Иное / Other: Первая лекция

The office located in a dungeon was dark and empty. There was a layer of dust on the floor. The four stood in front of the door, not daring enough to enter. Finally, Ginny Weasley said decisively:

shlechter_wolf 20.11.20 в 17:20

"Let's clean it up, since the teacher is late!"

shlechter_wolf 20.11.20 в 17:20

"I'm never late," the flat voice made everyone start and turn around. Indeed, a man in his forties, with a hooked nose and clear green eyes that seemed to glow in the dim light, seemed to have been standing there for a long time.

shlechter_wolf 20.11.20 в 17:20

Ginny blushed a little and exclaimed:

shlechter_wolf 20.11.20 в 17:21

"But it's filthy! How are we going to study in this class?”

shlechter_wolf 20.11.20 в 17:22

“Filthy?” the teacher chuckled in disbelief. “Not at all. I beg to differ.”

shlechter_wolf 20.11.20 в 17:22

And he was the first to enter ... a clean and tidy classroom. Not a single speck of dust, brightly burning candles, warmth and comfort.

shlechter_wolf 20.11.20 в 17:23

"You cleaned it nonverbally, sir?" suggested Ginny.

shlechter_wolf 20.11.20 в 17:23

"I didn't touch my wand," the teacher said with a slight smile. “Take a seat in the first row. This year I have a lot of you —four people, just incredible!” He shook his head ruefully. “Year on year is not necessary. So,” a wave of the wand, and a magazine appeared in front of the teacher, another wave – and it opened. “Who signed up for me? Duffy, Anthony, Slytherin. I remember your father, he was an outstanding wizard.”

shlechter_wolf 20.11.20 в 17:24

"Did he learn from you, too, sir?" Anthony, a dark-haired boy with pale skin, asked incredulously.

shlechter_wolf 20.11.20 в 17:24

"Absolutely," the teacher nodded sharply. "A capable student, too bad he was more interested in charms. Oh, I know what you mean! Of course, I'm older than I look, much older. Not all things are what they seem – that's the rule of my discipline, Mr. Duffy. M-m-m, who do we have next? Ferguson Graham, Hufflepuff. I don't know your parents, Mr. Fergusson…”

shlechter_wolf 20.11.20 в 17:24

"They're not wizards!" he added after a pause. “Sir.”

shlechter_wolf 20.11.20 в 17:25

“Very interesting,” the same light smile slid across the teacher's lips. “Usually my subject is visited by families, even generations. I hope your children will come to me, too, " he said, looking down at the magazine. “Of course, miss Lovegood!

shlechter_wolf 20.11.20 в 17:25

"You're very real, sir," said Luna, looking through the Professor with bleary eyes.

shlechter_wolf 20.11.20 в 17:26

"Do you think you should be more ghostly, miss Lovegood?" he looked at her with interest.

shlechter_wolf 20.11.20 в 17:26

"No need, sir.” She giggled at something.

shlechter_wolf 20.11.20 в 17:27

"Thank you for the compliment, miss Lovegood. I know your father, mother, and grandfather. It would be blasphemous if you didn't sign up for my class. Well, the last one in our set is Weasley, Ginny, Gryffindor. Very good, miss Weasley, why are you here is not entirely clear. You're the first person in the family to take my class, and I'm interested in the reason.”

shlechter_wolf 20.11.20 в 17:27

"Why, sir?" Ginny frowned. “I'm only here because Professor McGonagall told me not to refuse! How can it be that no one knows about your subject and also don't see it on the list?”

shlechter_wolf 20.11.20 в 17:28

"You're exaggerating, miss Weasley. Every year, one or two students notice my subject and ask the teacher. Usually they are Ravenclaw, rarely Slytherins and Hufflepuffs, very rarely — Gryffindors. Oh, wait, don't overreact! I'm not belittling your House at all, it's just that people from Gryffindor are usually talented in other areas. Dissimilarity of temperament, let's say. That's what I'm seeing right now, miss. Tell me, did something... special happen to you? Close contact with a Ghost, say? Perhaps you were attacked by a Banshee? Or have you looked into an ancient dark magic mirror?”

shlechter_wolf 20.11.20 в 17:28

"...Yes, it was" Ginny said after a few seconds, her face slightly downcast.

shlechter_wolf 20.11.20 в 17:28

"Any of the above?"

shlechter_wolf 20.11.20 в 17:30

"A Ghost," Ginny said quietly. "An unusual Ghost.”

shlechter_wolf 20.11.20 в 17:30

“Of course, unusual!” the teacher exclaimed. “Very, very unusual! Don't worry, I won't ask you in detail. Another rule of my subject: there are secrets that should not be disclosed to the uninitiated. Are you writing this down? Oh, no? Take out the parchments and write that down. ‘There are secrets that should not be shared with the uninitiated.’ Who are the uninitiated? For simplicity — all those who were enrolled in my course. We will discuss this issue in more detail later. Hm, earlier I voiced another rule, even more important: ‘Not all things are what they seem when first seen, heard and touched.’ Have you got that? Wonderful. Now, allow me to introduce myself: Ethan Rice, the permanent and irreplaceable Professor of Unreality! Before I start my introductory lecture on the subject, perhaps you have some questions… Yes, miss Weasley?”

shlechter_wolf 20.11.20 в 17:31

"Why haven't I ever seen you at the faculty table, sir?" asked Ginny, still annoyed.

shlechter_wolf 20.11.20 в 17:31

"Well, Professor Trelawney doesn't go there very often either," Rice said, "But that's not really the reason. The fact is that what I said is absolutely true: you didn't see me. I hope that at the end of the year you will see me all the time, perhaps not only in this office or in the Great hall, but also at random meetings.”

shlechter_wolf 20.11.20 в 17:32

"Do you wear an invisibility cloak?"

shlechter_wolf 20.11.20 в 18:49

"No, no, and no again! An invisibility cloak is an artefact, miss Weasley, a charm that is connected, intertwined with objects, short-lived, eroding – expensive if you buy it, a chore if you do it yourself. Experienced magicians use invisibility or disguise spells, but they have nothing to do with it. It's getting easier and harder, miss Weasley. It's hard to notice things that aren't quite real. Wait! Remaining questions – after the lecture. You don't have to write down the lecture, except for the rules – you must know them by heart.”

shlechter_wolf 20.11.20 в 18:49

Professor Rice took a glass of water out of the air, drank it slowly, and continued:

shlechter_wolf 20.11.20 в 18:50

“So, othereallity. It is generally believed that the magical world differs from the Muggle world not only in the presence of magic and magical creatures, but also in something more... ephemeral, " Rice gestured smoothly-so that if you looked at it, you could forget yourself and fall into a trance. Ginny and Graham shook their heads in unison. Anthony mentally compared it to Binns. “No, it doesn't look like it. - Ghosts and portraits of long-dead people. Sacred and mystical places. Magic mirror. Mind reading and memory modification.”

shlechter_wolf 20.11.20 в 18:50