7.
Professor Honest
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Avalon was grateful that the person who had saved her had also saved her glasses, because without them it would have made the mission of running her Defence Against Dark Arts class extremely difficult. Mind you she had actually made it to breakfast that morning and had even been there on time to sit with her friends. The downfall came when she realised she had left her entire bag in her Dormitory. It was a new record for her because she had never left everything she needed for the day behind before.
She opened the door to the Defence Against Dark Arts classroom and almost died of relief when she realised the Professor was late. She took a seat next to Dorcas as usual who seemed to finally exhale when she realised she had made it back in one piece.
Her friends and family had been hovering over her the moment she had gotten out of the Hospital Wing and they hadn't stopped since. It had taken her getting up on the table in the Gryffindor Common Room and announcing that she wasn't a two year old, in fact she was far from it as her sixteenth birthday was just around the corner. She had to do a lot of convincing to persuade Dorcas and Stormy that they didn't need to follow her everywhere, and it had took even more to convince her brother that she didn't need a personal body guard.
She was rather safe, so they had nothing to worry about. After she had confirmed that she had indeed been attacked by the Carrows, Dolohov and Tuft, they were sent home for the rest of the year. The Carrows however didn't get an invitation back for next year. She was quite content with the ruling even though the Carrow twins wands were not broken, because of their powerful ministry parents and she had yet to still find hers.
It was extremely hard trying to participate in classes without a wand. Her parents who had come to visit her in the Hospital Wing had promised to buy her a new one, but she had declined and said it would only be necessary if the last resource had been used to find hers. She had started Hogwarts with that wand and her heart was set on finishing with it. The three Slytherins and the one Ravenclaw that had ambushed her were no help claiming that they couldn't remember where they had put it.
"You know," said an annoyed Dorcas interrupting her thoughts, "this Professor is completely unpredictable, the first class she's late and the next one she's early and then late twice in a row, you never know when she's going to get here, you just always have to be-"
"On the look out," said someone finishing Dorcas' sentence. "Five points to Gryffindor Miss Meadows for allowing me to make an entrance."
"Oh! Thanks." Dorcas went bright red as the whole class stared at herd, and Professor Cain hung up her Jacket and walked to the front of the class.
"Can anyone tell me what we are learning today?" she asked, Sunny's hand shot up in the air. The Professor pointed at her giving her permission to answer.
"Unforgivable Curses," Said Sunny excitedly, once again if Avalon didn't know her so well she'd think she was one of those crazy Slytherins who grow up to become a Death Eater, but she knew that wasn't the case.
"Excellent, now if at any stage this lesson offends you," began the Professor pausing to stare around the room, "then get over it. This is war, and in war blood is shed and people die. It has been happening since the beginning of time and it doesn't matter what side your on. So get over it, because there is no use in crying. Tears accomplish nothing children. Absolutely nothing."
The whole room went so silent that you could hear the people walking up and down the halls outside. A drop of water could have fell to the floor and you could hear the exact moment it impacted. Professor Cain didn't seem to care as she wrote on the blackboard.
Stormy twirled her fingers around her ears to indicate that she thought the Professor was crazy. Avalon saw Dorcas roll her eyes and Sunny flick her sisters arm. Avalon chose to ignore them and write what was on the bored, it would have been a lot easier if Professor Cain's handwriting wasn't so bunched together.
Regulus Black was sat up the back of his Defence Against Dark Arts class when Avalon Potter burst into the classroom. It had been his first time seeing her since she had gotten out of the Hospital wing and she didn't even glance at him which made him sigh in relief, because it meant that Pomfrey had kept her promise. He watched her go and sit down next to one of her friends and he suddenly wished that they were in Potions. It wasn't that he wanted to talk to her or anything- it definitely wasn't that - he just wanted to know if it was worth all of the effort he put into saving her, or if she's permanently damaged and he should have just left her there.
"You know," said her friend, annoyed and probably louder than she intended to, "this Professor is completely unpredictable, the first class she's late and the next one she's early and then late twice in a row, you never know when she's going to get here, you just always have to be-"
"On the look out." Regulus turned to the door with the rest of the class and saw Cain unzipping her jacket. "Five points to Gryffindor Miss Meadows for allowing me to make an entrance."
"Oh! Thanks," said the girl obviously embarrassed.
"Can anyone tell me what we are learning today?" Asked Cain as she reached the front. Sunny Montague, that he knew of because they shared the same Common Room, quickly put up her hand.
"Unforgivable Curses," she said with excitement, It wasn't a secret that Montague was an odd ducking among the Slytherins. She wasn't a violent person, anyone could see that, and from what he could gather she wasn't overly obsessed with the dark arts either, unlike the other girls in her dorm. That was why it puzzled him to why she was suddenly so eager to learn about some of the darkest magic out there.
"Excellent, now if at any stage this lesson offends you." Cain paused and looked around the room, "then get over it. This is war, and in war blood is shed and people die. It has been happening since the beginning of time," she quickly looked around at some of the students, mostly Slytherins. "And it doesn't matter what side your on. So...get over it, because there is no use in crying. Tears accomplish nothing children. Absolutely nothing."
Her words had effected Regulus much more than they should have, mainly the part about dying and that it doesn't matter what side you're on. He had been dreading anytime he saw his family owl flying through the Great Hall, because each letter that was dropped in front of him could be the letter that would set his entire future in stone.
Cain started writing things on the board, he had heard about her before she decided to teach Defence Against Dark Arts - the great Jordan Cain, catching rouge wizards before she even graduated Hogwarts. His parents of course hated her from the get go, and he himself didn't see anything special about her besides a certain knack for scaring school children, as he could see as he looked around the room and saw everyone's faces.
Everyone's faces except for Potters, her face didn't seem to care, in fact she looked quite confused as to why the people around her were acting so strange. He wished he had the ability to do that. The ability to not care what happened to him. Unfortunately he did care, in fact some would say he cared to much.
Regulus pried his eyes off of her and looked back at the bored so he could take notes. It would have been a lot easier if Cain's handwriting wasn't so bunched together.
"So?" Said Sunny as the four of them sat at the dinner table that night. "What are we doing for Ava's party?"
"Party?" Said Avalon, "I wasn't aware I was having one."
Avalon hated her birthday ever since she was a little kid and it had nothing to do with anything other than the fact that she was born on the most annoying day ever - Halloween. That and the fact that because it was close to December her distant relatives usually combined her birthday and Christmas presents together whereas James always got two, one for each occasion.
"Of course you are silly," said Stormy, "we should do what the boys did for Sirius's sixteenth birthday party, but bigger and better."
"Ohhhh! Yes and we can make it invite only so those party pooping Slytherins can't get in like last time," said Sunny excited.
"Sunny you're a Slytherin," said Dorcas, Sunny rolled her eyes.
"I didn't mean all Slytherins I meant the ones at Sirius's party," said Sunny. "And then there was those second years that stole some of the spiked punch and got so drunk that they vomited on the fat lady. McGonagall gave the boys so many detentions they weren't free for at least two months. We can do it better and not get caught in the meantime.
"And how do you suggest we do that?" Asked Avalon, as much as she loved her friends she had no intention of having decades worth of detentions.
"Have you ever heard of the Room of Requirement? Because thanks to Spink I sure have."