C3

The first day of school started normally enough. The students had their breakfast and took off to their classes chatting and laughing. Only a few took notice that their new Defense teacher wasn't present.

Hadrian was waiting for the sixth-year class to arrive while sitting on the top of his desk, under a disillusionment charm. There were only twelve students that managed to get the Exceed Expectations necessary for the course at NEWT level.

Maybe Hadrian was being somewhat unfair in his planned ambush, but he wasn't expecting anyone to notice him under the charm. No, he only wanted to know how the students faired when confronted by the unexpected.

The students finished entering the class and soon took notice that something was wrong. The first spell Hadrian used was a wide-area silence spell, followed by a tickling charm. Next, he cast stunners on five students. A few students managed to hide behind tables and cast shields before Hadrian canceled the disillusionment charm.

"I hope that you have learned something from this exercise," Hadrian said grinning. "Hello, once again my name is Hadrian Black, your new Defense teacher. I'm here to teach you to defend yourselves against dark magic, a varied assortment of creatures from simple gremlins to dragons, and more importantly to your current situation, Voldemort and his death eaters."

Most of the class gasp and shuddered just hearing his name. That was something that Hadrian would beat out of them.

"Stop that, don't fear a made-up name from a wannabe dark lord with delusions of grandeur," Hadrian said, waiting for the question he was sure was coming.

One of the boys in the back of the class raised his hand. He had hazel eyes and untidy black hair that stuck up at the back

"Yes, Mr. Potter?"

"What do mean by made-up name?" James asked.

"The one calling himself Lord Voldemort, which by the way means 'flight from Death' in French, was born Tom Marvolo Riddle," Hadrian said with a grin. "From what the headmaster told me, his mother was a near squib called Merope from the Gaunt family and a non-magical aristocrat called Tom Riddle. He was a very talented student when he attended Hogwarts and received an award for special services rendered to the school, which you can see in the trophy room."

There, now the rumors of Tom being a half-blood will spread like fire and he will lose the support of many pureblood families. And since Hadrian made sure to ask Albus about Tom's history, no one would be suspicious that he had such knowledge.

"Now, I already had a class planned for today when the Daily Prophet came with news of werewolf attacks. So, that's what we are talking about today," Hadrian said surveying the class and noticing one student suddenly trying very hard to not be noticed.

'That must be Remus,' Hadrian thought. "Who here can tell me a little about them?"

Lily's hand went up so fast that Hadrian almost didn't catch the movement, almost.

"Yes, Miss Evans?"

"A werewolf is a wizard or witch who, upon the complete rising of the full moon, becomes an uncontrollable wolf. The condition is caused by an infection, transmitted by the bite of another werewolf," Lily said, all in one breath.

"Five points to Gryffindor, Miss Evans," Hadrian said. "However, something that I would like to correct is that you don't need to be a wizard or witch to become a werewolf, a non-magical can also be infected. The same goes for vampirism, the bite work on both magical and non-magical."

Hadrian then went to explain the history of werewolves, the most effective methods to combat one or run away from one. It was by the end of the class that he gave his opinion.

"Now, I will talk about what I personally think of werewolves," he said. "In the end, they are just human beings with a furry problem. What you need to remember is that these people are only affected one day of the month, and if they take precautions they are not a danger to anyone."

Hadrian could see some skeptical look on his student's faces with some understanding ones, and one hopeful.

"Why do you think there are so many werewolves fighting for Tom? Because they like violence and death? Sure, there are some among them, like Fenrir Greyback, that are like that but most of them are fighting because Tom promised them better lives if he won," Hadrian said. "If werewolves were treated better if they were treated like normal wizards and witches, there wouldn't be so many of them fighting for the dark side."

It was a group of pensive students that left the class. Remus Lupin took only a last glance at his professor before leaving, only to be surprised when Hadrian winked at him with a smile on his face. Understanding that the teacher knew his secret, Remus gave a grateful nod and went on his way, his steps a little lighter than before.

The rest of the day went along more or less the same for Hadrian. By the time dinner was served, the school was filled with conversations about his class, Voldemort's real identity, and about how handsome Hadrian was.

'Wait, what was the last one?', Hadrian thought trying to listen to the conversation. He wasn't planning on doing anything with any student, but when they graduated and a few years from now, well...

No one could blame for taking a bite.