Chapter 61 — Before the Term
Chapter 61 -- Before the Term
When Flitwick learned who had examined me, he simply walked over and embraced me. By his account, Duliana Cook only agreed to examine a candidate under one of two circumstances: either she intended to fail the candidate mercilessly, though she generally chose to do so on the supplementary questions, or she intended to give him her blessing, asking a relatively simple question herself. On rare occasions, when a candidate proved worthy of both, she combined the two approaches.
I was obliged to acknowledge that her supplementary questions had not been simple. All the same, I had answered them, so all was well.
The seal arrived in due time, and I now wore it with quiet pride on my finger. Flitwick, meanwhile, had set me a new task: composing a teaching plan for first through third years.
Naturally, he had not given me an impossible assignment. Rather, he had provided examples of the old plans and invited me to revise them somewhat. I revised them considerably to emphasize practical work.
Now Flitwick and I were sitting in the staffroom at a large table, with Dumbledore at its head. I had just finished being examined by the other professors, and was now present with every right to be there as Professor Flitwick's assistant and as a teacher for first through third years.
"Forgive me, dear colleagues...
The door burst open and something slick and pomaded swept in, wrapped in gold robes and trailing an exceptionally tasteless cologne. I looked him over and listened to my intuition, giving a barely perceptible shake of the head. The man before me was no stronger than my last opponent at the dueling championship. In fact, he was weaker. This one I could have put down without breaking a sweat.
"...coming back to these walls, I was quite overcome. So many memories came flooding back..."
At that point his gaze found me.
"Oh, are you discussing the fate of this young man? What has he done wrong? Failed his exams?"
"Not at all."
But the peacock was not listening to Flitwick. He walked over and clapped me on the shoulder.
"Young man, you really shouldn't be so cavalier about your education. Believe me, what you are taught at Hogwarts will lay the foundation for your entire future, and..."
I caught his hand and squeezed hard.
Though, God knows, I very much wanted to wrench his arm, slam his face into the table, tell him exactly what I thought of him, and then pointedly remind him that I was fully entitled to challenge him to a duel.
"Lockhart, you are new here. But I would point out that approaching someone else's assistant and delivering whatever lecture happens to enter your head is not the wisest idea you could have had."
"I."
Lockhart's face twisted in pain.
"You are simply the latest in a series of Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers. If you have anything to say, first survive the year, then renew your contract."
"I..."
"You, you..."
I released his hand and he immediately stepped back and began rubbing it. It had to hurt quite badly.
"Now, now, let us all settle down..."
Dumbledore rose from his chair and called us to order.
"I... yes, I suppose I may have been mistaken about something..."
Lockhart pasted on a tight smile, put as much distance between us as possible, and sat down in an empty chair.
"So then, colleagues, do we all have our teaching plans ready?"
"Yes."
The professors answered almost in unison. Lockhart, however, immediately beamed.
"But of course! I have prepared a magnificent program!"
"On that note..."
I applied the barest touch of magic to my voice, just enough to ensure it carried clearly over Lockhart's, and he shot me a very displeased look.
"Since when has popular fiction, and exceedingly mediocre fiction at that, been accepted as educational material?"
"Young man, I understand that at your tender age a great deal is excusable, but..."
"Don't make remarks about my age."
I cut Lockhart off. He was visibly incensed by my words and had apparently been preparing to lecture me at length.
"I am from the House of Black, and as it happens I have a rather extensive library."
"Oh, I quite understand that you were unable to find..."
"You didn't let me finish."
I cut him off again.
"You see, in one of your books, a particular charm you claimed to have performed caught my attention, and I went looking for it in the library. I found it. Now, you wrote with great confidence that you had performed a powerful ritual upon yourself, one that had imbued you with extraordinary strength..."
Lockhart puffed himself up and began to nod with great self-satisfaction.
"...the only problem is that the ritual in question is not merely Dark magic. It is applicable exclusively to women."
"Oh, I simply adapted it, and..."
"And what did you use as the sacrifice?"
"The s-sacrifice?"
"Yes. You see, in its original form, the ritual is performed by a woman, a pregnant woman, who sacrifices her unborn child's magic for a fleeting increase in her own power. In other words, the ritual guarantees that the child born afterward will be a Squib. So..."
"You've got it wrong..."
"In any case."
I gave a slight shrug.
"It doesn't concern me in the slightest where you obtained those stories, whether you Obliviated people or simply paid to claim their glory. That is entirely your business. What does concern me is that in dangerous times such as these, Defense Against the Dark Arts will be taught from sensationalist fiction that does not contain a single correctly described spell. Fiction that makes no distinction between difficulty levels; you've had every student across every year purchase the full set of your works. What about progression by year? Did it not occur to you that a first-year simply cannot handle advanced spells? Although, admittedly, your penny dreadfuls don't contain any particularly advanced spells either."
"Draco..."
"Headmaster Dumbledore, believe me, I would not have cared in the slightest if this 'teacher' had simply brought his fiction with him and handed it around, while students purchased proper textbooks. But instead he is using his position to drive sales, forcing students across all years to buy this drivel as a mandatory course requirement..."
"Now, now."
"Be quiet."
I cut him off again. I had lost count of how many times by now.
"...in short, that is the purpose of this. I am putting you on notice, Lockhart: if you do not refund the money to every student who was compelled to purchase your books as educational materials, I will take you to court. And believe me, you will go to Azkaban. Not to the levels where Dementors are particularly prevalent, perhaps, but that prison is no picnic in any case."
"Draco, enough."
The Headmaster tried to interrupt me. Tried being the operative word.
"Headmaster, I simply felt that since you had apparently overlooked this matter, I ought to raise it myself and see that justice was done."
"Gilderoy, it really was rather poorly done, the business with the books. I was not opposed to you teaching from your own wonderful works, naturally, but I did not anticipate that you would require the entire student body to purchase the complete collection."
"Headmaster... I simply... it's..."
"I told you about that reading list he submitted as a curriculum," Minerva said pointedly.
"Forgive me, Minerva. I believe I had something else on my mind at the time."
"But actually refunding the money..."
"If the matter concerns you so greatly, there is another option. There is a book called Defence Against the Dark Arts: Questions and Answers, by Dmitry Kozhevnikov. It is divided into seven year-levels and is recommended by the Dark Arts Guild for introductory Defence courses."
"A marvelous idea!"
Lockhart didn't seem to have grasped what I had just suggested, while Flitwick, and even Snape, were smiling, though carefully schooling their expressions so that our new... guest would not notice.
"That will be a wonderful approach!"
"Very good. Now, Professor Flitwick, I wished to address you and your assistant: did it not seem to you that revising a long-established teaching plan was perhaps slightly... shortsighted?"
"Headmaster."
"Yes, Draco?"
"Are you aware of what is happening across the world?"
"Hmm?"
I drew two pieces of parchment from inside my pocket, one bearing a sketch of a rift in space, the other depicting the Creatures that were emerging from it.
"Mm, yes... I have heard something of this."
"I would strongly advise you, as Headmaster, to approach the Minister for clarification, or, if you have any contacts among the Unspeakables, to speak with them directly. They will almost certainly confirm that the rifts are becoming more frequent. And in my view, practical training is now considerably more valuable than it was even a short while ago. Though if you recall, even last year, when I first became an assistant, I always favored practical work."
"Quite..."
Dumbledore frowned.
"Oh, don't worry! I, Order of Merlin, First Class, great wizard that I am, will certainly be able to teach the children how to defend themselves properly!"
I ignored Lockhart. Dumbledore did likewise.
"...the information is reliable?"
"I'm afraid so. It's possible my source was misinformed, but then I honestly don't know who else to trust on this matter."
"Very well... I shall speak with Fudge... perhaps certain things ought to be reconsidered... I approve your program."
Dumbledore was unusually grave.
"While I remain at Hogwarts, the children are perfectly safe! I would protect them even at the cost of my own life!"
I closed my eyes and fought the urge to send a particularly unpleasant hex at this peacock.
"Right. Now, regarding certain other duties: corridor patrol schedules, for instance. Mr Black, as an assistant you are now required to patrol the corridors of Hogwarts after curfew to prevent disciplinary violations."
I nodded.
"I believe..."
McGonagall took the floor.
"...I have already found the ideal arrangement for the immediate term. If no complaints arise about your patrols before the New Year, we can revisit the schedule then. For now I propose giving you Monday evenings. It's simultaneously the simplest and one of the more challenging days."
I looked at the Transfiguration professor questioningly.
"It's quite straightforward. On one hand, students haven't yet settled back into the school routine after the weekend, so they want to linger in the corridors. On the other hand, they've spent a great deal of energy during the day suppressing those impulses in class, leaving them with less capacity for mischief."
I nodded.
"Very well, I'll take that duty. But I have a question: what means of monitoring will I have? Will the portraits help locate rule-breakers, or will I simply be wandering the castle in hopes of stumbling across someone?"
"Oh, young man, a wizard of my experience could teach you a couple of the most useful spells, and you would have no trouble whatsoever..."
"Mr Lockhart, I was not speaking to you. I was addressing the Deputy Headmistress."
I cut him off briskly, though I knew I'd treat him far less politely next time.
"No portrait assistance, I'm afraid. They only intervene if a student faces genuine danger, and you must understand that portraits are not present everywhere. Some of those present have somewhat disagreeable personalities."
I sighed and nodded.
"Professor Flitwick will no doubt share a few useful tricks for night patrol."
"Happy to, Minerva."
Flitwick nodded.
"Excellent. Mr Lockhart, your day will be Sunday."
"But of course, darling..."
The man's tone made me shudder. I had to endure him for an entire year. Perhaps I ought to have him imprisoned? Though frankly, what business was it of mine? As far as I was aware, my mothers had already passed certain information about him to the appropriate parties on my advice. If he hadn't been arrested yet, he clearly knew who to bribe. We could certainly make it our business to see him locked up if we chose, but...
"We are not on such terms, and you have not earned the right to address me in that manner."
The man was utterly unfazed. He just kept smiling.
"Right. The teaching timetable, then..."
The rest of the meeting concerned which days would suit each year group and which Houses would be best combined for shared lessons. The discussion itself took no more than twenty minutes. McGonagall simply produced a completed timetable and presented it, and it suited everyone well enough.
"Wonderful."
Dumbledore clapped twice.
"...And to conclude, I would like to offer my congratulations to young Mr. Black, who has passed his Journeyman examination in Charms and Enchantments with distinction. And at twelve years old! You have become the youngest Journeyman in two hundred years."
"Thank you, Headmaster."
I gave him a brief nod.
"I shall endeavor to continue in the same vein, and in two or three years sit the examination for Master."
Every professor looked at me with respect. Lockhart's expression held envy and disbelief, though for once he had the sense to say nothing. Shortly afterward we were dismissed, and I used the fireplace in Flitwick's office to travel home. The new term was only a couple of days away.
------------------------------------------
Chapters on Patreon progress: Currently at;
1. Harry Potter: Satan? Nah, Just My Family Crest = CHAPTER 267
2.Marvel: Cosmic Forger of Infinity = CHAPTER 185
3.Harry Potter: Beyond Good and Evil in the Wizarding World = CHAPTER 268
4.Harry Potter: Reborn as Draco Black = CHAPTER 113
support me on Patreon for instant access to the 120+ advance chapters: patreon.com/redofic