Chapter 5
The New DADA Teacher.
After the sorting ceremony was over, and before the feast began, Professor McGonagall got up to address the students. “Welcome back to another year at Hogwarts,” she began, “our numbers are few this year because some people didn’t feel it safe. Let me reassure you that we have taken every precaution we could to ensure your safety this year. I would like to take the time to introduce our three new teachers, Professor Slughorn and Professor Snape are both gone and with me being the new headmistress I had to replace my position. First our new Potions teacher is Professor Thomas Dippet, he is the grandson of a previous headmaster, next our new Transfiguration teacher will be Nymphadora Tonks, and lastly our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher is Professor Louise Hall, she has been an Auror for twenty years and was glad to take a break to teach students. Now let the feast begin.”
The feast began as food piled up on the tables, students all around dug in. Harry began with treacle tart, his favorite. He looked around while eating and noticed that not many people from Slytherin were here. “Hey Ron, where do you think all the Slytherin’s are?” Harry asked.
“Probably trying to figure out where their leader Malfoy is.” Ron joked. Everybody at the Gryffindor table burst into laughter at this comment. Ron felt really happy inside knowing he made a good joke. “So Harry have you figured out how you are going to talk to Dumbledore’s portrait yet?” Ron whispered.
“Yea I figure I can ask McGonagall if I can come to her office and then I’ll just start talking to him.” Harry said.
“That would probably make her made, and you won’t like her when she’s made as we’ve learned how many times now? Oh well to many to count.” Ron laughed at his on comment.
After the feast Harry waited around for Professor McGonagall while the others retired to the Gryffindor common room. When she finally came out of the Great Hall, she noticed Harry was waiting for her. “Can I help you Potter?” She asked.
“Professor I was just wondering if I could talk to you in your office for a second. I need to tell you something but I can’t have anybody around hearing it.” He lied.
“This way Potter lets hurry this though Dumbledore told me to hurry back.”
They made there way through the halls of Hogwarts to the stone gargoyle that marked the hidden entrance to the Headmasters chamber. “Tabby” said Professor McGonagall and the Gargoyle Sprung to life and they got on the moving stairs to her office.
“Ahh Professor McGonagall you are back, oh and I see you already brought Harry how did you know I was going to ask you to retrieve him.” Came a voice from Dumbledore’s portrait.
“Well actually Albus he asked to see me, but you said what you needed was urgent so I will let you talk to him first.” Professor McGonagall said, “Harry I will be in the Gryffindor common room when you are done. I haven’t selected a new teacher to be in charge of the house yet so I will remain in charge for a while.” With that she headed back out of her office and to the Gryffindor common room.
“Professor you wanted to see me? I wanted to see you too I had to lie to McGonagall because I didn’t think she would let me talk to you,” said Harry.
“Harry I wanted to ask you how you are doing on your quest, more specifically since I know you haven’t started looking for the horcruxes yet, what did you find back at Godric’s Hollow?” Dumbledore asked.
“Well Professor I found a book that you gave to my dad, it explains all about Horcruxes, and other ways to cheat death. It stated that these ways are usually only used when one fears death or when one knows they will be needed again. It only gave two ways that a good wizard would use, and that was becoming a ghost or having a portrait, but it said either way you are still dead but you can communicate with the living world.” Harry stated.
“Yes Harry that is true, but tell me what useful information you found in that book or were reminded of?” Dumbledore asked.
“When it spoke of horcruxes it said that most wizards revisit places they know, and used things of value to them, because they knew that they already had some of their spirit there, just not a part that could keep them alive. So I think that Voldemort might have hidden a horcrux right here inside the walls of Hogwarts.” Harry said.
“Good,” said Dumbledore, “I didn’t even have to give you any hints that I had that suspicion too. Now do you have any idea of where he might have hidden it?”
“Well it would be someplace he visited that he was sure people wouldn’t find or wouldn’t care so I was thinking either in the chamber of secrets or in the Slytherin common room. I didn’t see anything when I was in the chamber five years ago but I wasn’t looking then but I would still rather try the Slytherin common room, but then of course I was there five years ago as well.” Harry said.
“Yes Harry you are correct to think of those two places, but you leave one room out a room which you have been in many times, do you know what room I am talking about?” Dumbledore asked.
“The Room of Requirement of course. Thank you professor. Oh and Professor since I am going to be looking for horcruxes this year and I am sure all of them are not in the castle can you help me talk Professor McGonagall into allowing me Ron and Hermione off the grounds when we need to go somewhere?” He asked.
“Of course, but you better just let me talk to her, now go back to your common room and go to bed its late.”
Sure enough when Harry looked at the clock he realized it was 10:30 pm. Harry left the Headmistresses office and headed back to the Gryffindor common room. When he got back he told McGonagall that Dumbledore had answered his question and that Dumbledore wanted to talk to her. After McGonagall left Harry told Ron and Hermione what Dumbledore had said and what was going to happen with hunting the horcruxes. After that Hermione talked them into going to bed so they would be ready for their classes tomorrow. After all they had three new teachers, two they didn’t know and all three who they didn’t know how they taught.
When they woke up in the morning Ron and Harry went to breakfast in the Great Hall where they meet Hermione before heading off to their first Transfiguration class of the year.
“I hope Tonks is going to be a good teacher. Everybody always dislikes the teachers that we know before hand,” Hermione said. “I mean she is a really gifted witch.”
“I’m sure she will be fine,” Harry said, “like you said she’s a gifted witch.”
When they arrived for Transfiguration that day they all took seats at the front and said, “Hi” to Tonks. They all wondered what they were going to be doing this year they were ready to try anything.
“Welcome class,” Tonks began, “Today instead of getting right down to business and having homework and all I thought we would have a little fun.” With that she changed her appearance. The class was in awe over it except for the three that already knew she could do it. “Okay now that I’ve had my fun, we are going to practice whatever you want. You guys tell me what you want to transfigure and we will do it.”
The class deliberated for a minute and then decided that they wanted to turn boxes into birdhouses, and water goblets into birds. “Ok class you may do it the incantation for turning boxes into birdhouses is as follows, it is very simple, Funiruto.”
“Funiruto,” the class repeated.
“Very good, now as you recall the incantation for turning birds into water goblets is Feraverto, the spell to do the reverse is really easy and very similar Teraverto.” Tonks said.
“Teraverto” the class repeated. That day they turned enough boxes into birdhouses for every bird they made to have three birdhouses.
Next the children had potions, they were interested to see how Professor Dippet would teach after all his grandfather used to be a Headmaster, so they figured he would be a great teacher. When they walked down the familiar corridor that led to potions they all finally realized that they were done with Professor Snape forever, they no longer had to deal with him, this put a new outlook on their school life.
When they arrived in Potions Professor Dippet had a familiar potion on his desk. “Polyjuice potion,” he said, a potion that allows you to temporarily take on the appearance of somebody else. It doesn’t look or taste very good but its effects are great for finding out some information. Today we will be starting the process of making the potion and then in a month we will have a little test.”
“A test,” the class said, “on what the potion does or on how it’s made.”
“Neither, I guess I should have mentioned the test will be related to your Defense Against the Dark Arts Class. You will be determining who is the really person by using spells you learn in Defense Against the Dark Arts.”
They got all the necessary ingredients to make the potion and started them in their cauldrons. They then we released from class and allowed to wonder freely until DADA started. When they arrived in DADA that day they were really hoping that they would have a lesson as easy as their other two. They didn’t know how wrong they were going to be.