Chapter 3 - Troublesome Students


It was September 1st and the students had arrived on the Hogwarts express, ready for their new year at school. The second years and up were already seated around the Great Hall and more than a few of them stared at him, whispering in curiosity.

"Creevey, Colin." McGonagall's voice rang throughout the room.

All of the staff save Severus Snape, the Potions teacher, were also in attendance at the feast. When asked why he didn't want to attend, the Potions Master merely said he had something to take care of. Nobody seemed to question it so he left. Of the other teachers, only McGonagall stood. She had led the new first years in and called their names for the sorting.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

The Sorting Hat was a curiosity, but after it started to sing Cornelius lost the urge to speak to it. At least for now. He did, however, find Professors Babbling, Sinistra, and Vector to be wonderful conversation partners over the last month. More specifically, their subjects.

"Harper, Heyman."

Sinistra's insights into Astronomy and its use in magic blended wonderfully with his first hand experience/knowledge of space. He found it fun to bounce certain scientific based theories at her to try and explain magical phenomena based on certain planets or constellations.

His knowledge of Hive runes gave the Warlock a healthy respect for Babbling's craft of Ancient Runes. He had deeper theories to give her on rune craft and why it worked, but he wouldn't say he was a master at the subject.

"SLYTHERIN!"

And any Warlock knew the importance of math and numbers in all things. In that aspect, he had the most to talk about with Vector. Although, by the time they started discussing the Goldbach Conjecture, most could barely comprehend that they were still talking math.

"Lovegood, Luna."

'Shouldn't you be paying attention and, I don't know, memorizing names to faces?' Particle spoke, interrupting Cornelius's thoughts.

He watched a small girl with long and straggly dirty blond hair sit on the stool before the Sorting Hat was placed on her head, 'I am paying attention.' The Warlock answered, 'There just isn't anything interesting going on.'

"RAVENCLAW!"

The girl took off hat and sat it on the stool with a small pat to the top before sitting down at the table of blue and bronze. 'Besides,' Cornelius continued, 'That's what I have you for.'

He could feel his Ghost roll his non-existent eyes, 'Yes, yes. Because that's what I was made for. To be a class roster in your head, such a thrilling life.' The Warlock nearly let out a snicker at the sarcasm.

"Weasley, Ginevra."

His gaze sharpened slightly at the last name, and sure enough, he recognized her.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

'That's right,' He thought just a tiny bit bitterly when he saw her sit next to a proverbial hoard of redheads, 'I have to teach the apparent trouble makers.'

'Just the twins and their younger brother.' Particle reminded him, 'Apparently the others aren't so bad.'

'As long as they're not as brash as their father.' Cornelius retorted, thinking of the words he had with Hagrid about leaving him to clean up the man's mess.

'Though, now that I'm looking,' His Ghost continued, 'Where is the young Weasley? And his dark haired friend for that matter?'

A quick gaze over the red table showed the Ghost right, Potter and his friend were nowhere to be seen. Did they miss the train?

Dumbledore went to his feet with a smile and a twinkle in his eye, but he too shifted a quick gaze to the Gryffindor table, "Welcome! Welcome everyone new and old to a new year here at Hogwarts! Before we begin this year's welcoming feast, I would like to say a few words. Cooky! Bilm! Filk! Deek!" With those strange words, the headmaster sat back down and the students cheered. As the plates filled with an assortment of food, the Warlock gave the headmaster a skeptical look.

"Oh don't mind him, he does this every year." A voice spoke up from his side, causing him to turn to green eyed, dark haired Professor Vector who sat next to him in red robes, "Those are the names of some of the house elves. He likes to que them in for dinner." With a nod he went to his own plate and started his own dinner.

About ten minutes after the feast started, Snape made his first appearance of the night. He marched through the Great Hall's doors with a look that was out of place on the man's face.

Glee.

The students must have agreed, because a good majority started to whisper and a few looked frightened. The Potions Master made a beeline for the staff table and had a quick, whispered discussion with McGonagall and Dumbledore, something about "Potter and the Weasley boy" before marching back out with a thin-mouthed McGonagall. A few minutes later, Dumbledore followed.

"Wonder what that was about." Vector commented, "Last time I saw Snape that happy was… well actually I don't think I've ever seen a smile on his face."

"Something about our missing students, from what I heard." Cornelius responded, taking another bite of roast chicken.

"Missing students?" She replied, causing the Warlock to point his fork at the Gryffindor table. She made a sound of understanding, "Oh, Mr Potter and Mr Weasley, or well, Ron Weasley. I felt like something was missing." Dumbledore reappeared a few minutes after he left, an unhappy Snape in tow. Only a minute after that, McGonagall also returned.

They were allowed a few minutes to eat themselves before Dumbledore stood and addressed the student body again. "Ahem. Now that you all have had your fill, I have a few start of term notices to give you. First years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all students, and a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well." Dumbledore's eyes flashed in the direction of the Gryffindor table, Weasley twins if he wasn't mistaken, "I have also been asked by Mr Filch, the caretaker, to remind you all that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors. The banned item list, which is also posted on the door of Mr Filch's office, has been updated with nine new items including Gibbering Gobstones."

Some of the students laughed at the mention of the annoying variant of the toy, but others looked disappointed, "Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the term. Anyone interested in playing for their House teams should contact Madam Hooch before then. Finally, we have one new staff change this year. That being Professor Pond, our new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher."

The students gave a round of applause as Cornelius stood and bowed his head, though the older students seemed less enthusiastic about it. Dumbledore continued once the clapping died down, "And now, before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!" He cried, and out of the corner of his eye he saw the smiles on the other teacher's faces become fixed. He wondered why, before the grating sound of a hundred different voices singing in different tones and tempos reached his ears.

'Ah,' He thought with a grimace, 'That's why.'

\-/

Luna lightly skipped through the hall one her first day at Hogwarts. Well, technically it was her second day, but today was the first day of classes.

On her first day, she was sorted into Ravenclaw like her parents after a pleasant train ride. Her smile slightly faltered at the memory of being alone on the train, not even Ginny coming to sit with her, but it faded quickly as she hummed a tune her mum once hummed to her.

She and the other Ravenclaw first years had so far been through Transfiguration, Charms, and Herbology before they went to lunch in the Great Hall. Next on her schedule was Defence Against the Dark Arts with the new professor.

The air around her fellow students shimmered like fluttering wings as they entered the classroom. Some would think it merely a trick of the light hitting dust, but she knew better.

"The Wrackspurts are curious today as well." She said mostly to herself, but no one was paying attention to her anyway.

She followed everyone's gaze to the front of the room where the professor sat. Many were curious about him, and this would be his first class of the year so no one knew what he would be like. The professor looked over the first years in turn, and as his eyes swept over her, Luna paused.

His eyes were a very interesting shade of purple, like the petals of phantom petunias. The air around him seemed to be heavy with something she couldn't place her finger on, but it was clearer than the rest of the room.

It was a familiar feeling, one from years ago. Moments before her mum was swept away in a ball of threads.

The professor suddenly stood up from his seat and swiped his hand at the door of the class, closing it. Her fellow students broke into whispers at the casual display of wandless magic. The shimmers in the air grew excited at the commotion, zipping around.

She didn't find his skill confusing. She just had a feeling it made sense.

"Good afternoon," The white haired professor started, "And welcome to Defence Against the Dark Arts. I am Cornelius Pond, but you will call me Professor Pond, and I will be teaching you all how to defend yourselves. Today, I will go over what our goals for this year will be."

The chalkboard behind him started to fill with words from a floating piece of chalk, presumably controlled by the professor. The words "Identifying Danger" were written in a large font before he spoke again.

"The first, and most important thing you will learn this year is how to identify if an object or situation is dangerous and what to do if it is." The chalk resumed its writing, "Knowing if something is a threat will always determine how you act. Whether it be something you can walk away from with no issue, or a monster that forces you to get help."

The chalk finished a list of creatures and Professor Pond pointed at the list, "This will include creatures that may be common, like Ghosts that are harmless in all but words and their counterparts of Poltergeists that can actually harm you."

He continued on, the chalkboard filling up with the subjects that they would apparently be going over during the year. It even included a small list of spells they would be learning this year. Luna (and other Ravenclaws) made note of all the subjects, it would be good to get ahead after all.

However, some students didn't seem to care. Behind her, Luna could hear two boys talking in hushed whispers and giggling over something she couldn't quite hear. They didn't seem to be as quiet as they thought though.

"Gentlemen," Professor Pond's voice rang out across the class as his stern gaze fell on the two boys, "Care to enlighten me as to what is so funny?"

The whole class turned to the boys and they froze, not expecting to be called out. The shimmering air around them burst and buzzed around their heads as one of the boys stuttered out a non-answer.

"Maybe they were distracted by the Wrackspurts." Luna answered, though she regretted it as many of the students laughed.

"If the laughter is any indication, then they still are. Five points each from Gryffindor for causing a distraction." Professor Pond continued without missing a beat, cutting off the laughter.

The rest of the lesson continued on with no more interruptions besides a small burst of discussion at the prospect of having to exercise, "It's important, and worth a grade, so you'll do it."

The class comes to an end and the students leave for their next class, chatting along their way.

Luna is one of the last to leave, reminding herself of her next class. Potions in the dungeons, she better hurry. She almost made it to the first set of stairs before something caught her foot and she tumbled to the floor, her books scattering to the floor.

"Ow…" She rubbed her now bruised arm as she started to get up, looking around to see what she tripped on.

"Watch where you're going Loony." A boy's voice from nearby spoke, his voice slightly taunting, "Don't get distracted by those wackparts." The boy laughed and was followed by the sound of other students giving stifled laughter as well.

Her eyes started to itch and she started to collect her things. Before she could, however, she felt the air nearby gained an empty feeling. All of her books suddenly floated into her bag by themselves before said bag floated gently in front of her.

"Thirty points from Gryffindor, Mr Warbeck." Professor Pond's voice spoke out from next to her, startling several students, "You're lucky you didn't send her down the stairs."

"W-what!." The red tied boy stuttered, "But I didn't trip her, she fell on her own!"

"Hmm," The professor hummed, "Another ten points for lying to me. Try it again and I'll add laps to your timetable instead." The boy grit his teeth but left with his friends.

Luna took her bag out of the air and turned to the professor as the hall emptied, "Thank you Professor Pond."

He nodded, "Of course. Are you alright Ms Lovegood?" He asked, looking over her arms and noting the bruises.

"Oh I'll be fine, it doesn't hurt that much." She stated, ignoring the sting in her arms.

He sighed at her response, seemingly expecting the answer. He raised his hand and placed it in front of her. She was confused for a moment before she felt a change in the magic around them.

The professor's hand glowed purple and the sting in her arms disappeared after being covered in a thin film of the same purple. The color only lasted a second before disappearing again.

"There." He stated as he lowered his hand, "Now you best head to your next class. Professor Snape won't appreciate it if you're late." He started to step past her but paused for a second, "Oh, and if Mr Warbeck or anyone else does something like that again, make sure to let me or your Head of House know."

Luna gave a small, but genuine, smile, "Of course professor. Thank you again." As he nodded and started to leave once more, she spotted something startling flickering around him, "Be careful of the Luminous Leeches, they seem to like you."

She noticed him turn in confusion, but she was already moving down the staircase to her next class.

\-/

The days went by, and other than a fight involving the youngest Weasley boy and Malfoy's son earlier that day, it had been pretty quiet. Cornelius's classes were going well in his eyes, even if the students seemed resistant to the idea of saying fit. A little exercise wouldn't hurt them.

Right now, however, the Warlock was not amused.

Apparently, Professor McGonagall thought it would be a good idea for Mr Potter to serve his detention with him. Apparently, she didn't want him and the Weasley boy to serve it together and she was busy with grading for her own class. It didn't seem to matter that he was busy with the same thing.

Oh well, at least he could have the boy help.

Cornelius sensed the boy right before his classroom door opened, with what he assumed was the scar on his head giving him away. A knock was heard on the door and the Warlock called Harry in.

"Right, come in. You'll be sitting there." Cornelius waved his hand at a desk in the front of the room directly in front of his desk, a stack of papers and a red pen on it, "Today, you'll be helping me grade the placement exams for your year."

For all but his first and sixth years, he had the students take placement exams to know what their baseline knowledge in DADA was. The previous teachers had left no notes and records had not been properly kept except for the end of year exam grades for the class. For that reason, Cornelius had no idea what had already been covered and none of the other teachers had been any great help.

He ultimately decided that after creating his own lesson plans for the class year by year, he would test the students to see if they needed any baseline or catch up work to be at the level he wanted to start. The first years didn't get tested for obvious reasons and the sixth years opted into the class after receiving a high enough OWL score, which was a ministry ran exam.

Harry's face adopted a confused expression, "Why do you want me to grade them?"

"You scored the highest in your year." The Warlock answered, "I have a lot of them to go through and I needed something for you to do after Professor McGonagall pushed this detention on me. Now, you'll have an answer sheet to refer to, and don't bother trying to mark any of them wrong. I will be watching." With that, the room fell silent and Harry hesitantly picked up the pen and started to mark papers.

Cornelius also marked tests, though he was moving significantly faster, and found that he would probably have to do cram classes with at least the fifth years to get them past their OWLs.

For a few hours, that was all that was going on and the scratch of pens against paper was all that was heard. It was relaxing in a way, the endless paperwork rolled across his desk. It almost let him forget the stuffy presence of magic coming from the boy.

Particle tried doing a ranged scan of it near the beginning of the detention, but he found that he would have to get up close and personal if he wanted anything substantial.

At this point, he was ready to shove Particle in Mr Potter's face to get it just to figure out what was there.

"What!?" Harry suddenly exclaimed, making Cornelius ponder for a second if he said that last part out loud. He figured that wasn't the case when the boy started to frantically look around.

"What is it Mr Potter?" Cornelius asked the frantic boy.

"That voice," He answered, "Didn't you hear it?"

"Voice?" The Warlock asked in return, raising an eyebrow.

Particle responded first, 'I didn't hear a voice, but there was a hissing sound.'

"Tha-that voice said that-" Harry stuttered, "Didn't you hear it?

Cornelius shook his head, "Can't say that I did. What did it say?"

He didn't answer for a moment, "It said… it sounded like it wanted to kill something."


This came to mind when I saw Professor Vector's name and it wouldn't leave until I wrote it down. Might do more omakes if they come to mind.

[-]

Omake - Professor Vector

[-]

"And here is the Arithmancy classroom," McGonagall explained as she showed Cornelius around the castle, "Like the other extra-curricular subjects, only third years and above will be in these classes."

The Warlock hummed, "And is the teacher in today? I was hoping we could touch bases in discussing Arithmancy theories for spell crafting."

For some reason, the Transfiguration teacher cringed, "Yes… I suppose he should be in today, but I warn you," She adopted a serious expression as she said the last words, "No conversation with him is an easy one."

He raised his eyebrows at the serious tone, "If you're talking about the complicated nature of the subject, then I should be fine."

She shook her head, "No, I have no doubt you understand the subject matter. I speak of his personality. Frankly, it's worse than Lockheart's."

'Worse than Lockheart's?' Particle repeated, 'How can it be worse than Lockheart's?'

She sighed when she realized he still wanted to meet the apparently eccentric professor, "Very well, I'll introduce you to Professor-"

"VECTOR!" The door slammed open with a shout and a man wearing a muggle tracksuit in bright orange, besides the white stripe on either side, jumped out. His brown eyes covered by glasses matched his bowl cut hair, which housed an orange pointed wizard's hat.

"That's me, 'cause I'm casting magic, with both direction... and MAGNITUDE! OH YEAH!" He finished his sentence by thrusting his hips.

Without introducing himself further, he pulled out a white wand seemingly made of plastic, "Check out my new spell. PIRANHA GUN! OH YES! Summons live piranhas. Ever seen it before? No you haven't, I invented it. Do you want a demonstration?"

The Warlock didn't get a change to answer as the orange suited man shouted, "PIRANHA GUN!" and a live piranha shot out of his wand, hit the wall, and bounced back hitting the man straight in the face.

McGonagall and Cornelius could only watch as the professor scrambled around with a piranha latched to his own nose.

'... Ok, I can see it now.'