Training - That's All

Lily's transformations had been taking the toll on her more than usual this year. It had to be all of the drugs and alcohol from the prior year that had worn her body to a point where the monthly labor was just too much for her. She was practically incapacitated the day after a full moon, and her body would fail her in the strangest times throughout the week. Most of her classes, she had caught up on. Her quick wit and her independent spirit helped her get through.

But there was no escaping the fact that Defense Against the Dark Arts was a very practical subject. And she had gotten to the point where the material was not repeat information from her first go around. Defense was also infinitely more complicated every year, as new information and discoveries changed and evolved the subject constantly.

She wasn't failing, but she didn't want to risk it.

She felt a bit shaky that day, but she forced herself to don clothing (she looked pretty pathetic, she would admit) and made her way up to the office, knocking on the door.

So he was grading papers now, that was a thing, but it was not so bad. It was interesting to see younger minds takes on the subjects he had given them. His older students, he had gone over avoiding duels, and how walking away could save their life. The differing opinions from all the houses was very intriguing. Gryffindors thought it absolutely crazy to walk away from the fight, while Slytherins loved the idea of slinking away and getting revenge when they had the upper hand.


He hoped to get into more advanced magic as the year went on, but apparently, the last Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher had not taught practical magic, and most of them were not ready. So he took it slowly on them hoping that they would progress.


A knock came from his door and Aaron glanced up at a clock. His office was very dark, lit only by two candle lights, it created a very eerie feeling in his office. Shadows flickered from every corner of the room. Various decorations adorned the walls to his interests. Wands he had crafted himself, the ones he had been most proud of, sat atop a shelf behind him on beautifully designed holders. Books lined a shelf to the left of him and a few magical artifacts he had collected lay inside glass cases to the right.


"Do come in." Aaron said as he stood up and rounded his desk. The offspring of the late Harry Potter was now entering his room. She had requested extra credit, and of course, he had obliged her. He did not particularly care to teach her, but, he was more interested in discovering if she carried the same abilities as her father: If she was a Parslemouth. "Good evening, Ms. Potter."

A voice beckoned her in and her scrawny arm pushed open the door, revealing the office of Professor Marcheti. Every professor seemed to take a different approach to decorating his or her office and if she were any less apathetic to such trivial things, she probably would have taken in the differences with mild interest. Back at Salem's, Lily had been an inquisitive pupil, full of desire and spark to learn. The Americans had loved using the word 'spunky' to describe Miss Potter. Back in the United Kingdom, there was just too much expectation attached to her name. Her desire to do well had waned, and professors used words like 'apathetic' and 'distracted' instead.

She could not be totally that way during a makeup lesson, however. She had to put forth at least a sliver of interest - she figured a sliver of interest would be approximately the equivalent of another student's full attempt. Marcheti did not seem to be foolish enough to realize she wasn't putting forth the full effort - but he also didn't seem to be the kind of man to care much for academic success. He wasn't a Dead Poet's Society sort of teacher.

It was interesting that she could have such impressions and care so little for their implications. She figured the former came from her father, who had developed strong instincts for people and had passed them on to his children. Passed them on so strongly that Albus and Lily had become almost impossible to please with company - James was more forgiving. She supposed the latter came from losing her parents. It was hard to care about traits in people when it all felt so temporary and fleeting.

Orphan syndrome. What could you do.

"Evening," she said, shrugging her bag off of her shoulder. She stared blankly at Aaron, showing nothing, and feeling even less.

( Imma god mod just a bit in this one, if you hate it... sorry )

"A little enthusiasm, please." Aaron said coldly as he pushed himself off of his desk. He pulled out his wand and waved it and the entire room began to change. What was a cluttered office before began to form into a more open space. He began to mutter incantations under his breath to protect his office from any sort of damage if any spells began to go off course, which when training students, that always did.


"Wand out." These lessons were going to be a bit...well... different. In class he could not give as much of a hands on approach due to there being so many students, but one on one, he could do a more practical lesson. One that would stick with the girl and also one that she would never forget. He did not wait for her to pull it completely out before he shouted his spell. "Expelliarmus!"


Her wand flew from her hands and landed in his free hand. Tossing it up into the air he caught it by the handle and examined it as he slowly walked around the room. "I am to assume you were not ready for that, no? Nor will you ever be, the best you can hope for is that your mind does not melt under the pressure and you can remember what you have learned long enough to survive." He stopped next to Lily and lazily handed her wand back to her.


"The shield charm, a most useful charm, can block most spells. There is one that cannot be blocked, do you know what that is?"

Lily smiled wide, baring her teeth - something about the expression was a little wolfish. It lasted all of half a nanosecond before returning. She realized doing so probably came off as incredibly disrespectful, so she amended quickly, "I'm not feeling my best. My apologies." If he had not, like so many other professors, investigated her file, he probably had not realized she spent more than a normal amount of time in the hospital wing. Her muscles were tired, and smiling was an unnecessary exercise. Besides, she wasn't one to be thrilled.

But she needed him to not be angry with her, as he controlled her academic fate, and she needed to get the hell out of this castle.

The room cleared and she stepped back to allow the process. Once it was done, she set her bag against the wall, assuming her book was not going to be put to too much use.

He ordered her to whip out her wand, and she went to do so, at her leisure, when she heard his words. She made a move as though to fend off the spell, but she was at a complete disadvantage for timing. Her lips parted in surprise and discontent as her wand landed snugly into his grasp.

"Thanks for the chance," she said drolly, her dark eyes boring into his features. He spoke and she tilted her head, squinting an eye in an expression that clearly read obviously. He continued speaking and she kept her eyes on him, unflinching because, as Teddy had said, she struggled to feel anything, lest of all discomfort. Her wand was returned to her and she flicked her eyebrows upwards. "Cheerful."

He asked a question and her answer spilled out automatically, a trait of her namesake. "Avada Kedavra, the killing curse. Of course." She knew this stuff. She wasn't an idiot, she was just behind.