Chapter 275: By the Black Lake
After the welcome feast, two young figures walked side by side along the shore of the Black Lake. On Evans's shoulder, the Diricawl Alice sat contentedly, preening her feathers. At his side, Sothia hugged Loka, the big potato-like creature, against her chest, curiosity bright in her eyes.
Up until tonight, everything she knew about Hogwarts had come second-hand from Evans's stories. She had pictured something roughly like Beauxbatons, only older and a bit grander.
Now that she had seen it for herself, that impression had been completely overturned.
Hogwarts more than earned its fame as the most renowned school of magic in Europe, perhaps in the world. The staff, the atmosphere of study and exploration, the sheer weight of its magic, all outstripped Beauxbatons by more than a little.
Beyond that, the castle was riddled with magical mechanisms and puzzles. Any corridor might conceal some small enchantment ready to spring a surprise on a passing student.
When she had first stepped through the doors, at least three wards capable of threatening even her had quietly locked onto her. If Professor McGonagall hadn't stopped her, she would definitely have tried them out just to see how good they really were.
Growing up in a place like this was far better, in her view, than a school like Beauxbatons, where the solidified enchantments in the castle had to be scrubbed out every week.
Evans, for some reason, had always had a very different opinion. In his words, Hogwarts students lived every day on the edge of life and death. There were lethal traps in the corridors, dark creatures in the forest, ghosts and restless spirits everywhere, and simply getting through a school year involved constant mortal peril. Hardly an ideal learning environment.
But if a school of magic had none of that strangeness and danger, could it really be called a school of magic at all?
At least for her, teaching here sounded far more interesting than anything Beauxbatons could offer.
Sothia glanced at the distant castle, and the anticipation in her chest deepened.
The ancient fortress glowed warmly against the night. Curfew had not yet fallen, so while most classroom windows were dark, light still shone from the corridors, the library, and the House common rooms, like a ring of beacons guiding the lost through the dark.
Not that any actual "lost souls" were out tonight. The big bat had returned midway through the feast. There were no travellers in need of the castle's glow.
A few curious Muggles might, someday, wander near, drawn by rumours. They would see nothing but ruins.
Staring at the lights, Evans's expression drifted.
Even now, he still hadn't quite wrapped his mind around it. In his head, Sothia was the last person on earth he could imagine associated with the post of Defence Against the Dark Arts professor.
She barely used spells at all. What was she supposed to teach? How to beat up the dark creatures in magical forests?
All right, that admittedly was part of what a Defence professor was meant to do.
The problem was that the way he and Sothia dealt with dark creatures was completely unrepeatable. Even if they demonstrated it, the students wouldn't be able to copy a thing.
No. She really was not suited to this job.
He pulled his gaze from the castle and looked at the girl beside him, eyes still full of fascinated interest.
He truly did not want Sothia in that role. He knew better than anyone that teaching Defence at Hogwarts came with real risk.
Just counting the professors he'd personally seen: first year's had been unmasked and dragged off after Voldemort's fall; second year's had been tracked down by old enemies and landed in hospital near the end of term; third year's went mad; fourth year's died; fifth year's lost an arm; sixth year's stomach had been opened so badly they were lucky to live. Only the seventh year's witch had dodged serious trouble, and that was mostly because she was ill so often she barely taught at all.
And after he'd joined the staff, Quirrell had been burned to ash, Lockhart had ended up in Azkaban, and even Tina, who'd only substituted for half a year, had supposedly twisted her ankle on the way home.
Without that history, Hogwarts wouldn't have had such a hard time filling the post.
Frowning, Evans fell silent for a moment, then said seriously, "You don't feel anything off? No discomfort? I should warn you, Defence Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts is not a safe position."
"If Dumbledore tricked you into this, it's not too late to run."
Most previous Defence professors hadn't noticed anything wrong until it was too late. But Sothia was a spring nymph, born with power over water and a natural counter to all water-based curses. He suspected she might have some resistance to other kinds of curses, too. If anyone could sense the so-called Defence curse, it would be her.
He strongly suspected that this was exactly why that wily old fox Dumbledore had gone all the way to France to recruit her.
One professor a year was a heavy drain, even on his network.
"I don't feel anything strange," Sothia said, shaking her head. Seeing the worry on his face, she smiled and patted his shoulder.
"Relax. Professor Dumbledore explained the problem before I agreed. It's just a cursed position, isn't it? I killed a lake monster that lived for over two hundred years. I'm not going to be afraid of some little curse."
"This is not a 'little' curse," Evans muttered, still uneasy. "And that monster died because I stood in front, taking the hits. You were just providing fire support from the back."
"Fine, fine. Then this time you're here too," she said, voice light. She skipped a few steps ahead of him, spun around, and smiled brightly.
"Same deal as before. I'll work out where the curse is coming from. If anything dangerous happens, you protect me. All right?"
Under the cold moonlight, her pale-gold hair floated gently despite the still air. Looking at the smile on her face, Evans went momentarily blank, then turned his head away a little too quickly.
"I don't have that scabbard this time. I might not be able to take as much of a beating as you."
His gaze drifted toward the Black Lake. The surface was almost perfectly smooth in the absence of wind. Even a single pebble tossed in would send ripples sweeping out in every direction.
His thoughts were anything but calm.
Sothia, on the other hand, seemed utterly untroubled. She rolled up her sleeves and crouched by the shore, stirring the water with one hand. After a few moments, a fish came surging out of nowhere, driven in by hidden currents, and flopped neatly into her palm.
"Look. Lucky me. Caught a fish." She held it up in triumph. "I didn't eat quite enough at dinner. How about a little supper?"
"I watched you drag that thing in with water currents. If you want to eat, just say so. Don't bother with excuses," Evans said, shaking his head, though the turmoil in his chest had settled quite a bit.
One step at a time. Just as Sothia had said, a curse was a curse. It couldn't be worse than the lake monster that had lurked for two centuries.
"What flavour do you want?" she asked. "Five-spice? Something spicy?"
"Can I have both?"
"Then you'd better catch a few more."