DADA - Lesson 2 (Years 3, 4 & 5)

Isabelle was counting down the days until Christmas, feeling a little more giddy with excitement as each grew closer. She loved everything about the holiday; the twinkling lights, the snow, the fact that everyone seemed to be in lifted spirits all the time. It was her favourite time of year, that had been long since decided, and as she saw all of the elves decorating the corridors on her way to class, the black haired girl couldn't help but be unable to wait until the holidays.

She would be going home this year for a few weeks. Her parents had asked that of her, supposedly having some 'big news' that she had to share. The girl had gone and shown the letter to her Belladonna brother, who nodded and said that he had gotten an identical one, and for a while they had mused over what the news could be. A new baby was off the cards: the complications after the twins' birth had lead to Amelia being unable to carry another child, and moving house was unlikely because despite their efforts to hide it, their parents had some financial trouble.

"Good afternoon, Professor," the Wormwood greeted cheefully, looking at the seats and concluding that they wouldn't be doing practical work this time. She noted her friend and sat down next to the girl, saying a sweet hello as she proceeded to take out her regular equipment, a similar level of Chrimtmas cheer radiating off the older girl. Unforgivables the girl read, eyes widening a little. She'd read about those...

Janique had no idea why she was still taking this subject, because the last lesson had not gone all too well, what with her having to play the scared victim. She knew she had not portrayed a very good image of herself then, and her dignity had been somewhat diminished in the eyes of her professor. It wasn't as though DADA was her favourite subject - for she much preferred charms for the offensive spells learnt - but she wanted to salvage whatever self image she could with Jake, and decided that one last class would be bearable.

Only two students were already seated when she entered class, and she only recognized one, a slight frown appearing before she changed it to a smile and continued up to the front. Taking a seat on the opposite end of Victoria, she nodded towards Jake. "Afternoon," she greeted, her goal of the day to make up for what occurred in the last lesson.

Her eyes darted to the words on the board and a genuine grin took hold of her face as she noted the subject. "This is going to be amazing!" she muttered to herself. She removed her writing material and copied down the title on a fresh page before turning her attention back to the front of the class, waiting for the lesson to begin.

Aphrodite happily made her way to her first class which was Defense Against the Dark Arts. She loved learning new things about what each Professor brought to the table and she never once complained about anything, she was too smart and grateful for her classes. A lot of Professors go through trouble to find good lessons to teach their students so it would be wrong to judge them for trying. The blonde walked into the classroom and saw familiar faces right away. "Hey Jake" Aphy greeted.

Callum walked to the Defence classroom, and was a little taken aback by the topic. Unforgivable curses, well, he'd have to learn about them some time, he thought. He also considered the topic quite interesting, despite it being theoretical, something he usually didn't like. He walked into the classroom, taking a seat as far away from Jani as possible. He couldn't help the bitter feelings towards her, and waited patiently for the class to start.

Pulling out her Salem map, Estelle tilted it the right way up or what she thought was the right way. She moved to the side of the stampede of students where she tried to gain direction. She was on the first floor, or was it the second? Oh bloody hell... She thought to herself. Swinging her backpack properly on her back, she pulled up her too big of size skirt and set on her way. Running up the stairs, she tripped on her shoelaces and her knees hit the stones with a sickening crunch. She bit down into her lip and muffled a scream. She didn't dare look down at her knees but she knew they were wet.

Climbing up another set of stairs, she came face to face with the door. Stuffing her map into her bag, she ran her fingers through her hair and pulled her jacket closer to her. Opening it, she slipped inside and her eyes flickered to the board. Written upon the board was a single word,Unforgivables. She stopped in her tracks and she felt slightly dizzy. Bracing the desk with white knuckles, she stood up straight. Blinking back to normal, her mind raced with memories and her feet dragged across the floor to the back right seat where she was away from everyone else.

Waiting a moment, she looked down at her knees which were covered by her skirt but there was no denying that blood ran down her legs staining her white socks. She tugged her skirt lower and pulled out a piece of parchment for the lesson. Her hand shook as she tried to write:

Unforgivables with Professor Newbury

As she waited for class to start, she watched people enter, bored. This was the worst part of classes: the period just before it started, because that was when she had nothing to do. But then she saw Callum enter, and her stomach did a weird flip when she saw the look on his face. Writing it off as gloating for having won, she pretended not to have felt it.

A new girl entered class, and Jani frowned slightly, noting the blood on her legs. What happened? She was more curious than concerned, but she decided to stay where she was, because at that moment, Jake had started class.

Turning her attention back to him, she listened to his instructions, smirking slightly at the mention of leaving class, instantly thinking of the Wormwood a few seats next to her. If anyone found these spells 'uncomfortable', it would have to be Victoria, Jani decided, the temptation to roll her eyes high.

"So, first of all, lets list the spells that we know to be Unforgivables. One spell per person."

"Imperius," she immediately said. It was her favourite of all the unforgivable spells, and she had - more than once - wished she could try it on someone. Too bad that the penalty for doing so was Azkaban, or she would have already tried it. "It gives you total control over someone. You can make them do anything," she added, forcing the excitement out of her tone and keeping it mostly neutral. No one needed to know how much she actually liked the idea of having that kind of control over someone.

Isabelle listened to the replies of her peers, hands twisting in her lap. She knew the third, yes, of course she did. Anyone who didn't would be half an apple short of a tree. Her hand raised slightly to offer the third and final response to their Professor's question, her voice quivering a little bit as she spoke. The fear radiating off Victoria was more than enough for her to feel anxious, but she tried to control herself if only for a moment.

"Avada Kedavra," the black haired girl said, taking a breath before she continued. "Or the killing curse, Professor. It gives off a green light-... and the effect is instantanous, supposedly painless," Her hand had long since drifted back to her lap, her eyeline falling to the desk before her. Death was quite possibly the most horrible thought.

Estelle stayed quiet for the start of the lesson. Perhaps he did not notice her come in ` unlikely chance - and would not ask questions from her. She didn't exactly want to fail the class and listening to the other students get points for something, she didn't care about that either. She wasn't smart. But these.. curses... Gave her a weird feeling. She would be dumb if she hadn't heard of them before. In her past two years at her previous school, she was threatened by them and a person in the year above her performed one of the curses. All Estelle remembered was doing things she didn't want to do, being forced to do it. She remembered how weak she was in the situation. Surely the professor were not using these students as dummies... Though it really wouldn't be a surprise to her. The quiet ones always get picked on.

She begun writing down the questions he asked and some of the students answers. She then wrote her own beneath it to show that she at least had some knowledge of the lesson. She wasn't totally dumb. The students who answered seemed to have a good understanding of these topics but even Estelle heard the way they said it. At least she wasn't alone in the feeling of how awful these curses were. Estelle started to write:

Unforgivables with Professor Newbury
1. Imperius Curse - this curse gives you control over someone. It can be used for anything such as public humiliation or control for ones owns needs.
2. Cruciatis Curse- this curse is commonly known as the torture curse. The recipient will be in immense pain. The after effects can be horrid, some saying that if it is too strong for the body to handle, one will die. It can drive a witch, wizard or muggle mad. It is said that it emits a red flash when casting the spell.
3. Avada Kedavra Curse - This curse is formally known as the killing curse. The title says all, meaning that casting this curse brings instant death. It gives off a green light and once hitting the recipient, they are dead. It is speculated that it is peaceful.

While writing these, small flashbacks came into her mind of a dark cellar. It looked similar to an abandoned psychiatric hospital. She felt bile rising in her throat and her vision went red. Clutching onto her quill tightly, she waited for it to pass. The professors voice cut her from the trance as she waited for the next instruction.

Now, they're named Unforgivable Curses for a reason, can somebody else tell me why? And then another person tell me as to whether you can block these curses. And finally, someone tell me what happens if you cast these spells?

Quickly scribbling down the questions, she drew a blank for one of the questions but then a boy spoke up and said the answer. Shifting in her seat, she averted her eyes by looking at a spider webbing a web in the corner. Spiders have a peaceful life.. People fear spiders. Spiders are just misunderstood creatures... Estelle thought to herself, twiddling the quill in her fingers before writing down the rest of her answers.

In 1717, the Ministry of Magic said that these three curses were the unforgivables. These curses are dark magic of course and for anyone to use these would mean a sentence to Azkaban. They are still used today but not as commonly. The Black Widows use them to make them feel superior to others. Blocking these curses are not easy. One must have strong will power to throw off these curses. If one is too weak then they most likely going to end up dead. With the killing curse, it can be avoided if the spell does not hit you or an object is in front of you.

Estelle placed down her quill and reviewed her work. After getting those weird flash backs, she went into the library and read history books from different schools. Each had different stories to tell about spells, charms or about their school. It was information that just stuck in your mind. It triggered something in Estelle's head that made her feel nauseous when faced with it. All Estelle could do now was pray she was not called upon, surely, the professor wouldn't do that considering how heavy of a topic this was.

Aphrodite listened to everything that was said and was completely fascinated with the new things that she was learning. When Jake mentioned the belighter she remembered reading about it in a book during her first year and raised her hand a bit. "A belighter gives or takes away light, it is said to light the darkest of places" Aphrodite answered. She didn't know how right or wrong her answer was but it was all she could really think of. "We want the Spider to fear the light?" She shrugged with that guess because that is what that was. A guess.

At the request for ideas of what to make the spider do, Janique perked up, her mind racing. Maybe something along the lines of 'make it eat a few of its legs' would be good? But before she could suggest it, someone else had spoken up about deluminators and Jani had to stifle a laugh. Merlin, why was she always stuck in classes with people who don't use their brains? Shaking her head, she was about to offer up her suggestion but once again, was interrupted by Victoria.

Of course the Wormwood just had to go and say something totally boring. And, their Professor, being her brother, had obviously taken her suggestion and done just that. Rolling her eyes surreptitiously to herself, she watched with little excitement or joy at the dancing spider. When Jake had asked for another person to speak up, she glanced over at Victoria before clearing her throat.

"Why don't we make it go bungee jumping off the side of the table?" She paused and put as much sweetness as she could muster into her next phrase. "Of course, we wouldn't want to hurt the poor creature, so it could always use its silk to keep from falling. I mean, the last thing we want is for it to injure itself, right?"

She smiled innocently up at Jake, pretending that she had meant what she said despite the sarcasm that barely tinted her tone. Making people believe they had imagined something that had actually happened was a skill she had learnt was useful in her line of 'work'.

"The Imperius Curse is deadly to say the least, a person under the spell had no say in what they do. Many people have claimed to be under the Imperius Curse when they've killed others. Can anyone tell me how we know if that's true?"

Callum had remained quiet for most of the class, watching the demonstration with the spider not with fascination or curiosity, but with a neutral expression on his face. Truthfully, he did find it all very interesting, though at the moment, he wasn't in the mood for learning at all. He found himself unmotivated, a strange feeling for the Nightshade, but he was.

This, however, was an easy question.

"I suppose, unless you actually see someone casting it on them, you don't, not for sure." he answered briefly "Perhaps occlumency might help,"

Aphrodite felt like an idiot for getting the answer wrong, now she felt like a dumb blonde and hates that feeling. "Sorry" Aphrodite mumbled. She wasn't sure if Jake heard her or not but she knew he had a class to teach and focused hard on the lesson. She listened to her fellow classmates and Jake speak and mentally took notes in her head, she didn't want to become an even bigger idiot for getting another answer wrong.