"SURPRISE!"

It was their first dinner back and already Hermione Granger had that look on her face. It was a "I have a secret and I wanna tell the whole world" face and if her expression wasn't enough to give it away, her extreme fidgety behavior was a clear sign something was up. Harry is her friend and Ron frikkin loves her, of course the two boys know they should ask, but with all that's happened the year before, they just hoped it wasn't something too big. After a couple of glances and meaningless small talk, she finally gave up, throwing down her fork. "You would never believe what I over heard in Professor McGonagall's office today."

"What were you doing in her office anyway?" Ron asked.

Hermione rolled her eyes but Harry nodded his head with equal curiosity. "School hasn't even started yet," Harry said, "It's not possible for you to already receive awards, if class hasn't even began."

"If you both must know," Hermione began, "I was looking for Professor McGonagall to make sure my grades weren't affected by last year's..." she stumbles upon the memory, "...field trip, but that's not what I found out!" Her voice grew immediately excited for that last part and this grabbed Harry and Ron's attention.

She leans in so only they could hear, "Have you heard about our mandatory 'muggle studies' class?"

The two of them nod their heads in dismay. For Harry it was a good chance for him to ace an easy class, but he came to Hogwarts so he can escape the world which made him feel like a freak. He knew he didn't belong there and for a long time he blamed it mostly on his abusive family. For Ron, it was a chance for his father to blab non stop about things he honestly didn't care about. Ron was a wizard, why would he need to bother himself about muggle things?

They continued to mope about the subject as Hermione continued. "Well I heart about our new teacher and let's just say he's a REAL expert in Muggle Studies."

"Nobody can be worse than my father," Ron complained, "It's his passion to learn about their culture."

Hermione merely laughed at his ignorance. "You can say our new teacher..." she paused trying to find the right words, "Let's just say, it may not be his passion, but it's definitely his life."

Harry watched her suspiciously as Ron wanted to drop the subject completely. It would relieve Ron to know Hermione decided to surprise her friends when the answer is revealed to them at the natural time, but Harry would have none of that. He could tell what she knew, it was big, and he wanted to know. "So are you going to tell us or was that it?" Harry asked, pointing a spoon at her.

She smiled, her lips sealed as if they were welded together.

"C'mon Hermione," Harry began to complain, "You brought it up. Now out with it!"

She was happy he asked, because she just couldn't contain herself. "It's about our new teacher. He's a-"

Interrupted by the sound of Professor McGonagall's voice, "Attention! Attention students! Please settle down, I have an announcement to make," Hermione leaned back into her chair, once again sealing her lips shut. Harry smiled at her impatiently as Ron continued to gorge his meal. The whole hall grew silent as they waited to listen to what their new Headmaster had to say, "Now let me begin by saying welcome back to all of you. I am aware we are little more than crowded due to last years..." McGonagall had trouble bringing up the past as Hermione did, and just like her, she took a deep breath and continued strongly, "events, but we still have more than enough time to make up what we lost."

I wouldn't be surprised if you were confused. You must understand. When the school was attacked, they canceled all classes and did their best protect the students from harm. Originally they were going to shut down the school temporarily but because some muggle born students had no where else to go, which was safe, they decided it was best to keep them for their own protection. In short everyone had to repeat that year. Still they accepted first students, this year, as well. McGonagall felt it wouldn't be fair for new talented wizards to lose the opportunity to go to a great school. Despite what they had all faced, Hogwarts is a great school, filled with very talented witch and wizards. "With that settled," she continued, her voice bouncing off the walls, "I would like to introduce your new Self Defense of the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Charles Igor."

The man stood up as all the students clapped. Charles was also a tall man, very tall. Taller than Will at least and had a dark gleam in his eye, but he was very skinny and very pale. Still something menacing made him seem giant like, and made the back of your neck hairs stand straight. He was even more brooding than Snape, which says something.

"I would also like to introduce your new Muggle Studies teacher Mr. William Casper." Will was caught off guard. He understood he was going to be introduced but he didn't know he'd have to stand and drown in the spot light. Hesitantly he stood, showing off his very muggle-like wardrobe, giving the students a nod, a smile and a wave. "For those of you who are unaware. Mr. Casper is in fact..." she paused again, taking another deep breath and giving Will a more sympathetic glance. He nodded. His stare seemed to say 'Continue. I'd rather they know the truth.' and so she did. "Mr. Casper is a muggle."

This set off fire amongst the students. Suddenly order was a thing of the past, as the students gossiped amongst each other in shock, occasionally glancing back at the man as if he were a one man freak show. Harry and Ron simultaneously turned their heads toward Hermione in one quick fluent motion, staring at her in disbelief. She smiled at them knowingly.

"Settle down! Settle down!" McGonagall bellowed but no one would listen. She turned toward the other teachers for help but none of them knew what to do. This wasn't like a troll lurking the dungeons or some brainless students threatening to expose the magical world, no. There was a muggle in the school and this was something no one had ever prepared for. McGonagall turned toward Snape while Will sat back down embarrassed.

Finally Snape rose from his seat giving the loudest, most authoritative sound, "WILL. YOU. ALL. SHUT IT!"

The hall once again fell to silence as they watched Snape seat himself again. McGonagall thanked him and continued. "As I was saying, Mr. Casper is a muggle, and so we have strict and special new rules regarding him. First. You will respect him as a teacher. All of you. You will sit quietly in his class, behave, and do the work you are given. It is the behavior we expect you to give to all your teachers, but I felt I needed to make that clear. Second, as you know, Muggle Studies is now a mandatory class and you will not be expected the graduate without passing it. Third, is the most important. If I ever hear this man is hexed, cursed, or enchanted in any way, you will be expelled and escorted to leave the school grounds at once. Do I make myself clear?" Everyone simply stared at her, but McGonagall got her answer that way. She smiled, "Good. Now finish your dinner and off to bed."

Conversations and loud murmurings caught fire again in the Great Hall, all of them talking about the same thing. Hermione had finished her dinner a while ago so she decided to retire. She was quite exhausted, but Harry and Ron wouldn't let her get off that easily. They followed her to the common room, finding some students were already inside and talking about the same thing.

"I can't believe you didn't tell us!" Ron complained.

"You didn't let me explain," Hermione defended herself. "I was constantly interrupted."

"Are you both talking about our new Muggle teacher?" Neville asked curiously.

Harry gestured toward her just still baffled by the information, "Yes, but Ron's mad because Hermione found out hours before any of us did and she kept it to herself."

"No I didn't! I was going to tell the both of you, but I was interrupted," Hermione complained.

"Why would you do that?" Neville asked.

"I didn't!" she shouted.

Ron and Harry laughed at her. They both were just teasing her and she knew it too, but it didn't make her feel any less annoyed. They all laughed for a moment, letting each other catch their breaths. Suddenly the thought hits them, "Why would a muggle be asked to teach in a school for witches and wizards?" Ron asked.

"Who else more qualified to teach Muggle Studies," Harry countered.

"Okay, but why would a muggle want to teach in a magical school." Ron fought back.

Harry raised his arms in the air, "Why not?"

Harry meant to be funny with sarcasm. Secretly he loved the idea of a muggle teaching at Hogwarts. He wanted to see the look on his face as he experiences the bizarre world of magic, because whatever face Mr. Casper will have, Harry already had it. He wanted to see what it looked like. Still, as much as Hermione wanted to join her friends in the fun, she couldn't shake the feeling, she needed to keep an extra eye on him. Just because they were properly threatened, did not mean there aren't students crazy enough to try and hurt him anyway. Maybe not most of the Gryffindors or Ravenclaws, and definately not any of the Hufflepuffs, but Slytherins were bullies to muggle borns. Merlin knows what kind of pranks they would pull on their new teacher, and Hermione wasn't just going to sit around and find out.

READER'S NOTE:

Shout out for tonygestable for being the first to review and give me a REALLY awesome question! You are awesome!

Also thank you all for reading this. Once again I hope I made the story clear and understandable. There is a deep kind of message in this story and I'm aware I'm not very funny, but I will try my best. I promise it will be funnier in the future. I have allot of jokes planned for this story as well as dramatic plot. Anway, love it, hate it, don't understand it... please.

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