See chapter 1 for disclaimers/warnings/summaries.
PREVIOUSLY:
Harry's first day at Hogwarts has him hiding the fact that he does not have any magic. No one has noticed yet and the new DADA professor is about to make their appearance.
There was nothing much to see at first, just a gaggle of trunks, parcels and long poster-sized parchments that entered the room, completely hiding the figure bearing them.
The professor in question appeared several seconds later—when he set the items preceding him on the ground. He was a young man of fair build, his hair some indefinite shade of black and brown, settling out with snips of both colors speckled throughout with sea-blue-grey eyes and hands that were very small and very thin. He was dressed as a muggle, in black trousers and a blue hoodie-styled sweatshirt, with his teaching robes thrown over the crook of one arm and he looked quite definitely flustered.
"Ah, er." He gingerly set down the armful, turned and closed the door and muttered something at it, before he turned 'round and began to gather up the parcels. Several of them leapt back out of his arm and danced on the floor. He glowered at them. They stopped dancing and stacked themselves up and stood still. He scowled, then ignored them and turned his attention to the attentive class. "Er, my apologies." He said, politely. "I did not expect to be delayed and something came up. Just a moment." He left the stack by the door and carried his armful to the little door at the top where the little door let to the personal quarters. He disappeared inside and shut the door firmly behind him.
A moment later the classroom door slammed shut of its own accord, hiding the remaining parcels from view.
Whispers started up the at once.
"Did you see him?" Lavender Brown squealed. "He looks positively dreamy!"
"Those eyes." Another girl gushed. "Oh I hope he can teach us everything about defense and-ow!" Someone poked her. Several heated whispers started up in their corner of the room.
Pansy Parkinson gave a regal sniff from the other side of the room, but she didn't make a single disparaging comment to the other girl as she usually would. Her eyes, however, remained fixed on the recently locked door. A ripple of murmurs passed through the Slytherins and Harry followed Pansy's gaze to Draco, where the blond had finally moved, sitting straight up with his eyes locked on the recently closed door.
He realized that all the Slytherins were now sitting straight up and more relaxed than they'd been several seconds before. Daphne now sat with her ankles neatly crossed and a flicker of interest in her rich, blue-black eyes. Even Millicent had stopped copying her fellow female Slytherins and adopted a more formal pose as well, though her lips quirked to the side as if there were something slightly off that she didn't quite agree with.
Harry tucked that detail away for later use as he processed the rest of the new professor's entrance. A wave of warmth had filled the room as the new professor had walked past. In fact, Harry'd been close enough to almost touch him and it was if the man had been a walking fireplace! Harry swallowed. He could still feel the tingling of warmth all the way down to his toes. It felt good, very pleasant and rather satisfying, seeing as he'd been almost shivering just moments before. He tucked that detail, and a few more, away for later. Today was certainly proving itself to be a day of surprises and strangeness.
Or perhaps he'd simply never bothered to pay much attention to it before, Harry mused.
"Temptrificus Portgas!" A strong voice rang out.
He twitched, the closest his body allowed to an actual startled movement. It was almost as if it were ingrained into him to draw as little attention to himself as possible.
The students flinched as a whole and then nearly everyone leaned forward in their seats and stared.
Atop the desk, a glowing blue ring had formed and turned to a solid blue circle from which, the head and shoulders emerged of their new DADA professor. The rest of said professor immediately followed, this time, clad in his teaching robes and decidedly more wizard attire than the previous trousers and hoodie. He stood atop the desk for a moment, fixing his cuff sleeves and then raised his eyes to survey the room as if he'd just realized his students were there.
"Hello." He said, simply. "My name is Terius. I expect you to use it, if you have any questions. I prefer the title of Teacher, over Professor, but that is a personal preference and I will answer to both for now. I am your new teacher for Defense Against the Dark Arts. I shall try my utmost best to teach you something new and useful for a future point in your lives."
Terius folded his arms neatly across his chest. "This classroom setting will be distinctly different than that of your other classes. I expect you to show up on time and with all your materials, or you can spend the class period outside in the corridor." The blue-grey eyes narrowed. "Teaching is a part-time profession for me and if I am taking time out of my busy schedule to teach you, I expect you to show up on time. You will be responsible for any missed work or class teachings, if you miss a class, I expect to see you as soon as you are able. You will only be excused under extreme circumstances and by extreme, I do mean extreme with the accompaniment of a note for your resident healer." He frowned. "Or Medi-witch, whichever term is more familiar to you."
He bent to a crouch and uncrossing his arms, effortlessly swung himself from the desk to stand in front of it. "Firstly, what is taught in this classroom, remains in this classroom. There are some spells, experiments and subjects we will be covering that is not fully sanctioned by our dear Minister of Magic, however, in light of our current status at the reality of a possible wizarding war, I have been granted allowance to teach you wall what I see fit, in preparation for the future. You will not be practicing any of the spells learned here anywhere else, but in this classroom. If they are cast anywhere else for anything other than to save your very life, I will know and you do not want to know what I shall do about it."
A few students squirmed and several of them looked as if they were about to speak, when Terius lifted a hand. "In addition to the Minster of Magic, I also have Headmaster Dumbledore's explicit permission for what will be taught here. This is a significant responsibility that is being placed upon your shoulders, however, you are capable young adults and I expect you to show a modicum of common sense and sound logic in regards to this knowledge. You are your own person, so I expect to see intelligent questions and interactions, not what you think I expect of you. It has been made clear that your past professors of this subject may have been less than satisfactory, so I will be attempting to remedy this in my own way. Now, secondly, there will be practical exercises and demonstrations as mentioned earlier. You will all participate. You will only be excused if you have a signed permission slip from your parents, legal guardians and…"
The rest of the class went on and Harry found himself wishing he could disappear into the floor.
There was something about that man that made him feel as if he were looking straight through him. Harry didn't like it at all. It almost reminded him of Ginny's troublingly piercing gaze. He began to wish he'd taken a seat somewhere in the back—never mind that it might have others talking about it. His scar didn't hurt from the intense stares though, and Harry was thankful for that, hoping that perhaps for once, the new professor didn't have anything to do with old Voldy-shorts. It would be a most welcome relief.
It was exhausting to worry about his death every time he set foot in a classroom where he should've been taught ways to save himself. Terius' introduction had served to worry rather than reassure him, particularly with his mention of permissions from both Dumbledore and the Minster of Magic. Harry didn't want to know why exactly the man would need permissions.
Something told him didn't quite want to know why, just yet.
Thankfully though, Harry could tell within minutes, that he'd be able to get away without using magic, for at least the first few weeks as Professor Terius outlined his curriculum. He certainly did have a very different style of teaching and Harry hoped that was a good thing and not a bad one.
The classroom door banged open for the second time that period and this time, a decidedly different figure stood there. A young woman with very thick, curled hair sliced in a bob, angled sharply at her chin, her arms filled with the parcels Terius had left outside the door. A very obvious pout was on her face, enhanced by a very bright and very vivid outline of red lipstick. The contrast of black hair and red lipstick was blended by a lovely tanned complexion and soft brown eyes. She wore an odd costume of a sheath-like dress with leggings and a belt at the waist. Her shiny black boots reached up to her knees and there was a small bejeweled dagger hung on her belt.
Terius paused in mid-sentence and they shared a look.
She finally threw up her hands, the packages floating in front of her. "So fine, I got lost!" Her accent was thick and musical. "What was all of that babbling on you had to say about how a goat could pass through a gate of Eret's wisdom?" She gave a loud, unladylike snort. "The next time you have some brilliant idea-!" The rest of the sentence ended in another language. "¡Usted hombre estúpido tonto!*" She spat at him, stalking forward and around the taller man before stomping up the stairs, the packages floating merrily after her.
"¿Le jugaré al idiota a por favor?*" He called after her.
"¡estúpido!" She snapped back. "¡Le odio lamento que usted no estuviera muerto!*"
"I do not die that easily, Calida." He rubbed his forehead. "Shall I take it you do not care to be introduced today?"
A muffled scream was his answer.
The professor calmly turned back to the class. "That charming young lady happens to be my assistant." He smiled, but it did not reach his eyes. "Her name is Calida, you will treat her with the utmost respect." His gaze rested meaningfully on Draco Malfoy. "Am I understood?"
Murmurs of agreement came from the students and his smile upped a few watts. "Good! Now, in the future, she will be helping me with some of our more complicated in class exercises and demonstrations. She has quite a bit of practice with several different types of magic and if you should ever need help with something at a time when I am otherwise indisposed, you may take it up with her." He paused. "Now, for the rest of today…"
Harry tuned out after that. He managed to piece together that Calida had spoken Spanish and that whatever was going on between her and Terius was something that he should've been able to place. It bothered him, registering as a mental itch that he could not quite scratch. It didn't escape his notice that neither of the newcomers had introduced themselves with a last name.
The class time dragged on. Harry scribbled a few notes on his parchment and tried to pay attention, but his stomach was now making its displeasure known and he could literally feel his body threatening to shut down on him. That was definitely not good. He pinched his arms and then his thighs, trying use the small sparks of pain to keep himself awake. He was getting really, really tired.
One surefire way to give this entire act away on the first day was definitely to faint in the middle of what should've been his favorite class.
Harry gritted his teeth. He willed the Professor to hurry up and stop talking already. He just wanted out and he wanted lunch!
And a nap.
Yes, a nap would have to fit in there somewhere.
Several long, agonizing minutes later, Professor Terius glanced at the clock on the far wall, muttered something and then turned his back to the class. "You are dismissed early today, because I have a great deal of things to attend to. Read chapters one and two in your textbook and be ready to answer any questions. Dismissed."
The classroom began to clear.
"All except for Mr. Malfoy, Mr. Zabini, Mr. Nott, Mr. Henry, Mr. Potter, Miss Patil, Miss Greengrass, Miss Bulstrode and Miss Dawn. A word, if you would?"
Hermione hovered in the doorway, as Ron took up residence beside him. They both shot worried looks at Harry and he could only shrug in response. He didn't have to be a genius to know that being singled out on the first day of class was a bad thing—not to mention the names that had been called with him. With the exception of Ryan Henry, Jennifer Dawn and Parvati the rest were all Slytherins.
"That does not include you, Miss Granger, Mr. Weasley." There was a bored note in the professor's voice as he began to tap out the chalkboard eraser without getting dust on his dark teaching robes.
Ron's eyebrows arched clear up into his hairline and he dragged Hermione out with him, along with a pantomimed apology to Harry.
The boys in question slowed their movements and reluctantly made their way up to the professor's desk. He continued his decidedly unmagical method of erasing the giant chalkboard and turned them after the room had emptied. His piercing gaze swept quickly over the group and then he frowned as if what he saw didn't agree with what he was about to say. "Mr. Potter, you may leave." He made a dismissive wave with one hand and his gaze flickered next to Mr. Henry.
Harry didn't wait to figure out why. He left as fast as his legs could carry him and burst through the classroom door, smacking right into a solid body.
"Whoa, where's the fire?" Angelina Johnson caught him lightly around the shoulders as he came barreling through the classroom doors. She threw a curious look over Harry's shoulder into the near empty classroom. "That bad?" She looked to Harry. "Harry? Hey, are you alright? You look a little green around the-"
"I'm going to lie down until the next class period." Harry interrupted. He could feel the words tumbling out before he could double check them. He hoped he sounded normal. "Tell Ron or Hermione I'm fine, if they ask."
Angelina blinked. She was more likely to tell Fred or George, seeing as they were in the same year, but she didn't say that aloud. Instead, the tall girl cheerfully slapped a hand over Harry's forehead. "Are you alright? Dizzy? Fever? A little too much sugar or something? You can't just get sick on me, this is barely the first day and we've got to have-"
"I'm fine. Really." Harry flashed a smile and jerked away from the hands as quick as he could. The very touch of them made his head spin—in a bad way—and it was almost as if his Dragel side was screaming at him to get as far as way as possible. Harry didn't have the energy to puzzle out why. He could feel his stomach threatening to rebel and knew he needed to get out the hallways and somewhere safe as fast as he could. "I just need to lie down. It's a headache. A little one. I didn't get to sleep much last night. 'Scuse me." And Harry bolted.
Harry felt the familiar prickles of unease dancing just out of reach through his exhausted body. He could feel the older girl's eyes on him, even as he rounded the corner of the hallway and hurried on to Gryffindor Tower. He didn't like them. It was as if the eyes were trying to see deeper than the surface, to find out what was going on with him.
It should have bothered him.
But as his stomach began to rebel, Harry, for once, absolutely didn't care.
He spent the next several minutes heaving over a toilet in the boy's lavatories.
There was precious little to come up, but his stomach wasn't happy until it had tried its best.
Exhausted, Harry sank down on the floor of the bathroom stall and worked to pull himself together. He was feeling so incredibly tired, he couldn't think straight. The moment he was able, he headed for Gryffindor tower. Lunch could wait—indefinitely.
Harry skipped lunch. His formerly protesting stomach had no questions about that the moment he considered sleep over food. It was as if his body immediately agreed and began shutting down just as it had threatened to in DADA.
No further thought was needed, Harry just flopped onto his bed and moaned for Dobby with the last tendrils of his consciousness clinging to him. "Wake me up before the next class." He instructed, wearily, when the house elf seemed about to launch into a barely contained panic attack. "I gotta sleep, Dobby." Was all he managed to get out before his eyes rolled up in the back of his head and Harry Potter had gone to the land of nod.
*Translations for Calida and Terius' argument (translations are not literal):
"¡Usted hombre estúpido tonto!" = You stupid foolish man!
"¿Le jugaré al idiota a por favor?" = Shall I play the idiot to please you?
"¡estúpido!" "¡Le odio lamento que usted no estuviera muerto!" Stupid. I hate you. I wish you were dead!
A/N: Thank you all for the kind reviews and suggestions! Since most of the questions asked are going to be answered in the next few chapters, I'll just ask for y'all to hold on a bit, alright? This fic is to focus on Harry and his personal growth. I am using abuse from the Dursley's as a plot point and tweaking it to fit what I want in this fic. (Hence the AU). Harry will have to work past this. He's had years of experience at sneaking and keeping his secrets hidden-if he really didn't want anyone to know anything, he'd find a way to make it happen.
NOTE: Parvati is in Gryffindor and Padma is in Ravenclaw, like the books-NOT the movies! and Calida cannot be included in the votes.
sirnikolas: Thank you very much! I'm glad you're enjoying the story. Ron, Ginny and Hermione are all going to play a different part in this fic. I'll be getting to them soon. The early mentions of them now is so I don't have to do a ton of backstory later on. I'm glad you liked the Parvati twist. I was hoping it worked out well.
ghostwriter84: The Slytherins seem to know something that everyone else doesn't...hmmm. You'll see soon. :) No worries-there won't be any Hermione or Ginny with Harry in this fic. There's plenty of that out there. I want this fic to have a different twist. Megan is definitely one of his Dragel Mates though.
kyzhart: Yes, Harry is the Sub in this fic as well. :D I'm glad you liked my version of Parvati. I can't wait to write some more of her. (and glad you're enjoying both versions.) ^_^
darkrusnik05: Glad you like it. I'll almost always update on the weekend, even if I don't update during the week. :)
smoss: You're right! Someone should notice-but Harry has been able to slip by with things like his treatment of the Dursley's and he didn't really "not" transfigure the washcloth-he made it jump around, or so it seemed. It could just be an off day, so there's no reason for anyone to really suspect anything, at this moment, Harry is the only one who knows that he doesn't have any magic.
kitsune shifter : Glad you're enjoying it. Don't worry-there's plenty of secrets revealed in upcoming chapters. It just takes a while to rewrite.
nightwolfsilver: Votes received! :)
Green Oblivion : Your English is quite fine! I've actually started the fic out rather slow on purpose. Since this is a rewrite of the original story for a diff. audience, I've had to tweak a few things. One of them was a way to set up the backstory without having an info dump later on in the fic. So, I've started it slow, with the intent of things picking up in future chapters. Thank you for the suggestion though-the next chapters should have plenty of things happening. I'm more focused on the people and their personal growth/relationships in this fic, so there will be some slow moments, but I hope to make the entire read worthwhile. ^_^ Thanks for reading! (and votes received!)
AlexTheGoth: *hands calming draught* There, there, now just calm down and everything will be alright. XD Did you mean Tonk's metamorphagus abilities? I'm glad I am making things interesting. I hope to give many of the characters some different facets so when the actual mates are all chosen, etc, it fits them and Harry. I intend to have a good mix of old/young though, simply because it would make sense. (and the votes currently reflect that). Hope this chapter was good!
Luna -12
Daphne -10
Parvati -7
Padma -6
Bellatrix -8
Narcissa -7
Gabriella -1
Susan B. -9
Hannah A. -2
Vampire "Ebony"-5
Jennifer Dawn -3
Pansy P. -3
Millicent B. -4
N. Tonks-9
Katie -2
Angelina -1
Alicia -1