Harry Potter and the Dragon’s Eye
Chapter Two: Professor Berry
By: Joyleaf Sídhe
Harry sat quietly at the Gryffindor table while the Great Hall buzzed all around him. What Ron had said on the train was really bothering him. How could he have forgotten the possibility that Voldemort was coming for him? He wasn’t even thinking of the feast at this moment, he’d somehow lost his appetite. He just kept thinking about the birthday card: who could have sent it? Harry looked up toward the head table. Dumbledore was there, speaking with Professor McGonagall. Harry instantly felt better. Voldemort would never attack Hogwarts, not while Dumbledore’s here, he assured himself. With the feeling of relief came his hunger. He suddenly wished the first year students would hurry up.
Harry had just started listening to Hermione telling Ron about their new Defense Against the Dark Arts book when a shrill screeching filled the hall. Students and teachers alike covered their ears and looked about frantically for the source of the noise. It soon came flying in through one of the windows, a horrid looking beast with pale gray skin and large, leathery wings. It’s face would have been ugly enough without being contorted with terror.
“A gargoyle!” someone yelled over the creature’s own shrieking. Some students screamed and ducked under the tables while others, like Harry, sat transfixed by the animal. The teachers didn’t seem worried, they sat calmly, watching. Then another being came flying through the window, a witch on a broom. Her emerald green robes billowed behind her as she soared after her prey. She was zipping through the air so fast, Harry was surprised that her over-sized, pointed hat didn’t fly off her head.
She was closing in on her target, zigzagging around the hall. She raised her hand back behind her and Harry saw, in it, a beater’s bat. Closer to the beast, and closer…She swung! But the creature made a mad dive. The witch immediately followed, pointing her broom straight down. Her quarry pulled out of the dive, seconds before slamming into the Gryffindor table, and flew straight for Harry. He was able to put his arms up just in time to protect his face from the gargoyle’s talons. It was on his head now, clawing at him in a frenzy. Harry cried out for help, he could not get the creature off.
“Don’t move!” he heard a voice cry. He instantly stopped struggling. Over his arms, still guarding his face, he saw the moment when the beater’s bat was swung. Next thing he knew, he was free from the gargoyle’s attack. He looked up to find the emerald-clad witch touching down in front of the head table. The beast she had been chasing lay unconscious on the floor, half propped up against a wall.
“My apologies, Headmaster,” the witch said, bowing her head to Dumbledore, “I did not intend for him to make it this far.”
“No apologies necessary, Professor Berry,” Dumbledore replied with a smile, “I found that to be rather entertaining. Excluding, of course, the beast’s attack on Mr. Potter.”
The students were at a loss. No one knew what to do, or say, so an amazed silence filled the hall. Most eyes were still on the witch, Harry’s included. She was a tall woman with long, white hair which she had bound and braided down her back. But despite the whiteness of her hair, her face looked rather young, not at all as old even as Professor McGonagall. He watched as she stooped to pick up the stunned creature and placed it into a cage she had conjured.
“He was not at all happy about the move,” she was telling Dumbledore. “He will have to be sent back to his rookery straight away. The other’s seem to be fine.” Dumbledore nodded at her words and stroked his beard. She turned to walk out of the hall, carrying the cage in one hand and her beater’s bat in the other; her broom followed her of its own accord. As she passed Harry on her way out, she smiled and winked at him.
******
The Sorting Ceremony was over, but Harry hadn’t even been paying attention. He couldn’t tell you how many new Gryffindor first years there were, he had been thinking about something else. That witch’s eyes…Right before she had winked at him, he had seen that they were icy blue, but afterward he could have sworn something was different. An elbow to his ribs called him back to the Great Hall.
“Pay attention,” Hermione hissed at him under her breath. Harry looked up toward the head table. Dumbledore had stood to make his start-of-term announcements.
“Welcome all first years, and welcome back to the rest of you. It is lovely to see you all again.” He beamed at them with a fatherly smile. “Before we eat, just a few notices: First years must, of course, be warned that no students are allowed into the Forbidden Forrest. House Quidditch teams in need of new players may hold try-outs at the end of the month. Most of you have already met our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher,” he paused to motion toward the head table. The white haired witch had somehow snuck back into the hall without any of the students noticing and was now seated next to Professor Snape. At Dumbledore’s motion, she stood up and bowed her head. “I know that Professor Berry will do a wonderful job.” She reseated herself. Dumbledore turned back to the students. “And lastly, in light of recent events, we have decided to bring in some gargoyles to help protect the castle during the night. These creatures are mostly docile and obedient so once they’ve settled in here there should be no problems, but I would advise students not to try sneaking around the castle at night, as you may alarm them.” Harry could swear Dumbledore had looked in his direction as he said this. “Now, let’s eat!”
Excited chatter filled the hall as students started eating and catching up. Harry helped himself to some chicken and reached for a dinner roll. Voldemort forgotten for the moment, Ron began talking with Harry about the upcoming Quidditch tryouts.
“Do you think I’ll make the team?” Ron asked Harry, at last.
“Only if you’re better than me,” Ginny teased him, grinning.
Ron was outraged. “Well, of course I’m better than you!” he cried. Ginny laughed at him and dismissed his claim with a wave of her hand.
After finishing the better part of his meal, Harry looked around for some dessert. The closest was a tray of cakes sitting in front of Hermione. “Hermione, would you pass me some cakes?” he asked.
Hermione turned away from her conversation with Neville Longbottom to pass Harry the cakes. Harry noticed something gleaming on her robes that he hadn’t noticed before. “Hermione!” he cried, “You’re a prefect?”
“Took you long enough to notice,” she said with a hint of irritation.
“Aren’t you a prefect, Harry?” Dean Thomas asked from Harry’s other side.
“Not me…Ron?” Ron shook his head with a mouth full of cake. “Seamus?” Seamus Finnigan also shook his head. “Then that just leaves…”
“That’s right,” Hermione said haughtily, “Neville is a prefect.”
Those who heard her couldn’t help being shocked. No one would ever have guessed Neville would be a prefect. After the surprise wore off, congratulations fell on Neville from all directions.
After the feast, Hermione and Neville led the sleepy Gryffindors up to the dormitory. Harry crawled into bed with Voldemort the furthest thing from his mind. For the first time in a long time, Harry dreamt about Quidditch…
******
The next morning, at the breakfast table, Neville handed out class schedules. There was an exited murmur among Harry’s class. Looking at his own schedule, he saw that they had Defense Against the Dark Arts first thing.
“I wonder what she’s like.” Lavender Brown was saying about the new Professor.
“You saw the way she clobbered that gargoyle!” Seamus Finnigan said excitedly, “And right off Harry’s head too!”
Harry had to admit that he too had been impressed by the new teacher’s skill on a broom. He couldn’t wait to learn what she must know about Defense Against the Dark Arts.
After breakfast, they went back to their dormitory to get their books, then headed to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. The first thing everyone noticed upon entering the room, was a huge cage a corner at the front of the class. Inside was one of the most terrifying creatures Harry had ever seen. It had the body of a large vulture, the feathers on its wings and tail gleaming like metal and great claws like an eagle. The horrifying part was it’s hag-like head and face. The students watched the bird as they took their seats, fearful of the murderous look in its eyes.
As the last students were seated, the chime sounded. The Professor, who had been sitting, unnoticed, behind her desk, stood up. “Good morning, class,” she said, opening the large book on her desk. The room remained silent, students still eyeing the creature in the cage, as she flipped through the pages. Finally, she looked up at them, removing her angled reading glasses. Her eyes narrowed in annoyance. Pulling out her wand, she tapped it loudly on her desk, demanding their attention.
“Thank you,” she said, once all eyes were finally on her. She took in a deep breath and continued, “Now, I know how much all of you were looking forward to another year with Professor Moody…” there was a thick sarcasm in her voice, despite her serious expression. “However, due to a suddenly fierce bout of paranoia, I’m afraid he will not be joining us this year.” There were various scattered reactions to this. Some laughed, others sighed with relief, while still more began murmuring to one another. However, the room went silent again as the Professor tapped her wand on her desk again. “Silence, please. I know that, up until now, this class has been something of a joke. And, with the exception of Professor Lupin, your teachers have been even more laughable. Professor Dumbledore has asked me here in the hopes of resolving this problem. My name is Professor Berry. And, unlike your teachers before me, I am going to be here for quite some time.”
She smiled at them now. It was an honest, yet somehow crafty smile. Harry felt relieved. For a moment he had thought Dumbledore had stuck him with another Professor Snape.
Professor Berry put her glasses back on and looked down at the open page of her book. “When I call your name, a simple “present” will do,” she said. “Unless, of course, you are not present.” The class laughed at her little joke and she started the role call. Harry was please when she called his name and, even after he’d responded, she simply went on. He was tired of having teachers call attention to him. This was a double lesson with Ravenclaw students and Harry caught himself wishing that Cho Chang wasn’t a year ahead of him. When she had finished, Berry looked up at the class. “Let us begin then.”
Almost every hand shot into the air. Professor Berry looked stunned for a moment. “Well, this class seems very eager. You, Mr. Thomas.”
“What is that?!” Dean pointed at the bird in the cage and voiced the question on everyone’s mind. Hermione’s hand rose immediately.
“Not yet, Miss Granger,” the Professor gently waved Hermione’s hand down. She indicated the cage with her other hand and took a few steps toward it. “This, my children, is a Harpy. I am taking care of her for a friend of mine who studies them. Now, Miss Granger, can you tell the class where harpies come from?”
“The harpies originally came from Greece, though it is believed that some may have migrated to other lands. The name Harpy may come from the Greek harpyiai, meaning “snatchers” or “ravishers”.” Hermione grinned, very pleased with herself.
“Very good. Five points for Gryffindor.” Professor Berry said with an approving smile. “But, we are not here only to discuss strange and dangerous beasts. Defense Against the Dark Arts this year will focus on different practices of dark magic from around the globe. Not all magic is done with wands,” Harry thought she glanced in his direction and he was suddenly reminded of the night in the graveyard. A chill ran through him. She talked to them a while longer about the harpy, telling them how it was once believed that their presence caused disease and famine and how they often snatched victims away to torment and devour them at their leisure. At the end of class, she asked them simply to read the first chapter of their text books, which was about Greece, to be discussed at the next class. Outside in the corridors, away from the vicious gaze of the harpy, the students became more relaxed. As they made their way to the next class, the talked about the new Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor. All of them agreed, it was an interesting first lesson.
On to Chapter Three...
...back to Chapter One.