Welcome back to the next chapter of Bad Moon Rising where the baddest bitch introduces herself to the school and informs the school that she is there to save them from the evil Headmaster and his lying puppet of a boy by removing them from Hogwarts.
Now only if she wasn't interrupted by that redheaded bitch and her stupid dog.
On with the show.
Harry Potter, Hogwarts.
"GRYFFINDOR!" The cry of the Sorting Hat echoed throughout the Great Hall, Harry could hear the whispers stop in shock as McGonagall looked down at the girl in front of her with one of the most shocked looks that Harry had ever seen across her face as Delphini stands up before taking off the ancient looking hat and handing it back to McGonagall with a grin on her face. Delphini then begins to walk across the stage, the blank Hogwarts uniform blooming in the colors of red and gold with a roaring lion on the patch on front of her jumper, her black tie becoming a swirl of red and gold as the gray and black plaid skirt is infused with the same. She walks down the steps to the high stage while brushing her hair behind her head to the dead quiet of the hall just for a moment before the Headmaster stands up and begins to applaud, stopping Delphini in her tracks before she turns around and looks at him confused just before the applauds begin to spread from the high table to the students below as they all welcomed the newest student to a surprising house.
Harry watches as Delphini walks down the row between the Gryffindor table and the wall, her head held high even with the distrustful and scathing looks from the other Gryffindors who were old enough to know who Delphini's mother is, not even Ron and Hermione were immune to joining in on them, though Harry couldn't blame any of them, especially not Neville, who was for the first time Harry had ever seen him do, sending a glare worthy of the Hunt to the girl who now called Gryffindor home. But Harry had long ago learned not to listen to the opinions of others on what to think of a singular person, so as Delphini was passing behind him, he slid down the bench, leaving enough room for her to sit between him and Ron, causing the said boy to look at him like he had lost his mind more so than normal.
Delphini stops, and Harry could feel the look of surprise on his back from her as he sat leaning forward on the table with his arms crossed and chin resting on them, the pounding in his head starting as soon as he sat down and grumpy mood coming back full force when he saw a spot at the high table empty. After a moment she slides in between Ron and Harry, and an awkward silence falls over the four as Ron eyes her up and down with a frown, analyzing her as Hermione narrows her eyes between Harry and Delphini.
"Lestrange, huh?" Harry says, not looking back at Delphini, and feels her shrug next to him.
"Would it have mattered if you found out last year?" Delphini asks, leaning forward as Harry thought about it for a moment.
"No, probably not," Harry says, he didn't know who the Lestrange family was until Neville told him last year after handing over the letters to his parents, "Does kinda answer why you were looking for the Chamber of Secrets last year," Harry says offhandedly before Delphini chuckles a bit.
"What can I say, I'm a curious girl," Delphini says with another shrug, causing Hermione to turn to Harry.
"You showed her the Chamber?" Hermione asks, her eyes darting back between the two, Harry answers with a grunt as he continues looking at the High table with his brow furrowed.
"Pot-Head, you're being broody again," Delphini whispers to him before nudging him with her elbow and Harry makes another angry grunt, "Is he normally like this?" Delphini asks.
It takes a moment, but Hermione finally answers, "Yes, he doesn't like crowds much, but at this moment he is particularly grumpy," she says slowly.
"I'm not grumpy," Harry says, trying to defend himself.
"What got his goat then?" Delphini asks Hermione, ignoring Harry's statement and making him frown more.
"Apparently, he knows the new Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor and is an apprentice to them, she isn't here at the moment, hence why he's grumpy," Hermione says, still eyeing Delphini with distrust.
"Oi, hold on, you're the apprentice to her? To Professor walking wet dream?" Delphini asks, sounding excited as her head whips around to look back at Harry, who does the same thing to her.
"You've seen her?" Harry asks with a smile and wide eyes as Hermione narrows her own at him.
"Yeah, she walked up and greeted the munchkins and me," Delphini informs Harry with a smile and far-off look, "and damn, Pot-Head, I'm a bit jealous that you got an apprenticeship with Árd-Greimne because god damn she is hot," She says her smile growing goofy for a moment.
"You think she's hot?" Harry asks, sounding disturbed for a moment.
"Pot-Head, anyone with eyes will say that she's hot," Delphini shoots back and turns to Harry only to see surprise and horror on his face, "What? She is!" she says as Hermione mouths the professor's name with a look of recognition in her eyes.
Harry slowly shakes his head, "No, Bubblegum, she's Terrifying," Harry says slowly, causing Delphini to blush a bit at the nickname but before Delphini could say anything back, the Headmaster had finally stood and walked over to the podium on the high stage, waving his hand to catch all the student's attention before he began to speak.
"To all our new students, I bid you welcome, and to all our returning students, welcome back to Hogwarts!" The Headmaster says, his charmed voice carrying all around the Great Hall as applause breaks out for a few moments before dying down once more, "Yes, yes, I am happy to see you all have returned as healthy and as happy as you left at the end of last school year with your heads just a little more empty to be filled once more during this year, but before we get to the feast to fill our stomachs, we have a few announcements to get through," Dumbledore says with a bright smile and a nod, "First of all, starting this year, the Forbidden Forest is no longer Forbidden, only, semi-forbidden!" He says to the mutterings around the hall "Just a few summers ago, thanks to the peerless work of MCUSA's Hunters of Artemis, they had cleared the forest out of anything dangerous, and after the staff with the help of a small team of Aurors swept the forest for any threats that may have remained we have deemed it time to open it up once more to the students," The Headmaster says with a smile as Harry could feel a few eyes move to look at him thanks to the events of the Tri-Wizard Tournament last year and who had sponsored him.
"What this means is simple, from the beginning of the forest on grounds and stretching back a little over two kilometers is open to every student to explore as they wish, we have even laid down paths and trails that I find myself walking for a relaxing jaunt when I need it, we have also created picnic areas for those who wish to enjoy the cool weather while it lasts," Dumbledore says to much of the excitement of the students, "But do be warned, that past the two kilometers, you will no longer be in the safety of the wards, you will know this when you feel a shock on your body, much like static electricity, When you feel that sensation I advise you to turn around and follow the trails back to the school and, much like Hogmeads, they are closed to anyone below third year without a signed permission slip," He says with a serious look on his face as his eyes sweep across the Great Hall, "But for those who are interested, the Forest is home to many different types flora and fauna both magical and mundane, so to those who have an interest in creature studies or herbology, you will find it a treasure trove to learn from," he tells the students to a round of polite applause.
"Now as many as you can see, we have quite a few new additions to the staff this year, so please, join me in welcoming Professor Horace Slughorn, Professor Wilhelmina Grubbly-Plank, and Professor Dolores Umbridge," Dumbledore says as the new Professors stand and the students once again join him in polite applause, but Harry just scowls at Umbridge, it was the same toad looking woman from his trial and even in Hogwarts the woman had the same smirk of superiority on her squat face as she looks around the hall with a hungry gleam in her eye while wearing an eye-burning shade of pink robes. Professor Slughorn Harry also knew, if only by name alone, he was one of the people whom his mother, Lily, had written a letter to and he had sent last year with a school owl along with an explanation of what it was.
"Yes, yes, this is more of a welcome back to Professor Slughorn for he once taught potions before his successor, Professor Snape took over, In fact, Professor Slughorn will be in charge of teaching years one through four potions with the aid of a teaching assistant while Professor Snape will continue year five through seven, also, with the help of a teaching assistant, both who are on loan from their mastery courses to help here at Hogwarts and I expect you all to treat them with the respect that they deserve," Dumbledore continues with a pleasant smile.
Hem-hem.
"For Professor Wilhelmina Grubbly-Plank, for now, will be taking on all seven years for Care of Magical Creatures until our most beloved groundskeeper returns from his well-earned sabbatical in just a few months, how they plan to divide the classes will be up to them upon Professor Hagrid's return, Professor Dolores Umbridge has agreed to take up teaching the Wixen History and Culture class mandatory to all first-year Muggleborn students starting this semester," The Headmaster says with a smile and a nod of his head.
Hem-Hem!
"And I'm sure most of you are wondering about two things of great importance, first, the Hound that was sleeping at the front door of the castle, allow me to put you all at ease, the Hound belongs to our new Defensive Arts teacher and is no threat to any who call Hogwarts home, think of him as another defender of the castle, so long as you respect him; he will respect you," Dumbledore says his eyes sweeping over the houses with a warning in his eyes, "If you are to come across him while wandering through the castle, please, stop, give him a pet and thank him for being such a good boy and for the first year's, if you find yourselves lost and alone in the castle, all you have to do is call his name, Cú, and he will come to guide you to where you need to be," He says with a reassuring smile.
Hem-Hem!
"As for our last, and at the moment, missing teacher-" Dumbledore tries to say before another set of fake coughs cut him off, surprising the old headmaster as he turns to see the toad-like woman, Professor Umbridge looking at him with an angry frown on her face as she glared at him. Most of the head table turn their heads to look at the toad-like woman in pink, Harry personally waits for either Snape to curse the woman or McGonagall to transfigure the woman into a toad. But The Headmaster, always the jovial man, turns his head with a smile, "Yes, Delores?" He asks, "Did you wish to say something?"
"Why Yes, Headmaster, I do," Umbridge says as she stands from her seat at the end of the staff table and walks over to the podium as Dumbledore takes a step back, letting the woman look over the gathered students of Hogwarts with a sour smile.
"Now, I know many of you have heard about the return of a certain dark wizard from certain persons, who shall remain nameless for now," the toad in pink says, looking over to the Gryffindor table, "But we at the ministry want to make sure you, the bright young minds of the future, know that these rumors are in truth entirely false, no matter who says anything on the matter. But what we at the ministry are worried about are the falling yearly scores and underwhelming staff at what was once the finest magical school in the world," it was after saying these words that Professor McGonagall begins to stand with a fire in her eyes and her hand slipping into the pockets of her robe until Snape puts a hand on her shoulder and pulls her back down in her seat before looking at her and shaking his head slightly, "but not to worry-," Umbridge continues on never realizing how close to getting turned into a toad she was, "-We at the ministry thought it was high time for someone to come and shape up the staff, to root out problematic students, and make sure this school was brought backup to the envy of the magical world, and the ministry has selected-" but that was as far as Umbridge's speech went, because it was cut off by the deafening BOOM That shook the Great Hall as the doors to the room slam open, causing Harry's head to snap back to look at who just walked through the door as his grin turned feral.
"My Apologies, Headmaster, for being so late," She calls out as she walks with grace and a presence that commanded everyone's attention, the massive hound, Cú, trailing behind her, his tongue hanging out of his mouth as it whips his head back and forth looking at all the students, "I had a few errands to run before dinner and I guess they took a bit longer than I expected," She says as strolls forward as all the students look at her in surprise.
"Not at all, My Lady, Not at all," Dumbledore says before gesturing to the woman walking up the aisle in between Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw with a smile on her face, "Students, let us give a very special Hogwarts welcome to Lady Scáthach Árd-Greimne, the Scaithanna of the Circle of Fianna, our new Defensive Arts Professor," The Headmaster calls out before the students begin to applauded again, some of them looking on in awe at Scáthach.
Hermione's head whips around to look at Harry so fast that he could swear that her neck spun all the way around before her body did as she looked at him in open shock, her mouth opens and closes a few times before she finally speaks, "That's…her?" Hermione asks, eyes wide, "Like her her?"
Harry smiles back at one of his best friends as his other best friend, Ron, looks between the two oddly, feeling as if he was missing something, "Yup," Harry says, popping the P sound like a piece of bubblegum. Hermione just turns back around to watch as Scáthach makes her way to the high table, snapping her fingers and pointing at the spot in front of it Cú heeds the orders and moves to the spot, circling it three times before flopping onto the ground.
Scáthach ascends the stairs as Umbridge looks on with a glare before Scáthach turns to look back at her with a raised brow, "I hope I haven't interrupted anything important with my arrival," Scáthach asks as she turns to Dumbledore with a small smile on her lips.
"Professor Umbridge was just giving a riveting speech about not believing Voldemort has returned to the students, and how she is here for the betterment of the school," Dumbledore says with a smile before folding his arms behind his back, "It was very moving, I assure you, My Lady," he says in a jovial tone.
"Ah, so nothing truly important, I see," Scáthach says before she sweeps by the Headmaster, who looks to be fighting a smile, and a gapping Umbridge. As she nears the side of the high table Harry watches as Snape stands from his seat, and for a moment Harry though the man was going to do or say something to Scáthach, Snape simply walks over to the last remaining empty seat at the table and pulls it out with a bow of his head, Scáthach nods her head in thanks before setting at the table with the grace of a queen before Snape turns to the Slytherin table, who were all looking at him oddly since he stood up, with a glare before the whole table but the first years found the cutlery and plates far more interesting than before as the dark man retakes his seat.
"But Headmaster, if all official announcements are done, I think the children have waited long enough to eat," Scáthach says before clapping her hands twice and summons the feast as the Headmaster just smiles before walking back to his seat in the middle of the high table, leaving a red face and angry looking Umbridge standing on stage. Scáthach ignores the woman wearing pink as she pours herself a goblet of what looks to be wine before she looks around the hall full of students happily eating with soft eyes and even a softer smile before they stop at the Gryffindor table and sees Harry looking back at her. She raises her goblet to him and sends him a wink before taking a sip and turning to her food.
Harry smiles before he begins to pile his dinner onto his plate, "I can't believe you didn't tell us!" He hears Hermione hiss at him before turning to her, the smile never leaving his face.
"Where would the fun be in that?" Harry asks as Ron lets out a barking laugh before taking a bite of roasted chicken.
Gryffindor Tower.
"Harry, I'm being serious," Hermione says as she paces beside the trio's favorite spot in Gryffindor Tower, dinner had ended an hour ago, and the prefects had sent all the younger years to bed while everyone fifth year and up took over the common room for a welcome back party. The only reason Harry was even in the room was the silencing ward that Krum had taught her before the end of the last school year and a cold cloth that was pressed over his eyes to block out some of the light for the headache he had. Hermione had gone on a rant about Umbridge and what she had meant with her speech, the Ministry interfering with Hogwarts, trying to get Harry and Dumbledore kicked out of the school, Harry had snorted at it all.
"I am too Hermione, I doubt that's going to happen and even if it does, it won't get that far," Harry says, sounding unbothered by it all.
"And why is that?" Hermione snaps at him, stopping her pacing to turn and glare at Harry, her frustrations and anger over what was happening with her best friend showing up on her face and in her body language.
"The Queen is back in the castle, do you honestly think she is going to let anyone do anything to Hogwarts or the students?" Harry asks, moving the cloth to look at Hermione who was now biting her lip.
"If that's the case, Harry, why didn't she just take over as Headmistress?" Hermione asks, sounding genuinely curious. It was a good question for anyone who didn't know Scáthach like Harry did, why would this all-powerful being, a goddess, the one who had built the original school in the first place, bow down to the mortal that was now running it? For anyone else, they would be confused by Scáthach's actions, but to Harry, it made perfect sense.
"Because she doesn't want to run a school, Hermione, she wants to teach," Harry explains as he sits up from the chair he was laying across while pulling off the cold cloth from his head, "How many times have we've seen the Headmaster teach a class, or gave private lessons to someone?" Harry asks, watching as the answer dawns on Hermione's face, "He took over in the first year because he had to, not because he wanted to, Scáthach wants to teach, not sit behind a desk and make sure that the school has enough parchment for the coming year," He says tossing the cloth on the small table Ron had set his chessboard up on and was going through a set of plays, nodding along with what Harry was saying.
"Besides that, she isn't like most gods, she wasn't born as one, she was made one, she still remembers what it's like to be human, so I don't doubt she would let Dumbledore run the school so long as the school itself and the safety of the students were put first, but I'm also sure that Teacher is now the unofficial Headmistress," Harry says with a shrug, what he saw at the feast pretty much showed him that, she had dismissed Umbridge and summoned the feast something that Harry had only seen Dumbledore do.
Hermione sighs before sitting down across from Harry and next to Ron, "I suppose you're right, I'm just worried about what's going to happen with the Ministry interfering with the school while a goddess is on staff," she says with a frown.
"Well, pretty simple what will happen, I reckon," Ron says as he moves the castle and the white bishop across the board, "The Ministry is gonna try to do something stupid, and then," He says before moving the black queen and knocking over the bishop over, "Scáthach is gonna put them in their place, game over," Ron says, before resetting the board.
"And you aren't worried about what's going to happen when she does that?" Hermione asks Ron, pausing for a moment with a frown on his face, hand hovering over the white queen, before shaking his head.
"Not really, no," Ron says before moving the white queen back into place, "Because if she does that, then it's going to ruin whatever The Morrígan has planned and honestly, that could only be a good thing," Ron says airily with a shrug before he starts to move pieces across the board again in practice, "What I want to know is why you let Lestrange, of all people, sit next to us," Ron says as he looks over at Harry with his eyes slightly narrowed as Hermione looks at him as well, curiosity gleaming in her eyes.
Harry's head hits the back of the chair and lets out a sigh, he tilts his head and looks over toward the fireplace where Delphini was sitting alone sipping some drink that both Fred and George had snuck into the party as she was looking into the flames with a bit of a frown. She looks up for a second as if she had sensed someone was looking at her, seeing Harry looking at her she smiles and waves before Harry quickly looks away, "A lot of reasons, okay," Harry says.
"How did you two meet last year?" Hermione asks, her eyes flicking toward the fireplace and back to Harry.
Harry shrugs, "She came up to me when you guys weren't talking to me last year," Harry says with a shrug as brief flashes of guilt show in both Hermione and Ron's eyes before Hermione turns back to Harry.
"And you didn't find that odd at all?" Hermione asks.
"No, not really," Harry says, with a roll of his eyes, "With this bloody thing,-" He says as he points to the scar on his forehead, "-It's not very odd that some random person knows who I am and wants to talk to me," Harry says with a roll of his eyes.
"Did she ever introduce herself?" Hermione asks.
"Of course she did, told me her name Delphini and said she always wanted to meet me because of some magic math thing with me surviving the Killing Curse or something," Harry tells Hermione, her eyes narrowing at Harry's words.
"While she has a point, and it is a fascinating talking point, it's not like the whole of the Arithmancy class here wants to sit you down and pick you apart, Harry," Hermione says, bringing her hand up and tapping her lips.
"Have I come up before?" Harry asks, honestly curious.
"Only once, during an improbable variable segment on how no one could figure out how you survived the Killing Curse," Hermione says, her brow furrowed, "I was honestly thinking about doing to do a thesis on it if I go out for an Arithmancy Mastery, with your permission, of course," Hermione says, pausing to turn to Harry she wouldn't do it if he said no, but Harry just shrugged again, not caring about it because if anyone could figure it out, it was Hermione, and Harry knew she would at least be respectful.
"But still, she never told you her last name meant she was hiding something, then there is the fact she was looking for the Chamber of Secrets," Hermione points out as Harry once again rolls his eyes.
"Come off it Hermione, loads of people have looked for the Chamber before, it's just none of them found before me, you, and Ron," Harry says, turning back to lay sideways on the chair facing away from Delphini, "Besides just being curious about a Secret Chamber in a magical school isn't exactly incriminating, Ya know?" Harry says before grabbing the cooled cloth and putting it back over his head.
"Why are you defending her?" Hermione asks, looking at Harry confused, "If anything you should be the one most up in arms about her being here, being in Gryffindor, so why are you defending her?" she asks, sounding genuinely lost at Harry defending someone he didn't know. Harry sighs because out of everyone he thinks Neville would be the most up-in-arms about Delphini. After all, even Harry had to admit Neville had a far better reason than he did, But all his roommate did was head to bed, completely ignoring Delphini in the process. Besides, Delphini's parents had never done anything to Harry but followed the wack job of a dark lord.
"Because I know what it's like being hated for no other reason than you were born, Hermione," Harry says coldly before pulling the cloth off his face and quickly standing up, "I'm going to bed," he states before vanishing the cloth with a flick of his wand.
"Harry," Hermione says quickly, understanding what she had said as she stood, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have-" she tries to say but Harry waves it off.
"It's fine, I'm just tired, okay?" Harry says as he rubs his eyes, not looking back as he makes his way to the staircase leading up to the boy's side of the dorm rooms, "I'll see you in the morning," he says quickly before taking the stairs two at a time, not looking back at his friends nor following the enticing scent of bubblegum.
By the time Harry steps out of the bathroom after taking a long hot shower and doing his nightly routine, Ron, Seamus, and Dean still weren't in the room and Neville's curtains were opened with the boy laying on his bed looking across the room, he looked lost and faraway in thought as he rolled the Remember-all in between his hands. Harry continues onto his bed, more than willing to leave Neville to his thoughts but is stopped when the other boy asks a question, almost in a whisper.
"Why do you trust her?" Neville asks, not even looking at Harry, his eyes still far away with turmoil dancing within them. If it was anyone else, Harry would have ignored the question outright or found a way to talk around it like he did with Hermione not too long ago, but this was Neville, a boy who had stood up to him during his first year, never thought him different during their second year, and had believed that he didn't enter into the tournament last year. Neville was also his Godsibling, and if things had been different if the dice had rolled any other way, Harry would have been raised with him, almost like brothers. Not to mention that Neville's parents were tortured to insanity by Delphini's parents, so with those thoughts in mind Harry turns to Neville to look the boy who could have been chosen in the eyes.
"It's not that I trust her, Neville, it's that I know what it's like being hated for something you had no control over," Harry says, causing Neville to look at him oddly, "You know I got sent to live with my relatives after everything happened, right?" Harry asks, and Neville nods, "They-They didn't like me all that much, hated me, in fact, I think my Aunt blamed me for my mum's death or something, that and they didn't like the fact I was magic," Harry says with a sigh causing Neville to look at him in concern.
"Did they-" Neville begins to ask, but quickly stops, his lips pressed into a thin line not wanting to pry.
"Yeah," Harry says, looking away and scratching the back of his head awkwardly, "They-They hunt me, a lot, but I'm fine now, living with Sirius and not them now," Harry says looking back at Neville with a hollow smile as the concern grows on Neville's face, "But I understand that hate, and I'm not saying you don't have a good reason not to hate her parents, Nev, I'm not, I'm saying that Delphini didn't have anything to do with what happened to your mum and dad and that at the end of the day, we all lost our parents in one way or another, and, …" Harry says trailing off.
"You too, huh?"
Harry sighs again before rubbing his eyes, "I'm not expecting you, of all people, to even like her Neville, but if you're going to hate her, hate her for something she did, not something her parents did," Harry tells the other boy as he looked back at him with an old pain reflecting in his eyes as the other boy nods at his words.
Harry Potter.
Harry had woken up early, eager to start the first day of classes, he threw on his jacket after getting his uniform on and was going down the steps two at a time before Ron had even put on his socks and headed to the Great Hall to grab his schedule for term. He makes it to the hall and spies Hermione at their normal spot towards the end of the table and notes Delphini a little ways down from her, oddly enough, both girls had books propped open as they ate. Harry slides onto the bench right across from Hermione before he starts to load up his plate with waffles and fresh fruit and a bit of bacon just in case Hedwig shows up for an early morning treat.
"Have they passed out the schedules yet?" Harry asks before cutting into the waffles and taking a syrupy bite.
"Not yet, Harry," Hermione says, not looking up from her reading, "But an interesting fact I've learned this morning, is the library has a second floor now," She says, causing Harry to pause his waffle time to look at her oddly as she looks back at him with a wide eye look of barely contained glee. As Harry goes to open his mouth to ask the dreaded question of if Hermione was going to drag him and Ron along to explore the new floor of the Library, Someone else speaks up.
"Mind if I sit with you two?" Delphini asks as both Harry and Hermione turn to look at her, she was standing beside Harry dressed for the day with a bowl of porridge in one hand, and in her other a large book, as Hermione looked to be moments away from telling the other girl to bugger off, Harry scoots down the bench, dragging his waffles with him and giving the other girl room to squeeze in beside him, "Thanks Pot-head," Delphini says before sitting down next to him as Hermione's head whips back and forth between the two.
"You're gonna make me and Ron go with you to dig through the new part, aren't you?" Harry asks Hemione before taking a bite of his waffles.
"No, I was going to ask, Harry," Hermione says with a roll of her eyes.
"Yeah, but when you normally ask things it sounds like an order," Harry counters after swallowing.
"It does not," Hermione bickers back, causing Harry to smirk.
"It does, and you-" Harry begins before the fluttering of hundreds of wings fill the hall, causing everyone to look up. Harry immediately spots the white and black spotted snowy owl gliding down to him, but it wasn't alone, spiraling alongside Hedwig, was a large mottled green and black feathered bird with a package in its talons. Hedwig lands with a flutter of her wings next to Harry's plate as the boy she had trained so well immediately offers her a slice of bacon she happily accepts as the boy begins to pet her. The large bird had landed next to Delphini with a grumpy forlorn look on its face before sticking out its leg that held the package, Harry frowned at the bird, it looked like a less Regal, and far more mournful-looking version of Fawkes.
"Hey, Tycho," Delphini says, taking what the bird had offered her and ignoring the package in favor of offering a bit of sausage she had grabbed and torn up as soon as she saw the flock of owls, Tycho reaches out gently and pucks the sausage from Delphini's fingers before swallowing it down.
"Is that an Augury?" Harry asks, looking at the bird with a tilt of his head as Delphini looks back at him with a large grin.
"Yup!" she exclaims happily, "His name is Tycho, he's been a friend of mine for a long time, even gave me a tail feather to use as my wand core, didn't you boy?" Delphini says before scratching down the neck of the bird.
"I'm surprised that you're allowed to have him at Hogwarts," Hermione says, studying the bird.
"I am too, but apparently the Headmaster has a fondness for feathery companions so didn't mind letting me keep Tycho here," Delphini explains with a shrug as Harry snorts before taking a swing of juice and goes back to feeding Hedwig who was eyeing the larger bird wearily.
"Not too shocking that," Harry states with a shrug of his own, "Dumbledore has a Phoenix friend he keeps in his office," Harry says, causing Delphini to look at him with an impressed look on her face.
"Does he now? Would love to see it," Delphini says before turning back to her book as Tycho happily snacks on the sausage. It was after Hedwig had her fill of bacon that she walked across the table toward the larger bird without fear as Tycho looks up from his sausage, causing Harry, Hermione, and Delphini to turn and watch the two, Tycho looking at Hedwig as the snowy owl bobs her head back and forth, inspecting the mournful looking bird.
"Hoot!" Hedwig says, her wings unfolding a bit as she spoke, Tycho tilts his head while eyeing the other bird before it speaks back.
"Mwah!" Tycho says in a gloomy cry, to which Hedwig hoots again, causing Harry to snort at the conversation the two birds were having, causing Delphini to look at him weirdly.
"What?" Harry asks, looking back at her with a raised brow.
"You snorted at an Augury's cry, that's just weird," Delphini says, the corner of her lips twitching upwards.
"Why is that weird?" Harry asks, looking slightly amused.
"Because their cries predict death," Ron says, yawning as he does while walking over to them, looking as he threw on his uniform in a haste to make it down to breakfast. He nods at Harry before sitting down next to Hermione, giving her an odd look before she shrugged silently back.
"That's just superstition, they only predict storms," Delphini says back, "Tycho has been crying around me since I can remember, and I haven't died yet," she tells Ron, who ignores her in favor of filling his plate with a small pile of morning food. Before anyone could say anything else a shadow fell over them, and all four students turned to see Professor McGonagall standing over them.
"Mister Weasley, Miss Granger, and Mister Potter," McGonagall says as she flicks through a stack of cards before pulling out three that were bunched together and passing them out, Harry takes his greedily before taking out his wand and muttering the translation spell under his breath to read it. McGonagall smiles a bit at the sight before turning the Delphini with a flat look and flicking through the stack of cards, "Miss Lestrange," she says before handing over the class schedule to her, "Will you require a map for the castle?" she asks the girl as she takes the schedule from the Professor.
"No thank you, Professor," Delphini answers as her eyes dance across the card, "Explored a bit of the castle last year, I'm sure I can find my way around," She says looking back to her head of house with a smile.
"As you wi-" McGonagall begins to say before getting cut off by Harry as he threw up his hands in a cheer.
"Yes! double Defensive Arts class today!" He says with a large grin, causing McGonagall to roll her eyes.
"Yes, I'm sure you know who is to thank for that young man," McGonagall says, a tiny smile forming on her lips at the joy of one of her favorite students, "Now, I know this is going to be a troubling and near impossible thing for you three to do, but try to behave this year," She says before walking away to hand out the rest of the schedules to the remaining students filtering into the Great Hall. Harry ate quickly as he always did, with only Delphini finishing with him before he stands up to go collect his bag from Gryffindor Tower, Harry had an hour of charms and an hour of potions before lunch and after that just two hours of transfiguration, and then he would get to see Teacher again which honestly made the thought of sitting through potions bearable. He made it just out of the Great Hall and halfway up the grand staircase before he was stopped by one of the last people he wanted to run into.
"Excuse me, Mister Potter," The high and prim voice of Dolores Umbridge echoes out behind Harry, stopping him before he lets out a small sigh and turns back to the Professor, "Just what do you think you're doing?" she asks, a small smile on her face as she looks up at him from the bottom of the staircase.
"Umm, Running up to my dorm to grab my bookbag?" Harry answers, sounding confused and pointing in the direction of Gryffindor Tower.
"Oh, not that deary, though that will be ten points from Gryffindor for running in the halls," Umbridge says with a little too much cheer to her voice, "I was talking about that ratty jacket," she says, and Harry's face falls as he straightens up, needless to say, Harry didn't like when people talked about his jacket.
"It's not ratty," Harry says a bit hotly with a scowl, "So, what about it?" he asks.
"Tut-Tut, Deary, that will be another ten for the back talk, but that ratty and tacky thing is not a part of the school dress code," Umbridge says with her smile growing a bit as Harry begins to grind his teeth, "Now I believe that's going to be another thirty points and a detention for not being in school robes," She says as she smiles sweetly at Harry.
"I am in dress code," Harry says through clenched teeth, "I don't have to wear school robes unless I'm at a feast or someone is visiting the school like last year, It's in section three, sub-section six, paragraph four of the student handbook," Harry tells her, trying very hard not to raise his voice at the smirking woman.
"Tut-Tut, Mister Potter, lying again," Umbridge says, wagging a finger, that Harry wanted to break at the moment, at him, "That would be another twenty points, and yet another detention," she says with a proud smirk, "See Mister Potter, you've been allowed to get away with a lot of things in these halls, spreading your nasty little lies, but that will be ending this year," She says as she smiles at him, "However long that will last for you," she says with a giggle.
"I'm not lying, you ugly cu-" Harry begins to say, his temper finally slipping but before he could finish, another voice snaps out, quicking silencing him.
"Potter!" the equally angry voice of Snape yells at him, "What are you doing? Speaking to a teacher like that," Snape snips at him as he walks up from the dungeons, his arms crossed behind his back and a scowl on his face, "I would have thought that having studied here you would know better,"
"She called me a liar," Harry quickly says, pointing at Umbridge, "She said I'm not allowed to wear my jacket and said it was against the school dress code," Harry explains quickly before Umbridge could say anything and watches as Snape's scowl deepens before he turns to Umbridge.
"Is this true, Dolores?" Snape asks, his scowl never leaving his face.
"That the boy is lying, of course," Umbridge says with what Harry was sure she thought was a convincing smile.
"Well, it appears that you did not read the Student Handbook as you were requested to do so by the Headmaster," Snape says in his normal snide tone of voice, "If you did, you would have noted in Section Three that so long as the students tie and crest upon their breast are visible, then they are considered in dress code, it does not matter what they wear over their uniforms so long as it is not offensive, and while obnoxious, a silver jacket hardly counts," The man says to Umbridge before turning back to Harry.
"You may not worry about the detentions, Potter, but the points losses will stand for speaking to a Professor in such a tone and in such a way," Snape tells him, frowning as if he was hurting himself for saying Harry wasn't gonna spend time in detention.
"You can not overturn my punishments, Severus," Umbridge tells him with a scowl of her own, her face turning a little red before Snape turns back to look at her with a blank face.
"Detentions are used on students who don't follow the rules, but unlike any other moment of the day, Potter is indeed following them for once, and while I can not, I do believe Minerva will agree with me on this," Snape tells her flatly, earning a glare from Umbridge before she turns and storms off.
Snape and Harry watched her go, waiting for her to be out of earshot before Harry speaks up, "Thanks Professor," Harry says, looking at Snape who turns to look back at him with a scowl.
"What are you still doing here, Potter?" Snape asks banefully, "I have to suffer an hour of you today and do not wish to do so a moment longer, so get out of my sight," he snaps at Harry who raises his hands in mock surrender before turning to continue up the stairs and onto Gryffindor Tower while shaking his head.
"It's good to be home," Harry thinks sarcastically to himself as he leaves to go prepare for his day.
Scáthach, the last class of the day, Hogwarts.
"Thanks, Teacher!" one of the Gryffindor first-year says as he rushes down the hall.
"Yeah! That was so much fun!" another Ravenclaw says.
"I can't wait till the next class!" A young Slytherin girl says as she chases after her housemates.
And Scáthach smiles as she watches her students run down the hall, the feeling of growing warmth in her breast as she waves to the little ones as they rush off for their last class of the day. She had missed this feeling, this completion of her being, of knowing what she had passed on today to the eager young minds wanting to learn will be remembered for the rest of their lives and the pride she felt in her chest for them. This was her true calling, not being the warrior maid she committed herself to become to slay her father, not the goddess she was forced to become, but as a teacher to the children that called her castle home, and oh, how she had missed it.
The thousand, upon thousands, upon thousands of years she had spent locked away in Dún Scaith, cut off from her castle and the normal flow of time. She waited there, in the shadow of her home for her life to end, to fade from being, an end she had craved after the first two thousand years she had spent alone with no one to keep her company but the monsters and the dead that called the chasms home. She had lost all hope waiting in Dún Scaith, and then the seemingly impossible happened, a young boy passed through the gate and brought with him the hope she desperately wanted. Where once she could only see that there was nothing but endless lifetimes spent sealed away, now bloomed the future of her escape that only got stronger after Cernunnos was freed and all but guaranteed when the boy had come back willingly through the gate and back to her.
As soon as Albus had broken the seal that bound her in Dún Scaith, as soon as she stepped from the circle, she had felt it, like a touch of an old friend she had never forgotten and her home had recognized her almost immediately. Ripping control of the wards that she, herself, had laid down almost three millennia ago from those who had control of them before giving them back to her, the true queen of the castle. The suits of armor that were added to after the castle was rebuilt had knelt to her as she passed them in the halls on the way to the headmaster's office, every portrait had stopped whatever they were doing as she passed and bowed to her, even the eccentric knight had stopped trying to challenge a sleeping dragon to fall to one knee with his head bowed in respect and reverence.
She needed no map or guide as she, Albus, Minerva, and Severus made their way to the headmaster's office, for she was Dún Scaith and Dún Scaith was her, bound together once more. Albus had offered her the Headmaster's seat that night, much to the shock of Minerva and Severus and all Scáthach had asked was if Albus still taught, his answer was all she needed. She did not have the patience to deal with the politics and pencil pushing that it took to run a school in the modern era, no, she would happily leave that to Dumbledore who had been doing an admired job up to her freeing her, so she had taken the vacant Defense Against the Dark Arts post, and the lick of the flame of rage was still brought to mind when what she had felt trying to wrap around and curse her as soon as she agreed.
A malignant blight that had seeped into the stones of her castle all connected to a silver diadem locked away in a room on the seventh floor created by one stupid foolish boy who was trying to cheat Terminus from its due. Sadly, she could not destroy the cancerous object, nor could she speak of it, protected as it was by fate, but it did not stop her from handing it over to a mortal who could and telling him to do so, Albus had taken it with a dark look upon his face before sealing it behind a warded box.
Scáthach looked forward to the day she would get to see the Géa Bolg piercing that monster's heart.
Scáthach's thoughts turn to the present as she watches the last of the first years leave her classroom talking excitedly about what they had learned. She stood outside the door to the room watching them go with a smile on her face.
"Happy to be back?" a familiar voice asks from behind her, making her smile widen as she heard it before turning to her pupil.
"More than I could ever put into words, Greaca," Scáthach says to the smiling face of Harry, who was standing behind her, flanked by two other students wearing the same colors as the house of the Lions.
"Good to hear, Teacher," Harry says, returning the smile just before the girl with bushy hair makes a small but polite cough, causing The Greaca to look at her for a moment before his eyes widen, "Oh! Right, Teacher, these are-" The Greaca begins to introduce both of the other students he had with him, but Scáthach cuts him off, for she already knew the two with him.
"Miss Hermione Granger, and Mister Ronald Weasley," Scáthach says smoothly before taking a step forward and extending her hand, "It's a pleasure to meet you both, the Greaca has talked a lot about you two, and I've been very eager to meet you both for a long time now," Scáthach says with a soft smile as Hermione and Ron look at her in surprise before each and in turn take her hand and shakes it.
"Right pleasure for me too, Ma'am, I mean, My Lady?" Ron says, unsure what to call the goddess in front of him, Scáthach chuckles at the confused look on his face.
"I'll explain what you can call me in class, Mister Weasley, but the My Lady bit is not needed," Scáthach tells the redheaded boy as he nods his head before she turns and accepts Miss Granger's hand to shake.
"Did you teach the founders!?" Hermione asks suddenly, to which Scáthach raises a brow too, and the Greaca facepalms, "It was just a legend that has been around for so long, I'd just thought to ask," She says with an awkward smile.
Scáthach chuckles at the girl before answering, "No, Miss Granger, I didn't teach any of the founders of Hogwarts," She tells Hermione, watching the girl's face fall as Scáthach pulls her hand back, "Though, I do feel as I owe them all a great debt, I intend to look up where each one was interred so I may go and properly pay my respects to the four who had rebuilt my school," She says gently, causing the girl to look up in surprised at her.
"But enough questions for now you three, inside, the class will be starting shortly," Scáthach says with a smile before gesturing to the class before the three students nod and enter. Scáthach doesn't need to wait long before the rest of her fifth-year class shows up, she counts them as the walk-by, most not even paying attention and giving a polite "Good afternoon, Professor," to her, only Theodore Nott and Seamus Finnegan stop and give a quick bow to her for two different reasons before they enter.
Scáthach walks into the class ignoring the whispers and muttering between students as she summons the list of students off her desk and to her hand in a show of what the children would call "Wandless Magic". She didn't need the list, she already knew each student by first and last name, but she wanted to sell this "Mortal" teacher bit for a little while longer, so some props were called for.
Scáthach stands in front of the class, with only the Greaca, his friends, Theodore, and Seamus paying any attention to her, she lifts one hand and puts a finger to her lips, "Shhh," she says, the sound passing softly through her lips and draws all her new students attention to her, quickly quitting down. Scáthach smiles before she drops her hand and begins to read names off her list, looking up after each one to hear a "Here," or see a hand raised in the air, it only takes a few moments before she was done before tossing the list back on to her desk and looking back to her students.
"Welcome," Scáthach says with an illuminating smile, "To your fifth year of Defensive Arts, I will be your teacher for this year and anyone who is continuing after your OWLs, My name is Scáthach Árd-Greimne," she says while withdrawing her wand and giving it a waze at the blackboard, causing her name to be spelled out in chalk, "For anyone who wishes to be proper, you may call me Lady Árd-Greimne, or Scaithanna Árd-Greimne as it is my title within the Circle of the Fianna," She says, waving her wand again, causing the titles to be written out, "For anyone who wishes to be respectful, Professor Árd-Greimne will do, but for those who wish to earn brownie points with me, you may simply call me," She says, trailing off to wave her wand a third time at the blackboard causing "Teacher" to be written and then circled on it.
"Now before we begin, you were all assigned two books for this class, the current edition of the Department of Magical Education approved OWL study guide and the book titled L'art du duel by Julie d'Aubigny, also known as The Art of the Duel, in English, does everyone have those, with a show of hands, please," Scáthach asks, and watches as the whole class raises their hands, "Excellent! Now, your homework for this class starting today and until you finish it, is to read three chapters of the OWL study guide, do each of the quizzes at the end of the chapters, and then write a summary of each chapter no less than three inches for each chapter, do you understand class?" she says as she waved her wand at the blackboard causing her name to vanish before the homework assignment appeared.
Scáthach turns back to the class just to see a hand already raised in the air by none other than Miss Granger, Scáthach smiles before pointing at Hermione, "Yes, Miss Granger, did you have any concerns?" she asks.
"Well, no, but I do have a few questions if you don't mind, Teacher," Hermione says, putting her hand down before Scáthach makes a gesture for her to continue, "My first question is what do we do once we've completed the homework?" she asks, looking a bit nervous as Scáthach raises a brow.
"Then, Miss Granger, you will have no more homework for this class, and my devote that time to something else," Scáthach asks, her eyes narrowing at the girl as the class whispered excitedly about having no homework after completing the OWL study guide, "Why do you ask?" Scáthach inquires to the bookworm and watches as the girl hesitates for the briefest moments before reaching down to her back and pulling out a small stack of parchment and offering it to Scáthach who takes it and begins to flip through them.
They were the end-of-chapter quizzes from the study guide, to which Scáthach just smiles while shaking her head, she was already starting to like Miss Granger, "I expect you to still do the summaries as well, Miss Ganger," Scáthach says with a smile to Hermione as Scáthach levitates the quizzes over to her desk.
"Of course, Teacher," Hermione says with a nod of her head as both Mister Weasley and the Greaca looked to be holding back snickers next to her, "My other question is about the change of name for the class, it went from Defense Against the Dark Arts to Defensive Arts, why is that?" Hermione asks, tilting her head a bit.
"Ah, that answer is quite simple," Scáthach says, before turning back to the class, "But let's see if we can't the class to answer the question, tell me, can anyone tell what exactly is the dark arts," She asks and watches as a few hands shot up in the air before she points back at Hermione, "Not you, Miss Granger, you're the one who prompted this question so we will be having your classmates answer it, so hand down, if you please," Scáthach says, watching Hermione put her hand down before turning back to the class, "Can you answer my question, Miss Bones?" she asks one of the Hufflepuff students, who nods her head.
"Of course, Professor," Susan says with a smile and a nod of her head, "The Dark Arts are a subsection of magic labeled by the Wizards Council back in 1486 and adopted by the International Confederation of Wizards sometime in the late sixteenth century, it is a list of harmful magics that have been labeled as malicious and dangerous to human life and have been outlawed the world over," Susan says, beaming.
"While you are correct in the eyes of the law, Miss Bones, you are also wrong, but take ten points to Hufflepuff for the answer," Scáthach says, watching as the girl's face drops, "Let's try again, Mister Longbottom, what are the Dark Arts?" she asks, pointing at the boy sitting behind Greaca.
"Er, things like the killing curse?" Neville says, sounding lost.
"While you are on the right path, Mister Longbottom, it's not what I'm looking for, take five points for Gryffindor," Scáthach says before looking around the classroom once more, "Mister Nott, third times the charm, what are the dark arts?" she asks the mismatched eyed boy.
Theodore sits in his seat with his lips pressed into a thin line and eyes narrowed for a moment, racking his brain for the answer, "Is it because most things that are classified as Dark Arts are demonstrative spells and rituals?" He asks slowly.
"Yes! Ten points to Slytherin, Mister Nott!" Scáthach says with a cheer, "A majority of what is labeled as dark arts are in fact demonstrative magic! Now, for twenty points can anyone tell me why they are?" Scáthach asks as she begins to pace back and force before the class, "Yes, Mister Malfoy?" she says pointing toward the back.
"Because it takes someone powerful to cast the dark arts," Draco says, putting his hand down with a smug smile.
"Close, Mister Malfoy, but no," Scáthach says, causing the boy's face to fall, "They are demonstrative magic because they take powerful emotions to fuel, such as hate, rage, sorrow, and desire, all of these are powerful negative emotions and all of these are the backbone to anything labeled as the dark arts, but if that is true, then why isn't there anything called light arts?" Scáthach asks, causing the class to look at one another confused, "We know that the dark arts are fueled by negative emotions, can anyone name a spell that is fueled by a positive emotion?" Scáthach asks before Harry's hand shoots up into the air, and Scáthach points at him.
"The Patronus Charm requires a powerful happy memory to fuel it, but I'm betting it's not the memory, but the feeling, right?" Harry asks and watches as a proud smile splits across Scáthachs face.
"Correct Greaca, take twenty points for Gryffindor," Scáthach says to him before turning back to the class, "Now that we have an example, has anyone ever heard the Patronus charm being called light magic or light arts?" she asks, and watches her class shake their heads, "That's because they don't exist! The phrase Dark Arts is a misnomer," She explains as most of the class looks surprised, "So, to answer your question, Miss Granger, how am I to teach you how to defend yourself against something that doesn't exist?" she says with a smile to the shocked girl before turning to the class at large.
"There is no such thing as Dark Magic or Light Magic, there is only Magic, and those who use it," Scáthach says as the class hangs onto her every word, "And this year, I will be showing you exactly, what that means," She says with a wicked smile.
End of the school day, Defensive Arts class.
The rest of the class went by with Teacher explaining the syllabus for the first term, she was going to teach the class how to fight and defend themselves from attackers first in singles, then doubles, and finally mixed groups before doing a large project that spanned across several years that would reach into the next term but didn't elaborate further than that. But when the bell rung and Scáthach had dismissed the class with the reminder of their weekly homework and a world of coming to her if they didn't understand something, be it morning, noon, or the dead of night, her door was always open for fifth and seventh year's no matter the time.
As the class all filtered out of the room talking excitingly over the lessons to come, Harry hadn't moved from his seat, much to the confusion of Ron and Hermione. It wasn't till the last student had left that Scáthach turned back to Harry with a smile.
"What does your schedule look like, Greaca?" Scáthach asks simply walking back to her desk and taking a seat behind it.
"I'm still waiting to find out the Quidditch schedule, but if it's anything like Woods I should be free Monday, Wednesday, and Sunday all in the evening unless there's a Quidditch match on Sunday," Harry says as he stands up and throwing his bag over his shoulder and walking over to the desk as he watches Scáthach nod.
"This is going to be a very busy year for you, Greaca, with your OWLs coming up," Scáthach says as she leans back in her chair, stapling her fingers, "I would suggest alternating Saturday, Sunday, and Monday evenings, possibly every two weeks with exceptions made for any Quidditch practice and games as well as homework, which I will also help you with," She says turning back to Harry who nods at her.
"So, Take it as it goes, do you want to meet this weekend?" Harry asks and watches as Scathach nods to him.
"Saturday or Sunday just after lunch, and we will go until dinner," Scáthach suggests, and Harry nods, "Oh, and another thing, Miss Granger, Mister Weasley, you two will be accompanying Greaca to his training as well," She says looking at the only other two students left in the classroom who looked back at her confused.
"Er, no offense Professor, but we're not like Harry," Ron says, pointing between himself and Hermione who was nodding to Ron's words while looking wide-eyed.
"I am very well aware of that Mister Weasley, but seeing that you two will be sticking with the Greaca for what's to come, It is a prerogative of mine to turn you two into the best that you can be as well," Scáthach tells them with a straight face, "I will not be teaching you like I will be teaching the Greaca, and it will not be anything official, but I will be showing how to maximize your strengths while teaching each of you how to cover each other weaknesses," She tells them as the Golden Trio look between each other with surprise, "I will be turning all three of you into a force to be reckoned with on the battlefield, for I will have nothing less, am I understood?" Scáthach asks them as Harry smiles and nods, while his two friends seem less sure but nod as well.
"Excellent," Scáthach says with a radiant smile, "I'll see you three here, this week after lunch, send word of the day when you figure it out, Greaca, for now, go enjoy your free time before dinner, hm?" She dismisses them and watches as they all thank her before leaving.
"It's good to finally be home," Scáthach thinks to herself as she watches her students leave with a smile.
Chapter Done!
Yes, Delphini is in Gryffindor because she chooses to be, much like Harry did, but for far more sinister reasons, and with that Neville has a big problem with it for obvious reasons. Harry, however, doesn't. This is why Ron and Hermione are so weirded out by Harry, he's going out of his way to be social with someone other than them which is quite unlike him.
The conversation between Hedwig and Tycho:
Hedwig: "How do you feel about crows?"
Tycho: "I eat them,"
Hedwig: "Oh, I think we are going to be the best of friends!"
So, Teacher is back in the saddle once more and isn't taking anyone's shit. Umbridge? "Shut up, Toad," the Ministry? "There are no such things as The Dark Arts, the government is fucking stupid, now let me teach how to curse someone," Dumbledore? "Who? Oh, you mean my desk bitch, what about him?" Voldemort? "Oh, you mean the child throwing a temper tantrum over dying in, what would have been, like 200 years? I'm going to have front-row seats to watch that fuckhead drop,"
Anyway,
Kingsaxcul, Out!