An Anticlimactic End of the Year

                                    

                                          
As Harry was making his way to the Quidditch pitch for the final  match of the year, Slytherin versus Hufflepuff, he could not help but  wonder how eventful the last three weeks had been. He had been very well  entertained to say the least. The arrival of Bridget Hawthorne  certainly had a lot to do with that.
                          
    "She... she cannot teach here," Dumbledore protested after the introduction of the new History of Magic teacher, "she... she..."  
                          
    "She can and she will," Bartemius Crouch Senior quickly cut  through Dumbledore's starting tirade, "she is the only Historian left in  Britain who is young enough and adequately qualified to teach.  Therefore..."  
                          
    "But she will feed lies..." Dumbledore began, only to be  interrupted by Crouch Senior again, "Miss Hawthorne has agreed to  strictly follow the new, Ministry approved History of Magic curriculum.  There should be no conflicts of interest. To ensure that, I would prefer  to discuss the details of Miss Hawthorne's appointment in private,  preferably in your office, Headmaster."  
                          
    According to Harry's map, the discussion had lasted well past  midnight. It appeared like Dumbledore was trying to be as uncooperative  as possible, adamant to prevent his adversary from teaching actual  History to his historically oblivious students. Luckily, the Headmaster  seemed to be unsuccessful.  
                          
    When Harry entered the Great Hall for breakfast the next morning,  the pale figure of Bridget Hawthorne was already sitting at the staff  table, animatedly conversing with the merry Professor Flitwick and oddly  Severus. The scene looked rather domestic, like Bridget Hawthorne had  never taken her breakfast anywhere else. It was truly mind boggling that  this was her first day of teaching at Hogwarts and her first meal in  the Great Hall.  
                          
    When the Slytherins entered the History classroom a couple of  hours later, their new teacher was already present. Bridget Hawthorne,  dressed in dark, rather form-fitting duelling robes, was casually  leaning against her desk. It was odd having a real teacher in the  classroom after months of enduring Binns. Still, the teacher was not the  only thing to have changed. The entire classroom had been refurbished  and redecorated. Binns' ancient wooden furniture had been replaced with  brand new desks and chairs, making the room smell pleasantly of freshly  cut oak. The formerly smudgy, darkened walls had been repainted in a  crisp white. Instead of being bare, like they previously had been, they  were covered with a wide array of posters, containing important  historical dates, ground-breaking legislation, family trees, and  information about Hogwarts herself. Overall, the classroom was hardly  recognisable, Harry mused to himself as he took his usual seat in the  front row.  
                          
    Just as the bell was ringing, Weasley and his gang burst into the  classroom. Blind to the changes within the classroom, they let  themselves fall on their usual seats in the back, not even bothering to  excuse their tardiness, nor attempting to get their books, quills, and  parchment on the table.  
                          
    At the front, Professor Hawthorne's lips twitched in disdain as  she eyed the Gryffindors, before pushing herself off her desk, thus  positioning herself in the middle of the classroom, "As unbelievable as  it may sound to all of you, studying History of Magic is not a futile  and redundant endeavour. We are nothing without our rich and proud past.  Without the achievements of our ancestors and without proper  documentation, there would be no Spells, no Charms, no Transfigurations,  no Hexes, no Curses, no Potions, no Runes, no Wards, and no Rituals to  learn. You would not live in the Manors of your ancestors, not wield  your wands, nor wander the streets of Diagon Alley, or Hogsmeade, nor  study at Hogwarts, and you would not be protected by the Ministry of  Magic. You are here to learn about all these important achievements,  about struggle, about inventions, and about war, but also about peace."