A Late Learning

Dennis was calmly heading towards the office of the History of Magic Professor. When he was halfway he faced an awkward situation. There was a large puddle of water on the floor and in order to avoid it he needed to pull up his robes. The caretaker was trying to clean it, grumping about his bad luck. Apparently, Peeves the Poltergeist had been dropping buckets of water, in order to laugh of those poor devils who slipped and fell. Dennis felt sorry for the caretaker and he wanted to help, but he was hurrying to meet Professor Clark. Earlier that noon one of the Gryffindors prefects gave him a note sent by Professor Ashton Clark, asking Dennis to meet him in his office around 20 o'clock.

So he continued to walk ignoring all that mess and a few minutes later Dennis was turning the corner of the main corridor of the first floor, empty at those late hours. He stopped in front of a beautiful wooden door, took a deep breath and knocked three times, wondering about the reason that Professor Clark called him.

Ashton stretched his lower limbs by standing up and taking a look at the view that the window is showing. He had been working on a lot of paper works ever since he stayed at the castle. He knew, at least, that his work is very rewarding on his part.

Suddenly, three knocks caught his attention. For a moment, he wondered who might it be. Then, he remembered about sending some notes to students he has concern with. "Come in," he asked. A first-year Gryffindor boy entered the room, with a little bit of confusion. Ashton, who knows his students by name, inquired, "How may I help you?" By not knowing his name, Ashton wouldn't know his concern and reason of his visit.

Only a brief second had passed when someone answered from inside the office. Dennis opened the door slowly, not sure how to introduce himself. It seemed like Professor Clark read his mind because he asked jovially:

- How may I help you?
- I'm Dennis Diggle, sir. I believe you sent me a note asking me to meet you here. - Dennis said, smiling to the good-looking man in front of him.

The student claimed himself to have the name Dennis Diggle. Remembering his thoughts, Ashton recalled that he did sent a note for a student having that name. "Yes, I indeed sent you a note. Please, sit," he instructed.
"It is concerning your absence during my lessons in History of Magic and in Flying class. Can you tell me the reason of your absence?" he asked, assuming that there is going to be a valid reason for this.

Dennis sat in the chair that Professor Clark had indicated. Nevertheless being a bit old, it was quite comfortable. The the teacher asked - "It is concerning your absence during my lessons in History of Magic and in Flying class. Can you tell me the reason of your absence?"
A bit embarrassed, Dennis answered slowly:
- My parents wouldn't let me come to Hogwarts, until they had checked the School 's security systems for themselves.
Then he smiled, waiting for the Professor's reaction.

"My parents wouldn't let me come to Hogwarts, until they had checked the School 's security systems for themselves," he answered back.

"Yes, parents. I totally understand. Well, I purposely decided to start my next lesson later than usual. That is, for some students that has a condition like you. As you may know, I will not let students enter my next lesson without them knowing the next one. So, I think I should fill you in with the past lesson."

Suddenly, an owl flew straight to his window, holding a letter on its beak. Ashton read it silently, without taking off his eyes on it. "I am very sorry Mr. Diggle but I have an unexpected appointment that I need to attend to. I will send an owl concerning the lesson that I am talking about. Then, you should reply your questions about it. If ever you do not have any, let me know that you understood the lesson well. I will give some questions to you. It will inform me whether you understood it well enough to proceed with the next lesson. Also, it will determine how much points should I award you. If you don't have any questions, you may now leave."

Professor Clark faced Dennis' justification in a very natural way, lifting a burden from his shoulders. Then, Professor Ashton explained that in order to enter his next lesson, Dennis needed to know what his classmates learned in the First Lesson. When Dennis was about to ask how exactly would he do that, an owl flew towards the office's window interrupting their dialogue.

After Professor Clark read the note he have received, he announced that he had an unexpected appointment and that he needed to leave immediately. So in order to conclude their meeting, Professor Ashton Clark declared: "I will send an owl concerning the lesson that I am talking about. Then, you should reply your questions about it. If ever you do not have any, let me know that you understood the lesson well. I will give some questions to you. It will inform me whether you understood it well enough to proceed with the next lesson. Also, it will determine how much points should I award you. If you don't have any questions, you may now leave."

Dennis swiftly replied: "I don't have any questions for the moment. Good night to you sir." Then, the Gryffindor student left the room, heading to the Common Room.