Strange Teachers

Chapter 6

——Hermione——

The four of us finished breakfast and headed towards our first class. I was so excited to see the new professor's teaching method, I could hardly wait.

We were the first to arrive and found that the classroom that was now being used for both DADA and Healing had been completely transformed. The stone walls were decorated with a few tapestries. These tapestries were nothing like the other ones around the castle, though. They were meticulously made and every detail of the scene was there. They also had amazingly vibrant colours and not one mistake. All in all, they seemed almost godly.

Instead of having desks throughout the room, one half was taken up by several comfy couches and beanbag chairs that could each seat two or three people. The other half had been magically expanded and covered in a slightly soft mat. It would give us enough room to have everyone dueling at once and a surface to break any falls. Off to the side, a rather large cupboard stood at least six feet tall. The chandelier had disappeared, so the only sources of light were the sunlight from the windows and some candles floating over the mat.

A desk and two chairs were directly in front of us, in between the two areas. Prof. Chase was sitting on the desk with her back to us, talking to Prof. Jackson, who was sitting in one of the chairs, gazing at her softly. A few moments passed before he realized we were there.

"Hey there, why don't you sit down," he said, motioning towards the couches and beanbags. "We'll start soon."

Ron and I sat on one of the two-seater sofas, while Harry and Ginny plopped down on a beanbag near our feet. A few minutes later, everyone was sitting down and the bell rang. Prof. Chase hopped down from her perch and they both came to stand in front of us.

"Hi, everyone. I'm Annabeth Chase and my colleague here is Percy Jackson, but you can call us Profs. Chase and Jackson. So, today's class will be dedicated to questions and an explanation of the course," she started off. "I know that you've been subjected to a lot of different teachers and, therefore, teaching methods in this class. This is our first time teaching, so please help us. You can point out anything you think we're doing wrong or give suggestions. Just please do so in private after class."

"Our class this year will be somewhat different than it usually is. We'll be teaching you defensive magic, but we'll also be showing you how to strategize in battle, how to use your body to fight instead of just your wand. A surprising amount of witches and wizards lose a duel or a fight simply because their wand is broken or rolled out of reach. I think that's all for the explanation," he looked over at his colleague, who nodded. "Any questions?"

Quite a few hands went up.

"Yes, you in the back," Prof. Chase said, pointing.

"Lavender Brown. Are you together?"

"That's private, but yes, we are," Prof. Jackson answered, obviously catching Lavender's meaning.

"Ok, Ginny?" Prof. Chase continued, saving everyone from the awkward moment.

"How old are you?"

"We're twenty-one," this triggered a collective gasp before everyone started whispering.

"Let's move on, shall we? You over there."

"Draco Malfoy. Why would McGonagall hire such young teachers? You're only a few years older than us."

"Well, Prof. McGonagall hired us primarily because of everything we've been through. We've seen and done more than all of you combined," at this, everyone peered at her doubtfully. Harry even put his hand up to protest.