered, causing the other teacher to cough over a chuckle. "Do you mind if I do the introduction, Hagrid?" At his nod, she grinned and gestured the students closer.
"Alright, you lot, do any of you have an idea what this lesson might be about?" Most of the students exchanged blank looks. "Hm. Ok then, let me ask another question: What do you see within these paddocks? Mr. Longbottom?"
"Thestrals, Professor?"
"You say that you can see them, Mr. Longbottom?" At the boy's tense nod, Brethany gave him an encouraging smile. "How many of you are actually able to see them, then?" A handful of hands rose into the air, the majority of them belonging to Slytherins. "Alright, then. Let's see…there's seven of you that can see the thestrals? I want each of you seven to take two of your classmates who i can't /i see them and form a group away from the others. Mr. Malfoy, you take two Gryffindors; Mr. Potter, you take two Slytherins; Mr. Longbottom, you take a Slytherin and a Gryffindor; Miss Zabini, you take…" Brethany continued giving out directions, until the entire class was split into seven groups, each standing several yards from the others.
"Now that's done, we can get to the actual lesson." Brethany approached the paddock gate and leaned against it. "First question: are thestrals classified as Dark Creatures?" Several hands went up in the air. "Miss Patil?"
"Thestrals are classified as Dark Creatures, Professor Lewis."
"Very good, Miss Patil. As of 1876, the Ministry of Magic classified thestrals as Dark Creatures. Now, second question: i are /i thestrals Dark Creatures, as per the definition we managed to work out for ourselves?" Several frowns began to emerge, and even Hagrid was looking intrigued.
"Excuse me, Professor Lewis," a man's voice spoke up from behind the class, "May I ask, what exactly i is /i your definition of Dark Creatures?" Brethany struggled to contain her grin at the sight of her brothers standing there, pleasant expressions on their faces.
"Messrs. Lewis," she nodded in greeting. "How nice of you to join my class today. Perhaps you would like to mingle among the students in order to fully enjoy the experience?" Heads turned toward the two men in curiosity. Ted grinned at her while his twin pretended to examine his fingernails.
"Well, Professor Lewis," the elder twin spoke in a mock-respectful voice, "That would be most enjoyable, but we would not wish to disrupt your class."
Brethany gave them a stern look, and cast aside any pretenses of disinterest. "If you two promise to behave yourselves, and i do not /i provoke the thestrals in any way, you may join us. If you cause any trouble I promise you, I will owl Mom about it. I won't have any of my students injured because of you."
"Ouch," Edward winced aloud. "Alright, Professor, we understand. Besides, what makes you think i we /i would cause trouble?" Brethany raised a doubtful eyebrow. "We'll be good," both twins promised, raising their hands to testify to their truthfulness. "Scout's honor."
Brethany snorted her amusement, then shook her head. "Fine, you can join us. Ok, class, I would like you to meet my older brothers, Theodore and Edward Lewis, who are here at Hogwarts to baby me while I was recuperating, and generally drive me crazy. Please feel free to ignore them, although they can be full of helpful information when they wish to be." The two men grinned and waved in response to the blatant stares. Brethany rolled her eyes. "Ted, if you would go Mr. Longbottom's group; Ed, you go to Mr. Malfoy's group." She watched as the two obeyed, grinning inside at their antics.
"Alright, then, you asked what our definition for Dark Creatures was? Who can answer that question?" Several hands went up. "Miss Granger?"
"A Dark Creature is any magical creature, including wizards and witches, that has an innate affinity towards a particular type of magic known as Dark Magic."
"Thank you, Miss Granger. To clarify that definition, does anyone remember what Dark Magic is? Mr. Malfoy?"
"Dark Magic is the branch of magic that is fuelled primarily by the darker emotions, namely anger, hatred, grief and despair."
"Very good, Mr. Malfoy. Now, back to my original question: i are /i thestrals Dark Creatures?" Once again, blank looks were exchanged. "Perhaps I can help you consider the question by asking further questions. Tell me, what makes thestrals so unusual in the wizarding world?"
"Because only people who have seen death can see thestrals," Dean Thomas offered, his tone showing his discomfort.
"Hm. Another question, then: is it necessary to have seen death itself, or simply to have seen someone die? For that matter, need it have been a human being that died, or will another creature do?" Several people exchanged confused looks. "Let me clarify that. If a young child, say around five years old, was visiting his elderly and ailing grandfather, and said grandfather died in front of him, would that child then be able to see thestrals? Or would that child need to grow older, to a point where he understood what death was, and then 'see death' in order to be able to see thestrals? Is the seeing of death a conscious act of acknowledging a death for what it is, or is it simply the act of watching?" Discussions immediately began to crop up within the groups, and Brethany grinned to herself. This was what she enjoyed most about teaching, when the teenagers actually i thought /i about these things, and even argued among themselves on their separate views.
Several answers were bandied about, but one was finally settled on. "Ok, so we're saying that it is necessary for a person to consciously acknowledge as well as visually sense a death. Now, since we've settled that, would it have to be another human being's death, or would any 'person' be acceptable? Suppose you watched a centaur die in front of you? Would that count as having 'seen death'? What about your familiar? If you watched your familiar die, would the same apply to that?" Once again, discussions rose.
"I'll help you with that one," Brethany finally spoke up. "I know that you could argue over that question for years before figuring out the truth. As it is, I have some facts that will answer the question. In 1923, a Dark Wizard wished to find the answer to this very question, so he kidnapped several magical children in order to conduct experiments, recording the results rather thoroughly. Using trial and error, he found that the children were only able to see thestrals if the creature they saw killed had either had the capability of speech, or had been in the capacity of a familiar. In other words, the children had to have some emotional link to the creature being killed, or they did not acknowledge the death." Once again, she grinned at their blank faces.
"Ok, let's try this: when you kill a bug, such as a mosquito, do you acknowledge that it has died, or do you simply acknowledge that it is gone?" Light began to dawn on them. "You know that your beef at supper used to be an animal, but do you even think about the fact that it died in order to come to your plate?" Heads began to nod in understanding. "Unless there is some sort of emotional correlation between yourself and the creature, you don't truly consciously acknowledge the death, do you? So, in the end, 'seeing death' is almost entirely emotional, isn't it?" There were murmurs of agreement. "So, another question: what does this observation have to do with whether or not thestrals are Dark Creatures?"
"If the thestrals' power of invisibility relies on the viewer's emotions, then that would directly correlate with the emotion that designates magic either Dark or Light," Brethany's older brother Ted spoke up, an expression of vast interest on his face.
"Most emotions connected with having 'seen death' would be darker rather than light, so thestrals must use Dark Magic in connection with their invisibility," Blaise Zabini spoke up, her dark eyes filled with sudden understanding.
"How many of you would agree with that conclusion?" Brethany asked the rest of the group. All but a few raised their hands or nodded. "Which of you would raise objections?" She nodded toward Harry. "Yes, Mr. Potter?"
"I agree that there is some correlation between a thestral's invisibility and the viewer's emotions," the teenager spoke quietly, "But I don't agree that the thestrals rely on Dark Magic." Several faces screwed up in confusion, and the teenage boy hastened to explain. "Well, if a person with the darker emotions that come from seeing death can also see the thestrals, the thestral's magic must not be working on him. So, dark emotions, and thus Dark Magic, must negate the thestral's magic. If thestrals used Dark Magic to fuel their invisibility, then the darker emotions from seeing death would fuel the invisibility, rather than rendering it null." Brethany noted how Hermione Granger stared at her friend in amazement. "It's only logical," Harry concluded, shrugging in embarrassment.
"So, thestrals i don't /i use Dark Magic?" one of the pureblooded students spoke up.
"I would say that thestrals are Light Creatures," Harry shrugged again. "If only darker emotions cause their magic to fail, then they must use Light Magic to fuel their invisibility."
"How many of you believe thestrals to be Light Creatures now," Brethany spoke up, scanning her students. Most of the group raised their hands, though some looked confused. "How many of you are not certain, and would like to research the topic more thoroughly?" The rest of the students raised their hands. "How many of you would like to personally meet these creatures?" All the hands went down, and Brethany laughed. "Oh, come on, now! They won't hurt you unless they are provoked. Several students here have actually ridden on them and weren't even nipped, from what I understand." The Gryffindors referred to exchanged small smiles. "Well, you will all be expected to write a report on thestrals, so I suggest you pay attention and learn everything about them that you can, even if by feeling what you cannot see." She grinned over at the other professor. "I will now hand this class over to Professor Hagrid."
As the half-giant began to teach about the physical characteristics and abilities of the creatures, Brethany beckoned her brothers to join her by the paddock. "Well, that was interesting," Ed spoke quietly, grinning at his sister.
"It was," Ted agreed, his eyes gleaming. "You're an excellent teacher, Brethany, better than I expected." He dodged a half-hearted punch. "That was meant as a compliment, sis. You made it very interesting, and you got most of the students involved in the discussion. Not to mention, you made them actually think for themselves, and that's not easy to do with this age group. They're a good bunch of kids." Their younger sister looked pleased, both from the compliments, and for her students.
"It took some doing to get them to work together, but I've succeeded for the most part." She looked over at the group of students. "It's taken a mixture of bullying, cajoling and humor, but they've come around quite a bit. It helps that they've got some of the most brilliant students in the school in their class. Most of the rest of the students are a bit stupid." Brethany instantly looked chagrined. "I shouldn't say that. They're no stupider than the average person, but it's hard to deal with in bulk. Homeschooling sheltered us from that, I think." Her brothers looked amused.
"It's time to let the thestrals out, Breth- I mean, Professor Lewis," Harry's voice came from behind them. "Hagrid said I could lead a thestral to each group," he explained at her confused expression.
"Oh, ok," she nodded, then unlatched the gate. "You want any help, or do you have them?"
"I've got it," the teenage boy nodded his thanks, proceeding to approach the skittish thestrals.
"He's quite a kid," Ted observed quietly. Brethany sighed. "What was the sigh for?"
"That kid is sixteen years old, Ted, and he's already seen two people murdered right in front of him. His life has been in nearly constant danger since he was eleven, and he's had no one to really rely on but himself." She watched the teenager sooth a nervous thestral. "You know, I can see the thestrals because of that assassin who came after Dad. I 'saw death' when I was thirteen years old, when the guy had his own spell ricochet back at him. I had nightmares for a couple weeks, and that was it. Harry sees them because he watched a schoolmate murdered by someone who barely even noticed casting the Killing Curse." The twins winced. "He really i is /i a great kid. He's so much like me, in fact, that it's scary."
Her brothers exchanged grins. "We'd noticed," they spoke together, glimmers of mischief in their eyes.
Word Count: 2988