alchemy class
darthcourt10
Well worn.
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Harry Leferts
Harry was almost vibrating as he sat at his desk in the Alchemy Classroom. And as it turned out he was not the only one as there was a lot of whispering going on between the various students. Beside him, Hermione was flipping through her textbook while Ron was looking at some of the various alchemical devices that sat around the room in curiosity. Though Harry was pretty sure that his friend was also interested in perhaps using them for his own projects of sorts.
For his part, Harry was more interested in the various pieces of art that were visible around the room.
When they had arrived, they found a list of rules outside the door. Mostly, they had been common sense ones which reminded the thirteen year old of rules used for chemistry labs and such. A few had raised eyebrows for him though, such as specific ones regarding experimenting on their own time must be done in the lab. Though he had blinked at the one demanding students not to try 'Immortality Serums' that they came up with or found in a book without consulting with the teachers. And then Harry remembered some of what he knew about such and winced.
Upon the door itself were three symbols done in gold. The top one looked like the symbol for Venus, except for horns. Below that was a circle with a line through it. And, finally, there was a triangle with a cross attached to the bottom. All of them softly shone in the light of the hallway.
Inside the room was also fascinating as well as it looked much like a mix between a modern day chemistry lab and old woodcuts he had seen of alchemy labs. Tables topped with polished granite stood with stools behind them. Along the walls, in displays, were various devices. From what he could see, Harry recognized condensers, distillatorys, and various others. All of which were in full function bubbling and the like. It was amazing to see.
Above the teacher's desk was a golden snake eating its tail. When one looked at the ceiling though, there was another symbol there. Said symbol was a circle with a triangle inside, which had a square inside of it, with the square having a circle. Starting from the inside, the whole symbol would be black, then slowly turn white, then yellow, and finally red before seemingly resetting. More then that, no matter from what angle Harry viewed it from, it looked like he was viewing it aligned with the bottom of it.
Needless to say, he found it neat.
Besides that, there were old woodcuts and such on the walls which showed things like red suns and so forth. Somehow, Harry knew, he could spend just hours looking at each piece of it and not really get bored. However, he was brought out of his thoughts when the door shut and the class turned to find Wilhelm walking down the aisle with Gwen beside him. Their teachers took in each one of them with a small smile and a nod before reaching their desk. Looking around the room, Wilhelm chuckled some. "Guten Morgen, class. As the Headmaster already told you, I am Wilhelm Wolff and beside me is my ever lovely wife, Gwen Wolff."
Despite the blush on her face, Gwen gave him a look. "Flatterer." Turning to the class, she chuckled some. "Sorry, you'll find quite a bit of that going on in his class."
Only humming, Wilhelm reached over and placed his arm around her waist while some of the girls cooed. "Ja, but it is true that you are ever lovely, my love." Turning his attention back onto the class, he glanced at the parchment on his desk before clearing his throat. "Now, I will be calling your names one by one, please answer promptly." When he reached Harry's name, he hummed. "Potter, Harry..."
Raising his hand, said boy smiled. "Present."
For several moments, Wilhem gazed at him before chuckling. "Now there is a name that brings back memories." At the confusion, his smile grew a touch. "You would not be the first Potter that I have taught, Mein student. Henry, your... great-grandfather was a student of mein many decades ago. And a friend as well afterwards." With a slight nod, the alchemist turned to his wife. "Is that not so?"
Lightly laughing, Gwen shook her head. "Very much so, though I have known the Potters much longer then you have." Gazing at him, she sighed some. "You look quite a bit like my friend, Elizabeth Potter. The shape of the eyes in particular... her husband took her name, you know."
Eyes wide, Harry stared at her. "Really, Professor Gwen?"
Humming, she smiled and shook her head. "Oh yes, though I do hope that you will not be the last Potter that we will teach." Clearing her throat, Gwen gave her husband a look. "Though perhaps that is enough until later."
A small smile on his face, he gave her waist a squeeze and continued the rollcall with comments when he came across a familiar family name. Once he was done, Wilhelm walked out behind his desk and made his way around it until he was at the front. Then, casually, he leaned against it as he looked out onto his class. "With that done, we can get started. You are all here because you wish to learn the art of Alchemy, as a word of advice, the door is right there if you find it not for you. I will not judge, and neither will mein wife. But I will not have one of you continue to learn in this class unless you are interested and giving it your all. One who is disinterested in a subject will often not pay attention or be distracted. And that is something that could be deadly here!"
To empathize his speech, he slammed his hand down hard on the desk and created a clap that made the whole class flinch.
Walking up beside him, Gwen went into a similar pose as her husband. "Alchemy can be quite dangerous to learn, and to practice. Most of you, I suspect, have an idea as to how dangerous potions can be. Alchemy, if done wrong, is even more dangerous. Many alchemists have been badly harmed or died because they were not paying enough attention. With potions, the effects can be reversed easily enough. But with alchemy? You might not even realize that something has gone wrong before it does. For example, many who use it to search for immortality have died because they poisoned themselves accidentally, killing themselves over time without knowing. In many ways, it is like muggle chemistry which is descended from alchemy on the non-magical side of things. You will respect what you are doing here or else we will force you to leave the class. As well, if any of you feel ill after a class, come to either us or to Madame Pomfrey immediately."
Gaze sweeping across them, Wilhelm made a nod before walking over to the blackboard. With a wave of his hand, chalk began to animate and start writing before he turned back to the students. "It is for the reasons that we have stated why, for the most part, Alchemy is not offered until one is into their NEWTs. Because by that time the students are often much more cognizant of the dangers due to potions. Albus however wishes to see if another way could work. In this class, there shall be no experiments for some time. Rather, we shall build a strong foundation first before anything else is done. For a house will not stand well, or for very long, if the foundation is weak. Instead, it will shift and eventually collapse."
Just nodding in agreement, his wife continued to lean against the desk. "I have mentioned chemistry previously. Within the non-magical portion of the world, people see chemistry as the child alchemy. Formed out of what was into something new. They are not exactly incorrect in this opinion as without alchemy, chemistry would not exist. In many ways, the two are intertwined with one another and we can note many similarities on the material side. However, that is not all there is to alchemy."
Clapping his hand, Wilhelm made a motion with his wand and the image of a golden cross with a red rose appeared in the air. "Within alchemy, there is also the spiritual aspect. Some of you may know this as the Rose Cross, which has been used as a symbol of alchemy." It then faded away as he continued. "To put it at the most basic, on a spiritual level, alchemy is a search, one that will never end. To go from ignorance and have a journey to enlightenment. To transform one self into something more, something better. And not just them, but also the world around them through their knowledge. But it is not something that will ever be complete."
Finally moving from the desk, Gwen brought out her wand and pointed it at the wall with a beam of light reaching it. "To paraphrase something that I have come across elsewhere, what matters in alchemy is not the end point, though some lose sight of that, it is the journey of discovery. This beam of light represents the search for knowledge. And on the wall, the circle represents the destination, the enlightenment of the human soul. The brighter the beam, the brighter the circle, and thus the greater the Magnum Opus. One could stare at the circle and consider themselves enlightened, but you cannot touch the circle in the end, only observe it and reach for it. But we must always stride forward, attempting to reach that enlightenment. For that is the way of the alchemist."
One of the students raised their hand and got a nod. "Um, that sort of sounds like those transhumanists..."
Eyebrow raised, Wilhelm gave a hum. "You are muggleborn, yes?" When said student nodded, he chuckled. "Yes, in some ways it is similar, I will admit. An alchemist will wish to transmute ignorance into knowledge. To make themselves, and humanity, greater. As I have said, there is a spiritual aspect alongside the material. Neither is greater then the other, rather they are complementary of each other. You cannot separate them, for they are one in the end, and both. Material and spiritual, magical and not, male and female... together and not."
With a nod, Gwen looked around and noticed some confused looks before chuckling. "I suppose that this is rather deep, but this is part of the basics. As we move along, you will discover more about the mystical art of alchemy. Perhaps, if we are lucky, by the end of the year we shall get started on some minor alchemical compounds. Mainly dyes, but ones that are rather useful. Now, open all your books to page ten and we shall start..."
__________________________________________________________________
It was getting into late afternoon as Harry entered the classroom down the hall from the Defense Against the Dark Arts class. Glancing at the skull with ruby eyes in the sockets, he could only shake his head before blinking at the classroom. The windows were shut with heavy, dark curtains while greenish flames burned in the scones. Shadows flickered and shifted into strange patterns on the walls and ceilings.
And what did not help the creepiness factor were the moving pictures on the walls.
Harry tilted his head as he passed one, as it showed a man with a large bag full of various wares, with what had to be Death gripping him and trying to pull him away. Another picture showed what looked like a desiccated corpse digging into a grave before it pulled out a bone that it gnawed on. In other picture frames one could see spectres, wraiths, and the like. There was one creature that looked like someone had merged a deer, a bear, and a human with the intestines falling out as it stood in the middle of a raging blizzard. Its red eyes glaring malevolently at the students. 'Well... this looks a bit creepy.'
Making his way to a seat, he sat down in it. However, to his surprise he was soon joined by the Carrow Twins who nodded at him. A voice made him turn though and blink at who was there. "Harry? You're taking this class as well?"
On Harry's face was a small smile and he chuckled. "Hey, Susan. Didn't expect for you to be in this class as well." Then he nodded at the Carrow Twins. "Nor did I expect either of you to be here as well."
A slight upturn of the lips visible, Flora shook her head. "We're here because it is an interesting subject. Besides which..."
When she trailed off, her sister took over. "Let us just say that the knowledge we might gain could help us later in life."
Even though he was puzzled, Harry simply nodded before Susan spoke up. "I decided on it because my Aunt suggested it. I want to follow in her footsteps and she told me that it is a very useful subject for Aurors and the like, though not exactly needed. Though..." Glancing around, she grimaced. "I did not expect this place to be quite this creepy."
Hestia coughed a bit and looked away from one of the more gruesome pictures. "The... teacher, has a very unique sense of taste, let us just say. And we have heard stories about him as well."
Nodding, Flora frowned a bit. "Yes, such as the one where he had some sort of skeleton woman as a lover."
That made Harry blink and turn his head to look at her. "Skeleton woman? Do you mean a Hone Onna?"
It went without saying that all four jumped when a voice spoke up. "Indeed they do, Mister Potter. And five points to Gryffindor for recognizing such a being." The teacher smiled down at him. "I foresee you going far in this class."
As the teacher continued to smile down at them, Harry took in his appearance. The man looked to be middle age with a pencil mustache on his face and a silver streak on his hair on either side of his head. For clothes, he wore a black suit with a dark wizard's cloak over it. Granted, Harry stared a little at the cloak clasp which looked like a red eye with a slit pupil. One that reminded him of the Eye of Sauron of all things.
Which then blinked.
The teacher then chuckled and strode forward with his cloak dramatically moving behind him. Something that made Harry tilt his head a bit. 'So Professor Snape is not the only one who can do that? And I wonder if I can get him to teach me...'
Coming to his desk, the Professor went through the rollcall quickly, with nods here and there. Finally, he stood and addressed the classroom. "Allow myself to welcome all of you to Ghoul Studies. I am Professor Ghul, and I have already heard all the jokes I assure you. This class can be considered a supplementary to Defense Against the Dark Arts as it deals with creatures and beings covered under DADA. In this class, you shall learn how to identify and deal with various ghouls and spooks. How to tell a ghost from a spectre, or a European house ghoul from its much more dangerous, Middle Eastern counterpart which would gladly rip out your throat. Or how a Moroi differs from a Strigoi, as well as the differences between the two types of Strigoi."
Susan raised her hand and waited until their professor pointed at her. "Are we going to be covering things like Inferi?"
Just smiling slightly, Professor Ghul nodded. "Yes, we shall cover them eventually in this case. We will also cover their lesser known cousin, the Zombie. Something found only in the Southern parts of America and parts of the Caribbean as noted in The Dark Forces: Guide to Self-Protection. We may also cover the Chupacabra from generally the same area and Central America."
Another hand being raised made them look to where Padma sat. When she got a gesture to ask, she stood up. "You mentioned dealing with spirits and such? What do you mean?"
Leaning back, the Professor was quiet for a few moments before speaking. "We shall be learning how to protect one self from some of the nastier ones. At the same time though, we will also learn how to communicate with them as needed and how to recognize when one is, ah, offering a bad deal as it were. And, yes, that means that shall slide some into discussions of necromancy. By which, I mean, the traditional meaning. Not creating undead beings as a lot of muggles now assume, but rather communicating with spirits. The Resurrection Stone of the Tale of the Deathly Hollows can be considered the pinnacle of such. If you take the NEWT level classes, then I shall bring out my copy of the Necronomicon and allow for you to study it. The subject, can be quite... maddening, to be honest."
He then laughed with more then one of the students giving each other looks before Harry raised a hand. "Um, the Necronomicon? Not the one from Lovecraft..."
Calming down, Professor Ghul gave him a smile. "No, there are no eldritch abominations involved. It simply deals with the dead and beings thereof, I believe that current theory is that Lovecraft heard of the book, or came across a copy, and used it as a basis." Then without looking at another raised hand, he sighed. "And no, Mister Williams, the book is not written in Sumerian, nor penned on human skin and in human blood." Giving said Hufflepuff a look, he raised one eyebrow. "And yes, I know the reference, your older sister Ashley already did so five years ago. So please, do not come to my class with a shotgun or chainsaw else I shall be quite cross."
While said student sheepishly sank below his desk, Harry only shook his head. 'Low hanging fruit that is. Honestly...'
Meanwhile, Professor Ghul turned back to the class. "As well, we shall compare muggle viewpoints of the beings that we are talking about in comparison to the reality. So, yes, that means that we shall have horror movies hosted by myself at times. The house elves truly do make some wonderful popcorn. As well, we shall look at other forms of literature, though I am certain that those of you within Flitwick's Book Club will be ahead in some ways in regards to that. I prefer the works of Poe myself, nevermore... Now then, class, please open your textbooks and we shall begin..."
Doing so, Harry pondered another issue. One that, unknown to him, many others had wrestled with over the years. A mystery that none had solved yet.
Why did their professor look and sound like Vincent Price?
Harry was almost vibrating as he sat at his desk in the Alchemy Classroom. And as it turned out he was not the only one as there was a lot of whispering going on between the various students. Beside him, Hermione was flipping through her textbook while Ron was looking at some of the various alchemical devices that sat around the room in curiosity. Though Harry was pretty sure that his friend was also interested in perhaps using them for his own projects of sorts.
For his part, Harry was more interested in the various pieces of art that were visible around the room.
When they had arrived, they found a list of rules outside the door. Mostly, they had been common sense ones which reminded the thirteen year old of rules used for chemistry labs and such. A few had raised eyebrows for him though, such as specific ones regarding experimenting on their own time must be done in the lab. Though he had blinked at the one demanding students not to try 'Immortality Serums' that they came up with or found in a book without consulting with the teachers. And then Harry remembered some of what he knew about such and winced.
Upon the door itself were three symbols done in gold. The top one looked like the symbol for Venus, except for horns. Below that was a circle with a line through it. And, finally, there was a triangle with a cross attached to the bottom. All of them softly shone in the light of the hallway.
Inside the room was also fascinating as well as it looked much like a mix between a modern day chemistry lab and old woodcuts he had seen of alchemy labs. Tables topped with polished granite stood with stools behind them. Along the walls, in displays, were various devices. From what he could see, Harry recognized condensers, distillatorys, and various others. All of which were in full function bubbling and the like. It was amazing to see.
Above the teacher's desk was a golden snake eating its tail. When one looked at the ceiling though, there was another symbol there. Said symbol was a circle with a triangle inside, which had a square inside of it, with the square having a circle. Starting from the inside, the whole symbol would be black, then slowly turn white, then yellow, and finally red before seemingly resetting. More then that, no matter from what angle Harry viewed it from, it looked like he was viewing it aligned with the bottom of it.
Needless to say, he found it neat.
Besides that, there were old woodcuts and such on the walls which showed things like red suns and so forth. Somehow, Harry knew, he could spend just hours looking at each piece of it and not really get bored. However, he was brought out of his thoughts when the door shut and the class turned to find Wilhelm walking down the aisle with Gwen beside him. Their teachers took in each one of them with a small smile and a nod before reaching their desk. Looking around the room, Wilhelm chuckled some. "Guten Morgen, class. As the Headmaster already told you, I am Wilhelm Wolff and beside me is my ever lovely wife, Gwen Wolff."
Despite the blush on her face, Gwen gave him a look. "Flatterer." Turning to the class, she chuckled some. "Sorry, you'll find quite a bit of that going on in his class."
Only humming, Wilhelm reached over and placed his arm around her waist while some of the girls cooed. "Ja, but it is true that you are ever lovely, my love." Turning his attention back onto the class, he glanced at the parchment on his desk before clearing his throat. "Now, I will be calling your names one by one, please answer promptly." When he reached Harry's name, he hummed. "Potter, Harry..."
Raising his hand, said boy smiled. "Present."
For several moments, Wilhem gazed at him before chuckling. "Now there is a name that brings back memories." At the confusion, his smile grew a touch. "You would not be the first Potter that I have taught, Mein student. Henry, your... great-grandfather was a student of mein many decades ago. And a friend as well afterwards." With a slight nod, the alchemist turned to his wife. "Is that not so?"
Lightly laughing, Gwen shook her head. "Very much so, though I have known the Potters much longer then you have." Gazing at him, she sighed some. "You look quite a bit like my friend, Elizabeth Potter. The shape of the eyes in particular... her husband took her name, you know."
Eyes wide, Harry stared at her. "Really, Professor Gwen?"
Humming, she smiled and shook her head. "Oh yes, though I do hope that you will not be the last Potter that we will teach." Clearing her throat, Gwen gave her husband a look. "Though perhaps that is enough until later."
A small smile on his face, he gave her waist a squeeze and continued the rollcall with comments when he came across a familiar family name. Once he was done, Wilhelm walked out behind his desk and made his way around it until he was at the front. Then, casually, he leaned against it as he looked out onto his class. "With that done, we can get started. You are all here because you wish to learn the art of Alchemy, as a word of advice, the door is right there if you find it not for you. I will not judge, and neither will mein wife. But I will not have one of you continue to learn in this class unless you are interested and giving it your all. One who is disinterested in a subject will often not pay attention or be distracted. And that is something that could be deadly here!"
To empathize his speech, he slammed his hand down hard on the desk and created a clap that made the whole class flinch.
Walking up beside him, Gwen went into a similar pose as her husband. "Alchemy can be quite dangerous to learn, and to practice. Most of you, I suspect, have an idea as to how dangerous potions can be. Alchemy, if done wrong, is even more dangerous. Many alchemists have been badly harmed or died because they were not paying enough attention. With potions, the effects can be reversed easily enough. But with alchemy? You might not even realize that something has gone wrong before it does. For example, many who use it to search for immortality have died because they poisoned themselves accidentally, killing themselves over time without knowing. In many ways, it is like muggle chemistry which is descended from alchemy on the non-magical side of things. You will respect what you are doing here or else we will force you to leave the class. As well, if any of you feel ill after a class, come to either us or to Madame Pomfrey immediately."
Gaze sweeping across them, Wilhelm made a nod before walking over to the blackboard. With a wave of his hand, chalk began to animate and start writing before he turned back to the students. "It is for the reasons that we have stated why, for the most part, Alchemy is not offered until one is into their NEWTs. Because by that time the students are often much more cognizant of the dangers due to potions. Albus however wishes to see if another way could work. In this class, there shall be no experiments for some time. Rather, we shall build a strong foundation first before anything else is done. For a house will not stand well, or for very long, if the foundation is weak. Instead, it will shift and eventually collapse."
Just nodding in agreement, his wife continued to lean against the desk. "I have mentioned chemistry previously. Within the non-magical portion of the world, people see chemistry as the child alchemy. Formed out of what was into something new. They are not exactly incorrect in this opinion as without alchemy, chemistry would not exist. In many ways, the two are intertwined with one another and we can note many similarities on the material side. However, that is not all there is to alchemy."
Clapping his hand, Wilhelm made a motion with his wand and the image of a golden cross with a red rose appeared in the air. "Within alchemy, there is also the spiritual aspect. Some of you may know this as the Rose Cross, which has been used as a symbol of alchemy." It then faded away as he continued. "To put it at the most basic, on a spiritual level, alchemy is a search, one that will never end. To go from ignorance and have a journey to enlightenment. To transform one self into something more, something better. And not just them, but also the world around them through their knowledge. But it is not something that will ever be complete."
Finally moving from the desk, Gwen brought out her wand and pointed it at the wall with a beam of light reaching it. "To paraphrase something that I have come across elsewhere, what matters in alchemy is not the end point, though some lose sight of that, it is the journey of discovery. This beam of light represents the search for knowledge. And on the wall, the circle represents the destination, the enlightenment of the human soul. The brighter the beam, the brighter the circle, and thus the greater the Magnum Opus. One could stare at the circle and consider themselves enlightened, but you cannot touch the circle in the end, only observe it and reach for it. But we must always stride forward, attempting to reach that enlightenment. For that is the way of the alchemist."
One of the students raised their hand and got a nod. "Um, that sort of sounds like those transhumanists..."
Eyebrow raised, Wilhelm gave a hum. "You are muggleborn, yes?" When said student nodded, he chuckled. "Yes, in some ways it is similar, I will admit. An alchemist will wish to transmute ignorance into knowledge. To make themselves, and humanity, greater. As I have said, there is a spiritual aspect alongside the material. Neither is greater then the other, rather they are complementary of each other. You cannot separate them, for they are one in the end, and both. Material and spiritual, magical and not, male and female... together and not."
With a nod, Gwen looked around and noticed some confused looks before chuckling. "I suppose that this is rather deep, but this is part of the basics. As we move along, you will discover more about the mystical art of alchemy. Perhaps, if we are lucky, by the end of the year we shall get started on some minor alchemical compounds. Mainly dyes, but ones that are rather useful. Now, open all your books to page ten and we shall start..."
__________________________________________________________________
It was getting into late afternoon as Harry entered the classroom down the hall from the Defense Against the Dark Arts class. Glancing at the skull with ruby eyes in the sockets, he could only shake his head before blinking at the classroom. The windows were shut with heavy, dark curtains while greenish flames burned in the scones. Shadows flickered and shifted into strange patterns on the walls and ceilings.
And what did not help the creepiness factor were the moving pictures on the walls.
Harry tilted his head as he passed one, as it showed a man with a large bag full of various wares, with what had to be Death gripping him and trying to pull him away. Another picture showed what looked like a desiccated corpse digging into a grave before it pulled out a bone that it gnawed on. In other picture frames one could see spectres, wraiths, and the like. There was one creature that looked like someone had merged a deer, a bear, and a human with the intestines falling out as it stood in the middle of a raging blizzard. Its red eyes glaring malevolently at the students. 'Well... this looks a bit creepy.'
Making his way to a seat, he sat down in it. However, to his surprise he was soon joined by the Carrow Twins who nodded at him. A voice made him turn though and blink at who was there. "Harry? You're taking this class as well?"
On Harry's face was a small smile and he chuckled. "Hey, Susan. Didn't expect for you to be in this class as well." Then he nodded at the Carrow Twins. "Nor did I expect either of you to be here as well."
A slight upturn of the lips visible, Flora shook her head. "We're here because it is an interesting subject. Besides which..."
When she trailed off, her sister took over. "Let us just say that the knowledge we might gain could help us later in life."
Even though he was puzzled, Harry simply nodded before Susan spoke up. "I decided on it because my Aunt suggested it. I want to follow in her footsteps and she told me that it is a very useful subject for Aurors and the like, though not exactly needed. Though..." Glancing around, she grimaced. "I did not expect this place to be quite this creepy."
Hestia coughed a bit and looked away from one of the more gruesome pictures. "The... teacher, has a very unique sense of taste, let us just say. And we have heard stories about him as well."
Nodding, Flora frowned a bit. "Yes, such as the one where he had some sort of skeleton woman as a lover."
That made Harry blink and turn his head to look at her. "Skeleton woman? Do you mean a Hone Onna?"
It went without saying that all four jumped when a voice spoke up. "Indeed they do, Mister Potter. And five points to Gryffindor for recognizing such a being." The teacher smiled down at him. "I foresee you going far in this class."
As the teacher continued to smile down at them, Harry took in his appearance. The man looked to be middle age with a pencil mustache on his face and a silver streak on his hair on either side of his head. For clothes, he wore a black suit with a dark wizard's cloak over it. Granted, Harry stared a little at the cloak clasp which looked like a red eye with a slit pupil. One that reminded him of the Eye of Sauron of all things.
Which then blinked.
The teacher then chuckled and strode forward with his cloak dramatically moving behind him. Something that made Harry tilt his head a bit. 'So Professor Snape is not the only one who can do that? And I wonder if I can get him to teach me...'
Coming to his desk, the Professor went through the rollcall quickly, with nods here and there. Finally, he stood and addressed the classroom. "Allow myself to welcome all of you to Ghoul Studies. I am Professor Ghul, and I have already heard all the jokes I assure you. This class can be considered a supplementary to Defense Against the Dark Arts as it deals with creatures and beings covered under DADA. In this class, you shall learn how to identify and deal with various ghouls and spooks. How to tell a ghost from a spectre, or a European house ghoul from its much more dangerous, Middle Eastern counterpart which would gladly rip out your throat. Or how a Moroi differs from a Strigoi, as well as the differences between the two types of Strigoi."
Susan raised her hand and waited until their professor pointed at her. "Are we going to be covering things like Inferi?"
Just smiling slightly, Professor Ghul nodded. "Yes, we shall cover them eventually in this case. We will also cover their lesser known cousin, the Zombie. Something found only in the Southern parts of America and parts of the Caribbean as noted in The Dark Forces: Guide to Self-Protection. We may also cover the Chupacabra from generally the same area and Central America."
Another hand being raised made them look to where Padma sat. When she got a gesture to ask, she stood up. "You mentioned dealing with spirits and such? What do you mean?"
Leaning back, the Professor was quiet for a few moments before speaking. "We shall be learning how to protect one self from some of the nastier ones. At the same time though, we will also learn how to communicate with them as needed and how to recognize when one is, ah, offering a bad deal as it were. And, yes, that means that shall slide some into discussions of necromancy. By which, I mean, the traditional meaning. Not creating undead beings as a lot of muggles now assume, but rather communicating with spirits. The Resurrection Stone of the Tale of the Deathly Hollows can be considered the pinnacle of such. If you take the NEWT level classes, then I shall bring out my copy of the Necronomicon and allow for you to study it. The subject, can be quite... maddening, to be honest."
He then laughed with more then one of the students giving each other looks before Harry raised a hand. "Um, the Necronomicon? Not the one from Lovecraft..."
Calming down, Professor Ghul gave him a smile. "No, there are no eldritch abominations involved. It simply deals with the dead and beings thereof, I believe that current theory is that Lovecraft heard of the book, or came across a copy, and used it as a basis." Then without looking at another raised hand, he sighed. "And no, Mister Williams, the book is not written in Sumerian, nor penned on human skin and in human blood." Giving said Hufflepuff a look, he raised one eyebrow. "And yes, I know the reference, your older sister Ashley already did so five years ago. So please, do not come to my class with a shotgun or chainsaw else I shall be quite cross."
While said student sheepishly sank below his desk, Harry only shook his head. 'Low hanging fruit that is. Honestly...'
Meanwhile, Professor Ghul turned back to the class. "As well, we shall compare muggle viewpoints of the beings that we are talking about in comparison to the reality. So, yes, that means that we shall have horror movies hosted by myself at times. The house elves truly do make some wonderful popcorn. As well, we shall look at other forms of literature, though I am certain that those of you within Flitwick's Book Club will be ahead in some ways in regards to that. I prefer the works of Poe myself, nevermore... Now then, class, please open your textbooks and we shall begin..."
Doing so, Harry pondered another issue. One that, unknown to him, many others had wrestled with over the years. A mystery that none had solved yet.
Why did their professor look and sound like Vincent Price?