Chapter 6: Defence Again The Dark Snape
Harry was only partly looking forward to the Great Feast that evening. He was a little hungry, but his stomach didn't feel at it's best after being subjected to a relentless stuffing of pumpkin pies, cauldron cakes and chocolate frogs aboard the Hogwarts express. And then there was Hermione; all of what had happened during the summer didn't seem such a perfect idea now that they were back amongst the other students, and one in particular.
Ron had been suspiciously quiet for large parts of the train journey. He didn't seem to be too fond of Hermione's excuse for shooing Luna from their compartment, especially when she had returned to say nobody was looking for her. Harry didn't find this revelation nearly as surprising as Ron, who glared frequently at Hermione and told Harry, in an unnecessarily loud voice, that when he was rich and famous he would enslave fifty house elves and beat them regularly if they worked poorly.
The Great Hall seemed strangely subdued when the students began filing in. The Hufflepuffs against the far wall seemed happy and noisy enough, as did the majority of the Gryffindors next to them. The Ravenclaw table, however, seemed usually packed on one side. It seemed that few of the Ravenclaws seemed keen to sit on the side of the table nearest the Slytherins.
`Well, half of the Slytherins parents are Death Eaters,' Ron said, `The Ravenclaws probably think they'll get cursed or something if they get too close.'
Ron seemed to be unusually correct. The few Ravenclaws unable to sit on the side nearest the Gryffindor table were bunched at the ends, casting scared glances at their friends and shooting furtive, suspicious looks at the table underneath the green and silver banner. Only the Ravenclaw members of the DA seemed to have the nerve to sit normally against the Slytherin side. Harry saw Cho was there, sitting next to Roger Davies. Both were in their final year at Hogwarts; Harry had a sudden desperate desire to make sure he beat Cho one more time at Quidditch before she left.
Harry glanced up at the staff table to find Hagrid beaming at him. He waved enthusiastically back before glancing along the table. All the teachers were present and correct; even the Centaur Firenze was there, sat down much like a horse would at one end of the table. Harry caught the eye of Professor Dumbledore and his heart warmed; at least Dumbledore wasn't going to ignore him this year. There was, however, noticeable only by their absence, no extra teacher. Defence Against The Dark Arts was the jinxed teaching role at Hogwarts, and clearly nobody had been too willing to fill the post.
A light chatter had risen around the Great Hall. All the students were now seated and the Sorting took place. Harry noticed that the number of Slytherin students seemed far fewer than normal this year, perhaps the parents who supported Voldemort silently saw their children being chosen for Slytherin as a break of their cover. Soon, the sorting was complete and a great silence engulfed the hall as Dumbledore rose to address them.
`I would like to say a few words,' he began, `but I really cant decide which ones. So please, tuck in!'
A small amount of laughter broke out before all the plates filled before them. Harry forgot his sickly stomach as he pulled a plate of succulent looking steak towards him and began to eat. Hermione, as was her normal feast-face by now, wore a frown that Harry knew the cause of.
`Look,' he said swallowing a mushroom, `the best way we can help the house elves is by understanding them. If you want to change their world for them you have to first appreciate their current hopes. They hope we enjoy their food, hope we are thankful for their cleaning, really hope we enjoy their food! They'd find it insulting if you treated their hard work with contempt and ate begrudgingly.'
Ron nodded, his cheeks bulging with steak and kidney pie, an unsightly trickle of gravy running from the side of his mouth.
`Ron, you've, er, got something there, mate,' Harry said motioning to his face. Ron wiped his mouth on his sleeve.
`So civilised,' Hermione frowned.
The feast was delicious, as usual. After the last helpings of toffee sundaes and chocolate fudge cake had vanished to the house-elves below, Dumbledore rose again to address the school.
`Welcome, all, to a new term at Hogwarts; I am glad to see so many of you back here in one piece,' there was a smattering of nervous laughter, `Before I let you away to sleep off this majestic feast, a few start-of-term announcements. All students are reminded that the Forbidden Forest is strictly out-of-bounds, even more so than in previous years.
`Secondly, some of you may have noticed that this year we do not have a new teacher among our number. I'm afraid, I have been unable to procure one, so the traditional start-of-year welcome for a new Defence Against The Dark Arts professor is shelved for this year,' Ron chortled somewhere to Harry's right; Hermione turned around looking apprehensive, `However, that subject will continue under a new and revolutionary idea that I shall implement this term.
`I have offered, and he has accepted, the job to Professor Snape, who has agreed to be part of a little triumvirate with myself.'
Harry stared around the hall; he and Hermione weren't the only two looking astonished. A murmur of disapproval rang around among the students.
`However,' Dumbledore continued over the increasing din, `as I said, there will be another helping you study this subject. As both Professor Snape and I have our own jobs and commitments to attend to we will only be teaching you the theory. I have, instead, decided to delegate the task of practical defence to one of our students, should he accept it of course. A student who achieved a rather impressive score of 118% on his Defence Against The Dark Arts OWL last term, someone already practiced in teaching this subject. I delegate this task to Harry Potter, if he is willing of course.'
Harry froze, his features held in place as though glue had engulfed him. He stared at Hermione, beaming with unusual pride, and then to Ron, ogling him with an embarrassing level of awe tinged with a slight snarl. The other students were fixated on him, each looking expectantly in his direction.
`What say you Harry,' came Dumbledore's voice echoing through the silence, `Will you assist Professor Snape and myself in providing your fellow students with an advanced level of defence?'
All the Gryffindors were nodding fervently; even the Hufflepuffs in the background were looking exited. Harry came to his senses, he didn't seem to have much choice but he wanted one condition.
`I will, Professor Dumbledore,' Harry said standing up, `but I want one condition, sir.'
`Its all right, Harry,' Dumbledore said lightly, `Professor Snape has kindly consented to carry out all the Slytherin tuition personally. I have learned that some breaches are too vast to heal; I will not ask you to train those students you care so little for.'
Harry smiled at Dumbledore, who shot a strangely forceful look at the Slytherin table. It seemed that even he didn't want the Slytherins trained up. Maybe he could lean on Snape to teach them badly.
`This is great, Harry!' Hermione sang as they left the Great Hall, `Just wonderful!'
`Yeah, great,' Ron said sulkily, he didn't seem to impressed with Harry's new position, `Just hope they pay you for it.'
`Look, Ron,' Harry said stopping and rounding on him, `I didn't ask for these things. I never do, they just get pushed on me. But I'd have never been able to handle them all if it wasn't for you and Hermione and I hope I can count on your help for this one. You're experienced at this stuff, more advanced than the others I'll be teaching. I'll need your help to train so many people. You're one of my big guns, I need you firing at my side not at my face.'
Ron went scarlet and looked at his shoes, `Sorry, mate. I know you don't ask for it, or want it, but you still get it. Course I'll help you. I'm being an idiot. Do you really thing I'm a big gun?'
`Yeah I do. A cannon, maybe…' Harry said with a smirk.
`A cannon?' Ron said catching on, `Cool.'
`That was a really good thing you just did,' Hermione said with a smile, she had hung back as Ron bounded up the staircase into the boys' dormitory, `See you at breakfast. Night, Harry.'
She gave him a peck on the cheek, flushed furiously and skipped up the stairs to the dormitory leaving Harry wondering what he was getting himself into.
Harry slept badly that night. His dreams were plagued by bad images, images of Ron cackling in a high, shrill voice as he held the Quidditch Cup, the House Cup and his Head Boy badge over Hermione, who was gripping Harry's Firebolt. She was motionless on the floor, a vague and vacant expression on her face, and a trace of green at a scar on her forehead. Her parents were there, blaming it all on Harry's failure to send them eighty-seven boxes of Toothflossing Stringmints and Hermione's copy of Advanced Transfiguration.
Harry awoke next morning with his scar prickling uncomfortably. He noticed it was the first time it had happened in ages, notable because it hadn't hurt in weeks. He made for Professor Dumbledore after breakfast, determined after last year to report any strange dreams that left his scar in pain. He knew Voldemort could still break his mind.
Dumbledore listened to Harry's story, his brow furrowed but his expression serene. As Harry finished he waited for a response and Dumbledore considered him for a moment before replying.
`Voldemort clearly knows not only your mind but now your heart, too,' Dumbledore said slowly, `Clearly, this is so important for him to know that he has entered your mind at great pain to himself. He knows the things you value most and was letting you know it. Perhaps he was testing you to see which image disturbed you the most.'
Harry's heart sank and he felt suddenly very sick.
`I think,' Dumbledore continued, `that it is time you resumed Occlumency.'
`No!' Harry cried, `I cant! Snape always -,'
`Professor Snape, Harry,' Dumbledore said quietly.
`Yeah, whatever,' Harry replied, `he hurt me. Made my mind weaker. I can't go to him again. I know you have your reasons for trusting him but I can't. You understand don't you?'
`I do indeed, Harry,' Dumbledore answered, `as I said last year. An old man's mistake. No, I intend to teach you Occlumency myself. But perhaps I could test you against Professor Snape. Ask him to pretend to be Voldemort -,'
` - That shouldn't be too hard -,'
`Harry! Ask him to attack your mind as Voldemort might -,'
` - He'd love that -,'
`Harry Potter, please! If you can learn to repel Professor Snape's attempts to break your mind then Voldemort himself would struggle to crack you. Severus Snape is the most complete Occlumens/Legilimens I have ever met. And I include Tom Riddle in that.'
`Yeah, well,' Harry snorted, `everyone was using the Imperius Curse, weren't they? S'pose Snape didn't want to be following the crowd -,'
`That's quite enough, Harry,' Dumbledore said sternly, `I will teach you Occlumency. If you wish to taunt Severus Snape then I'm afraid you are going to have to work hard and earn it.'
Harry didn't think he'd ever heard a better motivational speech in his life.
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