The whole class was silent as everyone stared at Alastor Moody in shock. Even the Gryffindors were suitably impressed by the sight of the old, grizzled Auror with many scars marring his face.
Harry had to work very hard not to glower at Moody. That pillock had tried to kidnap Harry during the Yule Holidays on Dumbledore's order. Harry was sure that Dumbledore was behind all of this. Quirrell had suffered an 'accident' and very conveniently Dumbledore's most loyal lackey showed up to take over his class.
So, that's how Dumbledore was going to play it. Since the old man wasn't allowed to approach Harry anymore on pain of losing his actual job as Headmaster of Hogwarts, he instead sent a flunky to keep Harry in check. Though, to be fair, Moody was by no means a powerless underling. Moody and that blasted eye of his were able to cause plenty of problems for Harry at Hogwarts. If he ever looked through the bathroom wall and saw Harry disappear down to the Chamber of Secrets, who knew what might happen? Harry's dates with Tom were clearly at risk here.
Moody stood in the front of the class and looked from student to student. When his eyes landed on a Gryffindor, Moody tilted one corner of his mouth up in a crooked smile, but when his eyes found a Slytherin, he sneered.
"While I'm here I'm going to teach you about curses," Moody said in a grumbling voice as he took out his wand. "I'm going to need an assistant for a demonstration."
Every student in the room shrank back, even Harry, who had no desire to become a convenient target for Moody to use in the name of education.
Moody swept his gaze across the students, artificial eye spinning a few times before it landed on Draco, who was sitting in front of Harry. "You are Lucius Malfoy's spawn, aren't you?"
Draco kept his mouth firmly closed and nodded once, eyes narrowed in defiance but cheeks frightfully pale.
"Come here, boy." Moody's grizzled face morphed into a parody of geniality as he made a sweeping motion with his arm to invite Draco to join him in front of the classroom. "Today, you'll help me demonstrate the boil curse."
Hermione's hand shot up straight into the air. "But Professor," she said without waiting for Moody to notice her. "We were only just practicing Petrificus Totalus. Professor Quirrell said we wouldn't start on more advanced curses until our second year."
"Well, I'm not Professor Quirrell, now am I?" Moody barked, glaring at Hermione, who immediately hunched her shoulders and bowed her head. "Right now you're learning curses and young Malfoy here is going to help me."
Malfoy swallowed audibly and slunk towards the front of the room. He kept his head down but his grey eyes were blazing with hatred as he kept them fixed on the old Auror.
"There's no need to hold your wand," Moody said when Draco raised his wand in self-defence. "You're just here to demonstrate the curse." And before Draco could say or do anything, Moody shot off a silent curse. Boils erupted across every inch of Draco's pale skin, thick, red pustules that oozed puss.
Draco cried out in shock and pain, dropping his wand as he hugged his own body. He squeezed his eyes shut and gritted his teeth.
And Harry had enough. He didn't particularly like Draco and he certainly enjoyed putting Draco in his place when he deserved it, but this was just plain assault. Moody was an adult Auror who purposefully cursed an eleven-year-old child.
Hermione's hand shot up again before Harry could say anything. "Sir, you never said a spell out loud. How are we supposed to learn it if we don't know what curse you used?"
"Silence," Moody snarled, clearly annoyed at being constantly questioned.
"She's got a point," Harry called out, sitting up so he could glare at Moody. "Right now it looks like you're merely torturing a student you don't like, instead of teaching us about magical Defence."
Moody seemed ready to rip into Harry when Draco, still with his eyes squeezed shut, nodded vehemently in agreement. "Wait until my father hears about this. You'll be shipped off straight to Azkaban to receive the kiss."
"Your father?" Moody growled as he clunked closer to Draco, wand aimed at Draco's face. "Let me tell you about your father, boy! He may have bought his way out of a prison sentence, but we all know he is a Death Eater. And do you know what sort of mayhem Death Eaters got up to while they threw themselves at Voldemort's feet?"
"Expelliarmus!" Harry held his hand up and caught Moody's wand as it sailed through the air towards him.
Moody looked as though Harry had just ripped a baby apart with his bare hands right in front of him. "How dare you?"
"I dare because I won't stand for you torturing a student," Harry said as he rose from his seat. "This has nothing to do with teaching us Defence. This is a power trip from a has-been Auror who got sacked from his old job for attempted kidnapping of a child."
Moody released an animalistic roar and ran towards Harry as quickly as his prosthetic leg allowed him.
"Petrificus Totalus!" Surprisingly, this wasn't cast by Harry, but by a very pale-looking Neville, who held his wand in an unsteady hand. Moody dropped face-first to the floor, stiff as a board. Neville looked from his own wand to Harry with wide eyes. "Oh no, I just hexed a professor! I'm going to get expelled! Gran is going to kill me." Neville's bottom lip started trembling while his eyes became suspiciously bright.
"Nah, you defended your fellow students," Harry was quick to point out, so very proud of his young friend. It seemed that this time around Neville was coming into his own a bit faster than he had during Harry's first life.
Draco still stood whimpering, apparently unable to open his swollen eyes. "Millie," Harry said, realizing that someone needed to take charge of the situation. "Take Draco to the hospital wing." Millicent and Parkinson hurried towards Draco and gently grabbed his arms to lead him away.
"What should we do?" Daphne asked as she and Tracey got up to join Harry at his desk. Other students got up as well now that the immediate danger had passed.
Theo cleared his throat when Harry didn't answer immediately. "Students can hire a private tutor for any subject in case of a hostile relationship with a professor. It's in the rulebook."
"Huh." Harry gave Theo a bright smile. That was the answer to their current problems, obviously. "So that's what we'll do, as long as Moody remains as our Defence professor. Everybody should also write to their parents about what happened here today. And to the Board of Governors, to complain about Dumbledore's hiring practices."
"Looks like we got a free afternoon after all," Blaise said with a careless shrug and a highly amused grin. He slung his bag over his shoulder and made his way to the classroom door.
"We can't just leave," Hermione insisted, gesturing wildly at the still petrified Moody. "We can't just leave a Professor here like this."
"Sure we can," Harry said, barely glancing at her. He was pleased to see that Hermione was the only student protesting. Ron, Seamus and Dean were already on their way out of the classroom as well, as was everyone else. Harry placed Moody's wand on his desk, grabbed his own bag, waved Neville over to join them, and then left the classroom behind.
"I've got detention with Snape tonight," Harry said to his friends as they walked towards the library without even thinking about it. "I'll tell him exactly what happened and lodge a formal complaint."
Once they were all seated around their usual table in the library, Harry turned towards Theo. "How exactly does it work to hire a private tutor?" It had been months since Harry had read Hogwarts' book of rules and regulations and at the time he'd focused most of his attention on how to start student groups.
"A student has to make a case for the hostile relationship with the professor," Theo said while everyone looked at him curiously. "And the student has to provide the tutor at their own cost. Their Head of House has to sign off on it, but that's it, I'm sure."
"Mr and Mrs Malfoy will probably supply a tutor for Draco after Moody's attack," Daphne said with a small frown. "But I'm unsure if they'll allow others to join those private lessons."
"I'll hire someone for all of us," Harry said at once. He was not going to put any other Slytherin first-year in danger by having them 'taught' by Moody. Harry's first instinct was to ask Tom to come teach them. How fucking funny would it be to have Tom Riddle come to Hogwarts to teach right under Dumbledore's nose? Then Harry remembered that Tom actually had a full-time job, working for his and Barty's warding and curse-breaking business. They couldn't expect Tom to show up at Hogwarts several times a week to accommodate a bunch of eleven-year-olds.
But there was someone else who could teach Defence, at least on their level, and who didn't have a job at all. Sirius could probably do with a bit of distraction, after Remus dumped him and all.
Yeah, Sirius was actually a good choice, because he was a Gryffindor and Dumbledore couldn't really object to him as much as he might do if Harry asked Tom. Dumbledore had no actual proof, but the old man was completely convinced that Tom was Voldemort, new identity or not. Sirius was still, at least on paper, a loyal subject of Dumbledore.
Then Harry realized that he needed Snape's approval for his choice of tutor. Oh fuck. Snape would never agree with Sirius galivanting around Hogwarts, teaching a bunch of children.
Well, no matter. Harry had a few hours to come up with a reasonable story to help convince Snape to allow the man he probably hated most in the world to teach his youngest Slytherins. Of course, it also dawned on Harry that Sirius might not even want to teach a bunch of Slytherins. Harry's godfather could be quite the prejudiced prick himself, Harry was well aware of that.
It was probably a good idea to make sure Sirius was even interested in the job before Harry went to all the trouble of trying to convince Snape of the impossible. "Excuse me," Harry said as he got up from his chair. "Loo break."
Instead of heading to the bathroom, Harry ran down towards the dungeons. Slightly out of breath he entered his dormitory and flung himself onto his bed. He opened the little drawer in his nightstand and grabbed Sirius' communication mirror. Since he was alone in the room he didn't bother closing the curtains around his bed.
Sirius answered the mirror quite soon after Harry said his name. Harry was pleased to see that his godfather looked a bit better. The dark circles under his eyes weren't nearly as pronounced anymore.
"Hey, Harry. Everything all right?"
"Yeah, about that." Harry sighed and told Sirius everything that had happened just then during Defence.
"Moody really cursed Draco Malfoy in front of the whole class?" Sirius asked with a dubious frown. "I mean, everyone knows the bloke hates Death Eaters, but Draco is only a child, right?"
Harry was very glad to hear that Sirius at least understood that such a thing was wrong on all levels. "Yeah, it was ridiculous. Any other teacher would probably be sacked for such behaviour, but Dumbledore wants Moody here, so I doubt we'll be rid of him anytime soon." As he was saying that, something else dawned on Harry.
As long as Dumbledore had power at Hogwarts, he would find ways to interfere with Harry's life. He'd do it through a whole array of lackeys and flunkies if he had to, but he'd never, ever leave Harry alone. And in the process of his obsession over gaining control of Harry, Dumbledore was actually causing real harm to Harry's fellow students.
Because even Draco Malfoy as an eleven-year-old child didn't deserve to be cursed by a Professor just for who is father was.
"The Board might be able to interfere on the students' behalf," Sirius suggested, obviously trying to sound optimistic. "But that will take time."
"There's a solution to all of this," Harry said while giving Sirius an expectant look. "Students are allowed to hire a tutor for a subject if they have a hostile relationship with the professor."
"Oh, there's your answer then." Sirius gave Harry a wide grin. "Do you need help paying for a tutor?"
"No, I want you to be our tutor." Harry held his breath as he watched Sirius' face do a few funny things.
"You mean, you want me to come to Hogwarts to teach you Defence?" Sirius asked slowly, carefully, as though he was truly uncertain about what Harry really wanted of him.
"Well, not me personally, because I already know all this stuff. But my class, they need a tutor." Harry swallowed and glanced down, unsure how to approach the Slytherin the room. He decided for the direct approach in the end. "You would be teaching mostly Slytherins, though."
Sirius clearly seemed a bit torn about that particular prospect, as Harry suspected he would be. Then he perked up all of a sudden. "I suppose most of these kids could do with a teacher who went his own way. It might do those little snakes some good to see a Black who went against all the horrible traditions of his family."
"Sure," Harry agreed, though he remained a bit wary of Sirius' sudden change of mood. Then again, Sirius actually made a good point, that kids like Draco and Parkinson might do well with a different kind of pureblood influence in their life for a change. "So you'll do it?"
Sirius gave a careless shrug, but his eyes gleamed with pleasure at being asked to help his godson out. "Yeah, I've got nothing better to do anyway. Might as well make myself useful."
"Thanks," Harry said with a grateful smile. Then he remembered the next step in the process. "Now I only have to convince Snape to agree with all of this."
"Snivellus?" Sirius' eyes widened in shock, mouth dropping open. "I have to work with Snivellus?"
"No," Harry snapped, genuinely annoyed that Sirius refused to drop that ridiculously childish nickname. "Stop calling him that! Snape has to sign off on this, that's it. You won't have to see him."
"Oh, good luck with that," Sirius said as he threw his head back and laughed. "You'd probably have an easier time convincing Dumbledore to leave you alone once and for all, than to convince Snape to let me teach his precious little snakes."
Sighing, Harry shook his head. Sirius had just reminded him of a rather important realization Harry had that day. "There's something else I want to discuss with you," Harry whispered, unable to meet Sirius' eyes in the mirror.
Sirius stopped laughing at once when he noticed Harry's downcast expression. "What's the matter?"
"At first, doing my time at Hogwarts over was great," Harry said, staring off into the distance, eyes unfocused. "I really enjoyed getting to just be a kid for a while."
"But..." Sirius said gently when Harry remained quiet and still wouldn't meet his eyes.
"I don't think I can do this for much longer," Harry whispered as though confessing to a terrible crime. Some part of Harry insisted that he should do his entire life over. He'd been given this chance, after all, so he should relive every part of his life.
"I'm not surprised," Sirius said quietly with an almost knowing look. "Ever since you told me the truth about your past, I've been thinking about what I would do if I were in your shoes. And I'm sure I couldn't pretend to be a child again, not for anything. Maybe if I'd been returned while being a teenager, sixteen or seventeen, I could put up with it for a while. But eleven? Nah, I'd go mad."
Inexplicably, Harry felt like crying as he listened to his godfather's confession. "Yeah," Harry breathed around an annoying lump in his throat. He swallowed a few times while he plucked at the corner of his pillow on which he balanced the mirror. "The first couple of months, it almost felt like a holiday, being a child again. But now I just miss being an adult more and more."
Sirius nodded, his grey eyes full of sympathy.
"Would you apply for custody of me?" Harry asked, voice small and trembling with uncertainty.
"Of course," Sirius said at once, eyes widening as he gave Harry a concerned look. "Why now, though?"
"Because if you got custody of me, you could officially pull me out of Hogwarts," Harry said, finally voicing the ideas that had been floating around his mind for a while now, even if he had barely acknowledged them before. "On paper, you could tutor me privately. I could take my OWLs and NEWTs in a few years at the ICW, since they allow anyone of any age to take them."
"I'll write Sybil Post at once to get the procedures for getting custody of you started," Sirius said, his smile warm as he shifted in his seat and readjusted the mirror in his hand. "I should be able to get it, since I finished my healing regime and I've been declared fully recovered by St Mungo's."
"That's great." Harry was overcome with emotions for some reason. You'd think that being eighteen was old enough to not need a caring adult to look after you, but apparently not. This was all Harry had ever wanted in his first life, and now he was finally getting it. "Thank you, Sirius."
"You're welcome, Harry." Sirius seemed full of energy again, now that he had some solid plans for his own future, and it dawned on Harry that perhaps Sirius needed this as much as Harry did. "I'm going to write that letter now. Talk to you soon."
"Bye." Harry clicked the mirror shut and wiped his hand over his eyes a few times. Once he lived with Sirius he could still meet up with Tom and use aging potions while he did so. And the rest of the time he could study whatever he wanted, work with the Flamels on a few new projects perhaps, and relax as much as he needed.
And most importantly, Dumbledore couldn't harass him every step of the way.
Harry used the bathroom and splashed some water in his face before he returned to the library.
"You were gone a long time," Neville said as Harry sat down opposite him. "We were starting to get worried."
"Neville was convinced Dumbledore had expelled you on the way to the loo," Blaise said, offering Harry a bright smile. "Glad to see you're still around."
"I found us a tutor for Defence," Harry said, looking between all of his friends. "My godfather, Sirius Black."
Theo blinked a few times as he took in that news, while Neville looked like he wasn't sure what to feel about that.
"He's bound to know a lot of really good curses," Blaise said with a curious tilt of his head. "He's a Black, after all."
"Is he even capable of teaching?" Daphne said, and when everyone looked at her in confusion, she added, "No offence, Harry, but the man did spent about a decade living with dementors."
"None taken," Harry said at once, understanding all too well that this might be a very real concern for some. Dementor-induced mental decline was no joke. "He's followed a strict healing regime and St Mungo's has declared him recovered."
"I for one wouldn't mind being taught by a Black," Tracey said with a considering look. "They're known for their duelling skills, usually."
While his friends debated the pros and cons of having Sirius Black as a Defence tutor for a while longer, Harry focused once again on the problem of convincing Snape to agree to this whole plan. Perhaps Harry should simply try to blackmail him? Or bribe him? But with what?
By the time their Hufflepuff friends joined them in the library Harry still wasn't any closer to a solution, but he had no more time to consider the problem.
"Neville cursed a professor!" Tracey said with a gleam of triumph in her eyes.
"What?" Susan looked at Neville in disbelief while Hannah dropped her quill case, spilling quills all over the floor.
"Moody assaulted Draco so he had it coming," Blaise said, leaning back in his seat and looking very much like he couldn't wait to see everyone's reactions to that particular story.
Justin seemed entirely lost for words as he gaped at Neville in astonishment. Ernie frowned and chewed on a finger as he stared at Neville as though he was worried the boy might disappear in front of his eyes.
And Harry was suddenly filled with a real sense of loss. He loved these kids. He really did. They were his friends, young as they were. And Harry was going to miss them all terribly once he left Hogwarts, probably at the end of the year. At once Harry was more determined than ever to figure out how to make communication mirrors that could be used for different recipients at once. That way Harry could easily stay in touch with his friends. He might even be able to still help teach the Culture Club, if he simply created a larger communication mirror they could hang up on the wall.
Yeah, Harry might be leaving his friends, but obviously not all was lost.
And in another year, his friends would be allowed to visit Hogsmeade and Harry could meet up with them there. He might even be able to rent a private room at the Three Broomsticks or the Hogs Head and start a small version of the DA to teach his friends spells like the Patronus Charm. And Harry knew ways to sneak out of the castle he could share with his friends, so they might be able to meet on other days as well.
The more Harry thought about it, the more he was convinced that he wouldn't have to lose his friends after all.
He still didn't look forward to actually tell them of his decision, but then again, Sirius didn't have custody of him just yet. It was probably best to wait to say anything to anyone until Sirius was his official guardian, lest someone try to stop that from ever happening. Dumbledore was far too eager to stick his nose into Harry's private business, after all.
Except, of course, for Tom. Harry couldn't wait to tell his soulmate of his new plans later that evening.
"Moody really just cursed Malfoy like that?" Susan asked in disbelief while Theo shared the whole story with them, sordid details and all. Susan probably knew Moody quite well, Harry imagined, since her aunt was Moody's boss. Well, until Moody got sacked a few months ago.
"The man was entirely unhinged," Daphne said with a disapproving little sniff.
Tracey shuddered. "And I'm sure that he'd have continued cursing students if Harry and Neville hadn't stopped him.
"What is Dumbledore even thinking, hiring someone like that," Ernie mused with a disapproving frown and tightly pursed lips.
"I really hope you won't get into trouble," Hannah whispered while giving Harry and Neville worried looks. "Or end up expelled."
"Don't worry," Harry said quickly, when Neville paled so drastically he looked like he might actually faint. "The Board of Governors would never stand for a student getting expelled for defending other students, even against a member of staff."
Neville gave a tiny nod but remained deathly pale for a while longer. None of them got much homework done that afternoon as they kept recounting the whole mess and speculating about the motivations from everyone involved.
During dinner, Harry and his friends kept a close eye on the head table, but Moody never showed up. Then again, Moody was exactly the kind of paranoid bastard who'd refuse to eat in public, so that might be the reason he wasn't there. Dumbledore wasn't there, either, but Snape was and he gave Harry many intense looks all throughout the meal. Whether that was because Harry had detention with him, or because Snape had heard about the incident during Defence, Harry wasn't sure.
"Potter, with me," Snape said as he stalked up to the Slytherin table once Harry was done with his fish pie. Snape didn't say a word all the way down to the dungeons. It wasn't until they stood in Snape's office with the door firmly closed and warded, that Snape crossed his arms and gave Harry a stern look. "Tell me what happened during Defence today, Potter. I've already heard Draco's version of events, but I want to hear your version, too."
Translation: Draco was a child who might embellish a professor's actions. Snape trusted Harry to give him a more levelled recounting of events.
So Harry inhaled a deep breath and told Snape what happened without getting lost in any details. "Moody was unhinged right from the start. He immediately singled Draco out, called him upfront and cursed him without explaining anything." Harry wrinkled his nose in clear distaste. "He wasn't teaching, Sir. He was punishing Draco for his father's actions. And once it became clear Moody wasn't about to stop, I disarmed him. When Moody then tried to physically attack me, Neville Longbottom petrified him."
Snape didn't say anything, but merely kept staring at Harry with unreadable, black eyes.
"I'd like to lodge a formal complaint against Mr Moody," Harry said, tilting his chin up a bit to appear more confident than he felt. How the fuck was he going to convince Snape to let Sirius teach? Harry had no clue and he was running out of time to come up with a workable plan. "And I'd like to remove myself from the Defence class and apply for a private tutor on the grounds that Mr Moody tried to kidnap me in December. That must count as a hostile relationship."
"It certainly does," Snape finally said, sounding neither appalled nor impressed with Harry's response. "I suspect Draco will make a similar request after he's spoken with his parents. Perhaps you can hire a tutor together."
"I already have a tutor in mind," Harry said, his voice hitching even though he tried very hard to sound reasonable and confident.
Snape narrowed his eyes as though he could see right through Harry and his idiotic plans. "Who, Potter? If you expect me to agree to let the Dark Lord teach here, you need to think again."
"No, not Tom." Harry swallowed and wanted very much to stare at his own shoes. But he kept his chin up and his gaze fixed on Snape's unimpressed face. "I've asked Sirius to teach us and he's agreed."
It was rather impressive how quickly Snape's face flushed a blotchy red. "Black?" Snape yelled, shoulders impossibly tight while his hands started trembling. "You want me to agree to let Sirius Black inside this castle to teach impressionable young minds? Have you gone insane, Potter?"
Yeah, that reaction was even worse than Harry had expected and he was at a loss of how to respond to that. "Sirius would be a good choice," Harry whispered, because he had to say something.
Snape's entire face flushed impossibly further until it was almost magenta. "I will never agree to let Black teach a single child in this castle. Now get out!"
Harry blinked. "I had a detention, didn't I?"
"GET OUT!" Snape bellowed, looking very close to pulling his wand out and cursing Harry to within an inch of his life.
Harry left in a hurry, not looking back. Apparently detention was cancelled.
As Harry trotted through the dark corridors towards the Slytherin dungeons, he was forced to admit he had bollocksed that all up. Clearly the animosity between Snape and Sirius was far greater than Harry could possibly ever imagine. Still, Sirius was the best choice for a tutor. He was smart, available and willing to do the job. Plus Sirius teaching students for a few weeks or months would probably look really good on his custody application for Harry.
How the hell was Harry going to fix this situation? It was clear Snape had no desire to agree with Harry's request and Harry didn't think he had what it took to convince Snape to change his mind either. Of course, Harry knew someone who did have that kind of influence over Snape, whether Snape liked it or not.
Theo and Blaise were hanging out in the common room, but Harry ran past them towards their dormitory. "Be right back, just need to do something!"
"That was a remarkably short detention," Blaise said with a chuckle before Harry disappeared in the hallway that lead to the dormitories.
Harry settled on his bed and this time he did close and ward his curtains before opening his mirror and calling for his soulmate.
"Tom!" Harry sagged in relief when Tom answered the mirror. "I need your help."
"What happened?" Tom asked at once, eyes narrowing with suspicion.
Harry inhaled a deep breath and blurted, "I need you to get your Dark Lord on and convince Snape to let Sirius teach here at Hogwarts."