Chapter 12: Courtesy of the Half Blood Prince
Severus grabbed the group and Ron and Hermione.
"Join me in a carriage" he said. "Not you, Ginny."
Ginny pouted.
"Why not?"
"You're not doing NEWTS. I'll see YOU next year."
"Oh. All right!" Ginny brightened.
Severus held up his own copy of 'Advanced Potion Making' when they got into one of the Thestral drawn carriages.
"I amended some potions….this isn't just about getting good results, it's about being as good as you can be to help Harry. Krait has copied most things out fair, Draco can use that if you Gryffindors share this and copy what you want into your own text books….there are spells in there as well, some of them aren't very nice….I wasn't a very nice little boy."
"Nobody ever gave you a chance to be, sir" said Harry.
"Isn't it cheating?" asked Hermione.
"And using the potions somebody else has worked out is not?" asked Severus. "You are already using somebody else's hard work in the standard potions….I just improved on a few. If you want to experiment and come up with your own improvements I'll be delighted with your industry….and if you bother to tell him, so will Professor Slughorn. I never told him my innovations" he added. "I was afraid he might market them as his own…."
"Just passing them on to someone who'd make money from the improvement as a little favour no doubt" said Krait. "He's not deliberately dishonest, I don't think it would occur to him that it was stealing…."
"Isn't it dishonest for us…" Hermione tried again.
"I make you a free gift of my improvements" said Severus harshly. "One day maybe I may write them up in a new text book that may become standard; I never got around to it. Some I have had published in 'Transactions of the Learned Society of Potioneers' though they have not seeped down to school level yet. But I think it important."
Harry nodded.
"It sounds exciting" he said. "'This book is the property of the Half-Blood Prince'" he read on the spine "Is that you, sir? Being related to Bil…."
Severus gave a short mirthless laugh.
"Yes….my mother's wizarding blood; I was an over-imaginative boy, it pleased my sense of the dramatic…"
Harry touched him on the arm and smiled.
"I used to make up stories about my parents because the Dursleys never told me anything about them… it's the same thing I guess."
"Yes Harry, it is….here we are. Don't try any of the spells you're not clear about the effects of without asking me." he warned. "Some can cause a deal of harm….Sectumsempra for example opens the body with great slashes, I'm holding THAT in reserve for his Fishyness…See you first thing for the MSHG run." He nodded and was gone, striding up to the castle.
-/-
The entire school rose when Dumbledore and the other staff came into the Great Hall; to the evident surprise of the old wizard. However he beamed a smile of genuine pleasure around all the school.
"Thank you" he said. "Please be seated, and let us proceed with the Hatting Ceremony!"
The Hat sang its usual sort of song.
"Welcome to the children new
who come to education
And for the best in life for you
we work with dedication
As from the distant days of yore
To make this mighty goal
There came together good friends four
To build this mighty school"
"That rhyme was a bit forced" said Krait critically
"Nothing new there" said Draco.
The hat continued its song blithely ignoring any interruption.
"Slytherin from fenny marsh
chose children of ambition
his methods often seemed quite harsh
to push for high position
Gryffindor chose valour true
To be his greatest trait
The heroes that would bravely do
Regardless of their fate"
"You couldn't really say boneheaded a lot more tactfully really" said Hawke, to Bil, winking at Abrax on the Gryffindor table. Abrax stuck out his tongue; he had a shrewd idea what his twin had said.
"Rowena Ravenclaw spoke now
I value intellect
And so the clever ones I trow
Are mine for to collect.
And Helga Hufflepuff spoke well
The rest are mine to cherish
For hard work's virtue; this I'll tell
Their dreams shall not then perish.
And though the dreams of these four may
Be different in detail
Friends yet they were upon that day
And enemies did quail.
Whichever house you should be in
Remember all its strengths
Against its weaknesses strive and win
Extend your world by lengths."
"We were actually, old thing" murmured Draco. "Only we managed it without the advice of a piece of superannuated headgear."
"I rather like the old thing actually" said Krait, mildly.
-/-
After the Hatting ceremony – in which Crispin was clearly accepted by the hat and put unexpectedly into Gryffindor, along with Prince Victor – Dumbledore reminded everyone of this year's list of banned items from Mr Filch and pointed out that there would be Quidditch tryouts. The head announced that the result of the prefect vote had brought in the youngest Head Boy ever, in the person of Draco Malfoy – Dumbledore paused as Slytherin raised the roof, and a goodly proportion of Gryffindors cheered quite genuinely too – and the head mentioned how pleased he had been with Draco's personal development and went on to say that he felt that it was a worthy choice and that he felt sure that Draco would live up to the challenge. Draco flushed scarlet, hardly able to believe it.
"Excellent!" said Krait. "I couldn't have picked a better Head Boy save perhaps Harry…but he's got other things to do."
"You did pick him, you Malfoy ratbag!" called across a Hufflepuff prefect. "You talked half of us into voting for him!"
Krait grinned unrepentantly.
Once the noise had died down, Dumbledore introduced Professor Slughorn, who rose, his bald head gleaming and his great waistcoated belly casting a deep shadow. The headmaster explained that Professor Snape would be taking over the position of Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. Severus did not rise, just raised a hand in lazy acknowledgement of the applause from the Slytherin table and assorted Muggle Studies stalwarts. The whispered "Padfoot? Has the curse got Padfoot?" went around. Dumbledore went on,
"Last year's teacher, Professor Black has asked if I will let him introduce a new field of study – Geomancy. I shall let him introduce it."
Sirius rose from a place in the shadows to sighs of relief and enthusiastic applause.
"Nice to be wanted" he grinned. "Geomancy is the study of place – and non-place. It is the study required to utilise to their full effect the ley lines that criss-cross all areas where people and especially the magically active have lived for any length of time; the study of what to do to make a place unplottable; and how to create Wizarding space. Generally small portions of the subject have hitherto been passed down as part of the in-work training in a variety of jobs to those witches and wizards who have already left Hogwarts. I believe it warrants a class of its own, and I have been putting together a syllabus. We are petitioning the Ministry to introduce an OWL paper in due course. I will be teaching the first year, plus an all age optional class on Saturday afternoons for older students who are interested; second to fourth years interested in the extra work load should hopefully be able to take it as an elective if we can get it cleared as an OWL."
"Oh yes!" David Fraser breathed happily.
"You'll find the ley lines by sniffing them I dare say" Erich teased him. David grinned.
"It's something like that…Padfoot's taken me on the odd trip, he says I have a good feel for it. It – it runs in families; Padfoot and I traced back my family tree to a scion of the Black line who was expunged from the tree before the statute of secrecy. That'll be perhaps too where being an animagus comes from."
David had been overjoyed to discover that he was – however distantly – related to Sirius, with whom he associated so strongly. Though he was quite happy with his status as muggleborn it was also very nice to have roots within the wonderful world he now inhabited. He did not intend to share it with any but those to whom he was closest however; there would be those who would try to make an issue of him being a descendant of the noble family Black and David felt more muggleborn than the scion of a pureblood family. It was a matter of principle. Sirius was a spare uncle; as Severus was the next best thing to a father.
Dumbledore waited for the chatter to die down over the new appointments; and reminded them that Voldemort was at large, reassured everyone that the defences had been strengthened, and adjured them all to take care and not to take foolish risks.
He was probably wasting his breath where some were concerned, especially the innocent looking New Marauders.
-/-
Hagrid greeted his old friends, most of whom were embarrassed by not being prepared to carry on with Care of Magical Beasts, and not having the heart to tell him. He cheerfully imparted the news that Dumbledore had arranged a nice comfortable cave for Grawp, his half brother.
"That's going to suit him better than the forest" said Krait. "Hagrid, can I fit in lessons with you a bit anyhow? I want to do two years work in one if I can, I read through the text book, because I'm doing the same with Charms and Herbology in the hopes of finishing at the right age….at least I'm well ahead with Transfigurations, Potions, DADA and Arithmancy."
"Seven NEWTS? Ain't that a little more than what you need?" asked Hagrid.
"I need five if I decide to go for Auror training…and I want to do Herbology and Care of Magical Animals out of personal interest" said Krait.
"Well…I expect we can fit in quite a lot" said Hagrid cheerfully. "I'm not expectin' a large class, y'know."
Ron and Harry exchanged uncomfortable looks. They thought Krait would probably have the class to herself; and that she was welcome to it. Krait wanted to study magical creatures partly as an adjunct to potioneering; and partly to help her transfigurations, and hoped fervently that Hagrid would not get too enthusiastically exotic. At least if she was the only one in the class she could get him talking over cups of tea and learn a lot that way; probably – if it were out of normal school hours – with David along too, for the boy had taken a real liking to Hagrid and had taken to helping him out with odd jobs at weekends and during the holidays.
-/-/-/-
The first thing in the morning involved a discussion with the head of house over whether each pupil had grades good enough for their chosen NEWTS; and Krait was summoned to see Madam McGonagall after finishing her own sorting out. Krait's grades were more than acceptable for her chosen subjects and she had already been studying NEWTs in any case.
Krait entered Madam McGonagall's office to find her alone with Neville.
"Krait, my dear…" said McGonagall. "Neville wants to try for an auror…he has four grades at levels high enough to be accepted by the requisite teachers, as Professor Slughorn's expectations are not so stringent as Professor Snape's; but he only got a high 'Acceptable' for Transfiguration…I usually ask for an 'Exceeds Expectation' and I am concerned about him keeping up with the class work…he tells me you said you would put in extra hours coaching him. You already have so much on your plate, with the babies and trying to cover two years in one with some subjects…."
"Charms is the only one I need at high grade, the others I really need I've done a year of already" said Krait. "And intensive charms is one of the things the MSHG does practice….the physical labour of caring for babies is mostly done by Mimette and Sirri, bless them, freeing me to just enjoy them…and I really like not having time to think and fear….I think Neville will keep up anyway because of two things. One is knowing that his parents are well…"
"THAT's why you were so keen to learn to transfigure into unicorn then…." Said McGonagall.
"That's right, Minerva…I had to try. Severus is a brilliant potioneer, and it worked" she said. "Also there is the unique link we share….did Albus tell you about it?"
Minerva nodded.
"I wasn't sure I approved…."
"It's proved itself by what it can do already…like you, he and Sirius were in the Department of Mysteries instead of Harry, which I wager he would have been without the link, the occlumency and the team…."
"Weell…maybe" she conceded, her accent thickening. "And if the link does not help…are you prepared to go over his coursework with him?"
Krait nodded.
"If nothing else it would be good revision for me" she said "And a reminder how to do it by the book instead of by my own methods you deplore so much… I'm already teaching part time with any remedial potions work Severus needs me for. It'll be an interesting challenge to be Neville's coach as well."
"Ye break every rule in the book and for you it works" said Minerva. "Wee pest that ye are…"
Krait grinned.
"You wait until you're teaching Lilith…."
Minerva shuddered.
"I believe I may just retire by then" she said, smiling to belie her words. "Weell then, Neville, we'll give it a go; but if ye cannae keep up, ye'll have to drop it, do you understand?"
Neville nodded.
"THANK you Madam McGonagall!" he said. Krait had brought on several juniors that Severus had despaired of the year before as well as having helped him out with HIS potions to the extent that he was now just about an 'E' average student; and he had no doubt that she would soon have him equal to similar grades in Transfiguration!