Change

Harry nodded. Cassandra stood by the lectern and watched him for a moment.

"If there's nothing else, I need to prepare for my next class."

She sounded so haughty that Harry hardly needed to translate what she meant.

"No, that's all. Thanks," he said deliberately.

Cassandra said nothing more and turned to straighten a stack of parchment in the corner of the lectern.

Harry stayed with her in the classroom a while longer. Only when she told him to leave did he head out and slowly make his way back down the corridor.

He passed an open window. Outside, students shouted across the lawn, and brooms whistled through the air.

He stood by the windowsill for a while, watching students run, fly, and practice spells in the afternoon sun as he mulled things over.

He had observed both first-year and sixth-year classes. The improvements were subtle but real. The changing ley line conditions were affecting every classroom at Hogwarts in ways even he had not fully anticipated.

After about ten minutes at the window, he turned and continued on.

Harry returned to the common room that evening. Ron was leaning back on a sofa with a Quidditch magazine, while Seamus and Dean were playing Wizard Chess again. The pieces on their board were fighting even harder than they had yesterday.

Harry sat in an armchair by the fireplace, stretched out his legs, and let out a long breath.

Ron looked up over his magazine.

"What did you do today?"

"Sat in on three classes. Professor Flitwick's first-year Charms Class this morning, then Professor McGonagall's Transfiguration class, and Cassandra's Defense Against the Dark Arts Class this afternoon."

"Planning to become a professor?" Seamus asked curiously.

Harry smiled and shook his head. "Not quite. I just wanted to see how much things