Lone Traveler: Professor of Defense

It was 15 July and Hogwarts was hosting the first meeting with the staff for the upcoming year.

When all were assembled, Albus Dumbledore stood up and said, "To most of you, I say: Welcome Back! And to our newest Professor, I say Welcome to Hogwarts. For those who have not met him, this is Garrick Septimus. He shall be taking the role of Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor for this year."

There were murmurs of greetings all around. Horace Slughorn was curious. "Septimus. I am not familiar with that name. Are you Muggleborn?" It should be said in Horace's defense that his tone expressed only curiosity and not any distaste.

Harry smiled. "No. Technically, I believe I would be considered a Halfblood. Like the Headmaster, I had a Pureblood father and a Muggleborn mother. Septimus is from the continent. One of my ancestors was chosen as the seventh Consul of a city in the Roman Empire. With his previous name showing his less than pure Roman roots, he took the name of Septimus. His descendents were known as the Line of Septimus and it became the family name. It happened to be that some came to Briton. We tend to be homeschooled which is why we are not well known."

Horace nodded. It was quite plausible.

"Now, textbooks. For those returning, any changes in the textbooks assigned for your subjects?" the Headmaster asked.

There were negative replies all around.

"Very good. And Professor Septimus?"

"Please, everyone call me Garrick – or Gary if you like. Probably better to separate me from Mr. Ollivander. Anyway, I have the list of texts here."

He pushed the small parchment over to the Headmaster.

Dumbledore looked over the short list. "I am not familiar with these texts."

Gary nodded. "Newly published. Flourish & Blotts took delivery just this morning, or so I was informed by the printer would be the case." He took a small box from his robes and placed it on the table and tapped it with his wand. The item expanded to a larger box. He withdrew three books and passed them to the Headmaster.

The Headmaster opened the first text and his eyes widened momentarily. He flipped to cover on the other two and saw the same thing. He looked up. "You had these reviewed by the Wizarding Examination Authority." He stated it, and didn't form it as a question.

There were murmurs of surprise. Gary shrugged. "Well, I knew the author was working on Defense texts already. I went to Madam Marchbanks and retrieved a list of required materials for each year based on standard tests given at the Ministry. I then spent a good deal of time helping the author organize them into appropriate sections. You see the result before you. I felt it was better to ensure that the texts filled the requirements than to pass off random books which would need supplemental texts and lectures to bring students to the necessary requirements. They do reference the works for the other Hogwarts subjects as necessary for things which are relevant from those classes. There is also a list of books referenced which can be perused if a student wishes to study further on the various spells and related material. Those copies are for your own library as you might desire."

As Dumbledore glanced through the books, Gary retrieved several sets. He passed a set to each professor for reference as most subjects taught at Hogwarts had some relation to protecting oneself from magic in one way or another. Even the Divination and Astronomy professors received copies.

The librarian received five copies of each for the library – he knew that some professor would pick their own books as textbooks in later years. Better to have a good reference with several copies on hand as needed.

Dumbledore finally put his copies aside and returned to the meeting.

Once everything was completed, Gary asked to speak to the Headmaster. Albus invited him into his office.

"What seems to be on your mind, Garrick?" the Headmaster asked.

"Well, I took one more step which might offend you but it was done with the best of intentions."

"Oh?" the Headmaster asked curiously.

"Well, as my subject has much to do with safety, I snuck in about two weeks ago to check on a few things. I dispelled a few curses that I encountered in various places – nothing too egregious but better removed. And then I snuck into the room containing the Ward Stones."

Albus' eyes widened. "How did you achieve that?"

"I'm a Master of Defense – any Master worth their salt would be able to do the same. As a point of curiosity, I copied the various ward schemes and rune clusters to parchment and paid Gringotts to review what I found. I just received the report back and felt you should receive it as it is your area of responsibility."

Albus nodded. "We shall discuss your clandestine actions at a later point, but perhaps it was for the best. The report, please."

Harry pulled a set of folded parchment from his pocket and placed it on the desk. "I will have to say: Having a venerable goblin Ward Master sit there and laugh about the stupidity of wizards tends to put one off one's lunch."

Albus' eyes widened at that. Even some of the portraits voiced some objection to what was said. Albus called for silence even as he quickly reviewed the parchments.

His eyes widened at one of the pages and he started to become angry. "This says …." Albus stood up and whirled toward the wall containing the vast number of portraits.

In a voice rich with magic, Albus Dumbledore called out, "Headmasters of Hogwarts! Attend!" Gary Seven, Marek Ilumian, or Harry Potter, whichever guise he took at any particular time was impressed with the sheer power that was rolling off of the Headmaster. Gary noted that Albus Dumbledore, still in his prime and not yet weighted down by the Voldemort conflict, was much more impressive than he would have expected.

Once all of the portraits were filled, Albus asked, "As current Headmaster, I demand to know: Which of you deliberately negated the Anti-Rape wards on the castle?"

There were sounds of shock and surprise at this question. The various Headmasters and Headmistresses, most of them, were appalled at the idea. Gary noted one, however, that seemed to be struggling.

"Headmaster? Third from the top and two in from the right side."

Albus looked at the portrait that was pointed out and said, "Phineas Nigellus Black! What do you know of the Anti-Rape wards being disabled?"

It was obvious that the portrait was struggling against answering. Gary squinted at the portrait with suspicion. While every portrait was paying attention to what was happening in front of them, Gary sent a spell at the portrait. Albus twirled as saw the painting freeze in its canvas. He turned. "Why did you do that?" he asked.

Gary stood. "A suspicion. Would you mind if I checked?"

Albus considered that and motioned him to get on with it.

With a precise wand movement and non-verbally, Gary conjured a simple ladder. "I believe that you should check that frame. From the materials I was given, the Headmasters should all answer to you. That he was able to fight it seems suspicious. I wonder if he left anything on his portrait to negate the requirement."

Albus looked thoughtfully at his Professor and back to the portrait. Somewhat spryly for his age, Albus climbed the ladder and took the frame from the wall, casually negating the permanent sticking charm that held it in place – Gary's eyes widened.

"I thought that removing those portraits was impossible." He wondered if many of Albus' counterparts knew that spell and refused to remove Walburga's portrait during the time the Order was located at Grimmauld Place as a distraction or for some other reason.

Albus smiled. "I am keyed into the wards here. I would not be able to do this if this was any other location. But here I am Master."

Gary nodded appreciatively. With that he was satisfied. He still felt that the Headmaster could have helped Sirius in quite a few places to do the same. But that was a matter for other times and universes.

Albus carefully lifted the portrait and passed it down to Gary who held it as the Headmaster returned down the ladder.

The two carefully inspected the frame and, as Gary suspected, they found a very small rune sequence hidden on the frame, carved into it. Gary said, "Do you mind if I tackle this? It's been a while since I could use these skills."

"Go ahead – as long as you do no permanent damage."

Moving his wand carefully, Gary drained the magical residue from the rune sequence. He then reached into his pocket and retrieved a pocket knife. That he had conjured this Albus did not need to know.

Scraping carefully, Gary removed the runes by the simple expedient of removing layers of wood until they were gone. Looking around, Gary saw the desk. He grinned. "Don't get too upset – I'm going to be careful."

Albus watched curiously as Gary went below the desk and removed wood shavings from hidden portions – but not enough from any one spot to be seen as obvious removal. Picking these up, he returned to the portrait and, after placing the wood shavings on the frame, cast a Reparo spell.

They watched as the wood shavings melded back into the frame and it was as if the wood had never been disturbed. The Headmaster climbed the ladder once more and then accepted the portrait again and placed it on the wall, replacing the permanent sticking charm.

After he climbed back down, the Headmaster vanished the ladder. After getting back into position, the Headmaster removed the spell freezing the painting.

"Phineas Nigellus Black. I ask again: What do you know of the Anti-Rape wards being disabled?"

The painting no longer struggled against the Headmaster's questions and commands. "Pureblood students were being denied their rightful due from the mudbloods that were attending. I ensured that this would no longer be a problem."

Gary interrupted, "Order him to stay in his frame." Albus quickly did so. "Ask him what other wards he disabled or added and their purpose. You might need to order him to answer as I believe he's against the idea. And you probably should directly order him not to pass on information that he learns from Hogwarts to any other portraits without the sitting Headmaster's explicit permission."

Albus considered that and nodded. He turned back to the portrait. His voice once again steeped with magic the Headmaster ordered, "Phineas Nigellus Black! From this moment on your highest allegiance is to Hogwarts and its Headmaster or Headmistress. You shall answer any question put to you by such fully and without prevarication. You shall not pass on any information or request unless specifically ordered to do so or where it shall be for the benefit of all Hogwarts students regardless of blood status. Do you understand?"

Gary could see the resentment as the portrait replied, "I understand, Headmaster."

Albus gave a wintry smile. "Now, list all wards you disabled or placed on Hogwarts and why. You will also tell me anything that you have done in contravention to your magical requirements or which goes against the Charter of Hogwarts."

While it was not a large list, the items listed were significant. It was apparent that work needed to be done to repair the wards. The Headmaster also had to remove spells that had been placed on the Sorting Hat.

Phineus watched with some active dislike as the Sorting Hat cried, "Oh! Now that's much better." The Hat turned itself and said, "Professor Septimus! You have Hogwarts' thanks for you assistance in clearing up this travesty. For too long have I been forced to place certain purebloods in Slytherin regardless of their traits unless the student specifically desires another House. For too many Gryffindor-like students have been mislabeled as cunning."

Gary smiled. "You are quite welcome. I would only ask that you not place anyone in unnecessary danger by your placement of them. But, you are the authority as it was intended to be."

Albus, who had been watching, asked, "Would you like to be sorted? While not required, I admit to some curiosity."

"As long as my secrets are kept."

The Sorting Hat said, "Keeping secrets was part of my enchantment. You have nothing to be concerned about."

Gary sat at the desk and the Headmaster put the Hat on his head. Gary deliberately opened up his collected knowledge to the Sorting Hat in case it would find the information useful.

"My, my, there is quite a lot here that I did not expect." The Sorting Hat sounded amazed.

"Well, my experiences might be a bit richer than you are used to," Gary replied.

With some amusement the Hat said, "I do not believe I have ever sorted a God before. You could be any house you wish to be in, depending on the circumstances."

"Yes. But considering I am a God of Knowledge, that might give you a place without giving away too much."

"Yes. While the Four would each have loved to have you, your chosen nature gives you a place in," and the Hat Spoke the next part aloud, "RAVENCLAW!"

Albus picked the Hat off of Gary's head. "Well, I can well understand your placement in Ravenclaw. You seem to have great intelligence and wit."

Gary shrugged with a smile. "The Hat did mention that I could have been placed in the other houses as well. I believe that any well-rounded individual would have traits of each house."

"Quite." Albus returned the Hat to its shelf. He then returned to his chair. "Seeing that you seem to have a knack for sussing out inconsistencies and seem to have a good head on your shoulders, would you be willing to assist me in repairing the damage?"

"Most certainly. I also have a fair bit of power, so charging the corrected wards would be something I can assist with. Although I suggest you have seven Professors, including yourself, assist with the final step of charging the wards, under the direction of the School Healer." He pulled another set of parchments. "These were the suggestions of the Ward Master who reviewed the wards."

"And how did this all come to be paid for?"

Gary grinned. "Well, to be perfectly honest, I might have asked a house elf or two to retrieve anything that might be of value from the school's lost and found which could not be identified as belonging to any one individual in the last two centuries. They found a pile of emeralds. Gringotts bought them." He pulled one more parchment from his pocket. "This is the account information on what remains. I suggest some of it be spent on some new brooms – rumour has it that your school is lacking in this area and could use some updating."

Albus was reviewing the parchment with some surprise. There was quite a bit on money left in the account. He noted that it was listed as a "Hogwarts Headmaster's Discretionary Fund."

"I wonder what else is in the Lost and Found."

Gary asked curiously, "Headmaster? If I ask a question, can you give me an honest answer? It will go no further than us."

Albus replied, "Cartainly." He looked curious.

"What are your feelings about what should be taught to people and what should be kept locked away from general knowledge?"

Albus considered that. "There are magics which, I believe, should never see the light of day. When I became Headmaster, I removed quite a number of books from the Restricted Section to the Headmaster's Library as no one should be able to study them unless absolutely necessary. Much of magic is wonderful, but there are many things which are restricted for good reason. To be perfectly honest, at times I feel like removing even more as I see misuse on the rise. My instincts as a moral wizard fight with my duties as an educator. Where does one draw the line?"

"But isn't it true that if you remove knowledge from circulation, those remaining who have to find counters to what is removed are thereby hamstrung in their efforts?"

Albus sighed. "Yes. This is the moral dilemma. How does one allow those who might need the information to become aware of it and prevent those who should not learn such things from doing so?"

Gary was satisfied that his initial assessment of this Albus Dumbledore from his initial meeting was the correct one: This was one of the good ones, who still struggled to do the right thing and was willing to listen still to advice from others. The Voldemort conflict had not heated up enough where he had to appear to be all-wise and infallible to keep the Light side together.

"How long until you will be ready to repair the wards?"

Albus considered that. "I believe I will take the necessary steps within the month. I will assemble the needed professors and those who are necessary. I mustn't be too obvious as there are … radical elements which would attempt to persuade me toward another path. I would do right by my students however – and could come under backlash from those who have different ideas of what is optimum. I walk a tight rope across a canyon at times.:

"Well, within the month I will see if I can come up with a possible solution. I might fail – but a new set of eyes often can see things that have become invisible to those who live somewhere every day."

Albus twinkled as he said, "I look forward to your insights."

"As far as the Lost and Found, there is a thousand years of old, damaged, and lost things. Furniture that is no longer useful. Old wands, old artifacts. Just an unbelievable number of things.

"Anything which can be identified as belonging to a particular family could be returned to their Gringotts vault and anything which can be identified as Goblin-made could be given over to Gringotts for the value of their good will alone.

"I might suggest that you have underprivileged students assist in repairing the old furniture. Once repaired and cleared of any magic, some pieces you have could fetch thousands of galleons if sold to collectors in the Muggle world. You could literally have a stream of money flowing in to update and improve Hogwarts.

"Old wands, once Ollivander checks them over – you can pay him a fee to do so – could be gathered and, whenever a student comes with a poorly matched wand due to financial hardship, Ollivander could oversee testing the lost wands on new people for a better match. Anyone who cannot be matched would then be taken to his shop and your fund could pay for their wand – all without creating waves for those who suffer under such circumstances.

"Old clothing can be repaired and sold to the Muggle world – Muggles will buy anything that is vintage or antique. Hire a Muggleborn witch out of school who has no other prospects and they can act as your agent to sell such things and deposit the profits into the Discretionary Fund. Old uniforms that are still repairable could be given to poor students who currently have even more worn clothing. More modern clothes could also be given over to those who could use them.

"Old books, if unowned or unreturnable, can be repaired and either put into the library or sold – anything too Dark can be put in the restricted section or in the Headmaster's Library.

"Magical artifacts that are repairable and not dark, if unowned, can be used by the Professors to teach. Old sneakoscopes, foe glasses, etc.

"Old brooms could be serviced and put into use or sold to those wizards who collect them.

"Parchment, quills, and other school supplies could be given surreptitiously to those who have financial hardships and who could use a leg up.

"You have a treasure trove, Headmaster. I suggest you use it."

The Headmaster was astounded by the vision his newest professor gave. As an academic, he would never have considered much of what was being said. But as an administrator who always needed more funds than were available – these suggestions might prove a real difference to Hogwarts and its students.

"I shall take your suggestions under real advisement." Gary could see that Dumbledore – this Dumbledore – really would.

Soon, Gary was on his way. He wondered what he could do for the next little while.