The Marauders: Year One | #Wattys2016

McGonagall in Defense

McGonagall in Defense

The first Defense Against the Dark Arts class back from Holidays was highly anticipated among the students as everyone waited with baited breath to see if the rumors flying about the castle about Professor Blythe were true. There was quite a bit of variety to the stories that were being passed about, student-to-student, concerning what had gone on. Some were saying that Professor Blythe had been caught stealing something and others said she'd been found to secretly be one of the Death Eaters that followed about after He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. One rumor going about was that Chriselda Blythe had been caught in the act of contacting the Dark Lord and that she'd been quarantined under a 24-hour watch and her connection to the Floo Network blocked until they could be sure that she was not a Death Eater after all. Others even went so far as to claim that the teacher, who had not been seen about the castle since the night of the incident, had been sent to Azkaban.

How much of any of that was true was hard to say.

The only thing that seemed certain was that Professor Blythe would not be teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts until further notice was given, though no official notices were passed about, meaning there would be no delay in the start of classes for Defense, which meant that someone would be teaching the classes during Professor Blythe's absence. For the second term in a row, the identity of the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor was driving everyone mad with curiosity.

"Perhaps, if she is on probation, we'll have Professor Moody again," said Sirius eagerly as they walked down the corridor to the Defense classroom first thing on Monday morning. He'd rather liked the one-eyed Auror that had taken over classes the year before when Professor Tutman had gone.

"It won't be Moody," Remus said.

"How do you know?" asked Sirius, disappointed.

"Because he's busy, isn't he?" Remus pointed out, "With everything that's going on - all the murders and rubbish that You-Know-Who is doing - there's no way that he has time to come teach us. He's busy trying to defeat the Dark Lord!"

"Well it would've been cool if it was him," Sirius replied.

"Yeah it would've!" agreed James, "I wouldn't have minded hearing what's really going on out there."

They'd arrived to the classroom and Lily was already sitting on the floor opposite the door, as usual, reading. She looked up as they approached and closed her book, standing up and dusting off. Remus migrated to the opposite side of Peter to stand closer to Lily as they came to a stop in the hall before the door to the Defense class.

"See anybody yet?" James asked as they approached her.

Lily shook her head, "No signs of Blythe or any other Professors at all. I haven't been here very long, though," she shrugged.

James went up to the door and listened. "Well nobody's in there," he announced, backing away, "Unless they're impossibly quiet."

Lily nudged Remus and pointed down the hall. He looked and saw Professor McGonagall making her way toward them, carrying a box, and looking as sharp as usual. She glanced about at the five of them as she approached the Defense door. James hopped out of her way. "Morning, Professor," he said. He looked at the other four with wide eyes as McGonagall pointed her wand at the Defense door and the locks clicked and the door swung open.

"Good morning Mr. Potter," McGonagall replied, "In you go." She waved the five Gryffindors through and followed behind after Remus, the last of them through. The students hurried to their usual seats and watched as McGonagall went up to the front of the classroom and put the box down on the desk.