DADA: Lesson Two (Years 1-4)

Mercy was beyond ready for Defense Against the Dark Arts. It was a class that excited her, and she loved the professor. She bounded down the hallway, filled with Christmas cheer--she couldn't wait for the holidays; as much as she loved Hogwarts, she was eager to see her parents again and tell them everything that had happened since school began. They'd been writing each other, of course, and texting sometimes too, but it wasn't quite the same. Her energy level, already normally quite high, had spiked even further, until she was practically bursting with joy and enthusiasm in everything she did.

Even the approaching full moon couldn't dampen her spirits too far. She was going home soon--every time she thought about it, she felt herself smiling uncontrollably, as she did now.

She marched into the classroom like this, a little ball of excitement, and practically squealed when she saw Jake in reindeer antlers, and more hats by the door. She grabbed a pair of antlers herself, with little jingle bells on them, and stuck them on her head. She shook her head back and forth enthusiastically so they would jingle.

Bouncing with every step, she approached the middle of the classroom, her eyes trained on the giant tank. What was inside? She looked up at the board and read "Grindylows," her mouth making an "oh" shape as her eyes lit up.

"Everyone used to say that the old lady on our street kept a grindylow in her pond! But I never saw it before we moved," she blurted to the professor.