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After the accidental discovery that Ms. Johnson was not the mysterious Defense Professor, they were back at square one.
-Excerpt from The Professors Game
Angelina walked down the corridor towards Professor McGonagall’s office after Charms, slightly apprehensive. She had been called to her Head of House’s office for one of her last career counseling sessions, but that wasn’t why she was cautious.
After her and Hermione’s convincing performance in the Great Hall, leading the professors to believe that she was the one teaching DADA to other students behind Umbridge’s back rather than Harry, she had done her best to avoid one-on-one encounters with any of the professors, lest they decide to question her.
So far she had done a good job, but her streak was about to end.
Sadly, the meeting time was set during an already scheduled DA meeting, so she wasn’t going to be present as Harry taught the others about cosmetics charms and their practical application to dueling, something she had been looking forward to.
Regardless of her unhappiness with the meeting time, Angelina dutifully entered Professor McGonagall’s office and walked to the back, knocking on the door to her office.
“Come in,” called Professor McGonagall. Angelina opened the door and walked into her office, face carefully neutral as she tried not to give away any indication of her unease.
Angelina sat down in the chair across from Professor McGonagall, watching as she finished writing something down, before putting down her quill.
“Ms. Johnson,” Professor McGonagall greeted. “Tell me, how goes the search for post-graduation apprenticeships in Ancient Runes?”
Angelina smiled at the mention of her chosen career. Although she loved flying, and she reckoned she always would, her real passion was in Ancient Runes. Ever since she had first taken Professor Babblings class in her third year, she had adored the subject, and spending the rest of her life researching and refining them? It was practically a dream come true.
“It’s going well, Professor,” Angelina answered honestly. “Although the spot at the school in Greece was unavailable as of two days ago, they sent word of an apprentice position to a Master at a library in Madrid that I could apply to, and I did so this morning. I should get their response within the week.”
“I’m glad,” McGonagall smiled. “It always pleases me to see a student find their passion.”
Angelina returned the smile happily, still a bit on edge, but starting to loosen up.
They got through forty more minutes of the meeting before anything strange happened, which, given the circumstances, was quite remarkable.
As Professor McGonagall was asking her about the Quidditch team’s chances would have been in the House cup without Harry and the Weasley twins, a light *ding* went off from her desk drawer. McGonagall opened the drawer with confusion and curiosity, pulling out a scroll.
Her eyes widened minutely as she read the top entry, flicking back and forth between Angelina and the writing on the scroll. With the professionalism of a professor that had been teaching for many years, she snapped the scroll closed and put it back in the drawer.
“Now, what do you think about the Quidditch team's chances this year if there had been the Quidditch cup?” she asked, doing her best to ignore what had just happened. Angelina gave her a skeptical look, eyes narrowed slightly in suspicion, but went on to give her input.
About 20 minutes later, Angelina was getting up from her chair and leaving the office, having finished their meeting. As she left, she glanced once more at Professor McGonagall, a bit confused with her earlier behavior, but brushed it off. She started walking faster the moment she passed through the door, hoping that she could catch the end of Harry’s lesson.
Professor McGonagall sat back in her chair and let out an annoyed huff, pulling out the scroll once more.
5 points to Slytherin for creative application of metallic transmutation.
She had been looking right at Ms. Johnson when the notification had gone off, had been having a rather lively conversation with her even. But she hadn’t made a single mention of metallic transmutation the entire time they were talking, which could only mean one thing.
She placed the scroll back in her desk drawer and stirred her cooled tea pensively, waiting for the next student to enter.
~~~~~
20 minutes ago…
“...and that is the Tanning Charm,” Harry finished. “Do you all understand where I’m going with this lesson? Standard, easy spells that most people use quite often can be used in many different ways. Tell me, what’s another common cosmetic spell?”
Lavender Brown raised her hand, and Harry pointed at her.
“There’s metallic transmutation, which is generally used for jewelry and such,” Lavender said. “For example, if you have a silver necklace, but silver doesn’t go with your outfit, you can use metallic transmutation to make it gold. Of course, it doesn’t last forever, so it can’t be used to change sickles to Galleons, but it’s quite good for the short term.”
Harry smiled. “That’s exactly the kind of spell I’m talking about. Spells that were created for one purpose, but can easily be used for another. Who can give me an example of a way this spell can be used in battle?”
There was silence for a minute, before Tracey Davis raised her hand. Harry pointed at her.
“If a transformed werewolf is after you, one that is expressly trying to kill you, you could use metallic transmutation to turn something into silver to hold them off until they detransform,” Tracey explained.
“Five points to Slytherin for creative application of metallic transmutation,” Harry declared. “That was a perfect example, Ms. Davis.”
Hermione and Ron exchanged nervous looks in the back of the room.
“Angelina is in a meeting with McGonagall right now,” Hermione said, fidgeting with her wand. “What if she notices that points were given without Angelina saying anything?”
Ron patted her shoulder with a solemn expression. “We’ll just hope for the best, and pray that McGonagall is less observant than we think.”
“Alright, let’s practice our transmutation,” Harry announced. “I know some of us learned this last year, but practice it anyway. As you do, think of all the ways transmutation could be used offensively.”
Hermione and Ron split up to practice the spell, but not before sending each other one last worried look.
~~~~~
“Tonight’s homework is 4 inches on a common charm that can be used offensively, and how,” Harry said as people got ready to leave. “Due at the next meeting. If you can’t get it done because you’re too busy, just let me know and it won’t be required. Remember, this class is voluntary.”
“Yes yes, we know. We’ve heard you say it many times before,” Dean Thomas waved off, before turning to Seamus. “I don’t think he understands that we all actually want to learn these things.”
“All those times fighting Dark wizards and Dark creatures must have scrambled his brain,” Seamus nodded solemnly, making Harry roll his eyes.
“Quick question, Professor,” George said loudly, drawing most of the room's attention. None of them knew what he was going to ask, but Fred was grinning beside him, so most of them gripped their wands a little tighter as Harry sighed.
“What?” Harry asked flatly. “I’m not telling you how to get into the Slytherin dormitory so you can charm all their robes red.”
“Not what I was going to ask, but good idea, Harrikins,” Fred winked, making the Slytherin’s groan, less used to their antics than the rest of them.
“Could you use Wingardium Leviosa to, say, knock out a mountain troll?” George asked, a look of faux innocence on his face. Harry whirled around to face Ron, who groaned and put his head in his hands.
“I forgot I told them about that,” Ron said apologetically. Harry shook his head and turned back to the twins.
“If you fight a mountain troll, yes, your best chance would most likely be to knock it out,” Harry sighed. He rolled his eyes as he gestured to the door. “I would try the westernmost section of the forest, if you are that eager to try your luck.”
The twins gave him a salute as they went happily out the door, the others following as soon as they determined that there was no Weasley prank waiting for them.
Angelina slipped past the groups of people into the Room, looking anxious and a little down.
“Hey, Angelina,” Harry greeted cheerily as Ron helped him put away everything. She shot him a small smile that transformed into a frown worried when she turned towards Ron.
“Can I talk to you for a minute?” she asked, giving Harry a reassuring smile that did nothing to conceal her anxiety. Harry looked at her sympathetically, turning away and levitating the assortment of objects into the cupboards they had come from, thankfully allowing them a moment of privacy.
“What’s wrong?” Ron asked, lowering his voice. “Does it have to do with the thing that we don’t talk about?”
“I’m pretty sure,” Angelina said, nodding once and readjusting her hold on her bag. “He assigned points, didn’t he?”
Ron sighed deeply, crossing his arms and casting another glance at Harry. “Yes, he did. McGonagall caught it, didn’t she?”
“Yeah, I think she knows I’m not actually teaching the class,” Angelina said apologetically. “At least it lasted this long, right?”
“Let’s just be glad Umbridge hasn’t caught on yet.”
“Praise Merlin for that.”