I should mention here that the concept of magics versus magic is mine, and is roughly based on the theory of magics in my books. The main difference there is that magics are drawn from the air around you, and not from your "core." This theory belongs to me… as mentioned earlier, Harry Potter does not.
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Chapter Seven: The Wanderer
"That," said Ron in a satisfied voice. "Was easily the best meal I've ever eaten."
"Any meal would be the best you've ever eaten, Ron," Harry said with a grin. "Even if my uncle made it for you, so long as it was edible."
"Hey, a growing boy's gotta eat, right?"
The tinkling of a glass silenced everyone almost instantly as Dumbledore rose from his seat at the head table. As he did so, the food and dishes on the table vanished as well. "Now that our bellies are full and our appetites satisfied, I have a few rules to inform the first years about, as well as reminding our older students who may have forgotten more than just a few..." Even from as far away as he was, Harry could see the blue twinkle in the Headmaster's eye as he looked towards the Gryffindor table. "The Forbidden Forest is so named because it is, in fact, Forbidden. Please do not forget this fact, as there are times when our great Care of Magical Creatures Professor will not be able to find you." There was a murmur of whispers at that statement, but nothing that the Headmaster seemed to take note of. "Also, Mr. Filch has asked me to inform you all that there is a large increase of banned items in the school, covering most of what can be found within Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes. For a full list, please see Mr. Filch in his office."
The Headmaster then walked around the table and stood on the ground in front of the students, just before the time wolf Rozan. "Lastly, I would like to thank all students last year who showed their support for me during the difficult times we had, as well as to the staff. I would like to ask, however, that things return to the way they were." He then nodded and clapped his hands. "With full stomachs, it's off to bed. Prefects and the Head Boy and Girl will lead the first years to their common rooms, and give out the passwords."
Harry rose with everyone else and noticed right away that Ron and Hermione had already separated from him to start calling to the first years. He smiled to himself as he heard Ron calling them midgets again, followed swiftly by Hermione's admonishing of him.
"Hey Harry!" He stopped briefly to turn to find Ginny, Sloper, and Kirke coming up to him. "What are the plans for the team this year, Harry?" Sloper asked him.
Harry's mind reeled quickly, remembering all he could about last year's Quidditch season - the season he only managed to play one game in. Sloper was a beater who needed a lot of practice. Same with Kirke. Ginny said she'd take Chaser, but that still left them with two chasers down. "First thing's first," he replied with a shrug. "Figure out who the captain is, and then set a time for tryouts. We need two new Chasers, right?"
"I thought you were the captain..." Kirke pointed out.
Harry frowned and looked to Ginny, who shrugged and didn't meet his eye. Apparently she had told them that he was. "We have to decide as a team," he replied after a moment. "But for now, we've got to get to the common room before we're locked out. I don't suppose any of you know what the password is, do you?"
"Harry, we don't even know who the fifth year prefects are yet," Ginny said. "I don't think any have been appointed yet."
"Dumbledore's been busy," he said reassuringly. "Besides, with Ron and Hermione, we don't have to worry. One of them will be waiting outside in case." With that, he turned and started walking towards the Gryffindor tower, the others in close pursuit. He started to slow down a bit as he approached the painting of the Fat Lady and found Hermione waiting outside. Once the other three had passed him, he stopped completely, to give them time to get inside without him.
"Hi Harry," Hermione said a little awkwardly.
"I read your note," Harry replied, taking a deep breath. "And... well..."
"Oh, this was what I was afraid of!" Hermione said when he trailed off, furious with herself. "I didn't want things to get awkward, and now I've gone and made a mess of things, and we'll..."
"I think I started it, `Mione," Harry interrupted gently. "By kissing you on my birthday, remember?"
"But I gave you the bracelet first!"
Harry sighed and sank to the floor against the wall next to her. She sat down after a moment, looking to him. "Let's say we're both at fault, then, alright?" There was a long silence before he spoke again. "Like I said, I read the note. I'm willing to try, if you are."
"You are, Harry?" she asked, her tone brightening at once. "I mean, you want to see if there's anything more between us than just..."
"'Mione..." he said softly, and she stopped right away. "I said I'm willing to try. I like you. A lot. And I know that without question. I've been doing a lot of thinking since my birthday... and I'm scared."
"So am I, Harry. But sometimes, you have to take risks, remember?"
Harry smiled to her. "I can take risks. But I don't want to force you to, just by being close to me." He sighed and looked away from her. "I want to try, but I need time, `Mione. I need time to think, to figure out how I can do this without putting you in danger."
"I don't care about the danger, Harry," Hermione said quickly. "I'm in danger as it is by being your friend and being muggle-born, remember?"
"I know... I know. Am I'm just being selfish anyway, asking you to wait like this. Never mind," he said, starting to stand.
She caught his hand and pulled him back down before he could get very far. "You aren't being selfish, you're being selfless," she corrected him. "You are sacrificing yourself for my sake." He could see that there were tears in her brown eyes, and that thought hurt him more than he had thought possible. "Like I said, I don't care if I am in danger. I want to be near you."
"Are you willing to give me time, or do you need the answer right now?"
Hermione smiled sadly to him as she wiped her tears away with the sleeve of her robe. "I made up my mind over the summer before buying your present, Harry. I decided my path. When I thought you died... it felt like a part of me had died, too." She kissed him on the cheek lightly and then stood herself. "I'll wait as long as you need."
"Thanks," he said as he held out a hand to her and she pulled him up. "You really are the best..." He pulled her into a hug and sighed into her bushy brown hair. "I'll make sure you know when... you'll be the first to know, alright?"
"Thanks," she returned, and then caught his left wrist and inched her hand up his sleeve to cover his bracelet. "And thanks for sticking up for me on the train. Just don't do it again, okay? I don't want you expelled on my behalf..."
Harry shook his head and looked away from her. "I told you what this meant, `Mione. I'm not taking him insulting you anymore this year. Anyone else, either. I want to protect you from everything I can."
"I can protect myself too, Harry," she reminded him gently, and he looked back. "So please, please, please, promise me you won't hex anyone again because of me."
Harry closed off his emerald eyes so he could no longer see her and took a deep breath. "Unless you are in physical danger, or it is something a lot more serious than Malfoy being a git - a fact that, let's face it, we can't control - I will not step in. Alright?"
She smiled to him and turned to the Fat Lady. "I take it your conversation is finally over?" the Fat Lady asked. "Password?"
"Voldemort," Hermione replied with a glance to Harry. For his part, he raised an eyebrow to ask without words. "It's like you said last year. Fear of the name increases fear of the object. I wanted to help people prepare, so I picked this." She then took his hand and pulled him towards the entrance. "McGonagall knows, and even though she's not thrilled about the idea, she's letting it stand."
"Good night, Hermione," Harry said as she released his hand and they stepped into the common room one after the other. The room was mostly empty save for a few sixth and seventh year scragglers, and Harry made his way over to Ron and told him he was heading up for bed.
--------------------
"Oh... double Potions first thing again?" Harry groaned as he picked up his schedule that had just been placed before him. "Do they plan it this way to give me the worst start possible each term?"
"Sorry, mate, can't hear ya complainin!" Ron replied as he picked up his own schedule. "I've got Charms first, then double Herbology. Mmm... feels good not to see anything with Snape on it."
"Stuff it," Harry replied as Hermione sat down next to him. "How's your schedule look?"
She shrugged as she piled up breakfast on her plate and looked over to his. "About the same as yours. I don't get a break on Tuesdays and Thursdays, though, when you do. I have Arithmancy then."
"Well..." Harry said between bites of his pancakes. "At least there'll be one friendly face in Potions, then. Charms won't be the same without you though, Ron."
"I know," Ron replied solemnly. "No one to tell me what I'm doing wrong..." he added with a side glance to Hermione. "Hey, what do you have this afternoon?" he added after a moment, looking back to the parchment in front of him.
"Defense Against the Dark Arts all afternoon," Harry replied, double-checking. "Every day... I hope he's as good as I think he is."
"I've got the same," Ron replied.
"Same here," Hermione added.
"Wait, you've got Defense in the afternoon too?" Harry turned down the table and saw Ginny looking down to them. "So do I."
"Me too!" another voice called. A boy Harry knew was in seventh year was looking at them from further down. "What do ya reckon it means?"
Dumbledore was standing at the head table before anyone could reply, and everyone fell silent at once. "As many of you have surely noticed by now, all fifth years through seventh years are to gather here, in the Great Hall, after lunch for your Defense Against the Dark Arts class. Your new Professor will explain things from there."
"Blimey," Ron breathed, looking around the room.
"Bugger," Harry muttered. When both looked to him, he motioned behind him towards the Slytherin table. "That means they're with us, too."
"It won't be too bad, Harry," Hermione said urgently. "With this many people, I doubt we'll even notice him."
"Well, I know he'll be in Potions anyway," Harry sighed. "Might as well get going. Thinking about that's made me lose my appetite already..."
As he stood, Hermione got up as well and shouldered her bag to go with him. The two walked in silence down the halls towards the dungeons that held Snape's classroom, and found the door open. There were two other students inside already, neither of whom they recognized from previous potions classes, which meant they must have been from either Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw.
Hermione could see as Harry sat down that he was not looking forward to the class - not that she could blame him, given Snape's track record of making life difficult for him - so she gripped his hand on the desk briefly before letting go again and pulling out her book.
Harry counted himself lucky that Snape came into the classroom when he did. He was sure it was the only time he had ever been thankful to Snape in his life, but given that Draco Malfoy had entered just a minute ahead of him had something to do with it. He'd take Snape any day over Malfoy.
His black robes flowing behind him, Snape turned swiftly once reaching the front of the class and folded his arms before him, gazing at the class coldly. "So... this is the best and brightest of our potion makers within Hogwarts, is it?" he asked in a cold voice, eyes darting across the room. "Everyone here did receive an Outstanding in the Potions' OWLs, correct?" When no one answered, he continued anyway. "Good. Then let's see what we can do with your so-called intellect."
Harry groaned to himself as Snape started walking around the room. He had parchment out with his quill sitting next to it, and his textbook sitting on his desk as well. He had actually leafed through it this year, but he doubted it would do him any good.
"Tell me, Potter, the first step in brewing the Drought of Stability." Harry looked up into Snape's cold eyes as the teacher sneered down at him. "If you belong in this class, you should be able to tell me the simple answer to that. Can you?"
Harry broke the gaze and looked to his textbook. "I don't know, sir."
"Pity. I would have thought that even you could have taken the time to read through the text during the summer, Potter. Or do you conveniently forget how to read over the holidays? Ten points from Gryffindor, then..." Snape swept back to the front, and Harry forced the anger he was feeling out of the way again. He knew that Snape had seen him working on the DA plans over the summer. "Very well, Potter, perhaps you can at least tell me what the Drought of Stability is used for..."
Harry chanced a glance to Hermione, hoping for some sort of hint, and made brief eye contact with her. An instant calming feeling swept through him as he did so, and he looked back to Snape with more than a little difficulty. Somehow, though, his mind held the answer that he needed. "The Drought of Stability is used by Healers, sir, when a patient is hovering on the brink of death. It puts them into a catatonic state that they will not awaken from until the antidote is given, which is absorbed through the skin. This Drought is always used as the last resort, as it can have lasting effects such as dizziness, partial loss of hearing, or blindness." He took a deep breath to continue, but Snape cut him off first.
"Very well, Potter. It appears that you aren't completely useless after all. I will see you after class, though." He then swept to another part of the room and started asking much simpler questions of other students.
Harry tuned most of them out as his mind was racing with thoughts about the Drought. A potion that could stave off death... this must have been the potion that Snape had been referring to during Harry's first year - putting a stopper on death. Even without looking, he knew it was one of the hardest potions to brew that he had ever come across, but he did know the ingredients. That thought was an odd one as well, as he knew he hadn't actually opened the text before, and no other book he had would mention it.
His mind froze when the other students stood to leave as he remembered that he had to stay afterwards to talk to Snape. Hermione gave him an encouraging glance, and stepped out of the class. He could see her leaning against the wall, and that thought gave him a little heart as he stood to approach the Professor's desk.
"Tell me, Potter, did you think you would get away with it?"
"Away with what, sir?" Harry asked. For once, he had no idea what Snape was even accusing him of. That gave him a little more of a boost, but he knew he was going to be being blamed anyway.
"Performing Legilimency with Miss Granger in my class today, Potter," Snape sneered in response. "And, while I am pleased that you finally managed to grasp the concept that I had tried so hard to drive into your tiny little brain, I will not tolerate it's use in my class. Twenty points from Gryffindor."
"But sir, I didn't do anything!" Harry objected.
"I will make it fifty if you are not out of my sight by the time I count to ten, Potter," Snape replied, sitting back to observe him. When Harry made no motion to leave, he started. "One. Two."
Harry turned and left at seven, seething as he was at the Professor. Once in the hall, he found Hermione still waiting for him. "Oh Harry, that just wasn't fair!" Hermione said almost at once when they started to walk out of the dungeons towards Flitwick's classroom. "Twenty points just for knowing an answer he didn't think you should?"
"He seems to think I cheated," Harry said with a shrug. "You heard him... thinks I raped your mind or something for the answers." As vulgar as it sounded, it was what it had felt like to him every time the Potions Master had performed the spell on him last year.
"But you didn't!" Hermione said instantly. "It's not fair, Harry. You know you didn't!"
"Yeah, well, Snape's never been especially fair with me anyway, has he?" he demanded angrily. The two walked in silence for a few steps before Harry sighed and stopped. When she turned, he looked away from her. "Sorry."
"For what?" she asked in surprise.
"For shouting at you. It's not your fault Snape's a git."
Hermione shook her head and grabbed his arm, pulling him along again until he started walking normally. "Don't worry," she reassured him. "It's not your fault, either. Besides, you wouldn't be Harry if you didn't blow up once and a while, right?"
"There are a lot better targets out there than you, though, `Mione," he said softly as they pushed the door open for Charms. Inside were quite a few students, ranging across the houses again. He suspected that all the high level classes would be like this. Thankfully, it looked like Malfoy had Charms at a different time, and he wouldn't have to deal with him yet that day.
Once the two found seats together, they looked forward and found Professor Flitwick standing on a box to be a little taller so he could be seen. "I will begin this class by congratulating each of you for making it through your OWLs with high grades. Bravo! Give yourselves a pat on the back," he suggested.
Harry turned to Hermione and patted her on the back, making her grin. "I don't think he meant literally," she hissed. He shrugged.
"I feel it only fair to warn you that the next two years under my tutelage will not be easy times. We will be studying very complex, difficult charms that require a good deal of magic behind them. After all, there are a lot of jobs out there that require high level charms..." He trailed off as a hand went up.
"What jobs need Charms, Professor?" Harry knew the girl who asked was in Hufflepuff, but he wasn't sure where he recognized her from until Hermione pointed out that she was a Chaser on their Quidditch team.
"Glad you asked, dear," Flitwick replied happily. "Charms are needed in all sorts of things, from being an Auror to being a Healer, and almost everything in between. You need to understand Charms to be a curse-breaker for Gringotts, you'll need charms if you are getting into the Magical Creature field, you'll even want charms if you are a part of a Quidditch team - you need to get away from your fans somehow!"
"Sounds like this should be a good class," Harry muttered to Hermione, who broke out into a smile at his words.
"To begin with, today we will be starting our work on the Disillusionment Charm," Flitwick explained. "It will let you blend into the background. Be warned, however, that it will not work well in the halls of the school, for those of you who were planning on using it to sneak around after curfew..." There were a few groans, which only brought about laughter from the rest of the class.
"Right then, the incantation is Disendium," Flitwick explained. "And the wand action is a lot like knocking hard on the surface of your desk once. If done properly, it should feel like breaking an egg over your head. If done wrong..." He had to stop as one of the students in the front row started glowing brightly and flashing neon colours.
Once Lavender Brown had stopped flashing - Harry hadn't realized it was her due to the bright colours and light - Flitwick had the class start trying, and he spent the rest of the class darting all over the room to stop the bright flashes that most students ended up with.
"Disendium," Harry muttered under his breath as he cracked himself in the head. It was one of the most unpleasant feelings that he could remember recently, but was infinitely better than a throbbing scar. A second later, he registered the fact that he thought egg yolk was running down his face, and he looked down to his hands.
They seemed see through, for if he held them up to a desk or the floor, they looked the same. "Well done, Harry," Hermione said softly, not moving. He grinned, knowing full well that she couldn't see him, and reached out and plucked her wand from her hand as she brought it up to try the charm for herself. "Harry!"
"Sorry, `Mione, I couldn't resist..." he said with a chuckle as he handed it back to her. She lifted it up as he had done and took a deep breath.
"Disendium," she said fiercely and hit herself over the head. She practically vanished from view the next second, and Harry had to look very hard to be able to discern even an outline of her.
"Very good Mr. Potter and Miss Granger!" Flitwick called as he turned to look to them. "Well done. Ten points each to Gryffindor as the first students to do it successfully."
"How do we reappear?" Harry asked, leaning towards Hermione so he could say it softly. The end result of this, as he had lost sight of her again, was the two bumping heads together and him falling into a desk as she sat down hard. Feeling around on the ground carefully, he found her foot and gave it a little squeeze. Her hand was on his the next moment, and she pulled him back to his feet.
"Carefully," she said in return. "You can simply use a Finite Incantatum spell," she replied once she let go, sure that he was steady on his feet again. She must have been pointing at herself when she next spoke. "Finite," she said, and reappeared in front of him instantly.
Pointing to himself, he muttered the words as well and had the oddest sensation of being hosed down by a powerful jet of water, though it didn't feel like he was going to be knocked over. Once the spell had cleared completely, he sat at his desk again. "Well done, Hermione," he said as she sat next to him.
"Well done me?" she repeated with surprise. "I've read the book, I've studied over the summer, I knew all about this one beforehand. What about you, Harry? I say well done to you!"
Harry shrugged. "I read about this one, too, in one of the books I got for my birthday," he explained. "So I guess we were on a level playing field this time. I'm sure it won't last, though."
"If you'd just take a few minutes at the end of each day to study..."
"Hermione, when would I have time?" Harry interrupted her. "Snape gave us a two foot essay on that Drought, remember? And we'll be getting more homework soon enough, I'm sure."
"Just stay on top of it this year, and you'll be fine. You've still got that planner I gave you last year, don't you?" she asked.
Harry shrugged. "I guess so."
"Then don't forget to use it!"
It was with great relief to Harry that class let out at that very moment, and he stood up and shouldered his bag. Together, the two made their way to the dinning hall, and found Ron already there, stuffing his face. To their surprise, Luna was sitting with him, and not at the Ravenclaw table.
"Hey, Ron," Harry said, clapping him on the shoulder as he sat down next to him. Hermione sat down right beside Harry, and started looking at the food before pulling out a textbook to flip through. "How was your morning?"
"I don't even have to hear how your morning was to know that mine was better," Ron replied with a grin, looking over to him. "Alright, so in Charms I messed up pretty bad and started flashing and glowing, but Herbology was great! We were looking at the phoylasid plant. Apparently, it is the main ingredient of something called the Drought of Stability, and is very rare. I guess the new Professor brought a bundle of plants with him when he came, because Professor Sprout was almost shrieking about them, she was so excited."
"Yeah, that's funny, cause that's the very potion that got me in so much trouble this morning," Harry said a little dejected. "Snape asked me how to make it, and then took ten points away because I didn't know."
"Well, sounds like Snape's being his usually gitish self," Ron replied with a shrug. "Sounds normal to me, anyway."
"It gets worse," Harry mumbled, reaching across the table for the pitcher of pumpkin juice to pour himself a goblet. "Much worse."
"What did you do, mate?"
"Harry didn't do anything!" Hermione replied, sounding a little bitter herself. "Just because he could answer Snape's next question about the Drought, Snape took twenty more points from us, and then accused him of performing Legilimency against me to get the answer in the first place!"
"Legilimency?" Ron asked in surprise. "He accused you of doin that to get the answer from Hermione?" he repeated. Harry simply nodded and sighed as he set his goblet down. "You must be talking mickey," Ron continued. "He knows that you can't do it, doesn't he? He stopped teachin you, after all!"
"I don't think he cares, Ron."
"Professor Snape is never very fair to the Ravenclaws, either," Luna said suddenly. "So you are not alone, Harry."
"So everyone keeps telling me," Harry muttered so no one else could hear him. "I doubt he'd accuse anyone else of reading minds for answers, though."
Once they had finished eating, Ron leaned back against the table and looked around the Great Hall. "So, what now? We wait for the teacher to arrive?"
A sudden feeling hit Harry, a feeling that told him that he should get to his feet. Standing slowly, because he wasn't sure if the feeling was someone trying to control him or if it was just instinct, he looked around. Hermione stood as well, and then half the table stood. Luna tapped Ron on the arm, but he didn't stand.
The next second, he fell backwards onto the floor as the tables and chairs vanished. Harry, biting his tongue so he wouldn't laugh, hauled him to his feet, shaking his head as he did so. He then looked around, but there was no sign of anyone that wasn't a fifth, sixth, or seventh year student taking Defense Against the Dark Arts.
After about ten minutes of standing around with no word or sign of anything, it was obvious that many of the students were growing restless. Across the hall where the Slytherins were still standing was the most vocal about this.
"Great, so now they hire a teacher who can't even show up on time!" Malfoy slurred in a loud enough voice to carry across the room. "What next, a half breed oaf like Hagrid?" He shook his head now that most people were looking over at him. "I have better things to do with my time than stand around here."
The fact that everyone was looking at Malfoy meant that everyone saw the green cloaked teacher appeared behind him and clear his throat. "If you truly believe that this class is a waste without a teacher in the room, then you should become more observant Mr..."
"Malfoy, sir, Draco Malfoy," Malfoy said proudly. "And I would have seen you if you had been here. I don't miss much."
"Malfoy, you say?" the Professor asked, and then turned and vanished again. When his voice sounded again, he had appeared at the front of the class. "It seems to me that you are a Seeker on your house team, but you often seem to miss seeing the golden snitch. Perhaps you miss more than you imagine..." The Professor then swept his cloak out behind him and sat down in a fluent motion on the ground, still keeping himself covered almost entirely by the dark green fabric. "Ten points from Slytherin for disrespecting a teacher." Harry had to hold himself back from cheering.
The Professor said nothing else and simply sat there until the first couple of students closest to him sat down near him. A couple of seconds later, everyone started moving closer to get a seat on the ground in front of him. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Luna managed to get second row seats from him, just behind a few fifth year Hufflepuff students.
"Very well, you are all learning already," the Professor said. "My name is Talisien, and you may call me as such, or you may refer to me as Professor, or Professor Talisien. I have been called many things over the years, and most of them I do not mind, but if you insult me, then be warned that I will know, and you will serve detention for it. I will not accept insults in my presence, do I make myself clear?"
The murmur of yes seemed to appease him, as he stood up and walked away from the class. When he turned back to them, Harry caught the glint of gold once again. "I will begin this class by asking what any of you know about me already. Anyone?"
Harry raised his hand right away, as did Hermione, Ron, Ginny, and Luna. Talisien pointed to Harry first. "You are an elf, sir," Harry said with a nod. "You are also married."
"Very good, Mr. Potter," Talisien replied with a nod of his own. "Very good indeed. Ten points to Gryffindor. Anyone else?"
Hermione still had her hand in the air, but the others had put their hands done, so he motioned to her to speak. "You are a waywatcher, among other things."
"How can you tell?" he countered.
"The way you move," Hermione said at once. "You can move without being seen, even though you are right in front of us. You move without sound, even though you are wearing a necklace which should make at least a little noise."
"And how do you know I am wearing a necklace?"
"That is part of being married as an elf, right? Three vows..."
"You must be Miss. Granger, correct?" he asked. When she nodded, he turned around again and started pacing slowly in front of them. "I thought as much. Your talent for learning precedes you. Twenty points, then. Do you know my last name?"
"Last name, sir?"
"I do have one, you know," he replied with a chuckle. "Anyone?" When no answer came, he shook his head. "Very well. I will award one hundred and fifty points to the student who can tell me my last name before the end of the year." He then turned and vanished again, reappearing behind the group. "You are probably wondering why I have gathered you all together like this, am I right?"
"The thought did cross our minds," Malfoy said sarcastically.
"Elves are familiar with sarcasm, Mr. Malfoy," Talisien warned him. "I will tell you why we are gathering like this later. For now, I want to explain something about the differences between human and elven magics." The murmur went unnoticed by the Professor, as he continued almost at once. "Elven magics need no wand to cast them, as we draw the magics from our minds directly and focus it through our core. For human magics, you focus it through the magical core of your wand. I will tell you right now that I can not use a wand. As such, I will not be demonstrating any spells to you."
"Then how are we supposed to learn enough for our OWLs, Professor?" Colin Creevey asked at once. "If we can't perform the spells beforehand?"
"I never said you wouldn't be casting the spells. I said I wouldn't be. I will be casting the elven equivalent, so you can see what it looks like, but I will not be casting your spells. No curses, counter-curses, or jinxes of magics from me."
"Why do you keep saying magics and not magic, Professor?" Everyone looked around as though surprised that Luna had actually asked a question. Apparently she usually spent classes in her own dream world, but still pulled off incredible marks.
"Twenty points to Ravenclaw for keen observation," Talisien declared. "I keep saying magics, Miss..."
"Lovegood."
"Miss Lovegood, because I do not believe that magic can exist as a single entity. Each time you cast a curse, for example, do you put the same amount of emotion and energy behind it, or does it vary just a little? Why, then, would it be the same spell? Shouldn't each potency of each spell be something different if magic is only one object at a time?" He vanished as he took a step forward, and reappeared at the front of the class. "Hence, magics."
There was a pregnant pause then as he turned once more, but then he turned back slowly, almost as though lost in thought. "Now, I want to see what you've learned over the past few years." He pointed to one of the students near the back, and Harry turned to see Zacharias Smith stand up. "Show me the Stunning curse."
Smith withdrew his wand and looked around. "On what target, sir?"
"On me, of course."
"You want me to use the Stunning curse on you, our teacher?"
"That is what I said, right?"
Smith looked around for a brief moment before levelling his wand with a fluent action and shouting out the word. "Stupefy!" The red jet of light shot from his wand and it blew into the elf at the front of the class. Although everyone expected him to go ridge and fall backwards, he simply shrugged off the effects of the spell as though rubbing a bit of dust of his shoulder.
"Very good," Talisien said, turning away and motioning to another student. "What can you tell me about Kappers?"
"They are water creatures that had long, knarled fingers and try to drown you if you get too close," the student from Slytherin replied.
"Good. You, tell me what you know about slinkers."
Another murmur swept the crowd at this. No one had heard of slinkers before. "Er... I don't know, sir..."
Talisien shook his head. "Sorry, that one's my fault. Lethifolds, then."
"Ah," Michael Corner replied. "Well, lethifolds are basically shadows that try to strangle their victims. A Patronus charm can scare them off, but they are essentially unkillable."
"Certainly a deadly force, would you say?"
"Of course, sir."
"Very well. Who would like to show me a Patronus, then?" He looked around the class, and his eyes rested on a raven haired girl who had her hand up. "Yes Miss..."
"Chang sir. Cho Chang. And I think you should ask Harry."
"Maybe I will, but for now, I'd like to see yours, if I could."
Cho seemed taken aback by the request, but she stood up anyway and withdrew her wand. She closed her eyes for a moment and bowed her head before raising her wand again. "Expecto Patronum!" she cried. A wisp of silver light shot form her wand and a half-translucent swan took form and floated out for a few feet before vanishing again.
"Well done, Miss Chang," Talisien commented. "Now... why should I have asked Mr. Potter?"
"He's been summoning Patronuses for a couple of years now. He's the best in the school with them, and I don't think anyone could argue that."
"What's she playing at, Harry?" Ron muttered to him.
"Beats me," he replied, casting a quick glance at Hermione to see her reaction. "I've barely even seen her this year. After the way it was broken off last year, though, I'm surprised she's willing to even speak about me."
"Harry," Hermione whispered. "She wants back in the DA, that's all. She's trying to make sure you'll tell her if it's starting again."
"And why wouldn't I?" Harry asked, turning to look at her.
"Mr. Potter, if you would..." Talisien called his attention back to the class. He stood up quickly and pulled his wand out. "A few students have spoken highly of your Patronus. I would like to see it, if you don't mind."
"Sure," Harry muttered, thinking quickly. His happiest moment... his birthday was pretty good, but the end had a big question mark on it. But that moment still was good... he had to admit that kissing Hermione had felt right, and it was definitely happy, even if his thoughts afterwards weren't.
He took a deep breath and, concentrating on the feeling of her lips against his, he held his wand out before him. "Expecto Patronum!" The silver shot from his wand like a bullet and solidified almost at once into the magnificent stag that he was almost used to seeing by now. The stag cantered about the room once before he let it fade and took a deep breath.
"Well done, Mr. Potter."
"Sir?" Colin Creevy had his hand in the air. Talisien looked to him, and he continued. "What is your Patronum, sir?"
"I'll have to check," Talisien replied as he brought his hands back under the cover of the cloak so he only looked like a large green cloak with eyes, as everything else was cast into dark shadow. He spread his arms outwards again and a silver mist materialized before him and then solidified into the form of a large wolf. As soon as it had appeared, it vanished again. "It appears to be a wolf," he replied.
"You've never summoned a Patronus before?" someone asked in surprise.
"There are very few Dementors out in the forest of Noyadin, and slinkers are dealt with in other, more effective ways."
"Like what, sir?"
No one saw him move, but everyone saw the flash of silver as a dagger with a foot long blade suddenly appeared, wavering at it stuck into the ground in front of them. "This magical blade can destroy them, for one," he replied. "Though it has many other uses as well." He pulled the blade free from the rock, leaving no mark behind, and then brought it back to within the folds of his cloak, presumably to the sheath. He then turned from the class. "I believe that is enough for today." As soon as his words faded, he vanished again.
"Oh, this class is going to be great!" Hermione said excitedly before anyone else could say anything. "He'll be able to show us so much more than any other teacher could hope to. I hope he'll show us how he threw off that curse like that! I didn't even know it was possible? Do you think it was only because he's an elf?"
"It figures that a mudblood would enjoy learning from an elf like that," Malfoy replied as he stood up. "Both freaks of nature, anyway."
He froze instantly as he was picked up from behind, and everyone saw Talisien standing there, holding him out with one hand by the back of his robes. "I believe I warned you, Mr. Malfoy, about insults in my presence, did I not? I will be taking twenty points from Slytherin for that comment, and will give you a warning. Every time you utter the word mudblood in my presence again, Slytherin will lose twenty-five points. That goes for anyone else - to your respective houses - as well. I will not tolerate it, understand?" He paused and waited for Malfoy to nod before setting him down. "I should add that my presence does not just mean in class, nor does it mean when you know I am around."
Talisien turned to leave again, but Hermione called out before he could vanish. "Sir?" Once he turned to her, she went on. "What about our textbook for the year?"
The Professor nodded. "Right, thank you Miss Granger, I almost forget the homework assignment. Please prepare a list of three books which you feel would be appropriate for a text book for this class, and give me the pros and cons of each." He then turned again. "Oh, and classes will continue to be together for the rest of the week, and on Friday I will be splitting you up into skill groups to work with instead. In case anyone is wondering, I promise to get everyone taking them through either OWLs or NEWTs, so long as you are willing to listen to what I say."
He then turned and was gone again. Given the fact that the massive doors to the Great Hall were suddenly open told them that he was truly gone this time, and that was when the excited talking began between the students. It looked like it was going to be an interesting year...
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That's that, for now. Until the sun sets upon a broken world...
The Shadows
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