Professor Di Angelo

Return to Hogwarts

Dennis Creevey sat alone in the last carriage on the Hogwarts Express staring out the window sadly. It wasn't like him to be quiet or still, but it had been happening more and more often since his brother's death at the end of the previous school year. He just couldn't find the energy or the excitement that used to be so characteristic of himself and his brother. His parents weren't taking it very well either which was why they hadn't noticed their remaining son slipping into depression. 

A knock on the door announced the presence of his friend and roommate Nigel Wolpert. 

"Hey Dennis," Nigel greeted him. Dennis just managed a brief half smile in return. He could tell that Nigel was taken aback, but he couldn't find the energy to care. Nigel sat next to him and hugged him for a minute then quietly handed him a chocolate frog. Dennis absently looked at the wizard card and almost dropped it when he saw who the wizard was. It was Collin. He read the biography on the back of the card. 

        Collin Creevey

        Collin Creevey was the elder of the two Creevey brothers and a muggle-born. He was an avid photographer from the Griffindor house. He was a founding member of Dumbledore's Army and one of the few who believed in Harry Potter when the rest of the wizarding world did not. He died like so many of his friends, defending Hogwarts from Tom Riddle (Voldemort). 

Dennis started crying. Nigel patted him on the back. They spent the rest of the train ride in silence. Dennis only really came to himself when he found that he was sitting in the Great Hall. Professor Sprout was standing at the front of the hall calling out the names of the new first years. He'd apparently missed the sorting hat's song. 

"Wolpert, Johnathan," Professor Sprout called. Dennis looked at Nigel. 

"My baby brothers, I'm just glad they're so much younger than me," Nigel said. Dennis was only confused by the plurals for a minute. 

"Ravenclaw!" the sorting hat called. 

"Wolpert, Joshua," Professor Sprout called.

"Twins?" Dennis asked. The first thing he'd actually said to Nigel that year. 

"Ya, and a bit of a surprise to my parents. I was going to be an only child and then I wasn't. I'm terribly fond of them, but they are quite a bit younger than me so I don't hang out with them much except during the summer," Nigel said as Joshua was also sorted into Ravenclaw. Then Professor McGonagall stood up. 

"Welcome new and returning students. This year we will have two of new teachers. Professor Chalfon will be teaching Transfiguration and Professor Di Angelo who will be teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts. We also have a new member of the medical staff Healer Solace," she said. Suddenly the doors opened. Not loudly, but dramatically enough. A young man entered. 

"I apologize for my lateness Headmistress, the trip across the Atlantic was somewhat trying," he said. 

"Apology accepted Professor Di Angelo. Your seat is there at the end of the table," she she said. 

Dennis was taken aback by the revelation that the young man who couldn't be more than three years older than him was to be their new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, but then Harry Potter was only three years older than him and he had taught students that were older than him when Dennis had been in his second year. The other startling thing about the new teacher was that he was American. If his accent hadn't given him away his explanation about the trip across the Atlantic would have. 

"What do you think of him?" Nigel asked. 

"I think that I have a lot of questions for him. Like if there are American wizards then why didn't they help and why isn't he wearing a robe?" Dennis said. It turned out that he didn't have to ask. Professor Di Angelo told them at the beginning of his class the next day. 

"Good morning class, I'm Professor Di Angelo, your new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. You undoubtedly have questions so let me tell you a little something about myself before we get started. I was born in Italy, but have lived in the States for a good deal of my life. Yes, there are American wizards. Their main school is called Ilvermorny. No, I did not attend Ilvermorny. I attended an alternative school which teaches a very different curriculum. I have no idea what the American wizards in general were up to during the war you had last year, but my school was fighting a different war. Yes, there is a brand on my forearm and no, it's not a dark mark. Now, any further questions?" he asked. Dennis raised his hand. 

"Yes, Mr...?" Professor Di Angelo said. 

"Creevey Sir. Can we see your brand so that we can be sure you're telling the truth? I only ask because we've had teachers who were Deatheaters before and my brother was killed in the war," Dennis said. 

"Well Mr. Creevey. I suppose that's a reasonable enough request," the new teacher said and took off his leather jacket. The class looked curiously at the symbols burned into the young teacher's arm. 

"This indicates who my family is. You should know that in the States we don't really have pure-blood families so this part isn't as big a deal as it would be here. The letters are the motto of the legion, the legion being the resistance group I belong to, and the lines indicate how many years I have served," he said before putting his jacket back on. Nigel raised his hand.

"Yes Mr...?" Professor Di Angelo said again.

"Wolpert Sir. Why don't you wear a robe?" Nigel asked.

"That, Mr. Wolpert, is an excellent question which brings us to our first lesson. We will not be starting with magic. We'll be starting with what you do when you don't have your wand or you come up against something that isn't affected by magic. We're going to start with sword work and you don't want to be wearing a robe when you start learning sword work. For me at this point I could wear a robe, but it's force of habit," Professor Di Angelo said, "Now I want everyone to stand up and hold all of your belongings." The class did as they were asked. Professor Di Angelo waved his wand transfiguring the desks into cubbies.

"Now everyone put your things in a cubby and line up at the door to my office,"  Professor Di Angelo said.