The Sword of Light
by Jardyn39
Part Four of "The Apprentice Piece"
Chapter Seven: The Class Assistants
"Er, Hi," said Harry nervously after he'd placed his bag on the desk at the front of a sullen class of First Years. Harry had been inwardly dreading this moment. Ron had enjoyed poking fun at him, telling him he would need counselling after. Hermione, of course, had brushed off Ron's warnings and had enthusiastically prepared detailed lesson plans for them both.
"For those that don't know me, my name is Harry Potter and I have been asked to assist teaching you for a few weeks up to your exams. Any questions?"
A girl sitting in the front row put her hand up and asked, "Do we call you Professor Potter?"
"No, I'm a student same as you. Please call me Harry. Who wants to show me what you've done so far?"
Only five uncertain hands went up and most of those who started to put their hand up, soon dropped them back down again.
"Okay, you five come up front. It was Professor Harbinger's practice to let volunteers off homework, so we'll carry on with that, shall we?"
Harry smiled hearing the stifled groan.
Clearly many of them were still upset to hear Harbinger's name.
He asked each of the volunteers what they thought they could do best and got them to show the class. Only one of the efforts, a Lumos wand lighting spell, could be described as done well. Harry realised that Harbinger's death would be distracting them.
"Not bad at all," said Harry encouragingly. "Who can do anything else?"
A few more hands went up and Harry got them to demonstrate. With some encouragement, by the end of the lesson Harry had got everyone to attempt something.
"Very good everyone," Harry said grinning. "One point for everyone that volunteered. Looks like no homework this time."
*
Harry sat down at lunchtime and stared at the History of Magic essay he'd just got back. More specifically, he was staring at the grade he'd been given.
Hermione had suggested that Harry should do the essay as if he were under examination conditions since he'd studied the same time period before last year. Harry had been more than a little sceptical but had agreed on the condition that she should read it before he had to hand it in so he could amend it if the essay was that bad.
Hermione had shooed away anyone that got even close to Harry during the half hour she'd estimated he should take.
The question posed which formed the basis for the essay, concerned the negotiations that followed the battle they'd seen in their first lesson with Perenelle. Over three more weeks, they'd also witnessed the actual negotiations as well as excerpts of some of the consequences.
Sometimes Perenelle had stopped the negotiations and invited an historical character to explain their views more fully. Even Spoad-Brown's decapitated head contributed, although he mainly quoted articles of war.
When Harry had completed Hermione's examination, he knew that he was recalling detail and dates far easier than ever before. In addition, for the first time ever in a History of Magic test, Harry found he was still writing at the end of the time allowed.
Hermione had read through his essay and almost immediately confirmed it was fine. Still, he wasn't really prepared for the mark he'd received.
"Well done, Harry!" exclaimed Hermione when he showed her his paper. "What's wrong?"
"Well, a couple of things, actually," said Harry quietly.
Hermione leaned closer to listen.
"Do you think this is a genuine grade? Is it really worth an E?"
"Actually, yes I do," said Hermione. "Not only were the dates and main events correct, you also summarised the main points very well. I think you dropped marks in explaining the modern day consequences though."
Harry thought carefully about what Hermione had said and nodded. She was right about his not fully knowing the modern day consequences.
"What else?" she prompted.
Harry didn't answer at once. Hermione waited patiently while he thought how he could express his thoughts. From the half smile on her face, though, he thought Hermione had already decided what he was going to say.
"Well," he said quietly, "it's about the actual OWL exam, really." Hermione nodded in understanding but didn't interrupt.
"After what happened the last time-"
Hermione's expression changed immediately. She grabbed his hand, suddenly with watery eyes.
Harry turned and gently placed his other hand over hers.
"It's okay," he said gently, "I shouldn't have mentioned it."
*
Kales was waiting for Harry when he appeared in the Quidditch stadium. Harry was now able to move into this dream state almost at will now. Before he had to wait until he fell asleep but lately he had been able to will himself there.
"Tonight, Harry," said Kales seriously, "I will show you something that may disturb you a little. No harm will come of it but you may wish to consult young Albus tomorrow. He will be understanding and can give you better advice about such matters."
"Can I ask you something, Kales?" asked Harry.
"Of course, Boy."
"Will Voldemort be able to attack me here? Can he even come here?"
"Well, he himself cannot travel in this place. Your Apprentice Piece gave you access, as it did for young Albus and indeed myself. However, he could still harm you."
Harry listened intently.
"There are two ways that I can think of. The first would be if, in your dream state, you encountered him in the waking world. You are both linked. There would be a risk that you would be drawn back into his mind rather than back here to your own. This is really only speculation, but I believe you would not be strong enough to fight back.
"The second way would be the use of an agent sent here. This agent would not be mortal but probably come from another world, although some creatures do inhabit this world could also cause you harm.
"Of course, having said that, the easiest way for you to come to harm would be if you fell through one of the doors into another dream world. I'm not sure you'd recognise one just yet and I'm positive you would not have the strength to return. I call them dream worlds, but for some they will be a reality.
"Whatever, you will be safe here in this stadium. Voldemort cannot see or hear anything that you dream in this place."
"What is so special about this place?" asked Harry.
"Long before this school was built, this place was a place of worship. Within the grounds there are still the remains of the stone circle erected. In fact, this place has a special significance that predates even the stone circles. There is a single stone that is all that remains of that significance, and it is buried far below us, long forgotten. Actually, the stone circle builders got their calculations wrong or I suspect we'd be standing in the circle instead of inside a stadium."
"I just assumed we started here because I liked flying," said Harry.
"Actually, the people who placed the original stone rather liked flying too. Those ancients have long since moved on but I like to think they would much rather have a Quidditch stadium above them than some boring stone circle."
Harry laughed.
"Now, if there are no more questions, we should get going."