One Day at A Time
Class's Start
My hands were shaking. I glanced up at the clock and saw it was 8:45. Class would be starting soon. Taking a steadying breath, I looked down at my lesson plans and cursed whoever who had stuck me with a 6th year class first thing. I had been hoping I would have first or second years: clean slates that would look towards this class without the carried cynicisms of older students.
I heard voices approaching. The first two students entered, presumably friends, although their conversation died off in the silence of the classroom and my presence. I kept my head down and continued looking at the sheets in front of me. They were just attendance lists but I didn't know what else to do and I wanted to look busy. Were all teachers this nervous their first day? It seemed so natural to them; I couldn't imagine McGonagall or Dumbledore being anything besides their confident self.
Another problem I had (on top of all my others) was that I wasn't really sure how I wanted students to see me. I didn't want to be seen as an easy, gullible teacher, but at the same time I didn't really want to be feared (not that I could pull that off anyway). I suppose I wanted a combination of admiration and respect but I figured I would never be able to get that; I was too eager and nervous at the same time.
Student three entered the classroom, soon followed by student four. I glanced up to see their arrival but looked down at my desk again once they had taken their seats. I noticed that all four of the students had pulled out their wand and a Defense Against the Dark Arts book I had never seen before. A few more students came in and, looking around, followed the suit already set by the previous students. There was a swell in the noise within the adjacent hallway and I guessed that most of my students would be entering soon, a hypothesis that was realized.
At 8:55 all, or almost all of my students, were present and I decided to start class. Gathering my nerves I grabbed the attendance sheet and stood in front of my desk, leaning against it. The quiet chatter which had formed disappeared and I felt rather exposed without, although I knew I should have been happy they were silent.
"Hello, class!" I brightly started. I could hear my voice: I sounded like an idiot. I wondered if it was too late to say I didn't want the job. "So before we can start anything exciting I have to take roll, so just say 'here' when I call your name." Merlin, I sounded like an idiot. "Hannah Abbot."
"Here," a blonde-haired girl near the back of the class said, raising her hand.
"Lavender Brown."
"Here," a girl, one of the first two to have entered the class, said.
What seemed like 552 names later I had barely passed the half way point.
"Parvati Patil."
Lavender's friend raised her hand.
With great effort I managed to read the next name just as I had read all the others. "Harry Potter."
"Here," a messy-haired boy with glasses said. I took note of who he was sitting with: a bushy-haired girl who I vaguely recalled as Hermione and a Weasley (I didn't know which one, yet).
Another 552 names later I had finished with the attendance and found out the name of the Weasley which was Harry's friend (Ron).
"Okay, so, now that that's done," I started setting down the sheet of paper on the desk behind me, "We can start today's lesson. First thing I'm going to ask you to do is put your books away," I've never seen them before, anyway, I added mentally as I noted the smiles flitting across some of their faces. No books. That was a good thing as far as all students were concerned. I just hoped they'd still be happy by the end of the class period; I wasn't sure how interesting the rest of my lesson plan was. One of the most difficult aspects of the lessons I had planned was that I really had no idea what they had learned. Sure, there were records of what they'd technically learned but I never really trusted those, especially when a quick cramming session the night before could give the appearance they really knew the material. That combined with their shaky past in Defense Against the Dark Arts made me wonder how much of the past years I would have to recap, or go over for the first time. "All you need is your wand, your quill and some parchment," I stated before adding, "We are going to have our lesson by the lake today." The class started murmuring and I thought (or maybe just hoped) that a few of the students were exchanging excited looks.
By the time we reached the lake I was even more nervous than I had been at the start. I told the class to take a seat and was slightly surprised at how easily they followed my orders. I guess I was still waiting for it to hit me that I was a professor. "Who can tell me what lives in the lake?" I asked, delving into the lesson I had planned immediately.
Hesitantly some hands rose, perhaps a bit less than half the class. The bushy-haired girl nearby Harry (I had already forgotten her name) raised her hand very enthusiastically and indeed seemed as if she would burst if she didn't state the answer.
"Yes, you," I said pointing towards the girl. "What's your name?" I asked in the moment before she answered.
"Hermione Granger," she stated.
"Okay, Hermione, what lives in Hogwarts' lake?" I repeated the question.
"The three main occupants of the lake are merpeople, grindylows and the giant squid," she stated factually.
"Very good," I said, wishing I knew her House so I could reward it with a few points. "What do you know about the Merpeople?" I continued.
Hermione raised her hand again but this time she was the only one until Harry (with a bit of prodding from Ron, I noticed) also did the same.
"Harry," I called upon him.
"Their language, Mermish, sounds like a series of high-pitched screeches above the water although below the water it sounds different. Wizards and witches can successfully learn the language and the merpeople in this lake, at least, carry spears," he explained. The red-haired Weasley whispered some words in the other boy's ears, causing the messy-haired boy to smile.
"Very good," I spoke. "Now who can tell me about grindylows?" Almost of the class raised their hand, some more hesitantly than others. "You," I said, pointing towards a boy in the front row.
"Ernie Macmillan," he replied before I could ask what his name was. "Grindylows are small water demons. Although they posses fangs they tend to attack their prey by grabbing onto it with their long fingers. The trick is to break these fingers if you're ever dragged down by one."
"Excellent representation of knowledge," I said, slightly surprised about how much the class knew.
"Professor Lupin taught us about grindylows," the boy clarified, the rest of the class giving a murmur of agreement behind him.
"Okay," I nodded. "Actually I wanted to ask you guys about what you'd learned in the previous years. Can someone just give me a quick summary of what you learned each year?" I asked, stating my goal point-blank.
A familiar boy with a chubby face raised his hand. "Yes, Neville?" I said with a slight smile, vaguely wondering if he remembered that I had tutored him once several years ago.
"Professor Lupin taught us about boggarts, red caps, grindylows, kappas, and a bunch of other creatures. Professor Moody—or rather his imposter—taught us about curses, including the Unforgivables," he added the last part in a quieter voice.
I frowned slightly trying to figure out the math. "What did Professor Quirrel teach you?" I asked, wondering why Neville had only mentioned two of their five teachers.
Quiet murmurs passed between classmates and no one raised their hand. Finally Hermione spoke aloud, "With Quirrel we more learned out of a book," she slowly stated. "I think we learned some basic defense spells in our first year, though," the bushy-haired girl added.
"And Lockhart?" I inquired, not bothering to add the prefix "professor".
At his name a few snickers passed through the class. "We learned not to release pixies!" Ron jubilantly exclaimed. At this the class laughed out loud and I myself couldn't help but smile.
"And Umbridge?" I asked, already having a pretty clear idea of what had happened last year.
"We didn't learn anything!" an unknown voice near the back of the class angrily yelled.
I nodded in what I hoped was a sympathetic manner. "Okay. What defensive curses do most of you know?" I asked, wondering if I would have to catch them up on three years of counter-curses.
"Expelliarmus!" One student yelled out.
"Stupefy!" Another followed.
"Silencio!" The suit seemed to have been set.
"Impedimenta!"
"Tarantallegra!" Laughter followed this one.
"Protego!"
"Petrificus Totalus!"
"Okay, good!" I said, cutting off any more students who were about to yell out spell names. "Good," I reiterated, "You seem to know some pretty important incantations. Have any of you learned about dueling?" Some of the students raised their hand, a disappointingly low amount considering they were in their sixth year. "Okay, we'll go over dueling in more depth later, but for now would someone like to show the class a brief dual? We'll need two people." A greater number of students raised their hands than before. "You," I said pointing to yet another boy I didn't know, ("Justin Finch-Fletchley," he answered) "and you," I said pointing towards Harry's red-haired friend who also gave me his name before leaping up and walking to the front of the class with Justin.
I moved off to the side of the class and subtly took my wand out, just in case the duel got out of hand.
The two boys nervously faced each other. They seemed somewhat unsure and both of them glanced at me several times. "You can start anytime," I said, wondering whether the cause of their reluctance was because they didn't know how to start or because they didn't want to duel each other.
Slowly and nervously the two boys bowed to each other, neither fully bowing nor turning their faces towards the ground. They both took a more offensive stance but neither said anything nor attempted an attack for the next few moments until Ron said suddenly: "Expelliarmus!"
"Protego!" Justin quickly said, the shield charm defending him from the disarming blast of red light. "Stupey!" he countered.
Ron quickly ducked, the stunning spell soaring over his head. "Vuleravisti!" he yelled.
Justin took a sharp intake of breath as the stinging hex hit his shoulder. "Impedimenta!"
Ron used the same shield charm Justin had performed just moments earlier. "Silencio!"
Justin opened his mouth to utter another curse, an expelliarmus by the looks of it, but nothing came out. Shocked, the boy opened his mouth several more times but not a sound left it.
I stepped forward. "Justin is unable to cast any more spells, the dual is over and Ron is the winner. Proper dual etiquette states that once the duel is over the two parties shake hands," Justin was nervously holding his throat, "And remove any curses they cast on the other," I finished, noticing the look of relief on the Hufflepuff's face.
They stepped forward and shook the other boy's hand, a friendly smile on each of their faces. "Good duel," Ron said, while Justin wordlessly nodded before pointing towards his throat, reminding the red-haired boy he still couldn't speak yet. "Oh, right," Ron spoke. "Er—I actually don't know the counter-curse. We haven't learned that yet in charms..." he trailed off, both of the boys now looking towards me, Ron with a combination of embarrassment and pleading and Justin with something between worry and fear.
"Here," I said smiling slightly as I pointed my wand towards Justin and stated the counter-charm. "Profari!"
"Thanks," he said, relief evident on his face at being able to speak.
"You two may take your seats, you did very well," I replied to both of them, smiling. "That was an example of one of two types of duels," I started speaking to the class. "It used to be that there that was only one type, but dueling, just like many other subjects, has evolved somewhat over the years." I noticed Hermione had raised her hand. "Yes, Hermione?"
"Should we be taking notes on this?" I noticed that already she was holding her quill in her hand.
I thought for a moment. Already I had moved far away from my previous lesson plan of talking about the variations in magical creatures depending on where they lived, using the merpeople as an example. But I had gone with the flow of the class so far, and decided I should keep with that idea. "Yes, Hermione, I think that's a very good idea. Why don't all of you take notes?" I asked a rhetorical question before continuing my lecture. "Now, dueling has changed quite a bit over the years. It used to be only one type of dueling existed: a duel to the death. This type of duel was used in olden times as a way to settle disputes between families or individuals in an honorable manner. In those duels there would almost always be a double for each wizard and this double would take his comrade's spot once he died and continue the fighting. Nowadays this type of dueling is rarely used and instead has mostly been replaced by a slightly different type of dueling. This newer type of dueling has far lower mortality rates as instead of being over when the opponent is dead it is over when the opponent is fully incapacitated or unable to battle anymore. In this type of duel apparition is also often allowed, within certain boundaries, while in a duel to the death it is not. Both types of duels begin with a respectful bow to the other and this respect is, in honorable duels, maintained throughout the entire duel until the end, when the two competitors remove any curses and shake hands. In a duel to the death the end is slightly different, of course. In olden times, when this type of duel was more common, the ending ritual consisted of the winner giving the deceased a moment of quiet respect with a bowed head before leaving without a word to anyone, for it was considered bad luck. " Quills were scribbling frantically. I paused for a moment and hoped I wasn't talking too quickly. A few of the students looked up expectantly but I waited until all of the quills were still, a sign they had finished writing.
"Because it's your first day back from summer, that'll be the extent of the notes we take today," I spoke, noticing the class's happiness at this. "For our next class session we are going to over some of the more common spells used in dueling, counter-curses, hexes, et cetera. This will be an ongoing unit and by the end of it I expect all of you to be able to play both the offensive and the defensive side of a duel successfully. This will require both practice and dedication on your part and I expect nothing less than your best." I paused here for emphasis; I wanted to send a strong last impression. "Given that class will be ending soon I think it is about time we returned to the classroom. You may chat quietly on the way back."
The class period ended very soon after we had finally arrived at the classroom. I felt exhausted after that long speech, the very large amount of improvisation, and the last strict speech I had given, which was very out of character for me, but still I managed to sit up straight and shuffle the papers on my desk in an official-looking way. I felt a great deal of relief when the sixth years shuffled out of the classroom, holding their bulging book bags and talking amongst themselves.
I looked up as one of the students timidly approached my desk. Hermione Granger, I thought to myself, trying to secure her name in my brain. I noticed that Harry and his red-haired friend were both with her, albeit a bit closer to the back of the classroom.
"Professor Colburn?" she nervously asked.
"Yes?" I asked in a tone of voice that I hoped came across as interested and kind.
"I'm sorry; I don't quite understand what we're supposed to do for homework…"she trailed off and I finally understood why she was nervous; she was afraid I would think she hadn't been paying attention for not knowing what the homework is.
"There's no homework today," I explained. I saw the two boys at the back of the classroom brighten considerably and give each other excited looks.
"Oh, okay," she said in a much lighter tone of voice. "Thank you for clarifying that."
"And thank you for not giving us homework!" Weasley blurted out, Hermione hitting him on the shoulder for that comment. "Oh, come on! You know Snape is going to give us a huge essay, it'd be just like him," the red-haired boy complained to the girl next to him in a much quieter tone of voice, words I obviously wasn't supposed to hear.
I simply smiled as the three friends left my classroom, still joking and talking. One lesson down, who-knows how many left to go.
….
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or his world.
A/N: (HBP SPOILERS!!!) So, here's the deal. This story conflicts utterly and completely with Harry Potter and Half-Blood prince. However, I've had this idea in my head for a really long time and I'm not giving it up without a fight. I will try and follow some of the same events in HBP (like Katie receiving the necklace) but, obviously, there will be no Slughorn as she took the position of DADA. As far as Snape…you'll have to wait to find out how I portray Snape.
Incantation Explanation: "Vuleravisti," the incantation given here for the stinging hex, is created by my Latin-speaking friend (lumiereal) and I, although the hex itself was created by J.. "Profari," the incantation given here to un-silence Justin Finch-Fletchey, was also created by me.
Review Responses:
lumiereal: Thank you for reviewing my story and, as you can see, I have posted the next two chapters.