Chapter 14: DADA Class

After lunch the Gryffindor 7th years had Defense Against the Dark Arts. Emma, Mary, Dorcas, Lily and I came in and took the seats at the front of the class. I felt very alert and ready to practice defense, partially so because the image of that Ravenclaw boy's face when he got the owl was still clear in my mind.

That, and I've always liked DADA. My old professor had been great, and since third year I'd been a member of the school dueling club he supervised. Plus, defense was something Dad made sure James, Al, and I were good at from a young age. As Head Auror, he knew what was dangerous out there and wanted us to be safe from it.

My new DADA class was taught by a young, pretty woman with very dark skin who came up to me before the lesson began.

"Luna," she said what she thought was my first name. "I'm Professor Imara Nnamani. Professor Dumbledore has told us teachers that there would be a new 7th year student in our classes."

"Yeah, that's me." I said.

Professor Nnamani smiled. "He also assured us that the educational institution you've attended previously is no less academically respected than Hogwarts, and that you would not be far behind in your new classes. However, I would like you to demonstrate that for yourself. How familiar are you with defensive magic?"

"Very. I used to be in a dueling club, actually." I said, and then added, remembering the sort of time I was living in, "I've never had to use it in a real life-threatening situation though."

"I see." said the Professor. "Well I would like you to show what you already know to the class. Would you be willing to duel one of my students today?"

Well this was interesting, and honestly kind of exciting. "Sure!" I said.

Once Nnamani returned to her desk, Emma turned to me and said, "She used to be an Auror, and a good one from what I've heard. No one knows why she quit so young and came to teach here, but we're not complaining because she's way better than all our DADA teachers of the past several years."

Lily, who was sitting next to me, added, "She puts a lot of emphasis on practice. Every other Friday we go out to duel in different parts of the grounds- it's about learning to use our environments. It's really fun!"

"Lily just likes it because she got to knock James Potter into the lake last week, and got 20 house-points for it." put in Emma.

Lily shrugged but didn't deny anything.

Professor Nnamani started the class with a lecture on dark artifacts and how to recognize them.

"A dark artifact is most often an object with a history of violence and chaos. Technically, any ordinary object maybe be cursed with Dark Magic. However, if the curse is long-lasting and powerful, the vessel which holds it is likely marked by a sinister history. That is why antique dark artifacts are often the most dangerous. The older they are and the more destruction they've caused, the more powerful they become."

I listened intently for the half hour that the Professor talked. She was clearly very knowledgeable on the subject, and I actually knew very little about dark artifacts prior to this.

When Nnamani finished the lecture, she said, "For the rest of today's class we'll be observing a duel between our new student, Ms. Luna Porter," she motioned me to come up to the front, "and whomever wishes to volunteer as her opponent."

Quite a few students raised their hands. I suppose I didn't look very threatening, but little did they know what they were getting into, I thought smiling. Not that I planned to use anything as cruel as the Bat-Bogey Hex. But still, I rather liked dueling and kicking arse.

"Sirius Black!" Professor Nnamani called out a name I wasn't really expecting because Sirius was asleep on one of the desks in the back, and most definitely not raising his hand. "Sirius, since you obviously can't pay attention watching and listening, how about you come up here and help Luna demonstrate her skill."

Sirius had woken up from James poking at his side when his name was called. He had a red mark on his face where it had rested on the desk. Still, his voice was smooth when he answered, "If I don't, will I get to spend a detention with you, Imara? I could help you organize a broom closet or two."

Professor Nnamani looked like she was resisting rolling her eyes. "No, Black, it's Mr. Filch with whom you'd have a detention. If you wish to organize some broom closets under his supervision, that can be arranged."

Sirius scrunched up his nose. "Alright. I'll pass on that and fight the Carrot Top."

Carrot Top? I narrowed my eyes at him, almost reconsidering about the Bat-Bogies.

Nnamani ordered everyone to clear a space in the middle of the classroom and to have their shield charms ready to deflect any stray spells.

And soon enough, I was facing Sirius with my wand in my hand. We bowed to each other, as is customary. I could see James smiling from the sidelines, mouthing something at me.

Then the duel began as Sirius shot out a stunner.

I used my quick, Quidditch-trained reflexes to dodge it and send a Disorientation Hex which caused Sirius' next spell to shoot off in the wrong direction.

"Nice one, Luna." Nnamani commented on my hex.

"Yeah, not bad." Sirius added, his voice slightly mocking. I just smiled at him and fired another mass of sparks.

We continued for a while, until my breath got heavier from the dodging and spell casting. The other students cheered whenever either of us made a hit. They seemed to especially like my Exploding Glitter Charm, which is actually something of Emily's creation from our 5th year, and was meant for Gryffindor post-Quidditch-game parties. In its original form it's simple, more-or-less harmless, and perfect for occasional festivities. I, however, like to get creative in my dueling, and I've learned that certain harmless charms can hold great power, if one just manages to amplify them ten-fold.

I, too, couldn't help laughing along with some of the students as several buckets of sparkles rained down upon Sirius Black's head.

"Argh!" Sirius exclaimed and tried to shake it off of his hair. I only laughed harder, appreciating the justice of it all and remembering how unapologetic he had been two nights ago, when I was the one covered in shiny stuff head-to-toe.

Before Sirius had a chance to rub the glitter out of his eyes, I shot another spell at him, pushing him back against the wall. And I then I quickly disarmed him.

"Oof." said James, as though he was embarrassed for his friend, though he was still smiling.

"Yeah Black, guess I'm not bad at all." I said, slowly walking toward him, relishing my victory. I mean, I know I was a little harsh with the humiliating, sparkly defeat, but I wouldn't have had to be so mean if he hadn't been so damn cocky. "Looks like I'm better than you, anyway."

I was pretty sure that I'd won and the duel was over since Sirius was wandless and blinded by glitter, but all of a sudden-

"UNEXPECTED DANGER!" Professor Nnamani shouted, and the next thing I knew I was knocked over by a flying desk.

"What the-?" I said, finding myself on the floor, my wand a few feet away.

"Remember! Surprises happen in a fight." the Professor was saying to the class. "Don't expect fighting to be straightforward in the real world. Thinking linearly may be the biggest mistake you make." Then in a rather quieter voice she added, "Plus, there are still fifteen minutes left of class and I don't want to go back to lecturing."

Grabbing my wand and getting up off the floor, I realized that Sirius too, had his wand back and was pointing it at me.

"Rictusempra!"

I almost fell over again, this time because I was laughing against my will from the Tickling Charm that hit me. But I still managed to gasp out a spell which sent a chair hurling straight into Sirius. Apparently furniture-throwing was allowed, and I was going to take full advantage of that.

Then, bad luck for him, some of the glitter must have made it into Sirius' nose and he started sneezing uncontrollably.

So next I sent a desk, two more chairs, another desk, and then a rubbish bin flying as well. The last one was actually unnecessary for the fight, but I wanted to put a sort of cherry on top of the mountain of desks and chairs which had Sirius Black trapped under it.

Once it looked like Sirius was finished and wouldn't be casting any more spells, I stood straight up to breathe and wipe the sweat off of my forehead. But I still kept a suspicious eye on Nnamani, in case she'd try anything again.

However, it seemed she was satisfied that that was that, and only congratulated me, smiling wide. "Wow! Excellent work, Luna. It seems that your old school prepared you well."

I shrugged, grinning, and glanced over at James. He was holding out his palm to Remus, who was handing over a few bronze coins and a chocolate frog.

After we dug Sirius out from under the furniture and put everything back in its right place, the students began exiting the classroom.

"That was brilliant." Emma was saying as we made our way out. "The glitter- oh Merlin! Black covered in glitter- genius!"

"Yeah." I said, not even denying it. "Especially since he still hasn't managed to get it off! It likes to be elusive when it comes to the Vanishing Spell."

"You know, it felt good to see Black lose." Lily was in a good mood as well. "He's so bloody arrogant. You have no idea how satisfying that was to see."

"Trust me, I found it satisfying too." I told her. "I may not have known him long, but it doesn't always take a long time to figure out somebody's a bit of a prick."

We walked out the door, but before the girls and I made it more than a few steps in the hall, a tall Slytherin boy from our class suddenly blocked our way.

"Well, that was quite a performance." He said, looking down at me, completely ignoring Dorcas, Mary, Lily and Emma. "Impressive, I would say."

"Er.." I was at a loss for words, confused as to why he was eyeing me down like this.

"Talent like that," he said, pausing, "is valuable to have these days."

And then he stalked off as though he hadn't just been talking to us.

"What the bloody hell was that, Avery?" Mary yelled after him, but he kept walking. "Creep." she muttered under her breath.

"Well that was weird." I said, still unsure of what to think.

Dorcas looked a little worried. "That was Hammond Avery. He's not someone you want to trust, Luna. He's dangerous, and I really hope he didn't mean anything by what he just said."

"Hm." I said. "He was probably just trying to be intimidating. What else would he want from me?"

The girls shrugged, and we started talking of other things as we walked down the hallway.

A/N: Yay! I had so much fun finishing this chapter. I really wish I had time to write more often! But I've been busy lately with a summer internship which has me working 40 hours a week, plus I'm doing art for my boyfriend's videogame. So that's why it took so long to update despite all the awesome comments you guys left.. :( Thanks so much though! You guys got me pretty excited about this fic!

:) Let me know what you think. (And btw, I'm still looking for a beta!)