Defence Against the Dark Arts: Lesson One - Years 1-4

Mercy was looking forward to this class--from the descriptions her older housemates had given her, this professor liked to give practical lessons, and everything about the subject appealed to her. In fact, even before going in, she had a gut feeling that Defense Against the Dark Arts would shape up to be one of her favourite classes. And the professor was an auror! A real life auror! She'd never met an auror before. She'd always had wild fantasies of defeating dark wizards and fighting off bad guys; it sounded like the coolest job. Maybe she could be an auror someday.

She entered the classroom and looked around. There was nobody else there besides the teacher. He looked nice. She smiled in greeting, some unabashed admiration most likely shining through in her eyes. Turning her attention to the board, she read the day's lesson plan. It seemed they were jumping right in, which was brilliant in her opinion. She knew blocking and dodging were essential skills in any fight. In fact, maybe what she learned here would carry over and help her in her dueling class--wouldn't that be neat? Man, this was her kind of school. Classes that taught you how to fight, and prepared you for the real world. She felt bad for her poor muggle friends who had to sit in class doing maths all day.

As she waited for the class to fill up, she attempted to strike up a conversation with the teacher.

"Hi! I'm Mercy. Are you really an auror? That's so cool."

Seraphina walked into the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom quietly with her head bowed. She worried her lip slightly without realizing she was doing it. This was perhaps the only class she was not sure of. She slipped silently into as seat allowing her hair to create a veil, guarding her as she mulled over the idea of the class in her head. She could practically see the thought being turned over and over in her head. She was not fond of conflict, only showing a combative side when given no other option. She, like so many of the creatures that fascinated her, preferred flight rather than fighting when presented with a less than favorable situation. The very idea of fighting made her palms become clammy.

With a tentative look she scanned the classroom seeing another student and the professor being the only other two beings in the room. 'Perhaps I could have dallied a bit longer with my research,' The brunette thought to herself. It was just her luck that she would be only the second student to arrive. Praying wildly that she would be overlooked by both people in the room. She decided that there was nothing else for it but to open her text book and look up deflective techniques. In Seraphina's humble opinion, the best way to avoid an unfriendly spell, was to avoid altercations altogether.

Mercy's eyes widened at the professor's answer. She'd only been alive for a little over ten years. She nodded when he said it was dangerous. In her opinion, that's what made it cool.

She was surprised when he started the class--there were only two students, including herself. She frowned, but then decided it could be a good thing, since that would mean they'd each get to participate more. She liked that she could call him "Jake," it made her feel more comfortable and relaxed, and it made the environment seem less like a school.

Another, slightly older looking boy sauntered into the classroom a bit late, but he didn't seem too bothered by that as he stuffed some chips in his mouth and casually joined the lesson. She thought she recognized him from the Gryffindor common room. She liked his confident attitude, he seemed cool--maybe they could be friends.

She giggled at his answer and pitched in. "Or you could use a shield. Or knock the other guy out before he has a chance to hit you."