8. Expelliarmus
Daisy's friends had a system. No one was good in every class, but there was enough knowledge to go around. Daisy would help with Charms homework. Jonathan and Daisy helped with Potions. Sophia helped with Defense Against the Dark Arts, Lily with math, Gracie with Transfiguration, and Jasper with Herbology. However, none of them could get their heads around History of Magic. Professor Goldstein made things interesting, interesting to him that was. As far as Daisy knew, none of the second years enjoyed the class and all the dates and names enough to be considered "good at it." The stories were interesting - history generally was - but remembering anything after hearing them? Daisy couldn't seem to do it.
That's why Daisy and her group of 2nd years (plus one 1st year) could have been seen wandering the hallways searching for the old History of Magic classroom.
For some it was only a story, but most people knew there was at least some truth in it. Professor Bins, had died as a teacher and returned as a ghost, insisting on keeping the same schedule for eternity, even after the castle was ruined and rebuilt. Someone went to the trouble of making sure his classroom stayed the same through it all. If you caught him teaching, sometimes he'd answer questions, and if you could get past the dull tones and rambling lectures, you might learn something helpful, especially if you didn't have the time to search through books on your own.
Sophia was the one to push the door open when they arrived, the sound of a man's voice speaking drifting out of the doorway. They all crammed themselves in, each taking a seat at one of the old wooden desks that sat in rows across the classroom.
Professor Bins was indeed still teaching. He drifted across the front of the room droning on about some magical event involving Goblins and dragons, somehow making the tale sound no more interesting than a recitation of the English dictionary. Despite the tone, two older Slytherin boys sat in the front row, jotting down notes until they were satisfied.
It was only once he'd finished answering their question that Bins stopped talking and started floating towards the back wall.
"Wait!" Lily said.
Bins turned around. He squinted to get a better look at them, as if that would help him see. Daisy highly doubted it would, seeing as he was a ghost. Did vision improve or stay the same upon death?
"Yes, Miss Evans?" He asked at last.
"Potter," Lily corrected. She went on to ask one of their questions concerning the Medieval Assembly of European Wizards, which Bins seemed to take some minimal amount of joy in answering, or at least he spent a good deal of time answering it that Daisy deemed unnecessary.
"Anything else, Miss Weasley?"
"Potter," Lily said again, "And no, that will be all, thanks."
They left, almost leaving Sam behind as he'd already fallen asleep. Daisy couldn't help but wonder what the point was in bringing him at all.
"Sorry!" Sam said, trying to blink away the drowsiness. He pulled his fingers through his hair, making it a little less flat on one side, and looked directly at Daisy. "I swear, his voice is like a white noise machine or something." He laughed as though the two of them had shared a joke, his eyes crinkling with genuine amusement, before darting back to Jonathan's side just as Castle appeared at the end of the corridor.
She didn't see them at first, busy saying something to Connel Adair. Castle's hands circled the space in front of her, gesturing to convey a message Daisy couldn't hear. When Adair caught on to the message, he smiled, causing Castle to smile in return. Daisy hadn't ever seen her smile without someone else bearing the brunt of a joke.
Then Castle saw them.
Looking at the two groups, it shouldn't have been much of a conflict. Bella only had Connel at her side. Lily and Daisy, the two Castle picked out as enemies, had far more backup.
"Hey," Castle said. One simple greeting never sounded more malicious.
"Hey," Lily said.
Castle eyed the area they stood in as she approached the group. "This is quite the odd hallway to be standing around in," she commented. "Unless, you're all that bad at history that you'd consult old Bins."
"As if you're not here to do the same thing," Lily said.
"Actually, I was headed that way." Castle pointed off in another direction, perpendicular to their path. "But I saw you poor things standing over here and decided to take a detour."
"Well, you can go away now," Daisy said. She immediately regretted it. "Go away" sounded pathetic, like something she might have childly said to her sister instead of something more powerful, like an insult.
Like "mudblood." Which apparently Castle called her when she bothered to enter in a comment.
Lily's wand went from a pocket to pointed at Castle in seconds, Gracie reaching out to stop her too late to do anything.
"Apologize," Lily growled.
Castle only grinned. "Why? I thought it was fine, right? Isn't it something people are trying to reclaim these days? You know, taking the power away? Dursley? Was I wrong?"
Daisy had no idea how much power the word had, or if it had been reclaimed. Lily's response was all she had to go by. Given Lily's temper, she wasn't sure of the accuracy of that source.
But then there was Sophia. Opposite to Lily in anger management, she stepped into the spotlight without her wand.
"Reclaimed or not, you meant it to hurt," she said. "Apologize."
"No."
"Then a duel." Lily pushed her way in front of Sophia again. "I'll fight you. We can use a spare classroom."
Castle shook her head, hair billowing out the way a skirt does when you spin in circles. "I'll duel Dursley. That's my only offer."
Everyone turned to Daisy.
"I'll do it," she said. Immediately, her mind whirred into action, too late to stop her from making a stupid commitment, but just on time to question just how she thought she could partake in a duel. Defense Against the Dark Arts was her worst class. Hopefully, with a little bit of time, she could work with Sophia, who had skills from going to dueling club meetings twice a week when Daisy was in band. Lily might be of some help too if she didn't get too emotional.
"Tomorrow," Lily said to both of them. "We'll meet up after class, just you two and your seconds."
"Tomorrow," Castle agreed.
Daisy had just enough time to wonder what a second was before Lily and Sophia started bombarding her with dueling tips.
"It's not too late to drop out of this, Daisy," Gracie said.
Daisy sat at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall, nervously tapping her finger against the table as she waited. The hall was mostly empty, a few students here and there sitting with friends or studying, but Daisy had to stay and wait for Bella Castle to show up. All of her friends (and Sam, who Daisy still didn't mentally categorize as a friend) sat and waited with her, even though only Sophia would be attending the duel as her second. Lily had wanted the position, but Daisy refused because she didn't trust Lily not to start an even bigger fight.
This meant that Lily sulked at the edge of the group instead of giving extra reassurances like the others. Gracie and Jonathan still thought she should cancel the duel. Sam tried to comfort her by saying Castle probably would chicken out anyway. Sophia remained the only one who was completely calm about the situation.
"Just remember your strengths. You're not good with the spells from Defense Against the Dark Arts, so use charms. In a duel, you play to your strengths, not what's conventional."
That's what Daisy's plan relied on: charms. If she could stop the duel before it even began with a freezing charm, or even disarm Castle, then she would have one. No big deal. She could go on with her life without really having a conflict.
When she and Sophia arrived at the negotiated empty classroom, Bella Castle and Connel Aidair were already there, standing on the opposite side of the room in their Slytherin robes.
The classroom was perfect for their duel: the few chairs and tables were pushed to the side, dusty from lack of use. The stone floor was an open stage. Sophia promised to catch her with a spell she'd learned in the dueling club if Castle pushed her back into the wall or onto the ground. Hopefully it wouldn't come to that.
"Let's start then," Castle said. She walked to the center and held out a hand. Daisy met her there, giving her hand one firm shake before turning and pacing away like Sophia had demonstrated in practice.
The two seconds stood together off to the side, both agreeing to signal the start of the duel.
Castle raised her wand. Daisy raised hers, prepared to defend first. Then the door slammed open.
"Expelliarmus!" someone said. Both wands went flying, right into the hands of Professor Patil.
"If any second year student had started a duel, I might have expected Potter and Castle, but not you, Dursley." She shook her head. "You seemed non confrontational enough…"
Sophia stepped in front of the professor, blocking Daisy. "Daisy didn't start it, Professor. She did." She pointed at Castle.
"Don't be silly," Castle said, eyes going wide. "I would never! Daisy started all of this. She's terribly mean, but no one ever wants to hear that about the girl who 'saved the school from closing.'"
"If you've been having problems with Miss Dursley, they should have been brought to the attention of a staff member much sooner than this, Miss Castle. Miss Dursley, Mr Aidair, have you anything useful to add?
Daisy didn't have anything useful, at least not anything that could be proved. Although, there were more witnesses.
"This meeting was arranged in front of others, too." She listed her friends that had been there and accounted her version of what happened.
Professor Patil followed along, holding up a hand to prevent anyone from interrupting. "That matches with the story I was told." Anticipating their question, she said, "yes, I was informed about this duel by someone else. My timing wouldn't have been that perfect otherwise. Since nothing has actually happened yet, I'll only be taking ten points from each of your houses. However, all four of you will serve a detention. I'll get information about when for next time I see you all, which had better not be today."
She held open the door. "Out. Go do something besides fighting."
It's not either of the days I said I might post (sorry). Still planning on updating weekly though.