Alright, here's the next chapter everyone. I know it's long overdue, but my laptop closed out of the document and I lost all my original work for this chapter and then I had to rewrite it. I'm sorry for the delay. I keep getting asked if I'm abandoning the story and the answer is no, but I'll admit, I'm having some difficulty getting the chapters out in a routine and fast way. I'm just going to say that this story is going to be a 'slow update one' which I feel horrible about. I know a lot of people really like the story but a lot of the time I have no energy to write, as my job is exhausting. If you don't want to continue to read with that information out there, I won't hold it against you as it personally annoys me with the stories I myself read. If you do continue, please leave a message about anything you'd like to see or even an idea for the story, as sometimes I like to take the viewers wants into account if I like the idea. So, please forgive me for the slow process and enjoy this chapter :)
~!~
Chapter Four: October 2nd
The next morning Hari sat at the head table in the Great Hall, a smirk on her face as the Daily Prophet was delivered to the students. As owl after owl dropped off their packages, Hari watched shock, awe and delight crossed the faces of many purebloods and half bloods in the hall, while many muggleborns expressed confusion. It didn't surprise Hari. The wizarding traditions class had just been reinstated and many muggleborns at the moment didn't know anything about the Wheel of the Year. It was going to be a big shock as the year progressed. Hari knew many of the muggleborns were raised in religious households, Lily Evans among them, so it wasn't going to shock Hari when the explosion finally happened.
Teddy was sitting with the marauders, whispering as the four boys congregated around James's copy of the Daily Prophet. Hari could see many children had focused on the teachers table, many eyes on Albus Dumbledore, who was not doing a good job hiding his anger as many students and even a few teachers, spoke happily of the coming holidays. Hari couldn't stop the smirk when she heard Rabastan Lestrange remark loud enough for the whole hall to hear, that it was about time the Wizarding World decided to respect Lady Magic as most preferred to ignore her. Especially the 'Light' families.
Regulus Black must have agreed because he did something that grabbed the whole halls attention. He rose to his feet and turned his attention to the staff table, grey eyes meeting the brilliant green of their Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. The whole hall fell silent, and Dumbledore's eyes were narrowed on the younger Black son, "Is there something you need Mr. Black?" he questioned softly.
A smirk curled over the young boys face as he ignored the Headmaster and instead kept looking into the eyes of the woman who had changed everything, "Yes. I would like to thank Lady Ravenclaw-Slytherin for her support for out traditions and welcome her home to Hogwarts. After all, its not everyday the heir to the castle returns to these hallowed halls," the boy said smoothly, preforming an elegant, deep bow, which was dripping with respect.
Each pureblood in the hall, not matter what table or house, rose to their feet to do the same thing, James Potter and Sirius Black among them. While it was looked down upon by many families to practice the 'Olde Ways' both boys had participated in rituals before, and all had felt the presence of Lady Magic at least once on their life. This sign of respect had not been seen in hundreds of years, since the last gathering of Hogwarts heirs in the fifteenth century. Many half-bloods and muggleborns all stared in shock, wondering if these traditions were as important as the purebloods were making them out to be? As they paid the deepest respect to a woman all were a little in awe of.
Hari rose to her feet, hands locked together in front of her, "It was my genuine pleasure Mr. Black. I look forward to our world progressing and our half-blood and muggleborns students seeing the true power of magic in its deepest form. I hope you will all work together to bring unity to magic and to our world," she said softly, making everyone straighten as Sirius started a loud applause from the four houses, making the young woman blush as her son whistled from his spot at the Gryffindor table, making many laugh.
Albus Dumbledore watched with a frown on his face and rage bubbling inside of him as his students gave their awe to a woman he hated above all others. Lady Peverall was changing everything and he, Albus Dumbledore; Did. Not. Like. It!
~!~
Mere hours later, the Slytherin's and Gryffindor's gathered in the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, where a cheetah was stretched docile across the desk and Godric the lion was laying on the floor in front of it. The blackboard was empty, and James looked around curiously, wondering where the Professor was as he took his seat beside Sirius at the front of the classroom. Everyone had drifted into the room quickly, having learned that Professor Peverall had no tolerance for lateness nor excuses. If you were not in the room when the door locked, you would not enter the room at all.
At exactly ten o clock, the door slammed shut and the cheetah jumped from the desk, morphing mid air to their professor, gaining gasps of awe as she stood at the front of the class, "That's bloody brilliant professor!" Lucius Malfoy breathed from his spot beside Severus Snape.
Hari nodded, "Thank you Mr. Malfoy. Welcome to Defense. Now I know I said we were going to continue wandless magic, however, as many of you still struggle to find your core and the Wizarding Traditions Class will not start until next Monday, we're going to have to put that on hold. Instead, were going to discuss the different types of magic," she began waving her hand at the black board, where a piece of chalk rose up and began to write 'Types of magic,' at the top. "Now everyone knows where magic comes from due to our discussion last week. Now I want to know what types of magic there are?"
A sea of hands rose into the air and Hari nodded to Lily, "Miss Evans?" she called.
Lily rose to her feet, "Light magic professor," she said softly.
Hari nodded as it war written across the board, "Well done Miss Evans. Next?" she asked looking across the room.
More hands rose.
"Mr. Lupin?"
The boy rose to his feet awkwardly, "Grey magic," he offered shyly.
Hari nodded a second time, "Good. Alright, Mr. Greengrass, can you give me the last one?" she asked, looking at the boy who looked quite a bit like his daughter Daphne.
He rose to his feet, "Dark magic," he said firmly.
Hari nodded and then settled to sit on the corner of her desk, "Very well, five points to each of you. Alright, there a three types of magic as all of you know, light, dark and grey. Now each one is different. Can I have an example of light magic Mr. Potter?" she asked, looking at James.
James looked up from where he had been writing everything down and rose to his feet, "The Patronus charm?" he offered instantly.
A smile crossed Hari's face, "Well done Mr. Potter. The Patronus charm is a shield that protects the caster from the Dementors of Azkaban. Now the way it works is a positive happy memory. This is a perfect example of the balance between light and dark magic. Dementors are know as Dark Creatures and were created using dark magic many centuries ago. The patronus charm is made of such positive and light magic, that it repels the dark," she lectured before turning to the Slytherin side of the room.
"Mr. Nott, an example of dark magic please?" she asked, staring at the boy who was the spitting image of his son.
Nott rose to his feet, "The unforgivables," he said unsurely.
Hari shook her head, "No. It is a good guess but the unforgivables are considered grey magic. Well come back to that. Can someone give me an example of dark magic?" she asked.
Hands rose again and Hari called upon, "Yes, Mr. Snape," making said boy rise to his feet.
"Necromancy Professor," he said with surety.
"Good. Necromancy is considered the darkest of magic. Can anyone tell me why?" she asked.
Sirius didn't even raise his hand just leaned back in his chair and spoke before anyone could stop him, "Because it requires sacrifice for blood and magical," he said calmly, remembering all the books he had been forced to read by his mother growing up.
Hari nodded, "Good, Mr. Black. Everyone here knows that magical blood is very precious, not to mention dangerous in the wrong hands. Dark magic as a while requires emotions when preforming. When you preform magic with ill intentions, that magic has consequences. You could lose some of your magic, your mind or even your life. Dark magic is an exchange between the spell and the caster, which is why performing such magic is heavily monitored," she lectured as she paced at the front of the class.
"Professor, why do you say the unforgivables are grey magic?" asked Rodolphus Lestrange.
She stopped at the front of the class and leaned against her desk, "Everyone know of course that the unforgivables were forbidden by the ministry in 1787 after the last goblins rebellion. What isn't well known was before said war, the spells were used for different things. Example, the Imperious Curse used to be standard Auror practice when dealing with criminals. If cast on someone, it could force them to lower their wand or for them to release a hostage. It became forbidden when it was cast on a Lord of the Wizengmont by the Dark Lord of the time, who was trying to take over Britain in order to gain information about their actions against him," she said, noting who did and didn't look shocked at the information.
James looked at the woman seriously, "Really?" he asked, shocked his father had never said anything about this to him.
Hari nodded, "Yes. The information was restricted afterward, but as the Lady Slytherin and Ravenclaw, I own half the school and therefore can teach you whatever I want. You guys need to know this stuff, its important if you want the magical world to thrive," she said.
Nods came from many students and Lucius shifted in his seat, "What about the Cruciatus Curse?" he asked, bringing the class back to what they had been discussing.
"The Cruciatus curse was originally used by healers. Something with injuries, our nerves can be damaged. Healers used to send a low power Crucio at someone in order to pinpoint which nerves were damaged, so they could locate where to heal. It was also used to bring people out of shock, again a standard spell for auror's and healers," she answered.
Many were shocked, how come they didn't know all of this? Especially those who grew up in the magical world?
"What about the killing curse?" Sirius asked from his spot.
Hari signed as she leaned back against her desk, "The killing curse was originally used by farmers and butchers to give their animals a painless death. In the fourteenth century, it was taught to healers in order to help patients that were not able to be healed. The spell was heavily monitored and was only taught to healers, until a healer joined a Dark Lord. The spell was taught to said Dark Lord and shortly after that war ended, all three were classed as Forbidden and use was restricted," she lectured.
James, Sirius, Remus, Lucius, Rodolphus and Severus all ended up making eye-contact as the information sank in. Lily raised her hand and all eyes turned to her, "Professor, how do you know all this?" she asked softly.
Hari smiled, "As you know I am the Nodrín heir. The bloodline has kept journals, detailing the history of the Wizarding World. All of this information is in there, as Nodrín's always end up as healers, auror's or politicians. One of my ancestors actually fought against the Dark Lord that turned the Unforgivables, unforgivable," she explained.
There were nods of understanding around the room and Severus raised his hand, "Professor, won't you get in trouble for teaching us this stuff?" he asked cautiously.
A smirk crossed her face, "Technically no, I own half the school. I can teach you whatever I want, and no one could say anything, even the Board of Governors. I sent my syllabus to the Governors and the Ministry when I applied for this job. They are all well aware of what I'll be covering in my classes. This conversation was supposed to take place later in the year but the small hiccup of many not knowing how to find their magical core forced me to rearrange me classes. We're going to continue with wandless magic and Professor Flitwick has agreed to align our lesson plans, come Monday, Charms will also be taught wandless," she said, making excited whispers break out among the students.
She raised her hand to bring them back to the subject, "Alright, homework. Everyone needs to give me a thirteen-inch essay. I want you to give me an example of each kind of magic in a good and bad way. Example how can dark magic be good and how can light magic be bad. The more detailed you make you essay, the higher mark you will get. This must be written in your own words not copied out of a textbook. If you have any questions, my door will be open from Monday to Friday next week and the following Monday you will hand the essay in. Everyone needs to understand that what I'm teaching you is dangerous. I better not find out you're using any of the spells you're researching on other students, or I will have you expelled faster than you can say sorry," she leveled them with a serious look.
James raised a hand nervously, "Professor, how are we supposed to research dark magic? The headmaster has pulled all books on the subject out of the library," he asked darkly.
Hari grimaced, "I know. The library will be receiving an overhaul during Yule break but for now the Governors and I have made copies of books from our personal library, and they had been donated to the Defense Class. You'll notice the shelves along the wall are filled with books and there is a sign-up sheet by the door. You can take a book for research, but you will sign out the title with your name and house and if any book goes missing, there will be dire consequences. Now we only have five minutes left of class and I have nothing else for you today, so all of you scram," she said with a smile.
There was some laughter among the students as the gathered up their belongings, the Marauder's followed Sirius over to the bookshelves, where the Black heir was quick to pick out four books and sign them out, seeing Hari's nod of approval from the corner of his eyes. They packed the books into their bags and then left the classroom, talking about the coming assignment. Normally they wouldn't worry so much, but each boy had a lot of respect for Lady Peverall and didn't want to disappoint her.
~!~
Edward Lupin, Edward Lupin-Potter to Teddy Peverall, couldn't believe how much his life had changed in the last eight months. When that killing curse had hurdled towards them and his mum had wrapped herself around him, he had really thought he was going to die. Then his mums magic had washed over him, the loving and protective power that had circled him his whole life, and for a split second, Teddy would swear he felt the power of death before that bright light had taken them. He had woken up in Gringotts, a place he had never been to before as witches and wizards were hunting his mum, with a goblin healer hovering over top of him and his mum sleeping beside him, healing from the vicious fight they had both been involved in.
Time travel.
His mum had admitted her Potter Luck did some strange things as she had grown up, getting her into and out of trouble equally as she had made her way through Hogwarts. He had even experienced the wacky potter luck a time or two. Like in Italy. There was no what they should have gotten away, not with how that attack had come about, but somehow, they had. Even though they had lost Blaise in the struggle. His mum had been heartbroken when the portkey had dropped them off in the safe house, without the Italian wizard. They had read in the paper two days later, that Blaise had been killed by suspected Death Eater sympathisers because the Girl-Who-Lived had been with him. Teddy had only been nine at the time and lost the only father figure he had ever known.
They had been alone, just the two of them under his mum had decided to return to England. She had been hoping to plead sanctuary from the Goblins when the Order had found them. Before they could do anything, they had been fighting for their lives. Even though he was only a child, merely eleven years old, they had tried to kill him. They all knew what his death would do to his mum, and they had still tried. Hariel had admitted when he was eight or nine that if she had never met Sirius, she probably would have become a Dark Lady even worse than Voldemort. But Sirius had showed her what love was, what a parent was. After he died, she had his father Remus, who was lost now, and after that it was him. Edward Lupin was the only thing that kept Hariel Potter sane after she ended the war and then ran for her life.
Now, they were in the past. James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew were twelve years old, innocent. They looked nothing like the pictures that his mum had shown him. His father was not grey haired and scarred at thirty-two years old, Sirius was not haunted by the shadows of Azkaban and James Potter was alive! Not to mention, Peter Pettigrew wasn't evil yet. Though Teddy could sense something was wrong in the young man whenever they were around each other. It wasn't often, as Peter had made it more than clear he didn't like Teddy.
Meeting the marauder's, getting close to them, was the best thing about being in the past.
Hariel had made it more than clear that Teddy was to stay out of politics until he was older. He was going to be a normal eleven-year-old boy, attending Hogwarts for the first time. Yes, he was considered the Peverell heir, but him mum had made it clean to everyone in the school and beyond that if they wanted anything to do with House Peverell, it would be through her and not him. Which was great as Teddy was still the soft, shy boy, even if the marauders pulled him into their mischief often. He wasn't sure he could be cutthroat in politics, not the way his mum or the Black's were. He had read about the new prison in the paper, James had even voiced his agreement with it at the dinner table the same day it happened. His mum had become more popular since it came out, especially as she was the heir of two of the Hogwarts houses, which had many of the noble houses clamoring to gain an alliance with her, be it light, dark or neutral.
The bullying in the school had gone down significantly since the Wizarding Traditions Class was reinstated, even more then when his mum had started to enforce an anti-bullying policy. Teddy had seen many of the purebloods actually stop and answers Muggleborn's and half-blood's questions in the hallways or in class. It amazed him and it helped Teddy himself, who was now friends with two pureblood wizards, learn the traditions too. While Teddy had been raised by his mum, she was never serious about traditions that they wouldn't be able to practice, moving around the way they did. In all his life, he only ever celebrated the traditions once, that was when they were with Blaise. As a Lord of an Ancient and Noble House, Blaise had been able to offer some protection from the Order of the Phoenix, enough for them to have a life. After he died, Teddy didn't get to practice at all.
So he was looking forward to the first celebration, the Winter Solstice.
He was drawn from his thoughts as he looked up from the book in his lap in time to see James, Sirius and Remus enter the common room, all with wide smiles on their faces, trailing behind them was Peter. The moment the shorter man noticed the three former heading towards Teddy, he tossed the metamorphmagus a dirty look and headed directly up the second-year dorms. Sirius threw himself into the chair beside Teddy with a grin, "What's up Teddy-bear?" the Black questioned with a teasing smirk on his face. Remus and James claimed the couch across from them and the two boys were both staring at him with interest, making a blush cross his cheeks.
He was his father son, even if her went by Peverall now.
"Just reading," he answered softly.
Sirius shifted curiously, the boy knowing Teddy always read the most interesting books, which would happen given his mother was the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. He caught a glance at the leather-bound book, noting the gold lining the edge and gleaming as the title. "What book is it?" he asked interested.
Teddy lifted the book for the other three boys to see and James knocked his glasses off his own face when he lunged towards Teddy, arms outstretched shouting, "No way!" before, tripping over his own feet and face planting into the carpet, with a muffled 'Umph!' which made the other three boys gathered, burst into laughter as the Potter heir struggled to lift himself back up, all but vibrating in place as he turned to face the Peverall heir again.
"Where did your mum find a copy of that?" James demanded; eyes slightly maniac as he stared at the leather-bound book.
Teddy smirked, "It's a Peverall family heirloom. It was written by Ignotus Peverall after all," he said softly.
Remus and Sirius shifted in surprise, while James's mouth dropped with shock, "What?" Remus breathed in surprise.
The book in question was called, 'A Wizarding Guide to the Light and Dark Arts, Neutral Guide to Both and How to Settle Your Magic.' The book in question was on the forbidden list for over three hundred years, almost every copy had been destroyed across the world and the few who had been found with it in the last few centuries had been put to death the moment they were found with it. The reason: that book was an introduction into light and dark magic, including healing and necromancy, not to mention it taught you how to sway a witch or wizards magic.
Every witch or wizard was born with a core. They each leaned in one of three directions, light, dark or grey. Depending on the family, cores usually fell in line with the families magic like James. His family was light, and his core was light. Or Sirius, who was from a dark family, but his core was grey. Or Remus who was from a light family but had a dark core, due to the fact he was a werewolf. The book had rituals in it that allowed parents to force their children's core to match with the rest of their family, if they were born different. It was considered dangerous because of the fact; the ritual forced the children's magic to fight against itself. It was known to drive people mad.
The book became forbidden when the Status of Secrecy was put into effect.
Even Sirius, whose family knew more about Dark Magic than any other family into world, did not own a copy of the book. The three boys stared at the Peverall heir with shock on their faces. Teddy was a quiet and shy boy, who excelled in all his classes due to the personal tutoring he had received from his mum. Everyone knew that Professor Peverall was powerful. She rarely used a wand, not to mention her aura when she was angry. Sirius never wanted to be on the wrong side of her after he had seen what she did to the three seventh year Gryffindor boys who had attacked a first year Slytherin student. All three had been in the hospital wing and expelled by the time she was finished with them.
"Your mums letting your read that?" James breathed, shock coursing through him.
Teddy nodded slowly, "My mum believes that knowledge is power. She's also a believer that our actions make a person rather than their family. I found it in our vault. She told me I was allowed to read it but to remember that magic was dangerous and if I ever attempted anything our of the book, she would give me hell," he explained, marking his page in the book and tucking it into the pocket of his robe, which had been enchanted with expanding pocket space.
Sirius barked a laugh, "I like you mum. Professor Peverall if the most interesting teacher in the whole school," he said, making James and Remus nod in agreement.
"I like how she's teaching us wandless magic," Remus said as he shifted in his seat, "She told me that we're starting the shield charm tomorrow. It's the first spell she's actively teaching us."
James agreed, "Yes. All the theoretically stuff is interesting but I'm looking forward to actually using magic."
Teddy smiled, "Wandless magic saved my mums life a couple of times. When we returned to Britan, and she agreed to teach she instantly told the Board she would be teaching Wandless magic in the curriculum. With all the disappearances in the paper and the whispers going on about a Dark Lord she wants everyone to be as prepared as possible for what might happen," he said, knowing that Voldemort was a very real problem. There were disappearances everyday in the paper and Teddy had witnessed three different people receiving news from home that someone in their family was missing or dead in just that week alone.
The three boys opposite him all agreed, "Do you think your mum would mind if I read that when your finished?" James asked, shocking his friends. James as a pro-light as you could get. But the Potter heir remembered the letter his father had sent after the Wizengmont meeting about Lady Peverall and Teddy. It had been revealed that Lady Peverall was their cousin, a few times removed, but still their cousin. His mother Dorea had invited the two of them to stay over the Yule holidays and James was deliberating over something they had told him, about how the Potter's were once a neutral house, until James grandfather had switched over to the light two generations before.
Lady Peverall was a very different teacher and a very different personality. Her classes were serious and interesting. She didn't teach them as though their magic was a tool, they taught them as their whole being was made of magic. In all her time in the school, James had never seen Lady Peverall use a wand not to mention she was completely neutral. She didn't believe in blood purity, but she didn't believe the wizarding world, or the muggle world should be brought together. She had explained it in Defense in the simplest words that had many thinking of their world differently.
Muggles feared what they did not understand. Magic was against all laws of physics and therefore impossible for muggles to understand. There would always be fear. The Wizarding World was the way it was to protect and keep magic safe. Magic was the oldest thing on the earth, dating back to before the dinosaurs. It had endured countless eons and would endure many more. Wizards did have the right to feel superior to muggles because they could touch the very core of the earth not to mention they had the power to change reality. However, blood purity shouldn't matter. It should matter that it was magical blood period. With only one out of ten people born with magic, their communities worldwide were very small. Not to mention incest caused weaker magical cores and fertility issues among the purebloods.
These had all been proven when Defense had turned into an impromptu History class two weeks before, after Rabastan Lestrange had gotten into an argument with Lily Evans about the magical world in general. Lady Peverall had broken it up and laid out everything for the class, which had caused an uproar around the school. Teddy himself had been facing questions about everything his mother had said and the information that had been provided. Rabastan and Lily were both face detention for their argument and James still couldn't believe everything he had learned.
Thus, his question to read the book in Teddy's possession.
Said boy met James eyes, "You'll have to ask my mum but as you are our cousin, I don't think she'll care," Teddy said with a shrug.
Sirius shifted slightly in surprise, "If she does say yes, make sure you share James," he teased lightly, not liking the heavy atmosphere that had developed.
The Potter heir nodded, "Of course I will. You never know, maybe we'll learn something interesting," he pondered, making Remus nod in agreement.
Teddy smiled at them as an alarm sounded from the watch wrapped around his wrist, "It's dinner time," he said as he turned it off.
All four boys rose to their feet and Teddy smiled happily as Remus fell into step beside him, starting a debate on Defense class for the next day as they walked, Sirius and James walking being them joking about their next prank. Teddy privately thought to himself that being thrown into the past was the best thing that had ever happened to them, when he entered the Great Hall and cause his mums eyes from across the room, which were glowing in a way they never had before. He grinned back at her before joining the marauders at the Gryffindor table to eat.
Yes, time travel was the best thing that had ever happened to them.