Getting to the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom was another matter altogether. As Telara left the Great Hall, she had no idea of which way to turn. Her frustration was growing as the seconds ticked by. She hated being helpless!
Telara noticed a kindly looking wizard in a portrait near the Great Hall doors. She took the advice Dumbledore had given her on her first day at Hogwarts and approached the portrait for directions.
“Excuse me, sir,” Telara began.
“What can I do for you?” offered the wizard.
“Could you tell me how to get to Professor Lupin’s classroom?” asked Telara.
“Aren’t you a little old to not know your way around?” questioned the wizard.
It was not the response Telara needed at that moment. Before she could stop her herself, she lashed out at the unsuspecting portrait.
“Actually, this is my first year at Hogwarts. And I’m going to be late to class if you don’t stop questioning me,” snapped Telara.
The wizard looked affronted at this response, but composed himself before walking into the portrait to his left. He rarely got the chance to do anything useful and was glad to help even if the person in need was a bit cranky.
Telara just stood there as the portrait lost its inhabitant and wondered what she was going to do next. All she knew for sure was that she was not going to cry!
“Don’t just stand there,” commanded the wizard. “Come on!”
Telara breathed a sigh of relief as she walked quickly to keep up with the wizard who was hurrying through the portraits that hung along the corridor. When they arrived at the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom, Telara took a minute to catch her breath and thank the wizard for his help. The wizard gave her a gracious bow as he headed back for his portrait.
Professor Lupin had returned the previous year to his teaching post. In the backlash against Doloris Umbridge, the Ministry of Magic had repealed many of the anti-werewolf laws that she had initiated. Remus was enjoying the benefits of a slightly less hostile attitude towards his kind while it lasted. If some parents had doubts, their children stood up for their favorite Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher and his appointment went smoothly. Hogwarts finally had a Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor who was well liked and very good at his job.
Telara entered the classroom just as Professor Lupin rose from his seat to begin his lecture. She quickly took the seat nearest to her without noticing who was sitting next to her.
Her heart jumped into her throat as her neighbor hissed into her ear. “I was starting to get my hopes up that you had run home crying to your Mother.”
Telara turned to find that she had chosen a seat next to the one person she least wanted to see in the world.
She glared at him as she returned his hiss, “Actually, Malfoy, I am enjoying myself very much here. Maybe you would too if you could find some real friends.”
Once again, Draco was speechless. He hated that more than the fact that he hadn’t been able to stop thinking of her since he confronted her in the Great Hall the previous morning.
They both turned to Professor Lupin as he addressed the class.
“Welcome back to Defence Against the Dark Arts. We are in for quite a year as I prepare you for your N.E.W.T. exam. You will to learn to defend yourself against some of the more dangerous curses and hexes. As you well know, these are important to learn for reasons other than this class.”
The class started murmuring as they agreed with Professor Lupin. Telara looked over to see Draco smirking as he felt the anxiety that passed through the class. She did not like the cold feeling that was developing in the pit of her stomach as she looked at him.
“I also want to try something new this year,” continued Professor Lupin. “I want you to develop your physical as well as magical strength this year. We will be training our bodies to withstand whatever trials it may be put through in the upcoming war.”
The murmurs turned into grumbling as the class realized what was in store for them.
“We will start with running. I want you to be able to get out of a situation should the need arise. You will also be more prepared to fight if you are not exhausted from physical exertion.”
“I’m not running from anything!” exclaimed Harry.
“I’m not suggesting that anyone would be running in fear, Harry,” calmly replied Professor Lupin. “I just want you to have an advantage over Death Eaters who might be older or inactive. I’m sure that you’ll agree that any advantage would be desirable.”
Harry nodded his concurrence with Professor Lupin’s statement though his eyes still flared with defiance.
Neville looked like he was about to lose his breakfast as Professor Lupin continued detailing the program.
“We will be running every morning of the school week, half an hour before breakfast. That time will increase as your ability does.”
Groans filled the room as Hermione and Seamus mumbled something about P.E. Professor Lupin seemed undaunted by the protests and began his lecture on advanced curse blocking.
“I know most of you know about the Shield Charm,” started Professor Lupin. “I want it to be automatic to you. The more we practice, the stronger your shield will be. Pair up. The only hexes I want used are the rope-binding spell, the Disarming Spell, or the Tickling Charm. If any other hexes or jinxs are used, I will personally be giving an extremely unpleasant detention to the casters of those spells. Please begin.”
To Telara’s horror, everyone was paired up except Malfoy who was smiling at her in an unsettling way. The two did not even hear the cries of “Rictusempra!” and “Expelliarmus!” around them. Telara readied herself for Draco’s curse.
“Incarcerous!” Draco shouted.
“Protego!” responded Telara.
The ropes that shot out of Draco’s wand were deflected by Telara’s shield. She heaved a deep sigh of relief. She was about to attempt to disarm Draco when he hit her with a second spell.
“Rictusempra!” yelled Draco.
This time, Telara was caught off-guard. She dropped to her knees with laughter. She tried with all her might to strike back at Draco but couldn’t catch her breath long enough to speak.
Draco knelt down beside Telara. Telara’s laughter betrayed the fear that was building in her as Draco got closer. Draco grabbed the back of her neck to pull her back up. The second his hand met her neck, he was thrown across the room.
All activity in the room stopped suddenly as Draco flew through the air. They all looked at Telara but she was still in hysterics in the floor.
“Finite Incantatem!” bellowed Professor Lupin.
Telara stayed on the floor trying to catch her breath while the class muttered excitedly to each other.
“Well, everyone,” remarked Professor Lupin. “You have just witnessed a Defensive Charge. While rarely controllable, the Defensive Charge can get you out of a sticky situation just when you think there is no hope. Mr. Malfoy just discovered its effects the hard way.”
Professor Lupin offered his hand to Draco to help him up but it was refused. He clumsily unfurled himself from his robes and stalked over to Crabbe and Goyle. Draco had a murderous glare as Professor Lupin wisely took the focus off of him.
“I want two feet on Shield Charms and Hex Deflection turned in next class. You’ve done a good job today. Well done! I will see you all on the front steps of the castle tomorrow morning for our first run.”
No one was quite ready to leave class. That had been quite fun. Then the thought of Professor McGonagall’s face if they were all late for class motivated them to make their way to her classroom.
Telara was deeper in thought than the others. She had not quite realized what the wizarding world was facing. Now that she was in the midst of it, it worried her quite a bit. And now she had to add the new concern over a possible retaliation from Draco. It was quite a lot to take in.
Professor McGonagall had a full lesson planned for their first day. They knew they were in for a tough hour when they smelled the horses upon entering the classroom. The Professor explained that they would be transfiguring the horses into chaise lounges. When the class gave a collective groan, she responded that they had N.E.W.T.’s for which they must prepare. Transfiguring something as large as a horse was going to be very taxing and after their first class, no one thought they had the brain power to do it.
Hermione volunteered to try first. She did an excellent job. She even managed to produce a chaise with a beautiful violet color. Telara was apprehensive about performing a spell on a horse. She thought of her horse back home in Texas and what he would think if she attempted to transfigure him. He probably wouldn’t let her ride him for a good month. She smiled to herself at this thought as she said the incantation. She managed a chaise as well though hers was still brown and had a faint horse smell to it.
The class did well considering it was their first day back. The tension seemed to lift as everyone was reasonably successful at their task. The mood got even lighter as Seamus got bucked off his chaise as he attempted to lay on it. When class was over, the exhausted and now famished students made their way to the Great Hall for lunch.
After a few sandwiches and some pumpkin juice, the Gryffindors started to recover and conversation picked up. They were muttering about having potions for the rest of the afternoon. Telara didn’t know what everyone was so apprehensive about. She loved potion-making and couldn’t wait to see what the potions master had to teach. She mentioned as much to her housemates.
“You may like potion-making, but you won’t like Snape,” said Ron.
“He can’t be that bad,” responded Telara.
“Oh, yes he can,” muttered Harry.
After lunch, the students started making their way to their afternoon classes. Telara had to wait on her housemates to show her the way to Snape’s dungeons. She was forced to be patient as they dragged their feet in an attempt to delay the inevitable.
The dungeons seemed a bit dark and dank to Telara, but she didn’t mind. She sat behind a cauldron with Ron and waited.
Professor Snape entered in his usual sweeping manner and the class fell silent. He looked around the classroom with a highly displeased look on his face.
“So this is my ‘advanced’ potions class,” Snape sneered. “I certainly did not expect all of you to make it this far.” His gaze fell on Harry as he made the comment.
“You will have to convince me that I am not wasting my time and effort with you. I demand that you apply yourselves this year to obtain your N.E.W.T. I will be displeased if any of you fail in this goal.”
“Today you will be attempting to concoct a Mandrake Restorative Draught. While this is a highly complex potion, I expect you all to be able to handle it. If you can’t, you are welcome to leave.” Again, Snape set his gaze on Harry.
As Harry challenged Snape’s glare, Telara began to understand what everyone was talking about at lunch. This was not the kindly and supportive type of professor that Telara had seen so far at Hogwarts. She just hoped she wouldn’t be the one to disappoint him.
Snape waved his wand at the blackboard to reveal the ingredients and procedure for brewing the potion.
1. Chop the Mandrake root into small (the size of a wandtip), uniform pieces.
2. Place cauldron over a high flame.
3. Once cauldron is extremely hot, add ginger infused oil into the cauldron.
4. When the oil starts bubbling, add 12 ½ grams of salamander blood and stir counterclockwise for 10 minutes.
5. Add the chopped mandrake root and stir clockwise for 30 minutes.
6. Add 1 liter of water and watch for a boil.
7. As soon as the potion reaches a boil, reduce heat to one quarter strength.
8. Stir one stroke clockwise every five minutes (precisely) for an hour.
9. Take cauldron off of the heat.
10. Do not stir again. The potion must be at rest for 10 minutes before ready to administer.
Telara started right away. This was the class she had been looking forward to the most since she found out she would be attending Hogwarts. She set Ron to the task of chopping the mandrakes while she prepared the base of the potion. He wasn’t too bad at getting the mandrake cut into just right for the potion.
Snape shadowed the students as they attempted to work under his excruciatingly intense attention.
He stopped at Telara and Ron’s cauldron ready to criticize. Fortunately, he saw nothing wrong with the potion in front of him. In fact, it was quite good. He did not want to show his satisfaction, however. Weasley was part of this team after all.
Telara smiled at Professor Snape. She knew her potion was flawless and expected to be praised. Snape did not offer praise, of course. He rarely felt pride in his students and was not accustomed to rewarding good work. He was taken by surprise by his new student. Normally, his students would tremble before him or at the most only offer a patronizing grin. Telara’s demeanor was quite calm and her smile seemed completely genuine. Professor Snape refused to like this student. There was no room in his life for fondness.
Snape spun on his heel and returned to his desk at the front of the room.
“Everyone will bottle a sample of your draught. I will determine if you managed anything restorative. Miss Granger, Miss Ollivander and Mister Malfoy will leave your cauldrons. Your potions can be used by Madam Pomfrey should the need arise. I want two feet on Wolfsbane and its preparation for the next class. If you show any aptitude at it, maybe I won’t have to bother preparing it for your Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor.”
Snape seemed to despise saying the word Professor in reference to Remus Lupin. The class took down their assignment and exited the classroom as quickly as they could. They were as glad to be done with the class as Professor Snape was in getting rid of his students for the day.
Dinner was a pleasant affair. Everyone was glad to be done with double potions. Even their mounting homework could not damper their sense of freedom for the evening. Telara walked with Neville back to the common room. Neville took the chance to find out how she endured the potions master.
“Really, Neville, I don’t see what all the fuss is about,” said Telara.
“What? You couldn’t tell what nasty git he is?” challenged Neville.
“I don’t know if nasty is the word I’d use to describe him, but he didn’t seem all that bad to me. He’s little irritable perhaps, but I can deal with that,” responded Telara.
“Just give it time, Telara. You’ll see,” said Neville.
Telara thought the boy was overreacting and tried to think of something that would put them back on more amiable ground.
“So how did you get interested in Herbology, Neville?” asked Telara.
A good hour of Telara’s evening was then devoted to the story of Neville and his love for Herbology. Telara saw her chance for rescue when Parvati and Lavender came through the portrait hole. She gave them a wave and what she hoped Neville wouldn’t read for a “Help Me!” look.
Parvati and Lavender did fortunately understand that look. They too had been caught by Neville and lured into a mind-numbing discussion of one sort of plant life or another.
“Hi, Telara,” said Parvati. “Would you come upstairs and help me with a little dilemma?”
Telara stood quickly as Neville offered his help to the situation.
“I’m afraid it’s girl stuff,” explained Lavender.
“Enough said,” said Neville as he rushed to the other side of the room where a group of boys sat playing Exploding Snap.
The girls giggled as they raced up to their dorm room.
When the door was safely shut, Telara plopped down on her bed.
“Thank you so much!” she sighed.
“You’re welcome,” responded Parvati. “Any time!”
The girls attempted some homework before giving up and experimenting with curling charms on each other’s hair. They knew it was getting late when Hermione came in with a fatigued look in her eye that comes from reading too much for too long.
The girls got ready for bed. Telara made sure to charm her pillow to wake her up on time in the morning. She didn’t want to repeat this morning’s mad rush about the castle.
The roommates fell asleep quickly and dreamed of Yule Balls and boys. They had no clue of the things that were being planned by dark and revengeful wizards at that very moment.