Potioneer potter

Ch4

Harry bolted upright, gulping in the air as he escaped from the nightmare. He steadied his breath and listened carefully to the noises of the dormitory around him. After hearing no sign of him having awoken anyone, he patted around his bed for his wand then cast a tempus charm before squinting at the fuzzy outline of the number 6. Harry sighed loudly before fumbling around his bedside table for his glasses and then swung his legs over so that he was sat at the edge of his bed. He opened a parting in the bed curtains so that he could see the nearest window and through it, the hints of a colourful sunrise, and then dragged himself off to the bathroom to get ready for the day ahead.
Breakfast would not be served until 7 and so Harry chose to kill this time by once again opening a library book and looked for tips that may help him in his first lesson of the day: defence against the dark arts.

2 hours and a bowlful of porridge later, Harry had his second ever encounter with the evil, power-hungry version of a Pygmy puff that was to be addressed as 'Professor Umbridge'. At his wizengamot trial he had thought Umbridge to be utterly harmless and rather delusional about her own power but as his newest defence professor's heels clacked against the stones, providing a steady rhythm to the slamming of the books on each table, Harry prepared to be proven wrong. He flicked through the small A5 book he had been given and his heart sank further each time he saw the phrase 'the ministry believes...' and safe to say it was very much sat at his feet by the 4th page turn. The book was a muddy sort of brown with a once silver, although now matte grey title that made it look very similar to the antique second hand books that Hermione often read, however unlike those books, this one seemed to have gained its colour through decades and decades of being sat, abandoned on a shelf, in an equally abandoned, spider infested cupboard somewhere in the depths of the ministry of magic. Harry peeled off the "Ministry approved" sticker on the front cover whilst Hermione questioned Umbridge on something that he supposed he should have been listening to.

"There's nothing in here about using defensive spells?" She stated cautiously.

"Using spells?" Umbridge looked at Hermione as if the notion was utterly ludicrous. "Well, I can't imagine why you would need to use spells in my classroom."

"We're not gonna use magic?" Ron voiced the concerns of everyone in the room, if not a little harshly although Umbridge's next response caused Harry to react much the same way.

"You'll be learning about defensive spells in a secure, risk-free way." Her tone reminded him of when petunia would tell the neighbours that "dudders didn't fail art" in a way that suggested that she could not contain her excitement and expected an applause or celebration of some sort.

"What use is that?" Harry asked, genuinely curious. He was certain that reciting the spells that a basic protego shield would and would not block to Voldemort would likely cause him to drop all the dramatics and Avada kedavra him on the spot. "If we're attacked, it won't be risk-free."

Many of his classmates murmured in agreement, including, to Harry's surprise, Draco malfoy. Although however seemingly reasonable this statement was, it only infuriated his professor more and lit a silent rage behind her eyes that he was not sure he entirely understood or deserved.

"Students will raise their hands when they speak in my class. It is the view of the Ministry that a theoretical knowledge will be sufficient to get you through your examination, which, after all, is what school is all about."  Having watched her completely sidestep the question, harry tried a more direct approach.

"And how's theory supposed to prepare us for what's out there?" He asked, making a show of moving his hair out of his face so that his scar was visible.

"There is nothing out there, dear." Umbridge responded in a sickly-sweet voice.

Oh. So that's where she's going with this then is it