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 Posted: Tue Aug 25, 2009 9:31 pm
((Song to set the mood!))
It wasn’t easy, teaching. It was something that wore down even a great wizard within a mere matter of hours, rendering him exhausted and weak. He thought the headmaster had warned him about appearing too ‘laid back’, especially as a new teacher, but Howl had never thought to take the advice seriously. Even his wife Sophie had warned him about accepting the job. But by educating students in the ways of magic at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardy, the great Howell Jenkins had hoped he could learn how to go about educating his son, Morgan. As a baby, the infant was still too much for him to take and not old enough to yet control magic. Thus he left the boy to Sophie, who seemed to be the only one who could calm their child down. In the meantime, Howl had decided he would practice his patience with older children. It wasn’t going well.
Thus, by the time the third year classes of Slytherin and Gryffindor had come in, Professor Howl was too weary to even stand up to greet them. The most he could manage was a tired smile and a bit of a wave from his desk at the head of the room, which was a mistake. To the trouble-makers looking for an opportunity, it was practically like waving a red flag in their faces.
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Posted: Tue Aug 25, 2009 9:33 pm
Most of the students decided to sit in the back of the class, but a few of the bolder ones took seats in the front. A red-haired boy took one look at Howl and snickered, leaning over to whisper in the ear of a rather plump dark-haired girl on his right, whose response was to grin and blush. Not finding the incident disruptive enough to delay the start of class, the newest teacher at Hogwarts cleared his throat.
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Posted: Tue Aug 25, 2009 9:35 pm
“Good morning, Third Years. My name is Professor Howl. As you all must know by now, I am the new teacher appointed by your headmaster for this class. This year I will be your instructor on the subject of Defense Against the Dark Arts.” He hesitated. The red-haired boy was laughing now, making no attempts to muffle his sounds; not even when he noticed Howl’s blue eyes on him. The student merely allowed his laughter to die down to a chuckle, smirking at his instructor with a challenge to impose authority.
Howl said nothing for a time, his lips parted slightly as he watched the Gryffindor student. My hair used to be that color once… the professor thought absently. I remember…that unfortunate incident with Sophie when she tried to clean my bathroom and messed up my potions…
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Posted: Tue Aug 25, 2009 9:35 pm
The whole class waited with suspense, the silent tension in the atmosphere seemingly sensed by everyone in the room except the professor himself. Eventually even the red-haired child looked stumped. He leaned back in his chair casually and put his feet up on the desk, crossing his arms over his chest. “Well? You were saying, professor…?”
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Posted: Tue Aug 25, 2009 9:36 pm
“Don’t any of you ever let nosy, house-cleaning witches ever get into your bathroom,” he blurted out loud to the class instructively. “Ever. Especially if you keep all your appearance potions in there. And definitely not if they go on a house-cleaning rampage. They’ll never stop until they’ve searched every nook and cranny and uncovered all your darkest and worst secrets by ‘accident’!”
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Posted: Tue Aug 25, 2009 9:37 pm
All the Third Years stared at him. There was an instant before they all burst into laughter. All except the red-haired boy, who had, perhaps, used up his laughter while Howl had been talking. He was watching the professor with a resentful pout. Likely, the boy had never expected the teacher to steal the spotlight from him. “Is that supposed to be ’helpful to us?!” Peter shouted at the teacher, standing up in his desk and causing all laughter to cease. “Cleaning ladies? Are you serious?” Now the class had their eyes on Neverwood.
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Posted: Tue Aug 25, 2009 9:37 pm
“Of course I’m serious,” Howl replied, still trying to puzzle out why the class had found his warning funny. “They’re dangerous! Particularly if they’re witches with potent powers - possibly some of the most fatal creatures you will ever encounter in your life. Why, that old woman nearly frightened my poor apprentice to death!” He sighed, shaking his head at the memory. “And it doesn’t let up once you marry them either. The darkest dangers lurk within a castle’s walls. And I’m getting off the syllabus. Now! While that’s valuable, life-long advice, why don’t we get to today’s lesson, hmm? Would you please all get our your books entitled, “Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them” by Newt Scamander? It should have been on your book list. There’s a particular being of magic that I’d like to discuss…”
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