Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter in any way shape or form. I do not claim to own him or anything else that may in fact be the thought of the lovely writer Jo Rowling is, please don't sue me. I do however own all original characters in whole or in part that appear in this story. This story is not HBP compliant, though quite a few things are taken from that book; again I own nothing except for the plot and original characters. Thank you for reading! –Gypsy Jade
Summary: Not fully HBP compliant. Harry starts having strange dreams and they all end the same, with unearthly silver eyes haunting him. Something is going on and for the first time in the last 10 years if not the history of Hogwarts two new teachers grace Hogwarts.
Chapter 6
Defense against the Dark Arts
"Settle down class. Welcome to Defense against the Dark Arts. I figure there is really no point in giving you an entirely too long speech about this class since there is a good chance you've heard it all in the past 5 years of 5 different professors. So I will start with something a bit more practical, your assignment for next class." Harry was with the majority of the class in groaning as Professor VanHouten stated her unwelcome announcement. The woman in question only laughed and waved her hand in a dismissive manner at their complaints.
"Oh hush now you haven't even heard what I have to say. Now I want each of you to write me two lists, which in turn means two pieces of parchment please. One with the things you have learned in the past 5 years, related to defense. If you learned it in this class specifically I would like you to mark it down along with which year and teacher. The other list is what you think you should learn this year. I won't set a minimum but I will say that two things does not constitute as a list, I will set a maximum though, because this is for a grade and I don't fancy staying up until the ungodly hours of 3 in the morning grading these lists, please no list longer than two feet." Harry couldn't help but stifle a laugh as Professor VanHouten pointedly looked at Hermione, the look he noted was rather affectionate and he wondered if Hermione reminded the Professor of herself.
"Now have you all written that down? Good, put away your books, parchment, quills and wands please" with that instruction Professor VanHouten leaned against her desk, watching as everyone in the room looked around quizzically at each other hesitantly moving to do as she said.
"Now I would assume that you know at least one thing about each other, but that would prove to be optimistic to the point of foolishness. So we are going to go around the room, and you're going to state your name for me, and give me two things about yourself. Whatever you want, if your favorite Quidditch team is the Chuddley Cannons, fine. If you want to become a Healer, great, just two things about you that maybe everyone knows or most people wouldn't guess" She pushed back her hair, and Harry noted how the white blonde streaks made her hair stand out more, he also noted she had pushed up her sunglasses, and once again he was affronted with those silver eyes.
"Mr. Longbottom would you mind starting" Neville paled slightly but stood up and looking around decided it was better to go first.
"I'm Neville Longbottom, and my Gran took me along with her this summer to visit her witch friend in Paris. And now I'm learning French" Harry watched as Professor VanHouten's eyes lit up and she stood up from leaning on her desk.
"Parlez-vous français? J'ai appris le français en tant que petite fille, si vous avez besoin jamais de mon aide je serai davantage que voulant." Neville beamed at the woman as he processed what she had said.
"Je suis étude juste, mais j'apprécie votre professeur d'aide, merci." Seemingly very pleased with himself he sat down again. And so they went along the class, once the left side of the room had gone, Professor VanHouten started the right side of the room with Draco Malfoy.
"Draco if you would" Harry noted that Professor VanHouten was already on first name basis with Draco and suddenly he felt his dislike of the youngest Malfoy increase.
"I'm Draco Malfoy; people call me the Prince of Slytherin because I am…" Harry gritted his teeth and clenched his hands at Draco's pretentious tone and attitude; at least that's what he told himself.
"And most people are wrong when they think I want to follow my father's footsteps, I'm going to apply to be a Potions Master" the room fell deathly silent, the only one who looked unfretted by this revelation was Professor VanHouten who calmly called for the next person to go.
"Mr. Zabini, if you please." The curly haired Slytherin carried on as if what Draco had said was the weather.
"I'm Blaise Zabini, my parents are Italian and I speak fluent Italian and I'm going to give Drake a run for his money at the Potions position" his tone was playful but his look determined, again Harry saw a glint in Professor VanHouten's eyes as she regarded the Slytherin.
"Parlo italiano pure! Quanto bello, Spero che possiamo conversare più successivamente più ulteriormente." Harry shuddered as the words rolled off her lips, and he wondered if he was the only one being affected.
"Ms. Bullstrode if you please" here the class took a slightly different tone. Millicent Bullstrode was quite the imposing looking Slytherin girl. She was tall and rather chubby but not plain enough to be called ugly per say. She was known to be one of the girls that "protected" Pansy Parkinson; she was a living embodiment of what it meant to be a Slytherin.
"I'm Millicent Bullstrode and I think Draco is going soft under that Mudblood loving Headmaster we have." The room went from deadly silent to the screeching of chairs and shouts as wands were pulled out.
"ENOUGH! Wands! Sit down all of you" Professor VanHouten had gone from a very approachable but slightly intimidating woman to an increasingly intimidating woman. The class collectively fell quiet as every wand pulled out appeared in her hand, the total was 5; Harry, Ron, Neville, Draco and Blaise, with a resounding slap on her desk the wands were left behind as she came closer to the commotion.
"Ms. Bullstrode, while you are entitled to your opinion, I will discourage you from using such language in my classroom, 30 points from Slytherin for disrespectful use of language and 2 weeks detention with Professor Hagrid." The amount of cold and magic buildup that was literally humming around her made even the normally stoic Blaise Zabini pull away, Millicent Bullstrode stood agape. Professor VanHouten merely pointed to her seat and Millicent sat still in shock.
"10 points from Gryffindor and Slytherin for pulling out your wands after I had specifically instructed the class to put them away, I don't want to hear your excuses Draco…you will each stay after class to retrieve your wands" She shot a sharp look at the younger Malfoy just as he opened his mouth to protest.
"Ms. Granger if you please" Harry noted that as Professor VanHouten pushed her hair back, the white streaks had turned slightly red, and he wondered if she were not a metamorphagous like Tonks.
"My name is Hermione Granger, my parents are dentists and I think the blatant prejudice against blood at this school, and elsewhere in the Wizarding world is nothing but bullocks" Harry turned to look at Hermione, he had never heard her use such language especially in the presence of a teacher. Professor VanHouten on the other hand, looked very much amused at Hermione's choice of words.
"While I readily agree with you Ms. Granger, 5 points from Gryffindor for crude language" Harry watched transfixed as she allowed a smile to grace her lips and called for Ron to speak next.
"I'm Ron Weasley, I'm the youngest boy in my family and I've never seen a better witch than Hermione, muggle born or not" Harry noted the amused look on Professor VanHouten's face as his best friend turned as red as his hair if not redder.
"Very well, Mr. Potter if you please" Harry swallowed as he felt his mouth run dry when Professor VanHouten called on him.
"I'm Harry Potter, I hate being The-Boy-Who-Lived, and frankly I don't believe your human Professor." There was a tense moment before she laughed but Harry didn't blink.
"Despite what many people say about you Mr. Potter, while you are your father's son, you have your mother's wit. 40 points to Gryffindor and Draco you owe me a bottle of wine." Professor VanHouten pushed her hair back once again and walked along the aisles.
"You are correct in your conclusion Mr. Potter. I am not what wizarding kind would classify as human. Do you have any idea what I may be?" She stopped next to his table and looked at him calmly, her face was stoic. He had seen that look before, in Fleur.
"You're part Veela aren't you?" the tone of his own voice startled Harry, but he wasn't sure he could help it at this point. A perfectly groomed eyebrow arched at him, and he was awarded a smirk.
"Are you asking or telling me Mr. Potter?" Harry watched slightly transfixed as Professor VanHouten drummed her fingers on his desk, it sent shivers up his spine he couldn't or wouldn't quite place.
"You are part Veela." For that moment that he looked up, and Harry's emerald green eyes met Professor VanHouten's silver eyes, the rest of the class melted away, all his dreams came rushing back, fuller, clearer and there was no mistaking she was the same woman.
"You're right, I'm for all intended purposes, half Veela. And from now, until the Winter break, it is this class's job to figure out what the other half is. And seeing as Draco already knows, no one is allowed to ask him for the answer, he may however help by pointing any of you in the right direction to look. When you think you know, schedule an appointment with me and we shall discuss it. Until then, I think you need some basic information about me" Professor VanHouten walked back towards her desk and sat on it facing them.
"My name is Yamele Rose VanHouten, I turn 20 on Halloween. My family is from Romania, and if you ever hear about the VanHouten estate that would be my home. I have a Papillon dog named Jasper, and this is my familiar Casper, who if you hadn't noticed has a habit of wandering around my classroom." The last of her statement was
said as she bent down to pick up a calico cat who immediately starting purring, Harry wondered what it would be like to be that cat.
"Yes Ms. Granger?" Harry turned to see Hermione's hand raised and the girl start speaking.
"Professor if you are part Veela, then why…" here Hermione's speech faltered and Harry noticed she looked rather uncomfortable asking her question. That was very rare, Hermione had a deep thirst to understand the world around her, it was what Harry realized drove her to seek knowledge in books. He had never seen her not be able to word her questions.
"Then why isn't the male part of this class affected?" Harry looked around, as Professor VanHouten said this and noticed that what she said was true. In his experience with Veelas, half and full, the surrounding males had always been affected, but except to look some what more comfortable than most class periods there was no change.
"Draco would you care to explain, since you are just bursting with anticipation at the prospect?" Harry watched the younger Malfoy make a face at their Professor who was clearly being sarcastic and couldn't help but wonder why it was he had such liberties.
"Well Granger, even I thought you'd understand this. It could simply be a matter of Professor VanHouten not being a full Veela, we, well you, don't know exactly what percentage of her actually channels her Veela nature. Or it could be even simpler, she is holding back her…charms as to not affect us, I'm sure you wouldn't be keen on seeing all the blokes in this class throwing themselves on her would you?" Harry wondered if to be a Malfoy you had to take private git classes.
"Draco…you've just earned yourself an after dinner detention with me. Yes Ms. Granger?" Harry watched amused as Malfoy's face fell.
"Professor, is that possible? I've never heard of Veelas holding back their charms. And I've had a few encounters with them." Here for the first time since the class began, Professor VanHouten's face contorted in bewilderment.
"Let me guess, you've had encounters with one Delacour family? They are not known to practice much control on their charms, and in result their charms affect all who are near them though they are quite good at focusing their charms when they wish to do so." Here she stopped for a moment as Casper jumped out of her hands and over to Malfoy's lap.
"It can also depend on the amount of pure Veela blood, and the type of Veela. Here's the first thing you truly learn in this classroom, well really the second, the first was that nothing is ever as it seems, but there are in fact male Veela. The genetic makeup is equally dominant in male and female Veela, meaning that it only makes a difference if there is more than one Veela in your family. For instance, my mother was a pure Veela, her parents were both Veela as well as her grandparents, the dominant trait that runs through me is equally male and female. In the Delacour family, the Veelas have always married in, and were female. The youngest Delacour girl, Gabrielle if I'm not mistaken, shows the most practice at controlling her charm, I know because I taught her to do it. One of the things we will encounter this year is how nearly impossible it is to categorize these type of creatures as the Ministry insists on doing." Before he really knew what he was doing Harry raised his hand, the look on Professor VanHouten's face showed he wasn't the only one surprised by his actions.
"Yes Mr. Potter?" He had the entire class' attention he might as well ask.
"You don't consider yourself a magical creature then? Would you classify yourself as human?" Professor VanHouten blinked but awarded him with a slight smile as she walked closer to the class and his table.
"What would separate me from being human? The justification the Ministry uses, is my heritage, and the incomplete information upon it. They assume my lifespan is different than theirs, because they can not understand it. They do not wish to have basic things in common with me, or those like me. But tell me Mr. Potter when you bleed, does it not look just like this?" With her words Professor VanHouten had unsheathed the dagger that hung at her side and cut across her left arm, allowing a trickle of crimson blood to appear.
"It does…" Harry was transfixed on the sight of crimson on such porcelain skin and found that he couldn't or wouldn't look away.
"Then am I much different from you, simply because my parents were not wizards, or muggles?" It was a rhetorical question they knew, but as he looked up into her silver eyes he wondered if it didn't have an answer.
"I admit, my heritage makes me different than most of you. But it does not stop me from living a very similar life." There was warmth in those mercury eyes, Harry knew, he felt it, but it did not stop him from wondering if it were for him at all. She bandaged her arm slowly and turned away back towards the front of the class.
"I think now would be a good time for a demonstration. Yes, in fact I do believe the Grey Lady is here. Thank you so much for agreeing to help me today. Do I have any other volunteers?" Few hands went up, and Harry could have bet his Firebolt he saw Professor VanHouten roll her eyes.
"Ms. Granger, Mr. Zabini, Ms. Parkinson, Draco…, and Mr. Thomas, if you would all be so kind as to come up front" Harry watched as the students called walked to the front of the class and stood out in a row around the Grey Lady, who greeted them each kindly. Professor VanHouten with her left arm bandaged rather neatly explained that she was going to ask them to read a paragraph and they would earn points the longer they resisted her distractions. Harry had a very good idea that she meant to use her charms on them. Harry was pleased to find he was right, so far, Hermione, the Grey Lady, and Pansy had been the least affected; well they in the least had not acted as foolishly as Dean had.
Blaise was now up, and so far except for looking up every few words to look at Professor VanHouten he was his normally collected self, that is until the Professor started to walk further away. Blaise started to follow, and soon he was making rather odd declarations in Italian that were lost on the rest of the class. Harry couldn't help but think he was far too forward.
"Mr. Zabini, why are you following me?" Professor VanHouten looked at him quizzically as she brought her charm under control. The dark haired Slytherin looked slightly disoriented before starting to laugh.
"I dare say you are the first woman to ever make a Zabini chase her Professor VanHouten, my father will get a right laugh out of this story." Now the only one that remained was Draco Malfoy.
"Do I really have to do this; you and I both know it won't work." Draco looked very bored at the entire prospect. Flipping her hair out of her face Professor VanHouten came closer to him, rubbing his shoulders and almost purring at him.
"You used to like this game when you were younger Draco, will it really be such a bother to play once again?" Harry did not like this whole prospect. It made him hot and he couldn't help but squirm in his seat, it was too intimate to see, and frankly he wanted to blast off that damnable smirk on Malfoy's face. It was as if he knew, Harry was uncomfortable and was teasing him.
"Any man in his right mind would enjoy this game, right Potter?" Harry glared at him as the class turned to look at him.
"Draco…" the cold in her voice made the youngest Malfoy shiver and squirm near her. Now he wasn't so cocky, he had crossed some line Harry could tell, but neither knew what line had been crossed, knowledge that gave him little comfort.
"Can anyone guess why Draco is practically immune to my charms?" with this Professor VanHouten turned the attention of the class back to her as she leaned against her desk. Draco also leaned against her desk, and Harry saw the similarities. The same cheekbones, and as she pushed her hair back, Harry realized the white streaks where actually blonde.
"Because you're related…" He spoke without raising his hand much to the annoyance of Hermione who shot him a side glare.
"Bloody hell Potter stop getting these answers right I'm running out of collateral" For once in the 5 years he had known Malfoy, the other boy sounded annoyed but friendly as he didn't spit out Harry's surname like it was poisoned.
"Correct, Draco is only slightly affected by my charms, as we are cousins." Professor VanHouten looked very amused as she playfully shoved Dra...Malfoy back to his seat and turned to address the rest of the class.
"I think that's quite enough to think about before dinner. Please have your lists done by next class period. Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley, Mr. Zabini, and Draco please stay after to collect your wands." Harry turned to Hermione as she shot him and Ron a half frustrated look, she did appreciate them standing up for her.
"I can't believe you've both gotten in trouble on the first day of class." Hermione shook her head at them as she gathered her books to leave.
"While I'm sure your intentions were honorable, I'm very disappointed in all of you for pulling out your wands on Ms. Bullstrode. I don't want to hear excuses, I'd like for all of you to stay after class next week as punishment, don't worry Mr. Weasley, you'll get your dinner" Professor VanHouten offered them a smile as she handed back their wands.
"You're dismissed" Harry and Ron walked away ahead of Malfoy and Zabini; they all made their way towards the staircases and could not help but over hear each other's conversations.
"You're cousin is something else Drake." Zabini commented as they rounded the corner.
"That's an understatement" Harry muttered Ron agreed but he had not said it low enough that Malfoy hadn't heard him.
"I saw the looks you were giving my cousin Potter. Trust me when I say you couldn't handle her if you tried" with those both threatening yet neutral words Harry watched as Malfoy and Zabini made their way down the stairs towards the dungeons.
"…this is going to be a long year isn't it Harry?" Ron looked just as bewildered as Harry felt but he couldn't help but agree with him. It would be a long year.