Midnight Protector | Harry Potter FanFiction

SIX

The news of Voldemort's latest plot had been leaked to the 'Daily Prophet' the next day along with several opinions of what should be done about the 'werewolf problem'. Some thought the werewolves should be relocated so they didn't pose a threat to the magical community while others thought they were nothing but animals that needed to be exterminated. There were a few who believed that werewolves had rights too but no one seemed to care about the minority.

Remus became a popular information source overnight. Since the majority of the students trusted Remus regardless of his werewolf status, they trusted Remus to tell them the truth without twisting it the way the 'Daily Prophet' tended to. There were, of course, some students who actually believed the propaganda in the 'Daily Prophet' and had no problem voicing their opinions when they passed Remus in the halls.

At least until Sirius overheard some of the comments and immediately started issuing detentions to anyone who said anything degrading about Remus.

Harry was also extremely popular since many wanted to know what living with a werewolf was actually like. It irritated Harry that with one article in the 'Daily Prophet' Remus was suddenly seen as something less than human. Remus was only a wolf during the full moon. Other than that he was just as human as everyone else. Why couldn't everyone else realize that?

The students at Hogwarts weren't the only ones asking questions. As soon as the article had been released, Remus had been contacted by several reporters from different publications and Ministry employees to schedule a meeting. It was obvious that the reporters wanted an exclusive interview but the Ministry employees made everyone nervous. They either wanted Remus' input or were attempting to get their hands on a known werewolf.

The end of the week brought the seventh years' first Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson with Professor Shacklebolt. Entering the classroom, everyone was surprised to see that all of the desks and chairs had been stacked against the walls and several oval shaped dueling platforms had been set up around the room. Waves of nervousness mixed with eagerness. No one had expected anything like this for the first class.

"Put your all of your belongings except you wand against the wall everyone," Professor Shacklebolt said as he entered the room and closed the door. "Today is going to be a rough awakening for many of you."

No one said a word as they quickly did as they were told. Harry now understood what Professor Shacklebolt was doing. He wanted to show everyone the harsh realities of the real world. The members of the D.A. had already learned this lesson when many of them received injuries while fighting Death Eaters. Waves of nervousness increased and were now mixed with waves of fear. Professor Shacklebolt was certainly making a powerful first impression.

"I'm well aware of you past experience with Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers," Professor Shacklebolt said as he slowly walked around the group of students. "You only had one who focused on the physical aspect of Defense Against the Dark Arts and unfortunately only had him for half of a school year. We will be operating in the same fashion except for a few small changes. There will be no actual homework for this class. There will be no assignments. You will be graded completely on your performance in class. If you need to improve your skills, you are expected to practice and research on your own time. I do not tolerate freeloaders. Anyone who does not give one hundred percent will be removed from the class. Do I make myself clear?"

The majority of the class stared at Professor Shacklebolt in shock while Harry, Ron and Hermione grinned at each other. They had been warned about the demands of the class but it was funny to see everyone else's reactions. There were quite a few female students who looked like they had been told they would be sleeping out in the forest for a week with no loo. Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown appeared to be the most shocked out of the entire group which wasn't surprising. Parvati and Lavender had always been more concerned about their appearance than their studies.