DADA - Lesson 3 (Year 6 & 7)

After a very tiring night of training and then trying to work out some incredibly complicated charts for Transfiguration, Mary took a two hour nap before she had to go to class. Fueled purely on anxiety that she wasn't studying hard enough and about ten cups of coffee, the Head Girl walked up to the third floor. Her head was buzzing slightly and she wasn't entirely aware of what exactly they had been doing in Magical History, but she was excited for DADA.

"Hi Jake," she greeted her Professor absent-mindedly as she tried to remember the topic of the lesson before-hand, and failing miserably. The witch made a mental note to ask one of her classmates for notes and then smiled at Jake. "Patronus, awesome!"

Henley didn't have much of a problem with DADA, this was probably the only class she could stand and now here she was. Henley walked in and didn't even care to acknowledge anyone that was already there and waited for the class to start. The Nightshade looked at the board and saw what they were learning.

Jareth was getting ready for the end of the year, but he still had classes to attend. Much to his dismay, if it was up to him life would be a party. He needed the grades however, so he arrived at DADA, walked in and leant against the wall.

"Sup Professor?" he asked, leaning against the wall. Looking around he noticed that none of his friends were in this class so far. "Oh well, one man party van" he thought to himself. Reading the board he smiled, Patronus's that was way easy. He was the life of the party, genuinely always happy.

Leaning on the wall, and spotting a hot girl. Jareth lost his balance and fell backwards. Landing on his backside, he quickly got up and dusted himself off. "I'm okay, I'm okay no need for the girls to rush to help me" he informed the class, standing up straight this time.

Charlie walked in right when a younger boy fell. She was going to help him but he said he was okay and Charlie.would take his word for it. The Wormwood continued her way until she took a seat and waited for the class to began. "Hi Jake" the Wormwood greeted, she knew that Jake wasn't really used to being called Professor and preferred Jake usually. The red head pulled out her wand because they were going to need it.

DADA was one of her favorites and gladly walked into the classroom and saw as always others there. Jake's class was always a popular one and it wasn't a surprise. "Hey Jake" Diem greeted before she took her seat towards the front of the class. She grabbed her wand out of her bag and waited for the class to begin.

Mary smiled at Charlie and Diem when they got to the class and ignored the arrogant Belladonna boy. Jake started the class soon after and the witch listened to him. She raised her hand, waiting to be called on.

"It's a very difficult and powerful bit of magic, such so that many grown witches and wizards haven't managed to cast it." the Head Girl answered. She was a bit worried that she wouldn't be able to do it, actually. She was very well aware she wouldn't get it on her first try, or second, or third or maybe even tenth. But she would keep practicing no matter what.

Apollo was late and he hated being late. He didn't run but speed walked to the classroom. When he arrived there he opened the door and stepped through. He didn't know how much trouble he'd be in but he hoped not a lot. "Sorry Jake" Apollo apologized and joined the rest of the room. He didn't know what they were going over but he had heard some of Mary's answer and had an idea.

Mary watched Jake perform the spell with seemingly no trouble and smiled at her Professor, honestly happy for him. When he was done, the witch gulped and moved away from the group, telling herself she could do this. She wasn't so sure, though.

A happy memory. Not just any happy memory would do, Mary knew that much. A memory when she felt the happiest in her life. This was hard. The witch thought about it for a few minutes and finally decided on one. Now to see if it would work...

Oscar and Lydia's faces swam before her eyes, both laughing and happy. Lydia was saying something that made the boy only laugh harder and he hugged the girl with one arm, swinging the other over Mary's shoulders and she was laughing as well. It was so easy, hanging out with them. No obligations to be the best, to prove herself, she could say anything she wanted and do anything she wanted. They accepted her as she was, flaws and all and she did the same for them.

"Expecto Patronum!" Mary said, waving her wand in a spiral movement. A wisp of silver fog came out of her wand, hovered for a few seconds and then disappeared. The witch sighed and tried again.

Thinking about the day she arrived at Salem, the Wormwood waved her wand in the right motion and muttered the incantation. She remembered the feeling of truly belonging somewhere, of seeing the magnificent castle for the first time, of meeting Lydia and Oscar for the first time. A shy, quiet girl and an Italian boy who had a knack for pranks. She thought about going up to the dormitories for the first time and picking out a bed, making it her own. She thought about how, over time, the Wormwood common room became her second home and how content she felt in the library, how incredibly amazing it felt to be going about the huge castle with Oscar, discovering all the hidden spaces.
She remembered how nice and amazing it felt to be making home out of this school and how hard she had to work to get to this point and how happy it all made her, how accomplished she felt.

This time, the silver fog stayed long enough that it had started to form a shape, but it dissolved before Mary could see what it was. She took a deep, shaky breath and ran her hands over her face. Apparently, not even feeling at home and happy was enough for this stupid spell. No, okay, it was actually really useful and not stupid and she would just have to try harder.

"How's it going?"

Mary looked through her fingers to see Jake there and she rubbed her neck instead of her face. "Not well. Can't think of anything happy enough." she muttered. It didn't help that she was over-tired and couldn't really think straight. On the other hand, though, she knew that if she would ever need to cast the spell, it wouldn't be under perfect circumstances, so she'd better get used to this.

"You were almost there with the second attempt, I think..."

"Really?" the witch asked, hoping it was true. She sighed, closed her eyes and tried again, looking for that perfect memory.

Once again, she focused on how the castle had been becoming her second home throughout the years. She remembered the time she found out there was a secret passage to the library's restricted section near the Nightshade common rooms. She remembered the night that followed that day, she was all huddled up with a blanket and some chocolate, going through as many books as she possibly could. It was an amazing night and many like it followed, but that first time was special. The witch could distinctly remember the rush, the excitement of being somewhere she technically shouldn't be and how comfortable it was on that one armchair, wrapped in her blanket with a book in her lap.

Mary remembered getting the letter telling her she's a Prefect and then finding out Oscar was one as well. She remembered laughing for a full minute at his confused face and how hurt he was that the faculty thought he was 'Prefect-material'. "Nobody'll take me seriously as a prankster anymore!" his words rang out in her mind, his outraged tone still present.

She thought of all the evening spent in front of the fireplace in the Wormwood common room. It wasn't quiet, like most people seemed to think. There were various explosions from charms or potions that went wrong, people arguing loudly about their perception of a literary character or what the best use of moonstone is. Now and again a loud curse sounded out from a frustrated student that tried to understand Ancient Runes or from someone that finished the book they were reading and the ending wasn't satisfactory. She could hear Lydia's grumbling coming from the armchair next to her as she tried to work out her Astronomy homework. Then there was Victoria's voice coming from somewhere, cheering someone up and telling them they'll master some charm soon enough and that there was nothing to worry about, really.

Mary thought about the whole general atmosphere of the Wormwood common room and how it made her feel accepted and at home. It was truly incredible how nobody in Wormwood was the same, but they were all connected with thirst for knowledge and even though they annoyed each other at times, they were prepared to help one another.

"Expecto Patronum," Mary said, waving her wand and keeping in mind the memory of feeling truly at home. She opened her eyes and saw the silver fog slowly turning into a bird, but it dissolved before she could see what kind of a bird it was. "Well, this was better." the witch smiled.

"You can give it another go, if you like. But be aware not to do it too much, this magic is complex and tires you out a lot quicker that normal spells. Though you probably won't feel it. I'm proud of your progress though, Mary! Well done!"

The witch smiled gratefully and nodded. She was already feeling more tired than before, but given her sleeping schedule and the intensity of the spell, that wasn't surprising. She thanked Jake before he moved on and then closed her eyes to try one more time. She knew she shouldn't do the spell more than once again and she hoped it would work properly this time.

Once again she thought about her Common Room, this time focusing on all the little details. She remembered one night in particular, when Oscar "sneaked in". There wasn't really any sneaking necessary, except Oscar wanted to feel like a secret agent on a very important mission. Someone had brought in cupcakes from the kitchens that evening, it was probably Victoria and the whole room smelt of chocolate and strawberries. That is, until someone's Charms homework went wrong and they set a pillow on fire. A pillow that was apparently stuffed with goose feathers and the smell was unbearable. Even after they've opened all the windows and done lots of spells to try to make the smell better, it kept lingering on.

For a few minutes while the smell was burned in her nose, Mary was furious and wanted to take about 50 points from the kid, but then the smell was overpowered. Of course, it helped immensely that Oscar couldn't stop laughing and was trying to get the boy to do it in the Dining Hall the next morning. Also, Victoria was offering cupcakes to everyone with her usual cheeriness. Mary ended up helping the second year with his spell and he got much better at it. She remembered Oscar still chuckling in the background as Lydia tried to get him to finish his Potions essay.

She remembered how nice it felt to help someone and to be surrounded by people who were more or less working hard to achieve their goals. How delicious the cupcakes were. How lovely Lydia looked, even when she was frustrated and how they caught their eyes over the room and smiled at each other. How warm her arms were later on, when they snuggled on the couch next to the fireplace and listened to Oscar planning a party.

"Expecto Patronum." Mary whispered and this time, the silver fog formed something that looked like an owl before it disappeared. It certainly was progress and the Head Girl felt good about it. She was exhausted, however and she sat down on the floor, leaning on the wall behind her. There was an ache in her head, pulsating threateningly and all she wanted was to sleep. The lesson hasn't ended yet, though and she didn't want to ask to be excused, even if Jake would grant it. She didn't want any special favors and anyway, she could wait till everyone was done. The witch leaned her head on the mercifully cold wall and hoped she'd get better at casting a Patronus. She didn't think she'd get to rest in a situation where she'd have use the spell outside of school.