Chapter 1
Even though it had been summer a few weeks ago but the weather had taken a turn the heavy rain that fell against the ground was so loud it was impossible to sleep. Our story takes place before Harry Potter came to Hogwarts, before he even knew he was a wizard.
Sitting cross legged on his bed was Leo Alba a fourth year Gryffindor who was the sort of person who had always had his head in the clouds; he had always been an adept at transfiguration and had been learning how to not only use it for changing solid items but for spells as well. However he hadn't had much success and that had irritated him.
He was still dressed in his wizard robes, his top button undone as his tie clung to his collar hanging lopsided as Leo turned the page of the old book he was reading. He had to get the hang of this.
He stood up, hopping off of his four-poster bed and grabbing his wand he pointed it at the mirror on the other side of the room.
"Densaugeo!" Leo shouted as he swung his wand a jet of light shooting out, the he brought his wand around pointing it at the jet of light this time he cried "Avis!" He was trying to turn the Densaugeo curse into a bird; however this wasn't exactly the case. Both jets of light connected and bounced off of one and other shooting in different directions.
Leo dived to the ground as a jet of light passed over his head, smashing into the hard oak floor a bird appearing on it.
"What in living hell!" a boy cried sticking his head from between the hanging of his four poster bed. "Leo what's going on?" His name was Andrew some people would call him the nervous kind but to Leo he was his best friend.
"Who died?" Screeched a voice as a boy leapt from his bed his wand equip as he shot knock back jinxes in every direction, each of the curses seemed to hit something knocking trunks over and sending a cat flying backwards into the wall. This boy was Oliver he had the best aim in the entire school but his nerves usually got the better of him.
"No one died, relax I just kind of messed up a spell" Leo said as Oliver breathed a heavy sigh of relief his wand clattering to the floor.
"Don't scare me like that again," Oliver sighed as he clutched his chest sitting on his bed, "Anyway what are you practicing for? We don't have any exams do we?" As soon as the word exams cropped up Andrew let out a high pitched scream and clambered to his feet a book in his hands.
"No we don't have an exam I just wanted to get a head start." Leo said as he placed his wand carefully on his bed side table and looked at his watch. It was 2am and like every Sunday no one could get to sleep, their body clocks where messed up and it would take until Wednesday to get them sorted out again, and then by Friday they'd be messed up again for staying up late.
The next day Leo was sitting in the great hall large bags where starting to form under his eyes as he finished off his sausages and waited for Andrew who had as always put too much ketchup on his plate.
"I tell you Heinz is out to get me!" Andrew said as he and Leo left the great hall.
"What's Heinz?" Leo asked curiously as Andrew sighed it was always hard adjusting from one world to another so quickly.
"What's our first class anyway?" Andrew asked as Leo levitated his bag onto his back.
"Defense against the dark arts," Leo muttered as he sighed heavily, it wasn't exactly the Leos favorite subject, if it was practical it would have been however there teacher was Professor Quirrell who knew his stuff, but wasn't into the practical side of things so all through his lessons last year Leo had taken to jinxing people under his desk, nothing too drastic of course mostly basic spells to keep his amusement.
They reached the class room in five minuets and pushed the door open; it turns out them where late. Each one of the two man desks where full excluding one at the front of the classroom. Just great, the desk they sat at for the first time would be the one they got through out the duration of the school year and that would mean having to put up with Quirrell all through the year.
A few seconds after Leo and Andrew had taken their seats the classroom doors opened once again, this time a man stood in the doorway. However it wasn't Quirrell, he was wearing long black robes and had brown hair that seemed to be plastered backwards to his head, and he also sported a very unattractive face which was made even more hideous by the boils which had sprouted under his chin and across his left eye.
"Good morning" His sly voice seemed to slither throughout the classroom, it was as if it where cutting of the oxygen supply. "My name is Professor Amcor, and I am your new defense against the dark arts teacher." He waved his wand and his name appeared on the black board that was at the front of the classroom. Leo's first impression of this man was that he was the sort of person who used to be the playground bully and not the man to cross, this made him clasp at his wand for fear of being attacked.
Once Amcor had reached the front of the classroom he turned allowing his long black cape to float for a few seconds before it caressed the ground. Then he raised his wand and brought it swinging through the air, immediately four cages appeared behind him each of which contained something that looked like a black tar, but unlike any tar Leo or any other student for that matter it was floating and moving as if it was in an area of zero gravity.
"Well what are you all waiting for? Line up single file, now!" Cried Amcor as the students scattered all of them standing tall, holding their breath as the desks shot against the wall, sprouting legs them began to climb before they where stuck against the wall.
"This ladies and gentlemen is a Bashim; it is a living group of organisms that are quiet common in the upland areas of Scotland. They aren't as harmless as they look in fact they had caused insomnia and in many cases have killed people." Amcor showed no emotion when saying these words, he instead ordered the students to stand in four separate lines now as they would be seeing first hand what Bashim could do.
Leo was at the front of the first line and as it looked the first to face a Bashim. The cage door opened and the Bashim slithered out, moving along the ground like a slinky it suddenly halted. For a second nothing happened and then it started changing, its lower half began to change form; the scariest thing was that it was changing into Leo.
Ten seconds later it was done and was now a splitting image of Leo; it was as if he was cloned. A few of the students gasped and pointed as Leo stared wide eyed at himself, but then the Bashim moved reaching for its wand.
Leo moved as well, his fingers trembling he grabbed his own wand and fired the first spell that came into his head.
"Rictusempra!" Leo cried as his aimed his wand at the clone, Rictusempra was a laughing curse it was one of the few spells Leo had truly mastered for all the times he had used it as a practical joke in lessons.
The clone jumped aside to avoid the attack and then it pointed its wand at Leo and shouted in his voice "Conjunctivitis!" It bellowed as a white light shot from its wand aiming for Leos eyes.
Leo dived to the floor to dodge; the attack however missed him and hit a Hufflepuff girl who clamped her hands to her eyes, which had begun to stick together because of the curse.
"Ok time for me to end this, Petrificus Totalus!" Leo cried as he performed the required wand movements, for a moment nothing happened and then the clone fell to the ground its body rigged like a board.
"Next!" Cried Amcor as Leo backed away slowly from the motionless body on the ground. Andrew stepped up next and the Bashim took the form of him, and their battle begun.
For the next hour the room was filled with flashes of lights and cries of spells, Leo had faced himself three times by the end of the lesson and he was exhausted, next was potions a lesson which strangely enough he was good at but the unpleasantness of Snape drove him away from. Andrew walked over to him; he like Leo looked shaken up.
They both decided that skipping potions was the best idea after all it wasn't every day you where fighting yourself now was it. They found themselves sitting inside a secret passageway concealed behind a portrait that Andrew had helped out and in return it let them stay in their. They both used the Lumos charm to light their wands and sat on two large empty barrels.
They had been sitting inside for no less than 10 minutes when they heard a high pitched scream, heading for the portrait hole they peaked through to see a first year girl laying face down on the ground, her face buried in blood.
Leo rushed out his hand feeling her pulse; there was one, but it was faint. Leo took a step back; throwing caution to the wind he cried "Help! Help!" Leo was blissfully unaware that the attacker had cursed her or gifted her with two puncture wounds on her neck, each of which where now oozing a black liquid.