You Want Who?!
A Dresden Files/Harry Potter Crossover
All recognizable characters, places etc belong to their original creators, I own nothing but this random story. As a sufferer from chronic depression and anxiety, writing can be a struggle but my muse is back (bitch has an all-over tan and a silly grin on her face) and I plan to take full advantage. So, here we go...
First Day of Class
Dresden POV
Due to having two teachers for DADA and them teaching different types of magic, this years classes would be in a slightly different format from previous years. All Years had four classes in DADA a week, two lecture sessions and two practical. Von and I had one apiece, per year per week. In addition the Fifth and Seventh years had an additional class each in preparation for their exams. Von was taking those, as I had no idea what was even in those exams! I had royally annoyed McGonagal, with Von's backing, and we had the Houses on a rotating schedule. We had both heard plenty about the inter-house rivalries and we wanted the kids to begin seeing more than just house colors. The upshot of our wrangling was that we each only had the dreaded Slytherin/Gryffindor combination once a month.
I don't know whether it was payback or pity but my very first class was the First Years. I walked into a classroom filled with nearly thirty bright eyed children. They were tiny, I could hardly remember being that small and I hadn't been playing with Magic then. Although I wasn't much older though when I had performed my first magic. Justin DeMorne had come for me no long after that. I pushed aside those memories, I had a class to teach.
I took the role call just to get it out of the way and took in each face as I called their names. Lash would help me remember who everyone was. That done I moved to the front of my desk and leaned back against it.
Welcome to Defense Against the Dark Arts. Or, for you kids, "How Not to Die 101". There was a round of nervous giggles from about a third of the class. The Magic born just looked confused and worried.
"Right! Everyone take out your wands and put them in front of you on your desks." I said, watching. Most of the kids were hunting through their bags or patting down their robes rummaging for their wands. Only two students, one from Slytherin and one from Ravenclaw had their wands at hand and were waiting for their classmates to catch up. Once all the wands were out I said, "Two points apiece to Slytherin and Ravenclaw for being better prepared than your peers. You two" I indicated the two students who's wands had been out first, "Have just escaped or survived." I looked over the rest of the class. "The rest of you are either captured, badly hurt or dead." The students stared at me with wide eyes.
I turned to the blackboard and waved my hand. The chalk floated up and wrote neatly across the board
Rule One. Don't Die.
The chalk settled back down and I turned to back to my class. "The world we live in is a lot bigger and far more dangerous than you could ever imagine. The first thing you all need to know is that we humans are not on top of the food chain. Even when you have fully come into your powers and finish your education. We humans, even wizards, are by no means the biggest, baddest or most powerful thing walking around. There are a lot of things out in the real world, very few of them human, that will hurt you because they are hungry or because they enjoy it. We will get into what those things are and how to recognize them and avoid them in future lessons. Right now I want you all to look at your wands. Really look at them, study every detail until you can see your wand clearly in your mind, even when you close your eyes."
The kids looked at me like I was slightly unhinged but they did it. After about five minutes they began to fidget and I called them back to attention.
"Right. WHAT is a wand?' I asked. The quick little Ravenclaw from earlier, ah Morag Alton, raised her hand. I smiled at her and nodded.
"It's a conduit for our magic Sir" she said confidently. I smiled. A textbook answer.
"Very good Miss Alton, take another two points. Anyone else?"
A plump faced Hufflepuff girl raised her hand next and I smiled encouragingly at her. Zara Smith I remembered. She had an older brother in Fifth year. "A tool sir?" I grinned at her and she giggled.
"Indeed Miss Smith. Take two points for Hufflepuff." the girl flushed happily.
"Two excellent points, but we're missing one, a very important one. Can anyone tell me what it is?" the kids stared at me and a boy, right up the back, in Slytherin colors raised his hand very very slowly. '"Charles Avery" Lash whispered. "His father was a known Death-Eater." I brushed her off. Charles was just a child. I smiled at the boy and he all but whispered
"A weapon Sir."
"That is correct, five points Mr Avery for stating a very obvious fact. One that many witches and Wizards forget." I moved to stand before my desk with every eye on me.
"Sitting before you on your desks is a weapon. You are eleven years old and you have your very own deadly weapon. Just like almost everyone in the magical world. That slender piece of wood is going to become more important to some of you then some of your own limbs. With it you can do amazing, wonderful things. You could also do awful horrible things with it." I let them take that in. "So if I see any of you pointing your wand at anyone else outside of class or without a damn good reason you won't be loosing house points." I looked around the nervous class room. "You will have detention. With Me." The less brave among the students gulped. They all looked nervous.
"So which is more important? The wand or you?" I asked. The kids mostly looked thoughtful.
"The answer to that question is you. Without you that wand is just a fancy stick. The magic is inside of you. It is up to you what you do with it." I settled back on my desk. "Rule One. Don't Die." I looked around and selected a victim, erm student, a small dark skinned Gryffindor girl, to give her a chance to earn her house some points. "A Bad Wizard is pointing his wand at you Miss Johnson, what should you do?" she blinked at me and replied
"Cast a shield Sir?" I hmmed and the chalk behind me wrote Shield beneath Rule one.
"A good answer. Take two points Miss Johnson. One question though. Do you know any shields?" the little girl shook her head.
"Ahh." I said. "Anyone else?" No one raised their hands.
"You guys are kids. Your just starting your magical education. If a Bad Wizard points their wand at you.. Don't Be There. You run away. Duck, hide but most of all, get out of there." The children stared at me with wide eyes. I pointed to a poster I had hung of a Remington 9 11. "This is a gun. If someone points one of these at you, duck behind something or run away. A gun can do as much, if not more damage to you then a wand and can kill you just as dead." the students all gulped.
"So, what do you do if you can't run away?" I watched the students think about it. "You stall. You do whatever you can to buy time until you can get away or someone comes to get you. In today's lesson I am going to teach you all how to create a magic circle. A magic circle is the quick and dirty way to defend yourself from attack, be it magical, physic or spiritual and one you can all learn to use right now."
And so my first class continued as I taught the kiddies all about magical circles and magical intent.