Agents of Discord

by KittyrinnAiko

Chapter 29: New History teacher

“My, my, my, what have we here?” Filch sneered as he rounded on Idda and Aerie about halfway back to the dorm. Naturally, it was now past curfew.

“I’m a prefect, and she was needed…”

Aerie had grabbed Mr’s Norris and was giving her a cuddle.

“Seriously Aerie, seriously?”

“Professor McGonagall is lucky I didn’t grab her in class,” Aerie admitted. “And besides, I like this little love bug.” Aerie switched to a whisper only for the cat, “We need to keep a better eye on Quirrel, he’s a threat to order.” And then Aerie put her down.

“As I was about to say, Professor Dumbledore needed to see Aerie about what happened out at the quidditch game.”

“Might not hurt to tell him,” Aerie offered.

“I heard. I imagine they’ll be sending him to Azkaban, and good riddance.”

“Maybe not,” Aerie offered.

“Aerie, that’s up to Professor Dumbledore to decide whether or not he’s to be told. Quite frankly I wish I didn’t know.”

“Now, Mr Filch, if you’ll excuse us, all you are doing is keeping us out longer than we need to be.” Idda then walked around him with Aerie following.

“Honestly I don’t know how you can be so calm?” Idda commented as they went.

“You know who murders my family and then drops off the face of the earth when he fails to kill me. It doesn’t take a genius to realize that someone might try to finish the job. Just the knowledge tends to make a person numb to the idea. Especially after multiple attempts that failed.”

“She said something to you?” Filch said softly shortly after the two were well out of earshot. He looked to his cat to see a familiar woman of dark complexion and sea-foam-blue colored hair.

“She said that Quirrel is a threat to order… she knows. She knows. She knows I’m a ling.” There was a hush to Mrs Norris’s voice along with the sort of tone that suggests a person isn’t quite sure what to do next.

Quirrel was back in time for classes the next day, and life in the school went on as though nothing truly bad had happened the day before. No one really wanted to think about it even if the papers were bound and determined not to let anyone forget. Even so, with flint gone, it was as though a storm had passed and everyone’s heart was a little lighter including the Slytherins.

Idda had taken a few days to relax. Fortunately, she didn’t have any idea who the prime suspect was and with no further incidents, she had perhaps deluded herself into thinking that the perpetrator who’d been trying to finish You Know Who’s dirty work must have given up and moved on.

There was one big change in the History of magic class. They now had an actual teacher. A middle-aged woman named Charity Burbage. She had brownish blond hair and was perhaps a little heavy in the shoulders. The first thing she did was to do a review of everything that the ministry said they should have covered up to that point. And something else she did was to add in important events from the muggle world.

Aerie found the new history class a delight. She’d wanted to include events from the non-magical world but had lacked the resources to do it. Hermione had tried a couple of times, but even she had to admit to just guessing.

“Why do we even need to know about muggles?” Ron had to ask at one point. Heaven forbid Ron should willingly learn anything.

“Fourteenth of July, seventeen-eighty-nine. The Storming of the Bastille,” Mrs Burbage stated. “That and you sound a little like a Slytherin with a question like that.”

“What? Hey?!” Ron protested.

“The Storming of the Bastille by peasants in Paris, France. It was a prison. The fall of the Bastille is named as the flash point of the French revolution.”

“Professor Burbage, I’m a little confused too,” Hermione stated. “What does the French revolution have to do with wizards?”

“The royals of France were all wizard families. In fact, I’m to understand that there are two individuals in this class who are descended from one of the ruling families.

“What? Who?” Lavender Brown asked with a touch of excitement.

“Evans and Summers are descended from Borealis,” Aerie offered.

“Aurora, but there isn’t an Evans in the class?” Hermione asked.

“My mom,” Aerie offered. “I’m an Evans.”

“The wizards of France had all but ignored the welfare of the common people,” Professor Burbage informed them. “All the magic in the world will not save you from thousands of enraged muggles. I’ll have to admit that I didn’t know about the Akkadian connection.”

“The title of ‘Sun King’ dates back to the original Akkadian Empire I’d imagine,” Aurora offered.

“Yes, that just might be,” Professor Burbage mused. “Anyway, even with all the protections we use to hide our community from the non-magical world, there are no guarantees and with their advances in technology, it’s only a matter of time until nothing can hide us. That’s the reason why the Akkadian archipelago in the Caribbean decided to go public. It was the only way to secure their sovereignty.”

“Can you do us a favor,” Aurora asked as she looked about at the class. “Professor, everyone, don’t be telling people we are princesses. It could significantly raise the level of threat to the two of us.”

“Yes, that would be appreciated,” Aerie added. “I’ve already had one attempt on my life. Two if we count when I was a babe.”

“You're serious?” Ron asked.

“Ron, Flint,” Lavender reminded him.

“He did try to kill me,” Aerie added. “And there is a possibility someone else was pulling the strings.”

“Ya, but that was because you survived You Know Who,” Ron protested.

“Who just might redouble his efforts,” Lavender pointed out.

“Oh, right,” Ron finally admitted. He still didn’t quite get it, but then again if the girls were genuinely worried about it then maybe there was something to it.

“And besides, it’s all kind of meaningless, isn’t it?” Aerie offered. “It’s not like I’m going to get invited to tea by the Queen any time soon.”

“Queen?” Ron asked.

“Of England,” Hermione suggested to Ron.

“There’s a queen?”

“Looks like I’ve got my work cut out for me,” Professor Burbage stated. “Alright, how many of you knew that we have a queen of England? And yes, she’s just as much the queen of Wizarding Britain as she is Queen of the nonmagical.” What she was presented with was an alarmingly small number of hands raised.

The first-year Gryffindor students soon found themselves with a heavy amount of homework assigned, which included a good deal of reading including looking things up in the School’s primary library. The library had its silver lining in that it often afforded Aerie time with Justin. After all, he was supposed to be her adopted brother. Little did she know that her meeting up with Justin on a regular basis was generating a rather interesting rumor. When people learned that she had been adopted into his family it only fueled the fire due to a common practice among Wizards.

Time seemed to just fly by and soon it was December. The first snow fell in mid-December and Aerie ran out to play in the snow the first chance she got. As for Fred and George, they found themselves being severely punished for enchanting snowballs to bounce off Quirrel’s turban. Inside the great structure, every available fireplace had a fire in it.

Draco had somehow found out that the Weasleys would be staying and just couldn't resist teasing Ron who was more than eager to jump at the bait every time. Draco would look for just about anything to poke fun at. Well, anything except what had happened at the Quidditch game. No one wanted to be reminded of Flint’s transgression, and no one wanted to think that Flint might not have been in control of himself at the time.

Aerie found herself having to remind herself that Draco would mature in time. She wasn’t too sure about the Weasley boys.

And then it happened, “Oh, hello there, Fluttershy was it?” Aerie said to the tree in the corridor leading down to the potions class which was in the dungeons. Aurora busts up laughing.

“Who’s Fluttershy?” Hagrid asked from behind the tree.

“Why, the tree obviously,” Aerie offered followed by more laughter from Aurora.

Hi, Hagrid, want any help?” Ron asked as the group began to bunch up.

*“Would you mind moving out of the way?” Draco ordered more than asked before Hagrid could reply. “Say, Weasley, not hoping to be a gamekeeper yourself when you leave Hogwarts is it?” Draco was in full taunt as he drawled his words. “Hagrid’s hut must seem like a palace compared to what your family lives in. A pig cot wasn’t it? I’d imagine that could explain the smell that lingers around you.”

“Draco?” Aerie said in protest and dismay as Ron dived at him.

“Weasley!” shouted Snape coming up the stairs.

Ron let go of Malfoy and took a step back.

“He was provoked, Professor Snape,” Hagrid informed Snape.

“Be it as it may, fighting is against the rules,” Snape replied in his typical silky tone. “Five points from Gryffindor.”

“He started it,” Ron protested.

“And Miss Potter was deducted ten points for defending herself. Be grateful I’m only taking five.” Snape looked at the Tree.

“Hagrid, why do you have a tree down here? And while classes are in session no less. You are impeding egress.”

“I don’t know about any egrets, I thought you might want a tree in the potions class.”

“The last thing I want in that classroom is an evergreen. One needle somehow finds its way into a potion... there is no telling what can happen.”

“So you don’t want a tree?”

“No, I do not want a tree in the potions class. Certainly not an evergreen. A white tree from the Silver Wood for the dorm might be nice if they’ll let you have one. Now, if you could possibly move out of the way?” It was entirely possible Snape knew how the residents of the Silver wood felt about Hagrid.

“Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle pushed ruffly past the tree getting needles all over the place. Hagrid wasn’t exactly on good terms with the inhabitants owing to his habit of obtaining illegal creatures and then setting them loose in the forest.

“What’s gotten into Draco?” Aerie asked of no one as Snape made his way past the tree. “That was kind of rude even for him.”

“I hate them all,” Ron bemoaned.

“Give it a rest, Ron,” Lavender chastised.

“Come on, cheer up, it’s almost Christmas,” Hagrid offered as he began to back out of the hallway. Aerie, Aurora, Lavender, Ron, Neville, and Hermione followed Hagrid. It took a bit of doing for Hagrid to backtrack the tree but they soon found themselves in the great hall where last-minute additions were being added to the decor. The hall was also beginning to look like half the trees in the forest had been brought in.

“Ah, Hagrid,” Flitwick called. “Let’s make that the last tree shall we? Just put it over there, in the far corner.”

“So how many days do you have left before the holidays?” Hagrid asked.

“Just the one,” Aerie offered.

“Which reminds me, we have a half hour before lunch,” Hermione announced. “We need to get to the library.”

“We?” Aerie asked.

“Ron, Neville, and I,” Hermione corrected.

“Right before the holidays? Yer a bit keen, aren’t yeh?”

“Oh, we aren’t working,” Ron explained. “We are trying to find out who Nicolas Flamel is.”

“Now hang on,” Hagrid protested. “I’ve told yeh – drop it. It’s nothin’ to you what fluffy is guardin’.”

“We just want to know who he is, that’s all.”

“He was a French scribe and manuscript-seller in the 17^th century,” Aerie offered.

“He was?” Hermione asked. “No, it can’t be the same person. Can it? How do you even know about him.”

“Believe it or not, it’s in a book I picked up at Harrods, in London.”

“Oh, well then it can’t possibly be the same person. How can you even afford to shop there?”

“I converted some of my gold to cash. Takes a bit of doing if you want to get a decent amount of money because wizards are still on the gold standard and wizard money can’t be sold or traded to muggles. Not legally anyway. See, first I had to buy commodities from Wizard farmers. The kind that matches the sort of thing a muggle farmer would make, and then I sell it to muggles. The irony is that if a wizard farmer were to sell directly to muggles and then convert the British pound notes to wizard gold they’d be rolling in gold in no time because the Goblins buy the muggle money on the assumption it’s actually worth what wizards value silver at.”

“The fact that you have enough gold to do that is nothing short of disgusting. Come on Ron, Neville,” Hermione stated and stormed off with the two boys in tow.

“Don’t worry Hagrid, now that I’ve told her Flamel was in a muggle book she’s going to discount what I just told her.”

“Selling to muggle farmers and then exchanging the money for wizard money…” Hagrid said softly.

“Didn’t you already make plenty off the unicorn carcass you took from the forest?” Aerie asked.

“How’d you find out about that?”

“You just told me,” Aerie offered her face expressionless.

“I am the Hogwarts groundskeeper.” Hagrid looked nervous.

“Yes, that you are,” Aerie replied and walked off.

“Remind me not to die in my pony form,” Aurora said and then followed after Aerie. Lavender followed a moment later.

Comments

[badninja]

Crashing the Wizard monetary system. More stories should do that.

[harts fire]

it is looking more like Ron needs a good clubbing in the back of his head if only to knock some stones loos.
and Hagrid well he really needs to be on a vary short leash.

grate chapter for a amazing chapter.

[KittyrinnAiko]

11427541
I've always seen Ron as being brilliant, but at the same time drug down by the idea that he'll never be as good as his brothers, along with family and cultural attitudes. Sure his family is on the side of the "light" but muggles are nothing more than his father's strange obsession. In the end, he is no different than Draco save he's on the other side of the coin. We get to see a little of just how petty Ron can be in Goblet of Fire when he has to take someone to the dance. Even Draco was more mature by that time even if he was still headed in the wrong direction.

[harts fire]

11427548
vary true. and his family pride wont let him see the truth.

[PonyofEntropy]

Nice update!

[Da Fennec]

love the portrayal of Snape in this and how he explains why he absolutely doesn't a Christmas team in the potions class.. Though I'd think any foreign material even a silverwood tee could be an issue

[KittyrinnAiko]

11427968
Think about what would happen to Hagrid if he tried to cut even so much as a sprig from one of those sacred trees. I literally had Snape tell him to F off and die, just not in those words.

[Da Fennec]

11428053 I wasn't even thinking about that after all many trees produce far more seeds and saplings than will survive for various reasons. I just liked how you had Snape explain why he didn't want a tree rather than be a jerk not saying a word

[KittyrinnAiko]

11428252
Hagrid keeps letting dangerous beasts loose in the forest.

Anyway... I wanted there to be a reason for Hagrid to be in that hall with a Christmas tree. Instead of just the plot bunny created by JKR. That entire setup was to demonstrate what an absolute prat Draco was. Which is kind of short sited on her part if she planned to redeem him towards the end of the book. Hagrid having a Christmas tree in that hall made absolutely no sense because we were never given any reason for it. I also didn't want to portray Snape as being absolutely insufferable either. After all... where was that tree going? The dorms? Different access. That left the potions lab. In the books, we don't really get to see just how deep a character Snape is until it's nearly over. But then again, maybe in the books, we are just seeing him through the Griffindor lens up until that lens finally gets removed.

Edit: Thinking about Hagrid. To be honest, even though I'm portraying him true to character in canon, I may well be presenting him in my stories a bit more three-dimensional than he was in the books. The Tree in the hallway bit is a prime example. It never occurred to JKR to give him a reason to be there, he just is.