Disclaimer: This is a work of fan fiction using characters and settings from the Harry Potter world, which is trademarked by J. K. Rowling. I do not claim any ownership over them or the world of Harry Potter and will not receive any money or other financial profit for presenting the work on this site. The story I tell here as well as certain original characters are my own invention, and are not purported or believed to be part of J.K. Rowling's story canon.

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Chapter 19

Monday, the 8th of September, 1997

Today was going to be the first day of DADA lessons at their meadow. Neville had informed the DA and worked out a schedule for getting everyone out there without raising any suspicions. It would take a while, but Sage had always preferred to be safe, rather than sorry.

Her weekend had been spent working on a sufficient concept of protection spells, ensuring that they wouldn't attract any uninvited guests. Though Sage knew her way around keeping herself and others invisible to the unaided eye, she felt anxious about taking responsibility for so many people. If she made a single mistake, all these innocent lives would be put on line.

Trying to shake off the thought, Sage made her way down to the Forbidden Forest. She carefully took one step after another, slowly breathing in a controlled manner, attempting to maintain what little was left of her composure. She needed to appear as genuine and determined as possible, offering the resistant side whatever hope and guidance she still had in her.

It was hard, harder than she ever would've thought. By the time she arrived at the meadow, Neville and about two other groups of people had already been waiting for her. Her look wandered around the area, though she was somehow prone on avoiding everybody's eye. Only when Neville's gaze met hers, she dared to linger, longer than she probably should have. But he didn't turn away, so neither did she. Neither of them said a word. Instead, they simply shared a warm smile, before Sage eventually began casting a number of protective spells. Only the basis of it all of course, since there were several groups of people yet to come.

Time went by so slowly, yet so fast. Somehow she wished, she could simply wind forwards to when the entire lesson was already over, but then the beginning of the lesson came way too fast. After the last student had arrived at the meadow, Sage sealed off the area with an elaborate combination of protection spells. And then, everything that was left to do was.. teach.

First, Neville had taken the floor, thanking everyone for their attendance and briefly introducing Sage to the rest of the DA. It was odd to watch him take control of the situation like that. Not that she had never seen him do something like this before.. but somehow it was different now. He seemed so tense, so sober, simply nothing like the clumsy and quaint young man she had always known him to be.

After Neville had finished his little introduction, he gave her an encouraging smile, before stepping back into the crowd. Sage took a deep breath, desperately trying to ease her nerves. Now it was her turn.

"Good evening," she began, attempting to radiate a sense of authority, "As you've just heard, my name is Sage and from now on I'll be teaching you Defence Against the Dark Arts. I'm honoured by the trust you've placed in me and I'll do my very best not to disappoint you."

Without any further hesitation, Sage drew her wand once again, fingers clutched tightly around her most precious possession. Or maybe second most precious.

"As Neville has been kind enough to enlighten me on your past education, I'd like to work with what you already can do in the beginning. If confronted in battle, the ability to effectively switch between offensive and defensive magic can sometimes mean the difference between life and death. Though combat often seems random and haphazard, people tend to stick to certain sequences of spells. This doesn't vary much in dark wizards, so I'd like you to develop a routine to go against that," Sage explained, based on her far too detailed lesson plan. As she always had said, preparation was key.

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Author's note: A rather short chapter today. I'm sorry, I was quite busy today but I hope it's still somewhat enjoyable!

I'm glad you liked the kiss in the last chapter. I was hesitant at first to put it in this early in the story (even if it was a flashback), but I want to keep my dear readers on their toes! ;-)

I'd like to thank you once again for always leaving me a review and honoring me with your support!! Wishing you all the best and can't wait to (properly) continue tomorrow!! :-)