Chapter 159: September First Again
"Hogwarts..."
After stepping through the fireplace, I could literally feel how the castle had changed. No, not externally, but the atmosphere inside had grown denser. The magic felt more saturated. And that couldn't have happened without reason. Which meant there was some way to strengthen the magical field. And if such a possibility existed... then we needed to find out how, and use it in the Quarter.
"Daphne, send a message to Mother Cissy. Find information on strengthening the magical field."
"Understood."
Daphne quickly jotted a note in her notebook, which was linked by charms to the one on the desk in the office where Moms or Grandmother would be working now. They must have received the message already, or would receive it soon.
"All right... now it's time for us to part. Penny, Blake, and I will go one way, while you..."
I looked at Fleur, Gabrielle, and Daphne.
"...go the other."
"Uh-huh..."
Soon we were sitting at the staff table. Flitwick sat beside me, looking pleased, and beside him was his new student with dark circles under her eyes.
"Filius, did you really push her that hard?"
"Well..."
He shrugged.
"...while teaching you, I got somewhat used to a different pace. And she's stubborn, so she never said the pace was exhausting her..."
Flitwick shook his head.
"Filius, did I hear you correctly?"
I looked at my mentor with some surprise.
"I could have just said the pace was exhausting me?!"
"Of course you could..."
Flitwick looked at me indignantly.
"...I'm not a beast; I didn't gag you or cut out your tongue. You could have always said the workload was too heavy, and if you'd had the breath to complain, I'd have piled on even more."
Ksenia's head fell onto the table, while my mentor and I laughed.
"Aren't you ashamed?"
McGonagall looked at us, suppressing a smile, without a trace of condemnation in her gaze.
"No."
We answered at the same time.
"By the way, Draco, how much did it cost you to get the Guild to turn a blind eye to the tradition regarding student numbers?"
"Well..."
I shrugged.
"In truth, not all that much. I simply hinted that the old rules were adopted when wizards had plenty of time and could afford to develop slowly. But now, on the threshold of the Convergence of Worlds..."
I shook my head.
"Do you mean you didn't have to bribe anyone?"
"Of course I had to."
I looked at Flitwick reproachfully.
"However, I reasoned it would be simpler to push through an amendment allowing for such exceptions than to bribe everyone who might find out I was bending the rules."
"Logical."
Filius nodded.
"Have you already drawn up the teaching plan? Do you need help?"
I thoughtfully scratched my earlobe.
"Well... I've drawn up the plan. Fleur and Penny took the journeyman exam a week ago, and both passed, though just barely."
Penny, sitting beside me, snorted.
"Still, they were already prepared for that exam, so over the summer, all I had to do was polish what they already knew. As for Blake, I plan to drag her up to journeyman by the end of this school year."
"I see... I understand you don't need help for now, but if anything comes up, do ask."
"All right."
I nodded to Flitwick, and we both understood perfectly well that I wouldn't hesitate to ask for help, and that if I needed it, I would come to him without embarrassment.
"Excellent..."
After that, we didn't raise the topic again, and simply talked about this and that while watching the students arrive. The students regarded us attentively, since the number of teachers had clearly increased, and the incarnate Founders were sitting at the table too...
In short, they had quite a lot to discuss.
The time came, and Dumbledore tapped his knife against his goblet a couple of times, and the ringing sound spread through the Great Hall.
"Greetings, everyone. If I could have your attention, please. As always, Professor McGonagall will collect the first-years and bring them to us shortly, after which we will proceed with the Sorting. I do hope that despite these difficult times, you will not abandon your future classmates to face the world alone, and that you will help them learn magic."
Meanwhile, McGonagall had left the Great Hall.
"Well then, a new school year is about to begin. Colleagues, is everyone ready?"
Only the teachers could hear Dumbledore's words now. No one answered him; we simply waited for the Deputy Headmistress to arrive with the first-years.
"Follow me..."
She walked inside.
"...everyone line up here. Yes, right here, that's it. Now, I will call your names, and you will come forward, sit on this stool, and I will place the Sorting Hat on your head. It will determine which House you belong to."
"What..."
The Hat on the stool stirred.
"...is it time already?"
"Yes, esteemed Hat."
"Tsk... and I haven't rehearsed the song yet, all because of that boy Albus..."
Laughter rippled through the hall.
"...he knows how important it is to me, and how difficult it is to keep composing new songs. And yet he distracts me," the Hat grumbled, and it fell silent for a dozen seconds before beginning to sing regardless.
Only after the song ended did McGonagall lift it from the stool and, with her free hand, unroll a scroll to begin reading the students' names. They approached the stool...
"Well then, my dears, another school year is about to begin..."
Dumbledore addressed the hall once all the students had been sorted.
"...but before it begins, I must inform you of certain changes to the teaching staff. To begin with, dear students, allow me to introduce your new Charms and Spells teacher for the first through third years. This is Ksenia Rurikovich. Please give her a warm welcome."
Ksenia stood, and scattered applause sounded throughout the hall. Still, the girl had already been warned that the students loved me, and her appointment would most likely be met with a cold reception. However, I had already told her exactly how I had treated the students, so I believed she would soon be able to show them she was no worse than me.
"Also, Draco Black, who is here with us tonight, will be teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts to fourth through seventh-year students this year, in recognition of his mastery and his excellent performance at the World Dueling Championship."
At this, everyone began to applaud.
"I see you are very pleased."
Dumbledore smiled.
"His assistant will be Penelope Clearwater, who will teach the first through third years."
Once again, applause followed, though slightly quieter than what I had received.
"At Professor Black's request, a new subject will be introduced: physical training, to be taught by Blake Belladonna."
Sparse applause greeted Dumbledore's words.
Then came the feast, during which the children talked, got acquainted, and were absolutely happy...
"One more announcement."
Toward the end of the feast, Dumbledore tapped his goblet once more, drawing everyone's attention.
"...there will be no Quidditch championship this year."
"You've got to be joking!"
The Weasley twins leapt from their seats and looked at Dumbledore indignantly.
"No, young men, I am not joking. This year, Hogwarts must once again host an international tournament, but this time it will not be the dueling tournament, but the Triwizard Tournament. In such difficult times, people need, more than ever, an event that will show everyone we have the strength to resist misfortune, and that among us there are strong-spirited and magically powerful people who will stand to defend us."
For another ten minutes, Dumbledore went on at length about the importance of friendship, cooperation between students of different schools, and showing themselves in the best possible light. Finally, he dismissed everyone to their common rooms.
*** The Next Morning ***
"Greetings, everyone, and welcome to the first Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson of the year."
I addressed the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff students sitting before me.
"You can put away your textbooks. You won't need them for my class. As you already know, I don't believe our current circumstances allow us to waste time on theoretical study when we could be practicing. So, just as when I taught you Charms and Spells, in my lessons you will spend most of your time practicing and learning spells."
With a smile, I looked over everyone present.
"Professor..."
A boy from Hufflepuff raised his hand, and I nodded to him approvingly.
"Before we begin, may we find out what kind of teacher will be teaching physical training? Why do we even need that?"
"You see, I believe you could benefit far more from physical conditioning than from Defense Against the Dark Arts and dueling alone. Yes, you all received some training when you were selected for the dueling club... well, most of you, but this year, laziness won't cut it. We all know dark times are coming, and you're old enough for me to speak plainly. Whether you like it or not, you'll be drawn into service. It might be settlement defense, working as a Healer, anything at all... but the fact remains that wizards will be in short supply, and everyone will be competing to secure them."
I paused for a moment.
"You need to make the best possible impression to find your place in this world. The simplest way to gain a few advantages is to demonstrate excellent physical fitness and enlist in the militia. Even as a Healer or alchemist, by joining the militia and showing its commander that you can not only cast spells but also wield a sword and carry a wounded comrade from the battlefield if necessary, you'll secure better placement."
I paused for a moment.
"Furthermore, I've already told you that a healthy body houses a healthy spirit. And you have no choice. Your grade in Defense Against the Dark Arts will depend on how well you perform under Professor Belladonna."
"In what sense?"
I looked at the Ravenclaw girl who had gone pale.
"In the most direct sense."
Smiling, I looked over the seated students.
"If you receive a grade below Good from Professor Belladonna, then you can't expect higher than Poor in Defense Against the Dark Arts."
"But that's unfair!"
"Why?"
I shrugged.
"Believe me, I've coordinated the workload with Professor Belladonna, so you won't face impossible demands from day one. Furthermore, I've provided Hogwarts with enough vitamin potions to help you build strength faster. Yes, the doses mixed with your food will be tiny, but at your age, even that will be more than enough."
Silence answered me.
"And now, perhaps, we'll move on to the test. I'd like to see what you've retained over the summer in what is now my subject..."
With a wave of my wand, I handed out small test papers to the students.
"Begin."
Smiling, I watched the students take the test. As I'd expected, no one struggled. Or rather, that wasn't quite true. After the summer, they clearly had trouble recalling certain information, but everyone completed the exam, and that was good.
By evening, having finished all my classes, I was sitting in my office reading a book on Malefica when Rowena entered.
"Draco..."
"Lady Rowena."
I nodded to the Founder.
"Have you learned everything I asked you to learn?"
"Yes."
I nodded.
"However, I still have several questions about the basics, so if you don't mind, I'd like to start with the aspects that seemed strange and illogical..."
I arched an eyebrow, and the Founder nodded in approval.
"I would have been surprised if you hadn't had questions. After all, this is a new field for you. Even if you've worked on removing curses before and studied in your House library, no one taught you Malefica properly."
With a smile, I took out a notebook, opened it to the first page, and began asking the questions I'd prepared, each with notes so we could explore those topics more fully.
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