Defense for N.E.W.T.s #1 (Seventh years only)

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It was only ten minutes before nine in the morning, so just before his first class of the day. And it was a double session as it would be for the rest of the year. Walton had made sure that it was a double session, since he knew that a few of his students weren't morning people, especially some of the ones from his own house. This year it was going to be tough on his students. He wasn't going to give out much homework, but what home work he did give out would be quite difficult for the now seventh years.

Walton left his office and entered the classroom. He took out his wand and waved it vanishing most of the desks in the room, leaving just enough for his students to sit at. They would be needing the room since today their first lesson they were going to be practicing several spells that he decided they would need out in the real world. Well actually they might just need it here at Hogwarts this year seeing as how the real world had come here, riding along the train. Someone had murdered a first year muggleborn and he was quite pissed off about it. There were only a few things that would make him pissed off and one of them was killing innocent people. He had a feeling that the mastermind behind all of these killings might be at Hogwarts and possibly one of his students that he taught. He would definitely have to keep an eye out for anything that might give the person away. 

He summoned a butterbeer from his office with a wave of his wand. Once he had the cold drink in his hand he sat down in a nice comfortable swivel chair behind the table that he had setup at the front of the classroom. His desk was supposed to be out here but he had modified his chambers so that they had become larger and to also included an office at the front of them. He never really spent much time in his office unless he had to be there. He kicked his feet up on the table as he waited for his students to arrive. As he thought about his lesson plan. Today he would be making sure that they could all preform the patronus charm. They should be able to do that if they remembered what he had taught them a few years ago but most of them could only produce the mist like vapor that could only hold dementors at bay. Then after he was sure that they could do that, he would teach several other spells that he knew would keep them on their toes.

There was only so much that he was going to teach them this year. There were some students that he would not teach certain spells to. But to a few of the others he would hold an extra lesson or two every week, possibly individually if need be. He had been sent a letter not to long ago from one Harry Potter, asking him to do this for these select few students. Granted he would send messages to those students whom he was going to teach extra lessons to. He looked up and towards the door waiting to see who would get here first as he heard the bell ring, signalling the beginning of class.


@crystal2 @ronan @james @alice @kay @elodiewood @carcerronaldhagrid 

(if I forgot to tag you that means that you weren't signed up for the class when this thread was started, just send me a pm and i will fix that)
(as for the extra classes of certain students I will pm everyone who will be receiving said lessons.)

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Making her way to the defence against the dark arts class room, elodie knew it was going to be different this year. A student had died. The entire atmosphere of the school had changed. And she knew that her professor was not going to take the situation lightly. It was definitely a time for taking defence skills seriously, and she had a thirst to learn, born out of fear. Stifling a yawn, she was mildly irritated that the classes were set so early, mainly because of its importance. This was a class that she had to be alert in. There wasn’t another option, especially considering the circumstances. Entering the room, she had definitely been spot on about the atmosphere – this was going to be serious. The tangle of nerves in her stomach tightened. It was already her N.E.W.Ts year, so the class would be hard enough, but tackling extra work on top of that due to the student’s mysterious death? It was going to be a nightmare. She took a deep breath, and told herself it was for the best. ”morning, professor,” the young Gryffindor girl mumbled as she passed him. She couldn’t force a smile this early in the morning. First one in the room, she looked around at all the empty desks, and chose a seat near the back. Although she took class very seriously, she wasn’t really a “front-row-centre” kind of girl. She sat down, and tied her hair into a messy ponytail – a small factor she hadn’t had time to do in her dormitory as, naturally, she had slept in – and drew her wand from her left knee high sock. She placed it on the desk in front of her and crossed one leg over the other, watching the door and looking at the trickle of students entering the room. tagged: professor grey! words: 304 outfit: (link) notes: (n/a)

made by remi of i'm so curious

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Ronan just barely got out of bed when he noticed the time, he literally had about 5 minutes to get to class. He wasn't really worried since it was a double lesson of Defense Against the Dark Arts. along with one of his favorite professors who was now the head of Gryffindor House. Ronan wasn't too happy that he had to get up this early, for he had been up until about two in the morning. He had even missed breakfast which was probably now over. He didn't want to miss class. This class was always fun for him. It was his third favorite class, his other two favorite classes were charms and transfiguration. 

Once he was dressed he grabbed his book bag and head out from the tower. Several minutes later he was walking into the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. Upon walking in he noticed that Professor Grey was drinking what looked like a butterbeer. What he wouldn't do right now to have one. But is was just like his Professor to do such a thing while he waited for his students to arrive. Ronan looked around for a moment wondering where he would sit, he then noticed that Elodie was already there, looking half asleep. He smiled and went to go sit in the back row next to Elodie. No one else had shown up yet but that was normally especially since most of the class consisted of Gryffindors. And almost all of them were not morning people, especially the ones one the quidditch team who usually sat together in class anyways. 

"Hey Elle, you awake?" He poked his friend in the arm as he looked at her. Ronan then turned towards the professor and asked. "Morning Professor. So what are we doing today?" Ronan took out his wand after he noticed that there was more space since most of the desks were gone. And that could only mean one thing, that it was going to be a practical lesson. Which were always the best.

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Defense Against the Dark Arts. One of her more favored subjects she had to admit-- in part due to the practicality of it all--even if it was at a god awful hour of the morning. Elaine wasn't the biggest morning person out there (she was sure that she was not the only one--whoever thought of a class at this hour deserved to be strung out) but it was a class she refused to miss, refused to sleep through and most definitely refused to shirk in any way, form, or fashion. And so yawning softly--the seventh year Slytherin threw the covers off of her body and began to every day rituals of getting dressed and ready and presentable. A short fifteen minutes later--she was dressed, she was ready and yes she was presentable. Her hair was in a simple ponytail and her outfit of course clean and all of that sort of thing. And so off to class it was.

She couldn't help but mentally smirk as she noticed the uptight atmosphere around school. They were all concerned about the recent goings on. The death of the aurors were bad enough...were enough to get anyone on edge...but it seemed as if the mudblood's death pushed everyone into hyper awareness drive. Constant vigilance as one teacher had called it. She called it music to her ears. The worry and anxiety was almost palpable. Especially that poor Gryffindor boy who found the body (note sarcasm). And no one would even THINK to think that she was a possible suspect. It was glorious really. She could continue her work for a good long time before anyone realized what was going on. Their stereotypes would be their downfall. But she would never say such things out loud of course. She played the part of the surprised student rather well--and really she was surprised. At how fast the job had been done more then the death itself (silly girl had it coming for thinking she deserved to even step foot into a world she clearly did not belong in).

Ahh but enough about that. It was time to learn. It was time to see what possible things she could or could not end up facing off against in the future. If she was to be a powerful witch--she had to know how to take out her enemy and also what her enemy may use to try and take her out with (she mentally snorted--as if they would defeat her) and so she arrived into the classroom...taking note of the room and the fact that a lot of the desks had been moved. Practical lesson is what this screamed. And this made her inwardly excited. It was a chance to show off to be frank and she loved showing off in front of other people--everyone of course but especially Gryffindors--well within reason of course. Not that she would ever admit to it.

She didn't even acknowledge the other two and gave a slight nod towards the professor before taking her seat near the window as always. And it was there she took out her wand and waited to see what would happen...

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There were a few advantages to being part giant.

Okay, there were a lot of advantages to being part giant. But one stuck out in particular this morning, as Carcer strolled down the hall towards the Defense classroom. That being that the larger a mammal is, the less sleep it physically requires. Humans need an average of seven hours of sleep a day, where most small bats could sleep up to twenty hours if nonmagical. Elephants, Abraxan horses, and giants were fine with three hours a day. And Carcer Ronald Hagrid was well-rested with only four. So, unlike many of the students this early in the morning, Carcer wasn't yawning, rubbing at his eyes, or stumbling in a daze to class. He'd gone to sleep at around three in the morning and was out of bed, dressed, and heading for breakfast at eight. Of course, breakfast showed the other side of the whole mammal size thing—bigger mammals required more food. And as a teenager at the height of his growth spurt, Carcer needed an exceptional amount of food at that. He had used nearly the full hour to eat, and had forced the poor house-elves to restock the platters around him twice. It was nice to sit down and enjoy lunch, though—back in fifth year, with tighter schedules, he'd had to wolf down food as quickly as he could during lunch and breakfast, and oftentimes went to class hungry rather than eat his fill and leave anyone else waiting for more food to appear.

He plodded towards the classroom, his wand in his hand, levitating cups of coffee in front of him and making them fly patterns around one another absently. In his other hand was his own mug, which looked more like a jug to other people, filled with hot chocolate. Defense Against the Dark Arts was one of his preferred subjects—their teacher was definitely trained somewhere, and it showed. His classes were big on practicality, on learning spells rather than theories. These were the classes he did best in, where he could do and not explain. Carcer didn't exactly stomp around, but he was simply much too large and heavy for anything resembling a stealthy approach, so why bother tiptoeing? Therefore, one could usually tell Carcer or his brother were coming a hallway before they arrived, and this morning would be no exception. It made it difficult for him to sneak to the kitchens at night, but hardly impossible—Muffliato was such a wonderful spell when applied to one's shoes. If, of course, one had a mind to be able to sneak without letting other know about it.

Carcer flicked his wand at the door to Professor Grey's classroom, opening it with magic, and bent down to make his way into the door. Well well, fourth one here then, though it looked like Ronan had rolled out of bed directly into a full sprint for the classroom. Elodie was a bit more put together, and of course Elaine was as prim as she always was. Professor Grey was there as well, looking all business. Carcer set his giant mug on one of the desks in the very back of the classroom. He liked being out of the spotlight, and frankly it would be rude for him to sit anywhere that might put him in front of another student. Then he turned and flicked his wand twice more. Two of the coffee cups he was magically juggling zoomed off to land on the desks of the two Gryffindor students. “My my, the lions are yawning like lambs this morning,” he said, his voice low and rumbling, like thunder off the mountainside. He walked over and clapped a hand on Ronan's shoulder, taking care to do it gently so as not to squish the blonde, and his ever-present smile widened into a grin. “I'd offer to draw up a schedule for you, Finnigan, but you probably already have something to blow your nose with, eh?”

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elodie’s eyes were feeling very dry and the temptation to close them and rest lingered in the back of her mind like the coals in a dead fire, but the anxiety in her heart kept her awake. she noticed ronan enter the room and gave him a lazy smile, then stifled a yawn, leaning back in her chair. he came and sat down next to her, and she moved slightly to give him more room. she gave another sleepy smile as he poked her in the arm, well aware of her early morning tendencies to, ah, not be awake. ”awake enough.” she replied, rubbing her eyes to try and get them to liven up instead of drooping. she noticed elaine enter the room, a fellow 7th year in slytherin who mostly kept to herself, due to her apparent hatred of elodie and all the other gryffindors. which, of course, elodie perfectly understood, as she despised slytherin, thus the distaste was mutual. she smiled as she sat by herself, taking her wand out in full view. ”hey ronan, look who finally took her wand out of her ass.” she whispered to her friend beside her. elaine was too stiff all the time, in elodie’s opinion, and it was her great pleasure to make fun of her. she was about to take her parchment out of her bag in preparation to take notes when she noticed the next student entering the room was… levitating cups of coffee? her momentary confusion was soon satiated as the gigantic hufflepuff boy entered the room, unintentionally making a big entrance, and sat down near elodie and ronan at the back of the class. elodie beamed at him and whispered a quick ”hey”, before he promptly set one of the coffee cups in front of her. she looked at him, faking tears of happiness in her eyes. ”carcer,” she whispered gratefully, ”i’ve never loved a man as much as i love you in this moment.” she grinned, gingerly picking up her wand and drawing a shape in the air which left a trail of bright light, so that a large heart gleamed mid-air before fading away. she took a sip of the hot coffee, singing her tongue and letting the bitter drink spill down her throat. usually the young gryffindor wasn’t a fan of coffee, but this was a much needed dosage of caffeine. she smiled again at her hufflepuff friend and took out her parchment and quill. tagged: ronan, elaine and carcer words: 411 outfit: (link) notes: (n/a)

made by remi of i'm so curious

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James Potter wasn't one for showing up to class early. Or waking up early, for that matter. He would usually stay in bed until the last possible second and be the last to show up to class. This morning was different, however, as he had already been awake in the common room since six that morning. Since the muggleborn girl had been killed on the train, James had had a bit of trouble sleeping. Since that night, he had had nightmares in which he had killed the young girl. While this was far from reality, it was still disturbing to James. The last couple of nights he had woken up in a cold sweat and would often forget that he was still safe in his dormitory surrounded by some of his best friends. After that he would just go hang out near the fireplace in the Gryffindor common room, unable to go back to sleep.

It was the first day of Defense Against the Dark Arts, and if James knew Professor Grey at all, they would be learning some pretty interesting things this year. Especially considering the circumstances. James wasn't a big education person, hell, he wasn't even that great of a student, but he did appreciate the teachers that actually did things instead of just explaining them. James couldn't learn that way. That was why Grey was one of his favorite professors, on top of him being the Head of Gryffindor House. So walking along the corridors, James was a little more excited for class than usual.

Upon arriving, James was expecting to be one of the few excited students. However, just lingering in the doorway for a moment, he could tell that his other fellow lions were quite tired themselves. A smirk spread across his face as he caught the last of what his friend, Elodie, was saying. "And now I'm here," he said sitting down at the empty desk in front of Elodie and Ronan. "So your ten minutes of fame are up, Hagrid," he joked with the half-giant, flashing a wink at Elodie. He gave a "good morning" nod to Ronan. James then quickly scanned the classroom and saw the Professor at the front and Elaine Dupree near her usual spot at the window. James rolled his eyes at the sight of the Slytherin, and ignored her presence for the time being.

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Aurora had been up for a couple of hours. She had an internal alarm clock that woke always ten minutes after six. Since her first year, she spent that time before class reading. Usually it was the book for her next class. But since she started her seventh year, she was left with less books to read and more time to do the things girls her age were supposed to do. She took an early shower and put her hair up in rollers. She was a bit old fashion but she found do such and then using the drying charm to set the curls in. Once her strands were out the laid lightly on her back. It was simple and hardly took work to accomplish. She may be trying more than before but she wasn’t going to break her back for some look. After that her blue eyes were rimmed with liner and mascara was applied. Not more was going to be done so she slipped into her uniform and set forth for the Great Hall. 

That was where she spent her time reading now. Reading and popping fruit into her mouth, washing it down with orange juice. As usual, she kept quiet and stayed on her own. She avoided eye contact and finished another fairy tale written by Grimm. Once she had her fill, she would carefully place her favored book into her bag and leave for a stroll outside. Aurora now held way too much time on her hands that need to be killed. 

Aurora enjoyed the sun before she forced herself back into the castle. Though she never officially signed up for the course, Professor managed to throw her in. Aurora now held six core classes and three electives, one more class than required and a bit more time being killed. It was alright though. Aurora wouldn’t even know what to do with her mornings if Grey handed pulled her into the class.  

As always, the girl walked into the class. She looked at her professor and gave him a cheery smile. “Good morning Profesor.” She said clearly and with confidence before her deep set blue eyes roamed around the room for a spot to sit in. The brunette looked over the people before taking the empty seat in front of the Slytherin away from the rest. She placed her bag on the ground and pulled out her wand before setting it on her desk. She then pulled her book back out and began reading from it once more.  

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The first Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson of the year. It was no Care of Magical Creatures class, which really was Alice Longbottom's top favorite class, but it was a close second. They were always doing very interesting and productive things in Professor Grey's class, as from what Alice understood, he had traveled around the world quite a bit and was keen on the idea of teaching them everything that he knew. Alice was thankful for teachers like this. Many teachers never held back information from the students like they may have once done when her father had attended school. They weren't kidding when they said some of the brightest young witches and wizards in decades were inside the Hogwarts walls this year.

As Alice made her way down the corridor to her first of the morning class, she munched on a blueberry scone. Her bag was over her shoulder, full of her school supplies, and the hand that was not occupied by the scone held a cup of pumpkin juice that she was saving for class. Alice was in a particular happy mood this morning. Perhaps it was the promise of waking up to a class full of some of her closest friends. Alice hardly had any friends in her own house, as she was a bit standoffish at times, but Gryffindors seemed to be able to handle her attitude fairly well. That was why she was friends with folks like James, Elodie, and Ronan. And Carcer Hagrid was the one exception to friends in her house. She hadn't much spoken to him, but she knew he was a Hagrid and had a strong love for creatures as Alice did. That made him alright in her book.

Alice stepped inside the all too familiar large classroom. She nodded at Professor Grey and offered up a small smile. She took her regular spot next to her very best friend James, and nudged him as she sat down as a greeting. She turned around in her seat to briefly wave at Carcer, Elodie, and Ronan, then returned her attention to the front of the class once more. There were two other students, but Alice hardly knew them. She knew them as Elaine Dupree, a Slytherin blood supremacist, and Aurora Lestrange, a Ravenclaw that was lucky enough to be placed in the house of Ravens unlike the rest of her family. Alice usually kept to herself unless she was close with someone, and she was not at all close with either of those girls. And as far as Alice could tell, they didn't want to make any effort to speak to her either.

While awaiting the class to begin, or for James to inevitably cause some trouble, she let out a sigh and set down her cup of pumpkin juice then began emptying the contents of her school bag onto the desk.

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He watched as his students came in one by one. The some of them looked half asleep but excited at what they were going to learn today. There were still a few missing but he knew that they would get here soon. Walton chuckled a little bit as his students bantered back and forth as they greeted one another. Well at least  those that greeted one another were from his own house, Gryffindor, and the two Hufflepuffs.He noted that they sat where they usually sat towards the back of the classroom, but that didn't bother him. He enjoyed having class with them. Walton also took note of the other two that were there as well, Miss Dupree from Slytherin, there was something about her that seemed off about her but he couldn't figure it out just yet. And then there as she said she would be, was Miss Lestrange whom he was glad had decided to come to the class despite having not signed up for it. 

Walton finished his butterbeer, before he waved his wand an vanished his bottle. Walton then stood up and came around to the front of the table and leaned against it. "Good morning everyone." He greeted them in a warm tone. Turning his gaze towards the only Ravenclaw there and said "Miss Lestrange, I am glad that you decided to come." He looked at them and noticed that most of them had their wands already out, which meant that they were ready to learn. "Alright. Over the past couple of years we have talked about the patronus charm. Last year I had all of you try to cast it, and most of you only got the silvery mist like you did in you fifth year. So to begin today's lesson we will practice the charm and hopefully you will all be able to cast a corporeal patronus. Now before you get to cast it I will show you what a corporeal patronus looks like once again." With that he made the wand movements and said in a whisper. "Expecto Patronum!" A tiger leaped out of the end of his wand and ran around the room a few times stopping and brushing up against several of the students in the back of the class, fully waking them up with it's contact and then it went and brushed up against the Ravenclaw, but for an unknown reason it didn't go anywhere near the only Slytherin in the room. It was odd since in his student's fifth year it had gone up to each one of them. "Something has definitely changed in her." Walton thought while looking in the direction of Miss Dupree.

The tiger came back to him and stood up on it's hind legs, placing it's front paws on his shoulders and looked Walton in the eye for a couple of minutes and then it turned towards the class and let out a deafening roar and then disappeared into nothingness. "Alright now it is your turn." He looked at the class and then continued. "Remember it is of the utmost importance that you can cast the patronus charm. Also remember the Incantation is expecto patronum. Well come on don't be shy, everyone stand up and come into the space that I have cleared for you and face me. Once you have your happiest memory cast the charm. Just remember the happier the memory the better chance you have of casting a corporeal patronus." Walton looked at the class and signaled for them to come forward. This was always a more difficult spell for people to learn. That is why he began teaching the spell in fifth year. Now it was time to see if they could all preform the spell, that would protect them from dementors.


@crystal2 @alice @carcerronaldhagrid @kay @elodiewood @james @ronan @kay3

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the next student to enter the room was none other than another boy that elodie had the pleasure of sharing her common room with. james potter. the resident flirt. and, her quidditch captain. he had hit on her in the past like he had done with every girl with moderately good genetics, and like most girls, she had fallen for it a couple of times, but it never led to anything serious. neither of them were the relationship type, and she was well aware that the gryffindor boy was not going to settle for anything less than perfect. ”nice try, jimmy, but you didn’t bring gifts.” she pouted mockingly, gesturing at her cup of coffee, then grinned at her friend. she smirked in approval at his rolling of the eyes at elaine. the gryffindor hatred of slytherins was definitely a pack mentality. her eyes were drawn to the next person who entered, a ravenclaw who kept to herself a lot. elodie didn’t know her very well, but knew her last name. she wrinkled her nose up. bad blood. but her expression soon cleared as a lovely hufflepuff under the name of alice entered the room. she beamed at her and waved as she sat down in front of her, next to james. finally, it looked like class was about to start. and it was patronuses! elodie inhaled deeply and nervously. although she was a top student most of the time, she had always struggled with conjuring a corporeal patronus. her eyes gazed at the professor who performed the incantation with great ease, the tiger showing off proudly. she noticed that it hesitated near elaine, and nudged ronan, stifling a giggle. ”the patronus can obviously smell her.” she whispered under her breath. then, at the professor’s signal, she got up from her chair and moved towards where they would be practicing, her heart pounding in her chest. the trouble was, as sad as it sounded, elodie didn’t really have one of those happy happy memories. she had a perfectly normal childhood and nothing traumatic had ever really happened to her, unless you counted her miss of five goals in a row during a quidditch match in third year. she just didn’t have a really happy memory that brought that light feeling to her chest, the one that was powerful enough for a patronus to feed off of. she began searching her mind, trying to find the right one, hoping that she wouldn’t be picked to perform the charm first. tagged: DADA class!words: 418 outfit: (link) notes: (n/a)

made by remi of i'm so curious

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"I'd offer to draw up a schedule for you, Finnigan, but you probably already have something to blow your nose with, eh?” Ronan heard as he looked at Carcer who had just sat down next to him and had even brought him a cup of coffee. He turned his friend as he was clapped on the shoulder. "Thanks Hagrid." He smirked a little, as he also heard Elodie talk about Elaine the only Slytherin in the room. "Yeah Elle, took her long enough." Ronan whispered back as he watch Elaine. And then everyone else started to show up first it was James, whom he nodded to before saying in a teasing manner. "I think Hagrid wins this morning James, since he did bring us something and you didn't." James was always trying to get everyone's attention which amused him quite a bit. They always bantered back and for and made fun of each other no matter what time it was during the day. He then leaned forward in his seat just as Alice sat down next to James and he whispered to James, while gesturing towards Aurora. "Hey James, your girlfriend is here." He emphasized the girlfriend part just so James would know whom he was talking about. Ronan and Fred, whom wasn't there yet, always tried to take the mickey out of James, when it came down to Aurora, whom until recently hadn't given his friend the time of day. 

Ronan couldn't help but grin as Professor Grey told them that they would be working on the patronus charm today and possibly something else. There appeared a tiger as Professor Grey cast a patronus. When the tiger came over to Ronan it helped him to finish waking up by simply using one of it's paws to slap Ronan on the face. When the contact was made Ronan felt a jolt and then all of his tiredness washed away. He was glad for that as the tiger continued on. His grin could only brighten more as they were called forward to come and try casting the charm. Ronan was able to cast a corporeal patronus since the Christmas holidays when he had gone home and asked his dad for help learning how to do it. Ronan had many fond memories and positive feelings that helped him cast it. Most people just thought about it being as your happiest memory, but positive feelings could also work if you didn't have an extremely happy memory. He wondered why Professor Grey hadn't told them about that. But he figured that he would if people were struggling.

He looked around at the rest of the class and noted that no one had gotten up yet to try and cast the charm. Ronan stood up and grabbed his wand off his desk. Before he headed up to the front of the class he bent down and whispered into Elodie's ear, "Just get a happy memory and then think of all the positive feelings you can and then cast the patronus charm and you should get a corporeal patronus. You can do it this time, I know you can." He wasn't sure why he had done that but he had felt inclined to help his friend out. He stood up and headed towards the Professor. On his way up he said a little loudly to James. "Watch this Potter." Once he got to the front of the room and was standing before Professor Grey, he said "If you don't mind sir, I am going to cast mine since no one else has gotten up here yet." And without even a go ahead from the Professor he said, "Expecto Patronum!" At that moment a silver eagle flew out the tip of his wand, and began to fly around the room. Ronan had thought of his happiest memory and also the positive feelings he had. It had enabled him to cast the charm. He had a grin on his face as the eagle flew towards his friends and then came back and landed on his shoulder before it disappeared. He took a couple of steps off to the side and waited to see who would come up next and try.

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“You mentioned learning something new, I want to see what more you can teach me.” Aurora smirked in reply before she reached her spot. Normally Aurora would just have nodded and be on her way, but since coming back, Aurora didn’t see the point of being silent in the classroom. She was incredibly intelligent and that was something that should not have been hid, right?

Aurora may have been two pages into another fairy tale when Grey began to talk. She respectfully closed her book and set it down. Grey was going on about the Patronus, something Aurora had practice many times before since she read it. Of course, every happy memory she could think of was never strong enough. Aurora was content, she was never really extremely happy though. The professor demonstrated the patronus. A tiger came through from the tip of his wand and travelled around the classroom. Aurora kept her eyes on the silver creature as it greeted her. Strange how, they hardly knew the exact details of their patronus and yet, their magic released highly accurate images, even actions. Aurora watched the tiger go back to the professor.

Now it was their time. Seeing as Aurora was in the front of the class and off to the side, she just stood up and walked a bit around her table before leaning against it, wand in her hand.

What memory could she use? Her childhood was privileged. She was hardly ever told no and given more than she could ask for. Maybe her sorting? It was the first time she felt free and independent. Every moment after that was defining. She was fixated on knowledge and soon, she wanted to be more than some other house wife. Aurora had her eyes set on being a healer, and the best one. Except, that moment wasn’t all that happy. It was that, just a moment, not a memory. At least not one that could have lasting affect.

The girl held her eyes on the floor until Ronan brought attention to himself. She lifted her head. Her eyes trailed over to him but didn’t linger. No, instead of following him like everyone else, her blue eyes landed on James. Never once had she paid attention to the boy and recently… since the day in the library… she couldn’t stop thinking about him. Aurora had to control the smile that was forming on her lips. She tore her eyes from him and pushed them along to Ronan. Coming from his wand was an eagle. Something she wasn’t expecting from him. She sort of wanted to see a lion, but in all honesty, she was being stereotypical and expecting every Gryffindor to have a lion.

Aurora stepped and took up a spot next to Ronan. “Hey Lion.” She smiled at before she took out her wand. What memory should she try this time? Her eyes glanced at James one more and she thought about the day he came up to her. That was pretty unusual and in all honesty, it had made Aurora giddy. “Expecto Patronum.” She said clearly with her wand raised. A silver mist came from her wand and transformed into a doe. Her doe stood there and looked around the class before taking off and vanishing before hitting any of the students in her path. A blush appeared on her cheeks and she looked at the Professor, “Tada.” She said lamely before stepping back next to Ronan, not wanting to completely go back to her last spot. Even though her memory was to herself, she was still quite embarrassed by the fact that it worked.

[Deleted]

He grinned at the Gryffindors, particularly Elodie, who was being very dramatic over the coffee cup. Carcer liked most of the Gryffindors—well, really, he liked most of the students period. Only supporters of blood status bothered him, which in this day and age was mostly Slytherins along with the occasional Ravenclaw. There were a handful of outliers, of course—and on in particular had just swaggered in the door, immediately trying to grab all the attention in the room for himself. Not that Carcer much wanted the spotlight, but James Sirius Potter was quite annoying when he was like this. Overall, he was a good guy. And wanting to be seen by everyone wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. What bothered Carcer was that James seemed to feel he was entitled to be the center of attention. He also seemed to think he was Merlin’s gift to witches everywhere. Carcer didn’t necessarily dislike the loudmouth, but he wasn’t overly fond of the eldest Potter’s company. Still, he didn’t let that bother him as the others filed into the room. He waved to them all, occasionally floating coffee over at people who looked like they might need it, and grinned when Alice Longbottom came in. they had been Sorted together—same year, same House. They both loved Hufflepuff, Care of Magical Creatures, and avoiding crowds. They did not hang out a whole lot, but there was a definite ‘birds of a feather’ vibe that Carcer picked up from Alice.

Carcer raised an eyebrow as he heard Ronan tease James about Aurora when she walked into the room. So was she the latest witch he was looking to conquer then? Maybe he should go warn her. But Aurora was nobody’s fool, and it honestly wasn’t his place to…huh. Alice had just tensed up like a threatened wolf. Carcer looked at her for a moment. It was definitely Ronan’s words that bothered her. But before he could continue puzzling it out, Professor Grey began to talk about the Patronus Charm. He demonstrated, summoning his own Patronus, a large tiger, that circled the room and visited each of the students…and ignored Elaine entirely. What was that? Patronuses didn’t just ignore people on a whim. They were guardians, after all. Huh…Carcer wondered whether the Slytherin girl was alright. Not for long though—Elaine was all about blood purity, so Carcer was mud to her, and she to him. Instead, he nodded as Professor Grey asked that they attempt to conjure a Patronus. Ronan was first up, standing up and forming an eagle Patronus that flew around the room. Then Aurors produced a doe. Seeing as none of the others were moving quite yet, Carcer took this moment to stand up.

As he did, he whispered just so Alice would hear him. “You’ll have to cheer up a bit if you want to cast this one.” Then he walked to the front of the class. Carcer knew the theory behind the Patronus—it was a manifestation of positive emotion, able to interact corporeally with the world but unable to be damaged. This made it a powerful defensive spell against magic and magical creatures that devoured things, like Dementors, Lethifolds, and Fiendfyre. The use of a single memory was often the easiest way to do it, because the charm incorporated a similar magical weave to a memory charm, drawing the emotions felt by that memory to power the spell. But it was hardly the only way to summon up the happiness needed. Imagination was usable, as was Carcer’s own method. His mind rapidly flashed back and forth between several happy memories as he waved his wand around, using his knowledge of memory charms to draw power from each one. It took longer to cast, but it was easier to do than using a single memory. “Expecto Patronum.”

Immediately, a massive boarhound leapt out of his wand. The dog came up to Carcer’s waist, which made it pound-for-pound bigger than anyone else in the room. The dog let loose with a bark that shook the room, then began to chase its tail. Carcer eyed Alice for a minute. She needed to be cheered up a bit…and it’s not like any harm would be done to Ronan….he’d probably think it was funny too. Might even start a Patronus duel in the middle of the room. Carcer’s smile twitched toward a grin for an instant. The boarhound stopped chasing its tail suddenly, looking at the three students assembled at the front. Then, with another booming bark, it jumped on Ronan, tackling the Gryffindor to the ground as it eagerly licked at his face. Carcer immediately grabbed for the silver dog. “Wait, no! Bad Patronus! You don’t know where that’s been!”

It took a little effort, but he managed to haul the Patronus off of Ronan. “Sorry about that. Guess it’s your animal magnetism, eh?”

[Deleted]

Alice was eager for class to start, to say the least. As she continued awaiting the rest of the class to arrive, she saw out of the corner of her eye Ronan Finnigan, who had leaned up to whisper not so discreetly to James. "Hey James, your girlfriend is here," he said, gesturing toward the Ravenclaw. Alice could feel every muscle in her body tense, and her right fist clenched on top of the desk. Slowly, she turned her head to look at James and Ronan, who was obviously just annoying James for fun. But girlfriend? Since when did anyone use James Potter, her best friend, and that word in the same sentence? James Potter didn't do girlfriends. Even if he did, Alice was certain she would be the first to know about it. Before James or Ronan could notice her looking their way, she returned her attention up front to the professor, her eyes blinking madly so as to mask any sort of emotion she felt. She didn't know what to make of what she heard. Obviously she was initially upset, but how could she be so sure Finnigan was serious?

Professor Grey finally started the lesson and Alice was relieved she wouldn't have to listen to Ronan and James discuss this "girlfriend" topic further. She was only half listening when she heard Professor Grey mention the word "patronus," for her mind was spinning with thoughts of James with a girlfriend. Her distractions were eliminated, however, by Professor Grey conjuring a tiger patronus that roamed around the room, very obviously avoiding Elaine. Alice hardly took notice or read into this. She was just too preoccupied with thoughts about James. But when Finnigan got up in front of the class, she was relieved once again for a distraction. Ronan conjured an eagle successfully and then the Ravenclaw went up to the front. Alice couldn't help it, but she couldn't help but glare at her. The poor girl probably didn't even like James. "That's unlikely," Alice though. "It's James, after all," she rolled her eyes as Aurora conjured a doe patronus and then stepped off to the side blushing.

Alice heard Carcer get up behind her, and he surprised her when he whispered quietly, “You’ll have to cheer up a bit if you want to cast this one." Alice blushed and avoided his eye contact. He definitely noticed how she had tensed up at the mentioning of James having a girlfriend. Carcer ended up conjuring a boarhound, which then began chasing its tail before rounding on Ronan. This brought a small smile to Alice's face. She loved animals, particularly dogs, even in the form of a patronus. At this, Alice felt slightly better. She could tell Carcer had sensed her sudden tense attitude and was thankful he had tried to cheer her up. This made her feel confident enough to step up after Carcer.

Alice went up in front of the class with her wand in hand. She waited with a smile on her face as Carcer pulled the boarhound patronus off of Ronan. After he had, Alice held up her wand in front of her. She closed her eyes momentarily and thought of the day she had been given her first book at the age of seven by her father. It was about animals of course, and it was the very book that started her love for animals. She opened her eyes then, and shouted "Expecto Patronum!" and a raven appeared in a white light from the tip of her wand. It flew above the others in the classroom while Alice watched it with wide eyes. It was indeed the first time she had ever successfully conjured her patronus, and she was a little annoyed that it was a raven, but proud nonetheless. The raven then flew down toward Alice before disappearing in front of her. After, she had smiled at Carcer but couldn't help but glance over at James, still in his seat.