"No… surely not…"
Hermione pursed her lips and ran her eyes across the staff table. There was no one else new present, there. It couldn't be…
"And of course, there is the matter of our new Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor." Dumbledore said. A hushed silence fell across the room. Dolores Umbridge smiled, and tapped her fingers together. "Today ,I am happy to announce…."
Dolores Umbridge made to stand up.
"That at the last possible moment I was able to find a new Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor… preventing the need for the Ministry to assign us one."
Umbridge's face twisted. She gave an angry look at Dumbledore, and seemed intent on voicing her displeasure, but he trudged on ahead as if he didn't notice her.
"May I introduce…"
An owl soared in from above over the tables. Mid-flight it stopped, wheeled around, and a grown woman, landed in front of them, beaming.
"Professor Charlotte Aulin."
An excited whisper burst out among the students. Harry was confused, but both Ron and Hermione looked taken aback.
"Charlotte Aulin?"
"How'd he get her?"
"Who?" Harry asked, exasperated.
"She beat Dracula in the forties!" Hermione hissed. "Honestly, don't you pay attention in class!"
"Dracula?"
Before Hermione could admonish him more, Charlotte Aulin bowed a little, greeted Professor Dumbledore, and took a seat at the teacher's table, beaming happily. She was an older woman, perhaps in her mid sixties, but she was bright and lively. She was already chatting amicably with Professor McGonagall who, Harry was surprised to see, looked happier than he usually saw her.
"Maybe they were classmates." Harry wondered aloud.
"They WERE, Harry." Hermione said, exasperated.
"I wonder what she's going to be like as a teacher." Ron said. "I doubt anyone knows as much about vampires as her… she's a legend."
"Vampires, huh?" Harry asked, his eye fixed on the new professor. "Maybe she's a part of the Order?"
"Maybe." Hermione murmured, casting anxious glances around. "But don't bring that up in public, Harry… I'm just glad we're not going to be taught by that Umbridge woman."
Umbridge, indeed, was shooting dark glances at Professor Aulin. Harry found himself agreeing with her.
…
Dolores Umbridge was fuming. She had come to the castle with the understanding that she had been granted the position of the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. Dumbledore, in his underhanded way, had deliberately tried to undermine her in the most embarrassing way possible. The Minister would hear about this, she thought to herself wildly, as she made her way to Dumbledore's office, intent on giving him a piece of her mind.
"Enter." Dumbledore said, when she knocked on the door. She opened it to find Dumbledore alone at his desk.
"Ah, Dolores." Dumbledore said politely. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"
"I was set to be the next Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor, Headmaster." She said, bringing up her head to her full height.
"You were.' Dumbledore agreed. "Under the condition that I would not be able to find a suitable replacement. As it so happens, Charlotte Aulin was perfectly happy to take up the mantle this year."
"Yes…" Umbridge's face turned into somewhat of a grimace. "You understand, Headmaster, that this comes somewhat of a shock… I had my own lesson plan and-"
"I understand, Dolores." Dumbledore said gently. "But I assure you it was at the absolute last minute. Professor Aulin has many duties of her own to attend to, you see. But considering that we are approaching the prophesied date of Dracula's final return in 1999… Well. We both agreed it was essential to train students to hunt vampires."
"Indeed…. Vampires." Umbridge said dryly. "A noble goal, to be sure Headmaster… assuming that is your true intention."
"What are you implying, Dolores?"
"I think, Headmaster, that your failure to convince the public that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has returned has led you to desperate tactics… that in order to continue your fearmongering, that you turn to Dracula's inevitable return instead."
Dumbledore's eyes flashed.
"Voldemort's reign of terror could expedite Dracula's return." He said. "He is a wizard with enough skill to-"
"The Prophecy made no mention of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named." Umbridge said sweetly. "History will remember him as nothing more than man defeated by a mere child." She turned to leave.
"The Minister will be hearing about this, Headmaster." She called behind her. Dumbledore bade her farewell, a deep frown on his face.
…
"When's our first Dark Arts class?" Harry asked anxiously, as they poured over their schedules for that term. Hermione had gifted him the 'A History of Castlevania' and had spent the evening completely absorbed in the text. Their new professor, Charlotte Aulin, had perhaps the most experience with the Dark Arts than any Professor they had ever met… being directly credited with destroying Dracula's Castle in the 40's, and killing the infamous vampire artist Brauner and curing his daughters of their vampirism.
"Friday." Hermione said primly, as she folded up the newspaper. They watched the new professor amicably chatting with Professor McGonagall.
"Shame she doesn't look as good as she did when she was young." Ron commented. Harry agreed with him, and Hermione frowned at them both.
"Boys…" She muttered. "Don't you ever respect a girl for her brains?"
"We respect you just fine, Hermione." Ron said, as he tapped his forehead. "But back in the day she was gorgeous."
Hermione huffed, her nose in the air, as Ron and Harry shot each other grins and high fives.
There was definitely an unusual energy to the class as they prepared for their first class. Harry and Ron were not the only admirers of young Charlotte Aulin… an old pin up magazine that featured her on the cover began to circulate the school's halls, and they were traded around and copied ad nauseum by the male students.
"You do know that she's in her sixties now, don't you?" Hermione said disparagingly. "What about her actual accomplishments?"
"Like being gorgeous?" Ron teased. Hermione huffed, and Ron and Harry had a good laugh at her expense. Despite her reservations, however, she was just as invested in the boys as they sat down in the classroom awaiting their first lesson.
"Good morning class." Professor Aulin said, as she faced them. Harry had been looking at her pin up poster for so long that seeing the real thing was somewhat jarring. Her brown hair had turned a shiny silver, and her face had rounded out somewhat, but still she moved and spoke with such energy and passion that Harry could instantly see that it was the same person he had been reading about. "I am Professor Charlotte Aulin… a vampire hunter, and your newest Defense Against the Dark Arts professor."
A scroll unfolded itself in front of her and she glanced at it, and began to do roll call. Usually when Harry's name was called there was some kind of reaction from the Professor, but Charlotte read his name as if he were any other. When she was finished, the scroll rolled up and disappeared.
"The Dark Arts." She began. "Are far more sinister than you may be led to believe."
There was a dead silence in the room. Everyone in the room took the dark arts very seriously. The thought that they didn't, honestly felt a little presumptive.
"Wizarding history has a tendency to be very self-centered." Charlotte said, as the blackboard behind her began scribbling out an elaborate portrait. "Many of us do not take notice of the Evils of the world, unless they affect us directly. You have, perhaps, grown up being told about the horrors Voldemort inflicted on our people. Perhaps he has killed family members, or people your parents cared deeply about. Yet you know nothing about what he did to Muggles, or to the natural world itself. In some ways, his evil works still lingers on this world."
Hermione's breath hitched in her throat.
"I do not expect any of you to fight the worst this world has to offer." Charlotte continued. "What I expect from you is to life a live of virtue and honor, to treat those around you kindly and to wisely conduct yourselves with those around you. To have a world worth protecting is more important than anything, I feel."
She turned to the blackboard and tapped her finger against it. The board had formed to display a series of simple phrases.
"Even if you have nothing else, you must hold to your values." She stressed. "Evil cannot be vanquished without a strong, stable community with good morals."
It was one of the strangest lessons they had ever taken at Hogwarts. She never mentioned her career as a vampire hunter at all, instead choosing to lecture them about the nature of good and evil and personal responsibility. She seemed less interested in teaching them magic and much more focused on teaching them morality.
"I felt like I was in Sunday school." Hermione complained, as they traipsed out of the classroom, looking dejected.
"Maybe she thought we needed to be set straight, after what happened last year with Moody?" Harry suggested. "She might have thought we were going to turn out to be deviants."
"Maybe." Hermione said, a bit disgruntled. "Oh, I should have spoken out about it… this has nothing to do with the Dark Arts…"
"Does it, though?" Ron asked. "I mean, her entire point was that our lives are worth protecting to someone. I think she was trying to emphasize just how good people are for opposing the dark arts."
"But we already knew that." Hermione said, exasperated.
"Were we the ones who needed to learn that, though?" Harry asked, as he gestured towards Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle, who were standing some distance away. "Voldemort is evil, and anyone who would enable him is tearing about the things that society values…"
Hermione was suddenly intrigued. "You think she might have been trying to appeal to the Slytherins?"
Harry looked bashful. "I mean… I suppose…"
Hermione shook her head.
"I don't think it was a great lesson…" She muttered. "But… maybe I just didn't understand it. Maybe I'll ask her, when I get the chance."
…
Charlotte Aulin was sitting at her desk when a knock came at her office door.
"Enter." She said quietly, as she turned the paper she had been looking at over. Dolores Umbridge sidled into the room.
"Ah, High Inquisitor." Aulin said, as she got to her feet. "A pleasure, to be sure…"
Umbridge smiled. "Indeed." She said warmly. "How are you taking to the position?"
"I've been trying my best to obey the guidelines set by the Ministry." Aulin answered. "It's proving to be quite difficult… I hope that you are not unhappy."
"Oh, no no no." Umbridge said, beaming, as she grabbed her hands. "The Minister is very pleased with your work…. I must admit that I was concerned at first, but you've done an excellent job handling the material."
"I'm happy to hear that." Aulin said softly. "I wasn't aware when I took the position that there was such a political divide between the Ministry and the school. If I had known, I would never have accepted the post."
Umbridge smiled widely at her, and pulled away.
"Well, I assure you that you are doing a most excellent job." She said. "If you need anything… anything at all… feel free to contact me. I promise you, I will anything in my power to assist you."
"You are too kind."
"But yes, on to the matter at hand…" Umbridge said. "You have met Harry Potter, yes?"
"He has attended one of my classes."
"Has he made any nuisance of himself at all?"
"No, none."
"Hmm." Umbridge said. "I would keep an eye on that one, Professor. He should have been expelled over the summer. He used magic outside the school."
"How dreadful." Aulin responded drly.
They continued speaking for quite a while after that. By the time that Umbridge left her, making her promise to keep her updated on Harry Potter's actions, she was exhausted. It was difficult to keep up the façade in such a way, but with any luck she would be able to teach the students whatever she wanted with little interference with the Ministry… if she managed to stay on Umbridge's good side.
