Lesson 5 - N.E.W.T. Level

Wilson entered his classroom. It was empty, for now, but soon... his students will arrive, thinking they can do what they want, as it is with the majority of them. He had finally begun with teaching some relevant subjects, meaning he had finished with those boring and stressing introductory classes. He waved his hand, and text appeared on the board, with the usual not to copy it down. As soon as they were all present, he would start with the class.

Julia held her books to her chest, walking briskly to the DADA classroom. She figured she would be on time, as she actually woke up at the right time that morning, meaning that she didn't have to stay late for any classes. It was true, slacking off felt a lot better when you knew it was your last year in school, but it also felt good to know you were doing well. She wasn't sure how her grades were standing, but she hoped they were fairly well; she wanted to do good on her final year. Walking into the classroom, Julia was surprised to realize she was the first student in the room. Odd. Usually she was the last student- what a great surprise. She smiled and nodded to the Professor, "Good morning, sir" She greeted. Julia took a seat in the front, waiting for class to begin.

James entered the room, on time by chance, and set about with his daily ritual. He sat himself down in a standard desk, set up his "station" by taking out his quill and parchment. The quill was set beside his wand, and the text book was kept close at hand. He personally did not enjoy Defense Against the Dark Arts, especially when Professor Wilson, but he needed to get through school at least. Even if everything taught in class had been drilled into him at the tender age of nine, James Wake was still required to attend these lessons, to pay his tuition, to earn scholarship, to simply get through this monotonous system.

Brienne wasn't looking forward to class. That was certain. She never looked forward to class, which wasn't all that unusual. Not really unusual considering that there was a bit of tension between her and her teachers. She didn't know why she was always in trouble, only that she was. She didn't like that, but she'd get over it. Surely. It was wishful thinking, most likely. Wishful thinking from a wishful person. She wished for many things which never came to. Never coming forth, even with sweat and toil. It made her frustrated to know that she wasn't getting anywhere. Going anywhere and doing anything. That was something that she really hated to think about, so much so that she thought of it all the time regardless. She hated her lack of mental control, and cursed it to some degree.

Nevertheless, she was here in class now, sitting down to the din of the room. Her book opened with a slight creak. That broke the silence a little bit, at least in Brienne's acute hearing. She had great senses, but cursed them when their acuity made her sick. Bright lights made her nauseous, as did potent foul smells. Sharp sounds hurt her ears too much. Some tactile stimuli seemed to pierce her. Even the feel of her wand was too...foreign. Even the feel of Daniel's hugs and cuddles, though soft, drove her to a point. Thinking about them brought a chill down her spine and warmth in certain....anyway back on track. She allowed herself to sink in her seat.

Amelia was running a bit behind in her usual morning schedule, but she had always had more than enough time to get to class on time, which was why she had stopped to help a very disturbed looking first year who had had an unfortunate run in with Peeves already this morning. As the girl was covered in chalk dust, the tracks of her tears had been all that much more apparent on her face, and although Amelia had never been an overly sympathetic person, she knew an impending meltdown when she saw one. Siphoning off the chalk had been relatively easy, and Amelia had sent the girl off to the hospital wing for a cheering charm before continuing on her way to class.

As she was later than usual, it was not surprising to find a few students already in the classroom. Amelia took her usual seat quietly, and took out a piece of parchment, a quill, and her wand. Although all three were rarely necessary in the same class period, Amelia was never one to appear unprepared.

Jack sloshed towards DADA, feeling weighed down and as though she were dragging her feet through mud. She did not know why she felt so terrible lately. It was as if she woke up with her own troubles on her back, and slowly but surely, the problems of the people around her settled onto her. By the end of the day, the weight of the world was upon the shoulders of the short redhead.

She paused as she came inside, scanning the room. Amelia, thoroughly prepared for the lesson; a Slytherin in the front; Brienne was reading her book, her chin almost touching the table; and James Wake awaiting the word of the professor, which he would soon take to heart, Jack was sure.

She considered going to sit by him and harass him. She had taken an interest in messing with the kid a bit since the study group. But her heart wasn't in it. She was not planning on being mean or anything, but she did not have the energy to mess around right now. She slowly went to the back and sat down, hunching over her desk to examine her hands.

The brisk cold coming in from the North was really beginning to irritate a certain Slytherin. After spending goodness knows how long on his hair it was destroyed in a matter of seconds by wind that seemingly had enough of his silken blonde locks. Well, he’d had enough of the damn wind and not long after the event he’d slunk back into castle, mirror out in front of him and one hand in his hair as he attempted to get it back to some sort of normality. Everything had to have intent otherwise it was useless. He looked unkempt with his hair the way it had been and he was thankful for the mirror. He was also thankful for long, pliable fingers which could work his hair quickly. Ariel was just glad he’d fixed his hair before he got to Defence Against the Dark Arts.

When Ariel entered, his hand went to the buttons of his coat. He quickly popped each one through and let it hang open, his left hand coming to rest in the pocket on the same side. He looked around the classroom, taking in everyone and not forgetting to glance at the Professor. He paid Wilson no mind, however. This time, Ariel decided to sit alone near the back of the class. He popped his bag down on the chair next to the one he planned on taking and slid his coat off. He placed it on the back of the chair and sank down into it. He leaned over, pulling each finger of his gloves as he did so, and opened his bag with the hand he pulled from the leather. He took his book from inside, the dog-eared, year old copy more battered than it had been prior to the re-read over the summer, and placed it on the table. He removed his hand from the other glove and closed his bag, throwing them down by the book as he did so. And so class begun. Deep, deep joy.

Oh, yes. There was this class she hadn't been to for what, four weeks now? The teachers of this school ought to be happy when she did grace them with her presence; the lessons were boring enough.

Angelique was quite aware that Defence was a favourite for many students, though she suspected it was only because they wanted to make a name for themselves, rather than because they really liked it. Who could like a subject run by Bloody Stupid Wilson?

In any case, it wasn't a favourite of hers, and that was explanation enough for why she hadn't come for four weeks. She only took the subject because there were such a lot of jobs you couldn't get if you didn't have a Defence NEWT. Not that it would really matter, she supposed, what with all the talk of the corruption in the ministry. Or at least the talk coming out of that man who wrote for the newspaper. He ought to watch out or someone would off him in his sleep. Then he'd really have something to complain about...

Well, now that she was here, she could check out the rest of the class. The usual suspects were looking keen to get started and that was somehow really depressing. After casting her eyes over them, Angelique decided to take the unprecedented step of sitting by Amelia. If nothing else, she could distract the Ravenclaw from her work.

''Good day to you all. It seems we have an addition to our class, you are from Slytherin, boy, aren't you? It is fairly obvious, don't you think? Now, as for today's lesson, we shall be learning about elemental charms. Although it isn't the most precise name, the term elemental charms refers to all charms that use or mimic the effect of any of the four basic elements, meaning water, fire, earth and air, or wind. Of course, there are some that are completely basic, and we shan't be practicing those, but there are some very useful ones that you could, definitely, use in real life. Now, as it is always with me on my classes, I would like you to try and name some of them, to name some elemental charms. Now, would anyone like to try?'', Wilson asked.

Can anyone else say perfect opportunity? Angelique began muttering beneath her breath as she pulled all sorts of things out of her bag. A leather pouch full of gobstones, a skiving snackbox - not that she needed one of those anymore, a sleeping hedgehog and thirteen sickles, before she found her parchment and quills.

She then immediately leant over to whisper to Amelia.

"What was that water charm? You know the one. You always know everything. Something like... schweppervescence wasn't it?"

Of course it wasn't. The water charm was Aguamenti, something Angelique knew perfectly well. Shweppervescence was a word she'd seen written on a lemonade billboard in King's Cross. Angelique had no idea what it meant; it just sounded a lot like it ought to be the incantation for something. Perhaps even for summoning lemonade.