Chapter 7:

"Lesson three, trust your instincts."

A chill shot down Harry's spine. Something wasn't right here. He looked around, taking note of Hermione's, Ron's, Ginny's and everyone else's positions. His eyes scanned the appearances of the strangers, and his brain seemed to shut down at a stunning realization. Didn't they…look familiar?

The group turned around the corner just in time to see a door slam closed. Ginny, clenching her teeth, surged forward and pointed her wand at the door. She raised her wand viciously, perhaps to reduce the door to rubble, but the girl behind her with long red hair and brown eyes, beat her to it. "Alohomora!" In a swift flick, the burst of blue light flew to the door, shaking it slightly open with the impact.

Ginny turned slightly to glance at her friend. "There's no need to destroy the entire castle," the girl stated, giving her a look.

Ginny shrugged. "Touché, Ashlee."

The nine remaining students flew into the room, and into pitch black darkness. Almost immediately, five wand tips ignited. Harry's eyes searched the room. Stone walled, slightly damp air, shallow pools of water near the walls…

Ginny walked over to the door and attempted to wrench it open. Using her wand, she attempted to unlock it once more but it didn't budge. Furthermore, it managed to survive Ginny's several attempts to blow it open. "A trap?" Ginny asked, wheeling around. Her eyes locked with Ashlee's.

"I knew I should have blew it open," she muttered. Ashlee merely grinned at her. "How do we get out now? Where's the professor?" She turned to the trio, whom were still silently examining the room. "Do you guys have any idea what-"

She was cut off by a sudden plume of fire, which blew so close to her, it signed the ends of her hair off. She twirled around, expertly responding with a well-aimed "Protego!" Ashlee's eyes narrowed. Harry had never seen her so serious, but yet again, he had just only noticed her. Subconsciously, they slowly backed towards the center and went back to back, with their wands out.

"Shoot, I missed!" a voice in the darkness exclaimed. The sound of a sharp slap echoed in the darkness.

"Quiet! If you can't properly aim your spells, let me to it. Litricious." The group froze at the mention of a strangely new incantation, but quickly scrambled away from each other when a bolt of lightning erupted from the darkness.

"Look, you missed too!"

"Shut it, Dead Boy."

Harry blinked. The voices were…familiar? "Nico? Thalia?" Silence. He heard quick whispers from the darkness before they suddenly quelled. "Nico, Thalia? Is that you?" he asked again. Harry frowned. Why were they here? Cautiously, the group huddled together once more. Only to realize that four of them were left. Harry shuddered. It was like a horror movie; they each would be picked off until they all were gone.

"Hermione?" She stood in an attacking position with her wand out, but her eyes were closed. "Hermione?" Her eyes shot open.

"Guys, touch the floor. What does it feel like?" she urged. The group obeyed her orders as they bent down to touch the cloaked floor.

"Damp," Ginny said, not understanding the question. "Really cold, too."

"Like bricks," Ron added. "No, stones."

"It feels like wood to me," Harry deadpanned.

"There is a floor here. It's safe to assume we're probably in a classroom. No matter how close I get, I can't see the floor, though it's definitely there. Light doesn't work, either. When the fire and lightning passed through, the room didn't light up at all."

"We would have seen the room if that fire was real," Ron stated.

"That fire was certainly real," Ginny argued. "Look at my hair!"

"The fire was real," Harry agreed. He felt the heat on his skin as well. "So that means…"

"The darkness is not," Hermione finished. "It's a spell. They probably cast it on us when we walked through the door. We can't see anything because they enchanted our sight."

"Close, but not quite, Miss Granger." A figure stepped out of the darkness. The group cautiously readied their wands before realizing it was Professor Jackson.

"Professor!" they exclaimed in relief.

"It's true that an enchantment is causing this darkness, but it was not cast on an individual person, nor a group of people," Percy stated, waving his hand. Almost immediately, the light returned to the room. Harry blinked spots out of his eyes as he looked around. Scattered amongst the edge of the room were all the remaining students who had fallen behind, wands pointed at them.

"Your classmates," he gestured to them, "were the ones who placed the spell on the room. Unfortunately, it is quite difficult for a single person to accomplish so I took the liberty of offering some extra credit," he said, winking. "Anyway, you all get passing grades for this activity."

The kids cheered, clapping their hands together in excitement. Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny glanced at each other and managed a weak smile. How many of these 'activities' were they going to do in a year? The first was enough for a lifetime.

"Oh, that's right." The cheering abruptly stopped as Percy raised his wand. He searched the group before grinning. He pointed it to a secluded corner of the room and suddenly, Thalia and Nico appeared. "You two failed."

"What?!" they protested. "Perce!" "Percy!"

"It's Professor Jackson," he replied cheekily. "They realized the trick thanks to you guys. That was not the time to be criticizing each other on your aims," he said, rolling his eyes. "Both of you can come later to practice your aims during detention." The two of them protested, saying that they couldn't help a little sibling rivalry and teasing, but Percy wasn't hearing any of it.

"Professor," Hermione interjected.

"Yes?"

"What was that spell? I don't remember any spell that-"

"Nox obscure," Percy said, throwing the word out lazily. "It's the blindfold of darkness, so to speak. Unfortunately, I haven't found a spell to make it soundproof as well." He stole another glance towards the two. "Or idiot-proof."

"Can we…?"

Percy shook his head. "Don't worry about it. We'll be working on this spell tomorrow in class. You won't be able to accomplish this spell without a large group, anyway. Any other questions? No?" He pointed his wand at the door, which promptly exploded into rolls of parchment.

Out of the corner of his eye, Harry could see Ginny shoot Ashlee a smug look.

"Make sure you pick up your homework on the way out," he said as the class collectively lowered their wands. "Ginny, I'd like to see you for a second." With a quick glance around the room, the professor dismissed them with a cheery wave.

A/N: Hello everyone! Unfortunately, I am not Stuffy Puppy. ;) Just a friend who will be filling in for her as of the moment. It's a personal issue at hand right now with her, so I'll be doing my best to fill in for her. I have all the story notes she left me and my writing style is kinda similar to hers...anyway...I hope you guys forgive us for the lateness. I'll be doing my best to continue all her stories until she gets back as well as adding my own under this account. :) You can call me...Mysterious Girl...just kidding. My alias is Alice, so call me that. Questions will be answered by PM! Peace out, guys~! Next update is on me!


. ?bk=At5hei4shrtVHJuXHy**vvh1m2GHJ8mQ9SoVoTHkhWQcdj9tJ3E3LLMWWql0Q4dOn6fm2SHgsQCiOseH8v-Wa43fMnq2OnN12qfyhxxp