Chapter 5: Defence Against the Dark Arts
"Friday afternoon, 1pm... Extra Defence Against The Dark Arts class for Gryffindor and Slytherin... This class will be held in the Great Hall..." Hermionie read from the notice board inside the Gryffindor common room...
"You have got to be kidding..." Ron said...
"Nope..."
Harry sighed... "I wonder why it's in the Great Hall?"
"Probably something to do with it's size... Maybe we have to fight something..." Marcus speculated...
"Close... But no..." Hermionie corrected as she read the rest of the notice... "They want to teach us to Duel..."
Harry sighed again... "Great!" He added sarcastically... Marcus showed more enthusiasm as they sat down at their usual places beside the fire...
"It is a valuable skill, and it's better to learn it before someone gets killed and we have to reconsider what we do in class..."
"I still think it's a bad idea..." Ron stated... "You may not realise this yet, but the Slytherin house is fully of cheating gits like Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle... This is exactly what they'd want... I wouldn't be surprised if Snape organised it..."
"Well, I think it's better that we know what to do under any circumstances... And besides, Snape won't be the only teacher there, so the Slytherins won't be able to get away with much..." Marcus concluded.
Harry spoke again... "I wouldn't count on that... Malfoy happens to be very good at covering up his actions as accidents..."
Ron supported Harry... "At least it's the only thing he's good at... You're quiet Herm... What's wrong?"
"Nothing... Just thinking..." She replied, continuing to stare into the fire... "Just... Never mind..." She looked up for a moment at Harry, Marcus and Ron, before looking back to the fire...
"What's with Herm?" Marcus asked later as they went to their rooms... "Is she normally like that?"
"Occasionally..." Ron said, brushing off the comment... "She's usually got a book in her hand though, she's probably read something earlier that she's thinking about..."
"I wouldn't worry about it... The more she knows, the more we end up knowing usually... Try reading "Hogwarts: A History" if you want to get an intellectual discussion from her..." Harry added...
Marcus laughed at the suggestion. "Okay, extra reading... Let me think... No thanks! I've got enough to try and do anyway!"
"Try telling her to stop reading it... I swear she'll be writing a new section for it once she leaves this place!" Ron said, probably accurately...
"Trust us Marcus, Hermionie is one of a kind... Totally strange until you get to know her, but once you do, you're glad to..."
"Okay... I'll keep it in mind... What do you two think of the Duelling, really?"
"I don't like having to learn how to kill people, but after what I went through last year, I agree that it's a necessity..." Harry said, resigned... Marcus nodded, understanding... Harry was lucky, other wizards would have been killed without having a chance to put up a fight... Ron broke into Marcus's thoughts...
"We need to know it, no question... But I don't like the idea of being in a Duelling class with the Slytherins..."
"I think the entire School would agree with you there..." Marcus finished, smiling at the thought of the entire School Mock-Duelling with Malfoy, Crabbe and Doyle...
Friday afternoon arrived quickly, and Harry arrived at the Great Hall with Hermionie, Marcus and Ron five minutes before the class, to find only one person in the Hall before them... Albus Dumbledore...
"Professor?" Harry asked, half excited to be learning from the Headmaster, half confused...
"Mr Potter, good to see you're on time for your lesson! Mr Greenstone, how are you getting on with your studies?"
"Quite well sir, thank you..."
"Excellent... Now I need to talk to Harry for a moment, if you'd excuse us..." Dumbledore requested, and the other three immediately went outside...
"Harry, if you feel uncomfortable about any of this, you're free to go whenever you wish..."
"It's alright Professor... I don't want to be treated differently..."
"As you wish... Now I believe the rest of the class is outside, please let them in..."
Harry went to the door, and the class flowed inside... As soon as they had sat in the chairs Dumbledore had conjured while Harry's back was turned, the Headmaster began to speak...
"Good afternoon class... Welcome to your first Duelling class... Today we will review basic Duelling etiquette, as well as participate in a few practice Duels towards the end of the class..."
Dumbledore went on to explain the history and etiquette of Wizard Duelling... Marcus seemed fascinated by every word Dumbledore spoke, and finally, as Dumbledore asked for volunteers for the first practice Duel, he shot his hand into the air almost as quickly as Hermionie did...
"Well, well... It seems that we have our first pair..." Dumbledore said, obviously interested by the outcome of the battle... "Everybody stand to the walls, give them some room..." Dumbledore commanded... As they rose, he removed the chairs, leaving Neville, who was a little slow, to fall down, an action met by fits of laughter from Malfoy... "That isn't necessary Mr Malfoy..." Dumbledore spoke commandingly, yet softly...
"Sorry sir..." Draco replied... Hermionie and Marcus were now ready...
They bowed to each other slowly, each slightly worried that they might hurt the other... These fears were soon lost as Hermionie started casting small spells in quick succession, all of which Marcus countered, but only just... He began to worry whether he could beat Hermionie... She knew so many more spells than he did... Marcus let his feelings guide him... He channelled his fear into a series of aggressive spells, which, had Hermionie not blocked them, could have left her in the Medical ward for the rest of the day... Marcus was angry that Hermionie blocked each of his attacks... He resented the fact that she seemed to be comfortably countering him... She attacked again, finally hitting Marcus's left shoulder, bruising it badly... He snapped... Attacking with his anger and hate in his eyes, he knocked Hermionie to the floor after a series of attacks... She called a stop to the match... Marcus realised himself and calmed his mind... **What was I doing?** He questioned himself as he looked down at Hermionie... She picked herself up off the floor... Partly impressed by Marcus, but also partly scared... She had seen the anger in his eyes as he cast his spells... It was almost like he was enjoying it...
"Well done Marcus..." She commented... "And no hard feelings!" She added, seeing the sadness in his eyes for what he had done... Dumbledore seemed troubled...
"That's all for today... Please do not practice on each other outside of this time... Unless you wish to battle me in a real Duel, in which case, you can find me in my office, and we can schedule a time..." He paused... "Class dismissed... Marcus, my office please..."
"Yes sir..." Marcus said as the rest of the class left and he followed Dumbledore to his office...
Dumbledore was, if fact, not angry with Marcus...
"Marcus... How did you feel when you were fighting Hermionie? Please answer me honestly, it's important..."
"Truthfully? I felt so much power within me... It was like I found a part of me which was intent on winning the battle..."
"I understand Marcus... Many people experience this kind of sensation... Most put it down to desire of victory, but I have found that there is a part of us which craves battle... Have you ever fought in the past?"
"Not really... Other than the odd scrap with other children when I was younger... I think I was roughly 10 when I had a significant enough encounter to call it a fight..."
Dumbledore considered this for a moment, then spoke again... "Marcus, I sense there's something else on your mind to do with this subject..."
"There is... It's hard to talk about it... It happened when I was 11..."
"What did?"
"My cousin was killed... Murdered... We never found out by who... The Ministry couldn't uncover the identity of the attacker, but they told us that a Duel must have taken place..."
"I'm sorry Marcus... I wasn't told..."
"We keep it to ourselves mostly... It's a painful memory for all of us..."
"I understand..."
"We were very close, he was one of my best friends... He knew all about me... We did everything together... Maybe I sub-consciously wish that I could revenge him... It's an awful thing to say..."
"It's not awful... We all feel that we wish we could do something to repair a problem... However, killing another solves nothing..."
"I know... I'll be fine... I just need to control myself..."
"Well, I don't think it's too much to worry about... Just be aware of your feelings, and make sure you control them... If you ever need to talk to me about how you feel, my door is open to anyone who can figure out the password..."
"Thank you sir..."
"Okay, off you go, I believe Harry and Ron are waiting for you..."
Marcus turned and left, electing not to talk to the others about it... **No point in concerning them about it...** He thought to himself...
"Friday afternoon, 1pm... Extra Defence Against The Dark Arts class for Gryffindor and Slytherin... This class will be held in the Great Hall..." Hermionie read from the notice board inside the Gryffindor common room...
"You have got to be kidding..." Ron said...
"Nope..."
Harry sighed... "I wonder why it's in the Great Hall?"
"Probably something to do with it's size... Maybe we have to fight something..." Marcus speculated...
"Close... But no..." Hermionie corrected as she read the rest of the notice... "They want to teach us to Duel..."
Harry sighed again... "Great!" He added sarcastically... Marcus showed more enthusiasm as they sat down at their usual places beside the fire...
"It is a valuable skill, and it's better to learn it before someone gets killed and we have to reconsider what we do in class..."
"I still think it's a bad idea..." Ron stated... "You may not realise this yet, but the Slytherin house is fully of cheating gits like Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle... This is exactly what they'd want... I wouldn't be surprised if Snape organised it..."
"Well, I think it's better that we know what to do under any circumstances... And besides, Snape won't be the only teacher there, so the Slytherins won't be able to get away with much..." Marcus concluded.
Harry spoke again... "I wouldn't count on that... Malfoy happens to be very good at covering up his actions as accidents..."
Ron supported Harry... "At least it's the only thing he's good at... You're quiet Herm... What's wrong?"
"Nothing... Just thinking..." She replied, continuing to stare into the fire... "Just... Never mind..." She looked up for a moment at Harry, Marcus and Ron, before looking back to the fire...
"What's with Herm?" Marcus asked later as they went to their rooms... "Is she normally like that?"
"Occasionally..." Ron said, brushing off the comment... "She's usually got a book in her hand though, she's probably read something earlier that she's thinking about..."
"I wouldn't worry about it... The more she knows, the more we end up knowing usually... Try reading "Hogwarts: A History" if you want to get an intellectual discussion from her..." Harry added...
Marcus laughed at the suggestion. "Okay, extra reading... Let me think... No thanks! I've got enough to try and do anyway!"
"Try telling her to stop reading it... I swear she'll be writing a new section for it once she leaves this place!" Ron said, probably accurately...
"Trust us Marcus, Hermionie is one of a kind... Totally strange until you get to know her, but once you do, you're glad to..."
"Okay... I'll keep it in mind... What do you two think of the Duelling, really?"
"I don't like having to learn how to kill people, but after what I went through last year, I agree that it's a necessity..." Harry said, resigned... Marcus nodded, understanding... Harry was lucky, other wizards would have been killed without having a chance to put up a fight... Ron broke into Marcus's thoughts...
"We need to know it, no question... But I don't like the idea of being in a Duelling class with the Slytherins..."
"I think the entire School would agree with you there..." Marcus finished, smiling at the thought of the entire School Mock-Duelling with Malfoy, Crabbe and Doyle...
Friday afternoon arrived quickly, and Harry arrived at the Great Hall with Hermionie, Marcus and Ron five minutes before the class, to find only one person in the Hall before them... Albus Dumbledore...
"Professor?" Harry asked, half excited to be learning from the Headmaster, half confused...
"Mr Potter, good to see you're on time for your lesson! Mr Greenstone, how are you getting on with your studies?"
"Quite well sir, thank you..."
"Excellent... Now I need to talk to Harry for a moment, if you'd excuse us..." Dumbledore requested, and the other three immediately went outside...
"Harry, if you feel uncomfortable about any of this, you're free to go whenever you wish..."
"It's alright Professor... I don't want to be treated differently..."
"As you wish... Now I believe the rest of the class is outside, please let them in..."
Harry went to the door, and the class flowed inside... As soon as they had sat in the chairs Dumbledore had conjured while Harry's back was turned, the Headmaster began to speak...
"Good afternoon class... Welcome to your first Duelling class... Today we will review basic Duelling etiquette, as well as participate in a few practice Duels towards the end of the class..."
Dumbledore went on to explain the history and etiquette of Wizard Duelling... Marcus seemed fascinated by every word Dumbledore spoke, and finally, as Dumbledore asked for volunteers for the first practice Duel, he shot his hand into the air almost as quickly as Hermionie did...
"Well, well... It seems that we have our first pair..." Dumbledore said, obviously interested by the outcome of the battle... "Everybody stand to the walls, give them some room..." Dumbledore commanded... As they rose, he removed the chairs, leaving Neville, who was a little slow, to fall down, an action met by fits of laughter from Malfoy... "That isn't necessary Mr Malfoy..." Dumbledore spoke commandingly, yet softly...
"Sorry sir..." Draco replied... Hermionie and Marcus were now ready...
They bowed to each other slowly, each slightly worried that they might hurt the other... These fears were soon lost as Hermionie started casting small spells in quick succession, all of which Marcus countered, but only just... He began to worry whether he could beat Hermionie... She knew so many more spells than he did... Marcus let his feelings guide him... He channelled his fear into a series of aggressive spells, which, had Hermionie not blocked them, could have left her in the Medical ward for the rest of the day... Marcus was angry that Hermionie blocked each of his attacks... He resented the fact that she seemed to be comfortably countering him... She attacked again, finally hitting Marcus's left shoulder, bruising it badly... He snapped... Attacking with his anger and hate in his eyes, he knocked Hermionie to the floor after a series of attacks... She called a stop to the match... Marcus realised himself and calmed his mind... **What was I doing?** He questioned himself as he looked down at Hermionie... She picked herself up off the floor... Partly impressed by Marcus, but also partly scared... She had seen the anger in his eyes as he cast his spells... It was almost like he was enjoying it...
"Well done Marcus..." She commented... "And no hard feelings!" She added, seeing the sadness in his eyes for what he had done... Dumbledore seemed troubled...
"That's all for today... Please do not practice on each other outside of this time... Unless you wish to battle me in a real Duel, in which case, you can find me in my office, and we can schedule a time..." He paused... "Class dismissed... Marcus, my office please..."
"Yes sir..." Marcus said as the rest of the class left and he followed Dumbledore to his office...
Dumbledore was, if fact, not angry with Marcus...
"Marcus... How did you feel when you were fighting Hermionie? Please answer me honestly, it's important..."
"Truthfully? I felt so much power within me... It was like I found a part of me which was intent on winning the battle..."
"I understand Marcus... Many people experience this kind of sensation... Most put it down to desire of victory, but I have found that there is a part of us which craves battle... Have you ever fought in the past?"
"Not really... Other than the odd scrap with other children when I was younger... I think I was roughly 10 when I had a significant enough encounter to call it a fight..."
Dumbledore considered this for a moment, then spoke again... "Marcus, I sense there's something else on your mind to do with this subject..."
"There is... It's hard to talk about it... It happened when I was 11..."
"What did?"
"My cousin was killed... Murdered... We never found out by who... The Ministry couldn't uncover the identity of the attacker, but they told us that a Duel must have taken place..."
"I'm sorry Marcus... I wasn't told..."
"We keep it to ourselves mostly... It's a painful memory for all of us..."
"I understand..."
"We were very close, he was one of my best friends... He knew all about me... We did everything together... Maybe I sub-consciously wish that I could revenge him... It's an awful thing to say..."
"It's not awful... We all feel that we wish we could do something to repair a problem... However, killing another solves nothing..."
"I know... I'll be fine... I just need to control myself..."
"Well, I don't think it's too much to worry about... Just be aware of your feelings, and make sure you control them... If you ever need to talk to me about how you feel, my door is open to anyone who can figure out the password..."
"Thank you sir..."
"Okay, off you go, I believe Harry and Ron are waiting for you..."
Marcus turned and left, electing not to talk to the others about it... **No point in concerning them about it...** He thought to himself...
