Harry Potter And The Betrayal

"I can't confirm or deny Smithering's qualifications to teach given I wasn't here long enough to form an opinion on him, but given that he is no longer a teacher here, he must not have been good enough to break the curse that seems to hang over the DADA teachers." Harry countered smoothly. "And the only thing Professor Lockhart was good at teaching the students was how to preen for the cameras… the stupid fop. He was also good at making the girls and women go gooey-eyed and gooey-brained. Personally I think that Filch would've been a better DADA teacher than Lockhart."

McGonagall said nothing remembering all too well how her fellow female teachers got all mushy at the sight of Lockhart. She had been largely immune to him, having better things to do with her time, especially once the basilisk was let loose.

"Let's move on now to what could be termed the more permanent staff that I have had for classes," Harry continued with an evil grin. "First we have a Potions Professor who for at least the last twenty years loved to terrify the students and favoured his own house so much that only heaven knows how many potential Potions Masters were destroyed by his teaching methods. I won't even mention the grudge he carried over to me because he hated my father."

"That matter has been resolved." McGonagall reminded him. "Snape is no longer teaching here and can never teach again."

"But not before the damage was done." Harry countered. "There were a number of complaints about his teaching methods, but the Headmaster never removed him."

"And you know very well why he was not removed." McGonagall retorted.

"The Headmaster could have found another kind of work for him to do that would have kept him close and a viable source of information on Moldyshorts." Harry pointed out. "The Headmaster made no attempt to rein him in or force him to change his teaching methods and if he really had cared about the students he would have done so. But as you pointed out, Snape is no longer an issue, thanks to me ."

He held up one finger "Let's now turn our attention to the current Care of Magical Creatures teacher. While I have nothing against Hagrid personally, I can't help wondering how many students who might have had an interest in magical creatures were frightened away, because of the creatures Hagrid chose for them to study. That particular class is both similar and the opposite of Potions, because unless you have a love from the very beginning for large dangerous creatures, it is not a class you want to take. Hagrid is a half-giant, so there is very little that can be a threat to him. Unfortunately he is in love with large and dangerous creatures, and thinks that everyone will see them like he does as harmless puppies and kittens. Instead of starting with small, harmless, nice looking creatures, he brings in the biggest, most dangerous and sometimes the ugliest of creatures to have his students learn about. He needs to learn to gauge his classes to the students he is teaching. In other words a third or fourth year student shouldn't be expected to be able to handle a Hippogriff or a blast ended Skrewt. A sixth or seventh year might be able to, but nothing earlier. Third through fifth years should be exposed to relatively harmless animals like unicorns, then gradually work up to the more dangerous creatures. And don't even get me started on that fraud Trelawney who predicted my death every year I had her class or Binns who is so boring, that it's a wonder no students have died in his classes."

McGonagall looked slightly annoyed at him for pointing out the flaws in the school's teaching staff. "While I will admit we have some problems with a few members of the teaching staff, Hogwarts is internationally renowned for providing the very best magical education a witch or wizard needs to succeed in the magical world."

Harry snorted at this claim. "Yeah I'm sure that being able to turn a porcupine into a pin cushion is really going to help me succeed. I bet it's something I'll be doing every day. Who knows maybe someone will be elected Minister for their ability to do it."

As McGonagall bristled at the implication that her class was a waste of time, Harry continued, "I'm not stupid, I know why Dumbledork forced me to come back and it wasn't to complete my education. He thinks that with time I will forgive my former friends as well as the rest of the wizarding world for what you all did to me last year, but I told him and now I'm telling you, that isn't going to happen. Nothing I learned before I went to Azkaban will be useful once I get out of here, unless it is just how treacherous and backstabbing witches and wizards can be. I learned that lesson the hard way in my second, fourth, fifth, and sixth years. Like a fool after each occurrence, I expected people to learn from their mistakes and not repeat them, but they didn't. Now I have no intention of allowing wizardkind to betray me again. I am just marking time and taking care of some unfinished business before the end of the year. Then once I turn eighteen, no one will be able to force me to do what I don't want to do ever again ."

He left her office without waiting for permission to go.

McGonagall shook her head and wondered yet again if the Headmaster might not be too optimistic about their being able to get Harry forgive his friends and be willing to stay in the wizarding world. She knew the Headmaster was right about one thing though, there were so many problems in the wizarding world that given the current divisions would never be resolved, especially with someone like Fudge in power. However if the Daily Prophet was to be believed, Fudge was to face a vote of 'no confidence' in front of the Wizengamot before the end of the year and in interim Minister would be appointed to fill the remainder of Fudge's term which would end in 2000. She knew that Dumbledore hoped to have Harry run for the position as Minister in the next election, because it would take a wizard of great power and popularity to heal the divisions that had existed for a long time now in the magical world. In spite of the way his relatives had treated him, or perhaps because of it, McGonagall knew that Harry was one of the few who saw no difference between a wizard and any other magical creature and treated everyone equally.

...

The day of the Gryffindor-Slytherin Quidditch match dawned clear and cold. Everyone agreed it would be good flying weather and nearly every one agreed this was going to be an interesting match, given that the traditional rivalry between Gryffindor and Slytherin had escalated to fever pitch.

Over the past week, the Gryffindors and Ron Weasley in particular had again been providing a source of entertainment to the other Houses, whether they'd intended to or not. Rumours had been running rampant that the Gryffindors had tried to bribe Potter into becoming their Seeker again by replacing the Firebolt they had burned up the previous year. Apparently they weren't all that confident about their ability to win against Slytherin, even though Malfoy was not playing because he was still a ferret. Rumour also had it that Potter had turned them down flat. There were also reports that the Firebolt he had been given was currently stuck to the wall in the Gryffindor common room and that all attempts to remove it by his fellow Gryffindors had failed.

Weasley had made at least one attempt a day to try and convince Potter to play, usually in-between classes. Potter had begun wearing a badge after the first attempt that either said: I see your mouth moving, but all I hear is blah, blah, blah., or I refuse to have a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent . The sight of the badge would make Potter's former best friend go red in the face, but he was so determined that Potter was going to play that Weasley persisted in spite of it.

....

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