Harry Potter: Don't touch

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***

Harry was the very first one out of the Potions room. He felt awful: he had a headache and he was furious with Professor Snape.

The dual potions class had gone disgustingly well. It had been a horrible hour and a half, even by Harry's standards, the only other class he'd had that ended with him losing sixty points, getting a detention, and making an attempt on the teacher's life.

The only thing he had realised during that lesson was that Professor Snape hated him with every fibre of his being. It seemed to the boy that he had a doll at home in the form of Harry Potter, which he regularly beat, drugged with poison, and also practised on it in spells, of course, the most terrible and painful. There were also probably a lot of other horrible things going on with the doll that Harry couldn't even imagine, though he had a fertile imagination, thanks to Piers.

For the first part of the lesson, no other students existed for Snape but Harry Potter. The teacher hovered around him and commented on almost every action he took. Cutting nasty flobberworms, listening to Snape's remarks, and making sure he was doing the right amount of stirring at the same time was very difficult.

Justin tried to help in some way, but by and large his help was lacking. Of course, it was impossible to prepare a potion against boils under such conditions.

He and Justin had failed on the fifth point: Harry had to pour dried nettles in a strictly defined amount, and Snape was watching his every action carefully, so somehow it happened that the potion accidentally contained three times as much ingredient as it needed. The Professor gave him a gloating look and never returned to his and Finch-Fletchley's cauldron again.

They tried to fix the potion in some way, but all their attempts only made it worse, and at the end of the lesson the potion turned green instead of the red colour as stated in the textbook. This time Justin got it too, they both got ten points off and an 'O' for the lesson. Harry didn't know how bad a grade that O represented, but judging by Snape's smirk, it was the worst grade possible. So as soon as the bell rang, Harry, without even waiting for Justin, ran out of the dungeons.

This time it was harder not to dwell on what had happened than in Transfiguration, because there Harry was afraid of the strict McGonagall, but here he was filled with anger. He wanted to break something, tear it, destroy it. Knock the hell out of Snape's annoying grin.

Since Harry was the very first to leave class and remembered exactly where the Great Hall was, he was one of the first to arrive for lunch. Harry was immersed in his thoughts where he was tying Snape up and handing him over to Piers to be tortured, so he didn't notice himself sitting down in the middle of the table.

There were many unfamiliar viands on the table, but Harry preferred not to try anything new, but to take what was sure to be tasty. He picked up a chicken leg and began to chew on it, imagining it was Snape's throat....

Slowly the anger began to subside, and as the rest of the students gathered for lunch, Harry suddenly realised that he was in the middle of the table and no one was sitting next to him. All the Puffenduys were sitting as far away as possible, it was as if they were ignoring his existence. This pleased Harry, however, rather than upset him.

- Hey, what made you run away so fast?

Even with the potions fiasco, Justin was in a great mood as always.

- Didn't want to be there a second longer than he had to. Why are you so happy?

- Well, why be sad? It's not our fault we failed, it's just Snape got bit in the arse, that's all.

Harry remained silent, three adult Puffenduys had just walked past him and sat down at the far edge of the table.

- Why isn't anyone sitting with us? - Harry asked.

- Hmmm, I don't know... I have a hunch though, and I think it's not me. Have you looked at the number of diamonds in the Hufflepuff Faculty Hourglass?

- No, where's the hourglass?

- Over there," Justin pointed his hand towards the lobby.

Harry looked at the peculiar hourglass-shaped vessels with gemstones inside. Sapphires were the most numerous, followed by emeralds, rubies were barely visible, and there were no diamonds at all. Harry brought his glasses closer to his eyes to see the obscure symbols on the watch, he found a negative three digit number "-145" next to the diamond compartment. Harry blushed and immediately shifted his gaze back to the food.

- That's what I'm saying," Justin watched Harry's manipulations. - I think it has something to do with your minus eighty-five points, although I'd like to point out that you were probably not the only one trying, but I think your influence is maxed out.

- Actually, it's minus eighty-four, not eighty-five," Harry explained without looking at Justin.

He was embarrassed. He was the only one making an entire faculty of innocent Puffenduys suffer.

- Hey, what's wrong with you? Don't feel bad, it's not your fault! I've been in class with you and I know why they took all those points off you. They're all inadequate teachers! It's obvious that you didn't intentionally stick a needle in McGonagall, and Snape is a bastard. You can't explain anything to them," Justin pointed at the Hufflepuff sophomores, who were watching Harry with obvious hatred, "but you can't explain anything to them.

- Thank you, Justin," Harry felt a surge of gratitude.

Indeed, he was not to blame for these events. Harry felt much better and realised that he could enjoy eating. He reached for a plate of potatoes.

- Hello, Harry and... Erm... What's your name? Anyway, never mind. Hi, so how's school going? - Samuel Park came over and sat next to Harry.

- My name's Justin Finch-Fletchley, if you ask me. And the studies are disgusting! Especially Harry's: he got a minus eighty-five on the first day of school," Justin said.

- Actually, it was minus eighty-four," Harry said.

- How many! - Samuel glanced at the faculties' hourglass. - Oh, wha...(1) Harry, Merlin, how did you manage to get minus eighty-five points on your first day of school?

- What are you doing? He said minus eighty-four," Finch-Fletchley said feignedly indignant.

- Oh. It's minus eighty-four, not eighty-five," Samuel made a surprised face. - Oh, I'm sorry, Harry, I thought it looked like you'd lost eighty-five points, but if it's only eighty-four, that's all right then.

Harry was about to fall to the ground, but he remembered what Justin had said to him the other day, and he got it out of his system:

- It's not my fault, the teachers have turned against me.

- Of course they are. That's what I figured! My classmate used to make excuses like that all the time too, and you know what? A year ago she dyed Snape's robes yellow, and after he took a hundred points off her, she too said he was against her and took her points off out of the blue. I can see why no one sits with you now, I thought it was just an accident," Samuel Park paused for a moment and then turned to Potter. - Look, Harry, try not to lose any more points, okay? I wouldn't want Hufflepuff to come in last place in the inter-faculty competition this year when I'm Head Girl.

- Alright, I'll do my best, Samuel.

He satisfied himself with that answer and started eating. The rest of the lunch time passed in silence.

* * *

Harry was at the door of the spell room, hesitant to go in. Justin stood next to him and watched Potter's excitement.

- Don't worry, Harry, statistically speaking, if the first two teachers were unfair to you, the third one is bound to be good," Justin tried to cheer him up.

- Isn't it the other way round? If the first two experiences didn't work out, the third one probably won't either," Harry argued.

- Well, I suppose so, but that's a pessimistic approach," Justin agreed.

The bell rang, Harry opened the door and entered the office. All the students were already in their seats, but the teacher wasn't there yet, he was apparently running late.

- Hey Potter, did you get two detentions already? Is it true? Smith isn't lying?

Harry turned around to the Slytherin table, a familiar blond man was sitting in front of him, grinning. It was Draco Malfoy.

- 'Yes, it is, but that's no reason to gloat,' Justin interceded for Harry.

- I'm not asking you, muggle," Malfoy said with an evil glare. - By the way, Harry has a lot of experience in ridding society of people like you. Did he tell you?

Justin looked at Harry in disbelief, but he couldn't find anything to say.

- Harry, you know I wanted to talk to you about this murder on the train, but I couldn't find you in any compartment. There was only one compartment in the first year section I couldn't check, it was closed with a locking spell, and that was you, wasn't it? - Stretching his words, Malfoy continued.

Harry didn't answer anything, but his face spoke for itself.

- 'That's what I thought. Now, close the door to the study with this spell so the teacher can't come in here.

Harry was torn in two, one part demanding obedience since he always did what Piers told him to do and the other part wanting to send Malfoy to hell. After all, Draco was by no means Pierce.

- Fuck you, Malfoy," Harry made his decision.

No one else can tell him what to do. He doesn't have to obey anymore.

- If you don't, you're going to regret it big time! I'll say you attacked me and you'll get your points taken off again, and your classmates certainly won't forgive you, maybe they'll even beat you up.

Two years ago.

Principal Barge was furious with humanity.

His wife had discovered his mistress at 1:00 a.m. last night, or rather today, and she'd been on a rampage that had lasted all night and morning. He hadn't been able to sleep a second, and now, instead of calming his wife down, or at least sleeping, he was forced to be at this stupid job, at a school full of brainless kids.

Barge had no idea that another attack was being prepared against him at this very moment.

In one of the school corridors, Piers and Dennis had caught Harry Potter. Dennis had the boy's hands behind his back and Piers was squeezing his neck.

- Okay, listen to me, you have two options, option one: you walk up to that stupid old man right now and spit in his face, and not just spit, spit, spit, spit. If you do that, I won't touch you for a week. And the second option is that Dennis breaks your arm right now, and then he and I will see how fast the skin on your fingers turns to ash," Pierce said.

Harry closed his eyes in horror, hoping that if he couldn't see anything, no one could see him either.

- What's it going to be? What's your choice? - Piers asked and pressed his neck as hard as he could. - I take it you chose option one, you're the sensible one, right?

Harry nodded with great speed. Yes, of course he's choosing option one. Releasing himself from the grip, he was already walking towards the Headmaster when he received a hard blow to the head and fell to the floor.

- Stop right there! You forgot something," Dennis said and then laughed.

- He's right," said Pierce, holding out his hand to Harry. - Come on, shake it and get started.

The fact that Harry Potter hadn't been kicked out of school after this event could only be called a miracle....

The look on Piers' face as he talked about the second option floated through Harry's mind....

Sometimes it was better to do something unpleasant to avoid the consequences.

Harry took out his wand, pointed it at the door and, clearly making the necessary movements, said:

- Colloportus.

He should have been able to do it.

Malfoy went to the door and tried to open it. It was locked.

- Hmmm, it wouldn't budge. Well, Potter, consider yourself lucky. You can sit at your desk and rest for now.

Harry decided to take his advice. He looked around the classroom, to his surprise Justin, sat not at the free desk, but next to Susan Bones. Harry didn't pay much attention to this and quickly sat alone at the edge desk.

Malfoy seemed to have informed all the Slytherins that Potter had locked the classroom, and now almost all of them were staring at the door caustically, waiting for the teacher to arrive. Harry, on the other hand, tried to look only at his knees, as if nothing else existed but them.

And then, not five minutes later, quiet footsteps were heard near the entrance to the classroom. The doorknob twisted back and forth a couple of times, and suddenly the door swung open as if no one had locked it. A very tiny man entered the office. Harry hadn't seen such small people yet, he had heard Petunia tell Dudley about dwarfs, so he assumed that this person was a dwarf. Is that their teacher?

The tiny man walked over to the desk, waved his wand, and several books stacked up by the teacher's desk. He climbed on top of them and turned his gaze to the class.

- Greetings everyone, my name is Filius Flitwick, and I will be your spell teacher for the next five or seven years," he spoke in a very high and shrill voice. - But before I start introducing myself to the class, I want the man who locked the door with Colloportus to stand up right now.

Harry's legs gave out in terror and he tried to force himself up from his chair, but his body refused to obey him.

Just then Draco Malfoy stood up.

- Your name, young man," Flitwick asked.

- Draco Malfoy, sir, but it wasn't me who bewitched the door, I just know who was responsible and I want to tell you about it. It was Potter.

- Potter? Harry Potter? - Flitwick was quite surprised by something. - Wait, Mr Malfoy, if it wasn't you, why are you standing up?

- Um, well, I-" Malfoy hesitated.

Finally his legs began to obey their owner, and Harry was able to stand up.

- It was me, I'm sorry, sir," Harry bowed his head in acknowledgement.

- Mr Potter, it was you, I presume. Don't worry, it's nothing, a simple Colloportus is no danger to me. However, I commend you on learning to use such charms so early, it's quite an achievement, we won't be using them until the winter holidays. And let me think," Flitwick was silent for a moment. - Five points to Hufflepuff for excellence in locking spells.

Some incredible warm feeling travelled through his body. Harry felt happy. He had been given his glasses, not taken off, but rather added to. Harry felt such love for Professor Flitwick that he immediately forgot all the disbelief he had felt when he realised their teacher was a dwarf.

The spell professor pulled out his journal and began to familiarise himself with the class. At the last name Potter, he nodded to Harry and immediately named the next student.

When the introductions were done, Flitwick turned to the class.

- The plan for today's lesson is to have one theory, but I see that you already know some of the spells," Flitwick looked directly at Harry. - So now you're going to write down some of the theoretical basis for using magic, and afterwards I'll try to teach you one simple but dangerous spell. Now get out your quills and write down the definitions of the term 'spell'.

The next thirty minutes passed with the sounds of Flitwick's high-pitched voice and the rustling of quills. Harry wrote everything down. Even seemingly meaningless things he wrote down in as neat a handwriting as possible. He wanted to justify his teacher's good attitude. By the time practice began, Harry was a little over-inked and his parchment was full of notes, beginning with a definition of the term "spell". A spell was a magical formula by which a wizard's magical gift found its physical manifestation. And ended with the distribution of spells according to the classification of the Ministry of Magic: 1) allowed, 2) forbidden.

And here came the time of practice.

- Now we will consider a rather dangerous spell, I do not recommend its use outside this office. You can read about this spell in the first chapter of Miranda Hussockle's Cursive Book of Conspiracies and Spells 1st Year," Flitwick looked at each of the students carefully. - "Today we are going to look at the Incendio spell. The Incendio spell is an enchantment of ignition. The name comes from the Latin word incendium, which means "fire." These spells create fire, fire that is controlled but still extremely unstable. In a failed theatre production of the play "Alas, I have bewitched my feet", the magician in charge of special effects decided to create the effect of a volcanic eruption using Incendio. But he only succeeded in setting fire to the curtain, the fire from which quickly spread to the stage. So do not use this spell for fun.Flitwick paused for a moment, thought about something, and then continued:

- 'Just in case, the counterspell is aqua erecto; you don't know it, of course, but you will be learning it soon. The colour of the flash from Incendio is colourless, so if someone has used it, you will only know after something catches fire. Now each of you in turn will go to the middle of the classroom and try to apply this spell, based on the theory on the proper use of spells that you wrote down before classifying spells. The wand movement I will show you now.

Flitwick stepped into the centre of the classroom, waved his wand and a wooden dummy appeared next to the teacher's desk. The dwarf pointed his wand at it, made a circular motion with it and clearly, stressing the second syllable, said:

- Incendio!

The dummy caught fire in several places at once, but the flames did not last five seconds.

Flitwick waved his wand and said:

- Aqua erecto.

The mannequin went out.

From then on, all the students took turns trying their hand at using this spell. Everyone went to the centre of the classroom, said "Incendio" and sat back down in their seat.

No one succeeded. Daphne Greengrass got a flash, but no one got any further. When it was Harry's turn, he purposely did not concentrate on using the spell in question. He was terribly afraid of fire and didn't want him to succeed, or he might accidentally set himself on fire.

- It's alright, it's normal that none of you succeeded, even my clawed students couldn't show anything in the first lesson," Professor Flitwick reassured the annoyed students.

Immediately after his speech, the bell rang.

- So, does anyone have any questions? - The professor asked.

Harry realised that this was his chance to learn about ways to avoid fire. He raised his hand.

- Mr Potter, yes, what do you want to ask?

- I'm sorry sir, what are the spells against Incendio, or rather, not against this spell specifically, but in general how to fight fire?

- There are a huge number of ways, do you want to know all of them?

- Yes, I mean, I wish I could, sir.

- I mean, I wish I could, sir. So, actually, I've already mentioned it, the counterspell for Incendio, Aqua Eructo, it puts out fires. There are also: "Fontis" - splashes water from the wand, the necessary amount of water is measured in the imagination; "Hydralis" - water spell, extinguishes any fire of magical origin; "Reflecto" - the only protective spell against "Pyro"; "Devastatio" - allows you to pass through fire without harm; "Glesio" - changes the properties of fire so that its heat feels like warm breath; "Emorbilas" - freezing spell. And the simplest of all, "Aguamenti" summons pure drinking water. There may be other ways, but that's all I know.

- Thank you, sir," Harry thanked, trying to memorise all the spells.

- Everyone, dismissed, class is over.

With those words, all the students got up from their seats and headed out.

As Harry walked out of the classroom, his eyes burned with a fire of anticipation. He would definitely learn all these spells!

1) Samuel's phrase was cut, due to the fact that this fanfic does not carry a "profanity" warning.

 Comment on Chapter 9. Favourite teacher

 By the way, I've discovered a bit of a plot failure here:

1) Harry learnt Colloportus.

2) Closed the compartment door with this spell.

Question: how did Harry manage to get out of the compartment?

I'm surprised none of the readers thought about it, well okay, let's assume that Colloportus was weak and only worked for 6 hours.