Rudolphus growled angrily and was about to raise his wand when he was interrupted by the arrival of Professor Mortlake.
"Sit down LeStrange" he demanded. "You can kill Potter after class but you won't do it on my time" he added firmly. "For Merlin sake boy, you were a sixth year when I was here last, you should focus on actually completing school, not picking fights" he finished exasperatedly.
Rudolphus took his seat but continued to glare at Harry who gave him a subtle wink causing the boy to turn a shade of purple that Vernon Dursley would be envious of.
Mortlake gave the boy a final shake of his head before he took his place at the front of the class and Harry got his first real look at the man. He was a tall and wiry man with very sharp icy blue eyes. His hair was dark grey and brushed backwards on his head and he was around his late forties to early fifties at most.
"Listen up" he commanded loudly in a no nonsense tone. "This year will be very busy and if you can't keep up then you are gone, no excuses" he announced seriously.
He began pacing back and forth at the front of class before he spoke again.
"Dumbledore has insisted that we go into more detail regarding dark creatures in class, though you should have already done this" he pointed out irritably. "So that means that we will be doing things a little differently and the work we would usually cover up until Christmas will be completed in your own time" he informed them. There was a collective groan at that announcement and the man narrowed his eyes at the class.
"Now usually I would tell you to bloody well get on with it how you please but Dumbledore has had another genius idea" he continued sarcastically. "He has decided that we should be promoting inter house cooperation and that we as teachers, should at least give the chance for that to happen" he sighed.
A lot of the students shared disbelieving looks at this. They all knew that it was not a good idea and Harry immediately knew that Dumbledore had done this with him in mind.
"I think it's a stupid idea" Mortlake stated simply. "But that is not my call and there is also no guarantee that will happen with the way I have come up with" he explained. "We will get to that at the end of the class" he finished, clearly bothered by the subject. "First, we are going to go over the basics of what you should already about dark creatures" he announced. "You, Potter" he called.
"What, me?" James questioned.
"Not you, I already know you are an idiot" Mortlake growled. "The new one" he confirmed. "Apparently you are rather gifted in the subject, the only student to get an O+ OWL in three decades" he revealed casually. "Let us see what a private education can achieve" he decided sceptically.
Harry sighed inwardly knowing he was about to be quizzed by the man and waited for him to continue.
"What would you do if you encountered a vampire?" Mortlake questioned.
"Well vampire's now live in isolation since the hunting laws were passed in the early 1800's" Harry began. "If you were to encounter one in the modern day then they would likely be hunting illegally" he explained. "How you deal with that would depend on how many there are" he shrugged.
"Go on" Mortlake instructed.
"Well they are very quick so it is near impossible to hit them with a single shot spell so if there is one a flame whip would be enough to deter it, they do not like fire" he pointed out.
"And" the professor encouraged with a raised eyebrow.
"If there are more than one you need a very powerful and wide spread fire spell" he elaborated. "But the regenerative ability of them mean that they can walk through most flames and be healed within moments" he added knowingly.
"So what fire would you use to defeat a group of them?" Mortlake asked through narrowed eyes.
"Fiendfyre" Harry replied simply. Most members of the class looked at him critically, some horrified that he would even suggest using the cursed fire.
Mortlake shook is head.
"Very, very few wizards can control Fiendfyre" he pointed out. "That would be both foolish and reckless if you are not capable".
Harry shrugged.
"What about Dementors?" Mortlake inquired.
"Well if you can't produce a good enough Patronus Charm then you should get out of there as quickly as possible, there is no other defense" Harry responded seriously.
"And what are the effects of the creatures?" Mortlake prompted.
"The first thing you notice is the cold, no matter how warm it is" Harry began again. "Then you will feel as though you will never be happy again as they begin to suck away every positive emotion you have and then the worst memories you have ever experienced will play over and over again in your mind" he concluded darkly.
"Doesn't matter if you know Occlumency" Snape cut in with a smirk.
Harry shook his head.
"You can be the best occlumens in the world, it makes no difference" Harry replied. "If you spend enough time in their presence, you will lose your mind and you will probably beg for them to kiss you, they are the foulest creatures in existence" he finished with a swallow.
The entire class were enraptured by the description that Harry had given of the beasts, even Mortlake was paying rapt attention and could not fault anything he said.
The man shook his head and looked calculatingly at him once more. "What about Inferi?" he asked with a triumphant grin.
"What's an Inferi?" Lily asked curiously.
Harry sighed and thought back on what he had read about them when he came across the term in a newspaper article that Croaker had given him.
"Inferi are created by a form of Necromancy dating back to the early Ancient Egyptians, I believe it was Farooq that used them first in battle" he mused aloud.
He shook his head before continuing.
"They are basically animated corpses that are largely impervious to magic and will only be found in large groups, if the creator is smart" he surmised. "They can only really be defeated by fire or small groups can be destroyed if you have a powerful enough blasting curse to dismember them" he concluded thoughtfully.
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