Chapter 75: Professor Potter

Rick was disgruntled. The previous night on Halloween, they had failed to catch Voldemort. He had tried to get to the (fake) philosopher stone by bypassing the ward and sneaked in a troll inside the castle. While the students were led to their common room for safety - except the Slytherin since the troll was apparently in the dungeons - Lily and Albus went to catch Quirinus Quirrell while the other teachers tried to find the troll and deal with it. Being caught, Voldemort, who was possessing the back of Quirell’s head, escaped in what Lily describes as a wraith through a window before either she or Albus could capture him. Unfortunately Quirell didn’t survive the separation.

On the troll side of things. Rose, Neville and Ron had defeated the troll and saved one of their fellow Gryffindor. A ‘nervous know-it-all’ muggle-born from what Rose said. She didn’t really explain why a student was in the bathroom dungeons during the Halloween feast but Rick let it go.

His daughter was safe.

The other children were safe.

It was all good in his opinion.

Amelia had been contacted and told about Quirell’s death and Voldemort's involvement. She didn’t like pushing this under the rug but she admitted it was for the best. She was too busy dealing with the new buffoon that was the Minister for Magic Cornelius fudge. The man had not been in office for two weeks and he had already made cuts on the budget of the DMLE. From what she had heard here and there, Fudge was quite the corrupt politician and was in Theodore Senior Nott’s pocket.

Lord Nott, from what Narcissa shared, imagined himself the new Lucius Malfoy and was leading the Dark Families block in the Wizengamot. His son, Theodore Junior was Draco’s housemate in the same year. He had tried to make himself important the very first day of school in the Slytherin common room and tried to put down Draco.

Huge mistake.

Her son didn’t elaborate on what he did but young Nott was not the king or prince of Slytherin he thought he would be. Only the families of Death Eaters supported him and it was a bit less than half of Slytherin. The rest were either neutral or half blood and didn’t give a shit about blood purity so ‘joined’ Draco’s side or rather didn’t join Nott’s. That seventh-year students would respect a first year was mind-blowing to Rick but the Black Ladies of the family told him that was ‘slytherin politics’ and a normal thing. Even his mother did so.

The reason why Rick was disgruntled was because with a dead DADA teacher, students couldn’t learn and there was still eight months of class and so Albus asked him to be a substitute. It would only be for this year at best because of the curse. The thing was, Rick didn’t want to. He wanted to spend the time with his children. especially his last one with Narcissa who was born at the beginning of October.

Rigella Persea black had the same platinum blond hair as her mother but the grey blue eyes of her father. She was also living at Malfoy Manor and not at Lions’ Pride Manor because Narcissa quite enjoyed her independence. If Rick wanted to see his youngest daughter he had to go there.

“You should do it.” Dorea said as she sat down next to him, a cup of tea in hand. “It’s not like the children are here. With the exception of Atria and Rigella, they’re all at school.”

That was true. All of them were going to a muggle school at Glasgow, the same Rose went. That meant Rick was alone most of his days at the manor.

“Except I don’t really have the masteries for-”

“Enough Corvus. We both know it’s a detail. You clearly have more than the knowledge to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts, masteries or not. The real question is, why don’t you want to? I thought you’d like to be with Lily and Rose?”

“I do! It’s just… I don’t know… suddenly being at Hogwarts but not as a student? It feels weird. I’m not free to explore the castle or anything… It’s restrictive.”

“Corvus…” she insisted in her motherly tone that scream ‘Stop your bullshit or else.’

“Alright, alright!”

“Good boy.” She kissed him on the temple lovingly.

“I gave you nine grandchildren, I think I’m past being a boy, mom.”

“True. But you’ll always be my boy to me. Just like your daughters will always be your little girls even when they are mothers themselves.”

Rick sighed in defeat and left for Hogwarts to have a talk with Albus. A week later he was starting as a substitute teacher. He had studied the current course and what had been taught the previous year. Quirell clearly didn’t know anything about DADA or he did and taught nothing on purpose. The previous teacher was actually a good one.

Half way into the year, the original professor (who was clearly incompetent from what Rick could read from the report Albus gave him) left the castle in the middle of the night in fright and was replaced by a woman who was a year under him in Ravenclaw if he remembered correctly. Olivia Green. She had been competent but with only half a year she wasn’t able to perform any miracle.

In the end, Rick made his own course and was about to be very hated by the seventh and maybe sixth-years. Also the fifth-years since it was their OWLs year.

“Alright, everyone sit down.” he said and every Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw student in front of him did so in a flash. “I’m Professor Potter, your substitute teacher for the rest of the year. I’ll be brief. It’s a miracle you reached your seventh year in DADA when your previous teachers were… inept. Exception being Miss Green.

I have eight months to bring you up to a proper level for the class NEWT. Eight months to cram into you at the very least two years of knowledge. It won’t be easy both in theory and especially in practice. That is why I’m telling you right here, right now: if you don’t intend to get a job that actively uses your knowledge in DADA, it’s better for you to quit the class and focus on raising your grades in other subjects. You either keep up or you keep out. That being said, does anyone want to leave knowing this?”

He looked around the twenty or so students and none moved.

“Alright. Don’t come crying to me if you find my class too hard. Now about the class…. First off: I don’t and won’t answer any questions related to my quidditch career. The ones who do will be rewarded with a month detention and fifty points from their house. More than harsh, I know but at least you will think twice about it. If you have the time to ask me about quidditch in class, you have the time to study.

Second: while we will see a lot of things in class, with the limited time we have, it’s up to you to expand your knowledge and practice outside our scheduled time together. I will of course give you books for references and tell you what to study on your own, I’m not a sadist and won’t throw you to the wolves. No, I’ll guide you but it’s up to you to walk the path on your own or with your friends or classmates.

Third: this class will be very strenuous physically. At least once a week we’ll meet outside the castle to practice. No matter how many spells you know or how powerful you think you are, if you’re stationary, you’re dead weight or simply dead. If you want to be an auror or a magizoologist, you better have good cardio because dark wizards, witches and creatures won't be nice and honorable about taking you down. Don’t make it easier for them to do so. During our class outside you better have sports clothes on. We’ll practice on the quidditch pitch so you will be able to use the teams’ showers. Questions?”

“Hm… sir?”

“Yes, Black? And ten points from Hufflepuff for trying to prank me.”

“How did you know?!” a browned haired boy’s appearance changed to become the familiar one of Nymphadora with her dark purple hair.

“Mister Brownstein isn’t taking DADA for NEWTs and you were missing. Easy to deduce. Now do you have a real question or can I start the class?”Nymphadora simply pouted but said nothing else.

“Okay. This next month, we will learn all about the category XXXXX minus the dragons. What they are, what they can do and what you can do if running away is not an option.”

“Sir?” a blonde from Ravenclaw raised her hand.

“Yes, Miss Ripe?”

“When you say all about category XXXXX…”

“I mean all of them and everything about them.”

“In a month?”

“Yes. I told you it will be hard.”

Some students were already regretting not taking the out they were given and Rick was already getting the reputation of harshest teacher ever. He went from his desk to the back of the room and closed the windows’ curtains to make it dark. He brought out his special pensive and put his hand on it.

“The first creature of the day is… the Dementor. Yes, yes I know. It’s not really a XXXXX creature. However it should be. The ability to suck your happy memories, to suck your soul, to drop drastically the temperature to the point of freezing water and the air, to fly, to be non-mortal since it’s a non-being, and lastly to be smart about it makes the Dementors one of the most dangerous dark creatures in the world. Much like the Lethifold which is a XXXXX, only one spell can protect you from them. I’m sure you know which one.”

“The patronus charm, Professor.”

“Correct, Mister O'Reilly. Five points to Ravenclaw. The patronus charm is one of the most difficult charms in existence. Very few auror can use it at its maximum potential, meaning a corporeal form. It’s that difficult. Again if being an auror or magizoologist is your thing you’ll need to work on it. I will give you some tips at the end of class about it if you want it. Yes, Black?”

“Why isn’t the dementor considered a XXXXX creature? Now that you listed all it can do, I can’t help but think that they’re more dangerous than we thought. Especially the part about being smart.”

“Excellent question. To put it in simple terms. Because of the Ministry. You can’t really justify hiring a XXXXX creature as your prison guards so their dangerousness is downplayed a lot.”

“But aren’t the dementors under the Ministry’s control?” asked another Hufflepuff.

Rick didn’t roll his eyes in consternation but he really wanted to. “Who can tell me the particularity that all XXXXX share? Yes, O’Reilley.”

“They are impossible to train and domesticate.”

“Correct, Five more points for Ravenclaw. From that answer, Mister Sullivan, do you think the Ministry is really in control of the dementors?”

“Well… No but—”

“You’re right. The ministry has a deal with the Dementors. They stay in Azkaban and they can feed on the prisoners. However it was proven during the war that should someone offer them a better deal they would not hesitate to tell the Ministry to stuff it.”

“The Dementors joined You-know-who?!” He wasn’t the only student surprised.

“Yes, Mister Sullivan. Something that the Ministry will never advertise because it would appear weak and not in control. Thankfully, Minister Bagnold corrected the mistake of her predecessor but it had been quite difficult. Still, never believe a Ministry official that tells you that the dementors are under control.

They are either a fool or trying to kill you with them. Always be on your guard when they’re near. If you're not… well don’t be surprised if you get yourself french-kissed. Now I’ll show you how terrific a Dementor can be and you’ll tell me if I’m wrong to consider it one of the most dangerous dark creatures.”

Rick activated his pensieve and displayed against the wall in front of the class a memory of his time in the Order. Muggles were either on the ground, lifeless, or trying to run for their lives. Rick made quick work of the death eaters on his way while using his patronus to stop a Dementor to suck the soul of an innocent. A young wizard put one on fire thinking it would kill his assailant but it only made it worse.

The dementor still went for him but just in flames. Rick had used the ice of a frozen puddle to stab the Dementor and make it deviate from his trajectory while his lion patronus was pushing back a whole group of them. A member of the Order, Blitosky used the shield version to protect a family but it wasn’t enough to push away the dementors because of their numbers. Thankfully, Marlene’s tiger came to the rescue. That was the last thing Rick showed before he stopped the memory. The students were shocked into silence.

“That… was one of my memories from the war. This is what one dementor and a group of them can do. If you need a small break to recover from what you saw just say so. There is no shame in it.”

He looked around the room and didn’t see any shocked students. Nodding to himself he spoke up again. “Mister Sullivan, what do you do if a dementor is in your vicinity now?”

“Have my wand at the ready, sir. After… this… There is no way I don’t.”

“Good. Now there are five points in this memory of mine concerning the dementors. Can you name them all? Miss Braken.”

“Setting them on fire is the worst idea ever to start with. They’re just more dangerous.”

“Huh-huh. Go on.”

“They can still be… physically hurt? No, not hurt just… interacted with? So we can banish them but they’ll just come back. Still that could give us the time to retreat. One dementor can overwhelm half a dozen people. A group of them, a whole village. The basic or should I say half complete patronus charm can protect a bit but only against one or two dementors. Only a full corporeal patronus will make them retreat.”

“Excellent. Twenty five points for Ravenclaw. Now the Lethifold. It’s one nasty bastard we’re even lucky to know exists. Knowing how they were discovered, when and where they usually dwell will be part of your homework for next class. It’s up to you to research it. In a group or alone. What matters is that you know its information when the next class starts.”

Opening the curtains to let the light enter the room, he invited the students to get up then put away against the walls the desks and their stuff.

“We’re going to practice the patronus a bit. Let’s start with: what is the incantation? Miss Ripe?”

“Expecto patronum, sir.”

“Yes. Now, the incantation is not enough. I’m sure you know or I hope you were taught, that for the patronus charm to work you need a happy memory in mind. That’s true but at the same time not really. What matters is how you feel when you cast the spell. You may have the happiest thought in mind, if your heart is not bursting with joy nothing will happen.

The patronus is one of the rare spells that is heavily dependent on how you feel, never forget that. As for the memory… It can also not be. By that I mean it can be just a thought, a dream for the future. Let’s say… a man spent two days in a desert without water. He could in theory cast a patronus by feeling the happiness of imagining finding an oasis behind the next dune.

Close your eyes, try to find a memory or create a thought that makes you smile, that makes you think and feel ‘things can’t be better than this.’ or ‘I want to feel like this all the time and forever’. Something that no matter what horrible things happen next to you, you wouldn’t care.”

He let the students muse for ten minutes. He noticed some were simply smiling stupidly to themselves and he guessed those ones would produce at least a shape.

“Alright. Keep your eyes closed, picture the memory in your mind in the most detailed way possible. Feel the joy and happiness then raise your wand and use the spell.”

They did. Not all at the same time. Some were ready, some were not. Regardless, at least all of them produced at the minimum a solid silver shield. A few went beyond and got a shape. Only one got a full corporeal patronus. A fox.

“Fifty points to Hufflepuff for a beautiful fox patronus, Miss Black.”

All students opened their eyes and searched for the fox running around in the air, completely amazed. Even Nymphadora couldn’t believe it herself. Rick used the spell himself and a Lioness jumped from his wand and began to run next to the fox. It was much much brighter however.

“Can anyone take a guess as to why Miss Black’s patronus and mine are different? There are two answers to that question. Yes, O’Reilley.”

“The animal shape of the patronus depends on the caster’s personality.”

“You’re… You have half the answer. Or rather a quarter of it. Anyone else?”

“The intensity of the patronus was different because my memory was not as intense as yours? I mean… since we need a powerful memory to make the patronus corporeal, wouldn’t it make sense that since not all memories are equivalent some would be better than others even if they all create a corporeal patronus?”

“Correct, Miss Black. The memory I used was of the moment when I became a father for the first time. This patronus is done with the memory of my first kiss.”

Another lioness appeared in the classroom and everyone noticed it wasn’t nearly as bright as the previous one.

“Just because you have your memory to cast a corporeal patronus, doesn’t mean you should stick with it. Experiment and find the best possible. Now, Mister O’Reilly was correct with his answer but it was incomplete. It can happen, sometimes during the life of a wizard or a witch, that their patronus changes from what they originally were. Any idea why?”

“Because their personality changes?”

“Correct, Miss Braken. Life changes you. Experience changes you. How many of you are still the same now as when you were little kids? Not many I bet. Though we’re talking about life changing experiences here. Your patronus won’t change from a turtle to a rabbit because today you decided to have vanilla ice-cream instead of chocolate.” The joke made the students laugh a bit.

“We know a patronus is directly related to how we feel. The happier, the more positive the feeling, the better the results. What I’m going to tell you is not written in any textbook but will give you a few points if you put that on your test. When you’re truly in love, your patronus changes to a representation of the person you’re in love with. Yes, yes, I can see some of you rolling their eyes and think it’s some fairy tail bullshit. But it’s true. Let me show you.”

He closed the curtains again and went back to his projo-pensieve.

“Here is the memory of my wife and I’s patronus when we succeeded in making it corporeal. As you can see, mine was not a lioness but a Dun Mare and my wife’s was a doe. Now here is the memory of my Charm NEWTs a few days after I asked my wife to marry me and she said yes.”

The second memory included Griselda Marchbanks explaining to a dumbfounded eighteen year old Rick why his patronus changed.

“I perceived, and still do, my wife as a lioness. A fierce protector. Sure of herself and confident in her decisions. Someone who would do anything to protect their loved ones. Alternatively, my wife perceived me as a lion. Someone brave, courageous, and heroic. Someone willing to make sacrifices for the ones they love – and sometimes even people they do not know. Just like a lion, a fierce fighter when threatened. Now I know it sounds a bit like I’m sounding my own horn but I’m not. If I was, I would have said ‘roguishly handsome and smart’. Anyway the point stands. Now there is… ten minutes left, so take this time to note what you learned.”

He waved his wand and the desks were back in their original positions. Quickly the students got to their seats and wrote down what they remembered.

“I strongly suggest you share your notes with each other. I’m sure you all forgot a bit of information here and there. Remember to do the research on the Lethifold. I’m not asking for much; between three and six inches of parchment. You will get a pop quiz on it next class. Adding to that, I want you to research why dark witches and wizards can’t use a patronus. What would happen if they tried? Same as the Lethifold, between three and six inches. More and I’m burning your homework without having a look. If you got everything you can go a bit early.”

With those last words, the students left the classroom and Rick let out a long sigh.