"You want me to do what?" asked Harry incredulously.
"Take the class for the third-year students," said Professor Babbling briskly. "It'll give me some time to work on what we need to achieve for your apprenticeship. Oh, this is best in having you, Harry. Talented students can always substitute for me. I think I'm going to enjoy this!"
"But I've never taught anyone before," said Harry, his tone had a hint of desperation to it.
"Okay, tell you what," said Professor Babbling seriously. "I'll monitor your class today and if I feel you are not up to the mark, I'll take over. But I do want you to give it your best because trust me, there is no better way to learn than by teaching it to others. You'll have a firm grounding in the subject."
Harry mentally let out a frustrated sigh. He should have expected this; he thought Dumbledore had been kidding when he said that he might have to take classes, but apparently not. He stood at the teacher's desk, waiting for the students to arrive. This batch was comprised of the third year Ravenclaws and Slytherins, so he would be taking his first class with Dylan and Astoria as his students.
The students shuffled in, many of them giving Harry curious glances while Professor Babbling was sitting in the corner, reading a book while writing down things on a sheet of parchment. Dylan and Astoria looked at him in surprise as they took a place together in the middle of the class.
"Welcome to your first class on the study of Ancient Runes," said Harry, his voice loud and confident. "I am Harry Potter, Professor Babbling's apprentice and I'll be taking this class today. You may address me as Mr Potter or Apprentice Potter and I ask you all to pay attention because Runes is not a subject you can take lightly. It can be very dangerous, but at the same time infinitely rewarding. If I had it my way, I would make this subject compulsory like how it was until forty years ago, but our esteemed Headmaster feels otherwise."
Professor Babbling snorted and coughed, trying to hide her grin; she was unsuccessful.
"Now, can anyone tell me the purpose of Runes?" said Harry. "Why is this subject considered so important? Why do we use it when we have Charms, Transfiguration and Defence? What are its applications?"
A few people raised their hands, but Harry wasn't impressed with their answers. Finally, Dylan raised a tentative hand.
"Yes, Mr Lestrange," Harry nodded, his face impassive as always.
"Runes is an important subject because it is the building block for most spells and enchantments. Charms and Transfiguration are varied, but they are temporary, however, a perfectly crafted runic array is permanent. They are used in permanently enchanting objects, in rituals, but the most well-known application of runes is in warding."
"Good, five points to Ravenclaw. Wards are what protect us from danger; Hogwarts itself has some of the best wards in the country and so you can imagine how important runes are if warding is based on the subject. Protective charms and enchantments are made permanent with the help of runes. They can also be used as a means of defence. Let me give you an example. Can I have a volunteer please?"
The students were quite unnerved by Harry's teaching style. After no one raised their hand, Dylan again put his hand up.
"Alright, come up here Mr Lestrange," said Harry. "I hope you all start interacting with me because I don't like teaching to a bunch of Inferi. I expect you to be active, is that clear? Now, Mr Lestrange, cast the most powerful stunner that you can produce at me."
Dylan didn't hesitate. Quickly pointing his wand at Harry, he said, " Stupefy!"
The bright jet of red light flew from the tip of his wand, but just as it was about to impact Harry, the class saw him press something on a sheet of parchment which was on the table next to him. A shield materialised, deflecting the spell. People were stunned by the display.
"No, I did not use wandless magic," explained Harry. "What I showed you is an ancient variety of the shield charm, condensed in a rune cluster. I had already drawn it on his sheet of parchment which as you can see, is now charred. This is just the very basic of what runes can do. So, shall we begin?"
Once the class was over, the third years were chatting excitedly amongst themselves as they left. Harry sat down on the desk and looked over at Professor Babbling. The smirk on his mentor's face did not help matters any.
...
"He was amazing!" said Astoria excitedly.
"Yeah, the class was hooked," agreed Dylan.
They were sitting at the Slytherin table for dinner, telling their friends how the third year Ancient Runes class was.
"I never really pictured Harry as a teacher," said Susan. The others nodded.
"It's not like I was given a choice," muttered Harry as he sat down. "How was Defence?"
The mood plummeted. "He's horrible," said Theo bitterly. "He doesn't teach a thing and I'm from the House he actually favours!"
"We won't learn anything from Snape," said Neville. "He terrified the crap out of me in class today. He was worse than in Potions. He won't tell us what to do, won't show us how to do the wand movements, just gives us the incantation, pairs us with each other and he expects perfect results!"
"Something has to be done about this," said Daphne quietly.
"Unfortunately it is not on the list of priorities," Harry replied grimly. "There was an attack on Diagon Alley last night. Two witches and wizards were killed and there was a lot of property damage. There have been more Dementor attacks and the full moon is next week."
Everyone went quiet at that.
"How was it for you guys?" asked Daphne.
"Fine," said Dylan quickly. "Can you pass me some the mashed potatoes?"
"What's wrong?" asked Daphne, her eyes narrowed.
"Nothing," Dylan told her. He could feel the eyes boring into him. He didn't even need to know what was going on as he said, "Stop staring at me."
Dylan turned to the other side and saw Astoria glaring at him too. "Alright, alright, I'll tell you. Just stop with the eyes! It's freaking me out!"
Daphne and Astoria smirked at each other. "Works like a charm every time," muttered Astoria. "So, what did Snape do?"
"He kept insulting Harry whenever I was in earshot," he sighed. "When I was able to perform the shield charm perfectly, he accused me of cheating and gave me a detention. His subtle insults towards my illegitimate birth were not missed by anyone either. He has always hated me, but it wasn't this bad before."
"We need to do something," cried Tracy. "We can't just be sitting ducks!"
Daphne's eyes lit up. She looked at Harry who was lost in thought.
....
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