Chapter 143: Back at Hogwarts
After returning to Hogwarts, we headed straight to our quarters. The next morning, we fell back into our usual routines. I taught the first through third years, while my girls studied...
Gradually, life returned to normal, until one breakfast brought terrible news: Australia had been destroyed.
No, not the continent itself. Not at all. Rather, another spatial rift had opened there, but this time it was enormous, and Grimm poured out of it. Unfortunately, the inhabitants hadn't believed the Convergence of Worlds would affect them, since no spatial rifts had ever opened there before. That confidence in their safety proved to be their undoing.
A very unfunny joke...
"Draco... what will happen now?"
Penny looked at me with concern, and the other Ravenclaw students cast worried glances my way.
"What will happen?"
I shrugged.
"All wizards now live in massive enclaves alongside ordinary people... well, I mean all the sensible wizards who understand that one person isn't an army, and that they need to gather other sentients around them, or join a group."
I looked thoughtfully at the newspaper.
"Though living in Britain is about to get more dangerous."
"And why?"
A first-year girl asked.
"Sorry!"
She squeaked quietly when I looked at her, trying to hide under the table.
"Alice, there's no need to be afraid. I don't bite..."
I smiled at the little one.
"...and to answer your question, I'll just say that continent is now inaccessible to us for a long time to come. But it's become a place where the Grimm can multiply... though I don't know how they manage that. And considering what we know about flying Grimm... it's entirely possible there are aquatic ones as well..."
I shook my head.
"...in short, within six months to a year, the Grimm will begin migrating from Australia. And we'll have to worry about not only spatial rifts, but also strays that fly or swim in..."
"But a year is a long time..."
"It only seems that way."
Sadness colored my gaze as I looked at the little one.
"A year will fly by, and you won't even notice..."
I shook my head.
"And what should we do?"
"What can you do?"
I shrugged.
"Right now, you can only study... Study and prepare for the fact that by the time you graduate, life will be much harder."
"Um... Mr. Black..."
One of the second-years addressed me quietly.
"Yes, Michael?"
"Will potion-makers be needed in this new world?"
"Of course they will."
I nodded confidently.
"It will be a very important profession."
"Um... and how do I learn it? Not long ago, Professor Snape held several lessons, but... he's not like that... We all know he was probably just in a good mood, and once it passes, he'll be terrifying again..."
The boy shuddered.
"Well..."
I shrugged thoughtfully.
"...I can, of course, hire a tutor for you, but you do understand they'll only teach you during the holidays..."
"Uh-huh..."
The boy nodded.
"...and we will probably have to sign a contract, right?"
"You understand correctly."
I smiled at the boy.
"But to begin with, just speak with Professor Snape. Perhaps he'll agree to give you extra lessons."
"I... All right, I'll ask him..."
The boy nodded.
"Mr. Black..."
"Mr. Black..."
"Mr. Black..."
The children clamored from all sides.
"All right... quiet."
The children quieted down.
"Let us do it this way. We will talk about everything tonight in the House common room. All right?"
"Yes..."
Answers came from different sides of the table, almost in unison.
*** That Same Evening. ***
"So..."
I looked around the common room. Penny and Fleur sat beside me, and Flitwick sat a little way off, unseen by the others. Even I could only tell he was there from subtle signs.
"...I promised to talk with you this evening."
The children grew noisy, and now even the older students were joining them. It seemed they had realized they had a chance to improve their lot in life.
"Quiet!"
I raised my voice, and the children quieted down.
"I have realized that while trying to calm the first years and encourage them, I said a little too much..."
A murmur rose in the common room.
"I said, quiet! So..."
When the murmur died down, I continued.
"...I am not going to take back what I said. But I cannot help every student in my House settle in. Therefore, to begin with, we will set several requirements for those who wish to receive additional training at my House's expense."
I looked attentively around the common room.
"First, anyone who wants training needs excellent grades in the subject they want to study, and good grades in all their other Hogwarts classes. Second, you need recommendations from at least three Hogwarts professors. Third, you won't be getting a master-level teacher right away. You'll start with journeymen, and only if they recommend during your training that you need a higher-level instructor will that happen."
I caught my breath.
"Fourth, you and your parents must sign a contract stating that after training, you'll work for my House for at least five years. Fifth..."
I looked around at everyone.
"Before coming to me, you must speak with Dean Flitwick, Deputy Headmistress McGonagall, or Headmaster Dumbledore, and bring me a note from them confirming they've made sure you truly understand what you're signing up for."
"And why all that?"
One of the Muggle-born first-years addressed me.
"If you have money, then just help..."
"Little one..."
I smiled at her.
"...I'm already helping. My House finances Hogwarts, which is why Muggle-borns can study here at all. I also help with food and potions, so essentially, I could have said nothing and just sat around scratching my belly with self-satisfaction."
I sighed.
"Everything I listed is charity, but hiring personal teachers isn't. Just so you know, hiring one personal journeyman teacher costs roughly the same as a year's education for ten Hogwarts students."
The girl blinked.
"And that journeyman won't be the best of the best, just a solidly average specialist."
"Now look around the common room... Tell me, how much would hiring mentors for even half the students cost me?"
"Quite a lot..."
I flinched and turned toward where I'd thought Flitwick was. He wasn't alone. Dumbledore stood there too.
"Headmaster? I thought only the Dean was there..."
I shook my head.
"Tch... so you did notice after all. Well, I can praise you for that. You were attentive, and the speech wasn't bad either. I confirm Draco's words. He raised extremely reasonable concerns that should give you all pause and make you reconsider this path. Particularly since you don't currently need a mentor. Your teachers can answer all your questions."
"But..."
"Yes?"
Dumbledore looked at a fifth-year girl.
"Headmaster..."
She swallowed.
"...we all know that for the most part, the professors really do answer questions, or schedule time for additional lessons to help us practice..."
Dumbledore nodded good-naturedly.
"...but what if someone needs help with Potions?"
"And what is wrong with Potions?"
"Headmaster... two years ago, I asked Professor Snape for the first and last time. Not even for help, just to request a list of additional reading because I was having trouble with the material, and..."
The girl looked away.
"...was called a stupid hen incapable of understanding even the simplest topics in the textbook, and told that since I couldn't even reread the assigned chapters, extra reading certainly wouldn't help such an uneducated girl who couldn't see the letters forming words right in front of her..."
She swallowed.
"...those were the mildest words I heard that day."
"Ahem... everyone has bad days, and..."
"Headmaster, I also asked Professor Snape for help..."
"And I..."
"And I..."
Brief confirmations and equally unpleasant stories came from all around the common room, causing Dumbledore's frown to deepen. When the noise rose, Dumbledore clapped his hands, calling for silence.
"Good... I've heard you. You've already approached Severus, and he didn't help you. Then let's do it this way. Until the end of the year..."
Dumbledore thought for a moment.
"...on Wednesdays and Fridays, from six to eight in the evening for students in their first three years, and from eight to ten for everyone else, I will conduct additional classes. I will conduct them personally. I will try to answer all your questions, and next year we will think of something. All right?"
"Yes!"
The shouts were joyful.
"Excellent, then I shall go..."
Dumbledore left the common room.
"So, I hope there are no questions for me?"
"No..."
The children shook their heads.
"Good, then I will go..."
Once I had reached my room, I wrote to my mothers through the notebook about my mistake. They even scolded me, though not too harshly. They said that as a last resort, they would simply arrange summer school, hiring a couple of teachers to instruct small groups of three to five people.
"Draco..."
Fleur put her head on my lap, and I immediately buried my fingers in her hair.
"Yes?"
"...nothing..."
Fleur shook her head.
Penny was in the bathroom at that moment and couldn't explain her friend's behavior to me. Still, I decided to simply offer my future wife some comfort, so I bent down to her, kissed her temple, and continued stroking her.
"Mmm... yes... stroke me like that a little longer..."
It seemed all of this was too much for Fleur... everything, really. I would need to have the same sort of quiet time with Penny, doing nothing, simply being nearby. They had only just begun to realize that this would be an extremely difficult struggle... a struggle for survival.
"Draco, we will survive, won't we?"
"We will not simply survive, we will live happily and comfortably..."
I kissed Fleur's temple again, and soon Penny took her place, her hair smelling of citrus, while Fleur herself went to the bathroom...
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