Lesson 1- N.E.W.T. Level

These beginnings, these formal doings that needed to be done, the introductions, the new ones... all of those formalities were something that bothered him and that, somehow, managed to defuse his will for teaching. But still, he was looking forward to teaching his favorite class this term and that is what he had prepared for during the past few weeks. He entered the classroom, hoping that one of Archer's monkeys wouldn't be inside, went to his desk and took a seat, waiting for the pupils to come.

Amelia was freshly showered from a run earlier this morning as she headed off for Defense Against the Dark Arts. Her hair was still slightly damp and hung in ringlets around her face, but she had brought along a clip to pull it back during class so it would not be a distraction. The exercise earlier this morning had put her in a good mood, though it was difficult for her peers to notice that because her typical mood was so passive that most people just gave her a look of confusion, as if they could not as easily identify in her the emotion they were very familiar with in others.

Entering the DADA classroom, Amelia noticed in passing that she was the first to arrive, but as this was not unusual, she merely took her usual seat along the side of the room and nodded in the direction of Professor Wilson. Amelia had always respected Professor Wilson for his direct approach to teaching and his no-nonsense attitude. Yes, he could be sarcastic and caustic, but those traits were not completely dissociate from Amelia's own personality, and thus she had never encountered a problem with the professor who now sat behind the desk at the front of the room.

An hour of verbal lashings would be the punishment for appearing in Defence against the Dark Arts late. Elijah had woken up earlier after a late night that would surely cost him as the day went ahead. He’d wandered down to the kitchens in search of some breakfast and ate as much as the House Elves were throwing at him before walking back down to the dorms to shower. Then he’d taken to the grounds without a word to his stirring roommates. School was a lot more debilitating than Elijah had remembered. Supposedly the year ahead was important as they prepared for their N.E.W.T’s despite not actually taking them. Elijah saw no sense in it but he would probably regret skipping one day...maybe.

After sitting outside during breakfast, Elijah slowly made his way back inside to retrieve his bag before making his way up towards the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom. He thought it was ironic that he was taking both Dark Arts and the Defence of that subject but they were linked (obviously) so if he could cast the spells then perhaps it would be easier to block them. He didn’t know whether his logic made sense or not but it was bound to be useful. With a yawn, Elijah turned the corner and began to walk down towards the classroom. He stepped around a couple of early first years that were lingering in the corridor and he opened the door, expecting to see some of the early risers in the room. But it was just Wilson and Amelia.

Elijah cleared his throat and stepped inside. He closed the door behind him and took his bag off of his shoulders. He moved to the seat he usually sat at and put his bag underneath the table. “Good Morning.” He said jovially to both Amelia and the Professor. Elijah pulled the seat out and slipped down into it before tucking himself in. As long as he didn't aggravate Wilson too much he might survive the lesson and make it out alive.

Brienne felt a growl in her throat. She felt ill, and coughed a whole lot. She had class today and she knew it. She hated classes whilst sick, but also wanted good grades. She brought Muggle cold medicine with her, which she took so she could bare it through the lesson. She had two different types for this type of situation: a day formula enhanced with caffeine to keep her awake, and a night formula which included something to make her drowsy. She popped two of the day-formulas just before she arrived at the DADA classroom. She hoped Wilson would go easy on her today because she didn't feel right.

"Hello everyone!" She said as cheerfully as she could, while sounding kinda sick and taking her seat.

Jack stepped into Defense Against the Dark Arts, one of the only classes she found that she would really ever attempt to put effort into. She knew that she would actually attempt to show up to classes on time, do homework, and try in this class only because there was some actual practical information- a shocker in regards to education. Jack found that everything else was just fluff to line the empty spaces in one's skull. She did not mind learning; she just preferred something useful.

Her eyes raked the classroom; the usual early Ravenclaws and Elijah Krum. She had only really made his acquaintance this summer, but they had got on well enough, because they both seemed to have that same attitude of carelessness when it came to what other people thought. Jack knew he had gotten cozy with Chase, but she would not hold that against him. That was something that Jack thought fell upon Chase and Andrew, who had both created their own relationship issues.

Pleased to know she may have a friend or at least an acquaintance with whom she could joke around a bit in this class, she went over and dropped her bag at the seat next to Elijah. A thud echoed across the room and she said in dull voice, "Whoops," to indicate she really was not sorry for the loud interruption. She slipped into her chair, transferring her bag to the ground. She nodded at Elijah. "Hey."

There was not much that could be said about Defense. It was a class necessary to any respectable witch or wizard's education, and nobody with half an ounce of sense would drop it when they took their NEWTs. Especially if they wanted a decent job when they graduated.

Angelique was also good at it. She was easily irritated, and you couldn't really get away with hexing people you were annoyed at unless you knew how to protect yourself against their retribution.

She slipped into a front seat, deliberately avoiding Elijah Krum and his groupies. Honestly, the boy was repellant; he must be awfully good at brewing love potions.

Hidama had been extra slow in waking up this morning. Her eyelids felt heavy as she had groaned out and pulled the covers over her head, snoozing for 5 minutes before finally jumping out of the bed. I don't want to be late... not yet at least. She moved quietly around, not wanting to disturb her twin sister Hinode that was still sleeping. She was sick, and was excused from all classes for now at least. Hidama had worried a bit, but since her sister was still healthy enough to violently protest against going home and get nursed by their mother, then Hidama was a little calmer.

She walked in fast steps towards the classroom while yawning randomly and stretching. Momo was still sleeping on her warm pillow, making the Keikan girl envy her pet that didn't have to attend classes. She opened the door to the classroom with a rather loud bang, and let out a big "I-am-not-sorry-for-that-noise" smile, before she ran her eyes over the classroom. Hn.. A small scowl entered her face at the usual sight of the Slytherin boy being surrounded by -inferior- girls. Hidama didn't really think that much of boys, as she claimed she didn't have time, so she failed to understand just what was with that mad attraction that the girls seemed to have towards Elijah.

Not really wanting to sit alone, especially since she missed her sister's presence, she walked in light steps towards where Angelique was sitting before plopping down on the empty seat next to her.

Defence Against the Dark Arts. The class proved to be both challenging and exciting unless you had to face a Boggart. Rafael couldn’t quite remember what had happened to him last time. Everything was a bit blurry after the cupboard opened. It was safe to say that dispelling Boggarts wasn’t really Rafael’s strong point and if he ever happened to face a Dementor then he was fairly certain the floating bit of bed linen would get him before he got rid of it. Memories, good or bad, were never helpful because they made him vulnerable. Perhaps that was why Occlumency was such a good skill to possess. It was just a shame he couldn’t quite grasp the concept.

Rafael entered the classroom, not forgetting to close the door behind him. He turned and took in the amount of students in the classroom. It was already fairly full with a group of girls surrounding one particular boy with the Slytherin green etched into the inside of his robes that were slung over the back of his chair. Rafael took a seat at one of the middle desks and sat down as quietly and as quickly as possible without drawing much attention to himself. He could get through this lesson alright. He knew he could and he knew he would.

Zack walked down the hall to the the defense against the dark arts classroom he looked around and saw a few other classmates were there hoping he wasn't late he walked to a chair in the back and in a corner of the room so he could see the door. He didn't know why but he never felt very comfortable sitting anywhere else. He felt like this would be a good class.

Simon strode confidently into Defense Against the Dark Arts, though he was racked with nervousness. His father had told him about how he had done everything with ease... Simon did not have his father's confidence it seemed, though anyone on the outside would not know the difference.

He sent the teacher one f his charming smiles, as though to tell him "Hey, professor, I'm ready to learn!" In truth, for a Ravenclaw, Simon was a rather dull boy who was not rather brilliant in any special way. But he did put effort into his work, and his pompous manner usually won over the favor of his professors.

He sat at a seat in the second row, keeping himself from becoming a social reject as a teacher's pet, but enough so that he would not get forgotten. He had learned the balance quite well and was not planning to mess with it now.