A/N: So, this chapter might be a bit boring, but I thought it would be fun if they could explore the Hogwarts world for at least some of the time. Man, I'm tired all of a sudden. Anyways, the HP universe is changed slightly; I'm obviously keeping Harry's son in this, but I'm changing- well, you'll see. And you may not agree or like it, but I figured why not? For those who don't know, I don't own HP, SW, or DW. That's just how it is, unfortunately. Enjoy!

"Chancellor, what exactly are we supposed to be doing again?" Aryn asked long after we'd left the Headmistress' office.

"Apparently, she was waiting for some education inspectors, and we got here before they did. So let's make sure we've got the right planet and time, and we can leave and find a different planet or galaxy to explore. Until then, it's our job to inspect the staff and how they're doing as far as performance. This will be interesting. What do they even do here?"

Kaal offered his insight. "It seems as though they have some sort of—Jedi-like powers. At least, that's what it looked like when that giant pointed his cane at you. We'll have to sit in on a class before we know for sure." I nodded, accepting his assessment. It was more than either I or Aryn had guessed. And I was definitely curious.

We walked around the castle a little, commenting and pointing out certain things of interest. We must have gotten back to the entrance because it was then I saw a huge coat of arms hanging on the wall to greet all those who came to the school. "Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," I stated, looking at the tapestry that hung in the front hall. "Well, that explains a lot; so, witches and wizards, that's what we're dealing with!" I replied, rubbing my hands together. I grinned. I didn't know much, but doing these inspections would be rather good fun. And intriguing, considering the only exposure I've had to witches or wizards was our Council seer. "C'mon, let's see what classes they have outside."

Aryn and Kaal followed me, also a little excited at what we were about to witness. It was more than I bargained for, that's for sure.

As we made our way back towards the forest, I could see a group of students huddled over near Rubeus' house. We looked at each other before all of us headed over to watch the instructor as he or she taught their class. We were fakes, but we would at least make a good go of pretending to be the educational inspectors. As we got closer, I could make out a woman leading the class. They had just grabbed some fresh meat, and were getting ready to head into the woods.

"Hello!" I greeted cheerily, waving at the students and the professor. She looked quite young to be a professor, but nonetheless, she stopped as did the rest of the class. "Would you mind if we joined you?"

"Who are you?" she asked, her voice rather airy and lilting. Her light blue eyes matched her pale skin and almost white blond hair. I blinked. She almost looked like an albino, but with normal eyes. It was a bit disconcerting.

"Education Inspectors; all three of us. Would you mind if we joined you? It's a surprise inspection."

She gave a small smile. "Grab some of the meat over there, and follow us," she said in her light voice. It sounded more like a sigh than the voice of a professor. She stepped lightly into the woods and the class followed her quietly. I grabbed a piece of raw meat and started after them, as did Kaal. Aryn didn't want to pick up raw meat.

"It'll stain my clothes," she said when I asked why she didn't do like we were.

"No surprise there," I mumbled, turning back to the class. Only 50 meters in, she had stopped and the class formed a half-circle around her. She certainly commanded attention, even for a young professor, and the class was waiting for instructions. I made a mental note about that.

"Okay, class, I want you to form three piles in this clearing; it will probably be a few minutes before the creatures we're studying will be here to eat." She motioned for a third of them to start at the end of the clearing, another third to go to the middle, and the last third to dump their meat near her. The class all stepped back once the meat was in a pile. I gave Aryn and Kaal a confused look as I didn't know what was going to be happening. I decided to ask the professor off to the side, but before I could, she spoke up, her fair voice reaching all of them, surprisingly.

"Now, class, I will start talking with you about the thestrals, the creature we've been studying since the beginning of the week. Thestrals can only be seen by those who've seen someone die." I could see movement in the trees. My hearts started to pound. This was going to be interesting indeed. I kept my ears focused on her lesson as I tried to see what these creatures were. "They have been a part of Hogwarts history for several hundred years, and just recently had several more added due to the influx of students and births. They have often been considered a bad omen, but that's just hearsay. They're really quite nice once you get to know them."

A few had already come through the thickets and started gorging themselves on the piles that were in front of the students. Some of them didn't know what was going on; they couldn't see them because they hadn't seen death. But I had. I saw them very clearly. Excruciatingly so. The creatures were all black with leathery wings that spanned three men. They were big, probably close to 9 feet in height for the larger ones. I saw a few younger thestrals ripping off small chunks and gulping them down. Their white eyes and gaunt appearance would certainly make people scared. They looked like the stuff of nightmares.I glanced at Aryn and Kaal. Both were looking at the beings in front of them with inexpressible faces. They could see them. I figured Kaal would be able to, but I hadn't thought Aryn would have seen death.

"Is it all right to go up to them?" I asked the professor. I hadn't even gotten her name.

"Yes, Inspector; it's all right. Just don't approach too quickly." I nodded, slowly approaching the thestrals closest to me. They saw me, then went back to their meal. I picked up my pace, and they didn't bother acknowledging me. I stood in front of a smaller thestral, this one only about six feet in height. I held my hand out and slowly let it fall on the thestral's shoulder. It jerked its head up, and I held my breath. If it went wild, the outcome would not be pretty. As it was, it huffed and blew its breath in my face, and went back to eating. The smell was disgusting, but I was actually touching the beast. I gave a half-smile and stroked its neck. The beast moved closer at the touch, almost as if it wanted me to continue. I laughed a little.

"Gaier seems to like you," the professor stated, looking at us. She quirked her head. "You look barely old enough to have graduated, and I don't remember you in any of my classes when I went here."

"Beauxbatons and Lamprad," I replied, glad I remembered our cover. I continued to stroke the thestral's head. It seemed to enjoy it enough to stop eating and start nudging me. "We've never been here before, but the Ministry sent us to do an examination of the professors, so naturally, we have to do our job." I had stopped at this point, turning to look at the professor, who didn't look very old herself. The beast pushed me from behind, almost tipping me over. The class giggled. The professor looked on, mildly amused herself.

"I see; I suppose that's why you've never seen a thestral before?"

"Exactly," I said, agreeing with her.

"Professor Scarmander, can we go up and pet them too?" one of the students asked, feeling bolder now that he saw I wasn't being harmed by it.

"Before I start letting any of you go up to them, I want to know how many of you can see the thestrals." Only about a third of the class could see them, while the other two thirds were rooted in their place, watching the meat from the piles being gobbled by unseen creatures. The one who was eager to pet it raised his hand higher than the others. Now that I knew her name, I felt a little more comfortable. "All right, for those who can see the thestrals, you may approach them if you like, but be very careful. They don't like it when you approach too quickly." The eager one exercised a little caution, and remained relatively normal as he made his way up to a thestral in the middle group. He looked very familiar, but I couldn't place him. Messy black hair with brown eyes, relatively fearless—it was the boy who'd been in the Headmistress's office prior to us.

He was the first and only person in the class to go up and touch the thestral. He urged one of his friends to join him. "C'mon, Ted; it's not gonna bite you. They seem really tame. And their skin is weird; it's a totally strange feeling." But the boy he had been talking to shook his head. "Anyone else? Really?" he said, challenging the others. No one wanted to take him up on the offer. He shook his head.

"All right, James, Inspector; it's time for us to leave. Class will be done soon, and we need to get back to the castle," Professor Scarmander said, gesturing for us to leave. I felt a little sad; this beast was starting to grow on me. It wasn't such a bad thing after all. Just looked scary. I gave it a final pat before I joined the rest of the group that was heading back to the castle. James, the boy who'd also been with the thestrals, came up behind me. I gestured for him to get in front of me so I could keep an eye out if anything approached from the back.

"Inspector, that's unnecessary; I've had more than my fair share of adventures already. Nothing in this forest can surprise me."

"How about we walk side by side, then?" I asked, indicating a spot next to me.

"All right." He stomped over and we began walking behind the rest of the group.

"So you're a wizard, huh?" I asked, stealing a glance at the boy. He seemed so young to be so fearless.

"Yeah; my parents went with me to get all my supplies for my first year." His black robe swished about him as he walked, almost causing him to stumble. "I hate these things!" he muttered, yanking them up and continuing to walk.

"So this is your first year? How old are you?"

"I'm eleven; that's when we all start our schooling. I've never met anyone from overseas before. What's America like?" I didn't know how to answer him. What was America? It was probably best to simply be quiet. He took the silence as a sign I wasn't in the mood for talking. "Sorry for asking; I know the president and the economy are a sore subject for you lot." We continued, catching up to the group in minutes. As we were leaving the woods, Rubeus caught sight of the group. When he saw us, he growled. Professor Scarmander sorted him out. "Relax, Hagrid; they're simply educational inspectors. There's no need to worry." The giant still kept an eye on us until we entered the castle.

I was immensely glad to get rid of his death glare. We shuffled into the classroom and the professor finished her lesson on thestrals. Despite the fact that sometimes we weren't sure if she was all there, her instruction was rather informative and well-presented. I would have to tell the Headmistress. A strange sound rang throughout the room, effectively causing the multitude of children to pick up their books and head out. That James—I wondered where they were going. "C'mon," I urged Aryn and Kaal. "We're going to follow this class around as we do our inspections. They're here and in their first year; this would probably be a good way to learn the basics," I said quietly, low enough that only they could hear me. They nodded. We made small talk as we grouped together as if in a conference. I didn't want to appear too obvious as to what we were doing, or that we really didn't know what was going on.

When I saw James head outside for his next class, I waited for a little bit until I felt it was appropriate to follow. "So how does this magic thing work? We haven't seen anyone doing anything remotely magical," Aryn muttered as she followed me.

"Maybe there's other ways to do magic," Kaal suggested. Y'know, I'm surprised no one's asked Kaal about his horns or appearance yet. Perhaps he wasn't so strange in this world. I smiled at the both of them.

"Well, hopefully we'll find out. I wonder what class we're going to next?"

"Hello, class! Today, I asked you all to be down here for a very special reason." The instructor, a rather good-looking fellow with sparkling eyes, was exceedingly confident and enthused about his subject. I hadn't caught the name as we had slipped in after he'd gotten the class into the greenhouse. James was whispering to his friend, and he caught sight of us again. I gave him a small nod, then continued to listen to the professor. The professor had other plans. He'd seen James whispering in the back with his friend, and noticed that we were not students.

"James Potter, how about you turn your attention up here so you and Mr. Ted Lupin don't get in trouble?" James turned around and huffed as he listened to the professor. The man looked at the three of us. "And who would you three be?"

"Educational Inspectors," Aryn said, her posture almost perfect. So she had noticed him too. "We're here to see how the class runs, and whether the teaching is up to par with current standards. You can continue." I tried not to snigger at her formalness. I wasn't used to it, so it was funny to hear her when she was actually being proper. I didn't hide it well enough.

"You have something else to add, Inspector—?"

"Smith, and no, I don't."

"Is what she said funny to you, Inspector Smith?"

I swallowed my laughter. We were treading dangerously with this man. We couldn't afford to lose our cover. "Not at all, Professor. Can I get your name in case we need to report someone becoming hostile during our inspection?"

The man thought for a minute. I could see that he wanted to continue questioning us, but wasn't sure if my veiled threat would work. "It's Professor Longbottom, and this is Herbology for the first years," he replied at last. The students had been watching us face off, and looked more interested in our stare-off than the lesson he was supposed to be teaching them. He stared at us three for a moment more before continuing his original speech. "What plant have we been going over for the past two days?" he asked the class as he paced up front. "James? You looked willing to talk a minute ago; why don't you tell us what it is we went over?"

He was quite observant, that's for sure. James answered with "Devil's snare". What the hell was that? The man nodded and gave a grin; it was hard not to stare. He reminded me of Gallifrey, of my husband who had died in the—No, I couldn't think about that. I had to stop whatever was happening. I shook my head slightly as the professor went on to explain what Devil's snare was and how they could escape from it. "Remember, when you use the incendio spell, you should really concentrate on the tendrils, as those are the most likely for you to be caught in. Relaxing helps as well, but most people tend to struggle and resist, making the plant grab you tighter. A perfect example would be when it was used to guard the Philosopher's Stone when it was hidden here at Hogwarts." James' hand shot up. "Yes, James?"

"Is it one of the obstacles my dad had to go through?"

The professor nodded. "It is, actually. Thanks to the quick thinking of himself and the Auror Hermione Weasley, they managed to make their way past the plant."

Another student shot their hand up. "What other obstacles did they have to get through in order to get the stone?"

"Well, after the three-headed dog—"

"James, now is not the time for story-telling; I'm sorry, Brendon, but that is not in our lesson for today. However, I do want you to know how to use the spell, so I have gotten a single plant so you can all practice in casting the spell on a real Devil's Snare. I will be here monitoring you; you are safe with the four of us here." Then I realized he had included us in that number. And we really weren't witches and wizards. This could go badly.