Lessons
Harry and Lyra could hardly wait for the start of their lessons; from the firecalls they exchanged, it was evident their friends were in a similar state. It took them a little over than three days to thoroughly digest the books they had been assigned, so the remainder of the week had to be excruciatingly waited out. In the evening before their first day, Sirius gave them out schedules, pointing out that they would have the same at Hogwarts. Mornings were to be devoted to the Hogwarts curriculum, comprising Transfiguration, Charms, Combat Magic (Sirius insisted on the traditional name for Defense against the Dark Arts), Herbology and History of Magic, in that order. When they inquired about potions, Sirius said he was saving it for next summer. The evening lessons, which were to be held in Lucius's study and a specially prepared adjacent room, comprised Rhetoric and Public Speaking, Magical Law, Diplomacy and Geopolitics, and finally Political Economy and Finances. Friday evenings were to be left free.
Next morning, Harry and Lyra awoke unusually early. They quickly got ready and headed down to breakfast, where they were joined first by Neville and Theo and then by Daphne along with Stephen and Astoria, both groups arrived by floo. Their first lesson was held in the formal dining room, which had been prepared for the purpose. They were greeted by their tutor, a short, mousy wizard with graying hair from the Department of Magical Education by the name of Mr. Marchbanks. He reintroduced himself for the benefit of the two new students, from which they learned he was an accomplished Transfiguration Master and a NEWT Level examiner. Afterwards he lectured for a short while, just to make sure the students had learned the theory, before he started the classic exercise of changing matchsticks to needles. Harry had done this when he was six, although then he was using Sirius's wand; it took his a minute to readjust for his new one and soon he was making the objects rapidly switch back and forth. The others were making similar progress. Upon noticing this, Mr. Marchbanks gave them the more difficult task of changing the matchstick into a gold needle, and after they succeeded at this as well, moved on to more complex objects such as teacups and saucers. He then spent another hour or so explaining the concepts Form Transformation and Substance Transmutation which combined to effect a transfiguration; it was something Harry and his friends had understood subconsciously, which was probably the reason for their rapid success, but hadn't seen it described explicitly. When the clock struck one, Mr. Marchbanks concluded his lecture, assigned some theoretical reading and showed them how to turn a plate into a teapot, which they were to practice until next Monday. He left through the floo, while the hungry students went to lunch.
After they had had their fill, they spent the afternoon practicing their transfiguration and going over the reading that Sirius had assigned. At last, the clock struck six and they set out to the study upstairs. Sirius was waiting for them, although it did not seem as though he had prepared anything special as the contents of the room had not been rearranged.(Lyra and her friends were going to start it the next year)
"Good evening, dad," said Harry
"Good evening, Lord Black," added Theo ,Neville and Daphne, the former two with a bow and the latter with a curtsey.
"Yes, Good evening but I have told you to call me Sirius. Now then! You are here to learn the science and art of persuasion and public speaking. You were instructed to prepare and memorize a two-hundred word speech on a subject of your choice. Have all of you done so?" The four nodded. "Right. Your task is very simple. Go through that door"-he indicated the closed door on the far right wall-"and deliver your speech."
"Is that all to it, Dad?because if this is a retaliation prank that Lyra and I did.... " Harry inquired cautiously.
"No,this is not a prank not in the way you think anyway"Sirius not placating Harry at the slightest.
Walking slowly, Harry reached the door, opened it and stepped through. After going through a short dark passage, he found himself in a massive amphitheatric hall which reminded him of the pictures he had seen of the Wizengamot chambers. Each of the concentric semi-circles of benches rose higher than the previous one. The entire hall was packed with all manner of people, most of who were in intense conversation with each other. Harry was in the center of the stage, with just a simple podium in front, and a rather large circular metallic microphone, obviously added for his benefit as he had yet to study the Sonorus Charm. He stepped up toward the podium, took a deep breath and began, "Good evening, ladies and gentlemen." His amplified voice reverberated through the hall. As soon as he had spoken, all conversation ceased and all eyes turned on him, gazing intently and intensely. He jumped back, but then tried to steady himself and continued, "I have come here this evening to talk to you about…about- um…" His heart was pounding and his palms were sweating. His mind was desperately trying to grasp at the words of his speech but he soon found that it was like trying to grasp water in his hands; the more he struggled to remember, the less he could actually recall, and he panicked even more. The demanding gazes of the crowd were still upon him, but now he could hear a rumbling noise which grew louder until it became distinct boos and shouts. Desperate to salvage the situation, he tried again, "The question which I would like to address is- is… the question is…" It was futile, and some people in the crowd started to point at him and laugh derisively. The mocking laughter soon spread to everyone in the room. At that point it all became too much for Harry and he turned back and ran to the entrance. He emerged, pale, sweating and breathing heavily. The sight of him filled the other three with apprehension. Just as he was about to open his mouth to tell about his experience, however, Sirius held up his hand.
"Dad,I swear,if this is a prank,I will make sure you will not have a peaceful moment in your life"Harry threatened
"Obviously not. There is little point in addressing an empty room. You will find that the interior has been modified for our purpose. You should experience a full crowd and its reactions." Sirius said which did placate Harry.
Harry nodded, and took a seat in one of the chairs opposite Sirius's desk. The others did not do much better than him. Neville went in and emerged in a similar state after roughly the same time as Harry had. Theo lasted a bit longer, but he was soon out as well. Daphne's time was the shortest and she was in tears when she emerged. Sirius summoned a house elf with refreshments and a calming potion for Daphne. When everyone was back to a relatively serene state, he continued the lesson. "What you saw was, of course, an illusion,a spell your mother made Harry. I admit I made the crowd more hostile than usual, but that is just because I wanted you all to understand how quickly a crowd will change its feelings and," he said with emphasis on the last part, "the sheer force that a mob can have on an individual. More often than not, you must take charge of a crowd or be crushed by it." Sirius then proceeded to give a lecture on the points that they had already read about but had no practical experience of. Public speaking, he explained, was first and foremost about confidence. Intent came second, and only then did word choice, diction, intonation and rhetoric. He paused occasionally and asked questions, to ensure it was all understood. When the clock struck eight, he dismissed them, saying "I promise you that by next Christmas you will make that crowd worship you. And Daphne, I've wagered a thousand galleons against your father on that, so I have an added incentive."
As the four weary students were walking down the stairs, Theo exclaimed, "That was amazing!"
"I can't wait till tomorrow," Daphne concurred.
"Will you stay for dinner?" Harry offered.
"No thanks, my parents are expecting me and my little sister has probably gone crazy by now," Daphne politely declined. Theo and Neville also made their excuses. Soon Daphne,Neville and he were off, and Harry and Lyra on their way to dinner.
Lyra was sitting on the couch and asked"What was the lesson about?"
Harry replied "You will find out next year"
Lyra threw a pillow at him and so began the pillow fight which their dad and mum joined as well,after a fun evening Harry and Lyra went to their respective rooms and slept.
Tuesday morning's lesson was charms, which was taught by a young wizard in his late twenties named Terrance Johnson. He explained that he was a graduate from the Geneva Institute of Magical Research and was currently working on his Charms Mastery at the École supérieure de magie in Paris. He clearly preferred the practical approach, as after fifteen minutes of lecturing he said, "Alright, wands out, everybody! Now, I know that you've already done the levitation charm so we're not going to waste time with feathers." He then opened his briefcase and took out four metal spheres. "Each one of these," he continued, "is two hundred grams of solid steel." He waved his wand and the spheres flew out towards the students, gently landing in front of them. "The first step to mastering the charm is control. It's usually taught with feathers as they are practically weightless. The next step, however, is power. You must be able to counteract the effects of gravity on the object. Now, one, two, three, begin!"
"Wingardium leviosa," the seven said at once, but the balls just shuddered slightly. It was evident that this would be more difficult than it appeared. It took them the better part of an hour until they could get the steel balls to hover in place, and then another hour to learn to move them around slowly.
"So far so good," their tutor said, "Now there is one last step, which is much more difficult. In fact, you probably won't manage it today. I'm talking about mastering the object's inertia. When an object is traveling at speed, the heavier it is, the more likely it is to continue in a line and resist changes to its path." He took out his wand and created several glowing hoops of light in the air. "Now I want you to get the spheres through that course as fast as you can. You first, Mr. Potter-Black." Harry stepped up and lifted his sphere in the air. He got it through the first hoop easily, and by the time it had reached the second it had picked up some speed. The third, however, was at right angles to its trajectory; Harry tried to make the ball swerve, but it was going too fast and slammed right into the window in front of it, which had fortunately been charmed to be unbreakable. None of the others managed to get any further either. After another hour or so, Mr. Johnson declared the lesson over. "I'll leave you the course for practice," he said and waved his wand around. The hoops gathered around it and were lead to a small metallic device that slightly resembled a muggle lighter. A flick of the switch on the device and they disappeared inside of it. With another flick they jumped out, one by one, and assumed their previous positions. Having explained how to work the device, their tutor also assigned some theory reading and was on his way.
The evening's lesson was rather shorter and quieter than the day before. When they came into the study, four comfortable chairs were prepared. Sirius handed them several books on magical law and began his lecture. "The most important thing you must remember is that laws are written in words. This may seem obvious, but the fact is that any law is only as strong as the words that define it. As such, you must have a sharp and observant mind and a mastery of language and its nuances if you want to avoid and ambiguity or loopholes, or, conversely, if you intend to create them. Very few are capable of fully grasping the law, and even fewer of properly creating new laws. It is nevertheless a skill that you must make your best effort to learn. After all, you will all be legislators one day." The four nodded in understanding. Sirius then proceed with introducing some and explaining some basic terms, most of which they had already encountered in Latin lessons. However, to everybody's surprise, he dismissed them when the clock struck seven. "There little more we can accomplish here tonight, and I've just had an idea about your lesson tomorrow and I must make preparations. Besides," he added, "you will need to be rested for tomorrow morning."
After that Harry and Lyra were talking about who would be teaching combat magic(DADA).
"Maybe Amelia Bones?"Lyra offered.
Don't be ridiculous, Lyra. She is far too busy," said Harry,even though Amelia Bones was Mum's friend.
"Perhaps Crouch Senior?" Lyra suggested, "He's had a lot of free time since his fall from grace."
"I doubt it. Dad mentioned the other day that they're going to appoint him ambassador somewhere. It was some really obscure place. Albania, I think," said Harry. "Fine,Your thoughts, Harry?"Lyra said giving up.
"I dunno. Dad?" he proposed.
"Impossible!" Lyra exclaimed. Their dad was one of the most divisive figures in the country. Half were convinced he was a genius of combat, half believed that he was only so because he used dark magic, and both sides agreed that for him the line between the two was much thinner than it ought to be.
"At any rate, we'll see tomorrow," Lyra concluded.