Chapter is mainly filler to but needed in the grand scheme of things. Next chapter is the start of the year.
Bits of this chapter have been taken/adapted from Harry Potter and The Chamber Of Secrets Chapter 4: At Flourish and Blotts
Chapter 2 - The Defence Professor
Albus found himself in a conundrum. A familiar one, but a conundrum nonetheless. The DADA teacher, once again, had to be replaced. Another death, by possession no less. At least his gamble paid off, and he knew Voldemort was still alive, even if it was life by wraith.
And young Harry wasn't too injured by the entire affair, another good thing to come out of the entire incident.
Although, Albus could have done without the telling off from Nicolas about his stone. He just didn't seem to understand that it needed to be destroyed to stop Voldemort from getting it. It was for the greater good.
His gaze fell back to the papers on his desk, the only application for the DADA position this year. It was getting harder and harder to get willing teachers for the position with the rather… unfortunate incidents that keep happening to the people who take it.
Gilderoy Lockheart was a name he vaguely remembered, his mind coming to a golden haired Ravenclaw. A quick scan of the student records showed his memory was right. Gilderoy was an unremarkable student grade wise, and only passed his DADA OWL with a low A, never going on to his NEWTs. His current books spoke of a different story of course, but a story Albus was positive was just fiction.
'Still.' Albus had to sigh, 'He is the only option at the moment.' Though, that wasn't entirely true either. He could call upon Remus if needed, but had ultimately decided that would be best saved for a better moment.
Albus, resigning to himself one last time, pulled out a fresh parchment and picked up his quill. He spent too long waiting and Minerva was getting mad at him. The new school letters still hadn't been sent out yet after all and it was already August. Just as he brought his quill to parchment however, an owl flew through the window and dropped a letter on his desk before leaving just as quickly.
The penmanship on the letter read,
To the Office of Albus Dumbledore
Well, it was rude to leave a letter unopened. He dropped the quill once more and opened the letter, reading the contents and growing happy that he did. He had never heard of Cornelius Pond before, but anyone had to be better than Gilderoy.
Once more he picked up his quill, a new letter in mind.
\-/
Taking the Floo was certainly an experience in Cornelius's mind. It wasn't bad, just too much spinning. It was, however, the quickest way to Hogsmeade and in turn Hogwarts.
'I'm surprised the headmaster responded so quickly.' Particle commented as Cornelius dusted himself off in the Three Broomsticks before making his way outside.
'I'm not.' He responded, and really he wasn't. It was barely a month before the new school year was set to start and he was still searching for a teacher. He had to be desperate for just about anyone at this point.
Near the gate of the village, Cornelius spotted what must have been Hagrid, the man Dumbledore said would lead him to the castle in his letter. The only description the headmaster had given was that Hagrid was a large man with a dark beard and had assured him that he couldn't be missed.
"You must be Hagrid." Cornelius summarized, catching the giant man's gaze.
"An' yeh must be Mr. Pond." Hagrid exclaimed happily, offering his large hand to shake. One that Cornelius took with only a slight winch at the strength at the grip. Hagrid started to lead the way up the path to the castle shortly after.
"'s good ter finally see someone else try out fer the defense position." Hagrid stated after a few minutes of silent walking, "Some o' the staff were gettin' worried we were goin' ter have ter hire tha' Lockheart fellow. Strange man tha' one." He added softly under his breath.
Cornelius raised an eyebrow in question, "Is there something about this Lockheart that they don't like?"
"Er," Hagrid scratched the back of his neck uncomfortably, "It's not tha' the man doesn't know wha' he's doin', he wrote all those books after all. 's jus tha' some o' the other professors find his personality…"
Cornelius smirked in understanding, "A little much?"
Hagrid nodded, "Somethin like tha'"
"And what is it that you do around here?"
The large man perked up at the change of topic, "Oh, I'm the groundskeeper. The keeper o' the keys an' all tha'. Although, I also look after all o' the critters." He finished with a smile that spoke of a passion.
The man proceeded to tell Cornelius about the sorts of creatures they keep at the castle as they approached the school. The Warlock provided little input, mainly listening to the large man speak. Though he did say a few things when certain creatures came up, like the threseals they kept near the school, getting an enthusiastic promise to see the creatures before he left.
When the castle came into view, Cornelius had to say he was honestly impressed with the building. It was honestly unlike anything he had ever seen before, save for maybe those Scorn infested ruins in the EDZ. This place seemed much nicer though.
Hagrid must have spotted the look on his face as he smiled fondly, "Quite the sight isn' it?" The Warlock merely nodded before continuing on.
They didn't encounter anyone on the way to the castle, but once they entered the school proper he did spot one of two professors roaming around. Preparing for the new school year no doubt. They finally stopped in front of a gargoyle statue on the third floor, and a quick, "Lemon drop" from Hagrid had the statue move to the side.
"Welp, I have me own duties ter attend ter." Hagrid spoke, "Feeding the critters an' all tha'. It was a pleasure ter meet yeh Mr. Pond. Good luck with yer interview." Cornelius gave a nod as he left and started up the spiral staircase to the office.
'He was a nice guy.' Particle commented, 'Maybe a little awkward, but nice all the same.' The Warlock hummed in agreement, arriving at the top of the staircase in front of a door.
He raised his hand to knock, only for the door to open on its own. With a raised brow, he entered the circular office. The walls were covered in an assortment of moving portraits, those still took some getting used to, and bookshelves overflowing with tomes old and new. Various trinkets covered every surface in the office, making all kinds of ticks and noises. On a shelf behind the desk was a notably ratty hat, covered in stitches and tears. The last notable thing besides the large desk was a bird's perch seated next to it, though the bird it belonged to was absent.
A man who very much looked like the stereotypical fantasy wizard with his long white beard, pointy hat, and colorful robes sat behind the desk. He greeted the Warlock with a smile, "Ah, Mr Pond, I'm glad you could join me so quickly. I hope I didn't interrupt any plans in the haste."
"Not at all, Headmaster. I'm happy for the quick response." He responded before turning to the last person in the room, "And a pleasure to meet you as well miss…"
The woman wore a similar pointy hat but her robes were a dark green and black. Her gaze behind her glasses spoke of a stern personality that has certainly given plenty of students headaches. "Minerva McGonagall, Transfiguration Professor here at Hogwarts. Thank you for coming." She sits to the side of the desk as Cornelius sits in front of it.
"Now," Dumbledore began, "As we do have one other candidate for the defense position this year, I'll have to ask a few more questions than normal. Though, after seeing your qualifications I don't think that will be too much of a problem."
Cornelius merely nodded as the headmaster started the interview in full. Asking questions based on the subject, although it seemed to be done halfheartedly. The Warlock answered all of them fully anyway. McGonagall asked more pointed questions of her own, like how comfortable he thought he would be with children and if he was ready to be bothered by them at any time throughout the year.
There were no surprises until McGonagall asked him to hold a sneakoscope, an object that looked a little like a glass top meant to detect and alert people of nearby deception or lies. The glamor ring hiding his awoken nature heats up for a second but nothing comes of it and Cornelius raises an eyebrow at her.
"An extra security measure," She explained, "I would rather we didn't have another possessed staff member." Her gaze shifted to Dumbledore in a slight glare for a quick moment before returning to him and taking the sneakoscope back. To his credit, the headmaster didn't seem to notice.
"Possession?" Cornelius asked, slightly startled at the implication.
"An unfortunate thing to happen to dear Quirinus, but be assured we have taken precautions from anything like it happening again." Dumbledore responded before moving on, "All seems to be in order then." He states, clapping his hands and looking at McGonagall, "At least, I believe so?" She sighs, but nods, "Perfect! Now all that's left is the paperwork."
Cornelius raised his brows in surprise, "You mean I'm hired? That seems a bit quick."
McGonagall grimaced in understanding, "Believe me, I've never been happy with how quick we have to go when hiring a new professor for the position, but the school has unfortunately had to cut corners over the years. You, at the very least, seem like you know the material." Whether she was referring to his (forged) credentials or the obviously battle worn armored robes he currently wore, she did not clarify.
'Maybe we should have looked into why they needed a new teacher.' Particle commented, 'It sounds like they go through them if you get the job in one interview.'
Cornelius gave a mental agreement as Dumbledore laid a parchment in front of him. Giving it a detailed go over that McGonagall seemed to agree with, he found that the contract was pretty simple. In fact it was far more simple that he expected a teacher contract to be, just detailing his agreement to be the DADA teacher, some details/responsibilities of the position, and acknowledging that the school was not liable for any injury or death that may come to him during his time in the position. He questioned the last part to himself, but signed the contract when he found nothing he wouldn't agree to.
"Perfect!" Dumbledore said as he filed away the signed contract, "Minerva will show you your class and quarters." With the quick goodbye, Cornelius followed McGonagall out of the headmaster's office and back into the school proper.
She led him to a sizable classroom that was slightly curved. Windows lined the left wall allowing light from grounds to shine in. Six rows of three desks were already set up and a larger desk was in the front of the room. Behind the larger desk was a small staircase that led to a door, his office and connected quarters McGonagall told him.
"You may set up the room in any way you wish, but the school will only pay for items required for the class." The transfiguration teacher explained, "All your rooms have basic furnishing already and the house elves will take care of any cleaning and laundry that needs to be done. I would suggest that you take the rest of the day at least to explore the castle, but I will need a list of texts you would need the students to have for the year before the week is up."
Cornelius nodded as she finished and left him to his devices. When he was sure she was gone, Particle appeared in a flash of light. His chipped, black shell reflected the sunlight as he floated around the empty classroom. The Warlock joined his Ghost and familiarized himself with the room; he would explore the castle later. He ended up sitting at the teacher's desk and went over the day.
"That was…" He started, "Far simpler than it should have been." His eyes trailed to his Ghost floating about, "Catch anything I might have missed?"
"I don't think so," Particle responded, "The wards are impressive though, from what I can sense of them." The Ghost expanded into a ball of Light and sent a scanning wave through the room before collapsing again sighing, "Still not a shred of any electronics though."
"You know these magicals are stuck in the dark ages." Cornelius replied as he got up and entered the connected office in search of lesson plans from the previous years to have on hand and familiarize himself with. That plan hit a quick snag as he found the startling lack of any files.
As in, nothing at all.
There were no lesson plans, no student files, no books. Not a single shred of paper. It was like the previous teacher didn't want their predecessor to have an easy time.
Considering the implication that they were possessed at the end, it kind of made sense.
He gave an annoyed sigh as he sat down and summoned a piece of paper and a pen from his Ghost's storage. It seemed he had to start from scratch.
Joy.
\-/
Life at The Burrow was as different as possible from life in Privet Drive. The Dursleys liked everything neat and ordered; the Weasleys' house burst with the strange and unexpected.
Harry got a shock the first time he looked in the mirror over the kitchen mantelpiece and it shouted, "Tuck your shirt in, scruffy!" The ghoul in the attic howled and dropped pipes whenever he felt things were getting too quiet, and small explosions from Fred and George's bedroom were considered perfectly normal. What Harry found most unusual about life at Ron's, however, wasn't the talking mirror or the clanking ghoul.
It was the fact that everybody there seemed to like him.
Mrs Weasley fussed over the state of his socks and tried to force him to eat fourth helpings at every meal. Mr Weasley liked Harry to sit next to him at the dinner table so that he could bombard him with questions about life with Muggles, asking him to explain how things like plugs and the postal service worked.
"Fascinating!" he would say, as Harry talked him through using a telephone. "Ingenious, really, how many ways Muggles have found of getting along without magic."
Harry heard from Hogwarts one sunny morning about a week after he had arrived at The Burrow.
He and Ron went down to breakfast to find Mr and Mrs Weasley and Ginny already sitting at the kitchen table. The moment she saw Harry, Ginny accidentally knocked her porridge bowl to the floor with a loud clatter. Ginny seemed very prone to knocking things over whenever Harry entered a room. She dived under the table to retrieve the bowl and emerged with her face glowing like the setting sun. Pretending he hadn't noticed this, Harry sat down and took the toast Mrs Weasley offered him.
"Letters from school." Mr Weasley spoke as he entered the room, hands full of identical envelopes, "Including yours Harry, Dumbledore must already know you're here. Doesn't miss a trick, that man." He added, shaking his head, "You two have got them as well." He added as Fred and George joined them, still clad in their pajamas.
They all spent the next few minutes in relative silence as they opened their letters and ate. Harry's told him to catch the train at King's Cross as usual on September 1st, and there was also a list of the new books he would need for the coming year.
Second-Year Students Will Require:
The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2 by Miranda Goshawk
Defence Against the Dark Arts by Galatea Merrythought
Common Magical Ailments and Afflictions by Dilys Derwent
Evelyn Starling's Guide to Dueling by Evelyn Starling
Fred, who had finished his own list, peered over Harry's shoulder to see his. "You've got the books on healing and dueling too!" Fred exclaimed with a grin, "The new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher sounds fun already."
"Some of this won't come cheap." George stated with a quick look at his parents, "This book on law is supposed to be the most recent edition…" His face dropped at the sudden realization that book entailed for class.
"Well, we'll manage," said Mrs Weasley, but she looked worried. "I expect we'll be able to pick up a lot of Ginny's things secondhand."
"Oh, are you starting at Hogwarts this year?" Harry asked Ginny. She nodded, blushing to the roots of her flaming hair, and put her elbow in the butter dish. Fortunately, no one saw this except Harry because just then Ron's elder brother Percy walked in. He was already dressed, his Hogwarts prefect badge pinned to his knitted tank top.
"Morning all," said Percy briskly, "Lovely day."
He sat down in the only remaining chair but leapt up again almost immediately, pulling from underneath him a molting, grey feather duster. At least, that was what Harry thought it was, until he saw that it was breathing.
"Errol"' said Ron, taking the limp owl from Percy and extracting a letter from under its wing. "Finally - he's got Hermione's answer. I wrote to her saying we were going to try and rescue you from the Dursleys." He carried Errol to a perch just inside the back door and tried to stand him on it, but Errol flopped straight off again so Ron laid him on the draining board instead muttering, "Pathetic." Then he ripped open Hermione's letter and read it out loud.
Dear Ron, and Harry if you're there,
I hope everything went all right and that Harry is OK and that you didn't do anything illegal to get him out, Ron, because that would get Harry into trouble, too. I've been really worried and if Harry is all right, will you please let me know at once, but perhaps it would be better if you used a different owl, because I think another delivery might finish your one off.
I'm very busy with school work, of course ("How can she be?" Ron said in horror. "We're on holiday!") and we're going to London next Wednesday to buy my new books. Why don't we meet in Diagon Alley?
Let me know what's happening as soon as you can, love from Hermione.
"Well, that fits in nicely," Said Mrs. Weasley, "We can go and get all your things then, too."
And that was how, early the next Wednesday, Harry found himself trying and failing to use the floo, overhearing some things the Malfoys definitely didn't want him to hear, and getting saved by a fantastically timed Hagrid.
He helped him find Hermione and the Weasleys before heading off muttering something about Flesh-Eating Slug repellent and finding someone that he was supposed to show around.
An hour later, they headed for Flourish and Blotts. However, they were by no means the only ones making their way to the bookshop. As they approached it, they saw to their surprise a large crowd jostling outside the doors, trying to get in. The reason for this was proclaimed by a large banner stretched across the upper windows.
GILDEROY LOCKHART
will be signing copies of his autobiography
MAGICAL ME
Today 12:30 - 4:30 pm
The crowd seemed to be made up mostly of witches around Mrs Weasley's age. A harassed-looking wizard stood at the door, saying, "Calmly please ladies ... don't push ... mind the books now …"
Harry, Ron and Hermione squeezed inside. A long queue wound right to the back of the shop, where a golden blond man with a dazzling smile (Harry assumed that was Gilderoy Lockhart) was signing books. They tried to squeeze their way through the crowd to reach the shelves where their school books should be, but only Percy and the twins were having any luck.
Mr and Mrs Weasley were meanwhile standing in line to meet Lockheart. By the way Mrs Weasley was repeatedly patting down her hair, Harry suspected he wasn't going to get much help from them. It wasn't long before Mr and Mrs Granger managed to reach the three of them though, helping them push through the crowd.
"Just who is this guy?" Mr Granger asked when they finally cleared the crowd and reached the back shelves.
Only Ron had an answer, "He's some kind of adventure writer, I think. I never really liked his books, but mum is crazy about them."
"Well, if we knew this was going to happen, we would have gotten our shopping done a different day."
Luckily, the books they needed were still in stock and they were able to get them without trouble. Hermione grabbed a few more books, but her parents talked her down to just two extra instead of the five she wanted. "Mental." Ron commented quietly once she was out of range.
After the three of them collected all of their needed books Mr and Mrs Granger led the way through the crowd and to the counter. Their effort only lasted a second before a short, irritable taking photos nearly knocked Ron over.
"Out of the way," He nearly snarled at the red head, "This is for the Daily Prophet."
"Big deal." Ron said, rubbing his foot where the photographer stepped on it.
Gilderoy Lockheart seemingly heard him, because the smiling wizard looked up at Ron. Then he saw Harry next to him. After a second of staring Lockheart leapt to his feet, "It can't be. It is! Harry Potter!"
The crowd parted and Harry felt a little part of himself died as they started whispering and staring at his scar.
Lockhart dived forward, seizing Harry's arm and pulling him to the front. The crowd burst into applause. Harry's face burned as Lockhart shook his hand for the photographer, who was clicking away madly, wafting thick smoke over the crowd near him.
"Nice big smile, Harry," Lockhart said through his own gleaming teeth, "Together, you and I are worth the front page."
When he finally let go of Harry's hand he could hardly feel his fingers. He tried to sidle back over to the Granger's and Weasley's, but Lockhart threw an arm around his shoulders and clamped him tightly to his side.
"Ladies and gentlemen," He said loudly, waving for quiet. "What an extraordinary moment this is! When young Harry here stepped into Flourish and Blotts today, he only wanted to buy my autobiography - which I shall be happy to present to him now, free of charge." The crowd applauded again, before Lockhart continued, giving Harry a little shake that made his glasses slip to the end of his nose, "But he didn't come here just to see little old me, no, he came here today to continue his education at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry like many of you here today. Which is why I will be giving Harry here not just a copy of Magical Me, but the entire collection of my books for him to learn and excel from!"
The crowd cheered again and Harry finally managed to stagger away from Lockheart, his entire collection of books stacked precariously in his arms. He managed to make his way to the side of the room where the Weasley's and the Granger's had grouped up and stopped next to Ginny and her new cauldron. "You have these." Harry mumbled to her, tipping the books into the cauldron.
"Bet you loved that, didn't you, Potter?" A voice that Harry had no trouble recognizing said behind him. He straightened up and found himself face to face with Draco Malfoy, who was wearing his usual sneer.
"Famous Harry Potter," Malfoy said, "Can't even go into a bookshop without making the front page."
"Leave him alone! He didn't want all that!" Ginny said, glaring at Malfoy. It was the first time she had spoken in front of Harry.
"Potter, you've got yourself a girlfriend!" Malfoy drawled. Ginny went scarlet as Ron and Hermione fought their way over.
"Oh, it's you," Ron said, looking at Malfoy as if he were something unpleasant on the sole of his shoe, "Bet you're surprised to see Harry here, eh?"
"Not as surprised as I am to see you in a shop, Weasley." Malfoy retorted, "I suppose your parents will go hungry for a month to pay for that lot."
Ron went as red as Ginny. He started his way towards Malfoy, but Harry and Hermione grabbed the back of his jacket.
"Ron!" Mr Weasley exclaimed, struggling over with Fred and George, "What are you doing? It's mad in here, let's go outside."
"Well, well, well," A smooth voice said, "Arthur Weasley."
It was Mr Malfoy. He stood with his hand on Draco's shoulder, sneering in just the same way.
"Lucius." Replied Mr Weasley, nodding coldly.
"Busy time at the Ministry, I hear," said Mr Malfoy, "All those raids… I hope they're paying you overtime?"
He reached into Ginny's cauldron and extracted, from amidst the glossy Lockhart books, a very old and very battered copy of A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch.
"Obviously not." He said. "Dear me, what's the use of being a disgrace to the name of wizard if they don't even pay you well for it?"
Mr Weasley flushed darker than either Ron or Ginny, "We have a very different idea of what disgraces the name of wizard, Malfoy," he said, a hint of venom in his voice.
"Clearly." Mr Malfoy said, his pale eyes straying to Mr and Mrs Granger who were watching apprehensively, "The company you keep Weasley… and I thought your family could sink no lower-"
There was a thud of metal as Ginny's cauldron went flying. Mr Weasley had thrown himself at Mr Malfoy, knocking him backwards into a bookshelf. Dozens of heavy spellbooks came thundering down on all their heads. There was a yell of "Get him, Dad!" from Fred or George(Harry still couldn't tell which). Mrs Weasley was shrieking, "No, Arthur, no!" The crowd stampeded backwards, knocking more shelves over like a flurry of dominos. "Gentlemen, please - please!" Cried the assistant and then, louder than the crowd, "Break it up, there, gents, break it up-"
It was Hagrid who boomed over them all, but he was beaten to the fighting by another man who appeared in between Mr Weasley and Mr Malfoy. All Harry saw was a flash of longish white hair and black robes before he placed a hand on each of the fighting mens' chests and pushed them apart from each other with surprising ease.
\-/
"Both of you knock it off." Cornelius growled out after placing himself between the fighting men. Said men were seemingly ignorant of their disarrayed surroundings as they continued to sneer at each other.
The Warlock shifted his gaze to the too close audience. A sea of people who were trying to get a look over each other's shoulders. Lockheart and a photographer who seemed to be readily discussing something with a smile, their gazes hitting their spot. At the front, half of a group of redheads were being held back by others. But his focus was on the small boy with black hair and green eyes, a lightning scar on his head.
Cornelius didn't know the boy, but looking at him made him feel uneasy. Like something was just a little off. Something in the back of his mind linked the feeling to something he once felt on the moon, but just what… he couldn't recall.
The man with white hair, Lord Malfoy he believed, eventually turned the smallest redhead and thrust an old book into her hands, "Here girl, take your book. It's the best your father can give you." The lord brushed off Cornelius's hand with a sneer and beckoned his son to follow him as he strode out of the shop.
The other man was pulled away by Hagrid, the big man patting down his coat. "Yeh should've ignored him, Arthur," Hagrid said, "Rotten ter the core, the whole family, everyone knows that. No Malfoy's worth listenin' ter. Bad blood, that's what it is."
The Warlock sighs at the one sided view, but doesn't comment on it. Instead he chose something else, "Bad blood aside, you're an idiot for starting a fight in here." He stated as bluntly as possible. The man, Arthur, and the twin red heads moved to object but Cornelius continued, waving his hand around the shop, "Look at all of this damage, all without a single spell cast. An excellent example to set for the children isn't it?" The spoke the last part with a side eye before turning to the attendant who tried to calm them down earlier, "Is my order ready for pickup?"
"Ah, well," The attendant stuttered in surprise at the change in subject, "Not quite, but as you pointed out, the damages are going to force the shop closed until it can be fixed."
"Just get my books ready," Cornelius ordered, "We'll get this cleaned up."
Particle scoffed, 'Not really a we anymore.'
The Warlock turned around and growled lightly in frustration as he saw Hagrid lead the families of redheads and brunettes out of the building.
"Scratch that, I'll clean this up. Then I'm going to have a word with my colleague about accountability." The attendant swiftly nodded and went to fetch Cornelius's massive booklist as the Warlock weaved magic with a wave of his hand and fixed another person's mess once again.
