Hogwarts One Half
Chapter Six

by Lionheart

I O I O I

"Severus, we have waited up the entire night for you. What happened?" Dumbledore came down with Molly and McGonagall to greet the newly arriving Potions Master.

Snape looked awful. His greasy hair had twigs and leaves still in it, the robes he had on were messy and had tears and bits of dirt smudged on them, and his scowl was even worse than ordinary as he shepherded in three exhausted eleven year olds.

For a moment it looked as if Snape was too angry to reply, but he cracked open his mouth and sneered. "Everything, Albus. We started out from Hogsmead thinking they could not be far, and four hours later out onto the trail we discovered they were. Apparating back to Hogsmead, we flooed over to London, spent more time getting onto the platform in Kings Cross only to find they had not returned there. Finally, we requisitioned some brooms and made a fly over of the entire train track. We found them hung upside down in a tree about an hour by train from London. They've been so confused from the blood rushing to their heads they haven't been able to tell us what happened. Still, get them Sorted and we'll go to bed. I could use some rest before classes start and I've got to deal with dunderheads all afternoon."

"I'm sorry Severus, and to you, boys. The sun has already risen." Dumbledore was sadly shaking his head with sorrowful eyes. "I owled your parents not half an hour ago to convey my apologies, because the ritual of the Sorting can only be performed one night every year, and that night has just passed us by. I'm afraid that you cannot join us for school this season, but must wait for the next. In the meantime, I would be most glad to offer my recommendations to another institute of learning, perhaps Beauxbatons."

"My father said I was to attend Hogwarts. When he hears of this..." Draco started to rant.

"I'm afraid there is nothing to be done, young Malfoy." Dumbledore interrupted him, "For as the Sorting is over for another year, we cannot place you."

"Just put me in Slytherin! That's the best House anyway, all Malfoys have gone there."

"Not true," The Headmaster summoned a twinkle to his eyes. "Your cousin has already joined us, and due to a rather strange set of circumstances has become both a Ravenclaw and a Gryffindor simultaneously. You aunt, also, was a Ravenclaw during her stay here. You see, it is not as clear cut as you may choose to think. Even if it were, the Sorting is a binding magical ceremony and without it we cannot admit you. Nor could even the Minister of Magic require us to. So you will just have to be happy elsewhere for a year. Your father should be here, along with Mr. Crabbe and Mr. Goyle, within an hour to pick you up. I believe that a school in Bulgaria was mentioned by all of them. If that is the case, good luck to you. Now if you would just kindly wait in the entry hall with Mr. Filch here, you can await your parents. I shall have the house elves bring out breakfast for you."

Snape snapped his cloak as he stalked off, Dumbledore eyed his departing back sadly. "And, young Draco, I believe that I shall send out your aunt to offer company while you wait for your father."

I O I O I

Ranko, dressed in a very fluffy and frill-laden dress that looked abominably cute, instead of last night's ninja attire, sat on a low stool reaching under and squeezing the last few drops out of a big Jersey cow.

With a final squeeze she had this morning's milking completed. Rising with the pail, the maid poured off the rich, foamy, cream-laden dairy product into a large ceramic jug, one of two that was waiting nearby. The other was already full. Taking both and balancing them on her head, she poured the cow her morning ration of feed and gave it a pat on the head. "There, there, Bella. That's a good girl. I'll see you this evening, okay?"

Since today was a 'show day', ie, she was out in public, the girl took much greater care to speak with correct grammar. In spite of the milking chore falling just after two hours of early dawn practice of her martial arts with the rest of her team, Ranko did not suffer a hair to be out of place in her gorgeous panoply of cascading red locks; her makeup was subtle, yet perfect, and jewelry shone from her throat and ears.

But she couldn't wear rings while milking a cow. That was rude, and unfair to the poor cow.

Effortlessly balancing two large clay jugs on top of her head, each frothing with milk, Ranko gave the dairy animal a last pat on the head, her muzzle already deep into her grain, before skipping off to pause before the next stall and commencing patting and feeding the horse there, a beautiful chestnut mare. "Good morning, Kasumi! It's a bright and lovely day out. I think Hagrid will let you run out on the lawn today. School's started, so there's lots of new faces, and so many pretty girls who'll all want to pet you. I hope you'll be nice. We made two new friends, the Patil twins, identical girls named Parvati and Padma. They joined us for martial arts practice early this morning for the first time, and boy did they suck! But Cologne is a good teacher and knows what to do with them. She put them on some very basic moves to build up, and they took it well enough, I guess. I've never seen anyone trained up from scratch before! It's like watching a different world. Anyway, I'll try to visit you in between classes, but I don't know what I can promise."

The mare lifted her head and nuzzled the redhaired girl, who hugged her nose and scratched around her ears. "I know, but I can promise to be here this evening, okay?" Satisfied, the mare went back to her breakfast and Ranko skipped off happy enough. She paused at a large tank of water in among the stalls and kicked in a bucket of chopped fish. "Rise and shine, Nabiki!"

A tentacle came out of the water and swatted at her, but she dodged it without spilling a drop from the clay jugs still balancing on her head. The octopus in the tank surfaced enough to shoot a glare at the milkmaid before yanking the empty bucket off its head and flinging it at the laughing girl, who once again dodged nimbly without hardly even noticing the attack.

Ranko clapped her hands together joyously. "Why, Nabiki! You look positively delicious this fine morning!"

The octopus and her tentacles all pulled in swiftly and hid in the bottom of her big glass tank.

Walking past an empty stall, one with a straw nest currently unoccupied, Ranko grabbed a couple of thick books off the bookshelf by the door and skipped back to place them on a reading stand, all queued up in order. The first of the self-reading tomes cracked open its cover and began to pronounce, "Grindelwald, the Rise and Fall of a Dark Lord: page one, the introduction..."

There were other titles in the stack, from a conversion of a couple years compilation from Good Housekeeping, to various storybooks, a stock market analysis and a few novels. They couldn't find much of interest in the magical bookstores, so all summer long Ranko had been going to the muggle ones to buy books and do the charms herself. There was enough on the stack to keep going most of the day, and the books were programmed to start or stop at the sound of a horse's nicker, so Kasumi could pause them for her runs.

Satisfied that her charges were well cared for for another morning, Ranko skipped off and paused briefly once she'd exited the stables to knock on Hagrid's cabin, just next door.

"Good morning, Hagrid!" Ranko sang joyfully, bouncing off one of her two milk pots and catching the great clay urn before it fell far enough to break. Then she offered the jug to the giant. "Thanks again for letting us keep our animals near your house!"

The half giant blushed. "Aw, Ranko. T'weren't no trouble. I keep tellin ya. Ya don't haf ta pay me wit milk 'er nothin."

"I know! But we want to!" Ranko sang back merrily, proffering the jug again. "Besides, Bella gives us eight gallons a day and if you don't take your share there's no way that we'd keep up with her! Besides, you know what my mom says: Fresh, raw milk and cream is good for the complexion! And you're getting such rosy cheeks it makes me want to kiss you!" With an effortless bounce she equaled his height, planted a girlish peck on the end of his nose, left with a saucy wink and bounced off towards school, leaving a blushing half giant with a big jug of milk in his hands.

After staring fondly at a girl that was almost becoming like a daughter to him, Hagrid turned back into his hut and set the milk down on his table, simultaneously calling out, "Blaise! Ye'd best get yerself up an dressed. School'll be startin soon!"

I O I O I

Ranko was dancing in the back door of the great hall, singing.

"... for this is the finest milk and cream that ever came out of a cow!
Though finest it is, the price is small, for milk and the cream alack!
There's nothing to do but sell it all, the cow willna take it back!"

Several of the girls, especially those of the older years, stopped to stare at her. For Ranko was not dressed in the standard Hogwarts black. Indeed, she'd have shown out as a bright star practically anywhere.

She wore a full skirted dress with blousy sleeves, cut in an elegant fashion not seen in a century, but it was one of those classics that Hollywood likes to trot out from time to time as it was just so lovely there was no resisting its charm. Today she was wearing a beautiful combination of blues with accents of pink, under a silvery-blue full length apron with frilly edges and matching gloves that went up to her elbows.

In burning jealousy, most of the girls noticed that big clay pot she was balancing on the top of her head did nothing to muss up her hair. It didn't even mash it down enough to hide the jeweled tiara, or the necklace and earrings that went with it.

"Good morning, Ucchan! Good morning, Shampoo!" Ranko gave both those girls a kiss on their lips, chastely I might add, and flipped the clay pot off from the top of her head. While it was in midair upside down she grabbed four flagons and filled them each from the milk spilling out, letting not a single drop hit the floor (or anywhere else for that matter), setting the flagons out before her friends just as the clay pot landed, empty, on its base in a corner.

Taking one of the flagons she skipped up to the high table, setting it before her mother and Cologne, who were sitting together. "Good morning, mother! Good morning, Cologne!" She spared a kiss on the cheek for each of them as well and hopped back to her own place at the student's tables among the echoes of her friends' "Good mornings."

Today they were seated at Ravenclaw's table, though last night it had been Gryffindor's. This in spite of the fact that Shampoo was a Gryffindor and Ukyo was a Ravenclaw, while Ranko was somehow both. The Patil twins, sucked into this vibrant group along with them, had found themselves feeling rather plain, seeing as how they were sitting there in standard Hogwarts black while there wasn't a black stitch to be seen on any of the three other girls. In fact, their dresses were not an ounce more plain than Ranko's. Ukyo's was done up in very flattering shades of blue while Shampoo had an odd rose that set off her purple hair just perfectly. All three were embroidered beautifully, and close up it could be detected that their aprons and matching gloves were all expensive dragonhide. Ukyo's was Opaleye, and Shampoo's was Chinese Fireball, while Ranko's (today) was Swedish Short Snout.

They shone out like jewels on a black background, and it was not only students that noticed.

"Twenty points from each of your Houses for violating dress code." Snape snapped evilly from behind them, sneering at the girls.

"I contest that ruling." Nodoka said from behind him, holding a wrapped bundle in her arms. "These girls are each wearing their House colors. There is no violation."

"As I recall," Snape turned menacingly about to face her. "Hogwarts requires a black robe of all students. And these filthy popinjays are out of uniform no matter those colors!"

"And they are wearing it under those dresses. It's a thin, silk robe called a chemise, Snape. And while it is available for viewing by any female staff member, allowing an attempted rapist such as you permission to view a girl's undergarments is folly! Nor should you be allowed to insult them based on nothing more than your own petty insecurities!" She was raising her voice so the whole school heard. "The dress code's requirements are filled, and your taking away of points is just another example of your own childish tyranny!"

Never having been crossed at this school before since becoming a teacher, Snape reacted by reaching over to grab her by the shoulder so he could dig in his thumb where it would hurt, but appear to be 'friendly' as he seethed horrible, threatening whispers in her ear.

Nodoka wasn't having any of it and when he reached for her out came the bundle, smacking across his face with enough force so that he went spraying teeth. She started shouting as she smacked him again and again with the sheath. "You swore an Unbreakable Vow to your beloved Dark Lord to marry me no matter what a slime I knew you to be and 'tame' me to his will! You swore you'd raise little Death Eaters for his service by turning me into your little breed sow! You were going to use the Imperius on me! You'd cast that curse a dozen times but I kept dodging as you chased me out of the only home I'd ever known, running me off into the woods to avoid becoming your little plaything! And now you're here pulling your bullying tricks on my daughter!!"

Nodoka had, by now, smacked Snape halfway across the room, raining blows down on him to the astonishment of the entire school. Teachers sat paralyzed as Ms. Malfoy at last drew her silver weapons and pinned the bloodied Potions Prof to the back wall, sword and knife crossed just over his throat, ready to scissor his head off.

"Enough of this!" Dumbledore shouted from the front of the room, just having entered the great hall. "Nodoka, release him!"

Gazing one last moment into the panic filled eyes of her nemesis, a man who'd personally haunted her nightmares for twenty years, Nodoka gave him one cold glance before turning away and sheathing her blades. "As you wish. But remember, I told you this would be a problem before you hired me, and I objected to having that rapist near my family. You told me that you could control him, yet here this morning I found him already attacking my baby girl. What do you have to say for yourself, Albus?"

"Has your daughter come to any harm, Nodoka?" Albus was suddenly concerned.

"It was a verbal attack, but he specializes in those, and they can do more lasting harm in the end, especially to girls, Albus." Nodoka ruthlessly ignored the potions master she'd beaten bloody sinking to the floor behind her in shock.

Then her voice froze. "And you have done nothing! I've looked up the logs, Albus. He's taken more points away from Gryffindor alone than all other teachers combined have taken from all the Houses PUT TOGETHER! He does that Each Year, and has since you hired him! Nor has he spared Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw! And he's taken only one point away from Slytherin, only once! And that was nine years ago! Yet you've cared nothing for honesty or fairness all this long while and let his open bias, his bullying and extreme prejudice ruin an entire generation of children's careers! Despite the shame of it, all you've done is smile and let him do whatever his black heart pleased. He's awarded more points to his own House than all the other heads have to theirs PUT TOGETHER! And if that shame weren't enough this goes beyond merely ridiculing an entire generation and making a mockery of the House system, verbal abuse and jibes. No, he has refused entrance to his advanced class for anyone but his own toadies, and the handful he could not keep out no matter what he did."

Nodoka advanced on Dumbledore, fire in her eyes and hand closing upon the hilt of her sword. "Do you have any IDEA how many careers demand a NEWT in Potions? Do you even CARE? For Ten Years unless you were a Slytherin you could forget any dreams about becoming a Healer, an Auror, or dozens of other high-paying jobs that asked for a Potion NEWT. But the Slytherins don't want those jobs, and most of them were so used to cheating to get their grades that only one in fifty of them could pass the most basic potions exam that wasn't administered by Snape, so they couldn't get them anyway! You can't CHEAT your way to having a life skill! But all he does is smirk while his toadies smuggle completed potions into class and spend the time they should be learning sabotaging the work of REAL students! He's lucky no one HAS DIED in those explosions he chortles so much over! And the cost for his amusement is that virtually no one has ANY CHANCE AT ALL to gain any sort of decent Potions skill! So we're critically understaffed in all those positions! People DIE because of the lack of Healers, Albus. Thousands of children have had their futures crushed, ruthlessly, pitilessly crushed by this MONSTER of a man! This wretch who bears the Dark Mark on his arm and has never even apologized about it!"

She stood before Albus Dumbledore, eyes ablaze with righteous fire. "Give me a reason not to or I will kill him right now. Let Justice be done. Or are you confederate in his crimes? Is that where the control you claim over him comes from, shared guilt?" Then she finished out in a dreadful whisper that somehow managed to carry the length and breadth of the Great Hall anyway. "What awful thing have you done that he is threatening to reveal unless you protect him? Or do you support his abuse of children just because you think that it's funny?"

You could have heard a pin drop in the Great Hall, student faces were wide eyed and riveted by this spectacle all over. There was no motion anywhere, not even a breeze.

The Headmaster glanced over to where his spy was slumped to the floor, bruises forming all over his face and hands, which were his only visible flesh. Unfortunately, he found himself caught in difficult circumstances in no less than three ways. One, was that Lucius Malfoy was already en route, and by all accounts enraged for the 'failure' of Hogwarts to get his son safe to school and enrolled, once he'd been entrusted to their care by boarding the train. Already there would be a convening of the council of school governors for an inquiry on that. To get Lucius any more upset by disciplining his sister that same day could seriously jeopardize his own position as Headmaster. On the second front, having a recognized Death Eater on staff with an as-yet-unfulfilled Unbreakable Vow to force another into the Dark Lord's thrall was as bad as one could ask all on its own. Pity that Severus had never told him, or that Nodoka hadn't mentioned it before this. Lastly, there was simply the fact that he couldn't casually dismiss a Defense teacher on the first day of school, counting on getting an all-too rare replacement on short notice. And the Ministry would not stand for the subject not being taught, even if it was only delayed for a few months. They had already been quite vocal on the subject.

All of this was looking like he might lose his job permanently. So as much as it pained him to turn his back on his loyal spy, it was Nodoka who was going to be getting the kid gloves at this moment. If he got removed there would be no one to protect Severus from Azkaban or even death - particularly in the face of this very public revelation of black misdeeds as yet unpaid for and unresolved.

He could not even counterattack for fear of bringing on a power struggle he was not sure to win, as most uncomfortable sorts of investigations could be made into matters already broached.

Dumbledore normally had no care for his career, as he truly believed that he was virtually invulnerable in retaining it, having a very broad power base and influential good reputation for support. However this was one of the few exceptions of events going deep enough and broad enough to truly hurt him, and he could not easily keep Severus alive without the influence granted him as Hogwarts Headmaster. Nor could he fight the Malfoys, who held their own quite considerable power, and save his potion master's life simultaneously.

"Yet I see that you have already disciplined him appropriately, Professor Malfoy. I think he has no further need of punishment at present. Well done. The needs of our students must always come first, of course, and yet I know how much they would miss our Potions Master if he were to leave us. While Professor Snape has regrettably been allowed to run away with himself these past few years, perhaps it is time he be reined in once again; for I know how difficult he would be to replace, and how much we would miss his skills. However, I am afraid that you are going to have to take over his classes for the day, Nodoka. As you've beaten my potions master to the point where he is in no condition to do so himself. This will be in addition to your own workload, of course. Also, sometime today I would like to see you both in my office, as I find fighting among my staff repugnant. But for now you should go to the entry hall, as your nephew awaits your company."

Snape's face was white with betrayal.

Dumbledore's eyes went to the trio of girls sitting in beautiful dresses at the Ravenclaw table.

"Our black robes are worn as undergarments, headmaster." Ranko headed off his question. "As per allowances made in the school's charter and not amended since."

"And your gowns are done up in your House colors, I see." Dumbledore smiled, a bit of twinkle returning to his eye as Nodoka regally swept out of the room. "It has been a long time since I have seen that style, but your mother was correct, you are not out of uniform. Twenty points for bringing a spot of color into our lives, and ten more for looking so lovely when for many years all we have seen is basic, easy to care for attire."

Snape would have preferred to storm out of the room in fury but had to settle on a limp.

"And that brings me to another matter," Dumbledore raised his voice to address the hall. "Last night I did some study regarding dual-house pupils, and what I discovered astonished me. This was once not only done, it came close at one point to being a standard, building school unity to a degree we have not seen in a very long time. This year Ravenclaw and Gryffindor will share most, if not all, of their classes together. The students of these will quite naturally know each other better, and be more prepared to make friends. Points awarded or taken away from a dual-house student will benefit or penalize both houses equally, and that should give them an excellent start, being up thirty points each on the first day. Ranko and the two Patils are entitled to wear both sets of House colors, come and go from the dorms of each as they please, and in all other respects enjoy the membership of both Houses. The only slightly odd thing would be if they wished to join a Quidditch team, in which case the only adjustment we would need to make would be they could not compete in any games against the other house to which they also belong."

While he was talking Ukyo bent low and gathered up several teeth with her napkin, slipping them into a pocket still wrapped in paper so they wouldn't stain her dress.

A little Ravenclaw, sitting at Ukyo's elbow with a wand stuck behind her ear, wrote calmly while all this was going on, apparently unruffled by all that had occurred around her. A heavy camera lay at rest in her skirted lap.

After a while Professor McGonagall entered the room and began to hand out listings of each student's course schedules for the upcoming year. True to Dumbledore's word, all of Ravenclaw's classes were shared with Gryffindor, except for Herbology. But where one of those two Houses had Herbology the other had a free period and vice versa.

"This should be easy." Ukyo blinked at her class list. "We get to stay with Ranchan all day, it looks like. And we start today with Magical Defense! That's your mother's class, isn't it?"

"I think so. She told me this morning about changing the name of it."

I O I O I

Hermione Granger, armed with an armload of books, came up to the head table and accosted the Headmaster. "Professor Dumbledore, I should be a dual-house Gryffindor and Ravenclaw as well. The Hat told me I was perfectly suited to either, but unlike Ranko Malfoy I was willing to make a choice. I don't think I should be penalized for trying to get along inside the rules, as I knew them then."

Dumbledore put down his piece of toast. "Indeed, you should not be. But I am afraid, miss, there is nothing..."

"Oh, yes there is!" She eagerly interrupted, dropping her pile of books on the head table and opening the top one to a marked page. "It says so right here in: Hogwarts, A History, that 'even though the magical Sorting takes place only on a single night each year, for the whole week following any students who are dissatisfied with their placement can be reSorted if they so request'! Well, I so formally request." She closed that book and shoved it aside, already grabbing for the next one. "Then it says here, in..."

"That shall be quite enough, miss." Dumbledore raised palms in mock surrender. "Twenty points to Gryffindor for your most excellent research. I shall look into the matter and, if it is possible, arrange for reSorting this evening, at our twilight meal. Now if you will excuse me, I have some details to discuss, and breakfast to eat, and our mealtime is fast passing."

Hermione pouted. "I think you should give those twenty points to Ravenclaw as well, since I'll be a dual student this evening."

"If you are so Sorted, it shall be." Dumbledore promised, finally getting her to go away.

Twenty minutes later it came time for students and everyone to disperse to classes.

I O I O I

Professor Malfoy's class was being taught on the ground floor, not far from the great hall. It was one of the easiest locations to find in all of Hogwarts, and a nice, big room. The reason it saw no classes for so long was that it was not convenient to the staff quarters and offices. But Nodoka didn't want anyone getting honestly late for her courses. Outside of her door she'd even arranged for two suits of armor to be bearing flags held out at an angle, reading "Here be Magical Defense" so even getting near would be enough to find the room.

She was already there waiting for the arriving pupils and began class promptly on the dot.

"Okay class, pay attention. You, none of you, will ever be attending a Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson. That course has been dropped permanently. Instead, each of you will begin this year as our first ever class of Magical Defense, which has a two hour time slot. An official announcement should be coming out in today's Daily Prophet."

Hermione raised a hand. "Is there any difference in the material?"

Professor Malfoy quirked a smirk. "Miss Granger, names have enormous power. There was an honest-to-goodness curse on the DADA slot, placed there by Voldemort himself when he had his application to teach it rejected 20 years ago. Dumbledore so informed me last night." Nodoka's smile turned nasty and she slammed a fist into her palm, drawing notice to the fact that she had dried red-brown stains on her knuckles. "Of course, I had to beat that bastard bloody before he'd admit to anything, but that's the way he is. He dropped a hint and I just couldn't pass up on an opportunity to learn more, especially since the only chance I had to beat that curse was before I'd taught my first class as DADA teacher."

She released her clasped fist to drop her hands to her sides, then arranged some books. "It was mister Dumbeldore's hope to break through the curse with a frontal attack, thinking by hiring a sufficiently talented teacher who could last more than a year it would end. But he's had 20 years to try and hasn't come up with one. He ought to have taken it himself if he felt it was so important. He's ruined dozens of good wizard's reputations and lives through his optimistic idiocy, and frankly I didn't think he deserved another chance. But I digress from off topic. You asked why the name change. It's simple, really. The curse was on a Defense Against the Dark Arts class that they'd never keep a teacher for more than a year. Well now you get your first lesson as Magical Defense students: Curses Can't Think. Even though it may be blindingly obvious that Magical Defense teaches all of those same things, has the same role and textbook, gets graded much the same and so on, it has a different name. It may sound childish, but that's all you need to dodge a curse placed on a name, is change that name. Without a properly identified target, the curse fizzles away harmlessly, failing like a muggle kite with its string cut. If your Headmaster wasn't a bumbling old fool he could've realized that ages ago and saved 20 wizards' careers."

Nodoka finished arranging her books and drew herself up to face the class. "Now, it is possible to protect a name from being cursed, and if you are going to make any enemies you should always remember to do so. Do it before you get hexed because it won't stop a curse already placed. Hogwarts itself is so protected. Headmasters and teachers routinely do it to dodge jinxes from parents or kids unhappy with their grades. The four Houses are all so protected individually. But no one had thought to do so for a teaching slot. Well, that was one of the first things I did last night, was to ward the Magical Defense class from being cursed the same way. You and I should be spending the next several years together in a teaching relationship, getting a better education than your parents did."

The redhaired Malfoy teaching their class at last directed a smile toward her students. "Now that that is settled away, we begin your second lesson. There are only two methods of grounding a curse, jinx, hex or charm onto a target who is not present to have it cast on them directly. The first method takes a ritual and casts it on the name, as we have discussed. The second takes a much longer ritual and requires something intimate of the person to be hit. A piece of the body is most often used, as those have the strongest connections to the spirit. But other things can be substituted for lesser effect, a keepsake or memento, for example. Surprisingly, the muggles know this and that is where they get their legends of Voodoo. Now if you will all turn with me to page six we will overview today's practical and then we will get started."

Nodoka had a different teaching style than most of their other professors, they would later learn. She kept her lectures short and pointed, easy to remember. Most of class was spent on two things. The first half of the period she hauled out a giant, shallow bowl she explained was a pensieve, a class sized one, and everyone would together dip a finger into whatever memory she had selected. That way she could display dark creatures, magical duels, and so on from a first hand perspective without exposing them to any danger.

In that initial day they got their first experiences with seeing vampires, hags, and watching a werewolf transform, experiences none of them would ever likely forget. It was as good as being there, only better because none of those recalled creatures had substance to hurt the young students, and the impressions they gained would last a lifetime. Professor Malfoy could even pause those replayed memories to point out or highlight certain things that they might have missed without her help. It was worlds different from a dry lecture, something no one would easily forget, and conveyed details they never could've gotten out of a book.

After an hour using the pensieve, Nodoka would teach them a spell or two and have them practice those until she was satisfied or the remaining hour was up, whichever came first. If they got done early they were free to go early. There was no homework, other than she expected what she'd taught in one lesson to be mastered by the time she gave the next. So if you got your spells right and paid attention in class, that was it until the next session (which was itself a reward for paying attention, and therefore a good reason to do so).

When those two Houses of first years boiled out of their first lesson they could hardly wait to tell the school how great a class it was. Magical Defense quickly became a favorite class of all students of all years.

Everyone began to look forward to it.

For those who desired extra credit Professor Malfoy would have a list of recommended reading material as well as spells they might want to know and where to find them. But it really was extra and she didn't require them, although most of her pupils investigated some of those on their own, and some, like all the Ravenclaws, got deeply into them. Gryffindor students got a bit of a friendly rivalry going over what they'd often considered 'their subject' and went just as deeply into extra credit time on Defense as most Ravenclaws, benefiting both Houses greatly.

By the end of the first week Madam Pince, the librarian, even had to approach Dumbledore about acquiring extra copies of a score of different Defense books as demand for checking them out got so high. Some NEWT pupils who hadn't signed up for DADA heard of how superior Magical Defense was and approached their heads of Houses to get in on some of those classes.

Nodoka was glad to oblige, providing additional classes for older students.

I O I O I

Though they had not yet come to realize it, the first years of the now companion Houses of Gryffindor and Ravenclaw had their two best classes at the very start of the week. They were front loaded with all of the good stuff and the rest of the week would be a letdown. First they had Magical Defense, next they had History of Magic.

The Chinese Matriarch's class was every bit as easy to find as Nodoka's, seeing as how there was a bright purple carpet that unrolled from the great hall's door to the entry of her classroom an hour before it was time, with trumpets sounding twenty minutes before each period to start and fireworks at the entrance.

There were enough classes that were hard to find. Whatever purpose there was in that was served. The new teachers wanted their students focused on the course material.

Cologne was their only other teacher who'd use a class-sized pensieve. Part of the reason for that was cost, another was that they did not apply to every subject as well as they did to these two. Watching someone cast a charm or transfigure a desk was the same in person or in a pensieve, so those two classes couldn't really benefit. Neither did Herbology or Potion courses. Astronomy could have used one a bit, but not enough to justify the expense.

In Defense they'd already realized what a treasure it was to go and see someone's recalled experience meeting dark creatures, as the class could not be touched yet gained what was effectively first hand encounters, with narration no less.

In History the device turned out to be no less useful.

Cologne had also arranged to have a double period, and also insisted on mandatory class periods for every year to make up for some of the harm that Binns had done.

"Now class," Cologne walked out wearing a gown every bit as beautiful as the trio's. "This summer Nodoka Malfoy got a rare privilege for preserving some of the most important facts of recent history. She successfully petitioned the Ministry of Magic for permission to visit Azkaban Prison, specifically to barter among the Death Eaters captured during the last war, offering a clean death in exchange for pensieve memories regarding their acts during Voldemort's reign of terror. Because conditions there are so... unpleasant, nine of every ten took her up on her offer. We now enjoy a priceless record showing details never before suspected. A large part of that Professor Malfoy will be using in her Defense class, but we will be seeing even more of it here, as these are events that shaped the world in which we now live. Many of you lost family or family friends in those battles, relatives you may have never known. During my class you may even see some of them die. That'll give you perspective when we start viewing later history and you realize those who fell in the battles back then had families and friends, too."

Cologne came to the front of the class and addressed them all directly. "Because history comes from something. It gets shaped. Understand why it happened and how, and you have a chance to do things right if events ever start to go that way again. The Greeks, the Romans, Persians, Egyptians and many others were at the tops of their heaps during their day. None of them are there now, and if you want to know why, that's history."

With a swirl of her skirts, she turned back to face the pensieve and began to pour a bottle of fluid into it. Her voice still could be heard clearly as she instructed, "History gets shaped by three things. Other stuff may factor in, but it's those three who do 90 of it. Those are wars, religion and technology, in no particular order. So for your first three years here at Hogwarts we are going to discuss wars. Luckily, I've talked to Dumbledore and some very ancient people he knows and gotten absolutely priceless memories covering about six centuries of battles here on the European continent; some of which I'm sure none of you had ever heard of, like when Sweden and the Netherlands were world powers. So we'll have a lot to cover and there's no chance of growing bored."

She shot a glance over her shoulder to the class. "The ancient stuff I've heard you already have a lot of knowledge about." She watched the class start as if pricked, and smiled. "This course should help you get a handle on it."

Stepping aside she motioned for them to form a ring around the pensieve. "For now we'll start with the era of Voldemort, something close to home. All of you dip your finger in when I count three. One, Two, Three!"

Cologne's style was different from Nodoka's. After viewing a battle, thankfully bloodless, a mere skirmish where both sides had fired to no effect, she quizzed them on who did what, probable reasons why, what effect it had, and forced the students to really observe and think about it as she ran them through that same memory once again. Then she had them analyze it again, and once she was satisfied they'd seen something other than colored lights whizzing about they all opened up boxes that had been listed among this years required materials.

Each student had a set of about two hundred and fifty inch high miniatures, charmed with most of the same spells that animated pieces for Wizard's Chess. Since they were all new to this Cologne went about casting charms on about two dozen of those figures each, and explained while she did so that she'd expect them to handle the necessary spells no later than halfway through the year.

Her charms did nothing more or less than dress eleven miniatures as Death Eaters, and a group of twelve as Aurors, with three figures dressed as the family in the house both sides had been fighting over. She had her pupils place them as they'd seen the battle start, then told them to replay the action as best they could remember it.

Naturally, they got it all wrong. But by the end of class they had a much better idea of how and what to watch for to have any true idea of what was going on.

That was enough for the first day, she released them at the end of two hours, telling them they'd be replaying those battles soon as commanders. And some of those battles they'd be doing would have certain changes to learn how it could have gone differently.

Like Nodoka, she gave them no essays, reports or homework to do, just demanded that they get the ideas she'd taught in one lesson by the next time, however they ended up doing it. And, like Nodoka, she had a list of extra credit reading to offer those who were interested. Most were, and dove into those recommended books with relish and added History to Defense as a subject that the library would be adding more books on.

It was soon a very popular course. Indeed, it fell second rank only to Magical Defense, and that was because the other had a little more glamour and taught them useful spells more often.

I O I O I

Author's Notes:

Now tell me honestly, if you to attend Hogwarts wouldn't you rather those courses be taught this way? And every one of those resources exists in that world.