Defence Against the Dark Arts Lesson One - First to Fourth Years

Emilia had been walking around the school for what seemed like hours before her first class of the day started. Her Hufflepuff robes practically swept the floor due to her short body and she had tripped several times. As if that hadn't been bad enough, the staircases kept moving around on her and the corridors all looked the same to her, causing her extreme distress.

When she managed to get to the door incredibly early, she was shocked, especially with the amount of times she'd gotten lost. It was unlike her to be late, but it was also unlike her to be this early, however, the first day of school was excusable. When she walked into the doorway, she saw no one else was in the room except the professor. Sighing, she trudged in a bit more and looked for a seat, only to realise there were none. Looking to the professor, she greeted him with a "Good morning," before reading the board.

The Shield Charm. She may have vaguely heard of it, but if she did, she didn't remember. Either way, her anxiety rose as she waited. She was nervous of the people she'd encounter but even more nervous for the lesson. When she glanced at the professor once more, she blushed and put her head down, focusing on the floor. He was cute, like a model. Her anxiety diminished when she realised he wouldn't let them get hurt. In fact, her whole demeanor changed and she smiled.

Naomi was excited to have class with Professor Newbury again, even if Defense wasn't where her heart truly lay. Any class with Professor Newbury was a good class in her book and she was sure this one would be no different.

Due to the staircases being rather kinder to her than last year, Naomi made it to class with plenty of time before the lesson would start. "Good morning, Professor Newbury," she greeted in her customarily quiet way, sending the man a smile.

There was another girl in the room, a first year, if Naomi remembered correctly. She could see from her tie that the other girl was a Hufflepuff. She gave the girl a polite nod, not looking up from the floor, and moved to stand a little ways away from her. The lack of desks and the writing on the board told her that it was going to be a practical lesson, something that would make Finley unhappy, although the Shield charm was basic enough that he could probably pull it off.

Wearing his Hufflepuff sweater instead of his robes, Bennett made his way from the Common Room to the Third Floor. Bennett hated stairs passionately, but it was necessary for his school success. It wasn't that he cared about winning the House Cup so much,  it was that he wanted to learn everything he could learn so he could show off at the dinner table during Christmas.  This year, Christmas would be spent with his father, and New Year's Eve with his mother, therefore Bennett had to impress both families with his newfound knowledge. Being a child of two families wasn't easy, there was always a new event in which he had to show all of his parents that he was actually paying attention in school.  His mother had this crazy idea that Bennett skipped classes in order to read comic books. As if. Really, he would definitely do it if his grades weren't in danger. And, they weren't. Bennett was a great student, he just forgot to do homework sometimes.

As he arroved to his Defense Agaisnt The Dark Arts class, Bennett greeted Professor Newbury with a grin. He liked the man. He was cool. At least, that's what he'd thought since he met him a few years ago thanks to his father. Pros of being the kid of a Quidditch player: meeting new, awesome Quidditch players. Not counting the free stuff, that was always number one. Bennett took a spot closer to the board, knowing the closer he was the better it was for him to understand the lesson, and he noticed that one Ravenaw girl and the Emily girl he'd seen at the sorting. Turning his eyes to the board, Bennett saw the subject of the lesson - the Shield Charm. He knew that one already. Rather, he knew it relatively okay. This would be an easy class, so Bennett dropped his backpack on the floor and crossed his arms, ready to begin at amy moment.

Nilla sauntered into the class, fully prepared to begin learning defensive magic. With her spirits so high on this first day, she was able to walk with little trouble and could almost be considered as having a bounce in her step. Hopefully they actually got to use magic this lesson, though she knew theory was inevitable at some point. One couldn't simply learn technique without learning at least some of the mechanics behind it. Besides, Nilla knew she had trouble doing things exactly as asked without a proper explanation as to why. Because if there was no reason that something had to be one way, then who's to say it couldn't be another way?

She leaned against the wall, let her legs straighten and crossed them at her ankles to await the start of class. Grateful that she was wearing trousers instead of that infernal skirt that she'd shoved to the bottom of her trunk the second she'd picked it up, she shoved her hands into her pockets. With a chuckle, she realized how much of a delinquent she must look. Possibly the only girl student wearing trousers, slouched against the wall. Not that she cared, but it was an entertaining notion, none the less.

Alberi was one to come early. So when he got lost while trying to find his way to Defence Against the Dark Arts class wasn't a thrill. He had polity asked a ghost for the way and strictly followed from where to go but it only lead to a dead end. Good thing that the boy remembered the ghosts name, Peeves. He was sure to report about it, if this school had such a system. At last he met some other ghost who's head was almost going to fall off, yet amazingly stayed. He will ask about him. The name was sir Nicolas De Mimsey-Porpington. He went in that direction and soon arrived at the doors for his class.

Entering, he noticed a load of people inside. With a sigh, he entered. He politely said "Good morning, professor. " before sitting down where he always will for the next years - at the front of the room. Most kids sat at the back and were annoyingly loud, talking with everyone they could. Plus someone's head in front of you, which won't help if you wish to read the board, it was a horrible place. While he sat down, he fixed his tie quickly. The thing is that he had hidden it slightly. Because he had a white shirt with a collar, he could put it over it as if casually had fallen over the tie while actually hiding his house colours. He had been thinking of a plan and the success of it needed to be carefully made.

Looking up at th board, he read what was written over it. Shield charm? That seems easy enough. The boy had practiced some spells during the summer. He was going to use the time before his first year, during which he still would be able to do some magic, as he hadn't arrived at Hogwarts yet. And he had done good. Then again, it was pretty much what he was doing all summer - learning and practising. Because he had to be the best in the class. And in every test and so on. Nothing more or less. He wondered if the would take theory or actually practice it. In any way, he would have already mastered it. And was sure to show that.

Professor Newbury started the lesson quite early, Bennett thought. He wasn't really looking at the clock so the professor could have been an hour late and Bennett would not have noticed. Turth be told, Bennett was only slightly ready for fun. Bennett knew quite a lot about this particular charm, because it was the very first thing he used in a duel. Whether that was cowardly Bennett didn't know or care for, he just liked the spell. Of course, Bennett had only gotten his spell casting better this past summer after practicing with his stepdad.

Speaking up, Bennett unfolded his arms from his chest. "The incantation for the basic shield charm is Protego. Latin for 'I protect'. There are about four other stronger variations of the charm, though, with different incantations."