Chapter 88: A shaky start

Disclaimer: 

Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K Rowling.

I own nothing but the original characters I make.

"Dialogue"

'Thoughts'

-Author notes-

Chapter 88: A shaky start

"Welcome to Hogwarts!."

The Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore stood on the podium while addressing the entire great hall. 

"From those who are just starting to those who are finishing your education, I wish you all to have a great year…I only have one important announcement before letting you all enjoy your dinner. This year, we have a very special new Defense professor. He is well known for his books, more than anything. But I'm sure he will be a wonderful teacher for you all."

Lockhart stood up from his chair with a grin and started to approach the podium.

"Please, give a warm welcome to-" Dumbledore stopped talking mid-sentence when the podium shook violently, making him lose his balance for a second.

But it wasn't just the podium. The entire castle had shaken. It had been only for a brief moment, but it was strong enough to startle the students and knock down a few pumpkin juice cups.

'What was that?' Harry thought.

Not even five seconds after the initial tremor, while they were all still processing what had just happened, the ground started to shake again, this time it was several times stronger and lasted for several seconds.

The aftermath was chaotic.

The drinks on the tables were spattered all over the hall and the students. It was a good thing the elves were yet to serve the meals.

Some of the children had fallen from their chairs while others had jumped out of them and hid under the tables.

Lyra was clutching his arm and had her eyes closed, but she seemed to be unhurt. The same could be said about Ginny, Hermione, and the others.

Harry was quick to cast a silent sticking charm on the girls to his right and their chairs.

"Ouch, my head!" Ron, who was at his left, complained.

Seamus had also fallen next to him and Neville was watching them with concern.

"Ron, you moron! why did you grab on to me?!" Shouted Seamus.

"Are you guys okay?" Harry asked the girls while removing the charm with a flick of his wand under the table.

"I'm fine, I think," Ginny answered.

"Lyra?" Harry called his sister, who was not letting him go.

"Is it over?...." she asked with her eyes still closed.

"Yes, it was just a short tremor. You can open your eyes now." Harry tried to calm her down.

Lyra looked around and saw all the chaos around the hall. Most of the students ended up on the floor, one way or another. But she noticed that she was still secured on her chair.

"How did-"

"Wow, I thought I was going to fall but I was able to hold onto my chair…somehow..." Lavender took the words out of her mouth.

"Students, please remain calm!" Called the Headmaster amid all the yelling

"Prefects, please escort anyone who is injured to the infirmary. Everyone else, remain in your seats."

"Ouch…help!" 

Dumbledore looked behind him, at where the noises were coming from.

Apparently, the new professor had somehow managed to get stuck beneath the podium. 

It looked like he had been trying to hide there but could not fit.

"Professor Lockhart, how did you…nermind. Severus, please come help the new professor."

Snape looked at the ridiculous position Lockhart had gotten himself in and frowned.

His head and arms disappeared beneath the wooden platform while his butt was sticking out.

There was no good way to get him out of there, not without magic at least.

"Depulso." With a quick wave of his wand, Snape sent Lockhart flying against the back wall.

"That was a bit unnecessary, Severus…." Dumbledore frowned.

"Albus, I'm going to accompany the Prefects," McGonagall told him as she was passing by.

"I'll go too. Have to make sure everyone gets safely to the infirmary." Professor Flitwick said.

Things took a few more minutes to calm down.

Then few children who were hurt were taken to Madam Pomfrey while the rest waited for the Headmaster to speak again.

"Very well…this was an unfortunate start to our school year, but nature can be unpredictable sometimes. Luckily, no one was seriously hurt. And now, as I was saying before, allow me to introduce our new professor of Defense, Gilderoy Lockhart."

There were a few claps here and there while Lockhart approached the podium again, but people were still a bit shaken.

Harry observed Dumbledore as he went back to his seat. There was a clear look of concern on the old man's face. And Harry understood why.

Anyone who has spent enough years in this castle would know…there are no earthquakes in Hogwarts. This was not a natural occurrence.

"Harry…is something wrong?" Lyra still looked anxious.

"No, why do you ask?" He asked.

"You were making that serious thinking face again…" Lyra pointed out.

"I have a serious thinking face?..."

"You do, isn't that right, Ginny?" Lyra turned to her friend.

"Mmm?... I don't know you as much as Lyra but…you do make some scary faces sometimes." Ginny recalled.

"Yes, he totally does! I saw those too!" Hermione joined the conversation.

"Okay…. let's move away from my face." Harry adjusted his glasses.

"And to answer your question, there is nothing that you need to worry about. This castle is one of the most secure places in the world. You are safe here. Just worry about getting to class in time and doing your homework." Harry told his sister.

"He also talks like an old man sometimes." Lavender joined the conversation.

"Does he talk like that at home?" Parvati questioned Lyra.

"Sometimes." Lyra giggled. The fright from before disappeared from her mind.

They then continued to talk about him.

"You should see the face he makes when he eats treacle tart!" Lyra exclaimed.

"Oh!, I remember that!" Ginny chuckled.

Harry sighed. He could defeat demons, dark wizards, or dragons.

But winning an argument against a group of teen girls was an impossible challenge, and he was not going to fight a losing battle. It was better to ignore it.

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