For the Glee Project Style Competition
"So keep your head up, girl and you'll go far."
In the corner of the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom stood Professor Lupin, his shabby robes swishing by his feet as he walked forward to the center of the classroom. Sitting in the desks were a mixture of second-year Gryffindors and Ravenclaws, separated on either side of the room as if there was an invisible line through the center.
Some students were chattering, others their head in their hands while their eyelids drifted slowly shut and open again. Lupin cleared his throat loudly, leaning casually against his desk. The noise in the air vanished and the class looked up at him, giving him their attention.
"Good afternoon, once again," Lupin said. "It seems some of us are a bit sleepy today." Some of the more studious students straightened their backs in their seats. "No matter, no matter. Up you get, if you will. There will be no desk work today."
There was a clattering of bags and books and the sound of the chairs scraping against the wooden floor. "Can anyone tell me the most exciting thing you were taught in your previous year in this classroom?" Lupin asked.
Several students, particularly the Ravenclaws, scoffed. "We weren't taught much, sir," a small voice spoke up from the center of the students.
"Indeed Mister Creevy," Lupin said. "I understand there was a dueling club. Can anyone tell me something useful from that?"
When no one spoke up, Lupin noticed a Ravenclaw girl who stood in the corner raise her hand with apprehension. The other students stood away from her. "Yes, Miss..."
"Lovegood, sir," she responded. A few girls in the back were whispering before a faint sound of giggles drifted to Lupin's ears. He chose to ignore it.
"Miss Lovegood, what was it you had to say?"
"There was a spell Professor Snape used that seemed quite practical, but we didn't practice it."
"Ah, yes. And what might this spell be?"
"Expelliarmus, professor. The disarming spell," she said.
"Precisely, Miss Lovegood. Five points to Ravenclaw," Lupin said. He then turned forward once again and began pacing as he spoke. "The disarming spell is one of the most basic and useful spell a witch or wizard can learn. When dueling many adults overlook it. But disarming someone from their wand can end a duel very quickly since a wand is the most important tool for magic and not having it will put you at a disadvantage. Miss Lovegood, if you will, I'd like you to step forward and use the spell to disarm me."
Luna Lovegood grabbed her wand from behind her ear as she walked forward toward Professor Lupin. "One the count of three, aim the spell at me and remember to use conviction. Wand at the ready."
Luna raised her wand and pointed it at Professor Lupin as he counted to three. She took a deep breath, focused her eyes on him and said, "expelliarmus." A small jet of red light was produced from her wand and much to Lupin's amazement, his wand gave a gentle nudge and fell to the floor at his feet. He smiled at her and a faint smile appeared on her face.
"Very good, Miss Lovegood, and for your first attempt...five more points to Ravenclaw." The Ravenclaw house did not look excited, but rather unimpressed by the girl.
"If Loony was able to do it, I'm sure it's not hard," Lupin heard a girl at the front of the class say to her friend. Lupin frowned at the girl and Luna walked back to her spot in the corner of the room.
"Now, if we'll all get into pairs," Lupin said. The students all paired off, but Luna remained in the corner of the room with no partner. "Pairs in different houses, I think, for this lesson."
Most students groaned at that and the pairing took a few minutes longer, until a red-head girl and Luna Lovegood were the only ones left partnerless. "Miss Lovegood and Miss Weasley, is it? I think you two will make an excellent pair." The girls slowly drifted together and Lupin suspected both of them to be shy.
As the students began. Lupin found that the majority were only able to make a jet of white light appear from their wands, although a few had the faintest hints of red light appear from their wands.
"The color produced from your wand will indicate the strength of the spell. When a jet of bright red light appears from your wand and your partner's wand flies away from its owner, the spell is at its strongest. There are a few more extreme versions of the spell, but I want us to first focus on disarming only."
At the end of the period, Lupin asked them to gather around once more to the center of the classroom.
"Very good today, class. Very good. For your assignment, I'd like you to please read the chapter on defensive spells, summarize and write which three spells you would find most useful in a duel. Thank you."
As the class began to gather their things and file out of the room, Lupin walked over to Luna and said, "Miss Lovegood, may I have a word, please?"
"Yes, professor," Luna said. Lupin waited for the remaining students to clear out of the classroom. He felt that Luna Lovegood was a unique and special girl. He had learned first-hand at a young age that being an outcast could be quite lonely, and he didn't like others to be succumbed to the same feeling.
"Would you like a cup of tea?" He asked her, to which she shook her head before speaking.
"No, thank you. I've already had some at lunch and daddy says I should not have more than two cups a day or wrackspurts might cloud my brain. But that is very kind of you, Professor Lupin."
"That was excellent work earlier. You're a very bright student," Lupin said with enthusiasm. "How are you getting along this year, Luna?"
"Just fine, professor," Luna responded. She looked around the room suspiciously, before leaning in closer to Lupin and speaking in a whisper. "But I suspect there might be some nargles since some of my books and papers are disappearing." Lupin closed his lips tightly to not laugh in amusement. "But daddy sent me these and I made a necklace to keep them away." She held up a necklace hanging around her neck with butterbeer corks through it. Lupin smiled at her.
"Very good idea. If the nargles take any more of your belongings or you find yourself without a book, let me know and you can use my special copy," he said.
"Thank you, professor. I'm very pleased to hear that."
"I understand your classmates aren't too friendly with you. I want you to know you can talk to me if you want to." Lupin said.
She cast her eyes downwards as she frowned at the floor. "They aren't too friendly at times, but Ravenclaws like to focus on their studies. So I expect it's all with good intentions."
Lupin smiled because the girl had a good heart, if only her peers would take the time to see it. However, Lupin knew from experience that people didn't often like or accept what was different from themselves. The prejudices of the world still made him angry after all the years he willed himself to just accept that that was how the world worked.
"When I was a boy, I had no friends either. I was very different and outcast. But eventually I made the best friends anyone could hope for. I believe soon enough, you'll have friends who hold you very dear to their hearts because you are a very special young girl." Lupin watched as her face softened from her dreamy gaze and her lips broke into the first real smile he'd seen her have.
"You're very kind, sir," Luna spoke softly.
"I expect you have classes soon, so off you go," Lupin said, tilting his head in the direction of the doorway. She slung the strap of her bag around her shoulder and stuck her wand behind her left ear for safekeeping.
"And do come back during some free time. I think I have some books that might interest you."
"Of course, professor. And I'll be sure to make you a Dirigible plum wristband so the nargles stop eating away at the fabric of your clothing," Luna said in a highly cheerful voice. And with that, she turned away from Lupin and skipped out of the classroom.
Lupin stared after her until she was out of sight and chuckled from her last statement. He supposed her thinking his shabby clothing was from a creature she believed existed was by far better than being due to his werewolf transformations.
He believed Luna Lovegood would grow up to be a rare gift to the world because where there was cleverness there was often arrogance. Where there was brains, there was often limitations. But Luna Lovegood had neither arrogance nor limitations to possibilities and that, Lupin knew, would get her far. He only hoped he'd be around to witness it.