DADA: Lesson Two (Years 1-5)

Mimosa had never known how bad Mercy's condition got sometimes simply because they had never talked much about about it. But after the American witch had returned from the states and caught up with her best friend a the castle again, she had seen Mercy grow steadily paler as the end of the month neared. Upon asking the Gryffindor Chaser, Mimosa had been told that Mercy suffered from something called "Lupus" and it made her really tired for a few days a month. Mimosa knew Clara had cramps and was tired once a month too, maybe Clara had Lupus too?

Illness was no stranger to Mimosa, having grown up with regular doctor visits and frequent home check up. Why even during the holidays Clara had taken her to a super special doctor who had shown her papers, charts and words and played lots of fun games with her. S when it looked like Mercy needed help and cheering up, Mimosa made made sure to dump everything else in favor of hanging out with the short haired brunette, even opting to spend her evenings in Gryffindor common room safely hidden in one of Dia's hoodies.

She really had to order uniforms and scarves in all house colors from next year on, they were remarkably easy in gaining access to other Houses, the child had learned.

Today, Mimosa was once again found by Mercy's said, one hand curled loosely around the older Gryffindor's waist in case Mercy needed support. She had gotten really sick lately and now it was Mimosa's job to be there for her and make her better. So for the first time since her arrival at Hogwarts, Mimosa entered a classroom without her entourage, without even noticing the class around her, far more preoccupied with Mercy as the two little girls walked into a class devoid of desks and chairs, picking a corner to stand quietly in.

Mimosa tightened her hold on the other witch, her blue eyes sweeping the room and landing on the black board with more words on it. Promptly, her gaze shifted, words wren't important. Mercy was.

At the full moon approached, Mercy fell into her usual rut. The fatigue kicked in almost a week before the moon reached its peak, and as the days dragged by, she felt worse and worse. It was two days away now, and she'd woken up to a splitting migraine, which had only lessened slightly as the day went on. She took slow, careful steps, trying not to jostle her head too much, and tried to put up a good front.

Mimosa was an incredible help. Although the younger girl didn't know the truth of Mercy's illness, she understood that Mercy was feeling under the weather, and had made it her duty to stand at her side and help in any way possible. She couldn't express how grateful she was for the other girl's company, and for the notable disappearance of her usual flock of people, whom Mercy was not in the mood to deal with at the moment.

Still, no matter how horrible she was feeling, she knew Defense class would cheer her up. So she and Mimosa strolled slowly down the hall, Mercy's arm draped over the smaller girl's shoulders, and Mimosa's arm wrapped around Mercy's waist. Occasionally, Mercy would lean some of her weight on Mimosa when a bout of dizziness came over her, but thankfully that was rare, and she could mostly handle it on her own.

They entered the classroom side by side, and went to stand in the corner so Mercy could lean against the wall if she had to. Her gaze drifted to the board. Oh, good. The Shield Charm didn't sound too active, or like it would require much physical exertion. Hopefully she wouldn't have to move very quickly with this one.

The preteen sighed as he sullenly made his way to the classroom. This wasn't one of his favorite classes. For something like this, he was sure that like most of the classes would have been better with a one on one tutor like program. However, he knew that a certain Slytherin was in this classroom and he had somehow come to feel a bit responsible for the force of nature that was Mimosa. She had done something, he was sure of it that first day in Diagon Alley and had only cemented it on the train when she'd taken his jacket. If nothing else, while she was equal parts amusing and exasperating, Gaspard couldn't in good conscious allow her to be in this class alone.

When he'd come in and read the words the professor had wrote he knew this was not going to end well. Not for him at least. Glancing at the strange girl, he sighed once again resigned to do her bidding. Somehow, he'd make sure that she didn't end up destroying the classroom or some such with her aim. It was bound to happen. Perhaps he should just start carrying a Mimosa kit about just to be prepared?

The class slowly filled up but for once, Mimosa wasn't really interested in who was coming and going, her priority was Mercy and on Mercy her attention would remain. Or a least until both their favorite Ravenclaw male waked into class. Using her free hand to wave Gaspard over, Mimosa now stood supporting Mercy with Gaspard on the Gryffindor's other side. He must have wanted to help them, that's why he was here, she decided internally, confirming her own suspicion when Gaspard gave her what looked like a silent nod.

The class began soon after and Mimosa was glad the teacher was explaining things instead of writing. Her oval shaped face turned to the teacher and her blue eyes curiously assessing the board and him in turn, the child wondered what you did in Defense. Just... defended stuff? her free hand ran through the chocolate waves of her fine silken hair as she thought over the question he had posed. What could prevent or foil a Shield Charm? Was there a shield against the shield charm?

Tentatively, the slender witch raised a finely sculpted arm, sculpted almost from a dancers body should someone look close enough. Mimosa however was completely unaware of it as she attempted an answer. "Umm, if you're defending, you can't attack?" she asked more than answered.

"So you better have a really good shield or you're donezo," the American expression slipped with a slight giggle but she remembered the duel she had witnessed in Italy forever ago. Shield charms only worked if you had a solid back up planned.

While not one to care about anything unless it pertained to him, Gaspard reasoned that he had to pay attention to everything especially Mimosa whenever the Slytherin was around. That was why he furrowed his brow and glanced at the professor with a curious look when he repeated himself after stuttering. Filing it away he thought about the advantages and more specifically the disadvantages of the shield charm. He gave the barest hint of smile and glanced at Mimosa when she answered.

Raising his own hand, Gaspard volunteered his own answer not to be outdone. "The shield charm isn't infallible. There are some spells that the shield can't deflect or absorb."

There was plenty more he could say on the subject but it seemed like their professor wanted them all to at least try and answer or at least voice their thoughts. He supposed that it was a good way to gauge if they understood what the spell was and did.