Madelia remained concerned about the letter ordeal and for once, damned the fact that she could even remember the letter. It was strange to her to know that the letter had reached her and was lingering in her mind.

It was currently her second class of the day, Defense Against the Dark Arts, shared with Gryffindor 5th years. She loved being taught by Remus again, although she did like her other professors as well. Remus would always be her favorite teacher and nothing could ever change that.

Zoey sat next to her, bewitching pieces of paper. She and Madelia watched as the paper folded itself into tiny bats to fly around the room as they waited for the lesson to begin. Zoey snickered as one of the bats hit Fred in the back of the head.

"Milfoil, I know very well Madelia did not do that," Fred said, turning around with a half-serious glare.

"Maybe she has a dark side no one notices," Zoey retorted, and Madelia shook her head. "Halloween's right around the corner, after all. Maybe she's preparing for the festivities."

"I'm not a big fan of Halloween. There's enough horrors throughout the year," Madelia mumbled, thinking about Remus's hairy little problem.

"You're very strange, Lupin. Strange indeed." Madelia was about to respond before Remus walked into the room from his office. Several, if not all, faces lit up when he walked inside. It made her happy to know so many students liked being taught by Remus as well.

She had been approached by several people she didn't know – various Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs, even a few Slytherins – and they all spoke highly of her father. They seemed to enjoy his methods of teaching and his kindness that heavily outweighed that of Professor Snape's.

"I trust you all brought your textbooks?" he asked, and there was a chorus of yes's throughout the room. "Before we begin, I would like you to read the small section on page 56. When you are finished, please close your books."

Madelia opened to the exact page in less than a few seconds, eager to see what he would be talking about today. Her eyes lit up when she realized they were about to learn basic dueling spells. She had learned that last year, but said nothing to the other students as they read. Zoey seemed to be focusing hard, but at the same time she was still watching several bats flutter around the room.

"Do you understand this?" she asked, closing her books. "Last year, Lockhart did absolutely nothing to prepare us for this."

"A little," Madelia said. "I think we're going to practice dueling today. Why else would we be talking about it?"

"So, we're learning how to what again?" Zoey genuinely looked confused and Madelia smiled softly at her.

"It's just basic means of defending yourself. For example, if someone launches a rough spell at you, you can fight back." Madelia remembered the few times she had dueled with Remus. He was always bent on ensuring she could hold her own against an opponent, but always made sure to duel at her level. It had been almost a month since their last duel.

"Again, Lockhart said nothing about that. He was too self-absorbed. He brings shame to Ravenclaw's." Madelia could only imagine what the man must have been like.

Several books closed a few minutes later and Remus stood at the front of the room.

"Can anyone tell me what the Unforgiveable Curses are?" he asked, and he didn't seem to want to mention it himself. "There are three of them."

A few hands rose and he looked around the room before nodding in the direction of Katie Bell.

"The Imperiatus Curse, Cruciatis Curse, and . . . the Killing Curse," she said softly, and Remus nodded in agreement. Madelia's head began to pound and she cringed, holding her head for a moment. Zoey looked to her, concerned.

"Very good, Miss Bell. Five points for Gryffindor." He walked down the row of tables, looking at each student. "I don't expect any demonstrations of these curses, of course. The reason I bring these up is solely because, should any of you ever be subjected to them, you must know how to defend yourself. These curses are highly advanced, so I don't expect today's lesson to get too far. Can anyone tell me about the Memory Charm?"

Remus glanced at Madelia, but she didn't notice. She was too busy squinting her eyes at the cover of her book, the Unforgiveable Curses ringing a bell in her head.

Again, several hands rose, but Remus chose Althea to speak instead.

"It's a powerful charm that swipes the memory of whoever it is directed to. Once struck, you no longer have any recollection of who you are, if the caster wishes it. It is incurable and it's rare for the charm to fail," Althea explained. "It can be used to forget certain events, places, or even people."

"Very good, Ms. Griffith. Five points for Ravenclaw." Remus paused for a moment, then went to the front of the room.

"Charms and the Dark Arts are very closely related. Some Charms can be cast in duels, and in order to counter these spells, a good knowledge in Defense Against the Dark Arts is needed. Now, I would like you all to stand up for a moment." They obeyed and Remus motioned for the students to step aside. Once they were all clear, he used his wand to move the tables against the walls until there was nothing in their way. "Now, does anyone know a counter-spell to use with dueling?"

Madelia raised her hand immediately, and a few other Ravenclaws did as well. He nodded in her direction.

"There's a few spells, but a popular one if Stupefy," she said. "It leaves the witch or wizard stunned. If someone uses the curse on you, it's a good idea to form a mental shield to keep the spell at bay."

"Precisely, Ms. Lupin. Five points for Ravenclaw." Madelia smiled, but it lessened when she heard a few sour retorts behind her. She could distinctly hear students calling her a teacher's pet and belittling her for being the daughter of a professor. Zoey glared back at the crowd, trying to find the voice who spoke.

"Bloody gits," she whispered. "Don't listen to them."

Remus, however, didn't hear them. Madelia ignored the retorts to focus again.

"Today, we'll focus on creating a mental shield to prevent spells from hurting us. It will be difficult at first, but I have confidence that each and every one of you will come to master it. May I have a volunteer?" More hands than before shot up and Remus wasn't sure which hand to go with. He noticed Zoey's hand waving frantically and picked her.

Zoey stepped forward with a small smile, and Remus looked down at her. He took a few steps back and held his wand in his hand.

"Attempt to hit me with a spell," he said, and she furrowed her eyebrows. "Any spell you can think of."

Zoey seemed deep in thought as if trying to find a curse that wouldn't hurt him. Then, she raised her wand.

"Cantis!" she cried, and a stream of energy floated from her wand. It travelled to Remus, but once it was within a few inches of him, it appeared to hit an invisible shield and break into smaller whisps of energy. He smiled at Zoey.

"I'm afraid singing is not my forte, Ms. Milfoil." She smiled sheepishly before returning to her place next to Madelia. "What I did was focus on my shield, and directed most of my energy to keeping it up. With practice, you can use the shield without a wand. For example, Mr. Jordan, would you please be my next volunteer?"

Lee Jordan, who had been laughing with the Weasley twins, stepped forward. Remus put his wand into his pockets and stood quietly.

"Any spell you can think of, as I told Ms. Milfoil."

"Confundo!" Just as Zoey's spell had done, Lee's bounced off the mental shield Remus had. Lee looked impressed as he moved to the back of the group again.

"As you saw, I used my shield without my wand. While more difficult, it is highly effective in blocking many different spells. Now, I would like you to break into pairs of two and practice forming a mental shield. Please do not use curses that will harm the other. I'll be walking around the room to ensure everyone is doing well with their practice."

Madelia turned to Zoey and said, "Would you be my partner?"

Zoey smiled in return, nodded, and dispersed into the classroom. They stood next to a few other groups of students who were already casting spells and charms. Many of them hit the students and Madelia held back a laugh when one began to sing at the top of their lungs and another turned a bright shade of green.

"Would you like me to hit you first?" Zoey asked, pulling out her wand. "Or other way around?"

"How about you do your shield first and I'll throw spells?" Madelia suggested and Zoey nodded. She tried hard to focus as Madelia cast a tickling charm, but it bounced through the shield. Zoey broke out into loud peels of laughter, eventually falling to the floor with tears of joy flying from her eyes. Remus walked over and cast the counter charm.

"The trick is to focus," Remus said, extending a hand to help his student up. "What I personally do is imagine a steel wall in my mind, refusing to let spells in. Direct your energy into a wall and make sure to focus on your opponent."

Zoey nodded, wiping the tears from her face.

"Let's try again," she said, voice hoarse from the constant laughing. "But please, don't cast that one again."

"Crinus Muto!" Madelia cried, and tried her best not to laugh as Zoey's hair turned a light shade of yellow and spiraled into the air in curls. She frowned at Madelia and a glare was set on her face. Madelia held back her laughs as she countered the spell. "It was a good look for you, really. Yellow brings out your eyes."

"Shut it, Maddie." She stood still again, her eyes more focused than before. Madelia cast a different spell this time – meant to turn Zoey into a duck – but watched as the yellow energy shook as it hit a shield. The curse still went through and Zoey was turned into a duck, but Madelia was proud nonetheless.

"I thought I said no harmful curses," Remus said as Zoey waddled towards him.

"It technically wasn't harmful," Madelia pointed out. "But didn't you see? The spell barely made it through."

"I did happen to see that." He counter-spelled Zoey until she was standing, arms crossed, as the twins laughed. "Very good, Ms. Milfoil. That's quite the accomplishment."

"Very good, little duck!" Fred yelled across the room. Zoey rolled her eyes, then smirked as George sent a hex at his brother that made his teeth grow large.

"Looking good, buck-tooth!" she retorted, and Madelia watched their glares at each other. She then shook her head and caught Zoey's attention by standing still. "It's your turn. I don't want to be turned into a duck again."

"I'm aware." Madelia thought back to her lessons with Remus, to the mental shield she created in her mind. She imagined it standing strong, protecting herself. Zoey cast the first spell, then huffed as it hit the shield.

"Well, this isn't very fair," she said, shaking her head. She cast another spell, but it flew off the shield as well. "Professor Lupin? May I have permission to turn Madelia into a bird?"

"As humorous as that sounds—"

"Good enough for me!" Zoey cast the spell and watched as it flew from the shield. Remus smiled warmly at Madelia.

"You two are doing very well with this lesson. I believe that, with time, you will both have strong shields. Madelia, since you are more advanced, why don't you assist Zoey with her shield?" Madelia nodded and Zoey pursed her lips. "Now, Ms. Milfoil, watch me as I block this spell. If you would?"

Madelia nodded and cast another spell, and it bounced from the shield with ease.

"Just keep focusing on the shield, and don't worry about casting a spell back. If you do that, you'll be fine." He took a step away and watched as Madelia cast another spell. Again, the spell went seemed to hesitate before going through the shield, and Zoey was left in another fit of giggles. Madelia counter-charmed her until she was standing still again. Her eyes looked stressed.

"That was good, Ms. Milfoil. Just keep focusing on the shield." He nodded to Madelia, who cast another spell. This time, the spell completely broke into energy and couldn't make its way through the shield. Remus smiled brightly and pat Zoey on the shoulder.

"Good job! I knew you would get the hang of it!" Zoey smiled brightly, eyes alight with joy. Remus walked away and Zoey held herself with more confidence as she waited for another spell. Madelia launched a few more, and each time, Zoey's shield got a little stronger. There were a few slips, of course, but it was better than it had been.

By the end of class, some of the students had managed to keep a shield together for more than three spells. When the bell rang, many of the students rushed to get their books.

"Remember to practice your shield!" Remus called out as they began to leave. "And I expect a 2-foot essay no later than Tuesday!"

"Your dad is a brilliant teacher," Zoey gushed as they headed to Charms. "He's so kind, and the best Dark Arts teacher I've ever had!"

Madelia smiled softly in response before feeling happy for her dad. She couldn't be more proud of his success at Hogwarts. They walked through the hallways in silence, the only sound that of other conversations and footsteps against the stone floors.

"So, is your head alright?"

"What?" Madelia turned to Zoey.

"You looked like Harry Potter in there earlier. Did your head hurt?"

"Oh. That's just something that happens," Madelia said softly. "Sometimes my head hurts when I hear certain things or when I try to remember. I'm used to it by—"

"Did you see that?" Zoey asked, cutting off Madelia. She stopped near a window Zoey was busy gazing out of.

"See what?"

"That!" She pointed a finger to the forbidden forest down below. Madelia looked over the trees, but saw nothing.

"I don't see anything."

"But – it was right there!" Zoey said, furrowing her eyebrows. "It was a big black dog!"

"Are you sure you aren't seeing things, silly girl?" Madelia asked, smiling softly.

"I – I don't think so." Madelia looked deeper into the woods, but saw nothing. She didn't concern herself over it, despite the grey eyes looking over the castle from the distance.